Death Element

Hearing Fenrir's story, Cien didn't know how to feel.

The terrifying image of Hela that he had held in his mind was now shattered. It was difficult to digest that Hela, a dragon with power beyond Rank King, was actually a Proxy who safeguarded peace.

Moreover, there was something else that made him worried.

"If Hela is freed from her seal, will she seek revenge against Kastia?"

<...I don't know. Honestly, this is the first time I've seen someone communicate with that dragon after she died. So right now, I'm somewhat surprised because I thought she was long gone for hundreds of years. I didn't expect that her soul was still down there... I don't know how Hela feels at the moment, Cien. But like her, I hope you will create the passage. I want to meet her.>

"Why don't you do it yourself?"

Cien fell into silence, deep in thought.

He felt torn. Hela might have sounded kind in the past (well not really kind), but what about now? After experiencing betrayal? Cien feared opening a Pandora's box.

Especially during a time when demons were beginning to resurface. He was afraid of adding to the chaos that was already unfolding.

Cien then asked about Hela's nature from Fenrir, who answered that Hela was somewhat arrogant and reclusive.

However, behind that arrogance, Hela was extremely responsible and had a warm heart for those who were weak.

Cien remained silent, lost in thought.

Beside him, Fenrir observed him, realizing why Cien's aura felt so familiar to him.

'Ahh, that's why… this is Hela's aura... What are you planning, Hela?'

The aura emitted by Cien was somewhat unique. That's why Fenrir was a bit forgetful, as he hadn't sensed a similar aura in a long time. It was Hela's aura, an aura from the element of death.

Fenrir felt that Hela maybe wanted to make Cien a follower of the God of Death. But was that really the case?

There was a reason why followers of the God of Death were eradicated from Kastia by the kings back then.

They were all afraid of the appearance of the next Hela, a being that could surpass the strongest powers in Kastia.

If Cien could master the element of death, it would be very intriguing, Fenrir thought. However, that could only be seen in the future.

Fenrir then saw Cien raise his head. The man frowned but said that he would follow Hela's wish.

Cien even emphasized that he was making a big gamble. With determination, though sweat trickling down his neck, Fenrir watched as Cien returned to his shop.

Fenrir chuckled at the man's behavior. Cien was quite unique, and there were many things he wanted to witness from him.

Fenrir also felt that Hela shared the same sentiment, which was why the reclusive dragon had formed a connection with Cien.

Fenrir wasn't worried at all if Hela freed herself from the seal.

Would Hela seek revenge? Fenrir didn't care; he even welcomed it. Hela's actions would only be seen as the consequence of human folly.

Fenrir knew Hela well. The dragon loved Kastia deeply and was always willing to protect it.

But the question remained: Did the humans living on Kastia deserve Hela's protection? It would be intriguing to see what Hela would decide.

Fenrir believed that Hela wouldn't blindly seek revenge. The dragon would observe and determine for herself whether humanity was still worthy of protection or not.

For Fenrir, he no longer cared. His trust in humanity had been shattered by human hands themselves.

Perhaps...

Only the humans in Death Valley were the ones he felt deserving of Hela's protection.

Back to Cien.

He returned to the forge, sat in his chair, and tried to call Hela. He told her that he agreed to her request.

"..."

"For now?"

Cien pondered for a moment. Somehow, he shared the same thoughts as Hela.

If humans were still the same as they were during Hela's time, he felt that they didn't deserve to be saved.

Thinking about this made Cien uncomfortable.

"Are the demons really that strong?"

"There's Fenrir."

Cien then heard a long sigh from Hela.

After hearing the story of the Dragon of Catastrophe, he didn't know why, but he no longer felt afraid of the cursed dragon.

Hela's tone of voice was haughty and oppressive to those who heard it, but Cien knew from the beginning that there was no evil intent behind it.

The arrogance was simply a trait of Hela.

After that, Cien heard Hela say that she no longer intended to help humans. Even if she were freed from the seal, she would only watch from the sidelines in response to the Abyss threat.

But, there's a reason Hela offered to help Cien create a weapon for his daughter. Hela and Fenrir were quite impressed with Kirana's talent.

Hela herself felt that Kirana had the potential to become a Proxy in the future. However, for now, she didn't disclose this to Cien.

Instead, Hela explained to Cien that she would grant him one power through a curse that connected them.

"A power?" Cien asked.

As Cien listened, an aura of death surrounded him, just like he had experienced before when Hela's chains pulled him.

Seconds later, excruciating pain shot through his brain, making him writhe on the floor.

"Arrrggg!"

The pain persisted for a minute before finally subsiding. Cien lay sprawled on the floor, his body drenched in sweat.

A rush of new information flooded his mind. Information about the newly acquired skill.

"Netherworld Flame…"

Cien reciprocated Hela's farewell in his thoughts, then he stood up, eager to continue crafting his weapon.

From the information received, Cien understood the power of his new skill, but also the side effect that would plague him – an insatiable soul hunger.

Cien would forever feel famished and could never be satisfied by ordinary food. He needed to consume the souls of humans, demons, monsters, or other creatures.

In order to consume souls, Cien had to be able to capture the souls himself.

And fortunately, by acquiring the [Netherworld Flame], he automatically learned Death Magic, which allowed him to manipulate the element of death.

Cien finally grasped the fundamentals of this death element, which he previously thought was not much different from the element of darkness.

But, in reality, it was vastly different. The core of the death element was souls. Those who mastered the death element could control the spirits, souls, or essences of deceased individuals.

Cien had to learn how to manipulate this death element if he wanted to capture souls to consume.

He wanted to start forging the Heart of Ice, but he realized that his stamina was quite depleted from receiving the skill from Hela earlier. He wasn't sure if he could do it now.

Therefore, Cien decided to store the Heart of Ice back in his storage and would begin crafting it tomorrow.

For now, he was curious about his manipulation of the death element.

While he was quite adept at the water element, dealing with the death element was an entirely different matter. He hadn't even seen what a soul looked like.

At least, that's what Cien thought before he stepped out of the forging room with the Heart of Ice.

As he looked around, his eyes widened at the scene before him. He saw numerous transparent figures floating in the air, most of which were monsters.

"...did I just open my third eye? Or mind eyes? Souls... spirits... ghosts… are you kidding me? Eating the ghosts, huh... ugh."

Cien's mind wandered into slightly strange thoughts.

Fortunately, the ghosts he saw didn't look much different from typical monsters. They didn't have the horrifying appearance of the ghosts he had heard about in stories from the past.

'Even though I've never seen ghosts before.'

There were around eight ghosts or souls in the backyard of Cien's shop.

He wanted to try to control them as he did with water. The result was that he could move them, but not as smoothly as manipulating water.

"Hmm, it's enough to capture souls for consumption. But... it needs more practice to perfect the control."

Knowing that he could perform this manipulation, Cien walked back to the shop casually.

Ghosts were not a problem for him; he found monsters scarier than the floating spirits. If Cien spotted a ghost entering his house, he would simply manipulate it to throw it out.

This new ability made Cien's environment more lively, but he was somewhat annoyed because his private space was now filled with souls floating in every corner.

"Death element, huh? Hahaha, they said Hela is a recluse? I guess with this ability, being alone is not a problem. There are plenty of friends wandering everywhere... sigh..."

Nightfall.

Feeling tired after having dinner with Kirana and Lilinette, Cien excused himself and went to bed.

He went to the bathroom to clean up. However, when he opened the door, he saw the soul of a serpent-like monster filling the entire bathroom space.

Since it was only a soul, Cien could enter, but as he now knew about the death element, passing through the soul of the serpent, he felt something strange entering his body.

Shivering, Cien quickly left and threw the serpent's soul out of the bathroom. After finishing his business in the bathroom, he went to his room, laid down on the bed, and found a monkey monster's soul already lying next to him.

"...Seriously?" Cien said, exasperated, as he tossed the soul out of the room.

"Goddamnit! Hela... Can you take back this power after the weapon is crafted? I think I'll go crazy..."