387.
Goooooo-!
The world was ablaze.
The relentless black flames coiled around everything, refusing to d*e down.
The sea of catastrophic fire was hazardous, possibly fatal at even the slightest touch.
Yet, walking through this inferno, there was no trace of fear in the eyes of the gray-haired man or the black-haired woman.
“…We have finally arrived.”
Kyle muttered as he stared into the distance at a distant tower engulfed in flames.
The massive tower pierced the sky endlessly, its structure seemingly endless—an abode of primal evil, the Tower of Catastrophe, home to Erebus.
The birthplace of the first-ever Catastrophic Flames.
The final destination of the extermination team.
Kyle’s eyes brimmed with killing intent. His clenched fists had his nails piercing into his palms.
Drip. Drip.
As bl**d trickled from Kyle’s hand, Lissinas spoke.
“Kyle, calm down.”
“Don’t worry.”
Kyle relaxed his fists, revealing hands scarred from relentless, fierce battles.
Each of these scars was proof that, even in an abyss of seemingly endless despair, he refused to give up and continued to reach out for hope.
He had endured unimaginable injuries, only barely recovering each time to take up his weapon once more.
At a glance, these hands might seem nothing but repulsive scars.
But for great heroes, they were hands filled with immense meaning.
“Reflecting on it again, Kyle, your hands are truly beautiful,” Dwenno mused, looking at Kyle’s hand holding a glass before their departure journey.
“What’s this sudden talk? Hands like these aren’t exactly your taste, are they?”
“Indeed, they’re not to my taste.”
Dwenno glanced down at his own hands. Just like Kyle’s, they were scarred. Even Aron’s hands were similarly battered. Lil and Kal, despite being away from the front lines, had their fair share of scars.
Luna, who also had many wounds, concealed them with gloves or magic.
Dwenno took a sip of his drink.
“But these hands crafted hope for this world, did they not? Though not to my aesthetic taste, the beauty they contain is undeniable.”
“Glug-glug… Puha! This is the first time I’ve ever heard Dwenno call Kyle beautiful,” Luna said, laughing, after gulping down a large mug of golden liquid.
“Yes, this guy only has one beautiful aspect, and that’s his hands. And we all have the same hands, don’t we?”
“…And ultimately, Dwenno, you’re implying that Kyle has no beauty of his own, right?”
Aron tilted her head while blowing on her hot tea.
“Absolutely,” Dwenno agreed.
“What can be done? Self-proclaimed aesthetes like you think I’m not beautiful either,” Kyle grumbled.
“Hmm… I’m sure Kyle must have some beautiful qualities. Don’t give up,” Aron said earnestly.
“Are you guys really going to keep judging me like this?”
Kyle stormed towards the three of them in anger, just after their raucous little squabble.
Afterwards, Kyle returned to his seat, resting his chin on his hand.
“You all don’t seem like you’re on the verge of a final journey, do you?”
Kyle shook his head in disbelief.
The final battle ahead was nothing less than disastrous. There was no guarantee of success. In fact, failure was more likely. Yet, none of his friends displayed a trace of tension despite this massive trial.
Kyle sighed, watching Luna overexert herself against Dwenno out of competitiveness, and Aron awkwardly declining drinks offered to her.
“Tension? I don’t sense any.”
Sitting in front of Kyle, Lissinas grinned while placing a beer on the table.
“It’s not a bad thing. On the contrary, they give me hope—it’s inspiring.”
Lissinas smiled contentedly, tipping his beer as he surveyed the lively tavern. “It’s much better than seeing anyone paralyzed by fear.”
“What took you so long?”
“I was writing notes.”
Lissinas mimicked Kyle’s posture, leaning with his chin on his hand.
“Now that I think about it, we used to hold meetings here with just the two of us, right?”
“Did we?”
Kyle responded indifferently, clinking glasses with Lissinas.
“Glug-Glug…” After gulping down his drink, Lissinas wiped his mouth and spoke confidently.
“I said it before, Kyle.”
“What?”
“We are going to save this world.”
Watching the self-assured smile of his friend, Kyle chuckled derisively.
“Yeah, yeah. Amazing.”
“You kept being pessimistic in the early days. Apologize immediately.”
“I’ve already apologized countless times, I think?”
“It’s not enough.”
Smirking slightly, Lissinas’ drunken gaze locked onto Kyle’s face.
“Yeah, yeah. I’m sorry. You were right.”
Kyle said this with clear resignation. Lissinas grinned in satisfaction.
“And I’ll also keep the promise I made with you.”
“…?”
“Recall the promise, don’t you?”
Crossing his arms, Lissinas smiled warmly.
“I won’t leave you behind.”
“…Yes.”
Kyle smiled faintly.
“Kyle, you’re no longer just a Hero of Survival. You’re not.”
Lissinas gave a smirk.
“It’s a new beginning.”
“I’m more level-headed than anyone.”
Kyle declared impassively.
“There’s too much I’ve lost.”
His eyes dimmed as he looked at Lissinas.
“There’s a lot we need to achieve. So we must succeed.”
“…”
“Failure won’t be tolerated.”
Lissinas clenched his fists tightly at Kyle’s words.
“Yeah.”
Lissinas bit his lips firmly.
“Don’t worry, Kyle. I won’t let you bear this alone.”
Lissinas continued.
“I’ll keep the promise we made initially, for sure.”
Knock-knock-knock!
BOOM!
The knocking sound startled Leo into consciousness. He sat up, clutching his face.
“Wake up, Kyle. Morning.”
At the voice from outside the door, Leo got out of bed.
‘That’s odd. Dreaming about that event again?’
After their discussion last night, Rodia left the inn room.
The extermination team for Erebus had already begun. Only Leo and Lissinas remained, making it impossible to suddenly invite Rodia to join without altering plans.
‘With incidents like these, there’s no telling how the Hero’s World could twist.’
Regardless of what others might say, Leo had managed to overcome the challenge once already. From his perspective, it was like repeating the past.
Thus, he believed it best to exclude variables as much as possible to clear the Hero’s World, and Rodia agreed.
So, Rodia decided to join later.
Leo opened the door.
Lissinas stood with his arms crossed, looking down at Leo.
“Good morning, Kyle.”
Leo nodded at Lissinas, who was greeting him with a somewhat critical expression.
“Sure. Good morning.”
Leo grinned and replied.
Watching this, Lissinas appeared somewhat bewildered.
“Why?”
“Your behavior since yesterday feels off. I’m not used to it.”
“Feels off?”
“You were so grumpy and irritable for the past few weeks, and suddenly you’ve become easygoing overnight.”
Lissinas, slightly flustered, continued.
“I was bracing myself for a lot of arguments, even if we were to team up. Even today, I thought—”
A shadow of gloom passed over Lissinas’ face.
“We had a major battle yesterday.”
Leo recalled the distant past. To him, it was a bygone era. But for the world’s inhabitants, it was only yesterday.
After such life-or-d*ath battles, Kyle always drank heavily in a desperate attempt to erase battlefield memories.
However, this was no longer true for Leo.
The version of himself who had lived with nothing but ash and emptiness had vanished long ago.
In front of Lissinas now stood a man who had carried the dreams handed to him by his companions and fought bravely against the primal catastrophe to save the world—not some hollow figure.
It seemed natural for him to feel unfamiliar.
“Someone told me that.”
“What?”
Leo smiled.
It was the same smile he’d given to Hero Candidates.
“Even if you don’t give up, continue to move forward, and you can hold onto hope.”
At Leo’s words, Lissinas blinked.
“Let’s go eat breakfast.”
Leo left the room and headed downstairs.
Lissinas stood still, watching his retreating back with a stunned expression.
Whoosh!
– What’s with that dazed look?
White flames flickered from Lissinas’ head, revealing a small woman’s figure.
The hand-sized woman, Katariu, reclined on one hand while tweaking Lissinas’ black hair.
-A rather different sight, isn’t it?
The small light appeared alongside, as the Radiant Spirit, Lumina, landed on Lissinas’ shoulder with graceful movements.
“What?”
At the questioning look from Phoenix King and the Great Spirit of Light, Lissinas responded with a puzzled expression.
Katariu gave him a derisive look.
– Want to check yourself in a mirror?
“What’s with the mirror?”
-A girl’s face at first sight?
“What?! What are you talking about?”
Amused by Lissinas’ reaction, Lumina chuckled.
-Don’t you see? You, who are always bound by principles and never relaxed, suddenly showing expressions like a schoolgirl.
-It’s indeed an interesting sight.
“That’s not it!”
Lissinas scoffed, then descended to the first floor with a humph.
“I’m just surprised at how different the Hero of Survival I knew has become.”
-Isn’t that a good thing?
Katariu smiled mischievously.
“Of course, it’s better to see someone who looks like something out of a fairy tale than someone who seems jaded.”
-So that’s the type your contractor prefers?
“It’s not that!”
Lissinas grumbled and dismissed his pact-makers.
Plop-plop…
While descending, Lissinas ran his hand over his chest.
‘My heart’s been racing since yesterday.’
It started when Leo grabbed his hand.
‘Kyle changed from that moment.’
Lissinas had definitely noticed this change.
‘Yeah, he’s like the kind of hero I’ve been waiting for all this time.’
A person who never gives up and always moves forward.
Realizing this, Lissinas couldn’t help but smile faintly.
‘Ah. I’ve been waiting for such a hero for such a long time.’
As they were having breakfast, Lissinas spoke.
“Before we head to the Elf’s Forest, there’s something I need to do.”
“What is it?”
“We need to form an extermination team to confront theDemon Queen, Silatuna, who cursed the Elf’s Forest.”
The initial achievement of Lissinas and Kyle against Jormungand wasn’t accomplished by just their strength alone.
Had it not been for the assistance of the helpers who backed Lissinas and Kyle back then, even they might have failed.
The mighty protectors of Guardstron at the time—without their help restraining Jormungand, it might have been impossible.
Though they didn’t leave their names in history, they were nonetheless comrades who also fought alongside them during that Age of Despair.
Originally, the extermination team Lissinas formed was meant to face Silatuna.
After encountering Jormungand, the team sustained considerable losses, and the mission was eventually abandoned. Satisfied with Luna joining the team, they had let go of the idea of continuing with the Elf Forest mission.
“It’s going to be a busy few days.”
“Yeah. I’ll handle the preparations. You take some rest until then.”
At Lissinas’ words, Leo rested his chin on his hand.
“No, I also have something to do.”
“Something? What’s that?”
With a smile, Leo replied, “A contract.”
“Contract?”
Upon hearing this, Lissinas looked slightly surprised.
‘Though it was originally supposed to happen much later, it seems now I’ve finally met him.’
A partner who braved countless battlefields together.
The leader of the purest Pegasus, known as the White King.
‘Albus.’
![[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")
