Chapter 135: Home (III)

The spring continent was awash with a pale green hue and warm sunlight. As clear weather persisted, a small black dot descended from the sky. Initially tiny, it gradually grew larger—it astonishingly turned out to be a person, or more precisely, Genelocer shaped like one.

“Louisss!” Genelocer joyously called his son’s name while plummeting through the air. His voice resonated throughout the melting mountains, startling animals that scrambled away in fright. However, Genelocer paid them no heed.

Thud.

Genelocer landed so lightly that it was hard to believe he had fallen from such a dizzying height. He immediately dashed off as soon as his feet touched the ground—after all, he wanted to get back to his cute son waiting at home.

Bang!

The dragon burst through the door of their lair with gusto.

“Aroooh! Daddy’s home!” His voice echoed throughout every corner of their abode.

“My boy? Where are you?”

Unable to contain his joy, Genelocer bounded around the lair, searching high and low for Louis.

“Sweetie, are you here?”

He first checked Louis’s bedroom, but only cold air greeted him there. Realizing no one was present, he swiftly made his way to the study instead.

“My darling, are you in here?”

Louis usually enjoyed reading books, so Genelocer thought he might be in his study. However, there was no sign of his son even there.

“Oh!” An idea struck him then, and with a smile on his face, he rushed off again.

This time, he went to one of his treasure troves—the place Louis liked second only to the library—where he often swam amidst mountains of gold coins when bored.

“Ahhgghh!”

He flung open the door to the treasury, but it too stood empty.

“What?” Confused, Genelocer tilted his head curiously.

Realizing that he had multiple treasuries, he searched each one for his son. Yet despite checking every single room, Louis remained nowhere to be found.

He searched everywhere, from the dining hall to Louis’s laboratory. Despite turning the lair upside down, he still couldn’t find his son.

Where could he have gone?

Genelocer extended his senses throughout the lair in an effort to locate Louis. But…

“He’s not here?” Genelocer frowned when he failed to detect his son’s presence.

Where did he go…? Did he leave the castle?

It was possible; Louis sometimes went outside for walks or training.

“Hmm… Oh!” After a moment of contemplation, Genelocer pulled something out from within his robes: the communication stone he had given Louis before leaving for the Silver Flower Castle. Without hesitation, he channeled elemental energy into it.

Buzz… buzz…

The communication stone emitted faint vibrations and glowed with a soft light. Genelocer waited anxiously for Louis’s response, but there was no reaction from the stone. Little did he know that Louis was trapped by a barrier that even blocked the communication stones. All Genelocer could do was wait endlessly for a signal.

After what seemed like an eternity, he finally realized something was amiss.

“Louis…?”

Having returned home after years away, he couldn’t find his son anywhere. The fact that even the communication stone, which he had given to Louis as a precaution, was unresponsive only added to his growing concern. His face hardened with worry as he rushed outside.

“Louis! Where are you?!”

Once again, Genelocer’s voice echoed throughout the mountain range, sounding completely different from how joyful he had been earlier. Now his voice was filled with nothing but worry and concern.

He searched endlessly for his son.

“Louis!”

Thinking that perhaps there might have been something he missed, he circled around their lair several times.

“Luuuis!”

No matter where he looked, Louis wasn’t anywhere to be found, and Genelocer’s face gradually paled.

“Louis!”

His unanswered calls continued.

“Louis! Answer me!”

The frantic father running back and forth while desperately calling his son’s name appeared to be on the verge of madness.

The first thing Louis did for Plan B was draw another spatial movement crystal.

If the barrier fails, we’ll use this to leave immediately.

This crystal would serve as their emergency escape route if something went wrong when breaking through the barrier. After perfectly drawing the crystal, Louis gathered his twin sister and Fin in one place.

“You two stay here.”

“What about you, Lord Louis?”

“I’m going to break down the barrier.”

“Can’t we help?”

“No. We don’t know what might happen. I can always flee using space movement by myself, so don’t worry about me.”

“But still…”

“It’s alright. Stay here. Don’t fret too much.”

”…Understood.”

Fin nodded as if she had no choice. She understood that both herself and her twin could be a burden to Louis.

“Well then, I’m leaving my twins in your care.”

“Yes, sir!” Fin took charge of the twins while Louis gave his final instructions.

Whoosh!

Louis arrived at the lake via spatial movement. He looked down into its transparent waters before taking a deep breath.

“Whew… All right, let’s go.” After inhaling deeply, he dove into the lake. Before long, something translucent blocked his path ahead.

The hard sensation against his fingertips intensified his gaze.

Tak.

I just need to break through this.

Then this journey would finally come to an end. Louis steeled himself with determination.

Last time was a failure, but this time I must succeed.

Louis activated his Dragon Heart.

A fierce energy surged from his entire body.

In response, the water of the dam reservoir began to whirl.

Within the violent vortex, Louis quietly extended both hands forward.

Soon, black energy started coalescing between his palms.

It gradually rose higher, forming a thick pillar that continued to grow until it took on a distinct shape.

Moments later, something fully formed before him.

It was none other than a sword.

With a width of 40 centimeters and an astonishing length of 10 meters, it was an immense blade.

This wasn’t merely a sword-shaped object; it represented the purification of various sacred scriptures created by Louis.

Louis began channeling energy into the structured space he had shaped.

Fwssshhh…

A black aura spread like flames from the hilt of the sword.

If Pablo could see this, he would have been astonished and cried out:

A Sungang!

The black stream, over ten meters tall, was absorbed by the blade. The fully absorbed Sungang resembled a flame trapped within ice.

What happened next around the sword was also extraordinary.

Hwoooosh.

Water vapor formed around the sword. The heat was so intense that any water near it instantly evaporated.

This phenomenon occurred due to friction between spaces.

The energy of Sungang contained within the castle continuously formed small spaces that constantly collided with each other. The friction and collision energy generated from this process was converted into heat.

This heat was so intense that it instantly vaporized the lake water, creating a dense fog.

As Louis observed this phenomenon, the corners of his mouth curved upwards in satisfaction.

It’s done!

In his hand materialized the purification of Sacred and Demonic Scriptures—a new technique he had created after realizing the Hero King’s forbidden magic and surpassing tier 1.

Louis named this ability ‘top tier’ (Extreme Fire Sword).

Moreover, the fact that his sacred scripture took on the shape of a sword was also due to memories from the past.

In the winter continent, the Hero King had struck Louis with a sword of light. The intense memory of this near-death experience remained etched in Louis’s mind and shaped his first Sacred Scripture.

Hwoom.

Louis smiled at the resonating cry from the blade as if it were begging to be released.

Go forth.

As he extended both hands, the massive sword moved forward.

The barrier protecting the center axis was also spatially attributed. Louis attempted to break through it using brute force alone.

Whoom!

With a rough roar, the sword dropped straight down. Its speed wasn’t too fast or too slow; even an ordinary person could have easily avoided it. Of course, that didn’t mean its power was weak by any means.

Instead, it was utterly astonishing.

Shwaaak!

The sword descended, cleaving space itself, as water from the dam reservoir began surging into the rift.

And finally…

Kraaaaang!

The slowly falling blade sliced through the protective barrier at the core.

No, “sliced” wasn’t quite right—it shattered it.

In that instant, the heat contained within Extreme Fire Sword erupted, vaporizing every drop of water in the lake with a single strike.

A dense fog settled over everything, making visibility impossible. Yet Louis’s eyes remained cautious, as if waiting for something.

Crack!

Ping!

Soon after came a clear, crisp sound like shattering glass. At this, Louis’s face broke into a smile.

“It worked!”

The sound from earlier must have been his attack shattering the protective barrier and disrupting the crystal’s core axis. Louis had achieved his goal. All that remained was to escape the island with the twins.

“Alright, let’s make a run for it…”

Louis was about to head towards where Fin and the twins were when he suddenly stopped in his tracks.

”…?!” His eyes widened in shock. “Wh-what is this?”

As soon as the shield broke, he was astounded by the immense density of mana emanating from the center of the crystal formation.

How can there be so much mana here?

This wasn’t your average mana concentration. It was so high that the Dragon Heart instantly felt refreshed, as if drinking pure spring water.

Fwsh…

Soon, the mist that had been lying over the center of the lake was pushed away by a wind coming from inside it.

“Ugh!”

Louis briefly covered his eyes with his hand at the sudden gust before quickly lowering it again and facing forward. A bewildered sound escaped his lips:

”…Huh?”

He couldn’t tear his gaze away from what lay ahead—the dam reservoir’s water had vanished entirely, revealing an enormous crystal beneath.

The sight froze Louis in place.

“Huh…?”

Hidden within the protective barrier, this massive presence suddenly radiated outward. The colossal crystal concealed behind the shield now revealed itself fully. Cracks marred its surface where Louis’s attack had struck, and an overwhelming aura seeped out through these fissures.

”…What?”

If Louis were an ordinary being, he might have crumpled to his knees from this overwhelming pressure alone. But Louis was different; such energy was all too familiar to him.

A murmur escaped his lips:

“D-dragon?”

The enormous creature trapped within the crystal was none other than a dragon—one with pure white scales no less. Though it lay curled up, its sheer size left no doubt that it must be a castle dragon.

Is it alive?

He wondered if perhaps it had died, but that wasn’t the case either. The dragon inside the crystal was breathing—its eyes merely closed as though in death.

As Louis gazed at the dragon encased in crystal, he felt an odd sense of déjà vu.

“Oh…”

It was gripping, comforting, and utterly welcome—a sensation so familiar it stirred something deep within Louis after what seemed like ages since their last encounter.

As if possessed by some unseen force, Louis slowly approached Cris.

Despite the unfamiliar presence drawing near, the dragon remained fast asleep.

Squelch, squelch.

Louis trudged through the muddy path, his feet freezing as he reached the crystal. He cautiously extended his hand towards it.

A cold, rigid sensation traveled up his fingers from the icy surface.

”…”

In spite of the frigid touch, Louis couldn’t tear his gaze away from the dragon trapped within the crystal. As their eyes met—his open, hers closed—a gasp escaped his lips.

“Ohhh…”

It was an aura so dearly familiar and comforting. And there she was, a being with pure white scales just like him. No one had told him her identity, yet his instincts were unmistakably clear.

He murmured softly:

”…Is that you, Mother?”