Chapter 114
Chapter 114
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 114
Chapter Title: The Dragon Lord's Prophecy
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The Fusion Magic swept through the entire Sunset Desert region.
Even when [Natural Disaster [SSS]] had struck, it hadn't laid waste to everything like this.
The surroundings had suffered damage close to total annihilation.
Leyzon's newly acquired skill.
Fierce Poison Mixed Aura [SS].
Combined with the undead fusion from the level 18 Fallen Pauli, the Fusion Magic displayed power on an entirely different level.
And the one who had taken that Abyss head-on.
The ancient dragon Jerome Makira lay rolling on the ground in a wretched state.
"Kuhk, kuhk."
A massive gush of blood poured from his mouth.
Not only one of his arms, but even the flesh inside his shoulder had been torn away, leaving him a battered mess.
His blackened skin throbbed with pain.
What had seeped into his skin was poison.
A specially crafted mixed poison designed for the dragonkin.
The Fierce Poison Mixed Aura [SS] detailed in the manuscript.
It listed numerous types of poisons in intricate detail.
Leyzon had memorized them all through speed-reading acquisition.
The dragonkin were born with inherently tough bodies, no doubt.
Yet Leyzon had created a poison that could pierce even them.
Jerome Makira felt his mind growing hazy from the poison and shock.
Dangerous.
If I lose consciousness like this, I'm done for.
Realizing this, he trembled as he tried to push himself up with his remaining arm.
Crack!
In that instant, his remaining hand shattered, sending him crashing back to the ground.
Jerome Makira's face slammed into the dirt.
In that state, he let out faint, ragged breaths.
If he hadn't expended so much power fighting the evil dragon, it wouldn't have come to this.
But after using up all his strength, he had taken a direct hit from the Abyss.
No matter that he was a 19th Ascension dragonkin, he couldn't endure it.
Thud—
At that moment, the sound of someone landing came from right in front of him.
Jerome Makira faintly opened his eyes.
Through the sun blazing down from the sky, he saw a woman.
A woman with blood-red hair whipping in the wind.
The horn protruding from her forehead marked her as one of the dragonkin.
"...Nirvakia?"
He unwittingly called out the name of an old acquaintance.
But he soon realized his mistake.
After all, she had been devoured by the evil dragon and died.
"Bloodless Sovereign."
"To hear you utter my mother's name with that mouth of yours."
The Bloodless Sovereign, finally revealing herself, wore a look of disgust.
Seeing her like that, Jerome Makira let out a hollow chuckle.
"Still harboring that grudge, come for revenge?"
"Less a grudge and more a regret. At least I wanted to see you die."
The Bloodless Sovereign sneered.
There had been a time when she harbored intense hatred.
But grudges fade with time if you chew on them long enough.
So what remained for her now was something else.
The Bloodless Sovereign took a step forward.
She then kicked Jerome Makira.
Thud—
Jerome Makira collapsed limply to the ground.
The Bloodless Sovereign stomped on his chest.
"Tell me. What was your goal in feeding all the dragonkin to the evil dragon?"
The reason the Lord had allowed the evil dragon's rampage.
There had to be some purpose behind it.
Having gathered information on this for ages, the Bloodless Sovereign had ultimately become the ruler of the underworld.
Yet even so, she still didn't know the reason for that tragedy he had wrought.
Jerome Makira gazed up at the sky with unfocused eyes.
"We merely..."
The light in his eyes began to fade.
Proof that his life was reaching its end.
"Don't you decide on your own!"
Seeing him about to breathe his last, the Bloodless Sovereign shouted.
"We just wanted to fly freely in the skies for real."
"I've heard that one plenty already."
At that moment, a man's voice cut him off, resounding through the air.
The Bloodless Sovereign looked up to see Leyzon standing there.
Draped over Leyzon's shoulder was an ant whose crown's glow had faded.
The aftermath of the undead fusion.
"Syria."
Leyzon called out to her as he approached.
Suddenly, a red shadow surged up beside the Bloodless Sovereign.
From it emerged the Vampire Queen, Syria Nosferatu.
The moment she saw her, the Bloodless Sovereign's face hardened.
She had seen her by Leyzon's side once before.
But now, she felt just how perilously dangerous this being was.
Syria sat down in front of Jerome Makira.
Soon, the blood flowing from his body stopped.
Then, blood began circulating through his entire body once more.
Leyzon walked over casually and pulled out a high-grade potion from his inventory.
Pour—
The liquid from the potion flowed into Jerome Makira's body.
Syria skillfully directed the blood-mixed fluid.
"Cough, kuhk!"
Jerome Makira coughed violently, his eyes snapping wide open.
Forcibly revived by Syria, his gaze met Leyzon's.
For a split second, murderous intent boiled in his eyes.
Grip!
"...!"
But he froze at the sensation of his heart being clutched.
"Daring to show killing intent before this person?"
Syria's blood now coursed through his body.
His life was effectively in Leyzon's hands.
Realizing this, Jerome Makira adopted a chilling glare.
"...Just what are you? From those earlier actions to this—what's your purpose in all this madness?"
Jerome Makira stared at Leyzon with utter incomprehension.
He had no particular grudge against Leyzon.
Unlike the Bloodless Sovereign, his motives made no sense.
"Planning to make the whole world your enemy? What grudge do you hold against it?"
"Grudge? Nah."
Leyzon smiled.
"Nothing like that at all."
And that smile and those words were genuine.
Jerome Makira felt an indescribable chill.
A human with no grudge against the world was becoming a threat to it all.
"...You're insane."
He felt dizzy, as if beholding the core of pure malice.
This is pure evil.
Evil that will one day destroy the world.
"...Whatever your goal, I have no intention of playing along."
Jerome Makira resolved to seal his lips.
No information should reach this man.
"I know."
But Leyzon remained nonchalant despite his attitude.
Jerome Makira was a 19th Ascension powerhouse.
Not even Syria could turn him into a familiar.
"Eden."
Instead, they could weaken him as much as possible.
A doll emerged from Leyzon's inventory.
It soon transformed into the form of a man in a gray suit.
"Curse him good and tight—just enough to keep him from dying."
"Yeah, got it."
Eden flashed a lazy smile as he cast a curse on Jerome Makira.
Jerome Makira gnashed his teeth, but Leyzon paid it no mind.
"As you said, you won't talk to me at all."
Leyzon glanced at the Bloodless Sovereign.
"But you think the same line will work in front of someone you wronged?"
The Bloodless Sovereign's family had been killed by Jerome Makira and the evil dragon.
He undoubtedly felt guilt over it.
Sure enough, Jerome Makira bit his lip.
"And if you die, all those dreams you shared with your son become meaningless."
Leyzon smiled coldly.
"Of course, I plan to kill you here today."
Jerome Makira was a powerhouse.
If he returned to the imperial family harboring a grudge against Leyzon, who knew what enemy he'd become.
Unlike with the Sword Saint, there was no reason to let him live.
Couldn't make him a subordinate.
Nor an ally.
Such a person was best eliminated.
"Then at least wouldn't it be better to spread your will to fellow dragonkin?"
If you're going to die without achieving anything, at least let your will be known.
Leyzon said as much.
Jerome Makira quietly swallowed a groan.
This turn of events was due to his own mistake.
Rushing in without considering traps had been fatal.
His gaze shifted to the Bloodless Sovereign.
She stared back at him wordlessly.
Why had he done all this, sacrificing the entire dragonkin tribe?
She had longed to unravel that mystery all these years.
In her, Jerome Makira once again glimpsed an old comrade.
A woman who had loyally followed her inadequate Lord.
And she was also the Bloodless Sovereign's mother.
"...This world will perish in a not-so-distant time."
The moment Jerome Makira's mouth opened.
Leyzon's eyes changed sharply.
'Perish.'
The 100-year simulation from [Dungeon Replay].
In that simulation, the empire always met destruction.
Leyzon had steadily prepared against that doom.
And now.
He was hearing the key to the empire's fall.
"...What do you mean by that?"
The Bloodless Sovereign questioned, and Jerome Makira breathed raggedly.
Despite the treatment from Syria and Leyzon, his body was far from normal.
"A prophecy. No—it's fate."
Jerome Makira's eyes turned to the sky.
"The walls guarding the empire will crumble, and the being that devours all in this world will rise as a transcendent entity."
Coughs multiplied from Jerome Makira's mouth.
Leyzon's eyes widened.
'We are beasts of the land who failed to become transcendent. The foreign land built by beasts is a tower defying the transcendent.'
The words of the foreign insect shaman at the end.
'The being that devours all in the world becomes transcendent.'
Beasts who failed to become transcendent: humans.
And something that does become transcendent.
'The foreign land built by beasts is a tower defying the transcendent.'
Leyzon's gaze fell on the walls.
Did that mean nations like the empire?
'In other words, the empire built by humans has actually suppressed the birth of the transcendent.'
If the transcendent is born, the empire falls.
Leyzon's eyes narrowed.
He sensed some vast, unknowable current.
"Thus, this old one chose for we dragonkin to become the transcendent ourselves, to protect our kind."
Jerome Makira's absurd tale continued.
"...So that's why the evil dragon devoured the dragonkin?"
The Bloodless Sovereign looked at him in utter disbelief.
Jerome Makira had prepared for doom.
Thus, he wanted the transcendent born from that doom to be dragonkin.
"What's that different from the dragonkin destroying the empire?"
"It's different."
Jerome Makira's eyes burned with firm conviction.
"This land has reached its limit. The transcendent will be born inevitably. Not just me."
Jerome Makira clenched his fists tight.
"Those who know this truth are moving across the world."
In Leyzon's mind flashed the imperial necromancer.
The one who killed all dark elves and even contracted with an evil transcendent.
His goal seemed the same as Jerome Makira's.
"And perhaps the imperial family as well."
Fresh blood poured from Jerome Makira's mouth.
Having barely revived his body, the strain was too much.
"As Lord, this old one must... protect the dragonkin."
The Bloodless Sovereign stared at him incomprehensibly.
But Jerome Makira reached out and gripped her ankle.
"Bloodless Sovereign—no, Niro Mo Kirira."
Calling her true name, he implored her.
"All of it was for the dragonkin. If this old one can't do it, you must."
Few dragonkin remained now.
If the Bloodless Sovereign didn't carry on the line.
The dragonkin would vanish forever with the empire's fall.
Thus, Jerome Makira earnestly pleaded.
For her to continue the dragonkin legacy.
Seeing the fervor in his eyes, the Bloodless Sovereign stepped back.
"...You're out of your mind."
As she said, Jerome Makira was an old man blinded by doom.
Sacrificing his own tribe to endure it.
Even driving his own son mad.
A lunatic.
That was when it happened.
"Leyzon."
Syria's eyes turned fierce.
By the time Leyzon looked up a beat late, a man entered his view.
The man stood atop the evil dragon, hands clasped as if in prayer.
Rumble—
Lightning struck amid the remnants of thunderclouds from the natural disaster.
His halo above glowed in sync with the flash.
Jerome Makira's eyes slowly widened.
He realized what the Judgment Sovereign intended.
"Stop, stop it! Judgment Sovereign!"
Jerome Makira shoved the Bloodless Sovereign aside and forcibly rose.
But it was already too late.
"All to prevent the prophecy."
As the Judgment Sovereign twisted his clasped hands, a white flash spread.
The moment Jerome Makira screamed, the evil dragon was swallowed by the light.