Chapter 950

Editor : Amethyst00

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Late at night, at Dweno's workshop.

Dweno poured tea and handed it to Leo and Carl.

'I've thought this before… but if we brought the things Dweno makes into the real world and sold them, we'd make a fortune.'

Carl stroked his chin as he looked at the teapot and teacups made by Dweno.

All of them were handcrafted by Dweno himself.

Naturally, they were incredibly beautiful, as expected from something made by Dweno.

They weren't flashy—at a glance, they looked rather plain—but their elegance and depth stood out.

The shimmering color and the texture in the hand were so exquisite that it inspired admiration.

Watching Carl admire the items with a discerning eye, Dweno stroked his beard.

"A merchant-minded fellow, aren't you?"

"Ah, sorry."

Carl gave an awkward smile.

Artists generally don't like their creations being viewed as mere products.

And Carl knew well that Dweno was an artist.

A very exceptional one, at that.

Thinking his attitude might have offended Dweno, Carl glanced at him nervously.

Seeing this, Dweno chuckled heartily.

"No, no. You're just giving my work a high evaluation, aren't you? My goal is only to spread beauty throughout the world. If my work sells for a high price, doesn't that mean I've successfully expressed beauty as an artist? People will want to see my work, and naturally, more people will come to admire beauty."

"Well said!"

Carl responded with a bright smile.

"It's just a teapot and cups crudely baked from clay. Why make such a fuss?"

"You, who know nothing of art, be quiet."

Dweno said coldly.

Leo shrugged.

"Anyway… I heard the story about someone from the future visiting Lysinas."

Dweno wore an intrigued expression.

He had heard that through communication magic with Lysinas, and it piqued his curiosity—but with work to finish in his workshop, he had postponed his visit until tomorrow.

And yet, here they were—those said to have come from the future.

One of them even claimed to be reincarnated Kyle.

'The fact that it's true is even more surprising.'

Dweno stared at Leo.

It was a ridiculous claim, but there was clear evidence.

A sword he had not made, and yet was undoubtedly of his own craftsmanship.

And traces of its use exactly as Kyle would have used it.

Though Dweno preferred to be called an artist rather than a smith who forges weapons, his eyes—praised as the eyes of a Divine Blacksmith—could not be fooled.

"So. I guess we did save the world after all."

Dweno nodded in satisfaction.

"And? Which number was I in the order of deaths?"

At Dweno's sudden question, Carl looked startled.

He hadn't expected Dweno to ask something like that.

Especially not with such a calm face.

To his question, Leo replied flatly.

"Second."

"Who was first?"

"Aaron."

"That idiot…"

Dweno's face twisted.

It was a distant future event.

But he didn't need to see it to guess why Aaron had died first.

With a furious expression, Dweno sighed and asked,

"Who survived?"

"No one survived."

Dweno closed his eyes.

He had already sensed as much from Leo's expression.

"…"

"After you, it was Luna. Then Lysinas. And finally, I barely managed to defeat Erebos alone."

Dweno looked Leo straight in the eyes.

"And after subduing Erebos, I died too."

"…It must have been hard."

"It wasn't just me. And has there ever been a time it wasn't hard?"

"True. It was always difficult for us."

Dweno burst out laughing cheerfully.

"But seeing your face, it seems you didn't completely finish him off?"

"Yeah. Sealing him was the best I could do. After reincarnating, I'm dealing with the fragments."

"You should've done the job properly! Why leave such a half-baked seal and pass the danger to the next generation? Or if you sealed him, you should've clung to life and taken care of the rest yourself!"

"Would the pervert who died first please shut up?"

"You have no respect for your elders!"

"Consider this elder abuse, you damn pervert!"

"Do such monstrous concepts exist in the future?! The future is rotten!"

'As always… why do we seem no different than before?'

They bickered childishly, provoking and fighting like old times.

Carl let out a hollow laugh.

As the squabble calmed, Dweno spoke again.

"Still suffering alone, even in the future."

"I said this earlier too—have we ever not suffered? Besides."

Leo placed a hand on Carl's shoulder as if to reassure him.

"I'm not alone. So don't make that face. It's gross."

"Hmph. Seems like even death didn't fix that nasty personality of yours."

Dweno shook his head.

Then he asked,

"Did you reveal your identity to Lysinas and Luna too?"

"No. I'm not planning to."

"Understandable. Those two might get hurt."

Dweno said indifferently.

One of the reasons Leo revealed his identity to Dweno was because he was the most reliable in such situations.

Dweno was the oldest of the Arhi.

Even Lysinas often sought his advice when making decisions.

His advice, born of long experience and deep thought, was always valuable.

Not just Lysinas—Luna and Aaron too.

Whenever emotionally troubled, they sought Dweno's counsel.

Leo was no different.

"Still, don't keep it hidden forever."

"I know."

"So? Why did you come to the past?"

"Ten days from now, Raysar will fall."

"What? How did that happen?!"

"Tartaros summons Erebos."

Dweno's expression darkened.

He fell into thought.

"Can we defeat Erebos with our current strength?"

"Not a chance."

"Then defeating Erebos is something further in the future."

Letting out a bitter sigh, Dweno looked at Leo.

"So you came to the past to prevent Raysar's destruction?"

"Right."

"Then the future could change, no?"

"It won't."

"So the future is fixed, and even if the past changes, it won't interfere?"

"Yeah, something like that."

Leo intentionally left out the topic of the Hero's World.

Bringing it up would only complicate things.

"Then something feels off."

"What does?"

"Why go through all this risk to save Raysar? Isn't it meaningless to you?"

Leo smiled at Dweno's question.

"I just don't want to lose anything else to that black flame. That's my reason."

"…"

It was a foolish answer.

But in that moment, Dweno saw Lysinas in Leo.

The ability to turn impossibilities into reality.

"You've changed a lot."

"I'm from the future."

"Got a plan?"

"First, we need to open a gate to Raysar."

"That's simple."

"No, it'll be hard. Raysar's lord will block the gate."

"The lord?"

"Yeah. He betrayed the world. Not just him—everyone close to him did."

"Tch."

Dweno clicked his tongue.

"Then we'll need to make a new gate. But I can't do it alone. I'll need Luna's help."

"No, Luna has to go with me at some point."

"…?"

Dweno, puzzled, stroked his beard.

"Ah, a pincer operation?"

"Exactly."

The suspicious movement in Raysar was only recently discovered by Kyle—and by him alone.

Lysinas hadn't noticed anything.

And then, the unexpected summoning of Erebos.

It meant one thing.

"Right. It must've been a thoroughly planned operation from long ago."

There was also a plan to block aid from Godthrone to Raysar.

In fact, information had already come in two days ago about a massive march of demons and monsters heading for Godthrone.

A scheme to further weaken Godthrone, already damaged by the invasion of the Giant King.

All legion commanders were absent from this assault.

But even without them, the sheer number of demons and monsters posed a huge threat to the undermanned Godthrone.

As a result, when the situation in Raysar was revealed, it was already too late to respond.

'But now, it's different.'

Now they had Leo, along with Azonia and Damien.

Not to mention countless hero candidates and even the Shadow Lord.

Their entrance into the Hero's World was only a matter of time.

'Azonia is likely to be in Raysar.'

That meant she'd probably team up with Aaron to stop the summoning ritual.

If the gate opened sooner, even Godthrone could send reinforcements.

'The demon and monster force heading for Godthrone—we just need Luna, me, and a selected few to intercept.'

Once that threat was neutralized, Godthrone could freely support Raysar.

"Then we'll need help from Lysinas at least…"

"Carl will help."

"Eh? Me?"

Carl pointed to himself with a flustered face.

"Yeah. Dweno, Carl inherited your alchemy."

Warp gates also required alchemical knowledge.

"Oh? I thought he looked pretty clever. That's great."

'If Chloe comes over here, she'll be a huge help.'

With her exceptional magic research and computational abilities, Chloe would make things move even faster.

"If anyone else comes who can help make the gate, I'll send them this way."

"Got it. Then shall we begin constructing the gate?"

At Dweno's words, Leo stood up.

'It's starting now.'

Leo looked up at the sky.

'The ones in Raysar must be doing well too.'

"How was that? Easy, right?"

Aaron smiled brightly.

"…"

"…"

Azonia's face was twisted, and Aru was about to cry.

Seeing their reactions, Aaron tilted his head.

"I explained it in the easiest way I could—was it still hard?"

"Yes."

Azonia replied without hesitation, and Aaron looked even more puzzled.

"Why?"

"Why? Why?! WHY!? Are you calling that an explanation?!"

Azonia shot up from her seat, fuming.

It all started like this.

Aaron wanted to stop Azonia and Aru from trying to rescue Agon and instead figure out what the capture target was.

But he didn't ask directly.

'If I do, they'll definitely hide it.'

Aaron knew that much.

'Lysinas said she could read someone's thoughts by talking to them.'

So he tried mimicking her.

What topic would make for a natural conversation? After thinking it through, he chose the application of hypersensory perception.

'Azonia uses hypersensory sense like Kyle. And Aru now uses all her senses too.'

But to Aaron, there were still flaws.

He figured he should lead them to an area Leo hadn't reached.

Hypersensory perception was originally a beastkin ability—Aaron's ability.

So it was more suitable for beastkin than humans.

What Aaron wanted to awaken in them was the sixth sense.

This was also why he could vaguely foresee the future.

Azonia and Aru were interested in Aaron's story.

Then Aaron began his explanation.

"Imagine there's an eye on your forehead."

"…"

"…"

"And imagine that eye opening. That's the sense I'm talking about."

"What kind of sense is that?"

Azonia asked with a sour face, and Aaron looked flustered.

"Hmm… Then imagine there's an eye on the back of your head. That's easier, right?"

The more they listened, the more confusing his explanation became.

Eventually, he asked innocently, "Why can't you do it?"—and Azonia exploded.

"Seriously! You were like this since we were kids! Why can't I do it? Huh? It's natural that I can't!"

"Eeeek?!"

"Wahh! Lady Azonia! Please calm down!"

As Azonia threw a punch in anger, Aru shrieked in terror.

Aaron cowered and dodged the punch.

'Seriously! And you call that an explanation?!'

'Y-you said you wanted to get stronger! This is an easy way to do it!'

'Then how do you do it, huh?!'

Suddenly, a memory flashed through his mind—a girl with brilliant golden hair yelling at him.

'What is that memory?'

Thunk—!

Azonia's punch struck Aaron's face.

Normally, Aaron would never be hit like that.

That's why Azonia, not expecting to actually land the blow, was stunned.

Then—

Whack! Bam—!

"Guh?!"

Someone flew in and kicked Azonia in the side.

"Have you lost your mind, beast? Who do you think you just hit?"

It was Damien, his face fierce.

"Lord Aaron!"

"That woman just struck Lord Aaron!"

"This is blasphemy!"

Alongside him, people who seemed to be Lumene and Azonia students appeared.

Among them, Nella rushed to Aaron with a panicked expression and used healing aura.

"Hey! You attacked Lord Aaron? Are you out of your mind?!"

Celia shouted, furious.

"Celia. Let's calm down—"

"You're taking her side?!"

Abad tried to intervene, but Celia snapped at him.

"Stay calm, Celia Zerdinger."

"Oh? Duran, are you on her side too?"

Even Nella, while healing Aaron, had a frosty expression.

"Why do these kids all hate me so much?"

Azonia grumbled, holding her side. Damien replied coldly.

"Ever considered it's the consequence of your slutty history with men?"

Azonia pouted at his words.

At that moment, the Azonia students glared at her with unfriendly eyes.

"This is getting ugly. Aru, do something."

Azonia sighed and whispered.

Aru stepped forward with a ta-da! gesture.

"Ahem! Let me introduce! This person here—!"

She pointed at Azonia.

"—is the Grand Warrior Azonia!"

The atmosphere froze.

"The Hero of the Dawn?"

"Wait, now that you mention it…"

"How did we not realize till now?"

Once Azonia's identity was acknowledged, the magic hiding it dissipated.

Aru snorted smugly and looked proudly at Azonia.

Azonia sighed, held her head, and tugged Aru's ear.

"Hey. I never said to reveal my identity."

"This is the easiest way. And now we've got powerful allies, so Lady Azonia should lead us. If we want people to follow orders, this is the best way."

Azonia was impressed.

"So you weren't an idiot?"

"Who are you calling an idiot?!"

Aru snapped.

Clicking his tongue at the exchange, Damien scanned the inside of Raysar.

"Azonia, you lead the hero candidates."

"And you?"

"I'll lead the shadow candidates."

Azonia gave a sharp grin at Damien's words.

"Nice. It's been a while, huh? Since we last hunted together."

The heroes of the Dawn were ready to move.