DMHS 123

He couldn’t bring myself to stop their procession, which felt sacred.

How much time had passed?

Rowan, who had come up to him at some point, spoke.

“I told you. The sixth prophecy says, ‘Those who will devour the world will rise again.’ So who resurrected the ancient monsters?”

Kian answered, watching the monsters retreat.

“They’re far too peaceful for those who will devour the world.”

“That’s true now, but who knows what will happen in the future. How ferocious will they become once they cross the sea to the kingdom?”

“We’ll just have to wait and see.”

“Right. Since this has nothing to do with me anyway, I’ll call the kids over and fix the broken spear. Is that enough for the sendoff?”

“Enough.”

Rowan smiled weakly, and disappeared. Kian returned to the lobby, sword in hand.

Lucien faithfully followed his instructions to wait in his seat.

“Something strange has happened in the mansion. The monsters that were frozen into statues have come back to life and taken to the sky.”

“Monsters?”

Lucien’s question was met with no emotion.

“Fortunately, they didn’t show any signs of violence, even when facing other monsters or humans. On the contrary, they seemed as docile as lambs.”

“But I hope no untoward incidents arise. I’ll leave a letter at the palace.”

“Please.”

After Lucien sent the letter, Kian took Lucien’s hand with the one not holding his sword.

“We will now travel to the Dragon Realm. This is our first time, so we don’t know what will happen, so please hold my hand and never let go.”

“Fortunately, that’s something I’m good at.”

“Since you have the patience to joke around, let’s get started.”

“Good.”

Kian injected mana into the magic stone embedded in the center of his sword.

A flash of light appeared on the red magic stone, and then the surroundings changed.

A pitch-black space, like the darkness of the beginning.

Pure white dots adorned the sky.

Kian tilted his head back to examine the star-like glowing objects, and confirmed they were not simple dots.

“It’s a door.”

Upon closer inspection, the white glowing objects were arched doors. Kian, unfazed, spoke the thought in his mind.

“I want to go to the world created by the Dragon Lord.”

As soon as Kian finished speaking, the glowing doors began to merge.

As the light merged, the intensity intensified at a frightening rate. A door formed by a blindingly intense light appeared before Kian’s feet.

Kian entered without hesitation.

***

Rowan’s room on the top floor of the mansion.

Rowan stood silently, gazing out the broken window.

A moment later, as the wind whipped past, his long hair swaying, Rowan reverted to his boyish form. Still fixated on the sea, he spoke.

“Are you glad it turned out the way you wanted?”

The answer came from behind him.

“Well…”

Rowan turned to see who the voice belonged to.

The woman sitting cross-legged on the sofa looked remarkably like Rowan in his female form. Her black hair flowed down to her waist, her slender frame, and her dazzling beauty.

Rowan walked over to the woman and knelt on one knee. He kissed the back of her hand, which she casually extended.

“I hope you enjoyed it.”

Rowan’s eyes deepened.

“Because I deceived my old friend for you.”

“Yes… You always know where I am.”

The woman’s lips lifted into a quiet smile.

As she smiled, the atmosphere around her changed, like flowers blooming. A flush of color washed over her once icy face, and a feeling of compassion rose within her.

The woman smiled gently and whispered,

“It would be wonderful if you were dead.”

The harsh words didn’t match her generous voice. But Rowan accepted her words calmly.

“Not everything in this world goes as planned. Even you, the creator of the world, can.”

“…..”

Instead of answering, the woman pursed her lips into a deep smile.

Any believer who prayed to the shrine every day would recognize her identity by now. Indeed, her face was not much different from a statue carved by a skilled sculptor.

Rowan turned to the goddess, Celestia, and asked,

“Did you really have to send Yan to the Dragon Realm?”

“Yes.”

“To fulfill your plan?”

“…Yes.”

After a brief silence, Rowan spoke again.

“I feel you’re being particularly harsh to Yan. Am I misunderstanding your meaning?”

Instead of answering, the goddess switched to a different topic.

“Why did you bring up the prophecy?”

“He’ll know it anyway.”

“But since you mentioned it twice, it must have stuck in his mind. He must be wondering why you brought it up.”

“I often bring up irrelevant things. Yan wouldn’t think too deeply about it.”

“No, no. You wanted to give Yan a clue. That the person next to him is the Arbiter.”

Rowan seemed frozen for a moment, then shrugged lightly.

“If that’s what you think, then so be it. But even if Yan’s companion is the Arbiter, it doesn’t change anything. Yan either knows it or not.”

The smile on the goddess’s lips deepened.

“That kind of naive thinking is why I came here.”

Flash!

Lightning struck out of nowhere outside the window.

Heavy rain drenched the room.

Meanwhile, the goddess’s smile grew even more poignant.

The goddess gazed at Rowan with a ravishingly beautiful smile. Rowan’s face was reflected in her honey-sweet eyes.

“Ah… It would be wonderful if you died, wouldn’t it?”

The goddess muttered to herself.

Whoosh.

The room was soon filled with the sound of rain.

Instead of answering, Rowan gazed at the sea beyond the raindrops.

The rain continued to fall without a break. It likely would for several days.

***

Meanwhile, Kian, who had entered the door, was met with an unexpected situation.

The moment he stepped onto the other side, the ground sank, and his entire body plummeted.

Ugh.

“…Damn it!”

Belatedly realizing the situation, Kian cursed and pulled Lucien to him.

The two were currently falling from the sky without any protective gear.

The wind blew towards the ground, tugging at their clothes. Their hair was also a mess.

Kian held Lucien close, and with his other hand, he adjusted the handle so the dagger was facing outward.

Fortunately or unfortunately, the altitude was so high that even after preparing for landing, it took a long time to fall.

Kian quickly surveyed the land beneath the sky.

Surrounded by the sea, it was a vast island.

At the center of the island, a crater appeared, and around it, a forest shaped like an upside-down saucer, unfolded. The densely grown trees boasted a vibrant green hue.

Meanwhile, the distance to the tree rising from the ground grew closer.

“Hold on tight.”

Dense foliage obscured his vision. Kian’s eyes lit up as he spotted a thick tree trunk through it.

“Now.”

Kian plunged his dagger into the trunk. However, the force of the two men falling had not been enough to support the dagger’s impact, leaving a shallow wound in the trunk.

The dagger slid down, leaving a long gash in the tree trunk.

But Kian held on to the dagger. He twisted his wrist, driving it deeper into the tree.

It was a method that required a lot of force, but it was effective.

The dagger thrust deeper into the ground, slowing their descent. Finally, Kian landed gently on the ground. This was possible because the tree was so large and imposing, easily twenty times the height of a man.

“Is your arm okay?”

Lucien immediately began checking Kian’s body.

“It’s fine.”

Kian put the dagger in his inner pocket and turned his wrist to check its condition. There was more important business at the moment.

“We need to first determine whether this is the Dragon Realm or not. I didn’t see any noticeable creatures when I came down. Where do you think dragons live on this island?”

“I read somewhere that dragons love caves.”

“Then let’s start our search, focusing on the caves. Caves… Wait here for a moment.”

Kian began climbing the tree in front of him. He was quick, shifting branches as he ascended.

‘Before, I would’ve added clumsy movements just to hide my identity.’

But Lucien had already realized that he wasn’t “Kian Semes.”

Now that he knew he wasn’t an ordinary human, his over-the-top camouflage was simply ridiculous.

‘As long as he doesn’t find out I’m Yan, it’s fine.’

Kian quickly reached the treetop, narrowing his eyes and scanning his surroundings. He spotted a cave through the dense canopy of trees.

‘Let’s start from there.’

But just then, a plume of black smoke billowed from the summit of the mountain where the crater was.

The smoke was rapidly moving in Kian’s direction. Kian hurried down from the tree.

“Did you find the cave?”

“Yes. But I’ve noticed some suspicious activity in the crater. I don’t know how to explain it.”

“Is the volcano erupting?”

“It’s too early to call it an eruption. It’s just smoke billowing out. But when I saw it earlier, it seemed to be coming this way…”

Before he could even finish his sentence, black smoke engulfed them.

An unfamiliar voice came from above.

The words, like the voice itself, were incredibly unfamiliar.

“Are you hunters?”