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Chapter 272 - An Unexpected Helper (1)

“Yes, I can see the triangular rock wall in the distance, so we’re definitely in the right place.”

“I’ve always thought that this was merely a shelter. I had no idea that this place had such secrets...”

The Khan’s Eye was located in the southwestern part of the Shahatra desert, and at first glance it looked like an ordinary cave with nothing in it. However, this cave held secrets that not even High Priest Viram or the queen herself knew about.

This cave was actually the Tomb of Souls, where the souls of the ancestors who had ruled Shahatra were enshrined.

Of course, the bodies of the past emperors had been buried somewhere else. In Shahatra, corpses, even those of emperors, didn’t mean much. People regarded them as merely the symbols of a piece of history.

However, the soul was a different story.

The people of Shahatra believed that when their emperor, who was considered the son of La, died, he would join La in protecting Shahatra. Therefore, the emperors of Shahatra had two separate graves, one for their bodies and one for their souls.

The Khan’s Eye was the tomb for their souls.

‘So there’s a reason this place is called the Khan’s Eye.’

It turned out that the Khan’s Eye had two holes in the ceiling, so at night, the moonlight made it seem that a pair of eyes was staring from the ceiling. That was why Hedajaon I, the founder and first emperor of Shahatra, had made this cave the Tomb of Souls and enshrined his own soul here.

“This ring, La’s token of proof, is the only divine object I have, but in the Tomb of Souls there are other divine objects of my late ancestors. So, as I’ve said before, if you need divine power to defeat Arthus, I can lend you the divine objects of my ancestors until you deal with him,” said Herarion.

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

Herarion was going to lend the belongings of his late ancestors for the sake of revenge. This proved to Henry once again just how vengeful Herarion was.

“Let’s go.”

Herarion led the way, with Henry following closely. This cave ran unexpectedly deep, and it took a few minutes until they finally reached the end of it.

“Would you mind stepping back for a bit?” asked Herarion.

Henry took a few steps back. Herarion then stepped up to the wall, which Henry believed to be the end of the cave, and placed his right hand on it.

“Dufjqns! Wmfrjdns gksrkdnl ehltlrlf qkfkqslek!” uttered Herarion as he was casting a spell.

Oong!

It was a short spell, and as soon as Herarion finished casting it, glowing white letters materialized on the plain wall. Henry couldn’t help gasping in astonishment when he saw that the glowing letters were.

‘Demonic language?’

This was the demonic language, which was at the same time the language people used for black magic and for illusions.

Henry smirked as he recognized the language.

‘To think I’d see it again here....’

Henry had learned from past experiences that this language was used for those three things. However, the fact that he saw this language here, in the Tomb of Souls, where the souls of Herarion’s ancestors were bound, made him think that there were additional uses for this language besides the ones he already knew about.

‘Well, it’s not important right now, so I’ll figure it out later.’

Wizards were incredibly curious by nature, but not to the extent of being unreasonable. As such, Henry pushed his curiosity aside and continued staring at the luminescent wall.

Bzzzz-!

The wall started vibrating, causing a faint cloud of dust. Soon, it split apart in the middle, revealing a secret pathway.

The vibrations stopped. There was nothing but complete darkness beyond the huge crack in the wall.

“Shall we go?”

It seemed that the preparations were complete. At Herarion’s suggestion, Henry stepped forward, and as soon as he set foot on the other side of the wall...

Thud-!

Herarion and Henry collapsed to the floor.

*

- Kyaaaa!

There was a high-pitched cry, which didn’t come from the Chimeras made by Dracan.

It was the cry of a demonic beast, one that had been born a monster, as opposed to the Chimeras. The cry had come from a Crustacean, a monster that dwelled in the Shahatra Mountains.

The Crustacean let out another deafening shriek. It did so because it reached the highest point in the Shahatra Mountains.

- Kyaaaa!

This Crustacean was the first demonic beast to reach the top of the Shahatra Mountains, which was normally unreachable due to a powerful illusion barrier created by the priests of Shahatra.

Of course, reaching the peak of the mountain was physically possible, but because of the illusions, most creatures would unwittingly walk in circles or become immobilized altogether. The effect of the illusions would usually persist until the intruder starved to death. Therefore, the demonic beasts kept away from this area no matter what, instinctively sensing danger from it.

However, there were always accidents and unique circumstances, and as such, this Crustacean had found itself in the forbidden zone.

The creature had stepped into the barrier rather accidentally, and when it realized that the barrier wasn’t as dangerous as it thought, it courageously pushed forward. In the end, it managed to reach the peak of the Shahatra Mountains and could now gaze at the vast desert below.

- Kyaaaaa!

That was why the Crustacean was shrieking. The creature was overcome by the exhilarating feeling of standing above the vast Shahatra desert, knowing that it had conquered a territory that no other demonic beast had ever set foot on!

- Caooo?

- Krrr?

The Crustacean’s shrieks attracted the attention of every demonic beast in the mountains.

All nearby creatures stopped what they were doing and turned to where the sound was coming from.

- Kyaaa!

One by one, the demonic beasts realized why the Crustacean was making those noises.

- Kyaaaa!

With that, the demonic beasts rushed toward the Crustacean, thirsty for a new world after being trapped in the Shahatra Mountains for decades.

*

“Agh...” Henry let out a short groan as he opened his eyes. It had been a long time since he last blacked out like this after his reincarnation. Given how powerful Henry was, there weren’t many things that could knock him out cold.

“Your Majesty?”

Henry quickly looked for Herarion after he came to his senses. It would be a huge problem if his fainting had somehow endangered Herarion.

Just as Henry was starting to panic, a familiar voice called out his name.

“Henry.”

Henry looked up, and in front of him was Herarion, squatting and staring at him.

“Your Majesty?”

“No, you dolt. Can’t you recognize me?”

“Sorry? What do you... H-huh...?”

It was an absurd exchange. Henry got goosebumps as he looked at Herarion speaking to him in a strange way. He realized that this man wasn’t Herarion, but his father, Herabola Khan II.

“H-Herabola?”

“So it really is you.”

Henry was shocked that Herabola recognized him. He jumped to his feet and looked around in disbelief.

Herabola gigged, finding Henry\'s flustered reaction most amusing.

“Don’t be so flustered, it’s not like you. Take a look over there.”

Herabola pointed to a wall made entirely of mirrors.

As soon as Henry saw his reflection in the mirror, he felt shivers going down his spine.

“...That’s... me?”

Henry Morris.

What he saw in the mirror was not the Henry who had become the continent’s first magic swordsman, who had reached the 7th-circle, and who had led the Allied Powers against the imperial army.

The man in the reflection was Henry Morris, the first Archmage ever to reach the 8th-Circle, the man who had built the Magic Spire and founded the Magic School, the man who had helped Golden Jackson unify the continent and found the Eurasian empire.

Henry was distraught by his reflection in the mirror—a younger version of himself before he was executed.

“H-how...!”

Henry’s mind went blank due to the shock. He thought he would never see that version of himself again, yet here he was, standing right in front of him, seemingly alive and breathing.

Henry then spread his fingers apart and moved them, and with a look of disbelief, he tried to activate the Core in his stomach, the power source used by knights.

‘This can’t be!’

To his dismay, he didn’t feel anything in his stomach. Instead, he could feel an enormous amount of mana that was boiling up in his heart, one that wasn’t even comparable to that of a 7th-Circle.

“Are you done being shocked?” asked Herabola.

Henry looked at him in surprise, just like a child who had just been caught stealing.

Seeing Henry like this, Herabola chuckled and said, “To think I’d see this look on your face, heh. I guess people do change when they die.”

“What?”

“What do you mean, what? Henry, get a grip. If you’re going to barge into my tomb, don’t you think you should at least try not to look so clueless?”

Herabola was full of jokes.

Henry finally realized what was going on.

“Then this is...!”

“That’s right. Welcome, Henry, to my tomb.”

At Henry’s realization, Herabola opened his arms and formally welcomed him. Just as he said, Henry was in the Tomb of Souls, the home of the late emperors of Shahatra, hidden beneath the Khan’s Eye.

Therefore, upon stepping foot inside, Henry was separated, freed from the body that had once belonged to someone else. Only Henry’s soul entered Herabola’s tomb.

“I see.”

Once he realized what was going on, Henry slowly calmed down and adjusted to this bizarre situation.

Seeing this, Herabola said, “You adjust frighteningly fast.”

“Where’s Herarion?”

“Why are you looking for my son? Don’t worry, he’s being punished right now. Anyway, what a damned son he is. I told him that this was a royal secret, and yet he told someone else about it? He told you, out of all people. Can you believe that?”

As he complained about his son, Herabola raised his hand to his forehead and shook his head. It was only natural to be ashamed of his son, since telling someone else about the royal secret was quite immature.

“I’m aware of your situation. You came here to get divine powers right?” said Herabola.

“How did you know?”

“This is my home, and the secret that I’ve spent my entire life hiding has been exposed, so of course I would know.”

Herabola was right, so there really wasn’t any reason for Henry to be surprised. If anything, it was better for Henry to not have to convince him with a long explanation. Besides, the two of them had been close in his previous life.

Relieved that he could cut to the chase, Henry said calmly, “Then I won’t need to explain everything. Herabola, I need your help.”

“No.”

“...What?”

“Are you deaf? I said no.”

Without any hesitation, Herabola instantly rejected Henry’s request for help.