Chapter 369
Chapter Title: The Master of the Castle of Pleasure
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369
‘The filthiest paradise in the world.’
Strolling through the Street of Debauchery, Leo surveyed the scene.
The gazes of those around him fixed on Leo.
On this street, Leo's appearance was incredibly out of place.
The Street of Debauchery was filthy.
And not just because the street itself was dirty.
Everything that made up this street…
A street built on the twisted desires and greed lurking in the deepest, darkest corners of the human heart.
It was just as the old woman at the entrance had said.
This place was undoubtedly the world's rock bottom.
He recalled the dazzling main street he had been on just moments before.
‘That must have been just for show.’
Before being the world's most poverty-stricken nation, this was a country where things illegal elsewhere were perfectly legal.
For the powerful, such a place—Alehem—must be the ultimate playground.
That glamorous street was likely the result of squeezing the life out of the people living in Alehem.
The scenery of the Street of Debauchery was probably closer to the true face of Alehem.
‘Well, I doubt the entire country is like this, though.’
Just then, three large men blocked Leo's path.
"What are you staring at? You find us interesting?"
"Looks like a well-to-do young master from some noble family. What's a guy like you doing in a dump like this?"
"Wait, is he really a young master? With a pretty face like that, maybe he's a girl?"
"Could be. Should we strip him and find out?"
The three men snickered as they looked at Leo.
The eyes of the three men, who looked like mercenaries, were crazed.
They were steeped in alcohol and drugs.
As Leo stared at them in silence, the giant leading the group scowled.
"What are you looking at, you bastard?! First time seeing someone at the end of their rope?!"
"Hey, hey! Don't scare him too much! He might start whining and call for his little bodyguards."
"That could be fun too, right? Well, once you're in here, you'll realize that pathetic little power you have on the outside means nothing!"
One moment they were annoyed, the next they were roaring with laughter among themselves.
Watching the mercenaries, Leo smirked.
"I'm here looking for someone."
"Who?"
"The master of the Castle of Pleasure."
As he stated his purpose, a chilling silence instantly fell over them.
The master of the Castle of Pleasure.
The one who ruled this street.
No, to say they merely ruled the Street of Debauchery might be an understatement.
It would be no exaggeration to say they were the de facto ruler of this oasis city, Uargela.
That was how much influence they wielded, even more than the city's lord.
"This bastard!"
"Do you even know who you're talking about, you little brat who still smells of his mother's milk?! You wanna die?!"
The mercenaries, who had been high on drugs and alcohol, sobered up in an instant.
Their faces pale, they screamed at the top of their lungs.
As if they wanted no part in this conversation.
Seeing this, Leo tilted his head.
‘A reaction like this just from mentioning their name?’
"Where can I find them?"
"This bastard just doesn't quit!"
"No one can meet them!"
Leo looked unimpressed by the mercenaries' reaction.
"If you don't know, then I have no business with you."
"You son of a...!"
Provoked by Leo turning his back and walking away without a second thought, the mercenaries lunged at him.
*Thwack-!*
With a series of dull thuds, the mercenaries went flying through the air.
*Crash-!*
"Gah!"
"Kugh!"
"Urgh!"
The mercenaries, who had crashed to the ground, let out pained screams.
Elsie, perched on Leo's shoulder, murmured.
-There are only bad people here.
"It's that kind of neighborhood."
Leo replied nonchalantly and continued deeper into the street.
Shabby taverns lined the way.
But no matter how hard he looked, he couldn't see any building that could be called a 'castle'.
Leo narrowed his eyes.
"Elsie."
-Yes, it's just as you think, Leo. This street is covered in a spirit's illusion.
At Elsie's answer, Leo took out the note Tina had given him.
On it, only Tina's name was written.
"With this much power, is it a Great Spirit?"
He had figured they would be a big shot since Tina introduced them, but he hadn't expected the master of the Castle of Pleasure to be a Great Spirit's contractor.
-Can you find the way?
"Who do you take me for?"
Leo smirked at Elsie's question.
Normally, it would have been impossible to even notice this illusion.
But Leo had been friends with the strongest summoner in history.
That summoner made no distinction between summoned beasts and spirits.
"Compared to her spirit arts, this is child's play."
-Have you fallen for Lisinas's spirit arts before?
"Many times."
Leo grimaced, recalling his friend who would use spirit arts on him whenever she got angry.
He then reached out and grabbed the empty air as if parting a curtain.
*Grasp-!*
Space distorted at Leo's fingertips.
*Fwoosh-!*
As Leo pulled his arm back, the space peeled away, revealing the true path.
In the distance, a dazzling castle came into Leo's view.
Sensing the spirit's power emanating from the castle, Leo wore a surprised expression.
"A Spirit of Light?"
He couldn't discern its identity while inside the illusion, but now he could feel it clearly.
The spirit that had settled here was the Great Spirit of Light.
The noblest of all spirits.
The Spirit of Light was, quite literally, an incarnation and representative of light itself.
For such a Great Spirit of Light to make its home in such a filthy street was truly astonishing.
-Oh my, a Spirit of Light.
Elsie gasped, covering her mouth.
She seemed overjoyed, unable to contain herself.
The era Elsie was born into was an age of disaster.
She had lived in a time when a bleak, gray sky covered the world, and even the starlight was barely visible.
Because of that, Elsie had developed a strong yearning for light.
That hadn't changed, even now that she had crossed over to the present day with Leo.
The thought of possibly meeting a Great Spirit who commanded such light filled her with pure joy.
Leo chuckled at Elsie's reaction.
"You're that happy?"
-Yes! I've always wanted to meet one!
"I'm curious what this Great Spirit of Light is like, too."
His memories related to the Great Spirit of Light weren't exactly pleasant.
5,000 years ago.
Luminus, the Great Spirit of Radiance, who was contracted to Lisinas.
As a Great Spirit of Light, she was the first comrade Lisinas and Leo had to lose.
After Lisinas died.
After they subjugated Erebos and even Kyle died.
Only after the impossibly long passage of 5,000 years was he finally able to keep his promise.
Leo took out the Orb of Light from his coat.
The item that had served as the medium for his contract with Elsie.
It was a treasure of the Spirits of Light, left to Leo by Luminus.
Putting the orb away, Leo spoke.
"Alright, shall we go?"
-Yes!
***
At the top of the Castle of Pleasure.
The Street of Debauchery.
No, the eye of the woman looking down upon all of Uargela twitched.
"Someone has lifted the veil. Whose work is this?"
As she expressed her displeasure, a woman waiting by her side answered with her eyes slightly closed.
"An outsider has come to the Street of Debauchery, Lady Lariel."
"An outsider?"
Even if it was an outsider, this situation still didn't make sense.
Could there really be someone in this country capable of seeing through and dispelling her power?
As Lariel pondered, she recalled something.
She had already heard that Lumerne had dispatched hero candidates to investigate the anomalies in this country.
"I see. The hero candidates?"
The displeasure on Lariel's face deepened.
She did not care for the existence of heroes.
"What should we do?"
"Why do you ask?"
"The hero candidate who has come here is Leo Flove."
"The hero candidate that the Comet Magician designated as his successor?"
"Yes. The one Lady Lariel has waited for for so long..."
"I finished waiting for anyone a long time ago."
The woman flinched at Lariel's cold words.
"And you believe that absurd story about the Comet Magician reappearing in this land?"
"The Progenitor of the Nebula and the Hero of the Beginning have also appeared in this land. It wouldn't be strange for the Comet Magician to..."
Lariel scoffed at her subordinate's words.
"The Great Hero and the Heroes of Genesis are different."
"Pardon?"
"If the Heroes of Genesis were the same as the Great Heroes, this world would have met its end long ago."
"My thoughts haven't changed."
Lariel gazed out the window and muttered.
"The light vanished from this world long ago."
Leo, who was heading toward the Castle of Pleasure, stopped in his tracks.
At some point, the people on the street had vanished.
-Leo, it's an illusion.
Elsie said, narrowing her brow.
Leo, too, had already seen through the fact that he had entered an illusion's domain.
The problem was that this wasn't just a simple illusion meant to confuse the eyes.
A bright light erupted before Leo's eyes.
"Interesting."
Leo smirked upon seeing the figure that had revealed itself.
The one who appeared before him was none other than Leo himself.
Looking at the illusion, which was identical to him as if reflected in a mirror, Leo spoke.
"You wield quite a tricky form of spirit art."
Illusions are a specialty of Light Spirits.
A Great Spirit can create as many lifelike illusions as it wants.
But the illusion before him now was on a completely different level of intricacy.
"It seems they have a very powerful Great Spirit as their contractor."
Fundamentally, the power of Great Spirits is nearly equal, but differences in combat ability exist.
That comes down to the years they have lived and the difference in their experience.
It's only natural that a spirit who has lived longer and has more experience would be more proficient in battle.
One can create any number of lifelike illusions.
But creating an illusion that is *identical* to the real thing is difficult.
*Fwoosh-!*
The illusion of light used the Jerdinger flames.
Seeing this, Elsie spoke.
-Should I step in?
Light and darkness are opposing attributes.
As a Shadow Spirit, if Elsie were to use her power, she could distort even the most intricate illusion.
*Step-*
"No."
Leo said firmly, taking a step forward.
There was only one reason such a powerful illusion was blocking Leo's path.
The master of this castle held animosity toward him.
They intended to drive him away, even if it meant causing harm.
To use Elsie, he would have to draw out the power of a Great Spirit.
‘It's probably best to keep the fact that there are two Great Spirits of Darkness in one era hidden for now.’
Besides, the illusion before him was no great obstacle for Leo in the first place.
"No matter how real it seems, in the end, it's just an illusion."
The corners of Leo's mouth curled up as the Jerdinger flames erupted from his body.
*Fwoosh-!*
At the same time as Leo's red eyes flashed.
*Craaaaack!*
A massive sword strike of flames surged upward.
*Fwoooosh-!*
Watching the flames erupt from one part of the castle, Lariel's eye twitched.
‘This quickly?’
The Castle of Pleasure was protected by five major illusions.
The first was an illusion that hid the castle's appearance.
The second was the illusion that had just been dispelled.
From the second illusion onward, they were dangerous illusions capable of killing any uninvited guest approaching the Castle of Pleasure.
Though they were illusions, they were powerful ones that could never be broken unless one surpassed their own limits.
‘They did call him the greatest hero candidate in history.’
Lariel admitted she had underestimated Leo.
‘Then again, for a student learning the teachings of Lumerne, this much is to be expected...’
The moment Lariel thought that.
*Flash!*
This time, her expression changed as she saw a flash of light erupt from another illusion zone.
The third illusion.
Even the illusion that tested one's faith in oneself was dispelled in an instant.
The words 'successor to the Comet Magician' came to Lariel's mind.
‘No, it can't be.’
The moment Lariel denied it.
The fourth illusion was broken through.
The fourth illusion was one that required the mental fortitude to press forward under any circumstances.
3,000 years.
He was the first to break through the fourth illusion.
‘This boy...’
Lariel's mouth fell open.
‘Just what is his identity...?’
Only the final illusion remained.
As she was reeling in shock from that fact.
*Bang-!*
The door to the topmost floor was thrown open violently.
Lariel's eyes met with those of a boy with pure white hair and red eyes.
"I thought you were doing some strange things for a human."
Leo tilted his head as he looked at Lariel.
"I didn't expect a Great Spirit to be doing something like this without even a contractor."