Chapter 534: Curse of Dragon Blood (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 534: Curse of Dragon Blood (3)
Sin flows through blood, a tainted inheritance passed down through the generations.
These were the words the Dark King had heard from his father as a child. That the accumulated transgressions of their ancestors had settled upon them as a heavy karmic debt.
The word he heard most often from his father was an apology.
I am sorry for bringing you into this world.
I should never have given birth to you.
Bitter words, to be sure. Yet as the Dark King listened, he came to understand. Given their circumstances, there was nothing else his father could say.
A monster who wished to be human had given birth to another monster. He had hoped his child would be human, but the blood was too potent, too thick. It was not to be.
This was, paradoxically, his father’s wish. Separate from his regrets, the very reason the Dark King was born a monster was because of his father’s desperate desire.
About twenty years after the Dark King’s birth, his father drew his last breath. As he died, he offered the same apology as always. But for some reason, he wore a blissful smile.
In contrast, the Dark King, who had collapsed before his father’s gravestone, wore a blank expression. It wasn’t that he felt no sadness. He recognized the emotion, but it lacked the force to contort his features into grief.
It was only then that the Dark King truly realized his nature. He was, in fact, a monster. And at the same time, he thought he understood why his father had departed with such a smile.
“Are you happy now that you’ve passed it on?” he directed the question to the cold stone.
The curse of this blood was cruel. It suppressed one’s emotions, and at times, it would twist one’s appearance into something hideous. As if to prove one’s monstrous nature, physical abilities were enhanced, but this only served to make one more of a monster.
His father had called this affliction the Curse of Dragon Blood. A curse laid by a dragon, he’d said. To possess the blood of a dragon, yet to fall into depravity, forever unable to become one.
That part wasn’t frightening. It meant he didn’t care whether he became a dragon or not. The true horror of the curse was singular: because one could not become a dragon, one yearned for it, while simultaneously wailing with the desire to live as a human. And yet, it was a curse that made one despise humanity, to look down upon them. A power that caused one to run rampant, filled with insufferable contradictions. That was the essence of the Dragon Blood.
What’s more, upon awakening this blood, a voice would begin to echo in one’s mind.
—Serve the dragon.
An unknown speaker would whisper it endlessly.
—You who could not become a dragon, serve the dragon.
A wretched voice that haunted him every single day. An echo that would never fade, no matter how exhausted he became or how loudly he cried out.
There was only one way to escape this curse.
To give birth to a child and be free of it.
The vile blood, which wouldn’t even permit one to die, would not release its hold unless one bore a successor to take on the role. The Dark King’s father had given birth to him solely to escape it. To have a child just to pass on a curse. Only then could one be liberated and allowed to die. It was a truly vicious cycle.
The mother who had borne him was dead. Until his final moment, his father never spoke of her. Having successfully passed on the Curse of Dragon Blood, his father closed his eyes forever in the year the Dark King turned twenty. The man who had only ever offered apologies, who expressed only regret, had worn the happiest smile in the world at the moment of his death.
Now, all that remained was the life of the Dark King, whose blood had fully awakened at the age of twenty. Before his father’s gravestone, the Dark King made a vow. He would break this curse. He would not pass it on to the next generation as his father had. He would face death himself.
And so he lived.
—Serve the dragon.
He endured, living with the voice echoing in his ears.
—Kill those insignificant, lesser species.
His emotions withered and twisted. Perhaps because he had fully embraced his monstrous nature, his view of humanity became endlessly cold. Dealing with them was no different from dealing with insects, so he felt no hesitation in killing.
The Dark King was talented. Furthermore, with the ‘power’ contained within the curse, harming others was not a difficult task. He did not become drunk on this power, but he used it consistently. As time passed, he came to be called the Dark King, rising to the pinnacle of the world of assassins. With power came followers, and other assassins began to gather around him. The Night Reapers were formed in this way.
That was a mere hundred years ago…
* * *
“Wait a minute… what?”
I had been listening intently to the Dark King’s story, but I had to cut him off. The Dark King, who had been calmly explaining, fell silent and looked at me. I found it stranger that he was looking at me as if to ask what was wrong.
Did I mishear? Something was definitely off.
“…A hundred years ago? You just said a hundred years ago, right?”
“That is correct.”
The Night Reapers were formed a hundred years ago? It wasn’t unheard of for a master of the Dark King’s caliber to live that long, though it was rare. …But based on the flow of the story, it sounds like he’s lived much longer than that. Listening to his tale, stories from much more than a century ago kept coming up. Which meant…
“…Senior, if I may ask, how old are you?”
“I stopped counting after one hundred and fifty.”
“…”
I had to shut my mouth at his casual reply.
…One hundred and fifty?
I definitely heard him right. One hundred and fifty years old? And he said he stopped counting after that, which meant he was even older. But the man looks so young.
Judging by his appearance, he didn’t look that old at all. The Dishonored Venerable had achieved eternal youth, so that was one thing. But the Dark King looked like he hadn’t even reached his forties. His skin had changed now, making him look a bit strange, but when he had white hair and pale eyes, he was a handsome man. And that man was over a hundred and fifty years old… His age was so much greater than I’d expected that I was momentarily stunned.
As I stared blankly, he spoke as if to add an explanation.
“The curse does not even permit death.”
“Does that… mean you’re immortal or something?”
A curse that doesn’t even permit death. Could you even call that a curse? If nothing else…
“…If you can’t die of old age, there’s still being killed by someone else, isn’t there?”
If he wanted to die, he could just let someone kill him. If suicide was impossible, there was poison, and there must have been other methods. Why hadn’t he tried?
Just as that question began to sprout in my mind…
“Because it does not permit death at the hands of a lesser species.”
“Heh, what a load of bullshit.”
Hearing his story, I couldn’t help but curse. What kind of amazing species was he from to have such a fucked-up rule?
Moreover.
The Yeon Clan’s lineage.
The family of Yeon Il-Cheon, who saved the world. The Golden Nature Clan. If their bloodline received such a curse… Why on earth…?
“…Do you not know how you came to receive such a curse?”
“It is recorded that the great dragon grew wroth, and thus we were cursed.”
The great dragon was angered, so they received the Curse of Dragon Blood.
A great dragon…
Thinking back, one name naturally came to mind.
The Blood Demon.
He was the only one I could think of who might be a dragon. If someone had laid the curse, it had to be him. The Blood Demon cursed Yeon Il-Cheon’s bloodline. Was that how I should interpret this?
Just as I reached that conclusion, I said what I had been wanting to say.
“By the way, Senior.”
“Yes.”
“Can’t you just treat me a little more comfortably?”
Please, just unbend those kneeling knees. The sudden switch to formal speech was giving me the creeps, and I felt like I was going to lose my mind. “Why are you being like this…”
At my words, the Dark King fell silent for a moment.
“Hmph.”
Then, after a short grunt, he moved his body slightly.
And then.
—Shhk!
In an instant, the Dark King’s dagger was at my throat. No, it wasn’t touching. He had stopped the blade just before it made contact.
What the?
Never mind that I hadn’t seen him move. I felt a surge of killing intent. It was clear he had intended to kill me. But for some reason, the attack had stopped.
Wondering what was going on, I looked at him. He sheathed his dagger and spoke.
“Not only am I unable to cause you harm, but I must also show you all the courtesy I am capable of.”
“…And if you don’t?”
“I must.”
Hmm. So, the Dark King had to act this way toward me even if he didn’t want to. And he couldn’t attack me. Was that what he was trying to show me? I lightly brushed my cool neck. The fact that I couldn’t even react was a little irritating.
“…Right. I think I understand everything.”
Fine. The Dark King was under some kind of compulsion. And I get that the man is some kind of half-baked dragon, and because I’ve become a full dragon, he has to act this way toward me.
“So, what is it that you want from me, Senior?”
What did the Dark King want from me right now? I needed to know that for sure. Did he ask me to break the curse? Break his curse. That’s what he had asked of me. How am I supposed to do that? Even if he asked, there was no way for me to do it. No, even if there was a way, I’d have to know it. How can I break it if I don’t know how? With the situation like this, I had no idea what to do, even with him acting this way.
The Dark King responded.
“They said that if I met a dragon, it would be resolved. That they would know.”
I frowned at his words. It would be resolved if he met a dragon?
“…Who told you something like that?”
That a dragon would resolve the curse? It would be one thing if he had reasoned that since a dragon cast the curse, a dragon could remove it. But if he heard it, that was a different story. It meant someone had given him that information. I asked with a serious expression.
“Taecheon.”
He offered this reply.
“The master of Taecheon said so.”
“Taecheon… you mean that Taecheon?”
My eyes widened. If he meant Taecheon… surely not.
“…Are you talking about the Demonic Realm in the northeast?”
The Demonic Realm of Taecheon. It referred to an open Demonic Realm near the border of the Central Plains, in the Black Dragon River region. It wasn’t like a normal Gate of Demons that spewed out monsters. It was one of the few open Demonic Realms managed by the Murim Alliance. The one farthest away was that one.
But.
Master.
The word ‘master’ that the Dark King had uttered struck me with particular force. In this context, ‘master’ ultimately meant… The master of the Demonic Realm called Taecheon. It would be the same as being the master of a world. So, the Dark King had met the master of the world called Taecheon. And that master had told him he could break the curse if he met a dragon. Who the hell is that guy? It was strange enough that a being from another world had suddenly appeared. But it was even stranger that he had spoken about dragons.
“Does that mean… this is related to why you are here, Senior?”
“Yes.”
The Dark King answered without hesitation. The reason he was here. He was surely here at the Dishonored Venerable’s request, but I thought of something else first.
“What about the Black Dragon Sword?”
The clear reason I had come to Sichuan. It was the Dark King who had disposed of the grotesquely transformed Black Dragon Sword in a single blow. Was that also related?
“Taecheon told me. To break the curse, I must meet a dragon. So, he said he would tell me the dragon’s location.”
The Dark King’s stiff, formal speech continued to grate on my ears, but I didn’t point it out.
“The deal to hear that was this.”
“…This being?”
“To eliminate the wayward apostle.”
Apostle? For him to answer like that when asked why he sought the Black Dragon Sword… Does that mean the Black Dragon Sword was Taecheon’s apostle? From his words alone, he sounded like the master of another world. And the Black Dragon Sword was the apostle of such a master. Leaving aside how that came to be… Then that meant. …The reason that guy who was supposed to be dead was alive is… The reason the Black Dragon Sword, who was said to have been killed by the Sword Venerable, was still alive. If a powerful being from another world had extended a hand, it more or less fit. Though I still had some questions.
“Then, why did you not deal with the Black Dragon Sword immediately, Senior?”
The reason the Dark King had to come all the way to the Heavenly Dragon Academy to kill him. I couldn’t understand it.
In response, the Dark King tilted his head slightly.
“That was the best method.”
“Be specific.”
“I had to approach the Black Dragon Sword. And as it happened, the fool was seeking my help. So, I used him.”
“…!”
At his nonchalant words, I finally understood the black barrier that had spread throughout the Heavenly Dragon Academy at the time.
“…Was that your doing, Senior?”
Every time I thought of it, it felt familiar. I wondered what it was. It was similar to the barrier he used when he killed me hundreds of times. The barrier that had been spread all night, supposedly to help with my training. Was this why the power I saw back then seemed so similar? The reason the Dark King had suddenly appeared at the Heavenly Dragon Academy. I was only able to realize it belatedly.
So that was the reason. To get information to find a dragon. And to do that, he was carrying out Taecheon’s request.
“…And in the process of doing that, you met me?”
“Yes.”
He met me at the Heavenly Dragon Academy, who resonated with him. He found it strange and followed along, partly due to the Dishonored Venerable’s request, and then I shed my skin and became a dragon. Was that it? What kind of fucked-up coincidence is this?
I immediately denied the thought that crossed my mind. This was no coincidence. There was no way it could be. No matter how much I wished it were.
Taecheon…
Perhaps that unknown entity knew I would become a dragon. And so, he sent the Dark King to deal with the Black Dragon Sword and get him entangled with me. This was pure speculation, but I had a feeling it wasn’t wrong. Why did he get rid of the Black Dragon Sword? I had no idea what kind of being he was, but if the Black Dragon Sword was his apostle, why get rid of him now?
…Taecheon was in the Black Dragon River region.
A Demonic Realm one could actually enter. Of course, with the Alliance and martial artists from various clans setting up camp around it, entry was impossible. But it was in a relatively easy-to-find location. The god-awful distance was a problem, though.
I’ll have to go.
I decided to go there. Even if it was impossible in the near future, I would add it to my to-do list. Furthermore, seeing as the Dark King was continuing to answer, it seemed I could get more information if I asked.
But before that, I had to finish the conversation we were having.
“I don’t know how to break your curse, Senior.”
I answered honestly. I didn’t want to play games with something I couldn’t even do.
“…”
I answered with that sentiment, but the Dark King’s expression remained unchanged.
What? Is this not it? I looked at him with a strange expression.
“It does not matter.”
“…Pardon?”
I had to pause at his reply. It doesn’t matter? The man who was just kneeling and begging me to break his curse? As I wondered what kind of bizarre statement this was…
“If you cannot break my curse, then I have another request.”
“Another one?”
He wanted something else from me besides breaking his curse?
“What is it?”
I asked for now. I had to know what it was to either refuse or accept.
I asked with an uneasy expression, and he answered immediately.
And.
“Right here, right now.”
I had to hold my breath at the Dark King’s words.
“Please, kill me.”
—…!
A terrifying request, uttered in a dry, withered voice.
This…
Seeing his words and his eyes, I realized that the request the Dark King had wanted from the very beginning was the same. His plea to break the curse. And his words now were ultimately the same thing. What he had wanted from me from the start was that.
He…
“And by doing so, I implore you to grant me salvation.”
…had been wishing for his own death from the very beginning.