The Dragon Slayer Who Regressed After 1,000 Years - Chapter 10

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Dragon Slayer’s Return After a Thousand Years — Episode 10
‘What… what in the—’
Walter’s mind reeled at the impossibility of it all.
Mere moments ago, he’d resigned himself to death, convinced he was nothing but prey for the dragon.
Then Cain had appeared, alone, without warning.
The prince had said something, but whether it was a language spoken directly into the mind or something else entirely, Walter couldn’t fathom it.
What was certain was that the dragon had bowed its head in submission—shocking enough on its own.
But the real marvel came next.
Cain had driven his blade into the dragon’s nape and killed it.
‘How is that even possible?’
A two-star Aura knight, slaying a seven-hundred-year-old dragon?
It shouldn’t be possible at all.
A dragon’s hide yielded to nothing but an Aura Blade.
‘Could it be… a Sword Master?’
Had the prince been concealing his true power all along?
That would at least explain how their previous duel had seemed so evenly matched.
‘No… it can’t be. A Sword Master at twenty? I’ve never even heard of such a thing….’
The youngest dragon slayer in history had just been born before his very eyes.
Walter’s pupils trembled with the weight of it.
He had no idea how to treat Cain anymore.
But then—
Slice! Slash!
As if to say this was only the beginning, a spectacle unfolded that left him speechless.
‘What… what is he doing?’
Cain had begun flaying the dragon’s skin with casual brutality.
The ease with which he carved through the thick hide confirmed his hypothesis: the prince had indeed reached the level of an awakened Aura Blade.
Yet without visible manifestation of Sword Intent, he couldn’t be entirely certain.
‘But why the skin…?’
After tearing open the chest cavity, Cain closed his hand around the Dragon Heart.
The organ still pulsed with residual Magical Power, its size matching that of a human head.
And then—
Rip!
He tore into it with his teeth, devouring it raw.
‘He’s… he’s insane…!’
The sight of him tearing apart the heart with his bare mouth froze Walter in place.
The prince could only be mad.

* * *
Blue blood pooled across the ground.
In the shadow of the dragon’s massive corpse, Cain continued to eat.
He was consuming the Dragon Heart itself.
‘The taste is absolutely foul.’
Nausea threatened to overwhelm him, but he forced himself to swallow.
This was the only way to grow in such a short time.
Thump—
The Magical Power flowing from the Dragon Heart surged toward his own.
Pure, concentrated essence—fuel he could consume immediately.
‘The real question is direction.’
With two hearts in his body, Cain had to choose in this very moment.
Strengthen his Circle, or strengthen his Aura?
‘Aura. It has to be Aura.’
He sealed the pathways of his Circle and opened the channels toward his Aura instead.
Pure dragon Magical Power surged forward, racing along the open channels.
“Nngh—”
As the tide of power threatened to sweep his consciousness away, Cain clung to what remained of his clarity.
Thump-thump-thump-thump!
One of his hearts pounded as if overloaded, its Aura expanding like an inflating balloon.
Cold sweat traced down his spine, yet his mouth never stopped tearing into the Dragon Heart.
Complete consumption meant greater absorption—something he’d learned through a lifetime of experience.
Gulp.
He had devoured the heart—a mass the size of a human head—but that was only the beginning.
What remained was enduring the torrent of magical power surging through his core.
“Kgh, nghhh…!”
Cain dropped to one knee, his teeth clenched.
“Hah….”
Moments later, his breathing steadied.
His entire body was drenched in azure blood, yet his expression had grown serene.
‘My Achievement Level has risen to four stars.’
His Aura, which had been two stars, had climbed to four after consuming the Dragon Heart.
No one in all the world could consume a Dragon Heart and convert it into their own magical power.
This was a blessing granted to Cain alone.
‘But next time, things won’t go this smoothly.’
He knew from experience in his previous life.
The heart’s efficacy diminishes as one’s capacity grows larger.
He had risen two ranks from a seven-hundred-year-old heart only because his vessel was still small.
‘To advance from four stars to five, I’ll need at least a thousand-year-old heart. Beyond that, I’ll require the heart of an ancient dragon.’
In other words, from now on he would need to hunt larger and more dangerous prey.
‘It doesn’t matter. They’re all marked for death anyway.’
A dark laugh escaped him, though it faded quickly.
Cain’s expression hardened as he regarded the witness before him.
…….
Walter could find no words.
The lips stained with dragon blood.
And beneath them, a faint smile spreading through the crimson.
The monster who had just been tearing out a heart now gazed directly at him.
‘W-why is he looking at me? Surely he means to silence me?’
A chill ran down his spine.
Given that Cain had killed a dragon, he was clearly a Sword Master of at least seven stars.
Escape, in practical terms, was impossible.
Walter had no choice but to wait, frozen in place, for whatever Cain would say next.
“Walter.”
“Y-yes, yes?”
Walter’s panic was so complete that he lapsed into formal speech—something he never did with Cain.
“You saw everything, didn’t you? What I did.”
“I won’t speak of it! I swear to you, I won’t tell a soul! I saw nothing—nothing at all!”
“How can you claim not to have seen what you’ve already witnessed?”
“P-please, spare me. I won’t say anything! I beg you….”
The Cain he had known before was already gone from Walter’s mind.
All that remained was the image of a hidden master—one who could sever a dragon’s neck, a warrior concealing his true strength.
When a master’s identity was exposed, it was commonplace for them to eliminate witnesses.
Yet Cain had no intention of killing Walter.
“I’ll let you live.”
“Truly, sir?”
“In exchange, the dragon dies by your hand.”
“Pardon?”
Walter’s pleas died on his lips as shock took hold.
“M-myself? No one will ever believe it. A four-star warrior cannot pierce a dragon’s hide.”
“Say it was diseased.”
“D-diseased?”
“A creature that had suffered long, its scales weakened by age. You got lucky—drove your blade into a vital point. That is what you’ll say.”
Cain’s gaze turned glacial.
His silence carried an unspoken threat: there was no refusal.
Walter understood at once, instinctively.
This was the price of his life.
Then came the sound.
“Lord Cain! Walter!”
The knights of the order came pouring into the Lair, arriving at last.
“Are you—”
The knight in front stopped mid-word, his mouth falling shut.
The dragon lay dead.
Its neck severed, the massive corpse sprawled across the floor of the Lair.
No one spoke.
Commander Dmitri circled the body, then his gaze stilled.
‘Only one wound?’
It meant he’d finished it in a single stroke.
Dmitri found himself looking at the sword in Cain’s hand.
It was drenched in blue blood.
Walter’s blade, by contrast, was spotless.
“What is the meaning of this… no, more importantly, are you unharmed, Prince Cain? That blood—”
“Yes, I’m fine. As you can see, it’s dragon blood.”
“Surely you don’t mean… you slew the dragon yourself?”
!!
Every knight in the order turned to stare at Cain.
But an unexpected answer came from his lips.
“No. Walter killed the dragon. I merely lent him my sword.”
At those words, all eyes shifted to Walter.
“Walter. Did you truly slay the dragon?”
Dmitri’s question made Walter hesitate slightly.
But Cain stood directly ahead, watching him with an intensity that left no room for doubt.
This was, after all, a madman who had slain a dragon and devoured its heart.
“Y-yes, that’s correct… The creature was sickly. Its scales were already rotting. Thanks to Prince Cain lending me his blade and drawing its attention, I was fortunate enough to strike a vital point.”
“A sickly dragon, then…”
Dmitri’s eyes flickered between Walter’s immaculate hands and Cain’s blood-soaked sword.
‘If he lent him the sword, why does the prince’s blade have all that blood…’
It made sense if the loaned sword had been returned to him.
The explanation held together, technically.
‘Yet something feels off, as if one beat out of rhythm.’
The assassin’s confession, Walter’s survival in that duel, and now this.
Around this man, explanations always seemed to lag by half a measure.
“Commander?”
“…Never mind.”
Dmitri swallowed the question that had risen to his throat.
He was of royal blood.
Besides, looking only at results—a vicious dragon was dead and their forces had suffered no losses.
‘I’ll let this pass for now. But…’
One day, he would need to know.
The true nature of this prince.
“Prepare for withdrawal! Collect the scales and fangs as proof of the dragon hunt!”
The knights began moving with purpose.
The corners of Cain’s mouth rose in a smile no one else saw.
‘Well done, Walter. A witness is always useful.’
Why had Cain spared Walter?
He needed bait.
‘If it became public knowledge that I killed the dragon, it would only create danger in this current situation.’
Now that prophecies of Racial Annihilation had spread, the dragons were acutely sensitive to the death of their own.
‘A dead dragon at a time like this?’
The dragon’s followers would certainly make their move.
‘Walter is the bait to draw them out. The fool has no idea, of course.’
Cain watched Walter—who was awkwardly puffing out his chest, playing the dragon slayer—with a gaze that held hidden meaning.

* * *
On the road back to the palace.
Bernatus hovered silently beside Cain as he rode ahead of the others.
The creature, usually so talkative, had not spoken.
“What is it? If you have something to say, say it.”
[…Seer.]
“Speak.”
[Did Aolios truly have to die?]
Cain kept his eyes fixed forward as he answered.
“Yes.”
[We’re of the same Dragon Race, and yet… I….]
“Bernatus.”
Cain’s voice was low and flat.
“Do you know what lay along the path to that creature’s Lair?”
[…….]
“A child’s shoe. One of the hundred and eight it devoured.”
[…….]
“The kinsman you gazed upon with such pity was a plague upon humanity.”
Bernatus fell silent for a long time.
[I never imagined the path to prevent destruction would be like this.]
“Salvation always demands a price.”
Cain spoke those words while reminding himself of the truth within them.
Whenever affection threatened to take root, he had to remind himself anew.
That this creature too was a dragon—one that had devoured Karen and Martin.
‘Your turn will come. Eventually.’

* * *
“Cain! Are you all right?”
The moment Cain returned to the palace, Serena descended upon him, examining him from every angle with anxious hands.
“You’re not hurt anywhere?”
“Of course not. I only went to observe.”
“Forgive me, but that bravery seems excessive for mere observation, my lord.”
Dmitri had drawn near and inserted himself into the conversation.
“To rescue Walter from a dragon’s clutches—it was a reckless act that could have cost you your life.”
“What? Cain! Is that true?”
“Well….”
Cain scratched his head as though troubled, then reluctantly nodded in assent.
“I couldn’t abandon someone who fell into danger because of me.”
“No, my lord. The fault lies with the one who threw himself recklessly into peril despite your warning of the danger ahead.”
“Still, that doesn’t mean I bear no responsibility.”
“You are truly….”
The corners of Dmitri’s eyes softened.
A righteous man who would even rescue those who sought his death.
His expression wavered between admiration and bewilderment—noble virtue or simple foolishness, impossible to say.
‘Better he remains ignorant. If he knew my true nature, he’d lose consciousness entirely.’
‘In this life, I can’t hunt recklessly without regard for consequence. I must cultivate an outward image as well.’
“By the way, my lord, how did you discover Walter’s location and find your way to him?”
“Dragons typically consume humans on the spot. I reasoned the Guardian had brought him to the Lair instead. I tracked the fissures in the earth and found it that way.”
Cain delivered this lie with perfect composure, unabashed.
“I thought you would naturally follow me, Captain Dmitri. What were you doing at the time?”
“I suddenly lost consciousness. When I awoke, you had already vanished.”
Dmitri’s eyes narrowed.
“Isn’t that strange? A Sword Master, falling asleep without cause. To blame it on the dragon’s Barrier Magic would be one thing—but how did you emerge unscathed, my lord?”
“I confess I know little of magic.”
“…I suppose that would be the case.”
Dmitri pressed no further.
Instead, he committed it to memory.
“In any case, what becomes of Walter now?”
“As agreed, he will return to the life of a commoner. Though he slew the dragon, his crime of attempting to harm the royal family leaves him without reward.”
A nobleman stripped to commoner in a single day.
Cain couldn’t begin to imagine how that felt, though it mattered little to him.
So long as the bait played its role well.

* * *
Word that Aolios had fallen spread across the Kingdom.
The Eight Great Families, those who venerated the Dragon Race, received the news as well.
Bang!
“Does this make any sense? Dragon hunting?”
The patriarch of the Antonio Family struck the table, his fury unleashed.
“Which insolent wretch dares to hunt such a magnificent being!”
“According to my sources, he’s Walter Ragnar of the Asel Knight Order.”
“Ragnar? You mean that Ragnar who was one of our own faction?”
“Have you ever seen such treachery!”
“As if Count Ragnar’s insolence weren’t enough, now his son hunts dragons? We must take action at once!”
The heads of house turned as one toward a single figure.
Only one person in this chamber held the power to decide.
“A traitor cannot be allowed to live.”
Alton Drake spoke, his voice carrying the weight of judgment.
“We must hire an assassin to kill Walter Ragnar. Or perhaps one of you would volunteer?”
A hand rose at once.
“If you entrust this to me, I shall handle it without fail.”
It was the head of the Antonio Family.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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