Chapter 110
Chapter 110
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 110
Chapter Title: To the Demonic Realm (1)
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1
Every battle comes to an end. Countless wars had concluded to become history, and some of those had turned into legends retold for generations.
The Dragon Emperor War was the greatest conflict in human history.
To those who lived through it, it was like an endless hell. Simply surviving day to day was agonizing, and with no glimpse of a future, the despairing sighs of people filled the world.
Yet even this interminable war had an end. Those who had burned everything in pursuit of that conclusion were bewildered when the end finally came into view.
The night before the final battle, Azel and Kallos sat facing each other in a tent. With the decisive clash looming, there was no alcohol between them. No one would have blamed them for turning to drink to numb the exhaustion of this interminable war before sleep, but the two men wanted no regrets in the fight they were staking their fates on.
"If I said this where the old-timers could hear, they'd laugh their asses off..."
Kallos gave an awkward smile.
"I never thought I'd live to see the end of this war."
"Don't ever say that to the old folks."
Azel chuckled and chided him.
This was seventeen years after the Dragon Emperor War had broken out. Even before it officially began, the world had been far from peaceful, with whirlwinds of war expanding everywhere. Then, at some point, Atein had declared himself the Dragon Demon King and launched a war of conquest against humanity.
Both Azel and Kallos had spent nearly their entire lives—starting from childhood—embroiled in the Dragon Emperor War. To them, it was simply the backdrop of life. They couldn't even properly imagine peaceful days without fighting, even in their dreams.
Kallos spoke.
"I won't. What, you think I'd say something like that? But still..."
"I get how you feel."
"Right?"
"But that's only if we win tomorrow."
The stage for the final battle was set. The alliance army had surrounded and deployed around the Dragon Demon King's last stronghold, the "Citadel of the Dragon Horn," where the remnants of his forces had gathered.
After the long dark age, it was miraculous that hundreds of thousands of troops had assembled. So many lives had been lost, and far too few children had been born and raised safely.
Those who had been warriors had died in battle, while those who hadn't became warriors out of necessity to survive hell. Now, all the survivors had gathered to see the conclusion.
Kallos spoke, more to himself than to Azel.
"We can win. No, we can't lose."
"I know."
The alliance had steadily piled up victories to corner them. With numerical superiority over the Dragon Demon King's forces in the citadel, victory seemed assured.
But it wasn't that simple. What awaited them there was none other than the Dragon Demon King Atein.
"All that's left is for me to take him down, since the rest of the prep is done."
In the final battle, Azel would face Atein one-on-one.
That was the scenario the alliance leadership had prepared. While the main army waged the siege, elites would infiltrate the Citadel of the Dragon Horn to create a situation where Azel and Atein could duel.
The reason was straightforward. If no one tied Atein down in single combat, he would become a catastrophe the alliance couldn't handle.
Atein was the ultimate mage alive.
He had mastered every spell in existence, casually performing feats that transcended magical common sense. If he wielded his power as an archmage against the army, every high-ranking mage in the alliance would be tied down trying to stop him.
Someone had to close in and keep him from focusing on the battlefield. But amid the clashing armies, only a tiny handful of elites could infiltrate the citadel, and they would inevitably be surrounded and forced into fierce combat.
To overcome that with limited manpower, they needed someone who could stand against Atein one-on-one. Victory wasn't required—just holding out until the war's outcome was decided.
The reason Azel was chosen was simple. He alone was deemed capable of facing Atein in single combat.
Atein was the ultimate mage and a transcendent user of Dragon Spirit Arts.
Typically, Dragon Demons or Dragon Demon Hybrids chose either magic or Dragon Spirit Arts. Though rooted in the same principles with similar traits, they were ultimately distinct techniques. Pursuing both to the extreme usually resulted in mediocrity in both.
But Atein was exceptional. He was a transcendent mage and a terrifying warrior.
Kallos said,
"It's fine. Atein's a monster, but you can beat him. You've done it once before, right?"
"That was just a surprise hit. It only worked because of Reshu's whim. This is the first real fight."
Reshu had been Azel's fourth master. Unaffiliated with either the alliance or the Dragon Demon King's army, he had challenged Atein and nearly died, only for Azel to intervene and inflict a grievous wound.
Kallos said,
"It's different now. You have cards equal to his."
Atein possessed a staggering ten Dragon Demon Armaments. Each boasted world-shaking power, and he could even manifest multiple at once.
If he summoned his Dragon Demon Armaments while unleashing massive spells, there would be no counter. Cataclysmic phenomena would chain one after another, collapsing the alliance's front lines. From their perspective, they had to keep him out of the battlefield at all costs.
There were those who inherited multiple Dragon Demon Armaments from others. But only three could manifest several simultaneously.
Atein, Azel, and Duke Crois Nidel—the alliance's greatest artisan knight and a veteran.
Of them, Duke Crois Nidel's power fell short of Azel and Atein. He had four Dragon Demon Armaments and could manifest only two at once.
Like Atein, Azel had ten Dragon Demon Armaments, all inherited as keepsakes from dying comrades.
Kallos suddenly grinned.
"Honestly, I'm jealous of you, Azel."
"What're you talking about?"
"You're the star of the show on the grandest stage. After tomorrow, bards will sing of Hero Azel, and we'll just get a mention as the guys who were there when you took down Atein. Now that I think about it, we come out on the short end."
"We haven't even fought yet, and you're talking about the distant future?"
"That's how it'll go. Tomorrow, we'll become legends. The world doesn't turn for anyone, but just for tomorrow... just one day, it'll turn for us."
Azel gazed at him for a moment, then grinned back.
"Yeah. It will."
2
223 years after the Dragon Emperor War ended.
A chill silence settled over one corner of the ruined Karzark Marquisate. It was because of what the blonde Dragon Demon girl, bound head to toe, had said.
"..."
The Dragon Demon King would revive.
That was the shared faith of the Dragon Demon Worshippers. This era was a trial to endure, and when they proved their belief, the great Dragon Demon King would return to set the world right.
That conviction kept the worship alive. In their faith, the Dragon Demon King had already transcended even the laws of the world, becoming a god.
223 years after Atein's death, he was on the verge of revival as prophesied. The Dragon Demon Worshippers in the Dark Snowfields were certain of it.
"You all..."
Having heard Laura out, Kairen spoke in disbelief.
"You're seriously saying it's possible for a dead man to come back to life? Not as some undead lich via black magic, but actually returning in the flesh?"
"The King is like the living history of the world, a being who transcends even a mage's common sense. If you encountered the legacies he left scattered across the world, even resurrection might not seem so far-fetched."
"..."
"Just look at the Guardian Shadows to see how absurd magic that reaches beyond mortal bounds can be, right?"
"So that's what you believe. Makes sense you'd last over two hundred years with faith in a revival. But..."
"No, hold on."
Azel cut Kairen off. He turned a serious gaze to Laura and asked,
"How long until Atein revives?"
"...Azel?"
"Kidnapping a Dragon Demon princess from outside means you don't have what you need in the Dark Snowfields—or you failed to make it. Right?"
"Azel, you can't mean you're buying this nonsense?"
Kairen asked incredulously. But Azel didn't even glance his way as he replied.
"Yes."
"..."
"I don't know if it's possible. But on this matter, my friend—who has brilliant judgment—once concluded it was. So I believe him. Better to believe the worst-case scenario, end up relieved it was wrong, and feel a bit empty, than dismiss it and get blindsided."
Once, Kallos had appeared in Azel's dream and stated Atein's revival was possible. So Azel believed. Then and now, he trusted the mage's judgment.
Azel said,
"During the Dragon Emperor War, I made sure Atein didn't even leave a corpse behind. So you're looking for another vessel? Preserving his soul or something?"
At the final battle, Azel had completely annihilated Atein's body. He hadn't wanted to leave even a sliver of a chance for an undead revival.
Laura tilted her head.
"You talk like you saw it."
"That's none of your concern."
"Whether a body was left or not doesn't matter. Even our attempts to prepare vessel materials turned out pointless."
"What do you mean?"
"In the Dark Snowfields, all the magics he left behind are still active. The revival ritual is the most miraculous among them."
Laura had witnessed the ritual's essence only once. Atein's revival rite took place deep underground in the Dragon Demon Palace, in a place called the Abyss where darkness essence refined by magic pooled. It had continued ceaselessly for 220 years.
Yuren asked,
"Is it something like a soul revival secret art?"
"No. Nothing so crude. It wouldn't require such a long time otherwise."
The soul revival secret art was a form of black magic that resurrected the dead differently from undeath. It captured the soul and placed it into a new vessel—not the original body, but an artificially created one or another person's body with the mind erased.
But its success rate was near impossible. Magically, a soul could only properly integrate with its original flesh. That's why undeath was preferred over soul revival arts.
Even if successful, no true revivals had ever been recorded in history. Preserving a soul separately caused irreversible damage and degradation from the start, and transferring it to another vessel brought mountains of unpredictable issues.
Laura said,
"Our superiors weren't preparing the Dragon Demon Princess and Prince as vessels in hopes of some soul revival effect."
"Then?"