LHAHS Chapter 515
The Lich King Attacked Lumene!
News that Tartaros had launched a large-scale invasion of Lumene, following last year's attack on Seiren, sent shockwaves through the world.
It was truly an era of upheaval. Since the end of the Age of Calamity, the world had not seen such turmoil. Not even the Return of Disaster two thousand years ago was this bad.
Mel lectured, "In a way, the current era may be even more chaotic than the Return of Disaster. During the Return of Disaster, fragments of the resurrected Erebos ran rampant, along with Tartaros's legion commanders."
Snap!
With a flick of her fingers, a map flew from the side of the lecture hall, unfurled, and attached itself to the blackboard.
"This shows the troop movements of Tartaros at the time. As you all know, back then, the Hero Record had yet to fully awaken, and our forces were severely lacking. What turned the tide of that dire situation was none other than the Heroes of Dawn."
Tap, tap.
Mel walked to the center of the lecture hall and said solemnly, "Our strength has grown far beyond what it was then, but the intensity of Tartaros's offensive has also escalated beyond comparison. The appearance of legion commanders, the resurrection of Erebos fragments… and…"
She took a deep breath, then announced hesitantly, "Dead heroes whose names are recorded in the Hero Record are now being turned into the undead by the Lich King, becoming our enemies."
The sound of nervous gulps echoed throughout the room. Not only were all the students present, but every professor at Lumene had gathered in the lecture hall to hear Mel's lecture.
"Now, here's a question. Despite the chaos, we still have hope. What is it?" Mel smiled brightly, trying to lift the heavy atmosphere.
However, the lecture hall remained silent.
Mel blinked in surprise. "Is there no student who can answer?"
The students stayed silent.
Letting out a small hum of discomfort, Mel turned to the professors. "What about the professors?"
Mel was a newly appointed professor at Lumene this year, but despite being a newcomer, she treated the seasoned professors like students.
Nevertheless, no one objected. By now, it was widely known that Mel's true identity was the Dragon Queen.
Even at Lumene, no professor would dare overstep in front of the most powerful being alive…
Flash!
Someone enthusiastically raised their hand.
"Yes~ Professor Len."
Among the many eccentric professors at Lumene, Len was easily the most notorious.
"A new possibility of the Hero Record has been discovered."
"Yes, that's correct." Mel smiled brightly.
"Of course. I am, after all, the representative professor of Lumene's finest department—magic." Len struck a proud pose.
Associate Professor Anna buried her face in her hands, while Albi let out a deep sigh. Len was acting as he normally did with Mel.
The reason was simple.
"L-Lady… Forgive me for not recognizing you sooner…"
"Who's Lady?"
"Pardon?"
"I asked you, why did you call me Lady?"
"W-Well… because you're Lady Melina, the Dragon Queen.."
"No, I'm Professor Mel of Lumene's magic department."
When the situation had settled and the Lumene professors had gone to greet her, Mel had smiled brightly and denied it outright.
She had even added, "From now on, if anyone calls me the Dragon Queen, I'll have to scold them."
Mel's idea of scolding was nothing more than a light flick on the forehead, but coming from the strongest dragon alive, it felt like a looming threat to everyone at Lumene.
"We stand at a crossroads in history. It is true that these are chaotic times." Mel said solemnly. "But if we overcome this crisis, we will surely achieve true peace."
Now that the turmoil was beginning to settle, Mel felt it was necessary to refocus the hero candidates who would bear the future. That was why she had prepared this special lecture.
"Believe in yourselves. Now is the time to move forward."
"Yes!"
A week had passed since the Lich King's assault. Though miraculously, no lives were lost, the damage to Lumeria City was severe, leaving other option but to end the Twilight Festival early.
Lumene students voluntarily went out every day to help with the city's reconstruction.
"This feels more like construction work than hero training," Chelsea grumbled as she used wind magic to lift a massive boulder.
Celia replied, "Helping people is also something a hero candidate should do. Don't complain."
"I wasn't complaining! You're just being overly sensitive. Bleh—!" Chelsea childishly stuck out her tongue at her rival.
"You—!" Celia flared up, ready to pounce.
Fortunately, Abad intervened, saying, "Chelsea, Celia is right. Your attitude wasn't appropriate."
"Ugh! Yes, brother. I was wrong."
"Apologize to Celia, not me."
"Ugh… sorry," Chelsea reluctantly apologized.
Celia swept her hair back and scoffed. "How long are you going to be so submissive to Abad?"
Celia's exasperated remark was met with a puzzled look from Eliana, who happened to be passing by.
"Something's off here."
"What is?"
"Since when did Celia start calling Abad by his name?"
"Is that weird?"
"Of course it is! Are you two… involved?!" Eliana gasped dramatically.
Celia ignored her completely.
"Hey, everyone! Celia and Abad are a thing! A love blossoming between rival families—doesn't that sound exci— Ugh!"
Before Eliana could escalate the rumor, Celia swiftly dealt with her.
Eliana collapsed, clutching her side.
Chloe let out a sigh. "Why do you keep setting yourself up to get hit?"
"Because love gossip is fun." Despite her pained voice, Eliana shot up with renewed energy. "And on that note, Lady Luna is the best of them all!"
Eyes gleaming, Eliana clenched her fists. "In front of countless people, she confessed her love to Hero of the Beginning, Sir Kyle! It was truly a historic moment!"
Chelsea's eyes widened in alarm. In a fluster, she glanced at Leo, who was standing atop the ruins in silence, staring blankly at the spot where Luna had vanished.
Though there was a considerable distance between them, Eliana's voice was loud enough for Leo to hear clearly.
Carl, who was helping clear debris beside Leo, looked just as troubled. Desperately, he gestured at Chelsea, silently pleading with her to shut Eliana up.
"She's written a new legend, and on top of that, she confessed so boldly! It's such a shame that Sir Kyle wasn't able to hear it!" Eliana spoke wistfully.
"E-Eliana. Now's not the time for chatting, we should be focusing on our volunteer work…!"
"Huh? Eiran, you were just talking to me about this topic excitedly a moment ago, weren't you?"
"I-I wasn't talking about it excitedly, I just said it was really sad!"
"That's the same thing. Anyway, it's definitely a moment that will go down in history…! Huh? W-What? Why are you guys grabbing my arms?!"
Before she knew it, Chelsea and Chen Xia had each grabbed one of Eliana's arms, keeping her completely immobilized.
Startled by the sudden situation, Eliana struggled.
"Eiran, shut Eliana up," Chen Xia said curtly.
Chelsea nodded. "Yes. Chattering during officially sanctioned volunteer work is unacceptable. She needs to be disciplined."
"Wait! No matter what, this is going too far! And Chelsea! You were just complaining earlier too—!"
"E-Eliana! I'm sorry!"
Thwack!
"Huuk?!"
With swift precision, Eiran struck Eliana's solar plexus.
Eliana's eyes widened to an almost comical degree before her body trembled violently, foam forming at her lips as she collapsed limply.
Chelsea, taken aback by the unexpectedly dangerous attack, said hesitantly, "Eiran… we just meant to lightly cover her mouth."
"W-Whaaat?!"
"Eliana? Breathe. Come on, breathe."
"Eliana!"
"Nella, please heal Eliana!"
Chen Xia lightly patted the unconscious Eliana's cheek while Eiran let out a wail.
A crowd began to gather, curious about the commotion.
Watching the scene unfold, Carl wore an expression of disbelief.
What are they even doing?
To the others, this might just be another legendary moment involving a Great Hero, but to Leo, the one directly involved, this might be a wound deeper than anyone could imagine.
Carl and the few who knew Leo's true identity couldn't even begin to guess how much pain Leo felt at being forced to let Luna go.
That was why they had been trying their best to keep Luna's name from reaching Leo's ears.
"You guys sure are having fun."
"Huh?"
Just as Carl was frowning at the absurd scene, a voice came from beside him.
Turning his head, he saw Leo standing there, smiling.
Carl hesitated before cautiously asking, "You okay?"
Leo replied, "I'm fine. I'm used to it. Thanks for your concern."
Carl clicked his tongue.
He's 'used to it'? He must have been through things we can't even begin to imagine.
Carl couldn't even comprehend what it must be like to move forward while leaving behind someone so precious.
"It just gives me a headache, thinking about all the nonsense stories that idiot left behind," Leo grumbled.
Carl burst out laughing.
Leo continued, "Carl, when we get back to school, can you come to Professor Len's office with Chloe, Abad, Chelsea, and Eliana?"
"Huh? Sure, no problem, but why?"
"Luna left behind a gift. I think it's time I hand it over."
Carl's eyes widened.
That evening, as he walked toward Professor Len's office, Leo was lost in thought.
Why did Velkia become an undead?
The words Luna had left before disappearing weighed heavily on his heart.
He wasn't simply bitter or sad, he was genuinely shocked.
Step, step…
Walking through the hallway, he pulled out a dagger from her coat, the same dagger that had been placed before her grave when Luna had appeared as a spirit.
Bihar's dagger.
I thought Bihar left this here.
Bihar had always carried darkness in her heart.
But that means Velkia is the one who left it.
His thoughts grew more tangled.
Bihar left behind Erquint as her keepsake.
Erquint was a magic sword crafted by Dweno for Luna. Luna had gifted it to her disciple Velkia, a magic swordswoman, but during the final battle against Tartaros, before the Great Heroes embarked on their last journey, at the Battle of Tarmeita, Velkia lost Erquint.
And Bihar had promised to retrieve it for her.
I just assumed that after the Age of Calamity ended, they never got the chance to meet again.
Once the Age of Calamity ended… Velkia must have been busy working to rebuild the era, and Bihar would have been just as occupied.
Even though they had the same master and had fought side by side, they might have had almost no chance to meet.
By the time Bihar retrieved Erquint, perhaps too much time had passed, making it difficult for them to reunite, or maybe Velkia had passed away before they could meet.
Or perhaps, Bihar—forced to live in the shadows—had her own circumstances that prevented her from seeing Velkia.
Leo had assumed there was some reason his two disciples hadn't been able to reconnect.
But if Velkia had this… it means they definitely met.
Maybe they had exchanged their master's keepsakes as tokens of their friendship.
But… Velkia became an undead. And on top of that, she deliberately left this at my grave.
Leo clenched the dagger tightly.
What exactly happened five thousand years ago?