Chapter 169

The demon of Tartarus stared coldly at Leo as he glared.

“Are you going to interfere with me again?”

“It seems so.”

Whoosh –

Flames of aura erupted from Leo’s body.

The demon, seeing this, stretched out his hand.

Zzzzap-!

A crimson magic circle floated in the air.

Upon seeing this, Leo’s eyes darted.

Instantly, his vision was blocked.

As darkness enveloped him, Leo lowered his body.

‘Curse.’

A vision-obscuring curse.

Leo sharpened his senses.

‘It happened so quickly, I barely had time to react to the curse.’

Compared to his previous life, Leo had less resistance to curses.

That was inevitable.

If potential were compared, Leo’s now surpassed Kyle’s from his former life.

There was no doubt that someday Leo would grow strong enough to surpass the power he had in his previous life.

But not now.

Even with superior potential, Leo’s current strength still fell short when compared to the immense power of his previous life.

Hence, if the high-ranking demons of Tartarus decided to cast curses, there was no avoiding it for Leo.

However, before the curse was cast, Leo could, if only for a brief moment, recognize the nature of the curse.

This knowledge wasn’t linked to strength but fell under the domain of ‘experience.’

This experience served as a driving force to unleash strength greater than even Leo’s own.

But despite this, the curse struck Leo in the blink of an eye.

‘Was it a demon specialized in curses? No, even so, for it to be this powerful, it’s almost at the level of a Legion Commander!’

Blocked from his vision, Leo summoned his aura.

‘The other senses weren’t taken from me.’

His sense of touch, smell, and hearing reacted sharply.

Adding to this, Leo stimulated all the nerves of his entire body with his aura.

‘Extrasensory Perception.’

A technique of the brave Aron that maximized one’s senses.

This technique didn’t just offer powerful reconnaissance; it greatly impacted battle as well.

Aron, having honed his extrasensory perception to an extreme degree, had even reached the level of predicting the future.

‘I couldn’t achieve that level, though.’

The veins on Leo’s temples bulged.

Whoosh-

He sensed magical presence from all around.

Naturally, the trajectory of the attack formed in Leo’s mind.

Whoosh-!

Dodging the magic aimed at his head by twisting his neck.

BOOM-!

“No!”

The demon’s eyes widened.

In his eyes, it seemed as though Leo had ‘seen’ the attack and dodged it.

Flash! Kaboom-!

Leo avoided the crimson magic beams flying in from all sides by moving his body.

And it didn’t stop there.

He accurately charged toward the direction where the demon was standing.

‘Has the curse not taken effect?’

The demon, who had been observing Leo for a moment, quickly retreated.

‘That 1st-year Hero Candidate brat avoided a curse? Have I gone too far?’

Though mocking himself, the demon remained stoic.

‘Even if he’s a contractor of Pegasus, if the curse doesn’t work, there must be something hidden.’

If he were to be caught carelessly, it would be disastrous.

He had thrown everything into this raid of Lumeran.

There was nothing left to retreat from.

‘I must exercise the utmost caution.’

Meanwhile, while still unable to see, Leo swung his sword that had pierced the demon’s hand and turned his body.

‘Pretty careful, isn’t he? He seems to be an extremely powerful high-class demon, if not a Legion Commander.’

Even though he was only a 1st-year, the demon wasn’t showing any signs of underestimating him.

The demon’s eyes twitched upon seeing Leo’s face.

‘This brat, his vision hasn’t returned yet, has it? Then how is he moving?’

Even if he is a Hero Candidate, he is still an unpolished gem as a 1st-year.

Therefore, it was expected that if the curse worked, he would be easy to handle even if he lost power.

But contrary to this expectation, the 1st-year in front of him was perfectly responding to his attacks.

As if the loss of sight meant nothing to him.

‘Even the heroes whose names are inscribed in the Hero Record among hateful heroes wouldn’t have acted like this!’

A long time ago.

As a demon who had buried countless heroes into the depths of history, he couldn’t help but get goosebumps.

‘What is this brat…!’

A conversation with Silatuna came to mind.

‘If you happen to meet Leo Flove, it’s better not to underestimate him. There’s something off with this brat.’

‘Is it because he’s an all-class Hero Candidate?’

‘Exactly.’

‘I don’t understand. No matter if he’s an all-class or whatever, isn’t he just a 1st-year brat? I’m a Legion Commander of Tartarus, not someone like Riss Zerdinger. To warn me against a mere brat like him—my pride is hurt.’

‘That’s how special an all-class is.’

‘Hmph, if talking about the Tyrant of Tartarus makes him sound impressive, worrying about a 1st-year merely because he resembles a Great Hero who disappeared 5000 years ago sounds pathetic.’

‘Think whatever you want. But don’t forget that this brat has been turning impossibilities into possibilities until now.’

Among the nine existing Legion Commanders, the Demon Queen, Demon King, and Giant King, who had existed since before the Era of Catastrophe, were of a different caliber.

Not simply because they had lived long,

but during the Era of Catastrophe when other Legion Commanders were eradicated by the Great Heroes, these three had survived as monstrous beings.

King Lissinas of great wisdom, Erebus, and the three great Legion Commanders.

By prioritizing the annihilation of Erebus over the three Legion Commanders, it was a calculated risk.

King Lissinas couldn’t guarantee that the annihilation forces would still be intact after defeating all the great Legion Commanders.

Though that gamble was technically successful, as a result, the three Legion Commanders still reign today as fearsome beings that have yet to be eradicated 5000 years later.

At the time, he had mocked Silatuna, but he couldn’t understand why she had been so wary of Leo merely because he was an all-class.

But now, he understands.

This 1st-year in front of him is of a different caliber.

‘This brat must not be allowed to live.’

He was undoubtedly destined to grow into a colossal threat that would someday threaten the entire Tartarus.

‘Even if he can quickly respond to attacks, being blinded must have its limits eventually.’

“Leo Flove, consider it an honor to d*e by the hands of a Legion Commander.”

“Legion Commander?”

Leo’s eyes twitched.

Gooouuuuu-!

The surrounding shadows turned crimson and enveloped Leo all at once.

Even though his sight was lost, his sharpened senses provided Leo with a natural understanding of the power and path of the attack through extrasensory perception.

‘This could be difficult without sight.’

As he thought this, the curse that had obstructed Leo’s vision was lifted.

As Leo’s focus returned, the Legion Commander’s eyes flickered.

‘Was it lifted this quickly?’

There were two main ways to dispel a curse: one is to nullify it with an overwhelming level of fortitude, the other is to decode the magical formula trapping the body and dispel it.

Each, regardless of which method,

was no easy feat.

‘What exactly is this one?’

The more he learned, the more astonishing it became.

Whoosh-!

Leo dispersed his aura.

Kaboom-!

He deflected awkwardly approaching attacks with flames of aura and quickly evaded everything else by leaping.

Through extrasensory perception, his dynamic vision rapidly increased as well, making dodging the attacks not so difficult.

Thud-

As Leo landed on the ground, the Legion Commander spoke.

“How did you dispel the curse?”

“Sensory disturbance curses twist the flow of mana within the body, right? All you have to do is realign the flow, and it dissolves easily.”

Seeing Leo’s smirk, the Legion Commander narrowed his eyes.

“You shouldn’t be able to resolve it that quickly even with this method. What trick did you use?”

“Trick? There was none. I simply undid it brute-force from start to finish.”

Leo tapped his head.

“I’ve undone curses far more complex than this before, you know.”

“Impossible! There’s no demon more powerful or complex in curses than me, Kigors!”

“Kigors? Curse King? You claim to be Kigors?”

Curse King Kigors.

A Legion Commander exterminated decades ago by Swordmaster Kalyan.

“Old names are just old names. Tartarus has gone far enough.”

“You may think whatever you like. After all, you’re going to d*e here.”

Kigors’ statement made Leo frown.

‘This power feels far too weak to be called a Legion Commander’s.’

If it were a genuine Legion Commander, the mere confrontation would have caused tremendous physical damage.

A Legion Commander, by mere existence, was akin to a calamity that invoked terror.

A nightmarish entity that required combined efforts from countless heroes inscribed in the Hero Record to barely defeat.

‘But this sense is undoubtedly Legion Commander-level.’

The overwhelming battle experience against Tartarus.

Especially the countless battles with Legion Commanders that allowed Leo to counter such attacks; had it been someone else, they might have died without being able to respond.

‘What if this really is Kigors? Perhaps the principal didn’t completely annihilate him.’

Leo gripped his sword tighter.

‘Let’s treat him as a Legion Commander.’

Leo lowered his stance.

Upon seeing this, Kigors smirked.

“I shall teach you the fear of a Legion Commander.”

Gooouuuuuuu-!

A pitch-black portal opened in the air.

With that, various monstrous beings began to pour out.

Seeing this, Leo’s eyes flickered.

Not only does a Legion Commander wield great individual power but they also have a terrifying ability to generate demons.

They consume lifeforms and accumulate their energy to create demons.

Watching the outpour of low-rank demons, Leo summoned his energy.

Whoosh-!

Together with a white summoning circle, Arti appeared.

“Arti, take care of the demons.”

[Yessir!]

Zzzzap-!

White sparks began to burst from Arti’s body.

Zzap-!

As Arti charged, she began trampling the demons pouring out.

“Foolish brat! To use your most powerful offensive means against mere demons?”

Kigors laughed sarcastically and charged towards Leo.

Gooouuuuuuuuu! Squish-squish-!

His body lost its human form, sprouting multiple eyes.

Seeing the enormous lump of flesh that Kigors transformed into, Leo narrowed his eyes.

A monstrous form that was no longer human.

But shedding the humanoid form further amplified the dark magic.

Gooouuuuuu-!

Raising a crimson dark magic-covered arm, it targeted Leo.

An arm plastered with curses powerful enough to k*ll with just a touch.

Even dodging exposed him to countless curses in the vicinity.

“You can’t dodge it! Even if you try to block, you’ll meet your d*ath!”

Seeing Kigors’ exhilarated sneer, Leo smiled.

“Watch this.”

“…!”

That nonchalant smile made Kigors sense something was wrong.

“A long time ago, the Demon King said something, didn’t he?”

“What?”

“You’re rash for a Legion Commander.”

“How dare you…!”

A long time ago.

Hearing Leo repeat the Demon King’s words, Kigors’ multiple eyes widened.

“How…!”

“It feels right.”

Whoosh-!

A red summoning circle materialized before Leo.

Seeing the flames of a burning bird that appeared, Kigors’ face turned pale with shock.

“Phoenix?”

“That guy’s all about corpses, so he’s at least a stickler for dignity.”

Recalling the Demon King with a twisted smile, Leo summoned his aura and magic.

Whoosh-!

Gerdingen’s Crimson Flames.

Lundia’s Scorching Heat.

The flames based on the Phoenix’s blaze wrapped around Fiara.

Kwaaaaaaa-!

As if a star had enveloped the sun, Fiara flapped her wings, radiating brilliance.

“Did you think those mere Phoenix flames could stop a Legion Commander!”

Whoosh-!

Fiara’s flames left only the remnants of the Legion Commander’s body as it burned.

Tormented by the agony, Kigors’ form grew even more bloated.

Seeing this, Leo’s expression darkened.

‘He’s not dying from this, huh?’

Gooouuuuuuuuuu! BAAAAANG-!

Kigors struck Leo with his fist.

THUD-!

Leo’s body slammed backwards, hitting the door of the Hero’s Hall with his back.

BAAAAANG-! Crum-!

Falling into the Hero’s Hall, Leo’s body broke through the door and slammed into the wall.

Crack-!

A marble piece fell.

Though dazed, Leo ignored it.

‘The curses were all burned away by Fiara’s flames.’

Flap-! Flap-!

Returning to the baby phoenix form, Fiara landed anxiously on Leo’s shoulder.

Pip?

“I’m fine.”

Flash!

Exerting strength into his pinned body, Leo disengaged from the wall and landed on the ground.

The dizziness in his head echoed.

It was open-mouthed.

The physical impact was the only harm, and even that he mitigated by briefly deploying Ora armor, cutting the damage in half.

But despite his countermeasures, the impact was tremendous.

‘So, Legion Commander remains Legion Commander, even weakened.’

Shaking his head to clear it, Leo entered the Hero’s Hall for the first time despite attending Lumern for more than a semester and frequently using the grand library.

Other students might have been interested in the heroes’ weapons of valor, but they didn’t attract significant attention to Leo.

Leo raised his head and looked towards Kigors.

Even in a battered state, Kigors was approaching something like a sword.

“What is that sword he’s so ecstatic about…?”

Upon seeing Kigors, his face filled with exhilaration, approaching some ‘worn-out sword,’ Leo’s face contorted before his eyes widened.

It looked like an old and rusty sword at first glance.

But even at a quick glance, it carried an immense amount of ‘mana’.

Even if it was worn-out, as a weapon on its own, it could easily be called an artifact of heroism worthy of a heroic weapon.

However, Leo wasn’t shocked because the sword possessed powerful mana.

It was the decoration engraved on the hilt that made him pause.

Even though the sword was old, the decoration shone like new.

It seemed like the artisan who made the sword paid more attention to the decoration than the sword itself, so beautiful and intricate was it.

And this sword was familiar to Leo.

‘Isn’t this Dwenno’s sword?’