Chapter 322
Chapter 322
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 322
Chapter Title: Sepiro (8)
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It was truly out of nowhere.
The moment he established a new throne, he declared he would make Ataraxia the "Head of Despair"!
All the dragons...
"...!!!"
Especially Shuraphim, the current head of the Present Clan, couldn't help but react with extreme agitation.
He had personally expelled Ataraxia.
Yet he couldn't open his mouth or refuse.
The reason for expelling Ataraxia was the Black Witch.
Just the fact that the dragon race had followed the Black Witch made them targets for execution.
It was the utmost humiliation and dishonor.
They should be grateful just for being spared.
"...".
But his opponent was Sepiro.
Moreover, Shuraphim himself had committed a grave error.
The sin of failing to recognize the Dragon God right before his eyes.
In contrast, Ataraxia had recognized Sepiro and done her utmost in his defense.
She had staked her life to oppose Shuraphim, her fellow clan leader.
Now, which weighed heavier as a "sin"?
Following the Black Witch?
Or failing to recognize Sepiro?
The latter.
It was unmistakably the latter.
It was a sin grave enough that he should have taken his own life.
Being stripped of his position as head was fortunate in comparison.
On the other hand, it was Ataraxia, not Shuraphim, who had stood by Sepiro until the end.
That alone granted her a full pardon.
She possessed the "eyes" to lead as head.
But... he hadn't expected it to be announced here, in this place.
Ataraxia, having been expelled, was not present.
She had been stripped of the right to even ascend to the Dragon God Temple.
In other words...
Sepiro's intention right now...
...meant that Ataraxia's return was far from the end of it.
"Furthermore, until the Inter-Species War concludes, the clans of 'Despair' and 'Sloth' will convey my words."
This meant granting them all authority upon ascending as heads.
Even the unique privileges held solely by the three clans, including the Radiant Clan!
Dismantling the Dragon God Temple and rebuilding it from scratch meant scrapping all prior systems and privileges entirely.
It was a complete return to the primordial state.
"I cannot comprehend this. The clans of Despair and Sloth are not particularly outstanding compared to the others...!"
In the end, Daiar couldn't hold back and spoke up.
He had no choice.
The Despair Clan?
Shuraphim was exceptional, but the other dragons of the clan? Questionable.
They were on the level of average dragons.
Yet they were removing the outstanding Shuraphim from headship and installing "Ataraxia" as the new head?
...Ataraxia, the black dragon of Despair.
An ancient dragon, and fairly numerous, but no achievements worthy of calling her "outstanding."
Similar to, or slightly better than, ancient dragons of other clans.
It was doubtful whether the other clan members would follow her well, or if she could properly assist Sepiro.
Would the three clans, who had previously handled those duties, cooperate?
The Sloth Clan?
Lazy hermits holed up in caves, true to their name.
They contributed so little to the dragon race that no one even knew what they did.
What could these two hopeless clans possibly achieve together?
But...
"What does it matter?"
...His opponent was Sepiro.
The dragons knew that a single word from Sepiro could reshape heaven and earth.
Even Bahamut and the Seven-Tailed Dragons didn't object.
To them, it seemed just like Sepiro.
Conquering the Rifts, taming the Four Beasts to become a "Creation God"—an idea no one but Sepiro could conceive.
"Only dragons who have awakened to 'Wish' may stand beside Lord Sepiro, no?"
It was the bare minimum condition to withstand Sepiro's immense mana.
However, among ordinary dragons, those who had awakened to 'Wish' could be counted on one hand.
Beings who lived and breathed magic itself found it that much harder to reach 'Wish.'
Born too powerful, breaking their limits was nearly impossible.
The three clans possessed dragons who had awakened to 'Wish.'
Thus, they were permitted to stand beside Sepiro and guard the Dragon God Temple.
"...Daiar. Those two have awakened to 'Wish.'"
Shuraphim, who had been silent, finally spoke.
He had already witnessed their awakening to 'Wish' in the domain of 'Night.'
"Lord Sepiro gifted 'Wish' to those two."
This 'Wish' originated from Sepiro himself, awakening only Ataraxia and Darkan, not other dragons.
"Forced awakening of Wish...?"
"By Sepiro?"
The dragons murmured.
It was unprecedented.
'Wish' wasn't something that could be awakened by external force.
"Is Shuraphim telling the truth?"
Bahamut asked, looking at Darkan.
He was curious too.
'Wish' could only be awakened by opening the Door of Truth.
Even Sepiro couldn't force that door open.
Or so he had thought.
...If it was true...
Then Sepiro had clearly surpassed some "boundary."
He must have gained enlightenment so profound that a new vessel was required.
"It is true. I received 'Wish' from Lord Sepiro."
Darkan, head of the Sloth Clan, stepped forward.
Shuuung!
'Wish' manifested around Darkan.
A small cluster of gray light orbited him.
"Wish!"
"...It's Wish!"
They recognized it instantly.
The supreme function emanating from that tiny light cluster.
Magic itself was alive and moving.
"...Received it? Wish?"
"Yes, both Ataraxia and I received great grace from Lord Sepiro."
"...".
He had gifted 'Wish' not to one, but to multiple.
Bahamut quietly turned his head.
Then Park Chan-woo...
"I have no limits, so I have transcended the Impossibility."
shrugged nonchalantly as he spoke.
Impossibility.
True to its name, it turned the impossible into possible.
If it could wield Sepiro's 'Absolute Magic' and perform miracles like this, there was no room for doubt.
This vessel was Sepiro.
It had to be Sepiro.
Yet there was a reason he couldn't affirm it outright.
It's faint.
The presence of Sepiro from this vessel felt exceedingly vague.
Though it wielded the mana of Sepiro's heart, the aura felt profoundly alien.
He has undoubtedly acquired the 'Throne of the Species.'
One who stands at the end of a species gains the 'power of words' to rule that species.
And this vessel could use 'Dragon God Tongue,' which only one at the pinnacle of dragons could wield.
It was authority over all dragons, but the issue was that it didn't stem from Sepiro so much as...
'A different flavor of Dragon God Tongue.'
The Dragon God Tongue Sepiro once used compelled 'absolute submission.'
It silenced any who dared speak without permission before him.
But the one used now was different.
'Resonance.'
The opposite.
It stirred the heart and mana.
No matter how much he had transcended Impossibility, his fundamental nature shouldn't have changed.
Wasn't this too different?
...Is that how he can awaken Wish?
He didn't know.
Even Bahamut, who had lived eons, was seeing this for the first time.
If it was through resonance that Wish awakened...
Then the condition was singular.
To believe this vessel was Sepiro and follow it utterly.
Without faith, no resonance; without resonance, no awakening of Wish!
"Finally, I proclaim to all dragons."
All eyes turned back to Sepiro.
He said "all dragons," but...
His gaze was fixed on Bahamut and the Seven-Tailed Dragons.
As if he had a task for them.
"Find the dragons suppressed and cursed by the Nine Lords who vanished during the Great War. Like this 'Arcana of Despair.'"
Geiiiing!
A massive dragon emerged through a golden warp gate.
Arcana of Despair.
But the moment they saw its wings...
"Those black wings...?"
"N-No way, the Lord of Great Sins?"
Any dragon who had lived through the ancient Great War would recognize it.
The authority left by one of the Nine Lords: the 'Lord of Great Sins.'
Park Chan-woo had decided to make this a public issue entirely.
Because...
'It's not just Arcana.'
When he saved Arcana's soul...
He learned the truth through those memories.
There were many lost dragons besides Arcana.
Dragons who vanished during the Great War at the hands of demons.
Most had flowed into the hands of the Nine Lords.
Cursed and sealed.
Killed or dissected in research, they disappeared.
At the same time, he realized...
'The Primordial Dragons knew.'
Bahamut and the other Primordials knew but turned a blind eye.
They merely called dragons captured by demons "dead."
Sepiro was the same.
Even when the Lord of Great Sins mentioned it directly, Sepiro ignored it.
He hadn't the slightest intention of saving Arcana.
He viewed them as the shame of the dragon race and turned away.
...Thanks to that, the demons nearly completed their research to rival dragons.
Over countless ages.
Through the captured dragons, the demons had researched relentlessly.
Having awakened to the memories, mana, and magic within Sepiro's heart to some degree, Park Chan-woo became certain of one thing.
'The demons are conquering death.'
Jiangshi were merely one result.
Summoning souls of the dead and suspending death to prevent bodily decay was proof enough.
The jiangshi he encountered on the Mount of Cultivators were just their experiments.
The demons of the Abyss sought to transcend death.
And they had made considerable progress.
The dragons' magic must have been a great help.
'I must confirm it.'
If he could recover the lost dragons, he could gauge the extent.
If the demons fully conquered "death," it wouldn't end with the doom of the Twelve Races.
All species except demons would vanish.
Humanity too. Earth too.
Park Chan-woo recalled.
Before his regression, during humanity's "first Inter-Species War," was there no anomaly?
Humanity ranked dead last, so we had no chance to notice... but there was a strange undercurrent.
They were inherently weak.
No chance to properly clash with the other Twelve Races.
Yet a peculiar atmosphere lingered.
'Demons intervened in the Inter-Species War.'
The Twelve Races grew hostile upon realizing it.
He had to uncover how they intervened and what the demons were preparing.
He assigned that task to Bahamut and the Seven-Tailed Dragons.
Just as he had proven himself, they must prove their worth.
"Bring them all before the next Inter-Species War begins. Their names will be engraved on the Dragon Soul Stone for posterity."
"...!"
"...!"
Dragon Soul Stone.
The "tombstone of dragons," where the names of qualified, honorable dragons were etched upon their eternal rest.
This meant engraving the names of dragons captured by demons onto that tombstone.
Including 'Arcana,' tainted by the Lord of Great Sins.
What did that signify?
"A new throne requires new things. The old and rotten are not needed. If you understand, disperse."
...He intended to remake the entire dragon race.
Completely.
To suit Park Chan-woo's tastes.
...Now, all that's left is the Transcendent Dragon's reaction.
The final obstacle remained.
Sepiro's true body.
Would that Transcendent Dragon truly fail to notice this gathering?
No matter how focused on the Great Rift, all dragons had assembled in the Dragon God Temple.
If it had been quiet, maybe, but he had made a huge racket.
Impossible not to know.
'Even then, if you dismiss it as amusing, I'll acknowledge you as a true Mad Dragon.'
Fifty-fifty chance.
That very moment.
Kurururung!
The Dragon God Temple began to shake violently.