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HELIO SCANS
[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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Chapter 17
1.
William Leofric Merces I.
That was his original name.
Roughly a thousand years ago, William was a lionhearted warrior whose name echoed across the continent.
He was one of the Twelve Heroes who vanquished the Great Demon Lord.
At the time, the heroes each took with them an artifact imbued with a portion of the Demon Lord’s sealed power, and vowed to establish their own kingdoms.
Their purpose was clear—by founding nations to guard the Demon Lord’s sealed remnants, they would prevent his return and ensure the world’s safety.
To honor this pact, William chose this place as his domain.
This land, with rugged mountains flanking the west and south, opened into a fertile plain where crops flourished in abundance.
William believed that if he built his kingdom here, it would become a realm that endured for a thousand years.
And in truth, his prediction wasn’t far off.
For fifty years after its founding, his kingdom knew peace and grew increasingly prosperous.
But in the kingdom’s 55th year, an unexpected catastrophe struck.
A monstrous lifeform that had dwelled deep beneath the kingdom’s heart emerged from underground.
It was a dragon.
Not just any dragon, but an ancient Earth Dragon—a savage beast that fed on magma beneath the earth.
The earth dragon erupted through the royal capital, laying waste to it with streams of molten breath.
Its magma breath leveled everything that had been built over fifty years, erasing the kingdom’s architecture and civilization in one fell swoop.
William, alongside his royal guard, took up a greatsword infused with the Demon Lord’s power and fought the dragon on equal footing.
His blade tore through the dragon’s thick scales, delivering deep wounds.
But then—
A second earth dragon appeared from behind and crushed him to death.
The kingdom he had built was buried with him in the ashes, vanishing into dust.
＊ ＊ ＊
[When I first came to my senses, I was in the resting place of the Earth Dragons. I don’t know how many years I spent there—there was no sun or moon to mark the time. More than that, my mind was foggy. Like I was half-asleep… or dreaming. That haze made it nearly impossible to string even a single thought together. But then, one day, that fog began to lift. It started when a strange, nameless tremor began shaking the entire place. From that day on, it was like I woke up from a long sleep. My thoughts returned, little by little.]
William’s soul paused, as if lost in memory.
His spirit glowed with a deep, shadowy black hue—but his eyes, strangely enough, burned with a piercing blue light. With that same intense gaze, William looked straight at Damian and continued.
[Not long after, I realized something. To hold on to my sense of self… I had to follow that tremor. Go to its source. So I moved. And that’s how I ended up here.]
He stopped again, right on the edge of saying more.
It had been so long—so impossibly long—since he’d last held a conversation. The chance to speak, to share his story, was something he couldn’t let go of. But his mind was unstable, teetering at the edge.
Every time he tried to speak further, a wave of violent emotion surged over him—rage, bitterness, the heavy curse of his death. These feelings would twist his soul, turning his once-black form into a seething, deep red.
[Grrr... I’ll kill them… all of them! Ngh—! Damn it!!]
William cursed aloud and dropped to his knees. The clarity he had fought so hard to maintain was unraveling, swallowed up in fury. Rage coiled around him like chains, ready to drag him back into the abyss.
Damian watched him silently—then asked calmly.
[Why does it hurt so much?]
And just like that… something miraculous happened.
Damian’s question pulled William’s unraveling mind back together.
The red drained from his spirit, returning it to its original black. Slowly, William lifted his gaze toward Damian.
[I… I…]
[Don’t think about anything else. Just look at me. Speak while looking into my eyes. It’ll help.]
Damian’s words worked. As William looked into Damian’s eyes, the fog cleared. His thoughts returned, and with them, the answer.
[It’s the injustice of it. That senseless death… I wasn’t supposed to die like that.]
[Why not?]
[Because I made a promise. A promise to my friends… and I still have to keep it.]
His sword—the sacred blade that sealed the Demon Lord—“Lion’s Fang.” He had to retrieve it. No matter what.
But before that, there was something else—something that had to be done first.
As he remembered, his soul once again rippled with fury. But he steadied himself, looking back into Damian’s eyes.
And then he spoke the name of his enemy.
[The Earth Dragon.]
His blue eyes flared again—brighter this time.
[It killed me. I want revenge… I NEED revenge.]
＊ ＊ ＊
I began to piece together everything William had told me so far.
‘So… he wants revenge on the earth dragon that killed him.’
His story was definitely compelling—especially the part about him being one of the legendary Twelve Heroes who once shook the continent a thousand years ago.
‘Could he really be lying?’
[So far, he’s been consistent in what he says. Some spirits do confuse others’ memories for their own, but this one doesn’t seem to be that type.]
Equinox closely examined William’s spiritual state.
Listening to him, I was starting to understand what to focus on when dealing with spirits in the future.
[The reason his spiritual form flares red is unresolved anger from life. That kind of rage usually turns spirits into monsters. But this one—he didn’t. That tells us he carried a noble soul while he lived.]
I agreed with Equinox.
Rage always eats away at the soul.
Even humans with physical bodies struggle with it—so for a spirit, lacking a body, becoming a monster from pure wrath is almost inevitable.
And yet, William still held his shape.
He was trying, desperately, to stay lucid—keeping his gaze locked on mine, clinging to his sense of self.
He wasn’t normal.
Maybe, just maybe, he really had been one of the Twelve Heroes who defeated the Demon Lord.
[Equinox. What do I need to do to raise him?]
[You’ll need to find his bones.]
[His bones, huh…]
If William was right, they’d be somewhere beneath this mountain.
Most likely deep underground—where the earth dragon that killed him still lurked.
‘If I go that far, I’ll have to fight it eventually.’
The Earth Dragon.
A subspecies of dragon—not winged, but capable of tunneling freely underground.
It breathes molten lava.
It’s said to be as deadly as any true dragon.
Even my teacher, back in my previous life, had avoided facing dragons.
That’s how fearsome they were.
‘Can I really take on a dragon right now.’
Sure, I’d just taken down that boar, but that’s a toddler compared to a dragon.
And this one had slain one of the Twelve Heroes like it was nothing.
No matter how I looked at it, it was too much to take on immediately.
[You’re overestimating your enemy, master.]
[I’m just thinking realistically, based on what I’ve seen so far.]
[You haven’t even begun to wield your full power. That boar hunt? That was just a taste. The real work hasn’t even started.]
[So what—you think I can actually kill a dragon right now?]
It was a direct, pointed question.
Equinox chuckled and gave his answer without hesitation.
[Yes. I do.]
Even with that kind of certainty from him, I couldn’t fully shake my doubt.
Just then, William’s voice cut through my thoughts.
[They’re coming. It’s them.]
The ground began to tremble.
The vibration started from somewhere deep within the earth—and it was getting closer.
Equinox chuckled again, this time with a tone that felt like reassurance.
[I’ve known about them since the moment we arrived here. So don’t hesitate, master. You will win. Gauging your enemy is important—but right now, what matters more is learning to measure your own strength.]
I picked up Nocturne, which had transformed into its wooden training sword form.
The gem embedded in the blade began to glow red.
＊ ＊ ＊
A few hours ago.
In a vast underground chasm, with lava flowing on one side, two colossal creatures shared an intimate bond.
These creatures had a body shape resembling enormous worms. They were of differing sizes—one was incredibly huge, while the other was barely half its size. Yet, they were intertwined like a braid, exploring each other's bodies.
These creatures were known as the Earth Dragons, the rulers of the underground.
Unlike the dragons that soar through the skies with massive wings, the Earth Dragons' wings had evolved into special scales that enveloped their bodies.
Dragon scales were known for their durability, but the scales of the Earth Dragon were on an entirely different level. Their sharp horns on their noses could easily break through any stone, and their sturdy yet soft scales, protruding from their bodies, allowed them to glide effortlessly underground.
Furthermore, their four legs could be hidden beneath their scales at any time.
Of course, right now, their legs were busy exploring the other's body.
Grroooar—
Kwaaa—
Kerrr—
With strange sounds and violent wriggling, stalactites hanging from the ceiling fell, but it didn’t matter to them.
The thick, sturdy scales of their bodies shattered the falling stalactites like dewdrops. As they tumbled and rolled, the pillars in the middle of the cavern collapsed.
Occasionally, monstrous roars shook the cavern and even rattled the earth, but to them, it was merely play.
As the stalactites were mostly cleared away and several pillars crumbled, their passionate union came to an end.
Kerrr—!
The smaller male Earth Dragon shuddered once, then detached itself from the massive female Earth Dragon. The male, with his eyes closed, exhaled for a while before speaking.
"Strange."
He spoke in a cracked and raspy voice, using the ancient dragon tongue that only Earth Dragons knew.
"What’s strange?"
The female Earth Dragon slowly turned her body and asked. The male looked suspiciously around the cavern, glancing at the ceiling and then replied.
"I feel like something's here."
However, the female spread her front paws and replied dismissively.
"There’s nothing here. Look over there. It’s just like it used to be."
Her words were true. The appearance of this great chasm, called the “Sanctuary of the Earth Dragon,” had not changed. Except for the few stalactites that had fallen and the collapsed pillars, it looked exactly as it did decades ago.
Despite confirming this with his sharp eyes, the male Earth Dragon still wore a skeptical expression.
"That may be, but..."
"But?"
"Something feels off."
The male Earth Dragon turned his body and stood on his four legs. He then approached the female’s lower body, sniffing the air as he spoke.
"We met too early."
"Why do you think that?"
"You’re not ready yet."
The male's observation was spot on. They were supposed to meet according to the female’s estrus cycle. That cycle typically occurred once every 100 years. A female in estrus would have a different scent—a more sticky, enticing fragrance.
[TL/N: So um… Estrus—a term referring to a period of sexual receptivity or fertility in certain animals, often associated with a specific cycle. Here, it refers to the mating cycle of the female Earth Dragon, implying that her body would typically undergo changes to signal readiness for mating, which includes the emission of a specific scent.]
The female, slightly amused by the male’s observation, grinned and replied.
"Still... I enjoyed it. I don’t know why we didn’t do this sooner."
"Heh heh heh. Is that so?"
The male chuckled, his satisfaction evident.
He approached the female’s head and, with his tongue, licked the sharp horn on her nose, before giving her an inquisitive look.
"Why did you call me so early? Did you really miss me that much?"
At that moment, the female’s expression froze. She looked up at the male and responded.
"Wait a minute. You think I called you?"
The female’s gaze was full of confusion.
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HELIO SCANS
[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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