The Hero Becomes the Duke's Eldest Son

Translator: Marctempest

Editor: Rynfinity

Chapter 187

The world he was summoned to was a distant, unfamiliar continent that the people of Jianghu had not yet recognized.

It was a land where not only humans but also many other races, including the Celestials, Fairies, and Dragons, lived together.

And like the world where the Heavenly Demon had lived, this place was on the brink of destruction.

The Fallen Lords.

They sought to dominate the world by seizing and corrupting the power of this continent's sacred tree, the World Tree.

The races like Dragons, Giants, Trolls, and Demons formed a faction called "Talos" and tried to control this world using the World Tree.

In response, the Fairies and Celestials formed an alliance called the "Guardians" to oppose them.

But as time passed, the Guardians could only suffer defeat repeatedly.

The overwhelming power and armies of the Fallen Lords were too formidable.

"We are the 'Heavens.'"

They were so powerful that they called themselves the Heavens.

Eventually.

The Guardians, as a last resort, decided to gamble by summoning a hero from another world.

And so, the Heavenly Demon was summoned to this place, and upon seeing the Fallen Lords, the Heavenly Demon realized.

"This place is the den and homeland of the Rakshasas."

The evil beings from another dimension, which the Blood Demon had summoned and bestowed power upon through contracts, were the beings known as the Rakshasas.

Upon realizing this, his future goal became simple.

"I will burn it all."

The interests of the Guardians and the Heavenly Demon aligned, and the Heavenly Demon cooperated with the Guardians who had summoned him.

The first thing the Heavenly Demon did was spread martial arts.

The humans of this place did not know how to accumulate the energy of nature, known here as mana, within their bodies. Mana was a power that only the Fairies, Celestials, and Dragons possessed.

Because of this, humans were considered a weak race, not even worthy of being treated as combatants.

He taught the humans how to handle mana, and these humans later became known as "Mana Warriors."

"So, there were beings like this here."

"Kya-ha-ha-hat! Who are you, mister? Come here so I can crush your pretty little head too!"

"I’ll pass."

Among the Celestials, who were born with the energy of the stars, there were very rare individuals born with the energy of "Killer Stars," known as the Celestials of the Killer Stars.

He recognized that this young Celestial girl, who had been sealed in the underground prison of the Celestials for being too dangerous, had the same talent as the Blood Demon, so he taught her the Blood Demon’s Blood Celestial Divine Art and enabled her to control her madness.

Later, he gathered followers of this Celestial of the Killer Stars and organized the "Slaughter Army," which would later be known as the "Slaughter Cult."

The actions of the Heavenly Demon did not stop there.

"Let’s establish the Demonic Cult here as well."

He also trained humans who could handle demonic energy, the same power that the Fallen Lords wielded, to oppose them.

However, the Demonic Cult was divided into two factions.

One was the Solar Sect, who, like the Heavenly Demon himself, was born with the energy of the sun and could wield the power of extinguishing demons through the Sacred Flame. These individuals later became known as the Sacred Fire Order.

The other was the Dark Celestial Sect, who were born with the energy of darkness and wielded the dark power of demonic energy. They became known as the Warlocks.

* * *

‘…What?’

Aden was shocked as he read through the information.

If this was true...

It meant that even the Sacred Fire Order, the Mana Warriors, the Slaughter Cult, and even the Warlocks originated from the Lord of the Sacred Fire.

If this truth were revealed, the world would be turned upside down.

But this was not the time to be shocked.

For an even more astonishing truth of the world began to unfold.

* * *

With the emergence of new forces—the Mana Warriors, Slaughter Army, Sacred Fire Order, and Dark Celestial Sect—the balance of power quickly shifted in favor of the Guardians.

The turning point came when the Slaughter Army managed to seal the Troll Lord.

Afterward, the other Lords began to fall as well.

This caused internal divisions within Talos, leading to a conflict between the Dragon Lord and the Giant Lord.

The result was the Dragon Lord's defeat, losing many of their kin and suffering the humiliation of defeat.

In the aftermath, the Dragon Lord and the surviving Dragons switched sides and joined the Guardians in pursuit of revenge.

However, the Guardians were not quick to trust their former enemies.

"How can we trust you?"

"I will entrust my power and life to you."

As a gesture of sincerity, the Dragon Lord solidified the power he had gained from the World Tree into the form of a cursed sword and sealed it.

The Dragon Lord also created "magic," teaching humans how to wield it so they could perform miraculous feats using mana.

Thus began the era of mages.

Among the Guardians, five powerful figures were revered as heroes.

The Lord of the Sacred Flame, the Heavenly Demon.

The Angel of Radiance and protector of justice and law, Celestial King Ternia.

The Archangel of Slaughter, blessed by the energy of Killer Stars, Ouriela.

The Fairy Queen, guardian of the World Tree and the chosen one, Titania.

The first king of humans and the disciple of the Lord of the Sacred Flame, the Dark Celestial Lord who inherited the teachings of the Dark Celestial Sect, Florence.

Before these five heroes, many Fallen Lords were defeated.

Seventy-two Fallen Lords and countless Talos soldiers.

They all fell one by one before the relentless advance of the Guardians.

The beings who once called themselves the "Heavens" were cast down to the earth.

The only one left was the Demon Lord, the Lord of Gluttony, Baalzebul.

However, Baalzebul made the worst move.

He targeted the World Tree, the source of all life on the continent.

"I will devour this world."

The Lord of Gluttony consumed the World Tree.

Then, he became one with it, transforming into an even more transcendent being.

The Demon God.

The incarnation of the corrupted World Tree and the final form of the Fallen Lord.

The Demon God sought to devour the entire world and merge it with himself.

The Guardians fought the Demon God with all their might.

In the end, many lives were lost, and it was only through the sacrifice of the Fairy Queen, Titania, that they succeeded in killing the Demon God.

But with the death of the Lord of Gluttony who had become the Demon God, an unexpected catastrophe occurred.

‘The demonic energy is going berserk.’

The earth, which had merged with the World Tree and its corrupted energy, began to lose its center and went berserk.

If left unchecked, the world itself would be destroyed.

There was only one solution.

"I will become the new Lord."

The king of Florence and the Lord of the Dark Celestial Sect.

He volunteered to take in the rampaging corrupted World Tree and become the new Fallen Lord.

Afterward, he sealed himself away to prevent the destruction of the world.

Others opposed this decision.

If he absorbed such evil energy, his mind would collapse, and he would fall into corruption.

His master, the Lord of the Sacred Flame, was particularly furious.

But Florence was resolute.

"There is no other way. I, too, am one who handles dark energy; no one else can contain this rampage."

"Hey, you black bastard!"

"This will be the last time I hear that. Thank you for everything, Master."

The founding king of Florence took in the rampaging dark energy.

And he was sealed.

The corrupted land that was sealed along with him, cut off from the current world, became known as the "Underground World."

Thus, he became the only ruler of that world.

The one who saved the world by sacrificing himself, the sole ruler of the Underground World.

The Lord of the Underground, the Underlord.

* * *

The memories shown to Aden by the avatar of the Lord of the Sacred Flame ended there.

-Did you observe well?

"......"

Aden couldn’t respond to the Lord of the Sacred Flame’s question.

The overwhelming memories he had witnessed left him speechless.

-Why don’t you come out now, black bastard?

As the Lord of the Sacred Flame spoke while looking at Aden...

"......I don’t appreciate being called that by a mere avatar."

-You say that when you’re not even your true self either.

With a dissatisfied expression, a boy who looked about ten years old revealed himself. It was Curse.

"......Hey."

Aden, finally regaining his senses, looked at Curse.

"Everything I just saw... was it all real?"

-Yes.

"Then you... are..."

"The Dragon Slayer King. As you guessed, I was the founding king, Florence."

"It sounds like you’re saying you aren’t anymore."

"The consciousness of the founding king disappeared long ago when I became the Lord of the Underground. The current me is just a fragment of his remaining soul."

Curse was not the founding king or the Lord of Gluttony but a new entity that emerged after escaping the influence of the Demon Lord, the Demon God.

"Why didn’t you say anything before?"

"I only recently recovered the memories of the founding king. Even if I had told you, you wouldn’t have believed me."

"Damn it..."

That was true.

If not for the memories shown by the

 Lord of the Sacred Flame, Aden wouldn’t have believed it even if it had been said.

Who would believe that the Underlord, the monster that had drenched the surface in blood, was actually a hero who saved the world?

He would have laughed it off, at best.

The avatar of the Lord of the Sacred Flame spoke.

-We saved the world thanks to the black bastard’s sacrifice. But there are still unstable elements left.

"What are they?"

-The humans who would covet the power of the Demon God, the power of the corrupted World Tree.

"......"

-Human greed is endless, and they endlessly repeat the same mistakes. I know that all too well.

Just like the followers of the Fallen Lords who existed in ancient times or the Blood Cult.

He knew that people would once again try to use that power.

So he and his comrades had set up precautions all over the world.

Just like the holy relics the Lord of the Sacred Flame hid in the temples in the four directions.

"So, does that include this larva?"

Wriggle?

-...It will be useful in some way.

He avoided eye contact.

Look at this guy.

-In the process of showing you past memories, I also caught a glimpse of yours. My successor, you already know who they are.

Aden understood what he was referring to.

‘Chaos.’

A leader of Chaos had said that their boss would become a true god.

After seeing the past and hearing the explanations of the Lord of the Sacred Flame, Aden had a hunch about who that boss was.

He nodded as the Lord of the Sacred Flame confirmed his thoughts.

-Their actions are identical to those of the Blood Cult from the past. Their goal is likely the same.

To turn this world into hell and reign over others.

That would be Chaos's goal.

-What are you planning to do about them?

“What do you think?”

Aden replied with a resolute, though slightly annoyed, look.

“I can’t stand those bastards, so I’ll crush every last one of them.”

The Lord of the Sacred Flame seemed pleased.

-As expected of my successor.

“Speaking of successors, I have a question.”

-What is it?

“Why is the mana cultivation method you wrote similar to the one I learned from the Mercenary King?”

-I had many disciples, and among them, there were those to whom I taught the divine arts of the Heavenly Demon Cult that I led. It must have been passed down through them.

In other words, even the Mercenary King’s school could be traced back to the Lord of the Sacred Flame.

Considering that all Mana Warriors on the Western Continent originated from him, it wasn’t particularly surprising.

It was then that Elise, who had been quietly observing, blinked her big eyes.

"Uh… Excuse me…?"

"Hm? What is it, Elise?"

"What are you guys talking about? It's too hard to understand. And who is that kid?"

"I am the only Lord of the Underground Wo..."

"I’ll explain later."

"Okay!"

Elise’s lively response lightened the heavy atmosphere.

-I shall bestow a gift upon my successors.

"A gift...?"

Whoosh!

Flames ignited.

They were truly brilliant and exceptionally beautiful golden flames, the Sacred Fire.

No, it was not just the Sacred Fire but the very essence of the Sacred Fire.

-I will give you all the power my true self left behind. It contains the essence of the Flame Celestial Divine Art.

The radiant flames drew closer to their bodies.

Then, quickly, the flames began to seep into their bodies.

Whoosh-!

Elise was enveloped in the brilliant golden flames, her entire body feeling warmly embraced.

"Huh? Huh...?"

Indeed, the flames did not enter Aden but rather the young saintess, Elise.

Elise blinked as she looked at the flames surrounding her body and examined herself.

Hmm.

"Excuse me, Lord of the Sacred Flame?"

-What is it?

"Do you have another flame?"

-No.

"Then why did you give it to Elise instead of me?"

One of the reasons Aden had come to the first temple in the first place was to obtain a holy relic or two.

But the Lord of the Sacred Flame had betrayed Aden's expectations.

-You cannot have it.

"...Why not?"

The Lord of the Sacred Flame looked at Aden with a very stern expression and said.

-Your heart is too dark.

What? This damn bonfire...