Aerthemil part I
Part 1
This was a tale from about a hundred years ago.
Canon Argus, a young adventurer, traveled across all lands in search of glory and fame, as was typical for young men of his era.
By his mid-twenties, he had achieved the rank of an S-tier adventurer and had ventured nearly across every continent, from his home, Dominaria in the east to the southern continent of Terra.
Ultimately, he reached the continent of Juris.
There, he encountered a female adventurer in the dungeons of the Enzis Kingdom.
Her formidable skills and her striking beauty, especially her mesmerizing deep blue eyes, instantly captivated Canon since their first encounter.
Drawn to each other, they decided to adventure together.
As time passed, Canon’s infatuation with the woman only deepened.
Eventually, Canon confessed his love, but the story did not unfold as he had hoped.
The woman did not reciprocate his feelings; she only liked him as a close friend.
Despite being rejected, Canon did not let go.
He continued to try to win her over as they traveled together.
The woman felt uncomfortable with Canon’s actions because nothing seemed to dissuade him.
Finally, she revealed her true form as a Dragonkin to convey that she did not wish to live alongside humans, as Dragonkin lived much longer than humans, and they would inevitably have to part ways too soon.
Unable to argue against this reality, Canon had no choice but to leave.
However, even after parting ways, he could not give up.
He embarked on a journey to find a way to become immortal so he could be with her forever.
The closest thing to immortality he could find was to become a lich, but a lich’s form in those times retained hardly any human sensations.
Without being able to see her beautiful blue eyes or to feel her warm body, immortality seemed pointless.
So, he continued his search.
Yet, despite years of searching, there seemed to be no way for a human to achieve immortality.
As Canon was about to lose hope, he met someone during his travels.
A female adventurer named Kassadia, who claimed to be a scholar of dark arts, told Canon she had something that could fulfill his desire in exchange for joining the dark arts practitioners.
She offered him a sword.
It was the ‘Soul Devourer,’ an evil sword capable of consuming the souls of people.
If used to kill a human, the wielder would gain the remaining lifespan of the victim as a reward.
Canon, who always upheld righteousness and morality, immediately rejected such a dishonorable method.
However, Kassadia did not accept his refusal and disappeared, leaving behind the Soul Devourer.
Although Canon knew he should discard the blade, the faint hope of finding immortality made him hesitate.
‘What if there truly is no other way to achieve immortality in this world?’ This question tormented him and caused him to hold onto the sword as a last resort before continuing his journey.
He continued to search for another way to achieve immortality for almost a year, without using the sword.
However, the more he searched, the more his hope faded.
Still, Canon was not ready to give up.
Then one day, while on his journey, Canon encountered a large group of bandits.
These bandits behaved strangely; they had unusually fierce eyes and showed no fear of death.
Even as their comrades were killed right before them, they still rushed at him without hesitation.
Despite the large number of bandits, Canon’s skill allowed him to handle them easily.
However, suddenly, a bandit covered from head to toe emerged from a blind spot and attacked Canon with a whip in an ambush.
Although he managed to deflect the attack, his sword was caught by the whip and pulled from his hand.
Seeing him unarmed, the bandits swarmed to attack him immediately.
With no other choice, Canon had to use the evil sword he had kept with him.
When he used it to kill the first bandit, he felt something stir within him.
As soon as he took a life with the sword, Canon felt a surge of life force transfer to him, along with waves of rage and hatred flooding his mind.
Confused but surrounded by dozens of bandits, he had no time to hesitate.
Canon continued to slash at the bandits with the sword.
With each life he took, he felt increasingly powerful, but his reason, thoughts, and conscience gradually faded.
They were replaced by anger, hatred, and madness.
The more he killed, the less human he felt, and the more insane he became.
Eventually, he had killed all thirty bandits without a single survivor.
After killing the last bandit, the young man forgot all his goals and intentions, left with nothing but rage and hatred for the world.
In truth, the ‘Soul Devourer’ was an evil sword that would also devour the soul of its user.
Those killed by this sword would have their power and soul taken by the wielder, but it also transferred the dark side of their souls.
The wielder would lose part of their own soul and have it replaced by the dark soul, eventually his soul would become entirely dark and controlled by demons.
As everything went according to plan, the cloaked figure reappeared and removed her hood, revealing herself to be Kassadia, who was actually a demon from hell that had come to dominate Canon.
Although the rules of the world were altered greatly, dominating humans was still not difficult for demons.
The real challenge was finding and controlling a special type of human called a ‘Host’—someone capable of opening the gates of Hell.
The ability to open the gate of Hell actually, meant the power to ‘allow’ Hell to open a dimensional portal to the world, akin to a ‘host’ allowing someone into their home.
Out of a million humans, only a few possessed the ‘Host’ attribute, and Canon was one of them.
It remained a mystery what conditions governed this attribute.
Some said it was due to a demonic lineage, others believed it was a twist of nature.
After successfully dominating Canon, Kassadia had him open a gate to Hell in the southern part of the Enzis kingdom, initiating the third invasion.
As soon as the gate opened, a vast number of demons poured out, destroying nearly half of the Enzis kingdom in less than two days.
Ariel, the celestial guardian of Enzis at the time, realized that by the time the armies of Heaven and humans could arrive, Enzis might already be destroyed entirely.
Therefore, she decided to use all her power to swing the celestial sword and cut off the invading demon forces.
The force of her strike was able to completely obliterate the front lines of the demon army, but it also split the Enzis kingdom into two parts.
While she was able to halt the demons’ advance, this action displeased the humans and later led to conflicts between humans and Heaven (Ariel was subsequently punished for overreacting).
However, the significant delay in the demons’ advance allowed allied forces from various kingdoms to successfully gather.
They immediately launched a counterattack on the lower part of the Enzis lands to reclaim human territory without waiting for the celestial forces.
Yet, Canon Argus, the third Doombringer who guarded that land, proved to be a formidable enemy.
Every hero and high-level adventurer who confronted him was slain, and Canon absorbed their souls with the Soul Devourer, becoming even more powerful.
As the human forces were being decimated, Canon broke through to the beachhead used for landing, causing a massacre of the heroes and adventurers.
But as he was about to kill one adventurer, Canon noticed the face of the person he was about to end.
She was a female adventurer with deep blue eyes like the sea, the objective and reason for his immortal quest from the past—an objective he had forgotten until she appeared before him again, which briefly brought him back to his senses.
Confused, Canon hesitated and became delirious due to the inner conflict.
This pause coincided with the arrival of the celestial forces.
The celestials and humans combined their forces to fight, and Canon, in his confused and frenzied state, was overwhelmed, leading to the destruction of the ‘Soul Devourer.’
Kassadia, with Canon severely wounded, fled back to Hell.
The celestial and human forces then purged all remaining demons in the lower Enzis lands, successfully ending the invasion.
Although the demons were eradicated, the gate to Hell could not be permanently closed.
Thus, humans built a fortress around the rift, the connection point between the realms, and renamed the separated lower part of the Enzis kingdom to the Kingdom of Crozis.
After the events calmed down, there was a joint meeting of leaders from various kingdoms to discuss future responses to such events.
Eventually, it was agreed to establish a central organization to handle world threats.
Thus, the peacekeeping organization “The Peace Keeper” was founded.
After the establishment of the organization, an investigation was conducted into the reasons why Canon Argus, a young adventurer, became dominated and turned into a Doombringer.
It was discovered that his love for a dragonkin woman led him to seek immortality, which made him susceptible to demonic manipulation.
Although the organization did not believe the woman was at fault, the spread of the story caused the dragonkin leaders to view it as a disgrace to their race, and they deemed that the woman deserved punishment.
The woman was brought back to her homeland in Akatosh and was judged guilty of being the cause of the arrival a Doombringer.
She was stripped of her dragon name and henceforth called “Aerthemil,” which meant the origin of evil.
Because he was infatuated with her deep blue eyes, her eyes were removed to prevent her from using them to allure anyone further.
Her love for traveling and adventuring, which led her to meet the young man, was deemed a cause for her meeting him; thus, she was confined to guard the western path of Akatosh, tasked with defending against wild dragons and monsters attacking the city, doomed to do so forever, alone.
Part 2
“…That’s the whole story, as far as I’ve read…”
Sandro narrated to Zal about the third Doombringer while using skeletons, skeleton mages, and dreadknights to clear the dungeon area of Akatosh continuously.
“Huh?
Is that the right thing to do?
I don’t see how she did anything wrong.”
“…In the eyes of the dragonkin, she should not have associated with humans in the first place…
It’s like slaughtering a chicken to scare the monkeys…
to ensure no one else dares meddle with humans…”
Hearing this, Zal, already sympathetic to the dragonkin woman, looked even more troubled.
“That sister…
Is she really the same one from the story Sandro read?”
“…She said she has no eyes and that we should call her ‘Aerthemil,’ there can’t be anyone else…
I didn’t even think she’d still be alive…”
“Really?
Why?
It’s only been a little over a hundred years.
Dragonkin live for thousands of years, right?”
“…Guarding a path isn’t something one person can do…
especially the path of a high-level dungeon like the northern Akatosh…
At least monsters and dragons that come through are of level 7 or even up to level 9, and they may come in packs…
Even a level 10 adventurer couldn’t handle them alone…”
“Then why did the dragonkin send her to guard alone?”
“…It’s basically a death sentence…
They didn’t actually expect her to guard anything…
They just didn’t want to get their hands dirty, so they sent her there to die on her own…”
Zal felt an indescribable anger boiling inside him, a mix of pain and hatred against injustice, the same as when he learned the truth about the Ejis Academy.
“About removing her eyes…
does that mean they actually gouged them out?”
“It’s slightly different…
It was done through magic…
keeping her eyes preserved independently, detached from her body…
I’ve heard her eyes were preserved as a monument to remind future generations of dragonkin.”
Zal clenched his lips in anger but tried to contain his rage without showing it outwardly.
“This is…
the worst…
Why did they have to go that far…”
Sandro understood how Zal felt but remained silent, fearing that Zal might get entangled in a complicated matter unnecessarily.
“Didn’t you meet her the last time, Sandro?”
“I’ve never used the upper path to enter the dungeon area…
I entered through the lower path last time…
I only know about this route from what I’ve read in the records…
The person who wrote the records didn’t mention her either…”
Zal was silent for a moment before voicing the opinion that Sandro was apprehensively concerning he would.
“Is there any way to help free that sister?”
And then Sandro’s worry became a reality.
Now she regretted telling him the entire story.
She is free to leave whenever she wants if she decides to go…
It’s only her guilt that holds her back…”
Sandro’s remarks made Zal frowned by curiosity
“Guilt?
Why?”
“That woman probably blames herself for causing Canon to become a Doombringer…
So, she accepts all these unjust punishments…
as a way to atone for her guilt towards him and the people who died…
As long as she doesn’t forgive herself, she probably won’t go anywhere…”
“I see, just making her forgive herself would be enough, then.”
Sandro felt a slight discomfort with that response, unsure if Zal really understood what she meant, and even more unsure about what he might try to do.
However, she figured the most he might attempt was to talk to the woman, which was not too concerning, so she did not feel the need to prevent or warn him specifically.
Sandro continued to clear the dungeon area while Zal took on the role of scout by sending insect minions out to make sure there were no other adventurers in the vicinity because they did not want to be found.
It might lead to suspicions of unauthorized entry.
Especially during the act of overlaying the dimensional dungeons over the existing area, as it had to be done without anyone else in the area to avoid detection of anomalies.
Since they had to avoid others and wait for adventurers to leave the area, they managed to overlay dungeons only in two locations today.
As it was nearing evening, Sandro decided to head back to town first and then continue placing dungeons in other spots tomorrow.
To avoid being seen, they had to return via the upper path.
When both returned to the stream, they found the dragonkin woman still sitting on a rock by the riverbank.
“Back already?
Safe and sound, both of you?
I’m so glad.”
The young woman still greeted them cheerfully as before, but her smile made Zal feel even more reflective after hearing her story.
“So you’ve…
always been here?”
“It’s my duty.
Don’t worry about it.”
She responded as nonchalantly as always, while Zal had many things he wanted to discuss.
Fearing he could not hold his emotions, he tried to calm himself and remained silent.
Sandro led Zal past the woman and towards the city.
Seeing this, the woman called out,
“Uh, are you going back that way?
It might not be such a good idea.
It’s safe during the day, but by evening, more of them should be awake.
You could get spotted.”
“Awake?”
Zal, not quite understanding her, turned to ask Sandro.
“Ice Dragonkin usually sleep during the day and are active at night…
that’s why there are fewer people during the day.”
“So, what should we do?”
“Actually, if you follow the stream a bit further, there’s a wildlife path that connects to the lower route.
It might be a bit of a detour, but if you’re going into the city, the distance might not be much different and it’s definitely safer.
I can lead you there if you like.”
The dragonkin woman offered them an alternative before leading them along the stream to a dense grassy area.
Parting the grass, they found a path that could be followed.
“Right here.
The path might be a bit winding, but there are no forks.
Just follow the animal tracks, and if you keep going, you will definitely end up on the lower route.”
“Um…
thank you so much…”
“Thank you, sister.”
As they were bidding farewell, they heard a distant rumble of thunder, causing the woman to suddenly become anxious.
“Uh!
I think I must hurry now!
I’ll take my leave!”
Before they could respond, the woman unfolded large wings from her back and quickly flew away.
Zal glimpsed a tail peeking out from under her skirt.
“Sandro?”
“Um…
that was the sound of dragons…
there might be wild dragons attacking the upper route…”
“Will she be alright?”
“She’s been guarding that path for a hundred years…
If she couldn’t handle it, she would have died long ago…”
With that, Sandro continued walking immediately.
Although Zal still felt concerned, her words seemed rational, and there was nothing he could do, so he followed Sandro eventually.
The two followed the winding path for a while and emerged onto a hill, which overlooked a road connecting the lower dungeon area entrance to the city of Skuldafn.
They entered the city and headed straight back to the hotel to have dinner, then up to their room, which Sandro had reserved for them to prepare for dungeon overlaying tomorrow.
The hotels in the northern kingdom did not often have many small rooms for guests, so the room Sandro booked was a large dormitory-style with two separate beds.
Zal jumped onto the bed and brought up the dungeon they had just set up to check its condition.
The dungeon’s structure projected an image of a part of mountainous area.
It was an open space with slight complexity due to the rocks and cliffs that formed the natural dungeon.
The area was approximately one quarter of a square kilometer, smaller than he had expected.
“The magical stones used are the same size as those we used for the last dungeon, right?
Does the area shrink this much when it’s an open dungeon?
It’s almost half the size.”
“That’s how it is.
The size that can be built on depends on the capacity of the area…
A closed dungeon has small rooms and corridors, so the actual space isn’t much…
But an open dungeon is like creating a very large room that covers the entire area, so it uses up more capacity…”
“We might need to place several more dungeons at this rate.”
“Don’t worry, we still have plenty of time…
Just keep placing dungeons gradually, and we’ll eventually have enough…
And after we’ve set up the dungeons in the lower district, I want you to start placing them in the upper district as well.
Once your minions are sufficiently advanced, you can just let them stay up there…”
Zal nodded in agreement with Sandro’s plan.
After they had scheduled their tasks for the next day, the two went their separate ways to rest.
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