Editor : Amethyst00



When they came to their senses, Leo and Chelsea were in the middle of a forest.

"This is the forest on the eastern continent where I was."

Chelsea quickly assessed her surroundings and turned her head.

"Leo! Hurry! Lady Melina and Carl are fighting a legion commander…!"

Chelsea's expression turned grave.

Leo, who should've been beside her, was nowhere to be seen.

'What? Am I the only one who escaped the illusion?'

Startled, Chelsea suddenly felt a presence below and looked down.

Her eyes widened like lanterns.

A white-haired boy, about waist-high to her, was staring down at his own hands.

He looked about eight years old?

The boy—Leo—opened and closed his hands a few times, frowning deeply.

"What the hell is this…?"

"So cuuuuuute!"

With a near-scream of delight, Chelsea scooped Leo up in a hug.

"What is this? Why are you so tiny now, Leo? This must be how you looked as a kid, right? So adorable!"

Chelsea bounced excitedly while hugging Leo like a doll.

"Put me down."

"Okay."

Chelsea obeyed without argument and set Leo down.

"But why are you so young now? Carl and I turned into adults."

"It must be because of the illusion."

"The illusion?"

"Yeah."

Leo crossed his arms.

"This illusion seems to reflect either your future or your past. Melina kept seeing visions of the future, and you guys are adults, so that makes sense."

"Then you're seeing the past because you're focused on it?"

"Exactly."

"And you still look like a kid because you're still stuck in the past?"

"Probably. I didn't expect it to manifest in such an awkward form, though."

"Hmmm. I see."

Nodding, Chelsea stared down at Leo.

"What?"

"Can I hug you one more time?"

"Do whatever you want."

Chelsea hugged him again.

"So cute~ Now I understand why Lady Reina adores you so much~ If I had a son like this, I might turn into Reina too!"

Leo sighed deeply as Chelsea rubbed her cheek against his.

"Isn't your attitude changing a little too much just because my appearance did?"

"Maybe."

"So? You said Melina and Carl are fighting a legion commander?"

"Oh!"

Startled, Chelsea let go of Leo.

"Whoops."

Leo landed lightly on the ground and assessed his condition.

It wasn't just his appearance that had changed.

His powers were also in their pre-awakened state.

'Well, I can awaken mana if I want.'

But a child's body wasn't exactly suited for battle.

'Chelsea's mana has increased.'

Just as Leo had the strength appropriate to his child form, Chelsea had gained power appropriate to her adult form.

"Chelsea. If you and Carl are here, that means Carl formed a party and came to Fairyland, right?"

"Yeah. Senior Lyl is the party leader. The members are me, Xia, Carl, and Eliza."

"Did Carl plan that setup? Not bad. So which legion commander is it?"

"The Commander of Pain."

"Never heard that name before."

"She's a newly born commander."

"Makes sense. I guess even those guys go through generational change."

Leo narrowed his eyes.

The Lich King had twisted the Hero Record to create the Legion Record.

The Dark King, Dakhir, whom they faced during the coronation, was one of those new-generation commanders.

'I thought they were getting cocky…'

But they wouldn't have sent a reckless commander to a place holding a fragment of Erebos.

Which meant this one must be utterly loyal to Erebos and the Lich King.

'She might even be stronger than that so-called Dark King.'

A commander who inherited the power of a defeated predecessor.

Whatever form she took, there was no doubt she was powerful.

"Chelsea. Right now, I have no mana."

"I figured. Are you okay?"

Chelsea looked serious.

"I can awaken it. But with this body, I'm not really suited for combat…"

Leo looked up at Chelsea.

"For now, you guys will have to hold the line."

"Yeah! Leave it to us!"

Chelsea took Leo's hand and spread her mana.

"Let's go!"

Chelsea leapt into the air.

"By the way, there was that super pretty dragon earlier."

"Medea?"

"Yeah, that was her name. Who is she?"

"Well… sort of a first love?"

"What?!"

"Why are you so shocked?"

"Of course I'd be shocked if you said she was your first love!"

"To be exact, she was more like a first crush than a love."

Leo thought of Medea.

"She was someone I looked up to."

Medea had never once seen him as a romantic interest.

To Leo, she was more like a mentor he wanted to reach.

It was a relationship that resembled love, but was subtly different.

"That's a relief."

"What is?"

"To know that you have normal sides too."

Leo let out a dry laugh at that.

Meanwhile, Chelsea thought to herself:

'That dragon Medea didn't even have big boobs.'

bl

Bzzzzzzzt—!

A tremendous surge of magic swept through the area.

Countless magic circles floated around Melina.

"Fweeeet!"

Ceneor whistled.

"Nice! So cool! This is the power of the strongest living hero, huh?"

Melina, the Silent Dragon.

But that name was only because of her long silence.

The name the gods had once given her was different.

Long ago—

After failing to conquer the world of Dawn, Melina went into seclusion.

Racked with guilt over her fallen comrades,

And burdened by the impending return of the sealed calamity,

She dedicated her life to preparation, becoming a silent dragon.

But before that silence, she had been a source of terror among the demons of Tartaros.

Now forgotten by most, her true epithet remained well known among demons.

And there was only one reason demons remembered a hero's title:

Because they feared them.

Her true name, once feared by demons, was—

"You really live up to the title 'Annihilator of Light'! You're awesome!"

FLASH! BOOOOOM!

As Melina unleashed her draconic spell, blinding flashes rained down from the sky.

Bursts of light tore Ceneor's body apart and scorched the surroundings.

"Kyaahahahahahahaha!"

As Ceneor laughed madly in the light, Melina narrowed her eyes.

'I cast an area spell expecting her to dodge…'

She never imagined she would take it all head-on.

Each time Ceneor's body was torn apart, the wounds swelled and regenerated.

Even her head grew back instantly after being blown off.

It was monstrous regeneration.

The ground beneath her was soaked in her own flesh and blood.

"Ugh… gross."

Carl looked nauseated.

"The fact that she didn't dodge Melina's magic… Does that mean being injured benefits her?"

"Likely. Sharp observation, Carl."

"Heh, thanks."

"Such exquisite pain! Aah! I'm so happy! I'm incredibly lucky~"

As Ceneor trembled with ecstasy, hugging herself, Melina smiled slightly.

"You look like you're enjoying yourself."

"Of course! Pain proves I'm alive! Aah, what a glorious sensation! Anyone who inflicts pain on me is just so lovable!"

With a dazed expression, Ceneor looked at Melina.

"Annihilator of Light, I'm going to add you to my collection."

"Not to brag, but that title is pretty terrifying for demons. You're brave."

"Hah? I'm not like the old geezers! Trembling in fear is totally uncool!"

Ceneor stuck out her tongue.

"I'm special!"

She puffed out her chest.

"A Legion Commander of Pain who doesn't flinch before the Annihilator of Light! The start of a new legend! I love it!"

"To me, you don't seem that special except for your oversized ego. What makes you different from the others?"

"What?! You just don't get it! First off, I don't call myself a king like the other commanders! I'm just the 'Legion Commander of Pain'!"

That part was true.

"And I don't lead any subordinates!"

"Why not?"

"Bossing people around? Totally lame! I'm special!"

"…."

Carl looked dumbfounded.

"It's like watching a kid going through an edgy phase."

"There are dragons like that too. Seems every race has someone who thinks they have to be different."

Melina chuckled.

At that moment—

CRACK—! RUMBLE—!

Something began to rise from the ground where Ceneor stood.

"Didn't you say you had no underlings?"

"They're not underlings!"

Ceneor grinned.

"They're my clones!"

Her spilled blood and flesh began transforming into grotesque versions of herself.

Melina narrowed her eyes.

"The Monster Queen's ability."

"Hah! That coffin-bound hag made freaky monsters, but mine are cool and beautiful! Exact replicas of me!"

"Why?"

"Because…"

Ceneor folded her arms.

"It's cool!"

The Demon Queen had created creatures for efficiency.

Monsters suited to the situation.

But Ceneor, inheriting the same power, made only clones of herself.

Because appearance mattered most to her.

"Fufufu. My right hand surges with darkness!"

Ceneor dramatically clasped her right hand.

Carl scratched his cheek.

"I heard that was trendy back in Professor Len's day. Demons are behind the times."

Melina gave her a pitying look.

"Indeed. She's clearly very sick."

bl

Leo and Chelsea, having quickly joined the battlefield, overheard Ceneor from afar.

"What the heck is that?"

"The commander."

"That thing's a commander?"

"Yeah? She's strong enough."

"Just being strong doesn't make you a commander. They should have some dignity too."

Regardless of appearances, the target still needed to be taken down, but as someone who lived through the Age of Calamity, Leo refused to acknowledge Ceneor as a true commander.

"She just seems like a cringy teenager going through a phase."

Chelsea thought of a few confused classmates who fit the bill.

"Didn't know demons could catch that too."

"A phase? That's not a phase. That woman's just out of her mind."

Leo clicked his tongue.

"The Lich King's really scraping the bottom of the barrel. Putting something like that in charge?"

To Leo, these new-generation commanders didn't resemble real commanders at all.

Watching Leo utterly deny Ceneor's legitimacy, Chelsea thought:

'Wow. He's such a boomer.'