Chapter 287
Chapter Title: The White Phoenix
-----------------------------------------------------------------
287
“Let's break out.”
At Ar's words, Karl showed him the cuffs on his wrists and said,
“Our mana is suppressed. How are we supposed to break out?”
Ar pushed himself up.
“We break the seals, then we break out.”
“That's not as easy as it sounds.”
Karl revealed his impatience.
Ar closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
*Shaaa-!*
Ar's entire demeanor changed.
His nails grew longer, and his canines sharpened.
Every hair on his body stood on end as Ar opened his eyes.
His blue, cat-like pupils glinted in the darkness.
*Gwoooooo-!*
Mana swirled around Ar's body.
“Grrrrrowl-!”
A low, feline growl escaped Ar's throat.
Seeing this, Karl's face filled with shock.
“Wha-what is this?”
Driana, realizing what was happening before her, looked astonished.
“Beastification? But there's no full moon.”
*Kiiiiiing-! Pang-!*
The mana-sealing cuffs suppressing Ar's power exploded, sending fragments flying in all directions.
“She was captured because I acted rashly.”
Ar had taken damage from forcibly circulating his mana, but he didn't care.
“So I'll save her, no matter what it takes.”
*Kkiiigigigik-!*
Karl's jaw dropped as he watched Ar forcibly bend the iron bars with his bare hands.
Looking at Ar, Lunia spoke.
“I'm going too.”
“Sorry, but I can't take someone wearing mana-sealing cuffs.”
The creator of the seals currently suppressing the party's mana was none other than Dweno.
It was harder to break the cuffs with external force than it was to shatter the seal from within using one's own power.
Hearing Ar's words, Lunia stirred her magic.
*Fwoosh-!*
A powerful flame erupted from Lunia's entire body.
*Paaang-!*
“You think I can't do what you just did? Eiran is my friend. I will save her with my own hands.”
“Alright. Let's go together.”
Lunia looked at Karl and Driana.
“You two follow us after we take care of the guards.”
Ar cracked his knuckles and looked at the prison door.
“Alright, let's go.”
“Yeah.”
“Uraaaaaaah!”
*Kwaang!*
“Wha-what the!”
“A prison break! They're trying to escape!”
The moment Ar kicked the door down, guards rushed in to subdue the two.
“Out of the way! Move!”
Ar charged forward, sending guards flying, and Lunia followed close behind.
*Fwoosh-! Kwagagagang!*
Flame magic swept through the prison's interior.
Watching them go, Driana asked Karl,
“Those two are monstrous enough, so just how much more of a monster is Leo Flove?”
To Driana's question, Karl sighed and replied,
“He's a monster beyond imagination.”
Karl recalled what Leo was like.
*'I wonder what that guy Leo is doing right now?'*
***
Leo stared intently into Ar-on's golden eyes, which were fixed on him.
He didn't enjoy sparring with others.
The beastkin were a race that revered strength.
As such, many beastkin lived a life of struggle.
And this racial tendency made the beastkin a strong race.
But Ar-on was a beastkin unlike any other.
It wasn't because Ar-on was a coward.
He disliked getting hurt, and he disliked hurting others.
*'He's too kind.'*
Leo smiled bitterly as he thought about Ar-on.
He was born too kind.
A hero who fought only for the sake of others.
That was the Brave Hero, Ar-on.
*'He doesn't seem like a bad person.'*
Ar-on's senses were telling him so.
*'Though I don't know his intentions.'*
But since it involved his disciple, he had no choice but to accept the provocation.
*Shing-*
Ar-on drew his sword.
*'Brave.'*
Seeing the sword, Leo also drew his own.
*'Come to think of it, I've never sparred with Ar-on before.'*
He had sparred with Luna and Dweno many times, but never once with Ar-on.
That was because Ar-on, who hated fighting, was reluctant to even spar with his friends.
*'I was usually the one stopping him from sparring, rather than doing it myself.'*
Kyle had been the one to stop Luna, the most belligerent of the subjugation party, from pouncing on Ar-on.
*'Though part of the reason was that the outcome was obvious.'*
Ar-on was a genius, born with a natural talent for martial arts.
Kyle could skillfully wield any weapon at a master's level, but he knew all too well that no matter how hard he struggled, he could never defeat Ar-on.
The one who had reached the pinnacle of martial arts.
That was the Brave Hero, Ar-on.
*'It's not for nothing that he's worshipped by later generations as the God of War.'*
In Leo's eyes, Ar-on truly was like a God of War.
Leo drew his sword.
*Shing-*
*'Because that's who Ar-on is.'*
*Fwoosh-!*
An aura of flame formed on Leo's sword.
Ar-on's expression tensed.
*'It should be fine to go all out.'*
*Kwagagagang-!*
As Leo swung his sword, a wall of fire shot high into the sky.
*Fwaah-!*
Ar-on swung his own sword, deflecting Leo's strike.
His attack was neutralized so easily, but Leo paid it no mind and closed the distance with Ar-on.
*Pababat-!*
Seeing Leo approach with Aura Steps, Ar-on raised his left hand, the one not holding his sword.
Seeing this, Leo detonated the aura throughout his body to accelerate.
*Kwak-!*
Leo jumped, using Ar-on's outstretched left hand as a foothold to launch himself into the air.
*Chaeng-!*
In an instant, Leo was behind Ar-on and swung his sword.
But Ar-on blocked his blade.
Ar-on did not know Leo.
Conversely, Leo knew Ar-on all too well.
Ar-on's breathing and habits in battle.
And even his openings.
Having fought alongside Ar-on on countless battlefields, Leo saw through his every move.
That was why the previous attack had been perfectly aimed to catch Ar-on off guard.
His breathing was disrupted, and the timing was completely stolen by Leo.
And yet, Ar-on blocked Leo's attack without much difficulty.
It wasn't simply because Ar-on was overwhelmingly stronger than Leo.
*'Hyper-sense.'*
Ar-on's technique of minutely controlling his aura to heighten his senses to their absolute limit.
It was a technique Leo also used.
*'As expected, the original is on another level.'*
For Leo to use Hyper-sense, he needed to sharply hone his senses.
But Ar-on was different.
As naturally as breathing.
He used Hyper-sense as if it had replaced his normal senses.
A state that transcended the realm of technique.
On top of that, his sixth sense was so sharp that he could move his body as if predicting the future.
*'He's not called the strongest warrior for nothing.'*
Leo also activated his Hyper-sense.
With it, he parried Ar-on's sword as it moved to subdue him.
Seeing that, Ar-on looked surprised.
*Tak-!*
Landing on the ground, Leo felt a sting on his cheek and smirked.
*'I'm reminded once again, he's a monster.'*
Sixteen years since his reincarnation.
During that time, Leo had strived to develop the vessel of his body.
Leo's vessel was too small to contain Kyle's power.
Fortunately, since it was a superior vessel to his previous life, his growth had been unimpeded.
*'But that doesn't mean I neglected my skills.'*
He continuously honed his martial arts through training and constantly researched new spells for his magic.
For summoning, he constantly thought of new ways to better utilize his summons.
If he were to return to his body from his past life, the current Leo would likely be stronger than the Kyle of the past.
But despite pouring in all that effort, he couldn't surpass Ar-on in swordsmanship.
*'We're on equal footing. No, Ar-on is slightly superior.'*
Leo tightened his grip on his sword.
And this wasn't even Ar-on in his prime, nor was he in his beastified state.
And yet, he couldn't catch up to Ar-on in swordsmanship.
The pinnacle reached by a true warrior.
Leo tightened his grip on his sword as he looked at the Brave Hero, Ar-on.
*'Well, it's not like I planned to fight him with swordsmanship alone.'*
“A magic swordsman?”
Ar-on looked surprised.
*'He looks to be about the same age as Verchia at most.'*
Verchia was also exceptionally skilled, incomparable to others his age.
But judging by his swordsmanship, Leo's skill far surpassed even Verchia's.
And now magic on top of that?
*Fwoosh-!*
The flame of aura and the flame of magic entwined around Leo's sword.
Leo readjusted his stance and tightened his grip.
*Tak-!*
*Fwoosh*
“Piora.”
As Leo muttered her name, Piora, who had been curled up in his uniform's inner pocket, poked her head out with a *Peep-!*
She looked like a fat chick, but she was still a phoenix.
*Woong-!*
As Leo summoned his spiritual power, Piora's contract sigil appeared on the back of his hand.
*Fwoooosh-!*
The contract sigil, having devoured Leo's spiritual power, soon spewed forth flames.
They were Piora's flames.
Seeing this, Ar-on's eyes widened.
*'Summoning, too?'*
“An All-Class?”
Ar-on wore a look of utter shock.
“Another All-Class besides Kyle?”
He couldn't help but be surprised.
Ar-on knew better than anyone just how special the power of an All-Class was.
In all of history, there had only been one All-Class.
Only Kyle.
And now, a new All-Class had appeared.
And with a phoenix, no less!
Just as Ar-on was looking on in disbelief,
*Fwoosh!*
Piora transformed into a form of flame and imbued herself into Leo's sword.
*Kwaaaaaaaa-!*
Imbued in the sword, Piora devoured the flames of aura and magic.
*Kwaaaaa-!*
The wings of a phoenix formed from Leo's sword.
This was the most powerful offensive technique Leo could currently use.
“Here I come.”
As Leo raised his sword, a golden aura erupted from Ar-on's.
*Kwagagagang-!*
A massive pillar of fire and a pillar of golden aura collided, sweeping through the surroundings.
*Fwoosh-!*
The surrounding forest caught fire.
Leo controlled the flames, gathering them into his sword.
And then he smirked at Ar-on, who stood perfectly fine, his sword pointed at Leo.
The hem of Ar-on's clothes was slightly singed.
“That's some terrifying power.”
Ar-on broke out in a cold sweat.
“You look fine for someone who thinks so.”
Leo raised the firepower of the flames imbued in his sword even further.
“Here comes another one.”
*Kwagagak-!*
Watching Leo unleash his flames, Ar-on felt a strange emotion.
Ar-on was someone who hated fighting.
But now, he could feel his heart pounding.
It wasn't because he was enjoying the fight.
It was because he caught a glimpse of someone's shadow in Leo's figure.
*'Kyle.'*
Their appearances were completely different, but the boy before him reminded him of his friend.
Seeing Ar-on like this, Leo raised his firepower even more.
This would be the final attack.
*'This fight wasn't in vain.'*
The technique he was using now was a fusion of his three abilities, based on summoning.
It was a new technique he had created after reincarnating.
As such, there were aspects that needed refining, and he had found them through this battle.
*'I think I can handle drawing out even more of the phoenix's power.'*
Leo felt the power of the phoenix on the back of his hand.
Leo poured even more spiritual power into the contract sigil.
In that moment—
*Fwoosh!*
A white flame ignited.
Leo's eyes twitched.
Ar-on also looked surprised.
A pure white flame burned on Leo's hand.
*'What... is this?'*
Leo's expression hardened.
*Peep-?*
He could feel that Piora, imbued in his sword, was also flustered.
Anyone could see that these were not Piora's flames.
Piora couldn't produce pure white flames.
But they were unmistakably the flames of a phoenix.
And... as far as Leo could remember, there was only one pure white phoenix.
*'The royal bloodline that vanished at the end of the Age of Calamity.'*
The moment his thoughts reached that point.
*Fwooooooooosh-!*
A white flame shot up from the back of Leo's hand, and a bird with white feathers tinged with red appeared.
“Katariou!”
Ar-on looked on in shock at his friend's contracted partner.
Leo also stared in disbelief at Lisinas's contracted partner, who had answered his summons.
[...Who are you, human.]
Katariou narrowed its eyes.
[Why do you possess my contract sigil? I've never made a contract with the likes of you.]