LHAHS Chapter 424
Crackle—! Crackle—!
A pitch-black fissure formed in the air, as if a deep fracture had torn through space itself.
Shatter—!
From the jagged rift in the darkness, a crimson-black miasma gushed forth. Moments later, the smoke pouring from the fissure carried a stench of death so vile that the blue grass beneath it withered and rotted away.
Had a student witnessed this scene, they would have been too paralyzed by terror to even scream.
The aura of death soon took the shape of a person.
A man cloaked in black surveyed the landscape of Lumene.
His identity was none other than the commander-in-chief of Tartaros, the being who had reigned as a terrifying catastrophe for the past 5000 years—the Lich King, Hell Kaiser.
With every breath he exhaled, the air became tainted. Every step he took brought death upon the land. Among the legions of Tartaros, he wielded the most dangerous power of all—death. A literal harbinger of demise.
Step—
Before Hell Kaiser, a boy with snow-white hair and crimson eyes appeared.
Hell Kaiser curled his lips into a grin. This person was the reason he had come to Lumene today.
"I have been waiting to meet you, Leo Plov."
Leo was not the only one who noticed the Lich King's presence in Lumene.
[Leo!]
Hearing Melina's urgent voice through magic, Leo answered calmly, "I know."
[I'll go as well.]
"No, that won't be necessary. Stay back and be ready for anything."
[But…]
"He's here for a reason. He wouldn't just charge in without a plan."
The summit was a gathering of the most powerful heroes of the current age. No matter how formidable the Lich King was, no matter how he had ruled as a terror for 5000 years, storming this place would be reckless.
"If he was going to attack, he would have done it back when the Queen of Monsters and the Giant King were still alive and well."
[Then why has he come now?]
"I have a guess."
With that, Leo made his way toward the source of the Lich King's presence.
Step—
Standing there, unchanged from 5000 years ago, was the Lich King.
Hell Kaiser curled his lips into a grin as he saw Leo. "I've been waiting to meet you, Leo Plov."
Step, step—
Hell Kaiser slowly approached Leo. "You have interfered with my plans time and time again, bringing forth countless miracles. They say you are the hero candidate who will lead the next generation."
Rumble—!
A sinister black mana surged from Hell Kaiser's body.
"When I inquired about you before, you told me that you would be the one to destroy me."
His crimson-black eyes gleamed. "So I will ask again," he said, raising a hand.
At his fingertips, an aura of death writhed and twisted.
"What exactly are you?"
Boom—!
A massive explosion shook the earth.
Tearing through the thick smoke, a fiery aura shot toward Hell Kaiser's neck.
Clang—!
Leo's sword struck his throat, but it did not cut through. It was blocked.
Fwoosh—!
A tremendous aura erupted from Leo's body.
Watching this, Hell Kaiser raised a hand. A grotesque staff, made of blackened bone, materialized in his grasp.
Whoosh—!
As he swung the staff, black energy surged toward Leo.
Leo sidestepped with an aura step, narrowly avoiding the Lich King's attack.
Sizzle—!
A curse of decay.
Anything that touched that black energy would rot away instantly.
Leo glanced around. At some point, a curse had spread throughout the entire area.
A curse of severance.
A spell that isolated the battlefield from the outside world. No matter what havoc Hell Kaiser wreaked here, the outside world would remain oblivious.
Leo narrowed his eyes at the Lich King.
As expected, he's here to confirm my identity.
He could tell. This was not the Lich King's true form, but an avatar. Even so, the power radiating from him was overwhelming.
Hum—!
A Stellar Magic spell formed at Leo's fingertips, opposite the sword in his grip.
Flash! Boom, boom, boom—!
Hundreds of shining projectiles fired from the magic circle, pelting the Lich King.
"You think such foolish tricks will work on me?"
Hell Kaiser's eyes quickly scanned the magic.
Whoosh—!
Before the projectiles even reached him, they fizzled out and vanished, not because his power had blocked them, but because he had deciphered and unraveled the spell itself.
"I am the one who unraveled even Luna's magic. Did you think that some crude imitation of her legacy would work on me? Leo Plov, no…"
Rumble—!
Above Leo's head, a dark void opened. From it, bones, flesh, and blood rained down.
"Surviving Hero."
Thud, thud, thud! Splat! Splaaash!
Bones, rotting flesh, and blood drenched Leo.
Watching, Hell Kaiser let out a cold chuckle and cast his dark magic.
Boom, boom, boom, boom—!
The mound of corpses exploded, shaking the earth.
"As expected, such magic doesn't work on you." Hell Kaiser burst into laughter. "It has been a long time, Elemental of Radiance. 3000 years, is it?"
[Lich King.] Laruel ground her teeth in fury.
This was the detestable foe who had clashed with the Dawn Dragon, Rodia, countless times 3000 years ago.
Leo, who had used Laruel's power to negate the dark magic, surveyed the scattered remains of bones and flesh.
Bending down, he picked up the hilt of a sword buried within the carnage. A weapon long past its prime. It must have once belonged to one of the corpses that had rained down moments ago.
Leo lifted his head and stared at Hell Kaiser. "Are these the corpses of heroes?"
"A gift to commemorate our reunion, Surviving Hero. Have you not stood atop the deaths of countless heroes to remain alive?" Hell Kaiser let out a laugh. "You even left the other Great Heroes, whom you cherished more than your own life, behind to die, did you not, Surviving Hero?"
His laughter echoed through the air.
"When the Brave Hero died, leaving behind only an apology, did you weep? When Dweno left behind that profane weapon and breathed his last, how did you feel?"
Crack—!
"And in the end, when Lysinas entrusted everything to you before closing his eyes, when you alone remained as the last hero, what went through your mind?"
Rumble—!
A murderous aura surged from Leo's body, shaking the very air. Every living thing that had barely withstood Hell Kaiser's presence now desperately scrambled to get as far away from him as possible.
"Stand tall, Surviving Hero. No, the Last Hero."
Hell Kaiser's eerie grin widened. The grinning skull spread its arms wide.
"Even if the world forgets your sacrilege of slaying my God, I remember."
Hell Kaiser threw his head back and shouted to the heavens.
"Even if no one else dares defy death itself, you alone continue to do so! You alone are foolish enough to stand against my God once more!"
Click—click—click—
The sound of bones clicking together rang out.
"Once again, you will become the last surviving hero! You are both the beginning of this age and its end! But you need not worry. Until the day the world burns to ash under divine judgment, I will remember! That you existed! Hahahahahahaha!"
Hum—!
Laruel transformed into light Elemental Armor and wrapped herself around Leo's feet.
Leo smiled. "Are you done with your provocation, Lich King?"
At that chilling smile, Hell Kaiser involuntarily flinched.
It's not working.
He had intended to provoke Leo, but it wasn't working.
Even as his rage burned, Leo remained utterly cold and composed.
Fwoosh—!
Leo shot toward Hell Kaiser. In an instant, he closed the distance like a streak of light.
Slash—!
Leo's sword cleaved through Hell Kaiser's neck, and the Lich King's severed head spun through the air.
Elemental Armor was a technique that armed the body with elementals, drawing out their power as one's own. Right now, Leo's speed was practically that of light itself.
"There's no need for you to remember me," Leo said icily. "Because the world isn't going to be destroyed."
Slash, slash, slash, slash—!
Leo carved through Hell Kaiser's body in a series of blinding slashes.
"And I will never again be the last hero."
Rumble—!
Dark mana exploded from Hell Kaiser's body.
Fwoosh—!
As black magic surged toward Leo, Leo's shadow erupted.
Shatter—! Crack—!
The shadow transformed into blades, slicing Hell Kaiser's bone staff in half.
For an instant, Hell Kaiser's eyes went wide. "This is…"
It was a Elemental of Darkness, but not just any Elemental of Darkness.
He knew this elemental.
"The Elemental of Shadows?"
5000 years ago, an Elemental Lord of Darkness that he had personally eradicated.
For the first time, Hell Kaiser wavered. Then, he spotted Elsie, perched on Leo's shoulder.
His expression twisted. "How…!"
Grab—!
In that instant, Leo closed the distance and seized Hell Kaiser's face. Activating his aura, his body became wreathed in gray energy as he shot into the sky.
Boom—!
Hell Kaiser's face slammed into the invisible barrier formed by his own curse of severance.
Boom, boom, boom, boom—!
Like he was grinding Hell Kaiser's skull into dust, Leo dragged him upward, shattering the barrier as they rose.
Crack—! Shatter—!
The curse of severance couldn't withstand Leo's power.
Clink—!
A hole formed in the barrier, and with Hell Kaiser still in his grip, Leo soared into the sky.
"For thousands of years, you've driven countless heroes to their deaths. You've mocked their sacrifice, desecrated their corpses. It's time you paid the price," Leo said, his voice deathly low.
Hell Kaiser, by his very existence, was an affront to all those who had given their lives for the world. That was why he had tried to provoke Leo.
Still, even in fury, Leo had not lost his reason.
"You…!" Seeing Leo's chilling gaze, Hell Kaiser's expression contorted.
Leo forcefully twisted his grip, wrenching Hell Kaiser's head around.
Crack—!
A sickening sound of bone snapping echoed.
Rip—!
And then, Leo tore Hell Kaiser's head from his body.
"Look closely. And remember."
Holding the Lich King's severed head, Leo turned it toward the tournament arena where the first-year matches were taking place.
"Those children. They will be the ones to destroy Erebos and Tartaros."
Leo forced Hell Kaiser's gaze back onto him, his voice a savage growl.
"They will be the ones to bring your end, Hell Kaiser."
"WOAAAAAAAAH!"
At that moment, a deafening cheer erupted from the arena. Luke and Aina's match had reached its conclusion.
Hearing the roar of victory, Leo laughed, "The ones who will burn to ash… aren't us."
"Kyle…!"
Crack—!
A fissure ran through Hell Kaiser's skull.
"It's you and your kind!"
Smash—!
Hell Kaiser's head shattered in Leo's grip.
Sssshhh—!
His avatar crumbled into dust.
Fwoosh—!
…And black flames roared to life.
The Flames of Calamity?
Leo's eyes flickered in surprise.
Fwoosh—!
His mana surged, and gray energy wrapped around the ever-burning black flames.
Fwoosh—!
The Flames of Calamity flickered, then began to die out.
Hum—!
Suddenly, the fading flames shone with a pure white light before merging into Leo's gray mana.
Leo's eyes widened. This is… divine power?