Editor : Amethyst00



KWAGAGAGAGAK—!

A wind so intense it could tear one's body apart just by touching it rushed toward Chelsea.

But as it neared her, it turned into a gentle breeze.

Ceneor tilted her head, puzzled at the sight.

WHOOOSH—!

This time, Ceneor waved her hand like a conductor leading an orchestra.

A massive pressure formed around Chelsea.

And with that, the breeze that swirled around her began to compress.

If the air compressed like that were to burst, it would surely blow Chelsea away in a massive explosion.

But even that immense air pressure dispersed into a soft breeze.

As her attacks continued to fail, Ceneor clasped her hands together.

Soon, the space around Chelsea began to transform into a vacuum—an airless void.

Yet Chelsea remained calm.

Then, Ceneor's eyes glimmered.

"I see."

She realized she couldn't defeat the woman before her using wind alone.

"She's completely seized control of the air around her."

The space surrounding Chelsea was under a powerful form of domination.

It was, quite literally, a field spell taken to its extreme.

As a wind user, Chelsea's mastery vastly outclassed Ceneor's.

"I can't beat her with wind magic."

Having come to this conclusion, Ceneor chuckled and clapped her hands.

CLAP—!

In an instant, countless dark red spikes appeared around Ceneor.

Chelsea tilted her head in confusion.

"Didn't you say you'd fight me using only wind?"

"I'll apologize for such an arrogant claim."

A sly smile curved Ceneor's lips.

"I realized I don't need to be arrogant to have fun with you."

WHOOSH—!

The dark red spikes flew toward Chelsea to pierce her.

She closed her eyes.

"I can hear it."

The voice of the wind.

One spike flew right up to Chelsea's nose.

A dangerous attack that could've taken her head off with a slight misstep.

SWISH—!

Chelsea gently tilted her head, dodging the attack.

It brushed past her by the narrowest of margins.

It wasn't that she reacted late.

In fact, she had reacted perfectly.

She had predicted the force and direction through the wind and evaded with the minimal movement required.

Ceneor's barrage began.

Dark magic that could kill her in a single hit relentlessly targeted Chelsea.

But she dodged each attack with razor-thin precision.

"Beautiful! Absolutely beautiful!"

Ceneor's face twisted with mad delight.

"Wow…"

Watching Chelsea fight, Carl muttered in awe.

"You're amazing, Miss Chelsea."

Even Melina stared wide-eyed, captivated by Chelsea's battle.

Leo remained silent, simply watching her.

"Hey, Leo. Isn't she copying your style?"

Her fighting style—evading attacks with minimal movement and maximizing efficiency—was reminiscent of Leo's.

And Chelsea was indeed imitating Leo's methods.

Reading the flow of the wind and dodging accordingly was one of Leo's wind techniques.

"You can't really call it imitation."

It was an unimaginably high-level technique.

Then—

Countless attacks surrounded Chelsea.

A massive area-of-effect attack was triggered, leaving her no room to dodge.

In that moment—

Chelsea's body flew off with a whirl—!

As if trying to punch a feather with full force, and still missing.

Even if you did hit, you couldn't apply any real strength.

Using the force of her opponent's own attack, Chelsea effortlessly moved out of the blast radius.

Leo's eyes widened.

That wasn't just mimicry.

It was a utilization of wind even Leo couldn't perform.

"Incredible."

Leo murmured in pure admiration, stunned by how far Chelsea had surpassed his expectations.

Melina and Carl looked at him, shocked.

Leo had never been one to lavish praise on fellow heroes or trainees.

He'd occasionally express surprise at their rapid growth.

But this… This was different.

"Whoa. I've never seen you this surprised."

Carl said in amazement, and Leo chuckled.

"Yeah. Looking at her now… she's not a kid anymore."

Watching the girl blossom into her potential, Leo murmured,

"She's a true mage now."

bl

"Ahhhh! Marvelous! Simply marvelous!"

Ceneor couldn't hide her exhilaration.

"To meet such an incredible hero the first time I encounter one!"

To Ceneor, Chelsea no longer looked like a mere hero-in-training.

She was a hero.

A formidable one—powerful enough to take down a legion commander alone.

She couldn't suppress her excitement.

A special hero stood before her.

"This battle is special! So special!"

Ceneor's eyes gleamed ecstatically.

Chelsea's magic mercilessly tore into her.

And with that, Ceneor, using her Berserker Authority, grew faster and stronger with each moment.

The power of the Berserker—its savagery and might intensified as more blood was shed.

She was becoming a full-fledged berserker fighting purely on instinct.

Back in the Age of Calamity, the giant king Giath, driven to the brink of death, had once used this Authority to gain strength rivaling Jormungandr, the strongest legion commander of all.

An overwhelming power purchased with vitality.

And yet, even with that power, Ceneor couldn't lay a hand on Chelsea.

"So much fun! This battle, this pain—it's exhilarating!"

Then, in the midst of madness, Ceneor abruptly halted her attack.

Chelsea stopped moving too, swallowing dryly.

Up until now, she had been holding her own.

But she was still overwhelmed by her madness.

"There's only so far I can get mimicking Leo…"

She hadn't fully mastered her own power yet.

As Chelsea broke into a cold sweat—

Ceneor's body began trembling.

Not from pain—but from joy.

CRUNCH—!

Ceneor bit into her own hand.

"Ahh… No. I can't burn everything just yet."

Gnawing her own flesh, she turned her gaze to Chelsea.

She, expressionless, gathered her mana.

Even that blank face was part of her imitation of Leo.

Looking at her, Ceneor grinned as dark magic swirled around her.

"See you again, fledgling."

With those parting words, she vanished.

"She ran away?"

Chelsea furrowed her brows.

Despite still having strength to fight, she'd retreated.

Considering her earlier madness, it was unexpected.

Chelsea stayed alert for a moment but soon realized she was truly gone and relaxed.

"Strange. She looked like she was ready to fight to the bitter end."

"Maybe she sensed that we were about to join the fight too," Carl replied as he and Melina walked up.

"Would she really care about something like that?"

Carl glanced at Leo.

"What do you think?"

"Hard to say. I've never seen a legion commander like her before."

Leo had seen countless demon commanders who loved to fight.

Laughing as they ripped enemies apart, reveling in others' fear—it was typical demon behavior.

But a commander—or even a demon—who sought the very meaning of existence within the fight itself?

That was new.

"So this is a first for you too, huh. Hm… unsettling, isn't it?"

"More than unsettling…" Leo narrowed his eyes.

"Maybe it's because I've lived too long in peace, but these demons… they've all lost their damn minds. Their heads are rotten."

'Whoa…'

'Total boomer.'

Melina and Carl shared the same thought silently.

Then Chelsea ran up to Leo with a bright smile.

"Leo oppa, Leo oppa! How was I?"

Leo didn't answer right away.

Chelsea bent slightly, placing her hands on her knees, looking up at him.

Her face was that of a mature woman, but within it lingered a girl's innocence.

"I tried copying you. Was it weird?"

"…I don't control wind like that."

"Ack. So I did it wrong?"

"No. That's not it."

Leo smiled faintly.

"I mean, I can't control it like that. You were amazing."

"Really?"

Chelsea's eyes widened.

"Yeah. It was surprising, honestly."

"Yay!"

Chelsea beamed and lowered her head, making it easier for Leo to pat it.

Leo gave a small chuckle and ruffled her hair.

"Still a kid."

"I'm an adult now," Chelsea grumbled in a sulky voice.

"So Leo, if we're guessing where the key might be—between Old Fairyland and Godthrone—where are we going first?"

"Old Fairyland."

"Why?"

"For Sylord, the memories from there should be less painful."

It was his birthplace. Surely, he held it dear.

So the painful memories should be fewer.

Just like how Leo had clung to the nostalgic illusions of his own less-painful childhood.

That's what Leo thought.

bl

Thanks to Melina, Leo's party quickly found a nearby warp gate and arrived in the territory of Hergin.

"Wow…"

Carl's jaw dropped.

He wasn't the only one shocked.

Chelsea, too, looked surprised.

"This is the city ruled by the Hergin family? It's just as amazing as Lumeria!"

The Hergin family was famous across the northern continent.

Though their territory wasn't large, their influence was on par with a small kingdom.

Rich in natural resources, the city was also renowned for its wealth.

Still, for a city governed by a single noble house to rival Lumeria was astonishing.

Lumeria was considered the heart of the world both geographically and politically.

It was more advanced and wealthy than even Lordren or Xian's capitals.

That a mere noble family's city could stand beside it was truly shocking.

"Was it always this developed?"

Leo asked.

"No. Not like this," Melina replied, shaking her head.

"What the hell happened in the future? Did Eliza become some super-lord?"

Chelsea tilted her head, confused.

"Let's head to the Hergin estate first," Melina suggested.

At that moment—

"Everyone!"

A familiar voice called out from behind.

They turned to see Lyl approaching with a bright smile.

"Wow, Lyl. You've become truly beautiful," Melina said in awe.

Lyl shyly shrank back in her usual way.

"Compared to Miss Chelsea, I haven't changed much."

"No way, senior! You've grown radiant!" Carl said with a thumbs-up.

"You've become dashing too, Carl. But…."

Lyl's expression turned serious.

"What about my brother? He must've become incredibly handsome, right?"

The three exchanged looks before stepping aside.

Then Lyl saw Leo standing behind them—and went blank.

"What are you staring at?" Leo said gruffly with his arms crossed.

THUD— Lyl collapsed to her knees.

"T-this… This isn't good for my heart…"

Covering her mouth, she mumbled softly:

"Brother…"

"What?"

"Can I… hug you? Just once?"

Leo sighed quietly.

"Do what you want."