Chapter 355
Chapter Title: You Have Not Failed
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[Groooooooaaaar-!]
Erebos let out a roar.
With it, he raised his arm.
Fwoosh-!
Black flames began to rage.
Seeing this, the students of Seirun hastily retreated.
Leo charged toward Erebos without hesitation.
“Hey! Wait…!”
Lunia tried to stop him, her expression flustered.
The others, who had been preparing to defend against Erebos’s attack, stared in shock at Leo’s sudden action.
The tip of Leo's sword trembled.
Kiiing-!
What erupted with a sharp sound was a gray Aura.
Craaash-!
Erebos’s fist struck the ground.
At the same time, countless black flames shot up.
A massive pillar of black flame, rising to the sky like a waterspout, began to target Leo like a living serpent.
Seeing this, Leo dove straight into its center.
Leo’s red eyes tracked the trajectory of the black flames assailing him from all sides.
‘Just as I thought. This is only a fraction of Erebos’s power. It has no reason.’
Leo narrowed his eyes.
The main body was still beyond the Hero Record.
‘It must be Seirun who’s holding Erebos back.’
Leo pushed off the air, putting strength into his legs.
Fwoosh-!
A pillar of black flame grazed past him.
The pillars of fire descended upon Leo chaotically, like scattered light.
A terrifying display that looked ready to turn him to ash at any moment.
But Leo dodged all of Erebos’s attacks with minimal movement.
Seeing this, Lunia’s jaw dropped.
“My word…”
It was a situation where he could have turned to ash at any moment without it being strange.
Yet even in such danger, Leo approached Erebos without batting an eye.
“Incredible.”
Eiran stared at Leo, captivated.
As a knight, she could tell just how absurd Leo’s movements were.
To say they were simply god-like was an understatement.
It was a situation where the slightest mistake could cost him his life.
To be able to move so calmly under such pressure…
Fwoosh-!
Leaving behind a pillar of flame that had narrowly grazed past him, Leo raised his sword.
He had fought against Erebos time and time again.
This was a minuscule fraction of Erebos’s power.
Moreover, dodging the attacks of an Erebos that operated on instinct alone was no trouble at all.
Rather, the presence of Erebos awakened the Great Hero's senses.
Leo’s sharply honed sword drew a spiral in the air.
‘It’s been a while.’
Kyle’s Aura skill, Spiral.
Kwagagagagak-!
The spiraling trajectory of his Aura shredded Erebos.
Erebos’s body split apart.
Leo didn't hesitate to dive into the opening.
And when he reached the center, he saw the Hero Record.
Fwoooosh-!
As he was about to reach for the burning Hero Record, Leo clicked his tongue.
He could feel Erebos’s power swelling.
‘It’s going to explode.’
Leo quickly moved away from the center of Erebos’s body.
Thud-!
Landing on the ground, Leo straightened himself.
Kabooooom-!
With that, a violent explosion erupted, sending flames scattering in all directions.
Without looking back at the explosion, Leo readjusted his grip on his sword and walked over to Lunia.
‘With my current strength, it’s impossible for me to reach the Hero Record alone.’
But he couldn't recklessly destroy the Hero Record either.
‘To Erebos, the Hero Record is a door. It would be one thing to destroy it before it connects to this side, but doing so carelessly in this state, when it’s already linked to the outside, there’s no telling what might happen.’
He might even end up helping the Erebos that had already begun to escape.
Leo narrowed his eyes.
‘It would be best to resolve this from within Seirun’s world.’
“How did you cut it? No matter how much we struck, it wouldn’t cut.”
Hardin, who had been fighting the undead at the front, asked in admiration.
“Ordinary attacks won’t be able to land an effective blow on it.”
Leo calmly looked down at his sword.
Sizzzzzle-!
The sword was melting from the effect of having cut Erebos.
This sword, too, was a masterpiece crafted by a renowned artisan.
But just by cutting Erebos, its lifespan had been drastically shortened.
“Are you saying your attack just now wasn't an ordinary one?”
“You could say that.”
Leo put strength into his sword, shaking off Erebos’s power.
It was the result of combining Leo’s mana attribute, Purity, with the swordsmanship he had honed over many long years.
‘After all, when it came to cutting, I was as good as Ar-on.’
The Hero of the Beginning, Kyle, had not reached the pinnacle of martial arts like the Brave Hero Ar-on.
Ar-on, who had truly reached the apex of combat, possessed a terrifying power in battle.
Kyle had never been able to perfectly wield the Aura Ar-on had left him.
But in one thing alone…
When it came to cutting, he was second to none but Ar-on.
Leo looked at the regenerating Erebos.
What stood before him now was merely a tiny fraction of Erebos.
If the main body were to cross over, the world would face the second coming of a catastrophe after 3,000 years.
‘I have to close the passage before that happens.’
Leo looked at the disastrous flame rising to its feet.
“Lunia.”
“Yes.”
“I’m going to enter Seirun’s World of Heroes now.”
“What?”
Lunia’s expression was one of shock.
“Yes, something is definitely happening inside Seirun’s World of Heroes. I’m going to find out what the cause is.”
“That’s too reckless! That means you’ll have to enter the center of the black flames!”
“That’s right.”
Leo said, looking at the black flames.
“That’s why your role is important.”
Leo met Lunia’s eyes and smiled.
“Open a path for me. Your flames can do it.”
“But… my magic can only block the black flames, that’s all.”
Lunia bit her lip and lowered her head.
It was true that Lunia’s flames of purification could counter Erebos’s flames.
But with her current power, all she could do was quell the fragments of black flame that had spread out.
She couldn’t inflict even the slightest damage on the main body.
The black flames instantly swallowed the white flames that dared to oppose them.
Looking at Lunia, Leo reached out his hand.
“Huh?”
He took her chin in his hand, making her look at him. Leo spoke to the thoroughly flustered Lunia.
“Believe in yourself.”
Leo grinned.
“Isn’t that your school’s motto?”
Lunia stared blankly at Leo’s mature smile.
“You are the one and only successor to the magic Luna created to defeat Erebos.”
Looking into his red eyes, identical to her own, Lunia’s eyes widened.
“Trust in Luna’s magic, and trust in me, who passed that magic on to you.”
Leo gently patted her cheek, then turned his body toward Erebos.
Watching his back, Lunia slapped her own cheeks.
“Honestly.”
Then, with a slightly annoyed face, she glared at Leo’s back.
“Why does he pull off that mature act so well?”
The anxiety in her heart vanished.
Taking a deep breath, Lunia spoke.
“Eiran, protect me… What’s wrong?”
Lunia looked at the fidgeting Eiran with a puzzled expression.
“That was… the atmosphere was really intense.”
“What in the world are you thinking about in a situation like this!”
“Eek?”
Shrinking back slightly at Lunia’s shouting, red-faced reply, Eiran hurriedly raised her sword and shield and stood before Lunia.
“Honestly.”
Sighing deeply as if she couldn't be helped, Lunia prepared her magic.
Following her lead, the nearby Seirun students took up positions around Lunia to protect her.
‘Let’s do this!’
A pure white flame ignited around Lunia’s body.
Sensing that Lunia was ready, Leo lowered his stance.
Runic words flowed from Lunia’s lips.
The Stellar Runes.
Erebos in front of him, the magic Luna left behind him.
‘Luna, even after 5,000 years, you still give me courage.’
Feeling the presence of his friend, Leo smiled.
Gwoooooooh-!
Her magical power swelled.
With it, a warm heat enveloped Leo.
“Flame Emperor.”
Lunia’s magic was unleashed.
Simultaneously, Leo sprinted toward Erebos without hesitation.
The pure white flames pierced through Erebos.
Leo dove through the momentary gap.
The opening Lunia had created for him.
Leo reached his hand toward it.
Thump-!
With that, he seized the Hero Record that was spewing black flames.
[Hero Record Open. ■■■'s Wo■■■. ■■: ■■■■■]
A message, its form unrecognizable, appeared before his eyes.
Fwoosh-!
At the same time, Leo’s body was sucked into the World of Heroes.
When he opened his eyes, what he saw was a world of ash.
The surroundings were burning.
It was a sight all too familiar to Leo.
The ashes left behind after Erebos had burned everything.
Then, Leo’s eyes fell upon an elf.
An elf, collapsed on the ground, clutching a broken staff in her hand, her head bowed.
Her platinum blonde hair had lost its sheen.
‘Seirun Tingel.’
The moment Leo recognized the elf and took a step.
“I… have failed.”
Seirun’s shoulders trembled as she muttered.
With that, the ground Leo stood on began to crumble.
As if sinking into a swamp.
Leo’s feet began to sink.
It wasn’t just Leo.
Seirun, too, was slowly being pulled into the mire of darkness.
***
Rumble-!
Black flames soared.
[You can do nothing alone.]
Erebos delivered its sentence to Seirun.
[It is but a meaningless struggle.]
Seirun’s face was colored with despair.
The world burned.
The World of Heroes distorted.
Fwoosh-!
The remaining landscape turned to ash.
The entire World of Heroes was on fire.
The word ‘end’ flashed through Seirun’s mind.
The worlds of a single hero are all connected.
Therefore, a hero who entered their own World of Heroes could freely move to any page they desired.
But that wasn’t the case for the comrades who had entered with her to stop Erebos.
There was only one World of Heroes that the Heroes of Genesis could share.
The final chapter, where they had subjugated the fragment of Erebos.
Other than that, they could not travel to a comrade’s world.
But Erebos was a god-like being.
Its very existence distorted and broke the laws created by the gods.
The pages of other heroes could become a pathway for Erebos.
That was why the Heroes of Genesis, before going to the final chapter, had been ordered to find, seal, and destroy their own Hero Records.
‘…Someone didn’t destroy their Hero Record.’
Despair washed over Seirun’s face.
Thud-
Her legs gave out, and she collapsed to the ground.
Her body had long since reached its limit.
Erebos looked down at her and spoke.
[Remain trapped in this world and await death with it, foolish mortal.]
Leaving those words behind, as if Seirun wasn't even worth killing, Erebos turned to step outside.
‘It’s… over.’
What did she have left?
Lumerne and Damian, who had protected her from the front, were gone.
Azonia, who had fought alongside her… and Rodia, who had given her faith from behind, were gone.
“Everyone… I’m sorry… I’m so sorry.”
Seirun sobbed, apologizing to her comrades.
“I… have failed.”
Slither-
Darkness slowly began to swallow Seirun.
“In the end, because of me, the world couldn’t be saved.”
Her whole body was being pulled into the darkness.
The end was coming.
If this World of Heroes ended…
Seirun would die, and Erebos would be completely freed.
Her entire body was submerged deep in the darkness.
A nauseating sense of floating washed over her.
Submerged in deep darkness, she began to suffocate.
Even so, she struggled desperately, flailing her hands.
Even though her spirit was broken and she believed she had been defeated.
She struggled to the very, very end.
She struggled to stop Erebos.
But soon, her strength gave out.
Just as her consciousness began to fade and she was about to close her eyes.
Grab-!
A strong hand seized her wrist.
As if pulling a drowning person from the water.
Someone was pulling Seirun out of the darkness.
Splash-!
Her lower body still submerged in darkness.
As her upper body barely broke free from the gloom, Seirun’s eyes caught sight of pure white hair.
“Who?”
Seirun asked blankly.
“Why do you say you’ve failed?”
The boy was smiling.
“Look, you haven’t given up even now, have you?”
As if he knew exactly how hard it had been for Seirun.
As if he understood, he smiled gently and carefully lifted her from the darkness.
Pulled from the darkness by the boy’s strength, Seirun stared up at him blankly.
She had seen someone with that exact same smile before.
The smile a man who had once saved the world had given… to his companion, a mage who had accomplished a great feat.
She remembered the mage, her face flushing red in flustered surprise at that smile.
A smile she had seen only once, but could never forget.
“You have not failed.”
When a hero who saved the world has despaired in failure, who is there that can deny that failure?
Perhaps…
“Lift your head, Seirun Tingel.”
It would be someone who had already saved the world before.
“You saved the world.”
[Your great deed is being recorded.]
A message appeared before Seirun’s eyes.
The world that had burned to nothing was instantly restored to its original state.
Once again, Seirun’s great deed was being recorded.
The Hero Record was a legacy left by the gods in the mortal realm.
As far as Seirun knew, the only one who could rewrite its records was the master of the Hero Record.
And Seirun knew who that master was.
“The Hero of the Beginning?”
As if to affirm her words, Leo smiled.