Ch.192Chapter 192: Dragon Heart (2)

#

An arrow released from a bow… No, even faster than that.

That was my impression as I watched the Dragon Heart suddenly slip from my hand and fly toward my chest.

Cold sweat broke out.

I tensed up partly because the moment it escaped my grasp, the mana fluctuations around the Dragon Heart became so violent they resembled a storm, visible to the naked eye.

And even more so because as it drew closer to me, this dense mana clearly seemed intent on devouring me.

So I tried to move away from the trajectory of the Dragon Heart flying toward me, but…

“…??”

Ignoring my desperate desire, my body just stood there motionless, as if welcoming the Dragon Heart hurtling toward me.

‘This is insane.’

After swallowing words I couldn’t speak aloud.

I struggled with all my might to regain control of my unmoving body, but…

[Hey now. Stay still and behave yourself.]

Paphnir’s voice, once again flippant, disapproved of my struggle.

Frozen

Even this struggle was blocked.

Beyond my body ignoring my will.

Now I couldn’t move a single finger, as if bound by invisible restraints.

“Haah….”

I moved my mouth, the only part still under my control, and out came a sigh born from a mixture of various emotions, but…

Before that sigh could fade, Paphnir’s warm Dragon Heart completely burrowed into my chest.

Before I could respond, the Dragon Heart positioned itself at a point symmetrical to where my heart was located.

I could see the Dragon Heart burrowing into my chest and settling there, as if being branded into my eyes.

I almost screamed involuntarily, but…

Despite a hard, solid object forcing its way through living flesh and embedding itself inside, there was no physical pain.

“…Huh?”

Only a somewhat stupid-sounding utterance escaped my lips.

[It doesn’t hurt! You won’t die! Stop being dramatic, you fool!]

Paphnir’s voice, which I had no doubt was looking at me with contempt, thundered inside my head.

And as if to prove his exclamation true.

The Dragon Heart settled in my chest without causing me any pain.

Instead, a pleasantly warm energy began to envelop my heart from within my body.

Thump-!!

A sound identical to a heartbeat came from the spot symmetrical to where my heart was located.

The pleasant warmth that had lingered in my heart soon spread throughout my entire body.

Enough that I no longer felt the chill of this cave, despite being in the Central Continent where seasonal distinctions were vague.

#

Thump-!!

This was a heart.

Thump-!!

This was the beating coming from the Dragon Heart that had suddenly taken residence in my body.

A strange situation had unfolded where two life-symbolizing beats could be heard incessantly from one person’s body.

…Though in reality, one of them wasn’t life but rather a source of power being transmitted throughout the body.

Thump-!! Thump-!!

These beats, sounding in perfect harmony like a musical chord, had the effect of considerably easing the tension in my body that had come from this sudden situation.

It was fascinating.

Although called a Dragon Heart, this organ suddenly implanted in my body didn’t actually circulate blood throughout the body like a real heart.

Instead, it refined the mana from the air I breathed into pure ki and circulated it throughout my body.

I never expected that the sound it made while circulating ki would be identical to a heartbeat.

Feeling a strange sensation, I placed my hand over where the Dragon Heart would be, not far from the center of my chest but on the right side.

Thump-!!

As expected, I could feel through my fingertips a pulsation identical to a heartbeat.

This pleasant warmth enveloping my entire body was growing endlessly in intensity.

It replaced the pain that should have come from such an enormous crystallization of power forcing its way into my body.

“…Why doesn’t this hurt?”

I’m still dumbfounded.

An enormous amount of mana, surely beyond my limits, had forcibly taken residence in my body.

Yet there was absolutely no accompanying agony.

Through two heavy experiences of death, I had never seen or heard of such an incomprehensible thing happening to me.

And the protagonist who should be explaining why this was happening was now…

[Oh….]

Merely expressing admiration rather than offering any explanation.

I clearly experienced a similar reaction from Paphnir at Night Haven, so why am I facing the exact same response in a slightly different situation?

Anyway, while the current situation was good in some ways, I was also filled with unresolved doubts.

And I wasn’t pleased with Paphnir’s dereliction of duty, as he had an obligation to properly explain things to me.

So after much thought about how to elicit a reaction from him…

“Urgh…!!”

I let out a faint groan, as if unable to control a sudden pain.

Thud-!!

One knee hit the floor with enough force to make a sound.

Of course, I wasn’t actually in pain.

I was pretending to be in pain with the clear intention of startling Paphnir, who wasn’t showing the reaction I wanted.

I thought if he got flustered, he might answer my questions, but this action based on rather poor imagination…

Perhaps actions based on poor imagination can only yield poor results.

[Kid, I know you’re not actually in pain, you know?]

Paphnir’s voice, full of contempt, revealed that he saw right through my fake illness.

“Ah, so I’m caught.”

I immediately stopped pretending to be in pain and got up.

Anyway, his perceptiveness is impressive at times like this.

Thinking this to myself, I slowly rose from my kneeling position.

[Young one, you still underestimate yourself. Seeing you act like you’re dying from receiving just this much shows you don’t consider at all how I might view you.]

Paphnir stopped his reproachful voice and began teasing me with a slightly playful tone.

His voice didn’t sound particularly welcome to me, so I was about to say something in response.

[Come now, instead of that, why don’t you try executing the Prikasa breathing technique you’ve been working so hard to master?]

At Paphnir’s voice, which perfectly intercepted what I was about to say,

I stopped getting angry and accepted his suggestion.

“Huuuu….”

I exhaled softly and began preparing to activate Prikasa.

His words seemed to be guiding me toward learning how to use the Dragon Heart that had just nestled in my chest.

Having only recently committed to memory the Prikasa manual that Sister had given me a few days ago,

I couldn’t perform a proper breath that would reveal the true essence of Prikasa, so I proceeded with the breathing technique without much expectation, but…

As soon as I began the breathing technique,

“…What’s this?”

The fluctuation of mana-laden air intensified to a degree that surprised even me who had initiated the breathing.

And in sync with this, the Dragon Heart that had been infusing me with warmth and ki stopped its pulsation.

Woooong-!!

With a resonant sound clearly audible to my ears, it absorbed all the mana that was trying to gather in my heart through the Prikasa breathing technique.

As if saying it would do what my heart was supposed to do.

And it didn’t just absorb it.

Despite having only begun learning Prikasa in earnest a few months ago after escaping my “broken vessel” state, with my breathing technique still far from complete,

The Dragon Heart proceeded with the refinement of ki—which should normally gather in the heart through the lungs to grant me tremendous power—with remarkable efficiency.

Thump-!!

Once again pulsating clearly, the warm sensation it infused into my body and

The feeling of physical fulfillment as ki circulated throughout my body were elevated to a level incomparably higher than before, which couldn’t be described as inefficient.

Even though only a handful of ki had been refined through my modest breathing, such results were achieved.

The Dragon Heart was faithfully performing its role in its strange new owner’s body to an unbelievable degree.

Moreover, it seemed I wasn’t the only one who thought so.

[Hmm, is it still too difficult to work in parallel with his own heart since it’s the first time? Well, even this much is a remarkable achievement. The synchronization with the heart will improve over time.]

Paphnir too was expressing undisguised admiration and hopeful prospects as he observed me producing amazing results with just a handful of ki.

By the way, this handful of ki gathered through my still unmastered breathing technique,

Compared to the ki I had desperately accumulated before my regression, prepared to sacrifice my life for what I absolutely had to protect,

Was truly insignificant in quantity, yet it produced such results.

Remembering how recklessly I had gathered ki back then with no regard for my own life,

And how I had risked my life to protect someone with that gathered ki,

“Hehehe….”

A faint laugh escaped my lips.

It might sound somewhat hollow to some ears,

But it contained no negative emotions like self-deprecation.

It was just…

Even with that wretched body back then.

It was simply an expression of warmth felt from the small satisfaction of having done something for the precious person I wanted to protect.

As warmth filled my chest and entire body,

I was newly reminded of the fact that even in my wretched life, there remained a warmth in my heart.

[…Why are you suddenly laughing like that?]

“I suddenly remembered the old days.”

[Come now, you haven’t lived long enough to talk about ‘old days.’ At most, you’re recalling when you were a snot-nosed brat.]

Ah, he always disrupts the mood just when I’m trying to be serious.

If he had asked sincerely, I would have told him what happened.

Thanks to Paphnir’s teasing words full of mischief, the expansion of nostalgia was blocked.

“That’s how it is.”

I cut off his question with a somewhat curt reply, as he had already decided on the answer before asking.

Well, anyway, now that the trial of the sword-gun is over, I’ll think about how to utilize this new Dragon Heart later…

-In honor of your achievement, I shall impose another trial for you to attain one more accomplishment.

The sudden ethereal voice that penetrated my ears tried to bury my optimism.

“…What?”

I tried to protest against the voice that was attempting to burden me with yet another trial, my voice revealing my involuntary alarm.

But the voice, either knowing or ignoring my urgency,

-This trial is simple.

Before my protest could begin, the voice started its message.

-Acknowledge it, even if it’s the darkness within you that you cannot accept.

It delivered words that were somewhat easier to understand than the initial cryptic message that had guided me to this unidentified place.

Ah, just because it’s easier to understand doesn’t mean it’s good.

Thinking it would be better to protest immediately rather than marvel at the clarity, I tried to open my mouth, but…

-May fortune and achievement accompany you on your path ahead.

The voice promptly finished its message as if there was no reason to listen to my protest.

Just as I was about to feel dejected at the thought of facing another unwanted trial,

[Something’s coming. Something carrying an absurdly gloomy darkness.]

Hearing Paphnir’s voice, showing the most wariness I’d heard since knowing him, I heightened my vigilance of the surroundings.

Thud, thud

Clear footsteps that shouldn’t be heard except by me were coming from far away.

At first, I was just tense from the sudden footsteps.

But as they grew louder, they taught me much more information I needed to know beyond just the sound.

Gulp

Upon realizing what it was, I couldn’t help but swallow a bitter dry saliva mixed with tension and fear.

Eventually, as the growing footsteps gradually became softer,

My eyes were able to confirm visually, not just audibly, what was approaching me.

“…Shit.”

At the same time, a light curse mixed with bewilderment automatically escaped my lips.

The identity I had sensed through the information from the footsteps forced its way into my disbelieving heart and confirmed itself as reality.

An appearance completely covered in pitch-black iron armor so dark that no other description but “black” could intrude.

And the suffocatingly dense negative energy emanating from its entire body.

And…

“My sole purpose for existence is one thing. To burn everything.”

A chilling voice that brushed past my ears.

[…No way?]

That voice, to the extent that even Paphnir, who had remained silent despite its appearance, expressed slight surprise,

Was identical to mine.

Why hide it?

That unpleasant black armor and the even more unpleasant energy it exuded while repeating only words about burning the world.

It is none other than me from the darkest moment in my memories.

The agent of the Demon God.

The guardian of the Demonic Scripture.

The champion of the malevolent deity obsessed with the role of burning the world.

That is me.

Shit, they want me to acknowledge this?