Editor : Amethyst00



Celia didn't know how to react to the sight before her.

It wasn't just her—everyone living in the present felt the same way, trembling with fear and awe at what lay ahead.

Having previously fought a fragment of Erebos, she had thought she'd be able to remain composed in the next battle.

But the Erebos that now stood before her was beyond imagination.

'I was arrogant…'

Celia looked down at her trembling hands.

She clenched her fists tightly, but the shaking didn't stop.

Only then did she realize her entire body was trembling.

Every hero candidates facing Erebos was trembling.

"Aaaaaah!"

Eliana, hiding behind the fortress wall, was shaking like a leaf.

Duran gritted his teeth and glared with defiance, but he too couldn't stop his body from shaking.

Past and future—

Everyone was paralyzed with fear.

'It can't go on like this!'

Aru instinctively sensed it.

If they froze up now, the walls of Raysar would fall.

The instincts of a feline following in a hero's footsteps sharply grasped the current situation.

Just as Aru inhaled for a howling cry—

"Our little kitty! You're pretty sharp, huh!"

"Gah?!"

Azonia appeared behind her, grinning as she slapped Aru on the back.

Caught off guard, Aru choked and coughed violently.

Azonia giggled and hugged Aru, rubbing her face against her head.

"Let—Let me gooooo!"

Aru squirmed instinctively, but Azonia didn't care.

"Meoooow!"

Finally, unable to endure it anymore, Aru freaked out and barely escaped from Azonia.

"Why are you bullying the kid?"

"I'm showing affection."

In response to Damien, Azonia smiled brightly and looked around the fortress wall.

Then she raised her voice.

"Hey! You brats!"

Her booming voice turned every gaze toward her.

"You're all trembling just looking at that thing, aren't you?!"

Azonia shouted, eyes wide.

"You're all paralyzed with fear, right?!"

At her shout, the hero candidates bit their lips.

They wanted to object, but couldn't.

As everyone was filled with self-doubt—

"Don't hang your heads! It's natural! You think me, this cute dwarf here, and Damien—what?! We're not scared just because we're corpses?!"

Azonia lifted Damien by sticking her hands under his armpits.

As everyone stared in shock, Damien elbowed her temple.

Letting go of Damien, Azonia rubbed the spot she was hit and shouted,

"What matters is that none of you have run away!"

Azonia spread her arms and clenched her fists.

"You're not running! You're standing and trying to fight! That's courage! I—!"

She roared.

"—as one of the founders of the Hero Academy, am proud of you all!"

Gradually, the students' trembling began to subside.

"So raise your heads! Muster just a little more courage! What stands before you is surely a calamity that could destroy the world! But!"

Azonia pointed at Erebos.

"Don't forget—you are the legends who will defeat that calamity!"

Everyone's eyes turned toward the great heroes.

"Raise your weapons! Squeeze out every drop of courage! And with that squeezed-out courage—!"

Azonia raised her sword high.

"—write a new legend! Just like the Great Heroes did! Just like we did! Now it's your turn to become the new legends!"

GRAAAAH—!

SLASH—!

The Skeleton King's head, which had climbed up the fortress wall, was sliced diagonally.

Azonia's speech instantly lifted morale.

Watching the students overcome their fear of Erebos, Aru's eyes widened.

"Lady Azonia! You speak so well! That was unexpected!"

"Unexpected, huh? You cheeky little mouth—!"

"Eeeek!"

Azonia beamed and pulled at Aru's mouth.

After dealing with Aru, Azonia looked at the approaching Tartaros army and said,

"I don't have abilities like Aaron."

Just her presence giving people courage—such a thing was beyond extraordinary.

To captivate attention and inspire others with one's own bravery required overwhelming charisma.

Unfortunately, that wasn't one of Azonia's abilities.

Even so, as a descendant of the Hero, Azonia had thought of a way to inspire courage in her own way.

That was through speeches.

"Well, you don't need to worry about that. You're like Aaron—"

"You're amazing!"

Aru's eyes sparkled.

"You give people courage through your words, just like the Black Rabbit!"

"…"

At Aru's words, Azonia looked toward Leo's back as he moved to subdue Erebos.

'I see. That person worked hard too…'

"How can I do that too?! Teach me!"

Azonia gave Aru a pitying smile and patted her head.

"It's hard to teach an idiot."

At that, Aru bit her hand without hesitation.

Even if she respected her, Aru couldn't stand being called an idiot over and over.

Watching this, Drianna turned to Damien.

"Lord Damien."

"What?"

"Won't you teach me anything?"

"No."

Damien cut her off coldly.

Drianna muttered under her breath while watching him.

"Tightwad."

At that, Damien smacked her on the head.

Watching it all, Lunia thought,

'If I meet Lady Seiren… will I act like that too?'

She suddenly felt anxious.

But she shook her head quickly.

'No, it'll be different with me and Lady Seiren. Yeah. I'm sure. She'll absolutely adore me. I purely admire Lady Seiren, after all.'

Azonia, watching her, asked,

"Damien."

"What now?"

"What do you think she'll be like when she meets Seiren?"

Azonia asked while flicking Aru's forehead repeatedly.

As Damien flicked Drianna's forehead, he replied,

"Seiren will be super jealous. Because she was personally taught magic by Lady Luna."

"Right? She'll bully her like crazy, huh?"

Azonia looked at Lunia with pity.

bl

Leo looked at the companions charging ahead and thought,

'I miss this…'

He didn't think he'd ever come to miss this era.

But what Leo felt was unmistakable nostalgia.

Still, there was no time to get lost in sentiment.

ROOOAARRR—!

Erebos opened its mouth toward the great heroes.

Dweno surged ahead of Aaron and pulled out a massive shield.

SLAM—!

He slammed it in front of him, igniting golden flames.

FWOOSH—!

The shield began to blaze with golden fire.

"Leo!"

Lysinas shouted from behind.

There was no time to dodge.

They had to rely on Dweno's shield for protection.

But instead of answering, Leo summoned his spiritual power.

CRACKLE—FLASH—!

With a flash of pure white lightning, Pegasus appeared.

["Kyle…? Wait, who are you?!"]

Albus was startled to see a stranger on her back.

Leo stroked Albus' neck and said,

"I'll explain later. Just speed up for now."

CRACKLE—!

["…!"]

White lightning sparked from Leo's body.

It was the power of the Pegasus King.

Albus was flustered again—first being summoned by a stranger, now seeing that man wield white lightning.

FLASH—!

Leo's energy and lightning strengthened Albus.

Realizing she had surpassed her own limits, Albus shot through the air like a white flash.

GRAB—!

Leo seized Luna and Lysinas by the waist and soared into the sky.

FLASH—!

Dweno glanced up and spoke.

"You've reached a level in spirit summoning nearly equal to Lysinas."

"…"

Kyle didn't respond and simply gripped tightly the sword his future self had given him.

WHOOSH—!

"This is amazing—!"

Luna cheered in Leo's arms, feeling the wind pressure.

Lysinas also looked shocked.

KRAAAK—!

Just then, Erebos's breath narrowly grazed the three.

High above, Lysinas said,

"We'll be at a disadvantage if this drags on."

"I know."

"Luna, prep your spell."

They were now within close range of Erebos.

At this distance, Luna's magic could reach it.

"I'll protect you. Leo, you and Kyle prepare to strike Erebos."

Only Leo and Kyle, with the power of purity, could destroy Erebos here.

Leo shook his head.

"No. We don't have an attack strong enough to finish it in one blow. Even if Luna lands a direct hit."

Though mindless, the summoned Erebos possessed over half the power of its true self.

Their power was still insufficient to eliminate it in one strike.

But Leo showed no anxiety in his eyes.

"There's a way, isn't there?"

At Lysinas's question, Leo took Luna's hand.

"Luna, you remember the Zero Magic Formula, right?"

"Yeah."

"If I draw the Innocence sigil, can you overlay the Extinction sigil on top of it?"

Luna paused.

"It's possible… but then you'll have to bear the burden of my magic. Can you handle it?"

"I can."

Zero was fusion magic.

In theory, it could be combined with another's spell.

But that was only theory.

Leo would have to bear Luna's absurd mana output alone, and Luna would need to mentally draw a complex sigil to complete this chaotic magic.

Even with the solution in hand, writing out the full process from scratch was incredibly difficult.

"Hmm… Still, this is too reckless. Even I could screw it up. Isn't there a safer option?"

Luna hunched her shoulders.

If she messed up, they'd lose this fight.

Worse, Leo would be in serious danger.

That weight pressed on her.

"Luna."

"Yeah?"

"I believe in you."

"…"

"No matter what anyone says, you're the greatest genius mage I know."

At that, Luna's ears twitched.

Avoiding Leo's gaze, she snorted and shouted confidently,

"Well, fine. I can do it, so let's try! What's the worst that could happen, we die?"

"Why die? You'd never fail."

"Ughhh!"

At Leo's confident words, Luna blushed and hid behind Lysinas.

"Lysinas, he's bad for my heart."

Lysinas glared at Leo.

Leo said to her, "Lysinas. You should be able to control Albus and Elsie."

"What?"

Lysinas didn't know it yet, but by Kyle accepting the Dragon Heart, she had become contractually bound to Leo.

That allowed Leo to fulfill Lysinas's vow without cost.

And conversely, Lysinas could fulfill Leo's vow.

'Wait… this is like… soulmates or something.'

Feeling the bond, Lysinas's cheeks flushed.

Elsie, grinning, climbed onto his head as Luna pushed him forward.

"Lysinas! Go lead Aaron and Dweno!"

Lysinas mounted Albus.

Having grasped the situation, Albus accepted her without resistance.

"Honestly… I think we really can win this."

Staring at Erebos, Lysinas spoke, and Leo grinned.

"We have to."

Leo reached into his black cloak.

He pulled out his magic staff and said,

"That's what I came here for."