Editor : Amethyst00



Flash—! Puhahaha—!

With a silver flash, blood sprayed in every direction.

Red light gleamed in Leo's eyes.

"You bastard—!"

KWA-GA-GA-GANG—!

Giganto roared and swung his arm.

Just that swing produced a fierce gale that swept through the surroundings.

Tak—!

"Ugh!"

Giganto widened his eyes as he stared at Leo, who had landed on the back of his hand.

BWAK!

"GRAAAH!"

In an instant, Leo closed in and slashed straight across Giganto's eye.

BANG! KWA-GA-GANG—!

Giganto thrashed and roared in fury.

5000 years ago,

Giganto was undoubtedly a formidable enemy.

But the experience Leo had gained while ending the Age of Calamity made their battle now fall into a more conventional pattern.

Crucially, in Leo's hand was a weapon forged in Dweno, Giganto's fatal weakness.

Giganto's now-healed eye was bloodshot.

As he spotted Leo in his vision, he let out a deafening roar.

"GRAAAAAAAAAAH!"

The pain, unlike anything he'd ever experienced, numbed his mind.

Unfamiliar agony stoked Giganto's rage.

"You dare toy with me, lowly human! You're prey! Nothing more!"

As Giganto charged forward, scattering terrifying black mana, Leo wore a bored expression.

He could see Giganto's attacks clearly.

Because of that, Leo continuously stacked wounds on him.

Giganto's strength was not only his body that nullified aura.

His overwhelming regenerative power was also part of his strength.

'Well, among the demons of Tartaros, he's the toughest.'

Giganto's body was the magnum opus of Giath, the Giant King who had created countless terrifying weapons in Tartaros.

Even compared to Legion Commanders, his defense alone was superior.

'With my current strength, I can kill him, but it'll take some time.'

Leo's current physical strength hadn't yet reached the level it was before he and Lysinas founded Arhi.

Even though he was reborn with the experiences and knowledge of a Great Hero and had regained his power at an incredible pace, this body was not yet at its prime.

"In short, time is the answer."

A cruel smile crept up on Leo's lips.

"Well, toying with him before I kill him isn't so bad either. I could use some stress relief."

5000 years ago, the Great Heroes had changed the fate of the world.

They had saved world from destruction,making them the most hated beings in existence for the demon of Tartaros.

But before that, they were beings of fear.

At the center of that fear was Kyle.

Even demons could feel fear.

And to them, Kyle was its very embodiment.

He had slaughtered demons in the cruelest, most agonizing ways.

He never killed them cleanly.

It was Leo's personal form of vengeance for what Tartaros had done to the world.

'I wasn't exactly a nice guy to begin with.'

Unlike the noble Lysinas and radiant Luna.

Unlike the kind-hearted Aaron or the beauty-loving Dweno.

“Well then, shall I make you wish for death?”

'Ugh, Lysinas! Kyle's bad habit is coming out again.'

He recalled Luna's voice, startled by how cruel he'd become.

'Let him blow off steam.'

And Lysinas's voice, sighing softly as she shook her head.

Lysinas had understood.

She understood his actions.

'Well, it can't be helped now, Luna.'

Leo raised his sword as he looked toward Giganto.

'This really is the most effective way right now.'

CRACK—!

With a slash, Leo carved into Giganto again and let out a quiet sigh.

Even now, he could end it in a single blow.

But that would mean pouring out an immense amount of power in one go.

This battle wasn't the last one.

Thinking of what came next, he had to use his power efficiently.

'Well, if I had one of Dweno's more destructive weapons, it wouldn't be impossible…'

Tap—

Something snagged inside his fluttering cloak.

Leo instinctively reached into the cloak.

Swoosh—

A massive greatsword appeared.

Leo's eyes widened at the sight.

'…This is.'

bl

"That guy Leo! He's acting way different than usual!"

Carl, who was commanding the party, spotted Leo fighting Giganto in the distance and cried out in surprise.

As he said, Leo's demeanour was different from usual.

"Ugh. Right now, leader… feels really scary somehow."

From the rear, Eliana shrank back as she chanted her spell.

Carl clicked his tongue at her reaction.

"Well, honestly, Leo's got quite a temper. Considering the enemy's a demon, it's kind of natural for him to be that angry, don't you think?"

"Magic's ready."

"Oh!"

Chelsea's specialty was rapid chanting.

She hurled spells while weaving through close combat at astonishing speed.

She wasn't the type to overpower her enemies like Chloe or Abad.

But that didn't mean Chelsea's spells were weak.

Compared to Chloe and Abad, it just took her more time to bring out the same power.

Given enough time, Chelsea's magic could rival either of them.

And one of Chelsea's mana traits was her ability to dominate the surrounding mana field.

Her voice flowed out softly.

The air responded.

Storm clouds began to gather overhead.

FLASH! Crackle-crackle-crackle!

Eliza's wind wyvern roared toward the sky.

Lightning exploded from the thunderclouds Chelsea had summoned through magic.

Eliza controlled the thunderclouds Chelsea called down.

Duran raised his longsword to the sky.

CRACKLE—!

Like a lightning rod, a bolt of lightning struck him.

A golden light flashed from Duran's body.

"We're ready! Everyone fall back!"

At Artienne's shout, Aru, Drianna, and the three second-year knight students withdrew.

Gripping his sword in both hands, Duran swung.

FLASH!

KWA-GA-GA-GA-GA-GANG—!

A devastating thunderstrike swept across the battlefield.

Giganto's underlings, who had been surging forward like a tidal wave, were swept away.

An area-of-effect attack far beyond even high-tier magic.

CRACKLE—! ZZZAP—! SLAM—!

Even as sparks danced all over his body, Duran drove his sword into the ground.

CRUNCH—!

The sword, its lifespan ended, shattered.

Duran staggered and fell to one knee.

'If it had been Lightning Storm, it wouldn't have broken.'

He didn't show it, but the loss of his cherished heirloom stung him bitterly.

Carl murmured as he watched.

“…He actually pulled it off? What kind of terrifying guy is that?”

A fusion technique combining magic, summoning, and swordsmanship.

It was something Carl had half-jokingly proposed to Eliza, Abad, and Duran back in their second year.

A technique meant to bring down Leo.

The problem had been Duran's inability to withstand such overwhelming lightning energy.

But in just half a year, Duran had forged a body that could endure it.

Carl was awestruck.

"You're seriously incredible."

At his words, Duran looked toward Leo, still fighting Giganto.

FLASH—!

A blue bolt of lightning slashed Giganto in two.

Seeing it, Duran tossed aside his broken sword and muttered,

"Still not there yet."

"You're brutal. Cold-blooded. Huh? Chelsea, where are you going?"

Carl turned his head and gasped as he saw Chelsea running toward Leo.

bl

"Grrraaahhh…"

Giganto let out a moan of agony, his waist severed clean through.

His twitching body trembled.

Leo looked down at the massive sword in his hand, wrapped in blue lightning.

'…Aaron's greatsword.'

One of the weapons Dweno had forged for Aaron.

A weapon of overwhelming destructive power.

'Was something like this in my cloak all this time?'

Leo looked slightly bewildered.

He hadn't even known it existed.

Nor had he thought to draw such a thing.

As if responding to his doubt that he couldn't land a killing blow, it had suddenly appeared from subspace.

'Just like Luna's ring last time.'

He looked down at the ring from Luna on his hand.

Step—step—

Swoosh—

Leo approached Giganto and raised the greatsword.

And then—

GRAB—!

Someone caught the hem of his cloak.

In the past, someone had stopped Leo the same way when he had grown too cruel.

'…Luna?'

He turned reflexively.

Chelsea was looking up at him, clutching his cloak with wide, innocent eyes.

"Leo-oppa, are you going to keep hurting the demon?"

"…Why?"

"I'm worried. I don't want you to be angry."

Like long ago, Chelsea now echoed the exact same words Luna had once said to him.

Leo let out a quiet laugh and reached out with his free hand to pat her head.

"Ah, blood!"

Chelsea flinched in disgust, and Leo laughed as he stepped up to Giganto and lopped off his head.

SPLURCH—!

"Gurgh!"

With a groan of anguish, Giganto died instantly.

His body crumbled into black sand and scattered.

As the battle ended, the party approached.

Leo stood silently where Giganto's body had been and looked down at his palm.

'Let him blow off steam.'

Lysinas had understood why Kyle became cruel.

That was why she let him be.

But Luna never did.

She worried that doing so would only hurt him more, and truly feared for him.

So she stopped him.

'So… you worried about me too, Lysinas.'

Too much rage would one day consume him.

Lysinas had known that.

And when Leo began to restrain himself from killing too cruelly, she had genuinely felt relieved.

She never stopped him outright simply because she understood him all too well.

The spontaneous appearance of a weapon from subspace—

Maybe, even after 5000 years, Lysinas's lingering spirit had reached out to help him, worried what he might become.

"Chelsea."

"Yeah?"

Chelsea, who had been wiping blood off her hair with a handkerchief, trotted over.

"Thanks."

"Huh? For what?"

"For stopping me."

"Aww, it's nothing. Heehee."

Swoosh—swoosh—

"Ah! Come on, Leo oppa!"

Chelsea shouted as Leo patted her head again with his blood-stained hand.

"Well, now that things are wrapped up, let's begin tracking Gigantes's trails."

At Artienne's words, now back in his original demeanour, the whole party nodded.

The Arhi party followed the trail of Gigantes deep into Tartaros's region.

bl

"So it really is an anomaly."

Aru muttered, annoyed.

"There's so many monsters we've never seen before!"

"All of them were from the Age of Calamity, only recorded in history."

Carl muttered grimly at Aru's words.

The Arhi party continued onward through battle after battle.

And every monster that appeared had long since gone extinct.

They were remnants of the Age of Calamity.

"We've been fighting for a full day straight. We should probably rest soon."

At Carl's remark, Artienne checked the map.

"There's an old ruined fortress ahead. We'll rest there."

Though it had lost its function as a fortress, its location was naturally defensible.

At Artienne's words, the students smiled brightly and headed toward it.

As they moved, Duran checked the time.

"The sun should be rising soon."

A full night had passed.

Dawn was approaching.

"Even if it's a fortress, there's no way we'll be able to wash up."

“Hmph. What a carefree thing to say.”

"Ugh…"

Eliza scoffed as Eliana grumbled.

"But… doesn't the sky look a little weird?"

Drianna tilted her head, looking up.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Everyone looked to the sky.

"Looks normal to me."

Carl muttered, confused, but Drianna looked even more unsettled.

"No, the sky's color… it's different from a normal dawn—"

"…The sky of the Age of Calamity."

"What?!"

Before Drianna could even finish, Leo muttered softly.

Carl and Chelsea turned to him in shock.

That was when it happened.

Leo and Artienne moved at the same time.

WHISH—!

Artienne rushed to the front, where Drianna stood, and swung her fist.

BAM—!

A thunderous sound rang out.

WHUMP—!

"Gah!"

But a fist struck Artienne in the abdomen first.

Before she could counter, the attacker slammed a palm into his airborne back.

THUD—! SLAM—!

Artienne was smashed into the ground, and the assailant stepped on her back.

Aru narrowed her eyes and kicked toward the attacker.

GRAB—! WHOOSH—!

"Grahhh!"

Aru was sent flying.

Drianna belatedly swung her battle axe at the attacker.

GRAB—!

But the assailant caught it with his hand.

"Tch!"

WHOOSH—!

"What's the meaning of this sudden attack?"

Leo asked coldly, blade pointed at the attacker's back.

"Who are you?"

"That's what we should be asking—"

"Leo oppa!"

WHIRL—KWAANG—!

A massive battle hammer came crashing down on Leo.

He was flung backward but regained his stance.

'Left shoulder's shattered.'

A devastating blow.

But Leo calmed his killing intent and lifted his head.

It was a familiar strike to him.

THUD—!

"I'll ask again on her behalf. boy. Who are you, all of you?"

The dwarf asked with a gentle smile.

Leo lowered his stance and opened his mouth.

"Dweno."

At that, Dweno tilted her head and asked,

“You know me, boy?”