Chapter 590
Chapter Title: Overcoming Limits
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“Kyle… sir?”
Lumerne struggled to turn his head and look at Kyle.
Seeing Kyle perched on a rock, watching him with an indifferent gaze, Lumerne felt a sense of relief.
“Thank goodness… I’m so glad…”
The strength drained from Lumerne’s body.
If Kyle was here, there was nothing more to worry about.
Erebos, currently rampaging in his world, would no longer be a threat.
“My struggle wasn’t in vain… Thank….”
*Thwack—!*
“Ugh?!”
“What’s so fortunate about this, you damn fool?”
Kyle had picked up a nearby brick fragment and thrown it right at Lumerne’s face.
Struck squarely in the face, Lumerne wore a dazed expression.
Looking at him, Kyle spoke.
“If you just die like this, won’t your comrades be the ones suffering like hell in the World of Genesis?”
“…”
“And later, when Erebos emerges outside again.”
Kyle’s eyes narrowed.
“The ones who will have to face Erebos are those kids over there.”
Kyle glanced at the hero candidates fighting against Erebos.
“Is that what you call fortunate?”
Lumerne bit his lip at Kyle’s cold question.
“It’s not wrong to believe, is it?”
“…”
“To believe in my comrades… to believe in the children who will succeed me…”
Lumerne’s hands clenched.
“It isn’t wrong to believe in you, is it?”
“No, it isn’t wrong.”
*Whoosh—*
A gust of wind swept past Kyle’s hair.
Even Kyle’s friends who had departed before him had trusted him in their final moments and closed their eyes in peace.
“I can’t imagine what you all have been through for thousands of years. It’s only natural to be tired.”
A world of endless repetition.
When the world restarts, you don’t even know how many times you’ve repeated it.
But when you conquer the world and are about to start the loop again, you find out.
How many times you’ve repeated this ordeal.
It’s impossible not to be exhausted.
It was in that situation that Seirun delivered the news.
The revival of Kyle, the Hero of the Beginning.
Rodia had also conquered Lisinas’s world alongside Kyle.
In the endless loop, Kyle’s appearance must have been a beacon of hope for the Heroes of Genesis, a relief that they could finally rest.
It’s only natural to want to rest.
Even if that rest meant one’s own death.
You’ve done all you could.
That was by no means wrong.
But…
“Are the other Heroes of Genesis the same?”
“…”
Lumerne’s eyes widened.
“The Seirun and Rodia I saw were utterly exhausted, too. But they were different from you. They didn’t give up; they pushed themselves even harder. I’m sure they thought they would only rest after seeing Erebos completely subjugated.”
Kyle met Lumerne’s gaze.
“They believe in you, too. That you won’t give up.”
Lumerne’s hands trembled.
Kyle turned his gaze to the hero candidates.
“It’s the same with those kids. They’re fighting back, knowing it’s impossible, because they believe in you. That you…”
Kyle narrowed his eyes.
“They believe the Knight of Twilight will overcome his limits and come through for them, just as he taught them.”
Strength returned to Lumerne’s hands.
“What were your students like, the ones you saw?”
Lumerne struggled to turn his body.
His body screamed in protest.
The massive explosion caused by instantly burning all the mana in his body.
His body was already in tatters.
But the same must have been true for Erebos.
*Clench—*
Lumerne squeezed his hand into a fist.
*My students… they were exactly the kind of students I wished for.*
Lumerne’s students were all the ideal students he had always wanted.
Children who challenged the impossible without hesitation, even when faced with their limits.
Among them was a student who was nothing like him.
*Karl Thomas.*
A student whose presence here was a marvel.
But for that very reason, he embodied the image of a hero that Lumerne considered most ideal.
He had overcome countless limits.
Lumerne knew.
It wasn’t his abilities that made the Hero of the Beginning, but his will.
Karl stood here on pure will alone.
Lumerne had wanted to be that kind of hero.
*I had forgotten.*
Why I admired the Great Hero before me.
My ideal, to endlessly confront my limits, never give up, and turn the impossible into the possible.
*‘Overcome your limits?’*
Lumerne bit his lip.
*Who am I to tell anyone to overcome their limits when I’ve given up myself?*
He had to show them, these students who believed without a doubt that the Knight of Twilight always surpassed his limits.
To these children who stood here, admiring his false image.
He had to show them that the image they admired was not a lie.
*That must be the duty of an educator… of someone who founded an academy.*
Lumerne pushed himself to his feet.
He stoked the flame of his life, which could flicker out at any moment, and squeezed out every last bit of strength.
“Cough. Cough.”
Blood that had surged up from within spilled from his mouth.
But Lumerne paid it no mind.
*Trudge— Trudge—*
Kyle watched him silently.
He offered no help whatsoever.
He merely observed.
At this seemingly heartless attitude, Lumerne smiled.
*Yes… this must be a form of trust as well.*
The belief that his successor would not fall to a trial of this magnitude.
*Trudge— Trudge—*
Lumerne moved forward with heavy steps.
His pace quickened.
Soon, Lumerne began to sprint toward the battlefield.
Watching Lumerne’s back as he stood up and started running, Kyle thought.
*‘It seems I won’t need to step in.’*
Lumerne had just overcome his limits.
A Lumerne who had begun to leap toward new possibilities.
Against a complete fragment of Erebos, it might be a different story.
But a mere piece like that would be no match for him.
Kyle’s gaze shifted to Karl.
*‘It’s not only those with great power who can achieve great feats.’*
Compared to the other hero candidates, Karl’s skills were insignificant.
However…
*‘Karl has many facets.’*
The courage to overcome fear.
An eye for finding the potential in others, seeing hope in that potential, and charting a path forward based on it.
And crucially… a heart that never gives up.
Strangely, Karl resembled the Great Heroes in small ways.
*‘In a way, it’s not so strange.’*
They were the ones who had created the current era.
And Lisinas, who had led the charge in creating this era, had thought.
He hoped that the values they had pursued would remain for future generations.
Just as Rodia had hoped that future generations would see countless possibilities bloom in the World of Heroes.
Lisinas too had hoped that the ideals the Great Heroes pursued would live on in the small actions of ordinary people in the future.
Karl’s ability was extremely simple.
When everyone else was staring into abysmal despair.
He would find a possibility within it and set things in motion.
A simple, yet incredibly difficult ability.
An ability that could accomplish nothing on its own.
But in the first place…
*‘What can anyone do alone?’*
Even he himself could do nothing alone.
Being unable to do anything alone is not a flaw.
Because having someone by your side means gaining infinite possibilities.
With the advent of the Hero Record, an era had begun where only those who achieved great feats were called heroes.
“But it was simpler in the old days, wasn’t it?”
Kyle smiled, thinking of Lisinas.
He recalled the response he’d received after irritably declaring he was no hero when asked to become one and save the world together.
*‘Someone who can find strength for the sake of others. I think that’s what a hero is.’*
Recalling Lisinas’s gentle smile, Kyle fiddled with the edge of his cloak.
***
*Fwoooosh—!*
“It’s coming!”
At Karl’s shout, Eliza, gripping the Wind Wyvern’s reins tightly, yelled.
“Hold on tight!”
*Whoosh—!*
The Wind Wyvern began to descend at a tremendous speed.
Erebos, who had been chasing Karl to turn him to ash, pursued both him and Eliza.
“Why is that thing only targeting you?!”
“How should I know?!”
“Good for you! The world’s worst disaster is acknowledging you! It sees you as the biggest threat among us! You must be so proud!”
“Does this look good to you?! Does this look like something to be proud of?!”
“Hold on!”
*Grip—!*
Karl wrapped his arms tightly around Eliza’s waist, pressing his body close.
Eliza stirred her spiritual power.
*Crackle—! Sizzle—!*
For a moment, pure white lightning erupted from Eliza’s body.
“Whoa? Huh?”
While Karl stared in astonishment, the pure white lightning enveloped the Wyvern’s entire body.
“What is this?!”
“Copying Leo Flove!”
Having been continuously exposed to the essence of lightning by Leo, Eliza had, at some point, begun to accumulate lightning within her spiritual power.
Her spiritual power was already attuned to Pegasus in the first place.
Of course, it wasn’t the essence of lightning itself, but Eliza’s potential was slowly beginning to unlock.
And now, it had finally awakened.
*Vwoooom—!*
The Wind Wyvern’s speed began to outpace Erebos.
Seeing this, Karl shouted.
“Chloe!”
In that instant.
*K-k-k-k-k-k-crack—!*
The world froze over.
If only for a moment.
Even Erebos, weakened by Lumerne’s attack.
*Shiiiii—!*
No one stood near Chloe as she deployed her magic.
Getting too close meant being frozen solid.
White frost bloomed from Chloe’s body.
“With magic… is it possible to manifest ice magic of this magnitude?”
As Lunia stared in shock, Eiran swallowed hard.
“Judging by the purity of her mana… it’s comparable to an Ice Spirit.”
“What? Chloe Müller is a pure mage!”
“It’s a spell that Lady Luna left for Miss Chloe. I understand it’s a magic that allows one to enter the domain of an Ice Spirit.”
“My word.”
Luna, who had created such a magic formula, was one thing, but Chloe, who had perfected such an absurd formula to this extent, was also incredible.
*Crack—!*
In that moment, cracks began to form in the ice.
*Shatter—! Cra-cra-cra-crack—!*
Erebos broke through the ice and relentlessly pursued Karl.
Seeing this, Ar stomped her feet.
“Hey! Why is that fireball only targeting Karl?! There’s nothing we can do!”
Ar wasn’t slow by any means.
But she paled in comparison to Eliza.
Moreover, as a summoner, Eliza was the most suitable for protecting Karl while evading Erebos.
“Thanks to that, it’s easier for us, though.”
Abad smiled gently and waved his hand.
In response, Chelsea closed her eyes and parted her lips slightly.
“Ah—”
As Chelsea began to sing, the surrounding mana stirred.
This, too, was a spell Luna had left for the two of them.
Chantless magic and a spell to control the surrounding wind with one’s voice.
The magic of the two flowed toward the tip of Celia’s sword.
*Fwoooosh—!*
The flames of Jerdinger and the wind of Llewellyn met, creating a colossal blaze.
“Perfect.”
*Gwooooosh! Fwoosh!*
Lunia grinned and used her Emperor’s Flame.
The pure white flame swallowed the Jerdinger flame, growing even more powerful.
Thanks to Karl and Eliza buying time, an attack of immense power was completed.
“The problem is how to hit Erebos with this.”
“I’ll do it!”
As Ar boldly stepped forward, Driana grabbed her by the scruff of the neck.
“You’re already suffering from severe internal injuries.”
“But who else besides me can withstand that magic as an enchantment….”
“I will do it.”
Everyone’s eyes went wide.
Lumerne was standing there.
Eiran urgently asked him.
“Sir Lumerne, are you alright? You mustn’t overexert yourself.”
“I’m fine.”
Lumerne raised his sword.
“There’s no time, so please.”
Lunia, wreathed in the Emperor’s Flame, nodded.
*Gwoooooosh—!*
The flame of the Emperor’s Flame settled upon Lumerne’s sword.
Seeing this, Lumerne bent his knees.
*Thump—!*
Lumerne leaped toward Erebos.
*Fwoosh—!*
Feeling the black flame from behind, Karl gripped the staff in his hand tightly.
—Cease this foolish resistance and give up.
Erebos’s mocking voice could be heard.
In response, Karl turned and raised his middle finger.
“Would you give up if you were me?!”
“Indeed.”
“…!”
—Lumerne?
At the voice coming from directly behind, Karl’s eyes widened, and Erebos’s face contorted.
“I seem to be learning a lot from my student.”
*Fwoooosh—!*
Lumerne raised his sword high.
“Eliza!”
Karl yelled urgently, and Eliza immediately changed direction.
“How dependable.”
Lumerne, who burst into laughter at the sight, plunged his sword straight into Erebos.
*Fwoooosh—!*
The black flame and the white flame mixed, and for an instant, Erebos’s body distorted.
And in that gap.
A pitch-black sphere, reminiscent of a hole, became visible.
“Hyaaaaaaaah!”
Karl thrust his staff directly into the hole.
*Whoosh—!*
In that moment.
The flame of disaster scattered and vanished without a trace.
“We won!”
Karl clenched his fist and shouted.
The other hero candidates who had been watching also let out a cheer.
***
On the ground, Kyle, who had been watching the hero candidates’ desperate struggle, smiled faintly.
“Excellent.”