Chapter 543

543.

Leo glared at Urein as if to k*ll him.

An unimaginable amount of mana could be felt.

Endless mana.

For a moment, a shadow of Luna could be seen in his appearance.

But Leo quickly shook his head.

“Comparing you to Luna is an insult to her.”

Luna’s mana was her own raw power.

But the Urein in front of him was different.

“His mana clearly exceeds his capacity.”

It was plainly visible that his mana was overflowing because it couldn’t be contained within him.

And the source of this mana was from the ground.

It wasn’t hard for Leo to realize what this mana was.

Clear and transparent mana.

“Life force.”

But it wasn’t his.

Leo’s gaze dropped downward.

“There must be countless people beneath this place.”

And it’s evident that he’s stealing their life force to use as his own mana source.

Leo concentrated mana in his eyes.

Then, the magical runes etched into Urein’s body became visible.

“Unique magic, huh.”

Surprise flickered in Urein’s eyes.

“To be able to use another’s mana— a mana characteristic like that?”

“I’m impressed.”

Not only was Leo piercing through Urein’s magic, but also his mana traits.

Urein looked at Leo with admiration and asked.

“Well? What do you think about my magic that has obtained infinite possibilities?”

“To speak of possibility when you’re stealing another’s power is quite the nerve.”

“There are many forms of possibility. Isn’t it our duty to use whatever means necessary to reach the ancestors?”

Urein spread his arms wide.

“Surely even the inferior will gladly accept that their existence serves as the foundation for a grand journey to the ancestors.”

Such a deed was something Luna detested the most in this world.

Possibilities obtained by crushing others’ potential hold no meaning.

But no matter how long one argued, unless Luna was here herself, they wouldn’t acknowledge this.

“Dialogue is meaningless.”

“Most unfortunate.”

A sharp aura emanated from Leo’s body.

Leo’s senses had already entered the realm of extrasensory perception and rapidly grasped the surroundings.

Everything around him became sharply clear.

Leo refined his extrasensory perception even more sharply.

It was exceedingly difficult to step into the domain of extrasensory perception created by Aron.

But the true intricacies of extrasensory perception began once one had stepped in.

Through breath and extrasensory perception, Aron had obtained mythological power.

But breath and extrasensory perception served different paths of power.

While breathing amplified strength, extrasensory perception was purely about information.

The enemy’s appearance.

The smells they emitted.

The sounds they made.

All of these could be known faster and more comprehensively than others, thanks to extrasensory perception.

Information was an immense power.

But if one could not use it, it was pointless.

Even Leo had gone through countless trials and errors before managing to properly utilize the information gleaned through extrasensory perception.

Swoosh-!

Leo extended his sword forward.

Already heightened senses.

But Leo sharpened the information even more acutely.

With that, everything around began to move in slow motion.

The domain reachable through the refinement of extrasensory perception to its limit.

This was also the final stage Kyle had reached.

‘When you go one step beyond the slowing domain, it feels like the world has stopped.’

“Next is the future?”

“Something like that. Kyle will be able to do it soon.”

Recalling Aron’s words, Leo gave a bitter laugh inside.

“I wasn’t capable. d*mn it. If I could’ve done it, I wouldn’t have gone through so much hardship.”

Leo lowered his posture.

Being in the domain of extrasensory perception consumed an immense amount of stamina.

If his physical body from the previous life were still intact, it wouldn’t have been much of a burden, but it was a strain on his current self.

“Still, this body hasn’t reached its full potential yet.”

No matter how much physical conditioning he did or how many boundaries he pushed, this body was still that of a young teenager.

Compared to his younger days, he had obtained a level of strength in his past life that couldn’t be compared now.

Even so, he still hadn’t reached the power from his previous life.

“Still far from it.”

Leo put strength into his whole body.

“Arriving at the level of my past life is insufficient.”

Gooooooo!

Grey mana surged from Leo’s body.

“To go further than in my previous life.”

…

Leo had believed until now that his life as the Hero of Beginning, Kyle, was complete.

“That I had done and fulfilled all that I needed to do for saving the world.”

Leo clenched his lips tightly.

He realized this was wrong, seeing Berkiya.

“If I had thought about what I wanted to do after saving the world, like the others, I wouldn’t have ended up like this.”

He was always prepared to d*e without regrets.

If this body could secure a future for his friends and a world for the generations to come through sacrifice, he believed it would be enough.

But that also meant he wasn’t prepared to live.

“Was it because combating Erebus was all-consuming?”

Of course, it was.

The world seemed destined for despair.

Even if Leo had dreamed what came after like his companions, even if he had his own ideals and beliefs, there would’ve been no chance to survive the final battle.

Leo knew better than anyone that hoping for such a possibility was greed.

“But at the very least… Berkiya and Bihah wouldn’t have lived like this.”

Leo wanted to stand on the same battlefield as his disciples.

It wasn’t a romantic wish to fight alongside them.

He simply needed comrades-in-arms.

But if he had wished for that…

“At the very least, I should have taught them how to live peacefully after everything was over.”

Kyle himself lived a life far removed from peace.

But even so, he could have taught them about the form of life in a world at peace after all was finished.

Both disciples were unskilled at finding happiness within peace.

Neither Luna nor Aron could have taught that.

They dreamt fervently of returning and living happily together, so they wouldn’t have considered needing to teach it.

He alone could have instructed them.

“But I turned away from it.”

He assumed they would figure things out on their own.

“I must change this now. And this time, I can’t resolve it by dying.”

Thus, he must surpass everything.

His past self.

Taking a step or two forward wasn’t enough.

Until now, he would’ve been satisfied with that.

“Overcome the boundaries.”

The challenge left by his unknown heir in a future life.

The emphasis imparted to hero candidates who would carry the torch across generations.

But…

“Has there ever been a moment since my rebirth where I’ve truly challenged a boundary?”

To others, Leo might always have seemed to overcome boundaries and achieve the impossible.

But, honestly, it was not so.

“That’s just repeating what I did countless times in my previous life. That’s not truly transcending a boundary.”

Then…

“Let’s establish a clear goal.”

Leo’s eyes gazed far away.

“Aurora, to Aron.”

It was a clear challenge.

“Magic, to Luna.”

A realm that was thought unreachable.

“Summoning, to Lissinas.”

But…

“There’s a way, isn’t there?”

A path opened by his friends.

He just needed to race along that path.

Towards the ideal realm he believed in.

To a place he thought he’d never reach.

His extrasensory perception grew sharper.

“Beyond the boundaries!”

Leo’s body shot forward at an incredible speed.

Urein, now Leo’s target, revealed an expression of disbelief.

“How could someone of his age attain such power?”

This was beyond comprehension.

Kwaang! Zzzz-zzz-zzz-zzz-zzzjic-jic!

Leo’s sword struck Urein’s barrier, cracking it all over.

Seeing that, Urein quickly started weaving a spell.

The speed of his incantation was tremendous.

But the mana being wasted in the process was enormous.

As Leo pursued Urein to change direction momentarily.

Urein, poised to counter Leo’s attack, wore a momentarily puzzled expression.

Then, looking at where Leo moved towards, Urein’s face contorted in surprise.

Clang! Koo-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-jic!

Leo’s and Berkiya’s swords crossed, scattering sharp waves of sword energy in all directions.

Leo felt his entire skeleton ringing from the shock.

Wooom!

A magic circle formed in Berkiya’s palm.

Seeing this, Leo ducked his upper body.

Koo-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-kang!

A tremendous flash of light erupted from close range.

The flash, moving in a straight line, swept everything in front of it.

Leo broke out in cold sweat at the awesome might of the magic.

“Luna would have been pleased to see this, you damned disciple!”

Kwaang!

Pushing into Berkiya’s embrace, Leo delivered a headbutt with his shoulder.

Through the momentum transfer, he maximized its destructive power with aura.

Even a common hero would have had all their bones shattered by this attack.

Swaak!

But Berkiya merely slid across the ground due to the force.

On the other hand, Leo cringed with pain, feeling his shoulder as if it were about to break.

“Armor of Animus.”

Berkiya’s unique magic.

As Leo braced himself for Berkiya’s attack,

Flash!

Once again, the light of the End struck Leo.

Leo used a space manipulation magic to escape the range of attack.

Koo-goo-goo-goo-goo-kung!

A powerful wave of mana surged at the place where the End had been activated.

“Even while dealing with me, are you trying to prevent Lady Berkiya from harming others?”

Urein marveled.

“Leo Flove, setting aside ideology, you are truly a noble hero.”

Urein clapped his hands and then wore a look of regret.

“But it’s truly unfortunate. I must reduce your existence to starlight.”

Urein glared at Leo, who smiled faintly.

“Why are you laughing?”

“How could one not laugh seeing a third-rate mage who thinks stolen power is his own, boasting like he’s something incredible?”

“Did you just call me a third-rate mage?”

He had been hailed a prodigy in his day.

In his entire lifetime, he’d never heard such a term applied to him.

“To wield crudely gathered mana, activating it merely by brute force of magic output— isn’t that the definition of a third-rate mage?”

“By my unique magic, [World of Stars], I can cast any magic. Just like your [Bible].”

Urein stretched his arms wide.

“How can the creator of such magic be merely a third-rate mage?”

“Exactly, less than third-rate. You’re nothing without this land.”

With Berkiya out of the way, handling someone like you wouldn’t be too difficult.”

“All sorts of excuses. If you’re so confident, why not abandon Lady Berkiya?”

“To let a disciple make a mistake and watch, that’s not the way of a teacher. Plus, you did ask for her help, didn’t you?”

“Teacher? I don’t know what you’re talking about. Anyway, Lady Berkiya can no longer move…”

Flash! Koo-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-kang!

From the ruins where the End had been activated, magic surged forth.

Urein gasped sharply and hastily dodged the magic.

The barrier he was holding fell apart.

“How could my magic…!”

“To dispel the seals before a direct hit. Basic in magical combat, isn’t it?”

“How could an Undead possibly do such a thing? And besides, she can’t even use the magic of the stars!”

Urein’s face distorted.

Watching this, Leo spoke.

“That’s why you are less than third-rate.”

Leo curled his lips upward.

“To boast of your own potential endlessly while doubting others’, a pitiful nobody.”

Fury surged in Urein at the mockery.

He recognized something familiar in Leo’s eyes.

A gaze that looked down upon something utterly insignificant.

It was the same look the Pureblood Society gave to Elves who couldn’t wield star magic.

He wasn’t being taken seriously as a wizard.

His very essence was being negated, and anger welled up in him.

Yet Leo paid no attention to such a Urein.

He kept his eyes solely on his disciple.

“Even if one loses their mind, this is entirely possible.”

Berkiya endlessly honed herself through instinctive and sophisticated swordsmanship and magic.

She bore the weight of the world alone with her own strength.

“And the inability to use star magic and breaking such magic is entirely unrelated.”

Leo directed his gaze toward Berkiya.

“Among those who understand star magic best after Luna and me, it would likely be Berkiya.”

Even though Berkiya ultimately failed to use star magic, she tried harder than anyone else to wield the magic of her teacher.

She couldn’t not understand star magic just because she couldn’t use it.

“If Seirun is Luna’s successor as a star mage, then truly as a pure mage, Berkiya is Luna’s successor.”

Thus, it was only natural that even without her full faculties, Berkiya dismantled Urein’s magic.

Leo’s claim of being able to handle Urein easily was no mere bravado.

“To others, perhaps he’s a daunting enemy armed with overwhelming mana, but to me, he’s just a big fool.”

Leo glanced at Berkiya.

“I need to neutralize Berkiya first.”

Leo tightened his grip on his sword.

Next was Urein.

The moment Leo gathered his mana,

Berkiya approached him with incredible speed.

Now, to this Berkiya, there were no allies or foes.

She was simply an Undead that annihilated everything in her way.

Biting his teeth together, Leo was about to respond when suddenly,

A shadow shot up before Leo.

With that, Chen Sia revealed herself and swung her dagger at Berkiya’s sword.

Kwaang! Koo-ga-ga-ga-ga-kang!

The clash of sword and dagger sent a huge shockwave rippling outward.

Leo widened his eyes, seeing Chen Sia standing in defense against Berkiya.

“You…”

The familiar back reminded him of someone else.

But it wasn’t a stranger.

“Bihah?”

At Leo’s call, Chen Sia turned around briefly and gave Leo a faint smile.

“Master…”

Seeing this,

Berkiya locking swords with Bihah instinctively took a step back without realizing it.

“Ah…”