Wolves of Hader

I fought off the Flame demonic creatures frantically. Because of the divinity, they couldn't attack Eilin. These monsters were not devils either. Why weren't they dissipating?

"Young lord! Yuri!"

"I know! Stay focused!"

Yuri's body had become a blazing flame. The Flame monsters that came pouring down also didn't dare attack Yuri. Their fire simply flowed into her.

Everyone was fighting, but we were all shocked. Yuri had clung to my back in fear, but now, her whole body was engulfed in flame. I was unaffected due to my flame resistance, but for others...

"Eilin! Watch out for burns!"

"I'm alright! The divinity blocks the fire!"

Come to think of it, the divine sword seemed to be keeping the fire at bay.

The squad members and even Tuji's brother were fighting hard, not even realizing the heat.

It was strange.

Does divinity normally protect against fire?

Or was this fire imbued with the attribute of darkness?

After the elevator platform had descended quite a way down the vertical shaft, flame demonic creatures finally stopped falling. We took the chance to catch our breath.

But soon enough, a spatial rift opened again, and Flame monsters began rushing in. As the elevator platform descended further, more burning monsters rained down.

Once again, I started dispatching the monsters. Yuri's power was steadily growing. This fire was clearly no ordinary blaze—it contained magic power.

"Yuri, are you okay?"

"Yeah! I'm not hot at all!"

The squad's faces filled with confusion. In fact, I hadn't revealed Yuri's true identity yet. It felt ridiculous to call this cute girl a dragon.

Yuri did have some magic power hidden in her, but her body simply hadn't been able to hold much mana. Now, the fiery mana kept flowing into her ceaselessly.

"All cleared!"

"Phew!"

Everyone sighed with relief, faces flushed from the heat. We rested for a moment, waiting. Just how much farther would this elevator platform descend?

Thunk—

At last, the elevator platform stopped.

A long corridor stretched ahead.

We stepped out, but the space here was just as hot. In the center below was a sunken space, and there were paths to the left and right. At the far end, a door.

"Big sister. There's a monster below."

"A monster?"

We all went to the opening and looked down.

Below, something was flowing—either magma or a river of crimson mana, I couldn't tell.

And while we peered down...

A blazing red aura surged up.

Kuuuaaaaargh—

With an earth-shaking roar, the gigantic head of some bull-like monster suddenly shot up.

The monster quickly began to climb up.

"Run!"

Everyone bolted down the left path. The monster pounded after us, raising a massive hand to slam it down toward us.

Kwoom—

The force of mana and flame blasted out, knocking us all flying. Before we could get up, the giant demonic beast's hand crashed down toward us again.

Kwakang—

We all dodged, barely evading its assault. But that wasn't all. The beast spotted Yuri and me and spewed a torrent of flames from its mouth—mana fire!

It was searingly hot.

But curiously, the creature seemed to be targeting Yuri. Maybe it recognized the dragon within her. Or just felt competitive.

"Donnie! Take the party and head for the door first!"

"Yes!"

Holding Yuri, I sprinted in the opposite direction. The monster followed, clearly locked onto either me or Yuri.

Even amid all this, Yuri kept absorbing the flames. Just where was all this mana going? There's no way her small body could store it all.

"Young lord! The door's open!"

"Alright!"

This flame, saturated with mana, seemed similar to the firestone—the liquefied and diluted essence of the primordial flame. The monsters above may have originated from here.

As we swung around to the right path, again the monster's hand crashed down ahead. Dodging swiftly, we kept racing. The monster climbed along the lower wall, moving to intercept.

Again, its hand came crashing down before us.

I dodged lightly, when out of nowhere, its tail whipped at us—a delayed attack.

I leaped over it, but stumbled. My body tumbled away, and in the process, I lost hold of Yuri. Then something unbelievable happened.

Yuri was floating in midair.

She flailed about, confused—then, at that very instant, the monster's hand crashed down on her.

There was no time to block.

Kwakang—

The monster's gigantic hand slammed down on Yuri. It was the kind of immense power that could have killed me instantly.

And then.

The colossal hand began to rise.

Yuri was lifting the monster's hand with both arms, her face filled with anger.

"Don't bully us!"

Yuri hugged the monster's fingers with her little arms, then leaped. At that moment!

My jaw dropped.

As Yuri charged, that immense monster was dragged along behind her—its body smashing the lower wall, scraping the floor with its other hand.

Krrhaaak—

Kwakwakwa—

Yuri dragged the monster all the way to the edge of the lower wall. "Heaa!"

With a mighty heave, she flung the monster against a dead-end wall, like tossing off a heavy load.

Kwoom—

The monster crashed into the wall and then fell limply down below.

The wall it struck was caved in.

That tiny girl had dragged that enormous beast across the chamber and slammed it right into the wall—gripping not even its hand, but just its fingers.

Even seeing it with my own eyes, I couldn't believe it.

Yuri was still panting with fury.

"Let's go! Yuri!"

"Okay!"

Still fuming, Yuri ran up to me, snorting through her nose. Even then, she was absorbing the mana of the crimson river below us.

Had she always been this strong?

Or did she gain this power here? Or was she using magic subconsciously?

The squad members were just as stunned.

They didn't ask about Yuri's true identity. I suppose they figured I had a reason for keeping it secret.

"The door opened on its own."

"Was it sealed with divinity?"

Inside the door was a large stone chamber.

It really did seem to be a king's tomb—a massive stone coffin sat beneath the altar on the other side.

Bronze statues lined the walls, all clad in armor and brandishing various weapons. There were seven in all, each with a different colored gem in its chest.

We all proceeded slowly inside.

Around the middle—

Creeeaaak— A sound rang out.

The bronze statues began to move. They stepped off their pedestals and advanced on us with clear intent to kill.

"Defend first!"

Screeeech—

A spear-wielding bronze statue charged at us. Their power and speed were tremendous. Were these ghost knights, too?

Apparently, the divinity had lifted the seal on the bronze statues. Perhaps for that reason, they didn't attack Eilin. Even though me and the squad also had divinity...

Thud—

Even when struck with a hammer, the bronze knights only staggered back a step. Only my hands hurt after hitting them. With such strength and speed, these foes would be tough to take down.

"Our attacks do nothing!"

"Just dodge for now!"

I entrusted Yuri to Eilin and headed for the stone coffin. My movement drew the bronze knights' aggro; they all rushed at me.

Kukwang—

Their hammers slammed and axes crashed down where I'd just been. As I leapt away, some stabbed with swords and spears.

Just what were these magical knights guarding? The Demon King had said he would resurrect the king. That could mean turning the dead king into a great devil.

If so, why was the seal broken by divinity? If they wanted no one to open it, they should have blocked it with divinity.

"Draw the knights away!"

"Understood!"

Aggro was drawn to whoever tried to open the coffin. So I had the squad and Tuji's brother distract them, while I waited for my chance to open the stone coffin.

This was much more dangerous than dealing with the Guardian. The Guardian could kill in a single blow, but there was only one. Here, there were seven with similar power and speed.

The squad herded the bronze knights into a corner. Time worked against us, so even if it was risky, we needed to create an opening quickly.

In the meantime—

I quickly approached the coffin and pushed the lid with all my strength. It wouldn't budge. But it, too, responded to divinity.

"Eilin!"

"I'm coming!"

"Not now!"

Two bronze knights attacked me, so I dodged in haste. Retreating behind the coffin to the altar, I lured the knights with me. At that moment, Eilin pressed close to the coffin.

The coffin began to shine.

A magic seal glowed fiercely from its symbols, filling the entire chamber with light.

Kukung— kreeeeak.

All the bronze knights suddenly stopped.

Frozen in their attack stances.

Identical light glimmered on their bodies as well. The rest of us took off our helmets and wiped away sweat, evidence of our tension and focus.

Krrrrng—

With a mighty shove, the coffin's lid opened.

Instantly, a blinding light burst forth.

The light struck deep within us, but there was no pain. It didn't seem to be magic. Blinded, we all turned aside, then barely managed to look into the coffin.

Inside lay a half-decayed skeleton, in ragged king's clothes and a crown. The bony hands clasped a sword atop the chest.

And then.

Light rose gently from the bones, slowly coalescing into a human figure—not a skeleton, but a person.

We all stared in awe at the apparition.

Golden armor, golden sword, a crimson mantle over the shoulders, and a crown. The form was faint, but human.

Even this spectral apparition gave off a light of unfamiliar quality. It felt like divinity, but also like darkness—a power similar to magic, too.

― Hear me, you who have awakened me.

We all gazed at the strange apparition.

It didn't feel like a soul. More like a lingering memory that refused to vanish—a consciousness persisting on its own.

― Find the seven stones of the gods. One who seeks to rule the world shall obtain it. One who seeks to save the world shall save it.

"The stones of the gods—what are they..."

― I am a bearer of primordial power. To those who awakened me, I now confer this power. All who serve me shall follow you.

The apparition became light and ascended toward the ceiling.

Everyone looked up.

The light split into seven stars and embedded itself in the ceiling.

Four in the center.

Two on the left. One on the right.

The lights sparkled for a moment, then disappeared. Did those seven stars represent constellations? Or did they mark the location of the stones of the gods?

Among the four central stars, three were clustered together and one was below them. The other three were farther apart. That didn't tell us where the stones were.

The stones of the gods.

I'd never heard of such a thing.

Primordial power—same.

"Young lord, sir."

"You have any guesses?"

"Could the primordial power refer to the power the ghost knights wield?"

"That could be."

It was certainly a type of magic power. But it wasn't dark power. Nor was it simple divinity.

So what was this primordial power really?

He said he'd bestowed it upon us.

If we really possessed that power now, would the ghost knights obey us? It doesn't feel like I received anything in particular, but...

"Um, I think primordial power is like divinity."

"Divinity?"

That was Eilin's conjecture.

She might be right.

"What makes you think so?"

"The seals all opened to divinity, but nothing happened in the presence of darkness. There's definitely darkness here, but it didn't affect anything. That's what got me thinking."

Everyone looked at Eilin.

She continued.

"Could it be the primordial divinity?"

"Primordial divinity?"

"Yes. The divinity before it was separated into light and darkness. In a fairy tale I once read, the god became corrupted and turned into a devil."

Eilin's theory sounded plausible.

Perhaps, in primordial times, light and darkness were one. Then later, divinity was split into light and darkness.

The ancient king had said this:

A would-be ruler shall obtain the world; a would-be savior shall save it.

Whether the power in the stones of the gods is used to conquer or save the world doesn't matter. It means the stones don't distinguish good from evil.

In other words, one who collects these stones could rule the world. The devils, who possess dark divinity, surely sought the stones of the gods as well.

Could the division among the heroes have been because of this? Maybe it wasn't about saving the world, but ruling it. The mastermind could even have been Hanuk, the Holy Knight.

Then Hanuk and the Holy Kingdom, spreading the prophecy to rule the world, were likely intertwined with this legend. The grand duke's house might already possess a divine stone.

If Hanuk possessed a stone of the gods, that stone would have passed down through the grand duke's family. Perhaps their ambitions for the world began there.

As I was pondering—

The ground began to shake.

In the distance, a rumbling sound echoed.

"The underground's about to collapse!"

I quickly searched the coffin.

Who knows when the ancient king had conferred the primordial power to us, but in any case, I needed to take back the relics.

Clack— Kukung.

Hearing a noise behind me, I turned around.

Everyone gasped in astonishment.

The seven bronze knights were kneeling on one knee, each bowing respectfully to us.

All I had done was pick up the crown.