Editor : Amethyst00



Leo explained to Luna what was going to happen in Raysar and the operation to stop it.

"So, Tartaros has dispatched a demon army to interfere with Raysar's reinforcements, and you need my help to defeat the demon forces threatening Godthrone?"

"Yes."

"And even though the future can't be changed, you still want to try to save Raysar?"

Luna covered her mouth with a moved expression.

"My goodness. The fruit of love between Kyle and me is this admirable."

"……"

Leo couldn't bring himself to meet Luna's sparkling eyes and quietly looked away.

At that moment, he made eye contact with Elena, who had been watching him closely.

Elena gave him a soft smile.

"I understand the situation. But can the two of us stop it?"

Even without a legion commander, a massive army of demons and monsters wouldn't be easy to handle.

And they'd have to fight on flat ground, not the fortified walls of Godthrone.

If it were Luna in her prime, she could've handled it alone.

But the current Luna hadn't yet fully awakened her abilities.

Leo responded to Luna's concern.

"She'll be coming with us too."

Leo gestured toward Elena.

"And there's one more. I have someone in mind."

He was thinking of Lunia, who hadn't crossed over to the world of heroes yet.

Of course, even if she did come over, there was no guarantee she'd head to Raysar and not Godthrone.

"But if she does come, things will be easier."

"Hmm. What about the vanguard? Dweno's working on the warp gate, right? Should we bring Lysinas?"

Lysinas couldn't wield aura, but as a dragon, her close-combat power was formidable.

To Lunia's question, Leo replied,

"Lady Lysinas must stay here and maintain the center."

"Right. In chess terms, Lysinas is the king."

She was the spiritual pillar of Godthrone.

Moreover, the forces for the Raysar battle had to be organized, and strategies devised.

Lysinas, as the central figure, must not move.

"I'll handle the vanguard myself."

Luna widened her eyes at those words.

Then she covered her mouth again and muttered emotionally,

"My goodness. Truly Kyle's and my descendant. So admirable."

With that, Luna began ruffling Leo's hair enthusiastically.

"Pfft."

Elena couldn't help but laugh at how childishly Leo was being treated.

Leo said,

"If you keep patting me like that, your hand will get poisoned and fall off."

"Oh my, so shy. Take this! And this!"

Luna smiled sweetly and pressed down on Leo's white hair playfully.

Leo let out a small sigh at her actions.

"Look at those cheeky eyes. Just like Kyle's!"

Luna burst into laughter at the sight of Leo.

'Maybe I shouldn't have said I was her descendant?'

It was a lie he told to gain her help easily, and now Leo was slightly regretting it.

"Well then, should I trust you once?"

Luna smiled gently.

"We leave at dawn tomorrow, right? I'll see you at the entrance to Godthrone. I have things to prepare until then."

"Yes. I'll be ready by then too."

"Okay. See you later."

Luna waved cheerfully with a big smile.

As they walked down the alley from Luna's house, Elena glanced sideways at Leo and smirked mischievously.

"Descendant?"

"What? Why? What's the problem?"

Leo looked at her as if to say, "You got a problem?" and Elena smiled faintly.

"Nothing. You're just getting bolder with time, Leo."

"What do you mean?"

"You actually scammed Lady Luna?"

"I learned it from Lysinas."

"Oh? Leo. You did something wrong to Luna, didn't you?"

"No."

"Feels like you did."

'So annoyingly sharp…'

Leo clicked his tongue.

He sighed as he looked at Elena, who seemed delighted to have caught something on him.

"Sir Leo!"

At that moment, Eiran approached Leo.

"Miss Lunia has arrived in Godthrone too."

"Perfect timing. Where is she?"

"She's with Lady Lysinas at Master Dweno's workshop."

"Let's go."

Preparations to prevent the fall of Raysar were steadily underway.

bl

Sniff sniff—

Aru closed her eyes and focused on her sense of smell.

Then she suddenly opened her eyes wide.

"Hmm! I'm sure there's nothing around here."

"…Aru. You do realize you're more like a dog than a cat, right?"

"Hehehe."

"That wasn't a compliment. Just saying."

Aaron spoke while watching Aru, who scratched his head with a shy smile.

"Why does Azonia hate me?"

Aaron thought of the brown-haired beastwoman.

A great warrior currently leading the hero candidates and preparing to prevent the fall of Raysar.

Unlike himself, who lacked leadership qualities, Azonia clearly had the power to lead people.

"Lady Azonia doesn't hate you, Lord Aaron!"

"She always looks angry whenever she sees me."

"That's because!"

Aru crossed her arms and declared confidently,

"She's jealous."

"Huh?"

"She's jealous because you're super strong. Kinda cute, isn't it?"

Azonia would never let that slide if she heard it.

Not because of the jealousy part—because someone dared to call her "cute."

While "jealous" might sound negative, it was a bit different when the subject of that jealousy was Aaron.

Azonia genuinely envied Aaron's strength.

An insurmountable wall.

Which meant she was strong enough to even feel that envy.

Unlike Aru, who inherited Aaron's power and had Leo by her side to teach her how to use it, Azonia had mastered Aaron's hyper-senses and howling on her own.

Aru respected Azonia deeply for that.

Unlike herself, who merely admired from afar, Azonia had truly tried to surpass Aaron.

And her determination wasn't born from ignorance.

She knew the vast difference between them and still challenged it.

That kind of courage was impossible without real strength.

Aaron watched Aru's respectful gaze toward Azonia and recalled something that flickered through his mind again.

'So pathetic!'

'How can you be that strong?'

'If only you'd gather just a bit more courage…'

The golden-haired, golden-eyed beastwoman hero who resembled him.

Same place.

Same time.

And yet his childhood self had endlessly repeated his encounters with her.

'Ah…'

Aaron's eyes widened.

'It was Azonia.'

Her hair color had changed.

But the girl in his memories was definitely a young Azonia.

She had visited his timeline countless times to persuade him.

And those attempts had failed every time.

'Lord Aaron. Please hurry. Okay?'

She had pleaded repeatedly.

'We must save Master Agon and the orphanage kids! So please, hurry!'

As time went on, her face began to look more and more like she was about to cry.

'Let's go, damn coward!'

Eventually, young Azonia grew angry with him.

But in the end, he was too scared to follow her.

"Aru."

"Yes?"

"Those orphanage kids you saved along with Master Agon."

"Yes."

Aru answered casually, then sensed something was off.

"Huh?"

His eyes widened.

"L-Lord Aaron! You got your memory back?"

"Yeah."

Aaron answered plainly, and Aru sensed something strange.

It wasn't the usual Aaron.

"Tell me, Aru."

Aaron asked again.

"Ria and my siblings…"

He bit his lip hard.

"They didn't really die from a pandemic, did they?"

"…"

"They didn't die from a pandemic, right?"

Aru couldn't answer.

In actual history, the children of the orphanage had been killed in an attack.

Aaron silently looked up at the sky.

He understood now.

Why his master had suddenly changed.

Why he hadn't met him at the end.

The orphanage children were everything to Agon.

If they had been killed by outside forces, Agon wouldn't have continued living as a hero.

'Maybe he didn't want me to see him like that.'

He understood now.

Why Azonia hated him.

She had desperately tried to save Agon and the orphanage.

But his younger, cowardly self never mustered the courage.

Aaron bit his lip and said,

"Aru."

"…Yes."

"What's the conquest condition?"

"…"

"It's not just saving Raysar or meeting me and Master Agon, is it?"

In the hero's world, achieving actual historical events counts as a conquest.

But what they were trying to do now was defy real history.

"I-I can't say!"

Aru shook her head adamantly.

Aaron watched her quietly, and her ears twitched.

Vrrrrmmm—!

Aaron activated his hearing.

His ears became even more sensitive.

Aru flinched in shock.

'Hyper-sense?'

Aaron had just activated hyper-sense.

Its range was—

'The entire Raysar?!'

Aru looked stunned.

He had expanded his hearing to encompass the whole of Raysar.

Hyper-sense wasn't just about heightening senses.

It required tremendous mental and physical strength to process and extract useful information.

Blood trickled from Aaron's ears.

"…So my survival is the conquest condition."

He had sensed conversations from all over Raysar and figured it out.

"L-Lord Aaron! Wait!"

"Thanks, Aru. But I can't let you all be in danger because of me."

With that, Aaron dashed away in the blink of an eye.

Aru hurried to chase after him.

'He's heading for the warp gate!'

He had to stop him.

Aru tried everything she could to catch up.

But no matter how incomplete Aaron was now, the gap between them was too great.

As Aaron dashed at incredible speed, the scenery of Raysar came into view.

This was his hometown.

But it would soon burn and vanish.

'But I can't save it. I won't endanger future children for those who've already died.'

With a firm expression, Aaron suddenly raised his fist.

Boom—!

A huge clash of aura shook the area.

The crowd screamed at the sudden explosion.

Tap—

Aaron landed atop a nearby building.

He looked at the one who had stopped him.

"Azonia."

"I sensed an unfamiliar energy… It really was you, Lord Aaron."

Azonia had sensed Aaron's wide-range hyper-sense.

Aaron didn't respond.

Azonia's eyes twitched as she looked at him.

"Lord Aaron. Your memory… did it return?"

"…Yeah. I remember everything. Even you coming to my world as a child."

Azonia was stunned.

But sensing the unwavering determination in Aaron's face, she hardened her expression and asked,

"So what? You're going to run away?"

"I'm not running. I won't sacrifice the future for the past. That's why I'm going to conquer this world."

Grrr—

Azonia ground her teeth audibly.

"Move."

Aaron spoke flatly, but Azonia grinned fiercely.

"Make me then."

As soon as the words left her mouth, Aaron's palm filled her vision.

Thud—!

Aaron slammed Azonia into the ground.

Krrraaaaash—!

The surrounding area was consumed by the impact.

As Aaron moved toward the warp gate—

Whack—!

Azonia's heel struck Aaron's back.

With a gleam in her eyes, she slammed him into the ground.

Crash!

Azonia cracked her knuckles.

"Unlike the others, I can punch you without hesitation."

She growled viciously.

As Aaron rose slowly, he looked at her and said,

"How strange. I feel like I can punch you without hesitation too."

The hero and the great warrior glared at each other.

Seconds passed.

And as if they had made a silent agreement, the two lunged at each other at the same time.