Chapter 061
Chapter Title: The Phoenix's Flame
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“A perceptive whelp, I see.”
The Death Knight laughed, the sound like scraping metal, as it readjusted its grip on its greatsword.
“My name is Kargor! A knight in service to the great Necrolord!”
Kargor leveled its greatsword at Leo and charged forward with incredible speed.
Leo swung his aura at the oncoming threat.
“And I am the one who shall guide you to your death! Hahahahahaha!”
*Fwoosh-!*
In an instant, Kargor dissipated into black smoke, only to reappear behind Leo.
‘Wraith Form!’
*CLANG-!*
He hastily blocked Kargor’s greatsword as it swung for his waist.
An immense pressure radiated from his hands.
*Thwack-!*
Leo’s body was sent flying at incredible speed.
*Crack! Snap! CRUUUNCH! THUD!*
His flying form smashed through two trees.
As the broken trees toppled, Leo pushed himself up, stretching his stiff body.
“You deployed an Aura Shield in that short time? Impressive.”
Kargor grinned and charged once more.
Leo blocked the sword as it swung down, aiming to cleave him in two from the head down.
*CLANG! KRRRRR!*
Leo felt crushed by the pressure weighing down on his entire body.
*Thump-!* His feet sank deep into the ground.
The crimson aura, shaped like a skull, raged wildly.
Frowning, Leo tensed his muscles, trying to throw off the greatsword.
“A futile struggle!”
Kargor applied more force, intensifying the pressure, and Leo’s knees buckled.
“Hahahahahaha! Come, join us in the world of the dead!”
[Leo! I’ll help you!]
Kiruan charged at blinding speed, aiming for an opening in Kargor’s defense.
“Annoying.”
*Smack!*
[Ugh!]
Kargor unleashed a wave of dark aura, sending Kiruan flying.
Even for a Fairy Prince, Kiruan’s power was limited without his wings.
Watching this, Leo opened his mouth.
“I call upon you in the name of our pact.”
“Heheheh? Summoning a contracted beast now? You seem to be a fairy’s contractor, but no matter what beast you summon, it will be useless against me!”
“Answer my call!”
A summoning circle materialized around Leo.
*Fwoooosh-!*
Flames flickered to life within the circle, reacting to Leo’s spiritual power and blazing even more fiercely.
Kargor’s crimson eyes widened.
“This is—!”
Crimson wings unfurled behind Leo.
A beautiful firebird soared high into the sky before diving toward Kargor.
“A Phoenix!”
*SQUELCH-!*
Piora pierced straight through Kargor’s chest.
Kargor’s body crumbled into dust.
With an elegant flap of her wings, Piora landed on Leo’s shoulder.
[Leo, you were a Phoenix’s contractor?]
“I am.”
[I-I can’t believe it!]
Kiruan was not an old fairy, so Leo was the first being he had ever formed a contract with.
Even that contract was not of his own will but was forced upon him by his father Silroad’s pact.
Because of this, he had secretly looked down on Leo and refused to acknowledge him.
But seeing him form a contract with a Phoenix at such a young age changed his mind.
[Of course! My contractor should be at least this capable! You’re finally worthy of being my contractor!]
“So until now, you thought I wasn’t worthy of being your contractor?”
[Obviously! You’re human! Your spiritual power is pathetic! And on top of that, you’re rude and violent! You think someone like you and I are a good match? Gack!]
Kiruan, who had been spouting nonsense, was suddenly snatched up by Leo.
“Piora, eat.”
[S-Save me!]
Just as Kiruan, pale-faced, began to struggle.
*Wooooooooosh-!*
A crimson energy swirled violently.
“Heheheheheh.”
With a chilling laugh, Kargor reformed and glared at Leo.
“A Phoenix and a fairy! You are a whelp that must not be left alive!”
*Stab-!*
Raising its greatsword, Kargor plunged it into the ground.
*Gush!* Crimson blood spurted from the greatsword, soaking the earth.
Leo’s face hardened.
‘Death Ground.’
It was a curse that covered a certain area with the blight of death, endlessly summoning undead.
*Crack! Krrrrack!*
White bones broke through the snowy ground.
Skeletons began to emerge endlessly from the surroundings.
*Clack- Clack- Clatter-!*
They gnashed their teeth as if letting out a war cry.
“Army of the dead! Kill that whelp!”
At Kargor’s command, the legion of skeletons charged toward Leo.
Seeing this, Leo withdrew his sword and held it before his face.
The aura of flames dissipated.
“Are you going to humbly accept death?”
At Kargor’s words, Leo made an indifferent face.
“You think I’m crazy?”
*Vwooom-!*
A grayish aura formed on Leo’s sword.
Kargor’s eyes twitched.
‘Another type of aura?’
It was not the Jerdinger’s aura, but Kyle’s.
‘The Jerdinger swordsmanship consumes too much aura.’
It was powerful and flashy, but it was too taxing for prolonged use.
‘It’s been a while since I used this.’
Leo lowered his stance.
He planted his left foot and kicked off the ground with his right.
*Whoooosh-!*
Using the power of his aura, he began to spin in place.
“Have you gone mad with the fear of death?”
Kargor scoffed.
To any observer, Leo spinning in place looked like nothing but a fool’s errand.
But Leo’s rotation grew faster and more powerful.
Soon.
*KWWWWAAAAA-!*
A whirlwind began to rage.
Like a spinning top, a vortex of aura erupted.
Kyle’s Vortex.
*KRRRRRACK!*
The aura vortex charged toward the skeleton army.
Bone dust flew in all directions.
The skeletons that approached Leo were pulverized at an incredible speed.
Instantly breaking through the encirclement, Leo ceased the technique and began to run at immense speed using Aura Step.
Seeing his retreating back, Kargor let out a roar and began to chase him.
The skeleton army also quickly pursued Leo.
[That was amazing! With that technique, you could have wiped out all the skeletons! Why are you retreating?]
Kiruan asked, his eyes shining with excitement.
To him, the swordsmanship he had just witnessed was incredibly cool.
*Chirp- Chirp-*
Piora seemed to share his sentiment, reacting with confusion.
“This technique has a fatal flaw.”
[What is it?]
“It’s a powerful technique, but if I use it for too long, I get dizzy.”
Kiruan muttered at the incredibly lame reason.
[I take back what I said about it being cool.]
*Chirp-!*
“That’s what they used to say, too.”
Leo chuckled, reminiscing about his past life.
“Stop! If you call yourself a knight, then stand and fight with honor!”
“Says the guy who summoned a whole army of minions.”
Leo’s expression turned to one of disbelief at the enraged shout coming from behind him.
*Vwoom-!*
The flame aura gathered at the tips of his toes and exploded outward.
It generated an incredible burst of acceleration.
[So faaaaaast!]
Kiruan, clinging to Leo’s shoulder, shouted with an excited voice.
Piora, who had returned to her original form at some point, also chirped excitedly.
*Grooooooan!*
The wails of the dead echoed from all directions.
Watching the skeletons burst from the ground to form an encirclement, he began to chant.
Kiruan was startled by the runic language flowing from Leo’s lips.
[Wait! Leo! You can use magic too?]
“I can.”
[But you’re a knight and a summoner!]
“First time seeing an All-Class?”
[All-Class? You mean like Kyle from the legends, an All-Class?!]
As Silroad’s son, Kiruan knew about the Great Heroes.
Among them, of course, was the forgotten Great Hero, Kyle.
Leo smiled at the astonished Kiruan, completed his spell, and lowered his stance while running.
“Earth Wave.”
The ground around Leo began to ripple.
Consequently, the skeleton army lost its balance and staggered.
Leo dove into the center of the skeleton horde and swung his sword.
*Slice!*
Even without an aura coating it, Leo’s sword cleanly sliced through the skeletons.
[They’re not so tough after all, huh?]
“Skeletons are low-level undead.”
Skeletons themselves weren’t threatening.
The problem was that they were difficult to deal with when combined with high-level undead like Death Knights.
After running for some time, Leo landed on the ground and took a deep breath.
He could no longer feel Kargor’s presence.
‘Looks like I’ve lost him.’
“Piora, return.”
After sending Piora back, Leo began to contemplate as he left the forest.
‘A Death Knight is here, of all places?’
Death Knights were high-level undead, a rare sight under any circumstances.
‘Is Tartaros after something in the Fairy Forest?’
It was surely no coincidence that Silroad had sealed Kiruan’s wings and activated the magic of the previous Fairy King.
*Whoosh-!*
Just then, something approached Leo at incredible speed.
A silver blade, reflecting the sunlight, was suddenly at his neck.
Leo glanced at the elf boy holding the sword to his throat.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
“Human. What are you doing in this forest?”
Leo calmly answered the elf, who asked with a blank expression.
“I was gathering medicinal herbs.”
“Lies! How did a human get in here? And a vile undead was discovered in this forest! I suspect you’re connected to it!”
Leo narrowed his eyes at the elf who was raising his voice.
The elves of Verchia already knew that students from Lumerne had arrived.
For this elf to be so suspicious meant…
‘An elf from outside. And those clothes.’
He carefully observed the design of the clothes the elf was wearing.
‘The design resembles Eiran’s uniform. A Seirun student, then?’
“How about you calm down first?”
“Just answer my question! What is your identity, and what were you doing in this forest!”
Leo let out a deep sigh at the Seirun student, who had no intention of listening.
“I’m a student from Lumerne. The residents of Verchia asked me to gather some herbs, so that’s all I was doing.”
“Lumerne?”
The Seirun student showed a flicker of surprise.
But his eyes narrowed again soon after.
“That makes even less sense. Do you really think it’s plausible for a Lumerne student to be here?”
“What’s so implausible about it?”
Leo, with a bored expression, grabbed the elf’s sword that was pointed at his neck.
“You insolent—!”
The Seirun student tried to swing his sword.
‘It’s… not moving?’
But his eyes widened when his sword didn’t budge an inch.
“If you take me to Verchia, you’ll find out whether I’m lying or not.”
When Leo pushed the sword away, the Seirun student’s face contorted.
“Do you dare defy an order from me, a student of Seirun?”
“What are you talking about now?”
“A student of Seirun has the right to arrest and detain criminals!”
“Right, but I’m not a criminal.”
“We can also arrest suspicious individuals. By the authority granted to me as a proud student of Seirun, I hereby designate you as a person of interest.”
Leo placed a hand on his hip and sighed.
“There’s no getting through to you.”
[He seems a bit thick in the head.]
‘I agree.’
“So what are you going to do now that you’ve designated me a person of interest? Are you going to take me down or something?”
“Precisely!”
Leo gave a cold smile at the Seirun student, who shouted with a solemn face.
“I’ve been as civil as I can be, as a fellow hero academy student.”
“Hmph. Even if you are a student from Lumerne, do you truly believe you can surpass me, a student of Seirun!”
The Seirun student shouted arrogantly, aimed his sword, and charged.
Watching him, Leo clenched his fist.
“Well then, let’s see.”
*Fwoosh-! CRASH-!*
Leo’s fist, wreathed in the flames of his aura, collided with the sword.
“Keuk?”
“Let’s see what a Seirun student is made of, shall we?”