Chapter 188

Chapter 188. Treasure Hunt (3)

A cavern filled with floating white light orbs.

I gazed at a translucent light orb in the shape of a girl, who introduced herself as “Grace,” and narrowed my eyes.

“As far as I know, Grace died a long time ago.”

[That’s right. So, to be precise, I’m a fragment of Grace’s soul… a remnant soul.]

A remnant soul of Grace.

“Why did Grace’s remnant soul come looking for me?”

[Because I sensed the energy of the ‘Seven Eyes’ from you.]

The energy of the Seven Eyes.

It must be thanks to the blessing Iris cast on me before entering the ruins.

‘But.’

I narrowed my eyes and shook my head.

“That can’t be the only reason, right?”

[……]

The first time I saw the white light orb was last night when I was taking a walk with Yurina.

Of course, I didn’t hear any voices then, but the white light orb circled around me as if observing me before disappearing.

‘And if it was just the energy of the Seven Eyes that brought you to me, you should have gone to Iris, not me.’

Right now, Iris is also inside the ruins with me.

Yet, you came to me instead of Iris, which means there must be another reason.

[That’s right.]

Grace nodded obediently.

She slowly raised her hand and pointed at my chest, continuing.

[The reason I approached you is because the ‘Power of Extinguishing Fire’ resides within you.]

“The Power of… Extinguishing Fire?”

Suddenly.

A conversation I had with Professor Elisha flashed through my mind.

-Not one, but two.

A power within me that even I didn’t know about.

Something that was suppressing the Primordial Flame.

“What exactly is the Power of Extinguishing Fire?”

[I don’t know.]

Grace shook her head softly.

“…You don’t know?”

[I told you. I’m not Grace, just a remnant soul left behind by her. I don’t know the true nature of the power within you.]

But.

[One thing I do remember clearly. Only someone with that power can… fulfill my ‘mission.’]

“……”

Seeing Grace’s somewhat lonely expression, I narrowed my eyes.

“What’s your mission?”

[To extinguish the ‘Fire Seed’ beneath this tomb… or rather, the ruins.]

“…Fire Seed?”

[The Primordial Fire Seed. A part of the Devil God’s power resides within that Fire Seed. My mission is to guard this place until that Fire Seed is extinguished.]

“……”

A question that had lingered among the heroes for a long time crossed my mind.

‘Why did Grace choose such a dreary ruin as her tomb?’

Grace, who was neither born nor lived in the Termal region, built her tomb here despite opposition from those around her.

‘If the reason was to seal something beneath these ruins…’

Just as she had offered a sacred relic given by the gods to save a single child.

Even in her final moments… no, even after death, she sacrificed her soul to suppress the Primordial Fire Seed.

For the past 500 years.

Alone, in this dark, vast, and lonely cavern.

[…What? Why are you suddenly bowing your head?]

“It’s my way of paying respect to a great hero.”

[Hmph.]

Grace crossed her arms and snorted.

[Whatever. I’m not the real Grace anyway.]

“No.”

Even if you’re just a fragment of a soul left behind.

Worn down, chipped, and eroded.

“No matter what anyone says, you are one of the Five Great Heroes, the Light of Life Grace.”

[……]

A small ripple passed through the white light orb that formed Grace’s body.

She stared at me with a dazed expression, then a faint smile appeared on her lips.

[Thank you.]

Grace floated in the air as if dancing.

“Anyway… so you want me to extinguish the Primordial Fire Seed down there, right?”

[That’s right.]

“Hmm.”

The Primordial Fire Seed.

‘I didn’t even know such a thing existed.’

Right now, the Primordial Flame… the one within me, not the one in the post-regression world, is still in a state of ‘non-existence.’

‘Because the Primordial Flame itself was created when the Devil God was resurrected.’

If it existed as scattered Fire Seeds before the resurrection.

‘If I find and extinguish all the Fire Seeds, can I prevent the Devil God’s resurrection?’

The Primordial Flame is the foundation of the Devil God’s power.

Just as there is no Primordial Flame without the Devil God, the opposite must also be true.

But.

‘No, it’s too early to be certain.’

First of all, I don’t even know how many Primordial Fire Seeds there are or how much power they hold.

It’s not too late to think about it after seeing the Primordial Fire Seed in person.

“Alright. Take me to where the Primordial Fire Seed is.”

[…Are you sure you can decide so easily?]

Grace looked at me with a surprised expression, as if she hadn’t expected me to accept her proposal so readily.

“Wasn’t it you who asked me to extinguish the fire?”

[Well, yes, but…]

A look of hesitation appeared on Grace’s face.

After a moment of contemplation, Grace slowly opened her mouth.

[You don’t seem to know much about the Primordial Fire Seed, but even though it’s called a ‘Fire Seed,’ it contains an immense amount of power.]

Grace continued in a stiff tone.

[Just a fraction of its power was enough to heat up the entire surrounding land.]

“…Huh?”

A sudden realization came to me.

“Wait… is the reason the Termal region is famous for its hot springs because of the Primordial Fire Seed?”

[That’s right.]

“Wow.”

So, the reason there are so many hot springs in the Termal region isn’t due to volcanic activity but because of the Primordial Fire Seed.

“Then, the other hot spring regions in the three kingdoms…”

[No, as far as I know, apart from the Termal region, there are no other hot spring regions influenced by the Primordial Fire Seed.]

“Really?”

Tsk.

I thought I might be able to use this as a clue to find other locations with Primordial Fire Seeds, but it seems that was a futile hope.

[Don’t take hot springs lightly. Just the Termal region alone is vast. The power to turn the entire surrounding area into a volcanic zone is immense. And that’s just a fraction of its power.]

Grace continued with a heavy expression, as if trying to scare me.

[Even if you have the Power of Extinguishing Fire within you… you could still burn to death if you’re not careful.]

“Hmm. Is that so?”

[I’m not joking.]

Perhaps thinking my reaction was too casual, Grace continued to warn me about the dangers of the Primordial Fire Seed.

‘She probably doesn’t know I have the Blessing of Resurrection.’

I nodded with a faint smile.

“I know. But if the Fire Seed remains as it is, you’ll be stuck here forever, right?”

[You…]

Grace frowned, as if she couldn’t understand.

[Are you fearless? Or just stupid?]

“At least, that’s not something the person who called me here to extinguish the Fire Seed should say.”

[Well… that’s true.]

Grace trailed off, unable to hide her worried expression.

I swallowed a bitter smile as I looked at her.

‘Even in this situation, she’s worried about others first.’

It seems the legends about Grace passed down in the Holy Kingdom weren’t all lies.

“You don’t need to worry about me. As you said, I have the power to control fire.”

As I spoke, I ignited Ash Fire in my hand.

Whoosh!

Seeing the ash-colored flames burning on my palm, Grace’s eyes widened.

[Th-that’s… the Primordial Fire Seed? How do you have that…?]

Well, it’s not exactly a Fire Seed, but the Primordial Flame itself.

But there’s no need to explain that in detail right now.

“How about it? Can you trust me now?”

[……]

Grace, who had been silently staring at the Ash Fire burning on my palm, nodded with a heavy expression.

[Alright. I’ll guide you to where the Fire Seed is.]

She floated towards the statue.

The white light orb enveloped the statue, which was praying with its hands together, and a white gate, similar to the one I used to get here, appeared before my eyes.

[Follow me.]

Grace’s remnant soul entered the gate.

I followed her and stepped into the gate.

With a sensation of floating.

Whoosh!

“Ugh…”

A wave of heat washed over my skin.

“…Is this it?”

I could feel the heat, but there was nothing that looked like a Fire Seed around.

[No, we need to go further down.]

Grace flew slowly along a straight passage.

I followed her.

[…Before we reach the Fire Seed, there’s something I want to ask.]

“What is it?”

[The girl who gave you the Seven Eyes’ blessing… the current ‘Saint’… is she doing well?]

“If you’re talking about Iris, she’s doing very well, so you don’t need to worry.”

[…Really? That’s a relief.]

Grace smiled faintly at my answer.

“Are you concerned?”

[Of course.]

Grace touched the corner of her eye as she spoke.

[Even though we’re not connected by blood… we’re connected by a divine blessing. In a way, I’m like a parent to her.]

“……”

Does that make Grace my mother-in-law?

‘Thinking about it, I regret being so casual with her.’

Her youthful appearance made me speak casually without realizing it, but I didn’t expect it to come to this.

‘But it would be awkward to suddenly start speaking formally now.’

As I was pondering how to address her.

[What’s your relationship with my child?]

“Huh?”

[You call the Saint by her name, Iris, so casually… and I can sense strong emotions in the ‘blessing’ placed on you, so it seems like your relationship isn’t ordinary.]

“……”

Should I say it or not?

After some hesitation, I spoke softly.

“Iris and I… are lovers.”

[L-lovers?]

Grace’s eyes widened in surprise at my answer.

[I see… Well, there’s no doctrine that says the Saint can’t fall in love.]

Grace smiled warmly and patted her chest.

[…That’s a relief, really.]

Perhaps because she was happy to know that the child she thought of as her own was in love with someone.

Grace smiled brightly, as if nothing could make her happier.

[Ah… Speaking of lovers, it reminds me of something. Do you know how that jerk Raynald was back in the day?]

Grace frowned, as if recalling old memories.

[He would say things like he couldn’t hurt the women he loved, and then go on to have two or three lovers at once. Isn’t that insane?]

“……”

[Don’t you think so too?]

“Uh…”

Feeling my throat dry up, I forced an awkward smile in front of Grace, my mother-in-law.

“O-of course…”

[Sigh. Men… *chuckle*. But you seem different, so I’m relieved.]

Grace smiled brightly at me.

[I think I can trust you with my child.]

“……”

One thing is certain.

‘If this gets out, I’m dead.’

Feeling cold sweat running down my spine, I headed towards the location of the Primordial Fire Seed.