Chapter 205
Chapter Title: Two Legion Commanders
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The atmosphere inside Seirun's campus was grim.
And for good reason.
Everyone here was a civilian.
Though their hearts raced at the tales of the heroes they admired, they were not heroes themselves.
They weren't even hero cadets.
To them, a Legion Commander of Tartaros was a distant being, something they only encountered in stories.
So, the news that a Legion Commander of Tartaros had invaded Seirun was bound to strike immense fear into their hearts.
“Is the warp gate not ready yet?”
“Hurry up and get us out of here!”
“Damn it! I shouldn't have come to watch the Lumerne-Seirun match!”
People were panicking and causing a commotion all over.
“Oh, Great Progenitor of the Nebula, vanquish this evil and save us.”
“Please watch over the heroes fighting our enemies.”
Others prayed quietly to the Great Hero.
Some held their breath, listening intently to the sounds from outside.
“The heroes will take care of everything!”
“That's right! That's right!”
The children clenched their fists and spoke of hope.
Amidst the chaos, Lunia approached those clamoring for the warp gate to be activated.
“Please calm down. You're making many others anxious!”
“Who are you?”
“I am Lunia El Lundua, the first-year representative of Seirun.”
Lunia spoke to the man in a firm voice.
Seeing her, the human spectator's face twisted in a scowl.
“The first-year representative of Seirun? Then you must be pretty skilled, right?”
“I'm not exceptionally skilled. I'm just barely holding onto my position as the first-year representative.”
“I don't care about that! If you're a hero cadet, stop hiding in here with us and go out there and fight!”
The man, who appeared to be a human noble, shouted in irritation.
Watching him, Lunia replied coldly.
“The first and second-years' duty is to protect the people inside the campus.”
“Hmph! It's not because you're scared and tucked your tail between your legs? What's the point of boasting about being a hero cadet? Are you saying you're on the same level as us?”
Lunia's face crumpled as she watched him sneer and mock her.
*Should I smash his face in?*
“Oh? Look at your face, you look like you're about to hit me. Go on, try it. I'm a special guest from Lumerne, here to watch the match! I'll tell everyone that Seirun's representative assaulted me during a crisis. Go on and hit...”
Smack—!
Just as Lunia was about to throw a punch without hesitation.
A fist shot out from behind her, caving in his face.
The man's body flew into the air before crashing pitifully to the floor.
Thud!
“Keheeeek!”
Lunia stared blankly at the human noble who was screaming and clutching his face.
Duran, the one who had thrown the punch, spoke to Lunia.
“He's a guest from Lumerne. If you had laid a hand on him, it would have become a troublesome diplomatic issue.”
Duran glanced at the blood on his hand with disgust, then held it out to the side.
“I'd like to borrow a handkerchief, Iliana Raden.”
“Hey, I'm not your handmaiden, you know.”
Iliana, who was with Duran, grumbled but still obediently handed him a handkerchief.
Duran wiped his hand with it and then tossed it at the man writhing in pain on the floor, clutching his face.
“Hey! Why'd you just throw it away? That was expensive!”
Iliana protested, and Duran scoffed.
“Forget it. Taking back a handkerchief used to wipe the blood of such a vulgar creature would only tarnish your dignity. I'll buy you a better one.”
“Oh my. A prince really is different, isn't he?”
Iliana beamed, pleased.
“Wait, if he's your guest, shouldn't you not be touching him either?”
Lunia asked hesitantly, and Iliana shrugged.
“Normally, we shouldn't.”
“But you did?”
“It's okay because it's Duran.”
Lunia wore a bewildered expression.
“Y-You! You're a Lumerne student, aren't you? State your year and name! I'll report you to the board immediately...! No! There's no need for that! With my family's power...”
“Duran Moira. Is that answer enough for you?”
“Gasp!”
The man, who had been shouting in agitation, turned deathly pale.
Duran wasn't just a student with top grades in his year.
He was the prince of the Moira Kingdom on the Central Continent.
Moreover, he was a strong candidate for the throne, practically the crown prince.
Although the Moira Kingdom was merely a principality, its reputation rivaled that of many great nations.
Known as the Kingdom of Knights, renowned knights gathered under Moira's banner.
Moira's army was a legion of thousands of knights.
No matter how small its scale, its influence on the world was immense.
As such, he was a student that even a VIP from Lumerne could not afford to cross.
“Prince Duran! I have been rude!”
As the man bowed his head deeply, Duran gave a cold smile.
“If you've been rude, you must pay the price, mustn't you?”
“B-But!”
“Tell me the name of that great family of yours.”
“Prince Duran! I beg for your forgiveness!”
Watching him kneel and beg, Lunia looked on with fascination.
To think the man who had been so arrogant just moments ago was now kneeling before a boy so much younger than him.
*I don't understand the power dynamics of humans.*
As an elf, such a sight was utterly fascinating to Lunia.
Meanwhile, Iliana let out a sigh.
“It's a good thing we decided to patrol, just as Chloe said.”
With so many spectators from the Lumerne-Seirun match flooding into the campus at once, the first and second-years were busy trying to calm everyone down.
Amidst this, Duran and Iliana were patrolling to see if anyone was causing trouble.
“Thank you for your help.”
Lunia said with a bright smile once the situation was resolved.
Duran scoffed in response.
“I merely shut up a disgrace to his race. No thanks are necessary.”
At his reaction, Lunia cautiously asked Iliana.
“Is he always this prickly?”
“Yep. That's why he's sometimes cute... Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch!”
“We don't have time to dally here. Let's move on to the next area.”
“L-Let go... It hurts! It hurts!”
Duran dragged Iliana, who was flailing with her ear in his grip, toward the next location.
Letting out a dry laugh at their retreating backs, Lunia sat down.
*I wonder what's happening outside.*
Lunia's hands trembled slightly.
Although she had experienced much for a first-year, she couldn't help but be frightened by this incident.
Outside, many of her teachers,
the upperclassmen she was close to,
and her father were fighting for their lives.
For heroes and hero cadets, this was a matter of course.
But even so, she couldn't help but feel scared and worried.
*Heroes aren't infallible beings, after all.*
Lunia's eyes wavered.
Even Luna, who was praised as being flawless, had her weaknesses.
There's no such thing as a perfect hero in this world.
Heroes must get scared and want to run away, too.
But they summon their courage for the sake of what they carry on their shoulders.
*What would Leo have done in this situation?*
She was thinking of her friend, who handled every situation with composure, when it happened.
Rumble—!
The Seirun school building began to shake.
As the entirety of Seirun, shaped like a colossal ancient castle, trembled, murmurs spread through the crowd.
*What in the world is going on?*
Lunia shot up from her seat, a look of bewilderment on her face.
“Lunia! Evacuate everyone deeper into the school!”
“What's happening?”
Lunia asked urgently, responding to a second-year senior from Seirun.
The second-year looked at Lunia and shouted, their face pale.
“Another legion has invaded!”
***
The Hero Alliance noticed the anomaly about a minute after Riven realized a hole had opened in the sky.
“What the hell is that?”
“A hole?”
“When did that appear?”
The Hero Alliance stared in bewilderment at the black hole in the sky.
“What is that thing? It looks incredibly ominous.”
Hark grumbled, his brow furrowed.
“I know, it's like...”
Elena, who was firing off spells beside him, grimaced.
“It looks like a monster is about to pop out.”
Just then.
Rip—!
As if tearing the hole in the sky apart.
A long, malformed arm reached out and began to frantically widen the hole.
As if digging through the earth.
The ravenously torn hole soon spat out the upper body of a bizarre monster.
The faces of the Hero Alliance members were painted with horror at the sight.
“W-What is that!”
“Judging by its energy, it looks like a demon.”
“And not just any demon! It's a monster with the magical power of a Legion Commander!”
The appearance of another Legion Commander threw the Hero Alliance into a panic.
The Legion Commander's upper body was covered in hard scales.
That alone was reminiscent of a dragon.
Its face was the same.
But it was clearly different from a dragon.
Instead of a dragon's stout, short legs, it had long, malformed arms covered in scales.
Additionally, it had a humanoid upper body, though it reminded one of a hunchback.
The fangs revealed in its mouth looked sharp and merciless, as if they could chew through anything.
Overall, it had the appearance of a giant dragonoid.
An appearance that struck fear into all who saw it.
But what terrified the Hero Alliance more than anything was...
“Was there ever... a Legion Commander like that?”
An elven hero muttered, their face pale.
That was right.
The Legion Commander before them was, quite literally, an unknown, a mystery.
Kiaaaaaaaaaak!
The Legion Commander, Jerdiac, opened its mouth and roared.
Jerdiac's jaw unhinged as it unleashed a purple breath attack toward the castle wall created by Sedjen.
Kiiiiing! Kwagagagagagagagagang—!
The breath attack, flying at incredible speed, not only destroyed a section of Sedjen's wall but also vaporized Silatuna's legion.
Seeing this, Silatuna frowned.
*Does it have no reason? So it didn't cross over to the mortal world in a complete state. Is this what he meant when he said the plan went awry?*
Hell Kaiser, who had intended to greet his compatriot, had said the plan had gone wrong and entrusted the invasion of Seirun to Silatuna.
It seemed Hell Kaiser had anticipated that Jerdiac would cross over as a mindless monster of destruction, left with only its instincts.
*Well, it doesn't matter.*
Whether a former compatriot is now a monster of pure destructive instinct or not.
Jerdiac is a Legion Commander, regardless.
Its power hasn't vanished.
*If it's mindless, won't that make it easier to handle?*
Silatuna's eyes gleamed.
*To think he actually succeeded.*
This was Hell Kaiser's plan.
To summon a Legion Commander from the past, one recorded in the Great Hero's Hero Record.
*To think the day would come when the hateful legacy of the gods would be of use to us.*
A thrill surfaced in Silatuna's eyes.
*With this, we can burn this hateful world to the ground.*
Silatuna's body trembled.
*We can now fulfill the mission our god bestowed upon us!*
The world will burn.
The creatures of the earth will fall into despair.
Though our god still slumbers, it won't be for long.
Five thousand years ago.
The day we return to those longed-for days.
Silatuna was certain the day they would see that scenery again was not far off.
“Tremble in fear, you insects! Lumerne and Seirun will be destroyed, and the world will once again be steeped in darkness!”
Giwooooooooooo!
As if in agreement with Silatuna, Jerdiac also roared.
A Legion Commander in front.
A Legion Commander behind—a desperate situation.
Just as despair began to cloud the faces of the Hero Alliance,
“Venet.”
Kalian called out to Venet calmly.
“I need you to take Albi, Ellen, and Chade and stop that Legion Commander.”
“What?”
Venet, the principal of Seirun, stiffened and looked at Kalian.
“What about you and Riven?”
“We will stop the Monster Queen.”
Shing—
“You can't do it alone.”
Albi said in a firm voice.
“I will not tolerate insubordination. This is an order.”
Kalian smiled gently.
“The greatest hope for our world right now is the young sprouts, Albi.”
Thud— Thud—
Kalian walked toward Silatuna.
“We have a duty to pass the torch to the children who have not yet met their era.”
Kalian's sword pointed toward Silatuna.
“This is also a duty for one who carries the weight of an era. So, don't worry about me and go.”
“Headmaster.”
Chade gritted his teeth.
“Let's go.”
Albi said with a blank expression, and Chade let out a grunt before leaving the battlefield.
Ellen also bowed her head and left, and finally, Venet spoke.
“I'm counting on you, Sword Saint.”
As they left the front line, Silatuna clicked her tongue.
“Ah, so it's just the two of you left. To think my opponents are nothing but a decrepit old human and a dragon. How boring.”
Silatuna looked bored.
“You just said it yourself, Sword Saint. That stopping me is your duty as one who carries the weight of an era. Yes, that's right. I've seen countless heroes who carried their eras. The great predecessors you speak of. And that's why I can say this with certainty.”
A sneer formed on the Monster Queen's lips.
“You are the most pathetic hero I have ever known among those who carried their eras.”
“I'll take that as a compliment.”
“Sarcastic to the very end.”
Gwoooooooh—!
An extraordinary amount of dark magic erupted from the Monster Queen's body.
“Still, I'll show you some courtesy. A hero prepared for death is the most annoying kind.”
Crr-ack—
Silatuna's form began to grow larger.
[I will crush your final moments in the most miserable way possible.]
Rumble—!
Looking up at Silatuna, who had revealed her ferocious true form, Kalian smiled.
*I wonder how long it's been.*
Despite facing insurmountable despair, the Sword Saint who carried his era smiled.
*Since I've challenged the impossible.*