399.
[Clear Reward: Essence of Lightning, Lissinas’ Mana Essence.]
A message appeared before his eyes and then vanished.
As he gazed at it, Leo stood up.
The current location was the Hero Record Archive.
In other words, he had just cleared and exited Lissinas’ world.
Leo looked around.
Rodia stood there with a vacant expression.
The vacant expression on Rodia’s face transformed into words.
“Among the clear rewards… I’ve inherited Lissinas-sama’s unique magic.”
Punishment.
If End was Luna’s strongest magic, Punishment was Lissinas’ strongest magic.
Leo glanced at his hands.
Essence of Lightning.
It was the power of the White King of Pegasus.
And the Mana Essence of Lissinas as well.
‘Could it be that all the powers of the lost Familiar King have now been revived in this world?’
It was highly encouraging.
In the long term, this clear reward would lead to a significant increase in the power of the heroes.
“Did you converse with Lord Lissinas?”
In response to Rodia’s question, Leo chuckled bitterly.
“…All the words we had to exchange were spoken.”
“I see.”
Rodia didn’t press further.
She knew that Kyle, right now, had the heaviest heart.
At that moment.
Whoosh—whoosh—!
A small Black Flame arose.
Seeing it, Rodia sighed deeply.
“It seems… That cursed Erebus is taking advantage of this opportunity.”
The Hero Records of the Heroes of the Cataclysm could potentially become a gap allowing Erebus to escape into the outside world.
Rodia’s world, a world made up of tiny fragments, had a very small gap.
But even this small gap was being utilized to escape.
Leo stated, “Before this place is consumed, we need to close the Hero’s World.”
“Yes. It would be best.”
Rodia nodded.
Smiling gently at Rodia, Leo reached his hand out and ruffled her hair with a pressing touch.
“Kyle-sama?”
“You did an excellent job, Rodia.”
Leo smiled at the surprised Rodia and said,
“Truly worthy as the successor of Lissinas.”
Upon hearing this, Rodia’s eyes widened.
She then cleared her throat.
“Of course!”
She proudly pounded her chest.
“Until Kyle-sama arrives, we will firmly hold back this cursed fiery lump! Thanks to Kyle-sama, I’ve also powered up!”
Seeing Rodia speak with confidence, Leo nodded his head, withdrew his hand from her head, and took a step back.
“Then, I leave it to you.”
“Leave it to me!”
[Azonia, the Dragon of the Cataclysm’s World — Should it be closed?]
A message appeared before his eyes.
‘I’ll close it.’
At the moment of that thought, a brilliant light began and the world started to vanish.
Rodia bowed in the dragon’s etiquette towards Leo.
“May Kyle-sama’s path be filled with blessings.”
“That’s not how you’re supposed to do it,” said Leo.
With a huff, Rodia burst into laughter.
Arga’s eyes were wide open, and she unleashed a fierce kick against the Hero Hunter in front of her.
Whooomph! Crassh! Crassh! Crassh! Crassh! Crack—crack—!
The Hero Hunter kicked by Arga was thrust into and through several building walls.
But in no time, he calmly rose from the rubble.
Arga had come to the Street of Dobella from fighting off the monster invasion at the front line for a simple reason: Hero Hunters using water magic had begun attacking from behind.
To eliminate the enemies within, fast-moving Arga and other year representatives from Azonia were deployed.
And now, they had reached a deadlock.
“Heh-heh! Not bad at all!”
A beastman who had been thrown by Arga dusted himself off as he strolled towards her.
In his hand was Aron’s sword, Brave.
“Truly impressive for an upstanding heiress of the Hero who’s famous far and wide!”
The beastman jeered at Arga.
“You. It’s rumored that you’re called the Hero’s successor because you can freely use water spells.”
“That’s disgusting. Don’t you dare mention Master Aron with such vile lips.”
A chilling killing intent emanated from Arga’s body.
At that moment, the Hero Hunter flinched.
“Still just a green kid in her second year.”
However, a moment of unease passed across his face when realizing a mere teenager could provoke such an aura.
“What’s so great about Aron to worship him? A coward, that’s what!”
“…”
“Didn’t you know? The so-called Hero Aron you all look up to is actually a coward!”
He chuckled mockingly.
When a common beastman hears about Aron, they become highly agitated.
The Hero Hunter was aware of this, hence his use of such cheap provocations.
However, Arga blinked her blue eyes in response to the provocation.
“Uh, so?”
“What?”
“And what of it?”
At Arga’s calm response, the Hero Hunter’s face contorted.
“Master Aron is indeed a coward. But…”
Arga recalled the image of Aron.
‘Your name’s Ar? It sounds similar to mine. Did you name it after me?’
She remembered Master Aron approaching her to teach her in such a gentle and familiar manner.
‘Ar, you’re amazing. You could become a warrior even greater than I!’
‘You can’t possibly surpass Master Aron!’
‘Hiiiiiiiik!’
She recalled the sight of him cheering her on while gently stroking her head, even though she frightened him when she got too excited.
She remembered him charging forward without hesitation while everyone else trembled in fear.
Aron was undoubtedly a coward.
But…
“That’s exactly why he’s remarkable.”
The one who overcame fear and showed the greatest courage in the world.
“The fact that the Hero saved the world remains unchanged.”
Arga sneered at her opponent.
“Speaking poorly as if you depend on Master Aron’s strength.”
“d*mn brat!”
“I’m a cat, not a dog.”
Arga smirked as she bristled her fur.
She recalled the breathing lessons taught by Aron.
She recalled him cheering for her, believing she would surpass him one day.
‘I don’t know if I will ever surpass Master Aron…’
Arga twitched her ears.
‘But I want to become just like Master Aron.’
She inhaled.
And then—
“Keeeeeeeeeeeeeeeow!”
She unleashed a mighty howling cry.
The Hero Hunter, who was preparing to charge forward agitatedly, grabbed his ears and fell to the ground.
From around the area, howling cries of beastmen resounded.
On nights with a full moon, beastmen howl while using water magic.
But…
It wasn’t a night, nor was there a full moon.
The Hero Hunter’s face turned pale with shock.
“What… What is this?”
Whoosh!
Having exited Rodia’s world, Leo looked at the Hero Record fragment in his hand.
A faint ember rose from the Hero Record fragment.
Evidence that Erebus was consuming the Hero Record.
Leo tightened his grip on the fragment and unleashed mana.
Fluuhh!
Ore of fire emerged from Leo’s hand and burned the Hero Record.
Whoosh!
As Rodia’s record fragment turned into ash and disappeared, Leo murmured to himself.
“I leave it to you.”
While Leo was silently encouraging his juniors still combating Erebus inside their own worlds, suddenly,
Gwwwwoooaaaaaarr!
A massive roar echoed out.
He felt killing intent nearby.
‘Monsters and demons?’
The hostility and presence of countless enemies that were absent right before entering Rodia’s world, now suddenly appeared.
Leo leaped high into the sky.
Reaching a height from which he could oversee the entirety of the Forest of Monsters, Leo furrowed his brow.
An unusual phenomenon was occurring in the Forest of Monsters.
A feast of monsters and beastmen.
Leo narrowed his eyes.
Monsters and beastmen had suddenly revealed themselves.
‘Furthermore, the eras of these monsters vary.’
Even among the same species of monsters, their characteristics differ according to the era they belong to.
With the knowledge he had studied about the appearances and behaviors of many eras of monsters required to conquer the Hero’s World, recognizing these differences wasn’t difficult.
‘This kind of situation means… There were more than just one or two Hero Dungeons that Alehem had concealed. Has every single one of those dungeons gone berserk?’
Leo looked perplexed.
‘Why? Could it be because I opened Rodia’s world that it has affected this?’
The reason was unknown.
What matters is that he has to deal with the situation now.
Leo stepped on an Ora and dashed towards Dobella.
He spotted Lumeran and Azonia students holding back the monsters at Dobella’s Castle Wall as he descended.
Meanwhile,
Gwwwwoooaaaaaarrr!
A huge beastman known as Gigantes lifted a massive iron cudgel while guarding the wall.
“Hold it back!”
“Hands are lacking right now!”
“Magic power is depleted!”
Screams erupted among the Lumeran students holding the wall.
Whoosh!
“No!”
“Ah! Get away!”
At the moment the Gigantes was about to strike the wall,
Clang! Roarrr!
The heavy sound of metal clashing resounded throughout.
Shock waves scattered dust around the area.
Lumeran students widened their eyes and gazed at the one holding the massive iron cudgel of the Gigantes with one hand.
“This is our class leader? It’s our class leader!”
A student who was defending the wall shouted with excitement.
“Leo is here!”
“The student council president!”
Cries of joy exploded from every corner.
“Where the hell were you for the last few hours!”
When Iliana shouted in a hurry, Leo responded,
“I had something urgent to take care of.”
Saying so, Leo applied strength to his grip.
Firmly!
Prominent veins bulged.
Whoosh!
Gwwwwoooo!
Kaboom!
As Leo pushed with all his might, the Gigantes wobbled, lost balance, and fell backward.
Together with that, the monsters nearby were crushed.
Seeing the scene, the surrounding students muttered with awe.
“Uh, no matter how much you’re the student council president…”
“That’s too monstrous, isn’t it?”
While Lumeran students were shocked,
“Amazing!”
“Fantastic!”
Azonia students cheered excitedly.
Having witnessed Leo’s eccentric activities since 1st grade, Iliana remained relatively composed.
“Our class leader is increasingly stepping out of the bounds of a human.”
“I’ll take it as a compliment.”
While Iliana’s words elicited a slight chuckle from Leo, his expression grew curious.
“By the way, where are the others?”
He couldn’t see the powerful individuals from the second-year tower.
Iliana’s expression darkened at Leo’s question.
“The year representatives of Azonia went to block the Hero Hunters.”
“Hero Hunters?”
“Yeah. Hero Hunters who use water magic attacked us.”
Iliana’s words caused Leo’s expression to harden.
“And our year reps…?”
Roaaaaaarrrrrrr!
At that moment, a surge of black mana erupted from the center of Dobella Street.
The solid black mana fragment cut through everything around it like a blade.
‘Could that be…?’
Before Leo could react,
“To block the monster who suddenly appeared and started casting incantation magic!”
Iliana clenched her teeth.
“So, I’ll leave the wall in your hands.”
Leo tightened the grip on his sword.
“I’ll handle the back.”
As he was about to step forward,
“Hoooooowwwwwww!”
A howling scream rang out.
At that moment, Leo froze in place.
“Master Aron?”
His wide eyes searched the direction the howl came from.
Courage surged in his chest.
A roar that was so much like his friend’s howling voice.
At the moment,
Whoosh!
The bodies of the Azonia students began to glow with a golden light.
“What’s going on?”
Iliana’s shocked question mirrored Leo’s.
“Water magic?”
In a night without a full moon, the Azonia students began using water magic.
Leo glanced again at the direction the howl had come from.
“Could it be… Ar?”
![[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")
