Chapter 358
Chapter Title: Light and Darkness
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358
The highest point in Seirun.
The Plaza of Stars.
It was a place accessible only with the headmaster's authority.
A venue for crucial meetings within Seirun.
Or used only during the Elven Council, the Plaza of Stars held a significant place in elven society.
And in such a place, an undead imbued with the Necro King's power had appeared.
If so, there was only one person to suspect.
And with the Elven Shadows involved as well.
Once the situation reached that point, Seirun's Pure-Bloods were all detained for investigation after the incident was resolved.
Afterward, Leo immediately pursued the acting headmaster, Lehagen, which led him here.
“Are you trying to run away?”
“Run away?”
Lehagen’s face twisted.
“Why would I be running away? Just because you’re the student council president of Lumerne, do you think you can say whatever you want? Where did you get the nerve to spew such nonsense….”
“Because running away now would be the best way to avoid getting caught for dealing with Tartaros.”
Lehagen’s face stiffened.
But it soon contorted with rage.
“Dealing with Tartaros? What do you take me for! I, more than anyone, follow the will of the Progenitor of the Nebula and the Mage of the Comet…!”
“If you followed the will of Luna and Seirun.”
All expression vanished from Leo’s face.
“You wouldn’t have discriminated against students like that.”
*Step.*
A chilling killing intent flowed from Leo’s eyes.
“You followed the will of Luna and Seirun more than anyone? Don’t make me laugh. You just interpreted their will in a way that suited you.”
“You’re spouting nonsense! How dare a mere human try to lecture me on the will of the Progenitor of the Nebula and the Mage of the Comet? Know your place!”
“You’re the one who doesn’t know his place. If you had truly followed their will, you wouldn’t have stooped to dealing with Tartaros.”
“Huhu… Hah.”
Lehagen let out a low chuckle.
“A wet-behind-the-ears whelp like you wouldn't understand.”
“So you’re not even denying it now?”
Leo’s expression turned cold.
“This is all for the peace of this world. It is the path to protecting this world, following in the footsteps of Lady Luna and Lord Seirun!”
Lehagen glared at Leo.
“That foolish Necro King revealed his idiotic intentions to me! To completely take over Tartaros! He asked me to eliminate Erebos! In return for that deal, I was to receive Lord Seirun’s remains! To me, a necromancer! Do you understand what that means? Leo Flove! Do you understand my noble sacrifice, my willingness to walk a tainted path for the sake of the world!”
Lehagen spoke with a face devoid of any guilt or sense of wrongdoing.
Watching him, Leo said.
“I don’t know about the rest, but I know one thing for sure.”
Leo drew his sword.
“That you’re an idiot.”
“What did you say?”
“Tartaros was practically the Necro King’s to begin with.”
Killing intent radiated from Leo’s body.
“And his legion commanders are fanatics. They would never betray Erebos. To them, Erebos is a god.”
A glint flashed in Leo’s eyes.
“You’ve only endangered the world for your own greed. Don’t insult Luna and Seirun any further.”
*Gwoooooo-!*
A powerful surge of mana erupted from Lehagen’s body.
“Insult? As I thought, a dullard like you could never comprehend my will!”
*Vwoom-!*
A massive magic circle materialized in the air.
“I’ll make you regret showing me hostility! You may be conceited after becoming Lumerne’s student council president at such a young age, but the world is a vast place!”
As Lehagen roared, a blinding flash of light shot down toward Leo.
“You are nothing more than a mere hero candidate in the long course of history!”
*Flash! Kra-ga-ga-ga-gang!*
A bolt of pure white lightning devastated the area around Leo.
Seeing Leo take a direct hit from the immensely powerful magic, Lehagen’s lips curled into a smirk.
At that moment.
*Fwoosh-!*
Leo burst through the storm of lightning and charged toward Lehagen.
As Lehagen’s eyes widened at the unexpected development.
*Slice-!*
Leo’s sword severed Lehagen’s wrist.
*Clang! Splat-!*
“Kuaaaargh!”
The hand holding the staff tumbled to the ground, splattering blood.
Clutching his wrist and writhing in agony, Lehagen stared at Leo in disbelief.
“H-How…!”
There had been no sign of him defending against the magic.
“What kind of cowardly trick did you use!”
“Cowardly trick?”
Leo looked down at the kneeling Lehagen with a deadpan expression.
“I just dispelled your magic.”
Lehagen’s face contorted.
“Are you mocking me! How is such a thing even possible!”
Enraged, mana poured from Lehagen’s body as if it were running rampant.
Lehagen’s Star Magic flew toward Leo.
But before the spells could even reach him, they disintegrated into mere fragments of mana.
“T-This is a nightmare… This can’t be happening!”
Faced with a situation that defied all common sense, Lehagen muttered, his face deathly pale.
Even Lehagen could tell.
His Star Magic was being dispelled with a single glance from Leo.
Before Leo, Lehagen’s Star Magic was nothing more than crude child’s play.
*‘How can this be possible?’*
He felt as though his entire life, dedicated to Star Magic, was being invalidated.
“How… How is that possible! How can a mere human step into such a domain! Who in the world taught you Star Magic!”
“The one who taught me Star Magic?”
Having reached Lehagen, Leo spoke in a soft whisper.
“Luna Rubinence.”
“You… to the very end!”
Lehagen’s eyes turned bloodshot.
*Shink-!*
In that instant, Leo’s sword flashed.
Lehagen’s head shot up into the air.
*Spurt-! Thud- Thump-thump-thump-!*
Blood erupted like a fountain.
Leo, his face emotionless, walked over to Lehagen’s body and plunged his sword into its heart.
*Stab-!*
After completely extinguishing Lehagen’s life, Leo spoke.
“How long do you plan on hiding and watching?”
At Leo’s words, Algren, the master of the Northern Magic Tower, revealed himself from behind.
The Shadow Lord of the elves bowed his head to Leo.
“Greetings to the Master of Shan.”
It was a strange sight, the head of the Northern Magic Tower bowing to a mere student, even if he was the student council president of Lumerne.
But Leo did not find it strange.
Algren wasn't bowing as the master of the Northern Magic Tower, but as a Shadow Lord, paying his respects to Leo, the master of the Shan Empire and the Shadow Tome.
“Impressive. Lehagen was a formidable elf, yet you dealt with him so simply.”
Algren approached Leo, a look of interest on his face.
“Besides, how were you able to track him down before I could?”
Algren had been chasing Lehagen the moment he realized he had vanished.
But Leo had tracked Lehagen down far faster than he had.
Moving stealthily in the darkness to pursue and eliminate a target was the specialty of the Shadows.
Algren was puzzled as to how Leo, a hero candidate who lived in the light, not the dark, could reach Lehagen faster than him, a Shadow Lord.
Leo answered Algren’s question.
“Do you think Emperor Shau offered the Shan Empire to me simply because I am the master of the Shadow Tome?”
At Leo’s question, Algren’s eyes widened slightly before a smile spread across his face.
*‘I see. So what Anyas said wasn’t just idle talk.’*
Last night, when his daughter, Anyas, had said Leo was a master worth serving, Algren couldn't shake his doubts.
It wasn't that he doubted Leo’s abilities.
Even looking only at his achievements as a hero candidate, it was clear Leo was extraordinary.
He was certain to become a hero who would one day sway the world.
But a hero who lived in the light and a shadow who lived in the darkness were different.
*‘Young shadows are often drawn to heroes they wish to follow as if bewitched.’*
For thousands of years, the Shadows had done the dirty work that heroes could not.
But they hadn't just handled the cleanup.
They had also served as the heroes' literal shadows, following them.
In fact, even the most historic and noble hero families had shadows in the world beyond the darkness.
He had thought Anyas, too, had been captivated by the brilliant light that was Leo.
*‘But this… it seems he has fallen into a deep darkness.’*
As a Shadow Lord who had long steeped his feet in deep darkness, Algren could tell.
This boy who executed a traitor without hesitation was both a hero and a shadow.
He was someone who had long ago immersed himself deep in the darkness.
A being possessing both light and dark, a dual nature.
*‘Gray… So such a person can exist.’*
Algren bowed his head toward Leo.
“I have been disrespectful.”
Leo started walking.
Following behind him, Algren spoke.
“Lord Leo, how did you know he was a traitor?”
“I’ve seen similar methods before.”
The Age of Calamity.
The Necro King's methods of infiltrating and corrupting the elves were similar to what had just happened.
Five thousand years.
It was more than enough time to repeat the same mistake.
“How did you find out?”
“We discovered traces of the Hero Slayer making contact with the Pure-Bloods.”
Leo stopped and looked at Algren.
Meeting his gaze, Algren bowed his head.
“He is a traitor who has murdered countless heroes.”
“I know that.”
The Hero Slayer.
The worst hero killer in history, responsible for the deaths of countless heroes.
His terrifying infamy had left his name in the history books.
There was no one who didn’t know of him.
“I thought the Hero Slayer vanished 500 years ago.”
One day, while drenching the world in the blood of countless heroes and plunging it into terror, he had abruptly disappeared into the back pages of history.
Some claimed he was vanquished by heroes, others that he was eliminated by the Shadows.
But what was certain was that he was a figure from 500 years ago.
“That’s right. However, in the northern part of the continent, the Shadows encountered someone using the same power as the Hero Slayer. There was only one survivor.”
“…”
“We currently suspect the Necro King is behind it. Coincidentally, the Pure-Bloods also have a close connection to the Necro King.”
Leo narrowed his eyes.
“Once we learn more details, I will report to you through Anyas.”
“I have a question. We’ve just met, so why are you treating me with such loyalty? Anyas seems to be swayed by her emotions because she’s still young, but you’re different, aren’t you?”
“My daughter is older than you, Lord Leo.”
Leo shot a wry look at Algren, who replied with a peculiar expression.
“That’s not the important part.”
Algren chuckled at Leo’s response.
“It is because you are the master of the Shadow Tome. If we gain your recognition, the Shadows can also have their names recorded in the Hero Record. That fact alone is enough for many Shadows to lay down their lives for your command.”
He was the one being who could fulfill the millennia-old wish of the Shadows, who had been discriminated against for so long.
That was Leo.
“But I doubt that’s the only reason.”
“As a Shadow Lord, I also wish to see your capabilities.”
Algren bowed low to Leo and said.
“To see whether or not you are someone to whom we can entrust our fate.”
“I hope I can live up to your expectations.”
Algren smiled at Leo’s reply.
*‘This boy might just be able to do it. Not to lead the Shadows with light, but to embrace the Shadows with darkness.’*
He was neither a hero living in the bright light, nor a shadow living in the deep darkness.
He was simply as his doubts suggested.
A being who held both light and darkness in his grasp.
*‘He might be just like Lord Kyle, the beginning of all things.’*