Chapter 104: Buried Truth (2)

Then, after a brief hesitation, he added:

“About our wager…”

“You said I won. But that’s not true.”

“If you hadn’t stepped in,

we would’ve all died.”

“…This is my loss.”

Ethan admitted it plainly.

But Jackson shook his head.

“No.”

“This is your victory.”

“You freed everyone from the curse.”

“You turned the tide.”

“And more importantly—

you proved your worth… enough for me to step in.”

“You said you would free us all.”

“…And that’s exactly what you did.”

“Results are what matter.”

The moment he heard that, Ethan smiled.

“Then I won’t hesitate… since you’re the one who admitted defeat.”

Seizing the opportunity, Ethan did what he did best—

gathering information.

Gathering enough to construct a real plan—

a path to victory… and survival

within the nightmare known as Old Ashvarn.

“What exactly is happening in this city…?

And where did you come from?

I don’t believe there exists a Heart of your strength

that no one knows about.”

Ethan turned toward Raiden as he spoke,

seeking confirmation—

and Raiden nodded deeply.

“There’s no registered hunter by that name…

not in the last hundred years, at least.”

In other words—

they were facing an anomaly.

A being whose origin was unknown.

Jackson smiled widely at that.

“Of course you wouldn’t find my name.”

“Because my existence goes back far beyond a hundred years.”

He said it casually—almost carelessly—

but his words shook both Ethan and Raiden to their core.

“What do you mean…?”

And then—

Jackson dropped the first bomb.

“I am Jackson Heart…

a hunter from Ashvarn.”

“…the city that burned when the curse took hold.”

“A city set ablaze by the damned ruling family of Ardyn—

who decided it was better to burn everything

than let the monsters rise from it.”

“That makes no sense…” Raiden said, shaking his head.

“The burning happened hundreds of years ago.”

But Jackson affirmed it.

“Yes… hundreds of years have passed.”

“Years we’ve spent trapped here—

inside this city.”

Silence followed.

A heavy, suffocating silence—

one that lingered for a full minute

before Ethan finally spoke again.

“Jackson… how old are you?”

The answer—

was beyond shocking.

“There is no day or night in this place.”

“So I had no way to track time properly.”

“I started carving the days into the walls… recording them.”

He gestured toward the prison walls—

and only then did Ethan and Raiden understand

the meaning behind all those endless markings.

“At some point…

I ran out of space.”

“The walls filled completely…

and I lost count.”

“But I believe…

I passed my fourth century

a few months ago.”

“…Four centuries…?”

“…400 years?!”

Ethan and Raiden shouted at the same time—

unable to comprehend what they had just heard.

“That’s impossible!”

“Humans can’t live that long!”

It was said that certain monsters

who surpassed the Emperor stage

could live for centuries—

their bodies evolving beyond normal limits.

But the man before them—

despite his strength—

was not someone who had reached that level.

Not even the old master Asterion had achieved such a feat.

Jackson confirmed it himself.

“It’s the city, boy.”

“This city is the reason.”

His smile faded.

“This place became a legacy dungeon—

a labyrinth…

cast under a spell that prevents its inhabitants

from aging.”

“Time moves forward—

but the body does not decay…

does not turn to dust.”

“The ruling family of Ardyn burned the city

to eradicate the monsters.”

“But at the time…

the number of human Hearts far exceeded the monsters.”

“We burned to death—

alongside the creatures that invaded our homes.”

“And do you know what’s ironic?”

“The monsters didn’t die completely.”

“They survived—

and the curse kept spreading…”

“Turning the dead Hearts

into mindless beasts that still roam these streets

to this very day.”

The amount of information Jackson revealed was overwhelming—

and it made Ethan realize

the situation was far worse than he had imagined.

“Then why…

didn’t you cleanse the city?”

“A legacy dungeon should collapse

once its boss is defeated.”

Jackson let out a dry laugh.

“You think we didn’t try?”

Ethan frowned deeper.

“I fought alongside my squad.”

“We were the strongest—

each one of them my equal.”

“Do you know what happened?”

He chuckled softly.

“They died.”

“All of them.”

“I was the only one who survived…

because this body can endure far more

than any normal human.”

He stared directly at Ethan.

“Listen carefully, Ethan Heart.”

“You’re different.”

“So different that I’ve never seen anyone like you before.”

“That’s why I helped you.”

“But I advise you to give up.”

“You have no chance of clearing this dungeon.”

Their gazes locked.

Ethan swallowed unconsciously.

“…Is the boss really that strong?”

If a squad filled with people like Jackson had failed—

just how powerful was this creature

that defeated them all?

But Jackson’s next words

only deepened Ethan’s confusion.

“Strong?”

“On the contrary…”

“It’s very weak.”

“…What?”

Raiden frowned, clearly seeing the contradiction.

So Jackson clarified.

“The boss of this legacy dungeon is weak.”

“But it possesses a terrifying ability.”

“That’s all.”

“What ability?” Ethan asked, his curiosity sharp.

Jackson answered in a single word—

“Possession.”

And in that instant—

Ethan understood everything.

“After the purge failed, the Hearts took it upon themselves to deal with the remnants of the catastrophe.

They lied to the ruling family of Ardyn, claiming the inferno had eradicated every last monster.”

At that time, the Hearts wielded the flames of Lord Vassel,

and forced half of the burned city to collapse beneath the earth—

burying the truth of what was happening from the outside world.

“To eliminate the remaining monsters…

they dispatched a hunting squad—

one that included the strongest hunter of that era.”

“The Knight of the Golden Dawn…

the man who had never once failed to hunt his prey.”

The moment that title was spoken,

Raiden’s eyes lit up.

“I’ve heard that name before…

one of the clan’s legends—

they said he came dangerously close

to the level of the ancient heroes.”

“Yes… he did,” Jackson replied,

before turning his attention back to Ethan.

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