392.
Creeeeak-! Bang-!
The castle wall of Guardstron opened.
Through that gate, twelve Heroes advanced.
“Didn’t they say they’re going to the Elf’s Forest?”
“Are they really betting their lives on the words of a fool?”
“Rather than doing that, they should protect this place properly.”
“Look there, the Hero of Survival is among them.”
“They might all d*e.”
People murmured as they watched this sight.
Mocking voices towards Leo and Lissinas earned them a cold gaze from Rodia.
Leo extended his hand and firmly pressed Rodia’s head.
“Don’t mind them.”
“How can you not be angry at their blatant disrespect?”
“I’m used to it. And…”
Leo smirked.
“Well, after getting used to being hailed as a great savior of the world, it feels sort of refreshing to come back to the past and face reactions like these.”
“Lord Kyle says so, so there’s nothing I can do but follow.”
“What did you intend to do?”
“Thorough retaliation.”
At Rodia’s words, Leo flicked his tongue in disapproval.
While exchanging these words, Lissinas approached.
“Rodia, are you really alright with this?”
“Of course! Master Lissinas!”
Rodia puffed out her chest defiantly.
“To be able to join Master Lissinas and Lord Kyle on this journey is the greatest honor to me!”
“Rodia, you said you can use healing magic, right?”
“Yes.”
During this discussion, Alene asked, and Rodia turned towards her.
Seeing that, Lissinas commented.
“How do you even know such a kid?”
“It just happened.”
“She doesn’t seem like a kid of these times.”
“Know what? That line makes you sound really old.”
At that remark, Lissinas glared at Leo.
When her gaze met a grinning Leo, Lissinas tried to kick him.
But Leo, as if foreseeing it, easily evaded the attack.
“That’s irritating.”
“What is?”
“You act as if you’ve completely figured me out.”
Lissinas scowled, muttering under her breath.
At this, Leo grinned widely.
“That kind of smug smile that seems to say you understand everything is also irritating.”
With an annoyed look, Lissinas sighed and looked down at her trembling hands.
“It feels like you’re trying to lessen my anxiety somewhat.”
The expedition team’s goal had suddenly shifted from joining forces with Luna in the Elf’s Forest to exterminating the Feaster King.
As the leader of this team, Lissinas couldn’t help but feel uneasy about this choice.
“Kyle, are you not anxious?”
“I am.”
Leo showed his trembling hand to Lissinas, like hers.
“But it’s okay. We’ll pull through.”
Leo reached out and grabbed Lissinas’ hand.
“We’ll encounter comrades who will find a way through even the most desperate situations.”
As Leo spoke, Lissinas felt her hand’s trembling gradually subside.
“And we’ll also meet comrades who rush forward without hesitation when faced with great fear.”
Lissinas’ dark eyes captured Leo’s face.
“And we’ll definitely encounter comrades who create reliable weapons that we can trust until the very last moment.”
The trembling had completely disappeared now.
“As I thought, I wasn’t wrong.”
“Of course not. Whom did you choose?”
At that line, Lissinas burst out laughing.
“What? This intriguing atmosphere?”
The Beastman, Alrox, approached with shining eyes.
“Some weird vibes seem to be flowing between you two. Are you two… uh, intimate?”
“No.”
Lissinas cut him off sharply, pulling her held hand away.
“Hmph! Don’t deny it! Lady Lissinas, it’s nothing to be embarrassed about… Gahk?!”
“Yeah, Uncle Beastman. If you’ve noticed the atmosphere, just don’t disturb it.”
Out of nowhere, Rodia plunged her small fist into Alrox’s ribs.
She grinned as she dragged the fallen man away, turning to Leo and Lissinas.
“Enjoy your time.”
“Why does Rodia keep telling me and you to enjoy your time?”
Puzzled, Lissinas titled her head, to which Leo responded with a tongue flick.
“You know.”
Half a day after leaving Guardstron.
The expedition team had now left the safe zone of Guardstron.
A region swarming with monsters and demons.
One might even encounter a high-ranking Demon, if unlucky.
The team moved forward with tense eyes, cautiously observing their surroundings.
As the day faded and night fell.
After completing their camp preparations and lighting a fire, they ate a simple meal. After filling their stomachs with preserved food, the team settled down to sleep with designated watches.
Leo and Alene were the first pair to take the night watch.
“It’s been a while since we’ve left Guardstron.”
“That’s true. So don’t let your guard down.”
“I won’t.”
The night of the Era of Catastrophe was dangerous.
A situation where the entire world was hurtling toward destruction.
The night sky, devoid of moonlight or starlight, was enough to induce fear just by looking at it.
Snap- Crackle- Pop…
The bonfire burned down.
“Did you really form a contract with the King of White?”
With curiosity, Alene asked.
In response to the question, Leo summoned Albus instead of answering.
Clad in a pure white dress, Albus stood out in sharp contrast to the surrounding atmosphere.
“We’re outside Guardstron.”
Albus glanced around with a passive expression and spoke.
Seeing Albus, Alene greeted her.
“It’s an honor to meet you, Your Majesty, the King of White.”
“You are Arpia’s Vow Keeper, I believe. Nice to meet you.”
Albus gave a slight smile in Alene’s direction.
Perhaps reacting to his summoning, familiars and spirits appeared by the slumbering Lissinas.
“Thinking something happened due to an activation in the summoning array.”
Katariu floated to Leo and asked.
“Hey, human. I know forming a pact with the Familiar King is something to be proud of, but can you refrain from flaunting it all the time?”
Katariu had been irked watching Kyle’s numerous disrespectful acts toward Lissinas in the past.
While Luminous, another pact-mate to Lissinas, let such things slide, the prickly Katariu did not.
“King of Flames, if you continue to be rude, you’ll regret it.”
“The original chicken legs over here are naturally like this. He talks like this but still takes care when required.”
Leo reached out and stroked Albus’ head.
Albus, who instinctively tried to shake it off, paused upon touching Leo.
There was something strangely familiar about this comforting stroke, and it felt nice.
Albus’ sharp eyes that had been more piercing than usual relaxed slightly, and before long, he was enjoying being stroked by Leo.
“Katariu, that’s too much.”
Luminous scolded.
To that, Katariu replied with a snort.
“Wasn’t the Elf named Luna also a pact-mate of the Fairy King’s heir? For an Elf, I expect some refinement. Kyle’s less, but I have some hope for elves.”
“Those well-mannered elves you talk of would say let’s deep-fry you and make you half seasoned and half fried!”
“Do you think Elves are that mannered?”
‘At least among the elves I know, there aren’t many with all their sanity intact.’
While Leo was reminiscing about the elves he’d interacted with in his past and present life,
Swoosh-!
Lissinas awoke.
“Sorry, Lissinas. Did we wake you with our chatter?”
Alene looked apologetic.
Without responding, Lissinas gazed into the darkness beyond the reach of the bonfire’s light.
Swoosh-!
Leo stood up, drawing his sword.
Alene realized something had happened and got to her feet.
“…You guys stay here. I’ll go alone and come back. Katariu, Luminous, the same goes for you.”
Saying that, Lissinas disappeared into the darkness.
Katariu and Luminous were most surprised by this reaction.
Watching the two stammering at the unexpected situation, Leo spoke.
“Let me follow.”
“It’s impossible to chase Lissinas in the dark.”
Risinas, as a Black Dragon, was more familiar with the dark than anyone else.
The deep night of the Era of Catastrophe without moonlight or starlight.
Pursuing Lissinas at this hour was indeed impossible, as Luminous had said.
“Normally, that’s true.”
Leo said as he turned toward the darkness.
“But it’s possible for me.”
During the Era of Catastrophe.
Using magic to illuminate one’s vision during such a deep night is very risky.
However, to Leo, the darkness wasn’t even the slightest obstacle.
In the pitch-black darkness where not even a hand in front of the face could be seen, Leo heightened his senses.
‘Extrasensory perception.’
Using aura, he activated extrasensory perception.
A technique from the brave Aron.
Even in darkness, everything appeared clearly.
Leo swiftly followed the subtle but rapid mana traces Lissinas had left behind.
After a while,
‘How could he move so fast?’
Leo wondered aloud in his mind while chasing after Lissinas.
Even Leo found it difficult to keep up with Lissinas as of now.
‘What’s gotten into this kid Lissinas?’
The expedition team’s path of movement was identical five thousand years ago and now.
However, there were no battles in this area back then five thousand years ago.
‘Even if there were enemies, I didn’t sense them back then.’
It was a sudden and surprising situation.
As Leo pondered, he moved even faster.
Through the sharpened vision thanks to extrasensory perception, the darkness didn’t obscure anything.
His swift pace had taken him far from the camp.
At that moment, Leo saw scattered corpses in his vision.
Not monsters or demons.
Nor were they demons from Tartarus.
‘Those wielding dark magic. Humans.’
They were apostates who had turned their backs on the world.
And they lay there gruesomely beheaded as if by a sharp blade.
Leo could sense the mana emanating from the corpses, which was unfamiliar to him.
At the same time, he distinctly recognized whose mana it was.
‘Lissinas.’
For a moment, Leo felt startled.
The King of Wisdom, Lissinas.
The leader of the Erebus extermination team, known for his wisdom and benevolence.
The lofty Great Hero who gave hope to the world.
Once, she was a Black Dragon.
Even until the Age of Gods, she was a dragon who eliminated apostates in the darkness.
But Lissinas was too kind for the duties of a Black Dragon.
She never showed mercy to apostates but always felt regret in taking their lives.
‘If this era wasn’t the case, maybe these people could have taken another path.’
Leo also knew this.
That’s why Leo had substituted for Lissinas.
To save her hands from being stained by the bl**d of apostates.
Since he neither showed pity nor regret toward apostates.
And since he thought it fit him better as a judge.
‘Because I was afraid Lissinas might be tainted by the darkness.’
Leo raised his head.
KuoOOOOOO!
A roar filled with anguish echoed.
Simultaneously, a black dragon soared high into the sky.
The black dragon’s entire body exhaled ominous crimson energy, its form tattered.
The grievously injured black dragon roared with hatred and inhaled.
A massive wave of mana covered the surroundings.
Breath.
At the realization of this attack,
Slash-!
A blade of darkness shot up toward the sky like a kn*fe.
Ding-ing!
The blade of darkness decapitated the dragon.
Whoosh! Boom! Splash!
The unknown black dragon’s body fell helplessly.
Leo unconsciously swallowed hard.
The magic just now.
‘Lissinas’ mana power.’
But it was an unknown magic to Leo.
Leo approached where the black dragon had fallen.
And he saw.
In a sea of bl**d stood a woman, drenched in the bl**d of her kin.
This form of Lissinas, who had fought together for a long time to save the world, was one even Leo had never seen.
She wore an uncharacteristic, icy expression.
She soon noticed Leo’s presence and slightly looked surprised.
“Kyle?”
“What have you done, Lissinas?”
Leo swallowed and asked.
“I’ve done what had to be done.”
“True, it was necessary. But there was no need for you to do such a thing. Judging traitors in the darkness isn’t your job… it’s mine…”
“That’s my duty, Kyle. I’m a Black Dragon.”
Lissinas replied as if to say ‘What are you talking about?’
“You need to bring hope to people under the light. That’s your job, isn’t it?”
Lissinas said, widening her eyes.
“Kyle, isn’t that your job?”
“…”
With absolute trust and certainty in her face, Lissinas said.
“You’ll save the world.”
![[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")
