Chapter 87
Chapter 87
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 87
Chapter Title: Birth of the Dragon Sword (2)
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Three days had passed since then. During that time, Kairen had experienced a severe blow to his pride for the first time in ages.
“Ugh, damn it.”
Having finished a bout of sparring, he groaned while treating a wound on his cheek himself. He glared at Azel and said,
“How many trump cards do you even have? Every time I think I’ve broken one, a new one pops up. It’s an endless cycle!”
“Four hundred and seventy-two left.”
“…You’re serious?”
“Just kidding.”
“Grr.”
Azel had obtained the Dragon Sword fifteen days prior, and the two had sparred intensely without a single day’s rest. They had already exceeded two hundred bouts, ruined two training grounds requiring reconstruction, and even moved the battlefield to the mountains, turning the entire area upside down in their clashes.
And the result? Kairen’s complete defeat.
Some matches ended in less than five minutes, while others dragged on for over an hour. They had tested every possible condition, rule, and aspect of martial prowess.
Kairen flopped onto his back.
“Ah, I really can’t take this anymore!”
“Are you finally surrendering? Whew, honestly, I was getting fed up too. Thank goodness. Now I can finally sleep in a soft bed.”
Azel chuckled. Kairen had clung to him so relentlessly over the past fifteen days that even Azel was starting to tire. He kept charging in with “One more! Just one more round!” leaving no time for rest.
Kairen, about to retort, sighed instead and said,
“I feel about eighty years younger.”
“Then you’re a young man in your twenties now. Can I call you ‘bro’?”
“Better quit before I put a bounty on your head.”
Snorting, Kairen continued,
“This is the first time I’ve been so thoroughly beaten since my childhood training under my father.”
“You mean the previous Duke Tarantos.”
“Yes. After Father passed, it’s been hard to find a worthy opponent.”
“When did your father pass away?”
“As I said, about eighty years ago. It was during my hibernation.”
Dragon Demon Hybrids, born from the fusion of dragons and demons, also had active and hibernation periods. Even in youth, it was common to enter brief hibernations of a week every few years, or up to one or two months at longest.
Kairen grew sentimental.
“That’s why I couldn’t even witness their final moments. I heard the Dragon Demon Worshippers targeted me while I was hibernating and caused the incident. The castle burned to the ground, so not even their portraits or journals remain.”
“……”
“Don’t look at me like that. It was ages ago. The culprits died by my father and mother’s hands… And my selection as a Guardian Shadow was probably because of that.”
Kairen gave a wry smile. It had been eighty years. Yet the wound still lingered in his heart, fueling his fight against the Dragon Demon Worshippers as a Guardian Shadow.
Rising to his feet, Kairen said,
“I’ve spent my life training to surpass my father. There were so many things I couldn’t learn from him, but as I reached a point where I had nothing left to learn from others, I believed I had achieved that goal.”
When he earned the title of Dragon Sword Duke, no one in the kingdom could teach him martial arts. Everyone sought to learn from him instead, so Kairen had built upon his own achievements to climb higher. Creating the Dragon Weapon was part of that effort.
“But looking back now, it seems like arrogance. Getting so thoroughly crushed by you makes me think that.”
“You’re right.”
“Isn’t this the part where you comfort me and say I’m wrong?”
“I forgot you like flattery, Your Grace. Let me try again. You’re wrong. If your father could see you, he’d surely be proud of his son who surpassed him……”
“…Stop. It’s giving me chills.”
Kairen grumbled but soon burst into laughter.
“Go on with your story.”
“Which part?”
“Not the flattery—the real point you were making.”
“In my opinion……”
Azel paused briefly before continuing.
“Your father, the previous Duke, probably mastered a technique the Dragon Demon Worshippers call the ‘Forgotten Secret Arts.’”
“Like you?”
“Yes.”
“And they killed him to prevent that knowledge and skill from being passed down?”
“That’s what I think. The castle burning and records being lost was likely intentional. From what we’ve seen, they put a lot of effort into it.”
Two hundred and twenty years was a long time for humans, but for Dragon Demon Hybrids, it was less than their average lifespan. Living as part of human society, their knowledge and skills wouldn’t fade easily.
However, not all Dragon Demon Hybrids were elite combatants who honed magic or Dragon Spirit Arts to the limit. Nor did they readily share such knowledge. Eliminating those with critical knowledge and advanced secret arts would suffice for the Worshippers’ goals.
Azel said,
“I heard from Hasban that the Lügen Duke’s family also lost the Dragon Slaying Ritual lore and Dragon Spirit Art secrets.”
“But that’s because the viscount’s children lack deep martial prowess.”
“That’s why they weren’t targeted, isn’t it?”
“Hmm……”
“As odd as it sounds, the things you should have learned from your father… at least some of them, I can teach you. There’s a lot I can share.”
“I never imagined a human young enough to be my grandson would say that to me one day.”
“You don’t like it?”
“It’s not that I dislike it. Having more to learn, and someone to teach it, is a good thing. It’s just… unfamiliar.”
Kairen smiled wryly. For so long, he had been the teacher. Everyone looked up to him, craving his guidance, so he never imagined becoming a student again.
Suddenly, Kairen asked,
“Azel.”
“Yes.”
“Why are you being so good to me?”
“Because you’ve been good to me… I suppose?”
“That alone doesn’t convince me. Even friends don’t share secret arts lightly. I’d understand if you took up the sword for me, but teaching me precious secret arts… As a warrior, I wonder why you’d go this far.”
Magicians, Spirit Order practitioners, and Dragon Spirit Art users were all the same. They were exceedingly cautious in choosing whom to teach, full of suspicion. Kairen himself had no true disciple until he took on Arietta and Seiga at the Dragon Demon Princess’s plea.
Azel understood his point. After a moment’s thought, he spoke sincerely.
“Because it’s necessary.”
“Necessary?”
“To counter the threats that may come… I believe we need to return the power they stole from us—from those who could be their enemies.”
Over time, the Dragon Demon Worshippers had weakened humanity and its allies. Meanwhile, they monopolized ancient secret arts, creating a dire situation.
“If Dragon Demon King Atein truly revives, as they believe……”
Azel remembered Atein, his old foe. The first Dragon Demon Hybrid, the first magician. An otherworldly being who had lived for eons spanning a race’s history, viewing the world through a strange, immense perspective unlike humans or Dragon Demon Hybrids.
“The Worshippers will rise from those distant dark wastelands to engulf the world again. We need the power to fight them.”
“You think our current state is insufficient?”
“Yes. With the Dragon Slaying Ritual, Dragon Demon Armaments, and the true secret arts of Spirit Order and Dragon Spirit Arts forgotten, we’d be defenseless if they wield that power.”
“Dragon Demon Armaments, huh. Now that you mention it, I haven’t heard about those yet.”
Azel had explained the Dragon Slaying Ritual but not the Dragon Demon Armaments. With so many questions, Kairen had half-forgotten it.
Ignoring the question, Azel continued.
“I admire you, Your Grace. Not for anything else, but for creating this Dragon Sword.”
After gathering scraps of lost Dragon Demon Armament records and investing over thirty years, he had forged the Dragon Sword. Inferior to true Dragon Demon Armaments, but superior as a tool anyone could wield without forging their own.
“You mentioned the records that inspired the Dragon Weapon, right?”
“Yes.”
“Those were Dragon Demon Armaments.”
Azel explained Dragon Demon Armaments to Kairen.
The ultimate weapons, born from dragon power and souls as materials.
Humans or Dragon Demon Hybrids gained dragon power via the Dragon Slaying Ritual to create them. They transcended tools, embodying the pinnacle miracles pursued by Spirit Order, Dragon Spirit Arts, and magic.
Kairen swallowed hard.
“Such things really exist?”
“Yes. That was one reason humans could defeat the Dragon Demon Hybrids. The gap between those with and without is vast.”
“Hmm……”
“So you must create a Dragon Demon Armament too, Your Grace.”
“What?”
Kairen was stunned. He asked incredulously,
“Didn’t you say Dragon Demon Armaments are made by taking dragon power through the Dragon Slaying Ritual?”
“Correct.”
“But I’m a Dragon Demon Hybrid. You said I can’t perform the ritual.”
“Yes.”
“Then I can’t make one?”
“That explanation isn’t the whole story.”
Azel chuckled.
“The part about taking dragon power via the ritual applies to humans. They lack Dragon Demon mana. They must slay a dragon through the ritual to gain it. But Dragon Demon Hybrids have it from the start, don’t they?”
Thus, some Dragon Demon Hybrids possessed Dragon Demon Armaments. Especially Dragon Demon King Atein and his four Dragon Demon Generals—theirs rivaled armies alone, apocalyptic in power.
“Of course, it’s not easy. There are three methods.”
Azel extended three fingers, then folded one.
“First, forge it yourself via Dragon Spirit Art secrets. That’s the hardest.”
“Why?”
“From what I know, it takes at least ten years, up to a century. As a 1st-Gen Dragonkin, it might differ for you.”
“……”
1st-Gen Dragonkin were those born directly from dragon-demon fusion. In this era, human society’s Dragon Demon Hybrids were descendants, not 1st-Gen. But 1st-Gen still emerged occasionally worldwide, far more powerful in Dragon Demon mana.
‘Like Atein and the Dragon Demon Generals.’
Azel recalled their terrifying strength. Parents as dragons, parentless as Dragon Demon Hybrids—the primordial beings.
Azel folded the second finger.
“Second, merge power with other Dragon Demon Hybrids or Dragon Demon humans. Or even humans with Dragon Demon Armaments. But they must have deep mastery in magic or Dragon Spirit Arts, requiring long time and sacrifice.”
“How much?”
“Depends on participants’ skill and number. But you fall short here, Your Grace. You’d need to train intensely to barely qualify, and gather equals or betters now? Plus, they’d sacrifice their Dragon Demon mana to empower one person? Though Count Mirkel fits—magicians meet the criteria easier than Dragon Spirit Art users.”
“……”
Kairen’s face twisted. Azel smiled and folded the final finger.
“Finally, use a dragon.”
“A dragon?”
“Dragon Demon Hybrids can’t perform the Dragon Slaying Ritual, but they can kill and use a dragon’s corpse. They can’t absorb its power……”
Having seen humans gain Dragon Demon mana via Dragon Slaying, Dragon Demon Hybrids tried similarly. But they couldn’t absorb dragon power.
“But they can use it to forge Dragon Demon Armaments.”
“Then……”
“Kill the dragon and use its corpse.”
A dragon’s corpse was a vast mana repository. Processed specifically, it accelerated Dragon Demon Armament forging for Dragon Demon Hybrids.
“It’s less efficient, but unavoidable. Dragon Demon Hybrids’ Armaments are built over long periods anyway……”
As far as Azel knew. Thus, even in the Dragon Emperor War, few in the Dragon Demon King’s army had them.
Kairen said,
“Then even their ranks don’t have many.”
“Probably. Niberis didn’t, for one.”
“Hmm……”
Suddenly, Azel asked,
“Oh, right—I heard they’re coming.”
“Soon as the new year hits, after the events, they’ll depart. Still over fifteen days away.”
Kairen grinned and headed to the mansion with Azel.