The Hero Becomes the Duke’s Eldest Son

Chapter 149

While Curse was engaging in some inexplicable actions in his spirit form, Aden was dreaming.

The first thing that appeared in his vision was a single color.

‘Red.’

Everything around him was red.

A crimson sky, as if blood was pouring down like rain instead of water.

Below that sky, a red river and equally red flowers bloomed in abundance, spreading a red hue to the horizon.

Bubble, bubble.

The river of blood was bubbling and flowing.

-Crroooaaaar!

-Uuuaaahhh!

Wraiths flailing in agony, trapped in the river of blood, screamed in soul-piercing agony.

Aden turned his gaze to the red flowers he was standing on.

-Uuuaaahhh…

-Ooohh…

Each flower had a monstrous face where its eyes should be. These eyeless, human-faced flowers could see nothing and wailed like elderly people babbling.

Aden calmly speculated on where he was.

“Is this hell?”

-How rude, calling someone else’s home peaceful! But, you’re not entirely wrong! Haha!

A cheerful voice came from beside him, making him turn his head.

There, Aden saw for the first time—a woman resembling an ogre priestess with horns—wearing a monster mask that was fiercely grotesque. She brought her face right up to his and yelled, “Grrr!”

-How was that! Did I surprise you…?

Thwack!

Before the masked woman could finish her sentence, Aden’s fist struck her in the solar plexus, sending her flying with a “Kyah!” and landing in the flower field.

Thud.

She crashed face-first into the field of red flowers, which continued their mournful wails.

-…

“Sorry, it was such a surprise that my fist reacted on its own.”

-Puh! Ah, I got petals in my mouth! Ptui, ptui!

Covered in red petals, the woman brushed off the flowers clinging to her excessively large red priestess robe. Despite having just taken a punch, she laughed cheerfully.

-You’re quite the amusing young man! Quite rough with your greetings! But I bet you already know who I am, don’t you?

“Yeah.”

Aden, still frowning slightly, looked at the woman with cold eyes.

As soon as he had entered this space, for some reason, he knew exactly where he was and who she was. It felt like someone had etched the truth into his mind without allowing any doubt or distortion.

Thus, Aden pretended not to notice when the masked woman crept towards him playfully.

‘I can cross one thing off my bucket list.’

That was to take a swing at a god.

Few professions in the world held as much dissatisfaction and resentment towards gods for the state of the world as mercenaries did.

Aden was no different, being a mercenary to his core.

“Are you the God of Slaughter and Death?”

-Yes! That’s me, Aden dear!

“Could you drop the ‘dear’?”

-To me, all humans are my little dears! Ahaha!

Indeed, the main god of the Slaughter Cult exuded an overwhelming madness.

Aden looked at the God of Slaughter with contempt.

‘Just like her followers.’

-Thanks for the compliment! Children tend to resemble their parents!

“Damn, can you read my mind too?”

-Well, I am a god! And this is my sanctuary, so I can read the mind of a dreamer summoned here!

That was not pleasant to hear.

Having his thoughts read was already a bothersome experience thanks to the curse parasitizing him.

The God of Slaughter grabbed Aden’s hands and shook them vigorously.

-Thanks for saving all my children from almost dying! You know why I appeared to you, right?

“Because you want to reward me for completing your request.”

He pulled his hands away from the god, answering calmly.

He had been expecting her to contact him somehow soon enough.

The God of Slaughter had requested him, through a revelation, to save the Slaughter Cult from a crisis, and Aden had accomplished that task splendidly.

Now, all that was left was to receive his reward.

-Ahahaha! I like how smart you are, Aden. No wonder ‘Flamy’ chose you as an apostle!

“Flamy? Really?”

-It’s nothing. Anyway, since you perfectly accomplished what I asked, I should reward you! Ask me anything you’re curious about!

“Will you tell me everything? Any limitations?”

-I can tell you everything I know! There’s no limit to the number of questions, but you should hurry. I can’t maintain this dream for long!

Talking directly with a god.

It was something many people had dreamed of at least once.

The first question Aden asked was this:

“What’s with that mask?”

-Ah, this? It’s a mask resembling a monster from another continent that always carries a bat. Isn’t it cute?

“No, not at all.”

The God of Slaughter looked sullen at his blunt reply.

Ignoring her, Aden asked another question.

“Do you know everything about my past, the world before my regression?”

Aden had speculated that some extraordinary beings might remember the past before his regression, but he had no proof.

This was one of the questions he most wanted to ask.

-Yes, of course. I remember everything! We exist a bit outside the flow of the world!

The God of Slaughter answered energetically, regaining her vigor. She gestured theatrically, expressing her excitement.

-Ah, the corrupted humans running wild, the berserk dragon that incinerated everything with its lava-like breath! The sight of humanity being massacred by Talos and Aden fighting back against Talos! It was truly thrilling! I thought I would die wanting to join in the fight!

“……It would have been nice if it wasn’t just words but if you actually did it.”

It wasn’t a joke, it was sincere.

What humanity wanted the most when facing the endless army of monsters pouring out of Hell’s Gate Tartarus was for the gods to appear and eliminate them all.

He felt the same way.

‘But such a miracle was just a delusion.’

There was no time to sit idly and yearn for miracles that wouldn’t come true.

Thus, Aden and his companions stepped forward, defeated the Underlord’s army, and eventually closed the Hell’s Gate.

-You probably already know, but we can’t interfere directly with the earthly realm. Even gods have many hardships, you know?

“Why can’t you interfere?”

-That’s something I can’t tell you! It’s a restriction!

It was absurd to think that even an omnipotent god had restrictions, but since the time Aden could stay in this space was limited, he didn’t press further and moved on to the next question.

“You conveyed this message to me through Saintess Merida, and she through Priestess Lunia: ‘The Mercenary King is alive.’”

That single phrase was enough to set Aden in motion, as it was his reverse scale.

“Where is my damn master?”

-…….

His master, the Mercenary King, Balkan.

A question about the old man who seemed to have evaporated, leaving no trace no matter how much information he dug up in his previous life.

The Slaughter God did not immediately respond.

Instead, she summoned a thick, black book from thin air and held it.

-I am the god of slaughter and death. As my name suggests, I oversee all deaths and killings.

Then, for the first time, she spoke in a calm and solemn tone, different from her usual manner.

The peculiar calmness evoked a sacred atmosphere, reminiscent of Saintess Merida or the Iron-Blooded Saint.

-Therefore, the deaths of all beings with souls, and the killings committed by the dead during their lifetimes, are all recorded in my 《Book of Death》 along with their names.

She flipped through the pages of the black book containing all the deaths in this world.

-Those who killed others with swords, those who killed with words, those who killed someone through indifference, and even those who sometimes killed themselves, are all recorded here. Naturally, the names of you and your master, who lived by killing others with swords, are written here as well.

“…….”

-And if your master had died, his name would be crossed out in red.

Shak, shak, shak, the sound of her flipping the pages echoed until she stopped at a particular page.

She showed Aden a page from the 《Book of Death》. Thousands of names were written on that page, and about half of them were crossed out in red.

The Slaughter God pointed to a tiny name in a corner with her finger.

Balkan.

It was his master’s name.

And it wasn’t crossed out in red.

“…….”

-Your master is alive and well. Don’t worry.

“Then where is this old man right now……?”

At Aden’s question, the Slaughter God shook her head.

-Sorry, but even I don’t know that. Our power is derived from the faith and belief of our followers, and their eyes are our eyes. But I cannot see where your master is.

That could only mean one thing, and Aden understood immediately.

“He’s in a place out of sight of the priests and pilgrims of the Slaughter Cult?”

-Yes, that’s right.

The Slaughter God nodded and closed the 《Book of Death》. It disappeared just as it had appeared.

-Ahahaha!

As the book vanished, the sacred atmosphere around her dissipated, making the air around her excessively light again.

-I don’t know where he is! I can only guess!

Her explanation was that he might be in a region without followers of the Slaughter God or in a remote area with no people.

-But I can assure you that he is alive and well! This is certain!

“What is your evidence?”

-Even now, his karma from killing is increasing in real-time. He must be having a great time fighting somewhere!

Hmm.

It was quite definitive evidence.

At the same time, Aden couldn’t help but agree 120%, thinking, ‘That’s just like Master Balkan.’

-Don’t be too disappointed if you can’t find your master, Aden! Maybe ‘Picky’ or ‘Fiery’ might know! It wouldn’t hurt to ask them if you get the chance!

Seeing how she kept mentioning Picky and Fiery, it seemed those were nicknames the Slaughter God used for other gods.

“No, it’s fine. There’s no need for that now.”

Aden shook his head.

He felt relieved inside.

‘There’s no need to find him.’

Since he had already separated from the mercenary path and become independent, it was right to live as if they were strangers.

Especially in this current era, where their master-disciple relationship had been erased due to his regression.

In fact, meeting him would only cause more trouble and complications.

Knowing that his damn old master was alive and well was enough.

-Any more questions, child?

“No, nothing comes to mind right now.”

-Ahahaha! Then, since we still have some time, let me ask you a question, Aden!

The Slaughter God, who had been laughing brightly, suddenly stopped and leaned in towards Aden, asking with a masked face.

-Are you planning to destroy the earthly realm for revenge?

Her voice, now devoid of laughter, was sharp and cold like a blade.

It was a question from a god to a mortal.

Tuk.

At the same time, the countless red flowers with human faces that adorned the surroundings stopped their murmuring.

Sssiiick.

The man-faced flowers all turned to Aden and grinned, showing their teeth.

As if it had found prey to devour.

The Hero Becomes the Duke’s Eldest Son

Author: Shadow

Publisher: Lee Jongjoo

Published by Rok Media Co., Ltd.

Publication Date: March 24, 2003

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ⓒ Shadow, 2020

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