LHAHS Chapter 523
As Mel investigated the Hero Dungeon, her face tensed upon seeing Damien before her.
How is Sir Damien in the present world? No, more importantly, why is he attacking us?
The world believed that the Heroes of Dawn had perished 3,000 years ago, but Mel knew the truth—that they had been waging an endless war within the Hero World for millennia.
She had even encountered Damien in Dawn's world before. They had never spoken, but Damien had definitely seen her… and there was no way someone of Damien's caliber wouldn't recognize her.
Mel urgently stepped forward. "Sir Damien! You have no reason to fight us—!"
Crack—!
The veins in Damien's hand bulged as he gripped his massive battle-axe.
He's coming…!
Mel hurriedly deployed her mana.
KWA-GA-GA-GA-GANG—!
As the battle-axe swung, a wave of murky aura surged forth like a tsunami, crashing down upon Mel and the heroes and splitting the ground apart with a deafening tremor.
As the heroes reeled in shock, a barrier of black mana blocked Damien's attack.
KWA-GA-GANG—!
All eyes turned to Mel.
"That's the power of the Wise Queen…!"
"Amazing."
Everyone gaped in awe. By now, it was an open secret that Mel was the Dragon Queen.
Under normal circumstances, Mel would have retorted, but she had no room for distractions.
Cold sweat trickled down her forehead.
He's as strong as ever.
Mel took a deep breath and raised her hand.
Flash—!
Shadows erupted from the ground, coiling around Damien.
THUD! CRASH!
His limbs were bound, and his knees buckled.
Mel clenched her fist, tightening the restraining force.
Forgive me, Sir Damien.
The moment she silently apologized, a golden gleam flared in Damien's eyes.
Flash—! WHOOOOM!
His murky aura turned into a blazing gold.
Seeing Damien's entire body radiate with golden light, Mel gritted her teeth.
That's Sir Dweno's power!
As the conqueror of Dweno's world, Damien had inherited Dweno's strength.
Crack—!
Damien gripped the magic restraining him, and a disturbing sound came from Mel's hand.
She clenched her teeth and reinforced her hold.
WHAM—!
The force constraining Damien grew even stronger, but in turn, Damien's power surged to match it.
Crunch—! Crack—!
The sound of breaking bones echoed from Mel's hand, which was linked to her magic.
Mel was a dragon specialized in magic, so she didn't wield aura, but even so, dragons were the mightiest race in existence. Their sheer physical strength alone far surpassed common sense.
Moreover, Mel was the Dragon Queen, the strongest dragon.
There were only a handful of beings in the world who could overpower her with raw strength.
The magic she cast was the Shadow Prison. A spell created by Lysinas, its power was influenced not just by mana but also by sheer strength.
The stronger one's physical might, the more overwhelming the spell became, yet despite Mel's overwhelming mana and raw power as the Dragon Queen, Damien shattered her magic with pure brute force.
Crack—!
"Ugh?!" Mel clutched her hand and staggered back.
The backlash from the Shadow Prison's destruction had shattered her fingers. She immediately attempted to recast her magic, but Damien charged at her.
Flash—! KWA-GA-GA-GANG—!
At that moment, a white bolt of lightning descended from the sky.
CRACKLE—! ZAP—! ZZZZT—!
Leo, riding a pegasus, appeared.
He set down Carl and Eliza, then turned his gaze toward Mel.
Meeting Leo's eyes, Mel nodded slightly and said, "Everyone, fall back. I will seal off this entire area to prevent further casualties."
"It's too reckless to face Sir Damien alone!"
"More heroes and professors will arrive soon. If we fight together…"
"We don't know exactly what state Sir Damien is in. The only thing certain is that he is attacking us," Mel said calmly. "Not only is he the successor of the Divine Blacksmith, Sir Dweno, but he is also the one who defeated a resurrected fragment of Erebos 3,000 years ago. Even a legion commander is powerless before him. The heroes currently in Lumene alone cannot face him. The damage could be catastrophic. That's why, I will try to stop him myself."
"But on your own…"
"I'm not alone. Leo will help me. As a pegasus's contractor, he'll be a great help."
At Mel's words, the other heroes could no longer object.
"Leo, I leave it to you."
Leo nodded. "Understood."
Mel smiled and raised her hand.
Shhhhhhh—!
A surge of black mana, Lysinas's power, rose from her body and formed into a massive dome-shaped sphere. It was a spell designed to isolate the inside from the outside, so that no one outside could perceive what was happening within.
Inside, only Leo, Mel, and Damien remained, facing off against each other.
"Now then." Leo turned his gaze to Damien. "Let me ask you one thing. What exactly are you?"
In response to Leo's question, Damien lowered his stance, preparing to charge.
Leo narrowed his eyes. He could sense something within Damien.
Divine power?
When Leo briefly brought Seiren into the present world, divine power had not been necessary. After all, unlike Luna and Aaron, the Heroes of Dawn were living beings, not merely records of the Hero World.
Thus, bringing them out by opening a passage was within Leo's authority, yet now, Damien was radiating divine power.
It doesn't make sense for him to have used divine power to enter the present world. The Heroes of Dawn have no means of obtaining divine power. Even if they did, they wouldn't be able to use it.
"Whew…" Leo exhaled lightly.
In the meantime, Damien crouched even lower.
Leo reached into his subspace.
Might as well test it.
Crash—!
Damien gripped his battle-axe and charged. At the same moment, Leo retrieved a massive battle-axe from his subspace.
KAGAGAGAGANG—!
Gripping it with both hands, he swung it upward from below in a destructive slash that scraped against the ground.
Clang—!
Blade met blade in a clash of overwhelming force.
For a brief moment, the space where their weapons met distorted.
KWA-GA-GA-GA-GA-GA-GANG!
The ground beneath Leo and Damien caved in as if a meteor had struck.
Crackle—! Crrrack—!
Cracks spread across both axe blades.
Shatter—!
Unable to withstand the force, both weapons splintered into pieces, and compressed aura erupted in an explosion, sending Leo flying.
Thud! Thud! Crash—! Sssshhh—!
Leo's body bounced across the ground multiple times before he rolled to a stop. Using a breakfall to disperse the impact, he steadied himself.
Even so, the sheer force had pushed him back while he remained on his feet.
Shaking off the dust off him, Leo looked down at his tingling hands and chuckled, "As expected, he really is Dweno's successor."
"Sir Leo, are you alright?" Mel asked urgently.
"I'm fine. Seems like, in terms of pure strength, he's stronger than me." Leo clenched and unclenched his hands as he said, "I'm sure the real one is much stronger than this."
"So this isn't the real Sir Damien?" Mel asked, having also vaguely sensed something strange.
"That's right. He's a fake created from the Hero Record. He has no consciousness, only the instinct to fight."
"How is something like this even possible?"
"Who knows? The Hero Record might be going haywire. Either way, leaving him alone would be disastrous. We have to take him down now."
Leo advanced toward the Damien formed from divine power.
Why did something like this suddenly appear? Could something have happened to the Hero Record?
Even as these questions arose in his mind, Leo remained focused on Damien.
Let my guard down, and I'll be the one to fall.
Even as a fake, Damien was incomparably stronger than the Nether Knight he had defeated before.
Leo clenched his fist. "You said you're Dweno's successor?"
Dweno's golden flames erupted around Leo's body.
"Let's see just how tough you are."
In response to Leo's power, Damien also released Dweno's power and took a fighting stance.
If there were no weapons, then fists would do. That was Dweno's way of battle.
Smash—!
Leo charged at Damien and swung his fist.
Wham—!
Damien took a direct hit to the head, his face snapping to the side, but without hesitation, he returned the blow, landing a punch squarely on Leo's face.
Leo tilted his neck lightly. "Not bad. You're tough. Now, let's see whose defense is tougher."
Thud—!
A brutal fistfight between a Great Hero and a Hero of Dawn erupted.
Boom! Boom—!
The deafening sounds rang through the air. Had any other hero taken these punches, they would have been pulverized.
Crack—!
As their fists continued to clash, Damien's aura finally began to crack, and his movements came to a halt.
Leo didn't hesitate. He drove his fist into Damien's abdomen.
BANG—!
Damien's body lifted into the air before crashing down onto the ground.
"This kind of brute-force fight isn't really my style," Leo grumbled as he wiped the blood trickling from his lips and spat the excess onto the ground.
This kind of brawling was what Dweno enjoyed.
Among the Great Heroes, Aaron was the strongest when it came to pure physical combat, but when it came to this kind of bare-knuckle brawling, no one could match Dweno.
"That old man was ridiculously tough for no reason."
"The clash of physiques! The dialogue of bodies! Even a brawl is a form of art!"
Of course, that toughness was just another part of his unpredictable artistic soul.
As Leo recalled Dweno, he remained wary of Damien.
He's not down yet.
Fights like this were difficult because it was hard to land a decisive blow, especially since an opponent like Damien would undoubtedly get back up and charge in again.
That much resilience makes him dangerous in a prolonged fight.
If Leo used weapons, magic, or summoning, the fight would have ended much sooner. He would also have had a clear advantage, yet, Leo insisted on fighting in the way Damien was most confident in.
Oh my god, Damien's actually the one being tested.
Mel realized this as she watched Leo. Even if this Damien was a fake, his strength was real.
One day, Leo might meet the Great Heroes again, and it was highly likely that he would encounter the Heroes of Dawn in the near future.
To prepare for that day, Leo wanted to understand what kind of people the successors of his friends were.
So he could tell the Great Heroes about their successors when they reunited.
So he could acknowledge the Heroes of Dawn in place of his friends.
Rodia and Seiren were worthy. Lysinas and Luna would have been pleased to see them. Damien… You're no different.
Leo smiled and clenched his fist once more.
Crackle—! Crackle—!
Suddenly, Damien's body began to flicker.
Leo hesitated for a brief moment.
Damien's form wavered, scattering and reappearing repeatedly.
And then… his figure vanished, and in his place stood a beastman woman with silver wolf fur.
Jingle— Jingle—
She wore short leather pants that fully exposed her legs. Her top was a revealing leather cuirass that left her shoulders, abdomen, and waist exposed. The bracelets and anklets she wore jingled lightly with every movement.
Her attire was far from suited for battle, yet the murderous aura she radiated wrapped around her like armor.
It was the kind of outfit that declared her intent to carve through the battlefield with her bare body.
Leo narrowed his eyes. "The Grand Warrior."
Azonia smirked at Leo.
Leo immediately understood. "I see. So I'm not the only one conducting a test here."
Leo was familiar with those who enjoyed testing others in this way, as he had read about them in ancient texts long ago, in his previous life.
"A god, huh?"