LHAHS Chapter 390
Crackle—!
Blinding white lightning surged through the sanctuary of the pegasi.
"This is impossible…! Why would our queen answer the call of such a defiled man?!" Alphia shouted in disbelief.
Arms crossed, Rodia glanced at her. "Is it really that impossible?"
"What?"
"I mean, I understand why you'd think that way. I'm well aware of Kyle's reputation," she said, turning her gaze toward the heart of the storm.
"But tell me, why do you pegasi keep fighting for a hope you can't even see?"
"Are you implying that we are fools?"
"Not at all." Rodia shook her head, her sunset-colored eyes locking onto Alphia's.
This dragon… is she really so young?
For a dragon still in her juvenile years, she carried an air of experience beyond her age.
While Alphia studied her carefully, Rodia continued, "It's because beings as noble as you exist that the world hasn't fallen to ruin." She smiled faintly. "And if you refuse to abandon hope because you believe—no matter how small the chance—that this world can be saved, then nothing is impossible."
Alphia's eyes widened.
"You may not believe it now," Rodia said, meeting her gaze. "But trust him. Kyle will make the impossible happen."
"… Have we met before?" Alphia asked, narrowing her eyes.
"Who knows?" Rodia gave a bitter smile.
She was pretending not to know, but in truth, she knew Alphia well. Not just Alphia—her contractor, Arlene Frielene, as well.
We weren't just acquaintances. We were close friends.
Arlene and Alphia had fought alongside them in the battle against the King of Gluttony, Jörmungandr. They had saved Rodia countless times, even at the cost of their own safety.
"Don't worry about us! Just attack, Kyle!"
"Show us! Show us the hope you spoke of!"
Back then, Rodia—possessing Kyle's body—had spoken of hope.
It was the truth. The world was eventually saved by the Great Hero. The lands that had burned were restored, and countless races flourished once more.
But to the people of this time, that future was nothing more than a hopeless fantasy.
Yet Arlene and Alphia had staked everything on that fantasy.
Even if those words had come from none other than the Surviving Hero Kyle—whom they had despised—Rodia had spoken them with sincerity. And for that sincerity, they had risked everything to clear the path forward.
It still hurts. Rodia closed her eyes.
To have shared bonds, to have been saved by them countless times… only for them to forget me completely.
She couldn't simply dismiss them as people of the past.
Fwoosh—!
The storm finally subsided, revealing Leo and Albus.
In that instant, every pegasus in the sanctuary dropped to their knees and bowed their heads.
"Raise your heads," Albus commanded.
At her words, the pegasi lifted their gazes.
"I have formed a contract with Kyle."
Murmurs rippled through the crowd.
"However, I have not yet fully accepted him as my contractor." Albus cast a sidelong glance at Leo. "He is certainly worthy of forming a contract with me, but I still do not know him well enough."
For a spirit beast queen, satisfying the conditions of a contract was not enough. She needed to determine whether the one before her was truly worth following—whether their cause was one she deemed worthy of supporting. If not, the contract could be broken at any time.
Leo smirked.
"So, Kyle," Albus blinked, her face unreadable. "You claim you will hunt the Primordial Evil. Do you have a plan?"
"I do. I've already decided on the first step."
"And that is?"
Leo's gaze sharpened. "We're going to hunt down the King of Gluttony, Jörmungandr."
Silence fell over the sanctuary. The name itself was enough to send chills through every pegasus present.
"What… did you just say?" Alphia's voice was barely above a whisper.
Leo met her stunned expression with a grin.
"We're hunting the King of Gluttony, Jörmungandr. That's our first goal."
Crackle—!
Lightning raged through the sanctuary of the pegasi.
Arlene Frielene joined without hesitation, as expected.
Walking through the streets, Lysinas recalled the list of potential members for the subjugation force.
Arlene Frielene.
Lysinas had formed a friendship with Arlene from the very first day she arrived in Godthrone. From their first meeting, she had seen through Arlene's essence.
Goodness and order.
Lysinas had spent her life delving into countless sources of wisdom—not just out of intellectual curiosity. Every dragon species had a defining symbol. For the black dragons, that symbol was darkness. From birth, dragons had to grow accustomed to their inherent nature. Fire dragons were born in volcanoes, water dragons in the sea, and both spent their early years in those environments. Black dragons were no different.
They were raised deep underground, where they learned to embrace the darkness. Lysinas was no exception. She had grown up in pitch-black depths, accepting the shadows as her own. Black dragons were meant to preserve order from within the darkness, hunting those who turned their backs on the world and making ruthless sacrifices when necessary—for the greater good. That was how they maintained balance.
Lysinas had accepted that as a given. She had excelled more than anyone and was believed by her kin to be the future ruler of darkness.
Then, one day, she was led by the elders to the outside world for the first time. It was an early visit, brought about by a gathering of young dragons chosen as the next leaders of their clans.
And what she saw captivated her young heart.
It was shocking.
To Lysinas, who had known only darkness, the world was breathtakingly beautiful.
It was… moving.
Realizing that this was the world she lived in filled her with awe. She wanted to know more about it. From that moment on, she sought to explore everything. The more she learned, the deeper her affection for it grew. She came to believe, without a doubt, that everything in the world had value.
That was when she began to question the black dragons' philosophy—the belief that those unneeded for the world's survival should be eliminated.
Then, calamity struck.
The world Lysinas had grown so curious about was destroyed. Light and hope vanished, leaving behind only darkness, despair, and lamentation.
So, Lysinas made a vow.
She would restore the world she loved to its original form.
To defeat the Primordial Evil, she immersed herself in ancient texts, eventually learning about Erebos.
It was an existence rivaling the gods, an entity cast out of the world, which had been shaped by divine order over countless ages.
The reason demons, created by Erebos, had not been wiped out even during the Age of the Gods was simple.
Even the gods could not destroy Erebos.
If the gods are light, then Erebos is darkness.
Light and darkness could never coexist, yet neither could exist without the other.
And when the gods' order crumbled, Erebos's flames consumed the world. The gods could not set foot in the mortal realm, and the world hurtled toward destruction. Just as the gods despised Erebos, Erebos loathed the gods in return. But both sides knew they could never completely annihilate the other. The gods had bound the darkness within their order.
But Erebos had no such restraints.
The Primordial Evil chose to burn everything to the ground, believing that to be the only way to eradicate the gods it hated.
"As long as one is bound by the gods' order… they cannot defeat Erebos."
And so, Lysinas searched.
For a hero who could save the world.
A miracle of a hero, one free from divine order.
That was how she found the Surviving Hero, Kyle.
A mana of absolute purity, unbound by anything. A power that allowed him to wield the unprecedented strength of an all-class warrior.
A being who had stepped beyond the order of the world. If her theory was correct, then Kyle was Erebos's natural enemy.
The very hero she had desperately sought.
Well, the one I finally found was far from what you'd call a hero.
That was why she couldn't tell him the truth—that he had the power to defeat Erebos. The elf prodigy Luna, the beastman Guardian of the Azure Sky Agon, and the dwarf blacksmith Dweno—these three were the heroes who would open the path to Erebos.
Including myself.
They could suppress the flames of calamity, but they could not extinguish them.
Only Kyle can defeat Erebos. In the end, he'll bear the greatest burden.
It meant he would have to sacrifice himself for the sake of the world.
Lysinas was willing to give her life for the world, but not everyone could make that choice.
"If Kyle changes his mind and refuses to fight Erebos… then the world will be doomed."
Kyle was their only hope.
That was why Lysinas had kept the truth about his mana a secret. Because she couldn't be sure he would make the same choice as her.
She clenched her teeth, remembering how she had reached out her hand, putting on a noble smile and declaring they would save the world.
Self-loathing churned in her stomach.
In the end, I'm just another black dragon.
Sacrificing the few for the many—it was no different from the philosophy she had once despised.
Disgusted with herself, Lysinas returned to the inn—only to halt at the sight of three unfamiliar faces waiting at the table.
"Who are they?" she asked, caught off guard as she met the wide, shining eyes of a young dragon girl.
"Hello, Lysinas! My name is Rodia! I've respected you for a long time!"
"… I'm not the kind of dragon worth respecting. Some even call me a fool."
"Yes! But don't worry! From now on, I'll burn every last one of those blasphemers…"
"Shut up," Leo sighed, pressing down on Rodia's head. Looking at Lysinas, he added, "She wants to join us on our journey."
Smiling, Leo gestured toward Albus. "And this one is…"
[Hmm. The Queen of the Pegasi?] Katariou appeared atop Lysinas's head, smirking.
"A pleasure to meet you, Flame Emperor."
[The most noble being forming a contract with this insolent human? That's unexpected.]
Katariou's words didn't faze Albus. "Kyle's voice reached me," she said simply.
Lysinas quickly grabbed Leo's wrist and pulled him outside the inn. "How did you form a contract with the queen of the pegasi?"
Leo answered calmly, "You already know about my mana."
"What?" Lysinas's eyes widened.
"You knew…?"
"Yeah," Leo said as if it were obvious. "I also know that's why you chose me."
A small smile played on his lips.
"… Then you also know you're in the most danger. So why did you follow me?"
"Because I believe you'll lead us to save the world."
At his unwavering answer, Lysinas sucked in a breath.
"Don't worry too much, Lysinas. We're going to save the world," Leo said firmly. "I'm ready. So don't hesitate. We just… need to keep moving forward."
Leo knew that even as Lysinas smiled, she feared the uncertain future, so he wanted to give her hope.
The same way hope had been given to me.
Patting her shoulder, he smiled. "Let's go inside. You'll like Rodia."
"Yeah," Lysinas nodded, smiling.
Kyle really is the hero I've been searching for.
If he was the hero she had sought, then she had to support him with everything she had.
If that was the case…
"Yeah, Kyle. You're going to save the world."
And I will be Kyle's shadow.