Chapter 62

【62】61

“So, you’re a sharp one, aren’t you?”

The d*ath Knight, DeathKnight, chuckled with a sound akin to metal being scraped and tightened his grip on his greatsword.

“My name is Kargor! The knight serving the great Demon King!”

With his greatsword aimed at Leo, Kargor charged forth with incredible speed.

Leo swung an aura of or aura towards the front.

“And I am the one who will guide you to d*ath! Hahahahahaha!”

In an instant, Kargor dissolved into a cloud of black smoke, reappearing behind Leo.

‘Illusion!’

Clang-!

Leo hastily intercepted Kargor’s greatsword aimed at his waist, feeling immense pressure in his hands.

Thud-!

Leo’s body was thrown back with tremendous force.

Crack! Boom! Grrrrr! Thud!

Leo, who had collided with two trees, got up and shook off the stiffness in his body amidst the fallen, broken trees.

“You managed to cast an or aura shield in that short amount of time? Impressive.”

Kargor grinned and charged again.

Leo blocked the sword swung down to bisect his head.

Clang! Kooownggg!!

Crushed by the overwhelming pressure he felt throughout his body, Leo strained.

His foot sank deeply into the ground.

A crimson or aura in the shape of a skull violently surged around.

Leo frowned and tried to shake off the greatsword with all his might.

“Futile struggle!”

As Kargor exerted even more pressure, the pressure increased, and Leo’s knees buckled.

“Hahahahahaha! Let’s take you to the world of d*ath!”

[Leo! Let me help you!]

Kiran charged fiercely, aiming for Kargor’s openings.

“Troublesome.”

Thud!

[Crgh!]

Kiran was sent flying as Kargor unleashed dark or aura.

Though he was called a Fairy Prince, Kiran, who had lost his wings, had his limits.

Witnessing this, Leo spoke.

“In the name of the Vow Keeper, I summon!”

“Hmph? Summon a familiar now? You resemble a Vow Keeper of a fairy, but no matter what familiar you summon, it will be useless against me!”

“Answer my summon!”

A summoning circle formed around Leo.

Whoosh-!

Flames flickered out of the summoning circle and responded to Leo’s spirit energy, burning even brighter.

Kargor’s crimson eyes widened.

“What is this!”

Behind Leo fluttered crimson wings.

The beautiful phoenix soared high in the sky and then dove down aiming at Kargor.

“Phoenix!”

Whoosh-!

Fiora pierced straight through Kargor’s chest.

Kargor’s body crumbled into dust and fell apart.

With an elegant flutter of her wings, Fiora landed on Leo’s shoulder.

[Leo, you’re the Contractor of the Phoenix?]

“But still.”

[Mi… I can’t believe it!]

Kiran, who was not an old fairy, had never made a contract before. This was his first time making a contract with Leo. Even this was forcibly done due to Silrod’s vow, not Kiran’s intent.

Therefore, he had secretly looked down on Leo, not recognizing him.

However, seeing that Leo had made a contract with the Phoenix at merely a teenage age changed his perspective.

[Anyway! If you’re my contractor, you should be at least this level! Now, you finally seem worthy of being my contractor!]

“Until now, did you think I wasn’t worthy to be your contractor?”

[Of course! You’re human! Your spirit energy is inadequate! And you’re disrespectful and violent to boot! Cough?]

While having a casual chat, Kiran was suddenly grabbed by Leo.

“Fiora, eat him.”

[Save me!]

Just then, as Kiran turned pale and struggled, a roar came from afar.

Goooaaaaa-!

A crimson aura swirled.

“Hahaha…”

With a spine-chilling laugh, Kargor reappeared, glaring at Leo.

“A phoenix and a fairy! A brat like you must truly never be allowed to survive!”

Bang-!

Raising his greatsword, Kargor lodged it into the ground.

Gulp! Crimson bl**d gushed out from the greatsword, soaking the earth.

Leo stiffened his face.

‘d*ath Ground.’

A curse that brings down d*ath’s curse within a certain range, summoning endless undead.

Bang! KOOONGG!!

White bones emerged through the snowfield.

Skeletons began to endlessly appear around them.

Creak— Creak— Clack— Clack—!!

As if shouting, their jawbones clicked together.

“Undead Army! k*ll that brat!”

Following Kargor’s command, the skeleton army charged toward Leo.

Upon seeing this, Leo withdrew his sword and held it defensively before his face.

The or aura of flames dissipated.

“Acknowledging d*ath humbly, are you?”

In response to Kargor’s question, Leo wore a disinterested expression.

“Am I crazy?”

Woooom-!

A gray or aura gathered around Leo’s sword.

Kargor’s eyes twitched.

‘Another type of or aura?’

It was not the or aura of Zerdinger but Kyle’s or aura.

‘Zerdinger’s swordsmanship consumes too much or aura.’

Powerful and splendid, but burdensome for prolonged use.

‘Using it after such a long time?’

Leo lowered his stance.

Supporting himself with his left foot, he pushed off the ground with his right.

Whoosh-!

Using the power of or aura, Leo started spinning in place.

“Going insane with the fear of d*ath?”

Kargor sneered.

Leo’s spinning looked like sheer nonsense to anyone watching.

But his spin became increasingly powerful.

Eventually.

KOOONGGGGG!!

A whirlwind began to rage.

Like a spinning top, the whirlwind of or aura surged forward.

Kyle-Style Vortex.

KOOONGG!!

The whirlwind of or aura charged toward the skeleton army.

Powder spread everywhere.

The skeletons approaching Leo were quickly pulverized.

In the blink of an eye, breaking through the encirclement, Leo ended the technique, using the or aura step to start running at incredible speed.

Watching his retreating figure, Kargor roared and started pursuit.

The skeleton army followed Leo quickly thereafter.

[Amazing, isn’t it! With that skill, you could’ve swept away all the skeletons. Why are you retreating?]

Kiran, thrilled, asked with glowing eyes.

Through Kiran’s eyes, the swordsmanship moments ago was magnificent.

Squeak— Squeak—

Even Fiora seemed baffled.

“There’s a fatal weakness to this skill.”

[What’s that?]

“It’s powerful, but using it for long makes you dizzy.”

The extremely unimpressive reason made Kiran mutter.

[Cool-off revoked.]

Squeak-!

“Others said the same.”

Leo chuckled, recalling his past life.

“Stop! If you’re a knight, face me and fight honestly!”

“What are you talking about when you’ve summoned a horde of minions?”

Hearing the angry voice from behind, Leo wore an expression of bewilderment.

Whoosh-!

The or aura of flames gathered at Leo’s toes and exploded outward.

It created an incredible acceleration.

[Incredibly fastaaaa!]

Kiran, hanging onto Leo’s shoulder, shouted excitedly.

Fiora, who had now returned to her original form, also chirped with excitement.

Grrroarrrr!!!

The wailing of the dead echoed from all around.

Seeing the skeletons emerge from underground and forming an encirclement, Leo began chanting a spell.

Kiran was surprised at the Rune Language that flowed from Leo’s mouth.

[Hold on! Leo! You can use magic?]

“What of it?”

[A knight and a summoner?]

“Is this your first time seeing all-class abilities?”

[All-class? Legendary all-class like Kyle?!]

Being Silrod’s son, Kiran certainly knew the great heroes.

Among them, there was naturally the forgotten Great Hero Kyle.

Seeing Kiran in surprise, Leo smiled as he completed the incantation while still running, lowering his posture.

“Earth Wave.”

Starting from Leo’s center, the earth began to shake.

Likewise, the skeleton army lost their balance and wavered.

Leo, having plunged into the center of the skeletons, swung his sword.

Swish!

The skeletons were miserably cut down by Leo’s sword, devoid of any or aura.

[Not so hard, huh?]

“To skeletons, which are low-level undead.”

Skeletons themselves are not threatening.

The problem arises when combined with higher-level undead like d*ath knights, making them difficult to deal with.

After running a great distance, Leo touched down and took a deep breath.

Kargor’s presence was no longer felt.

‘Looks like I’ve escaped from him.’

“Fiora, return.”

After sending Fiora back, Leo, as he exited the forest, was lost in thought.

‘Why is a d*ath Knight here?’

d*ath Knights are higher-level undead, rarely seen.

‘Could there be something in Fairy Forest that Tartarus is after?’

It couldn’t be a coincidence that Silrod sealed Kiran’s wings, activating the previous Fairy King’s magic.

Whoosh-!

At that moment, something approached Leo at an incredible speed.

The silver blade, reflecting sunlight, was already at Leo’s neck.

Leo glanced at the Elf boy who held a sword to his neck.

“What are you doing?”

“Human. What are you doing in this forest?”

The emotionless Elf’s question was met with a nonchalant response from Leo.

“I was gathering herbs.”

“Lie! How did you, a human, enter here?! Furthermore, evil undead were discovered in this forest! I suspect a possible connection with you!”

Seeing the Elf raising his voice, Leo furrowed his brow.

The Berkiya elves already know that students have come from Lumeran.

Yet the fact that they’re suspecting him implied…

‘They are elves from the outside. And this clothing…’

Leo carefully examined the design of the Elf’s clothing.

‘It resembles Eiran’s uniform. So, a student from Seirun?’

“Calming down first, wouldn’t that be better?”

“Answer my question! Who are you, and what were you doing in this forest?”

Seeing the Seirun student who wouldn’t listen, Leo let out a deep sigh.

“I’m a student from Lumeran. I was merely gathering herbs at the request of the Berkiya villagers.”

“Lumeran?”

The Seirun student wore a slightly surprised expression.

But soon narrowed his eyes.

“Your story makes even less sense. Do you really believe that a student from Lumeran would be here?”

“What’s so unbelievable about that?”

With a disinterested face, Leo grabbed the sword aimed at his neck.

“You brat!”

The Seirun student swung his sword.

‘No… It won’t move at all?!’

But despite his attempts, his sword remained stationary, his eyes widening.

“If you bring me to Berkiya, you’ll know if my words are a lie.”

As Leo pushed the sword away, the Seirun student twisted his face.

“Are you defying the command of a Seirun student?”

“Which is it exactly?”

“Students of Seirun have the authority to arrest and escort criminals!”

“But I’m not a criminal.”

“Suspicious individuals can also be arrested. As a proud student of Seirun, I declare you a dangerous person by given authority.”

Resting his hand on his waist, Leo sighed.

“Can’t communicate.”

[Seems like a void head.]

‘Agreed.’

“What will you do by declaring me dangerous? Want to knock me out?”

“I will!”

Eyeing the stern-faced Seirun student, Leo gave a cold laugh.

“I’ve tried to treat you as an aspiring hero peer as politely as possible.”

“Hmph. Even if you are a student from Lumeran, do you think you can surpass a Seirun student like me?”

The arrogant Seirun student brandished his sword and charged forward.

Seeing this, Leo clenched his fist.

“Then let’s see once.”

Whoosh-! Bang-!

Leo’s fiery or aura-clad fist clashed with the sword.

“Urgh?”

“Let me see the skills from Seirun.”