The Hero Becomes the Duke's Eldest Son

Translator: Marctempest

Editor: Rynfinity

Chapter 201

Afterward, Aden had an additional conversation with Niketa, during which he heard some surprising news.

“The wizards have disappeared?”

“Yes. All the high-ranking wizards of the Central Magic Tower, including the Tower Master, have completely vanished.”

Niketa answered Aden’s question.

For reference, even though Aden had suggested that Niketa speak casually, she insisted on maintaining formal speech. It seemed to be a habit of hers.

The city-state of wizards, Anguis Magic Tower Nation.

All the high-ranking wizards and their followers from the Central Magic Tower, which formed the backbone of Anguis, had disappeared overnight.

At first, he was surprised, but Aden soon realized what might have happened.

“They must have all been in league with Shaura.”

“If what you say is true, then yes.”

Shaura had already revealed that the leaders of the Magic Tower were allied with Chaos. And shortly after the Great Forest incident, they disappeared without a trace.

But they didn’t just disappear.

“They left behind all the records of their illegal human experiments and dark magic research before they fled.”

“The nation must have been turned upside down.”

“Right now, Anguis is practically on the brink of civil war.”

The lower-class citizens of the Magic Tower Nation, who had been scorned by the wizards, had risen in fury, and with the Central Magic Tower's absence, the other towers had essentially ceased to function.

Various large and small issues that had been suppressed under the authority of the Central Magic Tower were now erupting.

This was the inevitable consequence of the Magic Tower Nation’s past wrongdoings, so there was no room for sympathy. However, there was something incomprehensible.

‘Why would they abandon the nation?’

The wizards who had cooperated with Chaos disappeared without looking back. They didn’t even bother to erase the evidence of their collusion with Chaos.

It was almost as if...

“It’s almost as if they’re saying they don’t need to worry about what happens afterward.”

“Exactly.”

Aden agreed with Niketa’s observation.

Their attitude suggested they didn’t care whether their secrets were exposed or not.

Aden felt something was off.

“Moreover, all of Chaos’s previously active movements have suddenly come to a halt.”

The dark magicians of the Chaos faction, who had been operating across the entire Western Continent, causing chaos and conducting experiments, had also vanished. When they raided the secret bases where Chaos’s members were hiding, they found them all empty, and those suspected of being associated with Chaos had collectively disappeared.

Chaos’s evil acts across the Western Continent had completely stopped.

While this was undoubtedly a good thing, neither of them could view it positively.

They spoke simultaneously.

“It’s suspicious.”

“It’s suspicious.”

The calm before the storm.

They couldn’t help but feel that way.

In reality, until the storm hit, humans couldn’t predict how large it would be or from where it would come. Only a god might know.

‘Hey, gods. Do you know anything?’

So Aden directly asked the gods.

---

-The Lord of the Sacred Fire is already searching but says they can’t find anything.

-The God of Slaughter and Death innocently shouts that they know nothing either!

---

‘No, seriously? These so-called gods…’

Aden was so dumbfounded that he couldn’t help but curse.

---

-The Lord of the Sacred Fire says they’re not doing this god thing because they like it.

---

‘I get that, but still, if you’re called a god, at least live up to the name a bit. How can you not know anything when you’re watching from above?’

As Aden responded in disbelief, the God of Justice and Law, who had been silent, sent a message.

---

-The God of Justice and Law says that some foreign power is blurring their vision.

-They say it feels similar to the impudent priests in Ternia who once tried to deceive their sight.

---

‘Ternia? What is that... Ah.’

Aden understood.

The Atonement Stone.

There was a mineral that allowed one to escape divine punishment, distributed by a high-ranking member of Chaos, who had been operating under the guise of a gambling den owner to the priests of the Lawful God Church.

The corrupted priests of the Lawful God Church had consumed the Atonement Stone to evade divine punishment.

‘Could it be that the mechanism that evades divine punishment works by obscuring the gods’ sight?’

If that were the case, it made sense that the gods had no clues about the whereabouts of the Chaos members. They must be using the Atonement Stone to deceive the gods’ eyes.

---

-The God of Justice and Law says that perhaps those who caused such a large-scale clinical trial on the Lawful God Church planned to use it for this purpose, Dragonslayer King.

---

‘I see.’

Knowing this only deepened his suspicion.

What could they be plotting that required them to go to such lengths to deceive even the gods?

‘I have a bad feeling about this.’

Aden had a sharp intuition.

And his intuition was telling him that something very bad was about to happen.

---

-The Lord of the Sacred Fire says that while they maintain the balance of the world, they are neither omniscient nor omnipotent.

---

They were called gods, but they were, after all, ancient heroes.

That’s why their answers were no better than what an ordinary person might give.

---

-The Lord of the Sacred Fire says that since there’s no way to know beforehand what hasn’t happened yet, the only option is to respond to whatever happens as best as possible.

---

But because it was a typical answer, it was also the most certain.

So Aden accepted it.

He received Niketa’s promise of active cooperation in the future and instructed the dwarves of the Dwarf Kingdom to prepare as many weapons as possible for the upcoming war.

He had prevented the collapse of the Three Great Orders and the Great Forest from falling into Chaos’s hands.

Aden had done everything he could.

He would keep an eye on their movements and respond as soon as he noticed anything unusual.

‘I know it’s the only thing we can do, but…’

Still, he couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling.

It felt like something big was about to happen.

It was then.

---

-The God of Slaughter and Death suddenly screams, “Aghhhhh!”

---

The God of Slaughter sent a strange message.

---

-The other two gods ask what’s happening.

-The God of Slaughter and Death, in a panic, says that the names of the dead are being inscribed into the “Book of Death” at an incredible speed!

-The other two gods fall into confusion!

---

“...!”

The God of Slaughter wouldn’t be this shocked just because more people were dying. It must mean that an absurd number of people were dying.

‘What’s happening?’

Aden’s face hardened.

“Aden, is something wrong?”

Noticing Aden’s tense expression, Niketa asked, sensing that something was amiss.

Aden spoke honestly.

“I can’t explain it well, but it seems a huge event has occurred. A massive slaughter is happening.”

“...!”

“It’s happening right now, and it seems to be the work of Chaos.”

“That’s…!”

The reason Aden deduced that it was the work of Chaos was simple. The God of Slaughter had recognized that a large number of deaths were occurring but was confused because they didn’t know why.

And such a feat would only be possible by Chaos, who had acquired the power to obscure the gods’ vision.

“Find out what’s happening through the White Moon as quickly as possible.”

“Leave it to me.”

If anyone could find out what was going on, it was the White Moon, which had an extensive information network throughout the empire.

Niketa stood up immediately to investigate but suddenly noticed something.

“But what’s with that bracelet? It’s glowing.”

“What?”

Aden reflexively looked at the bracelet on his right arm.

Just as she had said, the wooden bracelet imbued with the Wind’s Blessing by the Ents was emitting a green light.

This phenomenon occurred when someone tried to contact Aden.

‘How long has it been glowing?’

Aden infused the bracelet with mana.

---

-...Sir! Sir Aden!

---

As he infused it with mana, a familiar voice rang out.

This distinctive, gruff voice was…

“Gustav?”

-Ah! You’ve finally answered! Thank goodness.

It was a message from Sir Gustav, who must be in Stoneheim, the Dwarf Kingdom.

His voice sounded extremely urgent.

-Something terrible has happened! Please come quickly, Sir!

“What’s going on?”

Aden asked in confusion, and Gustav’s voice, tinged with shock, came through.

-Lady Hermit has turned into a dragon!

“...?”

-And she’s collapsed!

“...What?”

-She asked for you, Sir. Please, come quickly!

“Wait, hold on…”

Click.

Gustav, having said what he wanted, abruptly cut off the connection.

“...”

Aden fell into a deep silence.

‘Hermit revealed her true form? Why? And she collapsed? Why does he call Hermit his sister?’

Countless questions passed through Aden’s mind, but one thing was certain.

Aden immediately stood up and pulled the Golden Key of Hetos from his pocket.

---

* * *

---

Clank!

Aden arrived in Stoneheim through the workshop door of Hetos.

“Holy…”

“What the…?!”

Then Aden and Hetos were taken aback by what they saw.

Stoneheim, originally a deep underground city, had no mountains.

Yet, inexplicably, there was a massive red mountain in front of them.

It was Hermit, who had reverted to her true form.

“Arghhhh!”

“It’s a dragon! It’s a dragon!”

“A dragon has appeared in Stoneheim!”

“A huge pile of top-tier tempering material just rolled

 in!”

“Hey, you blacksmith! Now’s not the time for that! We need to run!”

“Top-tier tempering materialllll!”

The dwarves were thrown into a panic by the sudden appearance of a dragon, while some blacksmith dwarves, drooling at the sight of the dragon’s scales, were pushed away by other dwarves.

Aden swallowed nervously as he looked at the giant form of the dragon.

‘Damn, it reminds me of those cursed old days.’

In his past life, the sight of that massive red dragon was nothing short of a nightmare.

Even though he stood hundreds of meters away from where Hermit had collapsed, he could still feel the overwhelming aura.

It felt as if he were transported back to the nightmarish moment of the Mad Dragon subjugation, making him feel as if his breath were being choked off.

---

-Dragonslayer King, how long are you going to stand there in a daze?

---

“...Damn it.”

At Curse’s call, Aden snapped back to reality.

Right, this dragon was not the Mad Dragon, nor was it his enemy.

There was no need to be tense.

Hermit, who had transformed into a dragon several hundred meters long, wasn’t moving at all.

“Hetos, I’m going to get closer to that side.”

“Damn it! I’m going with you!”

Aden and Hetos hurriedly moved.

They headed toward Hermit’s head, and when they arrived, they saw that Hermit had lost consciousness and was lying with her head turned sideways, even sticking her tongue out.

Moreover, it seemed that she had coughed up blood, as dragon’s blood was flowing between the ruins of the wrecked buildings, creating a river of red.

‘There’s no visible sign of an attack?’

She appeared to be unconscious, and her body faintly rose and fell as if she were breathing.

At that moment, Aden noticed a disheveled human male standing in a daze amid the chaotic scene.

“Gustav!”

“...Sir.”

It was Viscount Gustav.

Upon finding Gustav, Aden immediately demanded that he explain what had happened.

Half out of his mind, Gustav answered Aden’s question.

“Well, I was conducting magic engineering research with Lady Hermit as usual.”

For Gustav, there was no one he could communicate with as well as Hermit.

After spending so much time researching together, they had become close enough to refer to each other as brother and sister.

In any case, he explained that they were discussing ideas for the next masterpiece in magic engineering as usual.

“But suddenly, Lady Hermit said she was having a seizure and then transformed into that form. Then, right after, she coughed up blood and collapsed. But a dragon… I always felt something about her wasn’t quite human, but still…”

Gustav still looked as if he couldn’t believe that Hermit was a dragon.

While Aden could fully empathize with how utterly absurd Gustav must have felt, now was not the time to dwell on that.

Aden asked him, “Do you have any idea what caused this?”

“I-I don’t know. But before she lost consciousness, Lady Hermit asked me to call for you.”

“Me?”

“Yes. I’m not sure since it’s my first time seeing a dragon’s expression, but she looked urgent.”

That’s why Gustav had contacted Aden without knowing what was happening.

Aden couldn’t help but feel his suspicions deepen.

She had suddenly had a seizure, reverted from her polymorph, coughed up blood, and asked for Aden before passing out.

There was no way to make sense of any of this.

“We’ll have to wait until she wakes up to understand what’s going on.”

For now, treatment seemed urgent.