LHAHS Chapter 387
Fwoooosh—!
The world was burning.
Black flames, unyielding and insatiable, devoured everything in sight—a sea of fire so deadly that merely touching it could mean instant death.
Yet, despite walking through this inferno, neither the gray-haired man nor the black-haired woman showed the slightest hint of fear in their eyes.
"…We've finally arrived," Kyle muttered, his gaze locked onto the distant, burning tower.
The Tower of Calamity—the dwelling place of the primordial evil, Erebos.
A massive spire so tall it seemed to pierce the sky itself.
The place where the flames of ruin first ignited.
The final destination of the extermination squad.
A murderous glint flickered in Kyle's eyes. His clenched fist tightened until his nails dug into his palm.
Drip, drip—
Blood trickled down his fingers.
"Kyle, calm down," Lysinas said, noticing his hand.
"Don't worry." Kyle slowly unfurled his fingers.
His hands bore the scars of relentless battles, each wound a testament to his refusal to give up, to his constant struggle toward hope. It was a miracle he even had a hand left after all the wounds he had endured.
Each time it had been torn apart, he had barely managed to recover—just enough to grasp his weapon again.
To most, it was an unsightly, scarred hand, but to the Great Heroes, it was one of the most meaningful things in the world.
"I'm calmer than anyone," Kyle added flatly. "I've already lost too much."
His sunken eyes met Lysinas'.
"And I have too much to bear. That's why I have to do this."
"……"
"Failure isn't an option."
Lysinas clenched her fists at his words.
"Yeah," she murmured, biting down on her lip. "Don't worry, Kyle. I won't let you carry it alone.I'll keep the first promise we made… no matter what."
Before their journey to the Tower of Calamity…
"Now that I think about it, Kyle, your hands really are beautiful," Dweno remarked, watching Kyle grip his mug.
"What the hell are you talking about? These hands aren't your type at all," Kyle scoffed.
"You're right. They're not."
Dweno glanced down at his own hands—just as scarred as Kyle's. Aaron's were the same. Even Lysinas, who usually stayed in the rear of the battlefield, had her fair share of injuries. Even Luna also bore many scars, though she concealed them with gloves or magic, making them less noticeable.
Taking a sip of his drink, Dweno continued, "But those hands carved out hope in this world. Even if they aren't aesthetically pleasing to me, the fact that they hold beauty remains unchanged."
Gulp, gulp— Pwah!
Luna downed a massive mug of golden beer in one go, wiped her lips, and smirked. "That's the first time I've heard Dweno call Kyle beautiful."
"Yeah. The only beautiful thing about this guy is his hands. And we all have the same kind of hands."
"…So in the end, Dweno, you're saying Kyle has no unique beauty of his own?" Aaron asked, blowing on his hot tea.
"Of course."
"Ouch. The so-called aesthetic master says you're not beautiful at all."
"Uh… I'm sure Kyle has something beautiful about him! Don't give up hope!"
"You bastards… Are you seriously judging me with your standards?"
Kyle lunged at them, furious, as the dwarf nodded solemnly, Luna cackled, and Aaron tried to console him with a straight face.
After the chaos settled, Kyle slumped back into his seat, resting his chin in his hand.
"None of you look like people about to embark on a final journey," he muttered, shaking his head.
No matter how he looked at it, the coming battle would be their worst yet. There was no guarantee of success, and in fact, their chances of failure were far higher.
Even so, as they stood at the brink of such a colossal trial, his friends showed not a trace of tension.
Kyle sighed as he watched Luna recklessly challenge Dweno to a drinking match.
He also saw Aaron, flustered as he politely declined offers of alcohol.
"Not a shred of anxiety," he murmured.
A beer mug clinked down in front of him.
Lysinas sat down, smiling. "It's not a bad thing. It's good to see everyone so hopeful."
Surveying the lively tavern, she took a sip of beer, sighing in satisfaction. "It's much better than everyone sitting around, paralyzed by fear."
"What took you so long?" Kyle asked.
"I was writing in my journal." Lysinas leaned her chin on her hand, mirroring Kyle's posture. "Remember when it was just the two of us sitting here, making plans?"
"Was it?" Kyle responded indifferently, clinking his mug against hers.
Gulp, gulp—
Lysinas wiped her mouth and spoke. "I told you, Kyle."
"Told me what?"
"We're going to save the world."
Kyle let out a dry chuckle. "Yeah, yeah. You're amazing."
"Apologize. For being such a pain in the ass in the beginning."
"I'm pretty sure I've apologized more times than I can count."
"Not enough." Lysinas, cheeks flushed from the alcohol, stared directly at Kyle.
"Fine, fine. I was wrong. You were right," Kyle muttered, exasperated.
Satisfied, Lysinas grinned. "And I'm going to keep my promise, too."
"…?"
"You remember, don't you?" Lysinas folded her arms and smiled. "I promised I wouldn't leave you behind."
Kyle's expression softened. "…Yeah."
"Kyle," Lysinas said, a warm smile spreading across her face.
"You're no longer the Surviving Hero. You're…" Lysinas grinned. "A new beginning. The Hero of the Beginning."
Knock, knock, knock—
Flinch—!
The sound of knocking pulled Leo from his sleep. He sat up, running a hand over his face.
"Wake up, Kyle. It's morning," came a voice from outside.
Leo climbed out of bed.
How unusual… A dream about that time?
After their conversation the previous night, Rodia had left the inn.
The extermination squad for Erebos had just begun. Right now, the party consisted only of Leo and Lysinas. Adding Rodia so suddenly was out of the question.
Introducing an unexpected variable could disrupt the Hero World in unpredictable ways.
Leo had already overcome this trial once. To him, it was simply reliving the past. Keeping unnecessary changes to a minimum was the best way to clear the Hero World, and Rodia agreed. Thus, they decided she would join later.
Leo opened the door. Lysinas stood with her arms crossed, looking up at him.
"Good morning, Kyle," she greeted, her expression stern.
"Yeah. Good morning," Leo replied with a slight smile.
Lysinas blinked, momentarily taken aback.
"What?" he asked.
"I just can't get used to it," she admitted.
"Get used to what?"
"Up until yesterday, you were incredibly prickly and difficult. Then overnight, you suddenly became this mild-mannered person." She sounded almost suspicious. "I thought if I ever ended up in a party with you, we'd be constantly at each other's throats. Even today… I was sure of it."
A shadow crossed her face.
"…Yesterday was a big battle."
"……" Leo recalled the past. To him, it was a distant memory, but to those living in this world, it had only happened yesterday.
Kyle had always drowned himself in alcohol after surviving a life-or-death battle, trying to forcefully erase the memories of the battlefield, but Leo was different now.
That version of himself had disappeared into the distant past.
The man standing before Lysinas was no longer the one who lived with hollow, ashen eyes devoid of hope. He was someone who had inherited the dreams of his fallen comrades, who had stood against the primordial calamity to save the world.
It was only natural that he seemed unfamiliar to her.
"Someone taught me," he said.
"What?"
Leo smiled—the same smile he often gave to hero candidates. "They taught me that if you never give up and keep moving forward, you'll eventually grasp hope."
Lysinas blinked in surprise.
"Let's go eat," he said casually, heading downstairs.
Lysinas watched his retreating back, stunned.
Fwoosh—
[What's with that dumbfounded look?]
A white flame flickered over Lysinas' head, revealing a tiny woman no larger than a palm.
Reclining lazily with her head propped up, Katariou toyed with a strand of Lysinas' black hair.
[This is a new sight.] With a shimmer of light, the Elemental Lord of Radiance, Luminus, gracefully perched on Lysinas' shoulder.
"What is?" Lysinas asked blankly.
Katariou sighed. [Take a look in the mirror.]
"Why would I…"
[Because that's the face of a girl falling in love.]
"W-What?! What the hell are you talking about?"
Luminus chuckled. [I think it's quite nice. You've always been so bound by your convictions, never allowing yourself a moment to breathe. It's refreshing to see you making an expression befitting your age.]
[A masterpiece, really,] Katariou teased.
"It's not like that!" Lysinas snapped, turning on her heel.
Scoffing, she stormed downstairs.
"I'm just surprised. The Surviving Hero I knew was nothing like this."
[So isn't that a good thing?] Katariou smirked mischievously.
"Of course, it is. I'd rather see him like this than looking like he's carrying the weight of the world alone."
[And what exactly is 'this'?]
Lysinas hesitated before answering. "A hero… like the ones in fairy tales."
[So that's your type?]
"It's not!" she huffed.
Muttering under her breath, Lysinas dismissed the two elementals.
Step, step—
As she descended the stairs, she pressed a hand against her chest.
My heart's been unsettled since yesterday.
It had started the moment Leo took her hand.
That's when Kyle changed.
She had noticed it immediately.
He's exactly like the hero I always wished for.
Someone who never gives up, who keeps moving forward no matter what.
As the realization settled, a quiet smile spread across her lips.
I see… I've been waiting for a hero like this for a long time.
Over breakfast, Lysinas spoke. "Before we leave for the Elven Forest, there's something we need to do."
"What is it?" Leo asked.
"We need to assemble an extermination squad to face the Queen of Monsters, Sillatna."
Lysinas and Kyle's first great achievement—the defeat of Jörmungandr hadn't been accomplished by their strength alone.
Had it not been for the allies who fought alongside them, even the two of them wouldn't have stood a chance.
The strongest guardians of Godthrone at the time had held Jörmungandr at bay, giving them the opportunity to strike.
Though history did not remember their names, they had braved that era of despair alongside them.
Originally, the extermination squad had been formed to take down Sillatna, but they had encountered Jörmungandr instead, suffering devastating losses. That was why Lysinas abandoned the Elven Forest and settled for recruiting Luna into their party.
"We'll be busy for the next few days," she said.
"Yeah. I'll handle the preparations. You should take this time to rest," she added.
Leo rested his chin on his hand. "Actually, I've got something to do as well."
"What is it?"
"Forming a contract."
"A contract?" Lysinas furrowed her brows in confusion.
Originally, this contract should've happened much later, but… I can meet him now.
A partner who had fought beside him across countless battlefields.
The queen of the purest white.
The leader of the pegasi.
Albus.