Chapter 196
< Carina Dragonia(1) >
[dark. were you there?]
The first person to notice the existence of Ventasis was Foma, a fellow deity..
He disappeared from the first day like himself, but it seems surprising that Bentasis, who has never been seen, is here..
[Have you been here from the beginning? I didn't know you could reveal gold.]
[Gold has no meaning to me. 'Cause all I'm looking for are souls who will claim my rights.]
[······.]
Ventasis, god of darkness and vengeance.
That divinity was different from other divinity that bestowed kindness, love, and favor..
If you step on it just a little, it wouldn't be strange to call it an evil spirit..
A being like a shadow in the world with the concept of darkness, which is the exact opposite of the concept of light..
He does not sing of chivalry and justice. Affirms the dark side of mortals and bloody revenge.
For that reason, he is a non-mainstream god who is somewhat shunned in the pantheon. However, the number of believers who visit him is steady..
[Carina Dragonia. You swore revenge on me and promised me what I deserve. If you have achieved revenge through my power, it is time to pay the price..]
People with all kinds of dark emotions flocked to the being who seemed to embody the darkness of the world..
Those who have suffered violence, murder, and injustice. Many avengers swear revenge on the dark god and gain the power they need..
[It's not just you. you guys owe me.]
Two hundred years ago, the Grand Duke of Dragonia and his legions, who lost their homeland to demons, swore revenge on the dark god..
Because it was an oath that staked their souls, not even the Lionheart King could stop them from leaving, and they succeeded in taking revenge by chasing their enemies and crossing over to another world..
Now is the time to pay, said the dark god..
[But, darkness. Even if Archduke Carina is like that, the last northern soldier to have died was probably over a hundred years ago..]
Souls that do not receive the protection of the gods wander through the nine heavens and repeat reincarnation. The gods have not been able to accept new souls for the past two hundred years..
Only recently has faith been secured on Earth and the paradise system is being recreated. The gods cannot reach this world..
Even if Ventasis came now and tried to retrieve their souls, their souls would already have been scattered a long time ago..
In the end, the only person Ventasis can claim a long-standing debt from is Karina, who is still alive.──
"God of darkness. As you may already know, the mortgaged souls are still in my hands.."
At those words, Poma's turtle eyes turned to Karina. He muttered that it was impossible, but Karina silently passed the mountain of gold and silver treasures..
A mountain of gold and jewels that makes you dizzy just by looking at it. As Hari, who was passing by there with Karina, looked around with blank eyes, Poma warned him..
[Beware of the golden curse, Hariya. This is not just gold and silver treasure.]
"yes? Well, what does that mean??"
[The dragon's gold leads to endless greed and leads to violence and plunder. Come to your senses, this is such a devil’s den..]
Although it was difficult to understand Poma's warning, I clearly understood that it was important to be cautious. Hari pursed her lips and followed Karina..
After passing through the mind-boggling gold and silver treasures, we arrived at a place deep within the treasure trove..
Normally, you would think that the deeper the treasure, the more precious jewels and treasures would be piled up there, but surprisingly, what is at the end are neatly organized shelves and stones placed on silk cushions..
Each stone that was preciously enshrined like a shrine had a plaque with a separate name written on it..
「Del Bosque」
「gaspar」
「Yurahan」
「Ruina」
The shapes of the stones with the names on them were so familiar that Hari recognized them right away..
"Hemp, magic gemstone?!"
A special stone that can be obtained by attacking the gate and defeating monsters. There is no way a hunter would know the identity of this stone..
"magic stone······."
Since the Jeju Island Gate where Geobrick and the Knights of Dawn of Lavonia encountered each other, speculation that the true nature of the magic stone was the crystallization of the souls of living beings was a well-known fact..
"Uh, why is the magic gem here??"
"I guess in your world they call it a magic stone.?"
Karina picked up one of the magic stones, each with a nameplate attached to it..
"Jungchonseok, that’s what I call it. Where they will pass before reaching paradise."
After hearing those words, Hari realized the story behind these magic stones..
In the world of Lionheart, when people die, they are reincarnated or enter the paradise of the gods..
It is a place no different from heaven for religious people. This is the ultimate destination for all believers..
But what happens to their souls when they die here, in this other world where the authority of the gods does not reach??
Karina must have seen that and couldn't ignore it..
In other words.
Northern troops who came to another world with Grand Duke Carina.
The crystals containing each and every one of them were sleeping in a treasure trove..
"These are the people who followed the burden and came to this foreign country with the burden. Jim, I, Karina Dragonia, have a duty to ensure their peaceful end.."
[But... how do you do that?······.]
Processes the soul into the form of stone. It is a technique unfamiliar even to the gods. To the gods who guide the souls of the dead to the underworld in the first place, forcibly imprisoning their souls in stones is tantamount to blasphemy..
This method is not used except by demons..
Karina used this method──
[Nothing changes. They are also my avengers. Even if you, Carina Dragonia, carry your father's halo, they are not..]
Souls that are rightfully mine, said Ventasis..
at that very moment.
[No, you guys are one step too late..]
A huge shadow appears centered around Karina's shadow..
It was so huge that it could hold a treasure trove full of gold, so even the gods had to look up at its shadow..
[Dragonia.]
Archeopteryx dragon Dragonia.
The dragon's thoughts that have not disappeared over thousands of years are something transcendental..
Even the gods struggled before this ancient dragon king. This arrogant being who considered himself greater than the gods truly deserved it..
[You guys are late. Gods and descendants of dragon slayers. It's too late at least.]
The Dragon King's gaze looked down on the gods..
* * * *
Courtship duel arena. Hunters and pantheon knights came to the stadium to watch the duel resume after four days as a new challenger appeared..
Even though Vulcan had already been defeated, I don't know who the big man who challenged Leon was, but I came here out of obligation because I didn't want to waste time..
"What is your Majesty thinking??"
While waiting for the game, it was Suho who spoke up. Jaehyuk continued the conversation with a question..
"what?"
"To solve the problem of dragon transformation, Karina must have a child and inherit the dragon's heart.."
I have already heard the full story of Karina from the Burning Sword Knights and others..
It is said that the curse of the progenitor dragon was also inherited from the blood and heart of the dragon covered by the first great duke who defeated the progenitor dragon..
Although it gave great power to successive princes, it also had the side effect of dragonification..
Yonghwa.
Simply put, it means becoming a dragon..
Dragonia was the greatest and most gigantic dragon, and it is said that its body stretched out its arms to the point where it could grab a volcano, and the breath that surged from its neck burned the continent..
The size of the soul that the dragon king contained was so large that even the gods could not do anything about it, and the curse could only delay the symptoms, but was impossible to prevent..
"Karina has been transplanting the dragon's heart for too long, so she urgently needs to find a successor.?"
"yes."
"Then why is your Majesty interfering... well, interfering? For a father-in-law to interfere with his daughter's marriage... the situation is a bit serious.."
Jaehyuk also agreed with those words and said, “Oh my gosh.” I thought it would be the same this time as Leon has shown extraordinary eccentricity and values that are different from those of modern Earthlings..
The father-in-law's vicious actions to protect his daughter from the wildcats who try to steal her..
"Is that so? No matter how much I hate you, this incident is a bit strange.."
Karina's dragon flower was such a public curse that anyone from Lionheart, such as the Knights of the Burning Sword, knew about it..
It is not new that the Dragonian Grand Duchy has been delaying its convergence and repeatedly resetting itself through succession..
Isn't Leon's current action of rejecting the suitors not only interfering with the quest, but also driving Karina to death??
"Your Majesty doesn't know that either.."
"omg!"
"Yes, queen?!"
The backseat of two people. Beatrice, who was normally sitting in the stands with Yapi and Cheon So-yeon, joined the conversation between the two..
"As the two people suspected, His Majesty is intentionally interfering with Grand Duke Karina's succession.."
To be honest, it may be difficult for them to sympathize with how a father with a daughter feels, but they can guess. But if his daughter's life is at stake, even the most unruly father will have no worries..
"Then why is His Majesty interfering with Karina’s marriage??"
"Purely as a father, he also expects the ‘starry love’ that he thinks of.."
"A love that shines like a star...?"
"Your Majesty is quite a romanticist.."
Beatrice smiled bitterly and remembered Leon's tendencies..
Despite being so old-fashioned, authoritarian, and self-indulgent, he is a romanticist who is a pure lover when it comes to relationships. It is said that even the goddess of the moon and purity had no choice but to forgive the Lionheart King for his pure love..
Because of that, he is a really difficult author to delve into, but if you look at him from the side, you can see that Leon hopes that love will be present in Karina's marriage..
I believe that my daughter's marriage and the process of having children should not be such a messy and strategic marriage..
In this respect, his values are not truly royal... In other words, he is a romanticist..
"And one more thing. Your Majesty wants the dragon's heart back.."
"yes?"
"Is that possible??"
The two people looked like they couldn't figure out what Leon was thinking..
"Since the heart of the dragon was originally held by His Majesty, the former Grand Duke, it is not impossible. Your Majesty──"
[Today, a new challenge is presented to the invincible champion! Who will challenge the lion-hearted king of all worlds?──!!]
At that time, Leon entered the duel arena and the whole area was in an uproar..
* * * *
"You will retrieve the Dragon's Heart from Karina.."
[······.]
The gods were silent for a moment at Leon's declaration..
Because I guessed what it meant and why Leon made that choice..
[Can't you wait until you have a child and succeed?.]
"Two hundred years. Karina has the heart of a dragon."
What it means is simple. Yonghwa's progress may have progressed too much. Although Karina is a Holy Grail Knight of Ventasis, this period far exceeds the average archduchy's dragon heart transplant period..
"Even if a successor is born, Karina may not be able to hold out until the heir grows up.."
[So you'll still have the heart of a dragon by then??]
"That's right."
At those words, Ariana said in a worried voice..
[It's almost two hundred years. It's the heart of a dragon that has been accumulating a curse for two hundred years. No matter how much you do, you can't be free from the dragon's curse..]
"But only I can endure that curse."
Leon is the lion-hearted king. He is a living demigod who is resistant to all kinds of curses. He believed that even if it was the 200-year-old curse of the progenitor dragon Dragonia, he could withstand it..
This is the choice that Leon forces on Karina. She was to pass on her self-consuming curse to her father..
[Really, you guys are a clumsy father and daughter. Even though we both think about each other, there is no other solution than this.······.]
"Because it's my father. Even if it were Castile, it would have been the same.."
As Leon waited for a new challenger, he was confident that this duel would ultimately end in Karina's defeat..
They say no parent can beat their child, but there are parents everywhere who will sacrifice themselves for their children..
I hope Karina accepts this very natural love. Because that was the best Leon could do as a father..
but──
"Your interruptions end today.."
A courtship duel where no one steps forward.
It was the party involved in the courtship duel who stood before the strongest champion whose victory was confirmed..
[Leon, my avenger. we are already late.]
And the God of Darkness, who returned to the pantheon, mocked himself and announced his failure. The news he delivered was news that made even the gods swallow their sleep..
[Karina Dragonia has already handed over her body and soul to Dragonia..]
To save the souls of the 30,000 northern troops who followed him.
Karina made a deal with a dragon.
They were two very similar father and daughter..
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