Editor : Amethyst00



As Leo stood face-to-face with the Lich King, the three others could only gape, their mouths silently opening and closing.

Goooooooh—!

From the Lich King's body, an aura of death surged out.

It was killing intent on a level incomparably stronger than before—so intense that the three felt the hairs on their bodies stand on end.

FWOOOOSH—!

Leo drew his sword and swung.

At the same time, a massive wave of flame roared up in front of him.

Chelsea's eyes widened at the sight.

"That's… Zerdinger's aura?"

Of course, it couldn't compare to the flame she had seen from Zerdinger himself.

But as a mage of Lewellin, Chelsea recognized it at a glance—this was unmistakably Zerdinger's flame.

FWOOOSH—!

From within the flame, a dark red smoke spilled forth, pushing back the aura of fire.

The smoke, having forced the flame's aura aside, began to spread rapidly.

Seeing this, Leo narrowed his eyes and stepped back.

SHK—!

Suddenly, a blade made of bone shot through the smoke.

But it wasn't aimed at Leo.

THMP—! THMP—!

As Leo retreated, he grabbed Chelsea and Eliana by the scruff of their necks.

"Brace for landing."

FWOOOSH—!

Without waiting for a reply, Leo hurled the two of them backward.

"Kyaaaaaa?!"

"Gyaaaah!"

The screams of Chelsea and Eliana echoed as they flew through the air.

"Wh-What the… GURK?!"

Leo spun his body midair and pushed Carl with his shin, driving him backward.

It wasn't a kick, but a shove—so it didn't do damage.

But the sheer pressure against his gut and the wind blasting against his back were enough to make Carl scream instinctively.

He was sent flying in the same direction as Chelsea and Eliana.

Still screaming, the two girls managed to regain their composure and landed on the ground.

Gritting her teeth, Chelsea sprinted.

As the fastest among the third-year students of Lumene, she reached Carl's landing point just ahead of Eliana.

"Uwaaaaagh!"

As Carl's screams grew louder, Chelsea flung her arms wide.

WHUMP—!

A gentle gust of wind blew, cushioning Carl like a pillow. She had caught him just in time.

GRAB—!

"You saved me, my prince!"

Carl clung to her in a princess carry pose, covering his mouth with both hands and putting on a look of admiration.

Chelsea shouted like she was going to lose her mind.

"You seriously have the nerve to joke now?!"

She promptly hurled Carl at the approaching Eliana.

Once Eliana caught him, Chelsea spun around on her heel to face Leo again.

A dark red mist was rolling toward him like a shroud of death.

"Haaah…!"

Taking a deep breath with her eyes closed, Chelsea snapped them open.

Gooooooh—!

Suddenly, an overwhelming surge of magic exploded from her body.

Her clothes fluttered and swelled, and the soft breeze that followed turned into a howling wind that cleared the air around her.

Gripping her staff tightly, Chelsea cast her spell.

"Cyclone."

FWOOOOSH—!

A ferocious whirlwind roared to life, sucking in the death mist pouring from the Lich King like a black hole.

CRAAAAASH—!

Chelsea gritted her teeth.

'Holding this spell is harder than I thought!'

The thick dark mana embedded in the mist felt like it might tear apart her incantation at any moment.

Just as Chelsea clenched her teeth—

TAP—!

Leo stepped out of the smoke and stood beside her.

Their eyes met for a brief moment.

"H-Help…"

"You can handle this much, can't you?"

"…!"

"If it were Celia Zerdinger, she'd have endured it."

At his words, Chelsea clenched her jaw harder.

Sparks seemed to fly from her eyes.

Digging even deeper into her mana reserves, Chelsea unleashed even more magic.

CRAAAAASH—!

The winds roared even fiercer, and Leo chuckled.

'No matter the world, Celia's still the best at provoking Chelsea.'

Then he looked forward.

FWOOOOSH—!

Chelsea's magic blew away the black magic of the Lich King, Hell Kaiser.

Step, step—

Ssssshhhh—

Hell Kaiser walked forward.

All the plants in the path he tread withered and died.

Seeing that, Chelsea shrank back slightly.

Swoosh—

Leo stepped in front of her.

"Leo?"

Chelsea looked up at him, her eyes wide.

Leo glanced back at her and said,

"Don't be scared. I'm here."

"……!"

Chelsea's eyes grew even wider.

They were standing face-to-face with none other than the commander of Tartaros—Lich King Hell Kaiser.

In a situation like that, telling her not to be afraid because he was there?

Normally, Chelsea would have snapped at him not to talk nonsense.

But for some reason, she felt strangely reassured.

Because she could feel the power behind Leo's words.

'He feels just like Senior Leah.'

Chelsea could feel her heart pounding fast.

Meanwhile, Hell Kaiser stared intently at Leo with blood-red eyes.

Goooooooo—!

At last, a monstrous aura burst forth from Hell Kaiser's body.

Seeing that, Leo spoke to Chelsea.

"Go regroup with Carl and Eliana. And get as far away as you can."

"O-Okay."

Nodding, Chelsea ran toward Carl and Eliana.

But she stopped mid-step and looked back.

"You'll come back safe, right?"

At that, Leo gave a soft laugh.

"If they want to take me down, they'll need to bring your student council president at the very least."

Half joke, half truth.

Yet for some reason, Chelsea felt a surge of relief as she turned and left.

Once Chelsea was gone, Leo spoke again.

"So? You just gonna stand there and stare?"

"It's been a long time, Surviving Hero."

Hell Kaiser spoke calmly.

Leo smirked at him.

"So glad to see me, huh? Bet you're thrilled."

"Unfortunately, I'm neither glad nor thrilled."

Hell Kaiser grinned back.

"All I feel is that an unpleasant pest has shown up."

At those words, Leo's eyes twitched.

"How did you end up in this place, outsider?"

'So he noticed…'

"You look curious how I figured it out."

Hell Kaiser let out a low laugh.

"I already knew the other Great Heroes—aside from you—had been reborn."

"Oh? You seem pretty relaxed for someone who knows that."

"What are they without you? Without you, history will simply repeat itself as it did 3000 years ago."

Hell Kaiser sneered.

His meaning was clear: so long as Leo—the bane of Erebos—wasn't present, their victory was assured.

"What we feared most was that you would return to this world."

If all five Great Heroes were to fully return, this time, Erebos would be truly finished.

"But in the end, you never reincarnated. The Surviving Hero—your return doesn't exist in this world."

"And yet, here I am."

"You are nothing but a foreign body in this world."

Hell Kaiser's eyes flashed.

"My eyes cannot be fooled, Surviving Hero. I see it clearly."

In his crimson gaze, Leo's figure reflected.

"The lingering wills of the Monster Queen and the Giant King who dwell within you. The grudge of the generals you killed."

As the Lich King who rules over death, he had seen straight through.

The deaths of the Monster Queen and the Giant King.

"My brethren still live. And yet I see traces of their death clinging to you. There can only be one reason."

Hell Kaiser curled his lips.

"Because you are from another world. You who should have returned to your original world—what can you even accomplish by staying here?"

"Did it never occur to you that I might stay here forever?"

"Heh… ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!"

Hell Kaiser burst into maniacal laughter.

"You tell funny jokes, Surviving Hero. Just as you know us well, I know your kind better than anyone."

Wisdom glinted in Hell Kaiser's eyes.

"If your capacity was truly that limited, the gods would never have been slain by your hand."

"……"

"Since you'll be returning soon, allow me to give you a parting gift— A gift called agony."

Hell Kaiser curled his lips into a sneer as he cursed Leo.

"Even if you win in your world, you'll live your entire life tormented by what happened in this one."

To Hell Kaiser's curse, Leo also smiled faintly.

"That's why you lost."

"What did you say?"

"Remember this, Hell Kaiser."

Leo gripped his sword tightly.

"My damn companions…"

What glimmered in Leo's eyes was unwavering conviction.

"There's no way they'd fail to defeat Erebos just because I'm not there."

Leo's eyes flashed sharply.

"Whether I'm there or not. We always win."

Hell Kaiser didn't believe that the Tartaros of another world—where the Monster Queen and Giant King had been slain—would lose.

But Leo was different.

He had absolute faith in his friends.

"Pray, when the end comes."

Leo pointed his sword at Hell Kaiser.

"That at least in that other world, you won. Not that I think there's any chance of it."

Hell Kaiser's eyes glimmered with rage.

The conviction in Leo's gaze was enough to make him feel disgusted.

Flash!—KA-KA-KA-KRAK-KAANG!

Leo's sword clashed with the summoned bone blade of Hell Kaiser.

Gray aura and black magic collided.

Their battle was like a natural disaster—leveling the area around them into a wasteland.

—A short while later.

Leo clicked his tongue as he looked at where Hell Kaiser had vanished.

'Tch.'

Hell Kaiser hadn't fought seriously.

He had merely tested the waters and retreated.

'Annoying bastard.'

Leo sheathed his sword and took a deep breath.

'So he knows about parallel worlds.'

The Lich King had lived for a near-eternal time.

Even before the Age of Calamity had begun—so it was no surprise if he had knowledge of parallel worlds.

'He said I'll be returning soon.'

As he thought that, Leo pulled a pocket watch from his coat.

Click—

Opening the lid, Leo's eyes widened.

The hands—once barely moving by seconds—had now almost ticked toward the next minute.

'When did it move this much…?'

Leo's face filled with shock, but he quickly composed himself.

'…So time's speeding up.'

He instinctively realized it.

When this clock began functioning properly— That would be the moment he left this world.

Closing the watch, Leo fell into thought.

'The Lich King knew the others had reincarnated.'

In that case, he now understood why the many events from his own timeline hadn't occurred here.

'Tartaros is moving as covertly as possible.'

They must have assumed that time was on their side, with Leo absent.

And if they engaged the Great Heroes too early, Tartaros might be destroyed entirely.

'So in the end, the others acted as deterrents.'

Yet despite that, the Lich King had made such a bold move.

Which meant—

'They must be on the verge of erupting.'

Just as Leo arrived at that conclusion—

"Oh! Leo!"

His companions, who had distanced themselves to avoid getting caught in the fight, came running over.

"That was amazing! You fought the Lich King head-on!"

"Y-You're way stronger than I thought… I-I had no idea…"

Chelsea beamed brightly with wide eyes, while Eliana looked clearly intimidated.

"Hey, Leo. Why don't you transfer to Lumene? If it's you, I'm sure Senior Leah would accept you without question! If you take a spot in 3rd-year 1st Party, one of them would move to 2nd Party, right? Then I could live a little easier!"

Chelsea's eyes sparkled.

"I-I might not even get to stay in 2nd Party…"

Eliana mumbled, her shoulders drooping.

Watching them, Leo wiggled his fingers at the two.

With puzzled looks, the girls stepped forward.

"I'm older than you. So, call me 'oppa.'"

"Kyaah?!"

"Why are you sitting there all timid and downcast?"

"Eek?!"

Leo pinched both their noses and shook them back and forth.

After releasing the flailing pair, Leo spoke.

"Looks like the two of you need to get your heads straight."

"What?!"

"S-Suddenly?"

"You," he pointed at Chelsea, "are too unserious. And you," to Eliana, "are too timid."

At his blunt criticism, Chelsea and Eliana both shrank slightly.

Leo then said:

"Chelsea."

"What, …..Leo-oppa"

"Want me to teach you a spell that can beat Celia Zerdinger?"

"What?! Seriously?!"

Chelsea immediately showed intense interest.

"Eliana."

"Y-Yeah…"

"I'll teach you a technique to become 'Eliana the Lightning Swiftblade.'"

"L-Lightning Swiftblade?!"

Eliana looked absolutely captivated.

These two had walked a different path than the ones Leo knew.

So their current selves differed from the Chelsea and Eliana he remembered.

But still, at their core—they were unmistakably the same.

"Just train with me for a week. I'll make you strong enough to beat 1st Party."

"Eh~"

"That's a little much."

Both girls looked skeptical.

"Still, maybe I'll give it a try. Just in case."

"I-I'm curious too."

The two seemed willing to take him up on the offer.

Watching them, Leo smiled.

Just then, Carl shivered.

"I-I'm not part of this, right?"

"Nope. You're in too."

"……"

Carl gave a tragic smile.

Then he asked:

"Hey, Leo."

"What?"

"You know us a little too well, don't you? Like, really well. Are you sure we haven't met before?"

At Carl's question, Leo gave a faint chuckle.

"Maybe we have."