Editor : Amethyst00



Rune's eyes widened mid-chant.

Leo, radiating that brilliant, pure white mana, captured her gaze.

'Beautiful…'

Had she ever seen mana so clear in all the world?

And yet, within that light, there was a sorrow—a quiet, aching sadness woven through its glow.

As she looked upon it, Rune drew forth even more of her own power.

At that moment—

Erebos charged toward Leo.

In his hand, no longer a greatsword, but a massive battle axe.

It swung down, seeking to cleave straight through Leo's light with devastating might.

Kiinng—! KWAANG!

Leo raised his sword to block.

A collision of raw force.

KRAGAGAGAGAK!

Leo was pushed backward from the impact.

Huff—!

The black flames that cloaked Erebos recoiled.

Seeing this, Erebos's eyes narrowed.

'Surviving hero…!'

That gaze—burning with hatred—fixed itself on Kyle.

Even after 5,000 years, this man still stood in his way.

That alone was enough to make the eternal god of evil curse his own fate.

Worse still—

He had become even more dangerous than before.

The pure white mana Leo now wielded was far more threatening than the gray light he once knew.

'His strength now is nowhere near what it was in his past life.'

In sheer power, there was no comparison.

But Erebos knew better than to assume power alone could defeat a great hero.

CLANG!

Leo's sword sank deep into the battle axe.

Erebos, without hesitation, tossed it aside and summoned another weapon.

A sword. A spear. A curved blade. A short lance. A bow.

He wielded every kind of armament, mimicked Kyle's magic through corrupted sorcery, and even summoned beasts to imitate his former nemesis's tactics.

Each attack could have taken Leo's life with a single mistake.

But Leo didn't falter.

He blocked every one.

On the contrary—

Swhhk—!

The tip of Leo's sword grazed Erebos's neck by a hair's breadth.

A counterattack.

If he had been facing Leo with his true body—

'That white mana would've devoured me whole.'

Even with a fraction of his body here, if he hadn't copied Kyle's movement patterns, he would have already been carved to pieces.

He had the overwhelming power. The circumstances were in his favour.

But the hero who once saved the world… Was once again attempting the impossible without care for odds or reason.

Why he wouldn't fall,

How he could endure such things—

These questions no longer even crossed Erebos's mind.

Because…

'This man is The Surviving Hero.'

Then—

FWOOM—!

A massive surge of mana swept outward.

Erebos turned toward the origin of the pulse.

There, Rune stood, her eyes burning with fury as she stared him down.

Fwaaargh—!

In an instant, Erebos erupted in black fire.

Leo quickly leapt back.

"Ha! What a perfect target! Get ready—"

"Wait."

Leo raised a hand.

And at that very moment, Erebos vanished into black flame.

"He ran?!"

Rune's eyes shot wide in shock.

'He was winning… so why retreat?'

Granted, if Rune's magic had struck directly, the outcome was uncertain.

But for Leo, this withdrawal was a relief.

Even he couldn't guarantee victory in that fight.

Of course—

If enough time had passed and the other great heroes had arrived, Erebos would eventually have no choice but to retreat.

Even if they hadn't fully regained their powers, five great heroes together were a threat even one shard of Erebos couldn't ignore.

But still—

'He could've easily tried to take out me or Luna before that happened.'

And yet, Erebos had fled without hesitation.

'In this situation, time isn't on his side.'

The great heroes would only grow stronger as time passed.

'And yet he smiled as he left.'

Leo furrowed his brow, recalling that unsettling grin Erebos wore just before he vanished.

'…What is he planning?'

Just then—

FLASH!

A pillar of white light surged upward from the direction of Plov Manor.

Rune's eyes widened.

"Ah… It's Leah."

bl

GRAAAWRRRR—!

KIEEEEEEKK—!

Countless monsters roared as they surged forward.

They had one purpose:

To annihilate every living being in their path.

Inheriting the will of their dark god-creator, the monsters glared with thick, murderous intent.

FWOOSH—!

Suddenly, crimson flames flared in the sky.

"Haaaah!"

FLASH! KRAKAKAKAKANG—!

With a sharp cry, a massive flaming slash cut across the battlefield.

A streak of fire blazed cleanly through the monster horde like a line drawn across the earth.

KYAAGHHH—!

The air was filled with the acrid stench of burning flesh.

If they had even a shred of intelligence, the monsters would have faltered at such a blow, halting their advance.

But they obeyed only the will of their creator, the evil god.

Their charge didn't slow in the slightest.

"Tch!"

Reina clicked her tongue and moved into an aura step.

FWHOOSH—!

With each stride Reina took in the air, flaming footprints appeared and vanished behind her.

"One more…!"

FWRRR—!

Just as Reina tried to raise her aura once again—

KREEEE—!

A flying-type monster dove at her from behind.

As Reina turned to slash—

FLASH!

A pale silver sword aura tore through the air, shredding the monster to pieces.

"Lady Reina! Leave the skies to me!"

"Oh, you're so sweet! That's a relief! Thank you, Eiran!"

Beaming, Reina turned her attention back to the ground-based monster horde.

As befit someone with the nickname Flame Witch despite being a knight class, each swing of her sword butchered and scorched the monsters in waves.

But even so, their numbers did not diminish.

'We're too short on manpower!'

Reina bit down hard on her lip.

She and Eiran had stayed behind for one reason—to delay the monsters' advance.

The goal was to buy time to evacuate the people of Plov to the heart of the territory and establish a defensive line to hold them back.

Plov was a peaceful countryside estate.

Though it had walls, they were far from sturdy enough to withstand an attack of this scale.

'Even with magic, we can only reinforce so much! What should we do? What can we possibly…'

Caught in a hopeless situation, Reina ground her teeth.

And still the monsters grew closer to the heart of Plov.

'We can't let it end like this! We can't—!'

Reina's eyes trembled with rising desperation.

Then—

She spotted Lunia standing right in the monsters' path and her eyes widened.

"What's she doing there?!"

"Miss Lunia came to help stop the monster advance!"

"What? No! She needs to conserve her mana!"

Right now, of everyone here, Lunia had the most destructive, wide-range spells.

They needed to preserve her power to use it after the defensive line had been established.

"It's okay! Mister Carl said he brought a special mana potion!"

"A special mana potion?"

"Yes! He said it's ridiculously expensive but fully restores mana in one go!"

WHOOOOOM—!

Flames began to rise around Lunia's body, and the heat steadily grew more intense.

Soon, her skin glowed with vivid orange lines, like burning embers carved across her form.

Lunia raised her open palm to the sky.

WHOOOM—!

Above it, a ball of fire began to form.

It grew, and grew—

Until it shone like a miniature sun.

"Here goes…"

Gritting her teeth against the searing pain threatening to consume her, Lunia unleashed the spell straight into the advancing horde.

FWRRRRSHHH! KRAKAKAKAKANG—!

The massive fireball crashed into the ground and exploded like a bursting bubble.

Waves of flame surged outward like a tsunami.

Lunia extended her palm and clenched her fist.

WHOOOOOM—!

The flames that had been pouring out now shot upward like a fiery dragon's breath, swirling into a towering vortex.

"Goodness… Lunia was this powerful?"

Reina, watching from afar, stared in disbelief.

She had known Lunia was an exceptional hero candidate.

But she never imagined someone so young could unleash a spell of this scale.

'If it weren't for Rune… the one called the Reincarnation of the Poet of the Star might have been Lunia instead…'

As Reina had that thought—

The area scorched by Lunia's flames held no trace of the monsters. Not even ashes remained.

"Kgh…!"

Lunia staggered.

The pain in her body was one thing, but it was the complete depletion of mana—the post-casting shock—that truly overwhelmed her.

Clenching her jaw, Lunia quickly downed the mana potion Carl had given her.

And just like that, strength began to surge back through her.

'What the—? It works this well?'

Lunia blinked in surprise.

"Miss Lunia!"

Eiran ran toward her with a radiant smile.

"Eiran… With this, we've stalled their advance. Now let's fall ba—ugh?!"

"Got it!"

Eiran dashed forward and, without warning, hoisted Lunia over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

The impact to her stomach made Lunia flinch and tremble, before going limp.

"Miss Lunia! That was seriously amazing— Miss Lunia?"

Noticing Lunia had gone completely limp, Eiran's eyes widened in panic.

Tears welled up in her eyes as she looked toward Reina running alongside them.

"Lady Reina! I don't think Mister Carl's potion worked as well as he said! She passed out from mana shock!"

"Eiran… do you hate Lunia by any chance?"

"Huh?"

"I think she fainted because of you."

"B-because of me?!"

As Eiran stammered, Reina let out a small sigh.

Then she looked toward the far-off defensive line.

"Huh. Not bad at all."

She sounded impressed.

"Thanks to Carl Thomas's alchemical tools," her lieutenant said. "He had all kinds of useful things with him."

"Hoooh?" Reina's interest perked up as she glanced at Carl with gleaming eyes.

'Way more capable than I expected. Someone like him could really help our House.'

Then—

GRAAAWRRR—!

Another monstrous roar echoed across the battlefield.

Reina clicked her tongue.

"Everyone, get ready."

She gripped her sword.

"Hold out… until reinforcements arrive!"

As she called out with steely determination—

FLASH—!

A pillar of light shot down from the sky.

KRAKAKAKAKANG—!

The pillar swept through the charging monsters, obliterating them in a dazzling wave.

One of the mages watching from behind lit up with joy.

"Dragonic magic?! Did the dragons come?!"

If the dragons had joined the fight, the battle might finally turn in their favour.

Then—

TAP—

Someone landed atop the wall.

"Huh? Leah-sunbae!"

Carl's eyes widened in surprise.

"Carl… It's been a while."

Leah smiled gently at him.

"Oh my! Leah!"

Reina also greeted her with delight.

"Hello, Lady Reina. Can you explain the situation to me?"

Leah's face was calm and composed as she spoke, and Reina answered immediately.

"A fragment of Erebos is rampaging right now. This army of monsters was created by it."

At those words, Leah's face hardened.

'The Authority of Creation…'

"Where's Rune?"

"She's fighting off Erebos's fragment."

"Alone?! That idiot! She's being reckless…!"

"No—she's not alone. She's with her reliable boyfriend."

"…Huh?"

Leah froze in place.

"…Boy… friend?"