Editor : Amethyst00



“What the hell is this?!”

“Th-this is… the Curse of the Dead!”

As soon as they stepped into the heart of the forest, the overwhelming aura of a curse made Lunia and Eiran’s faces turn pale.

Even elves, who were born with a natural resistance to curses, felt suffocated under the pressure of this one.

Lunia clenched her teeth and glanced at Leo.

'Is he completely fine?'

Leo, who had once fought directly against the Lich King, Hell Kaiser, wasn’t affected much by something of this level.

Turning his head, Leo saw the two elves looking sickly and quietly stirred his mana.

“Vi Arte.”

A radiant light of life spread from Leo’s hand.

The color returned to Lunia and Eiran’s faces.

“This should make you feel a little better.”

“Is that… Star Sorcery?”

“That’s right.”

“A spell we’ve never seen before.”

“You don’t know this one?” Leo asked, looking puzzled.

“It’s a spell that restores vitality. Not a particularly difficult one.”

“Amazing… did you develop this spell yourself, Leo?”

“No. I just reproduced it from a grimoire I read.”

—Strictly speaking, it was one of Luna’s favorite spells, but that wasn’t something he could just say outright.

Hearing this, Lunia asked,

“Leo, that grimoire where you self-studied Star Sorcery—where did you get it?”

A grimoire containing Star Sorcery, something even Seiren’s students had never laid eyes on.

'And Leo even interpreted a Poet’s spell that had gone uninterpreted for so long… Could it be one of the extremely rare grimoires directly left behind by the Poet? Even if not, it might still contain Luna’s original Star Sorcery spells…!'

That would be a discovery of monumental significance.

“It was in my family’s library.”

Lunia stroked her chin thoughtfully.

'Leo’s mother, Lady Reina, was of the direct descendant of the Zerdinger family. Even if she severed ties, it wouldn’t be strange if she kept rare books from the family collection.'

Lunia’s eyes sparkled.

“Could I see that grimoire?”

“I don’t have it anymore.”

“What? What happened to it?”

“I accidentally burned it while practicing magic as a kid.”

“How could you burn something like that?!”

Lunia clutched her head and shouted.

Of course, it was a made-up story—but there was no way for her to know that.

Eiran, too, wore a regretful expression.

“Judging by how loud you’re shouting, I guess you’re feeling better,” Leo chuckled faintly, before narrowing his eyes at the forest’s core.

“Then let’s hurry up and clear out this damned curse.”

With that, he stepped further inward.

After a short while—

Leo and his group reached what used to be the entrance to Fairyland.

And upon seeing who stood there, Leo curled his lips upward.

“What are you doing here at this hour?”

“I should be the one asking that.”

Rauta folded his arms, frowning.

“First-years aren’t allowed to leave the lodging area without permission.”

“That applies to you as well, doesn’t it?”

“Hah? Watch your tone, brat. Is that how you act just because you’re from a different school? So this is the standard of Lumene, huh?”

At Rauta’s sneering smile, Leo’s eyes narrowed.

Lunia hurriedly interjected.

“Rauta-sunbae! Undead are appearing around here right now!”

“I know. I’m investigating the cause.”

“If it’s the cause, it’s because of the curse!”

“Curse? You’re saying there’s a curse spread here?”

“…What?”

'This thick death aura is everywhere… and he can’t even sense it?'

Lunia’s expression twisted in confusion.

Instinctively, she realized Leo was right.

It was clear—Rauta was colluding with Tartaros.

'No… impossible! A Seiren student would never do such a thing!'

But her rational mind rejected that conclusion.

A proud Seiren student falling into necromancy? Impossible.

Not to mention, Rauta was from the advanced class.

Lunia’s eyes shook violently.

“I’ll ask again.”

Leo’s voice sank cold.

“What were you doing here?”

“Exterminating undead and investigating the abnormality of the Fairy Forest. Do you really think a wet-behind-the-ears first-year can intimidate a second-year like me?” Rauta said irritably.

“I am a student who inherits the will of Luna, the Poet of the Star. How dare you insult her name—”

“Rauta Algraia.”

Lunia and Eiran flinched, instinctively stepping back.

Seeing Leo’s expression head-on, fear flashed across Rauta’s face.

“Don’t you dare speak Luna’s name with that mouth.”

“Y-you bastard…!”

“There were Lumene first-years who accidentally picked up items leaked from Tartaros.”

“……!”

Rauta’s face stiffened.

“In those students' cases, since they touched them unknowingly, the school merely gave them a warning and moved on.”

Leo raised his hand.

At his fingertip, a small white orb of light shot upward.

Whoooosh! Bang!

The orb burst, illuminating the area like broad daylight.

Lunia gasped, her face frozen in shock, while Eiran instinctively covered her mouth and stumbled back.

Behind Rauta lay countless monster corpses strewn across the ground.

Using their blood and entrails, a massive summoning circle had been drawn.

“Monster blood and organs as a catalyst can only mean black magic or necromancy. For our school’s students I could say they didn’t know… but you…”

Leo’s eyes glinted with killing intent.

“…You cooperated knowingly.”

“Sharp little bastard.”

Rauta smirked darkly.

“Do you just love digging your own grave?”

“No way… A Seiren student, a necromancer…?!”

“Watch your tongue, Lunia El Lunda. Do you think insolence toward your senior will be tolerated?”

“And you still dare call yourself a Seiren student while using necromancy?! Cut the crap!” Lunia roared.

“I’m not using necromancy. I’m merely… using Tartaros.”

“What?”

“Do you know what lies buried here? The Hero’s Page of the Poet! Do you understand what that means, Lunia?”

Rauta’s face lit with manic joy.

“It’s no different than becoming Luna’s direct disciple! I’ll be a great hero remembered in elven history!”

Most Hero’s Pages of the Great Heroes were long gone.

Discovering a new one and inheriting its power would indeed be enough to become a hero remembered for eternity.

“What’s wrong with using Tartaros to reclaim our legacy?”

“Ever considered you’re the one being used?”

Leo sneered coldly.

“Hell Kaiser fears heroes more than anything. Do you really think he’ll let you inherit Luna’s power without interference?”

“No worries there. That fool Hell Kaiser gave me power to control the undead!”

Rauta smirked and flashed a black ring.

“With this, the undead are no threat to me.”

“Pointless to talk, then.”

If Hell Kaiser could be controlled so easily by some student, countless heroes wouldn’t have died in the Age of Calamity.

'His mind is clouded. Just like Sen Liu during the Summoning exam…'

Leo recalled that berserk student.

“Leo! Let’s smash his damn face in and drag him to the professors!”

Lunia growled.

Eiran, too, glared with intense hostility at Rauta, who had stained Seiren’s honor.

“Don’t fight him half-heartedly.”

“What?”

“Be ready to kill him if it comes to it.”

At Leo’s warning, Lunia’s eyes widened.

“That’s what it means to fight Tartaros.”

With those words, Leo strode toward Rauta.

'Kill… a senior?'

Lunia faltered.

“Keh-heh-heh…”

Black smoke surged as Kargol appeared.

“Seems you’re in a difficult situation.”

“Kargol! Kill them!”

At Rauta’s order, Kargol charged.

“Lunia! Eiran! Handle him!”

Leaving Kargol to them, Leo rushed straight at Rauta.

“Fool! I’ll show you the difference between a first-year and a second-year!”

As Leo charged, Rauta began chanting a spell.

Hearing it, Leo immediately recited the same incantation.

“La Tiarga!”

“La Tiarga!”

Crack-crash!

The identical spells collided and canceled each other out.

Rauta’s face twisted.

“You dare use Star Sorcery?!”

“And you dare, while serving Tartaros, use Luna’s magic.”

“Shut up! I’m the elf who will inherit the Poet’s power! I’m nothing like you, a rootless nobody!”

Blood vessels bulged in his eyes as he chanted again.

Leo echoed the spell calmly.

“Li Ezernia!”

“Li Ezernia.”

Flash! Crackle!

Lightning roared between them.

“……!”

The clash canceled again. Rauta froze.

'This brat… no way!'

Panicked, he chanted rapidly.

But Leo mirrored him instantly.

Whoosh—!

Flames surged.

Rauta’s body trembled.

“Y-you bastard…!”

It wasn’t coincidence.

Leo had copied his chants on the spot and completed the spells simultaneously.

There was no greater humiliation for a mage.

Watching Rauta fume, Leo spoke coldly.

“Your control of magic is pathetic.”

Fwoosh—!

Leo’s body vanished in an instant.

Rauta flinched and looked around frantically, only to feel Leo behind him.

“Like you can’t even handle your own power properly.”

Thud! Crack!

“Gah?!”

Leo’s Aura-infused kick shattered Rauta’s ankle, sending him crashing to the ground.

“Well, it isn’t even your own power—you could never wield it properly.”

Leo’s gaze fell on the black ring.

'Demonic artifact.'

Shing—!

He drew his sword.

Rauta’s face went deathly pale.

“W-wait! Spare me! I’m a Seiren student! If you kill me, the relationship between Seiren and Lumene—”

Crunch!

“—guh!”

Leo’s blade pierced Rauta’s throat without hesitation.

If Rauta had truly been a proper Seiren advanced-class student, Leo would not have had it so easy.

But to a battle-hardened Leo, he was nothing more than a fool with brute strength.

Fwoosh!

“Keh-heh-heh…”

Just then, Kargol appeared before Leo.

Lunia and Eiran, who had been locked in fierce battle with him, stopped when they saw Leo—and the impaled body of Rauta.

Their breaths caught.

“You killed him? Keh-heh-heh! You slew the one who dreamed of being a hero beside you! How cold! How cruel! And you dare call yourself one who dreams of heroism? Huahahahaha!”

Kargol’s eyes gleamed as he mocked.

Lunia and Eiran’s eyes shook violently.

They had braced themselves for this possibility—yet actually seeing it happen left their young minds blank with shock.

But then Kargol’s laughter died as his eyes met Leo’s.

A shiver crawled up his spine.

'Even if he corrupted, he killed a hero candidate. He should show the same reaction as those elf girls.'

But Leo’s eyes held nothing.

'What are those eyes…?'

They weren’t a dreamer’s. Not even a hero’s.

They were… a hunter’s eyes.

“You’re next.”

No anger, no malice, no fervor—just a flat, lifeless voice.

And in that moment, the knight who had transcended even death felt fear—like standing before his master, the Lich King Hell Kaiser himself.

'This one must die here!'

His instinct screamed it.

Kargol rammed his greatsword into the ground.

Vrrrrrmmm—!

Blood-red energy spread across the earth.

The black ring on Rauta’s corpse reacted.

His body swelled grotesquely.

Leo moved instantly.

Boom! Craaack!

Rauta’s body exploded, scattering bones and flesh like shrapnel.

Leo deployed Aura Armor to shield himself.

'Self-detonation!'

His face hardened.

From the remains, the hand with the ring clenched into a fist.

Crack-crack-crack!

The scattered bones and flesh began to gather.

“Ugh—!”

Lunia and Eiran covered their mouths.

The mangled remains meshed like clay—reshaping into Rauta.

He blinked open his eyes and stared at his own hands in disbelief.

“I… lived again?”

“Heh-heh. You’ve experienced death—and thus made a contract with the great Lich King.”

Kargol’s eyes gleamed.

“Rauta Algraia! Do you not wish to be a great hero who transcends even death?”

“A hero… who transcends death!”

Greed burned in Rauta’s gaze.

“Accept it! The power of the dead!”

Vrrrrm—!

Black mana surged from Rauta’s body.

Wooooom—!

The summoning circle he had drawn lit up ominously.

Rumble—!

The ground quaked violently.

Lunia and Eiran collapsed, unable to keep their footing.

Leo’s face hardened as he watched a massive skeleton rise from the earth.

'Rauta’s strengthened mana triggered the summoning… A Death Knight. So he planned to sacrifice Rauta all along.'

Uwooooooooh!

["What is that?!"]

Kiran’s voice cried out in terror.

“Skeleton King.”

Leo answered grimly.

“One of the strongest undead.”