Chapter 45
The moment Zeon saw the man in the darkness of the desert, a chill ran down his entire body.
The man was like a mirage of the desert.
He was clearly standing right in front of them, yet he didn’t feel like someone of this world.
Zeon knew that his intuition wasn’t wrong.
This was an uncharted land untouched by human footsteps.
Most likely, the only humans who had ever entered this place were Zeon and Deioden.
Even the two of them had only reached this place after a desperate struggle.
Deioden, being a transcendent powerhouse beyond human limits, had suffered little harm—but Zeon had come close to death many times.
Because of that, deep scars—impossible to erase—were etched across Zeon’s entire body like brands.
Yet the man before them showed not even a trace of injury.
The skin exposed between his clothes was unnaturally pale, so pale that even his veins were visible.
Above all, he carried no equipment despite walking alone in the desert.
He wore no armor or robe like Zeon, nor did he possess a weapon like Deioden’s Crayon.
And yet, he strolled through the desert night as if it were a casual walk.
That alone meant he was extraordinarily powerful.
And such a being had appeared without warning.
There was no way he had come with good intentions.
Zeon cautiously asked,
“Who are you?”
“Just someone passing through this area. I saw a light from afar and came to take a look.”
“And your name?”
“Hieltun.”
At that moment, Zeon felt the blood in his body turn ice-cold.
“Then… a dra—gon?”
“For now, just a passing guest. There’s no need to be so wary.”
The man who introduced himself as Hieltun smiled faintly.
At that moment, Deioden spoke.
“You’ve got some nerve, you damn lizard…”
“How harsh. To compare a dragon of all things to a mere lizard.”
“So you really were hiding here.”
“Hiding? What would I have to fear? I’ve simply been staying here for a long time.”
Even under Deioden’s killing intent, Hieltun responded calmly.
“So what brings you here, lizard?”
“The title is a bit irritating, but I suppose I’ll be generous and let it pass. If an uninvited guest came to your home, would you just sit still? I’m the same. Uninvited guests have come into my home, so I came out of curiosity.”
“Uninvited guests? Us?”
In the darkness, Deioden’s eyes gleamed intensely.
Even his madness-filled gaze did not unsettle Hieltun.
“Isn’t that what you call people who behave without manners? Or does the meaning differ on Earth?”
“You’re the uninvited ones, you lizard bastard. Who was it that terraformed Earth and tried to forcefully migrate here?”
“I do feel a bit sorry about that. But we had no choice. The one who attempted to terraform Earth—Krasias—is a being beyond even gods. At least in our world, he holds that kind of status. Who would dare oppose what he has done?”
“Figures a lizard—your tongue sure runs long. Still just a lizard, aren’t you?”
“If you consider me on the same level as him, I’d only be grateful. But I cannot dare compare myself to that being. In our world, he is equivalent to a creator. He merely chose a form similar to ours for convenience.”
“So what are you trying to say? Did you come here just to brag about how great Krasias is?”
“Your hostility and fighting spirit are truly impressive. It almost makes me tremble.”
Hieltun smiled as he looked at Deioden.
Despite his words, he showed no sign of tension or intimidation.
He continued,
“Just think of it as an unavoidable disaster. Like a typhoon or an earthquake. That way, you might find some peace.”
“So you’re telling me to just turn back?”
“I am politely advising you.”
“What a load of bullshit. Easy for you to say when it’s not your problem. Could you forget something like that?”
“Unfortunately, forgetting is not a blessing granted to me. But I think I could bury it and live on.”
“You really do love flapping that tongue of yours. That’s why you’re pathetic. Let’s see if you can keep talking nonsense after I rip that tongue out.”
“Hm. I’ll decline that. I could communicate through telepathy, but speaking aloud is much more convenient.”
Hieltun casually approached Deioden.
Zeon held his breath and watched.
Hieltun naturally walked over to the Sand Angler’s corpse.
“Oh! A Sand Angler. I quite enjoy these. A delicacy, you could say.”
Rip!
He reached out and tore off a large chunk of flesh, then chewed it noisily.
There was not a shred of dignity in his behavior.
Before he realized it, Zeon spoke up,
“Uh… that’s mine.”
“Hm?”
“I caught it. Shouldn’t you at least ask before eating it?”
“Haha! Is that so? My apologies.”
“If you’re really sorry, how about giving me something in return?”
At Zeon’s absurd remark, Hieltun pretended to think seriously before speaking.
“Giving you my belongings would be a bit much, but if you happen to survive, head about a hundred kilometers north of here. There’s a rocky mountain there with an unclaimed dungeon. You should find some useful items inside.”
“A dungeon?”
“With your ability, you should be able to find it without difficulty.”
“What exactly is a dungeon? How can something like that even exist?”
“Hmm! An interesting question. You’re the first to ask me that. Simply put, a dungeon is a fragment of Kurayan. It should have disappeared along with Kurayan’s destruction, but due to the effects of terraforming and its backlash, remnants became isolated within the gaps of time and space.”
“So… it’s basically the leftovers of Kurayan?”
“You have quite the talent for explaining complex things simply. You’d make a fine chimera.”
“…What?”
“Never mind. Think of it as a treasure vault left between Kurayan and Earth. If you search well, you’ll find quite a few useful things.”
“Then what about the monsters inside?”
“They too are remnants of Kurayan. Pitiful beings, stranded in the cracks of time and space, unable even to disappear.”
He said it like that, but his face showed not a trace of pity.
Zeon didn’t know it, but dragons were originally such beings.
They were the apex of the world called Kurayan.
Aside from Krasias, nothing stood above them.
Not even gods.
Gods could only exist if there were those who believed in them.
Faith gathered to form divinity, and only then could they exist as gods.
Thus, when the world of Kurayan was destroyed and most humans and other races perished, the gods also vanished.
Dragons, however, were different.
They could exist wholly on their own, without such things.
Even without faith, they could wield one hundred percent of the power they had in Kurayan.
They had been absolute beings in Kurayan—and could remain absolute even on Earth.
Hieltun continued,
“I commend you for defeating my guardian Akaruk and making it this far. But that was not my only guardian. In fact, he was closer to a failure. My true guardians are far stronger than him.”
“So what are you trying to say, you lizard bastard?!”
“Didn’t I already tell you? Just go back. If you do, I’ll forgive you. I am, after all, a generous dragon.”
“You damn lizard piece of shit!”
“Hearing that repeatedly is starting to irritate me. Say it one more time, and even I won’t be so forgiving.”
“Forgiveness, my ass… You didn’t even have the guts to show up yourself—sending a puppet instead…”
“What?”
Swoooosh!
In that instant, Deioden swung Crayon.
Hieltun tried to dodge in surprise—but he couldn’t evade the blade.
Slash!
With a chilling cutting sound, Hieltun’s body was split clean in two.
His upper and lower halves fell apart—but no blood flowed from the severed sections.
Looking down at him, Deioden said,
“I knew it. Cowardly lizard bastard. Sending a fake to spout nonsense. Your kind is always like that. That’s why I can’t forgive you.”
“Haha! That, I didn’t expect. Still, I understand your intentions well enough.”
Even with his torso severed, Hieltun laughed.
The grotesque sight made Zeon instinctively grimace.
Deioden raised Crayon high and said,
“See you soon, you pathetic lizard bastard!”
Thud!
Crayon plunged straight into Hieltun’s head.
Only then did all vitality leave his body.
Deioden’s power—the Authority of Death—had granted him a perfect death.
As he pulled Crayon free, Deioden muttered,
“Sending a chimera to threaten us…”
“That was a chimera?”
“Yeah! That cowardly lizard didn’t dare show himself and sent an artificial lifeform instead. Tch! Disgusting!”
Deioden spat on the chimera.
Zeon silently watched.
＊＊＊
“Ugh…”
Hieltun groaned as he opened his eyes, the sound of scales scraping against each other echoing eerily.
Clatter!
From head to tail, his body stretched over 150 meters, covered entirely in dazzling golden scales.
Two horns protruded from his head, and a pair of wings rested folded along his massive torso.
His four legs were thick and sturdy enough to support the vast underground cavern.
Hieltun rose his enormous body and blinked.
The severing of his link with the chimera had dealt considerable damage to his soul.
At that moment, a woman standing before him spoke cautiously,
“Are you alright?”
“The connection with the chimera has been completely severed. So it’s true… he possesses the Authority of Death.”
Hieltun shook his massive head.
“The Authority of Death?”
“Yes. Even in Kurayan, only Krasias possessed such a power. To think a mere human wields it—it’s astonishing.”
Hieltun looked down at the woman.
Her upper body was human, but her lower body was that of a spider.
She was a chimera—created by fusing different lifeforms together.
One of Hieltun’s specialties was researching various species and creating chimeras.
Even in Kurayan, creating chimeras was considered a forbidden domain.
No matter how powerful a dragon was, if they meddled with chimera magic, they would be sanctioned by other dragons.
Because of that, Hieltun had never dared to attempt it in Kurayan.
But Earth was different.
Unlike Kurayan, there were no such restrictions here.
The dragons who crossed over to Earth were too busy establishing their own territories to concern themselves with others.
Thanks to that, Hieltun could fully devote himself to his fascination with chimera magic.
The spider-woman before him—Eblis—was one such creation.
A fusion of human and spider, she possessed both human intelligence and a spider’s cunning.
That was why she had been entrusted with managing his lair.
Eblis lowered her head, cautiously observing Hieltun.
His lair was entirely made of gold.
The walls, the ceiling, the floor—everything was gold.
Due to the aftereffects of terraforming, most of the surface had turned into sand, but deep underground mineral veins remained intact.
As a Gold Dragon, Hieltun had built his lair within a gold-rich vein.
Inside his golden lair, he freely conducted his research on chimeras.
To create the chimeras he desired, Hieltun brought women of various races into his lair, polymorphed himself, and mated with them.
The offspring produced in this way were then fused with magical beasts to create chimeras.
Eblis was created through that same process, and all the guardians protecting the lair were chimeras as well.
He loathed leaving his golden lair to venture into the sandy outside world.
So instead of going himself, he sent out chimeras—and that led to this situation.
“Deioden!”
Killing intent flashed in Hieltun’s golden eyes.
He was enraged that Deioden had dared to destroy his avatar.
The chimera he created as his double was very special.
It had been made as a vessel containing a portion of his soul, allowing it to wield a dragon’s authority.
Because of that, it couldn’t be killed by ordinary means.
The severed link meant the chimera had been completely annihilated.
And that meant the same kind of death could be inflicted upon him as well.
He didn’t know how a mere human had obtained such power—but it was undeniably a great threat.
Hieltun gave an order to Eblis.
“Mobilize the guardians.”