Chapter 160

Chapter 160

A spot slightly below where they arrived via teleportation.

Dojae stared at the golem standing still.

“How did you find it so well?”

Thud thud-.

Dojae tried stomping his foot on the ground.

Though the surface felt solid, the tips of the golem’s nerves extending through his soles could sense the empty space beneath.

The golem that had found it had unusually high mental stats, like Magol, and thanks to that influence, it detected the faint energy flowing beneath the ground well.

“Well done.”

Dojae patted the golem’s head in praise.

It didn’t move a muscle or show any reaction, but petting it had its own peculiar satisfaction.

Thud-thud.

He retrieved all the golems into his pocket dimension and pressed his palm against the ground.

Stone and dirt rose up through Dojae’s hands.

Gwoo-gwoo-gwoo-!

Before he knew it, Dojae’s arm had grown beyond the size of Harques’ forearm, now as thick as an ancient ginkgo tree trunk.

It seemed less like an arm and more like a pillar, as if Dojae’s arm and shoulder had been absorbed into it.

Swish-.

Thud-.

Dojae carefully shook his arm, pulling out the stone pillar, and a massive pile of rubble came out along with it.

He repeatedly cast and dispelled the golem armor.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say he’d removed enough dirt and stone to create a new hill.

“This should be enough, right?”

Dojae said, looking at the large hole he had dug.

It was wide enough for Harques to fit inside.

“Magol, go down.”

Dojae sent Magol, who was beside Herteias, down first.

Since there was no particular sense of life energy below, he planned to have Magol light a fire.

Thud!

Without hesitation, Magol leapt down and reached the bottom in an instant, a thunderous roar echoing up through the hole.

Next was Harques’ turn.

“Then I shall descend as well.”

Harkes slowly entered the hole first.

He dug his fingers into the wall and slid down steadily.

At some point, Harques’ figure vanished beyond the darkness. A few seconds later, a small light appeared, and his voice called out.

“It’s not as deep as you think! Come down!”

Harkes’ shout came from the bottom.

Dojae slowly prepared to jump down.

Just as he was about to step down, his foot caught on the edge of the hole.

Thud.

Herteias grabbed Dojae’s shoulder.

“Why suddenly…”

Dojae turned toward Herteias.

Just as he asks what’s wrong, a man enters Dojae’s field of vision.

“Habik…”

Yes.

A handsome young man stood there, his brilliant blond hair fluttering in the snowy wind, his bearing noble and dignified.

At last, Havik of the Choice had revealed himself.

***

Habik of Choice.

If Gelahan’s first created apostate was Ridiran, then Havik was the very last apostate created.

By birth, he was human, hailing from the most powerful empire humanity had ever known before the Hundred Years’ War.

Not just an ordinary citizen, but the emperor’s only son.

The sole prince of a peaceful era, Havik could have anything he desired.

Even if he did nothing, the next emperor would be Havik, and the human world was as good as his.

Yet he was never truly happy.

Though laughter always overflowed within the castle walls, Havik alone could not share in it.

‘Boredom.’

Harvik did nothing.

Even without doing anything, the world ran smoothly and peacefully.

There was no need to command anything, no need to make decisions.

He simply lived the abundant life the seekers had promised.

From some point onward, the smile had vanished from Havik’s face.

‘Why am I living?’

That was the beginning of a single question that arose.

Why was he born? Why must he live? Curiosity about ‘life’ never left Havik’s mind.

‘There’s nothing I can do by my own will.’

Up until now, there wasn’t a single thing Havik had done by his own will.

No, there had never even been a situation where he could show any will.

He had simply followed the natural course.

He had lived as the world flowed, as it was predetermined.

‘No. There is something I can do.’

One day, a sudden realization struck him like death.

No one else ever thought that way, but Havik was different.

He thought that while birth was not his choice, death was something he could choose for himself.

Habik headed for the top of the castle tower to die.

As the prince headed for the tower’s summit, none of his subjects questioned his reason.

They merely smiled; no one wondered what choice Havik was about to make.

‘At least I can choose the day I die.’

The moment he opened the tower window and stepped out, Havik was overcome with emotion.

At that moment of choice between life and death, an inexplicable, ecstatic feeling welled up deep within his heart.

And then appeared a man who looked gloomy.

‘You have realized the distorted truth.’

Suddenly appearing in the sky, the man spoke in a warm voice to Havik, who hung from the tip of a spear.

He introduced himself as the Seeker, Gelahan.

“Master Gelahan.”

Habik was startled.

Seekers had not been seen for hundreds of years.

Their existence had been continuously spoken of, and the power of the gods had steadily flowed across the continent, but this was the first time he had ever seen a Seeker in person.

‘Come here.’

Gelahan slowly spread his arms, and Havik found himself floating through the air, drawn into Gelahan’s embrace.

Then, in a soft voice, Gelahan whispered into Havik’s ear.

‘Child deprived of freedom. From now on, live as your heart desires.’

***

Whoosh-.

Thud-.

As if it had never happened, the fierce blizzard ceases in an instant, and all around grows still.

Habik’s hair, which had been whipping about, settled calmly.

“Oh ho! You’ve grown stronger since then!”

Dojae drew his sword instantly while simultaneously casting the Golem Armor spell.

And without hesitation.

He fired black scales, aiming for Havik’s neck.

Thud.

Habik dodged it easily.

He shook his head and let out a deep sigh.

“This isn’t really my style. I don’t enjoy fights without conversation. How about it? We haven’t seen each other in months, so at least a quick hello…”

Shh-!

Before Havik could finish speaking, Dojae swung his black-scaled blade once more.

Faster than before, with even greater force.

Shh-!

If he’d barely dodged by moving his neck just now, this time Havik twisted his entire body to evade.

His face showed he was quite startled.

Dojae didn’t stop there, unleashing a flurry of sword strikes.

“Hoo. Ugh! Hah? Huh!”

The black scales, saturated with mana, grazed Havik’s body at a hair’s breadth.

Though they couldn’t land a fatal blow, they tore at Havik’s clothing and inflicted numerous small wounds.

This meant Dojae’s skill level could match Havik’s.

“You arrived at just the right moment! My luck! Had you been even a little late, I wouldn’t have been able to handle this alone!”

Habik instantly leapt away from Dojae and rose into the air.

He then crossed his hands at his waist, pulled them apart, and two daggers, previously unseen, slid out one by one.

“Do you think keeping your mouth shut will solve this?”

Whoosh-!

The two swords in Havik’s hands instantly emitted intense heat and were engulfed in flames.

Then, one by one, he hurled them toward the ground.

Flames shot out like arrows.

Dojae sensed the mana contained within was no ordinary force.

‘If they hit the ground, they’ll explode!’

Whoosh- whoosh-!

One dagger headed for the hole, the other for Herteias.

Dojae realized what he had to stop and immediately headed for the hole.

‘If it’s going to die, it’ll use its power on its own.’

Herteias should be able to block most explosions with ease.

But Harques beneath the hole would be roasted alive.

Therefore, Dojae decided to strike down the dagger flying toward the hole.

Clang!

Boom!

As the black scales and the flaming dagger collided, a tremendous fireball spread out, causing an explosion.

Yet it only managed to char Dojae’s golem armor.

Thud- Thud-.

Herteias, who had cast a barrier within the raging flames, stepped out.

As expected, the attack was somewhat insufficient to harm Herteias.

“Hey! How could you choose a Titan over me?”

Herteias approached, snorting angrily.

Anxiety washes over me at his words.

“Heltein…!”

Dojae called out to Herteias while simultaneously turning his head toward Havik.

Habik, smiling.

He sensed something was amiss.

Instead of the wary Dojae, Havik had targeted the proud dragon.

“There’s no rule saying it has to be done with words. Right?”

Another dagger appeared in Havik’s hand.

Though it was unclear where they were coming from, daggers kept springing forth.

Shush-shush-!

‘This must be how others feel when they see a pocket dimension…’

Dojae clenched his teeth and chased the dagger Havik threw.

Though seemingly thrown haphazardly, every dagger flew toward Herteias like ghosts.

Clang-!

Bang-!

It was a mistake to think that all he did was use words to bewitch his opponent into making unavoidable choices.

Each dagger Havik threw carried immense weight, and sweat slowly began to bead on Dojae’s back as he parried them.

Boom-!

Similarly, the double and triple layers of Herteias’ barrier began to crack and crumble.

“Damn it, you traitor!”

Herteias, boiling with rage, unleashed a barrage of magic spells at Havik floating in the sky.

He unleashed even the highest-grade spells without incantation.

But before any of them could reach Havik, a single gesture made them all vanish into thin air.

“Childish magic! How amusing!”

Dojae dodged by grabbing Herteias’s collar while continuing to parry the incoming daggers.

“Heltein, is this the time? Return to your original form immediately. That bastard is plotting some scheme…”

“No.”

“What?”

“I can’t. The Polymorph won’t wear off.”

Herteias’s brow was furrowed.

It seemed the effect of the choice Havik had made was affecting Herteias.

“You’re really no help…”

“How dare a mere human speak like that?”

“Enough! We need to figure out how to take that thing down first.”

Dojai parried the rain of daggers, grabbing Herteias and moving.

If they left him like this, unable to manifest as a dragon, the barrier would eventually shatter and he would die.

In the upcoming battle against Gelahan, having even one more ally of Herteias’ caliber would be advantageous.

‘This endless running won’t end anything. Seekers! Is there no way?’

Swish.

Stones moved along the collar of Herteias’s robe, connected to Dojae’s hand.

It was to equip Herteias with golem armor and bolster his defenses.

– Unfortunately, compared to Havik, it lacks the caliber.

– Only slightly. But as the saying goes, in a battle between masters, a single hair’s breadth makes the difference between heaven and earth.

– Yeah, yeah! It’s a shame, but Dojae’s caliber falls just short of Havik by that one hair’s breadth.

Trembling-.

The ascetics casually answered Dojae’s question.

My frustration flares up.

‘I asked for a method!’

Once the golem armor was fully equipped on Herteias, Dojae spun 180 degrees and charged at Havik.

– What if we’re outmatched? We’ll just have to lower their level.

– How about we make the first proposal?

– Always making the first move? Might be fun to see what happens if we turn the tables?

He clenched his jaw.

Dojae bit his lip hard.

The seekers’ answers weren’t satisfying.

But it was worth a try.

After all, Havik’s power is about staking your honor, isn’t it?

“Hey, Havik! Let’s make a bet!”

Dojae shouted as he rushed toward Havik.