Chapter 545

Leo looked up at Ulein, who hovered in the sky.

Ulein raised a hand toward him.

“You seem rather relaxed.”

“Because I can finally deal with you at my leisure.”

“Do you truly believe that inferior being can stop Velkia-nim?”

“She's a reliable disciple I've trusted to watch my back for a long time. Besides, those two have fought more times than they can count, so I'm not worried.”

“More incomprehensible nonsense.”

Ulein's eyes turned cold.

“I extended my favor to you, yet you rejected it, Leo Plov.”

Wrooooom—!

A massive wave of Magic Power surged from his hand.

“I will no longer go easy on you.”

Flash—!

Countless particles of light formed in the sky.

Watching the Magic shine like stars in the night sky, Leo smirked.

Ulein's eyes twitched at his reaction.

Booooooo—!

The blast of a horn echoed from the other side of the city.

Ulein frowned and looked toward its source.

The sound had come from the entrance to the underground city.

Seeing his reaction, Leo spoke.

“It sounds like something happened.”

“It is nothing. The slaves appear to have planned a pathetic rebellion.”

As the city's Council Chair, Ulein had already noticed the suspicious movements among those in the underground city.

“Not that their actions will mean anything.”

He pulled a misshapen stone the size of a human face from his subspace.

Countless magic circles covered its surface.

“A meteorite?”

“Your insight continues to surprise me. You are correct. This meteorite is a Divine Artifact that brought the blessing of the stars to this land.”

The meteorite began releasing an enormous amount of Magic Power.

The sheer pressure distorted the surrounding space.

“You called me a crude, third-rate Mage. I wonder whether you still hold such an absurd opinion.”

“I do.”

“Insolent.”

Ulein gnashed his teeth at Leo's mockery.

However, his lips soon curled into a smirk, and he looked down at Leo arrogantly.

“Unlike you, I am generous. This is my final gift to an excellent Stellar Mage. I shall use this great power to grant you your end.”

The corners of Ulein's mouth curved upward.

At the same moment, the countless fragments of light in the sky poured down upon Leo.

It was not Magic intended for a single target.

It was grand-scale Magic designed to annihilate a vast area.

And all of that destructive power was now concentrated upon one person.

Anyone else would have found themselves in a desperate situation.

Yet even before that torrent of light, Leo calmly raised his hand.

“I'm not particularly generous, but I'll grant you one mercy.”

For a moment, gray Magic Power flickered within Leo's red eyes.

“I'll show you what Luna would have done if she were standing here.”

Snap—!

He flicked his fingers.

Kaboom—!

Every spell hurtling toward Leo exploded in midair.

Whoooooosh—!

“Aaargh!”

The aftershock struck Ulein.

His barrier protected him from fatal injury, but it could not stop him from being slammed into the ground.

The meteorite that had floated above his palm tumbled across the floor.

Ulein stared up at Leo, his eyes wide with horror.

He understood exactly what Leo had done to his Magic.

And that understanding threw his mind into chaos.

'He interfered with someone else's Magic Formula and altered the spell! How is such a thing possible?'

“Just... who are you...?”

Thwack—!

“Gah?!”

Before Ulein could finish his question, Leo's fist slammed into his face.

Ulein rolled miserably across the ground, then shouted in fury.

“Such humiliation!”

Being defeated through Magic would have been one thing.

But for a Mage, being beaten with bare fists was the ultimate humiliation.

“I told you. I'm showing you what Luna would have done.”

Leo seized Ulein by the collar and hauled him upright.

“If Luna were here, she would pound your face to a pulp with her fists until she was satisfied, you damn half-baked Mage.”

Thud! Crack! Thud!

“Aaaaaagh!”

Leo began beating Ulein's face into a bloody mess.

Ulein screamed as the blows rained down and released his Magic Power.

Leo neutralized it without even blinking.

Slam—!

Leo's fist crushed the bridge of Ulein's nose.

“Cough!”

Struggling to breathe, Ulein raised his hand.

'More Magic Power! If I can use even stronger Magic!'

The meteorite lying in the distance flew toward him.

Snatch—!

Leo caught it.

Ulein smirked.

“Fool!”

Flash—!

A massive amount of Magic Power erupted from the meteorite.

Engulfed by that power, Leo tightened his grip.

Crrraaaaack—!

“...!”

Ulein's eyes widened as cracks spread across the meteorite.

Crush—!

The meteorite shattered in Leo's hand, its fragments falling to the ground.

Ulein's jaw dropped.

“The... the Divine Artifact! Eldon's great history...!”

Leo looked down at Ulein as he stammered through his crushed nose.

“You call a pebble like this the history of your city?”

Sneering, Leo crushed the remaining fragments in his hand and approached Ulein.

“How...? How could you destroy a Divine Artifact protected by such powerful Magic?”

“Because the Magic was crude.”

The corners of Leo's mouth rose.

“In terms of precision, even Seiren's first-year students are superior.”

Ulein's Magic was complex.

But it was not precise.

Rather than activating through precisely interlocking Magic Formulas, its complexity was forced into function through raw Magic Power.

“Your Magic isn't complex. It's merely messy.”

Shoddy Magic that was needlessly complicated yet lacked precision could never work against a Mage whose skill stood on an entirely different level.

Ulein knew that as well.

But...

'How can such a thing be possible?'

His body trembled.

'And this man isn't even a pure Mage. He's an All-Class...'

Ulein's eyes snapped wide as his thoughts reached that point.

An All-Class following in the footsteps of Kyle, the Hero of the Beginning.

Someone whose knowledge of Star Magic seemed bottomless.

And...

'This man called Velkia-nim his disciple.'

Ulein's body began to shake.

“Could it be...? Are you Kyle, the Hero of the Beginning?”

Leo did not answer.

He merely stared coldly down at Ulein.

Taking that silence as confirmation, Ulein screamed in anguish.

“Why? Why?! You knew the Founder of the Nebula! You learned Magic from her! Why do you deny us? Why won't you acknowledge our legacy?!”

Leo tilted his head slightly as Ulein shrieked like a man having a seizure.

“You members of the Pureblood Society truly are strange. You've never even met Luna, yet you act as though you know her better than I do.”

The followers of the gods who had vanished five thousand years ago had been exactly the same.

At Leo's murmur, Ulein began muttering like a man who had lost his mind.

“Luna-nim would have been different from you. If it were Luna-nim, she surely would have...”

“Yes, she would have been different. Luna wouldn't have been satisfied until she broke every last one of your heads.”

Leo could vividly imagine Luna furiously swinging her staff and shouting that she would smash their heads open.

Shing—!

Leo drew his sword.

“Since Luna isn't here, I'll have to do it in her place.”

Desolate murderous intent filled Leo's eyes.

“Now that I know how you maintained your power, I will pass judgment upon you as Luna's representative.”

Ulein turned pale and scrambled away.

“Templars! Templars!”

He screamed for the council's knight order.

But despite his desperate cries, his loyal knights did not appear.

Fwoooosh—!

Leo saw White Flame soaring into the sky in the distance.

'She's pushing herself too hard again.'

Lunia was holding back the Templars.

And the power she wielded clearly surpassed her limits.

'You've grown tremendously.'

Leo smiled faintly.

Step by step, Lunia was following in Luna's footsteps.

And she was not alone.

Eiran, who acted as Lunia's shield in the distance, was also growing at an astonishing pace.

“No! This can't be happening! I still... I still haven't achieved everything I wanted...!”

Stab—!

“Gah?!”

Leo's sword pierced Ulein's throat.

Squelch—! Splurt—!

Blood sprayed as Leo pulled the sword free.

Ulein's body trembled violently before his head slumped forward.

'This should mark the end of the Pureblood Society as well.'

The Pureblood Society's power had already declined significantly due to its collusion with the second coming of Seiren and Tartarus.

However, its original influence had been so vast that it continued to wield considerable power even after its reputation had fallen to rock bottom.

But this was the end.

'I don't know exactly what's underground, but judging by the Magic he used, my guess is probably close.'

They had enslaved members of their own race and drained their life force.

If it became known that they had subjected fellow Elves to an atrocity that would have warranted banishment even if committed against another race, the Pureblood Society would finally be finished.

Leo headed toward Lunia and Eiran.

At the front, Eiran was holding back the Templars.

Behind her, Lunia focused entirely on chanting Magic.

The Templars were Magic Swordsmen obsessed solely with learning Star Magic. Yet despite possessing Magic Power and Aura far superior to Eiran's, they could not overcome her.

Eiran's swordsmanship completely overwhelmed them.

The Mages in the rear had all their Magic blocked by Lunia's [Flame Emperor].

Star Magic: Flame Emperor, which Luna had created in pursuit of the ultimate flame, was an extraordinary spell.

It was one of the spells even Luna had never fully completed and ranked among the greatest Magic she had ever created.

The Star Magic practiced by Eldon's Elves was unstable.

At Seiren, Mages pursued their own Star Magic by incorporating concepts from other forms of Magic.

'The Star Magic Formulas passed down to later generations were unstable from the beginning. No matter how much Magic they build upon those formulas, the result will ultimately be no more than a degraded imitation.'

From the Pureblood Society's perspective, theirs might have been traditional, pure Star Magic.

But to someone who wielded the genuine article, it was crude.

'It's only natural for Lunia's Magic to consume it.'

No matter what anyone said, Lunia was Luna's officially recognized successor.

She was the Elf who carried on Luna's will.

“You look like you're struggling.”

“Leo?”

“Want some help?”

Lunia snorted at Leo's offer.

Even with an absolute advantage in compatibility, her opponents were formidable.

Both Lunia and Eiran had already reached their limits.

“I don't need it.”

“Oh? Why not?”

“Because I can't depend on you to help and protect me forever.”

Lunia stared ahead.

“Just wait. We're going to keep moving forward. We'll move forward and...”

Lunia raised her voice in declaration.

“Stand at your back!”

Leo's eyes widened slightly.

'Don't worry anymore! From now on, I, Luna, will...!'

The image of someone making a triumphant declaration surfaced in his mind.

'I'll stand at your back!'

It meant that, as a Mage, she would entrust the front line to him.

It also meant that she would create countless miracles while supporting him from behind.

“The brat is saying some cheeky things.”

“You called me a brat! You old man!”

Lunia shouted indignantly.

Leo burst into laughter.

“I'll be waiting.”

“Yeah! Just wait!”

Lunia answered confidently.

Leo turned away from her and looked toward Velkia's battle.

'These children are working hard to stand beside me on the battlefield, just as you once wished to, Velkia.'

Leo clenched his fist as he stared at his disciple, who was writhing in agony.

'So snap out of it and show the next generation what a Hero should be, you damn disciple.’