Chapter 285

285

“It seems this golem is highly resistant to flames.”

Driana let out a grunt as she swung the battle hammer gripped in both her small hands.

The sight of her exerting so much force made her look incredibly adorable, like a young girl trying her best.

BOOM!

But what happened right before their eyes was far from adorable.

The massive golem was sent flying and crashed onto the ground.

KOOONG!

The golem rose back up as if barely affected by the blow, but Driana didn’t flinch.

Her role was to merely hold back the enemy at the front lines.

As for defeating the enemy…

WHOOSH!

Flames flickered in Lunia’s hands.

The flames soon took the shape of a massive spear.

When she outstretched her palm, the spear floated above it.

WHOOSH!

At Lunia’s gesture, the spear shot towards the golem at an incredible speed.

PEEONG!

The spear that directly hit the golem caused an enormous storm of flames.

Seeing this, Driana murmured under her breath.

“Truly terrifying magic power.”

Lunia, overshadowed by Leo, the youngest Student Council President of Lumeran, was a prodigy who might take the position of the student president by the end of this year at the latest or no later than next year in the evaluations.

WHOOSH!

The temperature around Lunia soared.

Her eyes glowed as if they were burning.

‘If this is Lord Dwenno’s world… perhaps I will meet him again.’

Lunia smiled faintly as she recalled the person she had admired since childhood.

The flames swirling around her grew even fiercer.

WHOOSH!

Behind Lunia’s back, wings of fire were formed.

The flames grew fiercer as they consumed mana and spiritual power.

The blazing flames of the Runea Family.

“Holy Flames.”

The flames that erupted from Lunia’s body consumed the surrounding flames and became even stronger.

The flames scorched Lunia’s skin.

However, Lunia paid no heed.

‘Stronger…’

Lunia’s eyes burned fiercely.

‘Like Lady Luna…’

She recalled the admired smile that had been flashed at her.

‘Like Leo!’

Recollecting the mature figure of the boy walking ahead of her, Lunia unleashed her magic.

GROOOOONG!

The Holy Flames engulfed the golem.

BOOM!

The golem’s body crumbled.

Driana sighed in amazement at the sight.

“To think you managed to subdue a flame-resistant golem with fire. You’re quite the monster.”

It was at that moment when the golem’s movements ceased.

“Remarkable.”

A voice of admiration echoed from within the flames.

Lunia and Driana looked on guard as they heard the voice.

“However, it’s a dangerous flame.”

TAPTAP

The two girls’ eyes widened as a dwarf emerged from the flames.

“My name is Dwenno.”

The dwarf stroked his beard with an amicable expression as he spoke.

“You’ve trespassed into one of the sacred grounds of Guardstron. It’s considered a grave sin to enter here without permission. Are you spies from Tartarus?”

“N-No!”

“We aren’t…!”

Seeing the two flustered girls, Dwenno chuckled.

“Then I’ll offer you two options. Either come with me peacefully for an investigation, or be subdued by me and then investigated.”

Despite the gentle smile, his tone was firm.

The natural authority that emanated from him caused Lunia and Driana to tremble.

Both girls were from prestigious families and had grown up seeing many heroes and the respected older figures in their homes.

But the dwarf standing before them was different from the heroes they had known.

The natural aura of authority emanating from him.

The charisma of the hero who had saved the world from annihilation pressured the two girls.

Lunia and Driana retracted their powers.

Seeing this, Dwenno stroked his beard.

“Good girls.”

*

Ar, Eiran, and Kal had been locked up for half a day.

Now, as the underground prison was dark, Kal was pulling his hair.

“What are we going to do now?! Things were going so smoothly with the misunderstanding resolved, but you messed it up!”

“OWOW?!”

Ar shrank her neck.

Watching Ar with her cat ears and tail drooping, Eiran calmed down Kal.

“Don’t be so hard on her, Kal. You were supposed to be the brave one, weren’t you? Ar merely lost control over her emotions when she met the person she desperately wanted to see among the Beastmen. And Aron even vouched for you saying you weren’t a spy for Tartarus!”

At Eiran’s words, Kal slumped down onto the floor of the underground prison.

“Yeah, that’s true.”

“See! Aron-sama is so benevolent!”

“Yeah, the problem is you scared him.”

‘Even so, it was scary, so locking me up in the prison seems right.’

Recalling Aron’s exasperated expression as he looked at Ar, Kal continued.

“But it’s quite a shock.”

“In what way?”

“It’s Aron-sama. What can I say…he seemed a bit timid, didn’t he?”

Aron’s appearance was exactly the same as what was documented.

White hair, golden eyes.

However, the first impression Eiran and Kal had of Aron was different from what was documented.

The unyielding courage-filled leader of the Erebus extermination team.

A warrior-like hero who decapitated countless enemies on the front lines.

A symbol of courage.

That’s the image of Aron.

But Aron’s appearance from before wasn’t quite the same as what was documented.

Of course, it might be because Ar lost her composure and darted toward him, but even so, he wasn’t supposed to be that frightened.

At Kal’s words, Eiran nodded her head in agreement.

“Yeah. Clearly, Aron-sama appeared startled upon seeing Ar.”

“What are you saying? Aron-sama couldn’t possibly be scared of something.”

Ar looked confused and blinked her blue eyes.

“I see why Leo called you a foolish cat now.”

When Kal sighed deeply, the sound was heard.

CREEAK!

The prison door opened, and someone entered.

“It seems like we have other prisoners.”

“This area is quite dangerous. It is the Age of Catastrophe, after all.”

As Eiran murmured quietly, Kal sighed when he heard this.

“Eiran?”

A surprised voice was heard.

Eiran turned her head beyond the bars and her eyes widened.

“Lunia!”

It was none other than Lunia and Driana there.

“You’ve come to save us!”

Just as Eiran was smiling brightly, a voice came from behind Lunia and Driana.

“Hurry up, hurry!”

The jailers who had appeared threw Lunia and Driana into the opposite cell where Kal, Ar and Eiran were locked.

CREEAK! THUMP!

After the jailers left, Lunia answered Eiran’s question a little late.

“No, we’re caught too.”

Lunia’s answer made Eiran drop her shoulders in disappointment.

“Where is Leo Flove?”

Driana asked with her arms crossed.

In response to this question, Kal tilted his head.

“Isn’t he with you?”

“No, he wasn’t where we were.”

“Well, then it seems we’ve ended up in completely different places.”

Kal stroked his chin as he glanced around.

There were no jailers inside the prison.

‘They’ll probably be guarding from outside.’

Recalling the strict security beyond the door, Kal took a deep breath.

“We’ve gathered at least some of us, so let’s compile the information we’ve gathered.”

“Alright. Let’s start with us.”

Lunia nodded her head and crossed her arms.

“We ended up in a prohibited area. It was a place full of the power of the Spirit of Fire. That’s where we met Lord Dwenno.”

At Lunia’s words, Kal hesitated.

“We began at Spirit Lake. And the one who captured us was Aron-sama.”

“Aron-sama?”

Lunia looked surprised.

“And this place is called Guardstron, you said? Then it wouldn’t be strange if other Great Heroes are here too. Perhaps we might even meet all five Great Heroes.”

Driana’s words startled the whole party.

All five Great Heroes in one place!

Because the records of Great Heroes’ hero records are so scattered, a hero record where all five Great Heroes come together has never been discovered in the history of hero record challenges.

“This is on a whole different scale.”

Kal broke into a cold sweat.

The King of Wisdom, the progenitor of the Star Cloud, the Hero, God’s Blacksmith, and the Hero of Beginning.

A world of heroes that brought together the ones who saved the world?

That meant it was going to be just as difficult to conquer.

“Well, it’s just speculation anyway. Fortunately, this Hero’s World isn’t a possession-type hero world.”

Possession-type hero world.

A Hero Record where one becomes one of the characters recorded or becomes a Hero altogether.

“True. It’s fortunate it’s not a possession-type world.”

Kal let out a deep sigh.

If it were a possession-type world and he had to play the role of the Great Hero?

Just thinking about it was dizzying.

“However, this isn’t a regular Hero’s World but the Hero Dungeon. We can’t let our guards down.”

Lunia spoke seriously.

At her words, Ar said,

“Let’s set the primary objective and move accordingly. I think the primary goal should be reuniting with the Black Rabbit and identifying our strategy objective.”

“I agree.”

They, who once floundered in their first year, were now calm and composed due to their extensive experience and prepared to take on the hero world.

“First, let’s work on easing these suspicions against us. Lord Dwenno said he would investigate, so there will be some movement soon. When it happens, let’s avoid any suspicious actions.”

CREEAK! THUMP!

The door opened roughly.

As the five tensed up,

TAPTAP

A blonde man with golden eyes revealed himself.

The sharp look he had, similar to an investigator, startled the five.

‘Dragon!’

As the dragon swept his eyes over the five,

SWOOSH!

He pulled out something wrapped in cloth from his embrace.

“A very interesting item was found in your possessions.”

SWOOSH!

As he revealed the cloth, a uniquely shaped dagger was there.

“Ah! That’s mine.”

Eiran looked perplexed.

Seeing this, the dragon’s eyes sparkled.

“So, it’s you. You’re the culprit.”

“Huh?”

“This dagger was a gift from Lady Luna to her disciple, Miss Berkiya.”

“!”

“The appraisal confirmed it’s genuine.”

At the mention of their ancestor’s name, Eiran’s expression changed with surprise.

“And Miss Berkiya left the castle for training a week ago.”

The dragon’s expression turned cold.

“Why do you, who value this dagger more than anything, have it in your possession? What did you do to Miss Berkiya?”

Eiran’s face turned pale.

Not only Eiran,

The faces of the other four also stiffened.

The dragon was emitting a powerful aura.

‘This is bad.’

Lunia swallowed dryly.

Under the current circumstances, it was inevitable to cast suspicion.

An Erquent that couldn’t exist twice in this era was found in Eiran’s possession.

The situation had surely spiraled out of control.

“Miss Berkiya is… important to Lord Kyle, Lady Luna, and Lord Aron. She’s also the future of the world. You dare to….”

“A-But I didn’t! I didn’t do anything to Miss Berkiya!”

“HOLD YOUR TONGUE!”

The dragon pointed at Eiran with a shout.

“Take this woman out immediately! I’ll personally interrogate her!”

“Wait! Please, hear us out!”

Kal called out desperately, and Ar growled at the jailers entering the prison.

Lunia and Driana shouted as they gripped the iron bars.

But there was nothing the five could do with their mana sealed while locked up in the prison.

Eiran said as she was dragged away.

“Um, everyone! Don’t worry! I will… I will definitely clear this misunderstanding!”

Eiran reassured her flustered companions as she followed the jailers.

After Eiran left the prison, the dragon’s cold gaze turned towards the four.

“After interrogating this woman, it’s your turn.”

CREEAK! THUMP!

Silence enveloped the prison.

Lunia clenched her teeth.

The situation has become grave.

They ended up being suspected falsely.

But they couldn’t think of any way to refute it.

‘This is dangerous as it is.’

The current era was the Era of Catastrophe.

Matters related to demons would be dealt with far more severely than in their own era.

‘Not to mention, Fairy Knight Berkiya is Lady Luna and Lord Aron’s disciple! And she’s even Lord Kyle’s disciple, they said!’

Judging from the respectful way the dragon addressed them, they were undoubtedly the hope of the world.

They were suspected of harming the disciples of such esteemed figures.

And evidence existed.

It was dangerous.

Lunia ground her teeth as her shoulders shook.

‘We need to save her!’