Record of a Thousand Lives

ast.

However, Kang Yoon-Soo shook his head and said, “I don’t know if I can this time, though.”

“W-Why so…?” Shaneth asked nervously.

“Because I’m meeting him earlier,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

He normally went to meet Sirian only nineteen years after he regressed, but only a year had passed since then in his final life.
That meant his equipment and level were both pathetic compared to what they were in the previous lives where he managed to kill Sirian.
In fact, being able to kill the Dragon of Destruction so early in his current life could be considered nothing short of a miracle.

However, he had no choice but to rush, because the Demon Lord would appear earlier than before.

“The King of All Things, Sirian… and the Colossi’s Magic Tower, on top of that…” Henrick muttered.
He picked up the alcohol bottle and lamented, “My dream of a natural death is becoming harder to reach by the day…!”

***

Kalriven greeted them when they left the city hall, saying, “I hope you had a pleasant rest, my lord.”

The legion of the undead had all perished in the war against the Dragon of Destruction, and only Kalriven remained.
Perhaps because of that, the Death General’s pale face looked lonelier than ever.

The titans and the men lay sprawled out across the ground, drunk after the week of debauchery they had enjoyed.
The party walked past them as they climbed up the stone mountain.

The ghostly assistant welcomed them warmly with a cheerful tone.

[My, look who’s here! The savior of the underground! I have heard the news that you defeated the Dragon of Destruction.]

However, the Blacksmith of Fire did not spare them a glance and merely continued hammering away.

“I wish to enter the Dragon of Destruction’s lair again,” Kang Yoon-Soo said, but the Blacksmith of Fire merely pretended not to hear him.
In response, Kang Yoon-Soo raised the ring in his hand and said, “I can still trap a soul one more time in this ring.”

The assistant asked a question excitedly.

[Omo! Is that true?]

The Blacksmith of Fire finally turned around and grumbled, “You’re an evil person, corrupt to the core.”

Then, he swung his gigantic hammer in midair while muttering assorted profanity to himself.
Space distorted and a rift appeared in the hammer’s wake, gradually widening and turning into a passage to another location.

Once again, the party entered the Dragon of Destruction’s lair.

***

The Dragon of Destruction’s lair was in dire condition.
The sky was falling, and the ground was crumbling.
The magic that sustained the lair had begun falling apart when its master died, and when that process finally came to an end, the party would be forcefully expelled.

“Let’s hurry,” Kang Yoon-Soo said.

They first went to the Dragon of Destruction’s secret treasure trove, which was still filled with shining gold and jewels.

‘The Dragon of Destruction burned the rare and unique items, but the most precious ones still remain intact in here,’ Kang Yoon-Soo thought as he picked up three items: The Infinite Chalice, Magic Sword of Hemoptysis, and the Seal of Destruction.

‘These are all legendary items.’

They were also the items that the Dragon of Destruction had treasured the most.
Such legendary treasures were not things anyone could use simply by stealing them from the dragon, but Kang Yoon-Soo had gained the right to use them after killing the Dragon of Destruction.

“My lord, we do not have much time remaining,” Kalriven said in an uncharacteristically impatient manner.

Kang Yoon-Soo nodded in response and said, “Let’s go to where the Dragon of Destruction’s corpse is.”

“Where is that?” Shaneth asked.

“The deepest part of the world,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

The party then killed a few of the creatures flying in the sky.
They were monstrous birds with massive wings, of a kind never before seen on the continent.

“Mass Raise Dead,” Kang Yoon-Soo muttered.

The monstrous birds were reanimated as undead, and each of the party members hopped onto one.
Then, they flew down into the hole that contained the battlefield where Kang Yoon-Soo and the Dragon of Destruction had fought their final battle.

“This is a really deep hole,” Iris murmured, looking around in amazement.

They flew down for quite a while before eventually seeing the Dragon of Destruction’s bloodied corpse lying across the mantle.
It was missing its heart and an eye because Kang Yoon-Soo had harvested them, and the scales on its body were in tatters, while its limbs had been severed.
It was a truly grotesque sight.

Henrick clicked his tongue and said, “To think you managed to reduce that scary dragon to… this.
You really are a monster.”

Shaneth observed the grotesque corpse of the Dragon of Destruction, which anyone else would have found repulsive to even look at, then said, “Quite a long time has passed, but it's not showing any signs of decomposing.
Still, wouldn’t it be difficult to raise it from the dead, since it’s been chopped to pieces?”

She had a valid point.
It was difficult to use corpses that had been chopped up to summon undead; the only undead that could be summoned with such mangled corpses were skeletons.
Additionally, if one wished to raise a dragon’s corpse from the dead, one would need an amount of mana that rivaled that of the Ultimate Necromancer, Nakron.
Kang Yoon-Soo and Mini-Lich’s skills in raising the dead were not at that level yet.

It was then that the Death General, Kalriven stepped forward and said, “That will not be a problem.”

Kalriven pulled out its sword and pointed it at the Dragon of Destruction’s corpse, which slowly started to move.
The body was gradually sucked into the sword, disappearing from view.

“Nakron-nim has tasked me with raising the Deathless Dragon, and that is my final duty,” Kalriven said.

“Kalriven!” Iris shouted in surprise.

Kalriven’s body slowly began to break down, while its sword began growing larger the more of the dragon’s corpse it absorbed.
It was finally time for the Death General that had successfully carried out its final duty to return to the ground and enter its eternal rest.

The Death General said as its body broke apart, “Nakron-nim made it so that my life would end once the Deathless Dragon had been created.
That is because an undead being that has fulfilled its role is no longer of any use.”

“That’s not true,” Kang Yoon-Soo said.

Kalriven looked at him with sadness in its eyes before saying with a smile, “My lord.
An undead being is only created temporarily, to be used and destroyed.
We act as shields to protect our allies, and I am the only one who remains after the war has ended.”

“You don’t have the right to determine whether your life is valuable or not.
That right belongs solely to me, your lord,” Kang Yoon-Soo said.
As Kalriven’s eyes started to tremble, Kang Yoon-Soo took another step forward and continued, “You’ve faithfully carried out your mission, even while knowing you would meet your demise if you were to succeed.
You’re a true knight worthy of being called the best of your kind, not just another undead being.”

Then, he said in a decisive tone filled with authority, “I have lived for a thousand times, and I have seen your sacrifice countless times, so I will do as I have always done for your loyalty.
I will build you a grave.”

“My grave…?” Kalriven muttered in disbelief.

Kang Yoon-Soo nodded in response.

A grave for an undead being? Who in their right mind would build a grave for a being that had been raised from the ground only to return to it after it had fulfilled its purpose? In what world did such a lunatic exist?

However, Kang Yoon-Soo’s eyes did not show any emotion, other than a serious commitment to the declaration he had just made.

Kalriven stared at him for a while before bursting out into laughter.
“Hahaha…!”

Forlorn laughter rang out from the deepest part of the world.

After laughing to its heart’s content, Kalriven suddenly got down to its knee and said in a booming voice, louder than it had ever used in its life, “Kang Yoon-Soo! The second lord I have served after losing my life and returning from the grave!”

It stabbed its sword into the ground and pledged its loyalty to Kang Yoon-Soo.
“My loyalty will remain in my sword, which will become a weapon that can summon the Deathless Dragon.
I hope that my lord will accept my sword.”

The Death General’s voice slowly started to fade away as it said its final words.
“Kang Yoon-Soo, you… It has been an honor for me to serve you as my lord.”

Thus, Kalriven accepted its second death and completely turned into dust as its sword fully absorbed the Dragon of Destruction’s corpse.
All that remained in its place was a dark sword embedded in the ground.
It was a sword left behind by a true knight that had faithfully served its master for many years.

“Thank you, Kalriven,” Kang Yoon-Soo said, before gripping the sword’s hilt.