Editor : Amethyst00



“Fire Wall.”

The moment Leo finished the incantation, a wall of fire engulfed the orcs.

Kiiieeek!

Watching the orcs instantly reduced to ashes, Leo dispelled the magic.

Only bleached bones remained of the orcs’ corpses as Lunia and Eiran began to move forward.

“Wait.”

“Hm?”

“Yes?”

Lunia and Eiran halted.

Leo, who had stopped them, stared intently at the orcs.

Gooooooh—!

The orc skeletons exhaled black smoke and floated into the air.

Click-clack, crack—

The bones pieced themselves together one by one, turning into skeletons.

Lunia and Eiran’s faces tensed.

Until now, undead had always appeared by rising from the ground.

They had been pre-summoned and hidden in ambush.

But this was different.

The monsters that had just become corpses were rising again as undead.

“There's a necromancer nearby!”

Lunia’s eyes sharpened dangerously.

Fwoooosh—!

She summoned the power of the Phoenix and scanned the surroundings warily.

Eiran also tightened her grip on sword and shield, clad in Animus Armor.

Tat-tat-tat-tat!

The orc skeletons armed themselves and charged.

Lunia snorted and raised her palm.

Fwoosh—!

A small sphere of flame appeared above her hand.

The most basic fire-attack spell: Fireball.

A simple spell, but its power varied drastically depending on the user’s skill.

Whoooosh—!

The Fireball multiplied in an instant.

Seeing this, Leo’s eyes gleamed.

‘At that age, she can layer chant incantations that quickly?’

Chanting the same spell multiple times at once.

The technique itself wasn’t difficult, but doing it at high speed was hard even for veteran mages.

‘And she managed it purely on instinct? Impressive.’

While Leo was genuinely impressed, Lunia’s Fireballs rained down on the orc skeletons.

Kwagagagang—!

The explosions shattered the skeletons instantly.

“That was easy.”

Lunia smirked and looked around.

“The pathetic skeletons you summoned are all gone! Now stop hiding and show yourself!”

Her fierce voice boomed across the winter forest.

But the only reply was her own echo.

“What’s this? Not coming out? Then I’ll just blow this whole place to—”

“Stop. There’s no necromancer here.”

As Lunia raised her hand to cast a powerful spell, Leo grabbed her wrist to restrain her.

“Leo, you saw it too. The orcs turned into skeletons.”

Leo calmly replied to her puzzled look.

“That wasn’t necromancer-summoned undead.”

“Then what was it?”

“A curse.”

“A curse?”

Lunia’s eyes went wide.

Eiran also looked confused.

“Are there curses that can create undead?”

“The Curse of the Dead.”

“The Curse of the Dead? I’ve never heard of it.”

Leo frowned at Lunia, who tilted her head.

“Doesn’t Seiren Academy teach about curses?”

“Of course it does! It’s just… we haven’t gotten that far yet! Even if it’s the same subject, the syllabus varies!”

“Even so, it’s a famous curse.”

“Ugh?”

Lunia flinched.

“Elves do have strong resistance to curses, and with the blessing magic in Star Sorcery, you can handle them better than other races. But curses are still one of the demons’ strongest weapons. You can’t slack on studying them. Even Luna has suffered more than once because of curses.”

“Urgh…”

Unable to refute him, Lunia’s eyes darted nervously.

“If it’s the Curse of the Dead… isn’t that the curse of the Death King, Hell Kaiser?”

Eiran asked carefully.

“That’s right. You know it well, Eiran.”

“It’s mentioned often in the heroic tales of the Great Heroes, so I’m familiar with it.”

Looking sheepish, Eiran spoke, while Lunia shrank even more.

“So… what is the Curse of the Dead? If it’s connected to a legion commander, it must be dangerous.”

“It’s a dangerous curse that endlessly summons undead across the afflicted area.”

“What?”

“Where the curse spreads becomes, quite literally, a land of death.”

Hearing this, Eiran’s face went pale with fear.

Lunia’s face also drained of color.

“Wait… are you saying Tartarus is targeting El-Salvekia on a massive scale?”

If undead were summoned endlessly, it was no trivial matter.

“No, not quite. Unless Hell Kaiser himself casts it, strong undead won’t appear. Likely one of his subordinates is responsible for this.”

Leo narrowed his eyes at the forest.

“But if Hell Kaiser is involved, it means there’s something in this forest that Tartarus wants.”

“What would a legion commander want?”

“Well… perhaps…”

Leo stroked his chin.

“An item related to a Great Hero?”

“A-a relic of the Poet?”

“That would be insane!”

“No way to know yet. In any case, we’ll find out soon enough—”

Leo’s expression suddenly hardened.

Lunia and Eiran, sensing the sudden shift in atmosphere, also flinched.

Whooooosh—!

A cold blizzard howled.

Through the storm, blood-red glowing eyes flashed.

“Heh-heh-heh… Welcome, hero candidates.”

Lunia’s face froze as she saw the Death Knight radiating a fundamentally different aura from the undead they had fought until now.

“Death Knight?”

“That’s right! My name is Kargol! Proud knight in service of the Great Death King, and the guide of your deaths!”

Klang—!

Gooooooh!

When Kargol slammed his greatsword into the ground, the plants nearby blackened.

A deathly aura seeped up from the earth.

Crack! Crack-crack-crack!

Countless undead clawed their way out of the ground.

Not just skeletons—zombies, ghouls, even corpse chimeras.

Undead of every kind appeared.

“Despair! Tremble in fear! You’ll regret ever setting foot in this forest! Wahahahahaha!”

Grooooar!

Alongside Kargol’s mad laughter, the undead roared.

Fixing his chilling grin on Leo, Kargol sneered.

“You won’t escape this time.”

“I’ll take on that Death Knight. Eiran, handle the undead. Lunia, prepare your strongest spell.”

“Yes!”

“Got it.”

“Oh? This time you’ve chosen to face me head-on?”

“I’ll give you the fight you want.”

“Heh!”

At Leo’s words, Kargol let out a low chuckle.

Dark aura seeped from his body as he raised his greatsword again.

Leo lowered his own sword and ignited Zerdinger’s aura.

Fwoooosh!

Phoenix flames blazed fiercely.

As they stood opposed—

Flick!

Leo’s body vanished.

“Too sloppy!”

Kargol swung his greatsword behind him.

Bang—!

The massive blade, swung with brutal speed, clashed against Leo’s longsword.

Kargol’s glowing eyes twitched.

He had expected Leo to be thrown back, but the boy held firm.

Clang!

Leo’s grip tightened, veins bulging on his hand, as he pushed Kargol’s greatsword aside.

Seizing the opening, Leo drove in without hesitation.

“Haha! Fool! Did you think I was just some ordinary human knight?”

Kargol laughed, unleashing a surge of dark aura.

Goooooooh!

It crashed over Leo.

“Wahahaha!”

But then his expression stiffened.

Leo burst through the dark aura, his entire body wreathed in blazing fire.

His sword burned with ferocious flames, as if it had been waiting for this.

‘Zerdinger’s secret sword art—Prominence.’

Leo’s blade traced a crimson arc toward Kargol.

Kwang—!

Kargol barely blocked with his greatsword.

But the crimson fire rampaged wildly, threatening to consume everything.

“You’re no ordinary whelp!”

As knights, Leo and Kargol’s raw abilities were evenly matched.

The deciding factor would be experience.

Kargol was confident he had more experience.

As a Death Knight who had fought across countless battlefields, he couldn’t believe a first-year academy cadet could outmatch him in experience.

But he was wrong.

‘He’s seeing through every move I make!’

Leo’s battlefield experience, spanning countless wars, far outclassed Kargol’s.

Looking into Leo’s emotionless eyes, Kargol felt a chill.

The scarlet flames dug into his sword.

Sssshhhhk!

The intense heat began to melt Kargol’s blade.

Flick—!

Suddenly, his body scattered.

‘Spectralization.’

Using one of a Death Knight’s techniques, Kargol quickly retreated.

‘I’ll have to use the undead army for attrition!’

Fwoooosh—!

Then, in Kargol’s glowing eyes, a miniature sun appeared.

Its blinding light melted the surrounding snow in an instant.

Lunia had cast Conflagration.

“Die, you bag of bones!”

A massive fireball hurtled toward Kargol.

Undead caught in the blaze disintegrated to nothing in an instant.

‘There's no escape!’

Rumble-rumble! Whoooosh! BOOOM!

The fire spread wildly, consuming everything.

Leo and Eiran crouched low to withstand the shockwave.

When the fire finally subsided, the entire area lay in ashes.

“That’s what happens when you mess with me!”

Lunia puffed her chest proudly, triumphant.

“T-the forest…!”

Eiran covered his face, horrified.

["Is she really an elf? Why is she so violent?"]

Chirp-chirp!

Kiran clucked his tongue, while Fiora flapped her wings approvingly.

Leo, staring at where Kargol had stood, muttered,

“How persistent.”

“What?”

Lunia blinked.

Goooooh—!

“Heh-heh-heh…”

“Oh? Still alive, huh?”

Lunia cracked her knuckles.

“Then I’ll just burn you until nothing’s left.”

["She really doesn’t act like an elf."]

Kiran whispered.

“Heh… did you think Kargol could be destroyed so easily?”

“So you’re confident in your endurance? Let’s see how long you last.”

Lunia grinned aggressively.

Kargol laughed, then said:

“Once this mission is complete, I’ll return to grant you death.”

And with that, his figure vanished.

“Running away, and he still talks big.”

Lunia scoffed.

“What are you waiting for! Let’s chase him down, burn that damned skeleton to ash, and break this forest’s curse!”

bl

Fwoosh—!

Having withdrawn from battle, Kargol appeared before Rauta, who was drawing a summoning circle.

“You dealt with them already?”

“They’ll be here soon. Hurry up.”

“What?”

Rauta’s face twisted.

“Don’t make me laugh! Useless undead! You couldn’t even handle a bunch of first-year brats?”

“Heh-heh… true. This body was pushed this far by mere first-years.”

Kargol chuckled darkly.

“What the hell are you grinning about?”

“Isn’t it glorious? A chance to eradicate future heroes before they bloom! Even the Death King will be delighted.”

Rauta’s face warped further at Kargol’s exultant tone.

“Future… heroes, you say?”

“Yes. When I first saw them, I thought the Hero Academy was finished. But they are no ordinary students.”

“Watch your tongue. Right now, I am your master.”

“You, weaker than I, claim to be my master?”

“Because your Death King decreed it!”

Rauta snapped, showing a black ring.

“I could annihilate you right now!”

“Heh-heh… do it then. If you think you can face those three first-years alone.”

Kargol’s sneer made Rauta flinch.

“Grrr!”

“Finish the summoning circle quickly, you worm of a master.”

Grinding his teeth, Rauta continued drawing.

‘The moment I obtain the Poet’s power… you’ll be the first I destroy!’