Chapter 311
Theodore’s expression stiffened before he could feel any pleasure at Pluto’s Palace being destroyed .
It was because he heard a word that shouldn’t be said . The evil dragon, Nídhöggur . . . !
The name of the amethyst that Gluttony swallowed was Nídhöggur’s Bloodstone, and the message that said the evil dragon was aware of Theodore’s presence was eerie . Above all, Nídhöggur was the demon king of Nastrond, an external dimension adjacent to this material world .
A long time ago, Theodore read a prophecy related to him in a book in the library .
Remote from the sun,
On the shore of corpses,
Venom drops through holes in the roof .
The backbone of the snake is woven into the frame .
The deceitful, murderers, and adulterers are gathered .
Nídhöggur devours their bodies .
Wolves tear at the wreckage .
Do you still seek to know?
They were horrifying sentences . The essence of it was a hell that didn’t permit the entrance of the living and killed the sinners . However, Hell was mellow compared to Nastrond . Hell was a Buddhist place where, after the punishment, the sinners would receive enlightenment and be reincarnated . It might be painful, but it was a place to rehabilitate sinners and wasn’t meaningless .
‘But the sinners who fall into Nastrond are said to have their souls captured in the abyss and that they would suffer for a long time . ’
Theodore couldn’t argue about the dualism of good and evil with an infinite dimensional world, but he could say one thing . Nastrond was a dimension based on evil, and Nídhöggur was the demon king on top of such malevolence . Theodore couldn’t even imagine that this demon king and Jerem were in a contractual relationship .
-All the lacking puzzle pieces have been collected . In contrast to Theodore, Gluttony’s pleasure seemed to have risen . -The capacity of the warlock, Jerem, was high, but it wasn’t at the level to write a grimoire and restore his soul . It is appropriate to think that someone supported him .
“That supporter was Nídhöggur?”
-It is more like a patron than a supporter . In general, a transcendent like Nídhöggur rarely cares about mortals in other dimensions, but he likes eating people .
‘Eating people?’ Theodore made a strange expression .
This caused Gluttony to answer him in a nuanced voice, -Nídhöggur’s true nature is about necrophilia .
“ . . . What?!” Theodore let out a horrified exclamation .
Gluttony added in a seemingly mocking tone, -Of course, that desire is limited by his appetite, but he enjoys collecting and eating dead bodies . That is why, since time immemorial, he frequently has associations with cruel tyrants, slavers, and necromancers .
A demon that transcended life . . . Among the transcendents, Nídhöggur was at the peak and had no need to eat or breed . Yet the demon still ate something . It was purely out of a desire to eat . He wanted to do it . Nídhöggur liked corpses because they were his favorite food . He chewed on the worthless bodies of humans, who had enjoyed harmful alcohol and cigarettes, and he enjoyed the taste .
“If he helped Jerem write Death’s Worship, is it a plan to obtain bodies to eat?”
-Well, I guess so . For him, the struggles in this world are just a cooking process . He chose a warlock who can fill his table in a larger and more luxurious manner .
“ . . . A genocide for gourmet purposes . I feel sick . ”
The horror faded away, and rage filled the empty spaces . Theodore had seen a lot of ugliness in his life so far . Robbing for the sake of gaining money, men of power being swayed by lust . . . Humanity’s history of war and struggles had always been because of greedy hearts . Theodore didn’t deny it . Humans were born with desire, and it was their choice and responsibility to restrain or wield it .
‘But I can’t accept this . ’
It wasn’t enough that people were killed overnight without knowing why, but after death, they had to suffer forever in a world worse than hell . This was what being eaten by Nídhöggur meant . Nídhöggur was an unforgivable evil that pushed life to the edges of the cliff . If he descended, many lives in the material world would fall down to hell .
“I have to go to Elvenheim . ”
It was too late to chase after Jerem . Theodore’s movements were too inefficient compared to someone who had been planning this for a long time . He would rather arrive at the destination and defend the world tree . It wasn’t the best choice, but it was second best . Theodore made a decision after listening to the advice of several great men .
“I understand the current situation . Theo?”
“Huh?”
At that moment, Veronica who had been watching two paintings with interest said, “I think it will be difficult to stay here any longer . ”
Theodore looked in the direction she was indicating and gave a long sigh . Undead were flooding in like a swarm of ants . Was it because the core of Pluto’s Palace had disappeared? Initially, the low-level undead hadn’t been able to get near the magic circle . This changed after Gluttony ate the core .
The two magicians looked at each other and rose through the ceiling .
Kwaaaang!
Theodore and Veronica plowed through several layers of marble and quickly left the building . The magic circle was gone, so the building could no longer be an obstacle . Theodore looked at the bodies on the ground and realized one difference from earlier .
‘ . . . They are getting weaker . It isn’t enough to disappear in a day or two, but they might self-destruct within a month . ’
The magic circle disappearing was to blame for that . An infection type undead couldn’t recharge its body unless it received power from outside .
It had to eat other living creatures or get a supply of magic power from somewhere .
Most of the undead in Lairon were of the latter case . They were now losing power because their power source had suddenly disappeared . Most of the senior undead had been killed by the two magicians, and the lower undead would collapse before crossing the border .
“Let’s go to Soldun . ” Theodore shook off his thoughts and moved .
The two magicians in red robes shot through the sky above the divine king’s palace . The ruined city and church of Lairon was below them . It was the last of the Lairon Kingdom .
* * *
The capital of the Soldun Kingdom, Arundel .
It had been a year or so since the Elsid Civil War, but the vigor in the inner city was uncommon . This demonstrated that the kingdom was operating well enough to handle the damage from that time . People laughed as they talked, while the merchants were busy raising their voices to solicit customers .
Arundel enjoyed a boom after a long time as they received honored guests .
“It has been a while, Sir Theodore . ” Elsid had the face of a king as he spoke first . He didn’t know how to act in front of a main contributor in the civil war, who was an important character in the alliance and one of the leading magicians on this continent .
“You have reached a higher level since the last time I saw you . It is a joyous thing . I’m sorry for my carelessness in not congratulating you earlier . ”
"It isn’t a problem, Your Majesty . Your words are enough,” Theodore accepted the praise and looked around at the nobles in the room .
This was an expression that said he didn’t want to talk in front of them . It wasn’t difficult for Elsid to notice, which then made him wave his hand . He knew that if Theodore tried to kill him, there was no way to stop it .
“Everybody leave . I will talk with Sir Theodore . ”
“B-But Your Majes . . . ”
“I won’t tolerate any objections . Or will you be responsible for the consequences? You can stay here if you say you are willing . ”
Once the word ‘responsibility’ was mentioned, none of the nobles wanted to stay . Veronica hadn’t accompanied him to the throne room, so only Theodore and Elsid remained in the room once the nobles were gone . Elsid looked around the room and laughed . The nobles had looked like rabbits as they fled .
“I don’t know if they are quick-witted or have no guts . ”
“Isn’t it both?”
“Hahahaha! Sir Theodore’s words are correct . ”
However, this didn’t mean that Soldun’s domestic affairs were a mess . The trustworthy nobles were heavily active outside the capital, while Elsid guarded the ones he couldn’t believe in . Unlike the kings of other kingdoms, Soldun’s king was in a completely superior position . After the collapse of Duke Cornwall and his cronies, the nobles were almost destroyed . The ones who remained were those loyal to the royal family, like Marquis Piris . The situation had completely reversed .
Elsid laughed for a while before asking why Theodore had come to the palace . “As I recall, you aren’t someone who likes empty courtesies . I will cut to the chase . What is going on?”
“It is a long story, but I will try to cut it down as much as possible . ”
From then on, Elsid didn’t speak while Theodore gave a long explanation . He talked about the destruction of the Lairon Kingdom and the presumed cause . The story lasted for over two hours . However, Elsid’s concentration wasn’t disturbed at all as he listened to Theodore’s words .
“ . . . Hmm . ” Elsid gave a heavy groan and leaned back on his throne . His heart was heavy from hearing the news . “I didn’t know that such a big thing was happening . For the moment, I will follow your advice and move troops to the western and northern borders . Do you think it will be appropriate to station them for one month?”
“Let’s do two months just in case . My calculations might not be correct . ”
If he couldn’t believe the counsel of a great magician, who could he believe? So, Elsid nodded in agreement without hesitation . He would reorganize the position of the troops so that they could move at any time to the northwest where Lairon was located . Elsid could hide the real purpose and simply move the troops under the pretense of training .
After Elsid came to this decision, Theodore left the room . The situation wasn’t leisurely enough for him to enjoy a dinner .
“Theo . ” Veronica was waiting outside the palace and hooked her arm in his . “Why didn’t you talk about Nídhöggur?”
It was a considerable distance, but Veronica’s ears had heard the conversation between Theodore and Elsid . Theodore replied calmly, “It is hard to obtain cooperation, and it probably won’t be much use anyway . ”
“Oh, Theo is cold . ”
“I’m not trying to ignore Soldun . The opponent is so strong that it would be useless drawing in Austen, Kargas, or even the entire central part of the continent . ”
It was cold but true . Austen’s sword master, Mujak, wasn’t a match for one of the four horsemen . The same was true for Marquis Fergana of Soldun . If the number of troops increased, they would each just be one more body to become part of the enemy’s puppets .
When dealing with necromancers, they shouldn’t take an excessive number of people .
‘An elementalist who can support from a distance without becoming a corpse will be less burdensome . Are the elves the ‘squirrels that repay the favor’ from the prophecy?’
Theodore moved toward where Randolph was waiting . Once they met up, the group would return to Meltor . Then he would lead the elves and recruit people to participate in the defense of Elvenheim . The tasks were piling up, and the situation of the enemy was unclear .
“Okay, let’s try it,” Theodore said, forming tight fists . Then he declared, “If that damn dragon sees us as food, I will treat him to the worst meal ever!”
Theodore declared war against the evil dragon—Nastrond’s demon king, Nídhöggur—that even the transcendents from the Age of Mythology feared .
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