The Hero Returns

Chapter 163: Chapter 163

Karne frowned at Su-hyeun's answer. The other dragons had a similar reaction. Not all the dragons did, but most thought they were superior to humans from birth. And Su-hyeun had just said a dragon, especially a red dragon, the noblest of the breed, was his child.

"Ridiculous," Karne muttered under his breath.

At Su-hyeun's answer, Miru, who had been about to cry, became bright again. It seemed like Miru really liked Su-hyeun's words and strokes.

"Who would know…the great descendant of the Dragon King end up like this…"

Miru was very young, but still, he was a red dragon. Karne couldn't bear to watch a red dragon turning on the charm for a human. He clicked his tongue quietly, looking back to Su-hyeun.

Karne said, "No more words needed. Our business is simple. We just wanted to know why you visited here. Also, if you don't have any business, we want you to leave."

"Sir!"

"What are you talking—"

"Shh! How dare you cut him off?"

"He must have a plan. So, be quiet and wait."

Much noise was raised about what Krane had said. The dragons who had been waiting for the red dragons to return, raised their voices that Karne's decision was hasty. The other dragons, who followed Karne, tried to stop the dragons who objected. From the situation, Su-hyeun could see how things went in this city.

<<According to Blanc, there are only about 500 dragons living here.>>

The dragons gathered here were probably the most important among them.

<<Not all of them are Miru's enemy…,>> thought Su-hyeun.

Half of them wanted to exclude Miru, like Siegfri, but the other half was different. Nobody would like to split a clan of only 500 members. Perhaps Karne and his side would have tried to kick Su-hyeun and Miru out of the city already if they didn't have to worry about division.

<<I guess that's why,>> thought Su-hyeun, <<he's not attacking Miru right now.>>

Half the dragons were his allies, and half were his enemies.

<<Well. I don't have to fight with dragons at the moment, anyway. No matter how much Karne hates Miru and me.>>

"I don't have business with you guys," Su-hyeun said, glancing down at Miru. "Just… We also have quite a bad relationship with demonic beasts."

"With demonic beasts…?"

"What are you talking about?"

The dragons around Su-hyeun started to whisper to each other. Karne knew the demonic beasts had destroyed Su-hyeun's world, but he just furrowed his brows, as if he had no intention of explaining details to the other dragons.

"So?" Karne asked.

"I'll leave later, even if you beg me not to leave. But I can't leave now."

"What are you talking about?"

"I heard you guys are still at war, right?" Su-hyeun glanced Miru and continued, "We'll help you guys."

"Help us?"

"That human is saying he'll help us?"

"The red dragon might be helpful…but no, that dragon's too small to fight…"

Gyaong—!

When the dragons started talking about him as if he wasn't there, Miru started to cry out, opening his eyes wide. Su-hyeun stroked Miru's head and looked at Karne.

"So, what do you say?"

"…Fine." Karne nodded his head. "Do whatever you want to do. But I hope you aren't thinking about asking us for help. You're the one who said you would help us. We didn't say we would help you."

"Yes, you're right."

"You all heard, right? No one helps him! It's the same for the red dragon."

"But, sir…"

"This is an order from the elders of the clan. If the descendant of the red dragons would like to come back to us, he must atone, at least somewhat." Karne turned his body and left.

At his firm remarks, some dragons looked at Miru with sad eyes. Soon, the dragons who gathered around Su-hyeun and Miru left one by one. They disappeared in an instant, using teleport, just as they had come.

-Oh, wait. I forgot to tell you one thing.

Suddenly, Karne's voice was heard in Su-hyeun's head.

-If you're confident, ask Blanc about the Cintamani forest. If you can get back that land, the other dragons will have no choice but admit you and that red dragon.

"The Cintamani forest…?"

At Su-hyeun's murmur, Blanc was startled.

"Where's the Cintamani forest?"

"How did you know about that?" Blanc asked.

"The rude dragon who disappeared just told me. He said that if Miru and I can get back that land, the other dragons will admit us."

"Sigh—" Blanc sighed loudly. He had kept up a poker face so far, but, for the first time, his face clouded.

"Was it a lie?" Su-hyeun asked.

"It wasn't a lie. But it's close to an insult."

"What do you mean?"

"You shouldn't go to that place alone. What Karne told you is another way to say, just go and die."

"I just have to get rid of the monsters, right?"

"Yes…But, no. You shouldn't go." Blanc waved his hand. "You can say that because you've never been there before. Among the lands we lost to the monsters, that land is the most densely populated now. It's crawling with demonic beasts. If you go there alone, you will certainly die."

"Don't worry," Su-hyeun said, "If it seems too dangerous, I'll come back right away."

Su-hyeun didn't know much about the Cintamani forest, but he had his own plan.

<<If Fafnir's not there, I can easily escape when things go wrong.>>

Su-hyeun was confident he could escape because he had been fighting so many monsters. And there was another reason to go to the Cintamani forest. It was because of the advice of the gatekeeper.

<<He told me to find the Cintamani.>>

Gatekeepers never asked anything that could not be solved. If Cintamani was in the Cintamani forest, then Su-hyeun could get it with his current level and skill.

<<This is a trial.>>

The Tower of Trials gave different trials to everyone, even when people chose the same level of difficulty on the same floor. The Tower of Trials gave Su-hyeun a trial related to dragons. That might be because Su-hyeun had a dragon, Miru.

<<I can do it.>>

Su-hyeun smiled when he realized why Karne had informed him of the Cintamani forest. That must be part of the trial as well.

<<This is funny,>> thought Su-hyeun.

Karne had given him a hint, unintentionally.

<<Then, I have to show him.>> Su-hyeun stroked Miru's head, sparkling his eyes. <<My child and I aren't someone he can just ignore.>>

<hr />

Whoosh, whoosh—

Su-hyeun rode Miru's back, holding tight ti Miru's neck, and looked at the scenery passing by below him. Miru could fly faster these days. Su-hyeun recalled what Blanc had said, as he watched the ground speed by.

[As I said before, the Cintamani forest is the most densely populated area among the land that monsters live in. We have tried to get back to that forest many times, but we failed every time.]

[Where is it?]

[Go straight from here in the direction that the sun sets. It will probably take more than half a day to get there.]

[Thank you.]

[I'm not encouraging this. This is a bad idea. I know Karne only suggested it because he wants you to die, and I'm only teaching you how to get there…Heew.]

Blanc tried to stop Su-hyeun from going to the Cintamani forest. He seemed very worried. That meant the forest was very dangerous. So, Su-hyeun needed more information.

[A giant turtle lives in the Cintamani forest. That's the biggest problem in the forest.]

[A giant turtle…?]

[It's one of the great demonic beasts that survived the war. For some reason, it's never come out of the forest. Even Karne can't do anything to it. So, the last of us can't do anything but just sit back and watch.]

Su-hyeun knew what that giant turtle was.

<<It must be a Titan Turtle.>>

Size-wise, the Titan Turtle was comparable to an Ouroboros. The Titan Turtle was a dangerous demonic beast. It looked like a turtle, but it was quite agile, not like it appeared. But, when Su-hyeun heard it was the most dangerous monster in the Cintamani forest, he couldn't find a reason to hesitate anymore.

<<There is no way I can't catch it.>>

If Su-hyeun didn't have Balmung, he wouldn't have been so sure. Breaking through the Titan Turtle's defensive power wasn't an easy job. Other weapons than Balmung would never stand a chance against its hard shell. But now, Su-hyeun had Balmung in hand. That made all the difference.

<<It's almost night,>> thought Su-hyeun.

As Blanc had said, Su-hyeun had been flying about half a day in the direction that the sun went down. The sun that came up in the morning was already setting in the opposite direction. By that time, Su-hyeun could see a huge forest in the distance. Su-hyeun looked down. Suddenly, the ground had turned black, and the sky above the forest became cloudy. The world changed; the forest was a boundary. From then on, it was the land of the monsters.

"Let's go down."

Gyaong—

At Su-hyeun's word, Miru began to descend gradually. Although he had been flying about half a day continuously, he didn't seem that tired.

Su-hyeun thought as he got off from Miru's back, <<Well. He has the blood of the Dragon King. He wouldn't be tired by just a short flight.>>

Su-hyeun stroked Miru's back to thank him for his help. Then, he turned his head and looked at the dark forest. The tall trees, which reached several dozen meters tall, were black and dead. The land and sky were the same. Everything looked dried out. It was surprising that the trees and things hadn't crumbled yet.

"Let's go," said Su-hyeun.

Gyaong—

Miru began to walk along at Suhyun's side. The atmosphere was gloomy, but Miru looked somewhat excited. Su-hyeun guessed that it was because Miru didn't get many chances to move with him these days.

Stomp, stomp—

Rustle, rustle—

The land was dead. The bushes and grasses were dry. Su-hyeun looked around, walking in the forest.

<<It reminds me of the old times.>>

He had experienced a forest like this before, not only from the trials but also from his past life, when more than half of humanity had died. This kind of atmosphere had become normal.

Kirr, kirrk—

Low cries, sounding like the drooling monsters, came from somewhere nearby. Su-hyeun looked around. He knew the monsters were chasing him. But, since they didn't come at him, he left them alone. It seemed like they had been waiting to gather enough relatives.

Krrr—

Several wolves with two heads and six eyes each surrounded Su-hyeun and Miru. They were the demonic beasts of the forest. A slight smile showed at the corners of Su-hyeun's mouth.

"Are you sure you don't want to bring more friends?"

Syaaa—

The third eye on Su-hyeun's forehead opened wide and looked over the wolves.

"Or are you guys all there is?"

Krrr—

The wolves narrowed the circle. They moved cautiously. It looked like they judged that Su-hyeun wasn't ordinary prey. If they had instincts and reason, they would have run away already. But those wolves were more loyal to slaughter and appetite than reason. So, they wouldn't run away until they saw their own blood.

Awoooo, Awooo—

Arf, arf, arf—

Wolves rushed at Su-hyeun from all sides.

Su-hyeun murmured, looking at such wolves, "It really reminds me of the past."

He didn't feel so bad. Su-hyeun drew his sword out. His sword shined.