Chapter 622

Editor : Amethyst00

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Reina, gripping her sword, left the Plov estate, determined to fight back if anything threatened the people of the domain.

'If he deliberately brought me here by capturing me… that would mean the entire Plov territory is his hostage.'

She did not want to become a burden to her son, Leo—but Reina knew all too well that such a thing was impossible.

Zorua was a being of overwhelming might, someone even she in her prime could not handle.

And now, she was someone who had already lost her aura.

Staying in the Plov estate would only make her a burden.

'The fortunate part is that he's lost interest in me completely.'

The streets of the Plov territory were filled with lurking dangers.

But she thought it was still better than becoming a hostage in that place.

Moreover, if the streets were dangerous, then that meant the people living there were in danger as well.

'I'll be of some help in protecting the citizens. Even if I've lost my aura, the swordsmanship I've built up doesn't disappear.'

It was true her body had weakened after losing her aura.

But Reina had continued to hone her swordsmanship.

Of course, if she exerted herself fully, her stamina would hit its limits in an instant, and pain would follow immediately.

'But now's not the time to worry about that.'

Having completed her preparations in case of any unforeseen situations, Reina stepped out into the streets—only for a problem to arise at once.

Monsters and beasts began to appear.

To make things worse, a beast she had never seen before began summoning countless low-tier flying beasts.

'That's the beast called Fafnir.'

A beast that had been one of the great threats during the Age of Calamity, which appeared around the time Leo entered Lumene.

It was supposed to have been driven to extinction by the Great Heroes, yet for some reason, it had reappeared in this era.

And surprisingly, this beast used summoning magic.

From the summoning circle, beasts were pouring out.

'That's not ordinary beast summoning… the basic framework of that summoning magic is spirit beast summoning. Just what is that monster?'

Though shocked by the unheard-of situation, Reina didn't have time to hesitate.

The entire domain had become a hellscape.

"M-Mom! Run! Hurry!"

"No, Ron!"

"I told you to leave this to me!"

A beast was seen targeting the people of the domain.

A boy about Leo's age was desperately defending who seemed to be his mother, swinging his sword wildly.

Without hesitation, Reina ran toward them.

Thwack—!

She slashed the neck of a low-tier beast from behind.

Thud—!

Aiming precisely for its vital point, Reina instantly killed the beast and gritted through the shock that traveled up from her hand.

It might have looked like she dealt with it easily, but it was far from simple.

She had perfectly targeted the vital point of the beast—a result of countless battles fought long ago.

And she supplemented her lacking strength with technique.

It was, in essence, a surprise attack advantage.

'The sword plays a large role too.'

Reina looked at the sword in her hand.

A blade that wouldn't be lacking even if called a legendary weapon.

Her first real battle in twenty years.

'In the past, I could have just burned it down effortlessly.'

Feeling a bit bitter inside, Reina smiled warmly at the boy who was trembling.

"Are you alright?"

"Y-Yes, I'm fine, miss."

"Oh my?"

Reina let out a small exclamation, covering her mouth lightly.

"Gasp? L-Lady Plov?!"

The boy's mother recognized Reina and exclaimed in shock.

The boy, too, looked stunned upon hearing that.

Watching the two, Reina spoke.

"Take your mother and get to the shelter quickly. The knights will protect you."

"Y-You must evacuate too, my lady!"

To the middle-aged woman's words, Reina shook her head.

"No, I have to protect the other people of the domain. That is my duty."

Rooaaaar!

A beast noticed the three of them and began charging.

The boy and his mother were frozen in fear.

Seeing that, Reina gripped her sword tightly in both hands.

"Don't worry about me. Go."

"Y-Yes! Mother, let's go!"

"B-But the lady is……."

"I can slice up dirty-looking things like that just fine."

To the middle-aged woman trembling with worry, Reina smiled gently.

It was the same smile she often wore long ago.

For some reason, it brought a sense of reassurance to the woman.

"Boy."

"Y-Yes!"

"You must protect your mother well, understand?"

"Yes! I'll protect her with my life!"

"That's wrong."

"Eh?"

"You must live too. Otherwise, your mother will be sad."

"Ah, understood!"

The boy quickly led his mother away from the scene.

Burned into the boy's eyes was Reina's slender yet resolute back.

"Guess all those poses I struck in front of the mirror during my school days are paying off."

She had practiced smiling to reassure people, rehearsed to give faith in urgent moments.

And now, those practices bore fruit.

'Sis! That stuff'll never help!'

Recalling the time she kicked her brother, Zeiss Zerdinger, who had laughed until his sides hurt, Reina chuckled softly.

"Well, I've shown off a bit……"

GROOOAR—!

A bear-like beast with savage claws raised its arms and roared as it swung down.

Boom—!

Barely dodging the attack, Reina rushed in to slash its neck.

Thwack—!

The blade struck the beast's neck.

But it stopped partway, failing to cut all the way through.

"Tch! As expected, this much strength isn't enough for a Blood Bear."

Quickly retrieving her sword, Reina widened the distance from the enraged Blood Bear.

KYAAAAAA!

With its mouth open and arms raised, the Blood Bear charged her. Reina, breathing deeply, bent her knees.

KA-BOOM—!

The place where Reina had stood was shattered by the bear's teeth and claws.

Reina leapt high into the air.

Her knees and muscles ached.

"I'm not even old enough to be a grandma yet!"

She mocked herself and spun in the air.

Whrrrrr—!

Using centrifugal force, she fell and slashed down at the Blood Bear's neck.

The strength Reina mustered concentrated at the tip of her blade.

CRACK—!

With that force, the bear's neck bone snapped cleanly.

Even its tough hide and flesh were sliced through.

In the process, her wrist bone seemed to crack, beginning to throb.

But Reina paid it no mind.

Cough! Cough—!

Her reckless attack had overloaded her body.

Pain surged from her lungs, and Reina coughed up blood.

But there was no time to rest.

"Uwaaahhhhhh!"

Dozens of townsfolk were being chased by flying beasts.

Tap-tap—!

Reina again drew out all her remaining strength and jumped.

Climbing gradually to the rooftops between buildings, she ran toward a strange eagle-faced flying beast and leapt onto its back.

"Where do you think you're going?!"

Stab—!

KYEEEEEH!

She drove her sword into its neck.

She narrowly missed its vital spot.

Thanks to the monster's tenacity, despite the gushing blood, it didn't crash.

KYEEEEEEEH—!

The beast soared higher to shake Reina off.

Her eyes gleamed coldly.

Stab—!

She pushed her sword deeper into the beast's neck.

Crrrk!

The flying beast shrieked and dipped lower.

'I can't let it die before landing safely.'

Just as Reina frowned with worry—

She saw a beautiful, pure-white pegasus in the sky.

Reina's eyes lit up as she pushed her sword sideways to match its altitude.

And as she got close, she severed the beast's neck and leapt onto the pegasus.

"That's how it went."

"That's way too reckless! You could've died if anything went wrong!"

"As long as the result's good, isn't that what matters?!"

"Aaaargh! You're impossible to reason with!"

"Oh! My brother used to say that to me a lot! Ohohohoho!"

"You're laughing at a time like this?!"

Celia clutched her head and screamed.

"Lady Reina, your heart for the people and your passion—I'm deeply moved. I'm honored to know that someone like you once studied at Lumene."

"Oh my~ thank you, dear."

"This emotion I feel for you must be true love."

"That would be an affair!"

Celia shrieked with a red face, and Ulta looked confused.

"What kind of lewd thoughts are you having, Celia? Love comes in many forms. Passion between sexes isn't the only kind. Respect and reverence are forms of love too."

"Ugh! You said it in a way that totally invites misunderstanding…"

"Not at all? What kind of fantasies are you having every day that makes you jump to that?"

"Hmm, I should tell Rhys about this later…"

"Don't! Please don't! If you do, I don't know what I'll do!"

Celia screamed, her voice cracking.

Watching her, Reina chuckled quietly.

Just then, flying beasts noticed the three and began radiating killing intent.

Seeing that, Ulta said, "Celia, I'll leave it to you."

"Yes!"

Without hesitation, Celia jumped from the pegasus.

Fwoooosh—!

Massive flames erupted around her, engulfing nearby beasts.

Watching the aura flames akin to large-scale magic, Reina smiled.

'Brings back memories……'

Celia's figure overlapped with her younger self.

Ulta carefully asked Reina, "Are you alright?"

"Yes. I'm fine. And thank you, Ulta—for distracting Celia before she noticed my condition."

Reina's body was trembling.

The shivers she had held back until now surged all at once.

A backlash from pushing herself too hard with the sword.

Had Celia noticed, she would have worried and lost focus in battle.

"She's strong, but still young. I was worried."

An unshakable will, even when a comrade dies or is injured.

That cold-mindedness is also a virtue of a hero.

And Celia was still too young to possess that kind of cruelty.

"Let's descend to the ground quickly."

"I'm fine, so don't rush."

CRAAACK—!

Leo slammed Zorua's head into the ground and ground his face into the floor.

"GRAAAAAAH!"

Zorua roared in madness.

Leo, letting go of the struggling Zorua, kicked him.

Whoosh! CRAAACK—!

Zorua's body was flung back and smashed down.

Step, step—

Leo approached with indifferent eyes.

"Impossible…"

Zorua muttered in denial.

Leo was overwhelming Zorua using only aura.

He wasn't using any of Kyle's sword techniques.

Only Zerdinger's flame and swordsmanship, yet he was effortlessly overpowering him.

No matter what power Zorua used, it was useless before Leo's flame.

"I told you."

Leo spoke indifferently.

Stab—! Fwoooosh—!

"GRAAAAGH!"

Leo's sword slashed Zorua.

He screamed in agony.

"You only ruin the powers you steal. A god? Don't make me laugh."

Leo stomped on Zorua's head, shattering it.

"That makes fifteen."

Leo looked down with emotionless eyes.

"You… when you die using a stolen power, not only do you lose that ability permanently—you also lose a life, right?"

Zorua flinched.

'How does he know that?'

It was a power he gained when revived by the Lich King.

A power not recorded in any text in the world.

Leo had seen through its essence in just a short battle.

To Zorua, it was shocking.

But for Leo, who lived through the irrational Age of Calamity, inferring an opponent's ability wasn't hard.

When he had Erebos's blessing, he had faced many demons with far stranger powers than Zorua's.

Leo tilted his head.

"How many more times do I have to kill you?"

Zorua trembled.

Not from fear.

From rage.

'This bastard… really sees me as a bug…! How dare he…!'

"You… I'll never forgive you, Leo Plov!"

Zorua spat the words like venom.

"I don't need your powers anymore! Just die…!"

Crack—!

Leo once again stomped Zorua's head into pieces.

At that moment—

Leo felt something touch his foot.

And Zorua's regenerating skull began chattering mockingly.

"Let's see how you handle the terror of the Queen of Monsters, Leo Plov!"

"What?"

As Leo frowned—

A message appeared before his eyes.

And seeing that message, Leo's face stiffened.

There had been one mystery since first year.

Five thousand years ago…

How did the extinct Fafnir reappear in the present?

Of course, in the past, a former legion commander, the Poison King Zordiac, had shown up.

But that was because, like when he led Luna and Aaron outside, Tartaros consumed a fragment of Erebos's power.

Just as they did, Tartaros could also use the Hero Record.

And any past entity manifested through the Hero Record consumed power just by existing.

Strong as they may be, wasting Erebos's power on some mere beast instead of a legion commander was absurd.

Even if it was an egg, the creature born from it was still a Hero Record manifestation.

'If we can use the Hero Record, then so can they. They can even enter the world of heroes.'

Then—

It was possible that they, too, could earn raid rewards.

[Record of the Legion opened. World of Sillatna. Chapter: Prologue – Forest of Monsters.]

And that idea was now confirmed by the message that had just appeared.