Chapter 324
Chapter 324
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 324
Chapter Title: Can One Who Has Seen the End of the World Plant an Apple Tree? (29)
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The moment he came face-to-face with the dragon's finally revealed colossal body, the Professor instinctively realized it.
This thing wasn't made to be fought.
Think about it. If someone asked you, "Who would win in a fight between you and a mixed martial arts fighter?" you'd imagine yourself squaring off against a professionally trained opponent and give some kind of answer.
If they asked, "Who would win against a tank?" you'd picture yourself getting turned into ground meat under those massive steel treads and respond accordingly.
But...
"Who would win against Neptune?"
When the question is that absurd, you have to question whether it even makes sense in the first place.
Confronting the dragon in person felt exactly like that.
An absolute being impossible to resist.
Calculating odds against it was no different from punching a mountain or kicking an ocean. It meant charging in blindly would just get you killed.
If this weren't a dead end, there would be some other way.
The answer came the moment the seemingly flawless dragon staggered.
A dragon that couldn't steady its own body, even dropping to one knee and shaking its head.
He thought maybe it was because Kauladi's soul had entered it, but he quickly shook his head.
'No such thing as a dragon that can't control its own body exists. And what Kauladi summoned wasn't just any dragon—it was the Dragon Lord that once ruled this entire great desert. It's a reincarnation, called back into the world, so it can't be incomplete.'
There was no way the vestibular system of a being that could reshape the world with a single word would fail.
Something had gone wrong in the dragon's creation process.
Considering the beings related to the dragon encountered in this desert, and the materials used in Kauladi's ritual, it was easy to figure out what the problem was.
'The dragon siblings I smuggled out. Aldar and Senika were also meant to be sacrifices in that ritual.'
The piled-up rotten corpses. He'd only glimpsed them, but they were shocking enough to burn vividly into his memory.
The dragon heirs, their bones stripped and preserved in chemicals, ranged from ancient specimens to ones that had rotted only recently—various ages, sizes, and generations.
Not all that royal blood could have died under Kauladi, so they must have been collected out of necessity.
Physically speaking, no amount of scraping together royal blood flesh could fill even one dragon forepaw, so they were gathered as symbolic elements for the sorcery.
But calling it "just symbolic" didn't do justice to the sheer number. As Raxasha had said, royal blood followed the strongest tribes wandering the desert, so the original owners of those corpses must have been formidable rulers. As symbols of desert dominance, they wouldn't have surrendered those bodies easily.
Despite the bloodshed and considerable effort involved, gathering that many royal blood meant the significance lay not in the quantity, but in the endeavor itself.
'All the flesh of royal blood within Kauladi's reach—that must have been one pillar of the ritual.'
At the very least, from his perspective, he needed unwavering confidence that he had gathered "all the royal blood flesh." He would have sent people everywhere within his sight and authority until he heard, "There is no more royal blood flesh left in the desert." After all, the most crucial part of any ritual was the caster's image.
But then, not dead corpses, but living hatchling siblings vanished...
An awareness of "incompleteness" had seeped into Kauladi's ritual, and because of those who had shattered the battle lines and broken through one after another, the unfinished ritual ended up...
『Kuuuuuuuuu—!!!』
...resulting in this: an unfinished dragon that couldn't even steady its own body and staggered about.
At this point, what he needed to do was crystal clear.
*Splash-*
[Raxasha! Can you hear me? Their target is the dragon siblings! Your royal blood! Get them out of the battlefield somehow!]
The dragon-Kauladi would try to complete its unfinished flesh. Its final piece was on Nulak's flagship, so it would go retrieve it. The reason the mutant legion was swarming that side might include abducting the royal blood.
*Crunch.*
If Raxasha fled with the two, he had to buy time here. A monster that could blanket half the battlefield in shadow just by spreading its wings would easily outpace the fleet's top speed even while stumbling.
"A real dragon would be suicide. But no dragon tongue, no millennia of wisdom, and even its brute flesh is half-baked? Worth a shot."
If that was a dragon, then this side had a godslayer and a saint blessed by the World Tree. They were in the same weight class, more or less.
*Splash-*
[Professor. They... snake-like mutants kidnapped the two. I left to protect Ottoman for a moment, and...]
As expected. Not a good situation, but foreseeing that flow was a boon. It meant he'd caught up to the enemy's hazy shadow.
[Coming this way?]
[No, the opposite direction from the battlefield, fleeing away from the dragon. I'll handle the two, so you... do your job.]
[...What?]
No? Kidnapped the siblings, but heading away from Kauladi? The mutants?
[Raxasha. Wait, Raxasha!]
*Splash-*
She must have slipped just beyond the message spell's range—the connection to Raxasha cut off.
His train of thought snapped along with it.
'Weren't Palkatus and Kauladi allies? Nigmi kidnapped the hatchling siblings, but instead of delivering them to Kauladi, they're fleeing in the opposite direction?'
Time for judgment was limited, and he'd already used most of it. The dragon writhed in agony, drawing ever closer.
Something snagged in his chest like a stone catching on a ledge—jerking to a halt.
'If they're Kauladi's collaborators, what are the mutants gaining from cooperating here in the desert?'
From that stumble, an ominous speculation grew.
The unfinished dragon was already lurching forward, on the verge of collapse. Its vibrations alone threatened to make the fleet lose buoyancy and sink. The deck he'd use as footing was vanishing, and its jaw—shaking its head as if dizzy and approaching—was an irresistible temptation to any foe.
The dragon's jaw looked thinner-scaled than elsewhere. Legends called it the site of the reverse scale. He'd passed the crossroads of choice long ago.
*Whoosh!*
Before the footing vanished, the Professor's legs—compressed to their utmost—kicked off the deck, launching him skyward.
Even without choice, even as his body executed the plan, his mind retraced past judgments.
'Their goal. What are the mutants ultimately aiming for?'
'What did they come to the desert to obtain?'
'Why cooperate with Kauladi?'
'Even if the ritual failed, can a dragon really be this defenseless?'
Amid the whirlwind of unanswerable questions, the enemy's colossal form drew close enough to make out the scale patterns.
The dragon was the enemy. Even if he'd misstepped somewhere, eliminating it was the right call.
It had lost its reason and rampaged; this chance for a fatal blow might never come again.
In that instant, the Professor ignited a vivid aura along his right arm like burning blood, and as his leaping momentum carried him, his fist slammed into the dragon's thin jaw—yet he couldn't shake the unease.
Why? Why this gnawing anxiety?
『Quuuuuuuuu—』
The dragon, writhing in unknown agony, collapsed from the brain-piercing impact. He filled his empty arms with divinity and smashed down on the dazed beast's crown.
*Boom—!*
A heavy, satisfying strike. The sensation of a blow that had felled even a wicked god landed true, and the suffocating presence of the dragon gradually faded from his heart.
*Tap.*
Landing atop the fallen dragon's head, the Professor was stunned to find no signs of life in the limp creature.
"...Dead? Just like that?"
Even at full power, it was just enough to crack a few scales. He'd thought stopping its charge was the best outcome, yet the dragon had lost its life.
'Something's wrong. I've been ensnared in someone else's scheme!'
A chill filled his chest amid the settling sand dust.
Yes, the sensation from realizing an ambush—the moment you spot the bait target and face the enemy's cold barrel.
*Shaaaa—*
The foreboding manifested as a familiar sound.
That sound. Mutants parting the sand with their transport.
*Thud.*
The creature surfacing, head emerging from the sand, coughing up something.
And then. The sound of hard chitin clacking across the dragon's body.
*Clack. Clackclackclackclackclack.*
At the end of that sound, a hermit crab-like creature appeared atop the dragon's scales.
A needle-like leg and a head so small it might not even be there. Bearing some kind of container filled with transparent green fluid.
Atop it, like a living vehicle, sat someone the Professor instantly knew despite never meeting.
"Palkatus."
[Our first face-to-face greeting. Forgive me for sitting. Unlike you, I haven't overcome my innate curse yet.]
The voice echoed in his mind. It was him. The supreme commander overseeing all of Mutation Blood—not an exaggeration, perhaps even a higher-priority target than the queen.
The mutant modeled after his own Palkatus.
'My arms are gone, but my legs are still good.'
Attacking the dragon had burned his arms with aura and divinity until nothing remained, but his two legs were intact. Moreover, he was now perched on the dragon's snout, knees bent.
'It said it hasn't overcome its curse. That form, forced to rely on another creature even for movement, means it's afflicted by the trait of extreme fragility—Glass Body!'
One strike. No, just the aftermath would shatter him. He didn't know the combat prowess of the individual carrying Palkatus, but as someone who'd endured Glass Body, he knew well: if it dodged his strike with high-speed movement, the shock alone would be fatal to Palkatus atop it.
A golden opportunity. As he slyly tensed his bent legs—
[You seem intoxicated by battle lust. I suppose I should calm you a bit.]
*Cough.*
The sound of the rear burrowing beetle vomiting up something more.
A mutant covered in small, flexible green scales. Nigmi, and the snakes grown from her fingertips, binding a figure.
"Raxasha!"
[Hahaha. No need to worry so much. A sort of table, shall we say? To converse, we need a calm spot for two to face each other. So...]
*Crunch—!*
"...Ugh, kuh!"
[If you move even a speck of dust from that spot right now, I'll kill this female. From what I hear, she's the human meant to be your mate... oh my, my stepmother? Hahaha.]
The Professor could only watch as Raxasha was constricted by layers of snakes beside the chattering Palkatus. Amid her stifled groans came faint pops—likely shoulder joints dislocating.
[Hmm... I expected a more dramatic scene. Nigmi? Make that female scream a bit more. As long as she doesn't die, it's fine.]
"That ain't gentle. She's a vicious bitch, see? Look at all these threads she's embedded in my hide? She clung on like mad, messed up my scales, let those cursed lizards escape, and honestly, it was embarrassing."
[Hahaha. Lesson learned, then. When you hook a big fish, you gotta give up the bait.]
"Well, not exactly remorse. Just... brother went wild, killed a ton, came back blood-soaked to sleep, while I was stuck playing with this one pathetic human and got pissed... that's all!"
*Crunch! Crack, crrrack!*
"Ughk, ugh, uuuuuugh!"
...Scapula. Jawbone. Tibia, some teeth.
...Crrunch!
He had to endure, endure... Raxasha was completely subdued by the enemy now. If he lost control here, the talk would collapse, and a valueless hostage would die.
The Professor ground his teeth so hard a broken molar rolled under his tongue; he focused on that sharp sensation, desperately trying to detach his mind from the horror before him.
"Hostages. Quite the human tactic..."
[Simple, effective, and safe. Especially against someone like you. You've been my greatest subject of study since birth. This much is necessary, no?]
"..."
Silence. Palkatus savored it, closing his eyes, then continued with a soft smile.
[No need to explain how this happened, right?]
"...Diversion. Division. Distraction, and... convergence."
Threaten, split, blind, reach for the goal.
Where the hell did it learn this?
[Correct.]
Palkatus was delighted. It felt like conversing with someone after so long.
[As you know, I've realized quite a bit after several defeats. You're someone who finds a way no matter what. Armies, assassinations—meaningless. Even mobilizing my dearest assets, my sister and Bazur, resulted in horrific injuries and devastating losses. A true catastrophe for our kind.]
*Clack clack clack clack*
[So, I decided to avoid you. You evade disasters, not confront them, right?]
Grinning faintly from the green fluid, Palkatus recapitulated their shared knowledge point by point.
[Like fleeing to the desert to avoid you heading to the Empire, I wanted to evade you here too. I had business, but with you around, failure seemed certain.]
"So... you prepared that half-baked dragon just to lure out me alone?"
[The original plan was to secure that incomplete dragon corpse... but upon hearing you'd set foot in this desert, I repurposed it. A dragon seemed enough to move you. Isn't crisis what drives you?]
Planners must be meticulous, yet flexible enough for improvisation.
Situations never follow plans perfectly, and chance opportunities arise unpredictably.
Palkatus recalled the encounter after entering the desert—a fateful serendipity.
[To avoid your suspicion, I truly spared no effort. You had to choose it yourself; there was a gamble-like chance of failure. But you advanced toward Kauladi, allowing... us brothers to approach your weakness.]
Nulak and Kauladi? Desert hegemony? Dragon?
None of that mattered.
Just as the opponent seemed to know their queen, Palkatus now knew exactly which king to capture to end this game.
[So... affectionate, aren't you? Cherishing the weak ones so.]
Any companion would do for kidnapping, but for certainty, he chose the weakest, easiest target.
The old mage was out—whatever sorcery he wielded, that spell-slinging geezer didn't seem weak enough for combat-weak Nigmi to approach easily.
Thus, the elf stuck right beside him was out too. Shortest time together meant lowest priority anyway.
The troll female seemed dim but had uncanny senses, instantly detecting Nigmi even fully camouflaged—troublesome. Same for the human Raxasha.
The plan snagged at the kidnapping stage, contrary to expectations.
[Lucky the good bait was aboard.]
But that ship carried the hatchling siblings Raxasha treasured like life itself.
Nigmi easily found the two hidden deep in the flagship's hold and escaped with them. Hearing their hatchling cries, Raxasha chased the kidnapper without a word.
[And that's how it went. Bait the small fish, use it to hook you, the big one. Easy, right?]
...*Gulp.*
Listening to the nonstop prattling, the Professor racked his brain ceaselessly, seeking any sliver of possibility.
'I used divinity enough to smash the dragon's head. It'll come soon. Definitely... definitely!'
He had to stall. Fortunately, knowing him as the enemy did, the Professor had pondered what sort of creature this Palkatus was.
"Things have come this far, so I get it even without your explanation... but one thing I truly don't understand."
The unknown. At that word, the Professor's eyes caught Palkatus flinching unwittingly.
'Calls me father. Strong need for recognition. Compensates physical inferiority with mental superiority.'
The inferiority stemmed from being born Glass Body amid their desperate early clan, unlike the other named ones. His habitual "great intellect" reflected that well, while showing rivalry toward him.
To such a one, asking something he didn't know but it did would surely...
*Bugrrrk—*
Make it beam like it was dying of joy, eager to answer.
[Something you don't know... irresistible question. A father asking me... Feels like life's worth living anew. So, what is it?]
"Why. Why obsess over me so? Stronger ones exist, wiser ones surely too."
[Ah... that's the best question you've ever asked...]
*Tick. Tick.*
As the Professor counted silently in his mind, Palkatus opened up like spilling long-held secrets, face relieved.
[Truth is dismal, knowledge lonely. Knowledge of truths no one can know is... too sharp to hold in the heart, or perhaps that keen pain feels proud.]
'A bit more. Just a bit more...'
The taboo mimic that swallowed Kauladi's oasis. Visible from the ship's crow's nest afar, it appeared at his feet the moment he used divinity.
At least several kilometers in an instant.
[So... no one understands when I tell them. Honestly, if you hadn't asked, I might've died of frustration. Resented why only I was permitted such knowledge.]
As the Professor awaited his chance, Palkatus's intent whispered secretively amid incomprehensible mutterings.
[How's life in the new world, professor?]
"...What?"
[Ha. Ha. Ha.]
[Does that answer your question?]
The Professor's shocked eyes met Palkatus's translucent ones. The smiling finger pointed downward.
*Kuuuuuuuu—*
A sound like a massive underground river piercing the desert depths.
*Crack—*
The colossal mimic opened its maw, and in an instant, everything around began flowing into it.
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