The Legendary Hero is an Academy Honors Student - Chapter 256
Chapter 256
Woooooooooo-!
Melina stared at the monster before her with eyes filled with despair.
The sky was cloaked in darkness.
The world was ablaze.
The Giant of Despair, enveloped entirely in black flames, roared at the sky.
“So this is… the evil of the beginning…”
Melina’s chin quivered.
The greatest hero of the age, the Dragon Lord destined to be etched into history, was as terrified as a frightened child.
The final chapter of the Heroes of Creation.
The Hero Record that had claimed countless heroes over the past 3,000 years.
Yet, it was the world’s long-held aspiration to conquer it someday.
Melina believed it was possible.
Her comrades were exceptional.
They were esteemed even in the vast history of the Age of Heroes.
She herself was no different.
She had resolved to achieve the world’s goal and restore true peace.
And so, she confronted the specter of past disasters.
As a result…
“Everyone…”
Melina’s face contorted with anguish.
“Please… please… open your eyes…”
Her voice, a desperate plea, crawled forth.
She called out frantically to her comrades who had fallen or vanished.
But no one responded.
This was different.
At that moment, Melina was engulfed by a fear and despair she had never known.
Ooooooo-!
Flutter-!
Erebos raised his arm.
Black flames surged forth.
The flames of disaster sought to consume what remained of Melina.
Melina bowed her head in resignation.
Crash-crash-crash-!
Flames roared around her.
Then Melina raised her head, astonished to see someone had halted Erebos.
A woman with pure white hair stood behind her.
Melina’s eyes widened.
The woman turned around and smiled at Melina.
She was a figure of immense renown.
Naturally, Melina recognized her.
Her distant ancestor.
“Lady… Rodia?”
Melina was stunned by the presence of the dragon of the dawn.
Thud! Kwagagagagang!
At that moment, a colossal wave surged from the sky.
Chiik-!
The water evaporated in the face of the black flames, sending thick vapors swirling.
Rumbleeeeeeee!
The wave quickly transformed into a tornado, driving away the black flames.
Melina muttered as she saw the water woman’s face at the center.
“Lady Azonia.”
Kwak!
Far ahead, a dwarf warrior swung his enormous axe with valor, severing Erebos’ arm.
Alongside him, a human with the longsword struck, carving a deep mark across Erebos’ chest.
It was Damien and Lumene.
Finally, the sky was adorned with starlight.
A shard of starlight embedded itself in Erebos’ body.
Seiren.
Melina couldn’t believe the sight of the Heroes of Creation.
The Heroes of Creation had arrived in the final chapter of the World of the Possessed Hero.
But how had they appeared?
“What’s your name?”
“M-my name is Melina.”
“Melina.”
Rodia smiled softly.
“Blessings for this meeting… Thanks to the great king of wisdom.”
Rodia, embodying the dragon’s example, asked, “Can you tell me how many years have passed since we sealed that damned fireball?”
“About 2,900 years…”
“I see.”
Rodia nodded.
She spoke with a gentle smile.
“Leave the rest to us.”
“I’ll fight too!”
Rodia extended her hand to Melina, who was scrambling to her feet.
Swish-!
Melina’s eyes widened as she saw Rodia’s arm pass through her.
“You and your comrades can’t fight anymore. You’ll be going outside soon.”
Rodia’s smile remained bright.
“That, that…”
Melina realized.
The reason the Heroes of Creation had appeared in the World of the Possessed Heroes.
They had failed.
And…
Those who had been battling this struggle for thousands of years had begun fighting once more.
Rodia’s eyes widened with a bright smile as she watched Melina’s despair.
“You didn’t fail.”
“Huh?”
“Yes. This is a tactical retreat. You are still inexperienced, just as we were, so you can still grow stronger.”
Rodia reassured her distant descendant.
“I believe that one day, a descendant will rise who will defeat that damned fireball.”
Despite the dire situation, Rodia did not abandon hope.
“Someday, great heroes like you will emerge and save the world once again. So, promise me?” Rodia turned to her comrades fighting Erebos and said, “I won’t give up.”
Melina couldn’t respond immediately.
Before she could answer, darkness engulfed the world.
A comrade who barely survived became a wreck, and another left no trace behind.
All that remained before Melina was the cold message.
[Conquest failed].
“They succeeded in trapping Erebos in their own Hero Records and weakening him by tearing their Hero Records apart… but Erebos himself tried to break the seal and escape.”
Erebos was the natural enemy of the gods.
Ultimately, it was clear that he would burn through the Hero Records and reemerge into the world.
“So they entered their own Hero’s Worlds to stop Erebos there?”
“Yes.”
Mel nodded.
The Erebos in the final chapter of the Heroes of Creation’s Records was, after all, the ‘real’ one.
“If you examine the Records left by those who barely escaped after attempting to conquer their final chapters… it seems the Heroes of Creation are repeating the process of sealing Erebos in their Hero Records.”
“In a loop?”
Leo narrowed his eyes.
“Yes. And every time the world repeats, it seems they lose their memories from the previous attempt.”
Leo’s face hardened.
The Hero Records were artifacts created by the gods.
Erebos was the natural enemy of the gods.
If he had entered the world where Erebos was trapped, it wouldn’t be surprising if the Hero Records themselves went out of control.
‘So you’re saying he’s been trapped?’
Perhaps the Heroes of Creation were prepared for this.
“And the Hero Records that are sealing Erebos are cracking right now…”
“Yes.”
Leo took a deep breath.
The flames grew stronger as they burned.
‘In the Hero’s World, the fragments of Erebos have burned for 3,000 years, growing in strength. This means they have become so powerful that the Heroes of Creation can no longer handle them.’
There must have been countless instances where the Heroes of Creation were defeated in the endless loop.
It wasn’t because the Heroes of Creation lacked strength.
Rather, Erebos was immortal.
The main reason the Great Heroes were almost able to defeat Erebos was because of Kyle, who shared characteristics with Erebos’ natural enemy.
“Erebos will defeat the Heroes of Creation and emerge into the world within the next 100 years at most. So we need to raise up heroes who can conquer the final chapter before then.”
After failing to conquer the final chapter, Mel endlessly prepared for another attempt.
However, Mel was unable to manage a second attempt within her own generation.
Her comrades who barely survived the first time did not live long enough, and eventually died.
Later, one promising hero, the Swordmaster, emerged.
Even in Kalian’s generation, no five heroes were born who could challenge him.
Mel knew better than anyone, having survived the final chapter.
‘Luck doesn’t help in the final chapter of the Heroes of Creation.’
What was needed was the power to subdue Erebos.
Mel worked tirelessly to achieve that.
And now…
“The stage has been set.”
Mel smiled faintly at Leo’s words.
The person who would end the invisible threat was right before her.
“Let’s start now.”
Leo’s red eyes burned with determination.
“We will prepare to conquer the final chapter of the Heroes of Creation.”
“Yes.”
The times were changing.
Hwaak!
The intermediate-level wind beasts stirred the wind.
Leo’s white hair rose into the sky.
Leo saw this and waved his hand lightly.
Whiooooo-!
A small whirlwind appeared in front of Leo, and a low-level wind spirit, Sylph, emerged.
Sylph circled around Leo, protecting him from Sasha’s attack.
“Ugh!”
Sasha staggered and collapsed after exhausting all her spiritual power.
Sasha, who had been gritting her teeth, turned her head. “Leo’s friend! How much time do we have left?!”
“Oh, I have a name, don’t you know? Carr, right? Junior?”
Grumbling, Carr took out his watch, checked it, and shrugged.
“There’s about an hour left.”
Sasha got up on her trembling legs at Carr’s words.
‘I understand the problem for sure.’
Sasha clenched her teeth.
‘I can’t stand up to Leo’s spirit sorcery.’
Since most challengers had dropped out and only the five who originally challenged him during the entrance exam remained, Leo had stopped using his various abilities.
When facing Aina, Haviden, and Luke, he only used Aura.
When facing Juen, he used sorcery, and when facing Sasha, he only used summoning.
What they felt when facing Leo was an insurmountable wall.
Sasha realized.
With her current skills, she couldn’t touch even a single hair on Leo’s head.
“Have you given up?”
Sasha hesitated at Leo’s question, then clenched her teeth.
“Yes.”
“So that’s what you three have given up.”
At Leo’s words, Sasha slumped her shoulders and walked toward the sword.
Haviden, Sasha, and Juen had declared their surrender.
“What are you going to do?”
Leo turned his gaze to Aina and Luke.
Luke looked at Aina and said, “Aina, would you like to go first?”
Aina clenched her fists at the question.
“No. With my current skills, I know I could never reach him.”
Despite her persistent challenges, Aina realized it was pointless to continue.
It wasn’t just Aina.
The others felt the same.
‘There’s no one among the first-year students who can beat him.’
“Wow! This is really wrong! Foul, even! Our juniors are working so hard, so I think it’s worth giving them a chance~”
Carr chuckled at Juen’s muttering as he lay on the floor.
“There’s no such thing as mercy in Leo’s dictionary. By the way, shouldn’t you guys decide on a mentee quickly?”
Juen jumped up and said, while sitting cross-legged, “Just find any senior from the sorcery department and ask them.”
Juen was confident.
The foundation of her sorcery was built at the Southern Sorcery Tower anyway.
She was sure that being the mentee of just any sorcerer wouldn’t significantly help her development.
“Plus, I can receive private tutoring from Torua.”
Torua, who graduated last year and became a great sorcerer immediately after, also belonged to the Southern Sorcery Tower.
And Juen, the daughter of the Lord of the Southern Sorcery Tower, had been very close to Torua since childhood.
If she could receive tutoring from her, it would be no exaggeration to say that second-year students wouldn’t offer much more.
“How about getting tutoring from Chloe?”
“The Southern Sorcery Tower and the Northern Sorcery Tower are rivals, right? You know that, don’t you?”
Juen’s eyes widened at Carr’s words.
At that moment, Luke approached Leo.
“Luke, stop. Stop wasting time and find a mentor yourself. If you can’t find one, you might be kicked out.”
Harrid didn’t specify what would happen if a student didn’t find a mentor.
But, as his name of the Lumene Wailing Wall suggested, expulsion might be the consequence.
“I want to try one more time.”
Luke walked towards Leo, smiling awkwardly and scratching his head.
He took a deep breath.
“Please take care of me.”
Leo responded as he drew his sword at Luke’s words.
“Please take care of me, as well.”