ALL NOVEL Chapter 18
Chapter 18. The Tomb of the Heroic King (2)
“Ha ha ha!”
“Smash!”
With their short bobs flowing, Khan and Kani swung their double swords and bastard sword vigorously.
Crunch Boom-.
Slicing, stabbing, demolishing. Primal destruction occurred at their fingertips. And…
“Twist! Slow down! Explode!”
The constant murmurs from Lois incited the four attributes to trigger an endless array of phenomena. In the face of this overwhelming destruction carried out by the mere children, the number a thousand seemed utterly trivial. As the Ice Generals were nearly all vanquished.
Thud-.
At last, the ten giants sprung into motion. Seeing the menacing giants, the twins wore devilish grins.
“That one’s mine!”
“I’ll take half!”
More lightning than ever surged from the twins. Soon, the two hatchlings clashed with the ten giants.
Boom!
A great roar echoed, and tingling electricity burst in all directions. The result of the fierce collision became swiftly apparent. Lois beamed approvingly.
“Well done, my cute little ones!”
In just one clash, the twins’ moniker had shifted from ‘nuisance’ to ‘cuties.’ Where Lois’s loving gaze landed, there were ten burning giants and the twins standing atop them, slightly weary but triumphant.
“Ha ha! This is like a max-level player running a beginner’s dungeon!”
The Tomb of the Hero King, featured early in the story, offering up daily rations to the protagonist’s party. Lois had breezed through the tomb all too easily with the cheat code that was his dragon nature.
With the giants defeated, the process was even more straightforward.
Crunch- Crunch-.
“It’s over.”
Having quickly dispatched the remaining Ice Generals, Lois stood before the door with a fluttering heart.
“Heh heh. Now it’s time to see the rewards, isn’t it?”
Following the leading Lois, the twins and Finn caught their breath.
“Hurry up and open it, Lois!”
“Quickly!”
Responding to their anticipation, Lois slowly pushed the door open.
Whoosh-.
As the door swung open, a blast of frosty air swept through. Lois realized he had found precisely what he was looking for. He flung the door wide, and the twins and Finn were speechless at the sight inside.
“Wow…!”
“So much of it!”
“My gosh…”
A veritable hill of gold and treasure unfurled before them. The ice-built Tomb of the Hero King shimmered with golden light.
“Kya ha ha!”
“It’s more than in our dad’s vault!”
The excited twins dove into the mountains of gold coins, and Finn busied herself exploring the surroundings. But Lois was looking elsewhere, his attention fixed on something specific.
‘There!’
At the heart of the treasure-laden room stood a transparent ice pillar. Lois’s steps were drawn towards it. Upon reaching the ice pillar…
“…”
Lois’s gaze was fixated on it. Encased within was an elder with white hair, seated on a throne, eyes closed, leaning on a rusted sword. Even through the insurmountable passage of time, the corpse remained as it had been in life.
‘Hero King Valencia!’
Early in the story, on the Winter Continent, the Hero King was the owner of the tomb where the protagonist’s party would gain a means to grow stronger. Lois approached the ice pillar imprisoning the Hero King, almost tiptoeing. Then suddenly, his steps halted.
“Huh?”
What he hadn’t noticed from a distance became clear now: there were red inscriptions on the ice pillar, written in the ancient language of the empire that once ruled the Winter Continent. Lois had no trouble reading it.
* * *
From the origin, beings with both light and darkness were born, termed as Good and Evil. After Good and Evil split at the dawn, the remaining light and darkness intermingled, which came to be known as Chaos. Out of Chaos, where neither light nor dark, good nor evil prevailed, borders were created to distinguish Good from Evil. This came to be known as the earthly realm, and within it new life was born.
…(omitted)…
The self-proclaimed superior beings of Good and Evil, ambitious to govern, failed to regard those below them, causing all existences on earth to suffer under their conflict. The days of anguish persevered until the beings of earth drew their blades against Good and Evil. Dragons led the charge, rallying humans and other races. The long struggle ended in victory, and the survivors dispersed across the Four Seasonal Continents to carry on an era of peace. And the dragons who had led the repulsion of Good and Evil took to the borders, ensuring they would never return.
As eons passed, the people forgot about Good and Evil, and the dragons that had set aside the world to watch over the borders faded from memory.
But I, Valencia Dominus, warn thus: we must never forget our past, nor the dragons who’ve sacrificed for our peace. Be wary—for when the dragons show themselves again, it is a sign that Good and Evil are returning to our world!
As the last of the generation remembering the War of Good and Evil, I leave all I possess to those bound by fate.
I beseech you to use what I have left in righteousness.
* * *
Finishing the lengthy inscription, Lois was filled with astonishment.
‘Was the original story really like this?’
In his memory of the original, the forces of evil consisted solely of the Wyrm Genelocer and the demons. He had never heard of a ‘race of Good,’ nor had he been aware that such records existed in the Hero King’s Tomb. Lois’s brows furrowed.
“The author… how did they even conceptualize this world?”
For some reason, the world he had been transported into held a much deeper lore than what the original author had shared with their readers. Lois read the inscription again, imprinting it into his mind.
‘Well… that’s that. Time to collect what’s mine.’
Having resolved to do so, Lois turned his attention to the pedestal in front of the ice pillar—or more precisely, to the book resting upon it.
‘That’s the one!’
Lois’s eyes gleamed.
More valuable than the countless jewels scattered around him was this single, worn tome before him.
‘The Martial Tome of Hero King Valencia!’
Valencia, an anomaly who’d reached the realm of zero despite being a human born with only one attribute. His life’s work, a compendium of all martial arts, was contained within this manual—and the very masterpiece the protagonist, lauded as the Sword Star, would come to master.
Thinking of this, Lois’s entire being surged with excitement.
‘It was the Hero King’s Martial Tome that created the Sword Star!’
And now, the Hero King’s Martial Tome had fallen into his hands. His eyes sparkling, Lois lifted the tome of Valencia. Its weight filled him with reverence.
‘Of course, this is it!’
With this book in hand, he would feel no regret if all the other treasures in the tomb fell to others.
“…Shall I regret it? Maybe just a bit… or perhaps a fair amount?”
While he softly babbled to himself,
Ching-.
A clear and crisp sound accompanied a shower of ice fragments before Lois’s eyes.
‘Oh?’
His thoughts halted in a blink. Lois’s gaze shifted to one side. Slowly, his eyes widened in disbelief.
“Huh?”
Where Lois looked, the King’s corpse was steadily rising amidst the scattering ice fragments like pollen.
“That’s impossible.”
A stunned Lois stuttered out loud. There was reason for his disbelief.
“This… This wasn’t in the original!”
In the original, after obtaining the Hero King’s Martial Tome, the protagonist’s party left the tomb without issue. There was no precedent for the King, believed to be dead, awakening from within the ice.
Sliding-
While Lois stood frozen with shock, the fully risen Hero King opened his eyes, revealing not eyes but an eerie blue glow where they should be. Lois could unmistakably feel that this glow was observing him.
Gulp-
A tense Lois swallowed hard. After a silence, the Hero King opened his mouth, and a hoarse voice flowed forth.
[That which you covet… is not yours to claim.]
With gaps between, the Hero King’s voice rose, thick with a chilling intent. The King slowly raised his rusted sword.
Startled, Lois hastily retreated, calling out.
“Twins! Finn!”
Hearing his shout, they rushed over to him. Finn, seeing the unexpected figure, asked anxiously.
“What is that?”
“The Hero King’s corpse!”
“Eek?!”
Finn recoiled in fear at Lois’s answer, stepping back. Meanwhile, Lois bit his lip hard.
“Damn it. Was this a trap?”
One avalanche initiated by a random lightning strike, followed by a sudden descent into the King’s Tomb. And now, out of nowhere, the Hero King, bristling with killer intent, wakes up?
These occurrences did not seem accidental. The Hero King, after all, had been a warrior of zero in life. There was no way Lois could handle him now.
“Damn!”
Clearly facing a life-threatening situation, what was needed now was quick action.
“Let’s get out of here!”
At Lois’s command, the twins, sensing the severity this time, instantly tried to transform. But the Hero King was quicker.
[For those who succumb to greed… there is only… death…]
The King, sword raised high, channeled a massive force. A soul-absorbing power froze Lois and the twins where they stood.
“No, this can’t be!”
Instinct urged them to live, but overwhelming presence pinned them motionless. It was the same for the twins, whose once confident and unruly demeanor vanished into pale fear.
“Please… please!”
Lois struggled to move. But his own body rebelly against his will.
‘Is this what the realm of zero is?’
He had inwardly mocked the dragons’ elders for being too easygoing, thinking he could reach zero with a little effort. But he was wrong.
Overwhelming fear and brutality. Zero’s true face was untouchably high, causing Lois to taste both despair and frustration. Yet it was fleeting.
Despair gave way to determination—a will that would not accept an end like this.
‘I refuse to end like this!’
Even facing the towering sword of light, Lois did not relent.
Vrumm- vrumm-.
His Dragon Heart thrummed with life, and gritting his teeth, Lois tapped into every last reserve.
“Arrgh!”
Tzzz- Tzzz-.
From Lois’s clenched fist, a white energy beam blasted towards the Hero King. A pure blow made of mana, devoid of any special technique or artistry, charged with the sheer force of Lois’s will.
At the same time.
Boom!
The immense sword of light unleashed by the Hero King plummeted down.