Chapter 590
Editor : Amethyst00
"Kyle… sir?"
Lumene turned his head with difficulty to look at Kyle.
Seeing Kyle sitting on a rock, watching him with indifferent eyes, Lumene sighed in relief.
"Thank goodness… Thank goodness…"
Strength left Lumene’s body.
With Kyle here, there was nothing left to worry about.
Erebos, who was rampaging through his world, would no longer be a threat.
"My struggle wasn't in vain… thank goodness…"
Whack–!
"Ugh?!"
"What the hell do you mean by 'thank goodness,' you damn bastard?"
Kyle picked up a piece of broken brick nearby and threw it at Lumene’s face.
Lumene, struck squarely, wore a dazed expression.
Looking at him, Kyle spoke.
"If you just die like this, it’s your comrades who will suffer in this Dawn world, isn’t it?"
"…"
"And when Erebos returns again to the outside world…"
Kyle’s eyes narrowed.
"It’ll be those kids who’ll have to deal with Erebos."
Kyle looked toward the hero candidates fighting Erebos.
"Is that what you’re relieved about?"
At Kyle's cold question, Lumene bit his lip.
"Believing… isn’t a bad thing, is it?"
"…"
"Believing in my comrades… in the kids who’ll follow after me…"
Strength returned to Lumene’s grip.
"Believing in you—there’s nothing wrong with that, right?"
"It’s not a bad thing."
Whooooosh–
A gust of wind brushed past Kyle’s hair.
Even Kyle’s comrades, who had left before him, eventually believed in him and passed on peacefully.
"I can’t even imagine what kind of time you all spent over these thousands of years. It’s only natural to be tired."
A world where infinity continues.
When the world resets, you don’t even know how many times you’ve repeated it.
But when you go to conquer the world and start another loop—you find out.
How many times you’ve done this.
It’s exhausting.
In such a moment, Seiren’s message came.
The resurrection of the Hero of Beginnings, Kyle.
Rodia had also conquered Lysinas’ world with Kyle.
In the endless loops, Kyle’s return was both a beacon of hope and a chance for rest for the Dawn heroes.
Wanting rest is natural.
Even if that means death.
Thinking you’ve done all you could.
That’s not wrong.
However…
"Do the other Dawn heroes feel the same?"
"…"
Lumene's eyes widened.
"Seiren and Rodia—when I saw them, they were utterly exhausted too. But they were different from you. They didn’t give up, they pushed even harder. I’m sure they thought they could only rest after Erebos was completely vanquished."
Kyle made eye contact with Lumene.
"They believed in you too. That you wouldn’t give up."
Lumene's hands trembled.
Kyle turned his eyes to the hero candidates.
"Same with those kids. They’re fighting, even knowing it’s impossible, because they believe in you. That you’ll…"
Kyle’s eyes narrowed.
"…that the Twilight Knight, just like he taught them, will come to surpass his limits."
Strength surged into Lumene’s grip.
"What did your students look like to you?"
Lumene turned his body with difficulty.
His body screamed.
He had burned all his mana in an instant to cause the massive explosion.
His body was already in shreds.
But Erebos should be the same.
Clench–
Lumene gripped tightly.
‘My students… were just like my hopes.’
Every one of Lumene’s students was the ideal kind he had dreamed of.
Children who would face impossibilities without hesitation when met with their limits.
Among them was even a student completely unlike himself.
‘Carl Thomas.’
A student whose very presence here felt like a miracle.
And yet, that’s why Lumene saw in him the most ideal image of a hero.
He had surpassed countless limits.
Lumene knew.
What made the Hero of Beginnings wasn’t ability—but willpower.
Carl stood here by will alone.
Lumene wanted to become that kind of hero.
‘I had forgotten.’
The reason he admired the great hero before him.
His own ideals that had faced endless limits and never given up, turning impossibilities into possibilities.
‘Telling others to overcome their limits?’
Lumene bit his lip.
‘Who am I to say that, when I gave up myself?’
To those students who always believed the Twilight Knight had surpassed his limits—
He had to show them.
To those children who stood here out of admiration for his false image—
He had to prove that image wasn’t false.
‘That’s the role of the educator who founded this school.’
Lumene rose to his feet.
Burning what little life he had left, he forced his body to move.
Cough. Cough.
Blood surged up from within and spilled from his mouth.
But Lumene paid it no mind.
Step—step—
Kyle watched him in silence.
He offered no help.
Just observed.
To Lumene, that cold indifference made him smile.
‘Yeah… This is trust too, huh?’
Belief that his successor wouldn’t fall to a challenge of this level.
Step—step—
Lumene trudged forward with effort.
His pace accelerated.
And soon, Lumene was sprinting toward the battlefield.
Watching Lumene rise and run, Kyle thought:
‘I don’t think I need to step in.’
Lumene had now overcome his limits.
A Lumene who had begun leaping toward a new possibility—
Unless Erebos appeared in full form…
This fragment of Erebos wouldn’t stand a chance.
Kyle’s gaze moved to Carl.
‘It’s not only those with great power who can achieve greatness.’
Compared to other hero candidates, Carl’s skills were lacking.
But…
‘Carl has many qualities.’
The courage to overcome fear, the ability to see potential in others, find hope in that, and chart a path forward. And most of all… a heart that never gives up.
Strangely, Carl resembled the all Great Heroes bit by bit.
‘Then again, maybe it’s not that strange.’
After all, it was they themselves who built this era.
And Lysinas, who led the way in forging this age, had hoped—
That the values they pursued would remain for future generations.
Just as Rodia had hoped that countless possibilities would bloom in the world of heroes—
Lysinas, too, had hoped that in the small actions of ordinary people, the ideals pursued by great heroes would live on.
Carl’s ability was incredibly simple.
When everyone else sees only despair— He finds a possibility and starts from there.
Simple—but all the more difficult.
An ability that’s useless alone.
But in the first place…
‘What can anyone do alone?’
Even he himself could do nothing alone.
Being unable to do something alone isn’t a flaw.
If someone is by your side, then you gain infinite possibilities.
With the appearance of the Hero Record, only those who achieved great feats were called heroes in this era.
"But in the past, it was simpler, right?"
Kyle smiled, thinking of Lysinas.
He recalled the words Lysinas had said about becoming heroes who saved the world together, and how Kyle had grumbled that he wasn’t some hero.
And the reply he got:
‘Someone who can draw strength for the sake of others. I think that’s a hero.’
Thinking of the smiling Lysinas, Kyle fiddled with his cloak.
Fwoooosh–!
"He's coming!"
At Carl’s cry, Eliza, holding the reins of the wind wyvern, shouted back.
"Hold on tight!"
Whoosh–!
The wind wyvern began a high-speed dive.
Erebos, chasing to reduce Carl to ashes, pursued Carl and Eliza.
"Why is that thing only going after you?!"
"How should I know?!"
"Good for you! The worst calamity in the world recognizes you! Think about it—he sees you as the biggest threat! You must be proud!"
"How does that sound good to you?! What’s there to be proud of?!"
"Hold on tight!"
Clench–!
Carl grabbed Eliza’s waist tightly and pulled close.
Eliza summoned spiritual power.
Crackle–! Zap-zap–!
Pure white lightning sparked from Eliza’s body.
“W-wait? What the—?!”
Before Carl could react, the wyvern was engulfed in white lightning.
"What is this?!"
"Copying Leo Plov!"
Having been repeatedly exposed to Leo’s essence of lightning, Eliza had gradually begun storing lightning in her spiritual power.
From the start, her spiritual energy resonated with the same frequency as Pegasus.
While not quite the essence of lightning itself, Eliza’s potential had begun to open.
And now, it had awakened.
Whaaaaaa!
The wind wyvern began outpacing Erebos.
Seeing that, Carl shouted:
“Chloe!”
At that moment—
CRACKCRACKCRACK–!
The world froze.
Just for a moment.
Even Erebos, weakened by Lumene’s attack—
Saaahhh–!
No one stood near Chloe as she cast her magic.
If you got close, you'd freeze.
White frost rose from Chloe’s body.
"To think a magic spell could produce such power in ice-element magic?"
Lunia’s face showed disbelief as Eiran swallowed dryly.
"In terms of magic purity… it's close to an ice elemental."
"What? But Chloe Müeller is a pure magician!"
"It’s a spell Luna left to Miss Chloe. It’s known to reach into the domain of ice elemental."
"My god."
To have created such a spell—Luna was astonishing.
But to have brought that absurd spell to this level—Chloe was equally incredible.
Crack! Cra-crack!
The ice began to fracture.
Shatter–! ZZZZZZT–!
Erebos burst through the ice and relentlessly chased Carl.
Seeing that, Aru stamped her feet.
"Seriously! Why is that fireball targeting only Carl?! What are we supposed to do?!"
Aru wasn’t slow.
But compared to Eliza, she couldn’t match up.
And avoiding Erebos while protecting Carl was a job best suited to Eliza as a summoner.
"At least it makes things easier for us."
Abad smiled and waved his hand.
In response, Chelsea closed her eyes and parted her lips.
"Aah—"
As Chelsea began singing, the surrounding mana stirred.
This too was a spell left by Luna to the two of them.
A chantless spell that controlled wind through voice.
Their magic gathered at the tip of Celia’s sword.
Fwoooosh–!
The flames of Zerdinger combined with the winds of Lewellin, creating a massive firestorm.
"Perfect."
BOOOOOM!
Lunia grinned and invoked Flame Emperor.
The white flame engulfed Zerdinger’s fire and grew even more powerful.
Thanks to Carl and Eliza stalling for time, they had created a truly overwhelming attack.
"The problem is how to land it on Erebos."
"I’ll do it!"
Aru stepped up boldly, but Drianna grabbed her by the back of the neck.
"You’re already internally injured."
"But who else could endure that enchantment if not me…?"
"I’ll do it."
Everyone’s eyes widened.
Lumene was standing there.
Eiran urgently asked,
"Sir Lumene, are you okay? You mustn’t overexert yourself."
"I’m fine."
Lumene raised his sword.
"There’s no time. Let’s do it."
Lunia, cloaked in the flames of Flame Emperor, nodded.
VOOOOOOOM—!
Flames wrapped around Lumene’s sword.
Seeing it, Lumene bent his knees.
CRACK–!
Lumene leapt toward Erebos.
FWOOSH—!
Feeling the black flames behind him, Carl gripped his staff tightly.
"Cease your foolish resistance. Surrender."
Erebos’s mocking voice rang out.
Carl responded by flipping him off.
"You think I’d give up, like you?!"
"Indeed."
"…!"
"Lumene?"
Carl’s eyes widened at the voice from behind.
Erebos’s face contorted.
"I learn a lot from my students."
FWOOSH—!
Lumene raised his sword.
“Eliza!”
Carl shouted, and Eliza changed course on the spot.
"Trustworthy indeed."
Smiling at the sight, Lumene plunged his sword into Erebos.
FWOOSH—!
Black and white flames intertwined, distorting Erebos’s form.
And in that moment—
A pitch-black orb, like a hole, came into view.
"Yaaaaaah!"
Carl drove his staff into the orb.
FWOOSH—!
In that instant—
The flames of calamity scattered and vanished.
"We won!"
Carl shouted, clenching his fist.
The hero candidates watching cheered in unison.
Watching the candidates’ fierce battle from the ground, Kyle smiled gently.
"Splendid."