Editor : Amethyst00



"The Hero Slayer headed to Phaeon, and I pursued him… but I was already too late."

Abad fell into thought as he watched Anya bow and report to Leo.

'Like a king and his vassal.'

Despite being the daughter of the Northern Tower Master, Anya acted like a vassal reporting to her lord.

'And that title—Hero Slayer?'

Abad was also well aware of the Hero Slayer, the one who had once thrown the world into terror.

An era in which great heroes of the past were reappearing.

'Given the times, it's not strange that villains from the past are returning too.'

But Anya had pursued the Hero Slayer.

Punishing evil is only natural.

Still, it was unusual for the daughter of the Northern Tower Master to leave the northern territories of the continent and come all the way here to chase after the Hero Slayer.

'Could she be a Shadow?'

As Abad speculated about Anya's identity, he glanced at Leo.

Leo, listening to the report, was calm and composed.

"That's all."

"This makes no sense. How could Auntie be kidnapped right in the middle of Phaeon?"

Celia looked shocked.

"That just means this Hero Slayer is extremely capable," Leo said.

At his words, Celia bit her lip hard.

Chelsea looked over at Anya.

'Didn't she just mention earlier that there might be a collaborator inside Zerdinger involved in this incident?'

But Anya hadn't brought that up now.

Chelsea glanced at Celia, sensing the reason.

'She withheld it out of consideration for Celia.'

Hearing that on top of everything else would surely devastate Celia even further.

"Leo-oppa? What are we going to do?"

"First, we go to Phaeon and investigate the scene."

"Leo-oppa, are you okay?"

Chelsea asked, worry etched on her face.

Leo nodded at her concern.

Smiling faintly, Leo approached the shocked Celia and clapped her back lightly.

"Celia, pull yourself together. If they went to the trouble of taking her as a hostage, that means they won't kill her right away."

"Oh…"

Startled, Celia bit her lip and nodded firmly.

"Lewellin family will help too."

"Zerdinger family won't like that, though?"

"This isn't just Zerdinger's problem—it's a matter of the Empire's dignity."

A kidnapping had occurred in the heart of Zerdinger, one of the two great heroic families of the Lordren Empire.

It was indeed a serious issue.

"Besides, this is the mother of a friend. I can't just stand by and do nothing."

At Abad's words, Chelsea nodded strongly.

"Sir Leo. The Tuzen Order will assist as well."

It was Sith, who had been listening, who spoke.

"Lady Reina is Princess Lena's daughter. The Tuzen Order cannot treat her as a stranger."

"I understand. But I don't believe this is the time for the Tuzen Order to get involved."

"Why not?"

"Because to Zerdinger, the Tuzen Order is an external force. Bringing in outsiders to deal with family matters within the Lordren Empire won't look good."

Lewellin family, being part of the Empire, was in a different position.

Otherwise, it could easily escalate into a diplomatic incident.

"And besides, the Tuzen Order has something more pressing to take care of right now."

The chaos caused by the destruction of the royal palace needed to be handled.

And then…

"You mean His Majesty Leo's coronation."

If it were purely a matter of procedure, the Tuzen Order could simply appoint Leo as king of the Lezentan region.

But to officially announce the rebirth of a kingdom, they needed to prepare appropriately.

"I entrust this to you."

"Leave it to me. I will prepare the new throne and await your return."

Sith bowed.

"Let's prepare to leave."

"Hurry up!"

Celia and Abad began organizing the vassals of Zerdinger and Lewellin for departure.

"I've a favour to ask."

Leo said, sitting back down.

Celia paused as she watched him.

'Right… the one most shocked by this is Leo.'

She bit her lip, thinking that Leo needed time to collect himself.

"Take a rest, Leo. Chelsea, stay with him."

"Okay."

Celia left the room with Abad.

Leo, Chelsea, and Anya remained.

"Leo-oppa… the truth is…"

"Is the Council of Elders involved in this incident?"

"Huh? How did you know?"

Chelsea looked startled.

But Anya simply bowed calmly.

"Yes. I see you already knew."

"It didn't make sense otherwise."

Leo looked out at the night sky.

"The Hero Slayer might come after me. Someone like that would definitely covet my power."

His eyes narrowed.

“He’ll resort to every trick in the book to lure me out. He’d have more than enough time to devise a plan to kidnap my mother, unsettle me, and draw me out.”

He spoke with icy calm.

"But it happened in Phaeon."

Leo had made various preparations in case something ever happened to his father or mother.

Unbeknownst to Dade and Reina, the Plov family was under the protection of Melina, the Dragon Queen.

Unless the enemy was of Legion Commander level, no one could harm the two of them.

And the lich King wasn't the kind to expend a Legion Commander just to harm Dade or Reina.

'He knows. That even if something happens to my parents, I won't be easily shaken.'

It wasn't that Leo didn't care about his parents.

Even now, upon hearing Reina had been kidnapped, Leo was more furious than ever before.

He would annihilate everyone involved.

But he didn't let that anger consume him.

He remained cool and assessed the situation.

Uncontrolled rage harms the one who rages. But calm fury destroys the one who provoked it.

'He's not the type to make moves with more risk than gain.'

Leo clenched his fist, thinking of the Lich King.

While in Zerdinger, Leo had told Melina that there was no need to worry about his parents' safety.

That's how safe Phaeon was.

But even Zerdinger's defenses had been breached.

'There must be an inside collaborator.'

"Indeed, there were suspicious movements among Zerdinger's knights at the time. While that alone doesn't confirm a traitor, it's certainly possible."

And it wasn't hard to suspect the Council of Elders as the collaborator.

Though, for now, it was just speculation.

"To think I let my guard down because I considered them allies… I've gone soft."

Leo smirked bitterly.

His red eyes gleamed.

Anya bowed again at the sight.

"What should we do?"

"We make them pay, but only after we secure evidence. First, rescuing my mother is the priority."

"Understood."

"Summon the Shadow Lords to Phaeon."

"As you wish."

Anya withdrew.

"So you were a Shadow all along, Anya."

Chelsea muttered, finally realizing, then looked at Leo hesitantly.

"What is it?"

"Leo-oppa… Lady Reina was kidnapped. Are you… okay?"

To Chelsea, Leo seemed shockingly composed.

Of course, when he first heard the news, his aura had been so terrifying it even frightened Chelsea.

But it only lasted a moment.

After that, he remained calm.

Both Chelsea and Celia had come to admire Reina after hearing of her past.

So the news was agonizing.

Even Abad was visibly shaken, worried about Leo.

But Leo was calm.

'Does Leo-oppa not see Lady Reina as his mother?'

Leo was Kyle, the Hero of Beginnings.

He was actually older than Reina.

But even so, he was far too calm.

And that scared Chelsea.

It felt like she and Leo belonged to different worlds.

Leo gave her a faint smile.

"I'm not okay. I've just…"

"Just?"

"…gotten used to losing things."

He looked down at his hands.

"Before they called me the Hero of Beginnings, they called me the Surviving Hero."

"The Surviving Hero?"

"Yes. On every battlefield, I was the only one who came back. Everyone else left before me."

"…"

Chelsea held her breath.

She had always admired Leo.

It was inevitable.

From the moment she met him, he was the most heroic figure she had ever seen.

After hearing his secret from Aaron, she respected him even more.

His achievements were dazzling.

But she had never thought deeply about what he had to lose to achieve them.

'I only ever thought that Leo-oppa carried a heavy burden.'

That's why she wanted to be his support, to share that burden if possible.

'But I never thought about how heavy it really was.'

Had Leo ever failed to treat her—or the other Lumene students—sincerely?

He treated them as future comrades on the battlefield.

As heroes who would fight against the world's crisis.

And so he took them seriously, even if they were just kids.

'There's no way Lady Reina isn't precious to him.'

Chelsea clenched her fist.

'I don't truly know Leo-oppa.'

What she knew of Leo was just a fragment.

She disliked herself for feeling distant after seeing a side of him she hadn't known.

"Chelsea."

"…Yes?"

Being consumed by anger and ruining everything might be foolish, but it's also very human.

"Don't become like me."

His words struck her deeply.

Chelsea bit her lip.

bl

That night.

Leo arrived in Phaeon via warp gate and headed straight to the crime scene.

Zerdinger knights heavily guarded the area.

"Young Master Leo."

One of the knights approached.

"Marquis Plov is alone at the scene of the incident. I earnestly urged him to come inside because of the bitterly cold weather, but he shows no sign of budging."

"I'll go alone."

Leo told Chelsea, Celia, and Abad and entered the scene.

As he approached, Leo narrowed his eyes.

'Mother resisted as much as she could.'

Though Reina could no longer use aura, she could still use her swordsmanship.

Broken furniture was scattered about.

Leo paused when he saw scorched marks.

'Zerdinger's flames?'

Kneeling, he examined the burned floor.

There was an unfamiliar mana residue—but it felt familiar.

'…Mother?'

Leo rose to his feet and went to where Dade was.

"Father."

"…Leo."

Dade looked at him with empty eyes.

"Because of your incompetence father… your mother…"

"…It's not your fault, Father. It's mine."

"No… it's mine… all mine…"

Leo looked at the dazed Dade.

"…I'll definitely rescue Mother. So please take care of yourself, first. If you as collapse too, I don't know what I'll do."

At that, Dade bit his lip and nodded.

"I still need to investigate a bit more. I'll join you soon."

"…Understood."

Dade nodded and slowly walked away.

"Father… does Mother have a scar… on her right chest?"

"Yes. Why do you ask?"

"…I needed to confirm something."

Leo smiled bitterly.

"…Don't push yourself too hard."

Dade left, casting a worried glance at his son.

Whooosh—

The winter wind blew.

Left alone, Leo spoke.

"There's something I need you to do."

At that moment—

Countless elves, beastkin, and dwarves emerged from the darkness.

Shadow Lords and their followers.

"Give us your command, Shadow God."

The Northern Shadow Lord, Algren Becks, knelt, followed by the other Shadows.

Leo briefly turned his head, gazing toward the distant castle.

"Uncover the darkness within Zerdinger Castle. Find those involved in this incident."

"Shall we execute them all?"

At Kirin, the Southern Shadow Lord's question. Leo replied calmly.

"No."

His red eyes gleamed.

"I'll kill them myself."