Chapter 578

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When Carr opened his eyes, pitch-black darkness consumed his vision.

'What is this?'

Carr held his breath and tensed his entire body.

He might have been a failing student, but he had somehow managed to keep up with Lumene’s curriculum.

As a result, he was thoroughly familiar with Hero’s Worlds.

That made it easy for him to recognize the current situation as an unexpected development.

'Lumene-nim’s World?'

Carr remained vigilant as he quickly organized his thoughts.

'They said the Genesis Heroes imprisoned Erebos within their Worlds, didn’t they? In the process, every Hero Record belonging to the Genesis Heroes that Erebos could have used as an escape route was discarded.'

Only one intact Hero Record from the Era of Genesis remained.

The one containing the World where Erebos had been imprisoned.

'If I’ve entered Lumene-nim’s World, then I must be inside a fragment of one of the discarded pages.'

Cold sweat ran down Carr’s back.

'Leo said that he was responsible for Seiren-nim appearing in the present world before, didn’t he?'

He had also explained that the Fragment of Erebos that appeared back then was part of the being that had attempted to escape the Hero’s World.

'That means this place could also be used as an escape route, doesn’t it?'

Recalling the Erebos he had encountered during the summer training camp sent chills throughout Carr’s body.

'First, I need to determine where I am and what point in time this is.'

Place and time.

Those were the clues needed to clear a Hero’s World.

'But why is it so dark that I can’t see anything? I seem to be lying on a bed, at least.'

'A prison? No, this bed feels luxurious.'

There was none of the dampness or foul odor characteristic of a prison either.

'I think there’s a pleasant fragrance coming from somewhere too.'

At the very least, he was clearly inside an unfamiliar room.

'Is it the middle of the night? No, even then, there shouldn’t be this little light...'

Carr carefully began to sit up.

At that moment, he sensed someone beside him flinch.

Carr froze.

'A person? An enemy?'

With no idea what was happening, Carr felt every one of his senses sharpen.

After determining that the other person showed no intention of attacking, he quietly cast a spell.

“Light.”

Flash—!

A small light appeared and drove away the darkness.

At that moment, Carr’s eyes met those of a woman he had never seen before.

“...”

“...”

Carr froze in place.

The woman did the same.

Carr opened and closed his mouth soundlessly.

The naked woman lying in the same bed as him gave him an icy look.

Fwoosh—!

She wrapped the blanket around herself, put distance between them with lightning speed, and picked up a rope that, for some reason, lay strewn across the floor.

Then she swung it like a whip.

Whirrrrr—! Crack!

“Ghk!”

The rope wrapped around Carr’s neck, making him stagger.

The woman yanked him from the bed.

Thud—! Stomp—!

The woman pressed a soft foot against the back of Carr’s head as he lay facedown on the floor.

“Ghk! You! Y-You’re Eliza, aren’t you? It’s me! Carr Thomas! Calm down!”

The woman—Eliza—flinched.

“Carr Thomas?”

Eliza removed her foot from the back of his head.

“Blond hair... I see. This is a possession-type World. But how did you recognize me?”

“Your eyes and the way you wield a whip made it obvious.”

Carr answered flippantly and tried to rise, but Eliza hurriedly stepped on his head again.

“Don’t raise your head!”

“Why?”

“Do you really have to ask?!”

Eliza growled, her face flushed and her shoulders trembling slightly.

Bang! Bang!

“Clary! What are you doing to make so much noise in the middle of the night?!”

Carr and Eliza froze at the middle-aged woman’s voice outside the door.

Eliza removed her foot from his head.

Carr looked up, and their eyes met.

'Clary? That sounds like it could be either a man’s name or a woman’s.'

'If he lives alone, then this room must be meant for a single occupant.'

Judging by the size of the room and its furnishings, it was indeed meant for one person.

“Don’t tell me you brought another female student into your room. I repeatedly warned you that if you did anything like that again, I would convene a disciplinary committee!”

The moment the woman finished speaking, Eliza ran toward the wardrobe.

Carr hurriedly shoved the clothes scattered across the floor under the bed, then dressed as quickly as possible.

Bang—!

“What is it? You’re disturbing my sleep.”

Carr asked in a drowsy voice.

'Wow. She’s the very picture of a dorm supervisor.'

The bespectacled middle-aged woman standing in the doorway gave off the unmistakable air of a stereotypical dormitory supervisor.

A male dormitory supervisor stood behind her with a stern expression.

Step— Step—

The female supervisor entered the room.

“Were you sleeping?”

“What else would I be doing at this hour?”

She regarded him suspiciously.

'Please leave. I can’t afford to cause a commotion here!'

Carr currently knew nothing about the person he possessed.

He would have no way to respond if a disturbance broke out under these circumstances.

The moment those around him began suspecting that something was strange about him, clearing the World would become far more complicated.

The supervisor stared at Carr suspiciously, then surveyed the tidy room once more and scoffed.

“Hmph. Then again, someone like you, who takes pride in breaking school rules, would never bother hiding a female student. You would brazenly ask what was wrong with being together and protest instead. Didn’t you say you weren’t afraid of the disciplinary committee either?”

'Just how much of a delinquent is the person I’m possessing?'

Carr let out a hollow laugh as he realized he had possessed the body of an utter scoundrel.

“But remember this, Clary Jesiang! Students from the other Hero Academies are currently visiting Lumene, as is Rodia-nim, the Dragon of Genesis! If you possess even the slightest awareness of your position as Student Council President, do not bring any female students into your room during this period!”

“Yes, understood.”

“How unusually obedient. Have you finally gained some awareness of your position as Student Council President? Or are you plotting something?”

“Plotting? Of course not.”

Carr waved his hands with his usual easygoing demeanor.

The dormitory supervisor scoffed and closed the door.

As soon as it shut, Carr leaned against it and sank to the floor.

“I thought I was about to get dragged into trouble.”

As he sighed in relief, the wardrobe door opened and Eliza poked her head out.

“Hurry up and give me this woman’s clothes.”

“All right.”

Carr retrieved the clothes he had shoved under the bed.

'That was certainly enough to make anyone panic, yet she didn’t even flinch.'

Carr shook his head in amazement as he recalled what had happened moments ago.

She had awakened naked in bed beside an unfamiliar man, yet rather than panicking, she had subdued him first.

'Then again, all the girls at our academy are terrifying.'

It would be rare to find a Lumene student who would scream and act helpless in that situation.

'They would try to crush the other person first. The students at our academy are terrifying.'

Carr let out a hollow laugh.

“A uniform? It looks like this is Lumene Academy.”

The female uniform was identical to the one from their own era. Having determined their location, Carr turned his head away and handed the clothes to Eliza.

“I found something useful in here.”

Eliza tossed something to Carr from behind the wardrobe door.

He caught it and laughed hollowly.

“A blindfold?”

“Put it on. If you take it off, I’ll kill you.”

“Yes, yes~”

Carr put on the blindfold.

Rustle— Snap— Rustle— Rustle—

He heard Eliza dressing.

Feeling awkward, Carr jokingly tried to change the mood.

“Rope and a blindfold. This is strangely embarrassing.”

“Why?”

“You know why. Eliza, do you happen to have rope marks on your body too?”

“How did you know?”

“...”

Carr fell silent at Eliza’s calm response.

“Hmph! Did you examine my entire body in that brief moment?”

“No! I turned my head away immediately!”

“Then how did you know I had rope marks?”

“...”

“How vulgar.”

Carr felt wronged, but he could not answer, so he had no choice but to remain silent.

“Anyway, I’m dressed now.”

Carr removed the blindfold at her words.

“This student’s name is Megin Shell. She’s a fifth-year in the Summoning Department.”

Eliza clicked her tongue after checking the name tag and the insignia denoting the student’s year and department.

“And she appears to be the lover of Clary Jesiang, the person you possessed.”

“Right.”

Carr scratched his head vigorously.

“Then who exactly is this Clary? I already know he’s an out-of-control delinquent.”

“Clary Jesiang. He was a student in the Magic Department and Lumene’s first Student Council President. We learned about him in our first-year classes, didn’t we?”

“You skip class all the time, yet you know that?”

“Hmph. This is basic knowledge. In any case, you’ve possessed a famous honor student who could not be more different from you.”

“He seems about as far from an honor student as someone can get.”

Carr scratched his cheek.

“Anyway, let’s organize what we know. But before that...”

Eliza crossed her arms and lifted her chin.

Carr looked puzzled by her arrogant expression.

“What happened earlier.”

“Hmm?”

“If you breathe a single word of it to anyone, I’ll chase you to the ends of hell.”

Eliza growled fiercely, her face slightly flushed.

They were not in their own bodies, but it had unquestionably been an embarrassing situation for both of them.

“I may have the loosest lips imaginable, but even I wouldn’t spread something like that around.”

Carr shrugged reassuringly.

Eliza nodded.

Then she furrowed her brow and rubbed her wrist.

“I don’t know what she did with that rope to make my wrist hurt like this.”

Carr grinned mischievously at Eliza’s genuinely bewildered expression.

“You normally act like a delinquent thug, but you really are the sheltered daughter of a prestigious family.”

“Are you saying you want to die?”

“I’m saying you’re innocent! Innocent!”

When Eliza tried to wrap the rope around his neck, Carr recoiled and shouted in alarm.

===

“What is going on?”

“Why did a Hero’s World suddenly activate?!”

“This wasn’t scheduled! It’s a Hero Dungeon!”

Chaos erupted across the Erek parade ground.

The professors who had been preparing for the match scrambled to assess the situation.

Waaaaaaaaah—!

Unaware of what was happening, the spectators assumed the match had begun and erupted into cheers.

Watching them, Leo narrowed his eyes and pressed his index and middle fingers to his temple.

—Melina.

—Yes, Leo-nim.

—Cut the live magical broadcast to the outside.

—Understood.

After contacting Melina from a distance, Leo stared at the center of the Erek parade ground.

The moment he activated Hyper Sense, an inexplicable chill brushed the base of his throat.

It felt as though someone had placed a blade against his neck.

He had experienced this sensation countless times before.

'A Hero Dungeon appeared in the middle of Lumene.'

That was impossible.

Lumene was responsible for clearing Hero Dungeons and recovering their Hero Records.

If a Hero Record had been buried beneath the Erek parade ground, they would have discovered it long ago.

Having survived countless brushes with death, Leo swiftly analyzed the situation.

'Is Tartarus behind this? Why would they do something like this?'

Even if they activated a Hero Dungeon, it posed no serious threat to Lumene.

They could clear it whenever they wished.

Normally, no one could enter a Hero’s World after it had already activated.

But through experimentation, Leo had confirmed that he could enter even while others were in the process of clearing it.

It was a privilege belonging to the owner of the Hero Record.

'Whose Hero Record is this? What are they after?'

As Leo furrowed his brow—

Fwoosh—!

Flames erupted at the center of the Erek parade ground.

Leo’s eyes twitched at the sight.

'The Calamity Flame?'

Rooooooooar—!

A pillar of black fire surged into the sky.

***