Chapter 108
Chapter 108
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 108
Chapter Title: The One Who Chose a Sinful Name (4)
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Laura spoke.
“For now… what he said is true.”
“They’re really gathering humans and brainwashing them into organization members?”
“Yeah. I didn’t see it myself or get directly involved, but I know it’s happening. Just like he said, in the Dark Snowfields, they don’t trust humans. They see them as beings who will one day be subjugated, but since they can’t be trusted, they have to be thoroughly tamed. Sending those tamed tools into human society is one of their favorite methods. The Guardian Shadows’ surveillance doesn’t matter as long as they don’t get caught as Dragon Demon Worshippers.”
“…….”
Azel trembled with rage. Not content with lurking in the shadows of the world and ruining countless lives, they were taking innocent children, destroying their humanity, and turning them into tools that moved at their command. This was something even the Dragon Emperor War hadn’t seen.
‘No, during the Dragon Emperor War, they had no reason to do it….’
They weren’t fighting humans head-on; as a secret society biding their time in the darkness, they were rotting the world from within. For them, centered on Dragon Demons and Dragon Demon Hybrids, who inevitably suffered from manpower shortages, it was an incredibly efficient method.
Laura continued after gazing at him for a moment.
“Yuren Lister’s existence was extremely sensitive even to the higher-ups. They pitted us against each other over capturing him. From the data I received alone, he destroyed over ten secret organization bases and killed many members. He infiltrated breeding facilities and assassinated instructors… And I heard he recently destroyed an experimental facility too. There were reports of incomprehensible incidents happening in the process…….”
“You mean the incident where he broke the brainwashing on the test subjects.”
Yuren glared at her as he spoke. Laura nodded indifferently despite his piercing gaze.
“Yeah. I heard there had been a few similar cases before that. That’s why you were designated as the highest threat level.”
“It’s the Guide’s Dream.”
“Hm?”
“I can transmit the Guide’s Dream to others. Not just me, but making multiple people share the dream. But they have to be within the range of my magic.”
“Like illusionary dream arts?”
Azel interjected. He had once manipulated Enora’s terrifying dream from a previous experience. In Spirit Orders, magic, Dragon Spirit Arts… among mental techniques, there were forbidden arts that used dreams to implant illusions and control minds.
Yuren replied.
“It’s similar. The test subject kids in other places… they didn’t even know their fate until they were slaughtered. Without realizing it, they were deemed defective as the tools they wanted and suffered something worse than death.”
In the places Yuren attacked, the children became test subjects for black magic or sacrifices to summon demons. While destroying Dragon Demon Worshipper bases, Yuren learned this information and couldn’t just walk away.
“But… maybe it would have been better if…….”
“Yuren. I told you to shut up about that.”
“…….”
Leticia snapped coldly at Yuren, who was about to voice his regrets. In the end, Yuren hadn’t saved a single test subject. He was the only one who survived after inciting them, and every test subject who escaped died.
“…Sorry. Anyway, I sometimes think the Guide might be watching me right now from not far away. It’s easier to accept if I imagine a powerful mage protecting me from nearby and speaking to me through dreams.”
“I don’t sense any gaze…….”
Azel muttered absently. Leticia reacted.
“You’ve mastered ‘Gaze Detection’?”
“Does that mean you have too?”
“Impressive. These days, the only ones who’ve mastered that technique are the Dragon Demon Worshippers dwelling in the Dark Snowfields…….”
She continued.
“Anyway, I agree with you. I’ve been with this guy for about a month, but I’ve never felt any mysterious gazes during that time.”
“So, you weren’t allies with this man until a month ago?”
“We were total strangers. I happened to find a Dragon Demon Worshipper base I was planning to attack, and our goals aligned, so we teamed up. Bad luck.”
Leticia grumbled. Ever since that incident, she’d been dragged along by Yuren’s absurd claims.
Azel spoke after staring at her for a moment.
“As I said earlier, I don’t like conspiracy theories.”
“Hm?”
Yuren and Leticia looked puzzled at the sudden topic. Azel continued.
“It’s a situation that keeps bringing conspiracy theories to mind… but since I don’t like them, I’ll put suspicions about that aside for now. I’ll watch over you two.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Yuren let out a scoff. Azel told him.
“Let’s act together for the time being. I need information on the Dragon Demon Worshippers and more fighting strength.”
“Thanks. I’ll make sure not to betray your expectations.”
“You’d better. If you do, I’ll cut you down.”
“…….”
Yuren swallowed hard at Azel’s cold smile.
5
Azel soon turned to Laura and said.
“Well, we’ll talk more with you two slowly… but I still have questions for this side. You can listen in.”
“I have questions too.”
“If you answer sincerely, I might consider one more.”
“You say that, but you won’t answer properly anyway.”
“Depends on the question.”
Azel replied slyly to Laura’s grumbling. Then he asked.
“I’ve been curious about something… Why did you try to kidnap the Dragon Demon Princess and Dragon Demon Prince in the Lurein Kingdom? Ah, I guessed it might be because they’re Atein’s bloodline, but is that right?”
“Right. I won’t even ask how you knew… since I gave you the clues.”
“It was like you were dropping clues on purpose for me to figure it out. If that wasn’t your intent, it was incredibly careless.”
“I’d never failed before then… so I didn’t think about failure.”
Laura remained expressionless, but if you looked closely, she seemed slightly peevish. Azel asked.
“So, it’s true they’re among the many blood descendants Atein left behind.”
“Not exactly. The higher-ups judged that the current generation of Dragon Demon royals in the Lurein Kingdom are cases where the king’s blood manifests most clearly.”
Dragon Demon royals—specifically, Dragon Demon Princesses—rarely become the next Dragon Demon Queen. A Dragon Demon or Dragon Demon Hybrid woman selected as Dragon Demon Queen marries the king and bears his heirs. Once she fulfills her duties without dying, she receives a title from the royal family and lives a new life. Then another woman from a different Dragon Demon or Dragon Demon Hybrid family is selected.
In other words, the current Dragon Demon Queen, a retired Guardian Shadow, is from a different family with no relation to the previous Dragon Demon royals, and unbeknownst to her, she too is Atein’s descendant. But the reason they targeted her children instead is separate.
“I don’t know everything, but the higher-ups seem to believe the current Lurein royal family still carries a thick concentration of his blood.”
In short, Arietta and Seiga were born from Atein’s descendants uniting. They had inherited such strong traits as his descendants that they caught the attention of the Dark Snowfields. Their Dragon Demon power was so potent that you could believe they were Dragon Demon Hybrids or even pure Dragon Demons.
Azel frowned.
“I see. But that doesn’t seem like reason enough to target those two. Unless they’re direct descendants, why obsess over descendants born that way?”
“To use them as materials to complete the king’s vessel.”
“Hm?”
As Azel looked puzzled, Laura calmly dropped a bombshell.
“The higher-ups believe the king’s resurrection is nearly complete. If they prepare a vessel for his soul, the king will revive in the world, and the Lurein Kingdom’s Dragon Demon Princess and Dragon Demon Prince were selected as materials for that.”
“What?”
Azel was stunned. Not just him—everyone present was.
6
The Undying Zeta, who followed the Prophecy Guardian Lennon, has hazy memories of his time before being called one of the ‘Undying Guardians,’ when he was still a living human.
It couldn’t be helped. Like evil spirits, Undyings typically have poor memories except for the obsessions that birthed them.
That’s why Undyings easily go mad and perish. The sensations enjoyed in life fade, memories and thoughts fray and slip away, leaving them no choice but to lose their reason and descend into madness.
In that regard, Zeta and the other ‘Undying Guardians’ are exceptionally unique. They lost much of their memories from life, but they retained the knowledge needed to fight. And their memories after becoming Undyings were as clear as those of living humans, keeping their reason intact even decades later.
Among his memories from life, what remains is, as expected, the memory of his death.
Zeta was killed by Dragon Demon Worshippers too. His home was destroyed, his family lost, and finally, his own life taken.
The difference from other Guardian Shadows is that the Prophecy Guardian Lennon witnessed his final moments. He clashed with the Dragon Demon Worshippers seeking revenge and sustained fatal wounds. Then Lennon, arriving a step late with other Guardian Shadows, asked the dying man,
‘Do you want revenge? Even if it means never resting again and suffering eternally?’
…The answer required no thought. Through his contract with Lennon, he lost his name and memories from life, becoming Zeta—an existence burning only with grudges.