Episode 316: The Highest Mountain (3)
The red dragon, Valhard, was doing his best to keep his simmering anger in check.
“The demons are searching for something they call an altar,” he said, his voice strained.
The source of his frustration stood right in front of him—a human.
Like most dragons, Valhard held humans in low regard. It was only natural. Compared to dragons, humans were born with frail bodies, insignificant magical abilities, and limited intelligence.
Though he had been defeated by these very humans and trapped in the hidden world, that was only because of an unavoidable encounter with Ruin.
“The mountain isn’t that vast. If the demons haven’t found it yet, it must be in an unusual place,” the human continued.
Yet here Valhard was, forced to listen to the words of a creature he deemed beneath him. It was infuriating.
“Hey, are you even listening to me?” the human, Damian Haxen, asked, turning to Valhard.
Valhard swallowed his anger and replied, “Yes, I’ve been listening from the start.”
“Then at least give me some feedback. I thought I was talking to myself,” Damian said, clicking his tongue in annoyance. Valhard felt his irritation flare up even more.
“Anyway, do you know anything about the altar? You dragons have been around for ages.”
“I only know the basics. It’s the place where Ruin used the key to forge a covenant.”
“Tsk, tsk,” Damian said, looking at Valhard as if he were useless.
This time, Valhard couldn’t hold back his frustration. “I have a question for you!”
“Who do you think you are, raising your voice at me? Do you want to die?” Damian retorted.
”…May I ask?” Valhard corrected himself, swallowing his pride.
“Go ahead,” Damian nodded, granting permission with a condescending air that made Valhard feel deeply humiliated.
“Why am I the only one preparing the meal?” Valhard asked.
He wasn’t just listening to Damian’s words; he was also roasting a wild boar over a magically kindled fire. He had hunted the boar himself, after all.
“Your ancient dragon told me to use you as I see fit,” Damian replied.
“That didn’t mean for trivial tasks like this!” Valhard protested.
“Take it up with them, then,” Damian said shamelessly.
Unable to contain his anger any longer, Valhard stood up abruptly. “Damian Haxen! Draw your sword! Right here, right now…”
He was about to challenge Damian to a fight but stopped himself. He recalled the recent battle between Damian and a marquis-level demon.
While Valhard had been busy fighting lesser demons, Damian had faced off against the marquis-level one. The clash had been so intense that even Valhard, from a distance, could feel its power.
What was more astonishing was that Damian had defeated the demon in the blink of an eye, without a scratch.
Valhard was confident he could defeat a marquis-level demon too, thanks to the powers he inherited from the storm dragon Typhon and the thunder dragon Leac. But to do it as swiftly and flawlessly as Damian? That was another matter.
If they had truly fought, it would have been a grueling battle.
“Why the sword? You want to spar with me?” Damian asked, standing up.
Valhard quickly added, “I meant the boar is almost done. Come carve it up.”
“Oh, is that all? I thought you wanted a duel. If you did, I would’ve stripped you of your scales this time,” Damian said, his eyes glinting with a dangerous light.
Valhard swallowed hard, relieved he had held back.
“So, is it ready to eat?” Damian asked.
“Just a moment,” Valhard replied, opening a small bag from a pocket dimension.
Inside were various spices, which he began to sprinkle over the scored boar.
“You’re quite skilled,” Damian remarked, watching with interest.
Valhard’s culinary skills were indeed impressive, enough to catch Damian’s attention.
“I learned while raising a child,” Valhard explained.
“A child? Yours? A dragon?” Damian asked, intrigued.
“No, a human. Well, half-human, half-dragon,” Valhard clarified.
Damian gave him a curious look. “You look down on humans, yet you had a child with one?”
Valhard found himself at a loss for words. It was true; he did look down on humans.
”…It’s more common than you think among dragons sent to the surface,” he finally said.
Due to the covenant, dragons couldn’t freely roam the surface. But they found loopholes in the dragon language to send one dragon at a time, albeit with most of their powers sealed, to gather information.
“You must wonder how your child is doing,” Damian said casually.
The offhand comment stirred something deep within Valhard. He stared silently into the crackling fire.
After their meal, Damian took out Erebus, intending to review his battle with Laetisi.
‘I need to get used to Erebus,’ he thought.
He chose Erebus over Dawn because the weapon still felt unfamiliar in his hands. In his past life, he had wielded Erebus extensively, but back then, he had been in the body of a death knight. His size and finger length were different now, making Erebus feel foreign.
Recalling his fight with Laetisi, Damian swung Erebus.
‘I’ve grown significantly. My mastery of the Five Rings Harmony Technique has improved,’ he realized.
During the battle, Damian had felt his strength had increased.
‘I defeated a marquis-level demon without using the death knight’s power.’
Typically, only a grandmaster could face such a demon. This meant Damian had reached a grandmaster’s level of strength.
‘Though Laetisi was weaker than most marquis-level demons I’ve faced,’ he mused.
Despite his victory, Damian wasn’t satisfied. If a stronger marquis-level demon appeared, he couldn’t be sure of winning.
‘I need to reach the pinnacle of a grandmaster, to be able to dismiss any threat. I can’t rely on the death knight’s power forever.’
Damian was on the brink of becoming a grandmaster. Just one more step, and he would reach that level.
But that last step was elusive.
He felt like he was wandering in the depths of the ocean, unsure of how to proceed.
The problem lay within himself. His mind was cluttered with too much knowledge.
‘I’ve realized too much,’ he thought.
It happened when he used the Nameless Technique. While manipulating dark magic, he had an epiphany.
‘Dark magic originates from the human soul, while magic comes from nature.’
The two forces seemed similar but were fundamentally different.
Yet Damian saw a way to unite them.
And not just them.
‘Divine power stems from human faith. Could it be combined too?’
He began to think that these seemingly separate forces could be merged.
Coincidentally, the new mana cultivation technique he had created, the Five Rings Harmony Technique, was also about unification.
‘I’ve tied myself in knots,’ Damian chuckled wryly.
It wasn’t all bad. A knight’s strength was determined by the obstacles they overcame.
If he solved this puzzle and became a grandmaster, he would gain immense power.
‘But there’s another issue to address first.’
Damian’s thoughts shifted from his personal growth to the altar.
‘The demons’ goal is to find the altar. My goal is to kill Dorgo and Vahel.’
But Damian had no way to locate Vahel.
Ultimately, he needed to find the altar too, as it would lead him to the demons.
‘Where is the altar?’ he wondered.
It was undoubtedly hidden so well that no one could find it. Otherwise, the demons would have discovered it by now.
‘Let’s change the approach. My goal isn’t to find the altar. It’s to kill Vahel and Dorgo.’
The altar was merely a means to an end.
‘I’ll disrupt the demons. If they can’t find the altar, Vahel will eventually reveal himself.’
Just then, Erebus struck something.
“Huh?” Damian looked at Erebus in confusion.
There was nothing in front of it.
“What’s going on?” he muttered, gripping Erebus tightly. But it wouldn’t budge, as if lodged in something solid.
After a moment’s hesitation, Damian grasped Erebus with both hands.
He put his weight into it and pulled. He felt Erebus slice through something unseen.
The cut opened up, and a fierce wind began to blow.
It was as if air was being sucked into a gap. His hair whipped around, obscuring his vision.
Shielding his eyes with his arm, Damian cautiously peered through the opening.
Beyond it lay a completely different landscape.
On a high peak stood seven statues.
In the center of the room lay a human-sized stone sarcophagus.
“What… is that?”
Demian squeezed through the cracks and slowly approached the sarcophagus.
The lid was ajar, not fully closed. Peering inside, he saw a man lying peacefully within.
It was a face he had never seen before. Fortunately, a name was etched into the stone.
Time had worn the inscription down, leaving it barely legible.
Demian traced the letters with his fingers, reading slowly.
”…Luin?”