Chapter 118
Chapter Title: The Brave Hero's Awakening
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118.
“You know me?”
Ar-on looked at the boy he’d never seen before, a hint of bewilderment on his face.
“I do.”
At that, Leo nodded.
He wanted to talk more.
There was so much he wanted to say.
But right now, his priority was to awaken the Brave Hero before him.
And for Leo, who had traversed battlefields with him for so long, that was not a difficult task.
“Your siblings are in danger.”
“What?”
Ar-on, his expression a mask of confusion, was startled by Leo's words.
“Tonight, all of your siblings might die. They need your power.”
Ar-on's face hardened as he turned his head toward the southern edge.
He looked toward the place where his home was.
He could definitely feel a sinister energy.
A vortex of aura swirled around him.
The pupils of his once-gentle golden eyes narrowed into vertical slits.
His eyes sharpened, and the muscles in his body swelled slightly.
Fangs jutted out.
Ar-on placed a foot on the railing, preparing to leap.
Then, he suddenly looked back at Leo.
“Have we... met somewhere before?”
“Yes.”
“When.”
“In the near future.”
For a moment, Ar-on looked completely baffled.
“This isn't the time to be questioning that.”
“Ah!”
Hearing Leo's words, Ar-on kicked off the railing.
Thwump-!
Leo smiled as he watched Ar-on's back disappear at an imperceptible speed.
*‘Rushing to protect the people he cares about... he hasn't changed a bit, then or now.’*
***
The southern edge of Reysar.
In a place known as the cursed land, a man and a woman appeared.
“Why did I have to come back to this nauseating place?”
Even as the true power in Reysar, Levaiten couldn't just order anyone to kill the residents of a plague-stricken area.
Especially if it was revealed that there was no actual plague, things could get complicated.
That was why he had sent only a small group of his most loyal followers.
“Incompetent fools.”
Ultimately, they had failed, which was why Levaiten had no choice but to come here himself.
A moment later.
Levaiten arrived at the clearing.
His eye twitched as he saw Ar, who was standing there as if she had been waiting for him.
“Hah, you're telling me they were beaten by a single brat like that?”
“If you don't want to end up like your subordinates, you'd best get lost.”
“You insolent little thing. Do you have any idea who you're talking to?”
Levaiten's lips curled into a sneer.
“I am destined to become the lord of Reysar. A hero who will be praised by the people of this land for generations to come.”
“Don't make me laugh. In the future, no one will be praising the likes of you.”
“What did you say?”
“Someone like you won't even be recorded in the annals of history. Ah, wait, you will be.”
Ar sneered ferociously.
“As the kind of trash that existed during the Age of Calamity.”
The Hero Record was the chronicle of heroes, recorded by the gods.
Everything that happened in the World of Heroes was a 'truth' guaranteed in the name of the gods.
The discovery of a new Hero Record could even lead to existing history books being discarded and rewritten.
If Leo and Ar conquered this world, Levaiten, a figure from 5,000 years ago, would be recorded in history.
And future generations would condemn him for all eternity.
Hearing Ar's words, Levaiten's face turned beet red.
“How dare you!”
Enraged, Levaiten charged toward Ar.
CRASH-!
Levaiten, now wielding a massive greatsword, swung it with terrifying force.
It was a fearsome attack, where even a grazing blow could be fatal.
But Ar's eyes clearly tracked the trajectory of the blade.
Fwoosh-!
“......!”
“A sloppy attack with nothing but power behind it.”
“Grr!”
Seeing Ar perched atop his greatsword and sneering at him, Levaiten unleashed magical energy into the blade.
Zzzt-zzzzzt-!
Blue sparks flew.
But before the magic could engulf her, Ar leaped away, putting distance between herself and Levaiten.
“You don't seem to be a warrior. That weapon is wasted on someone with your skill level.”
Levaiten, who had free access to the powerful armaments in the lord's castle armory, was equipped with all sorts of potent magical gear.
But that was all he had.
Ar, who had been trained from a young age to become a hero and was familiar with all kinds of supernatural abilities, was not an opponent Levaiten could handle by relying solely on his weapons.
“A mage pretending to be a warrior.”
Having seen through Levaiten's skills, Ar narrowed her eyes.
It was just as Ar had said.
His close-quarters combat was purely reliant on the power of his magical equipment.
Levaiten was a pure mage.
As such, his skill with a weapon was pathetic.
“Pathetic!”
All flash and no substance.
“Who are you calling pathetic! You filthy brat!”
Levaiten roared.
“You call me trash? I am a hero! The one who will become the Great Hero and rule Reysar!”
Killing intent flared in Ar's eyes.
“Don't you dare utter the words 'Great Hero'!”
Enraged, the fur on Ar's entire body stood on end.
She compressed aura into the tips of her toes.
BOOM-!
Ar's body shot toward Levaiten like an arrow, propelled by condensed elasticity.
“Kugh! R-Reflection Shield!”
CRASH-!
Ar's kick was blocked by Levaiten's protection magic.
Crack-!
Cracks spread across the magical barrier Levaiten had created.
Seeing this, Levaiten's face went pale.
But it didn't break through.
Having poured all his mana into it, Levaiten's protective spell was sturdy.
“Uraaaaaaaah!”
Feeling her own power being reflected back at her by the spell, Ar roared and used the Brave Hero's Breath.
The power of the aura in her toes increased explosively.
If she had redirected the returning force, she could have prepared for her next attack without taking much damage.
But Ar did not back down.
She could not forgive this traitor before her who so carelessly used the title of Great Hero.
She returned the rebounding force with her own sheer will.
A pain as if her right foot was being crushed by something immense washed over her.
But Ar paid it no mind, glaring as she drove her foot forward.
*‘I won't be satisfied until I kick this bastard's face in!’*
CRACK- KABOOM!
“Keheuk?!”
Ar's kick slammed directly into Levaiten's body.
Levaiten was sent flying, crashing brutally through several building walls.
“Hahk. Hahk.”
Ar gasped for breath, the pain in her right foot immense.
Clap- clap- clap-
“Quite impressive. No, astonishing.”
Ar's gaze shifted to the woman.
“Mother was right. The heroes of the surface are still dangerous.”
“Hmph! Come on over, I'll send you flying too.”
Ar growled, swinging her foot through the air.
The woman smiled at Ar.
“Oh my, can you really do that? Little kitten?”
Crrrack-! Crrrunch! Squelch!
Ar's face hardened as she watched the woman shed her human skin and grow to a massive size.
“Wouldn't you be lucky just to avoid being eaten by me?”
A demon with the upper body of a human and the lower body of a giant spider mocked Ar.
A second, grotesquely repulsive mouth on its lower half flickered its tongue.
“A d-demon?”
Ar's face turned pale.
Overwhelming fear washed over her.
“How? Why don't you have the stench of a demon?”
There wasn't the slightest trace of a demon's foul odor coming from the creature before her.
Instead, she smelled of a lush, green forest.
Watching Ar step back, the woman, Talatunia, smiled sweetly.
“Well now. Perhaps it's because I chewed up and ate the Fairy King's arm?”
The daughter of the Demon Queen Silatuna.
The Spider Princess, Talatunia.
Having learned that the Fairy King's ring could erase the presence of a demon, she had secretly infiltrated the refugee city.
She knew that a Great Spirit resided in Schatten, the sword used by Agon during the battle against the Hero Alliance ten years ago.
This greedy demon, who had devoured the Fairy King's arm along with his ring, was using Levaiten to swallow the Great Spirit.
“Now then.”
A hideous spider leg was raised.
“Die.”
Fwoosh-!
The spider's foreleg shot out like a giant awl, aiming to pierce Ar.
Thwack-!
In that instant, a shadow shot up in front of Ar, blocking the attack.
“So, you've finally shown yourself, Schatten.”
Talatunia flicked her tongue.
Looking at Talatunia, Elsie spoke.
“Schatten is just the name of the sword I reside in. My name is Elsie.”
“Your name doesn't matter. What matters is that I'm going to eat you.”
Chomp-!
Opening her maw, Talatunia lunged forward to bite Elsie.
Thud-!
Suddenly, Talatunia's body froze.
Frowning, Talatunia turned her head and glared at her own captured shadow.
Elsie, her expression now gone, used her power.
“Oh?”
Her shadow stolen, Talatunia's foreleg trembled as it was lifted into the air.
Fwoosh-!
Stab-!
And without hesitation, Talatunia's foreleg pierced her own neck.
That wasn't all.
Her other spider legs twisted at bizarre angles.
Having lost her shadow, Talatunia was literally a puppet on strings.
And the one pulling those strings was none other than Elsie.
“You haven't changed at all in ten years, Spider Princess.”
Elsie, who had once defeated Agon and Talatunia, smiled sweetly and wiggled a finger.
Craaack-!
Talatunia felt her vision flip upside down.
Her neck had been brutally snapped.
Blinking, Talatunia burst into maniacal laughter.
“Kyahahahahahahaha! How fun! This is so much fun!”
Crrrack! Crrrunch!
The legs that had been twisted at grotesque angles instantly healed.
Her pierced and twisted body returned to its original state in an instant.
The terrifying power of the Spider Princess, said to be capable of destroying even nations, had been granted a near-infinite life force.
Seeing Talatunia recover in an instant, Elsie was also taken aback.
Thwack-!
“Gahk?”
In a flash, Talatunia's foreleg pierced through Elsie's body.
Elsie's face contorted.
Sh-sh-sh-shred-!
Shards of darkness erupted from the wound, shredding Talatunia's body.
In an instant, she was torn apart so badly she was unrecognizable.
“How about that? Different from ten years ago, isn't it?”
The top of her head blown off, leaving only her mouth, Talatunia gave a vicious smile.
“Do you really think an immature Great Spirit without a contractor can defeat me, the daughter of Silatuna, all by yourself?”
“Kugh!”
“Now, let's have a taste and see what a Great Spirit is like.”
Chomp-!
Even while being brutally shredded, Talatunia greedily opened her mouth.
Having gained infinite life force, Talatunia was quite literally an undying calamity.
The moment she was about to sink her fangs into Elsie's neck.
Fwoosh-! CRUNCH!
Ar flew in and kicked Talatunia in the jaw.
Her jaw twisted at an odd angle, Talatunia wore an annoyed expression.
“Little kitten.”
Though terrified, Ar's fighting spirit reignited.
“That coward saved the world.”
For some reason, Leo's voice flashed through her mind.
*‘If I'm to follow in the Brave Hero's footsteps! I can't just stand here paralyzed by fear!’*
Gritting her teeth, Ar prepared to land her next attack on Talatunia.
WHAM!
“Gah!”
For a moment, her head spun.
One of the spider legs had slammed into Ar's head.
“I'll save you for dessert.”
Sneering at Ar, who was now crumpled in a corner with blood streaming from her head, Talatunia turned her attention back to Elsie.
“Ugh...!”
Just as Ar gritted her teeth and tried to get up.
“Are you all right?”
“Huh?”
Hearing a voice from behind, Ar quickly raised her head.
And her eyes widened.
“You've done well.”
Ar's body trembled.
He looked different from the way Ar knew him.
Younger, to be precise.
But she recognized him in an instant.
The figure from the fairy tales who had given her courage as a child.
The object of her admiration, the one who saved the world.
“Lord Ar-on.”