Chapter 508
Chapter Title: Heroes of Today
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508.
At the sudden appearance of the Legion Commander, Lunia’s face hardened.
Eljenie, the Queen of Blood.
She was one of the terrifying beings that made the world tremble in fear.
‘A Legion Commander in a situation like this!’
Lunia bit her lip.
The nightmare of last year resurfaced.
The massive invasion of the monster queen, Silatuna.
And on top of that, the appearance of a Legion Commander who had been defeated by the Great Heroes in the distant past.
The despair she had felt then washed over her again.
If the Great Heroes hadn't been there, Seirun would have fallen.
While Lunia’s expression was grim,
Luna tilted her head.
“A Legion Commander? You?”
A question arose in Luna’s eyes.
“I can tell you’re a powerful demon, but you’re calling yourself a Legion Commander with just this much power?”
“What?”
For a moment, Eljenie’s face stiffened.
Lunia also turned to Luna with a dazed expression.
“Lunia, is that really a Legion Commander?”
Seeing Luna ask with a voice full of disbelief, Lunia answered in a daze.
“Yes, Eljenie, the Queen of Blood. She is definitely a Legion Commander.”
“Hmm.”
Luna, with her arms crossed, tilted her head slightly and muttered.
“Are Legion Commanders these days of a lower standard…?”
“Argh! What is this elf wench spouting!”
Sparks flew from Eljenie’s eyes.
*Gwoooooo-!*
A colossal dark magic swirled.
*Flash-! Fwoosh-!*
Crimson flames engulfed Luna.
“Lady Luna!”
Startled, Lunia called out to Luna.
*Fwaaah-!*
In that instant, the crimson flames gathered into a ball on Luna’s palm.
Seeing this, Eljenie’s face hardened.
Luna rolled the flame around on her palm before smiling faintly and tossing it back at Eljenie.
“I don’t need it, so you can have it back.”
*Fwaah-!*
The flame was reabsorbed into the area around her.
“You… what in the world are you?”
Looking at Eljenie, who asked with wary eyes, Luna curled her lips into a smirk.
“Luna, the Progenitor of the Nebula.”
“Are you some insane elf?”
“You run your mouth freely just because you have one.”
Luna’s lips curled up.
“Did that monster queen, that damn abomination, teach you to talk like that?”
*Gwoooooo-!*
Magic surged from Luna’s hand.
*Flash-!*
Eljenie’s eyes filled with horror.
*Kwa-ga-ga-gang-!*
A pillar of light poured down from the sky.
‘Magic of this magnitude in an instant…!’
A shiver ran down her entire body.
In that moment, a certain human flashed through Eljenie’s mind.
‘Leo Flove… the reincarnation of Kyle, the Surviving Hero…!’
The elf before her overlapped with the human who possessed such terrifying power.
“Ahh… right… so that’s what it was.”
Eljenie’s eyes rolled back.
“Yes… you bitch… you really are Luna, the Progenitor of the Nebula…!”
Eljenie’s body trembled violently.
The moment she saw that, Luna narrowed her eyes.
“That is…”
“What on earth is happening?”
Lunia hurriedly ran to Luna’s side.
“It’s a kind of divine possession, you could say.”
“Divine possession?”
“Yes. She’s receiving a blessing from their god, Erebos. It has a strengthening effect on demons.”
“B-but the Primordial Evil is supposed to be sealed…”
“It’s a kind of lingering will, you see.”
Luna recalled the story she had heard from Leo.
‘He said Erebos holds a powerful grudge against Kyle, right? Then it must be the same for me.’
“I was certainly killed by Erebos. But I absolutely did not go down easy.”
The wound Luna inflicted on Erebos as she was dying.
That wound was what allowed Leo to achieve victory over Erebos.
‘His grudge against me must be immense.’
The grudge held by Erebos was now manifesting through the Legion Commander before them.
“This is perfect. Shall I vent some frustration from 5,000 years ago?”
A chilling killing intent emanated from Luna’s body.
Watching her, Lunia drew a sharp breath.
‘She’s completely different from Leo or Sir Ar-on.’
The presence Leo emitted was a fierce one, as if he would tear his opponents to shreds.
Ar-on exuded a sharp presence, as if one could be cut down at any moment.
In contrast, Luna’s presence was one that seemed like it would destroy everything that stood in her way.
As Lunia gazed at Luna’s back, she unconsciously reached out her hand.
*Tug-*
“Hm? What is it, Lunia?”
Seeing Lunia grabbing the hem of her clothes, Luna wore a puzzled expression.
“Last time… Sir Ar-on… he used an immense amount of power and disappeared.”
At Lunia’s words, Luna’s eyes widened slightly.
“When you defeated the monster queen, you also used Terminus and disappeared, Lady Luna… It’s the same situation as back then, isn’t it?”
Lunia becoming the student council president of Seirun in her second year wasn't just because she was powerful.
Though she had a rough personality, she was fundamentally a wise honor student with leadership qualities.
It wasn't difficult for the insightful Lunia to grasp Luna’s situation.
That was why she felt it instinctively.
‘If Lady Luna uses her power… she will disappear.’
There was no way a miracle like a Great Hero staying in the present world would come without a price.
Unlike last time, Luna was currently staying in the mortal world not through the power of the Hero Record, but through a spiritual contract with Leo.
But the foundation of that spiritual contract was Luna’s magic, which resided in Cometes.
If that magic was depleted, Luna would no longer be able to remain in this world as a spiritual entity.
This was true whether Luna had lingering attachments to the current world or not.
“Yes, you’re right.”
“I… I want you to stay in this world a little longer, Lady Luna.”
Lunia said in a trembling voice.
“I want to learn more from you, and I want to be with you longer.”
Lunia clenched her teeth.
“I want you to enjoy this peace that you helped create for just a little longer.”
“…”
Luna’s eyes wavered.
The young elf’s words shook her heart.
It was something Luna herself wanted more than anything.
“But if we don’t stop that thing now, many people will die.”
Luna said, looking at Eljenie, who was emitting an unusual aura.
“You don’t have to worry about that.”
Lunia said forcefully.
“Because heroes exist in this era, too.”
*Fwoong-! Kwaaaaaak-!*
“Hyaaaap!”
The greatsword swung by a dwarf warrior split the crimson flames.
“Aqua Wall.”
*Swaaaaaah-!*
The magic cast by a human mage protected people from the flames that threatened to turn the surroundings to ash.
“Spirits of the wind, take the people to a safe place.”
A beastkin spirit master summoned countless spirits to evacuate the unconscious to safety.
Luna recognized them at a glance.
They were all heroes whose names were recorded in the Hero Record.
Lunia extended her hand.
“Lenea.”
A beautiful phoenix emerged with a fierce blaze.
*Fwaaah-!*
Lunia’s hair transformed into white flames.
Seeing this, Luna’s mouth fell slightly open.
‘The first time I saw this child… was about a year ago from now, wasn't it?’
Back then, they had joined forces to defeat a fragment of Erebos.
She also remembered how Lunia had struggled while fighting Jerdiac.
‘I knew she had grown stronger compared to back then, but I never imagined she would have grown this much.’
“Don’t worry.”
Lunia said powerfully.
“Please believe in us. We may be lacking… but we are the ones who follow in the footsteps of you and the other Great Heroes.”
Lunia approached Eljenie.
“Lady Luna, please watch from over there.”
Countless people were currently in Lumeria City for the Twilight Festival.
Among them were many heroes whose names were in the Hero Record.
Luna’s eyes wavered.
“Can I… trust you with this?”
“Of course! Please watch from a safe place, Lady Luna!”
Lunia, smiling brightly, ran forward and shouted.
“I am Lunia El Lundua of Seirun! That demon is the Legion Commander of Blood! Eljenie!”
“How dare she invade Lumeria City during the Twilight Festival!”
A human knight hero exclaimed in anger.
More and more heroes gathered to stop Eljenie.
It was then.
“Fellow kin, stand back. This place is dangerous!”
Elven swordmasters guided Luna to the rear.
“This is no place for you!”
Thinking Luna was a civilian, they quickly evacuated her with the others.
“Ah…”
It wasn't just the heroes.
Countless people were trying to protect others.
As Luna retreated from the battlefield, she muttered to herself.
‘It’s okay to leave it to them, right?’
Luna’s eyes wavered.
‘It’s okay… to stay in this era a little longer, right?’
Luna bit her lip.
‘Is it okay to enjoy this happiness a little longer?’
***
*Gwoooooo-!*
Lumerne, located in the middle of the great Lake Lumeria.
A massive, gloomy dark cloud was gathering in the sky above it.
*Kra-rumble-!*
An ominous clap of thunder echoed.
Students who were about to head to Lumeria City for the Twilight Festival after class ended rushed out of the buildings, murmuring amongst themselves.
“What… what is this?”
Karl muttered in a daze.
Beside him, Eiran spoke in a slightly frightened voice.
“It’s like… during the Seirun Exchange last year.”
As she spoke, shrinking back, the faces of those around her hardened.
“It’s the Curse of Severance.”
“Gasp! Ms. Mel?!”
Karl was startled.
During the summer vacation, while subjugating one of Erebos’s fragments, Karl and Chelsea had realized that Mel was Melina.
Mel gave Karl a faint smile and then said,
“This aura… it seems to be the Necro King.”
“The, the Necro King!”
At the mention of the name of Tartaros’s de facto ruler, Karl let out a cry of shock.
‘I heard from Leo that the Necro King’s power has grown, but…’
*Flash-! Thud-!*
Just then, something fell from the sky.
Three people landed on the ground.
“Wh-what?”
“Who are those people!”
The students who had gathered around wore bewildered expressions.
But the aura they emitted made everyone’s complexion change.
“Undead?”
As all the students radiated hostility, the three calmly walked up to someone.
“It has been a long time, Dragon Lord.”
At the words of the man in the center, everyone looked at Mel in shock.
“What did he just say?”
“Ms. Mel is what?”
Looking at the person who had exposed her identity, Mel let out a deep sigh.
“It has been a while, Sir Metellar.”
“Metellar? Wait a minute! Isn’t Metellar the one who served as Lumerne’s headmaster?!”
“I’ve definitely seen that face in a portrait…!”
At the appearance of a hero from several generations ago, everyone’s eyes widened.
But as the powerful deathly energy emanated from his body, their faces gradually hardened.
It wasn't just Metellar.
The others standing beside him were also famous heroes who had their names recorded in the Hero Record several generations ago.
As everyone wore expressions of shock, Mel spoke.
“Were you all that resentful?”
Mel spoke with a blank expression.
“That you couldn’t challenge the World of Genesis.”
At Mel’s words, the faces of the three heroes, revived as undead, contorted.
“We wanted to ask you. Why did you not choose us!”
At Metellar’s words, Mel burst into laughter.
“I didn’t not choose you. I was merely protecting you. I couldn’t send heroes who had achieved great deeds to their deaths.”
“Surpass your limits. That is the teaching of Lumerne. We were only trying to follow it.”
“Back then, I thought it was reckless courage. But now I see. It was nothing more than vanity, blinded by honor.”
There was a time when Mel had selected the heroes before her as candidates to challenge the World of Genesis together.
But the heroes before her had not grown enough to challenge it.
Yet they had hoped to, and Mel ultimately refused.
And… that became a grudge, leading them to contract with the Necro King.
A look of disgust filled Mel’s eyes.
“To think you’d choose to become the Necro King’s slave while discussing Lord Lumerne’s teachings… don’t you think your words and actions don’t quite match up?”
“It is because of you.”
Hatred filled Metellar’s face.
“Because you, who did not make a just choice! It is all because of you!”
As he charged, consumed by rage, Mel swung her palm.
A massive wave of magic sent Metellar flying.
*Kwa-ga-ga-gang-!*
Metellar crashed into a nearby building.
With that as a start, countless undead began to emerge from the ground.
In response, the students of Lumerne assumed combat stances.
Mel looked up at the sky and narrowed her eyes.
“So you want to have a go, is that it, Necro King?”
***
Leo opened his eyes.
‘Inside the Mirror Queen’s illusion.’
It was a street in Lumeria City.
But Leo knew this place was an illusion.
Just as Leo was clenching and unclenching his fist,
“Kyle.”
Hearing a voice from behind, Leo turned his head.
“Lisinas?”
Leo’s brow furrowed at the familiar face.
In the Mirror Queen’s previous illusion, he had fought against Lisinas.
Just as Leo tensed up,
“How is it? The feeling of having saved the world twice?”
“What?”
Looking at Lisinas, who was smiling brightly as he asked, Leo wore a bewildered expression.