Chapter 512
Chapter Title: The Destroyer King
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Flash—
A beautiful and brilliant magic circle embroidered across the sky.
But contrary to its beautiful appearance, the magic it manifested was nothing short of terrifying.
The bright light of the dawn starlight captivated people's eyes.
KRA-KOOM—!
A raging storm of magical power.
And the mages who recognized the spell widened their eyes.
“Annihilation?”
“To cast this spell in an instant, without any sign…!”
“Who in the world is it!”
The Star Magic, Annihilation.
In the magic of this era, no.
A spell that has firmly held the title of the 'strongest' since 5,000 years ago, during the Age of Calamity.
It is renowned as the ultimate form of Star Magic and a spell synonymous with Luna herself.
And it was also famous for a difficulty of use that was nigh impossible, proportional to its power.
After Seirun redefined Star Magic and passed it down to later generations.
The users of Annihilation, generation after generation, made their names as the greatest mages.
Whenever the chant for Annihilation began, a vibration of magical power that seemed to make the very atmosphere boil could always be felt.
But now, there was nothing of the sort.
The mages couldn't help but be astonished by the spell, which was cast at high speed as if it were a simple activation-formula magic.
Lunia's eyes widened.
‘She just performed a high-speed chant, that's all.’
She constructed the formula and completed the spell in an instant.
High-speed chanting, something every mage practices.
It was the most common of common basics, but the fact that the spell completed this way was 'Annihilation' was what made it so marvelous.
Lunia gritted her teeth and watched Luna.
Whoooosh—!
Meanwhile, a dark reddish miasma poured out from the spot swept by Annihilation.
Everyone swallowed hard.
A sense of fear and pressure on a different level from Eljenie could be felt.
“That is… the Necromancer King.”
Overwhelmed by the aura of death that dominated the area, a hero muttered, swallowing dryly.
The true ruler of Tartaros.
Master of the Undead Legion.
He was, quite literally, the worst calamity in existence.
Everyone grew terrified.
Thud—
As the Necromancer King took a step forward, the heroes unconsciously took a step back.
His single step caused the surroundings to corrode.
He wasn't threatening them with power, nor was he encroaching upon the area.
The mere existence of the Necromancer King was driving the surrounding space toward death.
Thud—
Once again, as the Necromancer King took a step, the heroes who were forming a line retreated.
Only a single elf remained, arms crossed, tilting her head askew.
“Who is that? That elf.”
“How can she be perfectly fine?”
As everyone wore bewildered expressions.
“Sister, you called that pretty lady Lady Luna. Is she really Lady Luna?”
Lu, who was being protected by Lunia, asked with a curious face.
In the suffocating situation, the sudden, innocent question of a child caused people to start murmuring.
“Lady Luna?”
“Could it be…?”
Everyone stared wide-eyed at Luna's back.
The recent series of miraculous events.
In such a situation, could it be possible that the Progenitor of the Nebula had descended once more to save the world, just like last time?
But they couldn't rashly believe the child's words.
It was then, as everyone watched Luna's back with tense expressions.
“Meeting again after 5,000 years, it truly brings back memories.”
The one who broke the silence was none other than the Necromancer King.
“Luna Rubinance.”
“Gasp!”
“What did the Necromancer King just say…!”
Voices filled with shock erupted from among the heroes.
“Ahhh! It was truly Lady Luna!”
“O, great Progenitor of the Nebula!”
“You have come again to save us!”
“To descend twice…!”
“O, greatest of the Great Heroes!”
The elves knelt, offering prayers toward Luna's back with eyes full of reverence.
Among them were elves steeped in pure-blood ideology.
“You have truly been resurrected in this world again!”
At that moment, hearing the emotional murmur of an elf, Luna's ears, which had been trying hard to ignore them, twitched.
After flicking her ears a few times, Luna lowered her head.
“Hoo.”
And after taking a deep breath, Luna extended her palm toward the Necromancer King.
Whoosh—!
The powerful gust of wind that blew in that moment struck the Necromancer King and Eljenie, who was burning beside him.
KRA-KOOM—!
The two legion commanders were swept away by Luna's magic, sent flying straight into the walls of Lumeria City.
Rumble—!
From where they stood, everything, including the buildings, was swept away all the way to the city wall.
Since everyone had evacuated, there were no casualties.
“Ooooh!”
Everyone let out a cry of admiration.
It was, quite literally, a phenomenal spell.
“The legion commanders couldn't even resist!”
“As expected of Lady Luna!”
“O, Progenitor of the Nebula!”
Some elves were busy praising Luna as if they were believers who had met their god.
Swoosh—
Luna turned her body toward those elves.
People's gazes were drawn to Luna's appearance, which even Dweno had praised.
Once the perception-distorting magic was dispelled, her overwhelming presence revealed itself.
Forgetting the situation, those who saw Luna let out gasps of admiration at her real-life beauty, which portraits could never capture.
Luna smiled sweetly.
“Ahh!”
“O, Progenitor of the Nebula!”
The elves became even more fervent in their praise for Luna.
Tap—
Luna took a step toward them.
As Luna approached, the elves' praise grew louder.
Tap— Tap— Taptaptaptatatatatatak—!
Luna's slow steps gradually quickened until she broke into a full sprint.
Whoosh—!
Leaping into the air, Luna planted a dropkick squarely in the face of the elf at the very front who had been muttering about ‘resurrection.’
“Keoheok!”
“Aargh! Resurrection? Resurrectioooon? I’m already pissed off as it is, and now you’re mocking me! You dog-eared bastard!”
Seeing the Progenitor of the Nebula spewing the worst of all elven slurs while dishing out terrifying verbal and physical abuse, everyone’s face froze.
They couldn't tell if this situation was a dream or reality.
The Progenitor of the Nebula, who for the past several thousand years had been known to possess a benevolent personality,
was now brutally stomping on an elf who had been praising her, using harsh words and kicks.
“And! You! You, get over here.”
“Huh-huh? Kyaaaaaaak?!”
Luna grabbed the hair of a female elf frozen beside her and yanked.
“I didn’t come here to save you, you know? I just came! You guys take care of your own messes! I passed down Star Magic, didn't I? My cute junior Seirun even kindly broke it down for you, and that kid Ren from Lumerne even turned it into magic everyone could learn! Your era is your responsibility! What are you all so happy about, thinking I came to help! Uwoooooooooh!”
Luna, having lost her temper, screamed and cursed as she kicked the pure-blood elves.
It was then that everyone was stunned by Luna's true nature, which far surpassed their imagination.
“La-Lady Luna! Please calm down! Please calm down!”
“Uwaaaaaaaaaah!”
Lunia, horrified, grabbed Luna to calm her down, while Lu burst into tears at the terrifying sight.
Rumble-rumble-rumble! Fwooooosh—!
Just then, a pillar of black flame erupted from one of Lumeria's city walls.
Luna, who had been on a rampage, glanced that way with a crooked look, then snorted and straightened her clothes.
“Alright, then. Shall we go mess up that damn bag of bones and that kindling?”
Having devastated the pure-blood elves, Luna stepped forward.
At that moment, the other heroes hurriedly stepped up.
“Lady Luna! We will help too!”
“Please leave the front lines to us!”
Looking at them, Luna shook her head.
“No, leave those things to me. You guys take care of those two's legion.”
“B-but….”
“For you, a mage, Lady Luna, to fight two legion commanders alone is….”
“Don't worry.”
Crack—
Luna cracked her knuckles and grinned.
Whooooom—!
“It's not a situation where I can control the power of my magic, anyway.”
Luna smiled brightly.
“You'll be in big trouble if you get caught up in it.”
Feeling the magical power around Luna, the heroes swallowed dryly.
“Lu.”
“Yes.”
Lu, who had stopped crying, answered with a sniffle.
Lu was now with her mother.
Luna approached Lu, booped her on the nose with her finger, and said,
“You can't become a stupid elf like them, okay?”
“A stupid elf?”
“Yep. You're not great just because you're an elf.”
Luna smiled radiantly.
“You're great because you've done great things. Like your mom.”
“Ahh… Lady Luna.”
Lu's mother wore a touched expression.
Giving her a wink, Luna walked away.
Having shaken off all lingering attachments, Luna was unstoppable.
“Lunia, I'm going to teach you how I fight now.”
“Yes!”
Lunia wore a tense expression.
“The first lesson in this Lady Luna's combat lecture.”
Luna crossed her arms.
“Create a signature finishing move.”
“A-a finishing move?”
“Yep. In my case, that's Annihilation.”
Luna's reason for creating Annihilation was extremely simple.
She just needed a spell with the power of an incredibly strong finishing move.
“Second. If there's an opponent you really want to kill, don't worry about collateral damage. Use every single spell with killing intent.”
Lunia looked dumbfounded.
Smiling brightly, Luna waved her hand.
Flash— Pzzzzzzzt!
With a sound of resonating magic, five spells were embroidered in the empty air.
Spells completed in an instant.
Everyone who saw it widened their eyes.
“Those formulas… Annihilation?”
“Five formulas for Annihilation in an instant…!”
Everyone was aghast as five of the tremendous spells—each one capable of changing the tide of a battlefield—unfurled.
Luna's body floated gently into the air.
“Well then, shall we begin?”
Her lips curling into a smile, Luna unleashed the magic.
In the direction where the Necromancer King and Eljenie had been sent flying, the Annihilation spells caused a massive explosion.
KRA-BOOM—!
With no need to worry about casualties, Luna was unrestrained.
The clash of a Great Hero and the legion commanders.
It was a tremendous battle that could potentially destroy all of Lumeria City.
Of course, the main culprit causing the destruction was none other than Luna.
‘Who cares? The world became peaceful because of me, so they won't say anything if I destroy a city or two.’
Luna ignored her conscience.
For reference, just as Kyle and Lisinas were called the Surviving Hero and the Fool, and Ar-on was called the Coward,
Luna also had a similar nickname.
And that was.
***
“Needlessly flashy. Just as expected of the Destroyer King.”
In front of the city wall, the Necromancer King calmly rose to his feet.
Luna's spell, which had sent them flying into the wall, seemed to have tremendous power at first glance, but in truth, it hadn't dealt any significant damage to the Necromancer King and the Queen of Blood.
All flash, no substance.
‘Luna Rubinance must know that as well. So why did she bother using such a spell?’
It wasn't to buy time.
Given her personality, it would be normal for a torrent of incredible spells to pour out the moment they met.
After thinking for a moment, the Necromancer King cleanly gave up on understanding Luna.
He had faced her as an arch-nemesis for a long time.
Lisinas, Kyle, Ar-on, Dweno.
He could somewhat grasp their thoughts, but there was one existence he could never predict, and that was Luna.
Knowing this from experience, the Necromancer King didn't waste his mental energy.
Even the great Necromancer King could never have imagined that she had used magic to get rid of him just so she could punish her descendants she wanted to beat up.
Just then, the Annihilation spells poured down.
Watching them, the Necromancer King let out a breath, “Hmph—”
“Your Majesty! You might take a direct hit from that abominable magic.”
“I suppose so.”
“Quickly, evade….”
Grab—!
“Keoheok?”
The Necromancer King reached out and seized Eljenie by the throat.
Then, he forcefully dragged her in front of him.
KRA-BOOM—!
“Kieeeeeeeeek!”
Using Eljenie as a shield, the Necromancer King was lost in thought with a placid expression.
‘The appearance of Luna Rubinance. This is unexpected.’
The plan has gone awry.
‘Is she staying in a spiritual state? The feeling is clearly different from last time and from Ar-on.’
The Necromancer King grasped Luna's situation at a glance.
‘If that's the case… her limits must be clear.’
Gwoooooh—!
The corners of the Necromancer King's mouth curled up as he raised his hand.
Crack-crack-crack—!
“Y-Your Majesty?”
“You've worked hard until now, Queen of Blood.”
Crunch—!
A skull extending from his hand swallowed and crushed Eljenie.
Blood poured out.
Fwoosh—!
A dark red flame bloomed in his hand, soon turning into a black flame.
“The sight of a Great Hero falling so miserably wouldn't be so bad.”
The Necromancer King knows.
That the Great Heroes are symbols of peace.
And he knows better than anyone how terrifying those symbols are.
Five thousand years.
For 5,000 years, they have revered and followed these people who don't even exist.
As a result, countless heroes have emerged.
“Today, I shall be able to kill one of those symbols.”