NOVEL NEXT Chapter 23 - Aru
Chapter 23 – Aru
The Glaston Estate Tragedy.
As the name suggested, it referred to the horrific massacre that took place at the mansion of Count Glaston, the lord of Venus City and its wealthiest resident.
The main scenario of ‘Annerose,’ the playable character in the western part of Dragon Hunter Origins, began with her arrival at the Glaston Estate.
‘Annerose visits Count Glaston, a close friend of her deceased father, to pay her respects.’
Count Glaston warmly welcomes Annerose, as always, and invites her to stay for a few days, an offer she readily accepts.
‘And that night,’
The Glaston Estate Tragedy occurs.
‘A horrific incident where everyone, from Count Glaston to the servants, men and women, young and old, are massacred.’
A powerful sleep gas envelops the estate and the surrounding area, ensuring there are no witnesses as the massacre unfolds swiftly and efficiently.
‘Except for a single survivor.’
Annerose, the playable character for the western part and one of the ‘Seven Heroes who left behind hope for the future.’
Thanks to a magical device she received from her master, she was the only one who didn’t fall asleep when the sleep gas spread.
‘Annerose tried to save the Count and the others during the tragedy… but it was a futile effort.’
However, her efforts weren’t entirely in vain.
Annerose learns that the attackers were after the ‘Jewel of the Spirits’ kept at the Glaston Estate, and she receives the jewel from the Count’s butler.
‘Annerose flees to protect the Jewel of the Spirits, and the Hecatoncheires pursue her to retrieve it—that’s Annerose’s early-game scenario.’
And at the end of her desperate escape, she encounters Balboa, the Dragonman of the Hecatoncheires, the boss of Chapter 1 and the orchestrator of the Glaston Estate Tragedy.
‘So I will stop Balboa here.’
Even if he defeated Balboa, he didn’t think he could completely prevent the Glaston Estate Tragedy.
The Hecatoncheires could simply send another Dragonman in his place.
But he could at least disrupt their plans.
Moreover, if Balboa was personally involved at this stage, it would definitely have an impact, large or small, on the main scenario that followed.
‘If I’m lucky, I can even influence the Advent of the Magical Beast incident.’
The Advent of Valakia, the Magical Beast, the main event of the Western Arc, which would devastate the entire western region.
‘I have to change things from the very beginning.’
In typical web novels or manga, the protagonist often allows the main scenario to unfold according to the “canon” in order to intervene at a “critical moment,” but he had to take a different approach with Dragon Hunter Origins.
‘Because this is a story with a predetermined ending of destruction.’
In a typical story, the protagonists’ efforts would thwart the villains’ plots one by one, and the situation would eventually improve, but Dragon Hunter Origins was different.
Since it was a story heading towards destruction, the Empire’s situation worsened with each event, not improved.
In other words, the more he allowed the main scenario to unfold, the faster the world would snowball towards destruction.
‘So I will change things from the very beginning.’
He would break the premise of a ‘story heading towards destruction.’
Of course, no one knew how the butterfly effect would work, but without it, it would be impossible to change the flow towards destruction.
“[Master, we’ve almost caught up to the target.]”
“[The kidnapped woman is still deeply asleep.]”
Luther took in his surroundings as he listened to Integra’s report.
Balboa was running at full speed along the main road leading to the Anes River, outside Anus Village.
Since there was a de facto curfew in this world, unlike Earth, there wasn’t a single person on the road besides Balboa and himself.
About 9 minutes after starting the pursuit,
Balboa, who had been running ahead, suddenly slowed down, turned around, and opened his mouth wide.
*Fwoosh!*
A massive stream of flames erupted in a straight line, like a flamethrower.
But Luther had anticipated this and leaped to the side to dodge the attack, drawing his axe at the same time.
‘Balboa.’
The Chapter 1 boss.
His special abilities were flame breath and dragon transformation.
He boasted high physical defense and monstrous strength, but as a Chapter 1 boss, his patterns were simple.
Moreover, he was currently carrying a woman on his shoulder, restricting his movements.
‘A quick and decisive battle.’
The reason Balboa stopped wasn’t just because he had been caught.
It was because he was confident he could defeat Luther in a one-on-one fight.
And his confidence wasn’t entirely misplaced.
He hadn’t even flinched after being hit by Luther’s full-powered punch.
“You fool. Did you really think I ran because I was afraid of you?”
Balboa smiled, saying exactly what Luther expected.
In his eyes, Luther was probably just a reckless young man.
It wasn’t a bad thing.
Rather, it was good.
The more complacent Balboa became, the higher Luther’s chances of winning.
“Hiya!”
Luther shouted loudly, as if taking the bait, and swung his axe horizontally.
Balboa took a step back, easily dodging the axe, and then gathered flames in his mouth.
Luther could see through his intentions.
He would block Luther’s second attack, powered by centrifugal force, with his left arm and then push him back.
And then, while Luther was off balance, he would unleash a torrent of flames.
It was a pattern he had often seen in the game, and exactly what he wanted.
*Whoosh!*
The giant axe, having sliced through the air horizontally, spun with a loud noise and moved above Luther’s head.
And at that moment, Balboa leaned forward and took a step, as if waiting for this.
He was confident he could block Luther’s attack with one arm.
He wasn’t wrong.
He was wearing a gauntlet, and his body could easily withstand ordinary swords and spears.
Moreover, there was a considerable height difference between them.
If he stepped forward and raised his left arm to disrupt the axe’s trajectory, Luther’s attack, lacking power, wouldn’t even leave a scratch on him.
So Luther smiled.
Seeing Balboa’s left arm rising before him, he swung his axe without hesitation.
“Boosters!”
*Rumble!*
The thrusters ignited with a roar.
The axe blade, instantly accelerated, hurtled down with terrifying speed.
“Kyaa!”
Although he had anticipated the attack itself, he misjudged the timing.
Moreover, the power was far beyond what he had imagined.
Balboa’s left arm, along with the gauntlet, was severed.
The axe blade struck the ground, and the severed arm fell and rolled.
“Kyaaa!”
Blood gushed like a fountain from the mangled wound.
Balboa screamed and stumbled backward, the flames in his mouth dissipating pathetically.
“Ugh! Gah!”
But Balboa was a warrior.
Instead of continuing to scream, he regained his composure and threw the sky-blue-haired woman he had been carrying onto the ground.
He couldn’t fight while carrying her with only one arm.
And at that very moment,
Luther, who had been catching his breath after the first attack, charged again with his axe raised.
Balboa now knew the power of the axe.
So instead of charging head-on, he leaped back and spewed flames.
The flames were weak because he hadn’t had time to gather enough power, but it didn’t matter.
He just needed to block the path.
Slow down his charge and then find a way!
But it was a miscalculation.
Because Luther wasn’t charging towards Balboa.
The moment Balboa breathed fire, Luther leaped towards the woman Balboa had thrown, quickly scooped her up, and started running in the opposite direction.
“Huh?”
By the time Balboa let out a dumbfounded sound, the distance between them was already considerable.
Plan B.
If the first booster attack didn’t take him down, he would just grab the woman and run.
“[Master! Success!]”
Luther hadn’t confused his objectives.
His priority was to disrupt the operation, not to eliminate Balboa.
‘I’m not even sure I can defeat him, and even if I could, it wouldn’t achieve much!’
The Hecatoncheires could simply send another Dragonman in Balboa’s place.
So he prioritized the irreplaceable woman.
He didn’t know what the Hecatoncheires planned to do with the sky-blue-haired woman, but if they needed her, he would take her and disrupt their plans!
“Integra!”
“[Coming!]”
As Integra responded, the drone, which had been hovering in the air, swooped down like a hawk preying on its target.
Balboa, focused on Luther, didn’t even notice the drone descending from behind.
“[One million volts!]”
With Integra’s cute shout, a massive electrical discharge erupted from the drone attached to Balboa’s back.
“Kyaaa!”
Balboa screamed in pain and fell to his knees.
Although he didn’t lose consciousness, let alone die, his movements were momentarily paralyzed.
“[Master! Run!]”
‘I’m already running!’
Luther, creating distance using Combat Acceleration, looked forward and activated vision sharing with the drone.
Balboa, trembling, was getting to his feet, letting out a roar.
“Groooooo!”
It wasn’t an ordinary roar.
It was ‘Dragon Fear,’ filled with the rage of a dragon.
“[M… Master! The target’s life signs are rapidly increasing!]”
Integra, having launched the drone away from Balboa as if fleeing, exclaimed in surprise.
Balboa’s life signs detected by the sensors had increased more than fivefold.
Dragon transformation.
The Dragonmen, inheriting the blood of the Demonic Dragon Helkanes, were awakening their true nature.
This was the main reason Luther chose to flee rather than fight Balboa to the death!
“Groooooo!”
Balboa’s entire body swelled.
Scales erupted from his skin, and a tail suddenly sprouted, sweeping across the ground.
“[T… the law of conservation of mass?!]”
Integra exclaimed in genuine shock.
Transforming from a human into a monster was one thing, but how could his size increase more than tenfold?!
Balboa’s dragon form.
In the original game, it appeared in the final phase of the 3-phase boss battle. Although smaller than the Jogress, it was far more dangerous.
While the Jogress was ultimately a dragonkin, Balboa, although a low-ranking Dragonman, was a true dragon, inheriting the blood of Helkanes, the Demonic Dragon.
“Grarararara!”
Balboa belonged to the ‘Earth Dragon’ classification of dragons.
The horns sprouting from his head, back, shoulders, and tail, along with his red scales, gave him a menacing appearance.
But unlike the Jogress, which was bipedal, Balboa’s dragon form was more suited for quadrupedal locomotion.
In other words, having lost his left arm, his mobility was significantly reduced.
‘I can escape!’
He would return to Anus Village.
If such a large dragon approached the village, all the adventurers staying there would surely come out.
‘And among them, there would be dragon hunters!’
Anus Village was a large place, comparable to a small city.
Due to its size and location, there were bound to be professional hunters.
‘So choose.’
Whether to attack Anus Village, swarming with hunters, or to admit defeat and flee.
‘Either way, I win!’
Having secured the woman, he was in a winning position no matter what.
But at that very moment,
“[Master! Be careful!]”
The drone’s view and Luther’s view overlapped.
And Luther saw it.
Balboa, running awkwardly on three legs, opened his mouth wide and unleashed flames!
*Fwoosh!*
It wasn’t ordinary fire.
It was Dragon Breath, a power only true dragons, not dragonkin like the Jogress, could wield.
“Ugh!”
Instead of running forward, Luther threw himself to the side to avoid the flames.
*Sizzle!*
The air instantly heated up.
The power was incomparable to the flames Balboa had breathed in his human form.
“[Master! It’s practically a beam weapon! Be careful!]”
*Fwoosh!*
A second breath was unleashed.
Just as Integra said, it was almost a pillar of light. As the flames struck the ground, something amazing happened.
Not only did the rocks directly hit by the flames melt, but a gale also erupted due to the sudden rise in temperature.
“[Master! Are you alright?!]”
“Gah!”
Instead of answering Integra, Luther gasped and struggled to his feet.
He had tumbled to the ground, entangled with the sky-blue-haired woman, as he leaped to the side.
‘Two consecutive attacks!’
But a third would be impossible.
He needed time to prepare the next breath weapon, so he had to escape with the woman during that interval.
“Mmm… uh…”
The woman, draped over his shoulder like a sack, groaned and frowned.
It seemed she was waking up from the impact.
“[Master! He’s starting to run again!]”
He knew, even without being told.
Feeling the tremors, Luther kicked off the ground.
Instead of returning to the open road, he intended to cut through the bushes.
“Not a chance!”
Balboa roared, leaped into the bushes, and started thrashing his head and tail, destroying everything around him.
“[Master! The target is concentrating energy in his mouth again!]”
Integra urgently shouted, having recalled the drone and re-equipped it on Luther’s right arm.
The third breath weapon.
Another straight-line attack.
Luther gritted his teeth and threw himself.
This time, he intended to dodge the attack by leaping towards the main road.
*Fwoosh!*
Massive flames erupted from Balboa’s mouth again.
The moment the flames, having ripped through the bushes and trees, struck the ground, Luther rolled on the main road.
He was alive.
He had dodged the attack again—
“[Master!]”
*Fwoosh!*
It wasn’t a fourth attack.
Balboa, maintaining the third breath weapon, turned his head towards the main road.
The massive pillar of flames, like a continuous beam, scorched the ground and engulfed the main road.
“Ugh!”
Having already rolled once, he didn’t have time to dodge again.
Luther hurriedly sat up and deployed his shield.
He knew it was futile.
But there was nothing else he could do.
*Crackle!*
Fierce flames engulfed him.
And at the same time, a blue light emanated from the necklace of the woman entangled with him.
A flash of light.
The flames melted the ground.
And at that moment, cold water struck Luther’s face.
“Gah?!”
It felt like the world had turned upside down.
Suddenly submerged in deep water after rolling on the ground, Luther hurriedly closed his mouth in a daze.
Integra’s voice came in rapid succession.
“[M… Master! Our spatial coordinates have suddenly changed!]”
“[Our current location is presumably the Anes River!]”
“[W… we’ve jumped through space!]”
Integra was even more shocked than when she mentioned the law of conservation of mass.
Spatial jump—or warp—was a high-level technique that even the super-science of Star Savior couldn’t perform without a gate.
“[A massive amount of energy was emitted from the woman’s necklace right before the spatial jump.]”
“[Could it be that spatial jumps are possible with this planet’s technology… magic?]”
“[If so—]”
“Gah—!”
“[M… Master?!]”
Luther couldn’t answer again.
He had swallowed too much water while disoriented from the impact of hitting the water and the aftermath of the spatial jump.
“[Master!]”
“[Master!]”
Integra started to cry out, almost wailing, but Luther couldn’t even hear her properly, let alone respond.
Reaching out towards the surface in his fading consciousness was all he could do.
But at that very moment,
He saw something blue beyond his blurry vision.
Someone grabbed his limp arm tightly.
“[Please, please save Master!]”
As if responding to Integra’s plea, the person holding Luther’s arm swam towards the surface.
‘A… mermaid?’
The sky-blue-haired woman, Balboa’s target.
She looked back at Luther in the water, and he couldn’t hold on any longer.
He closed his eyes without seeing her face.
—–CROW—–