Report
------------------
HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Peptobismol]
[Proofreader - Max]
Join our Discord for release updates!
https://discord.com/invite/dbdMDhzWa2
------------------
Chapter 30: The Taboo of the Salt Mine (4)
"I've heard of it. But... isn't that the name of an evil god?"
"It was worshipped as a god, after all."
South of the Empire.
A desert region where only hot sand and dry winds blew.
Long ago, there was a being worshipped as a god among the desert tribes.
Its name was Azi Dahaka.
Humans trembled in fear at Azi Dahaka's strength and cruelty, and tried to turn away from their terror by worshipping it.
Although humans often worship incomprehensible and fearsome unknown beings, this was by no means a common case.
Even among special-grade demons, very few were worshipped as gods.
This also meant that Azi Dahaka was a powerful and fearsome being.
"...But why is something like that here...?"
Hamel frowned.
Special-grade demons were usually vague beings known only through legends.
This was partly because they couldn't be killed, but also because they rarely showed themselves.
'It hasn't been long since I encountered Riteil...!'
Behind the rabbit, the shadow of a three-headed snake swayed.
'...A shadow?'
A faint memory flickered through Hamel's mind.
It was a story about the founder of his family that he had heard before leaving the family home.
The founder, a great mage, had sealed a great evil that had flowed into this land within the body of a weak animal, buried it, and built his territory on top of it.
'Indeed, his specialty was...'
Shadow magic.
In other words, the unique magic passed down through generations of the Gilmore clan.
A plausible puzzle was coming together.
The Gilmore clan was a long-established family of mages.
The last record of Azi Dahaka was from roughly 500 years ago.
Around the same time as the birth of the Gilmore clan.
'It was the founder.'
He had sealed Azi Dahaka in this salt mine.
There was no other way to think about it.
He would have confined it deep underground where no one could approach, but as time passed, that fact would have slowly been forgotten.
His achievement would have become an old tale, and perhaps it was passed down in the form of a 'forbidden area' until now.
'Did the Doppelgänger break the seal that weakened over time?'
It was a bit of a forced interpretation, but it was hard to think of any other possibility.
Hamel clicked his tongue.
This was an inevitability that was bound to happen eventually.
The founder, unable to kill Azi Dahaka, must have sealed it to entrust the task to future generations.
Perhaps he couldn't completely kill it with his own power, or maybe he was injured in the fight.
But unfortunately, Hamel didn't know how to kill a being like Azi Dahaka.
He didn't even know anything about the powers it possessed.
Special-grade demons were beings shrouded in mystery.
The man-faced lion, Riteil, was relatively well-known.
Perhaps the only fortunate thing was that it hadn't yet fully escaped its seal.
Hop!
The rabbit approached Hamel and Daniel, who were standing guard against it.
Hamel and Daniel quickly backed away, maintaining their distance.
"We have to kill it or seal it again."
"How?"
"We'll find a way."
"...This is going to be a pain."
Daniel shook his head as if it was a headache.
Hamel gripped his sword tightly.
The number of patterns engraved on the sword had noticeably decreased since he had absorbed the last demon.
'This isn't enough to use the talisman control technique.'
All he could rely on was his own body and the Azure Flame.
Hamel gritted his teeth.
"Let's go."
"Alright."
Hamel pointed the tip of his sword forward and started running.
Daniel followed closely behind, guarding the rear and flanks.
Hiss!
With the sound of a snake, shadows came rushing in from all directions.
As a shadow lunged at his feet, Hamel swung his sword down, but the snake's head dodged with a whoosh.
"Left!"
At the same time, Daniel slashed at the wall to Hamel's left with his sword.
Another head, which had been attacking from the blind spot, quickly retreated.
The other shadows didn't dare approach when he scattered the Azure Flame.
Hamel and Daniel blocked the shadows' approach again and again, closing the distance to the rabbit.
However, the rabbit, as if unwilling to be caught so easily, kept its distance and continued to keep them in check.
After several exchanges,
Azi Dahaka in the shadows seemed to be getting angry, hissing and shaking its body roughly.
It seemed to be enraged that it couldn't catch them easily.
Just when they thought they had a chance,
Leap!
The rabbit suddenly turned around and ran towards the depths of the mine shaft.
"...Did it run away?"
"No."
Hamel gritted his teeth.
It wasn't running away.
"It's luring me in."
If they let it go now, there would be greater damage.
Knowing they had no choice but to chase it, it was trying to move the battlefield deeper into the mine.
"Cunning."
Daniel clicked his tongue in disbelief.
Hamel nodded in agreement and grabbed a torch hanging on the wall.
It was extinguished, so Hamel transferred the Azure Flame burning nearby to the torch.
"I'll chase it."
"Alright."
The two of them regained their focus and proceeded further into the mine shaft.
The mine shaft was filled with darkness.
The only light illuminating it was the faint blue glow of the Azure Flame.
After who knows how long,
"...This is..."
Daniel frowned.
Hamel also let out a small groan.
After walking for a long time, they reached a wide-open cavity.
The problem was that the walls of the cavity were riddled with holes.
'It's going to attack from all sides.'
He knew it instinctively.
This was the hunting ground the creature had chosen.
"...It's coming."
He heard the sound of a snake slithering along the walls.
The cavity echoed, making it difficult to even guess where the sound was coming from.
Clang!
Sparks flew with a sharp metallic sound.
The sword Daniel swung had struck the rock wall.
It was the same for Hamel.
Crack!
He swung his sword at the shadows that popped out from all over the cavity, but only sparks flew; the rabbit was nowhere to be seen.
"...It feels like I'm fighting a mirage."
He clearly swung his sword at the shadow snake that was rushing at him, but it was nowhere to be found.
Daniel spoke with an irritated voice, and Hamel agreed.
"This will never end."
Hamel cut his hand once again.
Then, he sprayed blood towards the holes in the cavity and ignited the Azure Flame.
Only one place was left unguarded.
He did this knowing there was no other way, but he had lost too much blood.
"Let's finish this."
Hamel said as he ignited the Azure Flame on his sword.
Daniel also raised his mana and pointed his sword towards the empty hole.
Rustle!
Something whitish quickly jumped out of the hole.
It was going for the kill as well.
"Now...!"
It was the moment when it almost reached the entrance.
Crunch!
Something brushed past him.
Blood splattered where Daniel had been standing.
"...?"
Hamel stared blankly at the scene for a moment.
The shadow snake, breaking through the Azure Flame, snatched Daniel's body in an instant and threw him against the wall.
Daniel, defenselessly hitting the wall, collapsed on the floor and couldn't move.
Hiss!
The Azure Flame that had spread to the shadow snake bought them some time.
It seemed to be in more pain than expected, writhing and rubbing its body against the rock wall to put out the fire.
"Sir Daniel!"
Hamel quickly rushed to the fallen Daniel and checked his pulse.
"...Ha."
Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.
'He's alive.'
Now that he looked, the external injuries weren't that serious either.
It seemed he had lost consciousness from the shock of hitting the wall.
But the situation wasn't good.
Hop!
The rabbit appeared.
The shadow snake, which had been in pain, had also recovered and was now flicking its tongue at Hamel.
It was already savoring its victory, leisurely looking at Hamel and Daniel and licking its lips.
There were three heads in total.
'I can't keep an eye on three heads alone.'
Especially while protecting Daniel?
He wouldn't last even a minute.
Hamel gritted his teeth.
He had to find another way.
What did he have?
How could he survive?
There was no time.
What should he do...?
"..."
There was a way.
A method he never wanted to use again.
Hamel took out a small glass bottle from the leather pouch inside his robe.
Inside, a dark red liquid sloshed around.
Refined dragon's blood.
The terrible sensation he felt when he drank dragon's blood naturally came to mind.
"..."
There was no time to hesitate.
Hamel closed his eyes tightly and drank the dragon's blood.
Gulp!
The hot liquid went down his throat.
It felt like he had swallowed fire, his esophagus burning.
"...Hoo."
Hamel exhaled deeply, slowly releasing the heat.
At that moment.
Thump!
His chest pounded.
Not his heart.
Somewhere deeper.
Something started pulsating inside his body.
'Ah.'
Once again, the world filled with mana entered Hamel's vision.
His body was heated, while his mind cooled.
A blue light shone brightly from Hamel's eyes.
...Like that of a dragon.
Hiss!
The rabbit,
No, Azi Dahaka's body stiffened.
Like an animal that had encountered its natural enemy.
It was ridiculous.
'Sealed in the body of a rabbit, it's really acting like one.'
Its fear and terror were almost palpable.
Hiss!
It was the moment when the rabbit hurriedly turned around to escape.
Hamel lightly stamped his foot.
Talisman Control Technique: Release.
Shadow Binding.
The rising shadow coiled around the rabbit's body.
Originally, shadows were not something Hamel of the Gilmore clan should fear.
Rather, Hamel himself was the master of the shadows.
It was Azi Dahaka that was sealed within it.
Hiss!
The shadow coiled around the rabbit.
It raised its three heads and hissed threateningly.
How pathetic.
Hamel calmly walked towards it.
The shadow snakes thrashed violently, threatening him.
Even though Hamel didn't stop, the snake form lunged at him as if bouncing.
And the next moment.
Crackle!
The charging shadows, along with the walls and floor of the cavity, were torn to shreds.
As Hamel swung his hand as if clawing, deep and huge claw marks appeared along the path.
Tremble!
Even though the Shadow Binding was released, the rabbit couldn't move anymore.
Hamel slowly walked over and lifted the frozen rabbit by its ears.
As it struggled and squirmed, Hamel met its eyes.
"Stay still."
"..."
The rabbit didn't move, as if it had fainted.
***
"...What in the world happened?"
Daniel, waking up from his unconsciousness, asked while holding his throbbing head.
When he came to his senses, the cavity was on the verge of collapsing, and Hamel, with dragon eyes, was shaking the rabbit in one hand.
His already aching head felt even worse.
"I drank dragon's blood."
"...You did something reckless. Is your body alright?"
"Yes."
Hamel nodded lightly, as if there was nothing wrong.
Daniel subtly averted his gaze, feeling somewhat uneasy about the vertically slit blue pupils.
His gaze towards the rabbit was soon colored with curiosity.
"Why didn't you kill it?"
"It's immortal."
Azi Dahaka.
The serpent that swallows death.
It was an unkillable being.
'Even if I end its life now, it will just resurrect somewhere else.'
And at that time, it would be freed from its seal.
Of course, the characteristic of immortality wasn't all-powerful.
Even the celestial gods had weaknesses.
But there was no way to find them right now.
"There's no other way."
Hamel pushed the rabbit into the Azure Flame.
Screech!
The rabbit shook its body, crying and screaming in pain, but Hamel didn't bat an eye.
"Didn't you say you wouldn't kill it?"
"..."
After a while,
Squeak!
The rabbit stopped struggling.
It realized it wasn't dead.
"What did you do?"
At Daniel's question, Hamel looked down at the rabbit and said,
"I weakened the power of Azi Dahaka sealed in its body as much as possible."
Hamel didn't have the magical knowledge to strengthen the seal, but he could weaken the power of the demon Azi Dahaka as much as possible.
Now, it was nothing more than an ordinary rabbit, weak enough to lose to a cat, let alone a human.
Most of its grayish-brown fur had turned pure white, with only a faint gray tinge at the tips of its paws.
"For some reason, I know now. It won't be dangerous while its fur is this color."
"...That means."
"We can't kill it, and we can't let it go, so there's only one option."
Hamel met the rabbit's eyes as he tied it up.
His blue, glowing eyes were cold and sharp.
"We have no choice but to take it with us and keep watch."
The rabbit, no, Azi Dahaka, only trembled when it met his gaze.
------------------
HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Peptobismol]
[Proofreader - Max]
Join our Discord for release updates!
https://discord.com/invite/dbdMDhzWa2
------------------
