Chapter 285
Chapter Title: A Grave Misunderstanding
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285
“It seems this golem has powerful fire resistance.”
With a grunt, Driana swung the battle hammer she held in both hands.
She looked like a small girl trying to use all her strength, which was quite cute.
*CRASH—!*
Of course, what happened next was far from cute.
The massive golem was sent flying and slammed into the ground.
*THUD—!*
The golem pushed itself up as if it hadn't taken much damage, but Driana didn't bat an eye.
Her role was strictly to hold the line as the vanguard.
And the one to defeat the enemy was…
*Fwoosh—!*
Flames blazed in Lunia’s hand.
They soon took the form of a giant spear.
As she opened her palm, the spear floated above it.
*WHOOSH—!*
At Lunia’s gesture, the spear flew toward the golem with ferocious speed.
*BOOM—!*
The spear struck the golem directly, creating a massive storm of fire.
Watching this, Driana muttered.
“What terrifying magic power.”
Lunia tended to be overshadowed by Leo, Lumerne’s youngest-ever student council president, but she was a genius in her own right, evaluated to potentially take the position herself by the end of this year, or next year at the latest.
*FWOOOSH—!*
The temperature around Lunia skyrocketed.
Her eyes shone as if they were burning.
‘In Lord Dweno’s world… could I meet her again?’
Lunia grinned, thinking of the one she had admired since childhood.
The flames swirling around her grew even more intense.
*WHOOSH—!*
Wings of fire materialized behind Lunia’s back.
The flames burned mana and spiritual power, growing ever fiercer.
The flames of the Lundua family.
“Sacred Flame.”
The fire erupting from Lunia’s body consumed the surrounding flames, growing stronger still.
The flames burned Lunia’s skin.
But she paid it no mind.
‘Stronger.’
Lunia’s eyes blazed.
‘Like Lady Luna…’
She recalled the smile of the one she admired.
‘Like Leo!’
Remembering the mature back of the boy who walked ahead of her, Lunia unleashed her magic.
*RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE—!*
The Sacred Flame engulfed the golem.
*CRASH—!*
The golem’s body collapsed.
Watching the scene, Driana voiced her admiration.
“To overwhelm a fire-resistant golem with flames. You’re a monster.”
Just as the golem’s movements ceased.
“Impressive.”
A voice of admiration echoed from within the Sacred Flame.
At the sound of that voice, Lunia and Driana’s expressions turned wary.
“But that is a dangerous flame.”
*Thud— Thud—*
The eyes of the two girls widened as they saw the dwarf who emerged, parting the flames.
“My name is Dweno.”
Dweno stroked his beard with a benevolent expression and spoke.
“You have trespassed into one of Gardsrone’s sanctuaries. To set foot here without permission is a grave crime. Are you, by any chance, spies of Tartaros?”
“N-No, we’re not!”
“We are…!”
Dweno chuckled at the two flustered girls.
“Then I shall give you two choices. First, will you follow me obediently to be investigated? Or will you be subdued by me and then investigated?”
It was a gentle smile, but it held a steely resolve.
The natural pressure he exuded made Lunia and Driana tremble.
Both Lunia and Driana were from prestigious families.
Thanks to that, they had grown up seeing not only the renowned elders of their houses but also many heroes.
But the dwarf before them was different from any hero the two girls had ever seen.
The overwhelming pressure that naturally emanated from his body.
The charisma of a seasoned hero who had saved the world from ruin pressed down on the two girls.
Lunia and Driana relinquished their power.
Seeing this, Dweno stroked his beard.
“Good girls.”
***
Half a day had passed since Ar, Eiran, and Karl were thrown into prison.
Inside the now-darkened dungeon, Karl tore at his hair.
“What are we going to do now?! We could have cleared up the misunderstanding and resolved this peacefully, but you just had to mess it up!”
“Mrow?!”
Ar flinched.
Seeing Ar’s cat ears and tail droop, Eiran tried to calm Karl down.
“Don’t be so hard on her, Sir Karl. It was the Brave Hero, of all people, wasn't it? For the beastkin, he’s someone they’ve always dreamed of meeting. Miss Ar was just overwhelmed with emotion. And besides, she did tell him that Lord Ar-on wasn't a spy for Tartaros, right?”
At Eiran’s words, Karl collapsed onto the dungeon floor.
“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
“See! Lord Ar-on! So benevolent!”
“Right. The problem is that you scared him.”
‘S-Still, she’s scary, so I think putting her in jail is the right thing to do.’
Karl recalled Ar-on’s horrified expression as he looked at Ar.
“But it’s a bit of a shock.”
“What is?”
“Lord Ar-on. Didn’t he seem… a little timid?”
Ar-on’s appearance was exactly as described in the historical records.
White hair and golden eyes.
But the first impression Eiran and Karl had of Ar-on was different from what was written.
The vanguard of the Erebos Subjugation Team, who possessed unyielding courage.
A brave hero, like a god of war who had slaughtered countless enemies on the front lines.
A symbol of courage.
That was the image of Ar-on.
But the Ar-on they had just seen was quite different from the records.
Sure, Ar had charged at him with a crazed look in her eyes, but it shouldn't have been enough to frighten him to that extent.
Hearing Karl’s words, Eiran nodded in agreement.
“Yes. Lord Ar-on definitely seemed frightened by Miss Ar.”
“What are you talking about? There’s no way Lord Ar-on would be scared of anything.”
Ar blinked her blue eyes, a look of confusion on her face.
“I see why Leo called you a dumb cat.”
Just as Karl let out a deep sigh.
*CREAK—!*
The dungeon door opened, and someone entered.
“Looks like more prisoners.”
“The security must be tight. It is the Age of Calamity, after all.”
As Eiran muttered softly, Karl sighed.
“Eiran?”
A surprised voice called out.
Eiran turned her head past the bars and her eyes widened.
“Miss Lunia!”
There stood none other than Lunia and Driana.
“You’ve come to rescue us!”
Eiran’s face lit up with a smile.
“Hurry up, walk faster!”
Guards appeared behind Lunia and Driana.
The guards locked the two of them in the cell opposite the other three.
*CREAK—! THUD—!*
After the guards left, Lunia belatedly answered Eiran’s question.
“No, we were captured too.”
At Lunia’s reply, Eiran’s shoulders slumped.
“Where is Leo Flove?”
Driana asked, crossing her arms.
Karl tilted his head at the question.
“Wasn’t he with you guys?”
“No. He wasn’t where we were.”
“Then it seems he was sent to a completely different place than us.”
Karl stroked his chin and scanned his surroundings.
There were no guards inside the prison.
‘They must be guarding from outside.’
Karl took a deep breath, recalling the heavy security beyond the door.
“For now, since we’re together, let’s pool the information we’ve gathered.”
“Alright. We’ll go first.”
Lunia nodded and crossed her arms.
“We landed in a restricted area. It was a place filled with the power of fire spirits. We were captured there by Lord Dweno.”
Lunia’s words made Karl pause.
“We started at a place called the Spirit Lake. And the one who caught us was Lord Ar-on.”
“Lord Ar-on?”
Lunia’s expression was one of surprise.
“And they said this place is Gardsrone. Then it wouldn't be strange for other Great Heroes to be here besides Lord Dweno. We might even be able to meet all five of them.”
At Driana’s words, the entire party looked shocked.
All five Great Heroes in one place!
The Hero Records of the Great Heroes were so fragmented that in the entire history of conquering them, a record where all five were gathered together had never once been discovered.
“The scale of this is no joke.”
Karl broke out in a cold sweat.
The King of Wisdom, the Progenitor of the Stars, the Brave Hero, the Divine Blacksmith, and the Hero of the Beginning.
A World of Heroes where the saviors of the world were all gathered in one place?
That meant it would be incredibly difficult to clear.
“Well, it’s just a guess for now. And fortunately, this isn’t a possession-type World of Heroes.”
A possession-type World of Heroes.
A world where one could become one of the characters recorded in the Hero Record, or even the hero themselves.
“Yeah. It’s a relief it’s not a possession-type world.”
Karl let out a deep sigh.
What if it had been a possession-type world and they had to play the role of a Great Hero?
The mere thought was dizzying.
“But this isn’t a normal World of Heroes, it’s a Hero Dungeon. We can’t let our guard down.”
Lunia said seriously.
At her words, Ar spoke up.
“First, let’s decide on our primary objective and move from there. I think our top priorities are meeting up with Black Rabbit and figuring out the clear condition.”
“I agree.”
They might have been fumbling first-years before, but now, with much more experience, they calmly prepared to tackle the World of Heroes.
“Let’s start by clearing our names, since we’re being treated as suspicious individuals. Lord Dweno said he would investigate us, so there should be some movement soon. Let’s try not to do anything suspicious then.”
*CREAK—! THUD!*
The door swung open harshly.
The five of them tensed up.
*Thud— Thud—*
A man with blond hair and golden eyes appeared.
Seeing the sharp look in his eyes, like that of an investigator, the five were startled.
‘A dragon!’
The dragon opened his eyes, scanned the five of them, and then pulled out an object wrapped in cloth from his coat.
“A very interesting item was discovered among your possessions.”
*Swoosh—!*
When he revealed the cloth, a uniquely shaped dagger was there.
“Ah! That’s mine.”
Eiran wore a bewildered expression.
Looking at Eiran, the dragon’s eyes glinted.
“I see. So you are the culprit.”
“What?”
“This sword was a gift from Lady Luna to her disciple, Miss Verchia.”
“…!”
“The appraisal concluded that it is genuine.”
At the mention of her ancestor’s name, Eiran looked completely shocked.
“And Miss Verchia left the castle a week ago for her training.”
The dragon’s expression turned cold.
“Why do you possess the sword that Miss Verchia cherishes more than anything? What have you done to Miss Verchia?”
Eiran’s face turned pale.
And not just Eiran.
The faces of the other four hardened as well.
The dragon was emitting a ferocious aura.
‘We’re in big trouble.’
Lunia swallowed nervously.
The circumstances were undeniably suspicious.
Erquint, a sword of which there should not be two in this era, had been found among Eiran’s belongings.
Things had gone horribly wrong.
“Miss Verchia is… the cherished disciple of Lord Kyle, Lady Luna, and Lord Ar-on. And she is the future of this world. To do something to someone like her… How dare you…”
“N-No! I would never do anything to Lady Verchia…!”
“Silence!”
The dragon roared, pointing at Eiran.
“Drag this girl out at once! I will interrogate her myself!”
“W-Wait! Just listen to us!”
Karl shouted urgently, and Ar hissed at the guards entering the cell.
Lunia and Driana gripped the bars and yelled.
But there was nothing the five of them could do, their mana having been sealed when they were imprisoned.
As she was being dragged away, Eiran said.
“E-Everyone! Don’t worry! I’m sure… I’m sure I can clear up this misunderstanding!”
Eiran tried to reassure her panicked companions as she followed the guards.
After Eiran left the prison, the dragon’s icy gaze fell upon the remaining four.
“After I am finished interrogating that girl, you are next.”
*CREAK—! THUD!*
Silence descended upon the prison.
Lunia gritted her teeth.
The situation had become serious.
They had been caught in an absurd misunderstanding.
But she couldn’t think of any way to refute it.
‘This is dangerous.’
This was the Age of Calamity.
It was obvious that matters related to demons would be handled with a severity incomparable to their own era.
‘On top of that, Fairy Knight Verchia is the disciple of Lady Luna and Lord Ar-on! And he even said she’s Lord Kyle’s disciple too!’
Judging by the way the dragon used honorifics for the three of them, they were clearly already the hope of the world.
And they were suspected of harming the disciple of those three.
The proof existed.
This was bad.
Lunia’s shoulders trembled as she clenched her jaw.
‘I have to save her!’