Editor : Amethyst00



Lysinas gasped for breath.

Before her, Nyx knelt—her body in a wretched, pitiful state.

"A mere mortal…! A wretched spirit born from mana…! How dare you…! How dare you…!"

Nyx glared up at Lysinas with blazing eyes.

Meeting that glare, Lysinas reached up and yanked out the shard of ice lodged in her shoulder.

"Yeah. I'm just a mere spirit."

Clatter—

The ice shard hit the ground and shattered to pieces.

Then, pulling out the shard embedded in her thigh, Lysinas spoke.

"But at least I'd say I'm better than a loser like you."

At Lysinas's mocking sneer, Nyx let out a bitter laugh.

"Don't get cocky! There's no one left in this world who can destroy me!"

"Why not? Kyle's still here."

"What? You think that fake called forth by that 'Record System' can do anything to me?!"

As her strength seemed to return, Nyx's cracked and scattered form slowly began to restore itself.

"I'm not talking about the Kyle from the past. I'm talking about the current Kyle."

"Utter nonsense!"

Nyx sneered openly.

"Leo Plov's soul has already gone to the world he desired most. He'd never abandon that world to return here!"

"……"

Lysinas, ever wise, could easily guess what world Leo had desired most.

'The world where all of us were reborn.'

Her expression turned bitter.

"If he were the type to put himself first… I wouldn't have called him a fool all this time."

"Hah! It's nothing but blind faith! No matter how great a feat he accomplished, he's still just a mortal—!"

"No."

Lysinas looked up at the sky.

"He'll come. Look."

As she spoke, Nyx followed her gaze—and her eyes flew wide.

There, in the sky—Leo was staring down at them.

"Wh… What?! How?!"

As Nyx screamed in disbelief, Lysinas replied,

"You'll never understand."

The moment her words ended, pure aura burst around Leo's body as he descended with terrifying speed toward Nyx.

Crash—!

"Gyaaaaaaaaaah!"

Leo's sword drove straight through Nyx.

Wracked by burning agony, she shrieked in pain.

She had already spent the vast majority of her strength battling Lysinas.

Leo turned his gaze to Lysinas.

Seeing her bloodied, wounded body, he drove his sword into Nyx once again.

"Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

"…What an undignified scream."

Leo's cold words fell as he raised his blade once more.

"I—I can offer you eternity! I—I can…! I…!"

"At least Erebos never begged for his life."

Leo answered flatly.

Shhk—!

His blade, imbued with purity mana, sliced clean through Nyx's neck.

"This… can't be… Me… defeated… by a mere mortal…?"

Her expression empty and disbelieving, Nyx dissolved and sank into the earth.

"You okay?"

"…Yeah."

Lysinas gave a small nod to Leo's question.

"Kyle."

"…What?"

"Welcome back."

"……"

At her words, Leo gave a bitter smile.

Then he looked out over the battlefield.

Even the demonic forces of Styx had been completely cleared out.

Waaaaaaaaaah—!

The sound of triumphant cheers erupted from the victorious heroes.

bl

"This can't be happening…!"

The First Saint, Acheron of Sorrow, who had fled the battlefield, clenched his teeth.

"Lady Nyx… There's no way Lady Nyx could have vanished so easily…!"

His eyes widened, as if in denial of the situation unfolding before him.

To him, the loss of a god was more devastating than anything else.

"The army of Styx still remains! I'll awaken them all—!"

Thunk—!

Acheron's furious movement came to a sudden halt.

As he lowered his gaze, he saw it—a bone blade piercing straight through his body.

"So Nyx has been defeated after all?"

A languid voice rang out from behind him.

"All that effort, and she only managed to erase one fragment of Lord Erebos."

"You bastard…!"

Acheron turned with hatred burning in his eyes—only to find himself face to face with Hell Kaiser.

Hell Kaiser looked at Acheron with utter disdain as he spoke.

"This is what happens when a relic of failure, long buried in history, tries to act important."

"Graaaaaaaaagh!"

Acheron let out a feral roar and lunged at Hell Kaiser.

But before his attack could land, the bone blades slashed into his body mercilessly.

Crunch! Crackle! Shhk—!

Thud—!

Acheron's severed head rolled lifelessly across the ground.

Hell Kaiser calmly picked it up and muttered,

"The remaining demons of Styx… Well, I suppose they'll be of some use. Recycled, maybe."

With those emotionless words, the Lich King vanished into the shadows.

"Long live the King of the World! Long live the Hero of the Beginning!"

"Lady Lysinas! Lord Kyle!"

The heroes who had achieved a great and glorious victory raised their voices together in praise of the Great Heroes.

The Hero of the Beginning, who had appeared suddenly and stopped the fragment of Erebos.

And the countless spirits summoned—granting them the power to stand against an army of demons.

Before their very eyes, they had witnessed legend itself.

The emotion swelled within them, impossible to contain.

Joyously, they cheered the names of Kyle and Lysinas.

"They're calling for you. Why not show your face?"

"…You're right."

Lysinas gave a small nod.

And then, she revealed herself atop the broken battlements.

"Gasp! It's Lady Lysinas!"

"Ooh… the great Wise Queen…!"

Someone spotted her, and all eyes turned toward that spot.

Lysinas glanced behind her.

Far beyond the ridge, light was beginning to rise.

The moment where night ends and dawn begins.

Once the sun broke through, its light would surely shine upon this place.

'Perfect timing,' she thought.

Turning back toward the battlefield, Lysinas raised her voice.

"I'm proud of all of you."

The voice was quiet—but it carried. All present could hear her.

And those who had staked their lives in battle now wore deeply moved expressions.

It was acknowledgment—from none other than the Wise Queen herself.

"Five thousand years ago, my comrades and I risked our lives for this world. And today… I realized something. You are not so different from us. To you, the heroes who fought on this battlefield and achieved a great feat—I will now share with you a piece of history unknown to the world."

Everyone tensed at her words.

An untold history from the Wise Queen herself?

As all swallowed dryly in anticipation, Lysinas spoke.

"Kyle, the Hero of the Beginning—I liked him before Luna did."

"……"

Silence fell.

No one quite knew what expression to wear in response.

"And that man named Kyle… never realized how I felt, nor Luna's feelings either."

Mouths dropped open at the shocking confession.

Far away, Leo—listening to Lysinas's speech—grimaced in horror.

'Those two… seriously… in front of all these people…'

"But, well… as you saw today, the man's absurdly cool. That's why I loved him."

Lysinas smiled softly.

Everyone fell into a trance at that beautiful expression.

"Even after all of us died, he never once gave up on the world. Even when left alone, even in despair—he kept moving forward."

"……"

"He was the beginning. Yes—he is the starting point of this age. So…"

Lysinas's tone became solemn.

"You are all the successors of Kyle, the Hero of the Beginning. Please, never forget that."

Pride burned in the hearts of all who heard.

Those who listened to her voice felt drawn to follow her.

'That charisma—that's Lysinas's true power,' Leo thought.

The kind of leader no one could imitate, no matter how they tried.

"Darkness is coming to this world again."

Lysinas closed her eyes.

"A situation like five thousand years ago may arise once more. Though we've barely managed to hold it off with our legacy… there's no guarantee that legacy will last forever."

Unease crept into people's hearts at those dark words.

"Five thousand years ago… I was recognized by the gods as the King of the World, even before I gathered the Great Heroes."

It was a lie.

Lysinas had only been acknowledged as the World's King after becoming its hope.

But she didn't care.

She had always been a liar.

"I was given the duty to save the world from despair. That's why, in the Hero Record, I'm the only one recorded as 'King.'"

A masterful blend of truth and fiction.

Even Leo furrowed his brow in confusion at her sudden claim.

"And… just like back then, this age now needs a king."

A murmur ran through the crowd.

But no one could refute her.

They had experienced the majesty of one recognized as a King by the gods with their own eyes today.

It was nothing like what they had read in history books or heard in stories.

In just a single battle, they had come to understand—deeply and clearly—how extraordinary the Queen of Wisdom truly was.

Not simply because she was powerful.

But because she was the one they could believe in and follow.

A person capable of uniting all their strength—and showing them what was possible when they stood together.

"So I declare here and now: the one to inherit my throne has been born."

The title King of the World was not something passed down.

But it didn't matter.

She had already wrapped it in the guise of succession.

More importantly—

'There's no one more deserving of it.'

"Leo Plov."

Lysinas looked to a single spot.

There stood Leo.

And then, the crowd parted—creating a path between him and Lysinas.

Step… step…

Leo walked silently down the path.

He came to a stop at the base of the wall where Lysinas stood.

Then, Lysinas opened a subspace and drew out a small crown.

It was the crown passed down through the line of Dragon Lords.

A symbol never handed down after Lysinas's death.

Lysinas leapt down from the wall.

She descended gently and landed softly in front of Leo.

"Kneel."

At her words, Leo bent to one knee and muttered quietly.

"Do we really have to go this far?"

"If we're going to put on a show, we might as well do it properly."

"…This is fraud."

"You knew I was a lying con artist from the start, didn't you?"

With a mischievous grin, Lysinas spoke.

"At this moment… I solemnly declare you as the one who succeeds me as King of the World."

Just as she was about to place the crown on him—

Something appeared before her eyes.

[Would you like to record the story of a Hero?]

"……"

It wasn't hard to guess whose story it was asking to record.

'Kyle… or Leo's story, perhaps.'

Right now, Leo's name was being recorded in the Hero Record not as the Hero of the Beginning, but as Leo Plov.

But no title—no epithet—had yet been granted.

There was no one who could bestow such a name.

No one, except—

'Me.'

"Leo Plov. From this moment on… you are the King of the Beginning, and the ruler of a new age."

[The story of Leo Plov, the King of the Beginning, has been recorded.]

It was the moment when the second King of the World—the successor to the Wise Queen, Lysinas—was born.