How to Survive as a terminally-ill Dragon

Chapter 19. The Tomb of the Heroic King (3)

The moment Lois’s strike connected with the Hero King’s heart, a colossal sword of light cleaved through the world. Simultaneously, an immense shockwave struck the tomb, causing countless pieces of gold to scatter in all directions, while the tomb trembled violently.

Rumble—

Lois’s eyes flickered as he felt the vibrations beneath him. He had confirmed his all-out attack had hit its mark and at the same time, anticipated his own demise since the Hero King’s sword continued its descent despite having a pierced chest. Lois’s body, having drawn upon all its energy, felt heavy as waterlogged cotton, and he was utterly powerless against the pressure from the disparity of realms. That was the last thing Lois remembered.

But then…

“Huh…?”

Lois hesitantly opened his eyes. He was surprised to find himself not only alive and breathing but also completely unharmed.

‘…How did this happen?’

Lois blinked in confusion. His gaze turned to the left.

“Gasp!”

A breath caught in his throat.

“What is this?!”

Only a 30 cm distance away. A profound and immeasurable gash lay a mere 30 cm from him—so deep and long that one couldn’t fathom where it ended. Moreover, the slash extended not just across the floor but also up the walls and the ceiling.

The strike was so fierce it had torn through the ceiling, allowing a view of the clear sky from hundreds of meters below in the tomb. Floor, walls, ceiling—it meant that a single blow had literally split the tomb in two.

‘Is this the realm of zero?’

Could such an act truly be the work of a human? Was this any different from cleaving a mountain?

While Lois marveled at the scar left by the Hero King, the tomb’s vibrations intensified.

Rumble—

Turning pale, Lois refocused and observed the Hero King closely. Finally, he understood why he was still alive.

[Young… dragon… protected…]

The Hero King’s left hand had been holding back his right, which gripped the sword—as if the left was restraining the right.

Crack—

Ultimately, the left hand crushed the right, and the rusted sword the Hero King had been holding tumbled down. When Lois looked at the Hero King, their eyes met, and in the midst of escalating tremors, the walls of the Hero King’s tomb began to crack. Collapse was accelerating.

At any moment, it seemed the structure would crumble entirely. Then, within this chaos, the Hero King spoke.

[Leave… this place.]

“Why…?” Lois asked, and at the same time, the Hero King’s body began to decay into dust from the legs up.

The King disintegrated rapidly. His final message faintly echoed in Lois’s ear.

[…to… protect… care…]

“What…?” But Lois couldn’t hear clearly over the noise and the collapsing tomb. And with that, the Hero King’s form vanished completely.

Crash—

Amidst the crashing sounds echoing everywhere, Lois watched the disintegrating remains, lost in a daze, when suddenly…

“Lo-lois! We need to get out now!”

“Aaargh! Lois!”

“We’re gonna die!”

The twins and Finn snapped Lois out of his stupor.

‘This is no time to dawdle!’

Lois jerked back to reality. He urgently transformed into his dragon form and took the lead.

“If we went back the way we came, we’d be buried with the tomb. Thankfully, the Hero King kindly made us an escape route.”

“Stick close!”

Flapping his wings, Lois soared upwards, following the path torn open by the Hero King’s blade, with the twins and Finn right behind him.

They had not left the tomb too long before it collapsed entirely.

Boom—

Thus, the great ancient king and his valiant warriors were laid to eternal rest, never to awaken again.

Fluff—

Three shadows rose above the piled snow. They had flown for a good while, escaping the collapsing area. Only when they reached a safe zone did they land.

“Heck- huff.”

Returning to human form, Lois caught his breath harshly.

‘What’s… What happened exactly?’

Confusion painted his face.

‘If the Hero King’s left hand hadn’t stopped it, I would have died for sure.’

Remarkable as they were, the very existence of a zero-level warrior was an absolute calamity to the still young party of Lois.

Lois mulled over why the Hero King had hesitated in his final attack.

“Haa… I don’t get it.”

But no matter how much he pondered, no clear answer came to mind.

‘Didn’t the Hero King say something at the end?’

He thought he saw the Hero King’s lips move toward him as he vanished. However, the rush to escape the crumbling tomb caused him to miss the words clearly. While he was curious about what the Hero King had said, he was now gone without a trace.

Well… Lois didn’t have the courage to ask again anyway…

Shaking off those thoughts, Lois sighed in relief.

‘After all that, I’m still alive. And… I got what I wanted.’

It was true; he had to leave behind the vast treasures of the tomb, but he had acquired the most valuable possession.

‘I need to take the time to look it over.’

Thinking of the Hero King’s Martial Tome safely hidden in his subspace, the unease he’d felt brightened somewhat.

‘Let’s take a rest…’

With that thought, Lois lay down using the snow as his blanket. But his repose was brief.

“Heeiiing…”

“Whaaang…”

The sobbing sounds from beside him drew his attention. Lifting his upper body, he saw the twins huddled together, their shoulders shaking.

‘Sigh… They must’ve been pretty startled.’

To the immature children, the incidents just transpired were unquestionably shocking. After sighing once more, Lois took out an elixir from his subspace to offer to the twins.

“Here, stop crying and take this.”

“Hic-. Okay…”

“Hic-. I want another flavor…”

“…Here.”

The children accepted the elixirs from Lois with teary eyes. They sucked on the treats to soothe their nerves while Lois popped his share into his mouth to replenish the mana that his strained Dragon Heart needed.

‘I’ve never overexerted myself like this before.’

Indeed, it had been an exceptional day.

A slight replenishment of mana brought a wave of fatigue rushing over him.

‘Now I can truly rest…’

Settling to take his rest, Lois closed his eyes. Not long after, he drifted off to sleep, with the twins snuggling close beside him. The children nestled together on the white snowbank.

‘Rest peacefully.’

Finn stood guard over the weary children.

* * *

Lois and his companions took their rest on the snowbank. It was not until the next morning that they got up.

“Let’s get going.”

Feeling his mana replenished, Lois managed to stand, despite lingering fatigue. Remaining on the snowbank indefinitely was not an option.

“Are we going?”

“Are we going?”

The twins popped their heads out of the snow where they buried themselves.

“Yeah. It’s time to go down the mountain.”

“Okay!”

The leader began to move, and his followers naturally tagged along. The twins sprung out of the snow, and soon Lois and his party were on their way down the mountain.

A few hours later.

‘It feels like we’ve come quite a way, are we still that far away?’

They had been walking non-stop since escaping the tomb, but all they could see was still just snow. Thankfully, dragons were indifferent to cold and heat and only ate to glean elemental power. If Lois and his companions were merely ordinary children, they would have frozen to death before even reaching the bottom of the mountain.

Lois looked back at the path they had traveled. Three pairs of footprints marked the snow heavily. And beyond those prints, the ridge where the Hero King’s Tomb presumably lay.

‘It would be wise to be more careful from now on.’

Perhaps it was the encounter with the Tomb of the Hero King that had heightened his caution.

‘And the twins… They must have been frightened; I hope they’re alright.’

Lois was concerned not only for himself but also for the twins. Such an event would have been terrifying for such young kids. But contrary to his worries, the twins were faring much better than expected. They were as chatty and lively as ever, as if nothing had happened.

“Yeah… I worried for nothing.”

Lois chuckled at the sight of the twins romping spiritedly through the snow.

The frisky twins promptly gathered around Lois, waving their arms and circling him.

“Lois, look! Snow!”

“…Haven’t we seen enough snow already?”

“But it’s our first time seeing it, no?”

“Yeah… soak it all in then.”

Seeing Kani’s bright eyes, Lois turned his attention away. If he entertained every remark, he feared he’d end up with stress-induced gastritis.

If all these events hadn’t stemmed from his use of spatial magic.

If that hadn’t brought about even an ounce of guilt. He might not have dealt with the twins’ antics at all.

“Kya ha ha!”

“Ha ha ha!”

The twins continued to frolic in the snow, unheeded by Lois’s lack of response.

The kids ran through the snowfield untiringly, showing the true endurance of a dragon. Watching them, Lois had a simple reflection.

“It’s peaceful.”

Almost too peaceful.

‘There’s not a monster in sight.’

The Winter Continent, adjoining the Demon Sea, typically had more monsters compared to other lands. Hungry creatures made worse by the harsh seasons, often harmed travelers, a common occurrence.

Yet Lois and his party hadn’t even encountered the infamous snow goblins.

‘Well, there are three dragons here, radiating energy.’

Despite their youth, Lois and the twins had the natural vigor of dragons. Instead of hiding it, they released it freely for a pleasant journey, deterring any would-be attackers.

‘Unless tainted by demonic energy.’

Monsters consumed by demonic energy and bereft of reason might have attacked, but such creatures were not commonplace.

“Good.”

He was quite pleased with the ongoing tranquility.

Catching up with the playful twins didn’t take long as they had stopped not far ahead.

“Lois, look! Smoke!”

“Oh?”

Khan pointed across the mountain ridge, indicating rising smoke—clearly not from just one or two sources.

‘Smoke…’

Smoke meant fire, and monsters didn’t make fire. Thus, humans or other sentient beings must be near, possibly a village.

The thought of discovering a village for the first time since the disaster uplifted even Lois.

“Let’s go!”

“Yes, Captain!”

With Lois taking the lead, the twins followed him.

Thirty minutes later, Lois, who had been excited at the thought of finding a village, was taken aback.

“What is this…?”

But the sight before him dashed that excitement completely.