LHAHS Chapter 482
Beneath a sky tinged with twilight, a knight wielding a longsword and a knight gripping a greatsword stood in a standoff.
The knight clad in brilliant armor, Thamus, spoke. "You came alone, the Twilight Knight." His voice was cold.
"The ignorant masses love to prattle on." Thamus pointed Nox at Lumene. "They say the Twilight Knight is the successor of the Hero of the Beginning, Kyle."
The Hero of the Beginning, Kyle. Two thousand years ago, he was the last Great Hero who saved the world from the brink of destruction.
He overcame countless hardships and trials, surpassing his limits time and again. Even in the face of despair, he ultimately saved the world, and even now, two thousand years later, he remained revered as a role model for all heroes.
Heroic titles were granted by the gods. Kyle's title signified that the gods themselves had acknowledged him as the beginning of a new era. That was why every hero longed to be called Kyle's successor.
"I cannot accept it." Thamus narrowed his eyes. "The Hero of the Beginning is the greatest, the most noble, and the strongest of all heroes. A mere slave like you claiming to be his successor is beyond absurd."
At those words, Lumene closed his eyes.
"Furthermore, you conquered the Hero World of the Beginning yet failed to obtain its conquest reward. Do you truly believe you are fit to be the successor of the Hero of the Beginning?"
"I know better than anyone that I am unworthy of being the Hero of the Beginning's successor." Lumene answered Thamus's words calmly. "Because I never surpassed my limits."
Gazing down at his own hand, Lumene continued, "I failed to overcome them and gave up. It's ridiculous to call me Kyle's successor."
Even after conquering Kyle's world, Lumene did not receive a conquest reward. He believed that was because he was unfit to be Kyle's successor.
Since childhood, I admired and respected him. I wanted to carry on his will.
But even after reaching a position close to him, he ultimately never reached him. That was his limit.
His friends each fulfilled their roles. As successors to the Great Heroes, they inherited the powers of their respective predecessors.
But I, who failed to inherit Kyle's power, did not fulfill my role. Because of that, I nearly led my friends to their deaths.
No matter how far he reached, he could not touch Kyle. Their very foundations were different. Kyle was an All-Class hero, while he was merely a magic swordsman.
"You know your place well." Thamus sneered at Lumene. "If I had been the one to conquer Kyle's world instead of you… I would have surely obtained Kyle's power."
"No, you wouldn't have inherited Kyle's power either."
"What?"
"Just because I am not Kyle's successor, do you really think that makes you his successor? That's laughable."
"Do you realize who you are speaking to, you lowly slave?"
"Rodia waited for you until the very end. She believed you would come." Lumene's eyes turned icy. "And it wasn't just Rodia. Seiren, Azonia, and Damien as well. Though we walk completely different paths now, as long as you are a hero, they never doubted that you would come."
"You…!"
"The whole world waited for you."
Until the very moment when the Calamity's Return was brought to an end.
The world had regarded the Nether Knight as the strongest hero. His renown surpassed even that of the Heroes of Dawn. Many believed he was a hero even greater than the Heroes of Dawn.
It wasn't just his personal strength. The forces under his command did more than shake the continent's balance of power—they were strong enough to threaten even Tartaros.
Even the Shadows, who never revealed themselves to the world and were feared and despised, had stepped onto Tartaros's battlefield, led by the Xian Empire.
"Everyone joined forces to stand against the returning calamity. Because two thousand years ago, we all knew why the world had been driven to the brink of destruction."
The reason the world nearly fell during the Age of Calamity was not simply because of the catastrophic existence known as Erebos.
The world had been too divided.
Before the advance of Tartaros, it was powerless. Even as the world stood on the edge of annihilation, the fighting never ceased.
After the Age of Calamity ended and a new era began, the world strove never to repeat such a mistake.
"There were still divisions and conflicts. Racial disputes, wars between factions—those never ended. But we never forgot the past. For the past two thousand years, every time Tartaros stirred, the world set aside its weapons and fought together against evil."
The conflict between the Heroes of Dawn and the Nether Knight was a well-known story.
But when the world faced a crisis, people believed they would stand together. Everyone believed that the Nether Knight, the strongest hero, would raise his sword to vanquish evil.
But what they received in return was betrayal.
The world fell into despair.
And in that despair, the Heroes of Dawn slew Erebos's fragment and saved the world.
There was only a brief moment to bask in joy.
Then the world turned its fury toward the Nether Knight and his empire, Talim.
That fury soon turned to mockery.
"Your sin is not just that you stood by and watched as the world faced destruction. You severed the bonds that had been passed down for two thousand years." Lumene's face twisted with rage. "One of the greatest legacies the Great Heroes left us—you destroyed it with your own hands. And yet you dare call yourself the successor of Kyle?"
"Hmph. Such pathetic, servile thinking." Thamus scoffed. "In the end, didn't you vanquish Erebos's fragment? The fact that you succeeded without the greatest hero, myself, means that it was never a true threat to begin with."
Thamus wore an arrogant expression. "If you fall by my hand, the world will realize. That the greatest hero is, and always has been, me."
Woooooooong—!
Jet-black aura erupted from Thamus's body.
"They will realize that your so-called achievements amount to nothing. And then… Rodia. That woman will understand too! That her choice was a mistake!"
Flash—!
A glint flashed in his eyes as from his body, spiritual energy burst forth.
"Glorious spirits who follow my will! Rise! Teach this arrogant fool that the heavens are beyond his reach!"
With Thamus's roar, a spatial rift opened, and the weapons of heroes poured forth. The spirits bound to the weapons materialized.
The hero legion that Thamus prided himself on.
Heroes he had personally slain, or those who had followed him and perished on the battlefield.
Thamus had formed contracts with them and enslaved them as spirits.
In the two thousand years since the Age of Heroes, he had come to be known as the greatest spirit summoner.
That was why he was called the strongest hero.
Yet the spirits did not move, despite Thamus's command.
"How dare you! Why do you not obey my orders?!" Thamus's face twisted in shock.
"I told you, you betrayed the world's trust." Lumene pointed his sword at Thamus. "Did you really think the spirits would follow you?"
At Lumene's icy words, Thamus's face contorted.
"Foolish wretches. You dare betray me?"
Fwoooosh—!
Thamus, having sent back the spirits, curled his lips into a smirk. "It doesn't matter. The reason I am called the strongest hero is not because of spirit calling."
Lowering his stance, he adjusted his grip on Nox. "What can you do alone? Your achievements were merely borrowed from my former comrades."
It had only been five years since Lumene had joined Rodia. Thamus still remembered when he first met him.
Lumene had indeed conquered a Great Hero's World alone, but that was only the [Prologue].
Thinking back to those days, Lumene had been so weak that he had not even earned a hero's title.
Just five years.
How strong could a weakling who couldn't even withstand a single strike from him have possibly become?
Kwaak—!
Thamus charged at Lumene.
Sgeok—!
And then, his vision flipped.
"What…?"
Thamus let out a dazed murmur.
He hadn't known.
That when all the Heroes of Dawn had fallen, the one who never gave up and severed the neck of Erebos's fragment was the Twilight Knight, Lumene.
That Lumene's strength had already long since surpassed him.
And that Lumene's swordsmanship…
… The Hero of the Beginning… Kyle?
Thamus had never stepped foot into Kyle's world, but he had encountered him in other Great Hero Worlds.
That was why he instantly recognized the trajectory of Lumene's sword as identical to Kyle's.
Through his inverted vision, he saw Lumene's back, and for some reason, that image overlapped with Kyle.
How dare he mock me with lies! He inherited Kyle's power!
Blood vessels burst in Thamus's eyes.
How did he become this strong in such a short time?
Doubt filled his mind.
I see! He gained power not through his own strength, but through the conquering Hero Records! Unforgivable! A fake hero!
Having reached his own conclusion, Thamus spewed hatred.
It's all because of you! The reason I was betrayed by the spirits! The reason Rodia abandoned me! The reason I failed to inherit the power of the Great Heroes! The reason I failed to inherit Kyle's power! It's all your fault!
His consciousness faded.
If only you didn't exist! That position should have been mine…!
"You're crazy."
"What… did you say?"
"Why would you be my successor? I've never had a successor like you."
"You think Lumene is your successor as well?! That wretch is nothing but a lowly slave! He is unworthy of carrying on your great name!" Thamus shouted, his voice filled with agitation. "A noble such as I, Thamus, am the only one fitting to be your successor…"
"I've never thought of Lumene as my successor either. What's so important about being a successor? Anyone trying to save the world is following in our footsteps." Leo replied indifferently. "In that sense, you're not just unfit to be my successor, you're not even fit to be a hero."
"What?" Thamus's body trembled with rage at Leo's declaration. "I see now. You are not the Hero of the Beginning, Kyle."
"Just a moment ago, you called me Kyle yourself."
"The Hero of the Beginning would never deny me."
"You're seriously insane."
Leo had already known he was dealing with someone irrational, but he hadn't expected it to be this bad.
From beneath the hood, Thamus's eyes gleamed. "I was acknowledged by the gods and ascended to the rank of hero. Who are you to question the qualifications of one chosen by the gods?"
"If you put it that way, I have nothing to say." Leo curled his lips into a smirk. "But even so, you're no hero."
"How arrogant." A surge of bloodlust erupted from Thamus's body. "A fake hero born from the power of the Hero Record dares to judge me…!"
Just as Thamus's fury reached its peak, his body stopped moving.
Then, he began trembling as if he were a shaking leaf.
"T-This… this is… impossible…!"
Thamus, his face filled with shock, stared at the message before his eyes.
[Your title of hero has been revoked.]