Chapter 32
Chapter 32
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 32
Chapter Title: Dragon (6)
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I knew.
From the moment the dragon called out Gaf's name, I could sense a subtle change beginning in him.
The emotions transmitted through my hand were ecstasy and joy... and disgust.
I'might not have understood the first two, but the last one? I knew it better than anyone.
That revulsion, that displeasure when beholding someone trying to mask their true self.
It felt just like the emotions I experienced looking at Malfiel.
'It worked.'
The final gambit landed.
The deliberate provocation to awaken Gaf had succeeded.
If he'd fought the dragon a thousand years ago and managed at least a draw, then even in his current state—little more than a lump of flesh—he could break free from this predicament by rousing the terrifying consciousness housed within his nanomachines.
[Unauthorized nanomachines, including the special process 'Gluttony,' have flooded in massively.]
[Control is impossible.]
[These are nanomachines operating on an autonomic nervous A.I. They are tuned to activate only under specific conditions, making external forced intervention impossible.]
[They can be separated and expelled.]
[In symbiosis, they will share the master's nervous system and move autonomously. Temporary 'symbiosis' is recommended to resolve the current situation.]
'Gluttony.'
But I hadn't anticipated the lump of flesh being sucked into my hand.
Gaf's authority.
The ingested flesh had devoured every last nanomachine infused with the dragon tongue.
It was a unique property of the nanomachines possessed solely by the Northern Demon King, much like the psionic energy bestowed by the Demon King of White Silver.
Unlike Baal, Gaf had fully transferred his authority to me.
Moreover, his will wasn't something artificially crafted like an A.I.
To escape the dragon, Zero was recommending a 'temporary alliance.'
It'seemed to judge keeping Gaf's uncontrollable nanomachines inside me as poison.
Zero would be right in normal circumstances, but there was something it didn't know.
Human emotions.
I could feel Gaf's feelings, accumulated over a thousand years, burning fiercely.
Rage toward the dragon. Thirst for vengeance. The unyielding intent to kill!
For that purpose alone, Gaf had thrown everything he had at me.
"......Awakened, are you? Gaf."
The dragon's movements halted.
It had sensed its dragon tongue being 'devoured.'
This was the emergence of Gaf's authority—Gluttony—the power it had faced ad nauseam a thousand years ago.
The Northern Demon King possessed the ability to consume every trivial energy that touched him.
Dragon tongue, magic, physical impacts—all of it devoured utterly. Because of that authority, the dragon had suffered the humiliation of losing its lower body to Gaf.
'Impressive.'
That was why it was so astonishing.
Was it even possible to transfer such an invincible authority to another?
And even if it were, that human body wasn't a vessel capable of containing it.
Too frail to hold Gaf's power.
A container that should have burst instantly was somehow holding it perfectly.
How?
'It has the capacity to contain Gaf's authority?'
If the vessel's size were insanely vast, perhaps—but for a near-human to accomplish what even a perfect dragon couldn't?
A vessel's capacity is fixed from birth.
You can add another vessel to expand it, but you can't increase the original's size itself.
And authority could only be contained in the original vessel.
If that core vessel wasn't large enough, containment was impossible.
A human possessing a vessel capable of fully holding the authority of Gaf—the being deemed worthy of the eleventh feat, called a Demon King.
'Even I couldn't do that.'
It was a miracle beyond even the dragon, who had achieved ten feats.
The dragon was powerful, but its core capacity vessel wasn't all that large.
Each feat granted 'additional capacity' to incorporate other authorities or abilities—like adding a new vessel—but the 'core capacity' itself never grew.
'If I possess him, I can claim Gaf's authority and that immense capacity.'
But the dragon had another way to grow stronger besides achieving feats.
The ten vessels gained from ten feats.
By 'swapping' them out.
The hearts, specifically.
The dragon possessed eleven hearts, including its own.
It couldn't replace its original, but the added ones could be swapped.
Typically, it had grown by claiming the hearts of those who achieved feats.
Filling one slot with a heart of such vast capacity and authority would let it instantly achieve all twelve feats and ascend to divinity.
'Nearly killed him by accident.'
The dragon's smile deepened.
Even inheriting Gaf's authority didn't make him Gaf.
Besides, invincible Gaf had ended up like that in the end.
Constant exposure to powerful curses had stripped away his human form.
The authority merely sustained his life.
Against attacks exceeding its limits or prolonged beyond its duration, it left one utterly defenseless.
Hadn't it experienced that to exhaustion a thousand years ago?
"Sometimes, a gift that exceeds one's station becomes poison."
Pssshhh.
The lines connected to the crystal detached.
Immediately, the sealed 'curse' began spreading in all directions.
"Foolish creature. You passed on your power, but my 'seal' is broken too. Regret your stupidity in handing it to a mere human—weep and gnash your teeth, Gaf."
Gaf had sealed the dragon here.
To prevent the curse from spreading beyond the cave.
To keep the dragon from moving.
But in transferring his authority, Gaf had also undone the seal.
"Behold the true power of the Curse Dragon that will sink the entire North."
Vast energy capable of submerging the whole North.
The entire cave began to quake.
Through this curse, the human would lose everything but his heart.
His legs were a pity, but with the seal broken, movement was no issue.
'Feels like a scene I've seen before.'
And for some reason, the sight of the dragon gathering its power felt familiar.
Like when Malfiel amassed lightning to kill me and obliterate the palace.
The one moment he was utterly vulnerable came to mind.
That power, concentrated and unleashed at full strength, was unimaginably potent—but it created a few seconds of vulnerability in the process.
Control over everything else inevitably slackened.
I shifted my gaze.
'Now.'
It was the 'tentacles' of crystal binding me.
[Hacking complete.]
[Control authority over the 'tentacles' acquired.]
I couldn't control the dragon itself or do anything about the crystal storing its radiation, but with current admin authority, hacking the tentacles was feasible.
"......What?"
The tentacles squeezing me withdrew in an instant, then reversed to constrict the dragon instead.
They began serving as replacements for the detached lines, wrapping around it.
"How?"
Even the dragon panicked.
How could it not? Its own tentacles turning against it.
The energy it had been about to unleash was forcibly halted. The vents releasing the curse were plugged again by its own tentacles.
"Follow me! Obey my words!"
Realizing the tentacles no longer heeded its will, the dragon gnashed its teeth and bellowed.
A momentary opening.
Thanks to that gap, I'd seized full authority over the tentacles.
With a smirk, I approached slowly.
"How does it feel to lose your legs twice? I've never experienced it myself, so I wouldn't know."
The dragon had overlooked something too.
Even if the opponent wasn't Gaf,
it was no longer the same entity from a thousand years ago.
A body reliant on tentacles for movement. With its lower half severed, it had no choice but to store its flowing power in the crystal.
A mere husk stripped of its prime strength.
Embarrassingly inferior even to Malfiel.
Gaining control of the tentacles meant I could seal it completely.
Especially since even its dragon tongue had been devoured by Gluttony.
"What... what are you? What trickery is this?!"
The closer I drew, the more the obstructing tentacles parted—one by one, two by two.
The distance between us was less than five steps.
"All mana, slay him."
What a moron.
Hasn't it realized yet that attacks from nanomachines don't work on me?
A physical assault would at least have some effect, but this dim-witted dragon hadn't grasped that either.
'Guess not all dragons are clever.'
If it just collapsed the ground and buried me alive, I wouldn't escape.
Three days trapped, and dehydration would finish me.
"Don't come closer."
Right now, the dragon was afraid.
For the first time. It had never encountered such an enigma.
After all, the dragon itself was the greatest mystery.
It hadn't experienced a mystery surpassing itself in ages.
The human before its eyes terrified it utterly.
"Stop......!"
"Gaf sends his regards."
Shrieeeek!
The moment I touched it, Gluttony began erasing the dragon.
Devouring it.
The dragon and the crystal, both entirely.
But the dragon wasn't fully erased.
Its consciousness endured.
'I'll claim this body.'
Abandoning its devoured flesh, in a fleeting instant, the dragon succeeded in preserving only its soul.
The dragon's soul, existing in the immovable realm, was being rapidly drawn into the human's cognitive domain alongside Gluttony.
'You thought you'd won. Regret your carelessness now.'
A stroke of ingenuity, but all the better.
Seizing this body of infinite potential was far superior.
A 'vessel' unscathed even after devouring Gaf's authority and itself.
The core vessel's capacity was beyond imagination.
'Heh.'
But only after entering did it realize.
'It's like the universe itself.'
This body's vessel was vast enough to rival the cosmos.
A vessel worthy of being called divine.
Astounded by its ocean-like expanse, the dragon couldn't help shuddering in awe.
Compared to this vessel, achieving feats was child's play. Mastering and tempering this body alone would surely grant divine stature.
But upon reaching the core of the human's cognitive domain, it realized its hopes were futile.
'What.'
The soul residing in its immovable realm was being erased.
'How are you erasing me?'
Noticing one's own existence and erasing it—impossible.
Soon, something appeared before it.
A being like a colossal light.
'A god?'
Why would a god exist in a human realm?
Yet it was unfamiliar.
Couldn't tell if it truly was a god.
But if it could erase a soul in the immovable realm, then it must be.
'Why. Why erase me?'
I'd served their feats, run their errands my entire life.
A dragon with ten feats was rare even among dragons.
The benchmark for a 'true dragon.'
So why?
Lord God, why take the human's side over mine?
'Ah.'
Erased.
Fading away.
Its existence. Its memories. Everything.
[A.I 'Dragon' data has been deleted.]
[ Dragon (6) ] End