Chapter 392
Chapter Title: Your Job, My Job
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Screeeech—! Thud—!
The walls of Gardsrone opened.
Through its gates, the twelve heroes marched forth.
"Weren't they heading to the Elf Forest?"
"Are they really risking their lives on the word of a fool?"
"They should've just stayed here and protected this place."
"Look at that. Some heroes are still alive."
"They might all end up dead."
The people murmured as they watched.
Hearing the mocking tones directed at Leo and Lisinas, Rhodia shot a cold glare in their direction.
Leo reached out and gently pressed down on her head.
"Don't mind them."
"How can you not be angry when they're saying things like that so openly?"
"I'm used to it. Besides."
Leo let out a small laugh.
"It's just... after getting used to being revered as a great man who saved the world, coming back to the past and hearing reactions like this is actually refreshing."
"If you put it that way, Sir Kyle, I suppose I can't do anything about it."
"What were you planning to do?"
"I was going to punish them thoroughly."
Leo clicked his tongue at Rhodia's words.
As they were talking, Lisinas approached.
"Rhodia, are you really going to be okay?"
"Of course, Lady Lisinas!"
Rhodia puffed out her chest as if to show she was fine.
"To be able to accompany you and Sir Kyle on your journey! It's an infinite honor for me!"
"Rhodia, you said you can use healing magic, right?"
"Yes."
As Alrene asked this during their conversation, Rhodia turned to her.
Watching them, Lisinas spoke.
"How on earth did you get to know a kid like that?"
"It just sort of happened."
"The more I see of her, the less she seems like a kid these days."
"You know, saying that makes you sound incredibly old, right?"
At that, Lisinas glared at Leo.
Lisinas tried to kick Leo, who just chuckled at her glare.
But Leo, as if he'd expected it, easily dodged the attack.
"This is unpleasant."
"What is?"
"You act like you can see right through me."
Lisinas grumbled, her brow furrowed.
Watching Lisinas, Leo let out a hum.
"I don't like that understanding smile of yours, either."
Lisinas shot him a sidelong glance, then sighed and looked down at her trembling hand.
"It's as if you're trying to ease my anxiety, even just a little."
The expedition's goal had suddenly changed from joining Luna in the Elf Forest to subjugating the King of Gluttony.
As the leader of the expedition, Lisinas couldn't help but feel anxious about the decision.
"Kyle, aren't you anxious?"
"I am."
Leo showed his own hand, which was trembling just like Lisinas's.
"But it's okay. We can do this."
Leo reached out and took Lisinas's hand.
"Even in this desperate situation, we'll meet comrades who will somehow open a path for us."
At Leo's words, Lisinas felt the trembling in her hand gradually subside.
"We'll also meet a comrade who will charge forward without hesitation when faced with great fear."
Lisinas's dark eyes fixed on Leo's face.
"And we will definitely meet a comrade who will craft reliable weapons for us until the very end."
Before she knew it, the trembling was gone.
"I knew my judgment wasn't wrong."
"Of course. Whose choice was it, after all?"
Just as Lisinas burst into laughter at those words,
"Oho? What's this? This intimate atmosphere?"
The beastman, Allox, approached the two, his eyes gleaming.
"There's a strange current flowing here, isn't there? Are you two... in *that* kind of relationship?"
"No."
Lisinas answered flatly, pulling her hand away.
"Huhu! Don't deny it, Lisinas! It's nothing to be ashamed of... Keuk?!"
"Yes, yes. Mr. Beastman. If you know the mood is good, don't interrupt."
Rhodia, who had appeared out of nowhere, drove her small fist into Allox's side.
She smiled brightly at Leo and Lisinas as she dragged the fallen beastman away.
"Have a nice time."
"Why does Rhodia keep telling us to 'have a nice time' whenever she sees us together?"
Leo clicked his tongue as he watched Lisinas tilt her head, a look of complete confusion on her face.
"Beats me."
***
Half a day after leaving Gardsrone.
The expedition had left the safe zone of Gardsrone.
An area teeming with all sorts of monsters and demonic beasts.
If they were unlucky, they could even encounter a high-ranking demon.
The expedition members advanced, their tense eyes scanning their surroundings.
The sun set, and night fell.
After setting up camp and lighting a fire, they ate.
Having filled their stomachs with simple preserved food, the expedition members set a watch and went to sleep.
The first to stand watch were Leo and Alrene.
"It's been a while since I've left Gardsrone."
"It has. So don't let your guard down."
"I won't."
The nights of the Age of Calamity were dangerous.
A situation where the entire world was hurtling toward ruin.
The night sky, devoid of even moonlight and starlight, was enough to instill fear just by looking at it.
Crackle— Crackle—
The campfire burned.
"Kyle, I heard you made a contract with the White King. Is that true?"
Alrene asked with curiosity.
In response to her question, Leo summoned Albus instead of answering.
Albus, in her pure white dress, seemed out of place in this atmosphere.
"So this is outside Gardsrone."
Albus said, surveying her surroundings with a blank expression.
Seeing Albus, Alrene greeted her.
"It is an honor to meet you, O White King."
"You are Arphia's contractor. It's a pleasure to meet you."
Albus gave Alrene a slight smile.
Was it in response to Albus's summoning?
From where Lisinas slept, a spirit beast and a spirit also appeared.
"A summoning circle opened, so I thought something had happened."
Katariou floated in the air and flew over to Leo's side.
"Hey, human. I know making a contract with the Spirit Beast King is something to be proud of, but could you refrain from showing off?"
Katariou spoke curtly, having witnessed Kyle's disrespect toward Lisinas over the past while.
Luminus, Lisinas's other contractor, would have let it slide, but the cynical Katariou was not so forgiving.
"White King, you didn't make a contract with this guy just to be put on display, did you?"
"If you continue to be rude to me, you will regret it, Flame Emperor."
"Calm down, that chicken leg is always like that. He talks tough, but he'll look out for you when it counts."
Leo reached out and stroked Albus's head.
Albus, who instinctively tried to shake his hand off, froze at his touch.
The way he stroked her head felt strangely familiar and pleasant.
Albus's eyes, sharper than usual, softened slightly, and she soon found herself enjoying Leo's petting.
"Katariou, that's too harsh."
Luminus said reproachfully.
Katariou snorted in response.
"Did they say that elf, Luna, is the contractor of the Fairy King's successor? If she's an elf, she must have some refinement. I have higher hopes for her than for Kyle."
"That refined elf would probably suggest deep-frying you, half-seasoned and half-original."
"Do you think elves are an uncultured race like you?"
'At least among the elves I know, there aren't many who are in their right minds.'
As Leo thought back on the elves he was close to in both his past and present lives.
Shhh-!
Lisinas, who had been sleeping, sat up.
"Sorry, Lisinas. Did we wake you with our chatter?"
Alrene looked apologetic.
Lisinas didn't answer, simply staring into the darkness beyond the reach of the campfire's light.
Shing—!
Leo stood up and drew his sword.
Alrene, too, realized something was wrong and tried to get up.
"…You all stay here. I'll go alone. Katariou, Luminus. You too."
With those words, Lisinas vanished into the darkness.
Katariou and Luminus were the most surprised by Lisinas's reaction.
Seeing the two gaping at the sudden turn of events, Leo spoke.
"I'll follow her."
"It's impossible to follow Lisinas in the dark."
As a black dragon, Lisinas was more familiar with the dark than anyone.
In the dead of night during the Age of Calamity, where even the moon and stars had vanished.
Chasing Lisinas at this hour was, as Luminus said, impossible.
"Usually, that's true."
Leo said as he headed into the darkness.
"But I can do it."
***
Back in the Age of Calamity.
Using magic to light one's way in the dead of night was an extremely dangerous act.
But for Leo, the darkness was no obstacle at all.
In the pitch-black darkness, Leo sharpened his senses.
'Supersense.'
He activated Supersense using his aura.
The technique of the Brave Hero, Ar-on.
Despite the darkness, everything became clear.
Leo stealthily but quickly followed the traces of mana Lisinas had left behind.
A short time later.
'Just how fast did she go?!'
Leo shouted inwardly as he chased after Lisinas.
Even Leo found it difficult to keep up with the current Lisinas.
'That Lisinas... why is she acting like this all of a sudden?'
5,000 years ago and now.
The expedition's route was the same.
But 5,000 years ago, there had been no battle in this area.
'Even if there were enemies, I never sensed them.'
This was, quite literally, an unexpected situation.
A bewildered expression on his face, Leo moved even faster.
Through his sharpened vision from Supersense, everything in the darkness was clearly visible.
Because of his speed, he was already far from the campsite.
That was when scattered corpses came into Leo's view.
They weren't monsters or demonic beasts.
Nor were they demons from Tartaros.
'Humans who use black magic.'
Traitors who had turned their backs on the world.
They had been turned into gruesome corpses, as if slashed by something sharp.
Leo found the mana emanating from the corpses to be very unfamiliar.
But at the same time, he could clearly feel whose mana it was.
'Lisinas.'
For a moment, Leo felt bewildered.
Lisinas, the King of Wisdom.
The wise and benevolent leader of the Erebos Subjugation Team.
The noble Great Hero who brought hope to the world.
She was originally a black dragon.
A dragon kin who, until the Age of the Gods, had purged traitors from the shadows.
But Lisinas was too kind to carry out the duties of a black dragon.
While she showed no mercy to traitors, she felt sorrow at taking their lives.
'If it weren't an age like this, these people might have had a different path.'
Leo knew this too.
That was why Leo had taken her place.
So that she wouldn't have to stain her hands with the blood of traitors.
Because he felt no pity or sorrow for traitors.
He thought he was better suited to be the judge.
'Because I was afraid that Lisinas might be tainted by the darkness.'
Leo raised his head.
Kuuuuooooooh!
A roar filled with pain echoed out.
With it, a black dragon soared high into the sky.
The body of the black dragon, which emanated an ominous, dark-red aura, was in tatters.
The horribly wounded black dragon let out a hate-filled roar and took a deep breath.
A massive wave of mana washed over the area.
A breath attack.
The moment Leo realized it.
Fwoosh—!
A darkness as sharp as a blade shot up toward the sky.
Slice—!
The blade of darkness decapitated the black dragon.
Fwoooom—! Craaaash—! Splat—!
The body of the nameless black dragon fell futilely to the ground.
Leo unconsciously swallowed a dry lump in his throat.
That magic just now.
'Lisinas's mana.'
But it was a spell Leo didn't recognize.
Leo approached the spot where the black dragon had died.
And then he saw her.
In the middle of a sea of blood stood a woman, covered head to toe in the blood of her own kind.
Lisinas, wearing a cold, expressionless face unlike any he had ever seen during their long years fighting together to save the world.
And then, she noticed Leo's presence and showed a slightly surprised expression.
"Kyle?"
"What have you done, Lisinas?"
Leo asked, swallowing hard.
Lisinas soon replied calmly.
"I did what had to be done."
"Right, I know it had to be done. But you don't need to be the one to do it. Punishing traitors in the dark isn't your job..."
"It is my job, Kyle. I'm a black dragon, aren't I?"
Lisinas replied as if asking what he was talking about.
"You have to give people hope in the light. That's your job, isn't it?"
Lisinas said, her eyes wide.
"Kyle, that's what you're supposed to do."
"What?"
Lisinas said, her face full of faith and conviction.
"Because you're going to save the world."