Chapter 206
Chapter Title: Kyle's Strength
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Wandering through the ruins, Leo found a place to take shelter from the rain and laid Luna down.
He then gathered some things that could serve as firewood and started a campfire with the 'Fire' spell.
Crack- crackle-
After confirming that warmth was spreading through the ruined building, Leo gazed out the window.
The black rain was still falling outside.
Staring out the window, Leo suddenly felt a sense of confusion and ran a hand over his face.
‘If this is a possession-type world, I should definitely have Kyle's appearance, shouldn't I?’
White hair and red eyes.
But the face, still that of a young boy, was Leo Flove's.
‘What's going on? Is this not a possession-type world? But Luna definitely recognized me as Kyle.’
As he pondered, Leo reached a conclusion.
‘Did Luna's page get corrupted, causing an error?’
A fragment of Erebos was sealed within the Hero Record.
Erebos was a being who stood against the gods.
Even if the Hero Record was an item created by a god, prolonged exposure to Erebos's power would surely cause it to malfunction.
‘In that case... is there a fragment of Erebos in this world too?’
Leo's expression hardened as he looked up at the sky.
Then, he noticed something and froze.
‘A crack? What in the world is that?’
The moment Leo felt a sense of bewilderment.
KIIIIIIIIIIIIII!
A deafening roar that seemed to tear through the air struck Leo's ears.
“Ugh!”
A throbbing pain washed over his entire head.
‘Fear!’
Along with the intense fear, a massive gust of wind blew in.
Leo's expression hardened as he saw a massive, dragonoid monster soaring high in the sky.
‘Jerdiac!’
At the appearance of a formidable foe he had defeated long ago, Leo gritted his teeth and glanced behind him.
Luna was still unconscious, overcome by Jerdiac's poison.
‘She fought Jerdiac all by herself, so it's no wonder.’
-Come out! Luna Rubinence! After Kyle, I will finish you off as well!
Jerdiac's roar echoed through the air.
This world was different from actual history.
Jerdiac, who was originally supposed to have been vanquished here by Kyle and Luna.
But he was not vanquished; he had escaped and survived.
‘...Perhaps I was defeated first because of the traitors' interference.’
Leo approached the unconscious Luna.
He wiped the cold sweat from her brow as she lay unconscious with a pained expression, then gave a bitter smile.
“Leave the rest to me.”
With those words, Leo stood up.
Fwoooooosh-!
He could see particles of purple light gathering in Jerdiac's mouth.
‘Poison Breath.’
Kraka-ka-boom!
The terrifying breath of death further devastated the crumbling interior.
An indiscriminate bombardment.
Fortunately, it didn't strike the spot where Leo and Luna were.
But it was only a matter of time.
Taking a deep breath, Leo opened the door and went outside.
‘Right now, I don't have the strength to defeat a Legion Commander.’
Possessing Kyle would only mean taking his form.
It doesn't mean becoming him.
Right now, Leo only had the power of Leo Flove.
‘But I can fight him, just once.’
Creeak-
Opening the door, Leo used Fly magic to lift himself into the air.
Reacting to the magic, Jerdiac turned to look at Leo.
His eyes twitched.
-A human?
“It's been a while, Jerdiac.”
-You speak as if you know me well.
Jerdiac sneered at Leo with a hideous smile.
-But I do not know a trivial human such as yourself.
Watching Jerdiac, Leo narrowed his eyes.
‘This bastard recognizes me as Leo Flove.’
“I know you well.”
-Khahaha! Of course you do! For I am the Legion Commander who will drive you humans to extinction. You should feel honored to be sentenced to death by me, Jerdiac.
Leo’s lips curled into a smirk.
“Honored? Don't make me laugh. I never wanted to see that hideous face of yours again.”
Jerdiac's eyes flashed.
Whoosh-! Craack-!
In an instant, a swinging tail slammed into Leo's body.
Leo was sent flying at an incredible speed, crashing into the ground.
-A brat who doesn't value his own life. How dare you spew such insolence at me, Jerdiac.
Lying spread-eagled on the ground, Leo groaned and pushed himself up.
-Hoh, you're alive?
The original Leo would have likely lost his life from that attack alone.
Jerdiac, too, curled his lips as if amused.
-You'll serve as some amusement before I kill Luna Rubinence.
At those words, killing intent filled Leo's eyes.
“You can't kill Luna.”
-Heh heh, what an arrogant human. What do you think you can do?
“I can do a lot. For instance.”
Fwoooooosh-!
A refreshing, light-green light shimmered from the Folium on Leo's arm.
Seeing it, Jerdiac's expression changed dramatically.
-This is... divine power?
“Like killing you.”
-I didn't expect a human with a god's blessing to still be around. But what can you do with that? What do you hope to accomplish with the power of gods who can no longer even set foot on this land?
Jerdiac opened his maw wide.
Fwoooooosh-!
Watching Jerdiac gather his breath in the sky, Leo drew his sword.
-Disappear, human!
Flash-!
A purple flash filled Leo's vision.
Seeing it, Leo's eyes gleamed as he swung his sword upwards from a low stance.
A massive gray sword strike shot up high into the sky like a wall.
KRA-KA-BOOOOM-!
The breath, split perfectly in two right before Leo, exploded in opposite directions.
Jerdiac stared in astonishment at Leo, who was looking right back at him, sword still in hand from the swing.
-This... is Kyle's power?
The divine power Piva had gifted him, contained within the Folium.
It was the power of a god, allowing him to momentarily reclaim his past strength—the power of Kyle.
-Impossible! He was definitely dead just a moment ago! How...!
Staring wide-eyed, Jerdiac watched as Leo rested the sword on his shoulder.
-You... what is your identity!
“Can't you tell by looking?”
Leo's red eyes flashed.
“It's Kyle, isn't it?”
-Nonsense!
“Well, I might be a little different from the Kyle you know.”
Leo lowered his stance.
Woooong-!
A gray aura flickered around Leo's body.
“I came from a future far beyond what you could imagine.”
BOOM-!
The moment he kicked off the ground, the spot he stood on caved in, creating a massive crater.
He used Ar-on's breath to its absolute limit, explosively amplifying the power of his aura.
Leo had now regained the power Kyle possessed in his prime.
Of course, this wasn't the same power he'd had when he defeated Erebos, when he wielded the strength of all his comrades.
‘If I were to summon that power, the god's blessing wouldn't last long.’
The blessing Piva bestowed upon Leo was the ability to manifest his past power for a short time.
If Leo were to manifest the power he used to vanquish Erebos, the divine blessing would be fleeting.
What Leo needed now was not the strength to defeat the Flame of Disaster, but the strength to defeat a Legion Commander.
‘In that case, Kyle's power from this era is more than enough!’
His red eyes flashing, Leo appeared before Jerdiac.
Seeing him, Jerdiac opened his maw to swallow him whole.
Whoosh-! Craack-!
-Gack?
Instantly closing the distance, Leo ducked under Jerdiac's chin and kicked straight up.
The explosive power of his aura sent Jerdiac's body soaring high into the air.
He had fled despite killing Kyle and critically wounding Luna.
That meant Jerdiac himself had also suffered considerable damage.
He likely vanished after realizing Luna had fallen to his poison.
Befitting the name 'Poison King,' the longer the fight dragged on, the more it would favor Jerdiac.
‘He's not in perfect condition!’
In that case, this battle, for a brief moment, overwhelmingly favored Leo, who had regained the power of his prime.
Watching the staggering Jerdiac, Leo summoned an aura of fire.
Fwoooosh-!
The flames of Jerdinger flickered to life.
Jerdiac's attribute was poison.
And fire possessed the counteracting power to incinerate poison.
Empowered by the Brave Hero's breath, Leo's strength was maximized.
-You bastard!
At the sight, Jerdiac extended his hand.
Fwoooooosh-!
A massive purplish greatsword materialized.
It was Jerdiac's weapon, Venom, which melted everything its blade touched.
Countless heroes had met their end just by coming into contact with that sword.
One of the most chilling horrors of the Age of Calamity.
However...
“It's useless.”
Fwoooosh-!
A star magic formula materialized above Leo's palm.
It was magic that did not exist in this era.
From the distant future.
Magic created by elves who admired Luna and sought to follow in her footsteps.
‘Let me borrow this, Lunia.’
Leo smiled, thinking of the elven girl.
“Scorching Heat.”
Fwoooosh-!
The flame of the Lundua Family blazed in Leo's hand.
“Crimson Flame.”
And the flame of Jerdinger bloomed upon his sword.
The ultimate flames of the two families who inherited the Phoenix's power burned fiercely.
Soon, the merged flames of the two families formed the wings of a Phoenix.
-The Phoenix's... flame!
“If I could have wielded a flame like this back then... perhaps I wouldn't have had such a hard time vanquishing you.”
-You...! You! What is your identity!
“I told you, didn't I?”
Leo gave a cold smile.
“I'm Kyle.”
SHRAAAAAACK-!
-GRAAAAAAAAGH-!
Like blades, the Phoenix's wings sliced off Jerdiac's massive wings.
His heavy, colossal body plummeted to the ground.
Leo flew down toward the ground with him, intending to finish Jerdiac off.
Jerdiac swung Venom at the descending Leo.
Fwoosh-!
Leo swung his own sword, wreathed in the flames of the Phoenix.
Crack-!
-Im... possible...!
His eyes wide with disbelief, Jerdiac, bisected along with his sword Venom, spewed poisonous blood as he crashed to the ground.
Thud! Splat! Spshhhhhh! Sizzzzzzle-!
His massive body and the blood that spewed from it melted the wreckage of the ruins.
Thud-!
Landing on the ground, Leo held his breath.
Jerdiac's blood was, quite literally, a fatal poison.
‘Is he dealt with now?’
Leo quickly moved away from Jerdiac's corpse and took a deep breath.
Normally, defeating Jerdiac alone would have been next to impossible.
‘The blessing is starting to fade.’
Leo looked down at his palm.
He could feel Kyle's power, which had been burning like a flame, slowly extinguishing.
“Anyway, that crack in the sky... what in the world is...”
Leo looked at the fissure in the sky he had noticed earlier.
Crack-
He could feel the crack in the sky growing larger.
In that moment...
Crack-! Snap-!
He felt as if the crack itself was falling apart.
As a brilliant light poured through the gap, Leo's expression turned to one of shock.
“What... is that?”
At that moment...
Fwooooooooooosh-!
He felt an eerie heat.
Jerdiac's melting corpse was now ablaze with black flames.
Jerdiac raised its massive body.
KIIIIIIIIII-!
As Jerdiac let out a roar, a powerful wave of poison washed over the area.
“Ugh!”
Leo's eyes shot open.
Frantically flapping its newly regenerated wings, Jerdiac charged straight for the crack in the sky.
BOOM-! CRASH-!
Jerdiac's colossal body smashed into the celestial fissure.
Shatter!
Thrusting its hand into the crack, Jerdiac began to tear at it frantically.
“Erebos's power? No, before that, that bastard! What is he trying to do?!”
Leo cried out in alarm and tried to fly toward Jerdiac.
He didn't know what was happening, but his instincts screamed that he had to stop Jerdiac.
At that moment.
Leo's expression hardened at the scene visible through the widened crack.
“Sei...run?”
Leo's face became rigid.
The thought of Elsie flashed through his mind.
And he realized what Jerdiac was after.
“He's trying to get out?”