Chapter 262: A■■ne(10)[R-18]
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 262: A■■ne(10)[R-18]
A deserted alleyway.
Ian, with Hayangi on his back, was walking alongside Elfriede.
Step— step—
Ian’s physical condition still couldn't be called normal, even as a figure of speech...
But thanks to the recovery potion Elfriede had given him, he was in much better shape than before.
Of course, Ian hadn't used the entire potion himself.
He had fed half of it to the unconscious Hayangi.
Watching this, Elfriede looked like she had a lot to say, but she bit her lip and barely managed to hold it back.
“...And that’s everything I’ve been through.”
Ian, readjusting Hayangi on his back, finished his story.
Elfriede pressed her temples to suppress a throbbing headache before replying.
“So... Hayangi is your childhood friend from when you were little, but she had horns on her head and wings on her back—a ‘World's Beloved’? And then, on the day you two decided to leave together, your village was destroyed in a monster ambush, but you miraculously survived alone. After that, the Marigold family found you, an amnesiac, and adopted you?”
“Exactly.”
“...Senior, are you really in the mood to joke right now?”
“ I wasn't joking.”
“Then what is it! Anyone who hears your description of Hayangi would know she’s a dragon!”
As Elfriede glared at him, Ian nodded calmly.
“Yeah. You’re right, Elfriede. Hayangi is a dragon.”
“No, Senior... what on earth... how long has it been since dragons went extinct...”
“That’s why I didn't think she could be a dragon either. I told you, I’m from a small mercenary village that didn't even have a church. Back then, I didn't even know ‘dragons’ existed.”
“Sigh... fine. Let’s say, for the sake of argument, that your childhood friend Hayangi really was a dragon. But you said it yourself just now.”
Elfriede glanced at Hayangi on his back for a moment and shuddered.
An instinctive revulsion seemed to crawl up her spine again.
“Dragons are ‘World's Beloved’ beings. The world itself steps in to protect them. Who could possibly turn a dragon into such a horrific state?”
“...I don't know that much either. But it’s all true.”
“....”
At that answer, Elfriede fell into a thoughtful silence before carefully speaking up.
“...Senior, in your story, you said you heard Hayangi’s ‘True Name’, right?”
“Yeah, though I can’t remember it now...”
“Did you ever tell that True Name to anyone else after you heard it?”
“Never. Hayangi told me over and over. That I must never tell anyone.”
“...Then the conclusion is clear. There is exactly one being in this world who could turn Hayangi into that.”
Ian’s eyes widened at Elfriede’s words.
“Really? Who is it?”
“...Before that, wait a second. Senior, do you know why dragons went extinct?”
“Isn't it because after the Goddess Ellis descended, the dragons, exhausted from the long war with demons, went into hiding of their own accord?”
It was a widely known story, even written in the scriptures.
“Ha, that’s just how they sugarcoated it. Listen carefully, Senior. The dragons committed collective suicide as a race. All because of human greed.”
“What...?”
“Originally, dragons are perfect beings. However, by revealing their ‘True Name’, they voluntarily become imperfect.”
“...Why would they do such a thing?”
“Because of love. More accurately, to bear the child of the person they love.”
Elfriede made a circle with her left thumb and index finger, then repeatedly poked her right index finger through it.
“All dragons are sterile. A perfect being has no need to leave descendants. But once in their life... they reveal their True Name to the human they love, and by becoming imperfect, their bodies change so they can conceive. The child born between a human and a dragon becomes a new dragon.”
“....”
“There wasn't much of a problem during the Dark Age when demons were overflowing. It was an era where survival itself was a crude joke. All humans wanted from dragons was something like, ‘Please let us get through today safely.’ The problem was...”
After the Goddess Ellis descended upon this land, most demons were annihilated, and the few surviving demons lost their power and vanished from the surface.
And then...
Humans, freed from the threat to their survival, began to want more and more.
“At first, it must have been small things. ‘I want to eat more fruit~.’ ‘I want a comfortable place to sleep~.’ They might have made ‘requests’ to the dragons like that.”
Because of that, the dragons didn't realize the danger.
If anything, they would have been happy to be of help to the person they loved.
“But human greed is bottomless. Humans, wanting more and more, eventually stopped asking the dragons. Instead, they used the True Name as a leash to give ‘commands’.”
“...Wait, Elfriede. That doesn't make sense.”
“What doesn't make sense?”
“You said the True Name is only given to the person they love. So how could they command...”
“Ha, is there a law saying you can’t betray someone just because you love them? Especially when a power you can wield at will falls into your hands?”
“....”
“Listen a bit more. It’s almost over.”
Elfriede’s voice was filled with deep contempt.
“Even so, the dragons still loved the humans. Because they were the partners they had chosen. Should I call it a sort of ‘battered wife’ syndrome? They thought, ‘My dear is just momentarily blinded by greed, but if I wait, he’ll surely return to the person I loved.’ But... an incident occurred that even those dragons couldn't endure.”
Human greed is endless, and they repeated the same mistake.
“The war with the demons had barely ended, and now humans started warring among themselves.”
Ian’s expression hardened as he listened to Elfriede.
“Yes, your guess is right. On the front lines of war, there were always humans who knew a dragon’s True Name. Because of human greed, dragons were driven into a fight they never wanted. In the war that started like that, dragons ended up killing each other. Children killing parents, parents killing children with their own hands.”
“....”
“The dragons who survived the war finally accepted it. That the humans they loved no longer existed in this world. So...”
Slice—
Elfriede made a gesture of slitting her own throat.
“The dragons, who cut their own leashes, made a vow. Never again would they reveal their True Name to a human. They chose a very slow, collective suicide.”
“...That’s... too...”
“Yes, it’s horrific. But this is the ‘Truth of Dragons’. It’s also the reason why the Church’s ‘Sealing Designation’ was created.”
It was unknown how much blood had been spilled to cover up this horrific past.
Anyone who mentioned the truth of the dragons was killed and burned.
After such thorough ‘Sealing Designations’ were carried out...
In the end, the only place where the truth of the dragons remained was the one place even the Church couldn't access.
The ‘Forbidden Archive’ located in the deepest part of the World Tree.
“So, do you understand why I brought this up now? If there is anyone in this world who could twist a dragon like that... it’s only you, Senior.”
“There’s no way I would have done that to Hayangi!!!”
I didn't do that.
In the first place, I couldn't even recall Hayangi’s True Name, which I had clearly heard, as if that part of my memory had been painted over.
“Shh! Senior! You’re being too loud. What if someone hears and comes out?”
“...Sorry. But I really didn't do anything.”
“I know you’re not that kind of person, Senior. If you were, you wouldn't be risking your life to protect Hayangi. But... that’s why it’s more of a problem. It means someone, whoever they are, was able to twist a ‘dragon’ that much without even knowing its True Name. Just how strong must they be for that to be possible?”
“....”
“And... even if everything you said is true... what can we even do for Hayangi?”
“First, if she receives ‘Purification’ from Yuris...”
“Senior, you already feel that this isn't a problem that can be solved with purification.”
Elfriede said flatly.
If it were something that could be solved so easily, he wouldn't have called Ifrit while saying he would take care of Hayangi.
“Still, I’ll definitely... find a way. Just like I always have.”
“...Sigh, yeah. I knew you’d say that, Senior. Well, I didn't tell you this long story just to talk about depressing things. I don't know the exact method... but a possibility might remain. Literally, just a slim possibility.”
“Is that true?”
“Don't get your hopes up too high. Usually, when the body is twisted that much, the soul is bound to be twisted too... But, if... just if Hayangi’s soul hasn't been twisted yet... it might be possible for her to regain her dragon form.”
[Elfriede... surely you don't mean?]
Ifrit was shocked by Elfriede’s explanation.
“The Primordial Flame.”
The flame Elfriede had used when she made a contract with Ifrit and underwent her metamorphosis.
If one threw themselves into that flame, their body would transform into the optimal shape according to the form of their soul.
[....Do you think you can just use that whenever you want? You have to wait at least 1,500 years for the embers to grow.]
Of course, Ifrit had previously said they would have to wait a good 1,500 years to use it again, but...
[Elfriede, you know what that means, don't you? Burning the ‘World Tree's Essence’...]
As a rule, burning the World Tree meant turning one's back on the elves entirely.
“I’m prepared for that.”
Slide—
Elfriede looked Ian straight in the eye.
“But... you need to be prepared too, Senior. You have to take responsibility for me. I don't mean just saying the words. The moment I burn the World Tree, I become a traitor to the elves. I don't know when or where elven assassins might appear. You’ll have to live with me for the rest of your life. I’m strong enough that it won’t be much of a problem for me... but can you endure a life like that? For the record, if you say you’ll take responsibility and then abandon me and run away halfway through, I’ll kill you with my own hands.”
“What are you talking about, Elfriede? There’s no way I’d abandon you.”
“...Ha, you just told me to kill you to protect Hayangi a moment ago? If that’s not abandoning me, then what is it?”
“It’s not.”
Ian said with a bright smile.
“Because in the end, I believed you wouldn't shoot.”
“...That’s just unfair. Really.”
“More importantly, will you really be okay? Burning the World Tree sounds dangerous just hearing about it.”
Ian’s eyes were full of genuine concern.
“Of course it won’t be easy. But... don't feel too burdened. Burning the World Tree was already a decided matter; I was planning to do it within a few years at most anyway. Let’s just think of it as the timeline being moved up a bit.”
“...What?”
“Simply put, it’s one of the conditions I set when I made the contract with Ifrit. We don't have enough time for details, so let’s talk about that later...”
Step—
Finally, Ian’s house, where Yuris and Poporing were waiting, came into view.
“Let’s get treatment first and then think.”