Chapter 228

“Please allow him to come with me.”

Whoosh.

The wind blew.

Lloyd pointed at Javier.

Javier’s ear twitched slightly.

The silver-haired knight thought, ‘Hell? Together? Let’s go?’

‘I was willing to follow if Lloyd-nim made such a decision, but…’

The dragon’s image that had appeared earlier.

Lloyd negotiating with it.

Javier had been thinking while listening.

If Lloyd decided to help the dragon’s soul, and willingly chose to go to Hell, then Javier would go with him.

He would endure the hardships of Hell together with Lloyd.

He’d already steeled himself for that.

But now?

‘How outrageous.’

A sudden sense of betrayal welled up.

He knew the young master he served was petty and mean, but he hadn’t expected this much.

How could he drag someone in like this without a word of consultation?

‘Hoo.’

Javier narrowed his eyes at Lloyd.

But Lloyd didn’t care at all.

Instead, he smiled at Javier.

That brazen smile seemed to say, ‘So you’re not coming? You’re going to send me alone? Wow, our Javier. I didn’t take you for someone like that.’

“……”

Never mind.

A deep desolation settled into Javier’s soul.

With a half-resigned look, he nodded.

A broad smile bloomed on Lloyd’s face.

“Yes, it seems he agrees. So the two of us will go to Hell to help you. But in return—”

Lloyd’s brazen words continued.

“You should guarantee the reward for our help more certainly.”

– Guarantee?

“Yes, a guarantee.”

Ancient Dragon Enticus tilted his head.

The smile on Lloyd’s lips turned meaningful.

“Even when lending or borrowing small amounts of money, you exchange guarantees. How can we risk our lives and head to Hell to help you without a guarantee for the reward?”

– But I made a promise.

“Promises made only with words aren’t enough.”

– Are you saying we should write a contract, then?

“No, I don’t think a contract would be very useful in this case.”

Lloyd shook his head.

It was true.

Enticus wasn’t here in person—only an image.

Even if Lloyd wrote a contract with the recorded message left behind by a soul that had fallen into Hell, it would be meaningless.

Even if the contract were broken, the dragon’s soul would suffer no loss.

So he needed something the soul itself would have to put on the line—something that would incur a massive loss if violated.

Only then could it serve as a real guarantee.

Only then could he trust the promise.

With that in mind, Lloyd said, “Let’s make an Oath of the Soul.”

– …What?

“Since you’re making a promise, guarantee it properly with an Oath of the Soul.”

– Oath of the Soul…

Enticus’s image showed clear embarrassment.

Watching, the corners of Lloyd’s lips curled slightly.

‘As expected.’

It was good he’d brought up the Oath of the Soul.

‘That oath isn’t just a promise made with words.’

It was a kind of vow humans didn’t know about.

An oath only dragons made among themselves.

A promise made only once in a lifetime, staking their very existence for the most important matters.

‘And if you break it, the soul you mortgaged is erased. Forever. Irreversibly. Your very existence disappears from this world for good.’

In other words, it was a soul-betting wipeout.

That was why he’d brought it up.

– Human, how do you know about the Oath of the Soul?

Enticus’s eyes turned serious as he asked.

But Lloyd brazenly slapped on the iron plate.

He knew because he’d read the novel Iron Blooded Knight.

“Isn’t that not important right now?”

– That is…

“Will you make the oath, or will you take it back? Just answer that.”

– …….

“I can’t move without a guarantee this certain.”

Lloyd said firmly.

That was his honest truth.

The benefit of commanding a Bone Dragon forever.

Wealth that would never run dry.

Another life on top of that.

Even if the Dragon King sponsorship offered tremendous rewards, this was still a trip to Hell.

Even with safety measures.

Even with a Hellgate for escape.

It wasn’t risk-free.

So Lloyd refused to move without a guarantee commensurate with that risk.

Enticus let out a deep sigh.

– Hoo. Do you really want that oath?

“Of course.”

– Oh, my. I never made an Oath of the Soul when I was alive, and now I’m going to share it with a human after I die…

“Don’t do it if you don’t want to.”

– Wa-wait a minute!

“Do you have something to say?”

– Of course I do. I didn’t say I wouldn’t make that oath.

“Are you blaming me for being too hasty?”

– Of course not.

“Then?”

Lloyd stared intently.

Do it or don’t.

An attitude as if he had nothing to lose.

In the end, Enticus raised the white flag.

– I will.

“Really?”

– I already said I would, so the oath has been executed.

“Good.”

Lloyd was satisfied.

As he’d read in Iron Blooded Knight, the Oath of the Soul executed the instant you said you would do it.

There was no grand process—no strange incantations.

No flashes of light or magic circles.

An oath was an oath.

A promise was a promise.

You did it the moment you said you would.

That was all.

And that was precisely why it was terrifying.

The moment you uttered, “I will,” the pledge was bound.

And the moment you broke it, your soul was erased.

Thanks to that, Lloyd could fully trust the oath Enticus had just made.

Warmth rose in Enticus’s eyes.

– Thank you. For helping me.

“Don’t mention it. Just keep your promise.”

– Of course. If my soul is saved with your help, I will keep my oath and make Dragon King Verkis your sponsor. So, let me open the way to Hell.

Crackle!

The moment Enticus finished speaking, sparks scattered through the air.

Like a portal, a crackling circle about two meters wide appeared.

Beyond it, a brutal scene of a volcano belching black smoke flickered into view.

A hot, pungent wind blew through, stinging the skin.

Now, I have opened the Hellgate. The other side is Hell.

“……”

– Be careful, because it’s quite hot over there. And be careful of the Satans who roam around Hell. They are a race that always finds joy in deceiving and corrupting good souls.

“Then where in Hell is your soul trapped?”

– I don’t know.

“……”

– But perhaps the King of Hell is holding my soul.

“Hoo-ah.”

Lloyd took a breath.

Was this really happening?

A face-to-face meeting with the King of Hell—something he’d never expected in his life.

Even staring at the Hellgate open before him, it still didn’t feel real.

But he’d already decided.

And he’d secured Enticus’s oath.

So if he succeeded…

‘I can receive Dragon King Verkis’s sponsorship.’

A subordinate called a Bone Dragon.

Wealth that would never run dry.

And even another life to enjoy it.

To claim all of that, he now had to go to Hell.

And at the same moment, the demons in Hell sensed Lloyd’s gaze fixed on the Hellgate.

They all snapped their heads up.

Their two-atrium, two-ventricle hearts pounded as they clutched their chests, and the same thought rose through them like praise.

‘What? The owner of that demonic intonation—the master singer Frontera-nim—is coming here in person?’