Chapter 563
Chapter Title: Festival of Heroes
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563.
“So, what are we calling this competition?”
With the detailed schedule now finalized.
Ar, her arms crossed, tilted her head and asked.
“Come to think of it, we haven't decided on the most important part—the name.”
Lunia agreed with Ar.
Everyone's gaze slowly turned to Leo.
Everyone present knew that Leo was the one who had come up with the idea for this large-scale event.
As all the students looked at him, Leo spoke calmly.
“We can just pick something.”
At his words, Lunia looked utterly dumbfounded.
“How can you say we should 'just pick something'?”
But Leo, the one in question, remained indifferent.
“Leo. Are you not the student council president of Lumerne? You're leading this event, yet you haven't even thought of a name?”
Driana asked, a little intrigued, and Leo replied.
“Our school has plenty of capable students, you know. Both upperclassmen and underclassmen.”
“What do you mean by that?”
Seeing Driana's confused expression, Chelsea reached for a cookie on the refreshment table and said.
“He means there are a lot of people who are easy to boss around.”
*Crunch.* Chelsea said as she bit into the cookie.
“Everyone was clamoring to follow Leo to Dragonia. Lumerne is in total chaos right now with event preparations.”
‘Leo! Take me!’
‘No! Me!’
‘What are we supposed to do if you leave!’
‘What about you!’
Chelsea shook her head, recalling the scene of students, regardless of year, swarming the student council office and shouting.
At Chelsea's words, students from the other schools shook their heads.
‘We'll definitely be busy preparing for the competition too, but Lumerne must be on another level.’
In any case, it was an external event.
It was only natural to prepare grandly to avoid embarrassment.
“Still, this is surprising. I was sure Elena Jer-on would oppose this, calling it a hassle.”
At Hadin's words, Chelsea shook her head.
“Elena is the one most actively tormenting the students. Of course, she's the one most swamped with work herself.”
Elena's basic principle for squeezing the students dry was, 'I'm working this hard, so what are you doing?'
“Amazing. *That* Elena?”
Hadin of Seirun was in the same year as Elena.
If Elena reigned as the strongest of her generation at Lumerne, then Hadin was her counterpart at Seirun.
Moreover, they had clashed in the Lumerne-Seirun match since their first year, so he knew a fair bit about Elena.
‘To think that monstrous woman would obediently work under someone else.’
Elena was called the Queen or Witch of Lumerne, but Hadin thought 'tyrant' suited her better than 'queen.'
That was how much Elena lived as she pleased, doing whatever she wanted.
It was hard to imagine her working under someone else, no matter how overwhelmingly powerful he had proven to be.
“Watching Elena lately does make me a little worried.”
Chelsea said with a sigh.
She always wore a calm expression, but Elena's workload was extraordinary.
“It's fine. That much won't kill her.”
Hearing Chelsea, Leo spoke nonchalantly.
“It's good to go through some hardship when you're young. It builds character and becomes a valuable experience later on.”
“Black Rabbit. You're young too.”
“Leo, Elena Jer-on is older than you in the first place, is she not?”
Ar and Dorbeman looked completely baffled.
“How can he sound exactly like one of those High Smith old geezers?”
“Wow, Driana. Look at this. I've got goosebumps.”
Driana and Marigold were also appalled.
Leo laughed at their reaction.
“Wouldn't it be good for them to learn that life is the real deal during this competition?”
“Lumerne's president, we're well aware of how amazing you are. No matter what anyone says, you've already reached the position of a hero, which is our goal. But still, we've attended Demian for five years.”
Marigold said, scratching her cheek, and Dorbeman laughed.
“Leo, I don't mean to dismiss your words, but we've been through our own share of trials and tribulations. We've already learned firsthand that life isn't easy.”
Even at that, Leo just smiled.
But Lunia and Chelsea, who knew Leo's true identity, turned pale.
‘Just what is he planning to do this time?’
“By the way, Black Rabbit. If you've delegated all the president's duties, what do you do in your spare time?”
To Ar's question, Leo simply smiled without answering.
*Clap!*
Just then, Melina clapped her hands to draw everyone's attention and said with a smile.
“Let's put the idle chatter aside for now. How about we name the competition the 'Festival of Heroes'?”
At her words, the students let out sounds of admiration.
“That sounds excellent, Dragon Lord.”
Dorbeman replied politely, and Melina smiled warmly.
“Excellent. Then, until the Festival of Heroes begins, let's handle the specific details through organic communication between our schools. This concludes our meeting.”
***
That night.
Leo stood in the training grounds of the lodging assigned to him in Dragonia.
Standing silently under the star-strewn night sky, Leo drew his sword.
From the moment he'd taken his first steps, Leo had pushed himself relentlessly.
As a child, to awaken the power of the All-Class.
Later, to reclaim the power of his past life.
As a result of pushing himself so hard, he was rapidly recovering the strength of his past life.
Reclaiming the power of his past life.
That was Leo's primary goal.
But after meeting Berkia, Leo had begun to push himself even more harshly.
*Shing—! Vwoom—!*
A resonance emanated from Leo's sword, and a gray aura rose from it.
Seeing it, Leo closed his eyes.
‘Focus.’
All of Leo's senses gathered at the tip of his sword.
The silent night.
But from a certain point, he could no longer hear anything.
When he opened his eyes, all he could see in the pitch-black darkness was his gray-glowing sword.
It wasn't a hallucination.
It was a phenomenon that occurred because he was focusing every one of his senses solely on the sword.
*Tak—*
Gripping the sword with both hands, Leo brought it before his face, its edge pointed forward.
At the same time, someone appeared before him.
It was a beastkin warrior holding a sword.
Ar-on.
In the pitch-black space, only Leo and Ar-on stood.
At some point, Leo's appearance had also changed to that of Kyle.
Ar-on lowered his stance.
Leo kicked off the ground, charging toward Ar-on.
*Kwagagagak—!*
Aura scattered from Leo's swung sword.
The chaotically scattered fragments of aura, too fast to be seen, raged as if to tear Ar-on's body to shreds.
At that moment, Ar-on's sword moved smoothly.
*Kakakakang—!*
The golden aura shattered the fragments of gray aura.
It didn't get through.
He had expected as much.
‘Of course. My opponent is Ar-on.’
In this current era, Leo was likely the strongest as a pure warrior.
No, even after the Age of Calamity, there was likely no one who surpassed him.
Not his disciples, Berkia and Bihar.
Not the Heroes of the Dawn, Lumerne and Azonia.
In terms of pure skill as a warrior, none could exceed Leo.
It was inevitable.
Leo could handle all weapons with masterful skill.
As such, he was adept at all sorts of unconventional tactics.
He hadn't earned the title 'The Surviving Hero' for nothing.
‘Then and now, the measure of a warrior's skill is experience.’
The number of battlefields he had crossed was different.
The number of times he had put his life on the line was different.
His fundamental level of experience was, quite literally, different.
In that respect, Leo's skill as a warrior was even greater than Ar-on's.
*Chaeng—!*
At that moment.
Ar-on's sword parried Leo's.
Feeling the weight behind Ar-on's sword, Leo opened a subspace.
*Hwoong—!*
Wielding a giant battle-ax, Leo spun his body, putting his weight into the swing.
*Kwaang—!*
Ar-on blocked the battle-ax and was thrown back, landing on the ground.
Ar-on transformed.
‘But I am weaker than Ar-on.’
Leo's skill as a warrior was superior, but Ar-on's prowess as a martial artist was overwhelming.
It wasn't simply a matter of being stronger.
Leo maximized his combat ability by switching weapons in real-time to match the situation.
Ar-on had no such ability.
‘To be precise, he doesn't need to do it like I do.’
One uses multiple weapons because they cannot surpass their limits with a single one.
It's a kind of trick.
Ar-on, on the other hand, was different.
He had surpassed his limits with a single weapon.
That was why Ar-on was stronger than Leo as a warrior.
In an instant, Leo gripped his sword again.
The gray aura billowed as if it were about to ignite.
‘The essence of the Pure Mana Trait is a power unbound by anything, wasn't it?’
That was also the reason Leo was an All-Class.
He could blossom countless abilities.
Leo's unique magic, Bible, was also a magical system born thanks to this mana trait.
Increase the number of powers one can use.
And based on that, strengthen one's own power.
This was the way Leo had trained himself since his time as Kyle.
That was why Leo's abilities were as vast as the sea.
But…
‘It lacks depth. It's shallow.’
To others, it might have seemed deep.
After all, what he had accumulated was on a different level.
But compared to his friends, it was a different story.
‘Being unbound by anything also means being infinite.’
That meant Leo, too, could become infinitely strong.
And that was proven in the final moments of his past life.
With the power inherited from his comrades, Leo had surpassed the immortal being, Erebos.
But that was borrowed power, not his own.
‘That's why I achieved an incomplete victory and closed my eyes.’
*Grip—!*
Strength flowed into Leo's hand.
In this life, too, Leo intended to win.
He hadn't the slightest intention of losing.
‘But there's no guarantee it won't end like my past life.’
There was no guarantee that in this life, too, he wouldn't have to surpass Erebos based on the sacrifice of others.
‘I can't allow that to happen.’
Leo charged toward Ar-on.
Ar-on also charged to meet him.
‘So I have to surpass him. This guy!’
The pinnacle of martial arts that Leo knew.
Not just Ar-on.
Luna, and Lisinas too.
He had to definitively surpass his comrades who stood at the pinnacle of their respective fields, as a mage and as a summoner.
*Kak—!*
In that instant, Leo's sword was severed and flew into the air.
Ar-on's sword was already at Leo's neck.
Ar-on, whose eyes met Leo's, moved his lips.
‘Amazing. As expected of Kyle!’
The moment Leo gave a bitter smile at those words.
“Amazing! As expected of the Black Rabbit!”
An excited voice rang out.
The pitch-black darkness had faded, and he had returned to the reality of the starlit night.
Ar ran up to Leo, her eyes sparkling.
“You seem even more incredible! Black Rabbit! Let's have a match right now... Nyaaaahk?!”
“What are you doing, interrupting his training, you stupid cat.”
Lunia roughly pulled on the excited Ar's tail.
Ar squatted down, clutching her rear, with tears welling in her eyes.
Seeing this, Leo let out a small laugh and patted Ar's head, pressing down a little.
“It's fine. I was just about to finish anyway.”
At Leo's words, Ar made an expression like a contented cat.
Watching them, Lunia muttered to herself inwardly.
‘That just now... was definitely Lord Kyle.’
From the first time she saw Leo, Lunia had felt a sense of incongruity.
It was because she often sensed a mature, unfathomable depth to him.
Now, she knew what it was.
It was Leo's true self, with the mask of his current life removed.
Looking at Ar's languid expression, Leo chuckled and gently scratched under her chin.
In response, a *purrr, purrr* sound came from Ar's throat.
At that moment.
Ar made a 'Hah!' expression, her face turning bright red as she shouted.
“Stop treating me like a cat!”
“But you are a cat.”
“Anyone could see you were acting like a kitten, no?”
Lunia and Driana said mercilessly.
“Ughhh!”
Ar rolled on the ground in frustration.
*Thump! Thump!* The sounds echoed, but unfortunately, no one there was frightened by such a display.
“Anyway! Fight me!”
To Ar's demand, Leo said.
“I have somewhere to be tonight. That's enough training for today.”
Leo chuckled and looked down at his aura.
The gray aura shimmered.
‘First, I need to gain the power to kill Erebos with a sword as well.’
Leo's power was certainly Erebos's natural enemy.
But in his past life, while he could inflict fatal wounds on Erebos, he couldn't kill him completely.
The reason was that even Leo had only one means of completely annihilating Erebos.
‘Innocent.’
The unique magic that Luna had left for him.
The essence of pure mana.
‘If it's a power that can be manifested through magic... then aura should also be able to manifest the power of purity.’
The moment that happened, Leo's aura would become a blade capable of killing the primordial evil.
But to do that, he had to surpass his own limits as a martial artist.
And Leo knew exactly what that limit was.
Leo glanced to the side.
He had awakened from the world of his mind, but for some reason, the illusion of Ar-on remained.
Looking at Ar-on, who was smiling warmly at him, Leo muttered inwardly.
‘I'll surpass you soon, so stop making that 'you can do it' face. You learned such useless things from that Lisinas guy.’
Clicking his tongue, Leo lightly shook his sword.
*Hwaak—!*
In that instant, the gray aura dispersed.
“Huh?”
For a moment, Ar looked bewildered.
“What's wrong?”
“No, it's nothing.”
Ar shook her head.
‘Just now, when the Black Rabbit's aura dispersed, it seemed to turn pure white for a second. Did I see it wrong?’