Chapter 144

144

Seed felt a chill run down his spine upon meeting Leo’s gaze.

“What is this gaze?”

Leo’s eyes betrayed no particular emotion.

No hostility towards demons, no fear.

Not a single feeling that a human should naturally possess.

They were simply calm.

There was just a faint trace of mild disdain, akin to sweeping away trash on the side of the road.

To say it outright, Seed had never seen such eyes on anyone.

Even those who were called heroes didn’t bear such a look.

In an instant, Seed was overwhelmed by Leo’s aura and felt a wave of fear.

Regaining his senses, Seed realized his body was drenched in cold sweat.

“What can you possibly do?”

Seed, mocking Leo, quickly composed himself.

“This world is entirely under our control. You may have cleverly noticed our presence, but that’s it. What can you possibly do?”

“You can underestimate us.”

Leo’s response, accompanied by a chilling smile, twisted Seed’s face.

‘Should I k*ll him right here?’

He considered it briefly but glanced around.

‘Too many eyes watching.’

Seed was currently possessing the headmaster of Barharun.

He had been in control of the entire school for a long time.

Though he could manipulate Barharun completely, it was only from behind the scenes.

He couldn’t openly use his powers in front of others.

Erebus and Tartarus had been adversaries to the gods and terrestrial races for a long time—even before the Era of Catastrophe.

If his true identity was revealed here, all his efforts until now would be wasted.

Leo had precisely realized this and acted accordingly.

In public places, power couldn’t be used.

Moreover, there was no justification to oppress Akinte using authority.

Understanding this, Leo made a direct declaration.

Leo, looking at Seed with a cold gaze, turned around.

Seeding, glaring at his retreating back, curled his lips.

“You won’t be able to do anything.”

He had been preparing for a long time.

‘You will witness the great hero you exalted burn away helplessly!’

Tartarus’ purpose wasn’t merely to destroy Lunia’s world.

It was to completely eradicate it.

So that no further power could be inherited!

Thinking of the sight of her face twisted with despair made Seed tremble with excitement.

‘While the great hero burns away, I’ll personally cut off your head, wallowing in despair!’

Leo paid no heed to Seed’s shaking eyes, merely approaching Luna.

‘Once Luna creates the basics of the Magic of the Stars, this world will be conquered.’

The conquest of this world depended solely on Luna completing the Magic of the Stars.

The Magic of the Stars was literally the creation of something from nothing.

A completely new, unprecedented magical principle.

A magic solely accomplished by the power of one individual.

No help should be given in this process of creation, lest the Magic of the Stars lose its shine and be deemed as something completed with assistance.

“Has Princess Luna spoken with you yet?”

“Yes! But Princess Luna seems to have changed a lot.”

“Changed?”

“Yes. She used to dislike me, but now she smiles warmly at me.”

Upon hearing this, Leo looked toward the princess.

Most of the elves at the party had already greeted her, leaving the queue quite short.

Leo’s eyes gleamed as he got in line to greet the princess.

Moments later, his turn came, and he bowed his head.

“Prince Akinte presents his greetings to Princess.”

“Nice to see you, Akinte.”

“Indeed. Princess, do you have any knowledge of Lumeran?”

“Of course. I’ve heard the name before. Does Akinte know about Seirun?”

“Of course.”

Leo’s smile was followed by his retreat after answering.

To casual observers, it may have seemed like an odd conversation.

Indeed, the surrounding attendees were looking at Leo with curious eyes.

But for both of them, it was an efficient code to confirm each other’s identities.

‘In this era, there wouldn’t be anyone who knows about the Hero Academy of the future.’

Thinking thus, Leo returned to Luna.

‘Princess Lunia. This might make things easier.’

Lunia, observing Leo’s retreating figure, gleamed with joy.

‘It’s definitely Leo.’

Though it could have been Elena, judging by the tone and atmosphere, it was undoubtedly Leo.

Lunia took a deep breath.

‘I need to inform Leo about Erebus.’

Meanwhile, as she pondered, the music in the party hall stopped.

The Elf King Erugen appeared at the entrance, the main protagonist of the day.

All the elves present knelt respectfully.

“Happy birthday to your majesty.”

“Hail!”

The senior elves’ wishes of celebration made Erugen smile.

“Thank you all for gathering to celebrate my birthday. Your presence truly honors this gathering. Please enjoy the party today without any worries.”

With those words, Erugen walked to his seat at the highest table.

The elves invited to the party lined up before him.

Music resumed, and the party began again.

Luna was in a corner taking deep breaths.

“You’re surprisingly tense for someone like you.”

“What do you mean? Whether I receive sponsorship from His Majesty Erugen will be decided today!”

Clutching her fists, Luna spoke.

The reason she had come to this party was to present her research achievements to the Elf King and secure his patronage.

Though isolated, Luna had been putting in an effort to overcome that situation in any way possible.

“This might be easier than you think.”

“Huh?”

Leo’s statement made Luna furrow her brow in confusion.

When she looked towards the direction he gestured, Luna’s eyes widened.

Lunia was approaching.

Luna bowed her head respectfully.

Seeing this, Lunia took a deep breath and spoke to Leo.

“Would you care to dance?”

Elves in the old and new age alike love music and dancing.

It was customary at parties, so there was nothing strange about asking for a dance.

“It’s an honor.”

Leo smiled gently and led Lunia to the center of the party floor.

To the beat of the music, the two began to dance.

“Are you really Leo?”

“Yes, Lunia.”

Hearing Leo’s confirmation, Lunia sighed in relief.

“How much have you discovered about this world?”

“That it’s before the Era of Catastrophe and that it’s Luna’s world.”

“Same here. Do you have any clues about the victory condition?”

“Yes.”

“What is it?”

“Luna needs to create the Magic of the Stars.”

“I see.”

Listening to Leo, Lunia nodded.

“And one more thing.”

“Hmm?”

“There’s a presence of Tartarus in this world.”

Hearing this, Lunia’s face stiffened slightly.

“Are you talking about past Tartarus?”

“No. Outsiders like us have somehow infiltrated this realm.”

Lunia maintained a solemn expression.

“That’s possible, too.”

“Are you saying ‘that’s possible’? You’ve discovered something, haven’t you?”

Seeing Lunia quickly agreeing without surprise, Leo was puzzled.

Until now, there hadn’t been a single instance of demons invading the Hero’s World.

It was an event that could overturn the world.

And yet Lunia accepted Leo’s words without a hint of doubt.

Leo was convinced that Lunia had discovered something he didn’t know.

Lunia took a deep breath.

“Leo, don’t be surprised when I tell you this.”

“What is it?”

“There’s… Erebus in this world.”

Her trembling voice made it difficult for Leo to understand her words right away.

“Erebus is here?”

“Yes.”

“How do you know?”

“I saw him with my own eyes.”

The grip on their entwined hands intensified.

The trembling in his body that had subsided upon seeing Luna returned.

“Lunia.”

At Leo’s call, Lunia looked up.

Though their heights were close in their original forms, there was an obvious difference now.

Looking at Lunia who was gazing up at him, Leo smiled.

“Don’t worry.”

This wasn’t the voice of the Leo she knew.

The voice of a character from the past that Lunia had never met.

Yet the strength within that voice was undoubtedly Leo’s.

Just like when she saw the sight of Luna moments ago.

The fear and anxiety in her heart faded away.

Sensing Lunia’s trembling subside, Leo spoke.

“Could you tell me more about this?”

*

“Boring. This kind of waste of time.”

Elena frowned, bored, as she twirled her finger.

Zzzzap-!

A blue bolt of lightning spread out in all directions.

Pababababatt-!

Gwooooaaahhh!

Shrieks of agony erupted from the electrocuted Skeleton Knights.

Creak!

Pulverized with a snap of the finger, the Skeleton Knights turned to dust.

The back alley had become a literal heaven of corpses.

Endless undead poured in.

Not just in number but in variety.

From the lower undead to the upper undead, the alley was practically a nest.

Gwoooaahhh!

From the deeper end of the alley, a Ghoul walked out.

But this was not an ordinary Ghoul.

It wore armor and carried a crude weapon.

“Ghoul soldier.”

Holding back a grimace to the foul stench, Elena narrowed her eyes.

Harden gripped his sword tighter.

A gust of wind blew, carrying away the noisome smell of the Ghoul’s breath, which carried a poisonous vapor.

The poison might not affect experts like Elena and Harden, but they were accompanied by Merin.

Sending Merin back at this stage might be too late since she was already deeply involved.

“Maybe she’ll face trouble if exposed.”

Elena gently caressed Merin’s frightened head.

As a character from the past, she was technically non-existent.

There was no reason to protect someone who no longer existed.

Yet both Elena and Harden had not abandoned Merin.

Even the most extraordinary hero cannot save the entire world.

If not the whole, they must at least protect those who live sincerely right before their eyes.

That’s what being a hero candidate is about.

Even if that someone belongs to the past.

“Harden might think that way. He’s too straightforward.”

Withdrawing her hand from Merin’s head, Elena pointed her finger at the Ghouls.

Zing!

Particles of light formed at her fingertip.

Elena’s motivation for protecting Merin was simple.

She had been trained to do so.

Flash!

A bright beam of white light obliterated the Ghoul soldiers.

“And because she has value worth protecting.”

Terterter-

As Elena walked ahead, she idly twirled her hair.

“This is getting tedious.”

Annoyance flickered in her eyes.

“Why don’t I just blow up this filthy back alley?”

“That won’t do.”

“Why not?”

“Using magic would destroy the entire vicinity.”

“Hmm… Even if it’s just a den of filth, what’s the harm if it disappears?”

“Hmm- That’s an undignified thought for a hero candidate.”

Tock, tock, tock…

From the depths of the alley, an eerie voice emerged.

The sound of high heels approached as an elf emerged from the darkness.

But both Elena and Harden immediately recognized the true identity of the uniform-clad girl.

“There you finally show up.”

Elena’s tone was sarcastic but not genuinely hostile.

“Such bad manners, young lady. What does ‘finally come out’ mean? Are you calling me a dog?”

At this, Elena’s eyes widened with mock surprise before her expression softened to one of pity.

“Oh, forgive my mistake. Did you think you were as good as a puppy? In my view, you’re a disgusting cockroach at best.”

“What?”

“Unlike cute puppies, you’re nothing more than a repulsive bug. So, cockroach suits you well.”

“Has this girl stuffed a rag in her mouth…!”

The face of the necromancer twisted with anger but soon relaxed into a smirk of confidence.

“Go on, shout as much as you want. You’ll d*e soon anyway.”

“Oh, no matter how disgusting, cockroaches are just cockroaches, right? People don’t d*e from them.”

Elena’s radiant smile only made the necromancer sneer dismissively.

“Nonsense. You’ll d*e.”

The necromancer’s voice turned cold and cruel.

“Because our Lord will soon awaken.”