Chapter 320
Chapter: 320
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>Translator: penny
>Chapter: 320
>Chapter Title: Changes (5)
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Thousands of years had passed since the era of the gods and the Dragonlord came to an end.
People referred to the time when the mighty ancient dragons dominated the Delcross dimension as the "Era of the Three Great Dragons."
In a way, that long, chaotic era had been the period when the power of the Delcross dimension was at its strongest. It was a time when the boundaries between history and legend blurred, and mythical creatures lived and breathed vividly.
However, even the Era of the Three Great Dragons, which seemed like it would last forever, eventually met its end. As the dragons aged and began to lose their power bit by bit, the higher demon kings—who had been biding their time—launched a full-scale dimensional invasion.
One of the Five Demon Kings of the Apocalypse, [Repentance], descended, and in its aftermath, the dormant Dragonlord was revived. The continent plunged into massive chaos, and the mythical creatures desperately fled to other dimensions.
Only humans remained.
Humans, who until then had lived scattered about without even a proper force to call their own, were driven straight to death and about to fall into the hands of the demon kings.
-How could one not pity them?
The last god remaining in Delcross at the time could not stand by and watch humanity's miserable end.
But to actively confront the higher demon kings? Victory was not guaranteed, and the clash of their powers threatened to shatter the entire dimension.
After much deliberation, the god made this proposal to the remaining four demon kings.
-Cease your invasion. If you do that, I shall hand over the souls of all humans who meet death from now on to you.
These were souls that the demon kings could harvest at any moment anyway—the difference was only in timing, early or late.
-It won't be a bad deal for you either. Including the souls that are steadily reborn, the total number you'll gain will far exceed what you could take now.
It was a pretty good proposal from the demon kings' perspective as well. They could acquire souls easily without clashing with a god.
From their standpoint, a hundred years or a thousand were but a fleeting moment, so waiting wasn't particularly difficult.
-So, for a thousand years from now, just let this dimension endure a little longer. At least allow humans to enjoy complete peace while they are alive.
Thanks to that desperate contract, Delcross gained a brief reprieve until the demon kings descended once more.
[That was the primordial [Covenant]. In exchange for that contract, Delcross's chief god lost its name and vanished completely from the world. Now, the only proof of its existence is the divine power that occasionally manifests in humans here and there.]
"Is that so?"
[Yes. After that, all human souls in the Delcross dimension became subjugated to the demon kings. If you try to steal even one soul of the dead from them, you must pay an equivalent price.]
Around the time the primordial Covenant was forged, the Delcross dimension underwent tremendous changes. A new barrier resonating with Ionia was created, and the boundary races were entrusted with its management.
Some of the Cornsium clan even crossed over to the Delcross dimension.
It was also then that the human hero Cadmos appeared, slaying the Dragonlord and founding the empire.
"Hmm. I see."
But in the end, it was just the history of another dimension.
The elder hurried his explanation toward the dwarf engineer, who was losing focus bit by bit.
[The Covenant doesn't apply only to souls existing at the time. It includes all souls born afterward, or even those that happen to visit Delcross by chance. Every soul is the property of the higher demon kings.]
"Hmm."
Dexter nodded half-heartedly. He wasn't particularly interested in the afterlife or the netherworld anyway.
The reason he even believed in the existence of souls was thanks to encountering Ionia's engineers and learning various new knowledge.
There was only one thing he was curious about now.
"Then Delcross was a dimension doomed to perish in a thousand years anyway, right? Yet they created a resonating barrier together. Did Ionia just allow it so easily?"
[Why not? Resonance between two dimensions creates tremendous power. Besides, once Delcross falls, it's obvious the next invasion target will be Ionia.]
Moreover, the oracle of the Cornsium clan at the time actively advocated for creating the new barrier.
-A thousand-year reprieve gives us a chance to somehow overcome the invasion.
As the wisest figure even in Ionia, it was natural for consensus to form around him.
In any case, at least one fact was clear.
[Back then, no one imagined Ionia would perish first.]
Let alone to a [Calamity] they brought upon themselves, not even the demon kings' invasion. The elder sighed softly, then added his final explanation with a complicated expression.
[Understand this, Dexter. If you head to Delcross now, the primordial 'Covenant' will surely apply to you as well. Even in death, you'll never escape the demon kings' grasp. So never speak of wanting to go there again.]
But despite the elder's stern warning, Dexter was harboring stray thoughts inwardly.
'The Delcross dimension's destruction is right around the corner? That means there's not much time left!'
If he didn't hurry to Delcross now, he might never meet the oracle. He might never learn more about the milestone.
'And Seongjin...'
Though a dubious con artist, Seongjin didn't seem like an entirely bad guy. No, the con artist part already ruined it.
In any case, with a great crisis befalling the Delcross dimension, he felt he should warn Seongjin living there. Relay every single story the elder had told him without omission.
'Well, even if I can't go, I still have a way to meet Seongjin.'
The dwarf engineer gripped the half milestone in his hand tightly.
'The rental period is set. As long as I have this, Seongjin will surely return to the workshop someday.'
* * *
That night, Seongjin meditated leisurely for the first time in a while.
He went to bed quite late and, just in case, tried sleeping while hugging the milestone.
Of course, instead of waking up in the Pangea Chronicle, he heard only a stiff electronic tone like this.
[Confirming user's connection record. Complete deletion of ID confirmed.]
As expected, he couldn't use the guest ID anymore. A bit disappointed, a faint electronic tone followed, tapping at his ears.
[Confirmed user's unique ID. Would you like to activate the frozen ID?]
What? Unique ID? Somehow, that didn't sit right with him.
Seongjin clicked his tongue and sat up.
'I've finally gotten these fraudulent skills, and now all the levels and skills I've built up are gone just like that?'
It would be a lie to say he felt no regret. If he put his mind to it, he could have swept away all the Pangea Chronicle rankers and monopolized rare items.
Of course, doing so would make the Dark Yustitia grow even faster as it glitched out.
'If I go to the workshop, there might be a way...'
Seongjin thought as he spotted the silver disk neatly placed on the nightstand.
The elder's workshop probably had a full-dive machine too. Maybe he could even create an official user ID instead of a guest one.
But Seongjin soon changed his mind.
Why? Strangely, he had a hunch that it would be best not to meet Dexter for a while.
'Well, Owen will be back soon anyway, and everyone's managing fine on their own. I can visit Dexter leisurely later...'
As Seongjin shifted positions and lay back comfortably, the demon king in his head asked curiously.
[Hm? You still haven't gone? Unusual for this hour.]
"Yeah. Just."
[Then go already. It's about time for me to start.]
Come to think of it, the demon king had been whining noticeably less lately. Not only that, but his speech had become unusually sparse and quiet.
"Why? What are you planning to do after I leave?"
To Seongjin's question, the demon king replied in a bright voice.
[Yep. Gonna play edge-turning game.]
"Edge-turning game? What's that?"
[You trace the edges of the plasma crystal, spinning around them. It's about covering the entire edge without overlapping the path as much as possible. With this 24-faced omnicrystal, there are surprisingly many routes. Time flies by without you noticing.]
"......"
[That's why I've been waiting for you to go to the Pangea Chronicle. Spinning the plasma crystal while you're awake would probably drive you pretty crazy, right?]
It was somehow a pathetic game. While Seongjin had been neglecting reality lately, the bored demon king seemed to have devised this as a way to kill time.
Unable to continue, the demon king added excitedly.
[And that's not the only creative game I've made. The best finale is the seven arch protrusions on the plasma crystal.]
"...What's that?"
[Yep, you accelerate gradually and spin through all seven rings in one go. Each has a different curvature, so the drift feel when cornering is killer, and as you build speed, it feels just like riding a roller coaster!]
"Uh......"
...Sorry, Demon King.
You've really been so bored!
Changing his mind about sleeping, Seongjin sprang up from the bed.
"Hmm. Put off playing with the plasma crystal for a bit. I'm going for a stroll in the imperial palace after a long time."
[What? Not going to the Pangea Chronicle today?]
"Yeah. Not just today—for a while."
[I see......]
The demon king replied faintly.
But thump-thump.
The sensation of his soul pulsing with joy transmitted directly into Seongjin's head.
[Hmm! So you're not going off to play alone anymore? Well, can't be helped then. I'll have to put off the exciting plasma crystal racing for now.]
Ignoring the demon king's grumbling as he tried to hide his true feelings, Seongjin slowly flung open the terrace door.
It had been a while, so he'd test his aura concealment skill too. How about sneaking into the Blue Rose Palace? See how close he could get without being caught by Decaron Knight Logan.
"By the way, you. How do you know words like drift or roller coaster? You're a demon king from Gehenna, aren't you?"
[Hm? Who knows?]
The demon king wiggled his soul curiously as well.
[I haven't really thought about it until now? But now that you mention it, I've known a lot about Sigurd 34 District even before the invasion.]
Was it just about Earth? Thinking about it, there was something else strange.
His understanding of humans was inexplicably profound, more than could be accounted for since arriving in Delcross.
[Well, nothing strange about it. Knowledge is deeply tied to the soul's quality. Must be because I'm such a great and noble demon king, right?]
Seongjin let out a hollow laugh at the demon king's smug retort.
Great my ass.
In any case, starting his midnight stroll, Seongjin roamed the imperial palace quite freely.
His aura concealment skill had improved by leaps and bounds. He leisurely passed by knights on night watch—need I say more?
He even completely fooled Sir Kurt, an upper-class knight.
[Whoa, this is really thrilling!]
Thump-thump.
The demon king enjoyed the stroll with intense focus, as if playing a thrilling game.
[At this level, you might even succeed against your babysitter? Wanna give it a try?]
"Who's the babysitter, who!"
But as expected.
No matter how excellent his aura concealment, he couldn't completely evade a former Sword Master and Decaron Knight's senses. Not long after heading toward the Blue Rose Palace, Seongjin came face-to-face with Logan's weary expression welcoming him.
"...What have you been doing up until now without sleeping?"
Logan was even still in his knight uniform, with Arjuna sheathed at his waist.
No way this guy had been working until now, right?
"I'll throw that right back at you. Lee Seongjin, what are you doing out this late at night?"
"Well, just. Couldn't sleep, so I thought I'd take a short walk..."
Logan looked at Seongjin with a worried face.
"Is that so? You're not feeling ill anywhere, are you?"
"No, I'm fine?"
"Then hurry back and sleep. Kids your age need plenty of rest to grow."
"What? How much older are you to treat me like a kid?"
Offended, Seongjin grumbled sulkily, but Logan admonished him in a calm voice.
"You have to think about the knights guarding Pearl Palace for your sake. And what about Master Masain? If he finds out you're gone, he'll definitely worry a lot."
"Uh, um......"
He had no retort to that point, so Seongjin turned his head with a pout. But Logan's next words were something else.
"Come on, listen to me, okay? I'll escort you back now, so let's head to Pearl Palace. If you really can't sleep, I can even sing you a lullaby."
"...What did you say, man?"
The coaxing tone made him look like he was dealing with a stubborn child, no matter who saw it.
Seongjin's eyes sharpened instantly.
Ah, this guy subtly acts like the senior whenever he gets the chance? That's why I told him not to treat me like a kid publicly!