LHAHS Chapter 425
"The first semester was really eventful," Chen Xia remarked.
"It really was. It felt even more hectic than last year," Chloe murmured.
Chen Xia smiled and nodded.
At present, all of Lumene's students were gathered in the grand training grounds, Erek. With the closing ceremony finished, the semester had come to an end. The students received evaluations for their efforts over the past semester.
The most attention-grabbing part of the ceremony was, of course, the first-year representative.
"He ended up becoming the class representative after all."
Amid the ongoing World Summit, Luke, who had defeated Aina in the semifinals, then faced Haviden in the finals and won, ultimately claiming the title of first-year representative.
The unexpected protagonist of this grand upheaval, Luke, instantly became a hero candidate under the world's spotlight.
"Luke seems to have gained a bit of presence as the class representative, don't you think?" Chen Xia asked.
Chloe turned to look at where the first-years were gathered.
Luke was talking with Juen. Then Haviden, Sasha, and Betty joined in, and the conversation grew livelier. Before long, Juen and Haviden started raising their voices in an argument, and Luke, caught between them, looked to be suffering.
"Not at all," Chloe said, shaking her head before turning her gaze elsewhere.
There, Celia and Aina were talking.
They're getting along again.
Celia, being a top student, was naturally good at looking after others. That was why she had done her best for Aina, both as a senior and as a mentor.
However, through Celia, Chloe had come to realize that the two had been growing apart throughout the semester. And during the final tournament, their relationship had completely broken down.
But after Aina's match against Luke in the semifinals, she had gone back to Celia, mending their bond.
That's good.
Knowing how much Celia had been worrying about Aina, Chloe nodded in relief.
Just then, Jane, eyes sparkling, approached Chen Xia. "Your Highness! I will personally escort you back to Xian!"
"Jane, I told you to call me Senior while we're at school."
"The closing ceremony is over now, so I'm no longer a student! I am now carrying out my duty of serving Princess Xia!"
With that, Jane threw off her school uniform. Her uniform jacket and skirt fluttered through the air, drawing countless startled gazes.
"How did she do that? Was that magic?" Chloe asked in a dazed voice.
Underneath her uniform, Jane was dressed in the traditional attire of the Xian Empire.
How did she manage to keep those flowing garments hidden beneath her uniform?
"It's not magic. As a retainer of Xian's princess, mastery of changing clothes quickly is a basic skill," Jane said with a smile.
"Who told you it was acceptable to strip off your uniform in public?" a chilling voice said.
"Eeek?!" Jane let out a shriek.
"Follow me, El Jane."
Having drawn unnecessary attention, Jane was promptly dragged away by Harrid.
Elsewhere, many of the first- and second-years who had built bonds as mentors and mentees were deep in conversation.
Among them, quite a few first-years were in tears.
"I'm sorry, Senior… because of me… sob…"
"No, even if it weren't for you, I would've been expelled anyway. If anything, I was able to stay until the second semester thanks to you. I'm the one who's sorry for not being able to help you more."
Many students from both the first and second years were leaving Lumene this time. Some first-years remained while their mentors were expelled, and in other cases, both mentor and mentee left together.
Some were barely speaking to each other, while others clung to each other, sobbing.
"I never really get used to this," Chloe said with a bitter expression. Even in Glory, quite a few students had been expelled this time.
"It can't be helped. In Lumene, there will always be those who stay and those who leave. But in the end, we're all walking toward the same destination. The paths may have diverged, but I'm sure there will come a day when we meet again," Chen Xia said.
At her words, Chloe nodded.
Betty, Chloe's mentee, approached her, asking, "Senior Chloe! What are you doing after the ceremony?"
"I'm going to have a gathering with my dormmates."
"Then, would it be okay if I came to visit after my class gathering?"
"Sure."
"Wow!" Betty beamed brightly with excitement.
Many other first- and second-years were also making plans with their mentors and mentees.
Watching from a distance, third-year representative Lily murmured, "The first- and second-years are lucky. Their senior-junior relationships are so close."
"Oh my, aren't we just as close?" Elena laughed as she casually braided Lily's hair.
Lily let out a weary sigh. "Senior Elena, you're just treating me like a toy."
"Oh dear, how could I?"
Despite her innocent tone, Elena made no move to stop playing with Lily's hair.
"I'd like to say goodbye to my juniors in the summoning department before break," Lily said. She was well-loved by the younger summoners.
"But none of those ungrateful first- and second-years are coming to say goodbye to you, huh?"
I think it's because they're scared of you, not me.
Holding back her thoughts, Lily simply frowned. If she said it out loud, Elena, with her twisted sense of humor, would surely follow her around until the end of break just to tease her.
Leo looked down at his hand. A faint, unfamiliar power—divine power—lingered within.
My divine power has definitely increased.
After his battle with Hell Kaiser's avatar, Leo's divine power had grown. Of course, it was only by a minuscule amount.
"How did this happen?" Mel asked.
Leo recalled the moment he had acquired divine power. "It was when I subdued the Lich King's Flames of Calamity."
"Leo, your power is the exact counter to Erebos, isn't it?"
"That's right."
Lysinas had named this power Purification—the only force capable of extinguishing Erebos's unquenchable flames. It was with this power that Leo had defeated Erebos.
"But even in my past life, all I did was put out Erebos's flames."
Mel, deep in thought, replied, "Pivua referred to Erebos as a monstrosity on par with a god, didn't she?"
"Yeah."
"And if the gods are beings of light, then Erebos is a being of darkness."
"She did say that."
"Then wouldn't the gods and the primordial evil have the same fundamental origin?"
"So you think I purified the Flames of Calamity with divine power?"
"Yes."
At Mel's hypothesis, Leo fell into contemplation. "It's not that I haven't considered the possibility. But 5,000 years ago, I wasn't able to purify or absorb Erebos's power."
"Then could it be that the flames the Lich King unleashed weren't actually the Flames of Calamity?"
"They were the flames that burned the world, my comrades, and, in the end, even myself." Leo shook his head. "There's no way I'd mistake them."
"Then maybe it's an awakening."
"An awakening?"
"That seems the most likely explanation. Didn't Aru also re-awaken a stronger version of Aaron's ability?"
It had happened only once, but Aru had used Howling to transform another beastman. One of the miracles Aaron had longed for. Through awakening, Aru had unlocked a new potential in her ability.
"Haha."
"Why are you laughing?"
"I'm just amazed that there's still a path for me to grow stronger." Leo let out a chuckle. "For me, for Lysinas, for Luna, for Dweno… we all thought we had reached the end of the road."
Of course, they had never stopped moving forward. But back when they embarked on their final journey, Leo, Lysinas, Luna, and Dweno had all been near completion—both in power and in spirit.
"I suppose you had to reach the pinnacle to defeat Erebos," Mel said before tilting her head. "But what about Aaron?"
Leo had spoken about himself, Lysinas, Luna, and Dweno, but he had made no mention of Aaron.
Leo rested his chin on his hand. "Aaron… had something lacking."
"Aaron? But wasn't the Brave Hero known as the strongest warrior in history?"
Mel was surprised. No matter what anyone said, the Brave Hero Aaron was the strongest warrior.
Leo smiled wryly. "That's true. If we're talking about sheer martial strength, he was unrivaled. That doesn't change, even if he was a coward."
"Then what was Aaron lacking?"
"His mindset." Leo's expression turned bitter. "On our final journey, everyone except Aaron was prepared."
"Prepared… for what?"
"To die."
"……"
"And to say goodbye to each other."
Leo spoke those grave words with unsettling calm.
Mel fell silent.
"Our last journey was impossible. Of course, none of us ever thought about giving up, but we all knew we wouldn't return alive."
The Great Heroes had set out, determined that they would keep moving forward, even if their most precious friends perished.
"But Aaron, while he was prepared to die, was never prepared to watch us die."
And so, Aaron had been the first to sacrifice himself.
"If it hadn't been him, the first to fall would have been Dweno, who led the charge."
"……"
"Aaron was the youngest among us."
Aaron was the only Great Hero born in the Age of Calamity, so he had never seen a clear sky or the bright glow of the stars.
In a way, he was just like Elsie.
"If Aaron had been prepared for that… would things have turned out differently?"
"No, it wouldn't have changed anything." Leo gave a bitter smile. "But we all regretted it. We relied too much on his courage. If we had treated him not just as a comrade, but as younger brother or sister… maybe things would have been different."
Leo closed his eyes, recalling Aaron cursing his own weakness as he drew his final breath.
"So that's what happened," Mel said in a somber voice.
After a brief silence, she changed the topic. "If you purified the Flames of Calamity with divine power, doesn't that mean you might be able to use that power soon?"
"I don't know. Divine power was never meant for mortals to have, so I have no clue how to use it."
The divine power Pivua had once entrusted to Polyum had contained Pivua's will. But this divine power was different. It was power with no will attached to it.
"What should we do?"
"At some point, an opportunity to use it will come." Leo rose from his seat. "I should get going. If I'm too late, they'll start pestering me."
Mel smiled and nodded. "Yes. Have a great time."
"How's the recruitment going for the people I requested?"
"It's going well. I plan to send out the invitations in a week."
"Good. Thanks for the work."
Leaving those words behind, Leo exited Mel's office.
After seeing him off, Mel retrieved a banner from a corner of her office. It was meant to welcome the participants of the upcoming training camp during the break.
[Welcome to Training Camp!]
Looking at the neatly written welcome message, Mel tilted her head.
It feels a little too plain.
No matter what, this training camp was bound to be something beyond imagination. A simple welcome message felt insufficient.
After some thought, Mel clapped her hands, smiled brightly, and then rewrote the banner.
This should be enough to instill some tension in the kids.
[Welcome to Hell!]
She erased "Training Camp" and personally wrote "Hell" in bold red letters.
Satisfied, Mel nodded in approval.