Chapter 484

After an unknown amount of time, a voice called out to her.

"... Erice? You're awake?"

The girl opened her eyes and saw the silver-haired youth carrying her on his back.

Because her mind was foggy and she felt unwell, she didn't speak, she just stared at the person.

She found the man's voice very gentle, and if someone could talk to him like she did, she might be willing to die for it.

"That's right, I am the Demon King, and now I finally have a real body."

"..."

The girl fell silent, seemingly unsure how to answer. After a long pause, she softly replied, "That is... what?"

Novia was slightly surprised by the words that came out of Erice's mouth.

Well, her tone was so gentle, completely unlike her previous irritable self.

"I'll tell you later. This area doesn't seem like a good place."

What unfolded before Novia's eyes was a vast Forest engulfed in endless flames, the surrounding diffusion, condensation, and implosion—these filthy traces, powerful enough to distort spacetime, were like an explosion.

Explode?

This idea, coupled with his recent voyage to Siberia, led Novia to have unfavorable suspicions.

Could it be...?

Before he could come up with anything, a powerful voice echoed through the blood-red sky.

"You thing that harms the earth, the only thing born on this lifeless land."

"Cursed beast."

"There may be very few people who will rejoice at your birth."

"But,"

"At least you can have a name."

Novia, of course, knew that the source of the sound was Amaterasu.

Therefore, his guess was confirmed; this was the Tunguska River in Siberia, Russia, in 1908.

That is to say...

The Tunguska Event.

Chapter 501 This relationship is not good.

The Tunguska Event.

The cause is believed to be a possible Meteoroid Airburst from a small Small Planet or Comet.

Its destructive power is equivalent to 20 million tons of TNT, burning and felling more than 80 million trees over an area of 2,150 square kilometers.

Because Tunguska was located in a remote area, and the era was quite chaotic, the earliest investigation into this matter did not begin until twenty years later.

However, in the land destroyed by natural disasters, the cries of animals annihilated by the meteorite and their resentment towards the humans who slaughtered them became the catalyst for the birth of a certain being—a natural spirit with an innate Spirit Origin, completely unrelated to Human Order.

Then, at that moment, Heroic Spirit appeared.

Although there was neither a summoning Ritual like the Holy Grail War, nor any miracles or manifestations of Counter Force, it still happened just like that.

As for the reason--

"Now that Russia is in crisis, we must go to its rescue no matter what."

The White-Haired Goddess woman clenched her fist with such enthusiasm that she shouted, "It's up to me, Dobrenenia—"

"Nastasya, why are you using my name?"

Beside the White-Haired Goddess woman, the black-haired man, who was actually Dobrynya Nikitich, said this.

"Hmm, now your Spirit Origin belongs to me, so I am the real Dobrynya Nikitich."

The White-Haired Girl, hands on her hips, said smugly to the man, "You're Nikitich now, no, I mean Nastasya."

"Here we go again, is it that incident where he did that to his wife while Nikitich wasn't around? You keep repeating the same thing over and over, what are you trying to do?"

"Oh dear, oh dear, I really can't stand Nikitich."

Nastasya closed her eyes. "But I still have to say, because Nikitich is an eternal young warrior, because Nikitich can do most things."

"..."

The man fell silent because of his wife's public praise.

"Although I'm happy to see you two flirting in front of each other, but--"

The Three-Headed Dragon beside them muttered, "But what exactly did we come here for? There's probably not a single person here!"

"Because Russia is in danger."

Having obtained her husband's Spirit Origin, Nastasya naturally understood what had happened here. There lurked a creature, whether dragon or insect, distorted by the power of the meteorite fragments that had burned the Tunguska lands. If it were allowed to act, it would surely bring disaster to present-day Russia.

"Therefore, we have come as brave warriors of the Sun Prince."

The Sun Prince here does not refer to the Sun God, but to Vladimir, the Grand Prince of Kyiv, who was known as the Red Sun, and Nikitich was his subordinate.

"That's true."

Can I say a word?

"What's wrong, Zmei? You used to be such a talkative dragon, but you've become much quieter here."

"Why did Russia choose us out of all their heroes? Are we that famous? My mom's boss is more like it!"

"Hahaha!"

Nikitich and Nastasya burst into laughter. "In that case, it's true! But let's not worry about the details! Just head towards the epicenter of the explosion!"

"I'm truly amazed that you two heartless bastards can become a family..."

"What are you saying? Zmei, aren't you family too?"

"Don't say such sentimental things at a time like this..."

The Three-Headed Dragon sighed, and just as it was about to say something, it seemed to have discovered something. Suddenly, its eyes lit up, and its lips trembled slightly as it smiled boldly and fearlessly, "This aura, could it really be...?"

Noticing that the Three-Headed Dragon Zmei was acting strangely, Nikitich quickly asked worriedly, "What's wrong? Has some enemy appeared?"

No, it's not...

Zmei's performance has stalled.

He couldn't help but feel this way, because it was the atmosphere he had experienced when he was young, while his mother was still alive.

In the land of the Huns.

Werewolf, Werewolf, all sorts of Phantasmal Species, Werewolf transformed by Cursecraft, powerful humans— Zmei was familiar with all of them, but the one he was most familiar with was undoubtedly the one who always viewed everything with gentleness, the one who was regarded as the king who had sent away a quarter of the world.

"Is this your child, Gorynych? He's quite adorable; you can tell he'll be a famous dragon someday."

"You flatter me, sir. Little Five Wu just eats and sleeps all day long. It's good enough that he's alive."

"That's the truth, Zmei will definitely do it."

The person smiled.

It was a smile so gentle it made you doubt your own eyes; it was hard to imagine that the death this man had brought about was so profound.

Then--

"Um."

He blinked, and a tall wolf shadow descended upon the Royal Palace's training grounds.

I think you should be arriving soon.

"Yes! Lady Attila sent me!"

The Werewolf named Beo saluted energetically, then looked at Zmei and smiled, "Training is about to begin today, little Zmei, your brothers are already here."

The training Zmei underwent could be described as one-sided beatings, but he had a strange sense of identification with it, as if it had seeped into his very being.

Zmei's childhood in the Huns kingdom was peaceful and gentle, but he knew long ago that the king his mother followed was not just this one person.

That is why the Three-Headed Dragon Zmei regretted not being able to witness the life of the King of the Huns.

After the Three-Headed Dragon pondered for several seconds...

Click.

In the Forest ablaze with flames, illuminated by the surrounding fire, his appearance appeared utterly devout, and at the same time, a voice he deeply missed echoed, "Gentlemen, it's a pleasure to meet you. I am Goethe's 'The Demon King'."

"Demon, Demon King!"

Although it was a simple title, Nastasya was immediately startled. "I... I am the Dragon Slayer of Kyiv, the hero Dobrynya Nikitich! I'm very strong, don't underestimate me!"

Novia nodded in agreement. "Hmm, since you dare to say you're strong, you must really be strong."

"Sigh~"

Nastasya couldn't help but laugh, "Hehe."

"What's with this sense of interaction...?"

Nikitich crossed his arms, hesitating to speak, "If I had to choose, I'd say Nastasya, though."

"What do you mean 'reluctantly'! You're such an annoying person!"

"Yes, yes, yes, I'm not good enough, right? No, isn't being an annoying guy a bit too much?"

"If you argue back, I'll blow you up with my weapon!"

"What an inspiring speech! It's incredibly reliable; no wonder he's the legendary Dragon Slayer."

Novia offered appropriate praise, saying, "You two have a very harmonious relationship as a couple, which I greatly admire."

"Hmm? Leaving his wife behind to go on some kind of expedition or something?"

Nastasya held her face in her hands. "You're probably distressed because your beloved husband doesn't come home, not even to send a message. If this happened in modern times, you might be asked for a divorce?"

"This--"

Guilt and pride swirled in Nikitich's heart; after all, it was indeed the truth.

That's true, but if that were really what I thought, I wouldn't have said it out loud.

These gentle words from Novia actually made Nikitich feel more favorably toward him.

"I would never do that, hmph, that's exactly what I thought when I said it."

Nastasya closed one eye and turned to Novia. "You're Heroic Spirit too, right? So that means we have the same goal? In that case, I need to check out your abilities, is that alright?"

"I thought the negotiations would proceed peacefully..."

Novia, carrying the silver-haired Erice on her back, looked at the two people and the dragon in front of her, "The atmosphere suddenly became tense, but there's nothing we can do about it."

"Stop talking nonsense. You look like a dashing, aloof playboy who revels in women."

Nastasya's beautiful fingers gripped the sledgehammer. "I'm going in! Because Nikitich can do most things!"

Before it could act, a dragon's roar echoed through the burning Tunguska.

It was a terrifying sound wave that appealed to the instincts of all living things.

If it were the real Nikitich, he probably wouldn't have backed down, but the Nikitich at this moment was the Spirit Origin used by his wife. Being unfamiliar with martial arts, she naturally trembled for a moment, so she quickly turned around and pinched the ear of the Three-Headed Dragon Zmei who had spoken up to stop her.

"What are you doing, Zmei!"

"You can't beat her, Nastasya."

"So what if I can't beat them? Challenging the unreasonable and the impossible is what makes a hero! And I won't throw a tantrum, okay? If I lose and am simply not skilled enough, I'll obediently leave."

"Tsk, then I think I'd better leave now."

Nikitich, standing nearby, could tell from Zmei's voice that it was filled with reverence for the Demon King Ming.

Is this person someone Zmei knows?

However, while he was alive, Zmei always referred to himself as Huns implying he was on the side of the King of the Huns.

From this perspective, using the Demon King to disguise oneself is quite fitting.