Chapter 617
Chapter Title: An Invitation
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[Impressive. I never thought you'd catch my tail so quickly.]
“I'll be coming for you soon. Keep your neck clean and wait.”
[Hahaha. While waiting patiently does have its own charm, I'm afraid it might get a little boring. So, I shall extend an invitation to you.]
“An invitation?”
[Yes. I will tell you where I am right now.]
“Where?”
[Oh? Not even a hint of suspicion?]
“What you want is my ability, after all.”
[So you already know who I am? Was it that senile old man from the Jerdinger family? Or those detestable Shadows?]
“The location?”
Despite the Hero Slayer's intrigued reaction, Leo cut straight to the point, as if there was no longer any value in conversation.
[Hehe. Hahaha! I'd like to have a long, slow chat with you.]
the Hero Slayer said with an amused smile.
[The Flove family's territory. I am here. Waiting.]
With those words, the communication ended.
A sharp killing intent flared in Leo's red eyes.
A dreadful pressure radiated from him.
Even the Shadow Lords.
Even Legas, a hero of the previous generation and the greatest knight of Rodren.
were overwhelmed by the killing intent emanating from Leo.
The killing intent, which had shimmered like a flame, soon subsided.
“It's a trap.”
“I know.”
Leo replied calmly to the words of Algren, the Northern Shadow Lord.
“A trap we can't avoid.”
“……”
The Hero Slayer hadn't just taken Reina hostage.
He had taken everyone living in the Flove family's territory hostage.
That was why he had revealed his location.
*A declaration of war.*
Leo gave a chilling smile.
It meant he had finished preparing to hunt him and was now waiting.
“Lord Leo. Taking the Shadows with you is…”
At Anyas's words, Algren shook his head.
“No. He knows of our existence. Mentioning us was a form of threat. A threat that he will massacre the residents of the Flove territory the moment you bring the Shadows.”
“Then does that mean Lord Leo must go to the Flove territory alone? That's absurd!”
Watching Anyas speak as if she couldn't accept it, Kirin, the Southern Shadow Lord, spoke.
“Lord Leo, your decision…”
“He certainly didn't say to come alone.”
Leo said, gazing at the communication crystal in his hand.
“But as the Northern Magic Tower Master said, there's no telling what he'll do if the Shadows make a move. He was hunted by the Shadows, after all.”
Leo spoke.
“The one he's most wary of is the Shadows.”
The Hero Slayer is different from ordinary Hero Hunters who hunt heroes.
They are never given the chance to become heroes, branded as traitors from the start.
*No matter how messed up the gods are, they wouldn't choose someone like that to be a hero.*
And all Hero Hunters are forced to hunt heroes against their will.
Whether they were raised that way from birth,
or were blackmailed into the path of a Hero Hunter due to betrayal.
They might later become mad or twisted and do it willingly, but the root cause is always coercion.
*Even if they've turned their backs on the world, in the end, they can't help but chase the light.*
But the Hero Slayer is different.
He turned his back on the light of his own volition.
Solely for his own desires.
What those are is unknown, but regardless, the Hero Slayer is fundamentally a hero.
That was why, despite having slaughtered countless heroes, he was defeated by the Shadows.
*He knows heroes well. That's how he was able to slaughter them. But he doesn't know the Shadows.*
A kind of natural enemy.
*That's why he's wary of the Shadows.*
It's tricky to grasp the movements of the Shadows, who move stealthily in the darkness.
That must be why he took the Flove territory hostage.
He'll massacre the territory's residents the moment he senses the slightest presence of the Shadows.
*He's probably thinking that if his plan doesn't work, he can just flee.*
If we were to form a large-scale subjugation force, he would simply escape.
He won't fight a disadvantageous battle.
*Then there would be no reason to set a trap.*
“Bringing a small group should be possible.”
At those words, Legas spoke.
“I will send the heroes of the Jerdinger family.”
“No. If he thinks the scales have tipped, he will flee.”
“……”
“The hero candidates should be fine.”
Legas and the Shadow Lords realized Leo intended to go with Lis's group and his own friends.
“Lis and his friends might be one thing, but Celia and the Llewellyn children could be in danger, you know?”
To Legas's words, Leo replied.
“It will be dangerous. But they'll be fine. And I want them to learn.”
“You want them to learn?”
“About human malice.”
“……”
Legas fell silent at Leo's words.
Chelsea, Celia, and Abad would grow even stronger in the future.
Legas thought.
*These hero candidates will far surpass not only me, but even my sons. This is that kind of era.*
When the World of Heroes was discovered.
The world's power grew by leaps and bounds.
3000 years ago.
During the Calamity's Second Coming, the scales had practically tipped in Tartaros's favor.
Although a fragment of Erebos was sealed and countless legion commanders were annihilated by the Heroes of the Beginning, the world had also suffered immense damage.
The Heroes of the Beginning fulfilled their duty by sealing themselves in the World of Heroes along with Erebos.
And countless heroes lost their lives to the Calamity, and the world, which had flourished for thousands of years, burned—though not to the extent of the Age of Calamity.
In contrast to such a world, it was a time when three legion commanders who had lived since the Age of Calamity were still thriving in Tartaros.
The first turning point in history after the end of the Age of Calamity.
An era that might have decided the fate of the world.
But at that turning point, the world obtained a new possibility called the World of Heroes and barely managed to strike a balance with Tartaros.
Historians say.
3000 years ago.
The period after the Calamity's Second Coming was the true Age of Heroes.
The birth of a new type of hero who inherits the power of their predecessors.
And now is just such an era.
Not only do they inherit the power of their predecessors,
the Great Heroes, who could be called the progenitors of the current heroes, are once again revealing themselves to the world.
A god who had vanished during the Age of Calamity has reappeared, and secrets of the world unknown until now are spreading across the globe.
Heroes who had indiscriminately made a name for themselves are now losing their qualifications.
Even the Shadows, who had been discriminated against in the back alleys of history, are now having their names recorded in the Hero Record.
*A turning point in history where the fate of the world is at stake.*
The hero candidates of such an era.
will far surpass the heroes of the past.
With power comes responsibility.
The current hero candidates will face even more threats.
*Among those threats, there will surely be attempts to crush their potential before they can fully bloom.*
Soon.
*No, perhaps starting from her third year. Celia might become a target for Hero Hunters.*
Fighting Tartaros and fighting Hero Hunters are different.
Tartaros is a fundamentally incompatible existence.
But the traitorous Hero Hunters are different.
*They once walked the same path as us. In a way, that makes them more dangerous than Tartaros.*
Because they can understand each other, they can act with even greater malice.
That is why heroes are hunted by Hero Hunters.
Leo intended to let them experience that malice.
He was trying to provide a stepping stone for them to grow even stronger.
*With Reina taken hostage… and the entire territory in crisis… is he looking toward the future?*
Legas watched Leo in silence.
*Is it confidence that he can save both Reina and the people of the territory?*
But Leo's eyes were different from that.
Legas, who had roamed battlefields for many long years, murmured as he looked at Leo.
*He's used to it.*
He was used to loss.
What in the world has he lost?
What could the boy before him, who was by no means old, possibly have lost?
And…
*And yet, he refuses to give up.*
There was no trace of a hero candidate in Leo's demeanor.
All that could be felt was an emptiness that only one who had fought endlessly on the battlefield, worn down to the bone, could possess.
As a knight leading the Jerdinger family.
Legas, an old knight who had stood on the battlefield for many years, could sense that emptiness within him.
*Once you learn what it is to lose, you eventually accept it and compromise.*
You give up a part of it.
Otherwise, you only torture yourself further.
But there was none of that in Leo.
Even knowing he might lose, he showed no signs of giving up.
*A hero.*
The image of a true hero that Legas had envisioned for so long.
The silent Legas spoke.
“I'm sorry, Leo.”
“For what?”
“My complacency has placed this burden on you.”
“…Grandfather, you couldn't have imagined that someone in a high position within the family would do such a thing.”
Eckerson had thoroughly hidden his desires his entire life.
We only managed to catch him because we found something suspicious, dug deeper, and happened to find evidence at the right time.
One would never have thought that a man who had roamed battlefields his entire life under the banner of kinship would stab them in the back for some foolish desire.
“I was complacent as well. And… I don't think of it as a burden. She is someone precious whom I must protect.”
Leo smiled.
“So please, don't worry. I will bring Mother back, no matter what.”
“…I'm counting on you.”
* * *
While preparing to head to the Flove territory, Leo silently watched the scene unfolding before him.
-Lady Elsie. Here is some tea brewed with morning dew, using herbs grown where the air is purest in the world.
-Oh my, the aroma is wonderful.
-Lady Elsie! Here is a fruit picked from the deepest forest in the world.
-Such precious things.
The high-ranking fire spirits who had followed the Spirit of Purification were now serving Elsie rare delicacies.
Elsie, having returned to her usual palm-sized form, looked at the teacup and fruits that were as large as she was, an awkward expression on her face.
Beside her, only Piora and Kiruan were excited.
At first, when the two immature phoenix and fairy eyed the refreshments, the high-ranking fire spirits glared daggers at them, but they softened at Kiruan's words.
-We're Lady Elsie's closest aides.
Peep.
Ati looked troubled as it watched the two lie so shamelessly.
“Miss Piora has always had a big appetite, but Sir Kiruan's has become quite formidable recently, too. I worry they'll both get fat at this rate.”
In fact, Piora had a history of becoming an overweight phoenix.
-No! Are those not all things that I cherish! You disloyal wretches! How dare you betray me!
Meanwhile.
Ista, trapped in the Prison of Darkness, could only scream while clutching the bars.
The high-ranking fire spirits completely ignored him.
“I knew the spirit hierarchy was strict, but this seems a bit much.”
At Leo's words, Rariel let out a small sigh.
“Even lower spirits have feelings, you know. It seems they were tormented quite a bit by the Spirit of Purification. What do you plan to do with Ista?”
“First, we need to deal with the Hero Slayer. It's about time we go.”
At his words, Elsie unfolded a shadow.
The high-ranking fire spirits entered it, and Ista, subdued by Elsie, was also dragged inside.
When Leo opened the door, Chelsea, Celia, and Abad were standing there with tense expressions.
Behind them were Lis, Ulta, and Jamua.
The six of them had already heard the situation and finished their preparations.
“Shall we go?”
Leo nodded at Lis's question.
“Let's go.”
Leo walked ahead, and the hero candidates followed.