The Dragon Slayer Who Regressed After 1,000 Years - Chapter 21

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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 1000 Years — Episode 21
[What? What are you talking about?! I killed him?!]
Belacorce shrieked.
A thief’s feet itch when caught red-handed.
[I’ve never even met your son! Who could have killed him?]
It was a blatant lie, but Belacorce didn’t know that.
She didn’t know that her reaction had lit a fire in Ignition’s suspicions.
[What’s that reaction? Could it be……?]
[No! I’m telling you I didn’t!]
Her manner was suspicious no matter how he looked at it, and Ignition had no choice but to resort to it.
The Dragon Language—a form of absolute command.
[Speak. Did you kill Camiloas?]
The ancient tongue gained power the moment it left one’s lips.
That was what the Dragon Language was—a word of command.
It could intervene in another’s will and compel specific actions.
Of course, one could not force self-harm or give extreme orders…….
[I asked if you killed my son.]
[Ugh…….]
If it was only meant to distinguish truth from lies, it certainly was effective.
Belacorce’s will to hide the truth was strong, but only for a moment.
[Y-yes. I did.]
In the end, the truth spilled from her mouth.
She had no choice.
The compulsive force woven into that language was far too great to resist.
Ignition’s eyes blazed with fury as he heard the truth.
[Why? Why did you……why my son?]
[Your son burned my domain first!]
Without even invoking the Dragon Language, the truth poured from Belacorce’s mouth without restraint.
She was that aggrieved.
[I only meant to take some treasure, ask for answers, and teach him manners! I never intended to kill him!]
Though she tried to justify herself, it still amounted to her having killed him.
That was what Belacorce believed, and Ignition naturally took it the same way.
Neither of them knew that someone else had truly struck the killing blow.
[I’ll kill you…….]
[What?]
[I’m going to kill you…….]
Ignition’s rage was absolute.
It was not mere words.
Slash!
His tail whipped across Belacorce’s face.
In the moment she staggered with a scream, he mounted her back.
Then he bit her by the scruff of her neck.
Like a beast savaging its prey.
Crack!
[Shrieeeek!]
Fangs sank in, and searing pain flooded through her, but Belacorce had no intention of taking it lying down.
[You crazy bitch!]
She lashed her own tail, raked his face with her claws, and tore at his throat in kind.
But Ignition would not yield so easily.
He dodged with nimble grace, created distance with a sweep of his wings, and gathered Breath in his maw.
Rumble-rumble-rumble!
He meant to incinerate everything.
The filthy dragon before him who had killed his son, and Belion Kingdom’s domain as well.
[Damn it!]
Judging that there was no time to block or escape, Belacorce opened her own jaws in kind.
An enormous surge of Mana gathered, and she countered with Acid Breath.
Boom-boom-boom!
Flame and acid.
The two Breaths collided in the void.
The force that burns all things met the force that dissolves all things.
The intense heat caused the acidic liquid to evaporate.
In terms of elemental advantage, Belacorce was at a disadvantage.
But the disparity went deeper than that.
[Ugh……!]
Belacorce’s Breath began to yield ground steadily.
There was no way around it.
A Breath hastily gathered could only falter in quality—that was the law of such power.
The Flame Breath, refined over sufficient time, burned far more intensely.
[Ngh, nngh…….]
As Belacorce retreated further, her scales began to melt away.
Death was drawing near.

* * *
The history of the Eight Great Houses, those who followed dragonkind, stretched back across ages.
The Houses may have changed, but their roots ran unbroken.
Because of this, every kingdom had always harbored their eyes and ears.
News of what transpired in the skies above Belion Kingdom reached them as well.
Crash!
“What in the world is this! Dragons fighting one another!”
A gathering of the Seven Great Houses—all save Antonio House.
The atmosphere had already sunk to its depths.
It was because of the collision between dragons.
“Dragons have clashed before in history, certainly, but never so openly, never in broad daylight above a kingdom—not once.”
“This is no ordinary matter. What measures ought we take?”
“Measures? What, do you mean to go stop them? Have you the strength for that?”
“Why the sudden hostility? Good grief.”
The mood was bleak.
With no precedent to guide them, confusion reigned, and none knew what to do.
Then Alton, who had held his silence, spoke at last.
“This is not a quarrel for us to settle. It is their affair—they must resolve it themselves.”
“Quite right. We have no business meddling.”
“Each has their own circumstances, after all.”
“A wise word indeed.”
“As expected of Duke Drake.”
Unlike the other House lords, who offered agreement while watching one another’s faces, Alton’s expression barely shifted.
Rather, he surveyed each lord gathered in the hall, one by one.
“But tell me—have you considered what is truly important right now?”
“What is truly important, you ask……?”
“Think on why the dragons fight. It is because of Camiloas’s death. That is why Ignition rages as he does.”
“W-well, that is so.”
“If I judge rightly, it was likely Belacorce who killed Camiloas.”
“Be-Belacorce killed him?”
“There is no other reason Ignition would bare such murderous intent.”
All nodded in agreement with Alton’s reasoning.
The lords began to speak at once.
“But why would Belacorce…….”
“Perhaps in retaliation for the burning of the Duchy.”
“That does make sense.”
“And given Belacorce’s cruel nature…….”
All believed Belacorce to be the culprit.
But Alton’s thoughts ran otherwise.
“No—there is another entity at work here.”
“Another entity?”
“My subordinate found this at Camiloas’s corpse.”
At Alton’s gesture, an aide brought forth an object.
It was a Blood-Stained Sword.
“This is……!”
“Surely this is a blade of Antonio House?”
“It was at the scene?”
“How in the world did it come to be there…….”
Alton set the sword on the table and spoke.
“This is why Ignition flew to the Belion Kingdom. He would recognize the house crest.”
“Then the Antonio House is behind this?”
“Wait—isn’t that man locked in the dungeon here?”
“That’s precisely the problem.”
Alton continued, his voice grown grave.
“The house is scattered to the winds. How could Antonio possess the strength to kill Camiloas? He lacks any such capability.”
“Then the culprit is…….”
“I don’t know. But this much is certain: someone killed Camiloas and pinned it on the Antonio House. That led to dragons turning against each other.”
Every house lord’s face hardened at once.
Of course, it was he who had fed the information to Belacorce.
But that was something the house lords didn’t need to know.
“A being powerful enough to slay a dragon…….”
“At minimum, a Sword Master or higher.”
“Could be multiple assassins, not just one.”
“My guess is it might be an organization that hunts dragons professionally…….”
“Whatever the case, someone clearly harbors a grudge against dragons.”
Opinions flew freely.
Alton raised his hand, and the room fell silent.
“Whoever they are, they’re obstructing us. We cannot ignore this.”
“Agreed!”
“We must apprehend the true culprit at once!”
“What of bringing Antonio in? We could interrogate him again.”
“That seems wise. We might uncover a clue, might we not?”
Enthusiasm flared, but it did not last long.
“A grave matter, my lord.”
A subordinate burst in, and Alton’s brow creased.
“What is it?”
“The duel has concluded.”
Every house lord’s eyes widened.
“Who prevailed?”

* * *
Cain observed the situation in silence.
The clash of two dragons was no easy sight, even for one who had lived a thousand years.
Dragons simply paid each other little mind, and conflict between them was rare.
But the fight did not last long.
Boom!
Belacorce took the Flame Breath full on and plummeted downward.
She clung to life by a thread, gasping for breath, but Ignition showed no mercy.
Crack!
He clamped his jaws around her throat and snuffed out her life in a single motion.
‘It’s over.’
Ignition’s victory.
One could not have predicted the outcome with certainty, but it had gone as desired.
‘I hoped Belacorce would die rather than Ignition, and my wish has been granted.’
Revenge meant nothing unless taken by one’s own hand.
Ignition gazed down at the corpse for a moment, then took flight toward the heavens.
Whoosh!
Cain watched the crimson dragon vanish into the distance.
‘Farewell, Ignition. Remain alive until I take my revenge.’
Cain offered a farewell unheard by mortal ears, then turned his gaze to Bernatus.
“Any witnesses?”
[None, Seer.]
Someone had been watching until moments ago, but they had fled to report.
‘It’s time to move.’
He had to work quickly, while none were present.
Cain rushed toward Belacorce’s corpse.
He could not afford to miss the chance to seize the heart of an ancient dragon.
As he approached the body, the scales burned by the Flame Breath oozed a black discharge like treacle.
Squelch!
The armor melted away, and the blade sank in easily.
Slice—slice—
He opened the chest with the practiced ease of a butcher.
A Dragon Heart the size of a human head pulsed with faint light.
‘No time to eat here.’
He extracted only the heart and slipped away into the mountains.
Not long after he vanished into the peaks,
people began gathering around Belacorce’s corpse one by one.

* * *
In a secure location, Cain bit into the heart.
Drip.
It still tasted of nothing, but he choked it down with single-minded determination to grow stronger.
Opportunities to consume an ancient dragon’s heart didn’t come often.
With each bite, the mana contained in the Dragon Heart flowed out like juice and poured into Cain’s body.
Mana of a different texture than ordinary mana—pure, untainted.
It could be absorbed as-is without refinement.
‘Grgh.’
A flood of mana coursed through his pathways.
Into his heart, where Aura accumulated.
‘I need to reach Sword Master in a short span of time. The Circle comes after.’
It would be nice to align the Circle’s grade as well, but it’s not the right moment yet.
Unlike Aura, the Circle can be elevated in grade somewhat through equipment.
It took a full three or four hours just to absorb the enormous volume of mana.
Long as it seems, it was actually short relative to his rate of growth.
Ten years of training were needed to accumulate Aura like this—and he’d done it in mere hours.
‘My Aura has grown firmer.’
Though he hadn’t reached Seven-Star, his Six-Star vessel was now half-full.
It should have been impossible to rise this far from consuming one ancient dragon’s heart.
‘Let alone consuming it at this point in time.’
He’d stumbled into the heart by sheer luck.
Just months after returning, and he was already close to Seven-Star.
‘This… my growth speed is much faster than I expected.’
Cain rose to his feet.
He wiped away the blood that had clung to him while eating the heart using Clean Magic.
His purpose wasn’t yet fulfilled.
As he moved to a new location, Bernatus stared at him with an expression of disgust.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
[Ah… No, it’s nothing.]
“Is it because I ate the heart?”
[Ugh…….]
Though a spirit had no stomach to retch, Bernatus seemed to be on the verge of nausea.
Even for an independent dragon, it must be difficult to watch one devour one of its own kind.
“You’ll have to grow accustomed to it. This will happen again.”
[Whatever for…….]
“It’s unavoidable if I’m to grow stronger.”
Cain glanced at Bernatus and resumed walking.
[Where… are you going?]
“To Belacorce’s Lair.”
[Why there……?]
“I can’t leave a masterless treasure unattended, can I?”
[Ah…….]
“Plus Camiloas’s hoard is probably enormous.”
He was right.
Upon arriving at the lair, treasures stacked like mountains came into view.
“Move all of it. To your lair.”
[Really, sir?]
As if he’d never felt nausea at all, Bernatus’s eyes gleamed with delight.

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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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