119.
Thud- Thud-
Arong walked toward Talatunia.
Seeing Arong, Talatunia furrowed her brow in irritation.
“Beastman?”
The Spider Princess looked skyward, as if questioning something unusual.
“A talking Beastman? And it’s not even the full moon.”
Talatunia’s expression of curiosity quickly turned to mockery.
“A mutation perhaps?”
“Let that girl go.”
“What girl?”
Talatunia lightly shook Elshi in her grasp and sneered.
“No?”
As Talatunia mocked him, Arong crouched down.
“Why are there so many beasts bothering me?”
With an irritated expression, Talatunia stretched out her foreleg, intending to k*ll Arong.
Talatunia didn’t know.
She was unaware that the Beastman in front of her was a Hunter.
Whoosh!
“Hmm?”
Talatunia’s foreleg, which had been flying towards Arong at terrifying speed, was suddenly grasped.
Crack!
As Arong applied force, the foreleg tip broke.
For a creature as enormous as Talatunia, the broken foreleg wasn’t a significant blow.
But when Arong pulled hard, Talatunia’s colossal body lurched forward.
“What… What is…!”
Although Talatunia resisted with a cry of shock, her already destabilized body crumbled before Arong.
With a loud thud, the Spider Princess fell before Arong.
Gurgle-!
Seeing the Spider Princess fall right in front of him, Arong tightened his fist.
Talatunia instinctively felt something was very wrong.
Whoooom!
Arong swung his fist.
A heavy sound, as it cut through the air, rang out.
Whooshhwhooshhwhooshh!
Gale winds rushed in every direction.
Seeing this, Ar crouched as low as possible to avoid being blown away by the fierce wind.
After the wind ceased, Ar raised his head.
He saw Talatunia, her upper body torn off, writhing and convulsing.
Ar gasped at the sheer overwhelming power.
Elshi, who had escaped Talatunia’s grasp, wore an expression of disbelief.
“Who exactly…”
“Are you also from the orphanage? Are you alright?”
Since breaking Shaiten, Elshi had observed Arong and Agon from the shadows for ten years.
However, it wasn’t until after Arong had left the orphanage, and its management grew difficult, that Elshi revealed herself to the two.
Thus, Arong did not recognize Elshi.
“I’ll eliminate this Demon right away.”
“Who, who dares to destroy the body of Silatuna’s daughter?”
Talatunia’s damaged upper body rapidly healed.
With a disturbing squirming motion, her newly-formed face was now grotesquely changed.
The calmness she once possessed was completely gone.
Talatunia bared her fangs as Arong summoned an aura.
Tremble- Her body shook.
Hooonk!
Arong vanished from sight.
Looking around frantically, Talatunia searched for Arong.
Crack!
“Kheugh?”
A pained groan escaped Talatunia’s mouth.
Her body twisted unnaturally as it soared skyward.
Arong had kicked her upwards.
“I’ll k*ll you!”
Her voice, brimming with hatred, echoed in the sky.
Chilling runes began to reverberate.
Her true strength was black magic.
Until now, she had only toyed with her opponent through physical combat.
But Arong had no intention of passively waiting for her magic to complete.
Crackkkkk- His knuckles popped as he extended his sharp nails.
Hoooooo-!
A golden essence gathered at his fingertips.
Talatunia’s face went pale at the formidable power.
Crackkkkk-!
Arong’s nails slashed through the air.
Space around him momentarily warped.
“Keeaaaahhh!”
A golden streak shot into the sky, instantly tearing Talatunia apart.
Not a trace of her remained as Ar shook with awe.
‘This… this is Arong-sama! The Great Hero who saved the world!’
“Huff! Huff! d*mn it! d*mn it!”
Leibathen cursed as he fled from the southern region of Leisar.
He would have never guessed the woman who approached half a year ago was a Demon.
‘I need to go back quickly and devise a plan!’
Though Agon had been forgotten by the residents of Leisar, he was never truly erased from memory.
He had merely gone into seclusion, so people temporarily forgot about him, though his fame remained high.
If Agon revealed that he had been consorting with Demons…
Everything he’d built up to this point would crumble.
Dealing with Demons was an unforgivable crime.
Screech-!
Suddenly, a chillingly sharp sound resonated.
“Was that…?”
With a puzzled expression, Leibathen heard a dropping sound near his ear.
At that moment, his right hand felt lighter.
“Kyaaaahh!”
Leibathen clutched his wrist and screamed.
bl**d spurted from his wrist, and his right hand rolled on the ground.
“Strange feeling…”
Turning his head, the pain-stricken Leibathen saw emotionless red eyes.
“It seems I am dealing with a betrayer again.”
Leo, wiping the bl**d off his sword, approached Leibathen.
“You! You think you’ll get away with this?!?”
“Seems like it. Who out there will help you right now?”
“If you let me go, I’ll guarantee you status and fame!”
“Who cares about that? If the world collapses, what difference does status and fame make?”
Leo’s voice carried a chilling murderous intent.
Realizing Leo could not be persuaded, Leibathen screamed and fled.
“Is anybody around? Save me! Please save me!”
But the street was completely empty.
Not even a vagrant was in sight.
This place had been completely isolated due to rumors that it was cursed.
Thud!
Leibathen’s detached head sailed through the air as he let out an unseemly scream.
“Please… someone save me…”
His desperate cry ceased.
Plop! Thud- His headless body fell to the ground.
Seeing this, Leo sheathed his sword.
‘If they had known something like this happened back then… Perhaps more heroes would have come to help us.’
With a troubled expression, Leo returned to the orphanage.
“Lord Arong! Lord Arong! I’ve always admired you since I was young!”
“But… I’m not someone to admire, right? Treat your wounds quickly!”
Ard, excited to have met Arong, was completely off the handle, his eyes wild as he ran around despite bleeding profusely from his head.
Even to Leo, Ard’s behavior looked incredibly bizarre.
But imagine the usually timid Arong. What must he be feeling?
“Ah, Kyle. You’ve arrived.”
Seeing this, Elshi walked over.
“Are you alright?”
“I’m fine. More importantly, the Spider Princess has been defeated!”
“She won’t d*e that easily.”
From a distance, Leo, who had seen Arong’s fatal strike, smiled grimly.
Having swallowed the Fairy King’s ring, Talatunia couldn’t be defeated so easily.
Even without the ring, her injuries would have been recoverable.
She was not an ordinary monster who could destroy kingdoms.
“Anyway, Kyle! Shouldn’t we recommend Arong to Lissinas? With such power, he’d be a great help in saving the world!”
“You wouldn’t need to suggest it. That will certainly happen.”
“Of course it would, right?”
Elshi smiled and said,
“And me… my mind has changed.”
“To what?”
“I want to make a contract with you, Kyle.”
Cluck- Elshi pointed her finger at Leo and smiled brightly.
“You’re appealing to me.”
“It’s an honor. But I currently don’t have the strength to make a contract with you. And besides, I am not Kyle anymore.”
“Hmm?”
Confused by the cryptic words, Elshi pondered for a moment and then nodded.
“That’s true. It was odd to think so. Though you’re an All-Class hero possessing the Light Gem, your power isn’t that strong yet to be the ‘Hero of Survival’ Kyle.”
“Still, I want to contract with you.”
Elshi smiled, grabbed Leo’s hand, and said,
“With you, I believe we can defeat Erebus. I want to stake my future with you.”
Placing her hand on Leo’s knuckles, Elshi smiled gently.
“My name is Elshi, the Shadow Spirit. I vow to serve as your sword and shield during the time our contract is valid.”
A contract marker appeared on Leo’s hand.
Seeing the familiar sign of the contract, Leo smiled wistfully.
“It’s nice to work with you.”
Although the contract would dissolve when the Hero’s World ended, re-contracting with Elshi evoked a strange emotion.
“Huff! Huff! Lord Arong! I admire you! You’re amazing!”
“Get off already!”
Meanwhile, Ard was clinging to Arong’s leg, lost in excitement.
With a terrified expression, Arong tried to shake him off as Leo approached.
Crack!
“Meowk?!”
“You don’t like it, do you, you crazy cat.”
Leo struck Ard on the head.
bl**d was still flowing from the wound suffered during the fight with Talatunia.
Ard staggered like a broken cat before clutching at his head and rolling around on the ground.
“It hurts! How can you hit the wounds! You rabbit b*stard!”
“Looks fine to me.”
“Really, it hurts!”
With tears in his eyes, Ard pulled on Leo’s rabbit ears.
In the distance, Agon was rushing towards them.
He had immediately rushed upon sensing Arong’s immense Ora at the Lord’s mansion.
When Leo saw Agon:
[You have met Arong of Leisar.]
[You have saved Agon, the Guardian of Heaven.]
The mission objectives have been completed.
With Agon’s arrival, the aftermath handling began.
Though the aftermath merely consisted of comforting the frightened children and reprimanding Arong, it was clear this incident had come to an end.
As Leo watched his disciple and the slightly brighter form of Agon, he recalled the past.
‘Had these children all died, Agon might not have been considered a hero anymore.’
How could someone full of hatred for the world still be called a hero?
Still, Agon didn’t utter a word to the departing Arong.
This was undoubtedly Agon’s consideration, hoping that his disciple, who had decided to save the world, wouldn’t break as he had.
Had Agon revealed the truth that time, there might not have been a Braver named Arong.
Naturally, saving the world would not have been possible.
While Leo was lost in these thoughts, Ard was ecstatic.
“Even without entering Azonia, we’ve cleared the Hero’s World! Lord Arong’s world! This is unprecedented in Azonia’s history!”
“Your head is still bleeding. Shouldn’t you treat your wounds?”
“Thanks to you, Black Rabbit! Let’s work hard together at school! Let’s make Azonia the greatest Hero Academy!”
“Yeah, work hard.”
“You should come along!”
Leo, a student of Lumeran, was completely unknown to Ard, who was daydreaming about their school life together.
“Though it pains me, I’ll give you the position of grade representative. You seem more skilled than me now.”
Grumbling, Ard puffed his chest out.
“But don’t get too relaxed! I will take it back anytime!”
‘…This is getting increasingly awkward. Should I tell him now?’
At this point:
“I’ve become indebted.”
Agon approached.
“Did Lord Arong scold you?”
“Kind of.”
“Then! Lord Arong!”
“Stay away!”
As Ard lunged again, Arong panicked and fled.
“Did this girl hit her head? Is she crazy now?”
“Just leave her be; she’s always been like that.”
With a sigh, Leo reprimanded him.
“Anyway, thanks to you guys. Without you, things could’ve gone awry.”
“It’s nothing.”
“Still, I’d like to repay you in any way I can. Since I don’t have much, here, take this.”
Agon handed Leo a book.
“What is it?”
“It’s my Ora cultivation method.”
In this era, Ora cultivation techniques are easy to obtain, but they weren’t back during the Era of Catastrophe.
“It’s also what Arong learned. Though Arong has made it his own and freely uses it through his Beast transformation abilities.”
‘Is this the original Breath of the Braver?’
Leo desperately wanted to read it right away.
But…
Crackk-!
Through Leo’s eyes, the night sky seemed to split.
Leo knew what it signified.
‘The collapse of the world due to the clearing of the world.’
This world has fulfilled its role.
“Thank you.”
Leo safely stored the book Agon gave him.
It was time to bid farewell to a friend.
“Time to go. Say anything you need to, quickly.”
When Leo spoke, Ard froze then glanced up at the sky.
Looking disappointed, Ard turned to Arong.
“Lord Arong.”
“Hmm?”
“Could… Could you please stroke my head just once? For strength?”
The young girl made a small request to the Great Hero she’d admired since childhood.
With a puzzled expression, Arong stroked Ard’s head.
“I’m not sure why, but keep going strong. I believe in you.”
With a soft smile, Arong removed his hand from Ard’s head.
Ard absentmindedly touched his bleeding head.
“I’m never going to wash this hair. Hehehehe.”
Seeing Ard’s strange behavior again, Arong looked horrified.
With a sigh, Leo cast a Healing Magic.
Once the wound healed, the bleeding ceased.
“Wow, thanks! Black Rabbit…”
Whoosh!
And with a simple water magic, Leo thoroughly washed Ard’s hair.
“You d*mn Black Rabbit!”
Ard pulled on Leo’s rabbit ears with an upset face.
“Lord Arong! Could you stroke my head one more tim…?”
“Arong.”
“Hmm?”
“You will face many hardships ahead.”
Arong looked confused at Leo’s words.
“You might fail to protect someone and will also face many trials that might make you despair.”
“Huh…?”
Arong wore an expression of complete bafflement as Leo spoke, and Ard’s face turned grave.
He had also realized.
The fact that the youthful Great Hero before them was about to embark on an unimaginably tough journey.
“Still… you will manage. You are braver than anyone else.”
Arong looked confused at Leo.
“Why do you think I’m brave? I’m merely a coward.”
Crackk-!
The world began to collapse.
“Because you saved the world.”
“Me?”
“Exactly.”
Watching his friend, who looked completely shocked, Leo smiled.
Everything was already gone.
In a black void, only Leo and Arong remained.
As Arong watched his ever-terrified friend, who had always given him courage, slowly vanish, Leo promised solemnly:
“I will persevere too.”
For the complete defeat of Erebus.
[Arong’s World. Chapter: Prologue – The Beginning has been conquered.]
[Reward for Conquest: Arong’s Breath, Agon’s Book, Great Shadow Spirit Elshi.]
![[TS] The Protagonist is Conquered](https://i3.wp.com/novelhitam.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/1743806812-5548-TS-The-Protagonist-is-Conquered.png?resize=85,105 "[TS] The Protagonist is Conquered")
