"......"
Chloe clenched the Black Grimoire tightly.
"I wanted to win no matter what. But I couldn’t think of any way to do it. So… So… I borrowed power that wasn’t my own."
The unique magic Chloe had originally prepared was a freezing field spell.
But she believed that wouldn’t be enough to defeat Leo in the exam, so she chose an unextinguishable flame instead.
That spell wasn’t something Chloe had created.
'I only implemented the spell formula written in this grimoire.'
Chloe herself didn’t even understand the principles behind the spell’s activation.
She merely justified it as her own unique magic to avoid suspicion.
That was also why she had reacted so sharply whenever someone asked about her magic.
On the day of the exam, she unveiled her spell, and as expected, the unextinguishable flame defeated Leo.
For a moment, she was thrilled. She thought she had finally caught up to him. But…
'How could I ever call this catching up?'
Chloe gritted her teeth, then let out a bitter laugh.
'What’s the point of complaining to her?'
She was a genius girl whose name was still remembered even thirty years later.
'She’s different from me. She’s special, just like Leo.'
Even if Chloe shared her feelings, there was no way someone like Alia could understand.
She’d probably just laugh at her.
But then, Alia, who had been silently watching Chloe, smiled.
"Miss Chloe, you’re a lot like me."
"What?"
"You know, I used to be really jealous of my brother too."
Alia gave a playful grin.
"He looks so dumb, yet he could do anything effortlessly. It was so unfair. Here’s a secret—my unique magic is actually based on something my brother created. I’m good at using existing spells, but I’m terrible at creating new ones. I even failed the Lumerne entrance exam twice."
Alia hugged her knees to her chest.
Chloe stared in disbelief.
It was hard to believe that this was the same Alia, the legendary magical prodigy whose name was still spoken of today.
"At one point, I really hated him. But then I had a thought—if I’m jealous enough to hate him, doesn’t that mean he’s someone worth admiring?"
Hearing those words, Chloe looked down at the Black Grimoire in her hands.
'Someone to admire…?'
***
Leo, who had been resting with his eyes closed, suddenly snapped them open.
He shot to his feet.
"Lord Leo, what’s wrong?"
At Velak’s question, Leo turned toward a part of the forest.
"Everyone, get ready for battle!"
Leo’s Hyper Sense had detected something.
And in that instant, the opponent had sensed them as well.
"Leo, what is it?"
"It’s him."
Chloe gasped.
"No way…?"
"Yeah."
Leo unsheathed his sword.
Thud—! Thud—!
A heavy tremor shook the ground.
Soon, a monstrous figure emerged from the dense foliage.
Standing nearly 3 meters tall.
Pitch-black skin.
It was the same as the image they had seen.
"Chubarn…!"
Chloe clenched her teeth.
Chubarn rolled his crimson eyes toward Leo.
His mouth stretched open.
"I’ve found you. A hero seed with the same qualities as that accursed Great Hero!"
Leo’s gaze sharpened.
Demons were creatures that prioritized the orders of their higher-ups.
And Chubarn’s order during the Chedmurders Incident was to eliminate the seeds of future heroes.
That meant he shouldn’t have cared about the one clearing the trial.
'But right now, this thing is clearly showing hostility toward me.'
Even though Alia—his primary target—was right in front of him, his reaction was off.
'And just now, he definitely called me the seed of a Great Hero…'
"KRUAAAAAH!"
Chubarn roared and charged at Leo.
Flash—! BOOM—!
The grotesque axe in Chubarn’s hand slammed into the ground.
But Leo had already moved out of its attack range.
Fwoosh—!
Flames flared up around Leo’s sword.
Clang—!
Leo’s blade sliced toward Chubarn’s neck.
But it didn’t leave a wound.
Leo’s eyes twitched.
Chubarn twisted his mouth into a grotesque grin.
"Foolish human!"
He reached out, trying to grab Leo.
But Leo smirked.
"That’s your mistake, you dumbass."
"What…?"
Crash—!
A powerful blizzard spell from Chloe engulfed Chubarn.
The freezing wind slowed Chubarn’s movements.
Leo took advantage of the opening, twisting his body into a spin.
Whoosh—! ROAAAR!
The flames around his aura burned even more fiercely.
SLASH—! SPLURT!
"He got him!"
"Nice!"
The group cheered.
The momentum from Leo’s spin had added force to his attack, slicing through Chubarn’s neck.
But Leo’s expression remained grim.
'I didn’t cut through the bone.'
Demons were different from normal creatures.
They were an aberrant species created by Erebus.
This level of damage wouldn’t be fatal.
Leo kicked Chubarn’s head, using the recoil to create distance.
'At least my attacks work.'
He took a deep breath and prepared himself.
Then his eyes widened.
The blood that had been gushing from Chubarn’s wound suddenly stopped.
Not only that.
The spilled blood began flowing back into the wound.
Crack— Crack—
"Hah— Not bad, human."
Chubarn grinned as he cracked his neck.
Thead's face twisted in horror.
"No way! What kind of regeneration is that…?"
"That’s not regeneration."
"Huh? Then what is it?"
"It’s a curse."
Curses were one of the demons’ special abilities.
Low-level curses could only weaken enemies, but high-level ones could distort the very laws of reality.
"[Negation]. A bothersome curse that erases attacks as if they never happened."
Leo rested his sword on his shoulder.
"Ho? You know your stuff."
"A Level 3 demon using a curse like that seems excessive, don’t you think?"
"Hah— You talk big. But you’re right. This curse is a blessing from Her Majesty, the Monster Queen Silatuna."
The first-years shuddered at the mention of that name.
The Monster Queen, Silatuna.
A commander of Tartarus and Erebus’s loyal vassal who had survived since the Age of Cataclysm.
"That’s a name I haven’t heard in a while. And it still pisses me off."
Leo muttered in annoyance.
"If our attacks are nullified… then how are we supposed to win?"
Alia asked, fear in her voice.
"The Nullification Curse isn’t absolute. And besides, Chubarn isn’t the one casting it. If he uses it too many times, the curse will fade."
"Hah— Do you really think you’ll survive long enough for that to happen?"
As Chubarn spoke, his subordinates emerged from the foliage.
"Forget about making it out alive. You, the remnant of the Great Hero, will die here."
"Remnant of the Great Hero?"
Leo let out a small laugh.
"You’re calling me that just because I’m an All-Class like Kyle?"
"Silence! Do not speak that cursed name!"
Seeing Chubarn’s violent reaction, Leo realized how Alia’s party had escaped him.
'There were demonic surveillance networks spread throughout the forest. I ignored them since Chloe and I weren’t primary targets.'
Leo sighed.
'This guy must have learned I’m an All-Class through that network. That’s why he’s been chasing me.'
By using Hyper Sense to avoid demons, Leo had unknowingly been playing cat-and-mouse with Chubarn.
Greater demons like Silatuna, who had survived since the Age of Cataclysm, were still alive.
That meant demons would remember Kyle.
After all, Kyle, the one who slew the creator of Tartarus, was their greatest enemy.
'Humans have forgotten about me, but demons still remember me. How ironic.'
Leo finished assessing the situation and gripped his sword.
"Get ready."
"Do you really think mere fledglings like you can take me down?"
"Of course."
"Hah— Such arrogance. But do your comrades share your confidence?"
Chubarn pointed behind Leo.
Turning around, Leo saw the party trembling in fear.
"You are the only one with such reckless bravery. Your comrades are already at their mental and physical limits."
He wasn’t wrong.
After countless battles, the entire group was exhausted.
"Heh."
But instead of being discouraged, Leo burst into laughter.
"Why do you laugh? Have you lost your mind?"
"No. I just think you know way too little about Lumerne."
"What?"
"Lumerne is a school where those who dream of becoming heroes enroll."
The eyes of the hero candidates fell on Leo’s back.
Step— Step—
Leo took a step forward.
Their trembling gradually subsided.
Determination returned to their gazes, and aura, magic, and spirit energy surged around them.
In actual history, they had died.
But they had never simply sat back and let themselves be slaughtered by Chubarn.
'There were never any records of Chubarn possessing the [Nullification] curse. That means he must have exhausted it during his first battle.'
Even in death, they had not given up.
Just like the Great Heroes who had once fallen to Erebus.
"That’s why I always remember this phrase."
A lesson engraved in the hearts of every Lumerne student.
The most fundamental condition for becoming a hero.
"Overcome your limits."
Tap—!
Leo launched forward, and Thead and Velak raised their weapons and charged with him.
"Foolish wretches! If that is your wish, then I will kill you first!"
Chubarn roared, swinging his axe.
"I’ll handle this guy. You all take care of the soldiers."
"Can you manage?"
"Of course. Just don’t worry about me!"
Leo dashed toward Chubarn.
BOOM—!
Chubarn’s axe slammed into the ground.
The impact sent shards of earth flying like black spikes toward Leo.
'If only I could summon Piora…'
In a normal Hero’s World, it might have been possible.
But in this rampaging Hero Dungeon, where the outside world was completely cut off, beast tamers couldn’t summon their beasts.
If elemental summoning was akin to making pacts with spirits, beast summoning was a 1:1 contract between summoner and beast.
That meant beast tamers had to summon their beasts before entering the Hero Dungeon.
'Elemental summoning won’t be effective against Chubarn. In that case—'
Fwoosh—!
Leo’s figure multiplied.
"What?!"
Chubarn’s eyes widened in shock.
Illusion magic—Mirage.
The black spikes passed harmlessly through Leo’s illusions.
Meanwhile, Leo’s counterattack began.
He formed his right hand into the shape of a gun, and light particles gathered at his fingertips.
BZZZT—!
"Akre Ray!"
CRACK—! FLASH—!
Small orbs of light turned into bullets and fired.
The most basic offensive spell in Star Magic.
Seeing this, Magic Swordsman Dani gasped.
"Wait, he’s a Magic Swordsman? And Mirage and Akre Ray? Both are Star Magic!"
THWACK—!
"Ugh?"
Chubarn’s eyes bulged as Akre Ray struck him directly.
Star Magic was created by Luna specifically to hunt demons.
Which meant it was their natural bane.
"A human dares to use this loathsome magic?!"
"Sorry, but I’m not the only Star Magic user here."
"Akre Ray!"
Alia also released her spell.
This time, multiple orbs of light rained down on Chubarn.
BOOM— BOOM— BOOM!
"You wretches!"
As the orbs struck his body, Chubarn let out a furious roar.
GOOOO—!
The [Nullification] curse activated, and all his wounds vanished.
"Tsk."
Leo clicked his tongue just as Chloe shouted.
"Leo! Hold on for a little longer!"
"Don’t worry. That’s my job."
At Leo’s response, Chloe closed her eyes and began chanting.
Modern magicians were categorized into three main types.
Combat Magicians, who fought in the front lines.
Versatile Magicians, who could operate in any position.
And Traditional Magicians, who fought from the back lines.
The Traditional Magician type had a glaring weakness.
'We’re completely defenseless while chanting.'
Since their spells took longer to cast, they needed their allies' protection.
But their strength was undeniable.
It was their overwhelming destructive power.
In this party, Alia was a Versatile Magician.
She could unleash powerful spells in rapid succession, but she lacked a decisive finishing blow.
'The only one here who can deal a lethal strike to Chubarn… is me. I can’t just rely on Leo. I have to… I have to do something.'
Chloe thought back to Chubarn’s curse.
'That spell… It might just work!'
End Of Chapter
