Chapter 297

297

Pssh- Pshuut-

Gias’ severed head was spurting out a fountain of bl**d.

Chiiiik-!

The pool of bl**d on the floor contaminated the surrounding area.

The Legion Commander’s bl**d, which held a potent toxicity, was a horrifying poison in itself, capable of melting flesh and bone.

However, Dwenno, who was drenched in the Legion Commander’s bl**d, didn’t flinch even once.

“Hmph, it smells disgusting no matter when!”

Dwenno frowned as if he were displeased, and from afar, Leo observed him muttering under his breath.

“Every time I see it, it’s utterly repulsive resilience.”

Kyle and Aron also tried to avoid being directly covered in the Legion Commander’s bl**d.

Swoosh-!

At that moment, Gias lifted his foot.

Kwaang-!

Gias’s foot crushed Dwenno flat.

As a result, the bl**d in the puddle surged high up, forming a wave that surged toward Leo.

Chop-!

Leo swiftly dodged the wave of bl**d and looked up at Gias’s neck.

‘The attack landed, but… it didn’t inflict much damage after all.’

Leo’s attack didn’t have any significant effect in the first place.

For Gias, it was merely a slight wound.

It only created an opening, and Dwenno had skillfully taken advantage of that gap.

Though his head was severed, it wasn’t a significant damage to Gias.

No matter what, Gias was the strongest magic Luna possessed—an existence with an immense defensive capability that had even survived a fatal blow.

Kugugugugu-!

The earth shook violently.

“Hmph…”

Dwenno, who had been trampled by Gias’s foot, raised both his hands and pushed against it.

“Hryaaaargh!”

With the veins bulging on his forehead, Dwenno pushed Gias’s foot off with all his might.

Ku-kung-!

Gias stumbled back two or three steps.

Dwenno, slinging his battle-axe over his shoulder, grumbled.

“Trampling on people—it’s utterly impolite.”

“It’s just you; anyone else would have left no trace by now.”

“Isn’t durability the dwarf’s forte?”

“You’re excessively durable, though.”

Hohoho! Watching Dwenno laugh heartily, Leo shook his head.

Though it appeared they were having a leisurely conversation,

all their senses were focused on Gias.

They were ready to dive straight into battle if anything unusual happened.

-This is interesting.

Gias picked up his own severed head and reattached it to his neck.

The cut on his neck healed instantly.

– Leo Flove. I’ve now gauged your abilities.

Gias’s icy gaze turned toward Leo.

-I should definitely k*ll you here.

As Gias glared at Leo with killing intent, Leo smirked.

“If you keep worrying about me, you’ll d*e first.”

-Khukhukhu. You’re too overconfident in yourself.

Gias sneered.

-I guard against only your future self. You, as you are now, don’t even deserve to stand in this fight. The moment you stepped into the midst of my battle with Dwenno…

Gias’s eyes flashed.

-Your d*ath is already decided! You dimwit!

Kwagagagagang-!

Gias swung the corpse-sword of Jormungand.

A single slash caused a calamity-like destruction, reducing the area to ruins.

An overwhelming size produced an overwhelming attack.

Leo evaded the attack just in time and glared at Gias.

‘It’s clear that with my current strength, I can’t interfere in this fight.’

Leo’s attack didn’t have any effect on Gias whatsoever.

Even if he were to pour all his power into wounding him, it would create a tiny crack at best.

But now, even creating that crack seemed difficult.

The same strategy wouldn’t work twice on Gias.

With his current strength, Leo couldn’t possibly influence the outcome of this battle.

Conversely, Gias didn’t even need to make an effort to k*ll Leo.

Just being caught in the catastrophic battle between Dwenno and Gias could be enough to k*ll Leo.

It was a battle of an entirely different dimension, and there he stood right in the middle of it.

However, there was a reason why Leo followed Dwenno.

Hooak-!

“Leo!”

Hovering in the air, Leo shouted.

Dwenno leaped toward Leo at that moment.

Leo concentrated all his aura into the sword.

He presented the blade to Dwenno who had leaped toward him.

Thud-!

Dwenno landed on the sword.

“Absolutely, this makes the battle easier.”

Smiling at Dwenno, Leo grinned back and swung his sword towards Gias with all his might.

Kwaaaaaa-!

Dwenno, using Leo as a launchpad, charged toward Gias at an incredible speed.

-What?!

Gias’ eyes widened in shock.

The reason Leo had forcibly inserted himself into this fight was solely to act as Dwenno’s base.

So that Dwenno could focus on the battle.

So that Dwenno could unleash his full potential perfectly.

Leo had thoroughly positioned himself as Dwenno’s supporter in this situation.

‘Ironically.’

Now he was doing the role Dwenno had once done for him.

And because of that, he could perform this role even more perfectly.

– You… what exactly are you?

Gias’s furious gaze turned to Leo.

Leo looked at Gias and smirked coldly.

“You’re the biggest variable in your own plan.”

*

On top of Guardstron’s Castle Wall.

Aron silently observed the battle between Dwenno and Gias.

The clash between Dwenno and Gias was, in literal terms, a fight between two shields.

Neither could deal each other a decisive blow in one move.

Because of this, a long, arduous battle of attrition became necessary.

In some sense, they were the worst possible match-up for one another.

However, in that brutal fight, Dwenno was definitely taking the upper hand.

And the reason for this was Leo’s presence.

‘It’s been hours already, hasn’t it?’

Aron’s eyes followed Leo’s movements.

In Aron’s view, Leo wasn’t just engaging in a precarious balancing act.

It was akin to someone performing a full-speed sprint on a rope that was about to snap.

The moment his movement halted or a minor mistake was made, it would lead directly to d*ath.

Any other person would have died dozens of times already.

Still, Leo had managed to survive and supported Dwenno thus far.

This was not just about overwhelming skill and predictive reading.

It required a superhuman mental strength to make calm and precise judgments while standing on the brink of d*ath.

‘An ability that only someone who has always kept d*ath by their side can obtain.’

Watching that ferocious struggle, Aron felt a sense of affinity toward Leo.

The sight of him flailing in adversity was similar to their own.

Aron clenched and unclenched his fists.

‘It’ll be dawn soon.’

The gloomy pre-dawn hour was approaching.

Leo had instructed Aron to conserve his strength until dawn.

Gias’ legions attacking Guardstron could not harm the castle walls at all.

Everything was proceeding smoothly.

‘Even with the direct attack from the Giant King… is this all?’

Aron felt a shiver run down his spine.

‘Without Lunaris, are we truly capable of repelling the Giant King’s invasion this easily?’

When had Legion Commanders become such an easy adversary?

There were too many flaws in this invasion.

Aron instinctively knew.

The real crisis was yet to come.

“Depeser.”

“Yes, Lord Aron!”

“Have we established contact with Lissinas yet?”

“Yes. It seems that Lissinas, Kyle, and Lady Luna are trapped within Leisar by the barriers set by another Legion Commander. It’s uncertain when we will be able to establish communication with them…”

Just as Depeser was speaking, Aron clenched his teeth.

“Aron Master! It looks like we can repel these enemies without much loss!”

Verkiya, who had been blocking enemy assaults, rushed over to report on the battle situation.

The unsung heroes of the future, who sacrificed their lives for the era, were doing their utmost to stop the legions’ invasion.

Dwenno was clearly taking the upper hand against Gias.

Even without Aron stepping in, the tide of the battle was slowly tilting in favor of Guardstron.

The more this happened, the stronger Aron’s ominous premonition grew.

Unfortunately, this eerie feeling had never been wrong.

Whoosh-

Suddenly, a small spark erupted behind Verkiya.

Aron stood up.

Depeser, being much closer to Verkiya, instinctively grabbed and pulled her away.

“Huh?”

The moment Verkiya exclaimed in confusion,

Whoosh!

A piece of iron, compressed into the air, revealed its form.

Aron’s sharp olfactory senses immediately identified it.

‘Dwenno’s smell… Kyle’s smell…’

Though it was so damaged that its exact form was unrecognizable, it was undoubtedly a piece of armor made by Dwenno and used by Kyle.

Then…

‘Erebus’ smell!’

Whoosh! Kwagagagang!

Black flames exploded outward in all directions.

Within an instant, the flames engulfed Verkiya and Depeser.

Whoosh!

Aron summoned his aura and deflected the flames with his sword.

“Verkiya! Depeser!”

Aron called out anxiously.

As the flames cleared, Depeser appeared.

Verkiya, held in his arms, was trembling.

“De… Depeser Lord… I’m… I’m al… all right…”

“Are you truly alright, Verkiya?”

Even though his entire body was burning, Depeser managed to smile.

“I’m… I’m fine but… Depeser Lord!”

“There’s no serious wound. Please don’t worry.”

As if trying to reassure Verkiya, Depeser smiled and stood up.

He glared at the undulating black flames ahead, backing away while keeping Verkiya behind him.

Depeser’s face turned pale.

‘Catastrophic Flame!’

Depeser had witnessed the Flames of Erebus, which scorched the world.

This black flame was none other than that Catastrophic Flame.

‘How did it appear in Guardstron?’

Even the gods would despair at this primal evil.

Erebus—an absolute despair.

The monstrous entity that burned the world to ashes had one weakness.

It couldn’t venture beyond its own domain.

The reason it possessed a Titan Legion Commander was precisely to have influence over more territories.

Guardstron was a land untouched by the Catastrophic Flame.

And yet, this black flame had appeared in this land.

Swish-!

Aron drew Brave.

Then he charged toward the undulating black flames.

Whoosh!

Aron’s sword slashed through the black flames.

Whoosh! Kwaaaang!

The black flames surged toward Aron.

“Aron Master!”

Verkiya exclaimed with a pale face.

But Aron deflected the attack with his aura armor and emerged from the flames, throwing a punch toward the source.

Bang!

The black flames scattered in all directions.

‘Erebus should be overly powerful…’

Confusion crossed Aron’s face.

Clang!

A piece of metal rolled on the ground.

Whoosh!

But instantly, the chunk began to emit flames again.

‘Burning even stronger?’

As Aron was surprised,

“What is that?”

“Black flames?”

Puzzled hero candidates came rushing to investigate the strange happening.

Ar and Kal looked flabbergasted.

“Wait, black flames mean…”

“Isn’t this too sudden?”

Eiran and Driana exchanged uncertain looks when

Lunia murmured with a pale face,

“Erebus…!”

Whoosh-!

The black flames started to take form.

Whoosh!

As the flames turned into a humanoid shape, it was indeed a form resembling a human despite being surrounded by flames.

Aron’s expression faded from his face.

Aron, his face now filled with killing intent, swung his sword at the black flames.

Whoosh!

At that moment, flames shot from the black flame’s hand into the shape of a sword.

Clang!

The swords clashed.

Kwak! Bang!

The black flames were overpowered by Aron’s strength and crashed into the walls.

“Definitely Lord Aron!”

Ar cheered.

Hoodoook-!

The black flames stood up.

Aron swiftly closed the distance for the follow-up attack.

Clang! Kwang!

At that moment, the black flame deflected Aron’s sword and counterattacked.

Aron evaded with a minimal twist of his neck.

At that instant, Verkiya’s face stiffened.

“It can’t be…”

“Why, why is that, Verkiya?”

Eiran asked anxiously.

Chick-!

Aron, who had taken some distance from the black flames, noticed something.

In the exchange moments ago, an image of someone popped forcefully into his mind.

“Kyle…?”