Hela the Dragon of Catastrophe

Cien couldn't believe that Hela was speaking to him. However, from her laughter and the way she spoke, he felt a sense of impending doom.

"What do you want?"

<Don't be so wary. I just want to help.>

"You're not kind enough to offer help without wanting something in return."

<Kukuku, you're no fun. Wouldn't it be better to know the surprise at the end?>

"No, surprises will only give me a heart attack."

<You're not that weak, my Cien.>

"..."

<Calm down. I'll help you with just one simple task.>

"What task?"

<Create an underground passage to where I am, below this place.>

"! What?!"

Cien was shocked by the request. Building a passage to where Hela was? Wasn't that incredibly dangerous? Wait a minute. Wasn't Hela's body as big as Death Valley? And isn't she already dead?

<My physical body is dead, my Cien. But not my soul. I'm still sealed down here.>

"In that case, it's even more impossible for me to create a path to where you are."

<Kukuku! You're too panicky. Like I said, I'm sealed. Even if you build the passage, I can't free myself. I just want you to create the passage so I can speak with Fenrir.>

"I'm not sure about this."

<Then ask Fenrir>

Cien frowned. He really couldn't trust Hela's words. However, despite her mocking tone, he didn't sense any threat from her.

<Remember, I can help you create the weapon for your beloved princess.>

"Tsk!"

Cien gave in. He left the forge room and went to where Fenrir was.

There, he saw Fenrir lying lazily, observing Kirana and Legia who were practicing.

Cien approached Fenrir and conveyed Hela's request to him.

With a relaxed expression, Fenrir replied, <Just do it.>

"Eh? Isn't this dangerous?"

Fenrir turned his gaze towards Cien.

<Why would it be dangerous?>

Cien was taken aback. Why would it be dangerous? Are you kidding? Hela is a harbinger of catastrophe! Wouldn't her return bring about the destruction of the world?

Responding to his thoughts, Fenrir burst into laughter.

<Isn't that just a stigma from you, humans?>

"Huh? What do you mean?"

<Other than the Dragon of Destruction or the Dragon of Catastrophe, do you know anything else about Hela? The reason she was killed?>

Cien shook his head. He couldn't answer because historical records about Hela were scarce. However, one crucial piece of information mentioned her as a figure capable of bringing about the world's destruction—the Dragon of Catastrophe.

Other than that, there was no other information about Hela.

Seeing Cien's reaction, Fenrir let out a long sigh. He proceeded to share some details about Hela.

Hela was one of the Proxies in the world. A Proxy of whom? The God of Death.

"The God of Death...?"

Fenrir shook his head. He himself was not entirely sure.

The figure of the God of Death was incredibly mysterious. Fenrir only knew that the God of Death oversaw life and death, reincarnation, souls, and the afterlife. Beyond that, Fenrir had no knowledge.

Fenrir explained that Hela, as a Proxy, did not desire the destruction of the world at all. On the contrary, she was one of the figures who maintained the balance of the world.

Unfortunately, as time passed, Hela's power grew beyond the level of a Rank King.

This development made the rulers of that time feel threatened.

They believed there was no force capable of restraining her. Thus, the rumor of Hela being the Dragon of Destruction was created.

As the peak of power in Kastia, Hela paid little attention to the rumors. However, she feared that her presence might lead to conflicts in Kastia. So, before the situation escalated, she disappeared from the face of the world.

The dragon secluded herself in the region between the two highest mountains in Kastia. That place eventually became known as Death Valley.

As time went by, although the negative rumors about Hela still circulated, there was no indication of any action to hunt her down. At this point, the rumors were considered mere gossip, and Hela remained undisturbed.

At least until the demons decided to stir up the situation.

Somehow, the demon race managed to incite the rulers of the kingdoms to attack Hela.

Millions of human soldiers were mobilized to the place where Hela resided, aiming to eliminate the figure declared as a threat to the world.

For several weeks, Hela managed to withstand every attack from the United Forces of the human nations.

To say she "withstand" might be inaccurate since, no matter how strong the United Forces were, their power was far below that of Hela's, and their attacks had no effect on her.

Instead, Hela refrained from attacking the United Forces, resulting in very few casualties during those weeks. However, the situation couldn't remain as it was.

Hela, who didn't wish to fight against humans, sought help from other Proxies to persuade the rulers to withdraw their armies.

Her request was approved by the other Proxies at that time, including Fenrir, who was living in the southern part of Huntara.

But alas, after receiving Hela's plea for help, the Proxies who rushed to each kingdom were confronted by the Demon Kings.

"Demon Kings?!"

<Yes, a battle I can never forget even to this day.>

"Could it be... those wounds of yours..."

Fenrir only smiled meaningfully. He then explained that there were seven Proxies and seven Demon Kings at that time.

The confrontation between the two sides shook the world.

<We, the Proxies... we lost.>

"!"

Cien and Fenrir fell silent, not uttering a word.

Fenrir remembered the pain he experienced back then, while Cien was stunned to learn that someone as powerful as Fenrir, a Proxy, could be defeated.

Moreover, Hela, who surpassed even this White Wolf, was also a Proxy.

What happened?!

<In the battle against the Demon Kings, four Proxies lost their lives. Only I, the Proxy of the Earth God named Ymir, and Hela who trapped in the Death Valley survived that day.>

After that battle, the demon race, led by the remaining four Demon Kings, began a large-scale invasion of the human nations.

Fenrir, on the verge of death, was unable to withstand the demon army's might, including the other Demon Kings who started to target him.

Fortunately, a Champion from Huntara named Jasper Polaris came to his aid. Jasper replaced Fenrir as the defensive wall of Huntara.

In the war against demons, he managed to halt the invasion even though his own life was taken.

On the other hand, Ymir successfully halted the demon invasion in the Land of Sand by uniting all the tribes there.

Only Hela remained, but despite the news of the demon invasion spreading, the United Forces of humans still knocked on her door. It prevented her from moving to aid her fellow Proxies outside.

Then, at a certain time, Ymir, who had successfully pushed back the invasion, lost his life. However, it was not at the hands of demons but at the hands of humans.

This event occurred when he went to the Holy Kingdom, pleading to the rulers of all kingdoms that gathered there to withdraw the United Forces that were blocking Hela's path. So, Hela could assist them in their fight against the demons, where there were still four Demon Kings remaining.

Unfortunately, what Ymir did was like walking into the lion's den.

Instead of receiving approval, he was poisoned to death by the humans. His body was burned on an altar as an offering to the God of Creation.

Hela and Fenrir, upon hearing this, were filled with rage.

Hela no longer cared about the humans or the world anymore.

She slaughtered the millions of humans who blocked her path, proclaiming to all of Kastia that she had returned. However, she was not there as a savior, but as a bringer of death. Anyone who stood in her way would die.

The first thing Hela did after her emergence was to go to Abyss. She wreaked havoc there, turning the land into the dark black Abyss known to the public today.

No one knows how many demons were obliterated by Hela. But her actions managed to keep the demon race silent and went into hiding for the next hundreds of years.

Of course, the four Demon Kings. All of them vanished at Hela's hands. Single-handedly, Hela succeeded in destroying the demon race.

After dealing with Abyss, Hela had only one goal.

The goal was immediately known to the kingdom rulers at that time—the end of their lives.

With the terrifying figure approaching, the human kings began to panic. However, there was no power that could restrain Hela.

With cunning minds, the kings came up with a new idea.

They spread rumors once again, claiming that Hela was behind the events in Abyss, and that she was a calamity that would bring about the end of the world.

In those dark times, rumors spread easily and were absorbed by the people, especially in the kingdoms that were nearly destroyed by the demon invasion, unlike Huntara and the Land of Sand.

The citizens of these kingdoms were in despair and on the verge of collapse.

Hearing about a scapegoat figure, the name Hela once again echoed as the Bringer of Destruction.

The majority of the world's population condemned Hela's name. The name "Dragon of Catastrophe" began to grow in the hearts of the people as a nightmare.

After the rumors took hold, the kings ordered all their subjects to pray to the Gods for divine punishment to befall Hela.

<Do you know what happens when almost the entire world prays with the same request?>

"Don't tell me that the request was granted."

<Exactly. At that time, I couldn't do anything due to my injuries, but I managed to stop the people of Huntara from making that prayer. The same happened in the Land of Sand, where the people resented the kings who killed Ymir. They rebelled and established their own kingdom, which is now known as Mandora.

Unfortunately, it was different with other kingdoms. The ones that worship the remaining four Gods: the God of Creation, the Goddess of the Sky, the God of the Sun, and the God of Darkness. All their prayers were answered.>

As a result, the Divine Punishment arrived. The four Kastian Gods descended from the Heavens to kill Hela.

<At that moment, I could even hear the weeping of the Goddess of the Moon. I and the Goddess could only watch without doing anything. I felt ashamed and angry!>

Hela knew she couldn't win against the Gods.

She could only laugh hysterically at her fate, a laughter that resounded throughout the Kastia Continent, sending shivers of fear to those who heard it.

But for Fenrir, that laughter was like irony. It was filled with sorrow.

Throughout her life, Hela had tried to protect humans and fulfill the orders of the Gods to maintain balance.

But what did she receive in return? Betrayal from those she protected and being killed by the very beings she wholeheartedly obeyed.

In her final request, Hela said that she wanted to die in her home—the valley between the two highest mountains.

At the end of the story, Hela met her demise, and her soul was sealed by the Gods.

Fenrir, filled with anger, wanted to confront the kings. However, a rumor stopped him. Once he could walk again, Fenrir left Huntara.

He went to a kingdom in the southeast of Kastia, the only kingdom that worshiped the God of Death.

According to the rumor, the United Forces were planning to attack that kingdom.

When Fenrir arrived there, what he found was a fallen kingdom with all its inhabitants turned into corpses.

This event shattered Fenrir's hope for humanity. He no longer wanted to deal with Kastia.

Fenrir went to Hela's grave. For years, he resided in that area, guarding the home cherished by his friend.