Episode 251

“Damn it…”

Hades grumbled incessantly as he returned to his workshop. He had been relieved to escape his bindings, only to find himself entangled with Zeke due to a careless remark. Until Zeke made his wish, Hades had no choice but to stay by his side.

Zeke and Yellin, feeling more at ease than before, began to explore Hades’ workshop.

“Wow, look at this weapon!” Yellin’s eyes sparkled as she admired the rare armaments. As a natural-born warrior, her interest was piqued more by the weapons than anything else.

Meanwhile, Zeke examined the black knight he had shattered in the labyrinth earlier. “Hades, is this a golem?” he asked.

Hades, floating lazily in the air, replied, “Does that look like a golem to you?”

“I asked because there’s nothing inside the armor. How does it move?”

Hades straightened up, a hint of pride in his voice. “You’re quite the curious knight, aren’t you?”

“I tend to be curious about many things,” Zeke admitted.

Hades, seemingly pleased by Zeke’s interest in his creation, approached with a more amiable expression. “This isn’t just any golem,” he began, gesturing to the black knight’s armor with pride. “The engravings on this surface are extraordinary. They contain a mechanism that absorbs physical force and converts it into magical energy.”

“Absorbs physical force?” Zeke recalled how the engravings had glowed when he struck the armor. ‘It absorbs impact and releases magic? That’s incredible.’

Most wizards would dismiss such a claim as nonsense, but since it was crafted by a dragon, it was easier to accept.

After pondering Hades’ explanation, Zeke asked, “Why did you engrave the magic circle on the armor? If it were on a shield, it could absorb more impact due to its durability.”

Hades paused, his expression complex. “Well, it wouldn’t look as cool, would it? The whole point is for it to light up dramatically when it absorbs a hit!”

Zeke couldn’t help but look incredulous. “What’s the point of style? Functionality is what matters. Besides, if the mechanism is exposed on the armor, repeated strikes like mine could damage it. It would be better to enhance the armor’s defense with magic and place the mechanism on a thick shield to absorb impacts.”

Hades’ face turned red with frustration as he shouted, “You artless human! Shut up!”

Zeke nodded, amused by Hades’ reaction. ‘No wonder Bahamut used to tease him. His reactions are priceless.’

Zeke, who enjoyed teasing the most powerful and revered being in the realm, pondered what might capture Hades’ interest.

“Hades, could you take a look at this for a moment?” Zeke activated Theia’s Hersion.

With a rustle, Hades, who had turned away in a huff, glanced over his shoulder. His eyes widened as he saw the Hersion enveloping Zeke. He immediately floated over to inspect it closely.

“Oh, so this is what you were wearing when you pummeled my black knight,” Hades remarked, examining the Hersion with keen interest. Then he tilted his head, puzzled. “Hmm? There’s something odd about this armor…”

Muttering to himself, he scrutinized the Hersion before exclaiming, “What is this? Where did you get it?”

“It’s a magical armor imbued with the power of the goddess Theia,” Zeke explained.

Hades’ jaw dropped. “The power of the moon goddess?”

“Yes. It hasn’t been fully activated yet, but the armor is made of orichalcum, so it can deflect even aura blades.”

Hades swallowed hard. “To make this much orichalcum, you’d need a lot of silver.”

“Silver? Why silver?”

“Why silver? To make orichalcum, you need pure silver, of course.”

Zeke was taken aback. “You mean you know how to make orichalcum, Hades?”

Though the ancient Lubern Empire was said to have known the method, it had been lost to time. Yet, Hades seemed to know it.

Hades, with a sly smile, said, “Well, I know it. Want to learn? Wish for it.”

“Hmm, I was considering asking you to protect my descendants for five thousand years instead…”

“Whoa, whoa! Fine, I’ll tell you. Humans and their cunning…”

Zeke asked, “Is silver the only thing needed?”

“No, you need to heat the silver with pure fire to extract its essence, then add various materials to process it.”

“Could you teach me the method?”

Hades scratched his cheek. “I could, but you probably won’t find the materials.”

“If it’s something in this world, I can get it.”

With the influence of the Draker family and Zeke’s wealth, there was nothing he couldn’t acquire. Hades chuckled at this. “The most crucial ingredient for making orichalcum is the Philosopher’s Stone.”

“The Philosopher’s Stone? The one alchemists dream of?”

“Yes, you know it. But there are no sages today who can make it, so orichalcum is impossible.”

Zeke recalled a similar conversation with Golyn. ‘Is the Philosopher’s Stone the only way?’

Then Hades added, “Oh, there’s one other way.”

“What is it?”

“If you have a relic imbued with a sage’s power, you can do it without the Philosopher’s Stone.”

Zeke’s eyes widened. ‘A relic with a sage’s power? Could it be?’

He thought of Agamemnon’s Mask, safely stored in his inventory. Tyr had called it the “Great Sage’s Mask.” It seemed likely that the mask he possessed was the relic in question.

‘If the Lubern Empire originally had this mask, they must have used its power to make orichalcum.’

However, after the fall of the Lubern Empire and the scattering of their bloodline, the mask lost its power and ended up with the Agamemnon family, burying the secret of orichalcum production.

‘If I can restore the relic’s power at the Fairy Lake, I could make orichalcum.’

Though the actual production would involve trial and error, with Hades’ knowledge and the genius alchemists Al and Jeff, it seemed feasible.

Seeing Hades’ unexpected expertise in crafting, Zeke decided to ask about the drive plate as planned. He retrieved a drive plate he had set aside with Fainan’s help from his inventory.

“Hades, do you know what this is?”

Hades tilted his head at the drive plate. “Where did you get this?”

“Do you recognize it?”

“Of course. I designed this drive mechanism.”

“What?”

Zeke had assumed another dragon had made it, but it turned out Hades was the creator. Hades examined the mechanism and shook his head. “Ah, I made this when I was really young. It’s so inefficiently compressed. The integration rate is low, and the magic efficiency is poor.”

“Can you make a better drive mechanism?”

“That’s not too hard.”

Zeke grasped Hades’ hand. “If you make it for me, I might have a simple wish in mind.”

“Humans never change, even after three thousand years. Damn it.”

Zeke was using the promise of a wish to get Hades to do his bidding.

Zeke decided to leave the labyrinth with Yellin and Hades. Hades floated in the air, surrounded by floating symbols as he calculated the drive mechanism’s formula.

“Hmm, let’s see… It’s been two thousand years, so my memory’s a bit hazy. Where was I…?”

Yellin, having received a dagger and armor she fancied from Hades’ workshop, was beaming with excitement.

“Are you that pleased?” Zeke asked.

Yellin nodded, her eyes shining. “These are weapons crafted by a dragon. I’ll treasure them as family heirlooms.”

Though Zeke found them impractical, their value was undeniable simply because a dragon had made them.

Zeke nodded and finished preparing to leave. Before long, Zeke, Yellin, and Hades reached the labyrinth’s exit.

Yellin knocked on the door, signaling their presence, and the massive door slowly opened.

With a rumble, the door revealed Jamilah, the head of the family, and the elders of the Ishtar family standing outside. Jamilah looked at Zeke and Yellin with disbelief.

“What… what is going on?”

Yellin approached Jamila, her voice trembling with excitement.

“Master! At last, the long-standing wish of our family has been fulfilled!”

At Yellin’s words, Jamila and the elders behind her erupted in cheers.

Jamila bit her lip, tears welling up in her eyes.

“Finally… we can fulfill the wishes of our ancestors.”

Just then, Hades, who had been calculating spells behind Zeke, grumbled under his breath.

“Wishes, my foot. They begged for protection, and I even made a pact, but now they’re saying something else.”

The Ishtar family, who had been celebrating, suddenly fell silent at Hades’ words.

With a stern expression, Jamila turned to Yellin.

“But who is that young elf?”

Yellin’s face turned pale, and she shook her head frantically.

“M-Master, that person isn’t an elf…”

The elders behind them began to murmur.

“Wait a minute. Could it be? Did the two of them… in the labyrinth?”

“No way. They haven’t even been in there a week. How could a child that big come out?”

“Time inside the labyrinth might be different! Who knows, maybe ten years passed in there! Look, their hair is the same black color!”

Zeke was dumbfounded by the elders’ wild imagination.

‘Their imagination is something else.’

Even Jamila seemed swayed by the elders’ words and pressed Yellin further.

“Yellin! Tell me the truth. Did you really have a child in there?”

Yellin, trembling, shouted back.

“How could that even be possible! Sir Zeke and I have only been in there for a week…”

Rumble—

Suddenly, the entire palace began to shake.

Jamila and the Ishtar elders were taken aback.

Hades, who had been floating behind Zeke, moved forward, his eyes glowing with a violet light.

“These elves have some nerve! Talking about me like that!”

He unleashed a dragon’s aura from his body. Only then did Jamila realize the true identity of the being in the form of a young elf.

Thud!

Jamila fell to her knees, looking up at him.

“Could it be… are you the Great One?”

Hades burst into laughter.

“Ha ha ha! Indeed! I am the great recluse of the Black River, Hades! You insolent elves! I’ll chew you up, bones and all…”

In the midst of his grand display, Hades suddenly felt a gaze and turned his head. Zeke was looking at him with a mix of exasperation and disbelief.

It was a look that seemed to say, “Aren’t you too old for this?”

‘That irreverent look. Ugh, I can’t even scold him in case he makes a weird wish.’

Hades grumbled internally and reined in his dragon aura.

“…but I’m too lazy. Ugh, all this fuss has made me hungry. Go fetch me something delicious!”

At his command, Jamila sprang to her feet.

“Prepare a feast worthy of the Great One immediately!”