Trait Hoarder-Chapter 281: Descendant of the Heavenly Demon – (1)

Descendant of the Heavenly Demon – Part 1

The Castle of the Inexplicable, revisited.

The atmosphere had changed considerably.

First of all, the barrier.

The barrier that had hidden the entire city had disappeared, and the castle was now completely open.

[Preparing to land.]

Guooaaang.

The private aircraft slowly descended.

I watched the front with curious eyes.

Originally, it was a place tucked inside castle walls, like a medieval city.

But now, a new city was under construction.

Outside the castle walls.

Where I had once sold immune suppressants to attract the attention of the other races.

“Looks like they’ve fully opened it up? There’s even an airport.”

[Yes. Right after your visit and departure, the Castle of the Inexplicable officially declared its full opening.]

“Feels like the temperature’s gone up too?”

[The Castle of the Inexplicable announced that they installed a climate change magic circle.]

The air was warm, like spring had arrived.

But strangely, the Arctic ice hadn’t melted.

They must have used the mana core of the Arctic Sovereign, the level 8 great beast I hunted.

I wasn’t sure how they managed to recover it so quickly.

Gugugung.

The private aircraft landed at the airport.

Even though it was hastily built, it was incredibly large.

Planes were constantly taking off and landing without pause.

As I stepped off the plane, Nine-Tailed Fox and Blue Wolf walked toward me gracefully.

“It’s been a while!”

“It’s been a while, benefactor.”

“Yes. Have you been well? Huh?”

It wasn’t just the two of them.

Two little Nine-Tailed Fox cubs and one tiny Blue Wolf cub were toddling along behind them.

Wait, how many months had it even been since I last visited?

“Congratulations. You must have gotten married?”

“Hehehe.”

“Huhuhu.”

The two laughed bashfully.

“Sniff sniff.”

“Kiing, kiing.”

The cubs toddled up to me and sniffed curiously.

Nine-Tailed Fox scooped up all three cubs at once.

“They’re still too young to talk.”

“The little ones are adorable.”

No matter the species, babies were always cute.

And with Nine-Tailed Fox and Blue Wolf, the most beautiful among the magical beasts, it was even more so.

The cubs showed their curiosity, trying to lick me.

Nine-Tailed Fox laughed brightly and licked her cubs.

“Be good, now!”

“Kiing!”

“Keng! Keng!”

After a brief moment with the baby beasts, I turned my gaze elsewhere.

Inside the Castle of the Inexplicable.

My transcendent hearing picked up the sound of baby laughter more than anything else.

“It seems there are more children now.”

“Yes. It’s thanks to you, Master Swordsman.”

They even knew my nickname.

“Thanks to me?”

“The immune suppressant you introduced. Thanks to that, many children have been born. Every citizen is deeply grateful to you.”

Right. That’s true.

Back then, I had distributed immune suppressants on a large scale to build my reputation.

I even handed over the ingredients and the potion recipes.

Blue Wolf winked.

“Prepare yourself.”

“Huh? Oh.”

I could already see it.

The corridor leading from the airport to the Castle of the Inexplicable.

A massive crowd had gathered to welcome me.

“Waaaah!”

Crying babies were everywhere, cradled in their parents’ arms.

I followed Nine-Tailed Fox and Blue Wolf toward the castle.

The various races working at the airport waved at me.

Some even threw their hats into the air.

Exchanging eye greetings with them, I entered the corridor.

Cheers erupted like a fanfare.

“Waaaah!”

“It’s Master Swordsman!”

“The Liberator of the Arctic!”

“Thank you! Thanks to you, I’m free from my allergies!”

“You have no idea how much our children love you!”

So they called me the Liberator here too.

Just how many nicknames did I have?

There were so many people.

It was almost impossible to find a place to step.

Children of orc, troll, and ogre bloodlines, who grew quickly, stared up at me with sparkling eyes at my feet, while the slower-growing elf, dwarf, and dragonborn babies cried loudly from their parents’ arms.

“Waaah!”

“Waaah!”

“Waaaah!”

“Welcome!”

It was pure chaos.

Or maybe a melting pot of races.

Puff! Puff!

Magic fireworks exploded in the sky, and on the ground, garlands made of Arctic flowers were handed out.

The current and former defense commanders of the Castle of the Inexplicable, the Stone Giant and Tree Giant, approached me shyly.

“Master Swordsman. Welcome back.”

“Thank you. I’m a little overwhelmed.”

“That’s how much you’ve done for us.”

“You defeated the Arctic Sovereign, rescued the families who had been captured…”

“Not only did you share the immune suppressant, but you even handed over the Arctic Sovereign’s mana core.”

“It’s thanks to you that we can now live in such abundance.”

“We were truly saddened that you left so quickly last time.”

“This time, we’ll make sure to properly welcome you!”

It felt a bit burdensome.

But hey, if they were happy, who was I to argue?

I silently allowed them to drape a magic flower garland around my neck, which triggered another round of cheers.

“Waaaah!”

“Hurray!”

It was a full-blown festival atmosphere.

After passing down the main street, things only calmed down when I met with the Elder.

Elder Drake.

A giant, wingless terrestrial dragon.

He had once negotiated with me.

Elder Drake flicked his forked tongue as he observed the crowd.

“You are very popular.”

“Phew, their reaction is more intense than I expected. I guess the immune suppressant worked really well?”

“Haha. Exactly so. As you know, Master Swordsman, the citizens of our castle live burdened with various illnesses. It’s a congenital curse from our mixed bloodlines.”

Elder Drake pressed down on his own head.

His sharp claws almost digging into his skull.

Had he once suffered from migraines?

Naturally, there was no trace of pain now.

“None of the immune suppressants we developed in our castle could completely eliminate that pain. But then, a drug that works on every mixed bloodline, and even eliminates miscarriages and infant deaths… Master Swordsman, you are truly the savior and liberator of our people.”

I simply shrugged my shoulders once.

Savior and liberator, they said.

Nice words, but somehow it made my chest feel tight.

It must have been because the Saintess kept barking “savior, savior” so much.

“I heard you came to find our captains?”

“Yes. I have something I need to check.”

“We’ve prepared a place in the council chambers. With how noisy our castle has been lately, it wouldn’t be easy to have a quiet conversation anywhere else.”

“Thank you.”

It had been a while since I last met the elf captains.

Descendants of the First Heavenly Demon and the Northern Sea Ice Palace.

They had gotten noticeably plumper.

Last time I saw them, they were slender and elf-like, but now…

“It’s been a while. You look much better.”

“Hahaha.”

The older elf, who had reclaimed his captaincy, smiled awkwardly.

“I’ve been eating well. There are so many delicious things in the world.”

“You’ve been outside the Castle of the Inexplicable?”

“No, not at all. Thanks to the Elder Council’s decision to open the castle, merchants from all over the world are now visiting. You might not know, but our castle has a lot of ancient magic and classical artifacts lying dormant.”

I knew.

That was the Castle of the Inexplicable’s faction trait that appeared in Episode 7, the Ice Age.

They might fall short in cutting-edge magitech.

But when it came to traditional magic and classical artifact crafting, the Castle of the Inexplicable excelled.

Even into the late stages of the game.

“So, what brings you here? You specifically requested to meet us.”

The younger elf, Winter Queen, said as she peeled a tangerine.

The [Hallabong Tangerine] label on the box stood out sharply.

“Yes. I have something to ask.”

“Go ahead. Nom nom, this is good—want one?”

“If you’re offering, sure.”

We began peeling tangerines together.

Quietly, I spread out a wave of mana.

Even though we were inside the council building, someone with sharp ears might overhear our conversation.

As I blocked out the sound and vibrations, the elves stiffened and looked at me.

Their faces asked, “What’s going on?”

I got straight to the point.

“I want to hear about your ancestors, the First Heavenly Demon and the Northern Sea Empress.”

“Huh?”

Winter Queen looked at me like I was talking nonsense.

But the Captain’s eyebrows twitched slightly.

Winter Queen caught that immediately and asked.

“Brother, what is he talking about? First Heavenly Demon? Northern Sea Empress? I’ve never heard of those. Master Swordsman, shouldn’t you be asking about the Heavenly Demon somewhere in China? I heard there’s a religion over there that worships him.”

She didn’t seem to know that the Heavenly Demon Sect was closer to a military faction than a religion.

The Captain looked troubled.

“How did you know? I never told Sileria either.”

Sileria?

Right, that was Winter Queen’s name.

“There are ways to know. The romance between the First Heavenly Demon and the Northern Sea Empress is quite famous.”

“That was two thousand years ago. It’s something buried in oblivion.”

“But it’s important to me.”

I calmly explained.

The story of my connection with the Old Father’s Cult.

The black dome built in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, and my journey to the Tian Shan mountains in search of the Heavenly Demon Sect.

The prophecy left behind by God Poca.

The Captain’s eyes wavered.

“Even so, I don’t know much. My grandmother’s generation was when the Northern Sea Ice Palace collapsed. After that, my mother and I lived as ordinary citizens in the Castle of the Inexplicable. As for the Heavenly Demon Arts? I didn’t even inherit the Ice White Divine Arts.”

“Ice White Divine Arts? What’s that?”

“It’s a thing.”

Although they looked the same age, there was almost a 50-year age gap between the Captain and Winter Queen.

That was probably why the Captain still had some faint memories.

Winter Queen, still munching on tangerines, brightened with curiosity.

“Is that why, even though we’re elves, we can control ice spirits? Because we inherited DNA from the Ice Palace?”

Winter Queen flicked her finger.

A spirit, wrapped around her waist like a belt, crawled up.

An ice spirit appeared on the Captain’s shoulder too, responding to it.

“Exactly. That’s the real reason.”

“I thought we were of Snow Elf blood.”

“If we were, our hair and eyes would be white.”

“That’s true.”

This was getting somewhere.

I stared directly at the Captain and asked.

“Is there really nothing you can remember? Even something minor would help. Anything you know about the First Heavenly Demon and the Northern Sea Empress, please tell me.”

“Hmmm…”

The Captain groaned, holding his head.

“I really don’t know much. After my mother came to the Castle of the Inexplicable, she grew sick and passed away. And back when the Ice Palace still stood, I was just a child.”

“What about me?”

“You were born here, remember? You were a miracle.”

“Right… that’s true.”

Winter Queen looked downcast.

Judging by their expressions, it seemed their mother had died after giving birth to her.

“Ah, I just remembered something.”

“What is it?”

“I heard that when the First Heavenly Demon, our ancestor, first arrived at the Northern Sea, the Ice Palace was in a very dangerous situation. An ancient evil that had been sleeping in the north had reawakened, and they were on the verge of destruction.”

Oh?

This sounded familiar.

From back when I was still playing the game.

Especially during a personal quest for a mount obtained in Episode 4, Evil Dragon.

“Was it the First Heavenly Demon who defeated it?”

“Yes. Um…”

The Captain searched the air, trying to recall.

“There were three of them… The First Heavenly Demon, the Northern Sea Empress who was then the young lady of the Ice Palace, and another… a great mage who wielded fire. I heard the three of them went on an adventure and defeated the ancient Demon King, stabilizing the Northern Sea.”

“An adventure? It wasn’t a one-sided victory?”

Wasn’t the ancient Demon King at most level 8?

The First Heavenly Demon was level 9.

A single punch, or even a single sword strike, should have ended it. What kind of adventure could it have been?

“It must have been when he was young.”

“Yes, that’s what I heard. Also, my mother said that during that time, the Northern Sea Empress conceived a child between the two.”

“Ah…”

“And later on, the First Heavenly Demon returned to the Ice Palace. It was only then that he realized he had a daughter. He stayed at the Ice Palace for a while before ascending.”

“Did he truly ascend? Or did he die?”

The Captain frowned slightly.

It was a rude question, but it was something I had to confirm.

The Heavenly Demon Arts reacted strangely to me.

And there were the Saintess’ cryptic remarks.

To unravel these mysteries, I needed to know the exact fate of the First Heavenly Demon.

“I’ll tell you because you’re our benefactor. I wouldn’t have spoken to anyone else.”

“Thank you.”

“The First Heavenly Demon created the Ice Crystal for his descendants before ascending.”

The same.

Just like the current Heavenly Demon in the Tian Shan Mountains.

Creating an Ice Crystal meant he condensed his mana and body into a mana core.

He gave up ascension and becoming divine.

The First Heavenly Demon also died as a human without achieving divinity.

“Oh, right!”

The Captain slapped his knee.

“Come to think of it, the First Heavenly Demon left behind something else.”

“What is it?”

“The Heavenly Demon Sword.”

The Heavenly Demon Sword!

My pupils dilated instinctively.

“When I was young, I once saw it deep inside the treasure vault.”

“You saw it?”

“Yes. I’m certain. The whole forbidden zone was filled with bizarre mana, and the moment I got close, I fainted. It caused quite the commotion. I was unconscious for several days.”

“Wow, you must have been a real troublemaker as a kid.”

“You’re one to talk.”

Just by touching the mana from a weapon and fainting?

For several days?

Even if he had elf blood and was sensitive to mana, that was extreme.

It was worth checking out.

“Then do you know where the Heavenly Demon Sword is now?”

“Well… it should still be buried beneath the Ice Palace.”

“Brother, are you sure no one’s taken it?”

“It would be difficult. The Ice Palace completely collapsed and got buried deep underground. The Ice Crystal’s runaway distorted the space itself. It’s practically a dimensional rift now. You can’t just dig through it like a grave robber. And even if you do get through, that’s not the end.”

“Because of biometric authentication, right?”

“Yes. Only a rightful heir or blood relative can enter the treasure vault.”

Meaning I would need to bring either the Captain or Winter Queen with me.

It was definitely worth searching for.

Not just because the Heavenly Demon Sword was said to be the strongest sword.

The mana it emitted.

It was highly likely to contain the Heavenly Demon Arts.

If I cooperated with the Divine Army, I could even dismantle the black dome in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province.

“Thank you for telling me. I’ll head to the Ice Palace right away.”

“Sure.”

The Captain scratched the back of his long ear.

“But do you know where the Ice Palace is?”

“Isn’t that something you would know, Captain?”

“Me? I have no idea.”

“What?”

“What?”

We exchanged confused looks.

Why didn’t he know?

It was his home!

“The Ice Palace drifted away from its original location when the space distorted. I wasn’t joking when I said it became a dimensional rift.”

“Ah…”

So it didn’t just sink into the ground.

This was troublesome.

The ruins of the Ice Palace could now be anywhere—maybe in the Arctic, the Antarctic, or even under Seoul.

If it had appeared in the game, it would have been simple.

You’d just have to go to the dungeon entrance.

But the Ice Palace ruins had only ever existed as data; they had never actually appeared in the game.

“Is there no way to find it?”

“Uh…”

The Captain closed his eyes gently.

His brain working at full speed.

I could see the mana actively coursing through his brain.

“There’s one way.”

“What is it?”

“Maybe, just maybe…”

After much deliberation, he finally spoke.

“If we can find the ancient dragon who once guarded the Ice Palace, he might know how to trace its location.”

With that, the Captain glanced at me.

No, precisely, at my arm.

At the armband wrapped around my left elbow.

Toward the one likely sleeping inside it.

Red.

My precious mount.

Nicknamed Red Emperor.

Also known as the King of Northern Flames, he once concealed his identity and lived as a great mage of fire, helping to save the Northern Sea alongside the First Heavenly Demon.