clang! bam! kooowaaaaang!
Leo and Azonia had clasped hands, engaging in a fierce power struggle.
The aftermath left the surrounding area instantly reduced to ruin.
Looking at Azonia’s smiling face, Leo clicked his tongue.
“Are you enjoying the current situation?”
There was no response to his question.
The Azonia before him was nothing more than a fake conjured by the Hero Record—nothing but a puppet that lacked will, merely fighting.
But it clearly revealed the nature and personality of both Demian and Azonia.
Where Demian carried himself with a serious presence, Azonia maintained an aggressive grin throughout her battle with Leo.
‘They did say this one enjoys fighting for the sake of fighting, didn’t they?’
The title Great Warrior was a title Azonia had held even before ascending to the Hero of the Cataclysm—a title that truly originated with the Beastmen from before the Era of Catastrophe.
The Beastmen, who had an innate bloodlust and competitive spirit, held a ceremony known as the Warrior’s Rite to select the strongest of their kind.
The victor of this rite would become the Great Warrior and leader of the Beastmen.
Though this tradition had disappeared during the Era of Catastrophe, it was revived with the start of the Era of Heroes.
‘During the Era of Catastrophe, Aron was honored as the Great Warrior, if I recall correctly.’
Leo remembered the Beastmen who had nominated Aron for this prestigious title. Of course, Aron had panicked and refused.
Once a Great Warrior, one must face endless challengers, only stepping down upon defeat. Intentional losses were forbidden.
Given Aron’s immense strength, it was unimaginable for him to ever lose to someone else.
In truth, he would have been destined for an eternal struggle—a path too intimidating for the naturally cautious Aron to endure. He didn’t want to deal with the ferocious Beastmen warriors his whole life.
Leo lowered his stance as he grappled with Azonia.
Azonia, losing her balance with the sudden shift in weight, stumbled.
Capitalizing on this, Leo drove his shoulder into her stomach.
phwoooomm!
Azonia flew back from the force, hitting the ground with a dull thud.
clack!
But she caught herself with one hand and immediately charged back at Leo.
whoosh!
Azonia closed the distance rapidly, her aggressive speed causing Leo’s expression to grow serious.
‘Our raw power is evenly matched, but this one holds the advantage in speed.’
Leo curled the corner of his lip.
After the Era of Catastrophe ended and the Era of Heroes began, the Warrior’s Rite returned, and the title of Great Warrior persisted for thousands of years.
Each Beastman bestowed with this title would become a Hero.
But after Azonia, the Warrior’s Rite disappeared.
Thus, Azonia became the final Great Warrior.
“After she crushed every Great Warrior recorded in the Hero Record?”
Having defeated all past Great Warriors, Azonia became unmatched, stealing even their titles. Her unparalleled power rendered the title of Great Warrior exclusively hers.
“Let’s see how this goes.”
kshing!
Leo blocked Azonia’s knee aimed at his temple with his hand.
“Let’s see if you’re worthy to be called Aron’s successor.”
Pushing Azonia away, Leo drew his sword.
“Hmph.”
He took a deep breath.
Aron’s Breathing Technique.
As he watched Leo, Azonia inhaled as well, her powerful muscles bulging.
creak creak creak!
Azonia’s body was wreathed in both an aura and mana.
‘She’s doing… spirit infusion?’
Leo’s eyes widened.
This wasn’t Spirit Armored, a higher-level form of spirit manipulation that summoned spirits into the body. This was complete spirit integration, allowing unlimited use of the spirit’s characteristics and power.
Even Leo and Lissinas couldn’t perform this ability.
‘The contracted spirit’s power may not be strong, but combined with Azonia’s own aura, it erupts with immense force.’
To Azonia, the spirit’s power was as natural as her flesh, amplifying her strength beyond imagination.
roarrrr!
“Excellent.”
Seeing Azonia’s unique execution of Aron’s techniques, Leo voiced his admiration.
Aron’s aura streamed from Leo’s sword as he gripped it tightly.
kiiing!
Azonia raised her fist and charged forward.
Meeting her charge, Leo ran forward as well.
bashshsh!
The clash of their auras caused the barrier made by Mel to ripple.
Leo glanced back.
Azonia’s body flickered, just like when Demian appeared earlier.
‘This test must take the forms of each Hero of the Cataclysm.’
Leo narrowed his eyes at Mel.
Mel’s jaw was clenched tightly.
While Leo could simply focus on battling the Hero of the Cataclysm, Mel had to suppress all of the power released by both Leo and the Hero.
Leo tightened his grip on his sword.
‘I can’t let this run amok here anymore.’
His eyes glanced toward the open entrance of the Hero Dungeon.
‘If this thing came from there…’
Leo lowered his stance.
‘…then dragging it back in should work.’
whoosh boom!
Leo shot out like lightning, swinging his sword at an effigy now resembling Lumeran.
clang! kashshsh!
He drove Lumeran straight back, pressing her to the edge.
“Leo-sama!”
The urgency in Mel’s voice reached him.
“I’ll be back once I solve the root problem.”
With that, Leo pushed the effigy shaped like Lumeran toward the entrance of the Hero Dungeon.
whoosh!
The Hero Dungeon emitted a brilliant light and swallowed Leo and Lumeran whole.
The moment Leo entered the Hero Dungeon, his vision shifted.
He quickly gauged his surroundings.
The space was constructed from massive marble blocks.
An expansive arena-like area stretched out before him.
Leo immediately realized this architectural style didn’t belong to the current era.
‘This seems more like a temple from the Age of the Gods.’
The moment he acknowledged this space, Leo became certain the effigies were created using divine power.
He pointed his sword at the effigy shaped like Lumeran.
At that moment,
whoosh…
“…?”
Lumeran took her sword and assumed the exact same stance as Leo.
Seeing this, Leo narrowed his eyes.
“Is this effigy different from Demian and Azonia, simply mimicking its opponent’s moves?”
Leo adopted a perplexed expression and lowered his stance.
The effigy shaped like Lumeran mirrored his movement exactly, like a reflection.
Leo clicked his tongue.
‘While this is a fake, it would’ve been nice to see what Lumeran’s really like.’
Though the effigy was artificial, Leo was curious about Lumeran.
Rodia inherited from Lissinas.
Seirun inherited from Luna.
Aron and Dwenno passed their legacies to Azonia and Demian respectively. Without a doubt, Lumeran had chosen Leo as her successor.
‘That would mean she definitely challenged my Hero Realm.’
Leo didn’t know Lumeran.
However, he didn’t deny that Lumeran was his successor.
Lumeran has no direct connection to him.
But if she sought to follow in his footsteps as a Hero of the Cataclysm, that was enough.
‘What of my power did she inherit, and how did she transform it into her own?’
The brief interactions with Rodia and Seirun were truly impressive.
Even the previous encounters with Demian and Azonia had been fantastic, if only indirectly.
Thus, Leo had great expectations for Lumeran.
‘Then again, fighting a mirror image is a real letdown.’
With interest waning, Leo charged at the effigy.
The effigy mimicked his movements and charged as well.
clang!
Sword met sword.
Leo slammed his sword down, initiating a spell in the process.
whoosh!
A flame spell formed in his hand.
In that instant,
whoosh!
The effigy used a water spell.
‘So it’s not a simple mirror.’
Leo wore a puzzled look.
bashshsh!
A vortex of water trapped Leo.
This wasn’t a simple vortex.
Within the spiraling layers, sharp blades of water rotated.
whoosh bang!
Leo exploded the fire to break the water vortex.
shshshsh!
Hot water rained down, filling the air with steam as Leo gripped his sword tightly.
‘Perhaps this thing…’
Leo charged the effigy.
It adopted a defensive stance.
clang bashshsh!
As their swords clashed, sparks flew.
By sliding his sword across the effigy’s blade, Leo redirected the weapon.
In response, the effigy swiftly dove into his guard.
kiiing!
Leo drew out a dagger with his free hand.
In a reflexive motion, Leo kicked the effigy’s arm away.
With the gap between them widening, the effigy utilized the void by opening a spatial rift and drawing out a spear.
thud!
Leo landed and looked up, meeting the effigy’s gaze directly.
Through this, he glimpsed someone’s shadow.
At first, Leo thought it was merely a mirror.
But he was wrong.
‘This effigy isn’t imitating me like a mirror. It truly is Lumeran.’
And Lumeran perfectly replicated Kai’s moves.
Combat breathing.
Martial arts.
A pattern that allowed for expert weapon handling in response to different weapons.
Not forgetting the use of magic.
‘Fundamentally we’re different. We’ve built up our techniques differently. But…’
There was an unmistakable sense that Lumeran was striving with all her might to embody Kai.
‘Why?’
Leo wore an expression of bewilderment.
Strength cannot be gained simply by imitation.
Leo is an all-class practitioner.
Lumeran is a swordsman-magician.
Their fundamental methods couldn’t differ more greatly.
And yet, Lumeran was mimicking all of Kai’s techniques as if she were his shadow.
‘This only undermines her potential. She must know this.’
Neither Rodia nor Seirun nor Azonia nor Demian were exact replicas of Lissinas, Seirun, Aron, and Dwenno. They had each transformed their predecessors’ abilities into something entirely their own.
As Leo pondered,
whoosh!
The effigy faded and disappeared.
Precisely the effigy vanished.
Leo’s eyes twitched.
At that exact moment,
boom*!
A heavy door, previously locked away in some far-off dimension, opened.
The implication was clear.
‘A circle?’
Without hesitation, Leo took a step forward.
‘What is this place? The Hero Realm?’
He continued walking while deep in thought.
‘If this is the Hero Realm, why is a god here?’
The gods of the past could not exist.
During his encounter with Pibua in Luna’s world, Pibua stated clearly that he was nothing more than a false creation made by the Record System—and that such creations have absolutely no influence over the outside world.
‘Then the deity in front of me must be real.’
Leo grew even more confused.
‘How can a god exist on the surface world?’
5000 years ago, during the Era of Catastrophe,
The gods disappeared from the surface world.
More accurately, they could no longer remain there.
Erebus destroyed the gates connecting the surface world to the divine realm, ensuring that no gods could come back.
After this, any remaining gods were hunted down and expelled from the surface by Erebus.
Even after Erebus disappeared, the gates could not be restored. Thus began a world without gods.
And yet now, a god stood on the surface?
Brow furrowed with confusion, Leo reached the end of the hallway.
A grey door stood there.
‘This grey color… Didn’t Lissinas mention that gods don’t particularly like this color?’
With a puzzled expression, Leo opened the door.
Stretching before him was a library filled with what seemed like infinite bookshelves.
However, before he could take all the bookshelves in,
A figure captured his attention immediately.
A child with indistinguishable features—boy or girl—stood there with piercing grey eyes and grey hair, staring intently at Leo with a serious expression.
Its appearance was remarkably beautiful.
Leo instantly grasped the identity before him.
“Wha… how is a god…”
Before he could finish his question, the god clasped his hands together, dropped to his knees, and bowed deeply.
The posture resembled a devout disciple worshiping a deity.
Thrown off by this sudden reverence, Leo’s words faltered momentarily.
But he quickly regained composure to finish his question.
“How is a god… here?”
“Lowly one greets the Great and Venerable Hero of the Start.”
The deep voice echoed as a greeting.
Leo’s words caught again in his throat.
“How can a god… explain this?”
On Leo’s third attempt to ask his question, the god finally looked up, locking eyes with Leo.
The large grey eyes shone with unprecedented clarity.
“My reason for being here is…”
The god, who had been trying to maintain divine dignity, suddenly shouted.
“Aaahh! I can’t take it! I see the Hero of the Start, Kai, and I just can’t take it!”
Like someone in the throes of an epileptic seizure, the god dropped flat on the floor and crawled like a cockroach before clinging desperately to Leo’s feet.
Even someone as unflappable as Leo—someone who wouldn’t even bat an eye at most things—was thrown into panic by this terrifying sight.
“Aaahh, Hero Kai! My Great Hero! How could you return, miraculously, after 5000 long years? This resurrection must surely be fate! Your greatness rivals the Creator—no, to compare You to some inferior, trivial, useless creature like me is sacrilegious! I deserve divine punishment! Forgive me! Forgive me! I beg your pardon!”
The god, guilty of comparing Leo’s greatness to his own, bashed his head violently against the ground.
“Kai! Your greatness is surely comparable to the Creator themselves! Bestow Your grace upon me! The honor of kissing Your feet! Please, grace me with Your blessing!”
“…”
Leo knew that sane gods were rare.
He was also aware that most gods were hedonists who pursued only pleasure.
But even so, these were immortal beings responsible for maintaining cosmic order.
Still, the sight of a god dribbling saliva while rubbing their cheek against his shoe made Leo’s skin crawl.
Even worse, amidst this display of madness, the god’s eyes remained crystal clear.
Which only made them appear even more deranged.
“What is this? A lunatic with innocent eyes, or a fanatic?”
![[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")
