The Hero Becomes the Duke's Eldest Son

Translator: Marctempest

Editor: Rynfinity

Chapter 184

"Humans cannot interfere with time, space, or creation. Those are domains of the gods, powers of truth."

Once, in his previous life.

There had been a story that the Archmage had explained to him.

"To be precise, ancient humans were said to be able to handle such divine domains. That's why artifacts like those exist. But at least not now. Even though magic may seem to create fire from nothing, it is merely reading the information that the world remembers and manifesting the phenomenon, not creation. The Fairy Tribe's spirit arts also partially interfere with space by using the power of spirits beyond their dimension. For humans to handle the three domains above, they must transcend human limitations."

To transcend human limitations.

That meant reaching the legendary level of a 9-star mage, or becoming a Grandmaster.

She explained that only by reaching such a transcendent state could a human hope to touch those divine domains.

"But even then, it’s not complete. It’s only getting closer to the truth, not actually grasping it."

Even if a human ascended to such a transcendent state, it meant they could never become a complete god.

It meant they couldn’t turn mud into gold or fully revive someone who had already died.

“Not only with magic but with alchemy, black magic, and spirit arts as well, complete interference is impossible. But mages and alchemists like me believe that there is a special medium that allows humans to wield the power of gods. That’s why we call it this.”

With a beautiful smile, but with eyes that couldn’t hide the fervent desire for truth that swirled within her blood-red gaze, she continued as she looked at Aden.

“A medium that allows humans to transcend their limits. A substance of the gods containing a truth that no one can dare to surpass, and a name that is too sweet not to say...”

It was curiosity close to madness.

The woman, who seemed to be the very embodiment of the madness called curiosity, spoke the name of the power that all humans would desire.

“They call it the ‘Philosopher's Stone.’”

* * *

Recalling memories of the past.

And as he looked at the revived Black Tiger Tribe and the despicable Caliph, who had come back as if time had been rewound.

And most importantly, as he looked at the ominous black stone in the bastard’s hand, Aden repeated the words of the Archmage in that very moment.

“Philosopher's Stone…”

“Oh! What’s this? You recognized it immediately! Impressive, indeed!”

Clap, clap, clap, clap.

The sound of the bastard clapping resounded frivolously.

The Philosopher's Stone.

A stone containing the power of a god that could even resurrect the dead and perform miracles, only considered a legend or superstition.

Such an item was in the hands of a warlock.

The bastard grinned slyly, laughing frivolously.

“Do you know how much trouble we went through to make this? Of course, you wouldn’t! It took the pure blood of tens of thousands of humans and the divine nature of many divine beasts to barely create it! Heheheh!”

Chaos, the Great Forest, the War, the Magic Tower Nation...

And finally, the Philosopher's Stone.

When these clues came together, they finally converged into one possibility.

Aden's eyes turned terrifyingly cold.

He gritted his teeth.

‘Archmage Shaura! Were you in on this too?’

Chaos was manipulating the Black Tiger Tribe from behind, trying to start a war.

They were stealing the divine nature of divine beasts to create that Philosopher's Stone.

Then why had the truth of the deaths of the divine beasts not leaked out of the Great Forest?

The reason was simple.

All the tribes that lived in the Great Forest were massacred after the war ended.

By Archmage Shaura and her followers.

At that time, some questioned the excessive slaughter.

‘If Shaura is in league with Chaos, that would explain it too. It must have been to erase all the Black Tiger Tribe and those who knew the truth to eliminate any evidence.’

After hunting all the divine beasts through the Black Tiger Tribe.

Chaos would have found them unnecessary.

They would have needed to be disposed of.

If it were the Archmage Shaura he knew, if it were her.

It was certain that she would have easily joined hands with them simply by knowing that Chaos was researching the Philosopher's Stone and even knew how to create it.

Shaura was praised as a hero alongside Aden and other comrades during the Talos War.

The Archmage who saved the world by burning countless Talos with the magic of Purgatory.

But Aden had known her true nature from the beginning.

‘A woman crazy for the pursuit of truth.’

She, who possessed a magical talent that seemed to be a mistake of the heavens, was always searching for higher levels, obsessed with them.

Aden had become her comrade because they had fought against the Underlord together as solid comrades-in-arms.

‘I thought at least she knew how to keep certain boundaries...’

It was still only circumstantial, but the more he thought about it, the more everything fit together perfectly.

The bastard looked at Aden and spoke.

“Our boss will become the true god. The one who will overthrow those false gods that deceive us and reign above us, becoming the sole, complete god!”

As he said so, the Caliph laughed with a giggle, and his eyes seemed to be engraved with the words reverence and fanaticism.

Pssst, dark, powerful magic surged and rose from the bastard’s body.

“Then don’t you think you should be punished for obstructing the path of such a noble being? Hahaha!”

Fwoosh, the resurrected Black Tiger Tribe wielded their Aura Blades and shouted.

“For the Great Kaan-!”

The Sword Masters who resurrected even after death charged at Aden.

-Dragon Slayer, can you win?

‘Damn, I have to try something.’

It wasn’t as if he had no way.

Aden’s Eyes of Fire read the flow of power and information emanating from that stone.

Although he couldn’t figure everything out, he knew one thing for sure.

‘That Philosopher's Stone is still incomplete.’

It certainly resurrected the dead and suppressed the divine nature of the divine beasts, but it wasn’t truly an item that allowed the unlimited use of divine power as the legend said.

‘If it were such an item, Chaos would have already devoured the world.’

Then there was only one conclusion.

Destroy that Philosopher's Stone.

He would use all his power to do so.

-Using Wraith Subjugation.

From Aden’s body, black smoke flowed out and formed several shapes.

- Summoning Wraith, ‘High Troll Shaman.’

- Summoning Wraith, ‘Mephisto.’

- Summoning Wraith, ‘Black Knight.’

He summoned a High Troll with power comparable to a Master, a Black Knight who had died after reaching the early stages of Mastery, and Mephisto, a high-ranking Talos from the underground world.

All of them had been killed by Aden and became puppets that followed his orders.

“Fight.”

The wraiths shouted in unison.

-As the Lord wishes!

Boom! The powerful high-ranking wraiths clashed with the Black Tiger Tribe's Masters.

-Arararara.

Fwoosh! The flame demon created by the High Troll Shaman surged like a wave.

In an instant, it burned two Black Tiger Tribe warriors to ashes.

-Kuhahaha! Fall into despair!

Swish, swish, swish!

Mephisto, who had spread his wings high and soared, burst into mad laughter and unleashed black energy blades wildly.

In that merciless blade barrage, more than four Black Tiger Tribe members suffered fatal injuries and fell, and two of them died.

-Condemnation.

Slash! Unlike the Black Tiger Tribe, who were merely enhanced warriors, the Black Knight, who was a true Master Knight, and now a Wraith Knight, cut through three Black Tiger Tribe warriors at once with his black aura sword.

“What is this!”

“Where did these guys come from!”

The bastards were thrown into confusion in front of the sudden appearance of reinforcements.

It was only natural.

They were individuals who had forcibly reached a superhuman state by swallowing fragments of the Philosopher's Stone.

But the wraiths Aden had summoned were beings with power comparable to Masters, and they had been strengthened by Aden’s dark magic, allowing them to display their martial prowess from life, or even greater strength.

Bang, bang, bang!

“Argh!”

With a tremendous roar, the Black Tiger Tribe warriors screamed.

As he watched, the despicable Caliph's eyes sparkled.

“Kuhahahah! What’s this? Controlling wraiths? I didn’t think you were one of us! This is an interesting fact to learn!”

The bastard laughed gleefully, watching the battle unfold while creating a thick barrier around himself.

He didn’t care even as the Black Tiger Tribe members fell or died.

Because he could simply ‘rewind’ everything back to normal.

Pssst!

The eerie black smoke seeped out from the Philosopher's Stone again, possessing the bodies of the fatally wounded or dead Black Tiger Tribe members.

Crack.

Then, as if time had been rewound, the blood the Black Tiger Tribe had spilled flowed back into their bodies, severed arms and heads reattached, and their wounds healed instantly.

Even those who had been injured or killed were completely restored.

“We have Caliph Shaman behind us!”

“We are the strongest warriors...!”

They resurrected even after death.

With no fear of death, their morale soared.

The resurrected ones fiercely battled the wraiths, spewing their Aura Blades.

‘If this continues, the wraiths will be the first to fall.’

They would be resurrected infinitely, and the wraiths would be unsummoned the moment Aden’s dark magic was exhausted.

Thus, the answer was a quick victory.

-Using ‘Berserk.’

-Physical stats are rising.

He used the Berserk ability of the Banshee’s Spirit Shield.

-Warning. The user’s level is high.

-There may be strain on the body as it cannot withstand the amplified stats…

Aden ignored the following warning message.

Boom!

He stomped on the ground with the amplified strength.

Crack!

From that center, a shockwave spread, shattering the ground.

Swish!

At the same time, Aden’s body shot forward like an arrow.

The target was the warlock in the back.

‘The distance between that bastard and me is roughly 20 meters.’

He would close the distance in one go.

“He’s targeting Caliph!”

“Block him!”

The Black Tiger Tribe hurriedly tried to block him, swinging their Aura Blades in his path.

-Summoning ‘Frozen Winter’s Mantle.’

Slice. As Aden advanced, he swung the cold sword imbued with the Winter Queen’s grudge at them.

Crack!

In an instant, four Black Tiger Tribe warriors were frozen, turning into ice sculptures, then shattered into pieces.

The remaining distance was 12 meters.

“Kuhuhut! Come on, then! If you can, that is!”

At the bastard’s gesture, dozens of spears of darkness formed in the air. Swoosh! Those sinister spears rushed toward Aden all at once.

‘I can’t deflect these.’

Whether it was due to the stone’s effect, each spear contained immense power.

Deflecting them with Aura Blades was impossible.

The Death Spears were flying at such a speed that avoiding them was out of the question.

At this moment, the Caliph was convinced of Aden’s death.

-Using the Ring of Swiftness.

But in that instant.

He read the trajectories of the spears stabbing at him from all directions with the heightened senses provided by the effect of Jormungandr’s Blessing.

Then, with the increased agility from Miaow’s Blessing and the speed boost from the Ring of Swiftness, he twisted his body to dodge as much as possible.

Then.

Boom, bang, boom!

The spears of darkness that had been aiming for Aden barely missed him and flew past.

He succeeded in evading them.

“What?”

For the first time, the smile disappeared from the tattooed bastard’s face.

The remaining distance was 7 meters.

Tap, tap! Aden approached the bastard at an even faster speed.

At the same time, he prepared his technique.

Aden’s blue Aura Blade.

Sss, sss, the pitch-black dark magic crept up its surface.

Fwoosh-!

The flames of the Dark Heavens ignited on Baalzebul’s sword.

A chill ran down his spine.

The moment the Caliph saw those dark flames, his instincts rang the alarm.

This was dangerous.

“Damn it!”

The bastard layered seven barriers, creating a thick wall.

The remaining distance was 5 meters.

At that moment.

Fwoosh-!

The black flames of Purgatory charged toward the bastard.

‘Sword Dance of the Dark Heavens First Style, Ravenous Blade.’

The hungry flames gnawed at the bastard’s barrier.

Each time the flames touched, the dark magic of the bastard was devoured by Aden’s ‘Dark Heavens Flame.’

The first barrier was destroyed.

The second was devoured.

The third was chewed through.

He would burn the bastard and the stone entirely.

“Aaaargh!”

The bastard squeezed out all his strength to reinforce the barrier, desperately trying to hold on.

Boom-!

The hellish flames surged like a tidal wave.

And finally.

The dreadful flames subsided.

The scene after the hellfire had raged.

Seeing it, Aden couldn’t help but frown.

‘I failed.’

Dozens of meters around had been burned to the ground. He had successfully pierced through all seven layers of the barrier.

But the bastard was still alive.

“Kuhuhuh... That was quite a fierce attack. It’s a shame, but I had to use up that valuable item here.”

The bastard was protected by a barrier different from the one created by dark magic, a blue curtain that shielded him.

Crackle!

The ring on the bastard’s hand shattered, and the curtain vanished.

‘To think he had such a defensive artifact.’

Seeing the ring break, it seemed it was a consumable artifact that absorbed the impact.

As Aden was about to attack the bastard again with his Aura Blade.

Rattle!

From the ground, a black magic circle appeared, and black chains shot out.

‘A trap!’

Rattle, rattle, rattle!

The chains wrapped around Aden’s arms and legs, binding him.

“Grr!”

He tried to break them with force, but they wouldn’t easily snap.

-Wraith, ‘High Troll Shaman,’ has been unsummoned.

-Wraith, ‘Mephisto,’ has been unsummoned.

-Wraith, ‘Black Knight,’ has been unsummoned.

Meanwhile, due to the excessive consumption of dark magic for the Dark Heavens Flame, the wraiths were unsummoned.

Clang.

The Black Tiger Tribe warriors pointed their swords at Aden’s neck simultaneously.

In an instant, the situation turned against Aden.

The Caliph laughed gleefully as he looked at Aden.

“Truly, it was enjoyable. Our boss will be pleased to hear that I killed you.”

“...”

Aden glared at the bastard without a word, and the bastard’s grin widened.

“So, do you have any last words?”

“Yes, I do.”

At that question, Aden replied.

With a mischievous grin.

“Bite him!”

What?

As the Caliph blinked in confusion at what that meant.

-Grrr!

“...!”

Fenrir, the wolf divine beast, who had regained consciousness at some point, created a small clone and lunged at the bastard from behind.

“Damn...!”

It was too late to react.

Crunch!

Fenrir’s sharp teeth bit into the bastard’s neck, and he fell backward, dropping the stone from his hand.

Sssk.

The chains binding Aden’s body disappeared.

Then, Aden immediately swung his sword at the stone that had fallen to the ground.

The bastard, whose neck had been torn out by the wolf divine beast and collapsed, let out a shrill scream.

“No...!”

“Yes!”

He responded briefly and drove Baalzebul into the Philosopher's Stone.

Crack! As cracks formed on the stone’s surface and the sword was embedded, the power of the 72nd Sword was activated.