Chapter 43

When the clueless adventurers saw “Hero” Leon emerge from the cathedral entrance, the noisy crowd instantly fell dead silent. Confusion hung over every face like a visible question mark.

“Have the demons already been defeated by the Hero?” someone asked.

“There are no demons at all,” Leon replied.

At that moment, Moguso—a warrior from a one-star team lying on the stone steps, barely alive after being revived—gasped, “Th-the Hero just… attacked us…”

The adventurers erupted in uproar.

“Why would the Hero attack adventurers?” demanded Bane, the slaughter specialist of the two-star team “Golden Iron Triangle.” “Aren’t you supposed to stand with us!”

“Is there truly a demon hidden in the Aeon Grand Cathedral? Or something sinister?” asked Lovell, the Rose Knight.

“Let us go in and see,” said Mez, the “Afterimage Sword,” stepping forward.

“No!” Aile stepped forward and declared loudly, “Crown Prince Ivan Reyes has usurped the throne! He cursed the king and Second Prince to death! If we don’t stop him now, the Third Prince and Princess are in constant danger!”

Her words failed to sway them. Doubt thickened the air.

“You accusing the Crown Prince of treason sound more like rebels yourselves!” snapped Polex the bard.

“Stop being deluded! Move aside now!” Aile shouted angrily. Damn it—if not for the Aeon Hand still on cooldown, she wouldn’t waste breath on them.

“We trust the Adventurer Guild over your word alone,” stated Kane, the Wild Hunter.

“Exactly! Isn’t the Adventurer Guild justice itself? Haven’t we always done right? For years, it united us! You’re the deluded ones!” cried Gray, the “Silver Hand.”

“Ungrateful wretches! We shouldn’t have saved them during the volcanic eruption!” Aile spat bitterly.

“Move aside. Final warning,” Leon said coldly to the adventurers below the steps.

“If we let you pass, you’ll march straight to the palace, won’t you?” said Shining Fred, leader of the two-star Silver White Knights. “Everyone! Crown Prince Ivan Reyes is the king of adventurers! If we can’t protect our king, what are we?”

The Silver White Knights drew their swords in unison. Many adventurers followed, weapons flashing. The air turned deadly.

“Remember the Adventurer’s Oath! We pioneer the unknown! Drive out evil! Crush the strong to aid the weak! Shield the king! Until death! Glory eternal!”

“Naya, I need your Holy Sword of Light,” Leon said, sheathing his Mystic Silver Sword.

Naya nodded, praying to Aio—Leon’s Light Roar Sword instantly buffed into a giant light sword!!!

“The Hero’s gone mad—! Defend Dawn City!! Protect the Crown Prince—” Polex the bard yelled, but Leon’s giant sword smashed him and his companions away.

“The Hero’s controlled by demons!!” someone shouted. Leon charged down the forty-eight stone steps, smashing the entire Silver White Knights aside!

He plunged into the adventurers like a blade! Aile, Naya, and Ruri followed close behind. Leon swung the giant light sword wildly—mowing down those on his left like wheat! He spun right—the horizontal blade crashed into a cluster, sending them flying. They flailed in slow motion before crashing everywhere.

The giant sword carved a path! Mez, the “Afterimage Sword,” activated his ultimate “Ten Shadow Burial,” splitting into ten afterimages blocking the way—Leon smashed him and all shadows away with one swing.

Atoshi, defense specialist of the “Golden Iron Triangle,” blocked Leon’s path with his indestructible shield—forged from Roaring Mountain Town’s unique metal and drenched in A-rank Ironhide Rampaging Rhino blood, hard as Mystic Silver! Leon raised the giant sword and slammed it down repeatedly, driving him deep into the earth. Bane, the slaughter specialist, was knocked down by Aile’s Mystic Silver shield.

Leon pierced the crowd like a sharp sword—from front to back—they broke through the encirclement!? Finally, the cooldown ended. Aile raised her hand—

“Deluded lambs! Await Aio’s divine punishment!!”

Clouds churned! A giant silver arm descended from the sky—! Anyone seeing those crushing hands felt despair. As it fell, it wiped out every adventurer still standing! Not one remained!

“It’s over here,” said god-like Aile, lowering her arm. She turned away, her fluttering cape revealing countless fallen adventurers.

“Time for the palace,” Leon said, gazing at Dawn City’s grandest building—when a dark shadow circled above it.

“What is that? A dragon?”

Meanwhile, in the throne room—

“Your Majesty, we’ve returned at your summons,” said Tridiss, the “Dragon Mother,” kneeling before the Crown Prince. An imposing female knight, her armor deep red like her hair.

“Your dragon’s grown so large,” the Crown Prince remarked, leaning on the throne, chin propped on his hand.

“It devours a whole roasted sheep per meal—dragon fire does the cooking,” interjected Ailira, the “Infinite Arrows,” also kneeling.

“Your Majesty, I long to adventure with you again like old times,” said Lusia, the “Heaven-Defying,” gazing eagerly at him—a petite blue-haired girl in a white stand-collar cape, blue uniform, pleated skirt, white over-knee socks, and blue boots. Her small frame clashed with her title.

“This will be our final adventure,” the Crown Prince declared, raising his arm. “After tonight, I shall be crowned king!”

The Adventurer Guild’s sole four-star team—the Royal Knights! Ivan Reyes’s personal guard had regrouped around him.

To be continued.