Chapter 206

206

Leo, who had been wandering through the ruins, found a place to take shelter from the rain and laid Luna down there.

He gathered a few pieces of firewood and used the ‘Fire’ spell to light a small campfire.

Crackle… Crackle…

After confirming that warmth was slowly returning to the decrepit building, Leo looked out the window.

The black rain continued to fall outside.

While gazing out the window, Leo suddenly felt a sense of doubt and swept his hand across his face.

‘If this is a possession-type world, shouldn’t I have taken Kyle’s form?’

White hair and red eyes.

The still somewhat youthful face belonged to Leo Flove.

‘What’s going on here? Is this not a possession-type world? But Luna clearly recognized me as Kyle…’

After pondering, Leo reached a conclusion.

‘Has Luna’s page been damaged, causing an error?’

The Hero Record has a Piece of Erebus sealed within it.

Erebus is a being that opposes the gods.

Even though the Hero Record was created by the gods, prolonged exposure to Erebus’s power could cause an error.

‘Might that mean… there’s a Piece of Erebus in this world too?’

Leo’s expression darkened as he looked up at the sky.

And suddenly, he noticed something and froze.

‘A crack? What is that?’

Just as Leo was feeling perplexed…

Kiiooooooo!

A deafening roar struck Leo’s ears.

“Guh?”

An intense pain washed over him, making his head throb.

‘Fear!’

A powerful gust of wind blew as a monstrous creature resembling a giant dragon soared high into the sky. Seeing this creature, Leo stiffened.

‘Zerdiaq!’

The old formidable enemy he had defeated long ago had appeared.

‘If I had to face Zerdiaq alone before, it was only natural that this would happen…’

-Step forth! Luna Rubiness! Just as Kyle did, I will end you!

Zerdiaq’s roar echoed throughout the area.

The world here was different from the recorded history.

Zerdiaq, who should have been eliminated by Kyle and Luna here…

He had escaped and survived.

‘It’s possible that the traitors’ interference resulted in my defeat first.’

Leo approached Luna, who was unconscious.

With a pained expression, he gently wiped the cold sweat from her forehead and gave a bitter smile.

“Leave the rest to me.”

After saying that, Leo stood up.

Gooouuuuu!

Leo could see purple particles gathering in Zerdiaq’s mouth.

‘It’s a Poison Breath.’

Kwa-ga-ga-gak!

The lethal breath attack further devastated the crumbling interior.

Fortunately, it didn’t hit where Leo and Luna were.

But it would soon.

After taking a deep breath, Leo opened the door and stepped outside.

‘I lack the strength to defeat a legion commander right now.’

Even if he had Kyle’s appearance through possession, it didn’t mean he had become Kyle.

The only power Leo possessed was that of Leo Flove.

‘But for a brief moment, I can face him.’

Creak-

Leo emerged from the door and floated into the air using the Fly magic.

Zerdiaq turned his gaze toward Leo in response to the magical energy.

And his eyes twitched.

-Human?

“It’s been a while, Zerdiaq.”

-You speak as if you know me so well.

Zerdiaq sneered at Leo with a hideous smile.

-I don’t know pathetic humans like you.

While looking at the mocking Zerdiaq, Leo narrowed his eyes.

‘This guy recognizes me as Leo Flove.’

“I know you well.”

-Kkhhh! That’s only natural! I am the legion commander who will eradicate your kind. Consider my declaring your d*ath sentence an honor.

Leo curled the edge of his lip upward.

“Honor? Don’t make me laugh. I didn’t want to ever see that hideous face of yours again.”

Zerdiaq’s eyes flickered.

Whack! Kwaang!

An instant swing of the tail violently struck Leo’s body, sending him flying and slamming him onto the ground.

-What a reckless brat, disregarding your life. Insulting me, Zerdiaq, like that?

As Leo, who was sprawled on the ground, groaned while struggling to rise…

-Hmm, still alive?

If it were the original Leo, he would have likely died from that single attack.

Zerdiaq, as if finding it amusing, curled the corner of his mouth upward too.

-Trying to k*ll Luna Rubiness will at least give me some entertainment.

At those words, a fierce gaze appeared in Leo’s eyes.

“You can’t k*ll Luna.”

-Kkkh! What a bold human. What do you think you can do?

“Plenty. For instance…”

Gooouuuuuuu!

A fresh emerald-green light rippled in Polium, placed on Leo’s arm.

Upon seeing that, Zerdiaq’s expression changed drastically.

-This… divine power?

“I’ll k*ll you.”

-It’s surprising that there are still humans blessed by the gods. But what do you think you can do with the gods’ power who can no longer even touch this land?

Zerdiaq opened his mouth wide.

Gooouuuuuuu!

As Zerdiaq gathered his breath attack in the sky, Leo drew his sword.

-d*e, human!

Flash!

A violet flash obscured Leo’s vision.

Upon seeing it, Leo’s eyes lit up as he swung his sword upward.

A gigantic gray sword slash soared up into the sky like a wall.

Kwa-ga-ga-gang!

The breath attack split exactly in half in front of Leo and exploded into two streams.

Zerdiaq, who had swung his sword while maintaining that stance, stared at Leo in horror.

-This… Kyle’s power?

The divine power gifted by Pibua in Polium allowed him to regain Kyle’s past power for a brief moment.

-This is impossible! This one definitely died earlier! So how…!

Seeing Zerdiaq’s wide eyes, Leo leaned his sword on his shoulder.

“Don’t you see?”

Leo’s red eyes lit up.

“It’s Kyle, isn’t it?”

-Kidding me!

“Though, you might say, he’s a bit different from the Kyle you know.”

Leo lowered his stance.

Uuuung!

A gray aura rippled over Leo’s body.

“I came from a much further future than what you know.”

Kwaang!

The moment he stomped the ground, a large crater formed beneath Leo’s feet.

Using Aron’s breath to its utmost, he explosively amplified the aura’s power.

Leo had regained the strength of Kyle at his prime.

Of course, not from the time when he eradicated Erebus with all his comrades’ power.

‘If I were to summon power from then, the divine blessing wouldn’t last long.’

The blessing Pibua bestowed upon Leo was meant to manifest the power of the past for a brief period.

If Leo were to manifest the power he had upon eradicating Erebus, that divine blessing would not endure for long.

What Leo needed now was not the power to defeat the Flame of Catastrophe but the power to defeat the legion commander.

‘In that case, the power of Kyle from this period should be enough!’

Leo’s red eyes lit up as he revealed himself in front of Zerdiaq.

Upon seeing that, Zerdiaq opened his mouth wide trying to engulf Leo.

Whack! Kwaang!

-Kyah?

In an instant, Leo who had darted beneath Zerdiaq’s jaw, kicked him with explosive aura-powered force, sending Zerdiaq soaring into the sky.

Despite killing Kyle and dealing a fatal blow to Luna, Zerdiaq had fled.

That meant Zerdiaq had also suffered a heavy blow.

Knowing that Luna was likely affected by his poison, he probably decided to hide.

As the King of Poison, the longer the battle dragged on, the more advantageous it would be for Zerdiaq.

‘He’s not fully prepared!’

With that, this battle should decisively favor Leo, who had regained his prime power albeit briefly.

Upon seeing Zerdiaq wobbling, Leo ignited the Aura of Flames.

Hwooorrrk-!

Zerdinger’s flames flickered.

Zerdiaq’s attribute is poison.

Flames, with their ability to incinerate poison, are the exact opposing force.

Through the breath of the hero, Leo’s power was maximized.

-You!

Seeing that, Zerdiaq stretched out his hand.

Gooouuuuu!

A colossal purple greatsword appeared.

Venom, the weapon that melts everything it touches.

Countless heroes met their end simply by touching this sword.

One of the most terrifying fears of the Era of Catastrophe.

But…

“It’s useless.”

Hwoorrrk-!

Above Leo’s palm, a star magic sigil floated—a magic that didn’t exist in this era.

From the distant future.

The elven maidens created this magic to honor Luna.

‘Let’s use it, Lunia.’

Leo smiled, reminiscing about the elven girl.

“Inferno.”

Hwoorrrk-!

The flame of the Runia Family erupted from Leo’s hand.

“Red Flame.”

Then, the flame of Zerdinger blooms on the sword.

The ultimate flames inherited from the power of Phoenix from both families burn fiercely.

Eventually, the fusion of the two families’ flames created Phoenix wings.

-Phoenix’s… flames!

“Maybe if I could handle this level of flames at that time, I would have suffered less when exterminating you.”

-You…! What are you…?

“I told you.”

Leo smirked coldly.

“I am Kyle.”

Kwa-ga-ga-ga-gak-!

-Ka-a-a-a-aak-!

The Phoenix wings sliced through Zerdiaq’s massive wings like a blade.

His bulky, gigantic body plummeted to the ground.

Leo plummeted as well, aiming to deliver the finishing blow to Zerdiaq.

As he approached, Zerdiaq swung Venom.

Hwoorrrk-!

Leo swung his sword imbued with the Phoenix flame.

Kwa-thud-!

-Impossible…!

Zerdiaq’s eyes widened as Venom severed him in two, and he crashed to the ground, spurting poisonous bl**d.

Thud! Squelch! Slurp! Crack-!

The heavy body and the bl**d gushing from him melted the debris of the ruins.

Thud!

Leo, landing on the ground, took a deep breath.

Zerdiaq’s bl**d was indeed a fatal poison.

‘Was this how he was defeated?’

Leo quickly distanced himself from Zerdiaq’s corpse and took another deep breath.

It was almost certainly impossible to defeat Zerdiaq alone under normal circumstances.

‘The divine blessing is fading too.’

Leo looked down at his palm.

The flame-like power of Kyle was gradually fading.

“Still… what is that crack in the sky?”

Leo looked up at the crack in the sky he had noticed earlier.

Drip…

The crack in the sky seemed to be growing larger.

Instantly…

Drip! Crack!

The crack was falling.

As the bright light revealed through the gap showered down, Leo was surprised.

“What is that…?”

At that moment…

Goo-o-o-o-oooh-!

A chilling heat was felt.

Leo’s eyes widened as he turned his head.

The melting corpse of Zerdiaq was now burning with black flames.

Zerdiaq slowly rose with his massive body.

Kiiooo-oo-oo!

As Zerdiaq roared, a powerful poison gas billowed.

“Guh?”

Leo’s eyes widened.

Suddenly, Zerdiaq, flapping his now-restored wings wildly, charged toward the crack in the sky.

Kwaang! Kwa-ching!

Zerdiaq’s enormous body broke the crack in the sky.

Ching-glang!

With his hand plunged into the crack, Zerdiaq frantically began tearing it open further.

“Erebus’s power? No, what in the world… is this guy trying to do?”

Leo, in amazement, tried to fly toward Zerdiaq.

Some instinct told him that he needed to stop Zerdiaq, though he wasn’t yet sure what was happening.

At that moment.

Through the wider crack that Zerdiaq had expanded, Leo’s face stiffened as he caught a glimpse of the scenery within.

“Say… Run?”

Leo’s face hardened.

The figure of Elsi flashed through his mind.

And he understood what Zerdiaq was after.

“Planning to step outside?”