Chapter 614

Chapter 614

“I followed the traces of the Hero Slayer straight toward Payon, but… my arrival was delayed, and the deed was done.”

Avard fell into deep contemplation as he observed Anya reporting the situation to Leo, her posture lowered in respect.

‘It is as though a sovereign receives a report from a vassal.’

Despite her standing as the child of the esteemed Northern Magic Tower Lord, Anya conducted herself entirely like a loyal retainer giving an account to her master.

‘Furthermore… she spoke of the Hero Slayer?’

Avard was well aware of the terrifying legend of the Hero Slayer, a figure who had once blanketed the continent in dread.

This current era was defined by the return of legendary champions from antiquity.

‘If the greatest heroes are walking the earth once more, it stands to reason that the most terrible villains of that age would also return.’

Even so, Anya had actively hunted that monstrous figure.

Bringing a criminal to justice was an honorable pursuit.

Yet, it defied logic that the daughter of the Northern Magic Tower Lord would abandon the northern regions—the direct territory of her family’s tower—to track the Hero Slayer across the continent to this specific location.

‘Could she be part of his hidden vanguard?’

Avard cast a sidelong glance at Leo, attempting to deduce Anya’s hidden role.

Leo remained perfectly composed, his expression unchanging as he absorbed the information.

“That concludes my report.”

“This cannot be real. How could anyone manage to abduct Auntie from the absolute center of Payon?”

Celia’s face paled with disbelief.

“It simply proves the sheer capability of the Hero Slayer.”

Celia bit down on her lip at Leo’s calm assessment.

Meanwhile, Chelsea directed her attention toward Anya.

‘Just moments ago, she explicitly mentioned that a traitor within Zerdinger likely facilitated this plot.’

Yet, Anya had omitted that critical detail just now.

Confused by the omission, Chelsea shifted her gaze toward Celia.

‘Ah, she withheld that information to protect Celia’s state of mind.’

Had Celia been told about internal betrayal right now, her distress would have multiplied tenfold.

“Leo? What is our next move?”

“Our immediate priority is to reach Payon and examine the site of the abduction.”

“Leo, are you holding up alright?”

Chelsea inquired, her eyes filled with deep anxiety.

Meeting her gaze, Leo offered a quiet nod.

A faint, reassuring smile touched his lips as he stepped over to the trembling Celia, gently tapping her shoulder.

“Celia, master your emotions. The very fact that they chose to abduct Mother to use as leverage means her life is secure for the time being.”

“Oh…”

Celia blinked in realization, then firmly bit her lip and nodded in agreement.

“Rwalin will provide full assistance in this matter.”

“Will the leadership of Zerdinger tolerate outside interference?”

“This transcends internal family matters; the very honor of the Empire has been compromised.”

An abduction of this magnitude occurring within the sovereign territory of Zerdinger—one of the two cornerstone heroic lineages of the Lodren Empire—was an intolerable insult.

It was undeniably a crisis of national proportions.

“Furthermore, the victim is the mother of a dear companion. We refuse to remain idle bystanders.”

Chelsea nodded rapidly, thoroughly endorsing Avard’s sentiment.

“Lord Leo. The forces of the Tusen Knights are also at your disposal.”

Sis, who had remained quiet during the exchange, finally spoke up.

“As she is Lord Leo’s mother, she is also the direct descendant of Princess Lena. The Tusen Knights cannot view her safety as a detached matter.”

“Your sentiment is appreciated. However, I do not believe the Tusen Knights should deploy at this juncture.”

“May I ask your reasoning?”

“To begin with, from the perspective of Zerdinger, the Tusen Knights represent an external military entity. Intervening in a domestic crisis within the Lodren Empire using an outside faction would invite political complications.”

Their status differed fundamentally from Rwalin, who operated within the legal framework of the Lodren Empire.

A single misstep could trigger a severe diplomatic conflict.

“Moreover, the Tusen Knights have an existing obligation to fulfill, do they not?”

He was referring to the stabilization required after the destruction of the royal palace.

And…

“You speak of Lord Leo’s ascension to the throne.”

In terms of mere administrative protocols, the endorsement from the Tusen Knights—who governed the Resentung territory—would suffice to legitimize Leo as sovereign.

However, to formally declare the rebirth of the realm to the world, a ceremony of grand proportions was mandatory.

“I place that responsibility in your hands.”

“Rest assured. I shall oversee the crafting of a grand throne and await your triumphant return.”

Sis inclined his head deeply.

“Let us prepare for immediate departure.”

“We must hurry!”

Celia and Avard moved swiftly to organize their forces, mobilizing the retaining knights of both Zerdinger and Rwalin.

“I require a moment of privacy.”

Leo stated, returning to his seat.

Celia paused, looking back at him.

‘Of course, Leo must be enduring the greatest agony right now.’

Assuming he required solitude to steady his breaking heart, Celia bit her lip.

“Rest for a moment, Leo. Chelsea, please remain by his side.”

“I will.”

Celia and Avard stepped out, closing the door behind them.

Only Leo, Chelsea, and Anya remained in the quiet room.

“Leo, the truth is…”

“Is this scheme linked to the machinations of the Elder Council?”

“What? How did you discern that?”

Chelsea looked completely caught off guard.

Anya, however, showed no surprise and simply bowed low.

“Yes. As expected, you pierced through the deception.”

“It was the only logical conclusion.”

Leo directed his gaze out the window, staring into the dark expanse of the night.

“The Hero Slayer would naturally seek to target me. An individual possessing such nature would covet my capabilities fiercely.”

Leo’s gaze turned sharp.

“They would employ every underhanded method imaginable to force my hand. Abducting my mother to destabilize my emotions and drag me into the open is a textbook strategy.”

He spoke with an eerie, unshakeable composure.

“Yet, the actual incident transpired within Payon.”

Leo had implemented extensive safeguards to guarantee the security of his parents.

Though Deide and Reina remained unaware, the Flóv estate was fortified under the absolute gaze of Melina, the Dragon Lord.

Short of an assault led by an entity equivalent to a Legion Commander of the underworld, harming the pair within the Flóv borders was impossible.

Furthermore, the Necromancer King was a calculating strategist who would never waste a vanguard of that caliber merely to strike at Deide and Reina.

‘He is fully aware. He knows that threatening my parents will not cause my resolve to fracture.’

It was not a matter of lacking affection for his family.

In truth, upon discovering Reina’s abduction, a fierce fury burned within him.

He intended to utterly dismantle every soul complicit in this act.

Yet, he refused to let that rage cloud his intellect.

He held his emotions in check, methodically analyzing the pieces on the board.

Uncontrolled fury destroys the one who wields it, whereas a disciplined, cold wrath destroys the target.

‘The architect behind this is not a fool who exposes themselves to unnecessary loss.’

Leo tightened his grip into a fist, his mind flashing to the image of the Necromancer King.

Leo had previously assured Melina that her personal vigilance was unnecessary while his parents resided within the heart of Zerdinger.

Payon was reputed to be an impregnable fortress, which justified his confidence.

And yet, the internal defenses of Zerdinger had failed completely.

‘The only logical deduction is that the enemy received assistance from within.’

“There were indeed anomalous movements detected among the Zerdinger sentinel knights during the incident. While that alone cannot serve as absolute proof of high treason, the probability is undeniable.”

Connecting this internal sabotage to the malicious influence of the Elder Council required no great leap of logic.

Granted, it remained a deduction for now.

“To think I dropped my guard simply because they wore the guise of allies. I have grown complacent.”

Leo let out a quiet, bitter laugh at his own expense.

His crimson eyes burned with a dangerous light.

Witnessing that intense gaze, Anya lowered her head further.

“What are your directives?”

“We shall enact retribution once definitive proof is secured. At this moment, my mother’s rescue takes precedence over all else.”

“Understood.”

“Order the Shadow Lords to converge on Payon immediately.”

“It shall be done.”

With a swift movement, Anya melted into the background and departed.

“Miss Anya… she belonged to the shadows all along.”

Chelsea murmured in a daze, finally piecing the reality together, before turning to Leo with a look of hesitation.

“What troubles you?”

“Leo… are you truly composed, even after Lady Reina has been taken by the enemy?”

To Chelsea, the boy standing before her appeared unnervingly steady.

Granted, when the initial revelation struck, Leo had unleashed an aura so suffocatingly dominant that Chelsea had felt an instinctual terror.

But that display vanished in a heartbeat.

From that point onward, Leo had displayed nothing but absolute stillness.

Both Chelsea and Celia had developed a profound reverence for Reina after discovering the truths of her history.

Consequently, the news of her capture made them feel as though their very chests were being torn apart.

Avard was similarly fraught with anxiety, deeply worried about Leo’s psychological state.

Yet Leo remained unfazed.

‘Is it possible that Leo does not view Lady Reina as his true mother?’

Leo was, in reality, Kyle, the legendary Hero of Beginnings.

His true chronological existence far exceeded Reina’s lifespan.

Even taking that into consideration, this level of detachment felt unnatural.

Chelsea felt an involuntary shiver run down her spine as she looked at him.

It felt as though he occupied a completely different plane of existence from ordinary mortals.

Noticing her internal turmoil, Leo offered a melancholic smile.

“I am far from fine. It is merely that…”

“Merely what?”

“I have simply spent a lifetime becoming accustomed to losing everything I cherish.”

Leo lowered his gaze, examining the palms of his hands.

“Long before the world granted me the title of the Hero of Beginnings, I was known by another name: the Hero who survived.”

“The Hero who survived?”

“Correct. It was given because I was invariably the sole survivor left standing on every bloody field of battle. Every single companion faded away long before I did.”

“…”

Chelsea felt her breath catch in her throat.

This was the peerless figure she had spent her life idolizing.

Her admiration was entirely justified, for from their very first encounter, he embodied the absolute definition of a savior.

When she subsequently learned his true identity from Aréon, her respect had deepened into profound reverence.

His historical triumphs were blindingly magnificent.

Yet, to forge those grand legends…

She had never truly paused to consider the catastrophic losses Leo had endured to earn the adoration of history.

‘I only ever perceived the immense weight of the destiny he carried.’

Her sole desire had been to stand beside him as a pillar of support, hoping to share a fraction of that monumental burden.

‘I never truly understood what that burden had already cost him.’

Leo had never been anything less than entirely earnest with her—and with all their fellow disciples at Lumerne.

He viewed them as future comrades destined to stand on the front lines of the world’s greatest tribulations.

Driven by the hope that they would rise to meet that challenge, Leo had invested his sincere efforts into guiding children who were technically centuries younger than his true self.

‘There is no universe in which Leo does not love Lady Reina with all his heart.’

Chelsea clenched her hands into tight fists.

‘The truth is, I understand nothing about the real Leo.’

The version of him she claimed to know was a mere drop in a vast ocean.

A wave of self-loathing washed over her for having felt a sense of alienation just because she caught a glimpse of his hidden depth.

“Chelsea.”

“…Yes, Leo.”

To surrender to blind fury and jeopardize a mission might be reckless, but it was undeniably a human reaction.

“Ensure you never become like me.”

Hearing his deeply sorrowful words, Chelsea bit her lip hard, unable to offer a reply.

As the darkness deepened.

Utilizing a spatial warp gate, Leo arrived in Payon and immediately proceeded to the exact location of the abduction.

The perimeter was heavily secured by a dense deployment of Zerdinger knights.

“Young Master Leo.”

An elite Zerdinger knight stepped forward to greet him.

“Count Flóv remains isolated at the center of the investigation site… We have repeatedly implored him to retreat indoors due to the biting chill, but… he refuses to alter his position.”

“…I shall approach him alone.”

Directing those words to Chelsea, Celia, and Avard, Leo stepped past the guard line into the crime scene.

As he walked deeper into the area, his eyes sharpened.

‘Mother fought back with everything she possessed.’

Though Reina lacked the capacity to manifest Aura, her mastery of blade techniques was undeniable.

The surrounding environment bore the scars of a violent struggle, littered with splintered debris.

Suddenly, Leo came to a halt, his eyes locking onto distinct scorch marks on the ground.

‘…The unique flame of Zerdinger?’

Dropping to one knee, Leo carefully examined the blackened stones.

From the residual patterns of the burn, he detected the faint trace of a foreign mana signature unlike anything he had encountered before.

And yet… there was an underlying, intimately familiar essence embedded within it.

‘…Could it be Mother’s?’

Arriving at that startling realization, Leo rose to his full height.

He then walked directly toward the stationary figure of Deide.

“Father.”

“…Leo, you’ve arrived.”

Deide turned to face his son, his eyes hollow and devoid of focus.

“Due to your father’s utter helplessness… your mother was…”

“…Do not shoulder this blame, Father. The failing is entirely mine.”

“No… the fault lies with me… I failed her…”

Leo listened quietly as Deide continued to murmur in deep self-reproach.

“…I give you my word that I will bring Mother back safely. Therefore, you must sustain yourself, Father. If you allow yourself to break under this strain, I will lose my own anchor.”

Hearing his son’s steady voice, Deide bit his lip hard and gave a strained nod.

“I must conduct a further review of the area. I shall rejoin you shortly.”

“…I understand.”

Deide offered a weak nod and forced his heavy footsteps away from the site.

“Father, does Mother possess a distinct mark… on her right breast?”

Deide paused. “She does. Whatever makes you ask such a thing?”

“…I merely required verification for my investigation.”

Leo offered a solemn, bittersweet smile.

“…Do not push yourself past your limits.”

Casting a deeply worried look back at his son, Deide finally walked away.

A sudden, freezing gust of winter wind swept through the open area.

Left entirely alone in the darkness, Leo spoke aloud to the empty air.

“Your presence is required.”

In an instant.

A multitude of hidden figures—elves, beastfolk, and dwarves—materialized seamlessly from the surrounding shadows.

These were the elite Shadow Lords accompanied by their sworn operatives.

“Awaiting your divine decrees, God of Shadows.”

The Lord of the Northern Magic Tower.

Or rather, the Northern Shadow Lord, Algreen Beggs, dropped to one knee. In perfect unison, every single shadow present knelt in absolute submission, bowing their heads toward the earth.

Leo shifted his gaze, locking his eyes onto the silhouette of the distant citadel.

“Infiltrate the depths of Zerdinger Castle. Expose every hidden thread and identify every collaborator tied to this treason.”

“Do you command their total eradication upon discovery?”

To the cold inquiry posed by Kirín, the Southern Shadow Lord, Leo replied with chilling neutrality.

“No.”

His crimson eyes flashed with an executioner’s light.

“That slaughter belongs to me.”