Chapter 400
Chapter Title: Hero's Howl
-----------------------------------------------------------------
400.
Hearing Ar's howl, the Azonia students began to beastify.
They weren't the only ones.
*Rip—!*
The beastified Shadow Lord, Kirin, tore off the Hero Hunters' necks at incredible speed.
*Crack—*
After ripping their throats out with his claws, Kirin cracked his knuckles.
Amidst the chaos.
He muttered to himself as he watched Chen Xia hunting the Hero Hunters.
Her fluid movements as she hunted them were captivating.
‘The princess has learned to shine even after stepping into the darkness herself.’
As a shadow, he had watched countless heroes.
And Chen Xia resembled those very heroes.
‘Still, that cat. He’s something else.’
He didn't know how, but Ar's howl had granted the beastkin an effect similar to that of a full moon.
‘The world is definitely changing.’
For a long, long time.
As someone who had lived as a shadow, Kirin could feel it with certainty.
‘And at its center is Leo Flove.’
The second-strongest of Azonia's second-years.
Dion furiously swung his massive greatsword.
*Craaash—!*
“Hahahaha! Not bad!”
The Hero Hunter blocking Dion’s greatsword burst into laughter.
But his laugh was filled with blatant ridicule.
“For a whelp who still smells of his mother's milk, that is!”
The cackling Hero Hunter’s expression turned venomous.
“What's the point of calling yourself a descendant of Ar-on? You can't even properly use the beastification ability he left behind!”
At those words, Dion glared at the Hero Hunter with a blank face.
“Hey, brat. Who are the true descendants of Ar-on? Us, who can use his beastification, or you lot, who can't?”
Watching the Hero Hunter continue to mock him, Dion spoke.
“At the very least, a vulgar-looking thing like you doesn't seem to be a descendant of the great Ar-on.”
“What?”
The Hero Hunter’s face stiffened at Dion’s words.
“You damn brat! I'll kill you!”
Enraged by the taciturn Dion’s weighty remark, the Hero Hunter bared his fangs and lunged.
Dion clenched his fist.
‘A strong enemy… and he has beastification on top of that.’
He was a difficult opponent for the current Dion.
‘But I can't back down. Especially not when my opponent is one who sullies the Brave Hero's name.’
Just as fighting spirit ignited in Dion’s eyes.
“Awooooooooooo!”
A howl echoed through the air.
As if reacting to it, Dion’s ears twitched.
At the same time, his heart began to pound.
Power started to surge through his body.
Dion knew exactly what this change happening to his body was.
‘Beastification?’
Dion’s face was a mask of shock.
He wasn't the only one.
The Hero Hunter fighting Dion also widened his eyes.
“What in the world is this!”
Dion looked down at the golden aura emanating from his body.
It was identical to the aura of Ar-on described in the historical texts.
But there was another power dwelling within this aura.
‘Ar…!’
Dion clenched his fist.
‘I don't know how he did it, but…’
Dion tightened his grip.
‘Right now, I will execute the traitor before me.’
*Fwoooosh—!*
An extraordinary fighting spirit erupted from Dion’s body.
“This brat…!”
Sparks flew in the Hero Hunter’s eyes.
“If you’re a kid, act like one!”
*Kwaaaaaa—!*
The Hero Hunter roared, unleashing his aura.
“Stop picking fights with your elders and stay down!”
*Crash! Patter-patter—!*
The aura blasting from the Hero Hunter’s sword engulfed Dion.
A thick cloud of dust rose, and dirt rained down.
“Serves you right for acting tough without knowing how scary the world is!”
The Hero Hunter was curling his lips into a smirk when it happened.
*Whoosh—!*
“……!”
Dion, covered in blood, broke through the dust and appeared right in front of the Hero Hunter.
His wounds were so severe it wouldn't have been strange if he was on the verge of death.
But Dion’s eyes were still blazing with fighting spirit.
“What… what is it with those eyes….”
The Hero Hunter muttered as if he couldn't accept it.
“What gives you the right to glare at me with those arrogant eyes and keep coming! Just give up and break already!”
Faced with Dion's unyielding spirit and relentless attacks, the Hero Hunter was becoming unnerved, despite having overwhelming power.
To that shout, Dion replied.
“I can't break before a traitor who has already broken and fled.”
*Fwoosh—!*
Dion swung his greatsword.
“If you've been granted courage, you press forward even if it means death.”
*Slice—!*
Dion’s sword sent the Hero Hunter's head flying.
“That is the teaching I learned from the great Ar-on!”
The Hero Hunter’s head flew through the air before falling to the ground.
*Thud—!*
Dion coughed up blood and fell to his knees.
He looked toward where Ar was.
“I don't know how you did it… but now you truly seem like the Brave Hero's successor.”
***
*Crackle—!*
Golden lightning swirled around Duran’s body.
His eyes flashing gold, Duran charged at the massive lump of darkness.
A two-handed sword was in his grip.
*Craaackle—!*
Becoming a great bolt of lightning, Duran approached the darkness at incredible speed.
*Craaackle—!*
At that moment, a blade of darkness shot up like a shadow and flew toward Duran.
*Zzzing—! Craaash—!*
Just before the shadow could strike Duran.
Magic flying from behind altered the shadow’s trajectory.
It was Juen’s sniper magic.
And that wasn't all.
*C-c-crack—!*
Chloe’s mentee, Betty, trapped the shadow with her ice magic.
Powerful magic from two first-year magic students.
But even with their full power, their spells only managed to briefly halt the Word Magic.
But that was enough.
*Flash—!*
At incredible speed, Duran slipped through that momentary opening and closed in on the main body.
He was Duran, who boasted the greatest speed among Lumerne’s second-years, the so-called Golden Generation.
Duran swung his sword with both hands.
*Flash! F-f-f-f-flash—!*
With a thunderous flash, lightning bolts scattered in all directions.
*F-f-f-f-flash—!*
Its powerful firepower was reminiscent of magic.
The intense light seemed to weaken the darkness.
Duran’s sword cut through the darkness and plunged deeper.
But soon, a blade erupted from the darkness, trying to pierce Duran.
*Whoosh—!*
But a gale of wind was faster, snatching Duran away.
“I almost had it.”
“You would’ve been skewered!”
“Couldn't you have supported me a little faster?”
“Do you think I’m here to clean up your messes?!”
Chelsea shouted, her eyes wide.
Duran scoffed in response.
“Too slow.”
“I ought to just drop you!”
Chelsea ground her teeth.
Among the second-years, her speed was second only to Duran’s.
Abad was also a wind mage like Chelsea, but as he was a traditional mage, Chelsea, a combat mage, was much faster than her older brother.
Even so, she was inevitably slower than Duran.
*Kwaaaaaa—!*
The blade of shadow pursued Chelsea at high speed.
Chelsea scoffed at the sight and raised her staff.
“Cyclone.”
*Whoooooooosh!*
Effortlessly creating high-level magic with high-speed casting, Chelsea blew the shadow away.
“Rafale.”
Chelsea completed another spell aimed at the shadow.
*R-r-r-rumble—!*
A fierce gale engulfed the shadow.
Hidden within the gale, blades of vacuum tore the darkness to shreds.
Seeing this, Juen gritted his teeth.
“She’s the same age as me…!”
Both Cyclone and Rafale.
They were high-level spells that were difficult for ordinary mages.
Yet she had completed such magic with high-speed casting.
At Lumerne, a one-year difference was significant.
But even so, the fact that their stages were so different despite being the same age was nothing short of shocking.
Meanwhile.
*Fwoooosh—!*
A wind incomparably stronger than the one Chelsea had created began to blow.
*Fwoosh—!*
And on top of that, a massive flame.
“Ready, Abad?”
“I should be asking you the same, Celia.”
“As long as you’re ready, that’s enough.”
Celia scoffed.
Smiling faintly at Celia, Abad unleashed his magic.
“Tempest.”
Abad cast his unique magic.
*R-r-rumble—!*
Wind converged on Celia's sword.
“Prominence.”
The wind of Llewellyn and the flame of Jerdinger combined, burning fiercely.
Wringing out their maximum firepower, Abad and Celia took aim at the darkness.
*Flash! Fwoooosh—!*
The wind of magic power and the flame of aura descended upon the shadow.
*Kwaaaaaaaaaa—!*
Most of the shadow was blown away, revealing a human figure.
But it wasn't over.
*Slither.*
The Word Magic activated again, and abyssal darkness surged forth.
Just then.
*Booooooom—!*
A giant fist slammed down from the sky.
It was the fist of Titaum, the Great Spirit of Earth and Woreden's contractor.
*Craaaaaaaaaash—!*
The darkness distorted under the unimaginably powerful attack.
But that wasn't the end of it.
*C-c-c-crack—!*
The ground began to freeze over.
At the very rear of the Lumerne students.
Chloe stood there, clad in the magic power of ice.
Fearsome magic power swirled around her.
Among the current second-years, in terms of pure ‘power,’ the strongest was Chloe, the purest mage.
Ever since the battle began.
She had been continuously chanting.
For a mage, time is power.
Chloe’s blue eyes stared directly at the darkness.
The darkness, too, sensed that Chloe was dangerous and charged toward her.
*Grab—!*
Woreden grabbed the darkness.
The darkness, rushing toward Chloe, faltered under his brute strength.
But it soon unleashed a blade of shadow, aiming for Chloe.
“Block it!”
Chelsea shouted urgently.
Blocking the path of the shadow blade were Aina, Habiden, and Sasha, who had been guarding Chloe in case of an emergency.
Habiden used his wind aura to block the shadow blade.
Sasha also used her summoned beast to defend.
But the shadow blade split into multiple streams.
In response, Aina swung her sword.
*Fwoosh! Cl-cl-cl-clang—!*
A golden flash flickered, and she deflected the multiple streams of shadow with incredible speed.
It was an astonishing display of swordsmanship that left one gaping.
The brilliant swordplay momentarily halted the shadow blade.
*Stab—!*
But soon, a shadow blade that even Aina couldn't block shot toward Chloe.
Chloe, who had been concentrating with her eyes closed, opened them.
The moment a mage unleashes their firepower is a moment of despair for their enemies.
But conversely, until that moment, the mage is also defenseless.
However, Chloe had also prepared for such a contingency.
A short-range spatial teleportation spell.
Of course, since she couldn't focus solely on her spell, its power would be reduced.
But she had gathered enough magic power to inflict a severe blow.
Just as Chloe was about to release her magic.
A silver flash deflected the blade of darkness.