Chapter 62
Chapter 62
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 62
Chapter Title: The Former Chosen One (2)
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The old man was so gaunt it was horrifying to look at, as if he had starved to death after a very long time.
‘Judging by the state of those rusted chains, he’s been dead for at least a decade or more…… But his corpse hasn’t decayed at all. That means he possessed tremendous magical power even in life.’
Why had a master of his caliber been imprisoned in a place like this?
Ki-?
Umbra tilted its head, wondering what was wrong, but Theo cautiously stepped toward the old man’s corpse.
His gaze scanned every corner of the cavern.
In the process, he noticed several odd details.
‘These iron chains…… The connections to the wall are all uneven. The materials aren’t consistent either.’
If this cave had been created specifically to restrain the old man, the bindings wouldn’t have been this sloppy.
They were firmly fixed to the wall, but even that was done carelessly in places.
There were only two possibilities for this.
Either they had needed to restrain him in a hurry,
‘Or he bound his own hands like this himself.’
Theo’s eyes sharpened.
“Did he survive on these as his staple food while he was alive?”
Along the inner wall, amid the transparent crystals, mushrooms bloomed in a riot of colors.
Theo plucked one and lightly sniffed it.
As expected, it was a familiar scent.
Magi.
“Why are Ghost Spirit Herbs growing here?”
Ghost Spirit Herbs only grew in the deepest, darkest recesses of the Demon Sea, in places where almost no sunlight reached.
They thrived solely on pure magi infused with moonlight essence, making them an unparalleled elixir for beasts and demons.
The problem was that here, they had formed an entire colony.
‘The magi evaporated from the nearby Demon Sea flows into the valley, then condenses in this crystal cave, creating the perfect environment for Ghost Spirit Herbs…….’
He understood the theory behind how such an environment could form, but seeing it in reality was still astonishing.
“So that’s why you became the Shadow Dragon.”
Ki-?
Theo gave a wry smile and stroked Umbra’s chin, but the creature tilted its head in confusion, not understanding.
Theo said nothing more.
From now on, he just had to make sure Umbra didn’t eat any of them.
‘For now, I need to burn all of these.’
They could be useful as medicine in certain cases, but those were rare exceptions.
The same went for consuming them directly.
Even with the Ragnar body’s superior immunity, their essence was draconic.
Dragons were natural enemies of demons, so these would be nothing but deadly poison.
Crackle, crackle-crackle!
Theo channeled the Thunder Dragon Breathing Technique with his index finger extended.
Sparks flew from his fingertip, soon erupting into a brilliant yellow bolt of lightning.
Keeek!?
Umbra flinched in surprise and spread its wings wide,
“I’ll try to blast only this side without damaging the crystals you like, so don’t worry.”
Just as Theo soothed it and prepared to unleash the blaze,
Keeeeek!
Umbra suddenly charged toward him.
Theo tried to persuade the still-misunderstanding creature, only to belatedly sense the ambush coming from behind.
The white-haired old man’s corpse, which he’d thought was dead, was moving!
“Kaaaaaaaill!”
The old man reeked of rotting flesh as he gaped his mouth wide toward Theo.
As if to bite him.
Umbra darted in between them.
Thwack!
The old man’s skeletal claws couldn’t pierce Umbra’s tough scales and snapped off,
Rumble—
Theo swiftly retreated several steps and unleashed his thunderbolt.
A brilliant yellow lightning bolt crashed down from the cavern ceiling.
Thunder Calling.
It was laughably weaker than the spell he’d unleashed during his second Awakening Ceremony.
Still, it mimicked the principle closely enough.
The bolt brutally struck the old man’s head.
It didn’t shatter his skull, but it was enough to cause a concussion, making him pause.
Even so, in that moment, the old man’s remaining sharp teeth barely grazed Umbra’s scruff.
And then,
A new ally arrived.
“Young Master!”
Evelyn Nereville, who had belatedly found Theo, looked shocked by the sudden combat.
But as if to prove she was a veteran senior swordsman, she calmly drew her blade and faced the monster.
[White Dragon Knights Common Secret Art – Sword Strike Barrage]
Flash! Flash!
Each swing of her magi-infused sword produced sword lights far more beautiful than the surrounding crystals.
Sword aura.
‘I am…… an Aura Blade wielder.’
The iron-splitting sword aura sliced through both of the old man’s arms in an instant.
“Kail! Kail, Kaaaaill! Rober! Robeeeeer! I……! I hate you……! I HATE YOUUUUU!”
Clang, clang, clang!
The old man’s chains rattled loudly with his violent struggles.
But,
Slash—
Spurt!
Evelyn’s sword relentlessly pressed him before cleanly decapitating him.
Even with one arm lost, her swordsmanship—once called the Demon Dragon’s right hand—was top-tier even among the Ragnars.
‘That was still dangerous. If this monster had been able to think and act properly even a little more, we’d have struggled.’
Hoo—
Evelyn watched the old man’s body collapse limply as she finally caught her breath.
Her sword was still trembling fiercely.
That was how immense the magi in his touch had been.
Moreover, the corpse poison that only a rotting body should emit was tremendous; even a scratch could have been disastrous.
Corpse poison laced with magi.
It was the worst deadly toxin, one that even in the Demon Sea had to be avoided at all costs.
“Young Master, are you alri……?”
Evelyn shook the corpse poison from her blade and turned to Theo, only to widen her eyes.
Keeek! Keeeeek!
Umbra flapped its wings frantically, stamping its feet in panic.
Theo had collapsed to the ground, drenched in cold sweat.
“Y-Young Master!”
“I’m fine. No need to make such a fuss.”
Theo tried to sound nonchalant, but he didn’t look it at all.
A large chunk of his left forearm had been bitten off and was already starting to rot, his face deathly pale.
If not for his thunder-attuned magi, he might have passed out already.
“How in the world did this……!”
Evelyn rushed to Theo and opened her emergency kit.
The problem was that today’s mission didn’t involve Demon Sea exploration, so she hadn’t brought proper antidotes.
“My…… mistake……”
In truth, this had happened right before Evelyn arrived, when he’d forced himself between the old man and Umbra as it targeted the creature’s scruff.
But he didn’t mention that.
“First, we’ll head to headquarters. Please endure just a little longer, even if it hurts.”
Evelyn quickly finished first aid and tried to hoist him onto her back.
But then,
Keeek!
Umbra suddenly shoved its head against him, pushing Evelyn away.
“I’m not trying to harm your partner right now! I’m trying to help! So hurry and take him!”
Keeek! Keeek!
“Umbra!”
Keeeeek!
Umbra thrashed and screeched louder with every shout from Evelyn.
Was there no helping it as a mere beast?
The situation was so urgent that Evelyn reached for her sword instead of persuading further.
At that moment,
“Evelyn……! Wait! Just wait a moment……!”
Theo suddenly stopped her.
Evelyn’s gaze turned back to him.
“Umbra…… seems to have something to say. Just wait…… a moment.”
Evelyn thought they didn’t have time for this and needed to get Theo out somehow, but he was so earnest she couldn’t refuse.
He was already gasping for breath.
“Wh-what…… are you planning, Umbra……?”
Keeek! Keeeeek! Keeek!
“You really…… think that’ll…… work?”
Keeek!
After several incomprehensible exchanges with Umbra, Theo gravely nodded.
“Got…… it. I’ll…… entrust my life…… to you…….”
Keeeeek!
Umbra nodded and headed deeper into the cavern, stuffing its mouth full of Ghost Spirit Herbs.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
“What exactly do you plan to do?”
“Even if…… we go back to base…… in this state…… it’ll only get worse. So…… let’s trust…… Umbra for now. It…… seems to have…… a plan……!”
Evelyn’s chest tightened.
Even the White Dragon Knights operating in the Demon Sea’s depths always took care to avoid magi-laced poisons.
If infected, protocol demanded securing a safe zone first, then using treatments while focusing on sterilization and hygiene.
Even then, the mortality rate was 70%—it was that deadly…… And here Theo was, saying he’d rely on an unbelievable method.
But Theo had his own reasoning.
Umbra had grown to a Rank 2 beast feeding on these Ghost Spirit Herbs.
Had there been no clashes with the old man in that process?
Unlikely.
‘There must be a counter to the corpse poison in the Ghost Spirit Herbs. Some solution we don’t know about yet.’
So, let’s trust Umbra.
With that thought,
Thud—
Theo slowly lost consciousness.
* * *
Umbra’s mind was filled with only one thought: somehow save Theo.
The first human to open his heart to the lonely creature, the friend who had saved it from near-death danger.
He couldn’t lose that human friend.
Keeeeek!
Umbra first laid out the mouthful of Ghost Spirit Herbs it had bitten off on the ground, then crushed the ice crystals hanging from the ceiling and sprinkled them on top, mixing them together.
The crystals in this cave were all pure essence condensates.
Combining them diluted the herbs’ toxicity while greatly amplifying the essence.
It was also the secret behind how Umbra had grown so large without proper meals.
“You want me to feed this to the Young Master?”
Keeek!
Evelyn doubted the recipe Umbra offered, but it was too late to take Theo to headquarters, so she had no choice but to melt the herbs with magi and trickle them into his mouth.
‘Young Master, please……!’
She couldn’t bear delivering the news of death to Cecilia, who had restored her arm.
Right then,
Thud……! Thud……! Thud……!
Theo’s heart, ravaged by the corpse poison, began to throb wildly.
Evelyn could faintly feel it too.
Slow, but powerful pulses.
Like the beating of a drum.
Thump-thump-thump-thump-thump!
Then his heartbeat quickened again, blood surging vigorously through his body.
Purging the poison and filling the voids with Ghost Spirit Herb essence and crystal purity.
Color slowly returned to Theo’s face.
“How……?”
Evelyn’s eyes widened in disbelief at the incomprehensible situation.
She understood he was recovering, but the mechanism was beyond her.
But.
The treatment proceeded smoothly regardless,
Crackle, crackle! Crackle-crackle!
Suddenly, brilliant yellow lightning erupted wildly over his body,
Crack—
Soon, his skin cracked like a turtle’s shell in places, black impurities oozing out.
-The moment the Shadow Demon Poison, which had birthed the Shadow Dragon in his past life, took root in Theo’s body.
The Dragon Vein Baptism began.