298
Kwa-ga-ga-gang-!
“Hyeup!”
Dwenno tightened his entire body upon seeing the shockwave surge forth like a wave before him.
A vein bulged on his forehead.
Leo flew his body and hid behind Dwenno’s back.
Koo-ga-ga-gang-!
The storm of shockwaves engulfed Dwenno head-on.
“Hryaaahp!”
Dwenno withstood the storm using his battle axe as a shield.
When the shockwave disappeared, Dwenno adjusted his grip on his axe and lowered his stance to charge at Gias.
Utdug-!
Dwenno’s movement stopped.
“Why is that?”
Leo, who had worn an expression of confusion, suddenly changed his countenance.
Kung! Kung!
Gias also stopped mid-step and looked toward Guardstron.
-Huhuhu.
Dwenno gripped his battle axe upon seeing Gias burst into laughter.
“That’s an irritating laugh.”
-Leo Flove.
Gias’ gaze turned toward Leo.
-Didn’t you say you were the greatest variable in my plans? Very well, I’ll admit it. Your existence was something I did not foresee. And you have made things more troublesome for me than I had anticipated. I commend you for that.
Leo frowned at the unexpected words.
-I do not know how you managed to enter here. This world has not yet undergone the transformation into a dungeon.
‘Is this not a Hero Dungeon?
Hero Dungeon.
A phenomenon where an unstable Hero Record goes berserk and engulfs the surrounding area.
A side effect of Erebus being sealed within the Hero Record.
A berserk caused by pages contaminated by Erebus’ power.
Until now, Leo believed Dwenno’s world was a Hero Dungeon caused by such a berserk.
But that’s not the case.
‘If Dwenno’s Hero Record wasn’t contaminated by Erebus’ power… then it must be because Alana touched it and activated the Hero’s World.’
Berkiya was undoubtedly one of the main characters of this world.
After the Guardstron skirmish, Berkiya fully entered the battlefield.
Alana, a descendant of Berkiya.
And Alana possessed Erquent which Leo had given her, so she must have been the key.
‘Then… how has this b*stard managed to enter here?’
-Are you not curious about how I could enter this uncomfortable world?
Gias’ eyes gleamed.
-Great God guided me and bestowed the key to this world. And now, God has awakened from a long slumber and has opened His eyes.
“What?”
-God granted me the key to enter this world. And now, God has awakened from a long slumber and has opened His eyes.
Hijuk-
Gias grinned, revealing his grotesque teeth.
-It does not matter if you become a variable. This will be your grave, and this world will burn and disappear. Kehahahahaha!
As Gias mocked, Dwenno said,
“Return to Guardstron.”
-It doesn’t matter whether you return or not. The result will be the same.
Kung-!
Gias’ massive foot blocked the path to Guardstron.
-Do you think I’ll let you do as you please?
With that, Dwenno pulled back his battle axe as if ready to fire an arrow.
Hoo-waaang! Chik-!
-What?!
“Your opinion means nothing to me, Gias.”
The battle axe, spinning at an incredible speed, crushed Gias’ ankle.
“I told him to return to Guardstron. That means I’ll make sure it happens no matter what you do.”
Kung-!
Gias, losing his balance with a severed ankle, fell to the ground.
Seizing the opportunity, Leo leaped toward Guardstron at an astonishing speed.
-Let me do as I please? !
Gias swung his free arm at Leo.
Hwaak-!
Dwenno charged furiously at Gias’ palm.
Gang-!
Dwenno’s body check deflected the hand Gias had aimed at Leo.
-Nom!
An enraged Gias swung the other hand to hit Dwenno.
Whoiiing! Gang-!
Dwenno, struck by Gias’ hand, crashed violently into the ground at an incredible speed.
A deep crater formed.
Kwaang-!
But from the crater, Dwenno broke through and flew up, slamming his head into Gias’ jaw.
-Gyep?!
Gias, trying to stop Leo, wavered and fell to the ground.
Tak-!
Dwenno landed and said,
“Didn’t I say it? There’s no way you can stop me from sending him back, Gias.”
Koogooogoong-!
The severed ankle regenerated, and Gias stood up.
-Useless struggling…
Kooong-!
Gias stood up.
Huge like a massive mountain.
The giant looked down at Dwarves, the smallest of all races.
-God’s flames will ultimately consume everything.
Gias raised the corpse-sword of Jormungand.
-They will burn endlessly until everything turns to ashes. No matter how you struggle, your fate… the world’s fate cannot change.
Gias’ eyes gleamed.
-You and your comrades… everything is destined to burn and disappear.
“Rather boastful, aren’t you? If that’s the case, the future seems to be shining brightly.”
Gias’ eyes quivered at Dwenno’s words.
-You…
“You don’t seem to know why you crawled all the way to this distant past.”
Dwenno’s eyes gleamed.
“Your future will not change.”
-Go ahead and shout all you want. I won’t pay attention to the ranting of a ghost from the past.
Gias’ veins began to bulge.
-And the battle is only just beginning now.
‘Ability, huh.’
The ability of the Giant King Gias, Berserker.
When Berserker activates, all power surges, transforming into a ruinous mind that only destroys.
It was Gias, transformed by Berserker, who ultimately destroyed Dwenno’s hometown.
‘The downside is… the loss of reason.’
A giant body is also, conversely, a massive target.
No matter how great the defense, it will eventually collapse under continuous attacks.
That large body bestowed immense destructive force to Gias, but it also motivated him to be overly cautious about everything he passed.
In a certain sense, a monster that destroys without discrimination is also a prey that gives many attack opportunities.
An ability like a double-edged sword in every sense.
‘This time, I’ll cut this irritating bond once and for all.’
Tak-!
Leo returned to Guardstron’s castle wall and stiffened upon seeing the situation.
Kwa-ga-ga-jak-!
Amid the blazing black flames, Aron was engaged in an intense sword duel with a black-flame composed minion.
Bang!
Aron’s kick slammed into the minion’s abdomen.
Gang-!
The minion’s body, flying at an invisible speed, crashed into the castle wall.
His teeth bared, Aron charged forward and raised his hand.
Kwa-gag-!
The sharp claws tore apart the flame minion.
Tang! Tang! Changg-lang-!
As the minion’s body dispersed into flames, a piece of metal fell from its center.
Leo’s gaze was captured by the melted metal piece.
A familiar energy was sensed.
The only weapon that Dwenno ever considered a masterpiece.
The unique sword in the world, created solely for all classes.
The sword Dwenno gave to Kyle, asking for the way to the future to be opened.
“Posteritas.”
In the final showdown with Erebus.
Posteritas split in two after fulfilling its duty.
It wasn’t broken.
Rather, the part embedded in Erebus had melted and fallen off.
The whereabouts of the remaining half remains unknown.
Kyle shut his eyes with all his strength.
The part of the grip Kyle held until the end was recovered by dwarves in a distant future.
The rest was believed to have melted away.
However… it has come to this Hero’s World in a state where it hardly retains its form.
‘The Great God granted me the key to come to this world. And now God has awakened from a long sleep and opened His eyes.’
Gias’ words from earlier came to mind.
At that moment.
Flicker-
A crimson eye appeared from the sword.
The hateful crimson eye stared at Leo with obvious animosity.
Upon seeing that eye, Leo felt goosebumps rise all over his body.
He’d seen that eye before.
A single, undivided will.
Hatred-filled hostility towards Leo.
The exact same eye of Erebus he had briefly seen after the entrance examination.
Hwaak-!
A human-shaped figure emerged from the flames that erupted from the fragment of Posteritas.
However, this time the target was none other than Leo.
Hwaak-!
At that moment, Ar took advantage of the opening and aimed for the minion’s side.
Thoo-ung-!
“Kyaa?!”
A magic barrier instantly formed, blocking Ar’s attack.
Simultaneously…
Uuung-!
A summoning circle appeared, and countless monsters poured out.
The grotesque beasts bared their mouths to bite into Leo’s neck.
Kwa-ga-ga-jak-!
A silver aura swirled fiercely as Eiran cut off the heads of the monsters.
“Lord Leo! Are you alright?”
“…I’m fine.”
Just as Leo stiffened his face,
“d*e already!”
A voice filled with rage echoed, and Lunia’s crimson flames engulfed the minion.
However, the minion broke through the flames.
Ar and Eiran swung their claws and swords to stop the minion.
But even while its body tore apart, the minion’s sword continued toward Leo.
Leo’s gaze turned icy cold.
Bang!
A severed head floated in the air.
Leo, drawing his sword, swiftly slashed the minion’s neck.
“How unpleasant.”
He realized.
This was the remnant of Erebus’ thoughts.
‘Is this how it entered this world?’
The scrap of consciousness Erebus had left behind.
The fragment hidden within the tip of Posteritas awakened for some unknown reason.
And it summoned Gias.
The scraps of consciousness that entered the Hero’s World regained strength, gradually awaking as they were affected by their past selves existing in this world.
‘And it took the form by reading the memories embedded in Posteritas.’
Leo stiffened his face at the unexpected situation.
’We need to deal with this quickly.’
When the last ember is touched by a kindling stick.
The ember ignites once again.
Though it is but a small spark now, bit by bit it will transform into a massive one.
As Leo clenched his teeth,
Hwaak-!
A magic circle appeared amidst the void, and the youth revealed himself.
It was a boy Leo knew.
“Zers.”
In the past, a young boy of the Dragon race who lost his life during the Guardstron skirmish.
“A, Lord Aron! To the west of Guardstron…! There, the Giant King and his legion…!”
“What?”
Aron’s eyes widened with shock.
Not only Aron but all who heard the report had their faces turn pale.
“But, wait! Giant King Gias is being stopped by Lord Dwenno, so why would he appear again!”
The elf mage shouted in a hurried voice.
“I, I don’t know why either…!”
Zers wore an expression of bewilderment.
The future Gias is being dealt with by Dwenno.
The appearance of the past Gias was anticipated.
But not the remnant of Erebus.
It was too desperate.
‘Should we take this guy down quickly and head for the west entrance? But if we delay, what if the west entrance collapses…?’
Leo gritted his teeth.
Not enough hands.
All Leo could manage alone was up to the expected level.
The situation grew too large beyond expectations.
“Lord Aron! Everyone! Let’s hurry to the west!”
When Zers was stamping his feet,
Whoiiiiing- Kwaang!
“Kyaaah!”
“What? Is that an attack?”
Something flew from far away near Gias and crashed into the castle wall.
Amidst the panic, Dwenno appeared through the dust.
“Cough! That hurt!”
“Tu-tu-tug!”
Though Dwenno calmly spoke while brushing off the dust, his appearance was a mess.
Looking at the beginning flames of the black fire, Dwenno narrowed his eyes and asked Leo,
“What is that?”
“…It seems to be… a piece of Erebus.”
“A piece?”
While Dwenno stroked his chin,
“Lord Dwenno! Another Giant King Gias and his army have appeared to the west!”
“Is that so?”
Dwenno’s eyes darkened.
After a deep sigh, Dwenno said,
“Aron, I’ll leave the ones to the west to you. Leo, assist Aron.”
To which Aron hesitated.
“In that case, how do we handle Erebus?”
“We can’t leave it on the castle, where it would cause too much interference. We need to move it.”
“Move it? Where to?”
“Where to?”
Dwenno charged forward, gripping his axe and smacked the Erebus remnant sideways with its flat side.
Jeeng-!
With a tremendous clang of metal, Erebus’ remnant was hurled into and crashed into the city’s interior.
Kwa-gang-!
A building collapsed, and thick dust arose.
“This one should be dealt with in the city’s interior.”
As Dwenno said this, Depeser mentioned,
“Myself and the dragons will handle it.”
“No, you’ll stop the legion of the Giant King appearing to the west.”
Dwenno cast a glance at Erebus’ remnant.
“Let Berkiya, Lunia, Ar, Alana, Driana, and Kal handle it.”
“Understood!”
“Alright.”
Ar responded strongly, and Lunia cracked her finger joints, glaring at the direction where Erebus’ remnant lay.
Seeing this, Leo approached Dwenno and quietly said,
“It’s dangerous.”
Leo continued,
“You must be aware of that guy’s strength, right? Even if I join the group you’ve chosen, it would barely suffice!”
In a short period, the power of Erebus’ remnant flaring up was overwhelming.
It had the capacity to entirely reverse the balance of the battlefield that Leo had envisioned.
To say the least, it was a horrifying variable.
The six chosen by Dwenno were indeed strong in truth.
But they were still incomplete vessels of heroes.
Charging such a formidable Erebus remnant toward them would be too reckless an action.
“Well, I can’t leave you to handle that either. Aron will need you.”
“But still…”
“There’s no other way. It’s an all-or-nothing situation.”
Dwenno calmly looked into Leo’s eyes.
“So, believe.”
“…What?”
“I’m saying, believe in the future you’ve chosen.”
“…!”
“From what I see, those children are ready to face the trials.”
Dwenno observed Leo with gentle eyes.
“They’ll be a strong enough support to have your back. So, believe.”
Leo turned his head and saw his friends preparing for battle.
“Can you continue carrying everything on your own indefinitely?”
“….”
Leo closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
“I haven’t wasted my years.”
“Huh, Lisinas even comes to me for life consultations.”
“Lisinas?”
“Yeah. It’s more like complaining thanks to an idiot’s idiocy.”
Dwenno’s sharp remark made Leo chuckle bitterly.
Dwenno gazed at the wildly raging Gias.
“Well, let’s start round two, shall we?”
Kung! Kung!
The horrifying scene unfolded before everyone gathered at the western castle wall, sending shivers down their spines.
An overpowering despair dominated their minds.
It seemed almost impossible for Aron alone to hold off the legions and their legion commander.
“We are… are we ending like this?”
Someone mumbled with a trembling voice.
“Are we perishing like this?”
A voice laced with despair was heard.
Fear is highly contagious.
Once it starts seeping in, it endlessly spawns new fears.
At that moment,
Woo-wooo-oo-oo-oo-ooo!
The howl of a wolf reverberated across the entirety of Guardstron.
The legion’s march halted at the howl.
The dread that had gripped everyone transformed to clarity.
The spreading fear vanished in an instant.
The howling ceased abruptly.
“Everyone, prepare to fight.”
A usually fearful voice now calmly reached everyone’s ears.
Tak!
Aron suddenly appeared on the castle wall, drawing his sword.
Soolung!
As he did, his body began to transform.
His fangs grew longer, his claws sharper, and his body was covered in fur.
“Today, we could come to an end.”
Calmly… with determination, Aron spoke.
“But, it’s also possible we might not end here, right?”
Aron turned to look at the heroes risking their lives for the future.
“We’ve come this far precisely because we have never given up. We only saw hope because we refused to give up, right?”
Aron smiled.
“So, let’s muster just a bit more courage.”
Not a grand speech.
Just a small encouragement for courage.
But,
The encouragement from the timid hero leading the charge bolstered everyone’s strength.
“You look much better at this than Lisinas, no matter how you see it.”
With a swoosh and tap, Leo stood beside Aron and grinned.
Courages soared in everyone’s eyes.
If fear spreads fast,
Courage spreads equally as fast.
“We can win.”
With assured tones, Leo spoke to Aron.
“To do that…”
Leo slipped his left hand into his bosom.
When he took it out, interspersed between his fingers were red, blue, silver, and brown gems.
“It’s because I’m here.”
![[TS] The Protagonist is Conquered](https://i3.wp.com/novelhitam.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/1743806812-5548-TS-The-Protagonist-is-Conquered.png?resize=85,105 "[TS] The Protagonist is Conquered")
