The Greatest Warrior of All Time Returns-Chapter 403

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Chapter 403

I left the box where it was and slowly approached the dragon.

There was no sign of life.

The pressure radiating from the massive being inspired an instinctive sense of awe in anyone who looked upon it.

I wasn’t the only one who felt that way—Luna, too, fell into a quiet silence.

[Wraithification]

“What… what are you doing?!”

Startled, Luna stared at me with wide eyes.

“No, I mean—this is a progenitor dragon. It’s a powerful entity. I thought it might be worth securing.”

“……”

Luna narrowed her eyes at me.

—You really have no respect for the dead.

At Lucifer’s remark, I discreetly withdrew the hand I had been reaching out.

It won’t turn into a wraith.

“This… isn’t actually the corpse of a true progenitor dragon.”

It was merely a form preserved by lingering traces.

In other words, a massive clump of condensed power.

Then why would a mere aggregation of power—something that wasn’t even a progenitor dragon—remain here like this?

My gaze shifted to the small box.

Was it guarding that?

I slowly reached my hand toward the box.

That was when it happened.

The dragon, which had remained perfectly still like a corpse, suddenly opened its eyes and fixed me in its gaze.

“So it won’t let things end quietly, huh.”

The dragon didn’t move.

It was nothing more than a colossal mass of energy shaped like a dragon.

And it was preventing me from touching the box.

“……”

When I pulled my hand back, the dragon fell silent once more.

“What are you hiding that you won’t even let it be touched?”

“Can’t we just brute-force it?”

“Want to try?”

“Let’s do it.”

Luna opened subspace and pulled out a combat hammer.

She took a stance like she was about to smash the dragon’s head in.

—Normally, wouldn’t you approach something like this more cautiously?

“That’s your people’s way. We have ours.”

“Yeah. That kind of method is boring and pretentious.”

Why overthink it when you can just yell die and smash it?

Lucifer’s voice carried clear disbelief.

—You’re not curious about the Course of the Star Dragon or anything?

“Not really.”

—……Do whatever you want.

Sounding fed up, Lucifer fell silent.

I reached for the box again.

—Grrrrrrrr……

BOOOOM!!!

The moment the dragon stirred, Luna’s full-power swing—packed with monstrous strength—slammed into its head.

Her blow shattered space itself.

The massive energy body rippled violently, its form distorting with static before barely stabilizing again.

Even so, it tried to wrap itself around the box to protect it.

“One more?”

“Yeah.”

BOOOOM!!!

Luna swung again, and the massive energy aggregate wavered.

Just for an instant, the force protecting the box weakened.

I snatched the box in one swift motion.

But it didn’t give up easily—power coiled around my hand, resisting me.

—Prove it.

A voice heavy with indescribable pressure echoed.

For a moment, it felt like the strength was being drained from my body.

“Wow. Stingy, aren’t you. What is this thing anyway?”

I braced myself and engaged in a direct contest of power with the enormous energy mass.

—Unauthorized one… Prove… yourself…

Normally, I would’ve tried to find a proper method of proof—

—but I’d already been patient enough.

“Luna. One more.”

BOOOOM!!!

Her power struck again.

This wasn’t just brute force.

Luna still carried traces of a Grand Archangel’s power.

Maybe that was influencing things.

At last, the box settled into my hands, and the massive energy body lost its shape, scattering throughout the space like mist.

The dragon’s colossal form vanished without a trace.

But it sealed off our exit.

“Leon. Like this, there’s no way out.”

Without a word, I set the box down.

The force imprisoning us gradually weakened.

“So it’s saying we can’t take it out.”

Then the next step was obvious.

Without hesitation, I opened the box.

Fortunately, it wasn’t heavily sealed.

Inside was a single, old book.

Curious, I opened it immediately.

Nothing was written inside.

“What… is this?”

“Anything written?”

“Nothing at all.”

“Hmmm…”

Luna took the book and examined it from every angle—upside down, right side up, even changing positions.

Still nothing.

“Lucifer. Do you know what this is?”

—Even if I did, why would I tell you?

I hadn’t expected an answer anyway.

Just as I was wondering whether I needed to write something into it—

Luna suddenly spoke.

“Maybe the text only appears when certain conditions are met?”

“Like burning it?”

Mana, aura—even spirit energy.

None of it revealed anything.

“What about a command phrase? Paris Oldian.”

The moment Luna said Paris Oldian’s name, the book began to hum.

At the same time, letters appeared on the previously blank pages.

“Why Paris?”

“What if we’d said your name and it went wrong?”

I made a sour face.

She lightly kicked my leg in response.

We began reading the contents.

The script was unfamiliar, yet somehow I understood it.

“Is this… like a Book of Fate?”

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It described the destiny of a man currently in a flirtatious relationship with Melissa—a man whose countless romantic entanglements would ultimately ruin every partner he was meant to share his life with.

So… was this meant to be changed?

“Since when does fate get recorded like a death registry?”

Whether it could be altered, or merely observed, was unclear.

—Touching it is not recommended.

“What?”

—You lack the qualifications to use it. And even if you could interfere, the moment you do, there would be no turning back.

The warning sent a chill down my spine.

“At least that means it’s real.”

—You don’t have the right to wield it, so don’t do anything stupid—

I placed my hand on the passage detailing Prince Paris’s fate.

Woooong—!!

CRASH!!

As if waiting for it, the text describing his tragic destiny shattered into fragments and vanished.

—…….

“It works.”

—Why?

Lucifer asked after a brief silence.

“How should I know?”

—You… what are you?

Honestly, I’d like to know too.

—A mere human should not be able to interfere with this—

* * *

Ignoring Lucifer’s shaken voice, I realized the book had lost its power.

“Huh. One-use item?”

“More like it lacks the energy to activate further.”

In other words, if I wanted to use it again, I’d need time—or a way to strengthen it.

But a book that doesn’t respond to mana, aura, or spirit energy offering a method to empower itself?

That wouldn’t be easy.

Then—

An idea flashed through my mind.

“Ah. The Hall of Enhancement.”

“The Hall of Enhancement?”

“It’s nothing. Let’s leave for now. I’ll check and think it through.”

If it could erase Prince Paris’s warped destiny, then this book could solve my problem too.

I placed the book back into the box and stored it.

The moment I did, the massive energy aggregate reformed and wrapped around the box protectively.

There was no need to take it with us.

Leaving it here was probably safer than anywhere else.

“Even if altering fate is impossible, erasing it seems fine.”

A blank future.

It sounded dangerous—but plenty of people live well with one.

We didn’t search the entire progenitor dragon’s domain, but we’d achieved our objective.

As we exited, the piano I’d created for resonance greeted us.

I brushed a hand over the back of the grand piano and walked away.

Several days passed after discovering the progenitor dragon’s ruins.

During that time, Lucifer didn’t say a single word.

Even when I spoke to him, he didn’t respond.

As if he were verifying something.

Silence was fine.

I spent those days observing Prince Paris.

With Lucifer uncooperative, I couldn’t confirm whether his fate had truly changed.

I’d used him as a test subject—but I’d erased a bleak future, so he probably wouldn’t complain.

The effect was undeniable.

The prince, once plagued by constant romantic entanglements—dozens of women every other day—experienced absolutely nothing.

Even relationships that should have inevitably formed, based on prior investigation, never happened.

He became…

Normal.

No absurd coincidences.

No malicious twists of fate.

Just an ordinary man.

All because a single passage had been erased from a book.

Still, this change needed further observation.

But since his personality wasn’t bad and Melissa didn’t seem unhappy, resolving the issue was enough.

Ideally, I’d prefer someone stronger than me—but if that wasn’t possible, controlling things myself was an option.

Even so, my mood didn’t improve.

[Hall of Enhancement. Transfer is ready.]

“Let’s begin.”

The Hall of Enhancement.

I had no way to strengthen the Book of Fate with my own power.

But the Hall’s power?

That was different.

If a +1 Book of Fate became a +12 Book of Fate—

Wouldn’t that work?

Severe vertigo hit me as the Librarian’s message appeared.

[Hall of Enhancement memory transfer complete.]

[Divine Smith’s Aura has descended.]

A flood of memories surged into my mind.

In the workshop, I picked up a plain iron sword.

Then—

I activated the Divine Smith’s Aura and wrapped it around the blade.

My eyes began to perceive concentrated points of energy.

Each one pulsed intensely, as if calling out to be struck.

I raised a small hammer and struck those points repeatedly.

With every hit, the energy shifted position, revealing itself again.

After about twenty strikes—

The Divine Smith’s Aura glowed gold and fully infused the sword.

Information appeared before my eyes.

[+1 Iron Sword]

[Sharpness and durability increased.]

It really works?

Excited, I continued hammering.

[+2 Iron Sword]

[+3 Iron Sword]

[+4 Iron Sword]

Enhancement continued.

As levels rose, the aura consumption increased—but it wasn’t a problem.

The success rate was high.

But at +5—

Wooooong—!! CRACK!!

The sharpened sword shattered into pieces.

“Ah… right. So it can fail.”

I already knew this from memory transfer.

+1 to +5: Safe enhancement.

+5 to +8: Destruction possible.

+8 and above: Destruction possible, plus additional materials required.

Same as Labyrinthos memories.

For a moment, I wondered if this could be used in combat.

Unfortunately—

It didn’t work on living beings.

“Still… enhancing something like a cursed sword and having it explode would be a nightmare.”

This wasn’t absolute destruction—only for objects.

Special items like cursed blades wouldn’t break just because I wanted them to.

But ordinary items?

They’d shatter the moment enhancement failed—just like the iron sword before me.

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