episode_0056

“Are you stopping already?”

Cecilia, who had plopped down beside me instead of swinging her sword, wiped the sweat off and spoke.

“No, I need a moment to rest and organize my thoughts.”

There wasn’t much time left until our journey to Mount Seol. Just as the curse from the commanders went, as soon as someone was properly targeted. If I didn’t want to end up being kidnapped in that direction after losing a limb, this mission had to be successfully completed no matter what.

‘…The heart of the dragon in the myth.’

Except for the mere elixir, it’s an item described immensely even in the original work. And to obtain it, the help of various individuals is necessary, even if you know its location.

Isabella, who opened Jinmyeong, and Uriah, the final boss.

And the person who will do something quite important.

“…”

I silently watched Cecilia wiping the sweat off her chest with a towel.

K-cup, her chest bigger than her head. The smoothly lifted armpits revealed a single traceless white skin.

“…?”

This woman.

Even though she may seem promiscuous,

she possesses abilities rivaling Rachel’s, if not surpassing them.

Of course, the one who will truly shine… will be Rachel.

The person who actually saw the ‘dragon’ in front of their eyes and hunted it.

At the moment, it’s just a clumsy position where a few words of love and calling names leave me at a loss.

“Ian?”

That person. A remarkable individual. Moreover, he is someone who conceals a tremendous background secret from everyone around him.

In this chapter, as crucial events need to be resolved later in the original work, getting advice from her is essential.

Rising from my seat with a thud on my knees, I looked towards the mansion.

“I should visit when I have time.”

“What? Where-”

“Cecilia. I need to visit my mother for a moment.”

“…………”

For some reason,

Cecilia, who was about to say something, abruptly stopped.

Her lips and gaze trembled intensely.

“W-well… isn’t it too early to reveal our relationship to your parents… we’re not… anything yet, right?”

“We’re not anything?”

“N-no… I mean… is it already…!”

“So you’ll let me go then,”

“……..Yes.”

For some reason, Cecilia’s earlobes and cheeks were quite flushed.

…Why? Did she catch a heatwave or something?

….

The publicly known purpose is the secondary subjugation of demons.

However, there was a separate true purpose.

‘…The heart of the dragon.’

An elixir with such immense power that even after death, it emits enough magic to change the surrounding terrain itself.

It surely had a setting writhing somewhere in Mount Seol as a catalyst for its own resurrection someday, undoubtedly.

The protagonist of the original novel also went through twists and turns to locate the heart of the dragon, but by that time, the dragon would have resurrected completely, facing the protagonist and nearly killing them.

If Dylan succeeded in absorbing it…

He could have easily wiped out all the commanders.

According to descriptions in the side story, even an ordinary person gains the power to effortlessly kill thousands of knights.

Well, accepting that requires having the temperament, talent, and physical conditions.

Unlike a typical dragon’s heart, a mythical being. Not some surviving ‘fugitives,’ but the ‘dominators,’ the heart of the highest among them.

To use it properly, it seemed highly improbable that anyone other than Uriah or Dylan at the final stage could absorb that power correctly.

And I intend to absorb it myself or, failing that, have Uriah absorb it.

However, in any plan deemed perfect, there are always variables. Consulting an expert is only natural.

“…Mother.”

In the study, Rachel, speaking in a businesslike tone, momentarily met eyes and then turned her head.

“Ian? Why are you suddenly calling me?”

Flipping through the pages of a book, Rachel asked in a soft voice. Lately, Rachel had regained her composure and looked even better than before. Except for asking to fill her collar.

Erasing that thought, she asked with a serious tone, “It might be a painful memory, but may I ask you something?”

The dragon in that myth. There was a record of her appearing in a small form on Seolsan to resurrect once.

And it was none other than Rachel who suppressed that ice dragon, the current Northern Commander and Ice Palace Lord.

“As much as you want. Even if you ask about the color of my underwear today, I could show you right away.”

Rachel added with a very serious tone. Although the following words bothered her a bit… well, since she was partly responsible for creating it, she decided to ignore it for now.

Upon hearing that, Ian, as if he had been waiting, took out what he had prepared and said, “I’ve investigated all the records of the ‘dragon hunts’ we’ve had so far. Most were just average, but there was one part that stood out.”

Swoosh, he handed over a thin document.

As Rachel stared at it, her eyes narrowed gradually.

“…”

Trying to appear nonchalant, she bit her lip, but seeing her slightly trembling hand, it was clear that something had happened.

‘A mythical being.’

Her slender finger tapped the document. Then she let go of her lip.

When Rachel talks seriously, she tends to speak in a somewhat heavy and low tone. However, in times like this, she doesn’t make any meaningless remarks but rather continues the conversation a bit more before giving the final answer. It’s like a buildup to the last response.

“Ian, let me bring up another issue for a moment.”

“Another issue?”

“Yes. If the snowy field is unusually quiet during the first expedition, what would you do? If there are no monsters overflowing everywhere.”

“…”

I know the answer to this.

It was one of the major crises faced by the Brittna family in Chapter 3, and one of the reasons why the current Dylan could return from the first expedition almost without any sacrifices.

“The answer is-”

Rachel tried to give an answer after the silence, but she stopped and whispered the answer.

“They must be hiding. As written in the records, those creatures are not without intelligence like other ordinary monsters. In other words, they may have developed a leader who can command them. Quietness means they are growing in strength, so we need to quickly find and kill their leader.”

“…That’s a valid point. Generally, that kind of answer could be expected. However, the snowy field holds more secrets than that.”

A hint of doubt crept into Ian’s expression. Since the original work did not delve deeply into the description of the snowy field, he was unsure of any variables different from the current answer.

“I saw it myself. Before you erased my trauma, I met ‘them’ every night in nightmares. Merely being in the snowy field is not enough for them anymore. Having devoured whatever they could find, they will likely target the village below and our territory.”

At the mention of ‘them,’ Ian’s expression darkened slightly.

“I know. The one who took the Northern Commander’s arm was that ice dragon.”

“…I’m aware.”

“In fact, that information was incorrect. Originally, defeating a dragon was not difficult. At most, ten knights were slightly injured.”

“Then, who took that arm?”

“…Do you know how the monsters that came out of that cave killed the knights when it was first discovered?”

“Probably different-”

Rachel shook her head from side to side.

“No plans. Just overwhelming quantities made meaningless by tactics and whatnot. If it weren’t for the saintesses who coincidentally followed from the Holy Kingdom, dealing with those who descended on Seolsan now would have required a lot of sacrifice.”

“…”

“It’s not that they lack intelligence. To easily describe the characteristics of the demon forces, they don’t need to eat, drink, or sleep; they follow commands from their distant mother base through magical signals within them, harboring no fear of death. As long as there is a mother base, they can be reborn and evolve endlessly. Yes, you could call them vampires’ ghouls. Truly, many were even better than the ones she controlled, as most demons born with immense magical power due to the environment.”

As Rachel recalled that dreadful past, her voice gradually chilled.

“…How many of them are there?”

“At least thousands, tens of thousands. By the way, this story is four years old, so that number has likely doubled. We poured sacred power, set fires, even devised ways to collapse caves to deal with them on top-secret missions. But even that reached its limit.”

Words suddenly burst from the man’s contemplative gaze.

“…..Evolution.”

“Correct. Their evolution, the mother base’s growth. The emergence of the ‘roots’ of these creatures created by infiltrating demon nests in the high-concentration magical environment unique to Seolsan.”

“When you say ‘roots’…”

“Do you know the greatest ability change brought by their appearance?”

Ian momentarily fell silent.

“Tactics. They started using cunning methods like setting traps, not directly devouring humans but capturing them as hostages.”

“…”

“And that’s not all. The reason they became more aggressive with tactics. After merging their bodies and creating new races, such as the famous Death Knights, Medusas, and others—though the discovery sites vary, they all emerge from Seolsan.”

“…Are you suggesting that the total offensive might explode during this expedition?”

“Of course. Whether from an unpredictable bomb or if the mythical dragon’s heart that the mother base covets actually exists. Ian, you will inevitably come face to face with them.”

“…”

“So, how have you been stopping them until now?”

“If it weren’t for the Holy Kingdom, the defense would have collapsed long ago. And I thought as long as the fortresses they built existed, they wouldn’t crumble. We’re nearing the limit.”

Ian’s expression, having listened to the story until the end, was surprisingly calm.

Hmm.

This seems too easy, doesn’t it?