Chapter 076
Chapter Title: The Hero's Dagger
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“Damn it.”
Pain coursing through his body, Leo struggled to push himself up.
He barely managed to stand, but his body refused to obey him.
‘My aura and spiritual power are completely depleted.’
He had poured every last bit of his strength into blocking that last attack.
Leo looked around.
“Fairy Land…”
Gazing at the desolate homeland of the fairies, which had long lost its former glory, Leo staggered.
As he lost his balance and stumbled backward, Leo felt something press against his waist.
Behind him was a small stone pedestal.
And resting upon it was a dagger.
Leo's eyes widened.
It looked like an ordinary dagger.
But Leo knew this dagger.
‘That cheeky kid… She said she didn't need it then.’
Before the Great Heroes left for their final expedition.
The item Kyle had given to Verchia.
He had given it to her to use in an emergency, but she had retorted coyly that she wasn't a child anymore.
A heroic artifact related to the Hero of the Beginning, Kyle.
In other words, it was the key to opening Kyle's World of Heroes.
‘So this is why Hell Kaiser was after this place.’
Leo reached for the dagger.
Despite the passage of thousands of years, the dagger was unscathed.
He could feel how much its previous owner had cherished it in life.
*Crackle-!*
When Leo gripped the dagger, Silroad's magic reacted with rejection.
*Vwoom-!*
But soon, the magic dwelling within the dagger responded.
The magic Kyle had left behind long ago reacted to its master for the first time in millennia.
*Thud-! Thud-! Thud-!*
He could see the Skeleton King approaching.
“Hah.”
Leo smiled faintly as his own magic surged through his body.
*Whoosh-!*
A shadow fell over Leo's head.
*Thoom!*
*Vwooom-!*
*Groooowwwwl-!*
The swirling magic sent the Skeleton King flying.
*Cruuuumble-!*
The Skeleton King collapsed.
Seeing this, Leo began to form a magical formula.
A vast amount of magic, far beyond what the current Leo could ever dream of wielding, responded.
‘I can use any spell, but only once. Which one should I use?’
As he pondered, he saw Lunia and Eiran staring at him with dazed expressions.
‘Right. That'll be perfect.’
*Ziiiing-!*
A massive gray magic circle formed above his head.
Leo's unique magic—Bible—had been activated.
‘It won't compare to the original, but it'll still be a great gift for those kids.’
The gray magic soon turned a brilliant golden hue.
The entire area was bathed in a light like the coming of dawn.
“Ah…”
Lunia and Eiran's bodies trembled.
They couldn't identify this unknown star magic.
But according to the literature, when that spell was used, the world would be dyed in the light of the morning star.
“That star magic, Luna's ultimate spell.”
Lunia muttered unconsciously.
The symbol of the great Progenitor of the Nebula.
“The End.”
Starlight rained down upon the Skeleton King's head.
*Groooowwwwwwwwwl!*
Overwhelmed by the star's power, which defied all common sense, the Skeleton King shrieked in agony as it was pulverized.
Leo clenched his fist.
*Crumple-!*
Space distorted, and the pulverized remains of the Skeleton King vanished.
*Whoosh-!*
As if it had all been a lie, darkness returned.
*Thump-!*
Leo collapsed to the ground.
“L-Leo!”
Lunia dragged her weary body toward him.
Eiran, who had recovered a bit of her strength, also crawled over.
“Are you guys okay?”
“Is this any time to worry about us? You're in the worst shape of all!”
“Sir Leo! Miss Lunia! I knew you two could do it!”
Eiran sniffled.
“Of course! Anyway, what was that magic just now! It was just like the one from the legends…!”
“It seemed to be magic imbued in this dagger.”
Leo said, struggling to lift the dagger, which had now lost its power and become ordinary.
“It seems to be an item related to a Great Hero.”
Lunia and Eiran gasped.
If that was true, it was an incredible discovery.
It would be no surprise for Tartaros to cause such an incident over it.
“Anyway, how are we supposed to get back? I'm completely out of magic.”
“I don't think I can use any healing magic either. First, we need to give Sir Leo first aid…!”
Just as Lunia and Eiran were fretting.
[Hey! Look! I found my wing!]
Kiruan flew over, holding a small scrap of paper.
[It's definitely my wing! How in the world is it sealed like this?]
Kiruan grumbled, tugging at the piece of paper with a grunt.
Watching him, Lunia gasped in surprise.
“Wait! Isn't that a piece of a Hero Record?”
Seeing the surprised Kiruan, something suddenly occurred to Leo.
‘Silroad didn't just seal away this dagger?’
“Kiruan, let me see.”
Leo said urgently.
At his words, Kiruan flew to Leo and handed him the piece of the Hero Record.
The moment the fragment touched Leo's palm.
[Hero Record Open. World of ■■. Chapter: ■■-■■■]
A familiar phrase appeared before Leo's eyes.
*Fwoosh-!*
With those words, their surroundings were enveloped in a bright light.
“Ugh?”
“Wh-what is this…”
The scenery around them had completely changed.
They were in a lush, dense forest.
“You're going to defeat Erebos?”
A voice tinged with disbelief rang out.
Lunia and Eiran turned their heads and froze.
Standing there was an elven girl.
The elven girl bore a striking resemblance to someone very famous.
The elven girl grumbled and waved her staff.
After healing her own wounds with magic, she swung her staff toward Leo's group.
The three of them were healed in an instant.
And then the beautiful elven girl uttered words that didn't quite match her face.
“Are you some kind of lunatic?”
Lunia and Eiran's jaws dropped, while Leo couldn't help but burst out laughing.
“What did you eat to come up with an idea like that?”
Though her expression was one of bewilderment, the elven girl showed great interest in the human before her.
“Still, whatever. I like it. Subjugating Erebos! A goal that suits me perfectly! I'm in. I'll join your party.”
The elven girl smiled confidently and held out her hand.
“You said your name was ■■, right? My name is Luna! I'm destined to become a being who shines like the stars in the night sky, so you should be honored to have me in your party!”
*Fwoosh-!*
The world distorted and returned to normal.
“Th-that was just now!”
“It was Lady Luna! Could this be Lady Luna's Hero Record?”
Lunia and Eiran were incredibly excited.
‘No. This is my Hero Record.’
It was the same as the one he had seen during the Heroics practical training.
‘A record of the time when Luna and I first met.’
Leo felt his body had recovered and looked down at the Hero Record.
‘This confirms it.’
Leo let out a deep sigh.
‘Those bastards from Tartaros are erasing the records of the Great Heroes.’
***
Just as Leo's group, having recovered, began to make their way out of the forest.
Soldiers arrived from the Grand Council of Elsalvekia.
They had sensed the magic of the ‘The End’ spell Leo had used, realized something was wrong in the Fairy Forest, and had hastily dispatched soldiers.
Among them were Halind and Herdium.
Upon spotting Leo, Halind's eyes grew colder than ever.
Herdium was dismayed to hear that the school's top students had snuck out of their lodgings at night.
The three of them were immediately placed under confinement and locked in a council room.
It was confinement in name, but there was another reason for it.
“…Among Seirun's students… there was someone collaborating with Tartaros?”
Herdium asked, his face pale.
“Yes. We didn't want to believe it either, but…”
“Ah.”
Watching Lunia answer cautiously, Herdium covered his face.
It was hard to believe, but the unidentifiable body found in the forest was determined to be Lauta's.
The ring that had devoured Lauta had used him for nutrients and spat out the now-useless corpse.
And traces of necromancy were found on the body.
Meanwhile, Halind, who was listening beside them, wore a grave expression.
“So, something like that happened at Seirun as well.”
“‘At Seirun as well’… does that mean something similar happened at Lumerne?”
“Something similar did happen. Although the Lumerne higher-ups ordered everyone to keep quiet about it.”
As a long-time professor at Lumerne and Leo's homeroom teacher, Halind had been briefed by the Lumerne administration about the incident during the midterms.
“How this incident will be handled will be decided by the Seirun administration. Lumerne will follow Seirun's decision.”
“…”
Herdium nodded with a stiff expression.
“And Leo Flove.”
As Halind's icy gaze fell upon Leo, Lunia and Eiran hiccuped involuntarily.
Lumerne's Wailing Wall.
The terror of the upperclassmen. Experiencing Halind's chilling aura for the first time, the two female students were momentarily terrified.
Of course, Leo, who was used to it, calmly waited for Halind to speak.
“As class president, you know that sneaking out of your lodgings is a serious offense, don't you?”
“Yes.”
“Normally, this is an issue that would get you sent back to the academy immediately and brought before the disciplinary committee.”
“…”
“However, considering your meritorious service, I will reduce the punishment to 100 hours of on-campus community service.”
“Understood.”
“And if there's anything you want, speak up.”
Leo suppressed a smile at Halind's words.
‘No matter how you look at it, Professor Halind really takes care of his students.’
Rules were rules, but it was plain to see he was proud of his student's accomplishments.
“I'd like the whole class to have some free time on the last day. It is a class trip, after all.”
Originally, the class trip was packed with a tight schedule right up to the very end.
Hearing Leo's words, Halind paused for a moment before nodding.
“Very well. I'll grant you free time starting from the evening of the day before, as long as you don't cross any lines.”
The kids from Class 5 would go wild if they heard this news.
As Leo smiled discreetly, Herdium cleared his throat.
“Student Lunia, Student Eiran, you must also be punished.”
“What? Professor~ We found the Progenitor's Hero Record and an item related to her, you know? Please let it slide.”
“N-No! Rules are rules…!”
“Professor~”
Lunia whined.
As a teacher, Herdium commanded the respect of his students, but because he was so kind to them, they often acted spoiled around him.
He had unwittingly accepted their childish behavior so often that he lacked the overwhelming charisma of Halind.
Herdium looked at Halind with a hint of envy.
“Your confinement ends today. Even when classes resume tomorrow, you are to remain silent about what happened today.”
With Halind's final words, he and Herdium left the room.
It was confinement in name only; they were really being told to rest there for the day.
“Phew! I thought we were in big trouble!”
Lunia flopped onto her back, sounding completely drained.
“S-Still, it was an amazing adventure. It felt like watching a heroic tale.”
Eiran said in an excited tone.
“Right! It was amazing! Especially since we got to see the Progenitor's face!”
Lunia shot up, her voice filled with excitement.
“Leo! This is your first time seeing a Great Hero too, right?”
“No.”
“What?”
“You've seen another Great Hero?”
“I saw Lisinas in the World of Heroes at Lumerne.”
“Whoa, awesome.”
“I'm so jealous!”
Lunia and Eiran chattered excitedly about Luna.
‘It turned out just as you wished.’
Leo thought of Luna.
Like a star in the night sky. Remembering his old friend who had wanted to bring light to a dark world, Leo let out a laugh.