LHAHS Chapter 478
Tiaru's eyes widened in astonishment. [Kyle, the Hero of the Beginning? The Great Hero from the fairy tales?]
Hell yeah, this reaction is refreshing.
It had been a year since the world learned that the Hero of the Beginning, Kyle, had truly existed. The revelation that the long-believed fictional fifth Great Hero was real had sent shockwaves through the world.
Leo, having accepted the fact that his once-forgotten existence was now widely known, took it in stride—but others did not. Wherever he went, the name Kyle was a topic of discussion.
Thus, having grown used to the commotion, he found it amusing to see a hero from a thousand years ago reacting with such bewilderment.
As he watched Tiaru struggle with her confusion, Leo extended his right hand into the air.
Wuuung—!
With a resonant hum, a magic staff appeared.
[Cometes…!] Tiaru gasped as she saw the staff in Leo's grasp, radiating mana.
She had seen Cometes before, back when she was a student at Seiren. Because of that, she immediately recognized that the staff in Leo's hand was the very Hero Weapon once wielded by Seiren.
Cometes shone brilliantly, as if it had finally reunited with its true master. Even in the hands of the Tingel family, it had never radiated such a brilliant light.
"It must be hard to believe that I'm the Hero of the Beginning."
Leo raised his hand. Aura and spiritual energy flickered from his palm.
[All… Class!] Tiaru gasped in shock. [Are you truly… the Hero of the Beginning, Sir Kyle?]
The legendary All-Class and the unmistakable brilliance of Cometes. Though she still harbored doubts, there was no denying that the boy before her was no ordinary being. Before anything else, she needed to express her gratitude to the benefactor who had saved her from the Lich King.
[O Great Hero, I sincerely thank you for saving me from the Lich King's vile machinations.]
"Alright. In that case, would you mind helping me?"
[You are my benefactor, Sir Kyle. If there is anything I can do for you, I will gladly assist you.]
"Can you describe in detail what happened when you were resurrected as an undead?"
Tiaru had died with deep-seated hatred. For a long time, as her consciousness lay dormant, she had heard the will of the Lich King whispering to her. She had fiercely resisted the necromancy that sought to dominate her mind.
"So, an overwhelming force seized your consciousness, and you became an undead consumed by hatred?"
Tiaru clenched her teeth in frustration. [Yes. The one who first awakened my consciousness was the Archduke of Mourning.]
"Did you sense the presence of any other spirits?"
The fundamental principle of necromancy was similar to spirit calling. It traced the lingering echoes of mana to resurrect and control the consciousness of the dead. This process was essentially a form of contract.
Up until now, Tiaru had been in a contractual relationship with the Lich King. If so, she must have sensed the existence of other spirits bound by similar contracts.
At Leo's question, Tiaru clenched her fists tightly. [I felt the presence of countless spirits. Among them were some with particularly powerful auras… even heroes.]
Her shoulders trembled. Fear flickered across her face.
[Among those who served the Lich King, there were beings far beyond my reach.]
The Iron-Blooded Mage was one of the rare heroes from the Age of Heroes who was still remembered even after a thousand years. That alone was proof of how powerful she had been. And yet, she was now trembling at the thought of these other heroes.
By today's standards… does that mean they're on par with the Sword Saint?
The Sword Saint was a hero so powerful that, had the timing been right, he might have challenged the World of Dawn. His very existence had been a deterrent against Tartaros.
If he hadn't died last year and was still alive today, Tartaros wouldn't dare move so freely.
"Even if they enhanced their powers with Erebos's might, is that really possible?" Leo muttered grimly.
Tiaru lowered her head. [There must be some heroes who willingly made contracts with the Lich King.]
"……" Leo let out a deep sigh.
Tiaru's expression turned apologetic. She could not say with certainty that the boy before her was truly the Hero of the Beginning, one of the Great Heroes.
However, if he really was one of the Great Heroes from five thousand years ago, could there be anything more shameful than collaborating with the enemy?
The Great Heroes had sacrificed everything to gift a future to the world. And yet, the so-called heroes of the present… Even in death, some had chosen to willingly contract with the Lich King. They had forsaken their honor, choosing undeath to pursue the greed they had once sought in life.
This was nothing less than a betrayal of the world.
As a hero who had lived her entire life fueled by hatred, Tiaru had witnessed the world's ugliness countless times. She knew better than anyone that deep shadows lurked behind the world's brilliance. And so, as a hero of a later era, she could not bring herself to meet Leo's gaze.
Leo watched as she lowered her eyes, avoiding his.
"I noticed earlier, but you're excessively harsh on yourself," he remarked.
[What?]
"Does it really matter? Whether those guys chose to side with the Lich King or not?"
[But…]
"It's not something you need to take responsibility for." Leo reached out and placed his hand on Tiaru's head. "We never set out to create a just world, nor did we dream of building an ideal one. We simply saved those we wanted to save."
Leo chuckled. "So it's pretty funny to see you, a hero of a later era, looking at me like you need to apologize for what others have done."
[…Sir Kyle.]
"They say spirits always have some lingering regret buried deep inside them."
Leo recalled how Tiaru had begged Luna for forgiveness earlier.
"Sorry, but I took a peek at your life."
Tiaru had never once regretted the path she had chosen. She had been ostracized by her own kin, gained nothing, and lost everything in the end. She had lived without ever letting go of her hatred.
Still, she did not consider that a lingering regret.
"You're so stubborn it's almost an illness. Luna would never have considered it disrespectful no matter how you modified and wielded Stellar Magic. She wasn't that kind of person. She was just a simple fool."
Tiaru gritted her teeth, on the verge of tears.
Leo smiled and patted her shoulder. "So you don't need to apologize. And by the way, Luna and I already took down the Queen of Monsters, so rest easy. No matter what your intentions were, you contributed to the peace of this world."
[Thank you.] Tiaru trembled as she bowed her head.
Her form soon faded away. Like grains of stardust, her spirit scattered into the air.
Watching this unfold, Elsie remarked, [Leo, you understood her well.]
"Maybe it's because we're in similar situations."
[A similar situation?]
"I can somewhat understand what it's like to be unable to find rest," Leo said casually but soon fell into thought.
Tiaru succumbed to the Lich King's power, fell into corruption, and became a wraith.
And purifying such corrupted wraiths into spirits was one of Lysinas's specialties.
I can't compare to Lysinas, but… I can vaguely use her powers as a spirit summoner now.
Leo looked down at his hand. He recalled the mana that had seemed to carry a will of its own just moments ago.
"Hey, if you're listening, why don't you answer me?" he asked, but there was no reply.
Leo let out a wry chuckle.
The process of soothing a spirit's lingering attachments was called ascension, and a spirit that had ascended never appeared again.
…When I first met Lysinas in the Hero World, she summoned her past self as a spirit.
By that point, Lysinas herself must have already ascended. Or perhaps, that meeting had been a miracle possible only within the Hero World. After all, it had been the past Lysinas summoning her future self.
I'm not Lysinas.
Summoning a figure from five thousand years ago as a spirit was likely impossible without divine authority. The reaction from Lysinas's mana just now had merely been the remnants of its nature, a will not of its own, but rather a response to a pitiful wraith resisting its own corrupted thoughts.
Still, Leo had asked, just in case.
…Would it kill you to have just a little more lingering attachment?
Clenching his fist and shaking off his thoughts, Leo moved forward.
The Lich King now commands powerful wraiths. Most likely, they're ones who could never let go of their desires in life.
Not all heroes were saints—some were twisted. The Justice Guild had already proven that well enough.
Among them, there must be some who once bore the weight of their era.
Leo's expression darkened.
[Leo, is something bothering you?] Elsie asked.
Leo let out a deep sigh. "I have a feeling I might run into someone I know."
[Someone you know?] Elsie looked puzzled.
Leo gazed up at the clear sky, recalling someone.
Bihar.
Bihar had been raised from birth as an orphaned soldier, created for the sole purpose of hunting down powerful undead. That was why she burned with endless hatred for the Lich King.
When the Age of Calamity ended, the world may have been saved, but Bihar's heart had not.
As long as the Lich King was alive, she would never have stopped.
She would have lived in the shadows, spending her entire life hunting the Lich King.
Leo imagined the worst possible scenario.
What if the Lich King's power has grown even stronger?
An entire fragment of Erebos. There was no telling how much power the Lich King had gained from wielding that fragment.
If he had enough strength to corrupt Bihar… If he seeks out her grave and turns her into a wraith…
The world might find itself facing the greatest Shadow in history as an enemy.
Even Lysinas had once acknowledged Bihar as a worthy successor.
She must have reached a level rivaling the Heroes of Dawn before she met her end.
Thinking of the worst-case scenario, Leo let out a deep sigh.
No. Believe in her. She's the one I entrusted everything to. There's no way she'd fall under the Lich King's sway.
Suppressing his emotions, Leo pressed forward.
Right now, the real priority is Artkan and the undead resurrected by the Lich King.
"…Are you saying all the heroes we sent out to purge the undead were completely wiped out?" Jerome asked with a puzzled expression.
"Yes."
"Hm. I suppose those who earned their place as heroes through their own strength truly are different. Even if we turn academy dropouts into heroes, they'll always have their limits, huh?"
"What should we do now?" Vice Guildmaster Chain asked with an expressionless face.
"What about Leo Plov?"
"We can't locate him."
"Not even with your clairvoyance?"
"No. He's blocked it."
"Heh." Jerome let out an impressed sigh. "I'm truly curious about the depths of his strength."
"He's the kind of 'true hero' you always talk about, I suppose. For now, we should focus on eliminating the undead heroes appearing across the land…"
"No," Jerome said firmly, rising from his seat.
"What?"
"Send Rooks, Knights, and Bishops instead of Pawns. If that's still not enough, send the Queens."
"Guildmaster, aren't you being a little too obsessed with Leo Plov?"
"I believe he's worth the attention. I can already tell… He'll never stand with us." Jerome clicked his tongue. "In that case, it's best to crush him before he becomes too great. He won't be able to do anything alone anyway."
[By the way, Leo,] Kiran asked.
"What?"
[That Justice Guild or whatever, are you just going to leave them alone?]
"Pii." Fiora chirped in agreement.
"They don't seem like much of a threat right now, so I'll deal with them later," Leo replied indifferently.
Compared to the much larger problem before them, the Justice Guild no longer seemed like a real threat.