Chapter 358

358

The highest point of Seirun.

The Plaza of Stars.

It is a place accessible only by the authority of the principal.

A place of such importance that it is used solely for significant deliberations within Seirun or during the Elf Council, making the Plaza of Stars a location of critical standing within elf society.

Undeads imbued with the Demon King’s power appeared in this very place.

Thus, the only suspect was one person.

That, and the shadows of the elves.

By the time the situation reached this point, all members of the Pureblood Society of Seirun were arrested for investigation following the incident.

Afterward, Leo immediately pursued LeHagen, who had become the acting principal, and this led to the current moment.

“Are you planning to run away?”

“Run away?”

LeHagen’s face contorted.

“Why would I run away? Can’t you see that I am the Student Council President of Lumeran? Where did you hear such nonsense…?”

“You running away right now would be the best way to avoid your dealings with Tartarus being uncovered.”

LeHagen’s face stiffened.

But then, he donned an expression of anger.

“Dealings with Tartarus? What do you think I am! I am one who follows the will of the Ancestors of the Star Cloud and the Comet Wizard more than anyone else…!”

“If you had followed the will of Lady Luna and Seirun,”

Leo’s expression disappeared.

“You wouldn’t have discriminated against the students like this.”

Thud.

A chilling aura of d*ath flowed from Leo’s eyes.

“Following the will of Luna and Seirun more than anyone else? Don’t make me laugh. You simply interpreted their intentions in a way you wanted to hear.”

“Babble away with your nonsense! How dare a human teach me about the will of the Ancestors of the Star Cloud and the Comet Wizard in my presence! You don’t know your place!”

“It’s you who doesn’t know your place. If you truly followed the will of those two, you wouldn’t have engaged in dealings with Tartarus.”

“Hn… hahahaha…”

LeHagen let out a low chuckle.

“Young pup, you wouldn’t understand.”

“Are you no longer denying it?”

Leo cast a cold look.

“All this is for the peace of this world. It’s the path to protect this world, inheriting the legacy of Lady Luna and Seirun!”

LeHagen stared at Leo.

“The foolish Demon King revealed his foolish plans to me! To completely control Tartarus! He asked for my help to eliminate Erebus! In return, I agreed to obtain Seirun’s remains — remains that would be most useful to me, a necromancer! You understand what it means, don’t you? Leo Flove! Can you understand the nobility of my actions, my willingness to tread dirty paths for the sake of the world?”

LeHagen spoke with a face devoid of any guilt or regret.

As he observed this, Leo simply said,

“If I understand nothing else, I understand one thing.”

Leo unsheathed his sword.

“That you’re a pathetic individual.”

“What?!”

“From the start, Tartarus practically belonged to the Demon King.”

A murderous aura burst out of Leo.

“And the Legion Commander is a fanatic. He would never betray Erebus. To them, Erebus is akin to a god.”

Leo’s eyes flashed.

“Your greed has endangered the world. Cease disgracing Luna and Seirun.”

Gooouuuuu!

A powerful surge of magic erupted from LeHagen’s body.

“Disgrace? Of course someone like you would fail to understand my intent!”

Whoooooooom!

A giant magical circle appeared in the air.

“I’ll make you regret ever showing me hostility! You might have become the Student Council President of Lumeran at a young age, but the world is vast!”

LeHagen yelled, and a blinding flash of light darted towards Leo.

“You are merely a Hero Candidate in the long history of existence!”

Bright white lightning destroyed the surroundings around Leo.

Witnessing the immense power, LeHagen grinned smugly.

Right at that moment,

Crashh!

Leaping through the storm of lightning, Leo charged towards LeHagen.

Swish!

In the blink of an eye, Leo’s sword severed LeHagen’s wrist.

Clang! Thud!

“Aaaargh!”

His staff hand tumbled to the ground, bl**d splattering everywhere.

Clutching his wrist in agony, LeHagen stared at Leo in disbelief.

“How… How is this possible!”

There was no sign of a defensive maneuver.

“What wicked trickery is this!”

“Wicked trickery?”

Leo stared at the kneeling LeHagen with a blank expression.

“I merely canceled your magic.”

LeHagen’s face twisted.

“Are you mocking me? How could such a thing be possible!”

Furious, magic erupted explosively around LeHagen.

The Magic of the Stars LeHagen summoned flew at Leo.

However, before it could reach him, the magic shattered into fragments and disappeared.

“This… this is a nightmare… this shouldn’t be possible!”

As his mind raced beyond comprehension, LeHagen paled, muttering.

LeHagen had come to realize:

His Magic of the Stars was dissolved with a mere glance from Leo.

In front of Leo, LeHagen’s Magic of the Stars was no more than a childish prank.

‘Is this even possible?’

The denial of a lifetime devoted to the Magic of the Stars was palpable.

“How can this be! How could someone like you reach such a realm! Who taught you the Magic of the Stars!”

“Who taught me the Magic of the Stars?”

Leaning close to LeHagen, Leo whispered softly,

“Lady Luna Rubinessence.”

“You… even at the end!”

LeHagen’s eyes bulged with rage.

Swoosh!

In an instant, Leo’s sword flashed.

LeHagen’s head soared into the sky.

Spurt! Thud! Roll!

A gush of bl**d shot into the air.

With an unfeeling face, Leo approached and drove a dagger into LeHagen’s heart.

Thud!

Leo, having completely severed LeHagen’s life, spoke.

“Until when do you plan on hiding and watching?”

And from behind, stepping out from the North Magic Tower, was Algren.

The Shadow Lord of the elves bowed his head before Leo.

“I greet the Lord of Shan.”

A bizarre scene where the head of the Northern Magic Tower bows to one mere student of Lumeran.

However, Leo found nothing odd about it.

Algren was not bowing as the head of the Northern Magic Tower but as the Shadow Lord, to Leo, the Lord of Shan Empire and the Shadow Scriptures.

“Remarkable. LeHagen was no easy Elf, and yet, you dealt with him so readily.”

Algren approached with evident fascination on his face.

“Furthermore, how were you able to outrun me in pursuing him?”

From the moment Algren realized LeHagen had fled, he chased him.

However, Leo had reached LeHagen far quicker than even Algren could.

While moving through the shadows and striking silently was the specialty of the Shadows,

Algren had wondered how a Hero Candidate, someone living in the light, could reach LeHagen faster than him.

To this question, Leo replied,

“Do you think Emperor Shau entrusted me with the Shan Empire merely because I’m the Lord of the Shadow Scriptures?”

In response to this inquiry, Algren’s eyes widened a touch before he smiled.

‘Indeed. Anias wasn’t babbling nonsense.’

The night before, when his daughter Anias had claimed that Leo was a lord worth serving, Algren still harbored doubts about Leo.

It wasn’t because he doubted Leo’s abilities.

Even by the accomplishments of a Hero Candidate, it was evident that Leo was remarkable.

It was clear that Leo would one day grow to wield influence over the world.

Yet, a hero who lived in the light and someone who operated in the shadows were fundamentally different.

‘Even the young Shadows want to follow such a hero.’

For thousands of years, Shadows had undertaken the ‘dirty work’ that heroes couldn’t.

But it wasn’t just clean-up. They bore the responsibility of following heroes, as literal shadows.

Even the oldest and most noble families of heroes had Shadows who lurked in the shadows.

Anias had been captivated by the brilliance of this man called Leo.

‘But this… is as if one has truly submerged oneself in great darkness.’

Having spent centuries steeped in the deepest darkness, Algren understood.

Leo was a hero but also a shadow—someone who executed traitors without hesitation.

He had long immersed himself in darkness.

A being who embodied the duality of light and shadow.

“Someone like this even exists… gray.”

Algren bowed his head again to Leo.

“I’ve shown disrespect.”

Leo moved forward.

As Algren followed Leo from behind, he asked,

“How did you suspect he was a traitor, My Lord?”

“I’ve seen such tactics before.”

The Age of Catastrophe.

The method by which the Demon King infiltrated the Elves and festered dissent was similar to what had been happening now.

5000 years.

Plenty of time to repeat the same mistakes.

“And you?”

“We discovered that the Hero Slayer had made contact with the Pureblood Society.”

Leo stopped to glance at Algren.

And bowing his head, Algren continued,

“He is a betrayer who has killed countless heroes.”

“I know that.”

The Hero Slayer.

The worst hero-killer in history, responsible for numerous hero deaths.

A figure whose terrifying infamy remains etched in history books.

There is no one who does not know his name.

“Wasn’t the Hero Slayer last seen 500 years ago?”

One day, this man who had once spread fear and bathed the world in terror of heroes, vanished from history’s pages.

Some say he was exterminated by the heroes, others suggest he was wiped out by the Shadows.

Still, it is certain that he lived 500 years ago.

“Yes. However, in the northern continent, the Shadows encountered someone wielding powers identical to the Hero Slayer. Only one survivor remained.”

“…”

“Currently, we suspect this is the doing of the Demon King. The Pureblood Society is closely affiliated with him.”

Leo narrowed his eyes.

“If we find out more details, I will report to you through Anias.”

“There’s something I’m curious about. Since when did you start treating me so loyally through her? Anias seems still young and emotional, but you shouldn’t be, right?”

“My daughter is older than you, My Lord.”

With a peculiar expression, Algren answered as Leo wore a somewhat indifferent look.

“That’s not important.”

In response, Algren chuckled.

“It’s because you are the Lord of the Shadow Scriptures. Should you acknowledge Shadows, we too could have our names written in the Hero Record. Even risking our life, many Shadows would follow your orders for that alone.”

The one who could fulfill the age-old wish of the Shadows treated so disparagingly for centuries.

That was the true significance of Leo.

“Isn’t it more than just that?”

“As the Shadow Lord, I also wish to witness your abilities.”

Bowling his head, Algren added,

“To see if you’re someone worthy of carrying our fate.”

“Hopefully, I don’t disappoint those expectations.”

With that response, Algren laughed.

‘Perhaps this youth could truly do it. Not someone who leads Shadows with only light, but someone who embraces them with darkness.’

Neither a hero who lives solely in the bright light nor one who dwells in the deep darkness.

But someone who simply and quietly grasps both light and shadow.

‘Someone like Master Kyle, the beginning of everything.’