Prologue
I stared blankly at my left arm that had been brutally torn out.
I had roughly stopped the bleeding, but I couldn’t restore the arm that had been torn to shreds.
Moreover, there were even more severe wounds scattered across my body.
My right leg was completely blown off below the knee, and a large sword was even embedded in my abdomen.
It was a very serious injury, but I didn’t feel much pain.
This was because a much greater agony than physical pain was dominating my mind.
‘How on earth did things come to this situation?’
Leaning my body against the rubble of a collapsed building, I slowly looked around.
The Riverrun family, which had ruled the southeastern part of the continent for a thousand years, was engulfed in crimson flames.
I was the young head of such a great family, and had ended up in this state while fighting against foreign enemies.
“It’s so dirty and despicable that I have nothing to say. Those bastards.”
Although they were ostracized for wielding both magic and swordsmanship simultaneously, Riverrun had proudly proven their worth.
They had overwhelmed other groups with their skill.
That’s why they could stand tall as the head of the continent’s five great families.
But as they say, the nail that sticks out gets hammered down.
Felton, the continent’s greatest sword family.
Everfield, the supreme magic family.
Lantzvalger, the assassination group shrouded in mystery.
The remaining three families, excluding Ties, had invaded to annihilate Riverrun.
‘Stabbing us in the back at a harmony conference? To hell with alliances.’
The continent’s five great families regularly held harmony conferences.
Ridiculously, the trouble started right at that very meeting.
My father died after being attacked by three family heads together.
Although they lost their focal point in an instant, Riverrun still showed a resilient appearance.
The elders immediately appointed me as temporary head and worked to repel the enemies.
But it wasn’t enough to stop their plans.
“COUGH.”
When I tried to force my body to move, the sword that had pierced my abdomen stirred my internal organs.
I violently spat out something hot that surged up from inside.
What poured out with white steam was a dark red clot of blood mixed with gastric fluid.
Then I felt somewhat more comfortable inside.
Resting my head against the cold stone wall debris, I looked up at the night sky.
Perhaps because of the flames that completely covered the surroundings, even the cluster of stars that had sparkled like pearl powder was no longer visible.
‘How wretched. Damn it.’
I couldn’t continue fighting in my current physical condition.
Forget fighting, I couldn’t even take a single step.
The admiration that I possessed talent surpassing the founding head had now all become empty praise.
Due to my lazy nature, I had always neglected training.
And yet I was able to possess skills that far transcended others.
You could call me a Hidden Dragon.
Actually, on second thought, I don’t think I’m a Hidden Dragon.
Let’s just go with ‘That child with a good head, who doesn’t put in effort.’
“Now I finally feel some regret. It’s too late, far too late.”
If I had known it would come to this, I would have undergone bone-grinding hardships every single day.
Of course, there was no guarantee that diligent training would have prevented this disaster.
Still, I thought it might have helped a little.
With a self-deprecating laugh, I dipped my fingertip in the blood pooled on the ground.
Then I suddenly began drawing a picture on my chest.
SWOOSH. SWISH.
‘But it’s not over until the very end. Those alliance family bastards probably didn’t know I had this kind of move.’
What I drew was none other than Deinox’s seal.
It was a magic circle to summon Deinox, the founding head who had broken through human limitations and become a god.
I, who had enjoyed learning all sorts of miscellaneous skills while putting training on the back burner, had obtained the Deinox summoning circle from the family treasury.
Honestly, I never dreamed I would use such a bizarre technique.
This magic circle used human life as a sacrifice.
‘Since my life is the collateral, it feels really unsettling.’
But if I could save the family by burning up a dying life, wouldn’t it be a very profitable deal?
I thought as positively as possible and infused mana into it.
It was my last bastion, as meager as a mouse’s tail.
However, even though all conditions were met, there was no reaction from the magic circle.
“Hehe! This time it’s my turn to stab you bastards in the back… Ah, why isn’t this working?”
I waited with a puzzled expression, but only cold silence lingered around me.
CRACKLE. CRACKLE. BOOM!
Occasionally, only the sound of completely burned building debris crumbling could be heard.
At this rate, my life that was to be used as sacrifice would end before the summoning technique could even unfold.
‘Hey, founding head you bastard. You said you’d become a guardian deity and protect the family? Was that all bullshit?’
It seemed this forbidden technique was fake from the beginning.
Swallowing my complicated feelings, I hung my head low.
I no longer had the strength left to even hold up my neck.
But at some moment as I was crawling toward death, a faint voice reached my ears.
—If given a chance, what would you do?
‘I’d have to achieve both revenge and the revival of the family.’
—Your dreams are big.
‘When you’re dying, shouldn’t your plans at least be grand?’
While exchanging a few words with the voice of unknown identity, my consciousness gradually sank deeper.
—Remember the origin, but do not reject reality. If you become blinded by revenge, you will not be able to see the truth.
‘Crazy, what are you saying? Speak so I can understand…’
Right when that last voice echoed in my head, a single line was drawn across the pitch-black sky.
At the same time, bright starlight flashed and was created.
When Riverrun’s great star fell, a new star was born in the Lantzvalger family.
