LHAHS Chapter 529
Step, step.
Leo walked down the hallway, glancing around.
The bodies had already been cleared away, but the bloodstains covering the area told the story of the massacre that had taken place here.
Without a word, Leo stared at the splatters of blood on the floor and walls, while Chen Xia stood quietly behind him.
Ordinarily, outsiders were not allowed in this place, but thanks to Melina's authority, Leo had no trouble investigating the scene.
After finishing his inspection, Leo returned to the entrance.
As Chen Xia looked at him in confusion, he drew his sword.
Swoosh…!
He slowly advanced, swinging his sword through the air.
Slash! Slaash…!
Though his movements were slow, the sharp sound of his sword cutting through the air rang out.
Chen Xia's eyes widened in shock.
He's reenacting what happened here.
Wherever Leo's sword passed, she felt like she could see blood splatter.
Leo moved from the hallway to the meeting room, where his sword came to a sudden halt.
Lowering his blade, he closed his eyes.
It was only natural, he knew Velkia's swordsmanship inside and out.
Because I was the one who taught her.
Aaron and Luna had laid the foundation for Velkia's swordsmanship and magic, but the one who had guided her to make them her own had been none other than himself.
And so, he could immediately tell who was responsible for this slaughter.
It was Velkia.
"Sir Leo, please give the order. Should I summon the Shadows?" Chen Xia asked.
The Shadows specialized in hunting down and eliminating traitors, which meant that naturall, they were also experts in tracking.
"No." Leo shook his head. "They won't be able to find her… and even if they did, it would be too dangerous."
Chen Xia bit her lip. She had already suspected who was behind this massacre.
"For now, let's go to the Ersar estate and meet up with Eiran."
"Sir, should we tell Miss Eiran…" Chen Xia hesitated. "Shouldn't we tell her?"
"……" Leo slowly closed his eyes.
Like Lunia, Eiran was a hero candidate he had chosen.
She was someone who would carry on Luna's legacy and a future comrade in battle. A girl with a strong will.
And yet, that was exactly why he hesitated.
Eiran is like Velkia.
Not just because she was a descendant of hers.
In truth, the two had no resemblance. With thousands of years between them, they had inherited no physical similarities, and their personalities were nothing alike either.
Eiran had learned the swordsmanship and magic passed down through their bloodline, but that was merely something acquired, not innate.
The only things they had in common were being elves and magic swordsmen.
Even so, the reason Eiran reminded Leo of Velkia was because of the way she looked at the world with such pure, untainted eyes.
Could he really tell her the truth? That the ancestor she revered most had been resurrected as a revenant, consumed by hatred?
Not long ago, Leo would have told her without hesitation. He would have believed that Eiran was strong enough to endure it, but after seeing what had become of Velkia, even he hesitated.
After a long silence, he finally said, "Not yet."
Tap tap tap tap…!
Eiran sprinted down the halls of the Ersar estate, her face deathly pale.
Grandfather, Grandfather, Grandfather.
Even as she ran, her hands trembled.
Long ago, she had lost both her parents to the demons. Rune was the only family she had left.
Furthermore, her grandfather had always been the one to understand her, the one who supported her even when she acted out, isolating herself at home after leaving Seiren Academy.
While I was selfishly thinking only of myself again…!
Clenching her eyes shut, Eiran arrived at Rune's door.
The retainers standing guard bowed their heads, but barely acknowledging their greeting, Eiran slammed the door open.
Bang!
"Grandfather!"
The first thing she saw upon entering the room was a familiar head of red hair.
Her best friend, Lunia, was sitting by Rune's bedside, looking completely lost.
Eiran's face turned even paler. "L-Lunia? Grandfather is…?"
"Eiran? Is that you, Eiran?" Lying against the headboard, Rune called out to her in a heavy voice.
"Yes! Grandfather! I'm here! How are you feeling? Are you alrigh…" Eiran, who had been rushing to his bedside, suddenly froze.
She had spotted several books in Rune's hands.
"Eiran, I have no intention of interfering with your reading preferences, but these are quite… intense…"
"Kyaaaaaah!" Her face turning bright red, Eiran screamed and lunged forward, snatching the books away from Rune in a panic.
Rune's expression grew serious. "This old man understands everything. Your mother used to read books like these too. Different tastes, but still. That's probably why she had you at such a young…"
"Aaaaah! Aaaah! Aaaah!" Eiran shrieked wildly, completely drowning out Rune's words.
Lunia awkwardly averted her gaze.
As the tension drained from her body, Eiran slumped to the floor. "W-Wait, weren't you supposed to be badly injured? I heard you were gravely wounded…"
"When was that? Do you think a little injury would be enough to kill me? The wounds have long since healed, but I'm old, so the aftereffects are dragging me down. Ugh. Once you get old, you might as well just die." Rune tapped his lower back and groaned.
If he were human, such mannerisms would have seemed completely unnatural coming from his eternally youthful appearance, but to elves like Lunia and Eiran, it just looked like the grumbling of an old man.
However, his nonchalance left Eiran looking utterly drained of life. "How did you find those books?"
"A grandfather can tidy his granddaughter's room, can't he?"
"Don't do that! I have my own privacy!"
"Don't worry, I didn't read your diary."
"That's just basic decency!" Eiran, who had been flailing in outrage at Rune's words, took a deep breath and calmed herself. Then she turned to Lunia. "Anyway, why are you at my house, Lunia?"
"I was in a meeting with the headmaster."
"Oh, I interrupted, didn't I?"
"It's fine. We were talking about you anyway."
"Me?"
"Yeah. He asked about your peculiar reading tastes, so I—gahk! Guhuhk!"
With tears welling up in her eyes, Eiran lunged at Lunia and strangled her.
After a brief commotion, Eiran finally calmed down and questioned Rune. "Why didn't you tell me about this sooner?! Do you have any idea how shocked I was?!"
Rune smiled. "Eiran, you know my status among the elves is far from insignificant."
Rune Ersar was the Speaker of El-Salbekia's council and, albeit temporarily, the headmaster of Seiren Academy.
"Right now, Seiren is in internal turmoil. If news spread that I was attacked under such circumstances, Seiren—no, the entire elven race—would be thrown into further chaos. I need you to understand that."
Eiran bit her lip at Rune's words. She already knew that.
It wasn't just Seiren—elven society as a whole had undergone immense changes in a very short time.
Until last winter, those changes had seemed to be heading in a positive direction.
Lady Luna's descent was the beginning, an event unprecedented in history.
How could it not be? The return of a Great Hero who had saved the world 5000 years ago? Who could have ever imagined such a thing?
Because of it, the elves, a race known for their pride, had raised their heads even higher.
Why had Luna alone among the Great Heroes returned to the present? Was it not because the elves were special?
Having witnessed a miracle, the elves naturally came to believe such things. As a result, the influence of the pureblood supremacists grew stronger.
Eiran had seen it firsthand at Seiren.
Around that time, the book Introduction to Stellar Magic had emerged, making the Stellar Magic once thought to be the exclusive domain of elves accessible to all.
Authored by Len, the tome was immediately condemned as a forbidden text among the elves.
For thousands of years, elves had been known as the race of magic, and it was all thanks to the Stellar Magic left behind by Luna.
Len's magical theory was a direct challenge to the authority elves had upheld for millennia, so most elves had no intention of acknowledging Introduction to Stellar Magic.
Already inclined to avoid contact with outsiders, they now sought to further isolate themselves from other races.
That was when the second miracle occurred.
The great elf known as the successor of the Nebula Pioneer, the Comet Mage Seiren appeared.
Under normal circumstances, this should have been a momentous event that bolstered the arrogance of the elven supremacists, but instead, that historic moment shattered into pieces—because Seiren herself had denied the very foundation of their current society.
Rather than choosing a student from Seiren Academy, the institution meant to carry on her legacy, Seiren had recognized a student of Lumene as her successor.
This threw elven society into turmoil.
Those with broader perspectives adapted quickly to the change, but many did not.
The shock that their great ancestor had not acknowledged them, combined with the fear that they had been wrong all along, left many elves lost and wandering.
Then, amid that uncertainty, the Nebula Pioneer reappeared once more, and this time, rumors spread of a confrontation between Luna and the Pureblood Society.
With that, the chaos in elven society only deepened.
Fortunately, there were heroes capable of leading the race through this disorder.
One of them was Rune Ersar, an elder of the elven council.
That was the reason why even his own granddaughter, Eiran, had only heard the news after some time had passed. If word got out that he had been found in a blood-soaked meeting hall of the Pureblood Society, it was obvious that elven society would be turned upside down.
"Even so, you could have at least told me. Do you know how worried I was?!" Eiran's trembling voice carried resentment, but in her eyes, concern for Rune glistened as tears welled up. "So, who is the culprit?"
A rare hint of killing intent flashed in Eiran's tear-filled eyes.
Rune's face stiffened. He knew the culprit, but should he tell his granddaughter?
After a brief hesitation, he changed the subject. "We can talk about the culprit later. Didn't Leo come with you? I'm certain I asked him to come along."
"Sir Leo said he had somewhere to stop by first."
"Somewhere to stop by?" Rune tilted his head curiously.
"Yes, he went to the crime scene."
"The crime scene, huh…" Rune murmured.
Knock, knock.
"Master, a guest has arrived."
"Let them in," Rune repllied.
The door opened, and Leo and Chen Xia stepped inside.
"Sir Leo!"
"O-Oh, you're he… No, I mean, welcome, Leo?" Eiran greeted Leo happily.
In contrast, Lunia smiled awkwardly.
Rune, meanwhile, observed Lunia closely. For a moment, their eyes met, and Lunia quickly averted her gaze.
Rune turned to Leo. "Did you examine the crime scene?"
"Yes."
"I see. Unfortunately, it was her doing."
"Her?"
"Grandfather, you know who the culprit is?"
Both Lunia and Eiran widened their eyes in shock, and even Chen Xia looked startled and flustered.
Leo, however, simply stared silently at Rune. His expression did not change, but the ancient elven elder had clearly realized something.
His wise, time-worn eyes gleamed with understanding.
With a gentle smile, Rune addressed the three young women. "I need to speak with Leo alone for a moment. The rest of you, please step outside."
Startled by his sudden request, the three exchanged glances before quietly exiting the room.
Creaaak—clunk!
As the door shut, Rune rose from his seat. Raising a hand, he cast a spell to ensure that no sound from inside the room would leak out.
Once the room was secured, he knelt before Leo and bowed deeply, saying, "I, Rune Ersar, the 38th head of the Ersar family, offer my respects to the great Hero of the Beginning."