587.
Zzzzap-!
Duran’s body emitted an aura of lightning.
Upon seeing this, Eiran quickly shouted.
“Wait a moment! Lord Duran! If you attack now, it might harm the others!”
“Grrk!”
Duran hastily retracted his sword.
Whoosh-!
In front of them, a black flame surged upwards.
Seeing this, Eiran blocked the black flame with her aura-infused shield.
Just as wizards have specific attributes, knights also can be categorized based on their combat styles.
In Celia and Duran’s case, they are attack-specialized types.
They overwhelm enemies at the frontlines with their powerful aura abilities, protecting their allies.
On the other hand, Eiran is a defense-specialized knight.
Given the overwhelming power differential between the enemies and allies in this current situation, Eiran’s defensive capabilities have been shining even more brilliantly.
Whoosh-!
“Ugh!”
“Eiran, are you alright?”
Chen Sia urgently summoned water aura, pushing away the black flames surrounding Eiran.
Despite being pushed back by the intensified firepower of the black flames, Eiran quickly nodded her head.
“I’m fine! I have no problem!”
Though Eiran answered resolutely, her body was covered in large and small burns.
At present, she is one of the main pillars of defense against the black flames.
Without her, this party would have been wiped out long ago.
“Eiran! You’re overexerting yourself! It’s time for you to rest!”
At that moment, Driana, wielding an enormous shield much larger than herself and blocking the black flames, called out.
“No! I can still go on for a bit more…”
“This is not a situation where you can just keep pushing yourself! If you fall, it’ll truly be over! Now is the time to restore your body!”
Driana, who shared the defensive role with Eiran, yelled sternly.
Eiran bit her lips.
“But if I retreat, Driana, you’ll be the one to bear all the strain!”
“Relax. My body is the successor of Lord Dwenno, who once served as the shield for the great heroes. Isn’t that right?”
Driana smiled confidently.
“My body is tougher than yours! So relax and take a rest.”
“Eiran! Step back to the rear guard quickly!”
“Uwaaah! Eiran! You’ve worked so hard! Please take a rest, even if it’s just for a while!”
The Seirun students, their eyes glistening with tears, helped the staggering Eiran move to the rear lines.
“Are you really alright?”
Chen Sia asked Driana.
In response to Chen Sia’s question, Driana smirked.
“Not at all.”
Driana, who had shared the role as the party’s shield with Eiran, had taken as much damage as Eiran had.
The reason she could still stand firm was because dwarves were physically tougher than elves.
“I’ll lend a hand.”
Since Chen Sia was a balanced type in both offense and defense, she also excelled in defense.
However, Driana shook her head decisively.
“That goes for Eiran too! And for you as well! You’re my precious n*de model! It’d be troublesome if you get any scars!”
“Looks like there’s still some room to spare if you’re making jokes like that.”
Driana grinned while gripping her shield even more firmly.
“Still, this is a big problem.”
Flash! BOOOOOM! Whoosh! BOOM! BOOM!
A tremendous explosion sounded in the distance, followed by a shockwave that shook the ground.
It was the sound of Lumeran fighting off Erebus at the front lines.
“If Lumeran hadn’t shown up midway…”
“Our lives would have ended a long time ago.”
The flames currently being held back by the hero academy students are the flames exhaled by Erebus.
“This battle isn’t comparable to any battle we’ve faced before.”
They haven’t even stepped on the main stage yet.
Even so, the current situation is already exhausting.
“The most serious issue is that our coordination isn’t perfect.”
Chen Sia expressed her anxiety.
Currently, the students of the four hero academies are collaborating based on their experience from the battle against Erebus during the last summer vacation.
Though they aren’t completely mismatched yet, it isn’t enough to turn the tide.
Driana narrowed her eyes.
“We need a sword.”
“Yes.”
The current commander is Chloe, whose leadership skills are among the best in the second year.
However, Chloe’s forte lies in reading the flow of large battles and devising strategies.
It’s something that Cal can’t even dream of matching.
Meanwhile, in battles aimed at defeating a formidable enemy, Cal excels with his observation and quick thinking.
“I don’t know where the hell he went off to.”
Just as Driana expressed her frustration about Cal’s whereabouts…
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!”
A scream echoed.
Everyone looked around them.
“It’s coming from above.”
At Chen Sia’s mumble, everyone looked up.
Just before crashing onto the ground…
Cal barely managed to deploy the Fly spell just in time to land safely.
“Guh, barely landed! That Eliza guy! She used acceleration and threw me over here…”
“Where in the world have you been loitering until now!?”
Chelsea ran over and grabbed Cal by the collar, shaking him.
“Uh. Did you miss me?”
As Cal spoke in his usual teasing tone, Chelsea ground her teeth.
“Can I hit him?!”
“Move aside, Chelsea LeWalyn.”
“What?”
“I’ll be the one to hit him.”
At Duran’s menacing voice, Chelsea let go of Cal’s collar.
“Wait! Aunt Chelsea! Please don’t abandon me! I promise I won’t be arrogant!”
Looking at Duran’s really serious expression, Cal turned pale and asked Chelsea for help.
“Why were you late?”
Even Arbad, who always maintained his composure in any situation, scolded and interrogated Duran to calm him down.
To which Cal showed them the staff in his hand and said.
“I was delayed because I went to find a key item to deal with this.”
At Cal’s confident demeanor, everyone’s eyes widened.
Whoosh-!
At that moment, a wave of black flames surged over.
Screams erupted from the vanguard who were blocking the attack.
Upon seeing this, Chen Sia immediately ran towards Cal.
“Cal! Please take command for now!”
“Huh? Is it alright for me to…”
“There’s no one else but you, so hurry!”
Chen Sia pulled Cal towards where Chloe was.
“Celia! Watch out to the left… oh! Cal!”
Chloe, who was standing amidst a magical array overseeing the battlefield, smiled brightly upon seeing Cal.
“Over here!”
Chloe quickly vacated her place in the magical array.
As Cal stepped onto the magical array, multiple screens appeared before him.
“Talking from here will ensure that your voice reaches everyone!”
Upon hearing this, Cal hesitantly nodded.
Chloe joined the frontline.
“I’m not sure if I should be doing this…”
As Cal muttered in a tense voice, Chen Sia said,
“I believe you’re the one who can do it better than anyone else.”
Hearing that, Cal glanced at one of the screens.
There, he saw the back of a man engaged in combat with the source of the calamity flames.
‘Lord Lumeran.’
Gooouuuuu!
Lumeran raised his sword as he stared at the calamity flames burning before him.
Erebus’s form was not that of a giant.
He appeared in a size similar to Lumeran’s.
The primordial evil wrapped in black flames spread his arms wide.
The dusk aura emitted from Lumeran’s sword severed Erebus’s neck in one stroke.
Hooaaak!
Erebus’s head momentarily soared into the sky.
Lumeran extended his hand.
Flash!
BOOOOOOOM!
Spear of light flying from all directions pierced Erebus’s body and tore it mercilessly apart.
A sword technique and magic aimed at thoroughly annihilating the enemy.
Even though he was a swordsman wielding magic, Lumeran showed no bias towards either.
Truly, there was not a single flaw or weak point to find in his overwhelming swordsmanship and magic as he pushed Erebus back.
But…
Whoosh-!
The resurrected black flames engulfed Lumeran.
Lumeran swiftly leaped to avoid Erebus’s attack.
– How tiresome. Knight of the Dusk, imitating the surviving hero’s fighting style.
Whoosh-!
Erebus’s body, which had fallen apart, returned to its original form.
– You have already reached your limit. Why do you not give up?
Erebus mocked.
– Did you not long give up on defeating me?
“Yes, I have given up trying to defeat you. Because I cannot.”
Lumeran gripped his sword tightly.
“But there’s never been a time when I thought there was no future.”
Facing the endlessly burning flames of calamity, Lumeran spoke with vigor.
“They are the future.”
After chasing Erebus who escaped from Rian’s library to this place, Lumeran encountered the hero academy students.
And Lumeran saw.
A possibility that he once believed he lacked.
‘There was more to the future than just Lord Kyle.’
He realized that his choice to stake everything on the future wasn’t wrong.
– You’ve gone senile, knight of the dusk.
Erebus shook his head.
– Will you really trust these pieces of trash that even you couldn’t achieve, to handle such minuscule flames?
“Incompetence can be resolved through experience.”
Lumeran gave a smug smile.
“Soon, those kids will stand before you. And together with the hero of beginning, they will defeat you. You mocked him for being alone.”
Lumeran pointed his sword.
“Now, he is not alone.”
-Determined to hinder me, even at the cost of your life, for the sake of these pieces of trash?
Erebus raised his hand.
-Indeed, you’ve held on longer than any hero I’ve ever known.
Whoosh-
Heroes who never give up are terrifying.
Just how terrifying their will to never give up is, became searingly clear through the Great Heroes.
Through the Hero of Beginning, Kyle.
And when Erebus first met Lumeran, he saw Kyle’s shadow in him.
Although the attempt to defeat him failed, Kyle’s relentless search for a way without ever giving up brought an odd terror in Erebus.
Who knows when someone like Lumeran, already at the brink, will transcend this limit.
But…
-Are you satisfied, knight of the dusk?
At that very moment.
The shadow of Kyle that had been part of Lumeran disappeared.
Erebus’s body soared high into the sky.
Seeing Lumeran who seemed willing to take him down with himself, Erebus smirked.
Having entrusted everything to the next generation that would carry his legacy and to the comrades who would replace him, Lumeran was no longer a threat to Erebus.
One who has done everything he could, no longer poses a threat even if he dies.
-You’re just a fading flame.
And that was Lumeran’s limit.
Gooouuuuu!
Just as Erebus was about to breathe flames towards Lumeran…
Whoosh-!
Through the black flames burning all around, someone reached the battlefield.
“Has the successor of Lady Aron arrived?”
Seeing Ar stepping into a battlefield still way out of reach, Lumeran’s face froze in shock.
“YRAAAHHHH!”
Ar let out a fierce yell and kicked Erebus.
BOOOOM!
White flames surged from Ar’s leg, armed with Aron’s aura.
BOOOOOM!
Erebus flew and crashed to the ground.
Even after concentrating all her strength into the tip of her foot, it wasn’t enough for Ar who also imbued the flames of Lunia into her kick to the tip of her foot.
Whoosh-!
Eliza caught the falling Ar in time.
“Lumeran-sama! We’ve come to help!”
Celia rushed to Lumeran’s side in a hurry.
“How…?”
Lumeran looked confused.
They are still novice hero candidates.
Though their bright future is expected, they are far too inexperienced to interfere in this fight right now.
There’s a step they are still lacking to be here.
Though it may just be one step,
a step at the limit distance makes it much farther.
Potential doesn’t bloom easily.
‘What changed to bring these kids here?’
Erebus, who was hit by Ar, got back up.
‘Pathetic trash, I thought.’
Indeed, the potential of the hero candidates Erebus met this time was enough to surprise him.
But Erebus knows,
Potential isn’t power.
Only an infinitesimally small number of people on this world fully awaken their potential.
‘There are plenty of pieces of trash unworthy of their excesses.’
That’s why Erebus didn’t care about the hero candidates.
After all, they surely wouldn’t be able to handle even the flames he spews.
But now, they surpassed Erebus’s expectations.
‘Their movement suddenly changed.’
Erebus’s eyes narrowed.
‘Has someone with foolish yet insightful perception appeared?’
Erebus’s eyes quickly swept across the battlefield.
And among the hero candidates, he discovered an especially insignificant-looking human boy.
The most pitiful human.
A human much beneath even the ones Erebus called trash.
But…
‘They’re drawing out one another’s potential.’
Erebus precisely saw what Cal’s ability was.
The Erebus of the past would’ve scoffed at it.
After all, he would’ve discounted the limits of a mere mortal’s potential.
But now, he understands.
How frightening this ability truly is.
‘Now, I must erase it.’
Erebus’s killing intent targeted Cal.
Dong!
Kyle clenched his teeth as he looked at Dwenno’s dissolved weapon.
‘…You’ve worked hard.’
This way, another relic weapon disappeared.
It couldn’t stand against Kyle’s power and Erebus’s calamity flames, and the gods’ relics were reaching the end of their lifespan.
Kyle, who reflexively put his hand inside his cloak, suddenly paused.
‘…Right, this cloak is fake.’
The cloak made by Lissinas and Luna had a powerful defensive ability along with dimensional space function.
Kyle had stored his relic weapons in that dimensional space long ago.
However, however real it looks, it’s still a fake.
The cloak’s magic except for the defensive ability is all dormant.
The dimensional space function has disappeared, obviously.
Only the creator can fully restore an artifact of this level of magic.
‘Do I use divine power?’
Kyle considered while sensing the divine power within himself.
Until now, he had relied solely on the abilities from after his rebirth to repel the calamity flames.
But the flames didn’t show any sign of dying out no matter how many times he slashed at them.
Rather, they burned more fiercely.
The reason is simple.
‘These flames aren’t the real thing.’
It’s certainly that as long as the cracks within the hero’s world aren’t sealed, it will continue burning.
‘Besides… it’s not the power of just one piece.’
Kyle realized something while combating the calamity flames.
The Erebus flames currently are not the power of just one piece.
The flames become more powerful the more they burn.
And that applies to calamity flames as well.
‘The piece of Erebus defeated by the heroes of the cataclysm has been resurrected for thousands of years.’
And during these thousands of years, the flames of calamity have been continuously burning within the world of heroes.
Within the hero’s world, there was kindling in the form of divine power too.
Then…
‘It’s not strange to have acquired the power of more than one piece.’
Clutching his fist inside his cloak, Kyle thought.
‘There’s no choice. Now is the time to use divine power.’
Just as Kyle came to a conclusion and was about to invoke divine power.
Tap!
“…!”
Kyle unwittingly reached for something inside and pulled it out.
An unsightly longsword.
Yet, the blade was sharper than any famous sword.
And this sword was far too familiar to Kyle.
The only work ever recognized as a masterpiece by the God’s Blacksmith Dwenno.
The sword that stayed with him until the final moment.
“Posterioritas.”
![[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")
