Chapter 664

A brilliant silver flash erupted, scattering blood across the battlefield.

A crimson glint ignited deep within Leo’s eyes.

“NOOOOOOOM!”

Kwagagagagagang-!

The massive Giganto bellowed, swinging its colossal arm with enough raw power to generate a violent gale that swept over the surrounding terrain.

Thud-!

“Hmm!”

Giganto’s eyes widened in astonishment as it focused on Leo, who had somehow managed to land directly onto the back of its massive hand.

Buwak!

“Kuaaaak!”

In the blink of an eye, Leo closed the distance to the beast’s face and delivered a brutal slash across Giganto’s eye.

Boom! Kwagagagang-!

Thrashed by the agony, Giganto rampaged blindly, its roars echoing through the air.

Five thousand years ago, Giganto had undoubtedly been a terrifying adversary. However, the vast wealth of experience forged while bringing an end to the Age of Calamity ensured that this confrontation remained a predictable routine for Leo. Most importantly, Leo wielded an armament crafted by Dweno, which served as Giganto’s absolute fatal weakness.

Bloodshot veins webbed across Giganto’s rapidly regenerating eye. Locking its gaze onto Leo once more, the behemoth let out a deafening screech.

“GRAAAAAAAARGH!”

The monster’s capacity for reason dissolved under a brand of pain it had never before encountered. This novel torment only served to fuel its immense fury.

“How dare a pathetic human toy with me! You are nothing but food, I tell youuuuuuuu!”

Leo watched with an indifferent expression as Giganto charged blindly, unleashing a terrifying torrent of dark magic. Because the creature’s trajectories were entirely predictable, Leo was able to steadily and continuously inflict damage upon it.

Giganto’s lethal nature didn’t rely solely on a physical frame that was completely impervious to aura; its staggering rate of regeneration was an equally formidable weapon.

‘When it came to pure resilience, he easily ranked at the top among the fiends of Tartaros.’

Giganto’s physical vessel was a masterpiece designed by the Giant King Gias, the mastermind behind the most horrific armaments found within Tartaros. Consequently, its defensive capabilities easily eclipsed those of the legion commanders.

‘In my current state, executing him isn’t difficult, but it will consume a fair amount of time.’

Presently, Leo’s raw physical power fell short of the peak he had possessed prior to establishing Arhi alongside Lysinas. Even though he had been reborn with the memories and insights of a legendary hero, allowing him to reclaim his power at a spectacular pace, this current vessel had not yet reached its true prime.

“Ultimately, time is the only variable.”

A cold, unforgiving smirk played upon Leo’s lips.

“Then again, breaking him down a bit before the final blow isn’t a bad alternative. It gives me a proper outlet for my anger.”

Five millennia in the past, the legendary heroes had rewritten the destiny of the world. By rescuing a reality that was actively teetering on the brink of total annihilation, they became the most despised adversaries from the perspective of the denizens of Tartaros. Yet, even beyond that hatred, they were objects of pure dread.

Standing at the very center of that terror was Kyle.

Even demons were capable of experiencing fear, and to those particular monsters, Kyle was the ultimate personification of horror. He subjected the fiends to the most sadistic and agonizing methods imaginable, never once granting an enemy a merciful end. That was Leo’s personal retribution against Tartaros for fracturing the world.

‘I always did possess a wicked temperament.’

He was fundamentally different from the honorable Lysinas or the brilliant Luna. He shared little with the overly gentle Arion, or Dweno, who harbored a deep reverence for beauty.

“Now then, shall I make you beg for the sweet release of death?”

‘Good grief, Lysinas! Kyle’s terrible tendencies are breaking through again.’

The memory of Luna’s voice echoed in his mind, recalling how she would flinch whenever she witnessed him descending into utter cruelty.

‘Just let him release his pent-up rage.’

Lysinas’s voice also drifted into his thoughts, accompanied by a soft, resigned sigh and a shake of the head. Lysinas had always understood the underlying motives behind his actions.

‘Well, there is really no other alternative at the moment, Luna.’

Leo locked his gaze onto Giganto and hoisted his blade.

‘For the time being, this approach yields the best results.’

Wham-!

Slicing deep into Giganto’s flesh, Leo let out a silent sigh. He still possessed the capability to obliterate Giganto in a single, devastating strike. However, doing so would require Leo to expend a massive reservoir of energy all at once. This single engagement was far from the conclusion of their journey, and considering the conflicts ahead, conserving his stamina efficiently was paramount.

‘If only I had one of Dweno’s highly destructive armaments on hand, things might be different…’

Clink-

Suddenly, a strange weight snagged against the fabric of his shifting cloak. Reacting on sheer instinct, Leo reached deep into the hidden folds.

Swoosh-

A colossal greatsword manifested in his grip. Leo’s eyes widened slightly as he processed the weapon.

‘…This belongs to.’

“Leo! His demeanor is completely different than normal, isn’t it?”

Kal, who was actively barking orders to the rest of the vanguard, spotted Leo’s distant duel with Giganto and called out in sheer astonishment. Just as Kal pointed out, the aura radiating from Leo was entirely distinct from his usual presence.

“Ugh. Right now, the class representative is… how should I put it? He’s terrifying.”

Illiana, who was maintaining a continuous spell incantation from the rear ranks, instinctively drew her head back in fear. Observing her reaction, Kal clicked his tongue.

“To be fair, Leo has always possessed a volatile streak. Isn’t it only logical for him to express that level of fury when facing a literal demon?”

“The spell is fully charged.”

“Oh!”

Chelsea’s primary expertise lay in high-speed incantations. She was adept at unleashing magical bursts while constantly shifting positions and engaging in direct, close-quarters combat. She didn’t belong to the category of mages who suppressed their targets through overwhelming, brute magical capacity like Chloe or Abad.

However, that did not imply Chelsea’s internal mana pool was lacking; it simply required a longer window of concentration to manifest its true destructive potential compared to Chloe and Abad. Given a sufficient window of time, the absolute power of Chelsea’s spellcraft could easily rival either of theirs. Furthermore, one of Chelsea’s unique mana traits allowed her to seize control over the environmental mana in the immediate vicinity.

As incantations flowed seamlessly from Chelsea’s lips, the surrounding atmosphere shifted violently in response. Dark, turbulent storm clouds rapidly coalesced across the sky.

Flash! Sizzlezzzzzzzt!

Soaring high above, Eliza’s Wind Wyvern let out a piercing roar toward the heavens. A barrage of lightning cascaded simultaneously from the tempestuous clouds Chelsea had manifested. Eliza effectively guided the magical storm clouds that Chelsea had brought into existence.

Duran raised his heavy longsword directly toward the sky.

Crackzzzzzzz-!

A fierce torrent of lightning surged downward, using Duran’s blade like a lightning rod. An intense, golden radiance erupted from Duran’s entire form.

“The spell is primed! Everyone, clear the area!”

At Artian’s urgent warning, Ar and Driana, who were holding the front line alongside the three second-year knights, immediately dispersed. Gripping his hilt with both hands, Duran brought the blade down in a massive arc.

Flash!

Kwagagagagagagak-!

An incredibly destructive bolt of lightning tore through the battlefield. In an instant, the waves of Giganto’s lesser minions that were surging forward like an unstoppable tide were utterly vaporized by the electrical discharge. It was a massive, wide-area strike that easily eclipsed the scale of conventional high-tier magic.

Sizzle-! Crackle-! Wham-!

Despite the residual sparks dancing across his skin, Duran drove the tip of his weapon into the earth.

Snap-!

Strained past its absolute limits, the blade shattered into pieces. Duran stumbled, dropping heavily to his knees.

‘If only I had been utilizing Lightning Storm, the weapon wouldn’t have sustained terminal damage.’

Though he kept his expression perfectly neutral, the loss of his shattered family heirloom left a bitter taste in his mouth.

Watching the display from a distance, Kal murmured under his breath.

“…He actually pulled that off? What kind of monster is he?”

It was an intricate combination technique that seamlessly unified elemental magic, summoning arts, and advanced swordsmanship. This was a concept Kal had jokingly proposed to Eliza, Abad, and Duran back during their second year as a hypothetical method to best Leo. The primary obstacle had always been that Duran’s physical frame couldn’t handle the immense strain of the lightning. Yet, within a mere six months, Duran had conditioned a vessel capable of surviving that exact burden.

To Kal, the sheer dedication was chilling.

“You are genuinely terrifying.”

Hearing Kal’s remark, Duran shifted his gaze toward Leo, who was still locked in combat with Giganto far across the field.

Flash-!

A brilliant arc of azure lightning tore through the air, cleaving Giganto’s massive frame completely in two. Witnessing the sight, Duran cast aside the useless hilt of his broken sword and whispered,

“It’s still nowhere near enough.”

“He’s stubborn. Incredibly stubborn. Wait, Chelsea? Where do you think you’re going?”

Kal, who had been shaking his head in disbelief, widened his eyes as he watched Chelsea suddenly dart off in Leo’s direction.

“Groooooaaaaah…”

Severed completely at the waist, Giganto let out a low, agonizing groan as its ruined upper and lower halves twitched and convulsed upon the ground.

Leo silently evaluated the massive greatsword resting in his grip, which was completely enveloped in crackling azure lightning.

‘…Arion’s greatsword.’

It was one of Arion’s personal armaments, forged by the hands of Dweno—a weapon specifically designed to unleash overwhelming destructive force.

‘To think something like this was concealed within my cloak.’

Leo wore a slightly bewildered expression. He hadn’t even been aware of its presence, let alone considered drawing it out. It was as if the subspace pocket had actively responded to his passing thought that he lacked the means to execute the monster in a single blow. It had simply manifested in his hand when needed most.

‘Just like what occurred with Luna’s ring before.’

Leo glanced down at the ring belonging to Luna resting upon his finger.

Step- Step-

Swoosh-

Closing the final distance toward the writhing Giganto, Leo raised the massive greatsword high into the air.

Right at that moment—

Grab-!

A hand firmly caught the edge of Leo’s trailing cloak.

In the distant past, someone had intervened in an identical fashion whenever he began to lose himself to unchecked cruelty.

‘…Luna?’

Leo instinctively glanced over his shoulder. Instead of his past companion, he found Chelsea looking up at him with exceptionally clear, bright eyes while tightly gripping the edge of his garment.

“Brother Leo. Are you planning to torture that monster any further?”

“Why do you ask?”

“I’m worried about you. I just don’t want Brother Leo to be consumed by anger.”

A long time ago, Luna had uttered those exact same words. Hearing them mirrored so perfectly by Chelsea, Leo let out a soft chuckle. He reached out with his free hand and gently patted the top of Chelsea’s head.

“Ah, there’s blood on it!”

As Chelsea winced and recoiled slightly, Leo laughed softly. He turned back to Giganto and brought the heavy blade down directly through the creature’s neck.

Thwack-!

“Gurgle!”

Letting out a choked, final gasp of agony, Giganto perished instantly. The massive entity’s physical form rapidly deteriorated, scattering away into fine black sand.

With the conflict resolved, the rest of the companions began to close the distance. Leo remained standing in absolute silence over the patch of earth where Giganto had just disintegrated, staring intently down at the palm of his hand.

‘Just let him release his pent-up rage.’

Lysinas had always recognized the source of the profound bitterness that drove Kyle to such cruelty, which was precisely why he chose not to intervene. Luna, however, refused to stand by. She harbored a genuine concern for Kyle’s well-being, firmly believing that such acts would only erode his own soul over time. That was why she routinely chose to hold him back.

‘Yes, Lysinas. You were ultimately looking out for me as well.’

Unchecked wrath would inevitably consume its host from within. Lysinas had been well aware of that truth, and whenever Kyle finally desisted from executing his foes in the most agonizing manners possible, Lysinas had looked immensely relieved. The only reason he hadn’t actively barred him from doing so was because he sympathized too deeply with the pain in his heart.

The way the subspace storage had opened entirely independent of his own will suggested that perhaps Lysinas’s lingering spiritual essence, even after five thousand years, still worried about him falling into a spiral of cruelty and had offered a means to end it quickly.

“Chelsea.”

“Yes?”

Chelsea, who was currently occupied with using a small handkerchief to dab away the flecks of blood that had gotten into her hair, quickly trotted back over to Leo’s side.

“Thank you.”

“Huh? What for?”

“For pulling me back.”

“Oh, it’s really nothing at all. Heehee.”

Wipe- Wipe-

“Ah! Seriously! Brother Leo!”

Chelsea cried out in protest as Leo deliberately patted her head once more with his blood-stained hand.

“Very well, now that the bulk of the threat has been neutralized, let us begin mapping out the trajectory of Gigantes’s advance.”

At the direction of Artian, who had successfully reverted to his standard form, the gathered companions nodded in agreement. The Arhi vanguard proceeded forward, tracing the path left behind by Gigantes deeper into the heart of Tartaros territory.

“This entire situation is turning out to be incredibly bizarre.”

Ar muttered under his breath, clearly irritated.

“There are far too many creatures here that I’ve never even laid eyes on before!”

“Every single one of them consists of beasts from the Age of Calamity that are supposedly only preserved within historical manuscripts.”

Kal murmured, his expression growing increasingly solemn as he verified Ar’s observation. The Arhi party pushed onward, maintaining an unbroken rhythm of continuous skirmishes. Strikingly, every single creature obstructing their path belonged to species from the Age of Calamity—monsters that should have been entirely extinct in the present era.

“We’ve been locked in active combat for an entire day now, so it’s high time we established a camp to recover.”

In response to Kal’s suggestion, Artian consulted their map and noted,

“We are approaching the remnants of a ruined fortress. We can set up our camp there.”

Even though the structure itself had long since lost its strategic utility, the surrounding terrain remained inherently defensible due to the natural layout of the fortification’s original site. Upon hearing Artian’s words, the exhausted students felt their spirits lift slightly as they accelerated their pace toward the ruins.

As they marched, Duran checked the face of his watch.

“Dawn should be breaking before long.”

A full twenty-four hours had elapsed, forcing them to push through the entire night without a single moment of sleep. The first light of morning was bound to appear shortly.

“Even if we manage to reach the fortress, getting a proper wash is going to be out of the question, isn’t it?”

“Hmph. You certainly have a soft perspective on survival.”

“Ugh.”

Eliza openly scoffed at Illiana’s dejected complaint.

“But… doesn’t the sky look a bit unnatural to you?”

Driana tilted her head back, narrowing her eyes as she scrutinized the heavens above.

“Huh? What do you mean?”

Prompted by her remark, the entire group paused to cast their gazes upward.

“It looks standard to me, doesn’t it?”

Driana wore a deeply puzzled expression at Kal’s dismissive murmur.

“No, the actual hue of the horizon is fundamentally different from what a standard dawn looks like…”

“…It is the exact sky that hung over the Age of Calamity.”

“What?!”

Before Driana could even finish articulating her thought, Leo cut in with a low, grim whisper. His declaration caused both Kal and Chelsea to turn toward him in sheer shock.

Right at that precise moment—

Leo and Artian broke into motion simultaneously.

Whoosh-!

Artian lunged directly ahead of Driana, who had been leading the vanguard, and thrust his fist forward with immense force.

Crash-!

An explosive impact rattled the air.

Thud-!

“Cough!”

The assailant’s fist managed to sink deeply into Artian’s midsection. Before Artian could even attempt to mount a counter-offensive, the attacker struck his airborne back with an open palm.

Thump-! Wham-!

The unknown assailant then brutally pinned Artian to the earth, grinding a foot into his back where he had been slammed down.

Ar, eyes flashing with hostility, launched a swift kick aimed directly at the intruder.

Grab-! Whoosh-!

“Ugh!”

Ar was effortlessly caught and flung across the clearing. Delayed by a fraction of a second, Driana swung her heavy battle axe around to target the adversary.

Grab-!

Yet, the intruder merely extended a hand and caught the edge of Driana’s descending battle axe mid-air.

“Kuk!”

Whoosh-!

“What is the underlying motivation behind this unprovoked assault?”

Leo leveled the tip of his blade directly at the assailant’s exposed back, his voice dripping with freezing cold intent.

“Who… exactly are you?”

“That is an inquiry that we, the victims of this ambush, should be putting forward…”

“Brother Leo!”

Swoosh- Crash-!

An enormous battle hammer materialized out of nowhere, striking Leo with incredible force. Thrown backward by the impact, Leo quickly stabilized his stance and regained his footing.

‘The bones in my left shoulder are completely splintered.’

It was an extraordinarily powerful strike. Nevertheless, Leo consciously suppressed his rising killing intent and raised his gaze. The nature of the attack was intimately familiar to him.

Thump-!

“Allow me to rephrase the question on her account. You lot.”

The dwarf posed the question, a mild, easygoing grin playing upon his features.

“What are your true identities?”

Leo gradually lowered his defensive posture and allowed his lips to part.

“Dweno.”

Upon hearing his name, Dweno tilted his head to the side in mild curiosity.

“You recognize who I am? Interesting, boy.”