Chapter 60
Chapter 60
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: uly
Chapter: 60
Chapter Title: The Might of the Three Divine Artifacts
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Eugene hesitated.
Turning on the map would bring dragons swarming into the Imperial Palace.
Who knew what those savage beasts might do to track him down?
"If you do that, the dragons will set their sights on the palace, Your Highness."
The palace would burn, and he would vanish, stripped of his memories.
That terror lingered even now, a decade later.
It was a primal fear that anyone possessing an Epic would inevitably feel.
"A few measly dragons couldn't hope to overrun the palace. Don't worry."
Of course, he understood Eugene's concerns.
But this was the Imperial Palace—the heart of the empire.
Even back then, the dragons of old had never dared to attack it outright.
Even after I'd conquered half the continent as emperor, I knew nothing about the dragons.
Not only the Epics—they themselves dreaded exposure to the utmost degree.
'If their faces were revealed, they'd become easy targets.'
Dragons weren't invincible.
They could die, too. I'd proven that with the dragon from the holy site.
'If I could just identify the dragons' faces, I could prepare countermeasures.'
The Twelve Gods had modeled the dragons after their own visages.
Malfiel and the holy site's dragon both bore the face of the second god, 'Beta.'
The other dragons surely wore the faces of the gods they served.
Pinpoint those twelve faces, and I could drag the hidden ones out into the open and strike them down.
'No data on the other dragons' faces. The holy site's dragon had no contact with the others.'
Born from the same World Tree of Eden, yet that dragon knew neither the other gods' faces nor the other dragons'.
Dragons were few in number, but all rivals.
They'd probably been designed from the start not to know each other's faces.
A way to enforce fair competition, no doubt.
Still, there were only a few dozen at most.
Without a monster like Malfiel, it would be a landslide victory.
Of course, it was still a gamble.
The deranged dragons might go berserk searching for the Epic detector and turn the palace upside down.
And I couldn't rule out the presence of another Malfiel-level freak entirely.
The holy site's dragon had completed ten trials, but its power had been nearly wrecked by the demon king Gaph. Its lower body severed, it had spewed its radioactive power source for a thousand years.
Eugene shuddered as he spoke.
"You're only saying that because you don't know how terrifying dragons are, Your Highness."
"I've already killed one."
"......Pardon?"
"By any chance, among the dragons you saw in the village, was there one with a face like this?"
[Retrieving image of 'Dragon.']
[Executing hologram.]
Swooo.
The face of the dragon from the holy site materialized before his eyes.
All its data was compressed, but he could project a hologram like this whenever he wanted.
Eugene's pupils dilated at the sight.
It wasn't magic.
His own Epic in his head could produce something similar, but he'd never dreamed Reinhardt could pull it off.
"Ever seen it before?"
"No idea. All the dragons were wearing masks."
Eugene shook his head.
Dragons wearing masks even among their own kind?
They dreaded even each other knowing their true faces.
Unless they were lunatics like Malfiel, they never showed themselves in human society.
If they did appear, it was to hunt Epics or accomplish feats.
"How many dragons gathered in the village the last time you activated the map?"
"Six."
"Where was the first place you turned it on?"
"......During my time as a palace mage, so naturally inside the Imperial Palace."
"The dragons didn't show up at the palace. They only appeared when you activated it again near the village—and just six of them at that. Know what that means?"
Eugene nodded.
He knew. But it wasn't 100% certain.
"Dragons can't invade the palace...... Is that right?"
"Exactly. And even if you activate the map, only nearby dragons detect it. With a significant time lag, too."
These were creatures so paranoid about security they tabooed even seeing each other's faces.
No way they could infiltrate the palace, and even if they did, not while masked.
To sneak in, they'd have to breach the barriers—something only a monster like Malfiel or someone who knew the weaknesses could manage.
I knew the barriers had been somewhat reinforced right after I infiltrated as the Holy King riding a bone dragon.
So, to enter, they'd have to do so openly, revealing themselves.
Besides, activating the map hadn't triggered an immediate assault.
Eugene had turned it on multiple times, broadcasting his location to the dragons.
That's why, the final time near the village, those six had converged so quickly.
And that was all of them.
"It's all speculation. You can't be certain, can you?"
"Don't you want revenge for Bella?"
"......"
Eugene clamped his mouth shut.
He did. For someone like him, who'd lived a lifetime of lies, Bella had been salvation. A companion who let him be himself.
Of course he wanted revenge.
But he didn't want the dragons stealing those happy memories with her.
Better to die quietly than let them mock those recollections.
"I'll help you. With your revenge."
It was a mad statement.
......Utterly in character for the mad Crown Prince, Reinhardt.
He'd been locked in the Imperial Dragon Palace since childhood.
Even during Eugene's time as a palace mage, chances to see Reinhardt were rare.
After Reinhardt's mother died, Deus refused to let anyone see him.
But Eugene knew plenty about Reinhardt's mother.
'Beautiful, virtuous, and wise.'
He'd never met anyone like her in his life.
She gave and received love sincerely from everyone.
She seemed like a fallen angel stripped of her wings.
And she had seen through even his deceptions.
A life painted in lies. Pretending to be a grand mage, adored by all, but hollow inside—she'd seen right through it.
—Eugene. It means 'noble' in ancient tongue, doesn't it? Did you name yourself?
Eugene was an orphan. Studying ancient languages to pose as a mage, he'd adopted 'Eugene' as his name.
Forgotten ancient tongue—no one knew. But she spotted it instantly.
It was his first day as palace mage.
—You've forged your own nobility. Such a rare and lovely name. Eugene.
Exposed, yet praised and elevated instead.
Eugene could see why the stoic Emperor Deus had fallen for her.
Duty-bound to take other empresses, but while she lived, Deus's eyes were only for her.
As the mother of 1st Prince Raunel, the 1st Empress, she was hated for it.
And so was Reinhardt.
"......You don't resemble the Empress at all, except your face."
"I've heard that one before."
"You don't even look like His Imperial Majesty."
"That too."
He chuckled softly.
I resembled the Empress only in face.
He'd heard it so often his ears were numb.
He'd never seen his mother alive, but her character was legendary through anecdotes.
Deus keeping me locked away without mercy was probably due to her influence, too.
During that luncheon with Isabella, when her guard scratched me, toppling her house—maybe because I resembled the Empress and it stirred old memories.
A twisted love-hate thing.
"Understood. I'll activate the map."
After agonizing, Eugene finally resolved.
The Crown Prince knew more about dragons than he did.
If revenge was truly possible, he couldn't just hide forever.
Eugene's hands moved busily.
Poking at thin air furiously, soon a massive map unfurled before them.
I could see it too.
The red dots scattered across it.
'Zero.'
[Map imaged and saved.]
Saved. So I could view it anytime, anywhere.
Of course, those dots would move in real-time, but I couldn't have Eugene keep the map on constantly.
'Way more than I imagined.'
Five hundred red dots, at least.
"Ugh......?!"
Then Eugene gasped in shock.
"This can't be......"
"What can't be?"
"W-Well."
Eugene stared at me in disbelief.
Then he checked the map again and tilted his head.
"All Epic locations should show, but Your Highness's position isn't on the map."
There was one red dot in the palace.
Eugene's.
Normally, there should be two.
Zero was an Epic, too.
"Guess it doesn't detect every Epic, then."
"No, I've confirmed it multiple times...... Ah."
Eugene swallowed hard.
All Epic locations appeared on the map.
If one didn't...... it had to be a dragon.
Only dragons could evade detection.
'No way?'
A dragon masquerading as Reinhardt?
Come to think of it, the mana flow felt dragon-like.
A Void Mage could sense and control mana. Human-controlled mana gathered in the heart, but Reinhardt's was evenly distributed throughout his body.
As if every part could store mana.
Only dragons could do that.
Even Void Mage Eugene piled his controlled mana in his heart.
"Here."
"What's this?"
"A potion. It'll reconnect your severed tendons."
The potion that healed the bandit.
He already knew its effects.
A treasure unknown in the human world.
Reconnecting severed tendons, even.
But he'd healed the bandit, chased him, and killed him.
Did the Crown Prince plan to do the same to him?
"Stay vigilant. Dragons could appear anytime, anywhere."
"Ah......"
"You can't fight in that state, right?"
"Thank you, Your Highness."
Hearing that, Eugene shed all doubts.
As the prince said, healing came first for revenge.
Besides, Reinhardt was human. An Epic wielder like himself.
Yet his words carried an inexplicable weight.
'You properly inherited that peculiar aura of the Empress's.'
Mannerisms, gaze, tone—all different, but together, an uncanny resemblance.
The mystery of blood ties.
*
To retrieve the bone dragon into subspace and test Winter's Bow's performance, I took Arell and left the palace.
Dragons wouldn't attack immediately, so I figured I'd handle what needed doing in the meantime.
—No special connections found, sir.
Carbal reported via Izar.
The expensive task of watching Arell chase the bandit ended in one sentence.
But if even Carbal said no special ties, Arell hadn't leaked my info to Persephone Grand Duke's side.
"You're better with horses than I thought."
"Animals...... I handle them all well."
Arell said as he drove the carriage.
Just point the direction, and the horses seemed to take it from there.
I couldn't show Winter's Bow to Croft or Germin yet, so for now, I was heading to the destination with just Arell.
"Stop here. This'll do."
"Yes."
Leaving the capital, crossing the forest, a massive mountain range loomed.
The Rokari Mountains piercing the northlands.
And at the entrance to the range lurked a notorious bandit gang.
'Red Hood Bandits, right?'
They plagued nearby merchants.
Hiding in the mountains made them hard to eradicate.
So tenacious, even the empire had washed its hands of them.
'An Epic is in the Red Hood Bandits' main base.'
Even more intriguing: a red dot had appeared at their hideout.
Probably someone deeply tied to the Red Hoods.
I drew Winter's Bow.
Said to fly dozens of kilometers, its destructive power was obvious.
'First, test how far it really goes.'
I hooked my fingers into the bowstring.
A strange sensation tingled at my fingertips.
Pulling the string, nanomachines were sucked in at a ferocious rate.
"Ngh!"
The consumption was insane.
Keep pulling like this, and I'd collapse from exhaustion.
No choice—I released toward the mountain where the Red Hood Bandits hid.
And then.
Kwaaaaaaaaang!
"......"
"......"