Chapter 169
Editor : Amethyst00
The Tartaros demon fixed Leo with an icy glare.
“Are you going to interfere with me again?”
“It turned out that way.”
Fwoosh—
Flames of aura blazed up around Leo’s body.
The demon stretched out his hand.
Vrrrm—!
A blood-red magic circle flared into being in the air.
Leo’s eyes twitched at the sight.
In an instant, his vision was swallowed.
As darkness fell, Leo crouched low.
'A curse.'
A curse that block his vision.
Leo sharpened his other senses.
'He cast it in the blink of an eye, not even giving me time to react.'
Compared to his past life, Leo’s resistance to curses was weaker.
It couldn’t be helped.
If one compared their potential abilities, Leo as he was now outstripped Kyle of his previous life.
Someday, Leo would certainly grow strong enough to surpass even his past self’s power.
But that day hadn’t yet come.
For all his greater potential, Leo’s current strength still fell short of his past life’s overwhelming might.
So if a high-ranking Tartaros demon deliberately unleashed a curse, Leo would inevitably be caught in it.
Still, the moment before a curse settled, Leo could recognize what kind it was—even if it was only for the briefest flicker of time.
That ability came not from power, but from experience.
And that experience was what let Leo draw on strength greater than what he technically possessed.
But even so, this time he had been ensnared in the curse almost instantly.
'A demon specialized in curses? No… even if that’s the case, this is nearly on the level of a Legion Commander.'
Though his sight was stolen, Leo summoned his aura.
'The other senses are still intact.'
Touch, smell, and hearing sharpened to razor keenness.
On top of that, Leo stimulated his nervous system with aura.
'Hyper-senses.'
A technique of the Brave Aaron, magnifying the senses to their utmost.
It wasn’t just useful for scouting—it was a skill that could completely shift the course of battle.
Aaron, who had honed hyper-senses to the extreme, had even reached the level of predicting the future.
'I’m not at that point yet, but…'
Veins bulged at Leo’s temples.
Fwoosh—
Magical presences flared from every direction.
The trajectories of the attacks naturally mapped themselves inside Leo’s mind.
Fwoosh—!
He jerked his head aside, dodging the magic aimed at his skull.
Boom—!
“What?!”
The demon’s eyes went wide.
It seemed to him as if Leo had seen the attack just now.
Flash! Kra-kra-kra-BOOM!
Leo twisted and wove through the storm of crimson beams.
Not only that—he charged straight at the demon’s position with unerring precision.
'Is he not affected by the curse?'
The demon quickly leapt back, wary.
'For a mere first-year candidate to evade a curse… Have I fallen so far?'
He mocked himself, but stayed level-headed.
'Even if he’s a Pegasus contractor, if my curse doesn’t work, then he’s hiding something. If I rush recklessly and slip up, it’ll be the end.'
Everything was on the line with this attack on Lumene.
He had nowhere left to retreat.
'Caution. I must be absolutely cautious.'
Meanwhile, with his sight still cut off, Leo retrieved the blade that had pierced the demon’s hand and turned his body.
'Careful bastard. Looks like a true high-ranking demon.'
Even though Leo was just a first-year, the enemy showed no sign of underestimating him.
The demon’s gaze trembled as he studied Leo’s face.
'This brat still hasn’t gotten his sight back. Then how is he moving like this?'
Even for a hero candidate, he was still an unpolished gem.
If a curse landed, the demon thought, he should have been able to toy with him easily.
But instead, the boy was countering every strike flawlessly—
—as though blindness meant nothing to him.
'Even the heroes inscribed in the Hero Record weren’t like this!'
Long ago, this demon had buried countless heroes in history’s shadows.
And now, he felt a chill crawl up his spine.
'What in the hell is this boy…?'
A memory of his conversation with Sillatna surfaced.
“If you ever run into Leo Plov, it’s better not to let your guard down. I have a bad feeling about that kid.”
“Because he’s All-Class?”
“Exactly.”
“I don’t get it. All-Class or not, he’s just a first-year brat. I’m still a Legion Commander of Tartaros, even weakened. You’re telling me to be cautious of someone not even on Rhys Zerdinger’s level? How insulting that is.”
"That’s how special All-Class is."
"Ha, when was it you boasted as ruler of Tartaros, and now you’re concerned about a 1st year just because he resembles a great hero who disappeared 5000 years ago? Disappointing."
“Think what you want. But don’t forget—this kid has been turning impossibilities into possibilities since the start.”
Among the nine current Legion Commanders, three stood apart as monsters from before the Age of Calamity: the Queen of Monsters, the Lich King, and the Giant King.
They weren’t feared simply because of they had lived long.
They had survived when their fellow Commanders of that era were all hunted down by the Great Heroes.
The great Wise Queen, Lysinas, had gambled everything on striking down Erebos first—choosing to postpone subjugating the Three Commanders.
It was a gamble, because even after defeating the three, Lysinas couldn’t guarantee the subjugation party would remain intact enough to also take Erebos.
In hindsight, that gamble had succeeded. But it left the Three Commanders unvanquished, ruling as terrors even five thousand years later.
Back then, he had laughed at Sillatna’s warning.
But now he understood.
This first-year boy was on another level.
'This one must not be allowed to live.'
He would certainly grow into a threat to all of Tartaros.
'Even if he can respond fast, there are limits once his sight is sealed.'
“Leo Plov, take pride in dying at the hands of me, a Legion Commander.”
“A Legion Commander?”
Leo’s eyes narrowed.
Woooooong—!
Shadows around him stained crimson and surged to engulf him.
His vision was still blocked, but hyper-senses traced the force and trajectory of every strike.
'This will be tough to handle blind.'
The moment that thought crossed his mind, the curse unraveled.
His vision snapped back into focus.
The Legion Commander’s eyes twitched.
'Already broken free?!'
There were only two ways to undo a curse:
One, by overwhelming resistance.
Two, by unraveling the formula binding it.
Either way, no easy feat.
'What the hell is this brat…?'
The more he knew, the more shocked he became.
Fwoooosh—!
Leo flared his aura.
Kra-kra-BOOOOM!
Attacks flying in troublesome trajectories were brushed aside with flame aura, and the rest he evaded by throwing his body quickly.
Because his dynamic vision had also risen rapidly thanks to hypersense, dodging attacks wasn’t too difficult.
Tap—
Landing lightly, Leo stared back at the Commander.
“How did you break the curse?”
“Curses that disrupt perception tangle up the mana flow inside your body. Just smooth the flow out again, and it’s easy.”
The demon narrowed his eyes at Leo’s smirk.
“With that method, you couldn’t dispel it so quickly. What trick did you use?”
“Trick? Don’t need one. I just brute-forced my way through, start to finish.”
Leo tapped his temple.
“I’ve broken way nastier curses than yours.”
“Impossible! There is no demon whose curses surpass mine—I am Kigoros, the Curse King!”
“Kigoros? The Curse King? That Kigoros?”
The Curse King Kigoros.
A Legion Commander supposedly slain decades ago by Sword Saint Kalian.
“You’re claiming to be a Commander destroyed long ago? Tartaros really must be desperate.”
“Think what you want. You’re going to die here anyway.”
Leo’s brow furrowed.
'His power is pathetic for a Legion Commander.'
If he truly were a legion commander, just facing him should inflict tremendous physical damage.
Legion commander means a disaster whose very existence brings near terror.
A nightmare only barely felled by countless heroes of the Hero Record joining forces.
'But his battle instincts… those are definitely Commander-level.'
Leo had fought countless battles against Tartaros, even Commanders. His experience was why he could respond at all. Anyone else would’ve died already.
'If he really is Kigoros, then maybe the Headmaster never finished the job.'
Leo gripped his sword tight.
'I’ll fight him as though he is legion commander.'
He lowered into stance.
Kigoros’s mouth twisted into a grin.
“I’ll show you the fear of a Legion Commander.”
Wooooooong—!
The air split open into a gaping black void.
And from it, warped monsters poured like a flood.
Leo’s eyes flicked.
More than sheer personal might, what made Commanders terrifying was their authority to create demons.
They devoured living beings and converted them into energy, spawning new demons.
As low-tier fiends swarmed like hell’s gates had opened, Leo summoned his spirit.
Fwoooosh—!
A radiant summoning circle flared, and Alty appeared.
“Alty. Handle the demons.”
[Yes, Master!]
Crackle—!
White sparks leapt from Alty’s body.
Kzzzzk!
As She charged, she trampling through the massed demons.
“Fool! You waste your strongest weapon on mere underlings?”
Kigoros sneered and lunged at Leo.
Wooooooong! Squirm—squirm—!
His form twisted, sprouting multiple eyes.
His body warped into a hulking, flesh-mass of a giant.
Leo narrowed his gaze.
No longer human.
Casting aside disguise only made his dark power swell.
Wooooooong—!
His crimson-black arm rose, dripping with layered curses.
That arm alone was death, should it brush past.
Leo shifted to evade—only to find the surroundings saturated with curses.
“You cannot escape! Even if you block it, you’ll die!”
Kigoros laughed with manic glee.
Leo chuckled back.
“Hey.”
“……!”
That confident laugh made Kigoros feel something was wrong.
“The Lich King once said something about you.”
“What?”
“That you were frivolous for a Legion Commander.”
“How do you—!”
Leo’s words made every one of Kigoros’s eyes bulge.
“Impossible—!”
“I knew it.”
Fwoooosh—!
A crimson summoning circle appeared before Leo.
From it emerged a blazing bird.
Kigoros’s face twisted in shock.
“A phoenix?!”
“Lich King may deal with corpses, but he still cares about dignity.”
Recalling the Lich King with a twisted smile, Leo stirred aura and mana.
Fwoooosh—!
The Crimson Flame of Zerdinger.
The Blaze of Lunda.
A fire forged from the phoenix’s flames wrapped Fiora.
KRAAAAAAA—!
Radiant as the sun itself, Fiora beat her wings.
“You think a phoenix’s fire can stop a legion Commander?!”
Fwoooosh—!
Fiora’s flames engulfed Kigoros, reducing his body to ash.
His grotesque form writhed in agony, swelling even larger.
Leo scowled.
'Even this won’t kill him?'
Woooooong! BOOM—!
Kigoros’s fist slammed into Leo.
Crash—!
Leo’s body was hurled into the doors of the Hall of Heroes.
BOOM—! Crack—!
He burst through, smashing into the inner wall.
Rubble rained down.
His mind felt hazy, but he ignored it.
'The curses are all burned away by Fiora’s flames.'
Flutter—flutter—!
Fiora, now a tiny red chick, perched anxiously on his shoulder.
Chirp?
“I’m fine.”
Shhhhft—!
With a heave, Leo tore free from the wall and landed.
His head throbbed, but the damage was only physical—already halved by aura armor.
Still, the impact had been brutal.
Even weakened, a legion Commander is still a legion Commander.
He shook his head to clear his mind.
Though he’d spent over a semester at Lumene and used the Grand Archive countless times, this was his first time inside the Hall of Heroes.
Most students coveted relics of past heroes, but Leo hadn’t cared much about it.
But now, as he lifted his gaze toward Kigoros—
Even reduced to ashes, the demon staggered toward a certain sword.
“At last… at last!”
'What the hell is he after?'
With a face twisted in rapture, Kigoros reached for a worn, rusted sword.
Leo’s eyes went wide.
At a glance, the blade was chipped and rusted.
But the immense mana packed within it was unmistakable.
'Even so battered, it radiated the dignity of a hero’s weapon.'
But that wasn’t what shocked Leo.
It was the decoration on the pommel.
Though the sword was ruined, the ornament gleamed as if brand new—crafted with more care than the blade itself, so beautiful it was striking.
And Leo recognized it.
'Dweno’s sword?'