LHAHS Chapter 324
The turret installed to protect Glory's walls stood silent.
Eliana, who had just emerged from it, crossed her arms and burst into laughter. "Wahaha! As long as I'm here, no one can breach Glory's walls!"
Striking a pose like a heroic figure from a story, she grinned smugly as students from other dormitories hesitated. But as the sudden silence stretched, her confidence wavered.
That's odd. This is when someone should be calling me out.
Puzzled, she turned to her fellow dorm members. Standing atop the wall, they were all staring at a single point.
Eliana followed their gaze, then brightened and waved cheerfully. "Oh! Captain! Did you finish dealing with the intruders in the rear?"
Leo, greeted warmly, smiled faintly as he returned to Glory's stronghold.
The students watching murmured among themselves.
"He took down Celia, Abad, and Chelsea all at once…"
"What about Walden, Duran, and Eliza, who went to the rear?"
"I heard from the scouts… They were declared dead."
"So he single-handedly took out five of the top-ranked students in our year?"
"Leo's power was really on that level?"
Everyone wore expressions of disbelief.
Even Eliana's eyes widened in shock. Captain took on all the dorm leaders alone?
Of course, he hadn't fought them all at once, but even so, winning against three opponents on his own was overwhelming.
Murmurs spread throughout the crowd.
"I didn't expect him to be that dominant."
"An all-class hero, just like the Hero of Beginnings…"
"Handling both the Phoenix and a Fairy—how is that even possible?"
The audience was filled with bewildered voices.
At the start of Leo and Walden's fight, cheers had erupted. A clash between the Phoenix—one of the Three Great Beasts—and Titanum, the Great Earth Elemental. The unexpected match had excited not only the students but also outsiders.
However, the battle that followed was beyond shocking.
Overwhelming power, completely outside anyone's predictions.
Leo's combat prowess left them utterly speechless.
Among the first-year students, shock was especially prevalent.
Sasha clenched her fists tightly, lips pressed shut. A secret only she knew.
A Phoenix… A Fairy… and even a Pegasus.
Pegasus, the sacred beast contracted exclusively with the imperial family of the Lordren Empire. Sasha knew that Arty had chosen Leo.
Even forming a contract with just one of the Three Great Summons was an impossible dream for most summoners, but Leo had formed pacts with all three.
It was incomprehensible.
Juen gritted his teeth.
What even is that guy?
Mages usually specialized in a single field. But Leo had no such limitations.
He wields Star Magic freely… even Dragon Speech magic…
On top of that, there was his unique spell, Bible—a revolutionary magic that had shaken magical academia the previous year. A culmination of everything an ideal mage could aspire to.
Having a senior like that one year ahead was enough to make anyone lose confidence.
Haviden also wore a grim expression, seemingly sharing the sentiment.
Luke clenched his fists.
Leo-senpai…
It wasn't just the first-years.
Even third, fourth, and fifth-year students were shaken.
Some had been dissatisfied with Leo's position as student council president, but now they were at a loss for words.
Even the professors were no exception.
The true extent of Leo's abilities had sent ripples through all of Lumene Academy.
"This is serious," Ain muttered gravely.
Even Reina, usually composed, watched the screen with an uncharacteristically serious expression.
She had once wielded Flame Storm before passing it down to Celia, so she understood better than anyone what it meant for that sword to have been broken.
The sword itself won't be destroyed.
Flame Storm was a sword of fire. If the wielder's will remained strong, it would regain its original form.
But once a flame is extinguished, rekindling it is no easy task.
Reina sighed.
And it's not just Celia…
It wasn't only Celia who had been shaken.
"It's like he's deliberately breaking their elementals," Ain murmured.
Reina replied, "He probably is."
"Why? The Leo I know isn't the type to break others. He doesn't even have a reason to."
"That's true. He isn't that kind of person."
Resting her chin on her hand, Reina narrowed her eyes.
"But maybe he has a reason to do it now."
"A reason to break them?"
"Yes."
Reina hummed in thought before speaking.
"My son… He's always been unnaturally mature. Even as a child, he wasn't cute at all."
Ain focused on her words.
"So he's always been considerate of those around him. I bet that's why he held back in school too. Not because he was hiding his strength, but because he was being considerate of his peers."
A strength that seemed endless. Had the students known the true gap in power, would they have ever even tried to compete with Leo?
They wouldn't have.
Ain narrowed his eyes.
"But he couldn't keep holding back forever. This is the first time he's shown his true self to his peers—the ones who have always fought against him head-on."
"I see. He's showing them the gap, testing them."
"Exactly."
Reina smiled faintly.
"There are some things that professors can't teach. You know that well, don't you?"
"When you're crushed by someone you once set as your goal… That's when you start seeing things differently."
"Mm-hmm. Exactly."
Reina reminisced.
"You were the same, weren't you? After midterms in our first year, you challenged me and got completely destroyed—then cried your eyes out."
"……"
Ain's face contorted in horror.
A secret known only to them.
Back when Ain had entered as the second-ranked swordsman, he had also taken second place in midterms—losing to Reina.
Unwilling to accept it, he had challenged her to a duel and was utterly crushed.
He had cried in frustration.
"I wasn't completely defeated. It was a close match."
"Hmm. Should I tell Yura and Ren about it?"
"Ugh…"
Gritting his teeth, Ain glared at Reina, who smirked mischievously.
"You're still a witch, Reina Zerdinger."
"It's Reina Plov now. Don't worry, I won't tell your juniors."
Watching her giggle, Ain let out a deep sigh and looked back at the screen.
It's okay to be discouraged. It's okay to be crushed. Students get countless chances. But…
His eyes darkened.
Don't lose sight of your goal.
"Haaah! Haaah! I-I nearly died."
Carl clutched his chest, his breath ragged.
Looking around the now-devastated Noble stronghold, his face paled.
"Eliza. Uh… Th-thanks! If you hadn't come, I might've been done for."
"We… We did our best."
Silence followed.
Noble students hesitated, their gazes flickering toward Eliza.
She stood stiffly, head bowed, her face dark and unreadable—like she could explode at any moment.
Carl dusted himself off, shuddering at the memory of Chen Xia relentlessly hunting him down.
"Whew~ Thanks, Eliza. Really, without you…"
WHIP—!
"D-don't be mad! I'll reinforce the defenses properly… Eliza?"
Carl flinched as she turned toward him.
Then he noticed her trembling hands.
"…Did you fight Leo?"
"Yes."
Eliza lowered her head.
"Walden, Duran, and I fought Leo Plov together."
"All three of you?"
Noble students gasped.
"You three ganged up on a single person?"
They exchanged glances, waiting for the obvious denial.
Duran approached in silence.
The ominous air surrounding them made the others uneasy.
Carl hesitated.
"…Did Leo get you?"
The Noble students scoffed.
"Come on, Carl. No matter how strong Leo is, you think he could beat all three of them?"
But neither Duran nor Eliza answered.
Faces paled.
"…No way."
"No way…"
"That's not possible, right?"
The heavy silence shattered as Abad returned, scanning the gathered students.
"Everyone, gather up."
Seeing his serious expression, the students quickly obeyed.
"We need to change our strategy."
He looked around.
"Avoid fighting Leo at all costs. Engaging him now will only feed points to Glory."
Murmurs spread.
The Noble students turned to Duran and Eliza.
If Abad's words were true, then the ones most affected should have been them.
Yet instead of objecting, they remained silent.
One by one, students who had been out in battle returned.
And when they heard about Leo, their faces turned pale.
"Phoenix and a Fairy…?"
"A defense spell so broken that it nullified a three-person attack…?"
"He overwhelmed both Abad and Celia?"
It was hard to believe.
But it was the truth.
Carl, lost in thought, suddenly spoke up.
"Didn't Leo go alone to ambush the rear guard at the start?"
"Yeah," Abad confirmed.
"And Chen Xia infiltrated our stronghold to find the King. Aside from that, the rest of the students were assigned to defend."
Carl nodded as if confirming something.
"This confirms it. The King of Glory is Leo."
Abad smirked.
"What's your reasoning?"
"If Leo had stayed at the stronghold, he would've had to face us head-on, which would've been a risk. But by putting him at the frontlines, they made sure no one would suspect he was the King. Besides…"
Carl's face turned serious.
"If Leo is rampaging alone like this, it's even more likely that he's the King."
"Why? Wouldn't that be dangerous?" a student asked, confused.
"It is dangerous. But the more he fights, the less people will suspect him of being the King. This is Leo's way of asserting dominance through sheer force."
Carl turned to Abad.
"You decided to avoid fighting Leo, right? If the dorm leaders are all avoiding him, then who's left to stop him? No one. He'll just keep taking people down."
Carl took a deep breath.
"Leo is planning to utterly crush us."
"…Why is he doing this all of a sudden?" Duran asked, frustration twisting his expression.
No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't see a way to win.
Even if all the dorm leaders worked together, he doubted they could defeat Leo.
The power gap was that overwhelming.
Even with four of them, victory wasn't guaranteed.
At minimum, five would be needed.
That was how vast the difference was.
But…
It's not just Leo Plov we're dealing with. There's also Chloe and Chen Xia.
Leo alone had already thrown off the balance of power.
Beating Glory in this situation was practically impossible.
Carl shrugged.
"There must've been some change of heart. I don't know what it was, but one thing's certain—he's taking us seriously now."
His gaze swept the room.
"I know you guys. Our dorm leaders might be tricky, arrogant, and insufferable…"
He glanced at Abad, Duran, and Eliza.
"—but you're not the type to run from a challenge."
Carl's voice grew stronger.
"We've always known there was a gap. It just got bigger. So what? You're going to give up over that? No way."
He clenched his fists.
"And don't you dare tell me that I'm the only one still thinking about beating him. Me! The last-ranked guy here!"
Duran clenched his jaw.
Eliza trembled—then suddenly lashed her whip, snaring Carl's neck and yanking him forward.
"What did you just say?"
"Hiiik! F-forgive me—!"
Carl panicked as Eliza's fiery gaze bore into him.
Abad laughed.
"The last-ranked guy here… is thinking about how to beat number one?"
"Yeah. Sure, if I fought him one-on-one, that'd be suicide."
Carl cracked a grin.
"But I don't think it's impossible for you guys."
"…Leo Plov has no weaknesses. He's a perfect, complete monster," Eliza muttered bitterly.
Carl smirked.
"…You are more girly than I thought. Acting like a fragile little maiden just because you got wrecked?"
"I'll kill you."
"Stop! Stop! If I die, our dorm is finished!" Carl shrieked as Eliza tightened her whip.
Abad chuckled, stepping in to defuse the situation while Duran folded his arms.
"…Do you really think we can do it?"
"Of course not." Carl shrugged, then grinned. "But if we let Leo run wild like this, we're doomed. So let's figure out how to take down this so-called perfect monster."