Chapter 620
Chapter Title: A Worthless Vessel
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Thud- Clatter, clatter, clatter-
Jorua’s head, which had been sent flying, rolled across the floor.
Leo watched him with impassive eyes.
“My, my.”
Jorua said, casually picking up his own head and placing it back where it belonged.
“I thought you’d waver, even just a little. I suppose such a crude trick won’t work on you?”
The form Jorua was currently taking was none other than that of Leo's mother, Reina.
She was a different age from the present Reina, but there was no falsehood in this appearance.
Because this was, quite literally, the Reina of the past.
But Leo's sword showed no hesitation.
‘It’s possible not to hesitate.’
Someone with a strong will wouldn't have even a sliver of hesitation in their blade, no matter if their opponent wore their mother's face.
That was the kind of being who earned the title of Hero.
‘But just because the hesitation is gone doesn't mean the revulsion disappears.’
Yet Leo's sword held no emotion whatsoever.
It was a sword meant only to cut down its opponent.
This was on a different level from simply having a strong mind.
‘This is a state of being, a class of its own.’
As one who wields a weapon.
And as a hero who has overcome countless trials.
The state and class the boy before him had achieved were on a completely different dimension from the heroes he had met until now.
And Jorua knew well what it was that made a hero strong.
‘Experience.’
What makes a hero strong isn't innate talent, nor is it training and time.
Only trials.
Countless trials alone can elevate a hero's class.
That is what experience is.
And in the single sword strike Leo had shown, Jorua caught a glimpse of that fragment of experience.
“You... are you really a kid who's about to turn seventeen?”
A deeper interest sparked in Jorua's eyes.
Leo, who had been silent at the question, narrowed his eyes.
“I see.”
“Hm?”
“So you take the form of those whose power you steal.”
“...”
Watching Leo nod as if he understood, Jorua let out a hollow laugh.
“Am I not even on your mind?”
Leo was solely focused on analyzing and understanding Jorua's abilities.
He paid not the slightest attention to the person before him.
Merely a being to be subjugated.
Nothing more, nothing less.
“Heh heh. How splendid.”
Jorua drew his sword.
“As expected, you are the ultimate prey! Leo Flove!”
*Fwoosh-*
Red flames erupted from Jorua's sword.
Seeing this, Leo also conjured flames from his own sword.
Staring at the all-too-familiar Jerdinger flames, Leo muttered inwardly.
‘Mother's flames.’
*Whoosh-!*
Jorua instantly closed the distance to Leo.
*Fwoosh-!*
The sword swung, aiming for his neck.
Leo parried Jorua's blade.
*Clang-! Fwoosh-!*
Sword met sword, spewing flames.
*Woooooosh-!*
Leo's eyes twitched.
“How is it? Magnificent, isn't it? Your mother's flames!”
Jorua's eyes filled with ecstasy.
“Your mother! Reina Jerdinger's flames are special! More so than any other flame I have ever seen!”
*Roooooar-!*
The flames grew in intensity.
And with that, they began to consume Leo's flames.
“Reina Jerdinger's flames respond to a strong will and burn brighter! Their power rises without end!”
Reina's flames began to devour Leo's even faster.
Judging himself at a disadvantage in a contest of power, Leo roughly pushed the sword away.
*Clang-!*
A space opened up between their swords.
In that fleeting moment.
*Sh-sh-sh-sh-shink-!*
Dozens of exchanges occurred in the blink of an eye.
Jorua defended against Leo's sword.
In the process, Jorua was unable to counterattack.
In swordsmanship, Leo held the clear advantage.
“Incredible! Such incredible swordsmanship! How did you attain such skill at your young age!”
Jorua exclaimed in admiration.
He was completely overwhelmed by swordsmanship.
“To have such talent and still work so hard! It's truly worthy of respect!”
Flames flickered around Jorua's body.
“But!”
*Thump-!*
Jorua stomped his left foot on the ground.
Seeing this, Leo's eyes twitched.
The surrounding air was sucked toward the tip of Jorua's foot.
Leo, knowing what this portended, raised his mana.
*Kra-ka-ka-boom! Fwoooooosh!*
A massive explosion erupted with Jorua at its center.
It instantly combusted the absorbed air, blowing away the entire area.
The vast garden of the Flove estate was instantly incinerated, not even ashes remaining.
“Hahahahaha. In the face of overwhelming power, effort is meaningless.”
Jorua looked at Leo.
*Sizzzzzzle-!*
Jorua's eyes glinted with a strange light as he saw the water droplets enveloping Leo's body.
“Hoh? A spell I've never seen before. Is it star magic?”
The Armor of Water.
A defensive spell Luna had created in preparation for a battle with Erebos.
It granted powerful resistance to flame magic.
However, Luna considered this spell a failure.
Because it was powerless before Erebos's actual flames.
“That magic... I covet it.”
Jorua's eyes sparkled.
“That attack just now.”
“Hm?”
“It was a little different from the Jerdinger flames, wasn't it?”
“Are you finally showing some interest in me?”
Jorua said with a grin.
“That's right. It's a power that cannot be manifested with the Jerdinger flames alone. But I am different.”
“My true talent isn't stealing the abilities of others! It's the ability to draw out power beyond its limits, no matter the ability!”
Jorua's eyes shone.
“These flames are the same! These flames are special! But Reina Jerdinger is not!”
Jorua's shining face twisted slightly.
“I thought she was a special being. I thought she would be reborn as an even nobler person after losing her power. But once she lost it, she degenerated into a common, ordinary human. It's a great pity.”
Shaking his head, Jorua smiled brightly.
“But it's fine. Reina Jerdinger's noble form can now be passed down to future generations through me. And not just Reina Jerdinger. All the special heroes that exist in this world will be passed down for eternity because of me.”
“There's no meaning in such a pointless act.”
“No meaning? No! You're wrong! I am a vessel!”
Jorua spread his arms wide.
“Countless heroes live on within me! I become those countless heroes and am reborn as a more complete being!”
Clenching his fist, Jorua's eyes gleamed.
“Heroes fail to properly realize their own potential! Only I can draw out the value of the power they cannot! The possibilities that met the wrong masters! They will fully bloom because of me!”
Jorua's eyes, glistening with greed, turned to Leo.
“And the ability that will be the final piece of my power is none other than yours, Leo Flove! Your All-Class ability!”
Jorua pointed a finger at Leo and smiled.
“The power to use the abilities of all classes at will! Once I have that power, I will be reborn as a true All-Master! A perfect being! In other words! I will become a god! So, Leo Flove!”
Jorua said forcefully.
“Give me your power! That is the only way for the world to be saved!”
Leo said nothing, simply staring at Jorua.
Then, he let out a hollow laugh.
The endless greed Jorua displayed.
And the stench of a wraith that wafted from him, thanks to being revived by the Necro King's power.
Not a single thing about him was pure.
But a moment ago, when Jorua spoke of himself, his eyes were endlessly clear.
Surprisingly, not a trace of selfish desire could be felt in those eyes.
He simply believed that what he was doing was absolutely right.
He had murdered countless heroes to steal their power.
And even after betraying the world, dying, and becoming a slave to the Necro King.
He believed himself to be the absolute good.
It was a conviction.
An absolute faith that the world would be saved if he were reborn as a perfect being.
“If you're going to go mad, you could at least do it gracefully. What a messy way to lose your mind.”
“Hah... Even you, who are infinitely close to perfection, ultimately fail to understand my grand design.”
Jorua sighed with genuine regret.
Looking at him, Leo spoke.
“If you could truly save the world, I'd gladly give you this worthless All-Class ability.”
“Worthless...? Are you insulting that noble ability right now?”
Jorua's eyes twitched.
“You were lucky enough to be born with that ability... You foolish whelp, you don't even know what a blessing it is.”
At those words, Leo snorted.
‘Right. If Lisinas or Luna... Ar-on or Dweno had been born with this ability instead of me, the history of this world might have been different.’
He thought of his friends, who were far more heroic than he was.
There were certainly those who were more suited to this pure power than he.
For Leo, this ability was far from a blessing.
‘In the end, it just meant I had to suffer all by myself without any rest.’
It was more like a curse.
A curse that forced him to send everyone off and be left all alone.
But...
“It's an ability wasted on a pathetic fool who feels superior with stolen powers.”
“What did you say?”
“You blabber on about how the abilities you stole met the wrong masters.”
Leo sneered.
“Know your place. If you hadn't stolen them, the abilities you took would have shone even brighter in the hands of their original owners.”
“You talk nonsense!”
“Then why can't you utilize Torua's ability?”
After reincarnating.
Among all the people Leo had seen since living in this era, the one he considered the most troublesome to fight was none other than Torua.
Of course, there were many stronger than Torua.
But in the distant future.
After Torua had fully blossomed her potential.
‘I really wouldn't want to fight her.’
The reason was simple.
It was because every spell she used in combat was a unique magic.
The unique magic, created through countless studies, were byproducts of Torua's own love for magical research.
But they couldn't be called efficient.
‘In the world of magic, unique magic is considered truly valuable when it displays an ability that normal magic doesn't possess. But the story changes when the sheer number of them increases.’
First, dispelling becomes difficult.
Normally, one deduces what kind of magic it is by reading the fluctuations generated upon casting.
But unique magic is, true to its name, unique to that person.
It's impossible to predict because there's no information on its mana fluctuations.
When facing a mage.
Being unable to predict their magic is a truly terrible thing.
“You stole Torua's ability because you coveted it, right? But can you even properly utilize Torua's magic?”
Torua's ability is the result of effort, not talent.
It can't be used just by stealing the ability.
“Your true talent is drawing out the real power of others' abilities? Don't make me laugh.”
Leo knew all too well how to thoroughly crush this type of person.
That was why Leo genuinely sneered at Jorua.
“It's only natural for a toddler who's just started walking to be unable to run. But sometimes, you find a half-wit adult who laments that the toddler can't run. A moron who sees that and deludes themselves into thinking they're superior to the child.”
To shatter the conviction that they are absolutely right.
“You think you're something special? No.”
Jorua's face grew increasingly stiff.
“You're just a piece of trash who can't do anything but leech off the abilities of others.”
Leo smiled brightly.
“I'll prove it to you right now.”