Chapter 620

620.

Thud – Tterrrrr-

Jorea’s head, which had been floating in mid-air, rolled across the floor.

Leo stared at Jorea with a blank expression.

“Tsk.”

Jorea, who had calmly picked up his own head and replaced it, spoke.

“I thought you might waver at least a little. Does crude trickery not work on you?”

The current appearance of Jorea is none other than that of Leo’s mother, Reina Zerdinger.

Though she appears much younger than the Reina of today, there is no falsehood in this form.

This is, without a doubt, the Reina of the past.

However, there was no hesitation in Leo’s sword.

‘There could be no hesitation.’

A person of strong mental strength would have no trace of hesitation in their sword, even if it were in the form of their mother.

Such a being is one who has earned the title of Hero.

‘But even without hesitation, the resistance does not disappear.’

There was no emotion whatsoever in Leo’s blade.

A sword solely intended to strike down the opponent.

This was not merely a matter of having strong mental strength.

‘This represents a realm, a level.’

As one who wields arms.

As a hero who has overcome countless trials.

The level and realm attained by the youth before him was of a different dimension compared to the heroes he had faced until now.

And Jorea knew well what made a hero strong.

‘Experience.’

What makes a hero strong is not innate talent, nor training and time.

Only tribulations.

Countless tribulations alone elevate a hero’s level.

That is what experience is.

And in a single slash of Leo’s sword, Jorea glimpsed the fragment of that experience.

“Are you really just a 17-year-old kid?”

Jorea’s eyes were filled with even more interest.

In response to the question, Leo, who had been silent, narrowed his eyes.

“Indeed.”

“Hmm?”

“Taking the form of the one whose power you’ve stolen, are you?”

“…”

Understanding this, Leo nodded as Jorea let out a hollow laugh.

“Am I not even worth your consideration?”

Leo was solely analyzing and comprehending Jorea’s abilities.

He gave not an ounce of attention to the human before him.

Just an existence that needed to be exterminated.

No more, no less.

“Hohoho, impressive.”

Jorea drew his sword.

“Truly, you are the finest prey! Leo Flove!”

Whooshhh-

Red flames erupted from Jorea’s sword.

As Leo saw this and ignited flames from his own blade, he muttered quietly to himself in reference to the all too familiar Zerdinger flames.

“Mother’s flames.”

Whoosh!-

In an instant, Jorea closed the distance with Leo.

Whooshhh!

The blade aiming for Leo’s neck.

Leo simply deflected Jorea’s blade.

Clang! Whooshhh!

As the swords crossed, flames erupted.

Roooaaarrrr!

Leo’s eyes twitched.

“What do you think? Isn’t it magnificent? Your mother’s flames!”

Jorea’s eyes filled with excitement.

“Your mother’s flames, Reina Zerdinger’s flames are special! There isn’t any flame I’ve ever seen that compares!”

KABOOMMM!

The flames intensified their ferocity.

And with that, they began consuming Leo’s flames.

“Reina Zerdinger’s flames ignite in response to a strong will! Its power knows no end!”

Reina’s flames began consuming Leo’s at a faster rate.

Judging the strength struggle to be unfavorable, Leo forcefully pushed the blade away.

Clang!

Space opened between the two blades.

In that fleeting moment.

ClashClashClashClashClash!

Within the blink of an eye, dozens of exchanges of attacks took place.

Jorea was on the defensive against Leo’s blade.

In that process, Jorea was unable to counterattack.

It was clear that Leo was superior in swordsmanship.

“Amazing! Incredible swordsmanship! How did you master such skill at such a young age?”

Jorea was amazed.

Completely dominated in swordsmanship.

“Having such talent and still putting in the effort! Truly, it is something to respect!”

Jorea’s body flickered with flames.

“But!”

Boom!

Jorea stomped his left foot on the ground.

Leo’s eyes twitched at the sight.

The surrounding air was being sucked into Jorea’s foot.

Recognizing the implications of this, Leo conjured his magical power.

KA-BOOM! Whooshhh!

A massive explosion erupted at Jorea’s center.

By instantly igniting the inhaled air, Jorea obliterated the surrounding area.

The vast garden of the Flove mansion was incinerated without a trace of ash.

“Hohohohoh. Effort is meaningless against overwhelming power.”

Jorea looked at Leo.

Sssssss-

The water droplets surrounding Leo caught Jorea’s eye, making them glow with interest.

“Ho? I’ve never seen this magic before. Is this the Magic of the Stars?”

Armor of water.

A defensive magic created by Luna in anticipation of a battle with Erebus, granting strong resistance against fire magic.

However, Luna considered this magic a failure.

For it proved powerless against Erebus’ flames.

“That magic is tempting.”

Jorea’s eyes sparkled.

“The attack just now.”

“Hmm?”

“Wasn’t exactly the same as Zerdinger’s flames, was it?”

“Have you finally taken an interest in me?”

With a sly grin, Jorea spoke.

“Yes. It’s a power that cannot be realized by Zerdinger’s flames alone. But I am different.”

“My true talent is not stealing others’ abilities! It is the power to unleash strength beyond any ability’s limits!”

Jorea’s eyes sparkled.

“This flame is the same! This flame is special! But Reina Zerdinger is not special!”

Jorea’s face, which had been gleaming, slightly contorted.

“I thought she was special. I thought she’d become a purer being after losing her power. However, upon losing her power, she reverted into a common, plain human. Very disappointing.”

He shook his head, and then smiled.

“But it’s alright. Reina Zerdinger’s noble appearance will now be passed down through me. It’s not only Reina Zerdinger. All the special heroes in this world will be passed down for future generations thanks to me.”

“That kind of nonsense lacks any meaning.”

“Lacking meaning? No! You’re wrong! I am a vessel!”

Jorea spread his arms wide.

“Countless heroes live within me! I become countless heroes to evolve into a perfect existence!”

The eyes of Jorea, who clenched his fists, shone with light.

“Heroes fail to fully realize their own potential! Only I can extract the value of the power they fail to unleash! The potential that had the misfortune of having the wrong master! Only I can make it bloom perfectly!”

The greedy eyes of Jorea looked toward Leo.

“And the finishing touch to my power is Leo Flove’s All-Class ability!”

Jorea smiled as he pointed at Leo with his finger.

“The power to freely use all class abilities! With that power in my hands, I will become the true Omni-Master! A perfect being! That is! A god! Hence, Leo Flove!”

Jorea spoke with great power.

“Give me your power! It’s the world’s only path to salvation!”

Leo stared silently at Jorea.

Then, he let out a hollow laugh.

The endless greed Jorea exuded.

The putrid smell of lingering spirits from being resurrected by the Demon King’s power.

Not a single thing was remotely pure.

But the eyes of Jorea, who was just talking about himself a moment ago, were impossibly pure.

Surprisingly, there was not an ounce of selfishness in his eyes.

He truly believed what he was doing was absolutely right.

Having killed countless heroes to steal their powers.

Having betrayed the world and died, becoming the Demon King’s lackey.

And yet—he considered himself the absolute good.

It was a belief.

An unwavering belief that if he were to become a perfect being, the world would be saved.

“You could’ve gone crazy gracefully, but you’ve gone crazy messily.”

“Hmm… Even you, who are near limitless perfection, fail to understand my great purpose.”

Jorea truly sighed.

To which Leo responded,

“If you could truly save the world, then this so-called All-Class ability could be given anytime.”

“…What? Are you defaming this noble ability now?”

Jorea’s eyes twitched.

“Considering what a stroke of luck it is to be born with such ability, how foolish of you to not recognize it.”

Upon hearing this, Leo smirked.

‘True. If someone other than me—Rissinas, Luna… Aron, or Dwenno—had been born with this ability, the history might have been different.’

He thought of his comrades, far more heroic than himself.

Surely, there were more befitting bearers of such pure power than himself.

To Leo, this power was far from a blessing.

‘After all, I had to endure everything alone without rest.’

Rather, it was a curse.

The curse of being left alone after having bid farewell to everyone.

But…

“It’s a waste of a precious ability like that in the hands of a moron who finds superiority in stolen abilities.”

“What?”

“You brag about the powers you’ve stolen, saying their owners were unworthy.”

Leo laughed derisively.

“Understand your place. If you hadn’t just stolen them by force, those powers would have shined even brighter in their original owners’ hands.”

“Don’t talk nonsense!”

“Why can’t you properly utilize Torua’s ability?”

After reincarnation.

Among those Leo met and lived with in this era, the one he considered the toughest to fight if it came down to it was none other than Torua.

Of course, there are many stronger than Torua.

But in the distant future.

When Torua fully awakens and blossoms her potential.

‘I wouldn’t want to fight her.’

The reason was simple.

All the spells she used in combat were Unique Magics.

Through countless research, the Unique Magics were merely byproducts of Torua’s love for magical research.

But they weren’t particularly efficient.

‘In the world of magic, Unique Magic is truly valued when it displays abilities regular magic cannot. But as the number increases, things change.’

For starters, it makes dispelling magic harder.

Normally, one reads the waves generated when casting a spell to guess which spell it is.

But Unique Magic, by definition, is a unique spell to the caster.

With no available data on the magical power fluctuations, prediction becomes impossible.

When facing a wizard.

Being unable to predict their spells is genuinely terrible.

“Do you think you can properly use Torua’s power after stealing it? Her abilities are the result of effort, not talent.”

Merely stealing the ability wasn’t enough to use it.

“Do you truly believe your talent is extracting the real potential of someone else’s power? Don’t make me laugh.”

Leo knew exactly how to completely crush someone of this type.

That’s why Leo genuinely mocked Zorea.

“It’s normal for a toddler who’s just learning to walk not to be able to run. But sometimes, there are pathetic adults who regret that fact. Fools who mistakenly think they’re superior to toddlers for this reason.”

Breaking the beliefs that one absolutely deems true.

“Think you’re something special? No.”

Zorea’s face grew increasingly stiff.

“You’re nothing but trash that can do nothing except leech off others’ powers.”

Leo smirked.

“I’ll prove that right now.”