Chapter 452
Chapter Title: Desperate Measures
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Hypersense.
It was a power Ar-on had possessed since birth, one that allowed him to know things others could not.
Thanks to it, when Ar-on activated his Hypersense, he could wield a power that bordered on foresight.
But there was a secret about this power that Ar-on had never even told his friends.
‘I hate this power.’
To be precise, he feared it.
Knowing what others did not was more painful than one might imagine.
Especially during the Age of Calamity.
From the moment he was born, he had instinctively felt the terror of the disaster that engulfed the world.
His tendency to be easily startled and frightened was also a result of his childhood experiences.
The events of that time had become a trauma, and he had never once used his Hypersense to its absolute limit.
Only after meeting his master, training, and learning to control his Hypersense to some extent was Ar-on able to escape that fear.
But as Ar-on grew stronger, his Hypersense grew sharper.
It reached a point where he could foresee the immediate future in battle.
And just before the final battle began.
Ar-on had been forced to witness the deaths of Kyle and Luna.
‘I hated it.’
Seeing the future.
‘I was terrified.’
That the future might be their failure.
But he had to find a way for Kyle and Luna to live, no matter what.
The path he found was his own death.
To others, it might have looked like a noble sacrifice to save his friends.
‘But I was just being selfish, leaning on my brother and sister… on people who were like family.’
Ar-on gritted his teeth.
‘I was just a coward who trusted them and chose the easy way out.’
And then he had felt a selfish sense of relief upon seeing the saved future.
Without even realizing that Leo was still shouldering his burden, he had prattled on about finding what he wanted to do now that the world was saved.
‘Just as I was tormented by the thought of Kyle dying, Kyle must have been tormented by my death!’
He despised himself for only now realizing that fact.
He had desperately tried to change the future, opening his Hypersense to see what was to come.
Now, that Hypersense was gone.
Or rather, it was more accurate to say it had been dulled.
Sight, smell, hearing, touch, taste.
His keenly honed senses still provided him with a flood of information.
But his combat sense, the one that bordered on foresight, was lost.
An overload from excessive use.
It was the result of using his Hypersense too much after listening to Erebos.
Despite his desperate struggle to see the future, he had failed.
‘Maybe… it’s because I’m a fake.’
Ar-on gritted his teeth.
The god had died long ago.
The person standing here was merely a record in the Hero Record.
*Fwoosh-!*
Ar-on burst through the black flames.
He rushed at Erebos with a ferocious expression and swung his sword.
“Hah!”
*CRACK-!*
The golden aura slashed Erebos’s body.
-Do you think you can cut me with such a dull blade!
Erebos roared, swatting Ar-on away with his hand.
*Thwack-!*
“Kegh?!”
With his Hypersense limited, he had failed to anticipate Erebos’s movement.
The direct hit sent a tremendous shock through his entire body.
A simple physical attack.
But it contained the power to crush his body and mind and destroy his soul.
*Whoosh! Craash-!*
Sent flying by Erebos’s attack, Ar-on crashed into the ground.
Leo rushed to his side in a panic.
“Ar-on!”
*Rumble! Patter-!*
The dust and rock fragments that had shot into the air from Ar-on’s impact rained back down.
*Shhhk-!*
Pushing himself up, Ar-on spoke.
“Kyle. Get Innocent ready.”
“Are you okay? You don’t look so good.”
“I’m fine.”
Ar-on glared at Erebos.
“Trust me. I won’t be a burden anymore!”
“What? Hey! Ar-on!”
“Graaaaaaaah!”
Leaving Leo’s urgent call behind him, Ar-on let out a howl as if to steel himself.
With eyes blazing, Ar-on readjusted his grip on his sword and charged.
“That idiot!”
Leo ground his teeth as he watched him go.
“Why would Lord Ar-on say such a thing?”
Melina asked, her expression bewildered.
“Erebos’s words got to him. Ar-on is the type to get discouraged easily.”
Leo knew all too well that his friend, whom he considered a younger brother, was too gentle and kind.
“Will he be all right?”
Melina’s eyes trembled.
Leo took a deep breath in response to her question.
“He’ll be fine.”
Leo stared at Ar-on’s retreating back.
“Ar-on is the one who’s faced the most despair among us. That also means he’s the one who’s overcome the most trials.”
There wasn’t a hint of doubt in Leo’s voice.
“Ar-on isn’t the kind of guy who’ll break just because of some stupid words.”
With absolute trust, Leo said.
“Melina, you go deal with the monsters.”
“Yes!”
***
Watching the endless wave of monsters, the hero candidates defending the castle paled.
“There are too many!”
“There are even more than the Demon Queen’s legion last year!”
Anxious voices arose from among the Lumerne and Seirun students.
Seeing them, Lis, who was wreathed in an aura of flame, shouted.
“Don’t be scared of the numbers! There might be more of them compared to the Demon Queen’s legion, but each one is weaker!”
As Lis finished his cry, the party members who had been fighting Erebos arrived from the sky.
“I’ll help! Wiping out a horde of enemies is my specialty.”
Torua said with a grin.
“Magic Department, assemble! Prepare for a joint spell!”
At his command, the first and second-year magic students moved in perfect unison.
“Seirun, fall in!”
Liennia commanded the Seirun students.
“Knight Department, join the Azonia and Demian students and stop the monsters climbing the walls!”
As Jamua took the lead, Ar stood beside him and raised a fist.
“We can’t show a disgraceful side of ourselves in front of Lord Ar-on! Azonia students, forward!”
“You! Insolent cat! I’m the one in command here, you know?!”
“Gyaaaah!”
Vanir caught Ar’s neck in a headlock.
Ulta gathered the summoners and distributed them evenly between the knights and mages.
Meanwhile, Karl, who had climbed onto the castle wall, swallowed hard.
“They might not be as strong as the Demon Queen’s legion… but this is still way too many.”
Last time, the Demon Queen’s army had been strong, but their own forces had been formidable as well.
Heroes of both humans and elves had been gathered, along with the hero candidates of Lumerne and Seirun.
Not to mention the great figures who had defined an era.
Compared to that, their current forces consisted entirely of hero candidates.
At Karl’s mumble, Chelsea tightened her grip on her staff.
“It’s okay.”
Karl and Chelsea weren’t suited for joint magic, so they had been tasked with holding the walls against the monsters.
“We have the Dragon Lord, don’t we?”
As she said that, a colossal amount of mana stirred in the sky.
Around Melina, her original silver mana swirled together with the black mana she had inherited from Lisinas.
*Thump- thump-*
Melina’s Dragon Heart beat rapidly, spewing forth mana.
The space around her began to distort.
Seeing this, Chelsea gulped.
“Melina, the Silent Dragon… people have forgotten because she hasn’t shown herself in so long, but… she is the one who challenged the World of Genesis. Even if she ultimately failed.”
*Crackle-!*
The space around Melina distorted further, beginning to crack.
“She’s considered one of the most powerful Dragon Lords in the history of the Hero’s Age.”
As Chelsea finished speaking, Melina whispered.
“Silence.”
The creations of Erebos, which had been charging the castle walls with triumphant vigor, froze in an instant.
The monsters, stopped in their tracks, looked at each other with confused expressions.
Then, one by one, they began to turn into white dust and disappear.
It was, quite literally, a breathtaking sight.
A force on the level of Tartaros’s legion was silently annihilated by a single spell.
Everyone who saw it stared at Melina with eyes full of wonder.
Melina landed on the castle wall.
It happened to be where Karl and Chelsea were standing.
Her veil fluttered in the wind.
“Everyone. Do not be afraid.”
Melina said, her voice firm.
“As long as I am here, the walls will not fall.”
At her words, the hero candidates raised their weapons and let out a cheer.
“Waaaaaaaaaah!”
“The Dragon Lord!”
Melina’s overwhelming presence instantly boosted their morale.
“Wow… she’s like a goddess.”
“Thank you, Karl.”
Hearing Karl’s murmur, Melina smiled sweetly and gave a nod.
For a moment, her face was faintly visible beneath the veil.
Seeing it, Karl flinched.
A vaguely familiar face.
Her apparent age was clearly different.
But her aura perfectly matched someone Karl knew.
With a look of disbelief, Karl asked.
“Ms. Mel?”
Beside him, Chelsea’s eyes widened as she looked at Karl.
At Karl’s reaction, Melina placed a finger to her lips and made a small sound.
“Shh-!”
At her gesture, Karl and Chelsea instinctively mimicked her.
All the while, the monster legion continued to be summoned endlessly.
Just as Melina and the hero candidates prepared to act.
*Whoooooooosh-! Craaaaaash!*
Something flew through the air and crashed into the castle wall.
Everyone flinched and stared at the collapsed section.
*Crumble-!*
From the rubble, Ar-on pushed himself up.
“Dammit!”
Ar-on displayed an uncharacteristic burst of passion.
The sword he had been holding had melted away without a trace.
A menacing glint flickered in Ar-on’s eyes.
Everyone flinched and backed away from his aura.
With a contorted face, Ar-on glared in the direction he had flown from.
There stood Erebos, who had been mangled beyond recognition by Ar-on.
Erebos’s body twitched and soon returned to its original form.
Ar-on tossed aside his completely useless sword and unconsciously pulled another from the subspace bracelet Luna had made for him.
Then he froze.
He gritted his teeth and stared at the sword in his hand.
It was the broken Brave.
“A sword like this won’t do!”
*Clang-!*
Ar-on violently threw Brave to the ground.
His gentle and simple demeanor was nowhere to be seen.
Ar-on’s face looked somehow savage and impatient.
“L-Lord Ar-on…”
Ar’s face turned pale at the sight of an Ar-on so different from the one she knew.
“Don’t worry. Just wait.”
*Wooooom-!*
A golden aura shimmered around Ar-on’s body.
“I’ll take care of that thing.”
His voice was filled with a ferocious energy.
This was the Ar-on that Ar had known before entering Azonia.
A beast on the battlefield.
A warrior who fought against enemies without yielding, even in the most desperate situations.
The Brave Hero Ar-on, a man of overwhelming martial prowess.
“W-wait! Lord Ar-on!”
Ar called out urgently, but Ar-on kicked off the ground and charged straight toward the regenerated Erebos.
He held no sword.
But as Ar-on flew at Erebos with imperceptible speed and threw a punch, Erebos’s massive body was launched into the sky.
“Incredible…!”
Bormann exclaimed in admiration.
“I suppose that is the Brave Hero’s true form.”
Lwen murmured in awe.
“No…”
Ar gritted her teeth.
“What?”
“That’s not Lord Ar-on’s true self!”