Editor : Amethyst00



Leo raised his hand toward the back of Zodiac, who was trying to cross over into present world by going through the rift.

Woooong–!

A mighty surge of gray mana raged forth.

A vast magic circle formed, and Leo completed his spell.

“[Moonlight].”

At the same moment a silver-green flash burst, a bombardment of light engulfed the defenseless Zodiac.

Flash–! Kwa-ga-ga-ga-gang–!

“……!”

But at that moment, the abyssal flame that rose from Zodiac’s back devoured Leo’s magic.

Leo’s face stiffened at the sight.

‘Erebos’s Flame!’

“Damn it!”

Cursing, Leo bent his knees.

Thud–! Boom–!

Kicking off the ground, Leo’s body shot toward Zodiac like a bullet.

Sring–!

Gray aura condensed upon Leo’s sword.

Kwa-ga-ga-ga-ga-gak–!

Leo’s slash aimed straight for Zodiac.

But once again, the rising flame blocked his blade.

‘Now I’m certain that this flame clearly has a will of its own!’

And what it sought was only one thing:

To bring its master’s servant back into the present world.

‘I have to stop it!’

Now, in this era called the time of peace—

That peace was, in truth, maintained only by a delicate balance.

Thanks to the ever-growing number of heroes, the balance barely held. Even the smallest crack could destroy it entirely.

Only Erebos was gone.

The forces of Tartaros still remained strong.

Especially the Lich King, the Giant King, the Monster Queen—

The three legion commanders, each leading a legion equal in power to an entire Hero Academy.

If another commander of equal might to those three were to return to the present world—

The long era of peace would surely come to an end.

Leo’s red eyes gleamed.

He clenched his teeth and burned his mana.

Pure white light poured from his hand.

It was Kyle’s unique magic, gifted by Luna, Poet of the Star, to the first hero.

“[Innocent].”

Whoosh–!

The power of purity filled Leo’s hand.

He hurled it toward the abyssal flame.

Whoosh–!

For an instant, the black flame scattered.

But soon it burned even fiercer.

‘A fragment of power even stronger than the shard of Erebos I met in Luna’s world?’

Leo ground his teeth.

Then tried to unleash even greater mana.

Hoo–!

Suddenly, the flame began to condense.

Leo’s face froze.

‘It’s going to explode……!’

Sensing what was coming, Leo rapidly expanded his mana and aura.

KWAANG–!

With an eardrum-shattering explosion, an enormous shockwave crashed over Leo.

Thud–!

“Damn it!”

Leo, slammed into the ground, cursed.

Fwoosh–!

As if mocking him, the black flames burned defiantly, then it faded away.

Clang–!

Along with the sound of something breaking, Zodiac escaped into the present world.

A great calamity from beyond the boundary of the past had returned to this age.

Leo leapt to his feet.

Beyond the vast rift, the scenery of Seiren spread out.

‘Sillatna!’

The view of Seiren from above was despair itself.

‘I have to go stop them……!’

Grab–!

As Leo prepared to take off, a force tugged at the hem of his cloak. His face stiffened.

Silver hair, eyes shining gold like stars.

A beautiful elf stared straight into Leo’s red eyes.

“Where…… did Zodiac go?”

“Luna.”

Leo grit his teeth.

His dearest comrade.

A friend he had never once forgotten.

How could he possibly explain?

That this was the past world, and that Zodiac had crossed into the present?

Leo knew well—

That this friend, who once shouted that she would fill the world with blossoms, was an innocent woman who always looked toward a distant future.

That she was a confident lady who had no doubt that he would be part of that brilliant future.

So he could not say it.

‘That this world is false…… and that you are already dead.’

That she was already gone, a being of the past.

Leo could never tell Luna that.

Watching Leo’s distorted face, Luna gently released his cloak, then smiled.

“Again…… you’re making that face.”

Luna stepped closer.

Then reached out her hand.

“How strange.”

Her hand touched Leo’s cheek.

“……The face is different…… and you’re not the Kyle I knew, but…… you still don’t feel unfamiliar.”

Leo’s red eyes widened.

Luna smiled as she looked at her reflection in those crimson eyes.

“It’s been a while, Kyle…… no, Leo.”

“You…… remember what happened then?”

“No. I had forgotten. But the moment I saw you, I remembered. You gave courage to the despairing me, and the strength to move forward, didn’t you?”

Luna smiled softly.

“They say in the future I’m called the Poet of the Star.”

She closed her eyes slightly.

“Seeing your face, I understand. In the future…… I die, don’t I?”

Leo swallowed hard.

When Luna opened her eyes, her golden gaze met his.

“Tell me one thing.”

“What?”

“Erebos…… was defeated, right?”

“……Yeah.”

“My death wasn’t in vain, was it?”

“Yeah.”

Seeing Leo’s face on the verge of tears, Luna smiled brightly.

“Then that’s good enough.”

The Great Hero of the past calmly accepted her unchanging fate.

As though content knowing her death was not meaningless.

She smiled beautifully.

“But the danger isn’t completely over, is it? Right, Kyle?”

“Right.”

“Where did he go?”

“……To the future. 5000 years ahead.”

“5000 years……”

Luna blinked her large eyes, then scratched her head.

“That’s so far ahead, I can’t even imagine it. What kind of era is it?”

“……An age of peace. Erebos was sealed.”

“Really? Then how did you come here? Those people I met before, they were from the future too, weren’t they?”

“……In the future, there’s something called Hero Record.”

Leo briefly explained Hero Record.

“Ohh. I see! The gods actually left something useful for once?”

Mmm! Nodding in admiration, Luna smirked.

“But to think not just all elves, but even other mages praise me as great. I knew it. Of course—it’s because I am great!”

Folding her arms and lifting her chin, Luna laughed heartily, “Hahaha!” then suddenly covered her mouth, snickering.

“And you? You were forgotten? Pfft! Just you? After saving the world? That’s hilarious! Puhuhuhu!”

“……You can still laughing?”

Leo chuckled.

So haughty, so teasing.

If others saw her like this, what would they think?

“You’re right, this isn’t the time to laugh and joke.”

Luna nodded.

“Let’s go then, Kyle.”

“What? Where?”

With an exasperated face, Luna looked at Leo.

“Where else? We’re going to the future.”

“……You can’t go.”

Leo looked up at the rift in the sky.

Zodiac had crossed to the present world through Erebos’s power.

But Luna couldn’t.

She was a being bound within the Hero’s World.

And her world hadn’t even been cleared yet.

Luna couldn’t leave.

Leo was certain of it, because Luna didn’t seem to see the great rift above.

She couldn’t see the present world beyond it.

Proof she was a being of the past, living only within the tale.

At Leo’s words, Luna looked up.

“True, to me it’s just a gloomy sky.”

Crack–

A fissure spread across Luna’s body.

Leo’s face stiffened.

Not only Luna’s body, the cracks were spreading across the world itself.

Fwoosh–!

Black flames flickered through the gaps.

“But this world doesn’t have much time left.”

As the world’s owner, Luna sensed it instinctively that her world was ending.

‘The shock…… Hero Record itself is collapsing.’

Leo clenched his teeth.

“Kyle.”

Luna looked straight at him.

“I can’t let my sacrifice be wasted. That’d be a shame. Unfair.”

“……”

“If a ghost of the past went to the future, I’ll chase it down and kick its ass.”

Luna’s golden eyes gleamed.

“I’ll save my adorable descendants who praise me in the future! I’m the Poet of the Star, after all!”

“……They’re not that adorable.”

“Anyway!”

“……You have an idea?”

At his words, Luna clapped her hands together.

“I’ll just pray really hard to the gods.”

“……You insult the gods all the time for being useless, and now you’re going to pray?”

“Oh gods, I humbly beg you, please let me cross 5000 years and defeat that ugly Zodiac.”

Ignoring Leo completely, Luna began to pray fervently.

With an absurdly serious face, she prayed again and again.

“Send me! Send me 5000 years ahead! You useless gods!”

Hearing her blasphemous words that could make even a listening god give up halfway, Leo sighed deeply and then looked down at his wrist.

There, he saw Polyum, the relic that granted him power.

‘A miracle……’

A miracle granted by the god who allowed him the strength of the past.

Leo restored his Polyum to its original form.

Luna’s eyes widened at the sight of another Polyum.

Leo handed it to her.

Luna accepted it.

In that moment, her eyes shone bright as stars.

The cracks on her body also began to fade.

“Ah……”

Luna looked up at the sky in awe.

“So that’s the future.”

Her face lit with surprise, then curved into a grin.

“With this, I can tear that ugly lizard apart.”

Wearing a warlike smile, Luna turned to Kyle.

“Let’s go! Kyle! To the future. To blow away those Tartaros bastards!”

“You're full of energy, aren’t you.”

Leo laughed at her sparkling eyes.

“But before that!”

Luna pointed the Polyum at Leo.

Her mana swirled around him.

When the bright light faded, Leo looked down at himself.

“Hmm. Now it finally feels a bit more natural.”

Luna nodded.

He had changed—into Kyle’s form.

The very image Luna remembered.

“Honestly, I prefer your pretty-boy look a little more, but…… that’s the you that suits the most, Kyle.”

Smiling brightly, Luna poked his side.

“Don’t you dare act all handsome! You’re Kyle!”

Then, lifting herself up, she shouted—

“The Poet of the Stars, Lady Luna, is coming through!”

“……Guess you like that title.”

Leo laughed, casting Fly to follow her.

“Oh, by the way.”

“Yeah?”

“I heard Lysinas liked me.”

“What?”

Luna’s eyes went wide.

“Really? I had no idea!”

Watching her incredulous face, Leo nodded.

‘See, it wasn’t me being dense. That woman just hid it too well.’

Thinking that, Leo looked at Luna.

“What?”

“Not you too, right?”

“Did peace in that future make you go insane?”

“Yeah. Not you, right?”

“Of course not.”

Leo laughed, and Luna nodded.

“Good. Let’s go.”

Leaving her behind, Leo flew toward the hole left by Zodiac.

Watching his back, Luna muttered—

“Even after coming back from dead, he’s still the same idiot.”

bl

Kiiiiiiiii–!

Benneth’s spell struck Zodiac’s neck.

Benneth, Albi, Ellen, and Chade, they all poured their strength into stopping the rampaging Zodiac.

Against the mindless demon, the four heroes fought valiantly.

But they could not deal enough damage to defeat him.

Watching from afar, Lunia clenched her teeth.

‘Dad…… Principal.’

Fwoooosh–

A fierce flame enveloped Lunia’s body—

The Phoenix’s fire that even consumed herself.

In her eyes burned the image of the maddened demon.

‘Even if I can take down one more…… I must ease their burden.’

Despite her body being covered in burns, Lunia did not stop.

“Lunia-yang!”

Eiran rushed over in panic.

“It’s too dangerous! You need to fall back and treat your burns……!”

“I…… I can still fight!”

“No! Any more and you’ll die!”

Eiran’s voice trembled with tears.

Lunia looked as though she would truly burn herself to ashes.

“I can still—”

“You should really listen to your friend, don't you.”

A voice from behind made Lunia flinch.

A voice she knew.

A voice she could never forget.

‘No way…… that's impossible.’

Lunia trembled.

“Even back then, I thought you were quite reckless, you know?”

If Leo had been there, he might’ve scolded her for saying that.

But Leo was not here.

Lunia turned her head.

Eiran’s mouth fell open.

A beautiful elf stood there, holding two Polyums.

Eiran rubbed her eyes.

But the figure before them did not vanish.

“Lady……Luna?”

“Mm.”

Luna smiled gently.

“You’ve worked hard.”

Releasing the Polyums, Luna reached out and patted both their heads.

“Leave the rest to this unnie.”

Luna looked toward Zodiac.

“The ghost of the past… should be handled…… by one from the past.”

Before their eyes, the slumbering legend had awakened.