Chapter 50

【50】49

Rustle-!

Chloe held up a black magic book with her right hand and opened it.

The rows of magical incantations were visible.

With her left hand gripping the staff, she began to concentrate and chant the spell.

The massive magical force started to surge, driven by the incantation.

“Huff!”

Chubarn widened his eyes.

Instinctively, he sensed that Chloe’s magic was dangerous.

“Get out of the way! Remains of the Great Hero!”

“Hasty, aren’t you?”

Leo smirked.

Whoosh! Crang-!

Leo clenched his teeth and endured as the axe aimed for his waist flew towards him.

Pfft-!

But he was soon blown away.

Had it been any other time, it was an attack he could’ve avoided, but he deliberately endured it to buy some time.

Looking at his grotesquely bent left arm, Leo smiled ferociously, gripping the sword with the other hand.

And once again stood in front of Chubarn to block him.

“You b*stard!”

“Sorry, but it’s the end.”

Simultaneously with Leo’s declaration.

Hwarrlll-!

The flame Chloe shot enveloped Chubarn.

‘Not ice, but flame?’

“Kraaaaaaaaaaagh!”

Chubarn began to squirm in agony, hit directly by the flames.

“It doesn’t matter what type of curse of ineffectiveness you have, an undying flame will be useless against it!”

Chloe was right.

Chubarn’s body repeatedly caught fire then returned to normal in an endless loop.

Eventually, the [Invalidation] curse ran out of power.

Hwarrll-! Thump-!

Chubarn fell.

And around that time, Alia’s party had already defeated all of Chubarn’s subordinates.

As Chubarn was but a demon at this level, there was no way Alia’s party would lose to him.

Once Chubarn fell, Chloe approached Leo excitedly.

“Leo! We defeated Chubarn! That Chubarn!”

Chloe hugged Leo tightly in excitement.

Then, Chloe looked up and noticed Leo’s face was only an arm’s length away, letting out a slight “Huff!” sound.

“Chloe, sorry but… my left wrist is broken…”

“Ahhh! I’m, I’m sorry!”

Chloe’s face turned red as she hastily retreated.

Leo clutched his broken wrist and looked over at Chubarn.

“In any case, your Unique Magic is incredible.”

“Huh, uh… my unique magic…”

Chloe trailed off.

Seeing her reaction, Leo wore a puzzled expression.

Hwaerk-!

The flames attached to Chubarn began to burn violently.

Leo’s eyes flinched.

Gooouuuuu!

The red flames engulfing Chubarn’s body began gradually turning black.

Creak-!

“Heeeh?”

Chloe looked down at her staff in confusion as cracks appeared on the orb.

“Chloe! Cancel the magic! Hurry!”

Upon hearing Leo’s cry, Chloe quickly canceled the magic.

Kwaahhhhhh-!

Creak-! Pock-!

“?”

However, the orb soon exploded, and the flames burned even more fiercely.

“Not just that, Chloe! I can’t control the magic!”

It was not limited to that.

The black magic book in her right hand began to pull Chloe’s magic forcefully.

Upon seeing that, Leo yanked the magic book away from Chloe and threw it.

Wobble-!

Chloe wobbled as her magic was drained.

Supporting Chloe quickly, Leo turned his head towards Chubarn.

“Kwuuuuuuuuuuuu-!”

Chubarn, surrounded by black flames, roared.

“Didn’t we get rid of him?”

“Chloe.”

“Huh?”

“Please tell me honestly.”

With a blank expression, Leo looked at Chloe.

“Your undying flames. Were they really a unique magic you created?”

Chloe slightly jumped.

Struggling internally while watching the magic spiraling out of control, Chloe clenched her teeth.

“No.”

Chloe closed her eyes tightly.

“In reality, it’s a magic incantation that was in that magic book.”

‘So it was Erebus’ flame after all.’

Everything was clear now.

Why Chloe had been acting strange.

How she created an undying flame.

“Listen carefully, Chloe. That magic is Black Sorcery.”

“Huh?”

“It’s a magic that you originally shouldn’t use. You already knew, didn’t you? That with your strength alone, the magic wouldn’t activate.”

“What exactly is this magic book?”

“That’s a Demon Tool.”

A powerful weapon if used by demons, but if used by humans, it slowly drains their sanity.

‘Did I use black sorcery? And announced it as my own unique magic?’

Chloe’s face turned pale.

“Ahhh! Aaa!”

The despair seeped into Chloe’s face as she hugged her arms.

Watching Chloe like this, Leo stepped forward.

“Chloe. I leave the back to you.”

“Eh?”

“Nothing has changed. In the end, there’s only one thing we must do.”

Clutching the sword tightly with his uninjured right hand, Leo said.

“To take care of that miserable demon and proceed with the Hero’s World.”

Leo grinned.

“Because of your magic, his Invalidation curse disappeared. Now, that b*stard is simply reacting wildly to the black sorcery. It’s time to finish it.”

Moving closer to Chubarn, Leo declared,

“You wizards, know that the final decisive blow is your responsibility, right?”

With those words left behind, Leo walked off towards Chubarn.

“Uh, we will help too!”

“That’s right! Together!”

Tehyad and Dina approached and said.

“You’re exhausted. If we intervene, it might end up being a hindrance.”

What Leo could do to counter Chubarn was possible only because of his overwhelming battle experience.

Predicting the opponent’s attacks, defenses, and counterattacks, preparing the next movements was the art of battle.

This perilous balancing act wasn’t something anyone could do.

Leo grinned as he bit his teeth while looking at them.

“Protect the rear.”

Watching Leo’s back, Chloe stared as if mesmerized.

A Hero referred to someone who does not give up even when faced with limitations.

‘Get up, Chloe Mueller!’

Chloe’s gaze sharpened as she reprimanded herself.

‘That’s all the magic.’

Though originally the intended Unique Magic she abandoned halfway through.

‘I’ll perfect it now!’

Completing an unfinished magic in a real battle was a reckless task.

Yet, it was necessary.

Lifting her staff, Chloe hesitated upon seeing her damaged staff.

“Here, Chloe-sama.”

Alia handed her staff with a smiling face.

“Please.”

Accepting Alia’s staff, Chloe closed her eyes.

‘All I did was trying to keep up with Leo without fail.’

But as she saw his unwavering back, she realized how foolish she was.

‘Jealousy doesn’t fit… He’s just too cool.’

Like heroes from fairy tales.

His straightforward challenge against his limit was blindingly beautiful.

‘I will also surpass my limits, Chloe Mueller.’

To not be shameful to the back that believed in her.

Combining the incantations that were swirling in her mind.

Chanting in Rune Language began flowing out from Chloe’s mouth.

Chloe was combining the runes and spells right there.

Hearing it, Leo grinned.

‘It’s unbelievable.’

Without any hesitation, he took bold steps forward.

‘Why does a pure wizard’s rune language give such courage?’

He remembered the past when he entrusted his back to Luna.

Leo coolly judged Chubarn’s full power.

‘Thanks to Chloe’s black magic, the most annoying [Invalidation] curse is gone. Plus, he suffered a great blow.’

Although it led to a frenzy, Chubarn was no longer in a perfect state.

Leo channeled the aura.

‘While she completes her spell, I will buy time.’

“Krwoooooooooo!”

The axe blade surrounded by black flames engulfed Leo.

Facing it head-on, Leo swung his sword filled with red flames upwards.

Crack! Bang!

Leo’s sword deflected Chubarn’s axe.

The axe embedded in the ground, and climbing it, Leo corrected his sword and charged at Chubarn.

Gooouuuuuuuu!

The black flames enveloped Leo, trying to turn him into ash.

Leo covered his whole body with his fire, pushing back the black flames.

Hwarrrrrr-!

Two flames intertwined.

However, the black flames slowly devoured Leo’s flames and began encroaching on his territory.

Seeing that, Leo increased his firepower.

Hwarck! Siiiik-!

His own flames caused his skin to burn away.

But Leo didn’t care.

‘Let it increase more. More! More!’

‘Until I completely engulf this d*mn flame in front of me!’

Kwwaaah!

Leo’s flames completely repelled the black flames.

“Urrrrrrrrrgh!”

Instinctively sensing the danger, Chubarn grabbed the axe handle with both hands and swung it towards the sky.

Hwooo-!

Leo’s body floated up into the air.

Chubarn charged the axe towards such Leo.

Leo concentrated the maximized fire power at the tip of his sword.

Clang!

The sword crossed the axe.

And…

Crack-!

Leo’s sword slashed through Chubarn’s axe.

Whirrrr!

“Krrrr!”

Leo’s blade struck the defenseless neck of Chubarn.

Tuck-!

Chubarn’s head soared through the air.

Leo, landing on the ground, observed Chubarn whose movements had stopped.

Hwarrlll!

The black flames didn’t fade but burnt even fiercer.

‘It’s going to explode!’

The moment Leo widened his eyes, preparing for the impact.

Chloe’s incantation stopped.

“Ice World.”

Jijijijijijeek-!

The surroundings quickly froze.

Sssssss-!

The black flames burning along with Chubarn’s body disappeared, leaving no trace.

Creakk-!

Cracks began to form in Chubarn’s body.

Saaaaaa-!

And in no time, it crumbled into dust and scattered.

[Rescued the first-year students in danger.]

[Defeated Chubarn]

Two notification windows popped up in front of their eyes.

Confirming it, Leo dissipated his aura.

“Leo!”

Chloe ran over urgently.

“Are you alright?”

“Thanks to you.”

Leo smiled and pointed to the fallen, blackened magic book on the ground.

“Chloe, if you have such an extraordinary magic, why did you rely on this shabby magic book?”

“To… somehow beat you…”

Seeing Chloe’s timid voice, Leo burst into laughter.

“Isn’t your real Unique Magic far superior compared to whatever magic in this book?”

Leo looked around the frozen surroundings.

“Field magic, huh? I could never replicate the magic.”

Magic that turns the surrounding area into your domain, it was a type of magic that Bible couldn’t emulate.

“Nothing beats those who can use such magic.”

Leo licked his lips, watching over him, Chloe replied.

“I’m going to tell everyone in the school about this incident.”

“Huh?”

“The cheating during the magic practical test. And how it was black magic that I announced.”

Chloe bowed her head.

“Even if I get expelled, it’s something I have to do.”

Upon hearing that, Leo smirked.

“I doubt you’ll get expelled.”

“Huh?”

“Where’s there another Hero Candidate? They’re not going to expel someone like you.”

Lifting Chloe’s head with his right hand, Leo grinned.

“You’ll become a hero. I guarantee it.”

Blushing bright red while staring at Leo’s smiling face dumbly, Chloe replied.

“Uh, yeah. Thanks…”

Bowing deeply, Chloe awkwardly replied.

“Amazing!”

“Truly like a hero!”

At that moment, Alia’s party gathered around and cheered.

Looking at their gleaming eyes, Leo said,

“Let’s chat here for a while. I’ll wrap it up and come back.”

Leo approached the black magic book.

It was faint but still emitted an ominous aura.

‘Professor Riu too… and Chloe too. It seems Tartarus is up to something, huh. Now I understand why Alby’s world broke out into a chaos and became a Hero Dungeon.’

Leo wielded his sword and smacked it down on the black magic book, hard.

Gurp! Gurp!

Dark bl**d gushed out.

Demon Tools, they were fragments of Erebus.

It was a part of his massive being.

Applying strength to his sword, it soon turned into sand and disappeared.

Placing his sword back into the scabbard, Leo placed his right forefinger on his temple.

“It’s Leo Flove. Can you hear me?”

– What?! Leo student? Leo student! Ah! You’re alive! We’re so relieved! We’re releasing the Hero’s World now.

From outside, a flustered voice was heard.

Seeing that communication was established, the Hero’s World seemed to have normalized.

“No, the expedition is almost complete.”

– What?! The expedition?

“It’s taken time, but please consider it.”

Leo smiled, looking at Alia’s party.

“Class 5’s Leo Flove and Class 1’s Chloe Mueller. We have defeated Chubarn and saved Alia’s party.”

“Over here!”

“Survivors over here!”

At that moment, distant cries of urgency were heard.

The rescue team dispatched from Lumeran was approaching.

“We survived!”

“How it looked as if we might not!”

Leo severed the connection with the outside when Chloe and Alia approached.

Alia bowed her head before both of them.

“Thank you for saving us. Lord Leo, Lady Chloe. As the head of this party, I sincerely thank you.”

“No, no. We received plenty of help from you.”

Chloe waved her hands.

“Alia!”

At that moment, a bespectacled young man shouted in a rush from the rescue team.

“Big Brother Alby?”

Alia approached Alby, her eyes wide open.

“Professor Alby is surprisingly young.”

“It’s been 30 years.”

[Endangered first year students have been secured.]

[Alby’s World: Prelude – Che Murders Case successfully completed].

Upon seeing the message that popped up, Chloe slumped onto the seat.

“Really… We succeeded with just the two of us.”

“Good job.”

Leo smirked at that moment.

“Lord Leo! Please accept this! It’s a token of our gratitude!”

“This is all I can give right now. It’s a fairly good magic ring.”

“Thank you for saving us!”

“We’ll certainly repay it formally later!”

The members of Alia’s party handed over their accessories as a token of gratitude.

They were valuable items befitting of Lumeran students.

“This one is mine. It has significant value in our family.”

Alia handed over the staff she had lent earlier to Chloe.

“This isn’t necessary.”

“No, it’s not. You saved my life!”

Alia smiled.

Simultaneously, the world was enveloped in a bright light.

This signified the collapse of the world.

It indicated the conquest of the Hero’s World.

As the world was fading, a message appeared in front of Leo’s eyes.

[Victory Reward: Souvenir]

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