Chapter 105
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 104
Chapter Title: Blindness (3)
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Igni began trembling, clutching her thick tail tightly.
But seeing as she didn't deny it, the metaphor seemed to hit pretty close to home.
"To sum it up, you're saying an incident is about to happen—one that will smash the expedition to pieces and brand Mortheus as a raving traitor."
"Exactly. And in truth, Father is far stronger than I imagined. I could confidently take on any other dragon one-on-one and crush them... but Father is a cut above even me."
"If I fought alongside you, we could win... though that's probably not why you brought it up, right?"
"Indeed. No matter how bizarre the Authority of Blindness may be, if it's enough to cloud the eyes of a powerhouse like that and drive him mad..."
"It means we'll soon be facing the God of Tragedy himself. Or at least one of his apostles."
"The God of Tragedy doesn't have separate apostles. To be precise, he had only one—his sole devotee, a single woman—and after her, he created no more kin."
"So we're running into Tragodea in person? Tsk. Even if it's a fake, that sounds pretty dangerous."
"Ah, I must have muddled my words. No need to worry. In this era's 'setting,' the God of Tragedy is tied up battling other gods in the north, too busy to intervene."
"...I see. A coercive force so absolute that even a dragon's senses and intellect can't detect the inconsistency—it must apply to him as well."
Even if this expedition proceeded flawlessly and they confronted the God of Tragedy, at their core, Tragodea and Mortheus were no different; they were merely actors on a stage.
No matter how much power or will one wielded within the domain of Blindness—even if it was Tragodea himself, the true master of the authority—they were just roles scripted to perform.
The only imperative was to follow the plot's flow, with no favoritism toward any side.
"But there's a monster out there that drives Mortheus insane and obliterates the expedition, even though it's not Tragodea or an apostle?"
"The foreshadowing is already plentiful. A little thought makes it obvious."
Igni took a deep breath, her expression turning grave as she continued.
"The Authority of Blindness is wielded by the God of Tragedy himself, but like with Father, it can also parasitize other beings. No—it's an authority that only gains true meaning by latching onto another."
"It's a power that blinds eyes and enforces a predetermined path from the start... Wait. Don't tell me?"
As my eyes widened in realization, Igni nodded.
"In this era, there's already a being most severely afflicted by the Authority of Blindness—one worthy of being called its host."
"...The expedition runs into it along the way, takes it down somehow, and then the now-masterless Authority clings to the weakened Mortheus."
"What follows is history as we know it. Father goes mad, clashes with the expedition... and they all perish together."
"Then, after death, he revives as the Death Dragon and an undead, rampaging across the continent as the Wild Hunt, sowing death far and wide... until the next generation's heroes unite to end the Night of Tragedy."
I let out a deep sigh, but a sudden question popped into my head.
"Hold on. What about the other dragons?"
"Hm?"
"The expedition had eleven dragons besides Mortheus. But the Wild Hunt only had him—no other Death Dragons."
"..."
Igni fell silent for a moment before speaking in a voice thick with disgust and sorrow.
"It's simple. Father, driven mad by the Authority of Blindness, was branded a traitor to his own kind. They called him a traitor to the continent, a victim of the authority—but specifically a traitor to his race, and there's a reason for that."
"What reason?"
"He ate them."
"What?"
"Morpheus betrayed the dragons who followed him and devoured every last one of his former kin."
"..."
Cannibalism of his own race.
That explained why no other dragons appeared in the Wild Hunt.
"...This is definitely dangerous. Mortheus was already strong, but absorbing multiple dragon hearts would make him even stronger."
"Not necessarily. His mana reserves might grow, but... once you're at my level, raw mana quantity doesn't equate to strength."
Igni explained that beyond a certain threshold, what mattered was how you wielded your spells—not how many big ones you could cast.
Fair enough. The reason I'd grown so much stronger after leaving Calypso wasn't more mana.
I'd learned to refine it into aura, discovered what I could achieve with aura...
And above all, during the inheritance process, I'd learned I possessed a bloodline ability.
I still didn't know exactly what it was, but I had my suspicions. Enough to put it to some use, at least.
For example, mana rampage.
The old me would've agonized until the absolute last moment before using it, knowing the risks.
Now, I unleashed it without hesitation whenever needed.
After practicing a few times, I'd grown 'comfortable' with it.
I knew the next one would be more efficient, safer—that gave me the confidence to throw myself into it.
Resisting the God of Nightmares' authority had only been possible because I knew precisely what I could do.
"Then why did he eat them?"
"Who knows. Maybe he blindly believed devouring them was the only way to defeat the God of Tragedy... or perhaps he needed to replenish the mana he'd burned fighting the expedition's others."
"Huh."
Either way, one thing was clear: the dragon race had vanished in utter futility.
Watching the last survivor of that race sigh heavily through her small lips, I asked,
"Anything else you learned?"
"Mm. One thing. It's not directly helpful for this, but my clan's elders found a way to improve my current state."
"What."
Morpheus had insisted Igni's condition was abnormal. Her body had indeed grown alongside the dragon heart...
But not to fully harness its power—rather, to merely withstand its massive mana.
"So what happens now? Does your abnormal body turn normal...?"
My gaze drifted involuntarily to her chest, squished sideways from lying down. She giggled without covering up.
"No worries. Fixing a body that's already developed like this can only happen during my next dormancy. What the elders devised is just a technique to make better use of my current form."
"Oh?"
A sigh of relief slipped out unbidden. I barely caught the rest of her explanation.
In short, she couldn't amplify mana, but she'd learned to move larger quantities at once for similar effects.
Her body, evolved over long slumbers to adapt to the dragon heart's mana, suited this approach even better.
"Mana consumption multiplies several times over, but I rarely run low, so my overall combat power will rise!"
"Oh! That's great news."
I'd never expected to witness her breakthrough here; I clapped enthusiastically with genuine joy.
"Hehe. Relieved? That I can keep the figure you like so much."
"...Absolutely not."
As I shook my head firmly, Igni, looking satisfied, giggled and asked,
"Then what about you? Learn anything?"
"Of course I did."
I couldn't get close to Mortheus by playing the same-race card like Igni, but...
I'd bonded plenty with the expedition's other warriors.
And I'd confirmed it.
"If it comes to a fight, I can take them."
"...?"
I explained in more detail to Igni, who tilted her head quizzically.
"As undead, their souls retain inscribed techniques, but physical prowess and aura are mostly gone. I was worried since I can now wield my full lifetime peak."
After hearing Igni's theory, my thinking had shifted, but until moments ago, I'd been preparing for a showdown with Mortheus.
So while mingling with the warriors, I'd kept gauging them.
The strongest among them. How many could interfere in my fights. Their weapons, little habits, and so on.
And reached a conclusion.
"Excluding the dragons, I can handle the entire expedition alone. How many dragons do you think you can manage, Igni?"
"...Three at my limit. Against Father, just holding out briefly."
"Tsk. Then charging straight in becomes a last-resort option."
As I smacked my lips, Igni said in disbelief,
"You knew this was for facing a god, yet your first thought was a frontal assault? No wonder House Zahav is..."
"Just preparing for the worst case. So don't look at me like I'm some battle-crazed maniac."
I definitely hadn't regretted facing the Wild Hunt before, where I had the skill but lacked the capacity.
...A sudden thought: after so long acting the Zahav part, had I started absorbing it myself?
Concept devouring the man.
"Oh, and one more thing I heard."
"What is it?"
"Lately, they've been whispering that all the ogres, minotaurs, and cyclopes mean a Giant King is nearby."
"The Giant King...? Why are you only mentioning it now?!"
"Well, I just learned it recently... and it was my first time hearing the name."
"First time? That's... Right, most histories of the Night of Tragedy focus on the founding emperor's feats."
Igni thumped the floor with her tail in frustration. Glancing my way, she added lightly,
"You know the God of Tragedy used the Authority of Sin to amplify monsters' instincts and control them at will."
"Yeah, sure."
"But he didn't command every monster himself. He elevated certain special individuals to lord over the rest, pouring his power into them."
Not quite apostles. But monsters who'd absorbed an exceptional share of his divine power.
"One of them was the Giant King."
Just as Igni was the last survivor of the dragons, the Giant King was the last of the giants.
Always nursing grief over his lost kin and rage toward other races, he naturally fell to the Authority of Sin and turned monstrous.
"Any being with even a drop of giant blood can't defy the Giant King's commands."
Thus, the vanguard of Tragedy, forever leading hordes of massive monsters to ravage the land.
But he'd vanished abruptly in Igni's youth.
Now I could guess why.
"He clashed with the expedition."
"And lost."
"Just another tragic page scripted by the God of Tragedy."
Igni and I met each other's eyes and spoke in unison.
"I'll prepare an assassination spell on Mortheus before madness fully claims him."
"Let's focus on taking down the Giant King."
"..."
"..."
We stared at each other in mutual exasperation for a moment. Then it hit me.
Our ultimate goal was to dispel the Authority of Blindness.
Killing Mortheus and extracting his heart was merely one means to that end.
But Igni was confusing ends with means.
The domain of Blindness was eroding her, bit by bit, but surely.
......
Then why am I fine?
The heartbeat echoing from my heart sounded especially loud today.