Chapter 588
Chapter Title: We Stand With You
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588.
Posteritas.
This sword could become anything.
It could be a sword if one wished, sometimes a staff, and if one only desired it, a summoning catalyst.
This sword, which held infinite potential, was created by Dweno, inspired by Kyle.
This sword, named after the future, was literally a sword for an All-Class with limitless possibilities.
And it was a sword that had presented a new possibility to the future alongside its master, then vanished.
‘Why is this…’
Kyle gripped the edge of the cloak he wore.
‘The subspace opened.’
It wasn’t just Posteritas.
The magic imbued in the cloak had reawakened.
As a result, he could now retrieve all the equipment stored in his subspace.
As if telling him not to worry.
It felt like someone had helped him.
Suddenly, the time his Spiritism had awakened came to mind.
Lisinas’s mana, which had seemed to possess a will of its own.
Unconsciously clutching Posteritas tightly, Kyle opened his mouth.
“Are you… here right now?”
There was no reply.
“I suppose not…”
Just as he smiled bitterly.
*Thump-*
Something pushed him from behind.
Startled, he turned around, but no one was there.
“…”
Staring blankly for a moment, Kyle looked forward again.
“Right.”
Kyle fixed his gaze straight ahead.
“I have to move forward.”
His resolve hardened, he fully drew Posteritas.
*Vwoom-!*
The sword responded to Kyle’s mana.
This sword was a fake, created by the power of the Hero Record.
But the reaction when he held it was the same as the first time.
‘The weapons Dweno makes are truly wondrous.’
They grant you unwavering faith.
The faith that they will never betray you.
They become a pillar for the user to lean on until the very end, to uphold their convictions.
Kyle aimed the sword toward the flames of disaster.
“Once again… I’m counting on you.”
*Vwoom-!*
Seeing Posteritas respond to his words, Kyle’s lips curled into a smile.
***
“Lumerne…”
“It’s Lord Lumerne.”
“The Knight of Twilight…!”
The hero cadets gathered around Lumerne, gazing at him with eyes full of admiration.
A great hero was before them.
The Hero of the Beginning, Kyle, and the Progenitor of the Nebula, Luna.
And the Brave Hero, Ar-on, had returned to the present age.
Most of the people here had even witnessed that spectacle firsthand.
But even so, it didn't diminish the encounter with the Hero of a New Era.
Because the hero before them was one of the very people who had opened a new age.
Moreover, he was a savior who had fought a desperate battle against Erebos for thousands of years within the World of Heroes.
Awe filled the hero cadets’ eyes.
Looking at them, Lumerne spoke.
“How did you all get here?”
“Pardon?”
Celia looked slightly flustered at Lumerne’s question.
“Breaking through Erebos’s flames should have been nearly impossible.”
Seeing Lumerne’s troubled expression, Woreden said,
“We simply did as you taught us, Lord Lumerne.”
“As I taught you?”
“Yes. We surpassed our limits to arrive here. Just as you did, Lord Lumerne.”
For a moment, Lumerne’s eyes wavered at Woreden’s words.
Just then, Eliza, who had been carrying Ar through the air, landed on the ground.
“How do you like that! You damn ball of fire! I kicked you good!”
“You have some nerve saying that when you collapsed after a single blow. Healers! Hurry and treat his burns!”
Eliza helped up Ar, who was covered in severe burns, and handed him over to the healers.
The burns weren't from Erebos’s flames, but from Lunia’s white flames.
“You stupid cat! I told you it was reckless!”
“Hmph, these are wounds of glory… Nyaaargh!”
Ar, who had been preening at Lunia’s scolding, let out a scream at the healers’ touch.
Watching the scene, Lumerne wore a surprised expression.
“Beastification…?”
The ability to freely use Beastification was a unique skill possessed only by the Brave Hero, Ar-on.
It was a state that even his comrade, Azonia, had never managed to reach.
It wasn't just Ar.
Lumerne was even more surprised to discover the other Beastkin students who had undergone Beastification under the influence of Ar’s howling.
“We’ve treated the burns, but his stamina is too low!”
“Hmph, don’t worr— Ugh?!”
“Don’t worry? You’re dry-heaving from exhaustion!”
“Do that somewhere else!”
The Elven and Dwarven students recoiled, shoving Ar toward each other.
“I’m dizzy… Ugh!”
“I said get away from me!”
As Ar was being frantically pushed around, someone approached.
“Is it my turn to step up?”
“Karl, you only know basic healing magic, don’t you?”
As Chelsea tilted her head, Karl puffed out his chest.
“Did you forget I learned Lord Dweno’s alchemy?”
“Ah. Now that you mention it, you were our school’s greatest potion-pusher, weren’t you?”
“…That has a weird ring to it.”
Karl narrowed his eyes and rummaged inside his coat.
“You should call me the ultimate supporter who can get you all back in top condition at a moment’s notice.”
Grumbling, Karl pulled out a large syringe.
Ar, whose stomach was in knots due to exhaustion from stamina depletion, flinched upon seeing it.
His ears and tail shot up, and watching the wary Ar, Karl said,
“Hold him.”
At his word, Driana and Chen Xia grabbed Ar’s arms.
“Didn’t you say the successor of the Brave Hero knows no fear? Besides, you don’t even flinch at more serious injuries, so why are you making a fuss over that?”
“It won’t hurt if you relax.”
“Nooo! Aaaaaargh!”
Karl plunged the large syringe into the struggling Ar’s shoulder with a *thwack-!*
Watching the scene, the Azonia students turned their heads away.
“How embarrassing.”
“To think that’s our leader.”
“How are we supposed to face Lord Azonia?”
“Lord Lumerne will think we’re pathetic.”
Listening to the Azonia students’ despairing murmurs, Lumerne thought to himself.
‘…He’s just like Azonia.’
Lumerne, who had been watching Ar for a moment, shifted his gaze to Karl.
‘But who in the world is this kid?’
It was obvious at a glance that he couldn't be compared to the other students here.
Various students from different academies gathered around Karl, who had just injected Ar with a special stamina recovery potion.
“Your command was perfect.”
“If it weren’t for you, we’d still be struggling with those black flames!”
“So you’re not just all talk and clever tricks, huh? If we have a joint class next time, want to party up with us?”
Everyone here had no choice but to admit it.
Reaching this place had only been possible because of Karl.
‘I see. He’s a student who pushes others forward.’
If so, Karl had every right to be in this place.
And he could guess how many limits they must have faced to get here.
‘…He’s a student who accomplished what I could not.’
Someone different from him, who had failed to overcome his limits.
The image of a hero he had so desperately wanted to be.
‘I’m envious.’
Just as Lumerne clenched his fist.
“Lord Lumerne!”
Karl approached him.
He then handed the staff in his hand to Lumerne.
“This! It’s the item Sir Lian entrusted to us! He said it could destroy Erebos’s core!”
“You keep it.”
“Pardon?”
“I will open the path.”
Hearing those words, Karl’s face hardened.
He realized what Lumerne was about to do.
“Wait! Lord Lumerne!”
Lumerne ran toward the direction of the billowing black flames.
To destroy the core, Erebos’s current form needed to be completely broken down.
And with Lumerne’s current power, that was impossible.
‘He plans to open a path, ready to die!’
Karl’s face grew grim.
‘I have to help!’
Karl gritted his teeth.
Lumerne was far too great a figure for him to dare offer help.
Still, the Lumerne of now needed help.
Even the greatest people fall to their knees when things get tough.
Because they are great, they carry a heavier burden.
And because of that, once they fall, it is harder to get back up.
‘We might be able to help him stand!’
Karl gritted his teeth and ran to Eliza.
“Eliza!”
“Huh? Wh-What!?”
Eliza was momentarily flustered as Karl grabbed her shoulders and spoke urgently.
“Take me into the sky!”
“O-Okay.”
Eliza, who would normally have roughly shaken off Karl’s hand, found herself nodding unconsciously.
“Everyone! I know it’s tough, but let’s fight alongside Lord Lumerne!”
“Supporting Lord Lumerne might be possible, but fighting alongside him will be difficult. We’d be lucky not to hold him back.”
Lunia nodded in agreement with Driana’s words.
“That’s right, we might accidentally get in Lord Lumerne’s way…”
“That might be true normally! But right now, Lord Lumerne needs our help!”
Karl gritted his teeth and stared at Lumerne’s retreating back.
‘This is the problem with people who are too great! They know they can’t handle it all alone, yet they try to take responsibility for everything!’
Lumerne was probably thinking that he, having failed to surpass his limits, was now a person of a bygone era.
That he had to fulfill his responsibility by becoming a stepping stone for the new age.
‘What a truly noble person!’
He admired Lumerne for that.
Because he knew what kind of person he was, he could respect him with all his heart.
But…
‘Now is not your time to end!’
It wasn’t just because he would lose Lumerne.
He didn’t want to see it.
The death of the hero he had so admired and been proud of.
Karl didn’t want to see him finally give up and be defeated.
He understood why the Lian of this world had refused to help Lumerne.
He must have thought there was no hope for a Lumerne who had given up on life.
‘Leo, how were you able to subjugate Erebos all by yourself?’
He recalled a question he had once asked Leo.
To that question, Leo had answered thus.
‘Because I wanted to live.’
Leo had smiled.
‘I wanted to live and see it. The world they wanted to see.’
Even the Hero of the Beginning had accomplished that great feat because he wanted to live.
‘If you’re Leo’s successor, then you have to live too!’
Karl shouted inwardly, then said aloud,
“I’ll command us somehow.”
He clenched his fist.
“That’s all I can do… but we have to help Lord Lumerne somehow!”
It would be impossible to lift the kneeling Lumerne back to his feet with just their current strength.
‘The only person who could do that is probably Leo!’
Only someone who had saved the world could understand the despair of someone who had saved the world.
However.
‘We can at least keep him from collapsing!’
Karl gripped the staff Lian had left behind.
“That is the battlefield where you will one day have to stand!”
Karl said forcefully.
At his words, the students’ eyes widened.
“That ‘one day’ could be tomorrow! Will you still say you’re not qualified and pass the buck to someone else?”
At Karl’s words, fighting spirit blazed in the hero cadets’ eyes.
“Lumerne, the one who told us to surpass our limits, is fighting! So let’s show him!”
Karl said powerfully.
“Show him that you can surpass your limits at any time! I’ll do my best to help you do it!”
“It’s not ‘you,’ Karl.”
Eliza, who was next to Karl, clicked her tongue.
“It’s ‘us.’”
At her words, Karl wore an abashed expression.
Watching them, Chen Xia tilted her head.
“That’s strange.”
“What is?”
As Celia looked puzzled, Chen Xia gave a slight smile.
“When did those two get so close?”
Just as Celia’s eyes widened at her words.
-So you weren't simply mimicking that fool.
*Fwoosh-!*
At the voice from behind, Karl’s body froze.
When he turned around, black flames were blazing there.
Erebos looked at Karl and gave a chilling smile.
-It seems there was another fool.
