Editor : Amethyst00



Goooooh! Fwoooosh—!

"Evacuate!"

"It's the Flame of Calamity!"

The students of Seiren, faces pale with fear, desperately tried to distance themselves from the raging inferno.

Step. Step.

Amidst the chaos, a lone student walked straight toward the Flame of Calamity.

A girl wielding a longsword in one hand and a shield in the other.

Silvery hair that shimmered like melted moonlight, and blue eyes deep as a still lake.

Eiran stared directly at the cursed flames.

Kwoooaahh—!

At that moment, black fire surged toward her.

Eiran raised her shield, and a faint light the color of misted silver bloomed around it.

KWAANG—!

Fwoooosh—!

Eiran braced herself against the scorching flame and bit her lip hard.

Even as she did, she began chanting without rest.

A moment later, a pale silver blade flared from Eiran's sword.

Ssschk—!

Animus, her sword, cleaved through the cursed fire.

The fierce strike momentarily weakened the momentum of the black flames.

"As expected of Senior Eiran!"

"The Left Hand of the Student Council President!"

Cheers erupted from the Seiren students who witnessed her stand.

But Eiran, who had blocked the Flame of Calamity, only bit her lip tighter.

"…It's not enough."

She muttered under her breath.

And as if reacting to her words, the flames flared up even more violently.

Kwoooaaaahhh—!

Thud—!

Eiran dug in her heels.

With her shield forward, she braced herself against the torrent of cursed fire crashing toward her.

Fwoooosh—!

As she crouched low and withstood the relentless flames—

Goooooohhh—!

A crimson flame suddenly burst forth from behind her, pushing the black flames back.

KWAHH—!

"Miss Lunia!"

Eiran turned with a relieved smile.

There, walking gracefully, was Lunia.

The Vice President of Seiren and the right hand of the student council president, Rune.

With her appearance, the expressions of the students brightened further.

Lunia looked out at the watching students with her crimson eyes and spoke.

"Everyone, please step back. This place is dangerous."

But no one moved.

This was a crisis unfolding within Seiren itself.

And the appearance of Rune's closest aides could only mean one thing.

Flash—!

Countless magic circles unfolded above the sky of Seiren.

One student looked up and shouted, "It's Senior Rune!"

At those words, every student lifted their gaze.

The one hailed as the reincarnation of the Poet of the Star, Luna Luminance— The student council President of Seiren.

Overwhelming mana and unmatched mastery of magic.

The one said to have brought the stars sorcery to a new pinnacle—Rune.

The students erupted in cheers.

The reason they reacted so intensely was simple.

Rune rarely appeared in public.

She rarely attended class and was always holed up in her private workshop, immersed in magical research.

Because of this devotion to Star Sorcery, Seiren's culture accepted her eccentricity as the behavior of a genius.

Her mysterious air, compounded by her beauty, only fueled the elven fascination with her.

Even among Seiren students, it was hard to meet Rune— So despite the danger, none of them ran.

More than anything, they had complete faith in the one called the reincarnation of the Poet of the Star.

Even as cheers filled the air, Rune paid them no mind. Her cold gaze was locked solely on Erebos.

"Lunia, Eiran."

"Yes!"

"Could you move as far back as possible with the students?"

At her words, Lunia and Eiran quickly retreated beyond the range of the cursed fire.

Then, Rune raised her staff.

"Extinction."

With ice in her gaze, she lowered her staff.

"Pluvia."

Rain of Extinction poured from the heavens.

Falling as glimmering droplets, it was a rain of pure destruction.

FLASH! CRAKAKAKAKANG—!

Like a localized storm, the destructive rain bombarded the area around the Flame of Calamity, utterly devastating the terrain.

This was Rune's fusion magic— A spell she had created since reincarnating.

A rain spell layered with the power of extinction—an apocalyptic force of nature.

The cursed fire sputtered, nearly extinguished by Rune's magic.

Watching closely, Rune narrowed her eyes.

"Tch. Not enough."

Rrrruuuummmble—!

With a click of her tongue, a column of black flame erupted toward her.

Rune dodged swiftly using flight magic, rising into the sky as the cursed fire chased her.

From above, she glanced at Erebos.

The fiery core of the inferno was clearly visible now.

'…So it's trying to escape the Dawn World through Seiren's Hero Record.'

Rune, too, knew the truth about Dawn.

That the Hero Records of the Dawn Heroes could act as gateways for Erebos.

"Tch. Should've wiped out the Pureblood Society while I had the chance."

Her long-standing feud with them had begun the day she entered Seiren.

Alarmed by her unorthodox actions, they had branded Rune a heretic.

The real reason Rune enrolled in Seiren was because being a student there would make it easier to trace Kyle's trail.

As soon as she joined, Rune published a thesis proving the existence of the Hero of the Beginning.

Kyle had become a forgotten figure— So many pages of history had been lost when he sealed Erebos into the Dawn World 3,000 years ago.

Among them, Tartaros had deliberately destroyed Kyle's records, erasing his achievements from history.

Some stories where Kyle had acted were even misattributed to Luna.

Rune, relying on her memories, compiled a thesis to restore the true history.

Though lacking hard evidence, the thesis was compelling enough to be taken seriously.

But it provoked the Pureblood Society.

'I only said I didn't do what I didn't do. That's all.'

Rune ground her teeth.

Her thesis was declared forbidden, and the Society did everything to have her expelled.

But once Rune perfectly restored Star Sorcery and was hailed as Luna's reincarnation, their power quickly diminished.

They went quiet, lurking in the shadows.

And now— They had smuggled a Hero Record fragment into Seiren and caused this disaster.

Rune clicked her tongue and forced herself to shelve the thought.

'They can wait.'

She turned her attention to the swirling flame.

'First, I need to take care of that.'

If a fragment of Erebos escaped the Dawn World now, things would spiral fast.

"I won't let that happen!"

Rune gripped her staff and shot toward the heart of the flame without hesitation.

If it couldn't be pulled back from outside, then she'd force it back from within.

Eyes blazing, Rune surged into the center of the cursed flames—

Toward the Hero Record fragment of Seiren, now spewing the Flame of Calamity.

KWAHHHH—!

"Senior Rune!"

Lunia shouted from a distance.

Then—

Whoooosh—!

The swirling black flames began to be sucked into the Hero Record.

Moments later, the cursed fire that had threatened to destroy everything vanished.

And at its center stood Rune, clutching the now-complete Record of Seiren.

She stared down at it for a moment… then conjured fire.

Fwoosh—

"Just hold on a little longer."

With a faintly bitter smile, Rune grasped the Record as it turned to ash.

"Senior Rune! Are you alright?!"

Eiran rushed over, flustered, checking her condition.

Rune gave her a calm smile and nodded.

"I'm fine, Eiran."

"Yes."

"Could you contact the Northern Tower Master for me?"

"The Northern… Tower Master?"

Lunia's face tightened— She knew who Rune meant.

"I think we need to dig into the Pureblood Society. And… I may need to head to Lumene."

At that, Eiran looked puzzled.

"To meet the student council president of Lumene, right? Then shouldn't you go to Damien?"

"…I'd rather not go to Damien. I'll wait for Leah in Lumene."

Rune gave a quiet, bitter smile.

Both Lunia and Eiran nodded softly.

They understood.

'Because that's where Kyle died.'

Rune's face shadowed slightly.

bl

"Oh, traveling the world, huh…"

Carl sounded impressed.

"You don't seem like just anyone… Have you ever thought about enrolling at Lumene?"

Before he realized it, Carl was chatting comfortably with Leo.

Once Carl found out they were the same age, he naturally showed his usual friendliness.

"I missed the enrollment period, somehow."

"That's a shame. You give off a vibe… kind of like Leah. I think you would've been amazing."

Carl made a regretful face.

Even after being expelled from Lumene, Carl still maintained relationships with his peers.

'No… it's not just maintaining relationships.'

Leo glanced at the inn's ground-floor tavern.

There were a few Lumene students seated there.

Carl had apparently opened this inn with the money he gathered through his own cleverness after leaving Lumene.

Using his talent in alchemy and his knack for gathering information, he supported Lumene students in various ways.

Even now, he was gathering news from across the world and sending it quickly to Lumene.

There was even a bulletin board on the first floor with requests specifically for Lumene students.

He had only attended Lumene for a year, but was running a business deeply tied to the academy.

'Well, that was Carl's goal from the beginning anyway.'

In Leo's world, Carl had fully bloomed into his talents, climbed to the seat of a hero, and worked as a supporter inside Lumene.

Here, even after leaving Lumene, he was still fulfilling that same supporter role.

'He's not the kind to give up.'

It was only a difference in combat ability.

The direction Carl had always looked in was the same one Leo had looked toward.

And Carl was never the type to give up easily.

There was a reason the gods in the original worldline gave Carl the title "The Herald of the Beginning."

With a deep sigh, Leo recalled the stories Carl had told him about the great heroes.

'Aaron and Dweno don't seem much different. But Lysinas and Luna… they're completely different.'

Carl had said that Lysinas evaluated hero candidates purely based on talent.

Even in this world, Carl had just enough skill to barely qualify for a second-year promotion.

But it was Lysinas herself who had advised Carl to take the path of a full-time supporter rather than that of a hero.

'That's what Leah told me. That I had no future as a hero. And when someone like her, more perfect than anyone I've ever seen, says that… there wasn't much I could say.'

Leo let out a long breath, recalling what Carl had said earlier.

'And Luna… she's become a total recluse? She's ignoring all her magic research to write nothing but theses about the Hero of the Beginning?'

It was a far cry from the bright, enthusiastic Luna he remembered— the one who was filled with nothing but passion for magic.

But Leo could somewhat understand now.

Why Lysinas and Luna had turned out so different from the versions he knew.

'Is it me? Am I the one holding them back?'

Just as Leo sighed again—

Ding-a-ling—! Ding-a-ling—!

"Ahem! Make way! Bring out the wine and meat at once for these future heroes!"

The voice that rang out through the inn was one both Leo and Carl knew all too well.

Two people entered— And Leo and Carl immediately recognized them.

"Oh! Chelsea! Eliana!"

Carl jumped up with a bright smile.

"Hey! Carl!"

"You haven't grown a single bit these past few months! I'm relieved!"

"Why're you picking a fight the moment we meet?!"

"Urgh!"

Chelsea, eyes blazing, drop-kicked Carl right in the stomach.

With her usual fierce expression, she stepped on the now-fallen Carl.

Watching that, Eliana spoke softly.

"Um… Chelsea. If you do that, he'll get hurt."

In a strangely gloomy voice, Eliana tried to stop her.

At that, Carl jumped up from the floor.

"Let me introduce you. This is Leo Plov! A new friend I made recently."

"You're still as sociable as ever, huh? Nice to meet you. I'm Chelsea Lewellin."

Chelsea smiled brightly as she greeted him.

"I-I'm Eliana Raden…"

As her eyes met Leo's, Eliana flinched and shrank back, her voice barely a whisper.

Seeing that, Leo made a baffled expression.

'…What's her deal?'