LHAHS Chapter 447
All fell silent at the overwhelming display of Aaron's might as he tore through the sky.
Rumble—!
The pillar of black flames had erupted far beyond where Aaron stood, yet, as if distance meant nothing, he cleaved through it with sheer force.
A massive sword mark was etched into the earth in a straight line between Aaron and the pillar of fire. Thick clouds of dust billowed into the air.
One by one, the students' gazes locked onto Aaron's back.
Aru raised both hands and shouted, "As expected of Aaron! He's incredible!"
With those words, everyone snapped back to their senses.
"Wait, is he really the Brave Hero Aaron?"
"Who else but Aaron could unleash such an overwhelming strike?"
"And that Aru brat! Just now, didn't she say Aaron?"
A striking resemblance in appearance. Transcendent power. And now, Aru—who had personally encountered Aaron in his Hero World—had cried out his name.
"The Brave Hero!"
"Like the Hero of the Beginning and the Nebula Pioneer, he has returned to this world!"
"Aaron!"
On the walls, where despair had loomed, a spark of hope ignited.
"Is he truly the Brave Hero?" Akatis asked, stunned.
"Yes. He really is the Brave Hero," Melina said, nodding. Yet, she did not take her eyes off Aaron.
Rumble—!
Once again, the earth trembled.
Boom—!
From the place where the black flames had erupted, something akin to molten black magma gushed forth.
Splat—! Sizzle—! Fwoosh—!
Wherever the black magma touched, flames erupted. Like a slime, the magma coalesced into a single mass before taking the shape of a colossal giant of fire.
Melina took a deep breath as she watched Erebos take form. For her—a former challenger of the world of Dawn—it was a sight straight out of a nightmare.
The faces of the hero candidates hardened.
Erebos.
5,000 years ago. 3,000 years ago.
The primordial evil that had twice driven the world to the brink of destruction. No one living in the Age of Heroes could be unaware of its name.
However, almost no one had actually seen Erebos in the 3,000 years since the Heroes of Dawn ended its reign of terror. All they knew of it was drawn from historical records and secondhand accounts.
"Haha… Damn. It's exactly like the fairy tales," Carl muttered in a trembling voice.
Lunia clenched her fists, her expression stiff. "What we saw back then… is nothing compared to this."
She had fought against a fragment of Erebos that had slumbered in Luna's world. Yet the sheer oppressive force of this presence was on a completely different scale. If the Erebos she had fought before was a mere campfire, this was a raging wildfire.
"What's there to worry about?! We have Aaron! If we work together, we can take down a revived fragment of Erebos! Everyone, stay strong!" Aru's eyes sparkled as she shouted.
But faced with a calamity they had only read about in stories—one capable of destroying the world—most could not find their courage. The more Erebos took form, the more tangible their fear became.
"It's okay to be afraid." Aaron spoke, his back to the hero candidates. "In the face of overwhelming terror, it's only natural to tremble. I did. Lysinas, Kyle, Luna, and Dweno did too."
Aaron inhaled deeply. "What matters is overcoming that fear. So… will you show me?"
Aaron turned to face them. "Show me your courage."
At those words, Vanir's eyes widened as she stepped forward. "Noble warriors! Students of Azonia who bear its name!"
All eyes turned toward her. Aaron instinctively flinched at her fierce tone, but no one noticed.
"The great Brave Hero wishes to test our courage!"
"Uh, no. I wasn't really testing… I just wanted to se…"
"Did we not enter Azonia for the sake of this world?! Did we not dream of becoming heroes to protect the world that the Great Heroes have passed down to us?!"
""YES, WE DID!"" The Azonia students roared in unison.
"The crisis is here now! Compared to Aaron, we are nothing but pebbles on the roadside, weaklings!"
"Calling yourselves weaklings isn't good for self-conf…"
"But! If we cower here in fear, then we're worse than pebbles… we're trash! Do you want to be trash?!"
"No!"
"Then prove it! Prove that you are not trash! If you are proud to be the heirs of Aaron, then show your courage! Understood?!"
"Yes!"
Aaron placed both hands on Vanir's shoulders and spoke seriously. "Stop calling yourselves weaklings and trash. Don't belittle yourselves like that."
"Aaron…!"
"You and the students of Azonia are plenty remarkable. I wasn't asking you to prove your courage. Just show it. So take pride in yourselves…"
"You heard him, weaklings! Aaron says he's proud of us!"
"Uoooooh!"
As Vanir roared with emotion, Aaron looked at Melina with a troubled expression.
"It's best to just accept that Azonia students are simple-minded," Melina said with a wry smile.
Torua tilted her head. "She still turns into a brute when she gets excited, huh? Rhys, shouldn't we have some kind of grand speech too?"
Rhys chuckled before addressing his juniors. "Let's show them that courage isn't exclusive to Azonia."
"Yes, sir!"
"Aaron! You're amazing!"
"Please give me an autograph later!"
Even the Lumene students erupted in cheers.
Raynia folded her arms. "Listen up, everyone. We inherited the will of the great Nebula Pioneer, Luna, didn't we? And now Aaron has returned. Plus, we have the Azonia kids as our shields. With such fine meat shields, what's there to be afraid of?"
"Hey! Who are you calling a meat shield?" Vanir growled.
Raynia corrected herself. "Ahem. Friend shield."
"That's still terrible!" Vanir shouted, but Raynia didn't so much as blink.
"Anyway, last year, we proved to Luna and Kyle that Seiren is the best! Now, let's show Aaron the same!"
"When did Seiren ever prove itself to Luna and Kyle?"
"Aaron's approval belongs to Azonia!"
As the former student council presidents bickered, Drianna raised a hand. "Shouldn't the former president say something as well?"
"What's the point? I'll just get drowned out by those lunatics."
"You still have no presence, huh?"
"…Was that an insult?"
"It was a compliment."
Former Damien student council president Weigdon let out a deep sigh.
"Uh, excuse me. Can I borrow a sword?"
"Ah! Aaron!"
Weigdon's eyes widened. "I-I'll give you one! No—please use one of mine!"
Overcome with emotion at having the Brave Hero Aaron personally request a sword, Weigdon opened his subspace and dumped out an array of swords. "Please use whichever you need!"
Aaron picked up one of the finely crafted blades.
Clink—!
As he gripped the sword, he took a deep breath.
Shing—!
Though nameless, it was an excellent sword.
Gazing at his reflection in the blade, Aaron murmured, "This is a fine sword. I'll use it carefully and return it."
"N-not at all! Please, take it! Hehehehe!"
"He looks like a sycophant."
"He only has a presence when he's like this."
The other graduates murmured among themselves, but Weigdon paid them no mind.
Boom—!
The ground trembled as Erebos, now fully formed, began to move.
Goooooooh—!
A thunderous roar erupted from Erebos.
Aaron took a deep breath.
[Kruuuuuaaaaagh!]
Aaron's Howling clashed against Erebos's roar. Those who heard it widened their eyes.
"Is this the Brave Hero's Howling?"
"Incredible!"
The anxiety from before vanished. Their hearts pounded, and their courage doubled.
As everyone marveled, Aaron raised his sword. "Everyone, get ready now."
Fwoooosh—!
Flames burst from Erebos's body.
"It's coming."
Kwooooooooh—!
A wave of black flames surged forward.
Gooooooh—!
Aaron adjusted his grip and swung his sword horizontally.
Slash—!
A massive golden arc cleaved through the black flames. The razor-sharp golden sword strike flew straight toward Erebos.
Slice—! Fwoooosh—!
[Kraaaaaaaaagh!] Erebos, split in two, let out a pained wail.
For a moment, Aaron's eyes twitched.
Fwoosh—!
Dark red blood gushed from the wound, soaking the ground. But soon, black flames engulfed the wound and restored it.
Fwoosh—!
The blood spilled on the earth coalesced, forming grotesque creatures.
Aaron muttered as he watched. "…The right arm?"
"What?"
"It's nothing." Shaking his head, Aaron turned. "I'll now choose the party members who will attack Erebos with me."
"The right arm, huh." Leo narrowed his eyes.
[What do you mean?] Kiran asked with a puzzled expression.
"That fragment is part of Erebos's right arm."
"How does Master know that? It just looks like a big black giant to me," Arty said, tilting her head.
"You all know that demons were created by Erebos, right?"
The spirit beasts nodded.
"Erebos always used its right hand to create demons, demonic beasts, and monsters. Lysinas believed that the power of creation resided in its right hand."
Indeed, Erebos had used its right hand to craft its most loyal servants.
[Ah, I see. So Aaron must have cut off the right arm before.]
Elsie nodded in understanding, and Leo did as well. "But something's strange. Even for Erebos, using the power of creation should consume a lot of energy. Why is it wasting strength like this?"
Erebos was recklessly spawning creatures, and Leo found it suspicious.
"Leo!" Aaron, having finished assembling the party to fight Erebos, called out to him.
Leo landed on the ground and checked the team composition.
Aaron, Melina, Torua, Ulta, Raynia, Lunia, Eiran, Eliza.
Aside from Aaron, there were no knight-class members. Eiran and Raynia were magic swordsmen, but their mobility and firepower were comparable to—or even exceeded—those of most knights.
It's a formation focused on mobility and firepower.
Raynia and Eiran also seemed a bit unsure, having heard their assigned roles from Aaron.
At that moment, Aru approached Leo. "Black Rabbit! Aaron said he's going to hold off Erebos alone. Is that really okay? Shouldn't we help a little?"
Leo responded calmly, "If it weren't fine, he wouldn't have said he'd do it alone."
"B-but…!"
It wasn't just any enemy—this was Erebos. The most dreadful monster in history, the one that had nearly destroyed the world. Even if it was only a fragment, the idea of fighting such a terrifying creature alone seemed reckless.
"You still don't know what era this Aaron is from, do you?"
"Huh?" Aru blinked. Come to think of it, she had never heard. "What era is he from? Do you know, Black Rabbit?"
"The Final Chapter."
"What?"
"This is Aaron from the time of Erebos's defeat."
Aru's eyes widened.
If not for the restriction that he would disappear upon exhausting his divine power, this Aaron could single-handedly wage war against all of Tartaros and still win.
With the Queen of Monsters slain and the Giant King absent, the only remaining threat in Tartaros was the Lich King, but even that wasn't enough to stop Aaron at full strength.
"You focus on fighting the monsters here."
Step, step—
Leo walked toward Aaron. "Shall we go, then?"
Aaron tightened his grip on his sword. "Let's hunt down the primordial evil."