Chapter 118
Chapter 118
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 118
Chapter Title: The Mystery of Dragon Slaying (3)
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“We can’t get close!”
“Damn it! Antonio! What the hell are you people plotting?!”
Whoosh—
The fierce gale and scorching heat blasting out from Krimhilt’s colossal statue refused to let Selphard and Arin approach.
They glared at Antonio as if they wanted to kill him right then and there.
But Antonio himself was stomping around in frustration, clueless about how to handle this.
He could already see the statue’s sword shattered and cracks spreading across its entire body.
‘You idiots... what the hell are you trying to do?! If you’re gonna screw things up, at least do it right! How do you mess it up this badly?!’
Antonio had instinctively realized that the Gang Brotherhood had failed.
Otherwise, things wouldn’t have turned into this mess.
The relic’s rampage.
This fact was sure to spread across the entire autonomous region soon enough.
And all the blame would fall on Black Skull.
His father, Humbert, would wash his hands of it, claiming it had nothing to do with Spinola given his personality.
He was caught between a rock and a hard place.
‘Should I pin it on them instead?’
Antonio glanced slyly at Selphard and Arin.
A scenario flashed in his mind: frame them for the crime and claim Black Skull had tried to stop them.
But,
Snikt!
“This bastard’s eyes are pissing me off.”
Arin had drawn her sword in an instant and pressed it under his chin.
Antonio bit his lower lip hard.
Right then,
WEE-OO-WEE-OO!
A siren suddenly blared loudly, shattering the tension between them.
Rustle rustle!
-Over here!
-Report of intruders around Krimhilt’s colossal statue! Suppress them quickly! Lethal force authorized if they resist!
-Magic corps! Call the magic corps, hurry! The relic is going berserk!
The sounds of the guards scrambling outside reached their ears.
They’d be discovered here any moment now.
Antonio and Selphard’s group exchanged quick glances.
An unspoken agreement: get out of here first and sort out the aftermath later.
But to do that, they needed to round up their comrades still around the statue—and the heatwave made it impossible to get close.
Just standing in front of it was enough to choke them and blister their skin.
“Just need to clear a path, right?”
A unfamiliar voice rang out then.
Selphard and Arin whipped their heads toward it.
It felt like pure white frost was suddenly descending from the sky, then a blizzard whipped up.
Rustle rustle rustle!
The heatwave split apart in an instant, and ice formed across the ground.
And there appeared a swordsman.
It was Ray Ragnar.
“Frost Ice Sword?”
“Can’t hold it long. Hurry.”
Selphard and Arin were startled to see Ray but shoved their questions aside and dashed across the ice.
Antonio bolted after them in a panic.
Time was of the essence.
* * *
“Care for some tea?”
Plum Palace was in an unusual bustle early that morning due to an unexpected guest.
It was Su-seon Palace Lord Niel.
They had been like sisters in their youth, but ever since both became Kyle’s wives, they’d grown distant—a rare sight indeed.
There must be something the two ladies wished to discuss privately.
The attendants served tea and quietly withdrew from the palace.
Clink.
“Lovely teacup. You’ve always had a thing for these delicate touches.”
“What brings you here, Su-seon Palace Lord?”
“Do I need a reason to visit? Is this place off-limits without one?”
“You’ve never visited without cause before, so it does strike me as odd.”
“...Fair enough, no argument there.”
Niel gave a wry smile and set down her teacup.
“I wanted to ask for some advice about my daughter.”
“Planning to rub it in before someone without children?”
“Heard you’ve taken in some adopted ones?”
Plum Palace Lord simply smiled gracefully without replying.
Her refined elegance was the polar opposite of Niel’s cool, aloof demeanor.
And it grated on Niel’s nerves.
“You look thrilled to death.”
“Have I raised any adopted children? A fine one simply came to me. It’s my good fortune.”
“...Can we drop the formal speech? It’s awkward as hell.”
“I’ll decide after seeing what Su-seon Palace Lord has to say.”
Niel sighed.
The world didn’t know.
The reason they’d grown apart wasn’t just some petty quarrel over their husband Kyle, as rumored—such things wouldn’t have severed their bond.
No, the distance had formed because of Niel. Her own fault, really.
It had started from the very beginning, when Plum Palace Lord couldn’t bear a child...
“A few days ago, Ray left Su-seon Palace. Said he was going to help Theo. Turns out he’d gotten permission from the White Dragon Knights’ captain without me knowing.”
“...”
“I let him go, but... you know how hard Ray’s had it all these years.”
Plum Palace Lord sipped her tea in silence.
Niel’s悩相談 continued.
“I knew he’d leave my side someday and steeled myself for it, but now that he’s gone, I can’t stop worrying.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah. What should I do?”
Worry etched deeply across Niel’s face.
Who would ever call her an emotionless ice sculpture?
Plum Palace Lord knew better than anyone: no one was as sensitive as she was.
Her outward chill was just a facade.
“Niel.”
At last, Plum Palace Lord decided to crack open her guarded heart just a little.
“Yes?”
“Compared to the wild child you were back in the day, this seems awfully trivial.”
“...”
“If I recalled how much grief you caused your lady mother with your antics—like nearly burning down Su-seon Palace twice, or how the Origin Dragon lost so much hair because you yanked it all out—I couldn’t say that.”
“Why bring that up here?”
“Because it matters.”
Plum Palace Lord continued matter-of-factly.
“A daughter is her mother’s mirror. She simply imitates what she sees every day.”
Niel was speechless for the first time.
Images of how she’d acted in front of Ray flashed by like afterimages...
“A mother’s duty is simple: watch over her mirror so it doesn’t warp. And when she’s struggling, silently be her refuge.”
Niel recalled the previous Plum Palace Lord, who had stood quietly by her side as she sobbed uncontrollably after wounding the current one through her own mistake.
“And it’s no different for a son. That’s why I’m not interfering in Theo’s affairs and waiting here. I plan to welcome him warmly when he returns.”
Niel closed her eyes, mulling over Plum Palace Lord’s words.
Something,
some indefinable something, touched her deeply in the chest.
* * *
“This is insane, for real.”
Theo let out a long breath.
He had no idea how far he’d run.
Dodging arrows and bone spears from who-knows-where for days on end.
Exhaustion had reached its peak without proper rest, food, or sleep.
His mana had been depleted for ages.
[Successfully recovered some of Krimhilt’s remains. (21/206)]
He’d managed to gather a fair amount of remains, but the road ahead was still long.
[Flame Dancing]
The flames still devoured the forest, and his growing resistance to Dragon Slaying made hunting the dragon younglings easier.
‘Too big. Too many.’
The jungle was far larger than he’d anticipated, and the number of younglings seemed to exceed tens of thousands—maybe hundreds.
‘There has to be another way.’
But no solution came to mind.
He had no choice but to keep smashing into them.
Theo charged again and again.
One day, two.
Three, four.
Ten, fifteen, twenty days...
He lost track of time—whether it synced with the real world or not, it felt like the quest deadlines might expire at this rate.
At some point, he’d even lost all sense of time, endlessly clashing with the younglings.
[Successfully recovered some of Krimhilt’s remains. (52/206)]
[Successfully recovered some of Krimhilt’s remains. (53/206)]
.
[Successfully recovered some of Krimhilt’s remains. (121/206)]
.
.
[Successfully recovered some of Krimhilt’s remains. (178/206)]
“Huff... huff...!”
Theo gasped raggedly, riddled with wounds from bone spears and arrows.
His vision blurred; he could barely see.
Pew—
An arrow whistled from somewhere.
Theo tried to deflect it, but his waterlogged body wouldn’t obey.
Thud!
The arrow pierced his brow, and he toppled backward.
Splurt!
Blood poured out.
Death was closing in.
At that moment, his inventory burst open, spilling its contents.
Krimhilt’s gathered remains tumbled out, along with the wooden box holding Garuda’s heart.
The box rolled to a stop in the pool of Theo’s blood.
Thump thump thump—
The box pulsed.
Thud thud thud thud!
Theo’s slowing heart from blood loss quickened again.
As the two heartbeats began to sync,
Pew pew pew pew!
A volley of arrows rained from the sky, riddling Theo’s corpse.
The younglings’ revenge for all the trouble he’d caused.
Some stomped his body, others set it ablaze.
Thump thump thump thump!
Thud thud thud...
But the persistent pulsing grew not weaker, but fiercer—
Soon, even the younglings could hear the vibrations.
Keeek?
They snapped their heads up.
Searching for the source of the throbbing.
Keeek! Kee-eeek!
Some leaped, pointing at the ground.
The pulsing came from below.
And sure enough.
Rumble rumble rumble!
An earthquake began.
In time with the throbbing.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
Keeek!
Kieeeek—
The younglings’ jaws clacked together.
Some instinctively wailed in terror.
Something.
Something they didn’t know was approaching.
The quakes grew stronger over time, the throbbing louder, echoing like thunder across the jungle.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
Then,
KABOOM!
The ripples spreading gently over Theo’s blood pool on the ground surged across the entire jungle as the throbbing unified.
Blood Theo had shed everywhere shot into the air, converging at one point.
At the same time, Krimhilt’s remains floated up.
Like puzzle pieces, they slotted into place one by one.
The ribcage formed, the right leg completed.
Theo’s blood seeped into the chest cavity, shaping a heart.
Garuda’s heart lay at its core.
The two hearts fused into a new one, beating powerfully.
Thoom...!
With each mighty beat, muscles branched out like vines, encasing the bones.
Skin followed, forming a human shape.
The figure that emerged resembled the Krimhilt Theo had seen in his memories.
Missing nearly thirty percent, but recognizable all the same.
Krimhilt’s apparition slowly descended, kneeling on one knee.
She met Theo’s gaze and stroked his jaw tenderly, with warmth and pity.
Fwoosh—
Then, her apparition slowly settled over Theo.
As if returning to its rightful place. As if this was where she belonged, overlapping with him.
In that instant, a miracle occurred.
Theo’s regenerated body slowly opened its eyes.
Flash.
Light gleamed in his eyes.
[Successfully achieved regeneration using Garuda’s heart.]
[Utilized Krimhilt’s remains and lingering will for regeneration. Krimhilt’s karma imprints on the body.]
[Acquired Advanced Dragon Slaying Resistance.]
[Acquired Advanced Dragon Killer trait.]
“I... won’t... die.”
Theo forced his creaking body upright.
But despite the strain, a smile played on his lips.
All thanks to Garuda’s heart and its miraculous effect.
+
[Garuda’s Heart]
· Type: Spiritual Medicine, Material
· Effects
- Vastly increased fire resistance
- 150% ability enhancement during Anti-Dragon Combat
- Mana attribute specialization
- Triggers status ‘Berserk’ for massive attack speed and agility boost
- Enables acquisition of special perk ‘Seed of Revival’
+
Seed of Revival.
Its effect matched the name exactly.
Like the legend of Garuda reviving from ashes with an ember, it granted its owner a chance at resurrection.
+
[Seed of Revival]
· Type: Special Perk
· Description: Allows resurrection once. However, materials used are from possessed items.
+
Theo focused especially on one part.
‘It requires materials. A drawback since you must always prepare them, but with clever use, a path to higher realms.’
That’s why he’d used Krimhilt’s remains as resurrection material.
‘Ragnar talent and Shadowmare poison intact, but all bones replaced with Krimhilt’s.’
He now possessed a body bearing both draconic gifts and dragon-slaying feats.
This wasn’t even his own idea.
It was something a disciple Hilda had raised in his past life had achieved.
‘No need for that anymore, though.’
In any case.
-Now, he no longer had to fear dragon slayers as his natural predator.
Of course, some parts remained unreplaced.
But he could gather the rest and swap them in from here.
His heightened senses already pinpointed the scattered remains.
He swiftly drew four Deathbits, sending them to each spot, while using Drake’s edged weapon as a crutch to stand.
‘Let’s pick up the pace.’
[Successfully recovered some of Krimhilt’s remains. (179/206)]
[Successfully recovered some of Krimhilt’s remains. (180/206)]
.
The faster he adapted to the body, the quicker he dispatched the younglings.
[Successfully recovered some of Krimhilt’s remains. (201/206)]
.
.
[Successfully recovered some of Krimhilt’s remains. (205/206)]
At last, Theo reached the final spot.
A cave in a corner of the jungle.
There lay a weathered skull on the floor.
[Successfully recovered some of Krimhilt’s remains. (206/206)]
[Successfully recovered all remains.]
[Completed the relic.]
[Krimhilt’s last words are being reproduced.]