Chapter 073
Chapter Title: The Price of Power
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“What in the world is this!”
“Th-this is… the curse of the dead!”
Lunia and Eiran’s faces turned pale as they felt the powerful curse emanating from the center of the forest.
Even for elves, who were born with a strong natural resistance to curses, the current one was suffocatingly potent.
Lunia gritted her teeth and looked at Leo.
‘Is he not affected at all?’
For Leo, who had fought the Necrolord Hell Kaiser directly, a curse of this level had little effect.
Turning his head, Leo saw the two elven girls looking unwell and conjured his mana.
“Vi Arte.”
A light brimming with life flowed from Leo’s hand.
Lunia and Eiran’s expressions eased considerably.
“This should make you feel a little better.”
“Is this Star Magic?”
“It is.”
“It’s a spell we don’t know.”
“You don’t know this spell?”
Leo looked puzzled.
“It’s a spell that restores vitality. Not a very difficult one.”
“Amazing. Did you develop this spell, Leo?”
“No. I just recreated a spell I saw in a grimoire.”
To be precise, it was a spell Luna frequently used, but he couldn’t say that outright.
Hearing Leo’s words, Lunia spoke.
“Leo, where did you get the grimoire you used to teach yourself Star Magic?”
A grimoire containing Star Magic that not even Seirun students had access to.
‘And Leo even deciphered the Founder’s magic that has gone uninterpreted for so long… Perhaps it’s one of the few grimoires in the world left by the Founder herself. Even if it’s not the Founder’s own grimoire, it might be one that contains the original Star Magic she used…!’
If so, it would be a monumental discovery.
“It was in my family’s library.”
Lunia stroked her chin.
‘Leo’s mother, Reina, is a direct descendant of the Jerdinger family. Even if she cut ties with them, it wouldn’t be strange for her to have some of the family’s rare books.’
Lunia’s eyes sparkled.
“Can I see that grimoire?”
“It’s gone now.”
“What? What happened to it?”
“I burned it while practicing magic when I was a kid.”
“How could you burn something like that!”
Lunia grabbed her head and shouted.
Of course, it was a fabricated story, but there was no way for Lunia to know that.
Eiran also wore a regretful expression.
“Seeing you shout like that, you must be feeling better.”
Leo smirked and glared toward the center of the forest.
“Now, let’s get rid of this damn curse.”
With those words, Leo started walking deeper inside.
A short while later.
Leo’s party arrived at the former entrance to Fairy Land.
Seeing who was there, the corner of his mouth curled up.
“What are you doing here at this time of night?”
“I was about to ask you the same thing.”
Lauta crossed his arms, his brow furrowed.
“First-years like you shouldn’t have permission to leave your dorms.”
“Isn’t that the same for you?”
“Hah? What an insolent tone. Are you acting like this just because we’re from different schools? I see Lumerne’s standards are as low as I thought.”
Leo’s eyes narrowed as he watched Lauta flash a sneering smile.
Lunia said urgently.
“Senior Lauta. There are undead appearing here!”
“I know. I’m currently investigating the cause.”
“The cause is the curse!”
“A curse? Are you saying a curse has been cast here?”
“What?”
‘How can he not feel this dense aura of death…?’
Lunia wore a bewildered expression.
She instinctively felt that Leo had been right.
Lauta was definitely in league with Tartaros.
‘No way… It can’t be! A student of Seirun would never!’
But her reason refused to accept it.
It was unthinkable that a student from the proud Seirun Academy would degenerate into a necromancer.
Besides, wasn’t Lauta an upperclassman?
Lunia’s eyes trembled.
“I’ll ask you one more time.”
Leo’s voice dropped to an icy chill.
“What were you doing here?”
“I was exterminating the undead and investigating the anomaly in the Fairy Forest. Do you really think it’s acceptable for a first-year brat who’s still wet behind the ears to threaten a second-year like me?”
Lauta said, annoyed.
“I am a student who carries on the will of the great Progenitor of the Nebula, Lady Luna. For me to do something that would tarnish her honor…”
“Lauta Algraya.”
Lunia and Eiran flinched, unconsciously taking a step back.
Lauta, who saw Leo’s expression head-on, was momentarily terrified.
“Don’t you dare speak Luna’s name with that mouth.”
“You bastard…!”
“There were some first-years at Lumerne who accidentally got their hands on an item leaked by Tartaros.”
“…!”
Lauta’s face hardened.
“In their case, they had touched the item unknowingly, so the school let it go with just a warning.”
Leo raised his hand.
A small, white orb of light shot up from his fingertip into the sky.
*Whoosh! Paat-!*
The orb of light burst, and the surrounding area became as bright as day.
Lunia’s face was filled with shock, and Eiran instinctively covered her mouth and stumbled backward.
Behind Lauta lay the corpses of numerous monsters, strewn about haphazardly.
A massive summoning circle had been drawn with the blood and entrails taken from the bodies.
“The only things that would use monster blood and guts as a catalyst are black magic or necromancy. Our school’s students might not have known, but…”
A murderous glint appeared in Leo’s eyes.
“It seems you’re cooperating knowingly.”
“You’re a sharp one.”
Lauta grinned sinisterly.
“Did you really have to dig your own grave?”
“No way… A student from Seirun becoming a necromancer…!”
“Watch your mouth, Lunia El Lundua. Do you think such disrespectful words toward a senior will be tolerated?”
“You dare call yourself a student of Seirun while using necromancy?! Cut the crap!”
Lunia shouted fiercely.
“I’m not using necromancy. I’m merely using Tartaros.”
“What?”
“Do you know what lies dormant here? The Hero’s Page of the Founder herself! You understand what that means, don’t you, Lunia?”
A look of ecstasy appeared on Lauta’s face.
“It’s as good as becoming Lady Luna’s direct disciple! I’ll become a great hero, one of the few in elven history!”
By now, very few Hero’s Pages of the Great Heroes remained.
Discovering a new Hero’s Page and inheriting its power would indeed be enough to become a hero whose name would be recorded in elven history.
“What’s wrong with using Tartaros to reclaim our legacy?”
“Have you ever considered that you’re the one being used?”
Leo let out a cold laugh.
“Hell Kaiser is a Legion Commander who fears the Great Heroes more than anyone. Do you really think he’d just stand by and let you inherit Luna’s power?”
“I’m not worried about that. The foolish Hell Kaiser gave me the power to control the undead!”
Lauta grinned, showing off a black ring.
“With this, the undead are no threat to me.”
“There’s no talking to you.”
If Hell Kaiser was weak enough to be manipulated by a mere student, not even a hero, then countless heroes wouldn't have died during the past Age of Calamity.
‘He’s emotional and his cognitive abilities are impaired. The symptoms are similar to Sen Liu’s.’
He recalled Sen Liu, who had gone berserk during the summoning exam.
“Leo, let’s knock him out. I’m going to smash that damn face of his and drag him to the teachers!”
Lunia growled.
Eiran, too, showed strong hostility toward Lauta for tarnishing the school’s honor.
“Don’t fight with a half-hearted attitude.”
“What?”
“Be prepared to kill him if you have to.”
Lunia’s eyes widened at Leo’s advice.
“That’s what fighting Tartaros is like.”
Leaving those words behind, Leo approached Lauta.
‘Kill him? A senior from my school?’
While Lunia was still in a daze.
“Hehehehe-”
Kargor appeared amidst a cloud of black smoke.
“It seems you’re in a difficult situation.”
“Kargor. Kill them!”
At Lauta’s cry, Kargor charged.
“Lunia! Eiran! You two handle this one!”
Leaving Kargor to them, Leo rushed straight toward Lauta.
“Foolish whelp! I’ll show you the difference between a first-year and a second-year.”
Seeing Leo charge head-on, Lauta began to chant a spell.
Hearing the incantation, Leo also quickly chanted a spell.
“La Tiarga!”
“La Tiarga!”
*Kwagagagak-!*
The identical spells were cast simultaneously, colliding and canceling each other out.
Lauta’s face contorted.
“How dare you use Star Magic?”
“And you’re using Luna’s magic while acting as Tartaros’s pawn.”
“Shut up! I am the elf who will inherit the Founder’s power! I’m different from a rootless nobody like you!”
His eyes bloodshot, Lauta began to chant a spell.
Hearing it, Leo also recited an incantation.
“Li Ezernia!”
“Li Ezernia.”
*Flash-!*
*Zzzzzzt-!*
An intense bolt of lightning raged.
“…!”
When his magic was once again nullified by the exact same spell, Lauta’s face hardened.
‘This bastard… no way!’
Lauta hurriedly began another incantation.
Hearing Lauta’s chant, Leo also quickly recited a spell.
*Fwoosh-!*
This time, flames swirled.
Lauta’s body trembled.
“H-how dare this bastard!”
It wasn’t a coincidence that their spells matched.
Leo was listening to Lauta’s incantations and repeating them verbatim.
And he was completing the spells at the exact same time.
For a mage, there was no greater humiliation.
Looking at the enraged Lauta, Leo said.
“Your skill in handling magic is pathetic.”
*Whoosh-!*
Leo’s body vanished in an instant.
Startled, Lauta quickly searched for him, but Leo was already behind him.
“It’s like you can’t even manage your own power.”
*Pow-! Crack!*
“Keuk?”
Leo kicked Lauta’s ankle with an aura-infused foot.
With the sound of bone breaking, Lauta collapsed to the ground.
“Then again, it’s not your own power, so of course you can’t handle it properly.”
Leo’s gaze shifted to the black ring.
‘A Demonic Artifact.’
*Shing-!*
Leo drew his sword.
Lauta’s face turned white as a sheet.
“S-save me! I’m a student of Seirun! If you kill me, the relationship between Lumerne and Seirun will…!”
*Crunch-!*
“Gack?”
Leo’s sword pierced Lauta’s neck without a moment’s hesitation.
Had he been a proper second-year upperclassman from Seirun, Leo would have struggled.
But to the battle-hardened Leo, Lauta was nothing more than a fool with borrowed strength.
*Whoosh-!*
“Hehehehe.”
Just then, Kargor appeared before Leo.
Lunia and Eiran, who had been fiercely fighting Kargor, stopped in their tracks as they chased after him and saw Leo.
They gasped, seeing Lauta impaled through the neck.
“Did you kill him? Hehehe! To kill one who also dreamed of being a hero! How cold! How cruel! And you call yourself someone who dreams of being a hero! Bwahahaha!”
Kargor’s eyes gleamed as he mocked Leo.
Lunia and Eiran’s eyes shook violently.
They had anticipated that something like this might happen.
But faced with the reality of it, the young girls’ minds went blank.
Kargor, who had been bursting with laughter, suddenly met Leo’s gaze.
Seeing those eyes, Kargor felt a chill run down his spine.
‘Even if he was corrupted, he was still a hero candidate. Normally, he should be reacting like those elven girls.’
But Leo’s eyes showed no emotion whatsoever.
‘What are those eyes?’
They were simply calm.
‘Those aren’t the eyes of someone who dreams of being a hero. Nor are they the eyes of a hero. Those are…’
The eyes of a hunter.
“You’re next.”
Devoid of killing intent, anger, or fighting spirit.
At Leo’s utterly dry voice, the knight who had transcended even death felt fear.
It was like standing before his own master, the Necrolord Hell Kaiser.
‘This one must be killed here!’
His instincts screamed at him.
With that thought, Kargor slammed his greatsword into the ground.
*Goooooooo-!*
A crimson aura flowed from the greatsword into the earth.
At the same time, the black ring on Lauta’s finger reacted.
Lauta’s body began to swell.
Seeing this, Leo urgently threw himself aside.
*KABOOM! Krrrr-crack-!*
Lauta’s body exploded, sending fragments of bone and flesh flying in all directions like shrapnel.
Leo deployed his Aura Armor to protect himself.
‘Self-destruction!’
Leo’s face contorted.
Lauta’s hand, the only part left intact with the ring on it, clenched into a fist.
*Kwagagagagak-!*
Simultaneously, the scattered bone fragments and flesh began to clump together.
“Urp-!”
Lunia and Eiran covered their mouths.
The mass of bone and flesh mashed together like clay, then reshaped itself back into Lauta’s form.
Opening his eyes, Lauta looked down at his own hands in disbelief.
“I’m alive?”
“Hehe. By experiencing death, you have formed a pact with the great Necrolord.”
Kargor’s eyes flashed.
“Lauta Algraya! Do you not wish to become a great hero who has transcended even death?”
“A great hero… who has transcended even death!”
Desire flickered in Lauta’s eyes.
“Accept it! The power of the dead!”
*Goooooooo-!*
Dark magic flowed from Lauta’s body.
*Woooong-!*
At the same time, the summoning circle Lauta had drawn began to emit an ominous light.
*Kugugugugugugu-!*
The entire ground vibrated.
Lunia and Eiran lost their balance and fell to the ground.
Leo’s face hardened as he watched a giant skeleton break through the earth.
‘Lauta’s increased magic power must have activated the summoning circle… That death knight. He intended to kill Lauta from the start.’
*Rooooooooooar!*
[What is that!]
Kiruan let out a cry of alarm.
“A Skeleton King.”
Leo replied, his face grim.
“One of the strongest undead.”