Editor : Amethyst00



"Hyung-nim, are you feeling any discomfort?"

Lyl asked politely, holding Leo in her arms.

At her words, Leo nodded.

"But where are we going?"

[To a place where Sylord might be.]

"Oh… As expected of you, Big Brother. You figured it out."

Lyl was impressed.

The place Leo and Lyl arrived at was a small house.

"This is…"

[This is Luna's house.]

"What?"

Lyl looked shocked.

"How do you know where Lady Luna's house is?"

[I visited here during the last hero's world raid.]

"Ah…"

Lyl nodded in understanding.

Sylord was Luna's pact-bearer.

So it made sense that this place he had shared with Luna could be one he longed to return to.

"But… is it alright to just go in like this?"

[Why not? What are you waiting for? Why aren't you approaching the door?]

Leo had no qualms about entering, but from Lyl's perspective, it felt deeply disrespectful.

While Lyl hesitated—

"Who are you?"

A slightly annoyed voice came from behind.

Startled, Lyl turned around to see Velkia standing there.

Though Velkia often stayed at Kyle's house and made a mess of it, she lived here with Luna as her disciple.

Which meant, this was also Velkia's house.

"Ah, Miss Velkia."

"You're that elementalist from yesterday…"

Velkia tilted her head, eyeing Leo in Lyl's arms.

"The little squirt with that creepy gaze from yesterday—this his sibling?"

Velkia's eyes sparkled with curiosity.

Then she looked at Lyl.

"You the mom?"

"No."

Lyl replied bluntly, making Velkia tilt her head again.

"But you're treating him with so much care."

"Ah, this child is my Hyung-nim…"

"Hyung-nim?"

"He's the child of someone I respect as an older brother."

"Ahh."

Even though a woman had referred to someone as "Hyung-nim," Velkia didn't seem to mind.

'They're both pretty eccentric…'

Leo thought to himself.

Then, a realization struck.

'Why are all my disciples—except for one—so strange?'

Velkia was Leo's first disciple.

Though Lyl now called Leo "Big Brother," she had originally called herself his disciple and received his guidance in spirit magic.

There was no common ground between Velkia and Lyl.

Different eras, different classes, vastly different personalities.

But in one way, they were the same—they were both very peculiar people.

'Only Bihar is normal…'

As Leo thought this—

"Can I hold him?"

Velkia asked Lyl.

"Yes, go ahead."

Lyl handed Leo over to Velkia without hesitation.

As Leo looked at Lyl with a "What are you doing?" expression—

"Up! Up you go!"

Velkia beamed as she lifted Leo high into the air.

"Wow, even his eyes are just like Master's—"

Thud!

"Urgh?!"

Leo kicked Velkia square in the face with his tiny baby foot.

Velkia staggered back.

"What are you doing, holding a baby so dangerously?"

Bihar had suddenly appeared, sighing as she took Leo from Velkia's arms.

"H-He kicked me really hard!"

"How strong can a baby's kick even be? Stop whining."

"But it really hurt!"

"Drama queen."

Bihar looked at Velkia with a disappointed face, then turned to Leo.

"This baby. He really does look like Master."

With a small smile, Bihar handed Leo back to Lyl.

"He looks… that much like Lord Kyle?"

Lyl asked awkwardly.

Bihar nodded.

"Yes. The atmosphere, I suppose. It's very similar."

Lyl stared at Leo's face with fascination, then asked,

"By the way, have you two found the Fairy King?"

"Not at all. We haven't found a single clue."

Bihar sighed deeply.

"Velkia! Bihar!"

A frantic voice echoed from afar.

'Dilas.'

He was also part of Arhi.

A dragon by race, he was one of the gatekeepers of Godthrone and the first to hear news from the outside.

Seeing his pale face, the three—except Leo—grew tense.

Leo's eyes, meanwhile, darkened with quiet resignation.

Because he could already guess what news Dilas brought.

"What's going on, Dilas? Is Tartaros attacking?"

"The Great Heroes… The Great Heroes…"

Dilas couldn't finish his sentence, and Velkia and Bihar sensed something was very wrong.

"No…?"

Velkia asked in denial, while Bihar sank to her knees.

"It's not true. It's a lie."

Velkia bit her lip hard and ran off.

"V-Velkia!"

Dilas hurried after her.

He knew her personality—she would head east in pursuit of her masters.

Bihar sat on the ground, covering her face, her shoulders trembling with sobs.

"You said you'd come back…"

Seeing Bihar like that, Lyl bit her lip.

As she hesitated and reached out to comfort her—

Bihar's movements froze.

No—the entire space froze.

Lyl's face hardened.

Without hesitation, she tossed Leo high into the air.

Whumm—!

At the same time, a massive battle hammer appeared.

Gripping the hammer with both hands, Lyl swung it toward the air.

BOOOOM—!

The space trembled, and a massive shockwave blasted away the attacking demon.

Clatter—clatter—

"Well now…"

As the space distorted, a long, slender demon revealed himself.

"It truly is you—Lyl Luce, the Monster of Lumene."

At the appearance of the King of Desire, Ziguas, Lyl tightened her grip on the hammer.

Normally, she would've flared up at being called a monster, but now was not the time.

Because Ziguas wasn't the only legion commander who had shown up.

"You damn skinny freak! Why the hell did you bring me here?! I'm supposed to be fighting the fledgling!"

"Ohhh, I want to be tormented by Carl Thomas!"

"Ziguas! Don't send me back to that scary lady!"

Following Ziguas, other new legion commanders appeared one after another.

Lyl looked at Leo and asked,

"Hyung-nim."

[Yeah?]

"What the hell are these freaks?"

[New legion commanders.]

Clatter—clatter—

"Baaaabyyy biiirddd!!"

"Aaahh! Torment meee!"

"What the hell?! Another crazy lady?!"

Lyl stared at them—Ziguas, who rattled a gemstone like a madman; the Legion Commander of Pain crying out for someone; the Succubus Queen writhing in pleasure with a blush; and the Beast King glaring at her in disgust.

She looked deeply troubled.

"These things… are legion commanders?"

[Yep. The end times are here.]

At Leo's words, Lyl looked distraught.

[What's wrong?]

"It's not fair! If even the legion commanders are this quirky, what's a normal person like me supposed to do?!"

[…]

Leo closed his eyes and sighed deeply.

[Don't worry. You're the weirdest one of all.]

"No, I'm perfectly normal, not even a little distinctive—"

Leo slipped from Lyl's arms.

Using flight magic, he rose into the air and stepped forward.

"What the hell? What's with that brat?"

The Beast King Gon scowled, and Leo crossed his arms.

[You all showing up like this—was it the Lich King's order?]

"Yes, King of Beginnings. And it seems you've gotten even younger. At this rate, your very existence might vanish."

"…"

At the ominous words, Leo clicked his tongue.

"The Lich King ordered us to kill you first, should the opportunity arise."

Leo laughed.

[You? Kill me?]

His mocking eyes made the Legion Commander of Pain, Ceneor, frown.

"You sure talk big. Just because you're called the King of Beginnings doesn't mean you can talk down to us."

Other commanders—Succubus Queen Psyqea and Beast King Gon—also exuded killing intent.

"You're right. Maybe we aren't enough to defeat you under normal circumstances. But this isn't normal, is it?"

Ziguas's glowing eyes sparkled dangerously beneath his hood.

"In your infant state, can you really fight us? Even if you are Kyle, the Hero of Beginnings?"

"What?"

"The Hero of Beginnings?"

"That brat?"

The other commanders looked shocked.

'So they did know. The Lich King must really trust them. That's going to be a pain.'

Leo clicked his tongue.

They believed they could kill him now because of the penalties he bore.

'And the fact that the illusion has stopped… means Sylord's magic is collapsing.'

Which meant Erebos' resurrection was near.

By binding Leo here, they hoped Erebos' flame would burn even more fiercely.

'You think dragging this out benefits you?'

As Leo curled his lip—

Lyl approached, looking oddly calm.

[You're not surprised?]

"I am."

Leo smirked at her flat response.

[You don't seem surprised.]

"Really? Well, a mystery's been solved."

[What mystery?]

"Why Hyung-nim always felt like an old man."

Nodding solemnly, Lyl looked satisfied.

"Now I understand."

[Great.]

Leo sighed and glanced at Ziguas.

[You take on that Desire King.]

"Yes."

Without hesitation, Lyl charged at Ziguas.

BOOM! KRRRRKKKK—!

A dust cloud exploded as Ziguas was blown far from Leo's position.

"The Hero of Beginnings, huh…"

"Just a leftover from the old times?"

"Either way, you've lost your power."

The other new legion commanders stared at Leo, leaking deadly intent.

"A hated being who sinned against the gods."

As Ceneor, the Commander of Pain, radiated hatred, Leo laughed.

"What's so funny?"

[Nothing. It's just been a while since I've felt this.]

"What?"

[Someone expressing pure hostility, even knowing who I am.]

The Monster Queen, Giant King, and Lich King.

Even after learning who Leo was, they had felt fear, even though he had lost his strength.

To them, the Great Heroes were that kind of being.

Just as the world's races feared the legion commanders…

To the demons of Tartaros, the Great Heroes were deeply ingrained fear.

Disasters. Monsters beyond comprehension.

That was what the Great Heroes were.

So this raw hostility from the new commanders—it felt strangely fresh.

[Well, I suppose it's time demons who don't know the past learned.]

Leo's red eyes glinted dangerously.

[Why your ancestors feared me above all else.]