Chapter 195
< Dragon's Curse >
The duel between Leon and Vulcan did not end even after fighting for a day and night..
The stadium was cracked and splintered here and there, and even the stands were not safe. From the second day, most of the audience evacuated to avoid being hit by flying stadium debris..
Thanks to this, only those strong enough to not die from the debris flying in the aftermath of the battle remained in the stadium.──
For the third day like that.
Vulcan crossed the line.
"Hey! It's frustrating!
[Ugh, you Vulcanus! no way!!]
Divine Advent <God of War>.
Despite Petos's dissuasion, Vulcan closed the savings account with a long time left until its expiration date..
[It's not possible ah ah ah──!!]
Despite the screams of the god Fetos, the flames of the damned Holy Grail Knight grew stronger..
Of course, that also happens. I plan to limit my use of holy power to one blow..
The strongest strike limited to one strike with this holy sword. Its power truly reaches the extreme light of the holy sword. but──
"Kyung used it first.."
Vulcan, who suddenly screamed in the heat of the duel, didn't even think about it. If he were the Grail Knight who represented the God of War,──
<Holy Sword of Polar Light>
Leon is the representative of all gods..
"Hmm... how about canceling for a while and regaining your senses? Now that I think about it, it's a waste of the gods' holy power like this.──"
"I like that kind of shamelessness about Kyung. But not now."
"······."
If there is a true loser in this duel, it will be Petos, who has lost half of the holy power he accumulated by holding various events such as the Holy Spirit prayer meeting for several months..
Even Vulcan fell like that..
Then the suitors stopped coming..
-How on earth are you supposed to defeat such a monster??
-Ah, this quest was ruined..
The Dragon Emperor's suitors face a wall they can never overcome, and although Leon must win against more than fifty suitors, there are no more suitors to challenge him..
"hmm."
"Your Majesty, you look satisfied.."
Beatrice noticed that Leon, who had been without a challenger for three days, was more satisfied than ever before..
"Now that the thieves are gone, the king's garden is so peaceful.."
"There are many who say that it is a bit of a prudent policy.."
"Heh, a king shouldn't care about the reputation of his subordinates.."
That may be a proper attitude for a royal, but can it be said that interfering with a daughter's marital activities is royal??
Of course, Beatrice knew why Leon was like this..
"Will your daughter really do as Your Majesty intends??"
"I hope so."
'A clumsy person.'
When Beatrice first heard the story from Leon, she was surprised to realize that even this perfect man had ordinary flaws..
It is true that Beatrice also laughed at Leon's behavior, just as Vulcan thought of a somewhat frivolous expression..
But what came after that was pity..
The guilt-ridden father cannot and should not deny his own choice, so he acts coercively, as if blaming himself..
He thwarts his daughter's plan and uses his father's authority to force her to make a choice..
What a clumsy father he is..
He was a perfect knight, a good king, and a seeker loved by the gods..
However, even such a perfect demigod shows his clumsiness by trying hard to hide his awkwardness and shyness..
I guess I just think this is the best..
"Things won't go as you think.."
"No, it has to be as Jim wants. It's best for the child.."
well.
I don't know what Karina or the Dragon Lord Karina Dragonia will think of that..
* * * *
It has been four days since the suitor's challenge stopped, and twenty days have already passed since Hari fell into the imperial palace..
"Oh my god~ You are so strong!"
The method of extreme supremacy learned from a historical drama as Yamae made the superiors smile appropriately..
"Okay, have you eaten??"
"My Majesty, I have been waiting for you.~"
Karina found it unusual that Hari had no fear or fear despite being difficult for her..
She is covered in the blood of a dragon and is of dragon blood, inheriting the heart of a dragon..
The stronger the power, the more the 'fear' it emits causes the creature to have an instinctive fear..
It was okay when I was at Lionheart..
Although no one has held the dragon's heart for as long as she has, each citizen of Lionheart has the power to resist the dragon's fear..
faith.
The most powerful force, believing that the gods would protect them, was the driving force behind overcoming the dragon's curse..
And in this world where the authority of the gods does not exist, she saw criminals who had to accept their raw existence..
The union and surprise attack of the seven kingdoms probably came from that fear..
In that sense, Hari, who is not afraid even though she finds it difficult, is a very welcome talent for Karina..
"Me, Your Majesty. I heard that no new suitor showed up today.."
"okay."
Karina sighed lightly. It was not unexpected for her that Vulcan was defeated..
"If it had been a physical fight, it would have been different, but since it was a hasty fight of sexual power, there was nothing we could do.."
"Boo, the amount of Holy Power used by Lord Vulcan was enormous.?"
"youngling. Lord Vulcan's opponent is the Lion-Hearted King.."
"Right, right... Ahaha."
Vulcan's talent and courage can truly be considered a monster of his time..
However, the opponent is also the strongest Lionheart King of all time. In a battle of pure sexual power, Vulcan, who represents only one god, cannot defeat the representative of all gods..
"If it was a pure physical battle, I would have expected it to have pushed the young lion-hearted king.."
Vulcan was a being with a body strong enough to be called the strongest creature on earth, and Leon is also a natural fighter who embodies hundreds of years of war history..
When Leon defeated Vulcan thirteen times and released him thirteen times, in that final fight, the two fought day and night for a week..
'I guess it wasn't a serious fight..'
If Vulcan had really wanted to make a life-or-death decision, he wouldn't have been able to subdue Leon so quickly..
"How dare you block your old maid’s daughter from getting married like this. really······."
Putting aside Leon's interference to narrow down her options, Karina smiled bitterly..
"Okay, just talk about your world instead.."
The reason Karina keeps Hari in the palace and is close to him is not just because she is not influenced by peers..
She was also an important source of information. Her own empire, the seeds of this world connected to the world she rules..
Knowing about them is necessary for the emperor, no matter how he responds in the future..
"Our world is being invaded by demons. Connected to many worlds, where──"
Hari unpacked the bundle of stories that Karina wanted..
"In your world, iron horses and birds carry people?."
"It's called Car and Airplane.."
"Yes, I understand that it is a very advanced civilization.."
Emperor Carina was happy to tell the story of Earth. Hari also did his best to help Karina listen to my story with interest..
From there, Leon came over, the pantheon was built, and many things happened..
'I wish I could become closer to Your Majesty again..'
As someone who witnessed the end of the Lionheart Kingdom, I remember Leon's wish that never came true as he fought against the devil for so long and alone..
"Well, does it mean that demons no longer exist in Your Majesty’s world??"
"Sometimes it tried to come over. But recently, the movement has particularly decreased. At least it was processed before I crossed the gate.."
"Ah... that time······."
When the hunters crossed the gate, they made a surprised expression when they realized that Karina had intervened in the gate phenomenon they had encountered for the first time in their lives..
"Well, I guessed that it might be like that in dragons... uh, how??"
If you have the power to intervene in the gate passage, wouldn't you be able to easily win the war against the devil??
"It is the power of the dragon. Using the dragon's magic, I set up several traps in the subspace connected to this world. It's not at the level of overconfidence, but it's enough to lead to failure if you come too hastily.."
That alone was the power that could change the face of war. Karina added that she felt burdened every time she used this power..
"You feel burdened.?"
Karina looked rather surprised at Hari's question..
"You, who inherited the heart of the first great saint, Duke Renoa, don't know the history of the Grand Duke of Dragonia??"
"Ah... that's it······."
Of course, the history and story of Lionheart that Hari, an Earthling, knows is limited to what Leon tells him..
Although Leon is also in charge of theological education, there are not many stories that are told only through one person's mouth. Above all, Leon is currently focusing on combat training rather than history education..
"It's an old story.."
A distant era, that era was not the era of gods, but the era of dragons..
A dark era when humans were nothing more than prey for dragons, could not even achieve a proper civilization, and the gods could not find believers who would believe in them..
Three heroes were chosen by the gods.
"One of them is Archduke Zeke. It is famous for many heroic stories, but the most famous one is the defeat of the Dragon King Dragonia. Defeating the evil dragon——it’s loud. Yeah, well, let's make it wild."
"your majesty?"
"Yeah, well, it's one of the dragon's tricks.."
Karina rarely hesitated and asked for more of Hari's story. It was quite a journey, but after twenty days, she finally got to tell the story..
"I watched the final battle of the Lionheart Kingdom with Your Majesty.."
"······."
Lionheart's Fall.
Karina couldn't watch that..
That's because she flowed into this world during the battle with Grand Duke Kangyok..
"Your Majesty must have resented me a lot.."
In that battle, Karina led a 30,000-man northern army and deserted the coalition..
In a situation where the destruction of the world was already confirmed, he led the Ventasis avengers who had sworn revenge and advanced to the north..
It represented the North's desire for revenge, but at the same time, it was a callous choice by a daughter who betrayed the Union and abandoned her father..
[Do as you wish, Prince Dragonia! I don't even want to look at it! Disappear from before my eyes.!]
The last words I heard from my father. Even though she knew it was her last time, Karina led her own army and abandoned Leon..
Naturally, he thought Leon would blame him..
"It's not like that.!"
But Hari's answer was different. she said what she saw.
"Your Majesty always thought of Her Majesty Karina. I was sorry... and I missed you.."
When Leon heard about the kingdom's destruction from those from the future, he was not discouraged..
He willingly paved the way for the future, and was reunited with Karina in the process..
Hari was confident that Leon would have been happy to see Karina..
"Is that so?."
When Hari, who was usually hesitant, spoke with such a stern look, Karina guessed that it was true..
It was a little comforting.
"How was it? His Majesty the Lionheart King."
"You fought until the end."
This moment exists because we won in the end..
"Is that so?."
Karina made a bitter expression and said nothing more. At that time, Poma joined the story..
[Do you have any intention of going back?.]
"Where??"
[The home that deserves you.]
Karina's hometown.
It did not refer to place names or countries..
"It's already too late. I've been back too long."
[How far has it progressed??]
"You'll be lucky if you last a few more years.."
"Your Majesty? Poma? What are you both talking about??"
Hari can't follow the story. Karina clicked her tongue at Hari and scolded her Poma..
"Please provide separate training for priests.."
[Because this is not a time of peace..]
Hari couldn't understand what was being said, so he guessed the context. 'A few years'. That was the easiest word to guess──
"Your Majesty, is your Majesty passing away? You're running out of time?!"
"Well, it's similar. It's better to see it once than to say it a hundred times."
Karina immediately took off her top and began to loosen it. The emperor's robes unraveled and fell to her floor, but Hari didn't even think to look away from her..
An enormous amount of magical power that can be felt even with just one coat removed. Her energy was so powerful that it made her skin tingle and made her tremble..
"Inhale···!"
Hari swallows his breath after seeing Karina's fully exposed upper body..
heart. Red energy pulsated around the left chest, and the skin around it was covered with steel-like scales..
* * * *
Yonghwa (龍化)).
It is said to be a dragon's curse that has been passed down from generation to generation in the Grand Duchy of Dragonia..
He was a Dragonian master who was covered in the blood of the progenitor dragon Dragonia, processed its heart and used it as the essence of power, but the more he used that power, the more it was eroded by the dragon's curse..
It has already been over two hundred years since Karina became the Grand Duke of Dragonia. Originally, she should have had a child long ago and passed it on to the next generation, but she had the heart of a dragon for too long..
"Your Majesty, then your Majesty... Your Majesty the Lionheart King knows that, right?!"
You must produce a successor. Only then can Karina survive. Knowing that, why does Leon interfere with Karina’s soul duel??
"Well, just follow me. I have something to show you."
Karina headed somewhere with a faint bitter smile..
The servants and maids inside the imperial palace bow down and the soldiers salute..
No one could question or hinder the dragon emperor's path..
"Did you know that dragons build nests to store gold and silver treasures??"
"So... let's go?"
You must have met a dragon. Hari has seen many monsters, but he has never faced a dragon..
"They are born greedy and love flashy things. I have a habit of collecting gold and jewels from all over the world and hoarding them as if they were my own.."
Karina said that we call it ‘Dragon Lair’..
"Same goes for Jim. At some point, I became obsessed with gold and silver treasures. I'm under the golden curse."
"······."
Hari was at a loss for words as the 'radiance' grew closer with every step he took..
A golden palace can be seen on a road made of pure white marble..
From the pillars to the roof, there was nothing that wasn't gorgeous, and it had a grandeur that made you wonder if the golden palace described only in legends would be like this..
-Gulp!
I swallow my saliva without thinking. Hari, who was overwhelmed by the exterior materials, was greeted by a huge door that looked like it could fit a giant through it..
When Karina opened the door herself, Hari stepped forward as was his habit..
"Yes, I will open it for you.!"
Those below take care of the convenience of those above. It was an etiquette that I learned naturally while serving Leon. But apart from such extraordinary behavior, the iron door that Hari touched showed no sign of opening..
"Huh? Why, why won't it open??"
An iron gate that doesn't budge even with the strength of an S-class hunter. Hari wondered if there was a lock, but when Karina put her hand on it, the door gradually began to open..
"Huh? What, is there some kind of magical device??"
Has there been some kind of magic that distinguishes users, like fingerprint recognition? But Karina’s answer was simple..
"No, it's just the heaviest iron door in the world. The only thing in this world that can push this shut is luggage.."
"······."
The heaviest iron gate in the world. Is this an iron gate that can only be opened by the dragon emperor’s might?.
What kind of treasure is it that needs to be made and stored like that??
Hari soon opened the iron door and realized its meaning..
A huge palace the size of a football stadium in modern Earth. Inside it──
"Heo Eok···!"
Gold and silver treasures were piled up like a mountain..
It's not like I'm paraphrasing, it's really a mountain... There are no words that can express this other than that..
[Did you come??]
And amidst those gorgeous gold and silver treasures, a dark energy that seems so out of place takes shape..
Both Hari and Karina knew the name of that ominous being..
[My avenger. I'm here to get your due..]
Ventasis of Darkness and Vengeance.
He came looking for his Holy Grail Knight..
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