Chapter 634

Ain observed the glowing monitor in front of him, keeping his arm resting gently around his partner’s shoulder.

On the other side of the display, the five academy students who had taken up the role of gatekeepers could be seen clearly.

Yura let out a sharp breath the moment she noticed Leo casually lounging there, waiting for the arrival of the 4th and 5th-year students.

“Honestly, every time I catch him doing something like this, I feel like his mind is unhinged, rather than him just being courageous.”

Ain let out a soft groan in response to Yura’s quiet complaint.

“That exact trait is what makes someone a true hero.”

Whenever an insurmountable obstacle presents itself.

There are certain dilemmas that a person simply cannot untangle unless they possess a touch of madness.

Things like breaking into laughter in the middle of a catastrophic event, or leaping headfirst into danger without a second thought, even when a single misstep means absolute death.

‘Granted, they also act entirely out of their minds in everyday school life, but looking at these two right now…’

Ain shifted his gaze for a brief moment toward his two younger colleagues, Yura and Ren, who were an absolute embarrassment no matter where they were brought along.

“Without a doubt, that specific characteristic is vital.”

Yura nodded her head in agreement.

“But Senior Yura, don’t we have individuals right here who lack sound minds even during normal daily activities?”

“Ah, you’re right.”

Yura nodded along with Ren’s remark.

The focus of the two instructors shifted subtly toward Ain for a split second.

Sensing their eyes on him, Ain reached out instantly and grabbed both of them tightly by the backs of their necks.

“You kids, showing such disrespect to your senior!”

“Ow! Why! You were definitely harboring the exact same thoughts first, Senior!”

“Hmph—instantly resorting to physical force. Truly typical of Senior Ain, whose head contains absolutely nothing but muscle fibers.”

Yura struggled against his grip, while Ren cast a freezing glare in his direction.

Observing the rowdy trio of professors behaving like this yet again today, Artian raised a hand to mask a soft, amused smile.

“It truly seems like there was never a peaceful moment when the three of professors were attending classes together. What was your experience with them like, Professor Harland?”

“They were nothing but shameless troublemakers wherever they went.”

Harland offered his evaluation with zero hesitation.

“Setting that aside, I do wonder if student Leo will truly be fine entering the fray completely unprepared like that.”

At this very moment, Leo was idly waiting for the 4th and 5th-year cohorts while completely exposing himself to danger.

Even now, the 4th and 5th-year students were actively monitoring Leo’s position using various scouting spells and summoned familiars.

“Student Leo ought to be more than capable of deflecting those minor surveillance attempts, though.”

“He is most likely choosing to simply crush them under the weight of raw power.”

“That doesn’t quite sound like student Leo’s usual calculated approach, does it?”

It was common knowledge across the academy that Leo’s combat capabilities were already immense, placing him on par with fully realized figures who had climbed into the echelons of true heroes, far surpassing the standards of normal students.

The massive crisis involving the Hero Slayer, which had set everyone talking over this past winter holiday, served as undeniable proof.

Reese, Ulta, and Zamua were already exceptionally capable fighters who could easily hold their own among seasoned heroes.

‘It is undeniably true that individuals who accomplish legendary deeds and secure the mantle of a hero are exceptionally powerful. However, possessing or lacking that official status is not the ultimate benchmark of actual strength.’

In reality, there were numerous combatants who wielded the raw might of a hero, or perhaps even greater power, despite never officially achieving that rank.

The only thing separating those individuals from recognized heroes was a lack of recorded legendary exploits.

‘Reese, Ulta, and Zamua. Even if those three joined forces and fought as one, they would have stood absolutely no chance against the Hero Slayer.’

That particular entity was, in the most literal sense, an incomprehensible terror.

‘The outcome would remain unchanged even if Celia, Avard, and Chelsea lent their assistance. Furthermore, the enemies those youths encountered weren’t the actual Hero Slayer, but rather Hero Hunters who had obtained distorted strength through the ‘World of the Legion’.’

Harland turned over the detailed documentation concerning the Hero Slayer in his mind as he focused his attention back on Leo.

‘Raina engaged him in combat by drawing upon the immense power of the Spirit of Purification, but… in the end, even that proved insufficient.’

Gathering all the clues from the aftermath, it was blindingly obvious that Leo had single-handedly brought down the Hero Slayer.

‘If I were to estimate Leo’s current combat threshold… he would be entirely on par with Lord Kalian during his golden era.’

Harland mentally calculated Leo’s raw capacity.

Naturally, that estimation only accounted for pure ‘potency’.

Meaning, the literal volume of his mana pool.

When one factored in Leo’s vast combat wisdom and masterful techniques.

Along with his flawless All-Class adaptability, it was genuinely impossible to predict the heights his final strength might reach.

‘It is highly probable that he might eventually wield power comparable to the legendary Giant King or the terrifying Lich King.’

Throughout the entire chronicle of the Age of Heroes, a mere five individuals were formally recorded as capable of fighting on equal terms, entirely alone, against the monstrous Legion Commanders who had plagued the world since the Age of Calamity.

Every single one of them belonged to the legendary Heroes of Creation.

Naturally, outside the official records, individuals like Berchia and Bihar existed as well, but even someone as knowledgeable as Harland found it nearly impossible to uncover deep details about figures erased from standard history.

‘From the very moment he arrived, his mental fortitude, technical mastery, and sheer experience were already fully realized.’

Harland shook his head slightly, thinking back to Leo’s initial year at the academy.

Never in his entire career as an educator had he encountered a student who literally had nothing left to learn from him.

That was precisely how absurd and anomalous Leo’s presence truly was.

Even so, that did not guarantee that the 4th and 5th-year students would simply be swept aside by Leo without putting up a fight.

In fact, by leaving himself wide open in such a defenseless posture, even someone of Leo’s caliber could find himself in a precarious position. A single unguarded individual facing off against a massive, meticulously organized army.

No matter how ridiculous his martial strength might be, Leo’s current behavior leaned far too close to outright recklessness.

Yet, Leo was deliberately lingering, giving his adversaries ample time to coordinate their plans perfectly.

Harland, who had been quietly analyzing Leo’s posture from the sidelines, finally spoke up.

“He is likely aiming to deliver a harsh, undeniable lesson. To show the 4th and 5th-year students exactly what they are missing right now.”

Upon arriving at the isolated, barren island, Leo spent his time casually flipping a small, palm-sized key he held, tossing it up into the air before practicing balancing it precisely on the tip of his pointing finger.

Leo let out a slow yawn, a look of profound boredom settling over his features, before catching the key out of the air with a sharp thump and whispering under his breath.

‘The glaring flaw of the 4th and 5th-year students. They completely lack a core axis.’

Leo never harbored the belief that the upperclassmen were deficient in terms of individual combat prowess.

They had navigated through all kinds of brutal trials within the walls of Lumern, proving their resilience by surviving up to this point.

Yet, there was a tiny, critical piece missing from their capabilities when compared to the actual graduates.

‘Their collective coordination is nothing more than a fragile castle built on sand.’

Leo clicked his tongue in mild disappointment.

At its core, the institution of Lumern.

In fact, every hero academy across the world fundamentally trains its pupils to achieve the feat of ‘Giant Killing’.

They instruct them on the precise methods required to take down an adversary who is overwhelmingly superior in raw strength.

Such a curriculum was completely logical.

A hero is fundamentally defined as a being who must shatter overwhelming tribulations, and tribulations imply obstacles far too massive to conquer through individual strength alone.

The most foundational strategy for overcoming a vastly superior foe is to pool everyone’s resources together.

For that reason, heroes naturally grow exponentially more formidable the more tightly they weave their strengths together.

Cultivating deep, unbreakable connections with one’s comrades is viewed as a primary virtue of any true hero.

Regrettably, the current 4th and 5th-year cohorts possessed incredibly brittle connections.

‘Because within the current 4th and 5th-year classes, there are singular, absolute figures whom the rest can simply follow blindly without needing to think for themselves.’

Those central figures were Lil for the 4th-years, and Elena for the 5th-years.

Elena, in particular, exercised an absolute, magnetic authority over the entire 5th-year class.

Not only did she completely dominate and steer her entire peer group the moment she stepped into the academy, but she also commanded a level of respect that utterly dwarfed the leadership of previous graduating classes.

In the case of Lil, she didn’t wield the same brand of overpowering, tyrannical charisma that Elena possessed.

Even so, the current 4th-year class was a group that had generally been viewed as somewhat underwhelming when stacked against the surrounding years.

As a matter of fact, during the grueling events of the Luserian War, Seirun scarcely perceived any genuine danger emanating from the 4th-year ranks, with the sole exception of Lil.

Lil had poured her entire heart into protecting and uplifting her peers, guiding them step by step all the way into their 4th year.

‘On certain occasions, I can even perceive a sense of unyielding devotion directed toward Lil. Is that a natural byproduct of Lil originating from a prestigious military lineage?’

Though it didn’t manifest as blind, mindless submission, to the 4th-year students, Lil functioned as an irreplaceable supreme commander whose orders were meant to be executed without question.

‘Whenever Lil and Elena take charge of the formations, they display a level of solidarity that puts other cohorts to shame, but the moment those two are absent, they fracture and act entirely independently.’

Relying heavily on an undisputed figurehead was quite similar to the situation within Leo’s own class, but there existed a massive, fundamental divergence.

‘I took deliberate steps to ensure that my peers learned how to forge ahead on their own two feet.’

He operated in a completely different manner from Elena, who governed like an absolute autocrat, or Lil, who maintained her class’s stability through gentle, protective guidance.

Of course, one couldn’t strictly place the blame on either of those two women.

Leo was essentially a battle-hardened hero, molded by countless lifetimes of brutal experience, whereas those two, regardless of how brilliant they were, were still just young students.

‘Regardless, the faculty wants the 4th and 5th-year students to wake up to their own fatal flaws. To realize just how heavily they have leaned on Elena and Lil without even consciously recognizing it.’

That was the precise reason the instructors had set them on a collision course with Leo.

‘When they find themselves forced to confront an overwhelmingly dominant adversary whom they must cooperate perfectly to overcome. Let’s see just how quickly they fall apart without Elena and Lil present to guide them.’

Leo curled his lips into a knowing smirk, having perfectly deciphered the hidden agenda of the teaching staff.

‘If that is the exact lesson the professors wish to impart, then I might as well play my part perfectly.’

Leo thrust his arm straight out in front of him.

BOOM—!

An immense, roaring projectile of pure fire hurtled directly toward him, detonating violently the instant it made contact with the palm of Leo’s outstretched hand.

Whoosh! Crackle-crackle-

The shockwave tore through the immediate environment, reducing the terrain to scorched, smoking ruin.

Only the tiny patch of ground where Leo remained seated was left completely untouched by the blast.

Leo offered a wide, amused grin, locking his gaze onto the 5th-year magic specialization student who had unleashed the spell against him.

“Tch!”

The mage clicked her tongue in frustration before her form vanished into thin air.

“A Warp spell, I see. You guys have put together a rather clever tactic.”

Leo let out a low chuckle. Without even bothering to rise from his spot, he reached out with his free hand—the one not holding onto the key—and drew his blade in a fluid motion, cleanly deflecting a concentrated arrow of aura aimed directly at his spine.

Ting—! Zzzzzzzing—!

The singular projectile shattered into hundreds of fragmented aura needles, bouncing harmlessly away before rocketing upward into the open sky.

The assault didn’t pause there.

An endless barrage of condensed aura strikes, destructive elemental magic, and summoned beasts began raining down upon Leo from every conceivable angle.

“You’ve certainly arrived with thorough preparations, making sure not to underestimate me in the slightest.”

Leo pushed himself up to a standing position.

His crimson eyes gleamed with a predatory light.

“Very well, then. Allow me to show you exactly what my dear seniors are lacking… this junior will carve that lesson directly into your bones.”

Had any of the faculty members been present to hear those words, they would have likely intervened immediately, arguing that a simple demonstration would suffice. Unfortunately for the upperclassmen, there wasn’t a single instructor around to rein him in.

In truth, even the professors failed to realize one crucial detail.

Namely, that Leo was fully capable of putting students through a training regime far more merciless than anything Lumern’s official staff could ever devise.

‘Super-senses.’

Leo’s perception expanded to an incredibly sharp degree.

The absolute moment Leo shifted his weight to move, the long-range attackers who had been pelting him from afar activated their warp magic and vanished simultaneously.

‘A coordinated, wide-scale warp gate array, huh. Are they planning to slowly drain my physical endurance by executing hit-and-run tactics with ranged combatants? Knowing that I typically dislike prolonged wars of attrition, they’ve actually constructed a solid plan.’

Leo dropped his center of gravity low to the ground.

‘Naturally, that strategy only holds weight if they possess the actual capability to buy themselves that time.’

Thwack—! Bang—!

He unleashed a powerful Aura Step, launching his body forward with the velocity of a speeding cannonball.

He tore directly through the terrain, moving in a straight, unswerving line toward the exact coordinates where the warp gate array had been established.

“He’s identified the exact location of the gate!”

“How on earth? There wasn’t a single trace of him deploying any sort of detection sensory magic?!”

“How should I know how he did it!”

“Damn it! Frontline vanguards, intercept Leo immediately! Mages, hurry up and prepare for relocation!”

A group of 4th and 5th-year knight students moved as a wall to obstruct Leo’s path.

Whoosh—!

Crack-crack-crash!

Five heavy blades converged at once, barely managing to halt the sweeping trajectory of Leo’s descending sword.

The sheer, concentrated force woven into his strike caused the complexions of the defending knights to instantly drain of color.

Particularly the 5th-year male student positioned at the absolute center of the clash, who found himself forced to look directly into Leo’s eyes.

‘What? Hold on a second. This expression… he genuinely looks like he intends to beat me within an inch of my life?’

Throughout his time at the academy, Leo had never once engaged in an unprovoked, hostile confrontation with his upperclassmen.

Furthermore, even after ascending to the position of student council president and officially achieving the status of a hero, he had maintained an impeccable, polite demeanor whenever dealing with older students.

Granted, there were bound to be a few individuals who harbored jealousy toward Leo, but the primary reason the vast majority of the upper classes respected him was because Leo always treated his seniors with genuine courtesy.

Consequently, witnessing Leo suddenly project a savage, murderous intent through his gaze left his senior completely paralyzed with shock.

The student was actually a fellow member of the student council, meaning the two of them had shared lighthearted banter within the council chambers on numerous occasions.

Yet, the entity standing before him right now bore absolutely no resemblance to the Leo he knew.

An oppressive, terrifying aura that seemed intent on obliterating everything in its path.

He resembled nothing short of a wild beast.

“Whoa, hold on, Leo! It’s me! Look at me! Belgus! Your fellow senior…”

Thud—

Leo’s hand shot forward like lightning, clamping firmly around Belgus’s face before slamming his head violently into the dirt below.

Boom—!

A torrential explosion of concentrated fire erupted directly from Leo’s palm.

Belgus’s body gave a brief, violent tremor before the system immediately registered his condition as a fatal casualty, forcefully warping his unconscious form out of the designated combat zone.

“What about being a senior?”

Hearing Leo’s chilling, hollow voice, a sudden, terrifying realization washed over the assembled 4th and 5th-year students regarding the specific title Leo held among the 2nd and 3rd-year classes.

‘The Demon King.’

“Step forward with the explicit expectation that you are going to die.”

Leo spoke in a freezing tone, letting loose a torrent of suffocating aura.

“Do not look for any leniency from me simply because you happen to be my seniors. I will tear every single one of you to pieces.”

“F-for now, fall back and re-establish our lines!”

“Why the hell does he look at us like that?”

“One of you idiots must have done something terrible to provoke Leo in the past, didn’t you?! Tell the truth! I’ve been incredibly sweet to him since his very first day as a freshman!”

“Is this really the proper time to be pointlessly bickering about that?! Look out! Run! Just run!”

The vanguard knights who had been tasked with containing Leo’s advance were completely paralyzed, their spirits utterly shattered by an overwhelming, primal pressure that was entirely detached from his usual demeanor.

“Kuh-heo-oh-oh-oh-ng!”

Leo let loose a deafening roar that mirrored the sound of a monstrous predator.

The terrifying howling technique utilized by beastmen.

A proper howl serves as a powerful tool designed to inject immense courage into one’s comrades while striking absolute, paralyzing terror deep into the hearts of one’s adversaries.

In an instant, the knight students, caught completely off-guard by the sonic shockwave, stumbled and lost their footing.

On this particular day, Leo utilized no complex stratagems.

He was executing a calculated hunt against his upperclassmen through the deployment of nothing but absolute, undeniable power.

A violent, crimson luminescence bled from Leo’s eyes, while an unbroken succession of monstrous howls ripped from his throat.

Staring blankly at the terrifying spectacle unfolding before her, a female student whispered under her breath, her face completely pale with raw horror.

“T-that thing isn’t a Demon King… it’s an absolute raid boss monster…”