Chapter 169
Chapter Title: Dweno's Sword
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The demon from Tartaros stared at Leo, its cold eyes fixed on him.
“So, you intend to stand in my way again?”
“Looks that way.”
*Fwoosh—*
An aura of flame erupted from Leo's body.
Seeing this, the demon extended a hand.
*Vwoom—!*
A blood-red magic circle materialized in the air.
Leo's eyes twitched as he saw it.
In an instant, his vision was cut off.
As darkness fell, Leo lowered his stance.
*'A curse.'*
A curse that blocks one's sight.
Leo sharpened his senses.
*'It cast the curse in a split second, giving me no time to react.'*
Compared to his past life, Leo's resistance to curses was lower.
It couldn't be helped.
In terms of potential, the current Leo was superior to Kyle from his past life.
One day, Leo would undoubtedly become strong enough to surpass the power of his past self.
But that day was not today.
Even if his potential was greater, his current power was lacking compared to the immense strength he once possessed.
As such, if high-ranking demons from Tartaros were determined to use a curse, Leo was bound to be affected.
But before the curse was cast.
Leo could identify the type of curse, even in that brief, fleeting moment.
That was the realm of 'experience,' unrelated to power.
That experience was also the driving force that allowed him to exert strength far greater than what he currently possessed.
Yet, despite that experience, Leo was instantly caught by the curse.
*'A demon specializing in curses? No, even so, this level of skill is almost on par with a Legion Commander.'*
His vision blocked, Leo summoned his aura.
*'My other senses haven't been taken.'*
His senses of touch, smell, and hearing responded sharply.
In addition, Leo used his aura to stimulate every nerve in his body.
*'Super Sense.'*
The technique of the Brave Hero, Ar-on, which maximized one's senses.
Super Sense was a skill that had a tremendous impact not only in reconnaissance but also in combat.
In the case of Ar-on, who had trained his Super Sense to the extreme, he had even reached a level where he could predict the future.
*'Though I haven't reached that level.'*
A vein pulsed on Leo's temple.
*Fwoosh—*
He could feel the presence of magic from all directions.
The trajectories of the attacks naturally formed in Leo's mind.
*Whoosh—!*
Leo snapped his head to the side, dodging a spell aimed at him.
*CRASH—!*
“What!”
The demon's eyes widened.
To its eyes, it looked as if Leo had 'seen' and dodged the attack.
*Flash! KRA-KA-KABOOM—!*
Leo moved his body, evading the crimson-black beams of magic flying at him from all sides.
That wasn't all.
He charged precisely in the demon's direction.
*'Did the curse not take hold?'*
The demon, after watching Leo for a moment, quickly moved away.
*'To think a mere first-year hero cadet whelp could evade my curse. I must have really hit rock bottom.'*
The demon scoffed at itself, but it remained calm.
*'Even for a Pegasus's contractor, if a curse doesn't work, he must have something hidden up his sleeve.'*
It would be a disaster if it fought recklessly and was defeated.
It had bet everything on this attack on Lumerne.
There was no room for retreat.
*'I must be extremely cautious.'*
Meanwhile, Leo, who had forced the demon back while his vision was blocked, retrieved the sword that had pierced the back of its hand and turned.
*'Quite cautious. It seems to be a very high-ranking demon.'*
Even for a Pegasus's contractor, one would expect it to be careless against a first-year, but there was no sign of it.
The demon's eyes twitched as it looked at Leo's face.
*'This brat, his vision hasn't returned yet? Then how in the world is he moving?'*
He might be a hero cadet, but he was still an unpolished gem.
That was why it had expected to toy with him easily as long as the curse worked, no matter how much power it had lost.
But as if mocking that expectation, the first-year before it was perfectly countering its attacks.
As if having his vision blocked was nothing at all.
*'Not even the heroes whose names are etched into that detestable Hero Record were like this!'*
Long ago.
As a demon that had buried countless heroes in the annals of history, it couldn't help but feel a chill run down its spine.
*'This brat is...!'*
As it shuddered, a conversation with Silatuna came to mind.
*'If you happen to meet Leo Flove, it's best not to be careless. I have a very bad feeling about that brat.'*
*'Is it because he's an All-Class?'*
*'That's right.'*
*'I don't understand. All-Class or not, he's just a first-year brat. No matter how much power I've lost, I am a Legion Commander of Tartaros. To be told to be wary of some whelp who isn't even Lis Jerdinger... it wounds my pride.'*
*'That's how special an All-Class is.'*
*'Hah, you act like the ruler of Tartaros one moment, and the next you're fussing over a first-year just because he resembles the Great Hero who vanished 5,000 years ago. How disappointing.'*
*'Think what you will. But don't forget the fact that this brat has consistently made the impossible possible.'*
The nine existing Legion Commanders.
Among them, the Demon Queen, the Necro King, and the Giant King, who had lived since before the Age of Calamity, were beings of a different caliber.
It wasn't simply because they had lived for a long time.
They were monsters who had survived to the end, avoiding subjugation while the other Legion Commanders of the Age of Calamity were being defeated by the Great Heroes.
The great King of Wisdom, Lisinas, had Erebos and the three great Legion Commanders.
Giving up on subjugating the three great Legion Commanders and prioritizing the defeat of Erebos was a gamble.
Because even Lisinas couldn't guarantee that the subjugation force's strength would remain intact after defeating all three of them.
In the end, the gamble paid off, but thanks to it, the three great Legion Commanders still reigned as unsubjugated beings of terror even after 5,000 years.
It had sneered at Silatuna back then, unable to understand why she was so wary of Leo just because he was an All-Class.
But now, it understood.
The first-year before it was on a different level.
*'This one must not be left alive.'*
He would surely grow into a formidable enemy that would threaten all of Tartaros in the future.
*'No matter how quickly he reacts to attacks, there must be a limit if his vision is blocked.'*
“Leo Flove, consider it an honor to die by my hand, a Legion Commander.”
“Legion Commander?”
Leo's eyes twitched.
*Groooowwwwl—!*
With that, the surrounding shadows turned crimson-black and lunged at Leo all at once.
His vision was blocked, but his senses, sharpened by Super Sense, naturally painted the power and trajectory of the attacks in his mind.
*'This will be a little tough without seeing.'*
The moment he thought that, the curse blocking his vision was broken.
As Leo's vision refocused, the Legion Commander's eyes twitched.
*'He broke it this quickly?'*
There are two main ways to break a curse.
One is to break it with overwhelming resistance.
The other is to analyze the curse's formula binding the body and dispel it.
Either way,
it was not an easy method.
*'What in the world is this brat?'*
The more it learned, the more astonishing he was.
*Fwoosh—!*
Leo unleashed his aura.
*KRA-KA-KA-BOOM—!*
He deflected attacks with tricky trajectories using his fiery aura and dodged the rest by swiftly moving his body.
With his kinetic vision rapidly enhanced by Super Sense, evading the attacks was not particularly difficult.
*Thud—*
Landing on the ground, the Legion Commander looked at Leo and spoke.
“How did you break the curse?”
“A sensory disruption curse just twists the mana flowing through your body, right? All you have to do is realign the flow of mana, and it's simple to break.”
The Legion Commander narrowed its eyes at Leo, who was smirking.
“You shouldn't be able to dispel it that quickly with that method. What trick did you use?”
“A trick? There's nothing like that. I just brute-forced it from start to finish.”
Leo tapped his head.
“I've broken plenty of curses more complex than this one.”
“Impossible! There is no demon who uses curses more powerful and complex than I, Kigorse!”
“Kigorse? The King of Curses? You're Kigorse?”
Kigorse, the King of Curses.
The Legion Commander who was subjugated by the Sword Saint Kalian decades ago.
“Claiming to be a Legion Commander who vanished long ago? Tartaros must be truly desperate.”
“Think what you will. You're going to die here anyway.”
Leo narrowed his eyes at Kigorse's words.
*'Its power is pathetic for a Legion Commander.'*
If it were a Legion Commander, just facing it would inflict immense physical damage.
A Legion Commander was, by definition, a calamity whose very existence was terrifying.
A nightmarish being that countless heroes from the Hero Record had to join forces to barely defeat.
*'But its senses are definitely on the level of a Legion Commander.'*
His overwhelming combat experience against Tartaros.
Especially since Leo had fought Legion Commanders countless times, he was able to react quickly to attacks that others would likely have died from, unable to even respond.
*'If this is the real Kigorse, the Headmaster might have failed to completely subjugate him.'*
Leo tightened his grip on his sword.
*'I'll treat him as a Legion Commander.'*
Leo lowered his stance.
Seeing this, Kigorse's lips curled into a sneer.
“I shall teach you the terror of a Legion Commander.”
*Groooowwwl—!*
A pitch-black space opened in the air.
With it, all sorts of grotesque monsters began to pour out.
Leo's eyes twitched at the sight.
A Legion Commander's individual strength was formidable, but even more threatening was their authority to generate demons.
They devoured living creatures, stored the energy, and created demons.
Watching the lesser demons pour out as if the gates of hell had opened, Leo summoned his spiritual power.
*Fwoosh—!*
A pure white summoning circle appeared, and Ati materialized.
“Ati. Deal with the demons.”
[Yes, Master!]
*Bzzzzzt—!*
White sparks began to crackle from Ati's body.
*KRA-KAZZZT—!*
Ati charged forward and began to trample the pouring demons.
“Fool! You're using your most powerful means of attack to deal with mere demons!”
Kigorse sneered and charged toward Leo.
*Groooowwwl! Squirm— Squirm—!*
Its body, which was losing its human form, began to sprout multiple eyes.
Leo narrowed his eyes at Kigorse, who had become a giant, humanoid mass of flesh.
A form that could no longer be called human.
But as it cast off its mimicry, its dark magic surged even higher.
*Groooowwwl—!*
It raised an arm wreathed in crimson-black dark magic.
Befitting a Legion Commander called the King of Curses, the arm, plastered with all sorts of curses, aimed for Leo.
A mass of powerful curses that would bring death with a single touch.
When he tried to dodge, the surroundings were plastered with curses.
“You cannot escape! Even if you block it, you will meet your end!”
Leo smiled at Kigorse, who was letting out a sneer filled with ecstasy.
“Hey.”
“......!”
At that relaxed smile, Kigorse felt that something was wrong.
“I bet the Necro King had a word or two for you.”
“What?”
“That you're too flippant for a Legion Commander.”
“How do you—!”
Long ago.
Seeing Leo repeat the Necro King's words, all of Kigorse's eyes widened.
“How...!”
“Just a hunch.”
*Fwoosh—!*
A red summoning circle formed in front of Leo.
As a flaming bird emerged from it, Kigorse's face filled with shock.
“A Phoenix?”
“That guy's obsessed with dignity for someone who just plays with corpses, isn't he?”
Leo, a twisted smile on his face as he recalled the Necro King, summoned his aura and mana.
*Fwoooosh—!*
The Crimson Flame of Jerdinger.
The Scorching Heat of Lundua.
A flame, created with the Phoenix's fire as its base, enveloped Piora.
*KWAAAAAAAH—!*
Piora, shining as if wreathed in the sun itself, flapped its wings.
“Do you really think the flames of a mere Phoenix can stop a Legion Commander!”
*FWOOOOSH—!*
Piora's flames incinerated the Legion Commander's body, leaving only remnants behind.
Kigorse's body, writhing in agony, grew even larger.
Seeing this, Leo frowned.
*'It's not dying from this?'*
*Groooowl! CRASH—!*
Kigorse's fist struck Leo.
*BAM—!*
Leo's body was slammed back, his back crashing against the doors of the Hall of Heroes.
*CRASH—! Crumble—!*
Leo's body flew into the Hall of Heroes, smashing through the doors and embedding itself in the wall.
*Crumble—!*
Pieces of marble trickled down.
He felt his consciousness fading, but Leo paid it no mind.
*'The curses were all burned away by Piora's flames.'*
*Flap—! Flap—!*
Piora, having returned to the form of a red chick, hurriedly landed on Leo's shoulder.
*Peep?*
“I'm fine.”
*Pow—!*
Pushing off with his embedded body, Leo freed himself from the wall and landed on the floor.
His head was ringing.
The damage he took was purely physical.
Even then, he had instantly deployed an Aura Armor to halve the damage.
But despite his response, the impact was immense.
*'So even a weakened Legion Commander is still a Legion Commander.'*
Leo shook his head to clear his thoughts.
Leo had already been at Lumerne for over a semester and had used the Great Library countless times, but this was his first time inside the Hall of Heroes.
The other students might have been interested in the heroic armaments, but they were not objects of great interest to Leo.
Leo lifted his head and looked toward Kigorse.
Despite being reduced to a pile of ash, Kigorse was approaching a certain sword.
“Finally...! Finally!”
*'What in the world is that thing...?'*
Leo's face contorted as he watched Kigorse approach a 'worn-out sword' with a look of ecstasy, and then his eyes widened.
At first glance, it was a chipped and rusted sword.
But even a quick look revealed that it held an immense amount of 'mana'.
Though the sword was old, it looked worthy of being called an armament used by a hero.
But what surprised Leo wasn't that the sword contained powerful mana.
It was because of the ornament engraved on the end of the sword's hilt.
Though the sword was worn, the ornament shone as if it were brand new.
A beautiful ornament, so exquisite it seemed the smith who forged the sword had paid more attention to it than the blade itself.
And it was a sword Leo had seen before.
*'Dweno's sword?'*