Chapter 439
Chapter Title: The Brave Hero's Special Training
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439.
Step— Step—
Leo and Ar-on walked down a spiral staircase connected to a hidden underground area deep within the Fairy King's dwelling.
“I see.”
Leo muttered as he descended the long passage.
“It's being suppressed for sure.”
The moment he stepped onto these stairs, he could feel the Fairy King's immense power.
“This isn't just a simple barrier, is it?”
Ar-on murmured softly.
Among the three great mythical beasts, if the phoenix symbolized weapons like swords and spears, and the pegasus symbolized cavalry, then the fairies represented shields—that is, barriers.
“It's literally cut off from the outside world.”
‘It transcends physical concepts, separated on a dimensional level.’
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that the very staircase they were walking on was a separate space in itself.
Fairy magic was a powerful discipline, classified on par with unique magic, and the Fairy King was a master sorcerer of that very magic.
This was a domain the Fairy King had kept separate from the dimension for 5,000 years.
‘Even so, this structure is completely different from the fairy magic I know.’
It was different from the fairy magic Leo was familiar with.
“The structure of this magic formula… it's that girl Luna's style.”
“Ah, it definitely resembles Luna's magic.”
Ar-on exclaimed in admiration at Leo's words. Silode, who was flying alongside them, answered.
-That's because this barrier was created based on the fairy magic formulas Luna researched.
“Just like Luna.”
“She was considered the greatest genius in the history of magic, after all.”
Leo chuckled as Ar-on marveled.
They descended the stairs for a long time.
It felt as if half a day had passed.
But Silode explained that the flow of time in this domain was different from the outside world.
At last, Leo, Ar-on, and Silode reached a massive stone door.
Leo's eyes narrowed, and Ar-on's expression sharpened.
They had come knowing that a fragment of Erebos lay beyond this door.
But coming face-to-face with it made their bodies react instinctively.
-I will open it.
Rumble—
The moment Silode finished speaking, the stone door opened with a heavy groan.
Leo and Ar-on stepped into the stone chamber.
Inside was a black, human-shaped object about the size of an adult man.
It looked like a lump of burnt charcoal, or perhaps a molten, congealed mass of iron.
What was certain was its color, darker than the night sky, and the faint power of Erebos it exuded.
Its form was different, and the energy it emitted was faint.
But Leo and Ar-on, who had fought against Erebos, knew exactly what it was.
“Erebos.”
As Ar-on muttered, Leo approached the fragment.
The embers, quite literally, had been completely extinguished.
But even so, this was a catastrophic entity that had once driven the world to the brink of ruin.
Moreover, 3,000 years ago, the fragments of Erebos had flared up again.
‘Silode said he tried to eliminate it over the past 5,000 years, but to no avail, right?’
It wasn't as if Silode had simply left the fragment of Erebos unattended.
Over the long years, he had tried to destroy it using the Fairy King's power.
But no method had worked.
Even with its flame extinguished, Erebos was still Erebos.
It was the primordial disaster that even the gods feared.
Even Leo had only miraculously succeeded in subjugating it, failing to annihilate it completely.
The best he could do was split it into six pieces.
‘I can't touch it recklessly either. If I touch it carelessly and end up provoking it, that would be a problem too.’
Leo's power was Erebos's natural enemy.
There was no telling what would happen if Leo's power was added to the sealed Erebos.
‘So for now, the best option is to keep it suppressed and protect it from Tartaros.’
The fortunate thing was that the fragment of Erebos showed no signs of awakening.
‘Even the Necro King doesn't know how to awaken the fragments. Whatever the case, leaving it like this is the best course of action for now.’
While Leo was observing the Erebos fragment, Ar-on started sniffing the air.
“It definitely smells different from the Erebos I remember.”
-How so?
“The fundamentally unpleasant stench is the same, but... it's gotten more foul.”
-More foul?
“Yeah. It's like a pile of burnt ashes.”
Leo looked at Ar-on, who was grimacing, and spoke.
“Any sign of it re-igniting?”
Ar-on sank into thought at Leo's question.
“I don't feel anything like that at all.”
Leo nodded at Ar-on's answer.
“Then that's a relief. It means we don't have to worry about this fragment for now.”
Leo looked at Silode.
“Silode, I'm counting on you for a little longer.”
-If it's about guarding this place, don't you worry.
Silode smiled confidently and thumped his chest.
-I was a companion to the great heroes, wasn't I?
“You're very reassuring.”
Leo burst out laughing at Silode.
-Ar-on?
Silode looked puzzled at Ar-on, who was staring at him silently.
-Why are you looking at me like that?
“It's just, you seem to have changed a lot, Silode.”
-Well, 5,000 years have passed.
Silode smiled maturely.
Watching him, Ar-on looked down at his own palm.
“If… if I hadn't died 5,000 years ago.”
Ar-on looked up and asked.
“Could I have escaped being a coward?”
“What do you mean?”
“Could I have become a truly courageous person? Like the one people know today. Could I have become a true Brave Hero?”
-The Ar-on from the stories, huh? I can't imagine it. Right, Leo?
“I suppose not.”
Listening to Leo and Silode's conversation, Ar-on nodded.
“Alright. In that case, I will become a true Brave Hero.”
“What?”
“That's my new goal.”
“Is there a need for that? You're already…”
“No. I'm going to be different from who I was before.”
Ar-on said, clenching his fists with determination.
Leo, who was about to say something to him, just chuckled.
“Do your best.”
“Yeah!”
***
By a small pond in a lush forest.
“Hah! Hah! So cool! Hah!”
“Hieeeeeek!”
Ar-on looked at Ar, who was clinging to his leg, with a terrified expression.
Seeing this, Leo had an ‘I knew it’ look on his face.
“A true Brave Hero, you say?”
Chelsea, who was standing beside him with a dumbfounded expression, asked with a curious face at Leo's muttering.
“Huh? What did you say?”
“Just talking to myself.”
Leo answered curtly and grabbed Ar by the scruff of her neck.
“Stop it. We can't have a lesson if you keep doing that.”
At his words, Ar snapped to her senses with a start and let go of Ar-on.
Ar-on then quickly moved behind Chelsea.
Chelsea stared up at Ar-on, her mouth agape.
“I thought her fits were getting a little better.”
“But Black Rabbit! Look at Lord Ar-on!”
Ar gazed at Ar-on, who was hiding behind Chelsea.
“Ah! Magnificent! The best! Beastified Lord Ar-on is the best! Ugh! So dazzling! I can't even look at him properly!”
Ar covered her eyes, getting excited as she looked at Ar-on.
“So gallant! I can feel the dignity of a Brave Hero!”
“Don't you need to get your eyes checked?”
Leo sighed at Ar, who was interpreting the scene of Ar-on hiding behind the smaller Chelsea however she pleased.
“Leo. I have a question.”
“Go ahead.”
“Lord Ar-on is very different from the stories I've read. Was he always like this?”
Seeing Chelsea's disbelieving expression, Leo nodded.
“He was.”
“My goodness.”
Who would have ever guessed?
That the Brave Hero Ar-on, the very symbol of courage to the people of the modern age, was in fact a coward.
‘Though her eyes do look a little crazy, which is scary.’
Chelsea muttered to herself as she looked at Ar's eyes.
“But why are you hiding behind me, of all people?”
“It's somehow familiar, so it's comforting?”
Chelsea looked utterly bewildered by Ar-on's answer.
Meanwhile, Ar-on approached the real Ar.
“Want to try beastifying?”
At his question, Ar activated her aura.
Looking at the beastified Ar, Ar-on nodded.
“Alright, now try using Howling.”
At his words, Ar took a deep breath.
Seeing this, Chelsea manipulated the air with magic.
-Krrrrrooooooar!
The massive roar sent a shiver down Chelsea's entire body.
‘Incredible.’
Chelsea swallowed dryly.
The dignity of Azonia's second-year representative was clearly palpable.
Ar-on crossed his arms as he listened to Ar's roar.
“You said there are various types of Howling in this era, right?”
“Yes!”
Ar-on's Howling made enemies tremble in fear and gave courage to his allies.
But in the current era, it had various effects depending on the user.
Such as momentarily enhancing physical abilities or confusing enemies.
“And the beastfolk with those traits are mainly mages or summoners, right?”
“That's right!”
After Ar's energetic reply, Ar-on, who had been pondering, took a deep breath.
-Kuhuuuuung!
A powerful roar, incomparable to Ar's, echoed through the area.
Overwhelmed by the sight, Ar and Chelsea lost their strength and collapsed to the ground.
“A-Amazing.”
“So cool!”
Chelsea was thrilled, and Ar trembled with excitement.
While the two were marveling at Ar-on's majesty, Leo narrowed his eyes and looked down at his own hands.
His body felt noticeably lighter than a moment ago.
“Did you add a buff effect to your Howling?”
“Yeah.”
“What?”
“Now that you mention it, my body…?”
Ar-on answered nonchalantly to Leo's question, while Ar and Chelsea's eyes widened in surprise.
“I mixed the usage method of modern Howling with the mana flow mages use for buff magic.”
The way beastfolk in the current era used Howling and the way Ar-on used it differed in their application of aura.
The original Howling was Ar-on's unique skill.
Later generations of beastfolk studied and improved upon that Howling to learn it.
In the process, it became very different from the original, and other effects that Ar-on couldn't use emerged.
Ar-on had listened to Ar's vocalization and the characteristics of modern beastfolks' Howling and created a new effect on the spot.
“Y-You can do that?”
“I tried, and it worked.”
“As expected of Lord Ar-on!”
Ar-on smiled at the astonished Chelsea, while Ar's eyes sparkled as she busied herself praising him.
“But Ar, I don't feel any special power from you that would trigger true beastification.”
“I only managed it once, by chance…”
“I see. Then maybe it will manifest if you train your Howling vocalization? There's a special training method for Howling, you know.”
“Ooooh! What is it!”
Ar's eyes lit up.
Ar-on went behind Ar, put his hands under her armpits, and lifted her.
He then carried the bewildered Ar towards the pond.
Ar's face turned slightly pale.
“N-No way?”
“Yep. You just have to fall in the water.”
Whoosh! Splash!
“Wenyaaaaaaah?!”
Letting out a cat-like scream, Ar flailed in the water as Ar-on shouted.
“Shout as loud as you can underwater!”
“Blub blub blub glug glug glug!”
Though Ar hated water, she somehow managed to stick her face in and let out a roar.
“Gahk!”
As Ar, out of breath, lifted her face out of the water to breathe, Ar-on said.
“Get right back in!”
“Nyeh?”
“This is the training method Luna used to help me strengthen my Howling. It's tough, but it's definitely effective. Take the deepest breath you can in a split second.”
“Yes! Huup!”
Ar put her face back in the water.
Blub blub blub!
“Gack!”
Thump!
“Eek!?”
Ar's eyes shot open as she saw Ar-on grab her head and push it into the water.
“I-I couldn't brea... Gack!”
“Breathe if you want to live!”
“Blublublublublub!”
Splash! Splash!
“...Isn't that just water torture?”
“Looks like it.”
“Lord Ar-on, could he be trying to drown that stupid cat because he's scared of her?”
Considering how he had been trembling in fear of Ar earlier, it was a definite possibility.
“I don't think so. He looks like he really hates doing it, doesn't he?”
Despite his cruel actions, Ar-on had a pained expression as he pushed Ar under the water.
It was clear he didn't want to do it but was trying his best for Ar's sake.
‘He's doing the exact same thing Luna did to him.’
That was back when Ar-on was still a teenager.
As a result of the training, Ar-on had perfectly mastered Howling.
Luna's training method had been a great help.
‘Of course, Ar-on came to distrust Luna after that.’
“Will it be effective?”
Leo rested his chin on his hand at Chelsea's dubious question.
“It's training conducted by the Brave Hero himself. It'll probably work.”