Chapter 168
Editor : Amethyst00
“What the—?”
“Is that guy gone insane?”
At the sudden chaos, the onlookers wore baffled expressions.
“No matter what, isn’t he being way too reckless?”
As Leo curved his lips into a smirk, the boy grinned back.
“Doesn’t matter. At the very least, I plan to kill every weakling around here—starting with you.”
“You think you can pull that off?”
Whoosh—!
Leo flared up his aura.
Seeing the crimson blaze of Leo’s aura, the boy gave a twisted grin and stretched his hand into the air.
Rumbleeeee—!
The space above split open.
A pitch-black rift tore wide, and from within shot out a greatsword stained in blood-red.
Leo’s eyes twitched.
‘A cursed blade? So he’s a melee-type demon.’
“Shall I see what you’re really made of?!”
The demon bellowed and swung the massive blade.
Fwoooosh! KRA-KRA-KRA-KRAANG—!
A storm of blood-red sword aura whipped out.
The devastating strike barreled toward Leo.
Leo launched himself forward.
BOOOM—!
With his flame aura, Leo forced back the surging vortex of sword energy.
But the demon’s aura shredded through Leo’s fire.
Leo twisted his body midair.
Thud—
KRA-KRA-KRAK!
The sword storm obliterated where he’d just been, then dissipated.
“Hmph. I had some expectations since they called you All-Class. But you’re nothing special.”
At the demon’s taunt, Leo tightened his grip on his sword.
‘And this is the kind of demon rampaging in Lumene?’
His eyes narrowed.
Yes, the demon was strong.
But only if compared to the standard of a first-year.
To think this level of power was enough to mount an assault on Lumene was absurd.
At that very moment—
KWAANG—!
A violent explosion shook the cafeteria.
Startled, the panicked students turned wide-eyed toward the sound.
“Wh-what’s happening?!”
“What the hell is going on?!”
While students gaped at the chaos—
Crackle-crackle—!
A sharp burst of sparks erupted.
Then—
Bababababang! KRAAASH!
“Graaaghhh!”
A golden bolt of lightning struck down from above.
The demon who had been targeting Leo screamed in agony.
“You’ve got a death wish. To think you’d rampage in the very heart of Lumene at that level.”
Fwoooosh—!
Landing from the air, Duran smiled coldly.
At his side, several students of his faction readied themselves for battle.
“Keh keh keh…”
The demon writhed in pain, then glared sharply at Duran.
“Duran Moira. I’ve no time for the likes of you. My target is the first-year grade representative, Leo Plov.”
Duran’s golden eyes twitched.
“Heh. Arrogant. You ignore me to go after Leo Plov?”
His mouth twisted as sparks crackled from his eyes.
Bzzt-bzzt!
Nearby students shivered.
“Eek!”
“Back off! He’s pissed!”
Shrieking, they scattered, while the demon thrust a hand into the air.
Whiiirrr—! Chunk! Chunk! Chunk!
Rifts split open, and from them marched armored soldiers, weapons in hand.
The students gasped.
“Teleportation shouldn’t be possible inside Lumene!”
“Then how did he summon troops?!”
Realization struck like lightning—the demon wasn’t alone.
‘Not summoned from outside… these are all his minions.’
Scowling, Leo studied the troops.
‘Corpses.’
A demon who could raise armies of corpses to launch an all-out invasion of Lumene…
One terrifying figure flashed through his mind.
‘Hell Kaiser, the Lich King?’
But he shook his head.
That one was sly and cunning.
‘No… this brutish tactic isn’t his style.’
Leo’s gaze sharpened.
‘This feels more like the Monster Queen’s way.’
Reckless. Cruel.
Whatever the case, this demon wasn’t the Lich King’s or the Monster Queen’s servant.
The aura of neither legion commander was present.
And critically—these corpses weren’t raised by necromancy.
‘Then what is it?’
Leo’s brow furrowed.
“Prepare yourself, Leo Plov!”
Snarling, the demon lunged.
The greatsword swept toward Leo’s neck—
CLAAANG! THUD!
Leo blocked, his feet gouging deep into the ground.
As he pushed back, sparks erupted—
Crackle-crackle-crackle—!
“Looking away from me for other? Bold of you.”
Duran’s cold sneer rang out as he pierced through the troops, lightning crackling in his wake, striking at the demon’s back.
The demon scrambled to put distance between himself and Leo.
KRASHHH—!
Golden aura split the air.
Tap—!
Duran landed lightly, eyes blazing.
“What did you do to my minions?”
“Those trash? You mean that?”
Duran sneered, jerking his chin.
There lay charred corpses, reduced to sludge by lightning.
“Duran. Other areas are under attack by demons too.”
“I know.”
Duran smirked.
“So you go deal with the others. This one’s mine.”
“You sure?”
The demon wasn’t weak.
“Ha?”
Duran gave Leo a look of pure disbelief.
“Who do you think I am, Leo Plov?”
Crackle-crackle-crackle!
His body surged with golden lightning.
“I don’t need your concern.”
“…Then I’ll leave it to you.”
With that, Leo launched himself into the air.
“You bastard!”
The demon made to chase—
ZAP!
But a wall of golden lightning blocked his path.
“You’ve no time to be distracted.”
Duran’s voice was like ice.
“You’ll regret ever stepping foot in Lumene.”
Around the first-year dorms, chaos reigned.
Suddenly, demons had appeared.
Each summoned hordes of corpses to attack the students.
But in every spot, skilled students quickly rallied to fight back.
The worst-hit were, of course, the Three-Class Academy students.
Unlike Lumene’s, they couldn’t adapt swiftly to the surprise attack.
The gap between true hero candidates and ordinary students was laid bare.
‘Are only the first-year areas being targeted?’
Leo’s face hardened as he raised his spiritual power.
Bzzt—!
A summoning circle flared, and Alty appeared.
[What is it, Master?]
Leo vaulted onto Alty’s back and yanked the reins.
“Take me as high as possible!”
Fwoooosh—!
Alty shot skyward with tremendous force.
Higher and higher—until the whole of Lumene spread beneath them.
Leo’s eyes widened.
Not just the first-year district.
The entire academy was under assault.
‘Why? Why such a reckless invasion?’
He quickly pieced things together.
The sudden attack had thrown Lumene into temporary confusion.
But once order returned, the counterattack would be swift and merciless.
This was the stronghold of hero candidates—
And even those as strong as full-fledged heroes lived here.
‘Attacking Lumene won’t achieve anything. Just wasted effort. Why?’
Not even Sillatna was foolish enough to attempt this.
‘If it were this reckless, they’d have been wiped out long ago.’
A thought pierced his mind.
‘The Hall of Heroes.’
Leo jerked the reins.
‘Whatever their scheme, they’re after something inside the Hall.’
Fwoooosh—!
Alty dove toward the Grand Library.
Top floor of the Hero’s Tower.
In the principal’s office, Kalian and Rivein were the first to sense the disturbance.
Kalian rose from his chair, while Rivein darted toward the window—
Vwoooom—!
Suddenly, black mana enveloped the office.
Their eyes narrowed.
‘A Curse of Severance?’
As the powerful spell took hold, both turned toward the door.
Creak—!
It swung open, and in stepped the headmaster’s secretary, Erena.
“So. You were closer than I thought.”
Rivein sighed heavily. Erena only smiled.
“How was it? My act? Pretty convincing, wasn’t it?”
“…Where’s the real Erena?”
“Why, right here.”
She tapped her stomach.
“She’s been inside me for a long time.”
Her tone twisted as she smiled cruelly.
Rivein summoned his mana.
CRUNCH—!
In an instant, the demon’s head flew into the air.
“As expected, lizards are heartless. After all our time together, and you cut me down without a thought.”
The severed head cackled wildly.
Rivein’s expression didn’t change. He opened his palm.
Thin lines of mana coiled around the demon.
SNAP—!
With a clench of his fist, the threads wound tight like yarn.
CRACK—!
Flesh and blood burst apart between the cords.
The demon was crushed to nothing.
Splat—!
A mangled heap hit the floor.
Ssssss—!
Toxic fumes sizzled as they melted through the floor.
Squirm—!
But the gore writhed, reforming piece by piece into a body.
Rivein’s brow furrowed.
‘Such regeneration speed… at this rate…’
“A legion commander?”
At his words, the half-formed demon woman smiled darkly.
“Correct. Hee-hee-hee.”
The flesh twisted together, her face taking shape.
Slither—squelch—crack!
“Shall I introduce myself? Kihihihi—”
Her deranged grin widened.
“My name is Sillatna.”
Rivein’s face hardened.
“The one you fear so much. The being you call the Monster Queen.”
Step, step—
The Grand Archives was deathly silent.
And for good reason.
Tartaros had launched a sudden invasion.
Never in Lumene’s history had the school suffered such an attack.
Now, every ounce of focus was bent on repelling them.
‘The troublesome swordsman and dragon… Sillatna will hold them off.’
Not for long, of course.
But enough.
Three legion commanders now led Tartaros—
The Monster Queen, the Lich King, and the Giant King.
Even compared to the commanders born since the Age of Calamity, these three were abominations beyond belief.
But still, what stood here were only fragments.
Fragments that could never hold back the swordsman who once slew a legion commander.
‘Still… a little time is all I need!’
As long as no one realized Tartaros was targeting the Hall of Heroes before entry—
‘If I can seize that cursed blade… then I will rise again! Again!’
His blood-red eyes gleamed with frenzy.
He reached for the Hall’s door with trembling delight—
Whiiish—! THUNK!
“…!”
A sword wrapped in gray aura pierced his hand.
“As I thought. You were after this place.”
A cold voice rang out.
“My instincts haven’t dulled. If I can still read your patterns this clearly…”
The boy with white hair curved his lips into a smirk.
“…then maybe you’ve simply failed to evolve.”