Editor : Amethyst00



Under the crimson sky echoed the howling of the Hero.

Those who heard that cry gained courage.

This was the true worth of Aaron, the Brave.

Just as fear is contagious…

So is courage, and it spreads swiftly.

Watching this, Azonia bit her lip.

"Damn it. He's so cool it pisses me off."

Even though she's revered as a Grand Warrior and called the second coming of Brave…

Azonia knew the truth.

She couldn't do what Aaron did.

It made her furiously jealous.

And yet, furiously admiring.

No matter how cowardly one might be, that fact doesn't change.

Azonia recalled the moment her time had stopped.

The children at the orphanage she couldn't save, and Master Agon.

She had blamed everything on cowardly Aaron, cursing his name.

But she also knew…

That Aaron was a victim too.

"What are you staring at?"

At the voice from behind, Azonia pouted her lips.

"He's just seriously too cool."

"……"

"I said he were falling for me earlier. Maybe I should've just taken you up on it without playing hard to get."

"Lord Aaron's too good for you."

"Oh, harsh."

With that, Azonia turned and suddenly hugged Damien.

Normally, Damien would've been annoyed, but he just sighed quietly and patted Azonia's head.

"Damien. No—Ren."

"……"

"What will you do?"

"I'll do what you expect me to."

"……"

Damien answered calmly.

"You and I—we've learned a lot from our juniors."

Damien, who had stopped pursuing potential, and Azonia, who was trapped in the past and couldn't move forward.

"We founded a school to teach, but in the end, it feels like we're the ones being taught."

Azonia let go of Damien.

Then, she grabbed the edge of his coat.

"Sniff!"

"You damned animal!"

"Sniffle."

Blowing her nose, Azonia ignored Damien throwing a fist at her and stood up.

"A fabulous woman like me isn't too much for Lord Aaron."

"No. The opposite. Damn beast."

"I still like you, Damien."

"Don't confess before a fight. It's bad luck."

"Oh my, would a worn-out old confession even bring bad luck anymore?"

"You've got a point."

Azonia giggled.

At that moment—

Leo approached the two.

"Get ready. We're heading out."

"Huh?"

"Me, Aaron, Dweno, Luna, and you two."

Leo glanced toward the summoning circle beyond the outer fortress wall.

"We're going to disrupt Erebos's summoning."

"We can't stop the summoning itself."

"I know. But we can make it so it doesn't go perfectly."

Leo gave a glance at Damien.

"Thanks to you, we can't summon the complete form anymore. But it's not enough."

Even an imperfect summoning—facing Erebos now with their current strength would be suicide.

"Can Lady Lysinas and Past Lord Kyle alone block the Tartaros army?"

Azonia asked.

"Even I can tell that's an insane number."

"I've never seen such a scale either. That damned commander brought everything he could drag along."

This was why Hell Kaiser was Tartaros's supreme commander.

He foresaw what would happen if Raysar was not destroyed.

The great heroes had held their hands until now, merely maintaining the status quo, to gradually drag the world into ruin.

'But if Raysar hadn't fallen, history would've changed dramatically.'

From the world's perspective, it would be a hopeful change.

From Tartaros's perspective, a hopeless disaster.

Even Hell Kaiser, who could see the future, couldn't predict the outcome precisely.

Still, he rolled the dice without hesitation.

"A skull full of air, but his brain works disturbingly well."

Azonia grumbled.

"So? Can Lysinas and Past Kyle stop that horde with just the students and soldiers?"

"Not just the two of them."

"Then we're screwed, aren't we?"

If Erebos is summoned, even in an incomplete state, defeat becomes highly likely.

But if they abandon the walls to stop the summoning, the city could fall.

A despairing dilemma, no matter the choice.

Azonia's words made Leo smirk.

"If it were just Lysinas and me, yeah, it'd be checkmate."

Kyaaaaaaah!

The sky filled with countless flying beasts—Fafnir.

One of the most dangerous monsters from the Age of Calamities.

As the swarm of Fafnirs soared over the walls toward Raysar—

Flash!

A pillar of aura shot down from the sky.

A blue aura reminiscent of the clear sky.

Azonia's eyes widened.

The despairing people of Raysar saw the light too.

Tap!

Someone appeared on top of the wall.

A wolf beastkin wielding a pitch-black sword.

The soldiers of Raysar opened their eyes wide.

"T-The Guardian of the Azure Sky!"

"Master Agon! Agon has returned!"

"Waaaaaaaaaaah!"

The morale that soared thanks to Aaron now seemed ready to pierce the heavens.

To Raysar, Agon was a special figure.

Long ago…

He defended the clear skies until the bitter end from countless invasions of Tartaros.

More reliable than the great heroes of Godthrone—Raysar's true hero.

Lysinas widened her eyes.

"Sir Agon…"

"I refused to join you back then…"

Agon gave a bittersweet smile.

"Mind if I fight with you now?"

"Of course not!"

Lysinas grinned brightly.

Now the hand was complete.

The strongest possible formation under current circumstances.

But it wasn't over yet.

"Aru!"

"Yes!"

At Aaron's call, Aru responded energetically and took a deep breath.

Howwoooooooool!

Aru's howling rang out.

The beastkin who heard it began to resonate and undergo transformation.

So did Azonia.

"This is…?"

"It's Aru's ability. By the way—was your hair always golden?"

Azonia's hair, which had been dyed a dull brown, returned to its original color during the transformation.

Leo asked with a puzzled look, and Azonia sighed.

"I had my reasons for dying it."

"You just hated the gold color."

"Shut up, you damn shorty!"

Azonia snapped at Damien.

At that moment, Aaron, Dweno, and Luna approached.

"These are the strike force?"

Luna was surprised to see Azonia and Damien.

Dweno glared at Damien.

"You! Are you the artist Drianna spoke of?!"

"…Yes."

"After this battle, would you consider becoming a nude model—"

"Enough, you damned perverted geezer."

Luna smacked Dweno on the back of the head with her staff.

She turned to Damien.

"Just ignore this idiot."

Damien gave a bitter smile.

"It's fine. I'm used to Master Dweno's antics."

"You're used to a perverted old man?"

"I've actually posed nude before—"

"Shut up!"

Azonia, punched in the ribs by Damien, rolled on the ground.

"Kyle! All ready!"

Aaron shouted energetically.

"Kyle? He's over there. This guy is Leo, descendant of me and Kyle."

At that, Aaron blinked.

Dweno spoke, "You've gotten good at lying, like Lysinas."

Leo shamelessly ignored the comment.

"Frontline—Aaron and Azonia. Use mobility to break through."

Poke poke

"Hey, Leo. What do they mean by all that?"

Luna poked Leo's back.

Leo ignored her and continued.

"Next line—Dweno. Stop any enemies targeting the rear."

"Leave it to me."

Slap slap

"Hey. I'm asking you."

Luna now started slapping Leo's back with her palm.

Her face had turned red with anger.

"Damien. You support Dweno from the middle."

Whack whack

"Hey! You're not Kyle's descendant, are you?! You lied to me, didn't you?! Wait—are you Kyle? Future Kyle?!"

Luna, now suspecting Leo's true identity, began punching his head.

"Rear guard—this damn pointy-ear."

"KYAAAAAH! DAMN YOU! You really are Kyle!"

Luna lost her mind and flailed her staff at Leo.

Dodging smugly, Leo said:

"I'll cover the far rear."

With that, he tucked Luna under his arm like a sack.

She thrashed wildly even then.

"Why? You got a problem?"

"No. I'm just amazed you can give orders so calmly in that situation."

Azonia muttered as she watched Luna biting Leo's arm.

Leo replied without flinching.

"This is normal. Let's move."

At his words, Aaron and Azonia jumped off the wall.

Dweno and Damien followed.

On top of the wall, Leo looked down at Luna still biting his arm.

"Luna."

"What, you damn bastard!"

She shouted fiercely.

Leo said while gazing at her:

"I missed you."

"……"

Luna's eyes opened wide.

She couldn't even begin to fathom how many emotions were packed into that single sentence.

She looked up at Leo without a word—

Then suddenly punched him.

Smack!

"You damn pointy-eared bastard…"

"I missed you, sure. But this is punishment for lying to me."

She scoffed.

Luna was the type to always settle scores, no matter the moment.

bl

On top of the wall, Kyle looked at the aspiring heroes.

"Your name's Carl? Just now…"

"Yes, Sir Kyle! Chloe! Fire magic to the left!"

"…Have we met before?"

"Uhhh… probably not?"

Kyle looked at Carl, who was assisting him, with a curious expression.

Though usually indifferent, he was surprised at how Carl read his intentions and gave orders as if they were close friends.

Kyle turned grim as he looked at the Tartaros horde pressing in.

'Still feels endless.'

They were barely holding out.

But for how long—they couldn't be sure.

'We're vastly outnumbered.'

Kyle bit his lip hard.

A pact-bearer came to mind.

"If only Elsie were here…"

The shadow elemental Elsie.

An Elemental Lord of darkness, briefly his pact partner.

More than ever, he missed her sorrowful face.

["Did you call me?"]

A voice startled Kyle.

A tiny dark elemental was now sitting on his shoulder, swinging her legs playfully.

"You… Elsie?!"

["Yep! It's me!"]

With her bright smile, Elsie replied, and Kyle could only stare in shock.