Chapter 103
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 102
Chapter Title: Blindness
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Shwaaak!
The sound of curtains parting far away, followed by the curtain call at the end of the play.
When I briefly closed and opened my eyes, the scenery from an era when Morteus's heart still beat strong unfolded before me.
This was a thousand years ago.
"...I had a feeling it might be like this."
I scratched my head and carefully surveyed my surroundings.
Warriors stretched out in a line that nearly filled my entire field of vision.
Their armaments varied wildly, and their races lacked any uniformity. They even seemed oddly lax, without much military discipline.
Yet the aura emanating from each one was abnormally high-caliber.
Even the weakest-looking among those visible matched a veteran knight who'd rolled around House Zahav for ten years.
A rare few even approached swordmaster level.
It was absurd. Why else would there be such a strict divide between knights and soldiers? The gap in martial prowess and rarity.
In that sense, the army lined up before me wasn't even worthy of being called a knight order.
What knight order in the world moved with thousands of knights?
Even the average territory could barely muster a few dozen at most. Never more than a hundred.
Even House Zahav, granted unlimited license to train knights just for eating and fighting, didn't have that many. A few hundred at best.
To gather thousands of knight-level fighters... that would require scraping together an entire region, not just one territory.
Something like the entire south. Or the entire west.
And the clearest proof that this was indeed a thousand years ago stood out unmistakably among the warriors of every race.
A race that drew the eye amid the lineup, regardless of species.
Massive bodies wrapped in sturdy scales. Long necks. Threateningly curved horns. Razor-sharp teeth. Immense mana.
Even just standing there staring at us, they exuded an overwhelming presence. A race I was starting to get used to.
Dragons.
Transcendent beings known to be all dead except for Ignatus, casually lined up by color without a care.
There were twelve of them. Most looked inferior to the current Igni... but one was the exception.
An existence boasting a body so enormous it stood out even among the already gigantic dragons.
Its vividly red scales hurt the eyes, and just breathing heated the air around it.
But the most striking features were its horns and eyes.
The sharply curved, grand horns evoked a crown, and its flawlessly crimson eyes drew involuntary admiration.
As far as I knew, only one being possessed such traits.
"Igni."
"...Yes. That's my father."
Morteus.
Not yet a death dragon, not yet mad, he stood at the forefront, looking down at us.
After staring at us for a long while, Morteus slowly tilted his massive head closer.
-What a bizarre occurrence. For me of all people not to notice a spatial transfer. And involving a human with unusual power and a kin even I, the lord, don't recognize.
Morteus's crimson eyes gleamed oddly as they alternated between me and Igni.
-What are your names, young kin? And great warrior?
Great warrior. A title I'd heard once before. Hearing it from a sane mouth made it click better.
Probably, in this era, swordmasters or equivalent knights were called great warriors.
Surprised by Morteus's unexpectedly mild reaction, Igni mumbled as if to speak but couldn't get the words out.
So, to buy her some time, I stepped forward, shielding her, and asked,
"Are you the lord of the dragons?"
-What an insolent one. Few can hold their head so high before me.
"Forgive me. As someone leading many myself, I can't just bow my head recklessly."
-A king of humans, then. Reveal the name you bear. I'll treat you accordingly. Of course, if it's a lie... you'd best prepare yourself.
Fierce words, but he seemed rather pleased. Half on purpose, too.
Even after becoming undead, Morteus had shown his own brand of favor and respect to the strong, the proud, and those with unyielding convictions.
...Though it always ended with "Why don't you become undead too?" That was the problem.
Ignoring the other dragons growling behind him and the warriors gripping their weapons tighter, I straightened my shoulders.
Recalling the mad Morteus's rambling words, I spun a suitable tale. Mixing a bit of truth with lies.
"Enoch Zahav. I came to join your forces against the God of Tragedy."
-Zahav! Indeed. I've heard the name. A kingdom claiming hegemony in the south.
The empire ended the Night of Tragedy, the first nation rebuilt from the ruins by its central heroes.
In this era, Zahav wasn't a grand ducal house but one of the southern kingdoms.
Of course, not your average nation—it was infamous as a pack of mad war lovers...
Anyway, calling myself king of Zahav shouldn't raise eyebrows.
It fit the timeline, too.
The first patriarch of the grand ducal house—not the kingdom—truly rose to prominence and ended the Night of Tragedy after the long war turned to defeat.
When most gods lost power and vanished, renowned powerhouses died or submitted, and beings now called calamities roamed freely before being subjugated or sealed.
The first emperor and grand dukes suddenly appeared and miraculously turned the tide.
In other words, this time—when Morteus still had his sanity, gathering nearby powerhouses for a showdown with the God of Tragedy—was a generation before the first Zahav patriarch's era.
Before him, Zahav might have been known as a lunatic kingdom in the south, but not continent-wide famous. A believable lie, then.
...Ah, of course, there's the minor issue that I'm not the real Zahav.
Igni, who actually lived this era, would know far better... but her head's frozen now, so I have to handle it.
Sighing inwardly, I took the hand of Igni, who was bowing behind me. Morteus's intrigued voice followed.
-I've heard Zahav are descendants of the sun. Seeing you, I understand why.
"I've heard the dragons' king is the strongest mortal besides the gods... Hm. Doesn't seem exaggerated."
-Hahaha! Entertaining. A honed body, pure flame from the heart, and arrogance to match. You might fit right in with our red clan. Oh, just to clarify—that's a compliment.
"I know."
I smirked, and Morteus boomed with laughter, clearly pleased.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
If only he'd do something about his tail instinctively thumping the ground with thunderous booms.
Unlike his skeletal state, this version—with muscles and scales intact—was on another level in sheer mass.
Grabbing and swinging the current Morteus by the tail would be quite the chore.
While I'd swiftly impersonated Zahav's king, Igni finally snapped out of it. She released my hand and stepped forward to stand beside me.
She'd been in dragon form flying over Death Valley, but polymorphed for the stage to enter the domain, so she remained human-shaped now.
With horns and eyes like Morteus's, she addressed her sane father.
"Lord. I came for the same reason."
-Mm. Before that, may I ask your name, young dragon? As lord, I remember all my few kin... but you seem new today.
"Likely so. I... spent a very long time confined in a narrow tower."
-What? Is that true?
"True. Captured as a hatchling, bound for nearly a millennium. I couldn't even properly hibernate to grow."
-...Now that you mention it, your growth is indeed stunted.
"I haven't even revealed my true form yet—how can you tell?"
-Precisely because you haven't. In this era, maintaining the relatively frail polymorph form casually is like advertising your weakness. Unless forbidden from returning to your true self for ages, it's impossible.
"Er, um. Close enough."
Igni, who'd grown so used to human form from building and teaching in the magic tower for a millennium—outside of battle—nodded awkwardly.
-Even in polymorph, it's clear. The mana in your dragon heart nears elder level for an adult dragon... yet your body hasn't kept pace.
"What do you mean...? Recently, with help from my friend here—Enoch—I cleared my backlog of sleep quickly. Didn't that catch up my growth?"
-It's grown enough to withstand the dragon heart's power, not to fully utilize it. Likely a side effect of unnatural hibernation, or from being forcibly kept awake so long.
"Oh..."
Igni, believing herself the last dragon, hadn't known much about dragon growth.
Hearing the true reason—only her mana pouch had ballooned—from Morteus, she looked dismayed.
Morteus replied with a voice laced with pity and admiration.
-But worry not. We'll consult with the kin during our time together and find a way.
"You'd go that far?"
-Of course. You're a proper adult with extraordinary power... but to us elders, you're still a child. No one will refuse.
"Fath... No, Lord. My thanks."
Igni bowed her head with a complicated expression.
Despite the species difference, Morteus wore a paternal smile as he said to her,
-Welcome to the expedition. I'd love to talk more, but the road ahead is long. Save it for tonight's enjoyment.
Permission from the group's leader, Morteus.
Thanks to that, we joined the expedition without issue.
And I realized bone-deep.
This was ultimately a play conjured by the authority of Blindness, and the Morteus we'd just spoken to was merely an extra.
After all...
He never recognized Ignatus's identity to the end.
As if deliberately omitting details that clashed with the theme.
I reaffirmed my task.
In this world recreating a thousand years ago, find and shatter the core of Blindness's authority.
It was most likely the latest medium...
In other words, rip out Morteus's heart.
"Not easy."
Wild Hunt at full living strength. Over ten dragons. Morteus in his prime.
Facing them wouldn't be simple.
Nor would toppling a father who didn't remember her, yet matched memory perfectly.
"My lord..."
Instead of answering, I patted Igni's back. Roughly where I'd first ridden her in flight.
For some reason, Igni extended her plump tail, wrapping it tightly around my waist and pressing close.
"T-teeek! Not here!"
What?