Editor : Amethyst00



"Are you… Aaron?"

"I knew it! You are Kyle!"

Aaron, overwhelmed with emotion, tried to hug Leo.

"I'm not into being embraced by men."

Pushing Aaron's face away, Leo frowned.

'What the hell is going on?'

The Azonia students, led by Aru, were all acting like they were meeting him for the first time.

And then there was Kar—a beastkin Leo had never seen before at Azonia.

But no matter how he looked at him, Kar was his friend Aaron, who had died five thousand years ago.

There wasn't even the slightest doubt in his mind.

'There's no way I wouldn't recognize Aaron's movements.'

Just as Aaron had recognized him instantly.

Leo had as well.

They had fought side by side through countless battlefields during the Age of Calamity.

There was no way they wouldn't recognize each other.

Leo clenched his fist.

'I'll send you to the world you deserved to have.'

Nyx's words came back to him.

"Said she'd send me to the world I should've had, huh?"

Even if Nyx was a different kind of evil god than Erebos, she was still a divine being.

And as such, Leo had no way of knowing what kind of authority Nyx held.

He glanced down at his palm.

If this wasn't an illusion—if this was real…

'A parallel world?'

"Kyle, why didn't you show yourself until now?"

Aaron—no, Kar—looked at Leo with a hint of resentment in his eyes.

"Do you know how desperately we searched for you?"

"…We?"

Leo's eyes widened.

Kar nodded as he looked at him.

"Lysinas, Luna, even Dweno… we were all searching for you."

"You mean… everyone else was reborn too?"

"Of course!"

At Kar's answer, Leo was left stunned.

How much he had missed them.

How fiercely he had longed for them.

How many times he had prayed that he wasn't the only one who'd been reborn.

But it had always seemed an impossible wish.

He had tried to content himself with simply showing his friends the peaceful world of today through the Hero Record.

And yet now—

That impossible wish had come true.

'A world where the Great Heroes have been reborn… all except me.'

Leo looked up at the sky.

'This world I'm in now… is it really that world?'

"…The sound of battle stopped."

Dion turned anxiously in the direction Leo and Kar had flown.

"A fight intense enough to reshape the terrain…"

"Isn't this the first time someone fought Kar-sunbae like this since Damien's Valhar?"

Borman and Tavon shivered.

Kar Levason.

He was known not just as the strongest student of the Beastkin Hero Academy Azonia—but as perhaps the strongest in the school's entire history.

A warrior so powerful that people compared him to Azonia's founder herself. Many even called him the heir to Aaron.

Though he was known to be a bit timid by nature, nobody paid much attention to that.

Ever since he'd enrolled at Azonia, his path had been nothing short of a second coming of Aaron.

To see someone matching Kar in combat was more than enough to make the students nervous.

"Don't worry."

Aru clenched her fist.

"Kar-sunbae will win!"

"Obviously. He's the strongest."

Even Ruwen wore an unconcerned expression.

As the students waited anxiously for Kar to return—

Kar came walking toward them from afar.

The students of Azonia erupted in cheers.

"Of course! It's Kar-sunbae!"

"He defeated the enemy!"

"KAR SUNBAEEE!"

Aru rolled her eyes back and lunged toward Kar.

"Eeep?!"

"You were so cool! Haa! Haa! You're the best!"

"G-Get off me!"

Kar flinched in horror as Aru clung to his leg, panting heavily.

Even though three years had passed since they enrolled, Kar still found this side of Aru genuinely terrifying.

As the other third-years gave weary looks and tried to pull Aru off—

"Too loud."

"NYAAAAAAA?!"

Leo appeared behind Kar and yanked Aru's tail.

Aru screamed and instantly let go of Kar.

Leo dragged Aru away by her tail, separating her from Kar.

'How is she exactly the same? Then again, she is the same person.'

Only their experiences were different.

At the core, they were the same.

Leo gave a faint smirk as Aru glared and tried to free her tail from his grasp.

"How dare you pull a lady's tail?! Let go! I said let go!"

When Aru raised her claws, Leo nonchalantly let go of the tail.

"To think you've been so rude from the very beginning! Want me to teach you a lesson?"

Just as Aru bared her teeth and got ready to pounce, Leo took out a handkerchief and waved it.

"Nyot!"

Aru's instincts kicked in, and she reflexively reached for the cloth.

"…!"

A moment of silence passed, then her face turned bright red.

"Y-You're mocking me! I'll kill you, you bastard!"

"Nope, that's enough, Aru."

Thwack!

"Guh?!"

Kar, flustered, struck the back of Aru's neck.

Aru's eyes rolled back as she collapsed to the ground.

Leo furrowed his brows as he watched her twitch and foam at the mouth.

"She's… not breathing?"

"Ah! Aru! Breathe! Come on, breathe!"

Kar panicked and shook Aru violently.

Moments later, Aru's eyes snapped open.

"Gasp! I was… chasing a black rabbit in a field…"

She sat up with a dazed expression, and Kar let out a sigh of relief.

Once the chaos died down, Dion cautiously asked, still wary of Leo, "What… just happened? Kar-sunbae, who is this person?"

Just moments ago, the two of them had been fighting fiercely—and now they stood calmly together.

Kar had even stopped Aru from attacking Leo.

His juniors looked on, visibly confused by the sudden shift.

Seeing their puzzled faces, Kar smiled.

"He's an old friend I got separated from long ago."

"…What?"

"It's been so long, I didn't recognize him at first."

bl

Leo had fallen into the great southern forest of the continent.

While most of the southern region was desert, not all of it was. Some parts, like the southern great forest, were lush and green. Most of these places were located near the coast.

There was a port city adjacent to the great forest—Poreian. One of the major trade hubs connecting the eastern, southern, and western continents, Poreian was a vast port city where countless ships came and went.

As such, it was a place frequented by many outsiders, and accordingly, it had well-developed accommodations and was a wealthy city.

And in Poreian, there was a luxury hotel with a café in its lobby. It was a place that served meals, tea, and alcohol, and travelers often came to enjoy its relaxed atmosphere.

Though it wasn't directly facing the port, its view of Poreian's sandy beaches made it a popular tourist spot.

Leo sat in that hotel café, resting his chin on his hand as he looked out toward the sun setting over the sea.

'…There's no doubt. This isn't an illusion.'

After much confusion, Leo finally reached a conclusion. This world was undeniably real.

'…I was sent across dimensions—into a parallel world—by Nyx's power.'

With that thought, Leo looked down at his hand.

'Can I go back?'

As he pondered, he recalled the ice mirror he had found earlier in the great forest.

A mirror only he had been able to see.

'…That must be the entrance—and the exit.'

As Leo sank into thought—

"What are you thinking so hard about?"

Kar came and sat down across from him.

Even though it was usually a busy time, the café was quiet. Leo noticed Kar putting something away in his coat— a magic card bearing the emblem of Azonia.

Through that, one could make purchases even without money.

It seemed he had reserved the entire café.

"It's a convenient world, huh?"

Kar said with a small smile, and Leo nodded.

"Five thousand years have passed, after all."

"Yeah."

Kar nodded in agreement.

Soon, the staff brought out their food.

Once they left, Kar quietly looked down at the luxurious meal and spoke.

"You guys were right. The world that regained peace is richer… and brighter than I ever imagined."

He looked out at the sun setting over the sea.

"Even now, there are times when every passing moment feels like a dream."

With a dreamy look on his face, Kar watched the sunset.

"…I think all the hardship was worth it."

As Leo watched him smile faintly, he asked, "What about the others?"

"Hm?"

"How are the others living?"

At Leo's question, Kar chuckled softly.

"Dweno was reincarnated as a dwarf named Valhar. He's in his fifth year at Damien."

Then Kar shared what had become of the others.

"Luna's name is Rune. She's a fourth-year at Seiren—same year as me."

"…"

"And finally, Lysinas… she's in her third year at Lumene. Her name now is Leah."

"Lumene?"

"Yeah. Lysinas was reincarnated as a human. Surprising, right?"

"…"

Leo showed a surprised expression.

"I thought for sure she'd be reborn as a dragon."

"Yeah. I was shocked too."

"How did you all find out you'd been reborn?"

"Thanks to Lysinas."

"Lysinas?"

"Yeah. She entered Lumene and met Luna during her first semester of first year. Then, in the summer of second year, she came to Azonia to find me."

"And she met Dweno in the first semester of his second year at Damien?"

"Right. How'd you guess?"

Aaron looked impressed.

'…It's similar to my path.'

Aaron closed his eyes.

"Honestly… neither I, nor Dweno, nor Luna had any thoughts of fighting Erebos again until we met Lysinas."

"…"

"She told us… that in the end, you were the one left alone, Kyle."

Kar bit his lip.

"You were the only one who remained to save the world… and were forgotten by it. She asked how we would've felt if we had been the ones watching."

With his head bowed, Kar spoke.

"…I'm sorry, Kyle. Even after being reborn, I'm still the same pathetic coward."

"Some things never change."

Leo clicked his tongue and gave a dry laugh.

"But don't beat yourself up too much. Even if it wasn't for Lysinas, you would've stood up against Erebos again."

At that, Kar let out a bitter laugh.

"I knew it. You were planning to fight Erebos all along."

"There's no way I could ever forgive that bastard."

Leo's words made Kar burst out laughing.

"So then?"

Kar's expression turned serious.

"Why didn't you reach out to us until now? If you'd seen our movements, you must've realized it was us. Why only now?"

He looked at Leo with eyes full of resentment.

"Do you know how long we searched for you, Kyle?"

Kyle—the one who defeated Erebos after being left alone in the end.

The friend who had to carry the burden they abandoned, who endured the trials all by himself.

But nowhere in this world could they find any trace of that friend.

That truth was endlessly painful and guilt-ridden.

They had always feared—

What if Kyle had never been reborn?

What if they were the only ones who had come back?

Just as Kar was wondering about his long-lost friend who had appeared at last—

"Aaron. The world you all were born into… is different from mine."

"…What do you mean?"

"In this world, the Hero of the Beginning, Kyle, was never reincarnated."

"What?"

"In the world I was born in, none of you four were reborn."

"…What are you talking about?"

As Kar gave him a bewildered look, Leo calmly spoke.

"A parallel world."

"…?"

"I crossed dimensions. I came from a parallel world."

"…!"

Kar's eyes widened.

Staring at him, Leo asked, "You didn't get it, did you?"

"Not really."

Leo sighed quietly.

"Right. It was my mistake trying to explain a complicated topic to you, when even Lysinas, Luna… or even Dweno would've been a better choice."