The Hero Becomes the Duke’s Eldest Son

Chapter 108

If the situation had been a bit more relaxed, Aden would have been able to figure out what was happening. But right now, he had no time for that.

One thing was clear, though.

‘Power is surging.’

Thanks to the blessing of the Sacred Fire, vitality surged through his entire body, and mana filled him instantly.

“Aaaaah! That light…! What is that light…!”

Furthermore, the Winter Queen, having been directly exposed to the powerful holy energy, was clutching her head and staggering.

Although she would soon regain her senses, for Aden, that brief moment was an opportunity.

‘I am currently blessed by the gods.’

For some reason, he couldn’t afford even a scratch.

In other words, a quick resolution was the only answer.

“Banshee’s Spirit Shield, summon.”

Hwaaaah!

The shield tattoo on the back of his hand glowed, summoning a translucent shield into Aden’s hand.

‘Don’t think about what’s behind…’

Aden, determined to give his all, had a resolute look in his eyes.

“Using the weapon’s trait, ‘Berserk Ability.’ Temporarily increasing all stats by over 300%.”

The mana consumption was so rapid that he hadn’t even considered using the ‘Berserk Ability’ before.

The buff effect from the Berserk Ability.

The increased recovery from the god’s blessing.

His body, which had reached the level of a master.

These three factors overlapped…

Flaaralala!

Flames wrapped around the Phoenix King in the shape of a sphere.

Paaat!

Then the surrounding flames burst like soap bubbles, and the flames spread out in the shape of feathers.

“Now, there is nothing to worry about.”

Among the scattering fire feathers, a noble presence emerged, the Phoenix King, Pyroness.

“My true form is here.”

The red flames that composed her body turned into a deep blue ‘Blue Flame.’

The Phoenix with the blue flame.

“Summoned creature, ‘Pyroness,’ reveals its hidden form.”

The true power of the Phoenix King, who ruled over all phoenixes, manifested on the spot.

As a result, Aden’s already rapidly depleting mana consumption increased severalfold, causing him to stagger momentarily.

But he was smiling.

‘It’s over now.’

Pyroness’s body grew nearly ten times larger than before.

Flap-!

As she spread her enormous wings, the intense heat spread throughout the entire Ice Castle.

Chiiiiiiii!

The walls of the Ice Castle, which seemed like they would never melt, began to thaw.

“Let’s end this now, child of unfortunate snow.”

“Aaaaaaaah!”

The Queen of the Frozen Land, the Banshee Queen, the Winter Queen.

The Phoenix King, Pyroness, who controlled flames.

The two clashed.

And the collision of ice and fire, along with the soaring flames, caused a massive explosion.

* * *

“Haa, haa…”

Aden panted heavily as he dispelled the Banshee’s Spirit Shield.

His head throbbed from the severe mana depletion.

Pyroness had been unsummoned back to the spirit realm.

The time Aden had summoned the Phoenix King’s true form had been merely about a minute.

But in that minute, he saw the tremendous devastation it caused and let out a bitter laugh.

Chiiiiii…

Sssssss…

The Ice Castle of the Winter Queen, which seemed it would never melt no matter what, and the surrounding snow and ice as far as the eye could see had all melted away.

It was as if the Ice Castle had never existed.

The enormous steam generated from this created a thick fog.

“…I almost died.”

“That should be my line, Dragon Slayer King. Please be careful. I don’t want to die yet.”

A bitter laugh came out naturally.

Thanks to the Banshee’s Spirit Shield protecting his body, the fire immunity effect from his contract with Pyroness, and the enhancement from the Lord of the Sacred Fire’s blessing, he miraculously survived the explosion without injury.

“A-ah…”

And at the epicenter of the explosion, where the Winter Queen’s castle had been, the Banshee Queen, the Winter Queen, was seen, her body more than half gone and dissipating.

Before the flames of the Phoenix King, which had reached the level of myth, the Winter Queen, who had merely reached the level of legend, couldn’t endure.

“No… This can’t be…! Not again, like 400 years ago…! I wanted to end this world…!”

Even while dying, the Winter Queen despaired over not being able to destroy the world.

She recalled her former master.

A person who shone nobly and beautifully more than anyone else in the world.

A master who deserved the love of the whole world.

But he had fallen from the highest place for the sake of humanity and had left her.

Left alone, she had become a Banshee and turned into the Winter Queen, wishing to abandon the world that had abandoned him.

But everything had ended.

In her sorrow, blood-tears flowed from her empty eye sockets.

Seeing this, Aden’s expression naturally twisted.

‘If you’re a disaster-level monster, act like a monster.’

Until the end, she was pitifully acting wronged.

Disliking this, he approached and bluntly said.

“If you’re a spirit of ice, cool your head, you damned spirit.”

“Haha, you really need to temper your temper, huh? If you’re a spirit of ice, cool your head.”

In an instant, Aden’s face overlapped with that of her former master. Though his face, appearance, and voice were all different, at this moment, the Winter Queen saw Aden as her old master. Her unstable mind, on the verge of vanishing, mistook Aden for her master.

Just as Aden was about to completely eliminate the Winter Queen and take her essence.

“Master…”

The Winter Queen, shedding tears of blood, gave a faint, bittersweet smile.

“This time… please… let me…”

Sarrreeek.

The form of the Banshee Queen, the Winter Queen, melted away in a white light.

‘This is…?’

This was the phenomenon that occurred when a banshee resolved its grievances and self-destructed.

When a banshee resolves its regrets, it leaves behind a spirit weapon imbued with its power.

And this was true even for the Banshee Queen, the Winter Queen.

The shape of the Winter Queen turned to smoke and dispersed, leaving behind the essence that was the source of her power, which began to take form.

It was…

‘A cloak…?’

A transparent cloak, each feather made of ice, glimmering with a bluish light, floated in the air and sparkled like crystal.

Soon, like when he obtained the Banshee’s Spirit Shield, the icy cloak transformed into shimmering particles and was instantly absorbed into Aden.

And then…

Whooosh!

The icy cloak draped over Aden’s body and fluttered.

– The bound equipment, ‘Frozen Winter Cloak,’ has been permanently bound to you.

Aden couldn’t see it himself, but a snowflake-shaped tattoo appeared on each of his shoulders.

[Frozen Winter Cloak]

A cloak imbued with the power and will of the ancient calamity-level spirit, the Banshee Queen, the Winter Queen, who froze the northern lands and destroyed an ancient city.

When used, defense increases, and the efficiency of using frigid mana rises.

“Huh…”

Aden let out a hollow laugh as he checked the system’s information.

He had intended to just extract the Banshee Queen’s essence, but she resolved her grievances on her own and left behind a spirit weapon imbued with her power.

“A cloak, huh.”

It seemed that the keepsake left by the Banshee Queen was a cloak.

– ‘Frigid Mana’ has been bound.

With this icy cloak bound to him, the frigid mana that the Winter Queen possessed also became fully Aden’s power.

Aden concentrated aura in his hand as a test.

Sssssss.

Frost formed on Aden’s palm, and an aura imbued with coldness rose.

‘I can now imbue my aura with cold attributes.’

Aden’s current attributes were regeneration, poison, and fire.

And now, frigid mana was added to these attributes.

‘I’m lucky.’

Aden had personally experienced how troublesome the cold attribute was during the fight with the Winter Queen.

Although it had the downside of being unnecessarily flashy, it was sure to be useful in many ways in his future journey.

Just then, a system notification appeared.

– You have defeated the boss monster, ‘Winter Queen.’

– You have achieved the ‘Winter’s Slayer’ achievement.

‘In any case, with this, the primary goal is achieved.’

Now, it would be impossible for the Storm Knight to obtain the materials needed to repair the mana engine.

And now, the area of the Frozen Land near where the Winter Queen’s territory had emerged was now Aden’s.

– There’s something I’ve been wanting to ask about that point.

Seeing this opportunity, Curse pointed out the part he hadn’t understood all this time.

– Why on earth do you want this land full of ice?

The Frozen Land was a wasteland where snow always raged and monsters swarmed.

It was a barren land that was difficult to manage, no matter how much you owned it.

That was why the Grand Duke had so easily handed it over to Aden.

“That’s a good question.”

Aden smiled, curling the corners of his mouth at Curse’s words.

That smile looked mocking.

“Indeed, the Frozen Land is a useless land filled with only snow and ice monsters. But that’s an old story now.”

Whooooosh.

A cold wind blew.

But it was subtly different.

The wind was still cold, but it no longer carried the kind of frost that seemed to cut through the skin.

That wind no longer carried the abnormal and brutally cold murderous intent.

“The Frozen Land was cursed and frozen under the influence of the Winter Queen’s frigid mana.”

And now the Winter Queen was gone.

The cause that kept the Frozen Land frozen was gone, so it would gradually thaw and reveal the land beneath.

This was already proven in his past life when Sylbeta defeated the Winter Queen.

“And as the Frozen Land thawed, the treasures hidden beneath began to emerge.”

Aden picked up a stone from the ground where the snow had melted due to Pyroness’s heat and roughly wiped its surface.

Then, a radiant blue ore was revealed.

– That is, no way…?

“Yes, it’s a mana stone.”

Mana stones were rare minerals formed by the condensation of mana in densely spirited lands.

They were valuable items used in magic tools and magical experiments.

The Frozen Land was a place where the power left behind by the Winter Queen had accumulated for hundreds of years.

Aden saw occasional flashes of blue light sparkling here and there.

As a result, mana stones and other magical minerals were scattered everywhere.

And now, it meant that all this prime land was Aden’s!

Curse spoke in a stunned voice.

– Isn’t this a complete scam…?

“Scam? What are you talking about? I clearly made a ‘deal.’”

Even if the Grand Duke found out about this later, he wouldn’t retract his words once given.

“And besides, the Grand Duchy wouldn’t be able to develop it as it is anyway.”

The Winter Queen had not only accumulated vast amounts of magical minerals but also left behind a pervasive and insidious dark energy in the land.

Without specialized protective equipment, any ordinary person staying here for long would be poisoned by the dark magic.

“But I have the Sacred Fire Order.”

Even without mobilizing all the priests from the main temple, asking Elise alone would be enough to purify the land into a habitable place.

“Or I could call Niketa.”

As a warlock who dealt with dark magic, she would be more than capable of covering the entire land.

Whoooosh!

A strong wind blew.

The wind swept away the thick fog, gradually revealing the hidden landscape.

All around, on the land where the snow and ice had melted, sparkling mana stones lay scattered like mere pebbles.

All of this belonged to Aden.

“Hahaha!”

Aden couldn’t hold back his laughter and burst out laughing loudly.

* * *

Meanwhile, across all cities of the Syres Grand Duchy.

– Announcement from the Spirit Merchant Guild.

The Hat Merchant appeared in the sky again with a light aura, announcing throughout the Syres Grand Duchy.

– The legendary dungeon, ‘Winter Queen’s Territory,’ has been conquered.

And what the Hat Merchant’s words meant…

– Announcing once more.

– The legendary dungeon in the Frozen Land.

– ‘Winter Queen’s Territory’ has been conquered.

– The legendary dungeon, ‘Winter Queen’s Territory,’ has been stripped of its dungeon status.

Aden’s ‘perfect’ victory.

And this meant that the Winter Queen’s territory had become Aden’s land.