章節 46: CHAPTER 205
Southern region of the Schucheron Kingdom, Vanessa's hometown. The village that was burned down by the fire dragon's attack.
It had become a wasteland that couldn't be revived.
Across the vast land, Vanessa's house stood alone.
"You haven't surprised me this much in a long time, milord. You sent me a letter last week, and this time, you're visiting without notice."
Vanessa opened the door to her house. Inside the small room, Cyron sat alone. She shrugged and sat down in front of him.
"As if you haven't done the same."
A kettle of hot tea sat on the table. Cyron filled a teacup for her.
"Khan must've done a lot. I can tell he brewed this and left hastily. How about you do something yourself for once?"
"Well, that fellow does everything exceptionally."
The two admired the tea for a moment.
'Is he not a father who just wants to boast about his child?'
Over the fifty years that passed since she became his knight, it was her first time seeing him like this.
"So, how was it?"
"Very impressive. It also seems he found a wonderful crew."
"That's not what I asked."
Vanessa knew that he wanted to hear about the battle, yet she tried to evade the topic.
"Fufu, it seems you've aged as well. So impatient."
"It seems to be that way."
"Jin Runcandel… He performed well enough. It definitely seems like he can keep his word."
The corners of Cyron's mouth twitched.
"So I gave him the map."
"I would've never expected that to happen."
"So you've become more lenient? I thought you already knew the outcome."
Cyron only chuckled instead of giving an answer.
"If you still had fondness for Luna, he would've never received the map."
Vanessa smiled bitterly. The map had been designed to land in the hands of Luna.
As Cyron drew out the map of the Black Sea and saw 'that' creature, he kept it away and had wanted to pass it on to Luna ever since.
"It was a time we had placed all of our hopes and dreams on that child. Had you given her some more attention, she wouldn't have given up. She would have been ruling the Runcandel Clan by now, and we could have finally been able to do our own things."
"Do you blame me for it, Vanessa?"
"No, I blame myself and my unit. At the time, the Dark Knights could do anything but keep an eye on Luna."
"How is that your fault? It's Rosa's and mine."
"Hence, we must prevent Jin from straying from his path. I might keep an eye on him for a bit. As for Joshua… He's a troublemaker. He's been preparing things for Jin to face."
Cyron shook his head.
"I would've never batted an eye if he needed guardianship. Do not interfere with him. If he can't take over the clan by himself, he can't take on the world."
"…And what if he turns out like Luna? Once Jin returns to the clan, will he be able to take on Joshua? There's still the question of whether or not he will come back alive."
"Yet you still gave him the map?"
Vanessa laughed at Cyron asking her not to interfere with Jin's ventures.
"I, of course, know not to do such things. Since you're here, let us have a drink. Tuven is around the area, so I'll let him know."
"Tuven… I haven't seen him in years."
* * *
Jin and his companions stared blankly at the map.
"…It is indeed possible to create a map of the Black Sea. I heard that monsters spawned like water and that toxic gasses contaminated the air."
As Kashimir said, no other clan, empire, or kingdom could create a map of the Black Sea. Not even the Zipfels dared to encroach it.
Or, at least, that was what the world thought. Each person who scanned this map had their jaws dropped. Everyone thought it to be impossible, but the Runcandels had already succeeded.
Traversing the Black Sea without the map was possible. There were faint paths from the entrance, but that was because Cyron bulldozed his way through.
If they could defeat the monsters along the way, anyone could visit the center.
"It's probably a project that contains the blood, sweat, and tears of the previous generation of the Dark Knights. It's also probably confidential. To my knowledge, no one else has sent out troops to the Black Sea."
"That's correct, Gilly. Only Father, Mother, the previous generation of the Dark Knights, and some elders knew of this. The flag-bearers aren't even allowed this knowledge."
"Hm… So that's why this kid's father always goes there. It's because of Helluram's monsters."
The wife of Beast King Orgal and the master of dark magic, the Witch.
Dark magic had become forbidden, but there were records of her doings in historical books. Many historians referred to her as an apocalypse, with every single one of her records consisting of destruction and massacre.
Whenever her name was mentioned, a terrible tragedy ensued.
Fifteen hundred years ago, a then-unidentified plague called 'Lunacy' threw the entire western region into crisis. Three hundred years later, the Demon God descended. Two hundred years after that, the northern region explosions occurred, and three hundred years later, there was the stillbirth crisis.
She wasn't behind just one or two tragedies. No human could intentionally incur such events.
Five hundred years ago, during the War of the Holy Kingdom, Helluram summoned an army of monsters, which didn't really surprise anyone.
Instead, it sparked a new debate of whether 'Helluram' truly was just one person or a group of magicians.
Many magicians supported the latter claim. It was impossible for someone to be active for over fifteen hundred years.
"I don't think bothering her is a good idea. Doesn't feel too good…"
Quikantel commented on the map, and the entire group looked surprised. They would've never thought that Quikantel would be afraid of a magician.
She also spoke as if Helluram were an individual.
"So are you implying Helluram is a person, not a group?"
Quikantel nodded to Enya's question.
"She's one person, alright. She's half-demon. Looks like a human, but has the lifespan of a demon."
Jin knew of this already. His master, Valeria, claimed that she'd met Helluram and passed on some information to him.
"In fact, her existence is a curse. All kinds of gods praised her and didn't seek other contractors. When Beast King Orgal shared her curse, dragons went to congratulate her."
Enya gasped.
"My goodness. Then are all of the historical calamities true?"
"Yeah, they're pretty damn true. Dragons know it for sure. So, about that one monster that Helluram raised… You got any ideas, Quikantel?"
"Are you sending Jin there? He might come across her."
"HAHAHA! The kid and I are immune to curses, so it won't matter. And according to that Antes Terror or whatever, the monster is under the Runcandels' control. But still, not searching for it means that it might be dead."
"It may have been three hundred years since its last activity, but I don't think it's dead."
Quikantel constantly made claims to stop Murakan.
However, Jin and Murakan had the same opinion. Vanessa said it was another mission, so they couldn't just turn it down.
"It's my Father's reward. I don't know what he'll take from me if I refuse."
"I agree. The Lord's orders are final."
Kashimir, Alisa, and Jet nodded. Quikantel could no longer stop them.
"I guess it can't be helped. Instead, Murakan and I will accompany you until we reach the entrance. Any further than that and the toxins will be too much. I'll be relieved if I take you there, at the very least."
"Let's take the runt too. We need someone to take care of the food."
"…Might I remind everyone that I was a prince in the past."
"You can't cook?"
"No."
"Then we'll take Jet instead."
"I can definitely cook!"
"Taking that weakling to the Black Sea? I don't think so. Just take Kashimir. Or maybe Lathry? He can cook."
"The cookie shop has been busy, and I'd prefer not to leave Euria's side… I can still pack a ton, though."
Thud!
Kashimir slammed the table with his fist.
"My goodness. Are you crazy?"
"I am a warrior deemed the Ghostblade and the leader of the best intelligence agency! My pride does not accept being treated as a mere peasant!"
"Honey, just let them go. Lathry is a dragon and runs a cookie shop."
"You too? I'm Kashimir 'Ghostblade' Alfleon!"
Jin was about to say that he could cook for himself, but Murakan shook his head.
"Then we'll take Jet and the runt. Jet with the food, and the runt will fight."
"I can work with those conditions."
Jin was at a loss for words.
He, Murakan, Quikantel, Kashimir, and Jet were about to head for the Black Sea.
Jin felt a little sorry for Kashimir, but he looked too satisfied to be pitied.
章節 47: CHAPTER 206
August 15, 1797.
Jin's group stood in the middle of the Black Sea, staring at the map.
It had been ten days since they arrived. Over three hundred monsters had been killed, and they were now running low on food.
Unfortunately, there wasn't anything to eat in the Black Sea.
Jin wouldn't have a problem eating the monsters—due to his inherent resistance—and Murakan and Quikantel could probably ingest the weak ones. However, no one would even dare to attempt it.
"Shit. Navigating with a map is still challenging. Why don't we see the stone pillars that are marked right there? It feels like we're in the area. Are you sure this map is accurate?"
"It's been fine so far, so it's probably right. Father and the previous Dark Knights would've never made a faulty map."
"Can't even fly to check. Damn it."
Flying had never been an option. The black clouds would corrode the dragons' scales instantly. Furthermore, if dragons could fly over the land, the Dark Knights would've never suffered so much just to make a map.
"I think those are the stone pillars on the map. Well, contrary to the map, there's a big circle over there."
Jin pointed at the large hole in the ground.
It looked as if the moon left a crater. It was at least a hundred meters deep, and a stone pillar could be found in the middle.
Vanessa's map was an early version. Many obscure landworks prevented the average traveler from fully decoding it.
"Hm, looks right."
"Man, we have to go down there? I don't really want to…"
"Don't worry, Jet. Descending is easy."
The poisonous clouds were only in the sky. Murakan transformed, and the rest of the group boarded him to get to the bottom.
The stone pillar looked much bigger up front, and it became evident that it wasn't just any ordinary pillar.
It was a nest. Flying monsters in the Black Sea known as 'Colgia' rested upon the pillar.
Kyaaaaaaak!
"Ahh!"
An ear-splitting screech came from the pillar, and the sky instantly turned pitch-black. Hundreds of colgias flew off the nest and circled above them.
Jin and Kashimir drew their weapons, but Quikantel waved them off.
"Stay put. Murakan's got this."
[How dare you…]
With glowing eyes, Murakan gathered his shadow energy in his mouth.
Thanks to Jin's strengthened spiritual energy, Murakan got unbelievably stronger than before.
Kiiiiiiiiiiing!
Pure darkness engulfed the entirety of the sky for a split second, and then, the colgias were gone. Jin blankly stared at Murakan.
Yet their surroundings were pitch-black.
Not in any metaphorical sense. Jin realized that he couldn't see anything.
The entire crater had been filled with spiritual energy.
The darkness ripped apart the colgias bodies bit by bit. Without a single bit of flesh touching the ground, the pieces disappeared into thin air.
"He wasn't the strongest in the past for nothing."
The spiritual energy dissipated, and Quikantel clapped. Kashimir and Jet clapped as well.
"Hmph, that's still nothing."
"Th-That… That's nothing? I couldn't believe my own two eyes. I couldn't tell if you were the same Murakan who joked around with us. Sir Kashimir, don't you agree?"
"O-Oh… Yeah. No, but Sir Murakan, if you've always had this kind of power, why did Miss Quikantel and I kill the monsters?"
"Are you unsatisfied with my performance?"
"Not at all. I just found it a little… Never mind."
"It's weird, though. After the kid got super strong, I didn't get proportionally stronger."
Kashimir and Jet's astonishment meant nothing. Murakan didn't feel like he performed at his best.
"Isn't that enough compared to last time?"
"Your spiritual energy is almost 6-star, so sixty percent of my power should be back."
"You're asking too much. I think you should be happy that you're still alive and powerful."
"We should look into it. My recovery is a little slower than I thought."
"Why don't you ask your sister?"
"Hah, I don't wanna do that."
"So what do you want me to do?"
Murakan and Quikantel went back and forth, while Jin examined the map.
"Based on the map, we should pass a mountain range, then a lake called Molrose. After that, we'll arrive at our destination. I think we'll get there by tonight if we depart now. That's only possible if the monsters we encounter are similar to the ones now."
"Let's aim for tonight, and let Jin sleep. We don't know what Helluram has prepared for us, so we need to match it with our full ability. We gotta take it down, right?"
Thankfully, they didn't run into anything for the rest of the journey. The monsters nearby Molrose lake knew they'd die if they encroached upon the territory.
Cyron and the previous Dark Knights probably killed off everything nearby in order to keep Helluram's monster isolated.
Without noticing, they marched forward and arrived by evening.
Soon, they ran into a forest.
"A forest?"
To their knowledge, the Black Sea had no trees; only rocks, volcanoes, poisonous swamps, and lakes.
However, those rumors were wrong.
The Black Sea had many forests. The one in their way was only one of many. On the map alone, there were over ten forests.
Of course, unlike a normal forest, these forests had thorny trees that had venomous spines, and they contained some plants with "jaws".
These trees stretched over acres and had gaps wide enough for one person to squeeze through.
If a finger just grazed those trees… The mere thought caused goosebumps.
"Wh-What kind of forest is this? Will you be going in alone?"
"Move".
Quikantel pushed Jet aside and walked into the forest. She broke every branch in her way and burned the leaves to a crisp.
Not so long after, she came back out with a frown.
"It's riddled with poisonous gas inside. Only those with resistance can enter, just as she said. This is a little troubling. What kind of monster lives there?"
The crew couldn't even imagine the monster residing within. Helluram didn't keep just one or two even after most of them died to warriors or dragons.
"Whatever it is, Vanessa probably gave the map because she thinks the kid can beat it, but I don't know what he'll get out of beating that thing. The genitals? I don't think a human would have much use for that, though."
A monster's genitals were used as pain relievers for dragons, but it had no effect on humans.
"You said that Jin would easily beat this thing, and now you're talking about that? How can Jin catch one by himself?"
Monsters were often caught for their body parts. These monsters learned how to efficiently evade and hide from the common eye.
"Well, that makes sense. Anyway, Jet! Set up camp and prepare for dinner. We must feed the kid well for tomorrow, even if we have to eat less. Do you understand?!"
"I will use a lot of protein and meat powder."
"We're running out anyway, so there's no need."
"We can eat some monsters anyways, so it's alright."
The following morning, the group decided to wait for Jin at the entrance to the forest. Jin prepared some spells in case of an ambush.
He walked into the forest. Cutting through the branches and vines and burning through leaves weren't so bad.
'And the gas starts here.'
There was less vegetation as the gas began. Instead, his breath became a little shorter. Without the Thousand-Poison Antidote, he wouldn't have even lasted a minute.
After walking a while, he watched the structure of the forest change. A vast plain appeared. It had completely round and artificially carved rocks. On the other side, the thorny forest continued, and there was another plain.
This pattern repeated many times.
As he walked across the grass, he considered how such a place came to be.
'How is it even like this? And these rocks… Why are they carved? Did a Dark Knight do this?'
The trees could fit the image of the Black Sea, but not the perfectly round rocks.
What could they be used for?
Jin continued to walk. It had been three hours since he'd begun exploring, and all he saw were round rocks and thorny trees.
Then, suddenly, something caught his eye.
'This is…'
Fur.
A complete contrast to the thick, dark, gaseous forest.
Jin followed the path of soft fur. After encountering plains for the fifteenth time. He found what had been creating the round rocks and knew what they were used for.
Meow?
A cat lay in the middle of the grass, playing with the rocks. However, the cat had the size of a transformed Murakan—his dragon form.
It was Helluram's cat.
每周推薦票狀態
200+ 推薦票
榜單 
51 推薦票 
段落評論