Xingyue, is Xiaokai also considered Kai?

After an unknown amount of time, a voice called out to her.

"...Erise? You're awake?"

The girl opened her eyes and saw the silver-haired youth carrying her on his back.

Because her mind was foggy and she felt unwell, she didn't speak, she just stared at the person.

She felt that this person's voice was very gentle, and if someone could talk to him like she did, she would be willing to die.

"That's right, I am the Demon King, and now I finally have a real body."

"..."

The girl fell silent, seemingly unsure how to answer. After a long pause, she softly replied, "That is... what?"

Novia was slightly surprised by the words that came out of Eri's mouth.

Well, her tone was so gentle, completely unlike her previous irritable self.

"I'll tell you later. This area doesn't seem to be a good place."

What unfolded before Novia's eyes was a vast forest engulfed in endless flames, with the surrounding spread, condensation, and implosion—these filthy traces, powerful enough to distort spacetime—exploding like a raging inferno.

explode?

This idea, coupled with his recent voyage to Siberia, led Novia to have some unpleasant suspicions.

Could it be...?

Before he could come up with anything, a powerful voice echoed through the blood-red sky.

"O thing that harms the earth, the only thing born on this lifeless land."

"A cursed beast."

"There may be very few people who will rejoice at your birth,"

"but,"

"At least you can have a name."

Novia, of course, knew that the source of the sound was Amaterasu.

Therefore, his guess was confirmed: this was the Tunguska River in Siberia, Russia, in 1908.

That is.

The Tunguska event.

Chapter 501 This relationship is not good.

The Tunguska event.

The cause is believed to be a possible meteoroid outburst from a small asteroid or comet.

Its power is equivalent to 2 million tons of TNT, burning and felling more than 150 million trees in an area of ​​8 square kilometers.

Because Tunguska was located in a remote area and the era was quite chaotic, the earliest investigation into this matter did not begin until twenty years later.

However, in the land destroyed by natural disasters, the cries of animals brought about by the meteorite and their resentment towards the humans who slaughtered them became the catalyst for the birth of a certain being, a natural spirit with a natural spiritual foundation, completely unrelated to human affairs.

Then, at that moment, heroic spirits appeared.

Although there was no summoning ritual similar to the Holy Grail War, no miracles, and no manifestation of the restraining force, it still happened just like that.

As for the reason—

"Since Russia is in crisis, we must go to its rescue no matter what."

The white-haired woman clenched her fist with such enthusiasm that she shouted, "It's up to me, Dobrenenia—"

“Nastassia, why did you use my name?”

Beside the white-haired woman, the black-haired man, who was actually Dobrynich, said this.

“Hmm, now your spirit origin belongs to me, so I am the real Dobrenia Nikijic.”

The white-haired girl, hands on her hips, said smugly to the man, "You are now Nikitich, no, I should say Nastasya."

"Here we go again, is it that incident where Nikitich did *that* to his wife when he wasn't around? You keep repeating the same thing over and over, what are you trying to do?"

"Oh dear, oh dear, I really can't stand Nikitich."

Nastassia closed her eyes. "But I still have to say it, because Nikitich is an eternal young warrior, because Nikitich can do most things."

"..."

The man fell silent because of his wife's public praise.

"Although I'm happy to see you two flirting in front of each other, but—"

The three-headed dragon standing to the side muttered, "But what exactly did we come here for? There's probably not a single person here!"

"Because Russia is in danger."

Having obtained her husband's spirit origin, Nastassia naturally understood what had happened here. There lurked a creature, whether dragon or insect, distorted by the power of the meteorite fragments that burned the Tunguska land. If it were allowed to act, it would surely bring disaster to present-day Russia.

"Therefore, we have come as brave warriors of the Sun God."

The "Sun Duke" here does not refer to the sun god, but to Vladimir, the Grand Prince of Kiev, who was known as the Red Sun, and Nikitich was his subordinate.

"Well, that's true."

Can I say a word?

"What's wrong, Zime? You used to be such a talkative dragon, but you've become much more silent here."

"Why did Russia choose us out of all its heroes? Are we that famous? My mom's boss is more like it!"

"Hahaha!"

Nikitich and Nastasya burst into laughter. "In that case, it's true! But let's not worry about the details! Just head towards the epicenter of the explosion!"

"I'm amazed that you two heartless bastards can become a family..."

"What are you saying? Zmey, aren't you family too?"

"Don't say such sentimental things at a time like this..."

The three-headed dragon sighed, and just as it was about to say something, it seemed to have discovered something. Suddenly, its eyes lit up, and its lips trembled slightly as it smiled boldly and fearlessly, "This aura, could it really be...?"

Noticing that the three-headed dragon Zme was acting strangely, Nikidich quickly asked worriedly, "What's wrong? Has some enemy appeared?"

"No, it's not..."

Zmey's performance was essentially frozen.

He couldn't help but feel this way, because it was the atmosphere he had experienced when he was young, while his mother was still alive.

In the land of the Huns.

Werewolves, werewolves, all sorts of fantastical creatures, werewolves transformed by magic, powerful humans—Zimee was familiar with all of them, but the one he was most familiar with was undoubtedly the one who always looked at everything with gentleness, the one who was regarded as the king who had sent away a quarter of the world.

"Is this your child, Golinich? He's quite adorable. You can tell he'll be a famous dragon someday."

"You flatter me, sir. Xiao Wu just eats and sleeps all day long. It's good enough that he's alive."

“That’s the truth, Zme will definitely do it.”

The person smiled.

It was a smile so gentle it made you doubt your own eyes; it was hard to imagine that the man had brought about such a profound death.

Then--

"Ah."

He blinked, and a tall wolf shadow appeared in the palace's training grounds.

"I think you should be arriving soon."

"Yes! Lady Attila sent me!"

The werewolf named Beo saluted energetically, then looked at Zime and smiled, "Today's training is about to begin, little Zime, your brothers are already here."

The training Zmey experienced could be described as one-sided beatings, but he had a strange sense of identification with it, as if it had seeped into his very being.

Zme's childhood in the Hunnic country was peaceful and gentle, but he knew long ago that the king his mother followed was not just this one person.

That is why the three-headed Longzme regretted not being able to witness the life of the Hun king.

After the three-headed dragon pondered for several seconds...

Click.

In the forest ablaze with flames, his appearance appeared extremely devout, and at the same time, a voice he deeply missed rang out: "Gentlemen, it's a pleasure to meet you. I am Goethe's 'Erlkönig'."

"Demon, Demon King!"

Despite the unassuming title, Nastasya was immediately startled. "I, I am the dragon slayer of Kiev, the hero Dobrynnikidich! I'm very strong, don't underestimate me!"

Novia nodded in agreement: "Well, since you dare to say you're strong, you must be really strong."

"Hey~"

Nastassia couldn't help but laugh, "Hehe."

"What's with this sense of interaction...?"

Nikitich crossed his arms, hesitating to speak, "If it were me, I'd reluctantly say Nastassia."

"What do you mean 'reluctantly'! You're such an annoying person!"

"Yes, yes, yes, I am not good enough, no, isn't being an annoying guy a bit too much?"

"If you argue back, I'll blow you up with your weapon!"

"What an inspiring speech! It's incredibly reliable; no wonder he's the legendary dragon slayer."

Novia offered appropriate praise, saying, "The two of you have a very harmonious relationship as a couple, which I greatly admire."

"Hmm? Leaving his wife behind to go on some kind of expedition?"

Nastassia held her face in her hands. "You're probably distressed because your beloved husband doesn't come home, not even to send a message. If this happened in modern times, you might be asked for a divorce?"

"this--"

Guilt and pride swayed in Nikitich's heart, after all, it was indeed the truth.

"That's true, but if that were really what I thought, I wouldn't have said it out loud."

These gentle words from Novia actually made Nikitic feel more favorably toward him.

"I would never do that, hmph, that's what I thought when I said it."

Nastassia closed one eye and turned to Novia. "You're a Heroic Spirit too, right? So that means we have the same goal? In that case, I need to check out your abilities, is that alright?"

"I thought the negotiations would proceed peacefully..."

Novia, carrying the silver-haired Erise on her back, looked at the two people and the dragon in front of her. "The atmosphere suddenly became tense, but there's nothing we can do about it."

"Stop talking nonsense. You look like a handsome, abstinent playboy who indulges in a life of debauchery."

Nastassia's beautiful fingers gripped the sledgehammer. "I'm going for it! Because Nikitich can do most things!"

Before it could act, the roar of the dragon echoed through the burning Tunguska.

It was a terrifying sound wave that appealed to the instincts of all living things.

If it were the real Nikitich, he probably wouldn't have backed down, but the Nikitich at this moment was the spirit origin used by his wife. Being unfamiliar with martial arts, she naturally trembled for a moment, so she quickly turned around and pinched the ear of the three-headed Ryuzme who had spoken up to stop her.

"...What are you doing, Zmey!"

"You can't beat her, Nastassia."

"So what if I can't beat them? It's unreasonable to challenge the impossible, and only those who challenge the impossible are heroes! Besides, I won't act willfully or throw a tantrum, okay? If I lose and am not as skilled as my opponent, I will obediently leave."

"Tsk, then I think I should leave now."

Nikijic, standing nearby, could tell that Zme's voice was full of respect for the demon king Ming.

Is this person someone Zmey knows?

However, when he was alive, Zime always referred to himself as a Hun, which means he was a figure from the Hun king's side, right?

From this perspective, using the Demon King to disguise oneself is quite fitting.