Chapter 492

Book 1 Chapter 492

492.

Boom- Boom- Boom-!

Leo clamped down on Eljenie’s head with a look of pure irritation, systematically hacking away at her neck.

As the blade bit into her flesh, Eljenie shrieked in agony, her gaze briefly locking with his.

His expression was entirely blank, devoid of even a shred of human feeling.

Beneath that mask of indifference, his eyes gleamed a dull, sinister crimson.

The sight sent a violent shudder straight down Eljenie’s spine.

“Kieeeeee! Gah-ha!”

Her desperate screaming abruptly choked off.

The blade slicing through her throat had shifted, effectively jamming itself into her open mouth.

“Quiet down. Stop barking like a dog.”

“Gah-ha! Cough! Ack!”

Squelaaaach-!

Annoyed by the noise, Leo drove the blade even harder into Eljenie’s mouth.

The steel ripped clean through the back of her throat and protruded from the nape of her neck, anchoring itself deep within her flesh.

Choking violently on gushes of thick blood, Eljenie glared up at him, her veins bulging in her eyes as a murderous light flashed.

Flash-! Rumbleee-!

A brilliant crimson spark ignited within the spray of her blood, triggering a colossal detonation.

The sheer force of the blast caused the very ground to quake.

As thick, dark-red smoke and flames billowed into the air, Eljenie managed to break away, desperately clutching her mangled neck.

“Hahaha! You absolute idiot! Do you have any idea who you’re messing with?!”

Eljenie spat out a mocking laugh as she stared at the raging, bloody firestorm.

“I am the Blood Queen! Every drop of my blood serves as a lethal weapon! Even the greatest heroes feared this power! You brought this on yourself! Ahahahaha!”

Gasping for breath through her bloodshot eyes, she poured relentless scorn upon Leo.

She was talking excessively.

It was a frantic attempt to drown out the terror gripping her soul.

As a demon, she had always been the one inflicting horror upon others.

Born with immense power, Eljenie had effortlessly claimed the rank of a legion commander.

She had dominated countless warzones and brought down numerous legendary champions over the eras.

She had almost never known what it felt like to be weak or helpless.

Granted, she had faced opponents too powerful for her to defeat in the past.

Yet she could say with absolute certainty that no one had ever treated her like a worthless bug to be crushed, just as this boy had.

The pressure radiating from Leo didn’t belong to a mighty warrior or an elite hunter.

‘He feels like a executioner.’

Even in that fleeting instant, the terror Leo inspired was permanently branded into Eljenie’s mind.

Whoosh-!

“……!”

The sprawling blood-red inferno suddenly flickered, abruptly converging toward a single point.

Whoosh-!

Emerging from the epicenter of the devastating blast and searing flames, Leo stood completely unscathed, without a single speck of ash on his form.

Whoosh-!

Leo idly observed the remnants of Eljenie’s blood-fire dancing harmlessly across his palm before raising his gaze.

“The longer I look at you, the more irritating you become.”

“What did you just say?”

“Are you a lackey from the Monster Queen’s legion?”

“How could you possibly know that?!”

Eljenie flinched violently, a cold shiver running through her entire body at his words.

A Tartaros Legion Commander is a sovereign over demons.

In their rule, they naturally breed specialized underlings.

Consequently, the inherent traits of those subordinate demons directly mirror the powers of their specific commander.

The freezing malice in Leo’s eyes deepened significantly.

This very soil was where Luna had drawn her final breath an eternity ago.

The mere concept of a demon treading upon this sacred ground was something he absolutely would not permit.

It was unacceptable, particularly for a demon tied to the Monster Queen—an entity Luna had held a profound, bitter grudge against five millennia ago.

Whoosh-!

The blood-fire concentrated in Leo’s hand suddenly flared into a vibrant, brilliant crimson.

“Purgatory.”

Leo uttered the incantation.

A manifestation of scorching flames born from Star Magic.

It stood as the absolute pinnacle of fire-elemental Star Magic spells that Luna had perfected during her lifetime.

To be precise, if one factored in the Flame Emperor spell that Lunia had pursued, that would technically be the ultimate fire magic within the Star Magic discipline. Unfortunately, Luna had never managed to fully realize the Flame Emperor before her death.

Thus, when evaluating fully completed magic, Purgatory reigned supreme as the most devastating fire spell.

In truth, Purgatory had originated as a lesser, alternative formulation, discovered while trying to unravel the complexities of the Flame Emperor.

However…

‘The Flame Emperor was a weapon Luna designed specifically to eradicate Erebus.’

Leo contemplated the Purgatory fire blazing in his grasp.

While it might fall short against a divine entity like Erebus, its destructive potential against ordinary demons was nothing short of apocalyptic.

Furthermore…

‘It is the ultimate counter to any demon wielding fire.’

Purgatory was inherently a purging flame.

Against demons who manipulated fire elements, its destructive efficacy was multiplied manifold.

Whoosh-!

The Purgatory flames instantly wrapped around the edge of Leo’s blade.

“Young Master… Leo?”

Chen Xia ventured a cautious call toward him, her voice laced with concern.

The person standing before her felt entirely foreign compared to the Leo she knew.

“Are you upset?”

Turning his gaze back toward Chen Xia’s worried face, Leo offered a faint, somewhat weary smile.

“Would the two of you mind waiting right here?”

Leo shifted his attention back to his sword.

“This really isn’t a side of myself I like to put on display.”

Right at that moment.

Unable to withstand the suffocating pressure radiating from Leo any longer, Eljenie turned and fled.

Her instincts screamed a single truth.

The boy standing there was an absolute monster.

Just as Leo prepared to give chase, a spatial rift tore open, and a horde of vile beasts began pouring through.

Leo’s brow furrowed at the sudden obstruction.

“Go on ahead, Lord Leo.”

Eiran declared, drawing her blade with resolve.

“Will you two be fine on your own?”

“You can’t tolerate this either, can you? The fact that these foul demons are defiling the very earth where Lady Luna rests.”

Eiran’s gaze was sharper and more intense than it had ever been.

“I won’t tolerate it either. I will cut down every last one of these wretched creatures.”

Hearing Eiran’s declaration, Chen Xia stepped forward alongside her.

“I might not fully grasp the entire history here… but from the moment I dedicated myself to following Young Master Leo, I vowed never to be a burden that holds him back.”

Chen Xia offered a gentle, reassuring smile.

“With Eiran and me working together, we are more than capable of handling these beasts. Go deal with that legion commander without any worries.”

“Are you absolutely certain?”

“We might still be lacking when compared to your immense strength, Young Master Leo. But please, don’t look at us as fragile things that always need shielding. Do you recall what you told Duran-gun back during our combat training? You promised you would be waiting at the peak.”

Chen Xia’s smile brightened.

“I fully intend to stand beside you on that same stage. I am going to push myself to the absolute limit to catch up to you. So please, place your trust in us.”

“I feel exactly the same way, Lord Leo!”

Leo silently regarded the two girls as they spoke with such fierce determination.

After a brief pause, a helpless chuckle escaped his lips.

“They really do grow up remarkably fast, don’t they?”

Acknowledging that the two had matured far more rapidly than he had anticipated, Leo stepped past them.

“Alright, I’ll leave this to you.”

Utilizing an Aura Step, Leo vanished into the trees, pursuing Eljenie at a breathtaking velocity.

“Let’s move, Xia!”

Eiran, bracing herself with the heavy shield forged by Erquint and Dwenno, dashed forward before suddenly blinking in confusion.

“Xia?”

Eiran halted, noticing Chen Xia wearing a faintly irritated expression.

“If he recognizes how fast we’re growing, I really wish he’d start looking at us as actual women too.”

Leo tore through the dense forest at a breakneck pace, tracking Eljenie’s trail.

The delay caused by the demonic horde Eljenie had summoned had been brief.

Yet, for an entity holding the rank of a legion commander, even a fleeting window should have been more than enough to completely vanish.

‘At least, against any standard opponent.’

Leo narrowed his eyes.

His heightened, awakened perception thoroughly scanned every inch of the surrounding environment.

Back during the peak of the Age of Calamity.

The legendary figures who had slaughtered countless demons eventually became the living embodiment of nightmares to the enemy forces.

Among those figures, the individual who struck the deepest, most paralyzing dread into the hearts of demons was the lone surviving champion, Kyle.

The explanation for this was straightforward.

‘Because my methods of execution were the most merciless.’

He was the one tasked with purging betrayers, executing them with horrific brutality.

There was absolutely no reason to offer leniency to the fundamental source of ruin, the very demons who had shattered civilization.

Through his extensive tenure as a mercenary, Leo had learned an essential truth.

Instilling absolute terror was the most efficient way to dictate the flow of a conflict.

Demons and monsters, at their core, are living beings.

Because they are alive, they are susceptible to fear.

Any demon that had ever faced Leo and somehow survived carried an indelible, crippling horror of him.

Click-!

Leo adjusted his hold on the hilt.

In a fluid motion, he hurled the blade forward like a spear.

Thwack-!

“Gah-ha!”

The sword tore through the air at an impossible speed, embedding itself directly into Eljenie’s back.

“H-how did you…!”

“You should stop wasting your energy trying to run.”

Grip-!

Leo closed his distance instantly, grabbing the hilt.

“In all my time on the battlefield, the only demon I marked for death who actually managed to escape my grasp was Silatuna.”

“Urgh! Stop talking crazy….”

Splat-!

“Aaaagh!”

With a brutal upward wrench of his blade, Leo tore Eljenie’s torso wide open.

Slash-! Crack! Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-!

Leo’s blade transformed into a blur, carving through Eljenie’s form with terrifying precision and speed.

“Stop… just stop it! You miserable insectaaaaaaaaah!”

Violent sprays of blood erupted like shrapnel from Eljenie’s body as she convulsed in sheer agony.

Boom-boom-boom-boom-boom-!

Everywhere those droplets of blood landed, devastating detonations tore up the terrain.

Yet, despite the chaotic explosions, Leo remained entirely untouched by her frantic retaliation.

Crunch-!

“Guh-ck!”

Instead, he moved faster, bringing his boot down to savagely crush Eljenie’s skull into the dirt.

Thud-thud-!

Her shattered head began regenerating at a supernatural rate.

Without hesitation, Leo kicked her battered frame away.

Eljenie rolled pitifully across the dirt before forcing herself back up onto her feet through pure agony.

“How… how can this be…!”

“Because you aren’t the first demon I’ve put down, nor will you be the last.”

Leo offered a chilling smile.

“I’ve slaughtered so many entities with bizarre, specialized traits that I’ve grown thoroughly sick of them. Creatures like you almost always rely entirely on your raw, inherited gimmicks.”

As if concluding the conversation, Leo’s sword flashed once more.

“Kyahhhhhhh!”

Thump! Slash-! Stab!

Leo systematically dismantled Eljenie’s physical form.

Subjected to a precise, agonizing torment designed to push her to the absolute brink of death without actually crossing it, Eljenie’s body knit itself back together as she shook uncontrollably.

“You! Why! What drives you to do this to me!”

Leo looked down at the trembling demon, who had completely lost her sanity to the sheer terror.

“Do you demons require a grand philosophical justification when you set out to annihilate the world?”

Eljenie fell completely silent, unable to articulate a response.

“It’s the exact same concept. Me brutally ending a demon like you.”

Leo spat out a mocking sneer.

“You… who in the world are you!”

“Leo Flobe. Didn’t the Lich King mention my name to you?”

“Leo Flobe?”

Eljenie’s expression drained of all color.

She recalled the explicit warning she had received from the Lich King.

He had stated clearly that if she ever crossed paths with him, her chances of survival would be bleak, advising her to avoid an encounter at all costs.

Up until this moment, the various legion commanders, Eljenie included, had dismissed the warning.

They couldn’t comprehend why they should harbor fear toward a human who, despite any heroic reputation, was still just a young child.

But experiencing this firsthand, the Lich King’s warning became terrifyingly clear.

“Frankly, your strength is quite pathetic for someone holding the title of legion commander. Your master must be desperate.”

Leo easily discerned that the demon before him ranked among the absolute weakest of her tier.

Even the previously resurrected commander, Cigor the Curse King, had possessed far more presence than this.

Granted, Cigor hadn’t been at the peak of his capabilities at that time, yet he still carried the undeniable weight expected of a legion commander.

“Did they scrape you up to replace Silatuna after he vanished? No wonder you’re such a disappointment.”

As Leo openly mocked her, Eljenie’s shoulders began to convulse violently.

“How dare… a worthless human look down on me like this?”

“An imposter who doesn’t even truly belong in the ranks of the commanders shouldn’t be talking so big.”

Leo lifted his free hand, the one not gripping his weapon.

Cometes was summoned forward, channeling an immense reservoir of magical power.

Vrooom-!

A torrential tide of Star Magic swelled into existence.

“Just give up.”

Leo sneered coldly.

“Surrendering is much less painful.”

The Purgatory flames erupted with a terrifying intensity that completely dwarfed his previous display.

Vrooom-!

Eljenie’s face turned completely white with despair.

Right at that instant.

Hummm-!

“…?”

Cometes began to wildly vibrate.

Flash-!

‘What is happening?’

Out of nowhere, a massive surge of Lysinass’s spiritual essence flooded directly into Leo’s hand.

Cometes was reacting violently to Lysinass’s energy signature.

Hummm-! Hummm-!

‘The remnant magic Luna left within Cometes… it’s resonating?’

As Leo struggled to comprehend the sudden, unmanageable surge of power.

Crack-!

Cometes abruptly dissolved, fracturing into a cloud of shimmering particles of light.

“What?”

Leo frantically lunged forward, trying to grab the weapon.

Yet his fingers passed uselessly through the glowing specks that Cometes had broken down into.

Leo stared at his empty palm in absolute disbelief.

‘The automatic restoration function built into Cometes?’

During her lifetime, Luna possessed an immense, almost obsessive attachment to the specific magic staves she utilized.

Much like a dedicated knight passionately curates a collection of masterwork weaponry.

Luna had a distinct habit of gathering exceptionally potent magical staves.

Because of her deep bond with her equipment, she had woven a unique, self-restoring magical matrix directly into the framework of the staff.

However, that particular protocol was strictly keyed to trigger only for its true architect.

Neither Leo nor Seirune possessed the authority to activate that specific spell.

‘There is only one individual capable of triggering it.’

A look of profound bewilderment washed over Leo’s face.

Whoosh-!

“W-what is happening to me?!”

Eljenie’s physical form suddenly began to combust spontaneous.

Yet the panic on her face rapidly shifted, replaced by an expression of pure, unadulterated bliss.

“Ah… this power…! This incredible strength!”

The deep blood-red flames consuming her form instantly mutated into an ominous, pitch-black fire.

Eljenie shook violently as an overwhelming sensation of absolute omnipotence, unlike anything she had ever felt, washed over her.

“Ah! I can hear it clear as day! I can hear it!”

Clutching her skull as her eyes rolled back into her head, Eljenie shrieked in a trembling, manic voice.

“The voice of God… the almighty God is speaking! This is what God demands!”

Completely stripped of her sanity, her wide, blood-shot eyes locked onto Leo as she violently lunged forward.

“The last remaining hero, Kyle! Your life ends here!”

Leo narrowed his eyes at the sudden, volatile shift in the atmosphere, instantly raising his blade.

Splat-!

Eljenie’s severed head went spinning into the air.

Leo recognized this precise phenomenon from his past.

‘The lingering will of Erebus.’

This bore an identical signature to the dark will of Erebus that he had encountered back at the site of his ultimate demise.

The sudden shift where Eljenie, who had just been calling him Leo Flobe, abruptly addressed him as Kyle was undoubtedly a direct byproduct of that corrupting influence.

Quickly analyzing the situation, Leo shifted his grip on the hilt, preparing to completely incinerate her remaining torso when.

Whoosh-!

Eljenie’s entire body was instantly enveloped by the black fire, vanishing into thin air.

Thwack-!

Leo’s sword struck nothing but empty dirt. He exhaled a sharp breath.

‘Did she manage to escape?’

He could no longer detect even the faintest trace of her essence in the vicinity.

She had completely faded from the area.

Clang- Thud-!

Sheathing his weapon and transferring it back into his subspace storage, Leo looked down at the back of the hand that had just been holding Cometes.

A distinct, intricate crest had materialized on his skin.

It didn’t belong to a standard spirit, nor did it match the mark of a mythical creature.

It was a fundamentally unique type of seal that Leo had never possessed before.

‘A true spirit covenant.’

A bond he had never actively initiated in this life.

Through that mark, Leo felt his chest tighten as he detected a faint, achingly familiar trace of star magic radiating from within it.

Thump- Thump-

A profound silence descended upon the entire forest.

The oppressive weight of the monstrous presence that had choked the air moments prior had dissolved completely, leaving no trace behind.

Averting his eyes from his marked hand, Leo surveyed the quiet, motionless woods.

He began tracing his steps in the exact direction Cometes had drifted before dissolving.

Thump- Thump- Thump-

The rhythmic sound of his boots crushing scattered blossoms and dried leaves echoed softly through the quiet glade.

Rustle- Rustle-

Gradually, the terrain shifted underfoot, the crisp crunch giving way to the soft rustle of lush, vibrant grass.

Suddenly, Leo came to a complete halt.

‘An illusion?’

Leo’s eyes widened slightly as he analyzed the sophisticated concealment magic woven into the space before him.

Though the caster’s identity remained a mystery, the illusion spell was executed with such flawless precision that even someone with Leo’s advanced senses could barely perceive it.

Leo extended his hand forward.

As his fingers brushed the air, the fabric of the space rippled and tore away, unveiling a hidden clearing.

Whoosh-!

Standing before him were two solitary stone monuments.

Among them, Leo’s gaze immediately locked onto a deeply familiar marker.

Five thousand years in the past.

This was the exact monument that Leo and Lysinass had carved with their own hands.

And standing right beside it…

‘My own resting place.’

It was the very grave where Verkhia and Viharl had laid his retrieved remains to rest so long ago.

Resting directly in front of Kyle’s monument was a sleek, black dagger he recognized instantly.

‘The dagger I gave to Viharl.’

It was a blade Leo had commissioned Dwenno to craft as a personal gift for Viharl.

The moment Leo took a step toward the burial site.

Hummm-!

The spirit covenant seal engraved upon the back of his hand pulsed with sudden warmth.

Leo shifted his gaze back to Luna’s monument.

Hovering directly above it were the shimmering particles of light that Cometes had dissolved into.

From the center of that glowing cloud, a distinct, undeniable consciousness began to radiate.

The moment he felt that presence, Leo’s chest swelled with an intense emotion.

‘What is happening right now?’

A flood of questions rushed through his mind.

Yet, amidst the confusion, one truth remained absolute.

With a slightly trembling hand, Leo reached out toward the hovering light of Cometes.

The moment his fingers stretched into the empty air toward the unseen entity.

A delicate hand reached out from the glow, firmly grasping Leo’s fingers.

And then…

Whoosh-!

A sudden gale swept through the clearing, sending a flurry of vibrant flower petals dancing through the air around them.

The scattered particles of light rapidly coalesced, gradually forming a distinct silhouette.

It did not take the shape of a magical staff.

The glowing mass expanded, structuring itself into a human form.

As the blinding radiance finally subsided, a breathtakingly beautiful elf materialized in the air, her hand gently intertwined with Leo’s.

Leo, completely caught off guard by the sight, let out a sharp gasp.

The elven maiden, Luna, who had been suspended in the air, slowly drifted downward until her feet softly touched the verdant grass.

Frozen in place while still holding her hand, Leo cautiously managed to find his voice.

“Lu…na?”

At the sound of his voice, Luna’s closed eyelids fluttered gently.

A moment later, her brilliant, star-like golden eyes opened to look upon the world once more.

Whoosh- Her cascading silver tresses danced elegantly in the passing breeze.

Her stunning eyes, initially unfocused as if emerging from a deep, centuries-long slumber, quickly adjusted to the light.

Luna, who had been staring up at Leo with a blank expression, let a warm smile grace her lips as she softly answered him.

“Yes, Kyle.”