Chapter 116
Chapter 116
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 116
Chapter Title: Pact with the Bloodless Sovereign
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The Red Shadow Wolf raced across the desert.
Before long, Leyzon had caught up to the Bloodless Sovereign, who had been sprinting ahead.
She said nothing, just kept running.
"Bloodless Sovereign."
"...I'll uphold the deal. The evil dragon and the old man—both dead."
Blue sparks and flashes erupted behind them.
Even at this distance, the shockwaves still reverberated.
The old dragon's final death throes, offered up with his life, had been utterly tenacious.
Leyzon recalled the Judgment Lord's gaze.
After slaying the evil dragon, the creature had planned to immediately fight to thwart the next prophecy.
'What a venomous bastard.'
Leyzon clicked his tongue.
At the same time, questions arose about the Judgment Lord.
The world's sole angelkin.
Just as the old dragon had schemed to leave only the evil dragon for the dragonkin race's future, it too was the last survivor of its kind.
'In the end...'
The old dragon hadn't revealed how to turn the dragonkin into transcendent beings.
He'd only figured out that sacrificing an entire race was required to make one transcendent.
The true path to transcendence remained shrouded in mystery.
Leyzon's eyes fell on the orb clutched in the Bloodless Sovereign's hand.
Inside floated a tiny dragon fetus.
It was less an orb and more an egg.
"Bloodless Sovereign, what will you do with that?"
At Leyzon's question, the Bloodless Sovereign gazed down at the egg.
"...That old man didn't even repent until the very end."
She gripped it so tightly it seemed it might shatter.
As she said, the old dragon had offered no atonement to the sacrificed dragonkin.
There was regret, sure.
But right up to his last breath, he'd framed it all as being for the dragonkin.
To her, that was utterly repulsive.
What value could there be in a future built on the blood of her own parents?
The Bloodless Sovereign still vividly remembered the sight of an entire dragonkin village devoured wholesale by the evil dragon.
Yet she was dragonkin too.
She released her grip on the egg.
She looked like she had a torrent of words to unleash, but the Bloodless Sovereign swallowed them all.
"I'll look into what that old man was talking about from here on.
What drove him to such lengths just to revive the dragonkin."
The Bloodless Sovereign tucked the egg away into her bosom.
Leyzon watched her silently.
The Bloodless Sovereign was fickle.
But right now, he could read her sincerity.
'At least when it comes to what the old dragon was after.'
She was determined to uncover the truth.
And that was necessary for Leyzon too.
'Not vague tales—solid information.'
Leyzon's eyes met the Bloodless Sovereign's.
"Bloodless Sovereign, how about partnering up with me?"
A red glint flickered in her eyes.
"I've got my own interests in this."
Along the way here, Leyzon had gathered various intel.
Today's talk with the old dragon had confirmed it.
'The Empire will definitely fall.'
Whether the cause was the birth of a transcendent devouring all this land, or something else, he didn't know.
One thing was clear: cracks were forming everywhere in the Empire.
Leyzon had no intention of getting swept up in the downfall and dying.
His goal was singular.
Reach the ending of Dungeon Replay.
And return home safely.
To do that, he had to stand against the downfall itself.
The Bloodless Sovereign let out a hollow chuckle.
"Teaming up with the Abyss? You'd be hunted by the Empire for life."
Leyzon's existence raised many questions for the Bloodless Sovereign too.
The name of the Abyss had always floated around vaguely.
But lately, his name had been cropping up everywhere.
"Isn't that what you want? I know you don't exactly love the Empire either."
The imperial family's true aims remained unclear.
But if the old dragon knew of the downfall prophecy, they surely did too.
The Millennium Mage.
The dark elf necromancer.
The Emperor's Sword.
Even the Empire's knight order captains.
Countless powerhouses were concentrated at the palace.
Yet none had ever moved directly.
Leyzon had previously concluded they were vaguely preparing for something.
And now he had a hunch what that preparation might be.
'They're bracing for the downfall.'
And that day wasn't far off.
So they'd been ignoring the chaos erupting across the Empire.
What was the point if everything crumbled anyway?
No time to waste on that.
And conversely, it was the perfect opportunity for Leyzon.
'No matter how much I rampage...'
They couldn't stop it.
An evil smile curled at Leyzon's lips.
If they were just hunkering down for the end, he'd rampage beyond even that.
"Frankly, I still don't get your goal."
To the Bloodless Sovereign, Leyzon had no reason to be hostile toward the old dragon.
He'd simply followed because their aims aligned; she couldn't grasp the real motive.
Her eyes flicked to meet his, probing for intent.
But Leyzon just smiled when their gazes locked.
"Can't read you at all. I don't like secretive men much."
He wasn't after power.
Nor wealth.
Not people, nor conquest.
This was the first time the Bloodless Sovereign had encountered someone so inscrutable.
And such enigmatic figures were all the more dangerous.
She narrowed her eyes.
"That day at the black market... you planned that to lead to today?"
Not at all.
Leyzon bumping into the Bloodless Sovereign back then had been pure coincidence.
But exploiting coincidence was a skill too.
"Think what you want."
Leyzon neither confirmed nor denied.
That only muddled her thoughts further.
He'd done nothing.
Yet the Bloodless Sovereign was tying herself in knots over it.
"One thing's for sure."
Leyzon decided to shake up her mind games.
His lip curled wickedly.
"We can get along just fine."
The Bloodless Sovereign clamped her mouth shut.
In the end, she couldn't read Leyzon's scheme.
Truth be told, Leyzon had no real scheme to read.
His true goal was something no one in this world could comprehend.
The outfield was getting noisy.
Even the undead didn't fully grasp Leyzon's intentions.
They just vaguely believed he was painting some grand picture.
If they couldn't read him in this situation, the Bloodless Sovereign stood no chance.
The Bloodless Sovereign sighed deeply.
"Haa... Looks like I'll have to watch my back around the Empire from now on."
This man who could smile even now was deeply unsettling.
But that composure to smile in such times spoke volumes.
At least he wouldn't crack no matter what came.
Above all, even the Bloodless Sovereign couldn't handle this alone.
The old dragon's bequeathed future of the dragonkin.
She needed answers on what to do with it too.
The Bloodless Sovereign joined hands with Leyzon.
Thus, an alliance with one lord was sealed.
"For skill-related matters, send the Steel Wolf Guild to Sahā Village. We'll share intel through them too."
"...All those shady dealings in Sahā Village lately—your doing?"
"Just preparations for the distant future."
The Bloodless Sovereign didn't press further.
She realized mind games with him would only cost her.
"Come to think of it."
Leyzon glanced inside the Red Shadow Wolf.
"There's a guy in here you have beef with. Apologize next time you see his face."
The Bloodless Sovereign instantly knew who.
A hollow laugh escaped her lips.
"That petty Sword-Tooth Clan brat."
"Who're you calling petty!"
At that moment, Hanok poked his head out from the Red Shadow Wolf.
Hanok glared at the Bloodless Sovereign with a face full of fury.
Kidnapped into slavery because he was the Shadow Warlord's brother.
The grudge lingered.
The Bloodless Sovereign turned to Hanok.
He flinched dramatically.
Tucking his tail and ears, Hanok averted his eyes.
He'd charged in with some bravado, but his cowardice remained.
"...Yeah. If you won't apologize, you'll end up just like that old dragon man—another dragonkin."
The Bloodless Sovereign smiled faintly.
"Sorry?"
Her impudence was unchanged.
Hanok's face twisted in greater rage, but she burst into laughter.
There was a hint of relief in that laugh.
"As sorry as I am, here's a gift."
Hanok's ears perked up.
"I recently found out where the Shadow Warlord's been and what he's up to."
Hanok's eyes sharpened.
Leyzon feigned surprise.
The Bloodless Sovereign had finally tracked down her target, the Shadow Warlord.
"And for the questions about the Shadow Warlord, I can probably help sort those out."
The Bloodless Sovereign winked at Leyzon.
The Red Shadow Wolf began growling lowly.
Syria was showing her displeasure.
Leyzon patted the Red Shadow Wolf.
Syria calmed a bit.
"So, it should be fine to tell us about the Shadow Warlord."
The Bloodless Sovereign smiled meaningfully.
What a nasty personality.
"Hanok."
His immediate goals were mostly achieved anyway.
He'd reclaimed Pauli too; only Tessa remained.
Setting a new short-term goal wasn't bad.
"Shall we go find your brother?"
Hanok's eyes widened at Leyzon's words.
Then he nodded, face a touch emotional.
"...Yeah."
Hanok had surely worried about his brother all along, even if he hadn't shown it.
Leyzon ruffled Hanok's hair.
"Alright, let's go find him."
The Shadow Warlord—Hanok's brother and companion to the Evil Dragon Estelle.
This time, they were off to find him.