Editor : Amethyst00



Whoooosh—! BOOOOM!

A massive blade wielded by a giant knight slammed into the ground.

Leo and Aru leapt high, dodging the strike.

While still airborne, Aru frantically shouted,

"Black Rabbit! What was that demon just saying?! The Hero of the Beginning?!"

"It's nothing. Worry about it later."

Leo reached out and grabbed Aru by the scruff of her neck.

"Waaah?!"

With a tug, he flung her behind him and swung his sword forward.

Clang—! Slice—!

With a piercing sound, Leo's sword cut through the giant knight's blade.

The sharp flames of a phoenix blazed intensely.

But that wasn't the end of the attack.

Whoosh—!

Two more giant knights appeared from either side of Leo and swung their swords.

Unbelievable precision for such enormous beings.

The terrifying aspect of the Giant Knight Order:

Perfect coordination.

They trained specifically to fight beings stronger than themselves.

Such traits were extremely rare among demons, who were born with overwhelming power.

Leo's red eyes turned to a demon who had stepped back.

There, Nareda observed Leo's movements.

Earlier, it was Nareda's black magic that deceived Leo's hypersenses.

Indeed, Nareda was pathetically weak for someone so close to a Legion Commander.

The reason she became his trusted aide was because of the Giant King's nature.

Cautious and strategic, Nareda was a commander who plotted the big picture in battle, eliminating variables one by one.

She used support magic to help the knight order fight flawlessly.

Ever since she became the Giant Knight Order's commander, they had brought untold catastrophe.

BAM—!

Leo punched in both directions.

The blades of the two knights attacking from either side were blocked by his fists.

The space distorted slightly.

The immense power behind the blades pushed down on Leo.

Then—

Vwoom—!

Golden aura surged from Leo's hands.

CLANG—!

The giant knights' swords shattered.

Suddenly—

Above Leo's head, a particularly massive knight brought down a colossal battle axe.

Leo remembered this demon.

Five thousand years ago, during the Age of Calamity—

Deputy Commander of the Giant Knight Order.

Karoxon.

Their coordination was so precise, it was hard to believe they were from different eras.

That they were giant demons made it even more shocking.

All of it made possible by Nareda's command.

'No openings.'

She read Leo's movements perfectly.

'Of course, if she survived 5,000 years, she'd have studied me thoroughly.'

Just as Leo had spent time thinking about how to kill demons…

Nareda had likely spent 5,000 years thinking how to kill someone like the Hero of the Beginning—Kyle.

She would've studied herself thoroughly.

Such was the kind of demon she was.

Most demons who preached destruction never thought about the future.

But Nareda… was a demon who thought of the future in order to destroy it.

'That's why she's annoying.'

Nareda's lips curled in excitement.

Leo raised his empty hand to block the descending axe.

'So what now?'

CRACK—!

The axe clashed with Leo's palm.

Leo was driven into the ground.

BOOM! CRASH!

His feet hit the surface.

But his legs weren't crushed.

Instead, the surrounding earth shattered and rose upward.

Shockwaves rippled out.

'I didn't spend these 17 years doing nothing.'

He stared at the edge of the massive axe in his hand, as if it could cleave through a fortress wall.

He gripped it tighter.

FWOOOSH—!

The golden aura turned into golden flames.

CRACKLE—!

The axe, now under even greater pressure, started cracking like fractured glass.

Nareda's eyes widened in disbelief.

"That's impossible…"

CRASH!

Shards of the battle axe exploded in every direction.

One particularly large shard fell toward Leo.

THUD!

Leo caught the building-sized axe blade and looked at Karoxon.

Then, without hesitation, he hurled it at Karoxon's neck.

SQUELCH—!

"Guh?!"

The neck of the high demon was severed cleanly.

THUMP! SPLASH!

Blood gushed like a waterfall as the body fell to its knees.

Karoxon's head landed in the pool of blood.

His eyes stared at Leo.

Though decapitated, the immense vitality of the giant demon didn't allow him to die easily.

"DIEEEEE!"

Karoxon's body moved with a roar, raising his arm to strike down.

Leo's shadow suddenly wavered—then expanded massively.

THWIP THWIP THWIP—!

Like a spear, the shadow pierced and restrained Karoxon's body.

He froze in place.

Leo pointed the tip of his sword at him.

VMMM—!

A complex magic circle formed on the blade.

Posteritas could take the form of a sword, but it could become anything.

A blade that cut all, a powerful summoning conduit, or even a divine-tier magic staff.

It was a special weapon crafted by Dweno for Kyle, Hero of the Beginning.

Magic surged from the sword in a burst of starlight.

FLASH! KRA-KRA-KRACK!

Karoxon's upper body vanished without a trace.

As Leo lowered his sword, the shadow returned to normal.

"No way, no way, no way! This can't be happening!"

Nareda screamed in disbelief.

"Who are you?! What ARE you?!"

Pointing with bloodshot eyes.

"We met earlier, didn't we?"

Leo leaned on his sword like a staff.

"I told you—I'm the Hero of the Beginning."

The battle paused for a moment.

With just one hero, the advance of the Giant King's legion halted.

"You're saying you're Kyle, the Hero of the Beginning?"

Most demons didn't dare call Leo "Surviving Hero" to his face.

That term was a mockery used during the Age of Calamity to belittle the hero's legacy.

They could say it when he wasn't present, but in front of the one who even gods feared, they instinctively avoided using it.

So did Nareda.

"Ridiculous! Then how…?!"

Nareda had survived many battles with Great Heroes.

That alone earned her reverence among demons.

And so, she knew the heroes well.

Just now—

The way Leo blocked Karoxon's strike with golden aura wasn't Kyle's technique.

Only Aaron could control aura that gently.

Then, the overwhelming power that shattered the battle axe was Dweno's.

The magic that restrained Karoxon was from the Wise Queen, Lysinas.

And the final blow was from Luna's star sorcery.

Unlike the Age of Calamity, this age had Hero Records.

'He must've inherited their powers through those cursed records!'

Leo's power was "All-Class."

A user of pure power, considered a natural enemy to gods.

Even 5,000 years ago, the Hero of the Beginning inherited the essence of the Great Heroes' power and defeated a god.

So it made sense Leo used their powers and techniques.

'But how can he wield them perfectly?!'

In that moment, Nareda didn't see Leo.

She saw Aaron, Dweno, Lysinas, and Luna.

It was as if they had manifested in this era.

"I was born into this life 17 years ago."

Leo rested his sword on his shoulder.

"There's no way I stayed the same for 5,000 years."

Not fully destroying Erebos was Leo's greatest regret.

If he'd mastered his comrades' powers…

Perhaps there would've been no fragments left for future generations to deal with.

Until enrolling at Lumene, Leo didn't awaken his mana.

Instead, he relentlessly studied and practiced his comrades' techniques in his mind.

Even after awakening his mana, he never stopped training.

The result—

He could now perfectly mimic their techniques.

Though, of course, it was still just mimicry.

Applying and linking the powers was a distant goal.

'I'm still far off.'

As a warrior, vanguard, mage, summoner…

He was nowhere near his comrades.

But—

'One day, I'll reach them.'

Unlike 5,000 years ago, he now had time.

"Seventeen years… You expect me to believe that's enough?!"

"It's short for you demons. But for us, it's plenty."

"You've worked hard for 5,000 years—for nothing."

At Leo's mocking words, Nareda trembled with rage.

But then she burst into laughter.

"Ha! You're the one who wasted effort!"

She pointed at Leo.

"No matter how perfectly you wield their powers, you're still alone! You think you can defeat a god alone?!"

5,000 years ago—

Aaron, Dweno, Luna, and Lysinas fell one by one to wound Erebos.

Leo only dealt the final blow.

"Right. Alone, it's difficult."

"Ha!"

"That's why I've been raising one."

"What?"

WHAM—!

Suddenly, Nareda's vision flipped.

'When—?!'

As her head flew, she turned to see—

A white-haired, blue-eyed feline beastkin raised her claws.

THWACK—!

Aru's hand plunged into Nareda's heart.

'She slipped past my black magic detection?!'

Nareda had survived for 5,000 years thanks to many tricks.

Among them, her black magic detection barrier—no demon could bypass it.

'And yet… a kitten like her did?!'

Even if all her focus was on Leo—

She never saw Aru as a threat.

Leo had drawn all eyes to make Aru shine.

Nareda now recalled how Aru had outpaced Leo's senses before.

'She surpassed the Hero of the Beginning in hyper-sensory perception?!'

In her final sight, Aru clenched her fist.

"Punch!"

Her strike landed square on Nareda's face—

And darkness swallowed her vision.

bl

The moment Nareda fell,

Aru collapsed as well.

Her ears twitched uncontrollably, and her body convulsed.

Leo, seeing her condition, scooped her up and retreated from the battlefield.

Many knights remained.

But with Nareda defeated, their strength was halved.

'Still, this is only a fraction of the Legion's power.'

Leo's goal in storming the Legion with Aru was simply to buy time for defensive preparations.

'Thanks to the Giant King's fear, we gained more than expected.'

"Uwaaah! My head's spinning!"

Aru clutched her twitching ears and buried her face in Leo's chest.

"Release the hypersense."

Flinching, Aru complied.

It seemed she couldn't handle the overwhelming influx of sensory data.

"A half-baked growth."

Leo chuckled.

Still, impressive.

Tap—!

He stepped onto the fortress wall.

Aru, now calmer, peeked up at Leo.

"Black Rabbit… no. Leo Plov."

"What's with the full name?"

"Are you really… the Hero of the Beginning, Kyle?"

"No reason to hide it now."

Leo smirked. Aru's eyes widened.

"Yeah. I'm Kyle, reborn."

"Whoooaaa!"

Aru squealed, kicking her legs and clenching her fists.

Her ears perked up, and her tail wrapped tightly around Leo's arm.

"It all makes sense now!"

Such unmatched strength and wisdom beyond his years.

She recalled all the things Leo had taught her.

"Incredible! You were a Great Hero!"

Unable to contain her excitement, she pressed closer to Leo.

Her tail coiled tighter.

"U-Uh! What should I call you? Rabbit? Leo? Kyle?"

"Whatever's comfortable. But first…"

"Huh?"

Leo set her down.

Immediately, she leaned over the wall and hurled.

BLEGH—!

Her senses, briefly stabilized, were overwhelmed again by excitement.

Leo patiently waited and turned toward the distant city of Giath.

'That was just the prologue.'

They had dealt a surprising blow—but the legion was still overwhelming.

A flickering candle in the wind.

'Still not moving… The Giant King must've expected Nareda's death.'

She was a trusted aide, but merely a valuable pawn.

He wouldn't move yet.

But once he did—

Leo clenched his fist.

'Can I defeat him alone…?'