Tale of the Red Dragon Without Dragon's Might-Chapter 438 - 432 House of Hope

Leon stayed with Charis’s affection for a day; the tastes of the drow twins were genuinely too intense. He briefly appreciated the performance and then summarized what he had to do. freēnovelkiss.com

His hard journey to Ferren was mainly for the Karsus Crown and the accompanying Nether Stone, to fish for some benefits in murky waters and rewrite some regrettable plotlines due to game limitations... if the Tomb Guardian, whose true identity was the Ancient Death God, Record Keeper, and Eternal Clerk, didn’t stop him.

Karas was a kind-hearted girl who deserved a better ending.

Though Will was black, it didn’t prevent him from being a good person, and he was a rare purist advocate.

As for the Githyanki, Comet Prince’s personality was exemplary, but he shouldn’t interfere in the Githyanki’s internal affairs... if he wanted to, he could, unless he had to appease Vilakis. The only reason he wouldn’t interfere in the Githyanki’s internal affairs was that he found it bothersome.

Next, the technology to manufacture Steel Guardians was not worth mentioning... not to mention that manufacturing Steel Guardians requires a lot of Hell Iron, as ordinary metals can’t withstand the high temperatures of the Hell Engine, and manufacturing them is inherently restricted by the Nine Prisons. Just speaking of the technology to manufacture Steel Guardians originating from the Nine Prisons, if he wanted it, why abandon the root for the branches?

Furthermore, Rafael’s mansion in Aphnas, namely the House of Hope, not only has a vast array of precious treasures but also Orpheus’s Hammer. Although it is a quest item in the game, in reality, Rafael created it by using hellish labor to find rare materials, capable of destroying any chains created by Hell’s Hand. Its uses are boundless.

"It’s you, my great benefactor, my pillow princess Rafael."

Leon quickly made a decision, first to make a trip to the House of Hope, and ransack Rafael’s mansion. Considering that after using his Plane Talisman, it requires a significant time to recharge, and changing through the Star Realm to Aphnas is quite troublesome, Leon planned to visit a shop named Devil’s Trinket.

He remembered the shop owner’s name was Helsik, the Contract Master of the Greedy Duke Mammon, the lord of Minauros, the third layer of the Nine Prisons, who knew how to open the Teleportation Gate to the Nine Prisons.

"Welcome to Devil’s Trinket... What, you want to go to Aphnas? Damn, who told you I could open the Teleportation Gate to the Nine Prisons?" Helsik, worthy of being the devoted follower of Greedy Mammon, said, "Everything has a price, as long as you’re willing to pay gold coins. Make an offer."

Leon flicked a gold coin, and it drew a shiny arc in the air, landing in Helsik’s hand.

Helsik took the gold, saying, "Aha, aha, aha, never say Mammon’s servant doesn’t deal with beggars."

"One thousand gold coins." Leon held up a finger but with limitations, "No more."

"Not enough." Helsik put away the gold coin, his small eyes flashing with greedy light. "You need to donate a significant amount to Mammon’s treasury, like twenty thousand gold coins."

"Too expensive. How much do you think your life is worth?" Leon retorted, willing to pay for the service but absolutely refusing to be extorted.

"You actually want to threaten the servant of the great Mammon." Helsik waved his hand, and suddenly a group of imps adorned with gold rushed out, followed by a gilded Minotaur holding a giant club.

Leon lightly nodded. This time he transformed into a Pit Fiend, undisputed overlord among most devils, a gigantic creature with whip-like tails and large wings, rather than a Balor, mainly considering Helsik belonged to the devil camp, and the relationship between devils and demons is irreconcilable.

"You... I’ve never seen you before." Helsik opened his eyes wide, then shook his head in denial. "You aren’t a Pit Fiend; a Pit Fiend wouldn’t need me to open a Teleportation Gate, nor dare provoke Mammon."

"You don’t need to know who I am." Leon raised his Flaming Heavy Hammer, crushed a gilded imp with a single blow, and even so, the other devils didn’t dare to move. "You only need to know — I want to kill you, just with a hammer strike."

"I need a contract," Helsik screamed.

"You don’t have a choice." Leon paused, "You can tell your master about my threat. I’m sure he won’t punish you."

Helsik rubbed his nose, saying, "Lord Mammon won’t allow any losses; I need to make up the gap myself."

"Lord Mammon doesn’t need so many gold coins. The gap you need to make up isn’t so big," Leon shrugged, reminding, "Don’t do anything foolish; you can’t afford the consequences. By the way, I’m going to the House of Hope; you surely know where it is."

"You might as well just kill me," Helsik said.

Despite saying that, Helsik still took Leon, who returned to human form, to the ritual room on the second floor of Devil’s Trinket, where a Six-pointed Star Blood Array had already been drawn, readying the ritual, first placing a skull near the star tip of the altar and then Mammon’s coin on the right side of the star tip... a lot more troublesome than opening a Teleportation Gate in the game.

"Okay, you can go now. I hope I never meet you again," Helsik said, "Rafael is a terrifying devil; you... I don’t know, hope you both suffer."

Leon stepped into the Teleportation Gate and found himself already in Aphnas—such things as opening a teleportation gate to a powerful devil’s home only appear in games. Looking up, not far away was a luxurious mansion—the House of Hope—with a team of Purgatory Cambions holding tridents at the entrance.

Leon transformed using Gathering Form and Scattering Energy into Clean Energy and flew into the House of Hope. For some reason, he didn’t hear Hope’s voice, as in the game. Was it because he didn’t look like a good person at first sight?

The reality of the House of Hope was surprisingly not very different from the game version, allowing Leon to easily find the archive room.

"Oh dear, look who’s here," Corella discovered Leon. "How dare you come to the House of Hope, the master’s mansion?"

"Do you so wish to become a pitiful demon?" Corella asked.

Leon crossed his arms, saying, "If I were you, I’d say less, to avoid a sudden death."

"Hope you’ll still talk like that when facing the wrath of Rafael." Corella turned into smoke and disappeared on the spot, and Leon didn’t stop him.

There were others in the archive room besides Corella.

Leon looked at the record keeper in the form of a red-skinned Tiefling and asked, "You know I’m a thief, an intruder, aren’t you calling the guards?"

...

...

When Leon was ransacking the House of Hope, the main group had already reached Liventon, arrived at Flying Dragon Pass, and according to the agreement, went to Charis’s Caress to find Worth, who then introduced them once again to Rafael.

"Glad you came." Rafael spread his arms, "I mean the final reckoning, not to my doorstep."

Rafael smiled faintly, just as he was about to start coaxing the main group, he suddenly frowned and said, "I have to leave for a while, I’ll come back to find you later."

...

...

A small bard pulling out a Powerful Robe would only appear in a game. In a strong devil’s mansion like Rafael’s, having a few extremely rare or legendary level weapons or equipment is quite normal. Even more so, Leon found that the treasures stored in that archive room exceeded those in the game, and who knew how much more was in the Treasure Vault.

"Power Iron Gloves of the Hill Giant."

"High-level Life Talisman."

"These books should be taken too... Are there really so many books about Karsas?"

"What’s the Magic Spell to remove the protection on Orpheus’s Hammer?"

"I remembered, grant me my heart’s desire."

Leon ransacked the archive room completely and immediately ran to the Treasure Vault, taking the Magic Power Staff and Dark Prison Helmet, with Moore’s contract placed right next to them; after a glance, he moved on to empty the entire vault before planning to check elsewhere... Speaking of which, those paintings, antiques, and statues could also be taken, right? To decorate his villa.

When Rafael returned to the House of Hope, he found his home almost emptied.

"I thought no one would want these." Leon said with a laugh.

Rafael’s eye twitched.

"You filthy little rat, how dare you trespass on my domain,"

"Do you think you can steal even a copper coin from my—Rafael’s Treasure Vault without paying a price?"

"Do you know who I am, have you bothered to find out who I am? I am the son of Mephisto, even the Pit Fiend must show me respect."

"I’ll make you understand, true pain is not death but living. I will chain you to a burning copper pillar; I will flay your pathetic hide and soak it, inch by inch, in acid. I will nail you atop the mountains of Aphnas and let vultures peck at your regenerating flesh ten thousand times."

Rafael was so furious, his roars echoed continuously through the corridors.

Leon scanned around with his gaze, tapped his toes, dashed through the door, and bolted out of the House of Hope.

"You can’t escape." Here in Aphnas, Rafael was not in a hurry, leisurely following him out. Playing a cat-and-mouse game didn’t require killing the mouse instantly; toying with it was fine too.

"Run, run, struggle as much as you can."

Rafael leisurely walked out of the House of Hope, suddenly spotting a super giant red dragon crouching there, dangerously squinting at him, and a heavy pressure landed on his shoulders, almost suffocating him, involuntarily reminding him of his father far away in Cania, his expression instantly freezing.

Rafael’s Adam’s apple bobbed, standing still for a moment, he withdrew his gaze from the super giant red dragon, backed into the entrance, and closed the door quietly.

"How did I end up hallucinating?" Rafael rubbed his eyes, opened the door again, and this time saw the super giant red dragon standing up, wielding a Divine Sword.

Rafael quietly retreated, closed the door again, patted his chest, rubbed his face, then reopened the door, looking up at the red dragon standing like a small mountain with three heads and six arms; the dragon’s six arms held six swords, each one exuding cold air, wrapped with lightning, and glowing with a purple light...

Updat𝓮d from freew𝒆bnov𝒆l.co(m)