Editor : Amethyst00



[System Error: An unauthorized entity has invaded the world.]

"What?"

Giath couldn't help but freeze at the message that appeared before his eyes.

"What is this…?!"

Giath instantly realized that this was no longer the Legion's world.

He didn't know what had been done, but the ownership of the world had just changed.

And it wasn't hard to guess who the new owner was.

Giath's face twisted.

'Judging from the situation alone, nothing has changed.'

Even if it had become the world of heroes, the rampage was still ongoing.

Although perfect control like in the Legion's world might not be possible, once the rampage had begun, the dungeon could still be sustained.

'No, even if the plan has gone awry, I just need to kill Kyle.'

That alone would be enough.

No—more than enough.

That was the very wish of Tartaros itself.

"Uooooooooh!"

Giath roared.

Whoooosh! Fwoooom!

Dark magic and Erebos flames swirled violently from his body.

'First, I have to finish Kyle!'

Dweno would arrive soon.

At this uncertain moment, the one thing that was certain was that Dweno was coming.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Giath raised his sword and charged toward the fortress wall.

"Stop him!"

"Focus all magical artillery on Giath!"

The mages of Ivaldi concentrated their magical bombardment on Giath.

"You think such low-grade magic will work on me?!"

Giath roared.

The mages' bombardment vanished without reaching him.

Watching this, Leo closed his eyes.

"B-Black Rabbit! I'll help t—"

"-."

"Eeeeh?!"

Aru opened her eyes wide, staring at Leo who stood atop the wall.

Runes began to flow from Leo's mouth.

Ooooooooh—!

Silvery blue magic surged from Leo's body, fluttering his robes.

"Magic? In this situation?"

And not just any magic.

It was clearly a grand spell, one that took a long time to cast.

Aru looked flustered.

Giath also widened his eyes upon seeing Leo.

The silver-blue magic reminded him of someone.

'Luna Luminance!'

The Queen of Destruction.

A symbol of fear who had handed Tartaros impossible defeats multiple times.

Giath knew all too well what awaited at the end of that path.

A nightmare flashed through his mind.

'Extinction.'

"Graaaaaaaaah!"

Giath's terrifying bloodlust and killing intent focused on Leo.

"—-."

But Leo paid it no mind and continued chanting.

Even for the same spell, the longer a mage's chant, the more powerful the result.

Giath reached the fortress wall where Leo stood.

Aru, who had been fidgeting nervously, grit her teeth and kicked off the wall.

Leo's chant showed no signs of stopping.

Aru knew, too.

That this chant duration alone wouldn't be enough to bring Giath down.

But the fact that Leo had begun chanting anyway meant he was confident that the completed spell could take Giath down.

In that case—

'I'll buy him time!'

A resolute look on her face, golden aura surged from Aru's body.

"Haaaah!"

She shouted and charged at Giath.

"Ridiculous."

Giath sneered as he saw her.

No matter how strong she was, she was still a fledgling.

Maybe in the future—but now?

In the current situation, the best Aru could do was buy a brief moment.

For a second, Giath met Aru's eyes.

And he felt a chill.

For an instant, he glimpsed a fragment of Aaron within Aru.

Overwhelmed by her killing intent and willpower, Giath flinched.

"This brat!"

But soon, Giath, furious at the fact he'd been overwhelmed, raised his sword.

Aru clenched her fist as she watched him.

Just before Aru's fist and Giath's sword clashed—

Fwoooosh—!

Golden flames streaked down like a meteor from the sky.

"Huh?"

Dweno, flying at tremendous speed, grabbed Aru by the nape and flung her backward.

Then, he swung the battle hammer in his hand toward Giath's sword.

-!

A moment of soundless shockwave erupted.

BOOOOOM!

The shockwave that swept the area resembled the one from Leo and Giath's earlier clash.

"Ugh?!"

Giath's eyes widened.

Thud! Thud!

Taking two steps back, Giath let out a fierce shout.

Crash—!

Dweno was flung back toward the fortress wall.

Boom! CRACK—!

His body, like a bullet, smashed into the wall.

The part of the wall where Dweno landed collapsed.

"Waaaaah!"

Aru, who had been below that area, screamed.

"Eh eh eh. Even if it's Dweno, it's only a past version."

Just as Aru, barely digging herself out from the rubble, gritted her teeth—

CRACK! THUD! CRUMBLE! THUMP—!

Dweno burst through the collapsed debris and dusted himself off.

"Are you okay, Dweno?! Are you hurt—ouch ouch ouch! That hurts!"

"Honestly! Your personalities are complete opposites, so why do you act so similarly! Charging in recklessly just because you're mad? You could've died! You're too much alike!"

"Heheheh. I guess I do take after Lord Aaron a bit…"

"That wasn't a compliment!"

"Aaaack!"

Aru screamed as Dweno grabbed her ear.

"Do that again, and I'll bend your back in the opposite direction!"

"Y-Yes, sir!"

Aru shrank her shoulders and replied quickly.

"Sigh… Yeah. Stupid me is mostly to blame anyway."

Dweno sighed deeply and handed Brave to Aru.

"Take this."

With trembling hands, Aru accepted Brave.

Then she drew the sword.

Seeing the blade, Aru's mouth dropped open.

"This is… Brave!"

"Yes. Brave."

The sword that symbolized the Brave.

"My third creation. It'll never break again."

Dweno declared firmly and walked forward.

Step— Step—

Carrying the battle hammer, Dweno approached Giath.

Aru gripped her sword and followed behind him.

"Heheheh… Come to die, Dweno?"

"No. I've come to kill you, Giath."

Dweno smirked.

"Seems your head is still attached."

"You… have your memories?"

"Oh yes. I remember everything, up to the moment of death."

Giath's face stiffened at Dweno's words.

But moments later—

Giath returned to his usual expression and smirked.

"Looks like all you've got are memories."

Dweno's strength wasn't at its peak.

Though he had his memories and experiences, the time period the world had manifested was the past.

So his power couldn't return to its complete state.

"In that case, this'll be easy."

"Hahaha! HAHAHAHA!"

Dweno burst into loud laughter at Giath's words.

"What's so funny?"

"You seem scared, Giath."

"What nonsense?"

"You seem like someone too focused on me to grasp the full situation."

"What?"

At Dweno's words, Giath hastily looked around.

And his face stiffened.

When he clashed with Leo earlier, the area was devastated with a single blow.

Even his clash with Dweno was a battle between similarly powerful forces.

Yet the only thing damaged nearby was the wall Dweno crashed into.

Even that—Leo's position remained untouched.

And to this moment, Leo's chant hadn't ceased.

The vanguard had perfectly protected the mage.

"Compared to my prime, my current strength is clearly inferior."

Dweno's cold gaze turned to Giath.

"But you see, I can at least buy enough time for that friend to kill you."

"Don't make me laugh!"

Giath roared and charged.

Dweno gripped his battle hammer and charged at Giath.

CRASH—!

The battle hammer and Giath's sword clashed.

BOOOOOOM!

"How is it, Dweno? The sword I made!"

Veins bulged on Giath's sword arm.

"Ugh!"

Dweno momentarily lost balance and staggered.

Clenching his teeth, he swung the hammer upward, knocking Giath's sword aside.

"Hahaha! As expected, your weapons are sturdy! But!"

Whoooosh—!

Giath's massive sword swung again like a guillotine toward Dweno.

BANG—!

"That's all! I've honed my skills for 5,000 years! After visiting your world last time, I reached a level beyond you! This sword is made from the finest materials!"

Thud—!

Dweno's knee buckled.

"Your weapons! You! It's over!"

"Impressive."

"Hahahaha!"

"How do you only improve by a speck after 5,000 years?"

"What?"

"Astonishingly crude craftsmanship. The materials are wasted."

A sneer formed on Dweno's face.

"You bastard…!"

"Take a good look at your weapon."

"What…."

Giath's face twisted, then hardened.

The point of impact with Dweno's hammer had a chip.

'As expected of Kyle.'

Dweno glanced briefly at Leo behind him.

In battle with Giath, he must have focused impact on a specific part of the sword.

Of course, Giath's sword was made from his own spine.

And he had poured his skills into it.

Except for one, there was likely no weapon stronger.

Except for one.

'Posteritas.'

The smithing techniques Giath knew of Dweno were from before Posteritas was created.

And—

The moment Dweno made his own masterpiece as a smith—

His skills advanced another step.

Despite 5,000 years of effort, Giath's ability still couldn't surpass Dweno's.

As a result—

There now existed three weapons stronger than Giath's sword.

Posteritas.

Brave, reforged by Dweno.

And…

Dweno gripped the battle hammer tightly.

"Haaah!"

With all his might, he pushed Giath back.

"HAAAAAH!"

CRASH—!

Dweno's second creation smashed into Giath's sword.

A final blow atop the earlier damage from Posteritas.

CRACKLE—!

"Impossible…!"

"Nice try wasting 5,000 years."

"You bastard!"

CRUNCH—!

Giath's sword shattered into shards.

"Still, your defeat remains unchanged!"

Giath's massive hand struck down on Dweno.

BANG—!

"The Surviving Hero cannot defeat me now!"

The chanting had stopped before anyone noticed.

Leo's mana had reached its peak—his spell was complete.

Seeing this, Giath realized—

Leo wasn't Luna.

And this spell wasn't Luna's Extinction either.

Thus, it lacked the power to defeat him.

Giath's face lit up with joy.

His fear had been misplaced.

"In the end, I win!"

The moment Giath was certain—

"-."

Leo's chanting resumed.

After completing Extinction with Luna's magic—

Leo realized it alone wouldn't defeat Giath.

Blessed by authority and Erebos, Giath had the ultimate defense.

His destructive power might fall short of Jormungandr, but his defense surpassed it—Leo had seen this through battle.

But it didn't matter.

He knew from the start that Extinction alone wouldn't suffice.

Leo began chanting again.

With the runes, gray mana surged from his body.

The spell's name was…

[Innocent.]

The magic given by the Poet of the Star.

The only spell capable of defeating Erebos.

But this too would not defeat Giath.

Innocent was designed to defeat Erebos.

Extinction and Innocence were just recipes.

'In a world where everything has ended, nothing exists.'

Perhaps this was the scene Erebos most desired.

A void.

'But maybe, precisely because nothing exists, it is the purest state.'

Before meeting Lysinas, Luna, Aaron, and Dweno—

He wanted nothing and was only empty.

Thanks to that emptiness, he could fill himself with the gifts of friends.

Magic is said to express one's inner vision.

'Then perhaps this is the image that suits me best.'

Beyond the end—

That pure moment where nothing exists.

'A state where anything can be born.'

The silvery-blue magic of the star and the gray magic of Innocence fused.

Absolute destructive power and pure power met to create a colorless, scentless, absolute void.

As Leo completed the spell, he spoke its name—

A word that signifies just before the beginning.

"Zero."