“…….”
He felt somewhat bewildered.
Even if they were not from Valencia, anyone on this continent had heard of the great monster sealed away in the Olsher Empire at least once.
The ancient era.
Those with powerful abilities drove away the great monsters that had occupied the continent and established their own nations.
The monsters were pushed to the northernmost part of the continent, but there was exactly one great monster they had failed to subdue. It was the great monster sealed in the mountains behind the capital of the Olsher Empire.
A thousand years ago, it had also been called a dragon, and another name for it was the King of Curses and Magic.
It had been defeated by the hands of the first Olsher Emperor and the nobles, but survived by placing a curse upon them.
—The one who kills the dragon, and all those who share his bloodline, shall die.
There had been some who suggested ignoring it, but when the curse was proven to be real, the Duke of Valencia had no choice but to seal it.
Ever since then, the direct descendants of Valencia had been entrusted with the duty of performing the sealing ritual.
The fact that the seal had continued to this day was what was publicly known.
Of course, since a thousand years had passed since the ancient era, most people now knew it more like an old folk tale.
Come to think of it.
“How did they discover that the curse was real?”
Nathan asked, struck by a sudden question. To the public, there were only vague stories about how the curse had been proven to be real, but the nobles directly connected to the founding myth were likely to know more detailed accounts.
Sure enough, an utterly unexpected story came from the Duke’s mouth.
“Thanks to the first Marquis of Ingraves. The Ingraves family’s ability was , you see.”
“……?”
“That’s right. The first Marquis of Ingraves regressed several times before finally managing to succeed in sealing it. There were times when everyone was nearly annihilated by the dragon, and once, the first Emperor died after the dragon was killed. Apparently, all sorts of things happened.”
Nathan could barely hear what came afterward. If the Ingraves family’s ability was .
“……Then the young lady of Ingraves might have manifested the ability.”
It was just as Nathan’s mood was beginning to sink.
“What? Hahahaha!”
“……Why are you laughing?”
The Duke, who had nearly burst into laughter, patted Nathan on the back.
“My, I suppose you haven’t learned this yet. It’s been over three hundred years since the Ingraves family’s ability was severed. No, actually, it’s been three hundred years since they were placed on the list of families whose abilities had been severed, while it’s been several hundred years longer than that since someone manifested . You could say it has truly become an ability that exists only in myths.”
“…….”
Abilities were passed down through blood. The nobles made great efforts to ensure that their family abilities would not die out, such as continuing their bloodlines through those who had manifested the family’s ability.
Even so, there were occasional cases where the blood became diluted and the ability fell into disuse. Ingraves was one such case.
‘Several hundred years.’
After that much time, it had to be considered an ability that had truly disappeared. The very existence of an ability like was astonishing in the first place, but.
“…….”
If she had regressed.
He found himself somewhat curious about what kind of life she had lived before regressing.
Of course, it was a pointless assumption.
“Here we are.”
The retainers, who had silently followed them, stopped at the entrance. They could go no farther.
According to what Nathan had been told, only the direct descendants of Valencia were allowed to enter the hall.
Nathan followed the Duke into the enormous circular hall. Within the lavish space, seemingly made by pouring gold and jewels everywhere, arched stained-glass windows depicting ancient myths decorated the walls.
And above them.
“……!”
Nathan spotted something on the ceiling that he had never seen before in his life. Surrounded by a translucent purplish sphere and a golden magic circle, it was a dragon—the kind he had only ever seen in picture books as a child.
“That is the great monster. It’s a dragon that will live for thousands more years.”
The Duke was already standing beside the sealing ritual engraved into the floor below it.
“Come this way. There’s no good reason to stay here for long, so it’s best to get this over with quickly and leave.”
“……All right.”
Nathan instinctively relaxed the hand that had been gripping his sword.
The Duke might not have noticed.
“…….”
But he could clearly feel it. The dragon above had recognized him and was watching him.
Perhaps because of the seal, its presence was faint, but the power he could vaguely sense was more immense than that of any being he had ever encountered.
‘So this is the great monster that has lived for thousands of years.’
The great monster itself was impressive, but even more impressive was the power holding it in place.
The great monster that had lived for thousands of years was still in perfect condition.
Yet it was trapped and suppressed by the power of the more powerful .
“…….”
As he stood upon the engraved sealing ritual, the Duke handed him a dagger.
“Cut yourself. Just enough for some blood to seep out.”
Instead of his hand, Nathan made a small cut on his arm. At that moment, the sealing ritual, having absorbed his blood, began to emit a fierce light.
Vwoooong—
Then, a solemn voice struck deep into his mind.
【Oh, so you had already manifested the ability at this point?】
“……What?”
Nathan instinctively looked upward. Within the fiercely swirling golden and purplish translucent sphere, he saw the slit pupil of a reptilian eye looking down at him.
“……!”
The vertical pupil, nearly as large as a person, rolled around before stopping at the entrance of the hall. At that moment, golden light slowly began to stain the sphere.
【Still an annoyingly powerful force. I can’t see, you, properly. Over there……Ing……ra……ves……】
Thump—
Nathan suddenly felt his ability beginning to activate. The sealing ritual was drawing the power from him of its own accord.
The voice echoing in his mind grew faint.
His heart heated up as his entire body began to glow golden. The light traveling along the sealing ritual gradually turned golden, until finally, the entire sphere was completely dyed in golden light.
Fwoooooosh—
By then, the sealing ritual had stopped activating. The Duke, who had rushed over in surprise, smiled with a pleased expression.
“Your ability must be extremely powerful. I’ve heard that when someone who has manifested performs the ritual, the sphere can turn golden, but I never thought I would see it with my own eyes. Did you know that only the Founder ever covered the entire sphere in golden light before you?”
“…….”
Nathan looked upward again. The solemn voice that had struck his mind was already gone.
“……Does the dragon ever speak to people?”
“Hmm? I’ve never heard it myself. But apparently, it spoke to someone as recently as a hundred years ago. It supposedly said that it would grant their wish if they released it.”
“…….”
So that really had been the dragon’s voice.
But what he had heard was not an attempt at seduction. It was as if the dragon had known him—
“Why? What did it say to you?”
“…….”
After staring upward for a moment, Nathan shook his head.
“Nothing. Let’s leave.”
“Yes, let’s go. It’s fortunate that this has also proven how powerful your ability is.”
A faint pain throbbed in his heart from the ability that had activated of its own accord. On top of that, there was the unmistakable presence he could feel from above.
‘As expected, I’ve gotten myself involved in something troublesome—’
“……!”
When he returned to the entrance of the hall, all the retainers who had refrained from approaching him except when they first greeted him were now prostrated on the floor.
The man lying at the very front raised his voice and shouted.
“Congratulations on the successful sealing ritual, Young Master! We swear that from now on, we will wholeheartedly obey your commands and pledge our loyalty to you!”
“We swear!”
The voices that followed rang throughout the sealing grounds. The sealing ritual was practically the true symbol of a Valencia heir, so it was only natural that they would act this way, but.
“…….”
Nathan’s face had inevitably crumpled slightly. The Duke smiled discreetly before ordering the retainers with a solemn expression.
“In two weeks, we shall hold Nathan Valencia’s succession ceremony for the ducal title. Make all the necessary preparations thoroughly.”
“We shall obey your command, Your Grace!”
“…….”
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