Episode 105

“…”

A thousand years had passed since she had gone to her eternal rest, yet he claimed he had never once forgotten her.

What exactly was Tias to him?

At that moment, I heard a soft sniffle from somewhere.

“…Spirit, are you crying?”

[W-Who’s crying?]

There was a slight tremor in his voice, making his denial completely unconvincing.

Still, I decided to pretend not to notice.

The spot where Tias had fallen had been guarded not just by Damon but by the spirit as well.

Golden lights, like delicate butterflies, would dance around the flowers that bloomed from her resting place—only to disappear whenever someone approached.

It was clear that the spirit had cherished Tias even more than his usual fondness for the Dissel bloodline.

[Even after all this time, I cannot forget the regret of failing to protect my contractor.]

His voice was laced with sorrow.

[I never imagined that anyone would be able to nullify my protection over her.]

From what I had witnessed, Rosette had initially been no match for Tias.

But then, she had suddenly unleashed an overwhelming surge of dark energy, channeling a power beyond her control, breaking through the spirit’s protection, and ultimately striking Tias down.

“How could a human wield such power?”

Even with dark magic, no ordinary human should have been able to match a spirit.

[That must have been Hertz’s doing. That woman—she was nothing more than a puppet.]

“…Wait. What did you just say?”

[She was being controlled like a puppet.]

“No, before that—you said ‘Hertz.’”

[Yes, Hertz. That wretched ‘King of Monsters.’]

Hertz.

Throughout history, only one man had ever been called by that noble name.

Hertz Terium—the first emperor of the Terium Empire.

The legendary hero who had sealed the evil dragon and brought peace to the land.

But…

‘King of Monsters? What is he talking about?’

[That bastard rewrote history however he pleased, so of course you wouldn’t know the truth. A vain fool, that’s all he ever was. Legendary hero, my ass.]

The spirit clicked his tongue in disapproval.

This might be related to the mural I had seen in the cave—the one that depicted events completely different from the historical records.

‘Now that I think about it, no one is a better living record of history than a spirit.’

“Can you tell me more?”

[If you wish.]

His voice grew smooth and steady, like someone reading a story from an old tome.

[In the beginning, this land was a wasteland teeming with monsters. And at the very top of them all… was Hertz. To him, humans were nothing more than prey and playthings.]

That matched the images I had seen on the mural.

[Then, one day, a lizard descended upon the land.]

“…A lizard?”

[Humans arrogantly referred to him as an evil dragon. I’m talking about Bergaus.]

“Oh.”

The way he spoke so casually about a dragon—it almost sounded like they had been close.

[That fool loved humans. He drove the monsters back into the demon realm, sealed away Hertz, and turned the barren land into a place of prosperity. He even shared his own power with humans.]

It was the complete opposite of what was written in history.

[And for a time, all was well. But then, a rift formed between Bergaus and the humans. Turns out, Hertz—who was supposed to be sealed—had awakened. He sowed discord, poisoning the humans against Bergaus.]

“……”

[That idiot Bergaus was oblivious to the manipulation and tried to mend the misunderstanding. But as you already know, he was executed instead. He wasn’t an easy opponent to kill, but his mistake was trusting humans too much. He fell right into their trap.]

The spirit’s voice had grown quieter, tinged with bitterness.

[With Bergaus gone, Hertz seized his chance. He crowned himself the first emperor and plotted to resurrect the world of monsters. I originally had no intention of interfering with the human realm, but I couldn’t stand the sight of him any longer. So I eliminated him.]

“…Wait. You eliminated him?”

I blinked, momentarily thrown off by that unexpected detail.

Sealing was one thing—but outright killing? That was a different matter entirely.

“How did you manage to eliminate a monster that couldn’t even be sealed?”

[To be precise, Hertz’s seal had only been partially undone. The immortal body he once had was stripped away, and he was cursed to be reborn as a human every few centuries.]

According to historical records, Hertz had suffered a grievous wound while battling the evil dragon and, after enduring over a decade of pain, had finally passed away.

[Yes, that was all a lie.]

‘Damn it. Then what the hell have I been studying all this time?’

A sense of exhaustion suddenly washed over me.

[Anyway, what do you think happened after that? Did peace return?]

“No. Hertz must have been reincarnated after a few centuries.”

[Correct. That bastard, the Tyrant Estero, was one of Hertz’s reincarnations. His empire was a complete disaster.]

The spirit clicked his tongue in disgust.

[He discovered that using dark magic increased the frequency of monster gates appearing, so he started waging endless wars, ushering in the era of dark magic. As a result, monsters swarmed the land, and his ambition to revive the age of monsters nearly came true.]

The Dark Century—a time when the world had teetered on the brink of destruction.

[That was when two saints rose to oppose him—Tias and Rosette. They formed an alliance and fought together, bringing forth an era of peace. But that peace didn’t last.]

“…That must have been the war I read about in the books.”

[Exactly. Hertz knew how to manipulate human weakness. This time, he seduced and brainwashed Rosette, driving a wedge between her and Tias. In the end, their paths diverged, and war broke out between them. And in that battle…]

The spirit trailed off.

It seemed he still found it difficult to speak of Tias’s death.

After a brief silence, he continued.

[But ultimately, Hertz’s ambition was crushed once again. That Damon fellow—I used to think he was just some fool chasing after Tias, but once he snapped, he turned out to be quite the monster himself. He killed them all. Rosette, Hertz, even the monsters.]

I had seen it too—Damon cutting down enemies like a man who had long abandoned all emotions.

[‘I will create the world you dreamed of, so please… don’t leave my side.’]

That was why he fought.

[He was insane. Hertz’s soul was shredded to pieces by him. Though Hertz has been reborn several times since then, judging by the fact that the world hasn’t collapsed yet, he must have lost most of his power back then.]

Now that I thought about it, the monster wars had occurred at irregular intervals, always unexpected.

Each time, the wars began with multiple demon gates appearing simultaneously across the land.

Fortunately, these wars had been manageable in scale, and in every era, a war hero had emerged to put an end to them within a few years.

Was Hertz behind each one?

[Well, that’s enough of this long-winded old tale.]

“It’s all quite shocking. So much of it contradicts what I’ve learned. Even now, people still call Bergaus an ‘evil dragon.’”

The one who had actually saved humanity.

[That fool knew this would happen the moment he decided to help humans. And, lately, it seems he’s stirring again.]

“…You mean Bergaus?”

[Yes. After being trapped beneath the lake for thousands of years, his seal is finally starting to weaken. It seems he’s found his vessel.]

“…His vessel?”

[A human capable of housing a dragon’s soul.]

“……”

Ludwig.

The spirit, oblivious to my realization, continued muttering to himself.

[If I had to guess, it’s that young man I saw recently… He’s a fine vessel indeed. And a blood descendant, too.]

The image of Ludwig losing control in the original novel flashed through my mind.

[That dragon must have spent thousands of years dreaming of revenge. He won’t let go of the humans who betrayed him.]

That was true.

In the novel, the disaster had seemed like an absurdly dramatic twist, but in reality, there had been a reason behind it all.

I had thought Ludwig was safe now.

Perhaps I had wanted to believe that.

After all, he was stable—far more so than in the original story.

But if the spirit was right… that wasn’t the case at all.

At any moment, the dragon could seize control of Ludwig’s body, triggering his rampage.

“…Is there any way to quell his wrath?”

 

 

 

 

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