Editor : Amethyst00



The atmosphere within Seiren’s courtyard was grim.

And understandably so.

Everyone here was a civilian.

They trembled in awe at the tales of heroes they so admired, but they were not heroes themselves.

Not even heroes candidates.

To them, a legion commander of Tartaros was something that existed only in stories, an unfathomable being from legend.

So when word spread that one of those legion commanders had invaded Seiren itself, it could only fill them with terror.

“Is the warp gate still not ready!?”

“Hurry up and get us out of here!”

“Damn it! I shouldn’t have come here just to watch the Lumeiren Competition!”

Panic spread among the people as chaos filled the hall.

“Oh, great Poet of the Star, drive away this evil and save us.”

“Please protect the heroes fighting our enemies.”

Some quietly prayed to the Great Heroes.

Others listened in silence, straining to catch any sound from outside.

“The heroes will handle it! They always do!”

“Yeah! They’ll win for sure!”

Children clenched their tiny fists, speaking words of hope.

Amid the turmoil, Lunia approached those demanding the activation of the warp gate.

“Please, calm down! You’re making everyone even more anxious!”

“And who are you supposed to be?”

“I’m Lunia El Lunda, first-year grade representative of Seiren.”

Lunia’s firm voice met the humans’ angry gazes.

At her words, one human man twisted his face in irritation.

“First-year grade representative, huh? Then you must be quite the exceptional, right?”

“I’m not that exceptional,” Lunia replied evenly. “I'm barely good enough to keep the title of grade representative.”

“I don’t care! If you’re a trainee hero, then instead of hiding in here with us, you should be outside fighting!”

The man, who looked like a noble, shouted angrily.

Lunia’s tone turned cold.

“The duty of first- and second-years is to protect the civilian inside the campus.”

“Hah! So you’re just scared, huh? Big talk about being ‘hero candidates,’ and in the end, you’re no different from us common folk!”

He laughed mockingly, eyes gleaming with derision.

Lunia’s brow furrowed.

‘Should I just break his jaw?’

“Oh? That look says you’re about to hit me. Go ahead, hit me! I’m a special guest from Lumene here to watch the Lumeiren Competition! I’ll make sure the whole board knows that Seiren’s student representative assaulted me during an emer—”

Wham—!

Before Lunia could move, a fist from behind her caved the man’s face in.

His body lifted off the ground before crashing to the floor with a thud.

“Keheeeek!”

As the noble screamed, clutching his broken face, Lunia blinked in surprise.

Duran who threw the punch spoke casually.

“That man’s a guest from Lumene. If you’d hit him, it’d have caused a diplomatic mess.”

Duran glanced at the blood on his knuckles in disgust and extended his hand sideways.

“I’d appreciate a handkerchief, Eliana Raden.”

“Excuse me? I’m not your maid, you know.”

Though she grumbled, Eliana—standing beside him—still handed one over.

Duran wiped his hand and tossed the bloodstained cloth onto the groaning noble.

“Hey! Why’d you throw it away like that? That was an expensive one!” Eliana protested.

“Forget it,” Duran said with a smirk. “It’d only ruin your dignity to take back something that wiped the blood of filth. I’ll buy you a better one.”

“Oh my~ A prince really is different!” Eliana laughed brightly.

“But if he’s your guest, shouldn’t you not hit him either?” Lunia asked hesitantly.

“Normally, yes,” Eliana replied with a shrug.

“Normally?”

“It’s fine because he’s Duran.”

Lunia stared at her in disbelief.

“You—you can’t be serious.”

“You there!” the noble shouted, staggering upright. “You’re a Lumene student, aren’t you!? State your name and year! I’ll—no, forget a report! My family will—”

“Duran Moira. Is that sufficient?”

The man froze mid-sentence, his face draining of color.

Duran wasn’t just a honor student.

He was the crown prince of the Moira Kingdom, a powerful martial nation known as the Kingdom of Knights.

Though small, Moira’s influence rivaled that of the great powers. Thousands of knights marched under its banner, each one of renowned skill and discipline.

Even a noble guest from Lumene couldn’t hope to challenge someone of his standing.

“Prince Duran! I—I apologize for my rudeness!”

The man bowed deeply, trembling.

Duran’s cold smile deepened.

“Then you’ll pay the price for it, won’t you?”

“W-what!?”

“Your family name. Say it.”

“Prince Duran! Please, I beg you! Mercy!”

Watching the once-arrogant man kneel and plead before a boy far younger than him, Lunia blinked in astonishment.

‘Human power structures are beyond me,’ she thought.

To an elf like her, it was an incomprehensible sight.

Eliana sighed beside her.

“Good thing Chloe suggested we do patrol duty.”

Since a massive crowd of spectators had flooded Seiren for the Lumeiren Competition, the first- and second-years had been scrambling to maintain order.

Duran and Eliana had been patrolling to prevent further disturbances.

“Thank you for helping,” Lunia said with a small smile.

“I just silenced a disgrace to our race,” Duran replied curtly. “No thanks needed.”

Lunia glanced at Eliana and whispered, “Is he always this prickly?”

“Yup. Sometimes it’s cute, though—ow ow ow ow ow!”

“No time to stand around. We’re moving on,” Duran said, dragging Eliana by the ear.

“Ow! Let go! That hurts!”

Watching them leave, Lunia gave a short laugh and sat down.

‘How’s the situation outside…?’

Her hands trembled slightly.

Though she’d faced many trials for a first-year, even she couldn’t help but feel afraid this time.

Outside, teachers, seniors she admired—and her father—were all fighting with their lives on the line.

It was what heroes and hero candidates did.

But fear and worry couldn’t be helped.

‘Even heroes aren’t perfect.’

Lunia’s eyes wavered.

Even Luna, the flawless hero sung of in legends, had her moments of weakness.

There were no perfect heroes in this world.

Heroes feared. Heroes faltered.

But they stood up anyway—for the burdens they bore.

‘If it were Leo… what would he do right now?’

She thought of her calm, steadfast friend.

And then—

Rumble—!

The entire Seiren structure began to shake.

The grand fortress-like academy trembled violently, and murmurs spread through the crowd.

‘What’s going on!?’

Lunia stood abruptly, confusion flashing across her face.

“Lunia! Evacuate everyone deeper inside the academy!”

“What’s happening!?” she asked, turning to a second-year.

The upperclassman’s face had gone pale.

“Another legion has invaded!”

bl

The Hero Alliance noticed something was wrong about a minute after Rivein saw the sky split open.

“What the hell is that!?”

“A… hole?”

“When did that appear!?”

The heroes stared at the black tear in the sky, stunned.

“It looks… ominous,” Hark muttered, frowning.

“Yeah,” said Elena, chanting spells beside him. “It feels like… a monster’s about to crawl out.”

And then—

Crack—!

As if ripping apart the heavens themselves, an enormous, twisted arm tore the rift wider.

Like claws digging through earth, it forced open the wound in the sky—

—and from it emerged a monstrous upper body.

The heroes’ faces turned to horror.

“W-what the hell is that!?”

“I can feel its aura—it’s demonic!”

“No, it’s not just any demon… it’s got the power of a legion commander!”

Panic rippled through the alliance.

The creature’s body was covered in dense, metallic scales.

It resembled a dragon, yet not quite a dragon.

Its limbs were grotesquely long and twisted, ending in clawed hands instead of draconic legs.

Its hunched, humanoid torso gave it a malformed, nightmarish shape.

And its fanged maw looked capable of crushing steel.

A dragonkin horror that inspired primal dread in all who saw it.

But worse than its appearance—

“Was there… ever a legion commander like that?” an elven hero whispered, pale-faced.

There wasn’t.

Before them stood an unknown legion commander.

Kyaaaaaah—!

Opening its jaws, the creature, Zodiac unleashed a roar.

It exhaled a massive purple breath toward Sedgen’s fortress.

Zzzzzzt—Kraaaaaaash!

The blast obliterated an entire section of the wall and erased Sillatna’s army in an instant.

Sillatna frowned.

‘He has no reasoning and no restraint. So it didn’t cross over intact… That’s what Hell Kaiser meant when he said the plan “deviated.”’

Hell Kaiser had planned to greet an old comrade but had instead left the invasion to Sillatna.

He must have foreseen that Zodiac would arrive as a mindless beast driven by destruction.

‘Well, that makes him easier to handle.’

Sillatna’s eyes gleamed.

‘And to think… it actually worked.’

This was Hell Kaiser’s grand design—

—to summon the legion commanders of the past, preserved within the Hero Records of the Great Heroes.

‘Who would’ve thought the cursed relics of the gods would one day serve us?’

Elation flashed across her face.

‘With this, we can finally burn this wretched world.’

Her body trembled.

‘The mission our God gave us will at last be fulfilled!’

The world would burn.

All life would drown in despair.

Though the God still slept, he would awaken soon.

Five thousand years had passed—

—and Sillatna was certain that the long awaited age would return.

“Tremble, insects! Lumene and Seiren will fall, and the world will once again be shrouded in darkness!”

Gwoooooooooh!

Zodiac roared in agreement.

A legion commander before them, another behind.

The alliance’s faces sank into despair.

“Benneth,” said Kalian quietly.

“You’ll take Albi, Ellen, and Chade. Stop that one.”

“What?”

Principal Benneth’s face hardened.

“And you and Rivein?”

“We’ll stop the Demon Queen.”

“You can’t do it alone,” Albi said through clenched teeth.

“I won’t hear any objections. That’s an order,” Kalian replied, smiling faintly.

“The greatest hope of our world now lies with the young sprouts, Albi.”

Step, step—

Kalian walked toward Sillatna.

“It’s our duty to pass the era on to those who’ve yet to claim theirs.”

He raised his sword.

“This is our responsibility as someone who’ve borne this age. So go. Don't worry about us.”

“Principal…” Chade’s voice trembled.

“Let’s go,” said Albi flatly.

Chade groaned but obeyed.

Ellen bowed her head and followed, and finally, Benneth said quietly—

“Take care, Sword Saint.”

As they retreated, Sillatna clicked her tongue.

“So it’s just the two of you left. A decrepit man and an old lizard. How boring.”

Her expression was one of disdain.

“You said it yourself, didn’t you, Sword Saint? That stopping me is your duty as one who bears this age. You’re right. I’ve seen countless heroes who bore their eras. The so-called Great Ones you revere. And I can say this with certainty—”

A cruel smile curved her lips.

“You are the worst hero I’ve ever known.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“Still mocking me to the end, huh?”

Woooooom—!

A torrent of black mana erupted from her body.

“Still, I’ll show some courtesy. Heroes who accept their deaths are the most irritating, after all.”

Crack—Crack-crack—!

Her form expanded rapidly.

[Your end will be crushed in the most miserable way possible.]

Rumble—!

Sillatna revealed her true, monstrous self.

Kalian looked up at her and smiled.

‘It’s been so long,’ he thought.

Even before such insurmountable despair, the Sword Saint who bore the age smiled.

‘Since I last challenged the impossible.’