Wolves of Hader

Chapter 136

The Guardian sprang up in alarm.

Almost simultaneously, my sword was pointed at him, and the rest of the team rushed toward him all at once.

The Guardian hastily escaped from where he'd stood. But the arrows from the Tuji brothers and Lok were faster than his speed.

Twong—

Uson and Lok's arrows struck the Guardian's body, but they bounced off. As if to say that level of assault was nothing.

"Allen! Smash the boulder over there!"

"Got it!"

Allen, who had been chasing the Guardian, ran to break the rock that could become the Guardian's armor. I started gathering the scattered shards of mana crystals from the ground into my magic pouch.

It happened to be right in front of the Ice Barrier that Bellen had set up, so I looked inside. Bellen was healing Oren, using the healing skill "Hand of Earth" that she had received from the Iki Tribe.

"Oren, are you okay?"

"Yes! I'm finding it a bit hard to breathe because I spit out blood! But there are no fractures or spinal injuries!"

"Alright. Finish up the healing and come out."

"Okay!"

I resumed collecting shards. The Guardian showed no sign of attacking me, so I figured gathering shards was the safest thing to do. He must have sensed my mana.

The others mercilessly pressed the Guardian. Although only his transparent silhouette could be seen, it was undeniably human-shaped. Or perhaps Elin.

Why is there a Guardian in human form?

Maybe that's what they meant by saying his intelligence was high.

Thud—

One officer collided with the wall next to me and collapsed. I quickly moved him behind the ice wall. When I checked on Oren again, his complexion had returned to normal.

Except for myself and the Elin siblings, everyone had been thrown down at least once. They probably had considerable internal injuries, but everyone was holding on without fainting.

We persistently wore down the Guardian, and he was steadily accumulating wounds, just as we were accumulating internal injuries. His magic power was steadily weakening as well.

Allen had shattered all the rocks. I had collected half the mana shards. The only thing left that could serve as his armor was marble. Useless as defense.

Because of that, the Guardian did nothing but evade our attacks and run away. For reasons unknown, he couldn't leave this chamber. Just what kind of being was he?

"Herd him to the left!"

"Don't just cluster up, drive him!"

Boomf—

One of the team members was sent flying into a wall.

He didn't throw them; he batted them away.

The Guardian was that flustered.

"Melee attacks aren't working. Leave it to the ranged assault!"

"Yes!"

The Guardian was so fast that I couldn't catch up, but he was vulnerable to the arrows of the Tuji brothers and Lok. Already, more than six arrows had hit their target.

If I cleared away all the shards, our mana would be exhausted. But I couldn't let my guard down. He could run amok or explode, just like previous guardians.

Puvuvump—

"Damn it!"

"Ugh!"

Allen and two officers were struck by a powerful blow and sent flying to the right. He had whipped a strand of strength like a lash. He must have figured out that swinging was more effective.

We didn't just watch, though. While he knocked down those three, arrows from Uson and Lok lodged in the Guardian's torso. Unlike before, the arrows didn't bounce off.

Having gathered all the shards, I rejoined the team's assault. The Guardian didn't come near me. He dodged immediately when Allen and Donnie approached as well.

There was still no sign of a rampage.

The Guardian here had incredible ability, making him tough to subdue, but in truth, his substance was weak.

"Young lord!"

"What?"

"He keeps reaching for the floor!"

"The floor?"

That was Hans shouting.

Come to think of it, the Guardian did keep trying to reach for the floor. If he failed under attack, he would move and try again.

There's something under the floor.

It seems like there are pre-made subordinate monsters underground! Something so big it'd take a huge surge of power to move!

I scrutinized the chamber.

Unlike the previous guardian's chamber, there were no visible passageways. Perhaps there was a route leading below.

A place blocked off by a wide slab of marble. There was only one spot we hadn't stepped on since we arrived.

The stairs we came down from!

I sprinted over.

At that moment, five tendrils of force came flying at me.

I dashed forward and leapt. The force whips that tried to strike me only sliced through empty air. Then I brought down my feet, channeling mana powerfully through them.

Crash-boom—

The marble floor shattered and instantly caved in. I fell quickly and rolled to the lower level.

"Keep holding him off!"

"Yes!"

I leapt down again. The Guardian had blocked the stairs that led downward with a big marble slab.

Soon, a huge steel door came into view!

I rushed straight at it.

With immense mana channeled through my legs!

Kwang—

It was a really heavy steel door.

Even kicking it, I could barely push it open a hand's width. Only when I pushed with all my might using both hands did it start to open little by little.

Screeeech—

Without my magic gloves, I wouldn't have been able to open that steel door with my strength. I slipped through, barely wide enough for my body.

I entered carefully.

And stopped short the moment I entered.

This was...

An immense treasure hoard piled up before me.

Gold coins and unfamiliar coins had formed a massive hill.

But there was something even more astonishing.

A huge, pitch-black skeleton.

It looked almost like the bones of a dinosaur.

As if it had made a nest of treasure, a strange skeleton, nothing but bone, lay toppled to the side. And it wasn't just any kind of bone—it was metal. A metallic substance I'd never seen before.

Did he intend to awaken this skeleton?

If the Guardian tried to move this gigantic skeleton, it would have burst up through the ceiling above.

What were these bluish coins?

I picked up a blue coin from the ground. Strangely, the coin contained mana.

It was only a matter of time until we captured the Guardian.

But the officers would inevitably see this treasure. I had to at least reduce its size. It was a bit embarrassing, but...

I pulled out my magic pouch and began sweeping up the gold coins. There was so much treasure that it would probably take a whole day to collect it all.

"Young lord! Are you alright?"

"I'm fine! There's a monster below, so make sure he can't send power down!"

"Understood!"

"Hey, Roger! What's down there?"

"A monster! Don't come down! It's dangerous!"

I swept up the blue coins first. Just the volume of gold coins compared to the amount stored in Dran's capital. Was there really that much gold in the world?

The gold seams of the whole continent had dried up, and accordingly, the number of gold coins in circulation was large. But if every Guardian's lair had gold coins to this extent, something was strange.

Maybe someone long ago acquired gold coins from a Guardian's lair and released them into circulation. If not...

Wait a minute. Maybe that actually happened?

The first Emperor was the eldest son of a poor family in the western mountains, once a hunter. The record that he was born as the son of God and united the continent was just a fabricated founding myth.

Anyway, that hunter's family is the root of our house as well. There is a record that the Emperor's youngest brother was the first to bond with a Hader wolf.

That youngest brother is our family's first head of house. The three imperial brothers conquered the continent and founded the empire. The second brother became the founder of the Syren family.

It is said that the Emperor was exceptionally strong.

While there had been transcendent powerhouses before, he was the first to be called the Sword of Light.

It looks like the Emperor took the demon's essence. Afterwards, he might have slain the "legendary devil" — that is, the Guardian — in the western mountains.

There are two demon's essences discovered on this continent. One in the north. Another in the west. The demon's essence in the west was thought to have been taken by Art Syren.

The origin of that essence could be the first Emperor. Upon death, a demon's essence remains. The first Emperor's legacy seems to have gone to the second, of the Syren bloodline.

You'll know when you go to the western mountains.

If there's no Guardian there, it's certain.

No matter how much I gathered, it was endless.

Should I reveal it and divide it fairly among all? If word got out that treasure was hidden in Guardian lairs, it'd be a problem.

Just then—

"Got him!"

"elder brother Roger! We caught him!"

No helping it.

I'd have to swear them to secrecy.

I left the treasure chamber.

As I ran up the stairs, Allen was rushing down gleefully. He must have caught on as well.

"What's down there? Is it that thing?"

"Allen! Watch your back!"

"What? What is it—?"

Thwack—

I smacked the back of Allen's head as he turned around.

I grabbed him by the waist of his armor as he fell unconscious and carried him up. Donnie was coming down too.

"Go down and grab as much as you can."

"Understood."

The other team members were slyly blocking the way to the stairs, having caught on too. The rest were more interested in the captured Guardian. Maybe they just didn't understand the situation yet.

I spoke to our youngest, Nabak.

"You have a sleeping agent?"

"I do."

"Put Allen to sleep. He needs to rest straight through until tomorrow morning."

"Okay."

I entered the chamber.

To my surprise, an elderly man was lying on the floor.

He looked grotesque indeed.

His face was little more than a skull.

His clothes were tattered and rotting off his decaying, fetid flesh.

This guardian, who resembled a human, had completely exhausted his mana and finally surrendered. He'd been struck by Uson's arrows a full twelve times, and there were over twenty holes made by Arrows of Light.

― Please... spare me.

A strange resonance.

His voice reached out through an elemental.

He was alive, and yet not among the living.

Everyone was baffled by this bizarre being. He looked like a person, but stood nearly three meters tall. His facial and bodily structure was strikingly different from a human's as well.

"What manner of being are you?"

The old man fixed his gaze on me.

He mouthed words in silence.

― I am the Guardian.

"Whose?"

― A great Asgard's Guardian.

"Who's that?"

― The master of this palace.

Everyone was looking only at me.

It seemed the old man spoke only to me.

"Is that huge skeleton Asgard?"

― Yes. My master.

"Asgard—is he a monster?"

The old man's eyes narrowed.

― Lord Asgard is a great dragon.

"What!?"

I was stunned.

That was a dragon's skeleton?

Then this palace was a dragon's nest?

"Why do you still guard your already-dead master?"

― It was Lord Asgard's dying command. No one was to set foot in this palace.

"But you yourself seem to be dead."

― I am an immortal being.

No. He was dead.

A strong, sinister force emanated from his body.

"Is there a door somewhere in this place?"

― You mean the five doors?

"Yeah. There should be a small door."

― That door is where Lord Asgard shall be resurrected. I cannot reveal it.

Something felt a bit off.

"Did Asgard make you immortal?"

― Yes. I died and was resurrected. Asgard's spirit lingered to give me his last command, then departed.

"And so you remained here all this time?"

― Indeed.

He gestured at the chamber.

"Why are you unable to leave this place?"

― To fulfill Lord Asgard's command.

"That's not it. You're bound by something — you can't go beyond this chamber. And it's not Asgard who chained you here. It's others."

The old man stared fixedly at me.

― Don't try to deceive me.

"You are the one who's been deceived. The soul you saw wasn't Asgard. They've taken Asgard's form to trick you and make you the guardian of this palace."

― Lies.

"Do you know who's tricked you?"

The old man's eyes wavered.

His conviction seemed to be shaking.

"Devils did it."

The old man just looked quietly at me.

But the response came from elsewhere.

"Devils? What do you mean?"

"What exactly is Asgard?"

"I'll explain it gradually.

I continued, looking at the old man.

"You've been tricked by devils into guarding this palace to this day. Asgard will not be resurrected. He's been dead a long time."

This old man was from the era of war against devils. He must have been tremendously powerful. He was captured then and ended up like this, trapped here for over a thousand years.

Finally, the old man asked,

― If I was deceived by devils... why?

"Because there's a demon gate here."

"What!?"

"The demon gate—!"

The officers were shocked.

I continued.

"Where are those five doors?"

― I cannot tell you.

"Asgard is not coming back. You were made to guard the demon gate. It was devils who made it so you could neither live nor die."

The old man gazed at me blankly.

He looked as if tears would fall. But as he was already dead, tears would not flow.

"You are under a wicked spell. That's a power of darkness. Only you don't realize it."

― No. That cannot be...

"Shall I prove it? I have a bit of divine power. What do you think will happen if I touch you with this hand?"

― Don't. Please don't...

Sss—

As I touched his arm, part of it instantly turned to ash and scattered. The others were astonished.

The old man simply gazed at his arm, crumbling into ash. His expression was as if his entire world had been shattered, all he had protected for so long destroyed in an instant.

This old man was a mage.

Most likely a giant from Gadisil.

A race said to have perished long ago.