Chapter 62
Chapter 62
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 62
Chapter Title: Those Who Follow the Prophecy (1)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Chapter 13
Those Who Follow the Prophecy (1)
1
The Dark Snowfields located in the northern reaches of the continent.
It was a demonic realm that forbade human access. Even before, it had overflowed with dangers due to the harsh cold, dragons unfriendly to humans, and swarming magical beasts. But after the Dragon Emperor War, the remnants of the Dragon Demon King’s army, defeated by humans, had taken root there, turning it into a den of evil that everyone knew about yet no one could touch.
A land more than worthy of being called the holy site of the Dragon Demon Worshippers.
Niveiris had returned there.
“This place is……”
Regina, who had come to the Dark Snowfields, couldn’t hide her amazement.
The journey to the northernmost tip of the continent, untouched by human feet, was nothing like what she had imagined. Coming here from the Lurein Kingdom in the southwest of the continent by normal means would have been a long and arduous trek. But they had shortened that time exponentially.
“This is the Dark Snowfields……”
Regina looked around with deeply moved eyes.
Behind her was a circular metal structure. The frame, filled with magical decorations, slowly rotated, and at its center was darkness filled like an abyss.
The great magical legacy left by Dragon Demon King Atein, the ‘Void Path.’
Through this, they had leaped across thousands of kilometers in an instant. This legacy, which no one in the present era could reproduce, was the secret allowing those based in the Dark Snowfields to operate across the continent.
Niveiris spoke.
“Consider it an honor. This is land where riffraff like you isn’t normally permitted to tread.”
“Yes.”
Regina looked around. It was a grand castle made of cold stone walls. A secret base that Dragon Demon King Atein had prepared in case of emergencies during the Dragon Emperor War—the Dragon Demon Palace—which even after over two hundred years, still functioned perfectly.
As Niveiris and Regina walked out from where the Void Path was installed, someone blocked their path.
“Glad you made it back safe, Niveiris.”
It was a Dragon Demon with flashy golden hair. Two horns, like ice carvings painted with color, curved obliquely backward, his eyes were dark blue, and the Dragon Demon Stone on the back of his hand, gleaming with a brilliant light, was the same color as his eyes.
Niveiris looked at him with cold eyes.
“Unnecessary worry. Did you think I’d die to the enemy or something?”
“No, I was just… purely worried about you. I heard this mission was pretty dangerous.”
“Kirien, you were on the same mission, weren’t you? How’d yours go?”
“My target wasn’t royalty.”
“Anyway.”
“Uh… well… it succeeded.”
The Dragon Demon youth called Kirien averted his gaze slightly as he spoke. Unlike Niveiris’s utterly icy demeanor, this youth seemed to be intimidated by her.
At his answer, Niveiris’s gaze grew even colder.
“Congratulations. Now, if you’d step aside? Unlike you, the competent one, I need to go report to the Queen that I failed due to my incompetence.”
“Niveiris.”
“Move.”
“Uh… got it. Sorry for bothering you right after you got back. You must be tired.”
Kirien stepped aside with regret. Niveiris passed him with a frigid gust of wind in her attitude. Regina glanced at him before following Niveiris.
‘What’s their relationship?’
The Dragon Demon Worshippers’ organization was so compartmentalized that Regina knew little about the upper echelons. She only knew that the Dark Snowfields was a holy site prepared by Dragon Demon King Atein, and those who stayed here formed the core of the Dragon Demon Worshipper forces that ruled over all the organizations.
She knew little about Niveiris beyond her being of high status even in the Dark Snowfields. What power structure existed here, exactly?
“Regina.”
Then, Niveiris, who had been walking ahead, called her. Regina snapped to attention and replied.
“Yes.”
“You, go to my quarters with the servant.”
In the meantime, Niveiris had summoned a servant. Seeing a human servant dressed like one from an ordinary noble household, Regina felt a fresh shock.
“And you, miss?”
“I need to go pay respects to Mother. I’ll probably be back by evening. If it’s late, I’ll send word.”
“Understood.”
Once she left alone down the corridor, the human servant tried to guide Regina. But then, Kirien appeared there.
“I’ll borrow this one for a bit. You go do your work.”
The servant immediately obeyed. As Regina made a puzzled expression, Kirien said,
“What’s your name?”
“It’s Regina. I belonged to the Dragon Shadow.”
“Dragon Shadow? Hm… one of the lower organizations, I suppose. Directly under Niveiris?”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t know much about that. I was just ordered to assist the miss when she came to the Lurein Kingdom……”
“Well, lower organizations are managed that way. So you know nothing about this place, then.”
“I only know that the Dark Snowfields is our holy site.”
“Hm. Not an internal member, and your info restrictions haven’t been lifted… you shouldn’t even be qualified to come here yet… no, Niveiris did it, so there must be a reason.”
Muttering that, Kirien introduced himself.
“I’m Kirien Baltazak.”
Regina was startled by those words.
Baltazak.
It was the name of one of the four Dragon Demon Generals who had served Dragon Demon King Atein during the Dragon Emperor War.
‘Star’s Shedding Blood’ Baltazak.
‘Hammer that Devours the Earth’s Scream’ Reygus.
‘Sword that Cleaves the Storm’ Almaric.
‘Cup Holding the Tears of Heaven’ Aunsor.
Dragon Demons who possessed the power of ten thousand, instilling terror in enemies just by appearing on the battlefield. It was well known that Dragon Demons were born with exceptional strength, but even among them, there were differences in power. And these four, acknowledged by Dragon Demon King Atein, were said to have earth-shattering might.
Kirien said,
“That’s the Baltazak you’re thinking of. I’m a direct descendant of Duke Baltazak.”
“I see.”
That made him a noble of far higher standing than other Dragon Demon Worshippers. Kirien spoke softly to Regina, who was sweating coldly from tension.
“No need to be scared. I’ve no intention of harming you, the one Niveiris brought. I just want to hear some stories.”
“What stories do you want?”
“What you saw and heard while with Niveiris… yes. Specifically, I’d like details on why Niveiris failed.”
2
At that moment, Niveiris was at the heart of the Dragon Demon Palace.
This place had originally been where Dragon Demon King Atein would hide his body, so there was an audience chamber with a jade throne. But for the king who would one day return, the throne remained empty, and at the end of a passage split from the audience chamber was the room of the queen who had shared her body with the Dragon Demon King and borne his child.
That room was shrouded in darkness.
Though it had windows with no curtains drawn, and the sun still shone outside, the room was dominated by pitch-black darkness. At its center, a woman was sunk into the cushions of a large chair, eyes closed.
Like Niveiris, she was a Dragon Demon woman with long black hair cascading down. She possessed a calm and elegant bearing, appearing in her early to mid-thirties by human standards. Her horns above her ears were black, and her Dragon Demon Stone was golden.
“I’ve returned, Grandmother.”
She was Niveiris’s grandmother and the highest authority in the Dark Snowfields.
The Dragon Demon King Atein’s first concubine, Ainsera.
This was precisely why Niveiris was treated with such reverence. She was a direct descendant of Dragon Demon King Atein.
At Niveiris’s greeting, Ainsera opened her eyes. As her golden eyes, the same as her Dragon Demon Stone, were revealed, the surrounding darkness vanished, and normal light illuminated the room.
“Niveiris, I’m glad you returned safely.”
Contrary to her words, her expression was cold. Not deliberately so, but like a finely crafted statue, devoid of emotion.
Niveiris bowed her head.
“I’m ashamed to say I failed the mission.”
“No need for self-recrimination. From the start, it was too dangerous a task for you, with so little experience. Lack of preparation was the cause.”
“But… Kirien succeeded.”
“Kirien’s mission wasn’t as difficult as yours. And he has far more mission experience than you, and has tasted failure plenty. No need for feelings of inferiority.”
“……”
“Ambitiousness is good. But if you get caught up in past minor mistakes, you’ll lose your future. Don’t forget that.”
“…Understood.”
“There’s one thing I want to ask you. I’ll get the detailed report later… but first, something I must confirm.”
“What is it?”
“I heard a human with a sinful name interfered with you.”
At those words, Niveiris bit her lip. Azel’s face came to mind, surging humiliation.
Ainsera asked,
“Did that one possess a Dragon Demon Armament, by any chance?”
“Dragon Demon Armament? That’s impossible.”
Niveiris was bewildered. A Dragon Demon Armament? In this era, no human could have one. They had devoted all efforts in the Dark Snowfields to eradicate those who had them and all records of them.
Ainsera asked,
“Are you certain?”
“Certain. If he had one, there’d be no reason not to use it in a life-threatening situation. And I can’t guarantee I’d have returned safely if he had.”
“Hm……”
Indeed. Niveiris took pride in her own talent and power, but she had heard endlessly of the terror of Dragon Demon Armaments since childhood. And she had even witnessed and experienced them. Even though the world believed them erased, Dragon Demon Armaments existed in these Dark Snowfields.
Niveiris said,
“But the one with the sinful name possessed a forgotten secret art and knew of the Dragon Slaying Ritual.”
“He knew the Dragon Slaying Ritual? Truly?”
Ainsera’s statue-like face showed a change in expression. A faint surprise as she awaited Niveiris’s answer.
“Yes. And it’s presumed he killed a dragon through the Dragon Slaying Ritual.”
“Such a thing happened……”
Ainsera’s expression turned grave.
Knowing the Dragon Slaying Ritual.
That alone was shocking. But to have felled a dragon with it?
Niveiris said,
“It’s only presumption. Judging by the state of the eye extracted from the dragon’s corpse, the possibility of the Dragon Slaying Ritual having been performed is high. However… there were too many unacceptable points to believe that.”
“What reasons?”
“The one with the sinful name wasn’t strong enough to fell a dragon alone.”
This part remained an unsolved mystery for Niveiris even now. How exactly had Azel accomplished dragon slaying?
Having calmly heard Niveiris’s explanation, Ainsera said,
“A being with weak mana power, without even a Dragon Demon Armament, knowing and performing the Dragon Slaying Ritual… certainly not something to overlook.”
“I believe we need to keep watch going forward.”
“Understood. I’ll make arrangements.”
“Grandmother, please let me……”
“No.”
Though her voice was quiet, Niveiris shuddered as if lashed by a whip.
Niveiris wanted revenge for the failure caused by Azel. She had intended to request to take the lead, but before she could even speak, Ainsera had made her refusal clear.
“You’ve already been exposed to the Dragon Sword Duke. Better to lay low for a while. I’ll permit access to new magic tomes, so quietly refine your magic.”
“…Yes.”
With Ainsera’s will so firm, Niveiris dared not press further. Ainsera closed her eyes again, summoning the darkness, and said,
“Withdraw.”