Chapter 622
Chapter Title: Legion's Record
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Gripping her sword, Reina left the Flove estate, ready to fight anything that threatened the people of her territory.
‘If he brought me here on purpose, then the entire Flove territory is his hostage.’
She didn't want to be a burden to her son, Leo, but Reina knew all too well that was impossible.
Zorua possessed a power she couldn't handle even in her prime.
And now, she had already lost her Aura.
Staying in the Flove estate would only make her a liability.
‘The fortunate thing is that he’s completely lost interest in me.’
The streets of the Flove territory were fraught with all sorts of dangers.
But she thought it was better than being a hostage there.
Besides, if the streets were dangerous, it meant the people living there were in danger too.
‘I can at least be of some help in protecting the people. Even if I’ve lost my Aura, the swordsmanship I’ve built up over the years hasn’t disappeared.’
It was true that she had grown weak after losing her Aura.
But Reina had continued to diligently practice her swordsmanship.
Of course, if she used her full strength, her stamina would quickly reach its limit, and pain would overwhelm her.
‘But now is not the time to worry about such things.’
Just as Reina finished her preparations for any potential crisis and stepped out onto the streets, a problem immediately arose.
Monsters and demonic beasts had appeared.
Adding to the chaos, a demonic beast she had never seen before began summoning countless low-level flying demonic beasts.
‘So that’s the demonic beast called Fafnir.’
The same beast that had been a great threat to the world during the Age of Calamity, which had reappeared in Lumerne after Leo enrolled.
It had been driven to extinction by the Great Heroes, yet for some reason, it had reappeared in the present era.
And surprisingly, the demonic beast used summoning arts.
Demonic beasts poured out from the summoning magic circle.
‘This is different from ordinary beast tamers. The foundation of that summoning art is phantom beast summoning. Just what is that monster?’
Reina was shocked by the unprecedented situation, but she had no time to hesitate.
The entire territory descended into a pandemonium.
"M-Mom! Run! Hurry!"
"N-No! Ron!"
"Leave this to me!"
A demonic beast was seen targeting the people.
A boy about Leo's age was frantically swinging a sword, desperately protecting a woman who appeared to be his mother.
Reina rushed forward without hesitation.
*Thwack-!*
She sliced through the low-level demonic beast's neck from behind.
*Thud-!*
Having instantly killed the low-level demonic beast by striking its vital point, Reina clenched her hand against the shock that traveled up her arm.
It might have looked like she dealt with it easily, but that was far from the truth.
She had perfectly targeted the beast's vital spot, a weakness she had learned through countless battles long ago.
And she had compensated for her lack of strength with technique.
It was, quite literally, an advantage gained by surprise.
‘The sword’s influence is significant too, though.’
Reina looked down at the sword in her hand.
It was a blade worthy of being called a masterpiece.
Her first real combat in twenty years.
‘In the old days, I would have simply burned it to a crisp.’
Feeling a bitter taste inwardly, Reina smiled warmly at the trembling boy.
"Are you all right?"
"I-I'm fine, miss."
"Oh my?"
Reina let out a small gasp, lightly covering her mouth.
"Gasp? M-My Lady, the Lord's wife?!"
The boy's mother recognized Reina and was startled.
The boy also looked astonished upon hearing this.
Looking at the two of them, Reina said,
"Take your mother and get to a shelter quickly. The knights will protect you there."
"B-But My Lady, you must evacuate too!"
Reina shook her head at the middle-aged woman's words.
"No, I must protect the other citizens. That is my duty."
*Grrrroooaaar!*
A demonic beast spotted the three of them and began to charge.
The boy and his mother were terrified.
Seeing this, Reina tightened her grip on her sword with both hands.
"Don't worry about me. Go, now."
"Y-Yes! Mother, let's go!"
"B-But My Lady..."
"I can cut down such filthy-looking things with ease."
Reina gave a gentle smile to the middle-aged woman who was watching her with worried, trembling eyes.
It was a smile Reina often wore long ago.
Seeing it, the middle-aged woman felt a sense of reassurance for some reason.
"Young man."
"Y-Yes!"
"You must protect your mother well, understand?"
"Yes! I'll protect her with my life!"
"That's wrong."
"Huh?"
"You have to live too. Otherwise, your mother will be sad."
"Ah, I understand!"
The boy hurriedly took his mother and left the scene.
The image of Reina's slender yet resolute back was seared into the boy's eyes.
"Practicing my cool poses in front of the mirror during my school days is finally paying off."
She had practiced smiling to reassure people and had done all sorts of training to inspire confidence in urgent situations.
Now, all that practice was shining through.
‘Sister! That’s never going to be helpful, you know?’
Recalling the memory of kicking her younger brother, Jis Jerdinger, in the rear as he clutched his stomach laughing, Reina let out a faint smile.
"Well, I put on a brave face, but..."
*Grrroooowwwl-!*
The bear-like demonic beast, with its vicious claws raised, let out a roar and slammed its paws down.
*Craaash-!*
Barely dodging the attack, Reina closed in and tried to slash its neck.
*Thunk-!*
The blade sank into the demonic beast's neck.
But it stopped midway, unable to penetrate any deeper.
"Tch! As I thought, this much strength isn't enough against a Blood Bear."
Quickly retrieving her sword, Reina, far from being intimidated, put distance between herself and the now enraged Blood Bear.
*Kyaaaaaaaah!*
Watching the Blood Bear charge at her with its maw open and arms raised, Reina took a deep breath and bent her knees.
*CRASH-!*
The spot where Reina had been standing was shattered by the Blood Bear's teeth and claws.
Reina leaped as high as she could.
Her kneecaps and muscles throbbed.
"And I'm not even old enough to be a grandmother yet!"
Reina muttered, spinning her body.
*Whoooosh-!*
Using the centrifugal force from her spin, she plummeted downwards and struck the Blood Bear's neck.
The strength Reina squeezed out was concentrated at the tip of her sword.
*CRUNCH-!*
With that force, she snapped the Blood Bear's neck bone.
She sliced through its tough hide and flesh as if mincing them.
In the process, her wrist began to throb as if fractured.
But Reina paid it no mind.
"Cough! Cough-!"
The strenuous attack had overloaded her entire body.
Coughing from the pain in her lungs, Reina spat up blood.
But there was no time to rest.
"Aaaaaaaah!"
She could see dozens of citizens being chased by flying demonic beasts.
*Tap- Tap-!*
Reina once again mustered all her strength and leaped.
Using the gaps between buildings, Reina steadily climbed onto a roof, ran towards a bizarre-faced, eagle-like flying demonic beast, and leaped onto its back.
"Where do you think you're going!"
*Stab-!*
*Kieeeeeek!*
Reina plunged her sword into the flying beast's neck.
She had narrowly avoided the vital point.
Thanks to the demonic beast's tenacious life force, it didn't plummet to the ground despite the blood gushing from its wound.
*Kieeeeeeeek-!*
The flying beast ascended, trying to shake Reina off its back.
Reina's eyes glinted coldly.
*Shunk-!*
She put more force into the sword embedded in the beast's neck.
*Gurgle!*
The flying beast screamed and slightly lowered its altitude.
‘It can’t die before I can land safely on the ground.’
Just as Reina wore a slightly worried expression,
she spotted a beautiful, pure-white Pegasus in the sky.
Her eyes lighting up at the sight, Reina pushed the sword sideways to align her altitude with the Pegasus.
And as she neared the Pegasus, she lopped off the beast's head and leaped onto the Pegasus's back.
***
"And that's what happened."
"That was too reckless! You could have been seriously hurt if things went wrong!"
"Isn't it fine as long as the result is good?!"
"Aaaaaargh! I can't get through to you!"
"Ah! That's what my older brother used to say to me often. Ohohohohoho!"
"How can you be laughing right now?!"
Celia clutched her head and screamed.
"Lady Reina. Your heart for your people. And your passion. I am moved. It's an honor to know that a senior like you was once at Lumerne."
"Oh my~ thank you."
"This feeling I have for you, Lady Reina. It is surely true love."
"That's adultery, you know!"
As Celia, her face flushed, shrieked, Ulta wore a puzzled expression.
"What a scandalous thought, Celia. The emotion of love takes many forms. Passion between the sexes is not the entirety of love. Respect and adoration are also forms of love."
"Ugh! Senior Ulta, the way you said it was misleading..."
"Not at all. I wonder what kind of fantasies our dear niece lives with to jump to such conclusions?"
"Hmm, I should tell Lis about this later..."
"Don't you dare! Absolutely not! If you do, I don't know what I'll do!"
Celia shrieked at the top of her lungs.
Watching Celia, Reina chuckled.
Just then, flying demonic beasts spotted the three of them and began to radiate killing intent.
Seeing this, Ulta said,
"Celia, if you would."
"Yes!"
Celia leaped from the Pegasus without hesitation.
*Fwoooosh-!*
A massive flame began to flicker around Celia, soon incinerating the surrounding demonic beasts.
Reina smiled as she watched the flames of Aura, comparable to a large-scale magic spell.
‘This brings back memories...’
Celia's figure overlapped with her own past self.
Ulta cautiously asked Reina,
"Are you alright?"
"Yes. I'm fine. And thank you, Ulta. For flustering her so she wouldn't notice my condition."
Reina's body was trembling.
The tremors she had been suppressing until a moment ago came rushing in all at once.
It was the backlash from wielding her sword so recklessly.
If Celia had noticed her condition, she would have been too worried to focus on the battle.
"That girl. She has incredible power, but she's still young, so I was worried."
An unshakeable heart, even when a comrade dies or is gravely injured.
A mental fortitude that borders on callousness is also a necessary virtue for a hero.
And Celia was still too young to possess such heartlessness.
"We will descend to the ground as quickly as possible."
"I'm fine, so don't rush."
***
*Kra-ka-ka-ka-BOOM-!*
Leo grabbed Zorua's head and slammed it into the ground, grinding his face against the floor.
"Gyaaaaaaaah!"
A crazed roar erupted from Zorua's mouth.
Leo let go of the struggling Zorua and kicked him away.
*Fwoosh! Kra-ka-ka-ka-BOOM-!*
Zorua's body flew through the air and crashed.
*Thud- Thud-*
Leo approached Zorua with indifferent eyes.
"Impossible..."
Zorua muttered in denial.
Right now, Leo was overwhelming Zorua using only his Aura.
And he hadn't used any of Kyle's swordsmanship at all.
He was easily overpowering Zorua using only the Jerdinger flames and swordsmanship.
No matter what abilities he used, they were powerless before Leo's flames.
"This can't be happening! Unless you're using some kind of trick!"
The true power of All-Class is the fusion of classes.
He hadn't used any of that.
Moreover, he was being thoroughly toyed with by the very Jerdinger flames he was certain he had perfectly understood and even improved upon.
"See. I told you."
Leo said callously.
*Slash-! Fwoooosh-!*
"Kraaaaaak!"
Leo's sword cut Zorua down.
He writhed in agony.
"You only ruin the abilities you steal. A god? Don't make me laugh."
Leo crushed the struggling Zorua's head under his foot and asked,
"That makes fifteen."
Leo looked down at Zorua with dry, emotionless eyes.
"You. When you die while using a stolen ability, not only can you never use that ability again, but you also lose one of your lives, right?"
Zorua flinched at his words.
‘How does he know that?’
This was a new ability he had gained upon being revived by the Necro King.
An ability that didn't exist in any literature in this world.
He had seen through the essence of the ability in just a short battle.
For Zorua, this was a shocking revelation.
But for Leo, who had lived through the nonsensical Age of Calamity, deducing an opponent's abilities was not that difficult.
Back when he had the protection of Erebos, there were many demons with abilities far stranger than Zorua's.
Leo tilted his head.
"How many more times do I have to kill you before you stay dead?"
Zorua's body trembled.
It wasn't fear.
It was rage.
‘This bastard... he truly sees me as an insect...! How dare he...!’
"You alone... you alone I can never forgive... Leo Flove!"
Zorua spat out the words.
"I don't need your abilities anymore! Just die...!"
*Stomp-!*
Leo stomped on Zorua's head again, crushing it.
In that moment.
Leo realized the tip of his foot had touched something.
And Zorua's instantly regenerating skull clacked its teeth, letting out a mocking laugh.
"Now, feel the terror of the Monster Queen! Leo Flove!"
"What?"
The moment Leo frowned.
A message appeared before his eyes.
Seeing it, Leo's face stiffened.
***
He'd had a question ever since his first year.
5,000 years ago.
How had Fafnir, a species they had driven to extinction, appeared in the present day?
Of course, the former legion commander, Poison King Jerdiac, had also made an appearance.
But that was, just like when he had guided Luna and Ar-on to the outside world,
because Tartaros had consumed a fragment of the power of Erebos it possessed.
Just like them.
Tartaros could also use the Hero Record.
And a past existence manifested through the Hero Record consumes power just by existing.
While powerful, wasting the power of Erebos on a mere demonic beast, not even a legion commander, was a waste.
The same applied to bringing a demonic beast's egg.
A being born from such an egg would also be a manifestation via the Hero Record.
‘Whatever we can do with the Hero Record, they can do too. They can even enter the World of Heroes.’
If so.
He had once considered the possibility that they, too, could obtain clear rewards, just like them.
[Legion's Record Open. World of Silatuna. Chapter: Prologue - Forest of Monsters.]
And seeing the message that had just appeared, that thought became a certainty.