part0008

He knew how to deal with these highly-regenerative monsters —Jaraxus thought, seeing how the intruder dealt with the high-ranking nest.

The intruder didn’t even bother destroying the nest’s outer shell, as though he knew of the monster’s incredibly high ability to regenerate. Instead, he suppressed the monster by attacking its core.

“That’s right, I am this dungeon’s master,” said Jaraxus.

Jaraxus carefully studied the intruder as she added, “A human. What’s your purpose? Why are you attacking us?”

“I should be the one asking that question,” said the intruder. A thread of golden light shot out of his fingertip and struck the high-ranking nest’s mutilated body. The tentacled monster turned flaccid, its dozens of eyes slowly closed, and it eventually stopped moving.

The intruder had just killed a high-ranking nest.

Jaraxus couldn’t understand how the intruder managed to pinpoint the exact location of the monster’s core. Such a feat would have been extremely hard, even for her. After all, the core of a high-ranking nest was incredibly small and frequently changed position. This was why they were notoriously hard to kill and often dubbed as immortal creatures.

“More than a thousand people died because of these monsters,” spat the intruder. There was hatred within his voice. “And you dare ask those questions?”

Jaraxus quickly connected the pieces of the puzzle. When Lord Luvart used the key to enter the haven, he opened not just one but all three entrances. And among those three, one was connected directly to the area where the breeding ground was located.

Although Jaraxus immediately ordered the high-ranking nests to recall all of the monsters that had managed to escape, there was a chance that a low-ranking or a middle-ranking nest had left the dungeon during that brief opening.

Without waiting for Jaraxus to utter a reply, the intruder suddenly shot toward her at a frightening speed. A speed way beyond human limits.

Was it possible due to the armor the intruder was wearing? Jaraxus wasn’t sure, and she had no way of trying to find out.

The intruder morphed his vambrace and gauntlet into a short sword, gripped its handle tight, and swung it toward her neck.

There was no hesitation within his movements. The human was definitely trying to kill her. He was no longer interested in hearing her answer.

Realizing this, Jaraxus shuddered. She leaped back and raised both of her hands in reflex and managed to block the intruder’s blade—or so she thought.

Her eyes widened when the short sword suddenly elongated within that split-second exchange. It cut through her flesh and bones, severing both of her arms in an instant. Without stopping, the intruder followed through with his attack. His sword morphed into a long, pointed, metallic needle. Like a snake, the needle bent and moved at will and struck her chest, missing her heart by a narrow margin.

Jaraxus leaped back once again, increasing the distance between her and her opponent. She looked at the two severed arms lying on the ground, then at the armored intruder. The needle he was holding slowly morphed into its original form—the vambrace and the gauntlet.

What the hell was that armor? Not only capable of incredibly high defense, it was also able to morph into different kinds of weapon in a heartbeat. It was not an artifact a human could possibly obtain.

“You,” said Jaraxus, her chest still bleeding. “Who are you?”

The intruder didn’t utter a reply. Instead, he pointed his index finger at her, gathered massive amounts of mana at its tip, and cast a spell. Golden light shot out and struck the large tunnel behind Jaraxus, creating a massive explosion that shook the entire dungeon.

The moment the rumbling stopped, and the cloud of dust receded, Jaraxus looked behind her and saw the hundreds of scorched monster corpses struck by the spell. The monsters must have come after hearing the screech of the high-ranking nest killed by the intruder.

“Are you really the master of this dungeon?” The intruder looked in the direction of the breeding ground. “It is faint, but I can feel the presence of someone far stronger than you.”

It must be Kel’ Vual, the current leader of the Arzomos tribe. The only Arzomos that could rival Agreas in terms of might.

“And those high-ranking nests. They’re modified parasitic demons, correct?”

Jaraxus wondered how this human knew all of this.

“Interesting,” the intruder mumbled. “They must have been born in this dungeon, for them to obey the orders of someone not from the parasitic demon race.”

The intruder gazed in the direction of the large tunnel connecting the second area to the breeding ground. He said, “Don’t you think so too?”

Footsteps were heard.

Jaraxus turned around and was surprised to see the members of the Arzomos tribe coming out of the tunnel. They all wore grim faces. Kel’ Vual, in particular, looked as though he’d seen the Demon Lord Barkuvara once again.

The tribe leader stared intently at the armor the intruder was wearing.

“Where did you get that armor?” said Kel’ Vual. He sounded really angry. He snarled, “Disrespectful scum! Where did you steal that treasure?”

Just as Jaraxus thought, the armor was an artifact. An incredible treasure recognized even by Kel’ Vual.

“Father, that armor…” said Luvart, wondering why his father seemed so angry to see the intruder wearing it. As though his father found it incredibly rude.

“It’s the armor of a deceased friend of mine,” said Kel’ Vual in a low voice. “You wouldn’t understand. You weren’t even born at that time.” Kel’ Vual gnashed his teeth. “Damn thief. Where did you steal it?”

Like a slime, the helm covering the head of the intruder receded, revealing his youthful face. Short silver hair, blue eyes, and a frail-looking face.

A human. A very young one at that.

“Steal it? It was mine to begin with,” said the human.

Jaraxus found it strange. There was no longer hostility within the human’s voice. Instead, she could feel a hint of longing within it.

“You said that it used to belong to a friend of yours,” said the human. “Tell me. Did that friend of yours live fifteen hundred years ago?”

The armor the human was wearing morphed into a beautiful white sword. Seeing this, Kel’ Vual froze. He croaked, “It can’t be! That’s right… It’s been so long that I almost forgot. O-Only one person should be capable of using it!”

Tears started forming at the corner of Kel’ Vual’s eyes. Jaraxus and the other members of the Arzomos tribe were stunned. The almighty Kel’ Vual, the protector of the Great Cavern, and one of the demons who sealed the Immortal Demon, was crying?

The sword turned into a bracer. The human smiled and longingly gazed at the Arzomos tribe leader. Without hesitation, he briskly walked toward the leader of the Arzomos and hugged him tight.

“It’s been a while,” said the human. “You are that kid. Kel, right?”

Kel’ Vual wrapped his arms around the human’s body. His entire body was shaking as tears streamed down his eyes. “You’re… you’re alive!”

Jaraxus and the other members of the Arzomos tribe were bewildered at the sudden turn of events.

When they first met, they were sure that the two would be trying to kill each other. But for some strange reason, the moment the tribe leader saw the white sword, his hostility vanished, and he started gazing at the human as though he was a friend he hadn’t seen for a very long time.

And now, the tribe leader was crying while hugging the human.

It was a truly surreal sight.

“When we heard of your death,” said Kel’ Vual, his body still quivering. “We tried to visit the capital several times. But the Emperor shunned and barred us at the gates and told us to go back.”

“How benevolent of him,” chuckled the human.

Under normal circumstances, any demons that entered the territory of the Magic Empire would have been killed instantly. No questions asked. Even Kel’ Vual knew that the Emperor was being merciful that time, since he didn’t order his magicians to kill the two young members of the Arzomos tribe.

The two separated and smiled broadly.

“You’ve grown really old. If not for that large scar on your face, I wouldn’t have recognized you,” said the human.

“I’ll be two thousand years old a few years from now.” The tribe leader laughed heartily. “I’m no longer the kid that followed you back then.”

“Father, this human is?” said Luvart.

“Kel’ Vual’s son?” said the human. He gazed fondly at Luvart.

Kel’ Vual placed his hand on Luvart’s head. “That man is a friend of mine.” There was an indescribable sense of pride within his voice. “You’ve heard of the Elder’s stories before, right? The stories of the magician who we used to follow around when we were young.”

The eyes of Luvart and the other members of the Arzomos tribe widened. They’d heard of the same story from Elder Agreas numerous times before. The story of a human who was once feared by all demons.

“Although his body has changed, there’s no doubt about it. That man is Evander Alaester, the strongest magician of the Magic Empire, the magician feared even by the Demon Lord Barkuvara.”