Chapter 207

키오오오오오오오오!

The roar that pierced the ears echoed throughout Seirun.

To block Zerdiaq, who appeared in the center of Seirun, the Hero Alliance was deploying their full strength.

In the meantime, a magic circle was formed in the air.

Beyond the magic circle, Bennett, Alby, Ellen, and Chade emerged.

The four who had disengaged from the battle with Silatuna quickly joined the castle wall.

“Students of the Department of Magic in Lumeran, follow me.”

With a stoic expression, Alby commanded, and the magic students who were holding back Silatuna’s army hurriedly gathered around Alby.

“Jillian.”

“Yes, Lord.”

“Keep defending the castle wall.”

Chade commanded the LeWalyn wizards who had gathered around him.

“Lord is…”

“I will go to block that guy.”

Chade looked up at the sky with his cold eyes.

Before he knew it, Zerdiaq had most of his body transcended into the current world.

“Lord, we will follow as well…”

“If the LeWalyn’s strength weakens now, the already unfavorable front will collapse even further.”

Chade answered coldly to Jillian’s words.

“You all must act as the mainstay of the Hero Alliance and hold the front. Or do you think I am an unreliable Lord?”

“No, not at all.”

The master of a heroic family does not rely solely on bloodline.

It is only natural that the strongest in the family is the one who stands at the forefront.

Chade is the most powerful wizard in Rodren, known as the champion of the western continent.

He was a skillful individual personally selected by the swordsman Kalyan to lead the legion.

Naturally, the followers of LeWalyn had no choice but to obey his orders.

This is because they believed in the absolute strength of their Lord.

Ellen also quickly gathered the Seirun students.

Finally, the personnel to go to block Zerdiaq had all gathered.

Meanwhile.

The first and second-year students, who had hurriedly evacuated the audience deep within the school, rushed outside.

Upon discovering Zerdiaq trying to cross over to this world through the cracks in the sky, their faces turned pale.

Some lost their fighting spirit and slumped down to the ground.

The commander of Tartarus, who could be called the embodiment of terror.

Even the Hero Candidates were now just teenage boys and girls.

Faced with the worst catastrophe on earth, they could do nothing but be frightened.

“W-We have to run…!”

“What can first and second years like us do against such a monster?”

One terrified second-year from Lumeran shouted.

At those words, the Hero Candidates began to murmur.

Fear is contagious.

No matter how much courage one musters, it can shatter at the words spoken by someone else.

“W-Well, if we retreat toward where the Hero Alliance is…”

One of the second-year Seirun students said urgently, and Lunia shouted.

“Wait! What about the civilians in the school right now!”

While they had evacuated to the safest center of the school, there was no guarantee of what would happen if that monster descended upon the ground.

“We have to hold this place somehow…!”

“Don’t joke around! Lunia El Rundah! What can you, a first year, do? Even I, a second year, cannot figure out what to do against that monster!”

A second-year from Seirun shouted, wrinkling his face.

“I’ve already evacuated civilians to the safest place! Our task now is to join the Hero Alliance as quickly as possible!”

Kuuoooon!

At that moment.

Zerdiaq, crossing the cracks, unleashed a furious roar.

Zerdiaq’s roar hit the ears of the first and second years.

Among them, those who had weaker resistance fainted instantly.

“We have to stop him!”

Lunia shouted urgently.

Seeing her, a Seirun student nervously said, “It’s impossible for us to stop that guy! We need to call for help from the seniors!”

“Right!”

“Quickly, to where the seniors are…!”

The first and second-year students of Seirun shouted.

Influenced by their urgency, the first and second-year students of Lumeran insisted they should head toward the Hero Alliance.

“If we fight like this, we’ll just end up dead!” shouted a second-year from Seirun at Lunia.

Looking at that second-year, Lunia took a deep breath.

Then she reached out and grabbed the second-year’s collar, pulling him and smashing her forehead into his.

Bam-!

“Guh?”

Caught off guard, the second-year rolled his eyes and fainted.

Lunia pushed the fainted second-year aside and glared at the first and second-year students with blazing eyes.

The first and second-year students trembled at her gaze.

“Those who want to leave, go.”

Lunia said in a monotone voice, but assuredly laced with fury.

“I will stay here and protect the civilians.”

If the first and second-year students vacated their positions now, the lives of those within Seirun would surely be threatened.

At Lunia’s words, the first and second years began to murmur.

Then Celia and Chloe approached Lunia.

“I will fight that thing.”

“We cannot just retreat like this.”

Abad and Chelsea also joined in.

“If my father is fighting, I cannot back down.”

“Exactly!”

Following them, Duran and Eliza smirked.

“I was planning to stay too.”

“Even though it sounds cliche after the representative of Seirun said it all, I will also fight.”

Warden silently approached with his arms crossed.

Chen Sia joined with a smile, and Eiran and Luca also joined.

That triggered the first years from Lumeran and Seirun to gather around Lunia.

“Hey, Lil! You too?”

One second-year from Lumeran urgently asked Lil, who was joining.

Looking back at her peers, Lil replied.

“Isn’t it only natural? The first years are taking the initiative to do what we should be doing.”

“B-But… isn’t it too reckless?”

“It is reckless.”

At Lil’s words, one of the second-year representatives from Seirun grimaced.

“Why are you doing something reckless? We were chosen. Are you really going to throw away your life here?”

At those words, Lil smiled brightly.

“Because we were chosen.”

“……!”

“Protecting people is the duty of a Hero Candidate, isn’t it?”

Lil’s words made the face of the Seirun second-year representative twist in anguish.

“You’ve gone mad. You’re insane.”

The first and second years were split between those wanting to defend Seirun and those wanting to go to the Hero Alliance.

Kuguguguung-!

At that moment, Zerdiaq, emerging from the crack, fell to the ground.

The earth shook.

Seeing that, the first and second years gulped.

‘How long can we hold out? Ten minutes? No… we might not even last five.’

Lunia gritted her teeth.

Then, dark holes formed around Zerdiaq, and grotesque monsters began to pour out from them.

The faces of the first and second years turned grim at that sight.

“Legion…!”

“That monster! Truly the commander of the legion?”

Gasps of disbelief erupted from everywhere.

Zerdiaq’s legion charged toward Seirun.

In their eyes, there was no rationality.

Only the fierce instinct to destroy remained.

The first and second years clenched their teeth and fought back against the legion’s invasion.

“Stop them!”

“Make sure they don’t set foot into the school!”

Under the urgent commands of the second years, the first years moved in unison.

“Uooooo!”

At that moment, a giant demon that spewed poison roared and charged at Celia.

As she witnessed the demon, Celia gritted her teeth and unleashed a flame aura.

Whirrrrrk-!

Bwaaaaaah!

Celia’s sword sliced through the demon.

The demon’s flesh split, and bl**d sprayed everywhere.

Pussssshhh-!

Celia hurriedly avoided the bl**d.

But she couldn’t escape the noxious fumes that burst forth.

“Ugh?”

Celia covered her mouth.

Krrrrooooww-!

“Ugh!”

Zerdiaq’s legion consisted of monsters possessing deadly poison.

The more demons they took down, the more the accumulated poison affected them.

As Celia staggered, spitting bl**d, the demon she cut down raised its arm.

“Celia!”

Chloe urgently summoned her magic.

Szzzzzzzzt-!

An icy chill enveloped the demon.

As the frozen demon stopped moving, Chelsea swiftly flew in and pulled Celia back to safety.

“I can still fight…!”

“Don’t say that when you’re spitting bl**d!”

Chelsea shouted urgently.

In the background, healers were overwhelmed by the injured.

Within just a few minutes of the legion’s attack beginning, they were faced with carnage.

The attacks from the legion were too overwhelming for the inexperienced first and second years to withstand.

At that moment.

Whirrrrrk-!

Fierce flames erupted from the front.

“Senpai Ris!”

Lil urgently called out for Ris.

It wasn’t just Ris.

The hero students who had come to support from the rear stood against the legion’s attack.

The appearance of the seniors.

However, the first and second years couldn’t afford to be optimistic about their situation.

The opponent was none other than Tartarus’s legion.

The situation they had been unilaterally ravaged was somehow barely escaped.

However, that didn’t mean the front lines had drastically improved.

“Will we be able to take that down…?”

A voice filled with despair escaped from the heroes defending the line.

They were managing to hold off Silatuna’s legion somehow.

But the unknown legion rampaging in the back was more than enough to instill despair, even in the heroes who had achieved great feats.

Even if it were just Silatuna, they could handle it.

But facing two legion commanders was far beyond their capacity.

Then.

The fighting sound in the front suddenly came to an unbelievable halt.

Sedgen looked ahead, his face hardened.

The battleground of the Demon Queen and the Swordsman.

The terrain had changed so dramatically that it did not seem like the same location as moments ago, displaying how fierce their battle had been.

And leaving that battleground behind…

The Demon Queen was advancing.

With the grotesque lower body of a monster and the tiny upper body of a human, Silatuna licked the bl**d streaming down her forehead with her tongue.

“The Principal… has fallen!”

“Is it really over now…!”

Despair enveloped the faces of the heroes.

Seeing them, Halind spoke up.

“If you have time to despair, prepare to fight.”

“Professor Halind…!”

Ren looked at Halind with trembling eyes.

“You all are the teachers of Lumeran.”

Halind spoke in his characteristic cold voice.

“In a situation where even students are fighting against the legion, do not despair first.”

At his words, the teachers of Lumeran gritted their teeth.

At that moment.

Flash-!

A massive strike mercilessly cut down Silatuna.

An overwhelming killing intent radiated from Silatuna’s body.

Kwahahahah-!

A crimson flash created by Silatuna’s dark magic poured toward the location from which the strike came.

“Principal…!”

The faces of the Lumeran professors twisted in horror.

*

“Kal… Rian… cough-! cough-!”

Amidst the devastating battlefield.

Riven urgently called out to Kalyan.

As a dragon.

As the one leading the heroes.

He burned all of his strength for the hero he had chosen.

Just as Silatuna said.

An old hero and an old dragon.

Even at their peak, it would be difficult to guarantee the conquest of Silatuna.

Yet now, both had long passed their prime and had withered.

Perhaps another legion commander might have been defeatable.

But against a monstrous legion commander who had lived since before the era of catastrophe, there was nothing they could do.

Trembling-

Riven’s eyes caught Kalyan raising his body using his sword as a cane.

Riven clenched his teeth.

His body had long since reached its limit.

Yet the swordsman kept moving.

‘I don’t care if I d*e.’

Kalyan lifted his sword.

Having lived his life, he felt that this single life was not at all precious, especially for the sake of his successors.

Kalyan spat bl**d.

‘I must land one more cut.’

He had to leave some possibility for the next generation to defeat Silatuna.

‘Move….’

Sliiish-!

Squeezing out the very remnants of his life, the swordsman tried to unleash his aura to strike.

Staggering-!

But soon he lost his balance and fell.

Thud-!

He barely managed to stand without collapsing.

Yet anyone could see he was at his limit.

Step by step-

“Enough.”

At that moment, a voice came from behind.

Kalyan and Riven barely turned their bodies.

“That is sufficient.”

A young man with gray hair and eyes stood before them.

“You have done enough. So now, you may safely rest.”

Looking at the gray eyes, Kalyan felt as if a certain youthful boy came to mind.

“Who are you?”

In response to Kalyan’s question, the young man opened his mouth.

“I am the Hero of Beginning.”