Chapter 86
"Feel free to do whatever you want with the rest, sis."
"Really?"
"Of course."
Adel slipped the old necklace around his neck and strode out of the cave as if he couldn't care less.
"W-Wait, come back!!"
Kasla and Haron hurriedly chased after him as he left the cave.
"...You sure this is okay?"
Kasla asked Adel cautiously. She wasn't particularly materialistic, but the armaments filling the cave were the kind any hunter would covet.
"Yeah. Honestly, if you hadn't been there, I would've swept them all up myself—bows, armor, accessories, the works."
"Same here. Why'd you pass on treasure like that? It doesn't seem like you."
The two asked carefully.
"I didn't pass. I took what I needed. All you two need to grab is a bow and shield. That's plenty."
"But..."
Kasla still sounded regretful, but Adel flashed her a sly grin.
Those treasures from the Archipelago King are definitely useful.
But Adel had no real greed for them because he already owned a warehouse full of far superior gear.
Still, that's as far as it goes. Compared to the armaments in Shan's lair, they're just a step down—or more like a whole tier below. Little more than collectibles.
No matter how skilled a pirate the Archipelago King had been, he couldn't steal from royal vaults in his current state. And even with the Kraken's power, the sea's limits kept him from raiding mainland dungeons.
In the end, his treasures were spoils of piracy—items once owned by others, conquered in a different sense.
The only true relic among them is this necklace.
"Just wait a bit. I'll bring back stuff that makes the Archipelago King's haul look like nothing."
But the two, lacking experience, looked skeptical that anything could top it.
"Anyway, Kasla—I have some business to handle. You two head back to Bucket first."
The quick-witted Kasla realized he meant to use the necklace he'd just acquired. They nodded and headed toward Bucket's ship.
"Perfect."
Once they were gone, Adel made for the ship graveyard where the wrecks clustered.
[What a bizarre twist. To think the North Sea's Ice Crystal ended up here. Looks like a lot happened while I was sealed away.]
Unlike them, Kalderet seemed to know what the necklace was, muttering to himself.
[No trouble with her, I hope?]
Kalderet, who usually dismissed any god with haughty indifference, sounded oddly different this time.
And for good reason. The 【North Sea's Ice Crystal】 Adel had obtained came from the Ice Palace far to the north on the mainland—the polar opposite of the Garam Archipelago.
It was one of three sacred treasures passed down only to the Ice Palace lord, queen of the North Sea.
Hum...
The gem embedded in this shabby pendant looks cheap, but pump divine power into it, and it changes.
Adel slowly drew power from his divine blood and fed it into the pendant.
A flickering red haze like flame rose from the center of the murky blue gem—then vanished.
"Hmm, not quite yet...?"
Adel murmured, a touch disappointed. Less than a minute in, sweat beaded on his forehead.
Pushing harder might trigger a change, but the divine power he'd just used rivaled what it took to descend Garon back in Shallon.
Any more, and it'd be too risky right now.
Having experienced divine power overload before, he saw no need to gamble without urgency.
Besides, this place made wielding divine power several times harder than on the mainland.
"No idea how this necklace got here, but the no-wind zone was a stroke of luck."
The Archipelago King must have known the gem's value to store it in his vault. But in a no-wind zone where divine power couldn't be used, even with an ancient tree contract, he couldn't muster enough to activate it.
[Heavenly Bow Stone. Feed it divine power, and seven flames ignite, right?]
"Exactly. You knew."
Adel nodded at Kalderet's words.
[Of course. It's one of the gods' treasures. You took it because you knew that, yeah?]
Just as he said.
The Ice Palace's treasures were tied to a single god.
"Right. Light all seven flames, and you can contract with that god."
[Kirsasha, high god of winter.]
Adel smirked at Kalderet's words.
"Miss her?"
[...Did I blab about her in your past life too?]
"You did. And more."
[Ugh. I must've spilled everything ugly.]
Kalderet grumbled, embarrassed.
[Kekeke. Shocking, huh? An ancient god spilling his love life to his contractor.]
Garon chimed in teasingly at the sight.
[Wanna die? The ancient tree's dead, no-wind power's weak—feeling cocky? Want me to seal that mouth forever?]
[Everyone knows anyway. It's famous in the divine realm. How you chased Kirsasha for centuries, courting her.]
[Sh-Shut up!]
Kalderet yelled, his voice trembling unlike his usual self.
[Even after millennia, her name alone sets him off. Who'd guess a high god could best an ancient one?]
Adel gave a wry smile at the gods' banter. Strip away their divine status, and they sounded like any ordinary folk.
Gods aren't always lofty or grand. Humans resemble gods because you can see the divine in humanity.
Nothing's perfect. Dragons, self-proclaimed sages and earth's strongest race, bred across species, even spawning half-breeds like Kargon. Gods' romances seemed downright mundane by comparison.
"Ease up on him, Garon. You only became a desert god after challenging Garuda, high god of scorching winds—got your limbs hacked off and crashed to the ground."
[...Th-That's not shameful. Garuda's one of those brute gods who devours humans. A high god still taking sacrifices.]
"Never said it was. That's why I chose you. Always wanted to see it."
[...Huh?]
Adel grinned at Garon's flickering, flustered flames.
[Hey, Adel.]
"Yeah?"
[So, uh...]
Kalderet hesitated oddly.
"Did I meet Kirsasha in my past life?"
[Y-Yeah.]
Adel nailed his intent instantly, and Kalderet answered sheepishly.
"You did. Not all the way to the North Sea, but the Ice Palace lord visited Karon once."
[Oh? Then...]
"Sorry to disappoint—you never met her. She came to the kingdom as the lord's contractor and said flat-out she didn't want to see you."
[...]
Kalderet looked glum.
[Fair enough. No reason she'd want to.]
Surprisingly, he accepted it quickly, nodding.
[Now I know how it went last time, I'll change it this life. Guess I have a regression goal like you now.]
"Not a bad thing."
[...But I didn't say anything stupid like wanting to see her, right?]
"Er..."
Adel patted Kalderet's forehead lightly as he asked awkwardly.
"Well, you did throw a fit about going to meet her yourself that day."
"A-And?"
"Only got a reply from the Ice Palace. Said she'd erase you if you showed."
[...Long road ahead.]
"She'll see your heart eventually. She doesn't know why you two had to part."
[Had to part?]
Garon edged closer, curious.
[Quiet! Not your business.]
Kalderet swatted him away hastily with a paw.
[C'mon, tell me. You know a secret even we gods don't?]
"Ask the man himself. Or stick around when you meet Kirsasha someday. She'd want to know most of all."
[Ugh...]
"Gotta meet the Ice Palace lord for the mainland conquest anyway—like it or not. So save Kalderet's love life for later. Handle what needs checking before we leave the islands."
[Naturally.]
Roarrr—!!
White smoke billowed from Adel's armor, light leaking from every joint.
"Shan's lair gear was too good to feed it. Haven't had worthy prey till now, so it hasn't shown its potential."
Adel murmured low, eyeing the white steam rising like a dragon's breath-heat from between plates.
"Shan's legacy, Dragon's Gluttony."
Clank—!!
Shrrrk—!!!
A mask formed over the armor's rear, covering his mouth like a dragon's maw. Jagged fangs like canines protruded long on either side.
The black armor and searing heat evoked a dragon incarnate.
"Kalderet—your turn."
[Right.]
Kalderet hopped forward at Adel's request.
Slash—!
He slammed a paw full-force into Adel's chest.
Kagang...!
Clang!!
He didn't stop, hammering relentlessly. Thunderous booms echoed; Adel staggered back but seemed barely scathed.
[Hoh... My claws barely scratch. Tough enough to stop most aura swordsmen.]
"Yeah. But it's not fully formed yet. Once the helmet fully manifests, no aura user could pierce it."
Adel brushed off the armor dust from Kalderet's claws.
Dragon's Gluttony evolves by devouring artifacts. In my past life, I saw up to stage two.
Stage one wrapped the face partially; his current version only masked the mouth, so it hadn't feasted enough.
Stage one boosts physical defense; stage two shifts to a thin robe, ramping magic defense.
That was all he knew of 【Dragon's Gluttony】. But Wise Man Seria—"Great Mage of Melledi" in his past life—analyzed it and said a third stage remained.
Its growth also depended on what it ate.
Helmet's halfway? Feed it junk. But from now on, picky eating matters.
That's why he skipped the Archipelago King's trove.
Perfect timing. Leviathan business aside, it's time to head there anyway.
Tzzzzz...
The armor healed its scratches like living flesh.
"Good."
Adel thumped the pristine plates contentedly.
Lucky break. Had to go there for the Leviathan map anyway... Can kill two birds this trip.
He already had a spot in mind for fitting fodder.
"Black Magic Palace."