The Heavenly Demon Can’t Live A Normal Life [EN]: Chapter 214

Dwarves were beings of fire and hammer, born with a love for the forge.

I had heard whispers of them.

It was said that they show a fanatical obsession with everything made in the smithy, and boundless respect for artistic creations.

It was the way of dwarves. Even in this tense moment, ready to defend their home, the dwarf’s true passion took hold.

Roman Dmitry’s sword.

It was radiant.

The dwarf was utterly captivated by the sword’s form, illuminated by the torchlight.

“…I know it sounds crazy to go from being angry to asking to see the sword, but just one minute is all I need. No, three minutes! Couldn’t you possibly show me that sword just once? If you grant my request, I will seriously consider a compromise with Dmitry.”

His voice turned soft and gentle.

Roman Dmitry stared at him intently.

He couldn’t allow himself to hand over his sword to someone he couldn’t trust, but he saw a pure desire in the dwarf’s eyes.

An intense longing, like that of a child.

Roman Dmitry had seen this look before in the eyes of artists. It was a pure, focused admiration. He felt sure, even if he gave the dwarf the sword, nothing bad would happen.

A radius of 30m.

It was the realm of his senses.

He knew how many dwarves were beyond his sight, what they were doing; the information was being sucked into his head as it was.

Just in case.

He felt in control. He could handle any trouble.

And Roman Dmitry’s experience.

Gave him the conviction that showing the sword would be an opportunity to advance his relationship with the dwarves.

‘The dwarves have no animosity towards Dmitry. Then, there is no reason to worsen the problem.’

Roman Dmitry was not a murderer.

He only became cruel when necessary.

He did not drive even relationships with room for improvement to ruin.

“…Take the sword.”

At those words.

The dwarf reacted with emotion.

At first, he was cautious, not trusting Roman Dmitry, but then he took the sword with trembling hands.

His eyes looked as if he would burst into tears at any moment.

He examined the sword in every nook and cranny, unable to hide his admiration.

“…To think there is such a sword in the world.”

The sword’s strength.

The sword’s form.

It was perfect.

But that alone was not enough to call it a work of art in the world of dwarves, and Roman Dmitry’s sword seemed to take in and become one with the power of nature.

This was truly a miraculous thing.

Dwarves always hoped that the sword would transcend the realm of being an object, and the sword in front of them seemed to give an answer to that question.

Ba-dump! Ba-dump!

His heart was pounding.

He treated the sword carefully, as if handling a young child.

“…Who on earth made this sword?”

Several figures came to mind.

It was an impossible feat with human technology, and he thought it might be possible if it were the ancestors of the dwarves who once shook the continent with their fame.

That was not a conclusion based on prejudice.

Humans lived short lives, maybe a hundred years. The dwarf thought human skills could never create something like this sword. It needed more time, more experience.

But.

“…I made it.”

“…Is that really true?”

Ripples appeared in the dwarf’s eyes.

He couldn’t believe it.

That the human in front of him had created such a treasure.

He looked at the sword once more.

The dwarf stroked the sword and closed his eyes tightly, unable to believe it no matter how much he thought about it.

The sword’s memory.

He read the process of the sword’s birth.

It was a special ability unique to the dwarves, and as the space where he existed became entangled, the surroundings began to transform into a smithy.

The tunnel around him disappeared.

The dwarf was drawn into the moment the sword was born, and as the furnace roared, spitting out waves of orange and red flames, Roman Dmitry’s figure appeared.

Whoosh.

Whoooosh.

Clang! Clang!

Roman Dmitry hammered the steel.

Sweat streamed down Roman Dmitry’s bare chest, catching the firelight and making his skin seem to glow like hot iron, and his gaze towards the sword showed the eyes of a craftsman similar to those of the dwarves.

He was impressed.

Roman Dmitry was definitely a craftsman.

Not an ordinary human, but one of their own kind.

It was then.

Whoooosh.

The furnace roared, spitting out waves of orange and red flames that licked at the ceiling.

The dwarf almost screamed at the incredible sight, forgetting that it was the sword’s memory.

It was dangerous.

The flames were a force that even the dwarves handled with care every time, and it was clear that the rampaging flames would be unbearable for the weak human body.

But.

The situation he had feared did not occur.

Roman Dmitry controlled the flames.

He accepted the flames engulfing his body as they were, and instead, he fiercely hammered the steel with a hammer burning with fire.

“…Ah…!”

His mouth fell open.

Roman Dmitry’s figure.

He was a figure of fire and strength, a god of the forge in human form.

Tears streamed from his hazy eyes, and before he knew it, the sword’s memory was over.

The lingering emotions did not fade.

The dwarf looked at Roman Dmitry with eyes full of shock, and said in a more earnest voice than before.

“…You may be the one who can do it. Please, help us reclaim our land.”

His attitude had changed.

The dwarf, who had been screaming at them not to come closer, now treated Roman Dmitry like a savior.

Brown Rock began, “You want me to reclaim the land?” He paused, then explained, “Before I tell you my request, you must understand why the dwarves came to the Endless Mountains. Humans call them the Endless Mountains, but the dwarves know they do have an end. We call the land beyond them Arcadie, a harmonious world where different races live.”

Beyond the mountains, a new world unfolded.

Not only different races such as elves and dwarves, but also various forms of life lived there.

But then, a disaster struck, and everything changed.

Brown Rock continued, “Long ago, before the human world was as advanced as it is now, a terrible cold wave struck Arcadie. The land froze, and even the World Tree, which is the foundation of our world, began to die. The elves, who protect the World Tree, tried everything to save it, but nothing worked. Many races died. Those who stayed in Arcadie until the end fell to the cold and starvation. The ancestors of the dwarves had to make a choice to survive, and so, we settled here in the Endless Mountains.”

It was a story from so long ago that it was hard to imagine.

The dwarf explained the events beyond the Endless Mountains because it was important to his request.

He continued, “Decades ago, we discovered a source of fire demons deep underground. It is a dangerous power that could burn the whole world. But if used carefully, it is also the only hope to revive the World Tree. Roman Dmitry, we only met you today. But we cannot even get close to the fire demons. Then we met you, who freely controls fire. I think it is fate, or God’s will, that we met. I beg you, please bring us the fire demons. If you do this, in the name of Brown Rock, leader of the dwarves, we will grant you any request.”

A relationship that started badly was now changing.

Brown Rock.

Dwarves are named at birth, inspired by whatever catches the mother’s eye in nature.

The underground world.

In a world where only brown rocks were visible, the new leader of the dwarves was named after them, a symbol of the dark times.

At his request, Roman Dmitry thought to himself, ‘Should I help them?’

The fire demons would be a dangerous power, completely different from ordinary flames. Brown Rock’s request might mean risking his life.

The reward he offered was meaningless. He could resolve the relationship with the dwarves somehow, and there was no reason to risk his life for their wishes.

However, Roman Dmitry felt a strong pull.

He thought this situation might be his destiny.

‘This life is not the life I wanted. I accepted death, and when I opened my eyes, I was Roman Dmitry. At first, I didn’t think of it as fate. Dmitry’s fool was not important enough to talk about fate. I was just living the reality I found myself in.’

One day, then two, time passed.

The experiences he had formed a connection.

‘Living as Roman Dmitry, is it just a coincidence that I keep meeting people and situations similar to my past life? Dmitry came from a blacksmith family, and the Endless Mountains behind the territory were like the Ten Thousand Great Mountains of the Demonic Cult. I am living a different life from my past one, but the experiences of my past life have helped me greatly in this life.’

And he discovered the dwarves in the Endless Mountains.

They admired his sword and said his ability to control fire made him the right person to solve their problems.

It was fate.

If he had not been born as Roman Dmitry, if Dmitry had not been connected to the Endless Mountains, if the iron ore development had not uncovered the underground passage, if he was not a master of the Divine Flame Art, he would not be facing the dwarves now.

‘I have only recently reached the stage of Chi. If accepting the fire demon is a difficult trial, the stage of Chi will give me the power to handle it. The fact that I met the dwarves at this time… Can I dismiss all of this as a coincidence? From the beginning, I, who lived in a different world, was given a new life for a reason, wasn’t I?’

Questions chased each other endlessly.

There was no clear answer.

Cheonma Baek Jung-hyuk lived cursing fate. He struggled at the bottom of life, cursing the god who had put him there.

However, it was different now.

Life gives trials to everyone, and it was Cheonma Baek Jung-hyuk’s will and choice to overcome all adversities and rise to the top.

The beings who died by his hand did not meet their end because of fate, but because they had lost in a fierce battle for survival.

Fate. He believed in it.

Everyone has a reality given to them, but he did not think it determined everything.

Therefore, he thought, ‘Let’s find out what led me here.’

Apart from the relationship with the dwarves, this decision was for himself.

“I will accept your request,” Roman Dmitry said after a moment of silence.

Brown Rock’s face lit up as if he had gained the whole world.

He moved forward, down to the very bottom of the underground.

The heat grew stronger, not just from geothermal activity.

Brown Rock stopped walking. “From here, we cannot go any further. The fire demons are dangerous. Please, be careful. If you help us save the World Tree, we will consider you our lifelong benefactor.”

Their words were not important to him.

He turned away from them and moved inside. After walking for a while, he entered a huge space that was hard to believe was underground.

At the center, the fire demon flickered.

It was like a small, intensely bright sun, almost blinding to look at.

‘Whatever led me here, I will live for the things I believe in and follow,’ he thought.

He approached the fire demon, facing the intense heat, and put his hand on it.

At that moment, whoosh!

The tremendous heat engulfed Roman Dmitry.