Chapter 387
Chapter Title: A New Beginning
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Rooooar—!
The world was burning.
An unquenchable black flame coiled around them.
A dangerous sea of disastrous fire that could claim a life with a single touch.
Yet, despite walking through it, no fear could be found in the eyes of the gray-haired man and the black-haired woman.
“…We’ve finally arrived.”
Kyle muttered, gazing at the black tower burning in the distance.
A colossal tower of endless height, as if it could pierce the very heavens.
It was the Tower of Disaster, the abode of the primordial evil, Erebos.
The place where the flames of disaster first erupted.
The final destination of the subjugation party.
A murderous aura emanated from Kyle’s eyes.
His nails dug into the flesh of his clenched fist.
Drip— Drip—
Seeing the blood dripping from Kyle’s hand, Lisinas spoke.
“Kyle, calm down.”
“Don’t worry.”
Kyle opened his hand.
The marks of a long and desperate struggle remained all over it.
Those scars were proof that even in the midst of endless despair, he had never given up, continually reaching for hope.
He had suffered wounds so gruesome it was a wonder his hand was still attached.
Each time, he had barely recovered and gripped his weapon again.
At a glance, it was just an ugly, scar-covered hand.
But to the Great Heroes, it was a hand more meaningful than any other.
***
“It strikes me anew every time I see it. Kyle, your hand is truly beautiful.”
Before embarking on their journey.
Dweno said, looking at the hand Kyle used to hold his cup.
“What’s this all of a sudden? This kind of hand isn’t your type, is it?”
“It’s certainly not my type of hand.”
Dweno looked down at his own hand.
It was just as scarred as Kyle’s, and the same was true for Ar-on.
Lisinas, who stayed in the rear on the battlefield, also had many scars on her hands, though not as many as the other three.
Luna had many scars too, but they weren't noticeable as she wore gloves or concealed them with magic.
Dweno took a sip of his drink.
“But is it not the hand that forged hope for this world? Though it may not be my type aesthetically, the fact that it holds beauty remains unchanged.”
“Gulp— Gulp— Ahh! I think this is the first time I’ve heard Dweno call Kyle beautiful.”
Luna said with fascination, wiping her mouth after downing the golden liquid in a large beer mug in one go.
“That’s right. The only beautiful thing about this guy is his hand. And we all have the same kind of hands.”
“…So, in the end, Dweno, are you saying there’s nothing uniquely beautiful about Kyle?”
Ar-on tilted his head, blowing on his hot tea.
“Of course.”
“What are you going to do? The self-proclaimed aesthete says you’re not beautiful.”
“Hmm… I’m sure Kyle has some beautiful qualities. Don’t give up.”
“You guys, seriously. Are you going to keep judging me by your standards?!”
The dwarf nodded resolutely while Luna cackled with laughter.
Enraged by the genuinely worried Ar-on, Kyle lunged at the three of them.
After the commotion died down, Kyle returned to his seat and rested his chin on his hand.
“You’re all so carefree, it’s like you don’t even realize we’re about to embark on our final journey.”
Kyle shook his head, a look of disbelief on his face.
It was sure to be the worst battle of their lives, no matter what anyone said.
There was no guarantee of success.
No, it was a final journey where the probability of failure was even higher.
Despite facing such a monumental ordeal, not a trace of tension could be found in his friends.
Kyle sighed, watching Luna trying to outdrink Dweno.
And he also saw Ar-on, flustered and refusing the drinks offered by others.
“Not a shred of tension.”
Lisinas, who had brought a beer mug and sat down in front of Kyle, smiled gently.
“It’s not a bad sight. In fact, it’s nice to see everyone so full of hope.”
Gazing at the tavern where the party was taking place, Lisinas nodded in satisfaction, took a sip of beer, and made a face as if her fatigue was melting away.
“This is much better than being scared out of our wits.”
“What kept you?”
“I was writing in my journal.”
Lisinas rested her chin on her hand, just like Kyle.
“Come to think of it, you and I had a meeting here a long time ago, just the two of us.”
“Did we?”
Kyle clinked his mug with Lisinas’s, a nonchalant expression on his face.
Gulping down her drink, Lisinas wiped her mouth and spoke.
“I told you, Kyle.”
“What?”
“That we would save the world.”
Looking at his confidently smiling friend, Kyle let out a dry laugh.
“Yeah, yeah. How grand.”
“Apologize right now for being so cynical in the beginning.”
“I feel like I’ve already apologized countless times.”
“That’s not enough.”
Lisinas scoffed, her face flushed from the alcohol, and stared intently at Kyle.
“Alright, alright. I was wrong. You were right.”
Seeing Kyle speak as if annoyed, Lisinas smiled with satisfaction.
“And I’m going to keep my promise to you, too.”
“…?”
“We made a promise, right?”
Lisinas crossed her arms and smiled.
“That I wouldn’t leave you behind alone.”
“…Yeah.”
Kyle smiled.
“Kyle, you’re no longer the hero who just survives. You’re…”
Lisinas grinned.
“A new beginning.”
***
“I’m calmer than anyone.”
Kyle said calmly.
“I’ve lost far too much.”
Kyle looked at Lisinas with somber eyes.
“And I carry so much. So I have to succeed.”
“…”
“Failure is not an option.”
At those words, Lisinas clenched her fist.
“Right.”
Lisinas bit her lip hard.
“Don’t worry, Kyle. I won’t let you bear it all alone.”
Lisinas said.
“That first promise we made… I’ll be sure to keep it.”
***
Knock, knock, knock—
Gasp—!
Leo’s eyes snapped open at the sound of a knock.
Sitting up, Leo clutched his face.
“Wake up, Kyle. It’s morning.”
Hearing the voice from outside, Leo got out of bed.
‘How strange. To dream of that time.’
After their talk last night, Rodia had left the inn room.
The Erebos Subjugation Party had begun yesterday.
So far, it was just Leo and Lisinas.
A party of two.
They couldn’t just suddenly add the unscheduled Rodia to the mix.
‘If another variable is introduced to the original events, there’s no telling how the World of Heroes might get twisted.’
No matter what anyone said, Leo had overcome this trial once before.
From Leo’s perspective, it was like reliving the past.
That’s why he thought it best to clear the World of Heroes by eliminating as many variables as possible, and Rodia had agreed.
Therefore, Rodia decided to join them later.
Leo opened the door.
Lisinas was looking up at Leo with her arms crossed.
“Good morning, Kyle.”
Leo greeted Lisinas, who stood with her arms crossed and a somewhat stern expression.
“Yeah, good morning.”
Leo greeted her with a gentle smile.
Seeing him, Lisinas looked a little taken aback.
“What is it?”
“I’m just not used to your attitude since yesterday.”
“Not used to it?”
“For the past few weeks, you were incredibly prickly and cynical, but overnight you’ve become so mild-mannered.”
Lisinas continued, revealing her bewilderment.
“I thought that even if we did end up forming a party, we’d argue quite a lot. Take today, for example.”
A shadow fell over Lisinas’s face.
“There was a big battle yesterday.”
“…”
Leo recalled the past.
For Leo, it was the distant past.
But for the people living in this world, it was only yesterday.
After every life-or-death battle, Kyle would always drink himself into a stupor.
To forcibly shake off the memories of the battlefield, one way or another.
But the current Leo was not like that.
That version of himself had already vanished into the distant past.
The man standing before Lisinas now was not the one who had lived with hollow, ash-like eyes devoid of hope, but the one who had shouldered the dreams passed on by his comrades and saved the world from the primordial disaster.
It was only natural that he seemed unfamiliar, even though he was the same person.
“Someone taught me.”
“What?”
Leo smiled gently.
It was the same smile Leo often gave the hero candidates.
“That if you never give up and keep moving forward, you can grasp hope.”
Lisinas blinked at Leo’s words.
“Let’s go get some breakfast.”
Leo left the room and went down to the first floor.
Lisinas stared blankly at his retreating back.
*Fwoosh—*
-What’s with that dazed look?
A white flame flickered on Lisinas’s head, and a palm-sized woman appeared.
Lying on her side atop Lisinas’s head, propping her head up with one hand, Katariu tugged at a strand of Lisinas’s black hair.
-This is a rather different side of you.
The Spirit of Radiance, Luminus, appeared in a small halo of light and gracefully settled on Lisinas’s shoulder.
“What is?”
The Phoenix King and the Great Spirit of Light.
Lisinas asked, looking puzzled by the questions from her two contractors.
Katariu gave her a pathetic look in response.
-Why don’t you look in a mirror?
“A mirror? Why?”
-Because you have the face of a girl who’s fallen in love at first sight.
“What?! What are you talking about!”
Luminus laughed at the flustered Lisinas.
-I think it’s lovely. Lisinas, who was always bound by her convictions and never had a moment to spare, is making a face like a girl her age.
-It is a masterpiece.
“It’s not like that!”
Lisinas yelled, then scoffed and headed down to the first floor.
“I was just surprised because he’s acting completely different from the hero-who-survives that I knew.”
-So isn’t that a good thing?
Katariu said with a mischievous smile.
“Of course it is. It’s better than him looking like he’s seen it all and is done with the world, right?”
-And what kind of look is that?
“Like a hero from a fairy tale.”
-So that was my contractor’s type.
“I said it’s not!”
Grumbling, Lisinas dismissed her two contractors.
*Step— Step—*
As she descended the stairs, Lisinas brushed a hand over the left side of her chest.
‘My heart has been fluttering since yesterday.’
It started the moment Leo took her hand.
‘Kyle changed from that moment on.’
Lisinas had clearly noticed the change.
‘Yes, it’s just like the image of the hero I’ve been wishing for.’
Someone who never gives up and always moves forward.
As that thought crossed her mind, Lisinas smiled softly to herself.
‘I see. I’ve been waiting for a hero like that for a long time.’
***
During breakfast, Lisinas spoke.
“Before we leave for the Elven Forest, there’s something we need to do.”
“What is it?”
“We need to form a subjugation party to fight the monster queen who cursed the Elven Forest, Silatuna.”
The subjugation of Jormungandr, the first great feat of Lisinas and Kyle.
That feat was not accomplished by their strength alone.
Without the helpers who assisted Lisinas and Kyle at that time, even they might have failed.
The powerful guardians of Gardsrone of that era.
It was only possible because they had held Jormungandr back.
Though their names were not recorded in history, they were comrades who had weathered the age of despair together.
Originally, it was a subjugation party formed by Lisinas to fight Silatuna.
But after encountering Jormungandr, the party suffered immense losses.
In the end, they had to be content with recruiting Luna to their party and gave up on the Elven Forest.
“We’ll be busy for the next few days, then.”
“Yes. I’ll handle the preparations. You should rest until then.”
Leo rested his chin on his hand at Lisinas’s words.
“No, I have something I need to do as well.”
“Something you need to do? What is it?”
Leo smiled at Lisinas’s question.
“A contract.”
“A contract?”
Lisinas looked slightly taken aback by his answer.
‘Originally, this contract would be made much later. But I can meet him now.’
The partner who had been with him through countless battlefields.
The leader of the Pegasi, known as the White King.
‘Albus.’