Chapter 204

204

“Why aren’t you answering after I called you?”

As Leo was flustered, he regained his composure at Luna’s words.

‘She recognizes me as Kyle, right? If that’s the case, this must be a possessed-type world where the protagonist is recognized as someone who existed in the past.’

It seemed quite clear that he was currently in a state of being possessed by his past self.

After quickly assessing the situation, Leo took a deep breath.

“Are you alright?”

Leo quickly acted as though he were his past self.

If Leo’s memories were correct, they were currently in the middle of a battle against Zerdiaq.

In this situation, asking this question wasn’t strange at all.

“Yes. I’m fine. You protected me, didn’t you?”

Luna asked worriedly.

“What about you? Weren’t you just struck directly by Zerdiaq’s attack a moment ago?”

“I’m fine.”

‘Originally, I should have been in a torn-up state from Zerdiaq’s poison.’

However, Leo was currently fresh upon entering the Hero’s World.

“When did you develop immunity to poison?”

As Luna looked surprised, Leo asked.

“Rather, what about Zerdiaq?”

At that, Luna’s face stiffened.

“That b*stard fled.”

“What?”

Luna’s words caused Leo to wear an astonished expression.

‘He fled?’

That was unimaginable.

Zerdiaq was the kind of monster who, until his last breath, spewed venom to poison Kyle and Luna and make them his companions.

The more belligerent than Silatuna, this creature fleeing?

‘There’s definitely something off here.’

“Where did he go?”

“Over there.”

As Leo looked in the direction Luna pointed and prepared to chase after Zerdiaq, he couldn’t help but hesitate when he checked Luna’s condition.

Luna’s hands were trembling slightly, and sweat was running down her forehead.

“Luna, you… Don’t tell me you fought him alone?”

With great effort, Luna smiled at Leo’s question.

“Yes, while you were knocked out for a moment…”

Suddenly, Luna’s body swayed.

Leo quickly supported her.

At this point, the extermination team didn’t yet have the power to defeat a Legion Commander alone.

Even Luna, who had managed somehow to stop Zerdiaq individually, would naturally have suffered severe damage.

As Leo clenched his teeth, Luna spoke weakly.

“Kyle…”

“There was something strange during the battle against Zerdiaq…”

“What?”

“Elves—elves attacked me suddenly.”

“Elves?”

“Elves appeared out of nowhere and attacked me. Do you know anything about them?”

‘Elves?’

That was an absurd story.

At this time, apart from Kyle and Luna, there had been no one else around.

And now there were elves?

“You’re saying they attacked you?”

“Yeah.”

As Leo watched Luna nod weakly, his face stiffened.

In fact, there were a few peculiarities about this Hero’s World.

‘The fact that the Hero Record I touched a few days ago activated now. The fact that the starting point of the Hero’s World is in the middle of a fight against Zerdiaq. Lastly…’

Leo’s hand tightened.

‘The fact that Seirun students have already cleared this world.’

According to Nergia, several students from Seirun had already cleared this world.

However, this world’s final boss was none other than a Legion Commander.

Not just any Legion Commander but Poison King Zerdiaq, who ranked with Hel Kaiser, Giant King, and Demon Queen.

A difficulty level that far exceeded that of students.

Yet it was said that there were students who had cleared it.

Tartarus was trying to erase the Hero Record of the Great Hero.

They were preventing future heroes from inheriting the power of the Great Heroes.

‘What if the Seirun students who entered this world were traitors?’

The fact that the battle with Zerdiaq ended differently from actual history, with him fleeing instead of fighting it out, and the appearance of the Elves attacking Luna—all of these suddenly made sense.

Leo’s hand tightened.

‘Could it be that the Demon King from before has been plotting until now to destroy Luna’s Hero Record which Seirun keeps safe?’

Ssshsshhhh—

The disgusting black rain kept pouring down.

‘In any case, my first priority now is to recover Luna.’

“Let’s find a place to rest.”

Leo helped Luna stand.

Seeing this, Luna gritted her teeth.

“No, we should pursue and exterminate Zerdiaq as quickly as possible…”

“If he fled, there’ll surely be some time to regroup.”

Leo spoke coldly about the situation.

“The extermination of that fiend can wait until you’ve recovered your strength.”

At those words, Luna looked up at Leo and managed a weak smile.

“Then, Kyle… can I rest a little…?”

Under the effects of poisoning and extreme magical energy depletion, Luna leaned against Leo.

As she slept soundly, Leo looked around the ruins of the castle.

‘I need to find somewhere to evade this rain.’

Grumble—!

A bolt of lightning cracked across the dreary sky.

At that moment…

Crackcrack!

A fissure appeared in the sky.

However, Leo, busy supporting Luna, didn’t notice it.

*

Rooooarrrrrr!

An armor-clad Gigantes roared as it charged towards the castle wall.

Growlrrrrr!

A black mass of dark magic erupted from the Gigantes’ body.

Seeing this, Rys quickly shouted.

“Rienia!”

In response, Rienia, who was stationed at the highest point on the castle wall, drew her bowstring tight.

Creeeak!

Rienia’s great bow released a shrill scream.

Twang! Whoosh!

A massive arrow imbued with energy soared at an incredible speed.

Kabgghh! Kaboom!

“Rawwrrrrrr!”

The arrow pierced through the Gigantes’ eye, burrowing deep inside and exiting through the back of its skull before embedding into the ground.

Yet despite this, the Gigantes, boasting a frightening amount of life force, did not d*e.

Instead, it began wildly thrashing around, indiscriminately attacking anyone—friend or foe alike.

The army’s troops were swept away by the Gigantes’ unrelenting attacks.

Taking advantage of this chaos, Rys descended from the castle wall.

Upon landing, he swiftly decimated the Gigantes’ ankle.

Ssswhhhh! Slash!

Wobbly! Boom!

Keeeeaaaaaaah!

Graaaaaaaagh!

The Gigantes fell.

Its impact crushed nearby monsters, who screamed their dying breaths before expiring instantly.

Rys skillfully decapitated the flailing Gigantes, then quickly returned to the top of the castle wall.

Swift-moving Knight Class warriors like Rys swiftly countered the threats posed by Gigantes or demons aiming at the castle walls.

The defense line created by Sedgen sturdily withstood the attacks from the legions.

From a distance, watching all this, the Demon Queen narrowed her eyes.

“The resistance is pretty intense.”

It couldn’t be helped.

There were countless heroes known for sparking world-changing revolutions.

Even with her massive forces filled with monstrous entities capable of destroying entire nations single-handedly, the Demon Queen’s legions could not easily overcome such fortified walls.

As Silatuna stood with her chin resting in her hand, pretending to look bored, a sudden flash appeared above her.

Flash!

Shards of light rained down over her head.

When Silatuna glanced up, the light shards halted right in front of her face.

“Perfect timing—just as I was getting bored.”

Silatuna lightly flicked her finger.

Boom!

The light shards erupted into an explosive blast.

The aftershock caused the head of the Gigantes she had been riding on to vanish without a trace.

However, Silatuna hovered unaffected in the air.

Silatuna’s sharp gaze narrowed.

“The Sword Saint and the First Star. The Magician of the Marans, Run and LeWalyn’s master. And a single lizard… Is this the entourage you’ve chosen to accompany you to the netherworld?”

“To the netherworld, you say? No, they are the ones who will bid farewell to your final moment.”

At Kalyan’s words, Silatuna smirked.

Then Kalyan lowered his stance.

Whooosh!

Kalyan’s body disappeared.

Silatuna’s eyes shifted to the left.

In an instant, Kalyan had appeared at her left flank and swung his sword.

Flash! Crack!

Kalyan’s sword was caught in Silatuna’s hand.

“Is that the cursed dwarf-made sword? It’s disagreeable.”

The Demon Queen swung her remaining arm, delivering a powerful strike to Kalyan’s head.

Pow!

Kalyan’s head snapped back the instant—

Kabaaaaaaaaaaaaaang!

Boom! Roarrr!

As Silatuna’s attack sent Kalyan flying, he crashed headfirst into the wall constructed by Sedgen.

The impact caused a portion of the wall to crumble.

Upon witnessing this, everyone let out expressions of shock.

“Pro, Principal!”

“Master Kalyan!”

The profs of Lumeran hurriedly rushed to Kalyan’s aid, heading toward the collapsed wall.

Crash—Crash—

“Ugh… Treating an old man like this is quite brutal, isn’t it?”

However, Kalyan emerged completely unscathed from the rubble.

Witnessing this, those around him trembled in awe.

‘To survive such a direct attack and still stand?’

‘That’s the Sword Saint…!’

Everyone regarded Kalyan with eyes reflecting deep reverence.

“If I were ten years younger, I wouldn’t have flown this far.”

Tsk—Cchhh—Kalyan clicked his tongue, pointing his sword at the Demon Queen, who was gazing at him.

Ssak!

Kalyan swung his sword.

This simple action transformed into a deadly slash that cut through the world.

A massive invisible slash tore through everything aligned in a straight line between Kalyan and Silatuna.

As the demonkind in its path bled and died, Silatuna watched the slash approaching her and raised her arm.

Kra—ck!

Silatuna’s hand bent as though it had temporarily broken.

Ting!

She was then pushed back, apparently unable to withstand the strength.

As she was forced back, terrifying attacks rained down from above.

Magic from the Fairy Eyes.

Overwhelming flames from the Phoenix.

Slicing winds that tore through the sky.

The heroic attacks that Sword Saint Kalyan had chosen to counter Silatuna painted the sky.

Witnessing this overwhelming firepower, the warriors defending the castle wall, who were fighting off the legions, opened their mouths wide in astonishment.

Kabaaaaaaaaaaaaaang!

The ground shook violently as the combined attacks from Alby, Ellen, and Chade struck.

The area where Silatuna stood was utterly devastated, leaving no trace behind.

Struck directly by the attacks, Silatuna froze, her body leaning backward.

“Did it… hit her!?”

As a Seirun student clenched a fist in triumph, a chuckle escaped Silatuna’s mouth, tilted back.

“Hmph!”

She burst into maniacal laughter.

“Kikikikik! Kehekehekehe! Hah! Hahahahahahahahahaha!”

Mad with laughter, Silatuna’s eyes gleamed.

“That stung quite a bit, didn’t it?!”

Silatuna raised her hand.

Whooshhh! Kraaak!

A massive black sphere formed in Silatuna’s outstretched hand.

The menacing dark magic caused the faces of those guarding the castle wall to turn pale.

A few individuals who had earlier boastfully declared they would eliminate Silatuna realized their mistake.

They understood the foolishness of their claims.

And they came to realize something else.

The terror of a Legion Commander that had existed even before the Era of Catastrophe.

“d*e, all of you vermin!”

Silatuna’s dark magic hurtled towards the castle wall.

At that moment.

“End.”

Flash!

Kabaaaaaaaaaaaang!

A golden starlight erupted as Silatuna’s magic exploded and vanished on the spot.

Silatuna glared angrily at the Elf who had cast the strongest spell of Star Magic, the principal of Seirun.

“That’s the magic I despise the most.”

“I don’t know what you’ve been planning.”

At that moment, Riven spoke to Silatuna.

“Be as mighty as you may, Legion Commander, this place is unconquerable. That’s why your three Legion Commanders have remained silent until now, isn’t it?”

Silatuna glanced briefly at Riven while smirking.

“What do you want to ask, lizard?”

“What’s your plan?”

“To welcome old kin—would that suffice?”

“Old… kin?”

As Riven stiffened at her words, Silatuna looked upward.

Following her gaze, Riven also looked up and stiffened.

There was a fissure in the sky.

“What… is that?”

Suddenly—

Whoosh!

A grotesque arm appeared from the fissure in the sky.

As if breaking through a wall, the monster’s arm slowly returned to its proper place.

At that moment—

Grgrgrgr—!

A low growling sound echoed in Riven’s ears.

Through the breach, a terrifying giant purple eye appeared.

Riven felt a chill run through his body.

“Could it be… the Legion Commander of Tartarus?”