Chapter 171
Chapter Title: Not Alone
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171
“You know me?”
“Very well.”
Silatuna crossed her arms as she looked at Leo, who answered with a smirk.
With a voice full of clear mockery, Silatuna asked.
“Come to think of it, the Sorcerer of the Evil Eye defeated another piece of me in Lumeria City not long ago. You were there then, weren't you?”
Letting out a chilling giggle, Silatuna said.
“But that brief glimpse was all, wasn't it? What kind of relationship could we possibly have?”
“A very beautiful one.”
*Thud. Thud.*
Leo walked right up to Silatuna.
“You, the other Legion Commanders, and even Erebos. I'm going to tear you all to shreds.”
“Oh, my. Such a spirited little brat who doesn't know his place.”
Silatuna cackled.
“Do you think being an All-Class and a little successful makes you something special? You're just another insignificant bug...”
*Thwack-!*
*Crack-!*
Without hesitation, Leo kicked Silatuna in the shin.
*Thump-*
Her shin shattered, and Silatuna lost her balance, dropping to her knees.
Had this been a complete fragment of Silatuna, Leo wouldn't have been able to face her so recklessly.
But this fragment of Silatuna was on the verge of annihilation, thanks to the Sword Saint.
In its extremely weakened state, it posed no threat to Leo.
“Rough, aren't you.”
Silatuna scowled, looking up at Leo.
“How dare a first-year brat treat me like this...”
Silatuna stopped mid-sentence.
Her expression hardened.
She had sensed something strange in the way Leo's eyes looked down on her.
Silatuna, the Queen of Monsters.
A Legion Commander of Tartaros who had reigned as a terrifying calamity since before the Age of Disaster.
Without a doubt, countless heroes had feared Silatuna for thousands of years.
Great figures who left their names in history had tried to subjugate her, but not a single one had ever succeeded.
No, in fact, Silatuna was the one who hunted heroes.
The Hero Devourer.
Another of the Monster Queen's titles.
The Necro King, who possessed the greatest power among the Legion Commanders but was too insidious to step into the forefront.
The Giant King, who was her equal in power but cautious.
Unlike those two, the Monster Queen was reckless and cruel.
She had always been on the front lines, devouring countless heroes.
By now, it was Silatuna who reigned as a being more feared than the Necro King and the Giant King.
But the look in Leo's eyes as he gazed at her was different from the others.
*'Are these... the eyes of a first-year brat?'*
The hatred and anger dwelling in his pupils were no different from others.
Normally, Silatuna would have sneered at him.
But she couldn't do that to Leo.
Leo's gaze was unmistakably that of a hunter looking at its prey.
It was the same look she gave the heroes she had devoured until now.
Silatuna felt a chill run down her spine.
*'What is this brat.'*
A hatred and anger that welled up from the depths of her heart.
And along with it, a creeping sense of foreboding.
“A mere human.”
Killing intent flickered in Silatuna's voice.
“How dare a mere human look at me with those insolent eyes...”
*Crack-!*
Leo's sword was shoved into Silatuna's mouth.
“Stop barking. I'm sick of hearing it.”
“Ah! Ah! Ah!”
*Gush- Gush-* Clamping both hands over her mouth as blood poured out, Silatuna's eyes flared with killing intent.
Her broken knee regenerated.
As Silatuna tried to stand, Leo kicked her other knee.
*Crack-!*
“Kneel.”
*Thump-!*
Losing her balance, Silatuna fell forward this time.
*Gag- Gag-* Blood poured from her mouth.
*Thud-!*
Leo stomped on Silatuna's head with his foot.
Silatuna's body trembled.
She felt an immense sense of humiliation, but that wasn't the reason she was shaking.
From the distant past of her memories.
A certain scene came to mind.
At that time, Silatuna had been trembling in fear.
The being who had made a fearsome Legion Commander tremble.
That time when she had boldly stepped forward, vowing to eliminate the greatest remaining adversary.
Silatuna had been forced to face fear and despair.
It was the same then as it was now.
*'It can't be... It can't be...'*
*Thud-!*
Silatuna strained her arms and head.
Pushing away Leo's foot that was pressing down on her head, she barely managed to lift her face.
Leo took a few steps back.
*'It's not possible. There's no way.'*
With her head raised, Silatuna looked directly into Leo's eyes.
In that moment.
She had the illusion that the scenery was changing.
A dreary, ashen sky.
A world hurtling toward ruin.
It was the landscape she had so desperately longed for, yet for Silatuna, it was also a scene of unparalleled terror.
A human stood before the kneeling Monster Queen.
The Great Hero, the Hero of the Beginning, Kyle, looking down at her with cold eyes.
*Whoosh-!*
In an instant, she snapped out of the illusion.
“No... way.”
Silatuna's body trembled violently.
The fearsome Hero of the Beginning and the brat before her were now overlapping in her vision.
She denied the possibility that had surfaced in her mind.
But as if mocking her denial, Leo's lips curled into a smirk.
“Ky... le!”
Looking at Silatuna who spat out the name as if chewing on it, Leo said.
“This time, I won't leave a single one of you alive.”
*Crack-!*
“Gah?”
Leo's sword plunged into Silatuna's chest.
*Shhwwing-!*
Leo swung his sword upward, brutally slicing through Silatuna's upper body.
*Srrrk-!*
Silatuna's body dissolved into black powder and scattered.
She was meeting her end.
A clone that perishes this way cannot relay the current situation to the main body.
Silatuna's body crumbled.
“Kik- kik-!”
Silatuna's shoulders shook.
“Kihahihik! Kihahahahahak!”
As the fragment of Silatuna burst into mad laughter while fading away, it spoke in a voice filled with insanity.
“So it was you! Kyle! So what? What can you possibly do alone!”
She clutched her head, her body shaking as she burst into insane laughter.
“Who's by your side? The ever-frightened Ar-on? Dweno, who only made crude junk? The detestable bluffer, Luna? Or the hopelessly stupid Lisinas? Who do you have? You're going to subjugate us! The great Primordial Flame! All by yourself? Dream on! Kihahahahaha!”
*Saaaaa-*
Turning to black dust and fading away, Silatuna mocked Leo.
“You can't do anything! You'll just stand there helplessly and watch the world you barely managed to save burn all over again! Hero of the Beginning, Kyle!”
*Flash-!*
Silatuna's eyes flashed.
“In the end, you'll fail just like your companions! You'll die in despair! Ahahahaha!”
With an annoyed expression, he stomped on the head of Silatuna as she spewed her curses.
*Crack-!*
Her head shattered like pottery.
*Saaaaaah-*
Only her mouth remained, and Silatuna sneered.
“I look forward to that day. Ooh-hoo-hoo-hoo.”
*Ssssh-*
Looking down at where Silatuna had vanished without a trace, Leo muttered.
“Alone...”
“Leo?!”
“Hey! What are you doing over there?”
Urgent voices called out from a distance.
He could see Celia and Chloe approaching.
“Are you okay?”
Leo nodded at Chloe's urgent question.
“I'm fine. What about you two?”
“I'm perfectly fine, of course.”
Celia answered confidently.
“The demons are pretty much all taken care of.”
“Good.”
“...? Is something wrong?”
Leo chuckled at Chloe's puzzled expression.
“No, it's just...”
Leo reached out and ruffled Chloe's hair.
“I was just thinking how reassuring you guys are.”
With that, Leo walked ahead.
Watching his back, Celia crossed her arms and tilted her head.
“What's with him all of a sudden?”
Then she looked at Chloe, whose face was red and mouth was agape, and said.
“Chloe.”
“O-Oh, y-yeah!”
“Must be nice, huh?”
Looking at her teasing friend, Chloe lightly tapped Celia's shoulder before fanning her face.
*'I'm not alone.'*
Leo muttered as he looked out at the Lumerne scenery.
*'I have new companions, and...'*
Leo clenched and unclenched his fist.
*'The bond with them isn't broken either.'*
The knowledge his friends had passed down.
And the power his friends had left behind remained in the form of the Hero Record.
*'You're still afraid.'*
Leo clenched his fist.
*'Of the Great Heroes who vanished long ago, and the Great Heroes who will one day be born again.'*
***
The attack on Lumerne by Tartaros.
This incident, quite literally, sent massive shockwaves.
And the fact that the intruder was someone from one of the three great class academies also shook the world.
“This must be difficult for the other countries.”
Karl clicked his tongue.
“After applying political pressure over the various incidents in the first semester, they're now the ones on the receiving end.”
For the powerful figures in other nations who had pressured Lumerne, claiming they couldn't trust a place threatened by Tartaros, this was as good as giving Lumerne a reason to refuse them.
Chelsea made an indifferent face at Karl's words.
“Well, Lumerne won't use this as a political or diplomatic card. Lumerne has always been neutral, right?”
“True. Still, you think they'll tell them to stop whining?”
*Flap-!*
Closing the newspaper, Karl chuckled.
“By the way, the headmaster's power was truly surprising.”
Kalian's single sword strike that split the sky was enough to shock everyone.
The Sword Saint's fame is well-known.
The achievements he left behind were also called those of a living legend.
However, he had long been retired from the front lines, so no one among the current generation had directly experienced the Sword Saint's power.
But in this incident, he revealed his true capabilities.
“How is something like that possible with a sword?”
As Karl muttered in disbelief, Chelsea crossed her arms.
“Hmm! I'm not sure if even my father could do it, even if he used a spell with all his mana.”
Besides Karl and Chelsea, the other students were also buzzing about the headmaster.
Just then, Eliza entered the classroom with a tearful face.
“What? Why the long face?”
At Chelsea's question, Eliza's shoulders slumped.
“The midterm exam schedule was posted on the year's bulletin board.”
Upon hearing that, sighs erupted from all around.
Karl clutched his head.
The students of Class 5 also looked gloomy.
Seeing this, Leo said.
“You all knew exams were coming up, so why the reaction?”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Chelsea chimed in, agreeing with Leo.
“Right, because you two are the honor students, is that it?”
“Must be nice! You honor students! Teach us your study secrets!”
“We couldn't study properly because of the joint classes!”
As Eliza shouted on behalf of everyone, Dade retorted indifferently.
“You don't study even without joint classes...”
“Is this the insolent mouth that fearlessly attacks with facts?!”
“Let go!”
Dade shook off Eliza, who was grabbing his mouth and squeezing.
Watching the classroom start to get rowdy, Chelsea said.
“Still, this midterm is a bit better, right? The practical portion is weighted more heavily than the written one.”
At that, Karl clasped his hands behind his head.
“True. The 'Sparring Evaluation' makes up the biggest portion of the score for this midterm.”
“Right. You can get a high score even if you lose. It's literally a sparring evaluation, so what matters is how you fight.”
“I heard that this sparring evaluation is done randomly, but you can also designate a specific opponent and 'challenge' them...”
*Screeech-!*
Before Karl could finish, the door was thrown open violently.
Everyone's gaze turned toward the person who had opened the door.
Standing there was none other than Duran.
*Stomp. Stomp.*
Duran walked up to Leo.
“Leo Flove.”
“What?”
“You've heard about the sparring evaluation, I assume?”
Duran's golden eyes flashed.
“This time, I'll prove once and for all who is the best.”
“Don't you ever get tired of this?”
Chelsea said with a scornful look.
“Be quiet, Chelsea Llewellyn.”
“Hmph!”
Just as Duran and Chelsea were having their usual staring contest.
Suddenly, a commotion began to stir outside.
The Class 5 students who poked their heads out to look were surprised.
“Wait! Why is that person in the first-year classroom building?”
“Wow! Amazing! He's so handsome!”
Gasps of admiration erupted from here and there.
A moment later, a young man entered the Class 5 classroom.
The entire class held its breath.
He was an incredibly famous student.
*Step. Step.*
“Leo.”
“Senior Lis.”
The student council president, Lis Jerdinger, stood before Leo.
Lis smiled warmly at Leo.
“Can we talk for a moment?”