Chapter 589
Chapter Title: Your Senior
-----------------------------------------------------------------
589.
As the gaze of the Primordial Evil fell upon him, Karl felt a chill run down his spine.
‘It’s different.’
This wasn’t the first time he had seen Erebos with his own two eyes.
He had even indirectly participated in a battle against him.
But the pressure Karl felt now was unlike anything before.
His breath caught in his throat.
Erebos wasn't doing anything in particular.
He had simply acknowledged the human named Karl.
Yet that alone was enough to make it impossible to breathe.
Cold sweat poured down his body like rain.
It felt as if the mere recognition from a transcendent being would be enough to kill him.
Karl could see it.
The unfathomable malice held by the Primordial Evil.
A catastrophic existence that humans could never comprehend.
Death.
Just as Karl had that premonition.
*Whoosh-!*
Lumerne appeared before Karl and swung his sword.
*Schwing-!*
The sword, imbued with the aura of twilight, sliced through space itself.
Erebos's form, bisected at the waist, distorted.
It wasn't a simple slash that cut Erebos.
He had literally carved out a piece of space.
It was an attack that struck at the very core of one's existence.
For a moment, Erebos's body wavered.
Lumerne slammed his hand on the ground.
*Vwoom-!*
Lumerne's magic seeped into the ground, creating a magic circle.
"Dusk."
*Flash-! Kra-ka-ka-ka-ka-boom!*
The magic of twilight soared into the sky.
Seeing this, Lunia's eyes widened.
"Star Magic?"
She had never heard that Lumerne had learned Star Magic.
Moreover, the era Lumerne lived in was before Star Magic became widespread.
This was magic that Seirun had created for Lumerne.
Just as Luna had gifted Kyle the Innocent magic.
Seirun, too, had gifted Dusk to Lumerne.
It was Lumerne's unique magic, created based on the formulas of Star Magic.
"Incredible..."
As Eiran muttered in a daze, Lumerne gritted his teeth.
"There's nothing incredible about it."
"What?"
Lumerne glared up at the sky.
The scattered black flames gathered in one place, returning to a human form.
"The magic is powerful… but I never managed to perfect it."
Lumerne's grip on his sword tightened.
Bending his knees, Lumerne leaped into the sky.
*KABOOM-!*
The ground caved in, sending a thick cloud of dust billowing outward.
Lumerne roared at the black flames that had begun to burn once more.
"Your opponent is me!"
*CRACK-! Sh-sh-sh-sh-shatter-!*
The sword imbued with the aura of twilight and Erebos's arm clashed in midair.
At the same time, cracks began to form in the sky.
-I have no interest in the living dead.
Erebos didn't spare Lumerne a glance, instead looking down at the ground.
To be precise, his gaze was fixed on Karl.
-That human is the most irritating one right now.
In Erebos's eyes, Karl was a terribly threatening existence.
For the Primordial Evil, the most detestable being was not Kyle.
True, Kyle had dismembered and sealed Erebos's body.
But the one who had made that possible was Lisinas, the King of Wisdom.
The being who had fanned the dying embers of salvation and allowed the world's potential to bloom.
The ability to create so-called miracles.
Of course, comparing Lisinas and Karl was absurd.
No matter how much Karl struggled, he could never become like Lisinas.
Karl possessed only a fragment of what Lisinas was.
‘But to possess an ability like that fool's is unacceptable. Besides…’
Erebos's eyes narrowed.
What Karl had wasn't just a semblance of Lisinas.
Despite trembling in fear, not knowing when he might die on this battlefield, he had not lost the courage to fight.
He placed absolute trust in the potential of others.
He also held the belief that there was hope even in the most desperate situations.
And crucially…
He doesn't give up.
From the moment he became aware of Karl's existence, there had been more than one or two things that annoyed him.
His abilities were pathetic, yet he resembled the Great Heroes.
He must be erased from the world as soon as possible.
With that thought, Erebos swung his hand at Lumerne, who had come right up to his face.
-Do not interfere, Knight of Twilight.
*Thwack-!*
Lumerne plunged his sword into Erebos's chest.
At that moment, Erebos's hand grabbed Lumerne's head.
*Pzzzzzt-!*
The mana of twilight raged from Lumerne's body.
Seeing this, Erebos's eyes narrowed.
-So this is what you came up with in the end.
"Those kids will take care of the rest."
Lumerne grinned.
*Kra-ka-ka-ka-ka-ka-ka-boom-!*
A colossal storm of mana erupted into the sky.
***
*Kra-ka-ka-ka-ka-ka-ka-boom-!*
The immense mana storm that erupted from the center of the Erek Training Ground blew away the faintly burning flames of Erebos.
Watching this, Hark muttered blankly.
"The mana of twilight… Lord Lumerne?"
Hark wasn't the only one whose eyes were wide.
Elena, who was also from one of Lumerne's three great families, reacted the same way.
The immense mana storm from just a moment ago.
It was so similar to the power of Lumerne that the two had only heard about in stories.
Kyle, who had been suppressing Erebos's flames, narrowed his eyes.
‘The source of the mana… is it the Hero Record?’
A tremendous shock had pierced through the World of Heroes and affected the real world.
*Tap-!*
Kyle descended to the ground.
Thanks to the recent attack, Erebos's flames had completely vanished.
As the fierce battle reached a lull, those who had participated in the fight gathered around Kyle.
"The Hero of the Beginning, Kyle..."
"The Great Hero who subjugated Erebos..."
As everyone stared at Kyle and murmured, Hark dropped to one knee.
"We greet the great Hero of the Beginning."
At Hark's action, everyone who had fought against the flames of calamity hurriedly knelt.
"We greet the great Hero of the Beginning!"
It didn't matter if they were heroes or hero candidates.
The being before them was the very person who had single-handedly defeated Erebos and saved the world 5,000 years ago.
He was the reason they were alive and breathing now, the man who had gifted them a future.
Anyone living in this era couldn't help but feel awe.
They couldn't help but show their respect.
"Everyone, stand."
Despite Kyle's words, the people hesitated, unable to rise easily.
Kyle clicked his tongue at the sight and approached Iliana, who happened to be nearby.
"Gasp?!"
As Kyle approached her, Iliana sucked in a sharp breath, shrank back, and bowed her head even lower.
*Grab-!*
"Kyaa?!"
Kyle grabbed Iliana by the scruff of her neck.
Startled, Iliana's eyes went wide, and she averted her gaze, her face flushing bright red.
She was so shocked that she ended up dangling in the air, but she didn't dare move a muscle.
Kyle set her down on the ground, forcing her to stand.
"I didn't save the world to be worshipped."
Kyle said nonchalantly.
"So stop with this embarrassing display."
Only then did the people exchange glances and cautiously get to their feet.
As Kyle clicked his tongue at the sight, Iliana, her face still bright red, shyly spoke to him.
"Lord Kyle. Ah, thank you so much for saving me earlier. I don't know how I can ever repay this kindness..."
Seeing this, Iliana's classmates who knew her grimaced.
‘What's with her?’
‘Did she eat something weird?’
‘This is making me sick.’
Normally, they would have jeered, but they didn't dare to do so in front of the great Great Hero.
Kyle reached out and ruffled the hair of the nervous-looking Iliana.
"Hyaa."
Iliana's face turned an even deeper shade of red.
*Thud- Thud-*
Kyle was walking toward the Hero Record in the center of the Erek Training Ground.
*Thud-*
Professor Halind stood before Kyle.
He bowed his head to Kyle and spoke.
"O Hero of the Beginning. I have a question."
"What is it?"
"Five thousand years have passed since you saved this world."
Halind met Kyle's gaze.
"You previously subjugated the monster queen Silatuna, and you have appeared in this era once again. You are not the only one. The Progenitor of the Nebula, Lord Luna, and the Brave Hero, Lord Ar-on, have also reappeared in this era and saved us time and again."
Halind said in a serious voice.
"How is such a thing possible?"
Looking into Halind's eyes, Kyle let out a small laugh.
‘Just as I'd expect from Professor Halind.’
At first, they would consider it a miracle.
But if miracles happen repeatedly, people begin to rely on them.
It is certainly a joyous thing for the great Great Heroes of the past to appear and fight in the present era.
But such things cannot repeat indefinitely.
Professor Halind hadn't asked the question to learn the reason why the Great Heroes could appear on earth.
He asked this question because he was wary of people becoming dependent on the heroes of the past.
There was something he wanted to hear from Kyle.
"I don't know either."
Kyle said calmly.
"Even I don't know why I was able to appear in this era. However."
"However?"
"Don't rely on us."
Kyle gave the answer Professor Halind wanted.
"We are only here to help you."
Kyle looked over the people who sought to follow in his footsteps on the path of a hero and said.
"The ones saving and supporting this era aren't beings of the past. It's you, the ones living in this era."
"..."
"I am proud of you."
Kyle said.
"And not just me. Lisinas, Luna, Ar-on, and Dweno. They would all surely be proud of you for dedicating yourselves to the world."
*Thud- Thud-*
Kyle once again approached Lumerne's Hero Record.
"So don't cling to us, who are nothing more than the glory of the past. The ones who shape the era..."
Kyle reached out his hand to Lumerne's Hero Record.
"...are you."
*Whoosh-!*
A bright light enveloped Kyle.
‘Imitating you is always tough, Lisinas.’
Clutching the hem of the cloak on his chest, Kyle gave a bitter smile.
***
Upon entering Lumerne's world, the first thing Kyle saw was a gaping hole in the sky.
"...Is this the aftermath of that mana storm?"
There was a dark hole.
Kyle could tell that the real world lay beyond it.
*Fwooooosh-!*
Not far away, black flames flared up.
Turning his gaze, Kyle saw the hero candidates fighting against Erebos.
‘Where's Lumerne?’
He had expected Lumerne to be fighting alongside them, but he was nowhere to be seen.
Furthermore, Erebos seemed to have taken a major blow, unable to unleash his full power.
"..."
Just then, Kyle's eyes caught sight of someone sprawled on the ground not far away.
It was a man Kyle knew.
The Knight of Twilight, Lumerne.
The Hero of the New Era who had followed in his footsteps.
"So that's what happened."
Understanding the situation, Kyle walked over to Lumerne.
He used his foot to roll over the faintly breathing Lumerne, who was lying facedown, making him face the sky.
"Cough-! Cough-!"
Coughing up blood, Lumerne's eyes struggled to open.
"Who...?"
As if he didn't even have the strength to turn his head, Lumerne squeezed out the words.
*Thud- Thud-*
Without even sparing Lumerne a glance, Kyle walked over to a moderately sized rock and plopped down.
"Your senior."