LHAHS Chapter 509
"Groooooooar—!"
"Kyaaaaah!"
"It's demons!"
"The Tartaros army has invaded!"
"Quick, call for help from Lumene…!"
Screams echoed throughout the streets as utter chaos broke out.
"Sir! Stay with me!"
"They're unconscious! They won't wake up!"
"Get the wounded over here!"
Injured people lay scattered everywhere.
"The Blood Queen Elzenie has launched an attack!"
"Those who can fight, step forward!"
"Hold back the legion!"
"Evacuate the civilians!"
Information about the cause of the city's turmoil spread rapidly. Those who could fight ran to the battlefield. Those who couldn't fled to safety.
Watching the scene unfold from a distance, Lunia took a deep breath. Then, she stepped forward, standing before the Blood Queen, Elzenie, whose presence radiated an ominous energy.
A beastman warrior approached Lunia's side. "Student council president of Seiren."
Lunia glanced at the one who had spoken to her. He appeared to be in his early thirties, with a strong physique fitting for a beastman warrior.
"Who are you?" she asked.
The beastman warrior introduced himself. "My name is Gale. Consider that an introduction."
"The Storm Blade," Lunia said his title aloud.
The Storm Blade, Gale, was a rising young beastman hero, recently gaining fame. Despite his youth, he had fought countless battles against Tartaros, as was expected of the warlike beastmen.
Lunia found it strange that such a person was addressing her directly.
"What do you want?" she asked again.
"You should step back." Gale gestured toward the rear with his chin. "I've heard of your skills, but this battlefield is too much for a mere second-year student."
Gale wasn't looking down on her, but objectively speaking, Lunia was still only a second-year at the hero academy.
Even if she's a student council president, she's not like that monster Leo Plov.
Leo had already taken the position of student council president in his first year and had recently carved his name into the Hero Record, but Lunia was different. From Gale's perspective, Lunia had been chosen as Seiren's student council president largely due to the rivalry between Lumene and Seiren.
Seiren must have placed its bets on Lunia El Lunda's future.
Lunia's reputation was already well known across the world. It was only a matter of time before she became one of the most renowned elven heroes.
Gale assumed that Seiren had given her the position in preparation for that future, and he wasn't alone in this belief—many of the heroes who had stepped forward to stop Elzenie nodded in agreement.
Just as Lunia was about to speak, a surge of crimson-black flames erupted from Elzenie's body.
Gooooooo! Fwoooosh—!
The other heroes flinched.
"Fall back!"
"Mages and summoners, deploy barriers to block Elzenie's flames!"
The heroes moved in perfect coordination. Most of them were facing a legion commander for the first time, but their actions were highly disciplined. Even those who had inscribed their names in the Hero Record rarely had the chance to battle a legion commander, and surviving such a battle was even rarer.
Those who had fought against legion commanders left behind detailed records of their experiences. Heroes active in the war against Tartaros, including the ones here, made sure to study those records, preparing for the worst. Of course, they had also memorized the strategies for countering Elzenie.
All except for one.
Gale's eyes widened. "What are you doing, Lunia El Lunda?!"
While everyone else was preparing to defend against Elzenie's attack, Lunia was walking toward her. Just as others thought she was throwing her life away, Lunia took a deep breath and gathered her mana.
Wooooong—!
A magic circle floated above Lunia's palm. She clenched her fist, then opened it.
Fwoooosh—!
A flame roared to life in her hands.
"Holy Fire."
It was the flame passed down through the Lunda family. A sacred fire that had burned away the impure for generations.
A fire that carries the will of the Lunda family—to burn even oneself in order to purify evil.
That was why the Holy Fire was a forbidden magic. Although it was the Lunda family, no, the strongest flame wielded by the elves to this day, it was also the most dangerous.
Throughout the long history of the Lunda family, no one had ever fully mastered the Holy Fire.
Until now.
Lunia smiled brightly. Scarlet flames surged around her, forming fiery wings, and her once-golden hair turned pure white. Her contracted phoenix, Rinea, had transformed into flames and merged with her.
Gooooooo—!
The fire surrounding Lunia burned even more fiercely. Then, Lunia completed her magic.
"Flame Emperor."
The Lunda family's fire, the phoenix's fire, and the stellar fire created by Luna.
A trinity of flames.
All three blazed around Lunia.
Kwagagagagagak—!
Lunia swung her hand toward the crimson-black flames rushing at her. Fire clashed against fire, sending columns of flames soaring into the sky.
Lunia clenched her fist as she successfully nullified Elzenie's flames.
Is nullification all I can do?!
She gritted her teeth.
If it were Leo, he would have overwhelmed them.
As she recalled the distant figure she still couldn't reach, Lunia took a deep breath.
"How…!"
"Does this battlefield still seem too much for me?" Lunia crossed her arms and asked.
Gale, who had been staring in shock, hardened his expression. "How did you do that?"
"I only blocked it. My fire magic was created by Lady Luna. It wouldn't make sense for it to be weaker than a legion commander's flames."
Lunia spoke as if it were nothing, but the process had been far from easy.
…It was a kind of awakening.
It had begun during the summer training camp. After being chosen by the Dragon Queen, Lunia had been filled with excitement, but in the battle against Erebos, she had been powerless.
All she could do was watch from a distance, helpless. It made her sick.
Aru had felt the same.
After the training camp, that idiot cat and I had a hell of a time sparring with that perverted dwarf.
Since they had dared to call themselves the successors of the Great Heroes, they couldn't allow themselves to be satisfied with their current abilities. And so, they trained relentlessly.
This was the result of that training.
Looking back now, everything was part of Leo's calculations.
Even the idea of fusing with the phoenix had come from watching how Leo wielded Fiora.
Mastering my flames as well.
Lunia clenched her fists tightly. Now, she understood.
It was because Leo was a Great Hero.
And that meant she now knew how he must have felt watching over her.
I thought I was chasing after Leo.
He was the one she had chosen to dedicate her life to following.
That hasn't changed.
No matter what Leo's true identity was, Lunia would continue to follow him.
Which means I need to become stronger.
Simply blocking a legion commander's attack wasn't enough.
I have to go even further!
The heroes around her stared at Lunia in shock.
Gale let out an incredulous laugh. "Leo Plov and you, too… Lumene and Seiren have been insane lately. Looks like my juniors at Azonia need to step up their game."
"Aru Tune is just as strong as I am."
"What?"
"If you get complacent just because you made it into the Hero Record, we'll catch up to you in no time." Lunia smiled.
Seeing that smile, Gale grinned as well. "Hey, hey. Unlike those old geezers, I'm still a fresh and lively thirty-something. No way I'm letting some juniors overtake me just yet!"
"You arrogant bastard."
Some of the heroes shot Gale glares. The tense atmosphere momentarily loosened.
"Let me properly introduce myself. My name is Gale Ernedi, also known as the Storm Blade. I'll leave the rear to you."
Following Gale's lead, the other heroes introduced themselves to Lunia. It was a sign of recognition. They no longer saw her as an unfit child in this battlefield, but as an equal.
Lunia took a deep breath as she looked at them. "I'm Lunia El Lunda. I'll be in your care."
Goooooooo—!
Once again, crimson-black flames surged into the sky. The battle between the heroes and the legion commander had begun.
The streets were a festival.
All races cheered in unison, more grandly than ever before. There was no worry or sorrow. At least for today, everything was forgotten.
How could they not?
"Because today is a day of complete liberation," Lysinas smiled brightly. "The Primordial Evil, the Flames of Ruin, has been vanquished."
Lysinas gazed at Leo with pride. "You finally achieved the dream you longed for. Today, we've gathered to celebrate your great achievement."
Leo was in the midst of a parade.
"……" Silently, Leo watched it unfold. Welcomed and blessed by countless people, he arrived at the central plaza of Lumeria City.
Waiting there were Luna, Aaron, and Dweno.
Looking at them, Leo said, "Why… are you all in this era?"
At his question, Dweno crossed his arms. "What a strange thing to say. Didn't we all reincarnate together? To finish what we left behind, the extermination of the Primordial Evil."
"Yeah! And thanks to that, we've finally obtained true peace!" Aaron laughed cheerfully.
Leo stared intently at Luna.
"What? Why are you looking at me like that?" Luna, pouting, crossed her arms and sharply turned her head away.
Dweno clicked his tongue and muttered under his breath, "So dishonest."
Luna shot him a glare.
In the midst of this, Lysinas said, "It's such a relief. That we could all be born again into the future."
"……"
"That we can live in this world together."
Leo looked up at the sky.
"You think so too, don't you, Kyle?"
Leo closed his eyes.
It's fake.
That was the true horror of the Mirror Queen's illusion.
Even when one knew it was fake, escaping was not easy. Before long, they would forget it was an illusion and become immersed in it.
Nevertheless, Leo was unaffected. The Kyle that the Mirror Queen remembered and the Leo of today were completely different.
Back then, Kyle had been a man who couldn't even see hope, but… this illusion hurt.
How many times have I thought about this?
When he realized he had been reincarnated as Leo Plov, he'd often wondered.
If I was reborn, maybe the others were too.
However, in the end, he was the only one who had come back.
If only they had been reincarnated too…
It was an impossible wish.
The illusion before him was too sweet.
And so, Leo turned his back.
"Kyle?" Lysinas called out in confusion.
Without hesitation, Leo walked forward and reached out toward empty space.
Crack! Zzzzzzt—!
A fracture formed in the void.
"Khk?!" a groan of pain erupted.
"Wh… y?" Kineshi's face twisted in disbelief. "This illusion… This should be your greatest dream. Why?"
"Because it's a dream that can never come true," Leo replied firmly.
Kineshi's face contorted. "In this world, you won't suffer. You can die in peace. So why choose to return to hell?"
"I have something I want to see." Leo smiled. "I want to see how they grow."
He thought of the hero candidates who lived in his era. The ones he acknowledged, the ones he had guided. The future comrades he had laughed and spent time with.
Leo wanted to see their future.
"I want to see what kind of adults they'll become." Leo smiled gently. "And one more thing."
Crunch—!
Leo tightened his grip on Kineshi's nape. More cracks spread across her body.
"I'm not hunting Erebos just to save the world."
Whoosh—!
Leo yanked Kineshi right up to his face, his eyes burning with vengeance.
"You're mistaken. You think only you hate me? Erebos and all of Tartaros—those who stole my friends away. I won't be satisfied until I erase you all from existence."
Perhaps his heart really was nothing but ashes, but even within that pile of ash, there were things he held dear.
This wasn't for the world. Not for some grand cause. It was revenge for what had been taken from him.
Flash—
A spark ignited in Leo's heart.
Crackkkkk—!
The world fractured.
Shatter—!
Like a broken mirror, everything plunged into darkness.
Leo glanced at the collapsing world, then, without hesitation, stepped into the void.
"It's far too soon for me to rest."
Leo strode confidently through the darkness.