Episode 21
Krrrr-.
It felt like a moment of terror had engulfed me.
The creature, unlike anything I had ever seen before, had blood-red eyes that pierced through like fresh blood.
A monster, driven solely by the instinct for slaughter, stood before me.
Humans had waged a long war against these creatures in the past. While they successfully banished them to the demon realm, gates connecting the human realm and the demon realm continued to appear sporadically, regardless of time and place.
One of the most famous gates was right here, in the Grand Forest.
The demons that crossed through the gate into the human realm showed a strong instinct for violence against humans.
‘This is insane.’
The demon, after tossing aside the deer it had bitten, exposed its large and sharp fangs, rushing towards me.
With a cliff behind me and nowhere to escape, my only option now was…!
Krrrrrr!
As the demon approached, I spread my hands and activated my ability.
A stream of water, weaker than Tergon Drenihan’s but with a decent form, appeared and lashed out like a whip, subduing the wolf-like demon.
“Gotcha!”
Even though the water stream was thin enough to break at any moment, it stopped the demon in its tracks.
The demon roared in anger, hanging in mid-air.
Although the water stream weakened with every thrash of the demon’s powerful movements, I needed to escape while it was restrained.
In my anxious state, almost instinctively, I grabbed for something to hold onto and tightly clenched the necklace in my hand.
Then, in the midst of running towards the opposite side, abandoning the idea of climbing the cliff.
From behind, a loud roar echoed.
Kiaaaaah!
The demon had finally shattered my ability.
Free from restraint, it landed on the ground with a thud, fueled by intense rage, charging straight at me.
Is this how it ends?
What will happen to me then?
Beep, beep, beep.
At that moment, an odd sound echoed from somewhere.
As the demon raised its front paw to attack, the necklace clenched in my hand suddenly became hot.
‘What’s happening…?’
A fierce light burst from the jewel embedded in the necklace, blinding me for a moment.
Simultaneously, the demon that had approached me disintegrated, turning into a sticky, smelly liquid that melted into the ground.
‘What in the world is this…?’
Even seeing it with my own eyes, I couldn’t comprehend it.
Without a chance to grasp the situation, I sensed a strange energy around me.
Crows in the sky began to cry ominously.
The eerie energy in the forest became even stronger.
Monstrous howls echoed from all directions.
The light from the necklace seemed to stimulate the forest demons, gathering them towards this location.
‘I need to get out of here first.’
I forced my tense body to move and headed into the forest.
“…!”
Sensing a presence somewhere, I quickly hid behind a tree and saw a swarm of demons rushing towards the cliff where I had been.
‘What on earth is this necklace…?’
An heirloom left by my mother. It seemed to be more than just that.
Leaving the questions aside for now, I surveyed the surroundings and sought a way out of the forest.
Or perhaps, I hoped for the miracle of encountering another participant.
After walking for about thirty minutes.
I heard the sound of water from somewhere.
‘There must be a large lake nearby.’
Not only the sound but also a strong aura of water was felt in the vicinity.
Natural ability users draw power from the corresponding element in nature.
In my case, being close to a lake enhanced my water abilities, allowing me to exert greater strength.
‘It’s fortunate that my energy was running low.’
It seemed like I could collapse at any moment, but it turned out to be a stroke of luck.
I took heavy steps towards that direction and finally discovered it.
A waterfall cascading down from a dark cliff with a thunderous roar.
The Demon Forest. Not many knew detailed information about the infamous Karsian Forest.
The forest was so vast that even the Grand Fortress couldn’t fully manage it. Only a small part near the entrance was accessible to people.
The deep interior was a completely unknown world, with the protective barrier being lifted only once a year for the annual hunting ritual.
I followed the energy of water to escape from the demons and eventually reached a place untouched by human footsteps for a long time.
The waterfall was hidden in the untamed bushes, keeping its presence concealed.
I slowly moved towards the waterfall.
A few drops of cold water splashed on my cheek as the waterfall crashed down.
Since demons tended to avoid water, it seemed like a good place to catch my breath.
I looked around the waterfall, relaxing my tense shoulders.
‘There seems to be a space behind the waterfall.’
What I discovered was none other than a cave.
It hid its presence well behind the cascading water, making it almost impossible to notice from a distance.
The inside of the cave was exceptionally dark compared to the outside.
‘What could this be?’
It was too dark to discern what might be inside.
When I was about to leave, I suddenly heard a crackling sound from behind and a sound of something burning.
Startled, I turned around, and I saw torches hanging all over the cave that had caught fire.
Simultaneously, the interior brightened as if it were broad daylight.
‘Does it automatically ignite when someone enters? Could this cave have been someone’s dwelling long ago?’
As the interior brightened, surprisingly, I could see delicate murals drawn on the walls.
‘What on earth is this?’
The murals were quite intricate, with both images and inscriptions, and by the looks of it, it seemed to be an ancient language I had never seen before.
But….
‘…It’s readable.’
For the first time in my life, I could read characters!
[The day when the light of the beginning descended from the sky….]It wasn’t the imperial language or Korean; it seemed to be a language used in ancient times.
Since learning or researching ancient languages was prohibited in the empire, it would be challenging to find someone who could interpret this.
Would I be able to…?
‘Am I going crazy finally?’
With an unbelieving expression, I walked towards the murals as if entranced.
On the murals, a scene was depicted where an ashen dragon descended from the sky, and humans on the ground welcomed the dragon as if in worship.
[On the day when the light of the beginning descended from the sky, humans named the alien, mysterious, and beautiful being Vergeous.]The wicked dragon Vergeous. No one in the empire was unfamiliar with that name, as it appeared in the creation myth passed down through generations.
A malevolent dragon who disturbed the order of the land, gathered demons with its evil power, and brought about the downfall of an ancient kingdom.
One day, seven heroes joined forces to drive Vergeous away and eventually succeeded in sealing it.
Unable to completely destroy its physical form, they ultimately sealed it in a deep lake.
Vergeous, during his lifetime, fell in love with a human woman, and they had several offspring. The dragon clan, along with Vergeous, migrated to a forest with a lake, severing ties with the empire.
Subsequently, the current empire was established on fertile land, and the seven heroes who defeated the evil dragon played a pivotal role as national heroes, supporting the present empire.
Leading the heroes and sealing Vergeous was the current emperor, Hertz.
‘It should be like that for sure…’
However, what was engraved on the mural was quite different from the information I had known so far.
[With transcendent power, he saved humans suffering from drought and plague, transforming the death-ridden land of Therium into a lush and fertile one. Humans crowned him as their king, and Vergeous, who loved their purity, shared his power with his beloved people….]“That power was a unique ability that could control nature, including fire, water, wind, and earth. His blessing enabled humans to thrive and survive….”
An ability.
The noble families of the empire and other derived high-ranking noble families all possessed abilities originating from Vergeous.
[Those blessed by Vergeous pledged a lifelong allegiance to him and imprinted a symbol on their bodies. This symbol was inherited by their descendants.]The Blessing of Therium. Could it be the pattern carried by the heads of the noble families in the empire?
It was undoubtedly related to the power gained by the heroes after defeating the evil dragon, but it was entirely different from what I knew.
The mural contained facts from ancient times.
Vergeous loved humans, helped them live peacefully, and even shared his power with them.
And he fell in love with a human woman, giving birth to a child, which became the origin of the Hiltengen, an outer family of Ludvig.
The story, believed to be peaceful for so long, ended with the betrayal of humans.
The last mural depicted Vergeous being sealed beneath the lake.
Those who had pledged allegiance to him gradually grew resentful of Vergeous’s excessive involvement in human affairs and eventually attempted to kill him.
However, humans couldn’t easily kill a dragon, and in the end, they sealed him away for an eternity.
Just before being sealed, Vergeous cursed the traitors, and it became a hereditary disease in the noble families of the empire….
The content was unbelievable.
The dragon called Vergeous had such secrets hidden within.
Even now, Ludwig, a distant descendant of Vergeous, was criticized solely for being a descendant.
He received unjust treatment compared to the favors Vergeous bestowed upon him.
Moreover, the noble families praised as heroes for slaying the evil dragon turned out to be the traitors.
What part of this narrative was true?
“… ”
At that moment, I heard a small sound from outside the cave.
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