Chapter 133: Home (I)

It was the day Louis and the twins had crash-landed on a strange island due to their spatial movement error.

A black dot appeared on the calm sea surface that looked peaceful with its gentle waves.

The sudden appearance of this black dot in mid-air seemed almost like an optical illusion.

Then something peculiar began to happen.

Th-th-that is—

As the black dot gradually moved sideways, it started leaving a trail behind it.

In empty space, no less.

Little by little.

Bit by bit.

Drawing a mere 10 cm-long line took several hours.

Anyone watching would have felt frustrated at this snail-like pace.

Despite this, the dot didn’t stop but continued drawing lines.

After about a full day, there was now a thick line spanning one meter across the void.

Th-th-that is—

Day after day…

The dot didn’t rest for a moment, continuously extending lines. After about a month, an indiscernible picture was floating in mid-air. Another three months passed before vague outlines began to appear. Time continued to flow by.

Rain fell and wind blew, but the black dot never paused for even a second.

Half a year.

That is—

Nine months.

That is—

One year.

That is—

In this manner, when the black dot had been hovering in space for one whole year and six months:

A massive drawing now filled the air.

It was colossal, reaching fifteen meters in height.

With a carapace resembling stone and twelve legs that seemed like feelers, it looked like some grotesque hybrid of a crab and an octopus.

Despite all the lines having formed into a perfect shape, the dot still continued its work.

The final touch to breathe life into the drawing—the coup de grâce.

I was in the midst of adding the eyes that would bring it to life.

Two more days passed.

One, two, three.

Three elongated eyes were drawn on the massive back.

Beep beep.

And when the fourth eye was completed—

Zzzt!

A beam of light erupted from the illustration in mid-air.

With this, a whirlwind began to form around the pillar of light.

The once placid surface now churned as if caught in a raging tempest.

Swishhh…

The drawing absorbed the light.

As the glow dimmed, life began to stir within what had been nothing more than a collection of black lines.

Krak, krak!

From the central line emerged bones, flesh grew over them, and finally, a gray sheen spread across the entire figure.

Everything unfolded in perfect sequence, mirroring the strokes of a grand painting.

And then, at last,

Four eyes came alive with vitality.

Boom!

A colossal creature plunged into the sea, creating an enormous water spout.

The towering column of water rose high before subsiding, leaving the ocean calm once more.

It was as if the entire spectacle had been nothing but a hallucination.

Yet this was reality.

What followed would prove it beyond doubt.

Bubbling sounds…

Four eyeballs emerged above the surface.

They were abhorrent orbs, devoid of any white—just pure blackness.

Those dark eyes fixed upon a single point, emitting a chilling sound:

“Kill… Must kill…”

The low, ominous voice resonated like echoes from some subterranean cave.

“Awake and follow me…”

The deep voice spread outwards, its waves reaching every corner of the sea.

The sea began to churn simultaneously.

Gurgle-gurgle.

White foam erupted from four eyes scattered across the ocean.

This eerie message repeated endlessly as the four eyes cut through the water, leaving trails of froth in their wake. The sheer volume of bubbles made it seem as if the entire sea was boiling.

Suddenly…

Thud!

The four eyes halted, as if blocked by some invisible force. Yet they continued to mutter incessantly:

The chilling chant echoed on ad infinitum.

And at the end of where those four eyes were gazing—

There lay a green island.

Unaware of what was unfolding beyond the barrier, Louis realized that reaching top tier was his only ticket off this island prison. He devoted himself tirelessly to training day and night.

At first, he struggled to grasp any concept, but as he unraveled the secrets behind the Hero King’s forbidden magic, progress began to show.

If the Hero King’s forbidden magic involves artificially replicating a Dragon Heart-like mechanism…

Then there was no need to overcomplicate matters. For humans to mimic a Dragon Heart so accurately, they must have received assistance from dragons themselves. Creating such a close replica through sheer imagination alone seemed implausible.

I should focus on understanding how these mana hearts operate.

The Hero King’s mana heart was clearly modeled after a dragon’s heart but performed too poorly in comparison. To compensate for this shortcoming, he developed highly efficient ways of utilizing his mana heart.

This confirms it beyond any doubt. The Dragon Heart is undoubtedly an exceptional organ, but I’ve been using it far too inefficiently.

It wasn’t just Louis; all dragons likely used their hearts similarly. Since the Dragon Heart could never be depleted no matter how much one drew upon it, there had never been any need to conserve energy or use it efficiently.

If a mana heart produced twice as much power with half the input (2x efficiency), then a dragon heart would produce seven times as much power with ten times the input (0.7x efficiency). Despite such poor utilization, the sheer power of the Dragon Heart still overshadowed that of the mana heart.

What if I adapt the Hero King’s forbidden magic to suit my needs?

If that were possible…

I might catch a glimpse of an entirely new realm.

This thought drove Louis to continue delving deeper into the operation of the Hero King’s mana heart.

Who knows how much time passed when suddenly, inspiration struck him.

“Do we really need to distinguish between sacred and forbidden magic?”

Typically, saints mastered both types separately before using them accordingly. However, Louis had another idea.

Sacred can be like forbidden, and forbidden can be like sacred—right?

His thoughts expanded further.

Considering the unrestricted nature of the Hero King’s forbidden magic…

Having seized upon this small thread of insight, Louis rose from his seat with newfound purpose.

Sacred Scripture is the process of extracting accumulated elemental power from within the body and transforming it into a new form externally.

On the other hand, Demonic Scripture was entirely different.

Demonic Scripture involves refining elemental power and accumulating it within the body to strengthen one’s physical abilities.

While they started similarly, their development diverged due to how each handled elemental power.

But what if instead of strengthening the body through Demonic Scripture methods, I were to enhance Sacred Scripture…?

Louis calmly activated his Dragon Heart.

Normally, the elemental power emitted by the Dragon Heart would immediately be released outward to compose Sacred Scripture. However, this time was different.

With composure, Louis raised his hand.

As he did so, the elemental power surging from the Dragon Heart flowed towards his arm.

Louis refined and compressed it—much like one would apply ordinary Demonic Scripture techniques. Typically, such purified elemental power would be used to enhance physical attributes. But that wasn’t Louis’s choice this time.

If I were to treat each of my body’s cells as circuits for manifesting holy magic…

This was something an average being wouldn’t even attempt. If they tried, their body would have been destroyed before they could even cast the spell. However, Louis trusted in his dragon physique and durability enough to take on this challenge. And his spirit shone through in this daring endeavor.

Tzzt-tzzt-tzzt.

A small magic circle appeared briefly from Louis’s arm.

Hwoooom.

Louis looked down at his arm, which was emitting a faint weeping sound, and casually swung it through the air.

His hand moved with the lightness of chasing after a Nabi, but the result was far from insignificant.

Crack!

Space shattered, and the air distorted as if struck by an invisible force.

Despite using this sacred scripture frequently, even Louis was taken aback by what happened next.

I still have power left?!

He swiftly followed up with more swings:

Once.

Crack!

Twice.

Crack!

Three times.

Crack!

And continued for several more gestures.

In total, he managed five strikes.

This filled Louis with immense joy.

A sacred scripture with five times the elemental power of a single casting?!

This was the result of simply eliminating the boundary between sacred and demonic scriptures. It couldn’t help but thrill him even more.

And if we add the Hero King’s method of utilizing mana hearts…

What would the outcome be then? Even Louis couldn’t guarantee it. His eyes sparkled.

“I’ve found it.”

The corners of Louis’s mouth curled up in delight. After much deliberation, he had finally discovered the key. Upon reaching top tier, he could create his own unique blend of sacred and demonic scriptures.

Fin gazed at the wooden castle with concern.

“Master Louis…”

It had been several months since Louis began his training regimen. During this time, he hadn’t shown himself outside the castle even once. Fin worried about her master, but she couldn’t interfere with his practice. All she could do was pray for him to emerge soon.

One day, as she continued waiting:

Boom!

A loud explosion shook the ground beneath her feet.

“Huh?!”

Startled, Fin looked up towards the source of the vibration.

That direction…!

The cause was none other than the wooden castle—the very same structure where Louis had been training all along.

Alarmed, Fin cried out:

“My lord!”

Fin flew towards their treehouse with a pale face. The twins rushed after her, their faces smeared with dirt from who knows where they’d been playing.

Vrrr.

The vibrations continued unabated. After several minutes of trembling, the wooden castle suddenly collapsed.

At this sight, Fin let out a scream.

“Louis! My looove!” It was the cry of someone worried for their owner’s safety.

In that moment, something pure white appeared before Fin out of nowhere.

Whoosh!

Louis materialized out of thin air right in front of her. Fin’s eyes widened as she gaped at him.

“Long time no see, Fin.”

“L-Louis?”

“What is it?”

“Well… That thing just now…”

Louis chuckled lightly and rolled his foot.

Bam!

His figure reappeared ten meters away.

“Huh?!” Fin’s jaw dropped as Louis reappeared through space in an instant.

Her bewilderment quickly gave way to joy, and she exclaimed, “Y-you’ve succeeded!”

She had no idea how Louis managed spatial movement without using a magic circle. However, she was well aware that one must be at least top tier to wield such power—a fact that implied…

“At your age, already top tier?”

It meant Louis had reached the pinnacle of powerhouses.

As Fin flapped her wings excitedly, unable to contain her happiness, Louis simply smiled at her.

Catching her breath, Fin cautiously asked, “So what happened to the castle…?”

“Oh, I was just experimenting with my new Sacred Scripture when I lost control.”

“Ah-ha!” Fin nodded with understanding.

Of course, that could happen, her expression seemed to say.

However, there were some who couldn’t accept this:

“Hieeeeng! Our castle!”

“Waaaahhh! The secret base we made!”

The twins looked like they had lost everything as they sat down dejectedly, watching their wooden fortress crumble to pieces. They glared at Louis and cried out:

“Louis is bad!”

“He destroyed our castle!”

“We worked so hard on it!”

“It was Louis who broke it!”

Seeing the tearful twins, Louis scratched his cheek awkwardly.

“Uh… umm… should I give you some sweets?”

He then pulled out a few candies from his pocket dimension and offered them to the twins, who snatched them up quickly.

Chomp-chomp.

The twins’ bad mood vanished as if it had never been, replaced by the sweetness of the treats. While they were preoccupied with their first taste of sugar in ages, Louis spoke up.

“Once you’re done eating those, we should get ready.”

“Get ready?”

“Ready for what?”

Louis chuckled at their questions.

“Oh, not really any special preparations…” His smile grew even wider. “I simply mean getting ready to go home.”

”…?”

“Heh-heh-heh.”

It was the exact two-year mark since they’d crashed on this strange island. With that, Louis completed his final task before returning home.