Chapter 478
Chapter Title: Fallen Heroes
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478.
[Kyle, the Hero of the Beginning? The Great Hero from the fairy tales?]
Tiar’s eyes widened in a bewildered response.
‘This reaction is a refreshing change.’
It had been a year since the world learned that Kyle, the Hero of the Beginning, had actually existed.
The fact that the fifth Great Hero, once thought to be a fictional character, was real had sent massive shockwaves across the world.
Leo had taken it in stride, as it was only natural for his forgotten self to become known, but others hadn't.
The name Kyle was a hot topic everywhere.
Having grown used to the fuss around him, the bewildered reaction of a 1,000-year-old hero was quite fascinating.
Watching the confused Tiar, Leo stretched his right hand into the air.
*Vwoom-!*
With a resonant hum, a magic staff materialized.
Tiar stared in surprise at the staff in Leo’s hand, which was now radiating magical power.
[Kometes…!]
She, too, had seen Kometes during her time as a student at Seirun.
That was why she recognized at a glance that the staff in Leo's hand was the Hero Weapon used by Seirun.
And Kometes was glowing brightly, as if it had found its true master.
It had never emitted such a brilliant light, not even in the hands of the Tingel family.
“I know it’s not easy to believe that I’m Kyle, the Hero of the Beginning.”
Leo raised his hand.
Aura and spirit power shimmered from it.
[All… Class!]
Tiar gasped in astonishment.
All-Class, a power that existed only in legends, and the brilliant light of Kometes.
[Are you… truly Lord Kyle, the Hero of the Beginning?]
Though she still harbored doubts about him being Kyle, it was clear that the boy before her was no ordinary being.
First, she needed to thank the benefactor who had saved her from the Necro King.
[O great Hero. I offer my sincerest gratitude for saving me from the vile clutches of the Necro King.]
“Right. In that case, would you mind helping me with something?”
[Lord Kyle, you are my savior. I will help in any way I can.]
“Can you explain in detail the situation when you were resurrected as an undead?”
Tiar had died with deep-seated hatred.
And as her consciousness lay dormant for a long time, she said she heard the Necro King's malevolent thoughts.
Her consciousness had strongly resisted the Necro King’s necromancy, which sought to dominate her.
“But an irresistible, immense power seized your consciousness, and you became a vengeful spirit burning with hatred?”
[Yes. The one who first awakened my consciousness was the Grand Duke of Funerals.]
Seeing Tiar grit her teeth with a resentful expression, Leo asked.
“Did you happen to sense the presence of other spirits?”
The basic principles of necromancy were similar to spirit arts.
It traced the remnants of mana to revive and control the consciousness of the dead.
This process was akin to a contract.
Tiar had effectively been in a contractual relationship with the Necro King until now.
If so, she must have sensed the presence of other spirits who had also made contracts with the Necro King.
At Leo’s question, Tiar clenched her fists.
[I felt the presence of countless spirits. Among them were those who radiated particularly powerful energy… heroes.]
Tiar’s shoulders trembled.
Fear was etched on her face.
[Among those commanded by the Necro King, there were some who far surpassed me.]
The Iron-Blooded Sorceress was a mage from the Age of Heroes who was remembered even after 1,000 years, among countless other heroes.
That was proof of how powerful a hero she was.
For there to be heroes strong enough to make her tremble in fear…
‘In the current era… does that mean they’re on par with the Sword Saint?’
The Sword Saint.
A hero so mighty that, had he been born in the right era, he might have challenged the World of Genesis.
His mere existence had been a deterrent to Tartaros.
‘If he hadn't lost his life last year and was still alive, Tartaros probably wouldn't be moving so freely now.’
“Even if he enhanced his authority with Erebos’s power, is that really possible?”
As Leo muttered with a grave expression, Tiar lowered her head.
[Surely… among the heroes, there must be some who willingly accepted the Necro King’s contract.]
“…”
At those words, Leo let out a deep sigh, and Tiar wore an apologetic expression.
She couldn't be certain if the boy before her was truly one of the Great Heroes, Kyle, the Hero of the Beginning.
But what if he really was one of the Great Heroes from 5,000 years ago?
‘Could there be anything more shameful than this?’
The Great Heroes had risked everything to gift the world to future generations.
And yet, the heroes of later generations who were supposed to follow in their footsteps…
Even after death, they were voluntarily cooperating with the Necro King.
They had chosen slavery to prolong their existence as the undead and pursue the greed they held in life.
This was a betrayal of the world.
As a hero who had lived her entire life fueled by hatred, Tiar had witnessed the world's ugliness countless times.
She knew all too well that a dark shadow lay behind the shining world.
That was why, as a hero of a later generation, Tiar dared not meet Leo’s gaze.
Watching Tiar avoid his eyes, her gaze fixed on the ground, Leo spoke.
“I felt this earlier, but you’re far too hard on yourself.”
[Pardon?]
“It doesn't really matter, does it? Whether other people cooperate with the Necro King or not.”
[But…]
“It’s not something you need to feel responsible for.”
Leo reached out and placed his hand on Tiar’s head.
“It’s not like we were trying to create a just world or dreaming of an ideal one. We saved it simply because we wanted to.”
Leo let out a small laugh.
“So it’s ridiculous for you, a member of a later generation, to be walking on eggshells around me because of what other people did.”
[…Lord Kyle.]
“They say spirits who become heroic spirits have a lingering regret or two in their hearts.”
Leo recalled Tiar apologizing to Luna just a moment ago.
“Sorry, but I took a little peek into your life.”
Tiar never regretted the path she had chosen and walked.
She was ostracized by her own kind, gained nothing, and ultimately lived a life of loss.
Though she lived without ever letting go of her hatred.
She did not consider that a lingering regret.
“Being that stubborn is practically an illness. Luna is the type of person who wouldn't think it's disrespectful no matter how you create star magic. She's not that delicate. That girl… she's a simple fool.”
Tiar gritted her teeth.
Seeing Tiar’s face, which looked as if she were about to cry, Leo said.
“So you don't have to apologize. And as for that monster queen, Luna and I subjugated her. So.”
Leo patted Tiar’s shoulder.
“Rest in peace. Whatever your intentions were for fighting, you too contributed to the peace of the world.”
[Thank you.]
Tiar’s form, bowing her head with trembling shoulders, soon vanished.
Watching Tiar’s spirit dissipate like motes of starlight, Elsie, who had been observing the situation, spoke.
[Leo, you understood her well.]
“Maybe it’s because we’re in a similar situation?”
[A similar situation?]
“I can understand, just a little, how it feels not to be able to find rest.”
Leo, speaking nonchalantly, fell into thought.
‘Tiar succumbed to the Necro King’s power, became corrupted, and turned into a spirit.’
And purifying such corrupted spirits into heroic spirits was one of Lisinas’s specialties.
‘I’m not as good as Lisinas, but I’ve become able to vaguely use his spirit arts.’
Leo looked down at his hand.
He recalled the mana from a moment ago, which had seemed to possess a will of its own.
“Hey, if you’re listening, answer me.”
Despite Leo’s call, Lisinas’s mana remained silent.
At that, Leo gave a bitter smile.
The process of soothing a heroic spirit’s lingering regrets is called ascension.
And an ascended heroic spirit never appears again.
‘…When I first met Lisinas in the World of Heroes, She summoned the heroic spirit of her final moments.’
In that process, Lisinas himself must have ascended.
No, perhaps that meeting was a miracle that could only happen in the World of Heroes in the first place.
After all, the Lisinas of the past had summoned his future self.
‘I’m not Lisinas.’
In the first place, summoning a person from 5,000 years ago as a heroic spirit might be impossible without the authority of a god.
The reaction of Lisinas’s mana just now was likely due to the nature imbued within the mana.
It was closer to a sentiment of wanting to save a pitiful spirit resisting a malevolent will, not an actual consciousness.
Still, he had asked, just in case.
‘…Would it kill you to have a little more lingering regret?’
Clenching his fist and shaking off the thought, Leo began to walk.
‘The Necro King now commands powerful spirits. They’re probably people who couldn’t let go of their desires from when they were alive.’
Not all heroes were saints; some could be twisted.
The Justice Guild had proven that sufficiently.
‘Among them, there might be some who could have shouldered an era.’
Leo’s expression darkened.
[Leo, is something worrying you?]
At Elsie’s question, Leo let out a deep sigh.
“It’s just that I might run into someone I know.”
[Someone you know?]
Elsie looked bewildered.
Leo looked up at the clear sky, thinking of someone.
‘Vihar.’
Vihar came from an orphanage created for the purpose of acquiring powerful undead.
For that reason, She had harbored an endless hatred for the Necro King.
The Age of Calamity ended.
The world was saved, but Vihar’s heart likely was not.
‘As long as that Necro King was alive, She would never have stopped.’
He would have lived in the shadows, pursuing the Necro King his entire life.
Leo imagined the worst-case scenario.
‘What if the Necro King’s authority has grown even more powerful?’
A fragment of Erebos, no less.
It was impossible to know how much stronger the Necro King, who wielded a fragment of Erebos, had become.
‘What if that bastard has gained the power to corrupt Vihar and turn him into a spirit, and finds Vihar’s grave?’
This world might turn the strongest shadow in history into an enemy.
Vihar was, after all, someone whom the past Lisinas had acknowledged as a worthy successor.
‘He probably reached a level comparable to the Heroes of Genesis before he passed away.’
Imagining the worst, Leo sighed deeply.
‘No, I have to believe.’
*Step. Step.*
‘He’s the one I entrusted the future to. There’s no way he’d be swayed by the likes of the Necro King.’
Composing himself, Leo moved forward.
‘What’s important now are that bastard Artkan and the undead resurrected by the Necro King.’
“...All the heroes from our guild who went to subjugate the undead in various places were annihilated?”
Jerome asked with a look of surprise.
“Yes.”
“Hmm. As expected, those who earned their hero title through their own strength are different. I suppose there’s a limit to what you can do even if you turn a dropout who couldn’t even graduate from a hero academy into a hero.”
“What should we do now?”
Vice Guild Master Chain asked with a blank expression.
“What about Leo Flove?”
“We cannot confirm his location.”
“You can’t find him even with your Clairvoyance?”
“No. He’s blocked it.”
“Hah.”
Jerome was impressed.
“I’m truly curious about the source of that endless potential.”
“He must be the chosen, true hero you speak of.”
At Chain’s words, Jerome rose from his seat.
“For now, let’s focus on subjugating the heroic undead that have appeared in various places…”
“No.”
“Pardon?”
“If the Pawns don’t work, send the Rooks, Knights, and Bishops this time. If that doesn’t work, send the Queens.”
“Master Jerome. Aren’t you being overly obsessed with Leo Flove?”
“I believe he’s worth it. I have a good idea of his disposition. He’s not the type to ever join us.”
Jerome clicked his tongue.
“In that case, it’s best to crush him before he gets any stronger. He won’t be able to do anything alone, anyway.”
***
[By the way, Leo.]
“What?”
[Is it okay to just leave those guys from the Justice Guild or whatever they’re called alone?]
[Peep.]
Piora chirped in agreement with Kiruan’s words.
But Leo was indifferent.
Faced with a much larger problem now, the threat from the Justice Guild felt trivial.
“They don’t seem like a major threat right now, so I’ll just wipe them out later.”