Chapter 77

【77】76.

“d*mn it.”

Leo slowly rose to his feet, grimacing at the pain coursing through his entire body.

Even after managing to stand, his body refused to obey his commands.

“Aura and spiritual energy are completely drained.”

He had poured all his remaining strength into blocking the attack from moments ago.

Looking around, Leo murmured.

“Fairy Land…”

He staggered, gazing at the fairy’s homeland, once a site of great glory but now left desolate.

While losing his balance and stepping backward, Leo felt something against his waist.

Behind him was a small stone pedestal.

And atop it lay a dagger.

Leo’s eyes widened.

It was an unremarkable-looking dagger.

But Leo knew about this dagger.

“That arrogant kid… back then, he said he didn’t need it.”

Before the Great Heroes embarked on their final expedition.

Kyle had handed something to Berkiya.

When Kyle was handed the dagger, telling him to use it in emergencies, the young man had proudly refused, claiming he wasn’t a child anymore.

A Hero’s Relic connected to Kyle, the Hero of Beginning.

In other words, the key to opening Kyle’s Hero’s World.

“So this is why Hel Kaiser targeted this place.”

Leo reached out to the dagger.

Despite the passage of thousands of years, the dagger remained in perfect condition.

It was clear that its owner had cherished it immensely in life.

Fzzt-!

When Leo grabbed the dagger, Silrod’s magic emitted a rejecting reaction.

Wooong-!

But soon, the magic contained within the dagger responded.

The magic Kyle had left behind long ago reacted after thousands of years upon meeting its rightful owner.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The Skeleton King approached.

“Hmph.”

Leo smiled lightly as his magical power surged violently through his whole body.

Whoosh-!

A shadow loomed over Leo’s head.

Kuuung!

Wooong-!

Gwaoooooo-!

The surging magical power repelled the Skeleton King.

Ku-gu-guung-!

The falling Skeleton King.

Observing that, Leo began to form a magical sigil.

With his current state of being Leo, an impossible amount of great power responded.

‘Apparently, I can use one spell of any kind. What magic should I use?’

While contemplating this, the sight of Lunia and Eiran staring blankly at him came into view.

‘Ah, this seems suitable.’

Zzz-!

Above his head, a massive gray magic circle formed.

Leo’s unique magic – Bible – had been activated.

‘It might fall short of the original, but it should be a great gift for those kids.’

The gray magical power soon turned into a brilliant golden hue.

It was as if dawn had arrived in the surrounding area.

“Ah…”

The bodies of Lunia and Eiran trembled.

They could not identify this mysterious star magic.

However, according to historical records, when this magic was used, the world was said to become dyed in the light of dawn stars.

“Magic of the Stars, the strongest spell.”

Lunia muttered unconsciously.

A symbol of the great Stellar Ancestor.

“End.”

The starlight fell upon the head of the Skeleton King.

Gwaoooooooooo!

The Skeleton King, screaming in agony from a power beyond comprehension, disintegrated.

Leo clenched his fist.

Kwaaak-!

As the space distorted, the fragmented Skeleton King disappeared.

Whoosh-!

Like a false rumor, darkness fell.

Thud-!

Leo weakly sat down.

“Le, Leo!”

Lunia painfully dragged her body closer.

Eiran also managed to crawl closer after regaining a bit of strength.

“Are you two alright?”

“Is this really the time to worry about us? You’re the one who’s in the worst shape!”

“Lord Leo! Lady Lunia! I believed in both of you!”

Eiran began to sniffle.

“Of course! But anyway, what was that magic earlier? It was almost like something out of legend…!”

“It seemed like magic imbued within this dagger.”

Leo held up the now-ordinary dagger, having lost its power, and spoke weakly.

“Something related to the Great Hero.”

Lunia and Eiran gasped.

If true, it would be an incredible discovery.

It was unsurprising that such an event had occurred in Tartarus.

“But anyway, how do we head back? I’ve completely drained all my magical power.”

“I don’t think I can use a healing magic either. We should begin with first aid for Lord Leo…!”

As Lunia and Eiran were at a loss,

“Hey! Kyle! Look at this! I found my wings!”

Kiran flew over with a small piece of paper in hand.

“It’s definitely my wings! But how are they sealed?”

While muttering, Kiran gripped and tugged at the piece of paper.

Seeing this, Lunia was startled.

“Wait! Isn’t that a piece of Hero Record?”

The stunned Kiran prompted Leo to realize something.

‘So Silrod didn’t just seal off this dagger?’

“Kiran, give it to me.”

Leo urgently spoke.

In response, Kiran flew over and handed the Hero Record piece to Leo.

The moment the Hero Record fragment touched Leo’s palm,

[Hero Record Open. ■■’s World. Chapter: ■■-■■■]

The familiar phrase appeared to Leo’s eyes.

Whoosh-!

With those words, their surroundings were engulfed in bright light.

“Urgh?”

“What… What exactly is this?”

The surroundings transformed into a completely different landscape.

A dense forest full of lush vegetation.

“Will you really defeat Erebus?”

A voice filled with disbelief was heard.

Lunia and Eiran turned their heads and became rigid.

There stood an elf girl.

This elf girl was the spitting image of a very famous someone.

The elf girl muttered while swinging her wand.

Healing wounds with her magic, she swung her wand towards Leo.

The wounds on all three of them immediately healed.

Then, the beautiful elf girl said something that didn’t fit her appearance.

“Are you stupid or something?”

Lunia and Eiran’s mouths hung wide open, and Leo couldn’t help but bursts out laughing.

“What has put such thoughts into your head?”

Although looking interested, the elf girl also displayed an intrigued expression towards the human before her.

“Well, anyway, that’s fine. Defeating Erebus! This suits me perfectly! It’s to my liking. I’ll join your party.”

The confident elf girl extended her hand.

“I’m ■■. My name is Luna! Knowing me will be a great honor for you, as I will shine like the stars in the night sky in the near future!”

Whoosh-!

As the world distorted, it returned to normal.

“That, what happened just now!”

“That was Lady Luna! Could this be Lady Luna’s Hero Record?”

Lunia and Eiran were overly excited.

‘Nope. This is my Hero Record.’

It was identical to what he saw during a hero practice session earlier.

‘A recorded memory of the era when Luna and I met.’

Feeling his rejuvenated body, Leo looked down at the Hero Record.

‘I’ve confirmed it.’

Leo sighed deeply.

‘The Tartarus guys are erasing the records of the great heroes.’

*

As Leo and his companions recuperated and began to move out of the forest,

soldiers came from the grand assembly of Elsalbekia.

Having sensed the magical power Leo used with “End”, they dispatched soldiers urgently, realizing that Fairy Forest had a problem.

Among them were Halind and Herdium.

Upon finding Leo, Halind’s eyes turned icy.

Herdium sighed deeply, hearing that the top students had secretly gone out of the dormitory at night.

The three were placed under house arrest and locked in the grand assembly room.

On paper, it was house arrest, but in reality, there was a different reason.

“… There was someone among the students of Seirun… working in cooperation with Tartarus, right?”

Herdium’s pale face asked, his tone serious.

“Yes. As much as we didn’t want to believe it…”

“Ah.”

Carefully responding, Herdium covered his face, looking at Luna.

It was an almost unbelievable event, but they identified the unrecognizable corpse found in the forest to be Rauta.

The ring that had devoured Rauta spat out the corpse when it no longer needed the nutrients, revealing traces of necromancy.

In the meantime, Halind, who was listening to the story, put on a grave expression.

“So, that happened at Seirun too.”

“If it also happened at Seirun… then was the same incident occurring at Lumeran?”

“Similar incidents have occurred. The Lumeran upper management tried to hush it up.”

Due to his long tenure as a professor at Lumeran and also as Leo’s homeroom teacher, Halind received a hint about what occurred during the midterm exams from the upper management of Lumeran.

“The handling of this incident will be decided by the upper authorities of Seirun. Lumeran will follow the decision of Seirun.”

“…”

Herdium nodded solemnly.

“And Leo Flove.”

At Halind’s cold gaze focusing on Leo, Lunia and Eiran involuntarily gulped.

The Lumeran Wall of Lamentation.

The older students’ terror, the first taste of Halind’s severe presence left the two female students quite frightened.

Of course, Leo was accustomed and calmly waited for Halind’s words.

“Do you realize that the crime of leaving the dormitory without permission as a class leader is serious?”

“Yes.”

“Originally, the matter would be referred to a disciplinary hearing, and you would be sent back to school immediately.”

“…”

“However, in light of the achievements, we will forgive it with 100 hours of volunteer service within the school.”

“I understand.”

“And if you have any wishes, feel free to say them.”

Halind’s words made Leo almost laugh.

‘No matter how you look at it, Professor Halind takes good care of the students.’

Though strict, the sense of pride in his students’ accomplishments was evident.

“For the last day, I’d like the whole class to have some free time. Since it’s a field trip, after all.”

Originally, the last day of the field trip was to be fully packed.

Hesitating on hearing Leo’s words, Halind finally nodded.

“Understood. Starting from the previous evening, the students will be given free time, as long as they don’t cross the line.”

It would be a chaotic bit of news for the Class 5 students if they found out.

As Leo subtly smiled, Herdium made a subtle cough.

“Students Lunia and Eiran must also receive punishment.”

“Huh? But teacher~! We found the Ancestor’s Hero Record and something related to the Ancestor, right? Give us a break!”

“Ahh, it cannot be! Discipline is discipline…!”

“Teacher~”

Lunia whined.

Though respected by students for his teaching, due to Herdium’s tendency always to be generous, the students often threw tantrums with him.

By giving in unknowingly, even more, he never developed the overwhelming charisma that Halind possessed.

Herdium stared at Halind with a somewhat envious eye.

“The house arrest is only effective until today. Starting tomorrow, there will be classes, but keep quiet about what happened today.”

As Halind and Herdium left after Halind’s last words, the “house arrest” meant nothing more than to relax in the place for the day.

“Tch! I thought I would get into serious trouble!”

As Lunia sprawled on the floor and made a relieved sigh,

“That being said, it was certainly a grand adventure. It was as if I was hearing a hero’s tale.”

“It’s true! It was amazing, wasn’t it? We even got to see the face of our ancestor!”

Springing to her feet with excitement, Lunia spoke.

“Leo! Was this the first time you’ve seen a Great Hero?”

“No.”

“Eh?”

“Have you met other Great Heroes?”

“Yes, I saw Lissinas from the Hero’s World on an occasion in Lumeran.”

“Whoa, incredible.”

“I’m jealous!”

Lunia was impressed, and Eiran’s eyes shone brightly.

Lunia and Eiran excitedly chatted about Luna.

‘Just as I imagined.’

Thinking about Luna brought a smile to Leo’s face,

like the stars in the night sky. He remembered his friend who wanted to shine and bring light to the dark world.

————–