Chapter 313
Chapter 313
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 313
Chapter Title: Faded Promise (5)
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“No… uhm.”
Ha-eun hid behind Oh-jin's back like a cat, clearly burdened by Kellion, who had suddenly dropped to his knees and bowed his head before her.
She understood, at least, why the dragonfolk were reacting so excessively to her.
But when a crowd of strangers she'd never met suddenly approached, bowing their heads and calling her a savior, the Dragon Maiden, begging her to save their clan, she couldn't help but be flustered.
“I beg of you.”
Kellion pleaded in a trembling voice, his head bowed at Ha-eun's feet.
After the Dragon God fell into a long slumber.
The Dragonian Kingdom gradually began to walk the path of ruin.
From birth, they were a people meant to serve dragons.
Just as ants die after losing their queen, they too had lost their center, the ‘dragon,’ and were hurtling toward catastrophe.
“We… need a savior.”
A clear tear streamed down Kellion's cheek.
Without the dragon's protection and knowledge, the dragonfolk cannot withstand the residual mana within their bodies and end up dying.
In Kailus's time, they somehow suppressed the rampaging mana with the Stigma of Draco.
But with him dead, the only one who could save the dragonfolk from their rush toward ruin was the slumbering Dragon God.
“For the past hundred years… countless dragonfolk have died, unable to withstand the rampage of their mana.”
He remembered.
He recalled.
The girl who smiled brightly, the boy who played energetically, the young man who wielded his weapon bravely, the elder who led the kingdom wisely.
Died.
Writhing in agony, unable to control their rampaging mana.
“I, I… all of it…”
Could only watch.
Waiting for the Dragon God who would not awaken, crying out for a salvation that would not come.
“……”
Oh-jin looked down at the sobbing Kellion with a bitter expression.
‘So this is why the dragonfolk fell so helplessly to the demonfolks' attack.’
The demonfolk's army might have been strong.
But the dragonfolk kingdom had already been gradually losing its strength and weakening over a hundred years.
All the demonfolk did was forcibly remove the oxygen mask from a dying patient's mouth.
“Are there no other dragons?”
Oh-jin asked, recalling the Heavenly Dragon Barbatos he fought before coming to the Demon Realm.
If the existence of a dragon was indispensable for saving the dragonfolk, there was no reason it had to be the Dragon God specifically.
“The dragons…”
Kellion bit his lip as if chewing and swallowing bitter medicine.
The wrinkles covering his old face contorted in sorrow.
“Most of them are already dead. Even those who are alive are hiding in their lairs and won't come out.”
“…Most of them are already dead?”
“That’s right.”
Dragons were a powerful race, complete in their very existence.
Who on earth could have driven monsters, each equivalent to a strategic weapon, to the brink of extinction?
“It was the Heavenly Demon.”
You again.
An unpleasant sensation, like chewing on sand and gravel, spread in his mouth.
Oh-jin let out a deep sigh and lowered his head.
“The evil god the demonfolk serve… the Heavenly Demon killed the dragons.”
“Did he kill them himself?”
Kellion shook his head.
If the Heavenly Demon didn't kill them himself.
“I heard he had the ‘Serpent’ kill them.”
“……”
Cassia Colagrande.
The woman who, after being saved by the Heavenly Demon, had her consciousness controlled by his ‘lies’ and became his puppet.
‘So she was doing things like that while in the Demon Realm.’
Come to think of it, she had said something like that.
That while living as the Heavenly Demon's puppet, she had stained her hands with countless blood.
He already knew this, but he never imagined that the thick blood staining her hands included that of dragons.
“……”
Suddenly, a memory of Cassia came to mind.
The hospital rooftop, cloaked in darkness.
The woman who, with sad eyes that looked ready to spill tears at any moment, had said she would leave to atone for her sins.
In the depths of self-loathing and guilt.
Clinging only to the desire not to be abandoned.
Just how much blood had stained those delicate hands until now?
Oh-jin ground his teeth, thinking of the Heavenly Demon who had made Cassia that way.
Deceiving others with sweet lies to make them puppets.
‘Is that your way?’
Indeed.
Isn't that a very 'Kwon Oh-jin'-like method?
“……”
A bitter taste spread in his mouth.
His chest felt heavy, as if a massive stone had been placed on it.
“So… does this mean I just have to wake up that Dragon God guy?”
Ha-eun, who had been listening quietly, asked, scratching her head.
Kellion, who was still bowing, quickly raised his head.
“Y-Yes! With the power of the Dragon’s Eye that you possess, Dragon Maiden, you can guide the Dragon God's soul back to his body!”
Hope filled Kellion's eyes.
“If the Dragon God awakens, we can drive out the demonfolk army that has overrun the kingdom!”
“But where is this Dragon God's soul?”
“In the lair where the Dragon God sleeps, there is a massive crystal called the Soul Stone.”
“So I just have to find that and bring it?”
“There is no need to search for it.”
Kellion shook his head and continued.
“The Soul Stone is right next to the slumbering Dragon God. If you can just reach it safely, all you need to do is use the power of the Dragon’s Eye to guide the soul into the Dragon God's body.”
The method itself was extremely simple.
If there was one problem.
“…it's how we get to that lair.”
Oh-jin recalled the scene inside the Dragonian Kingdom, where demonfolk and hordes of demonic beasts were roaming.
A quick glance revealed over a hundred demonfolk.
The horde of demonic beasts numbered in the thousands, approaching ten thousand.
“Where is the Dragon God's lair?”
“It's hidden in the deepest part of the kingdom. It's protected by a powerful barrier, so those demonfolk bastards shouldn't have been able to invade it.”
Kellion said with a confident expression.
“Do you know how to get there?”
“Do you think I've led the dragonfolk all this time for nothing? Of course I know the location of the Dragon God's lair.”
“…Are there any other dragonfolk who know the lair's location?”
“None. To prevent outside intrusion, the lair's location has been passed down in secret only to the elders.”
So that means Kellion is the only one who knows the lair's location.
“Do you happen to have a map?”
“A map of the kingdom, you mean?”
“Yes.”
“Wait just a moment.”
Kellion lightly placed his finger on the wooden table.
A blue haze of light shimmered, and a map made of mana unfolded on the table.
‘So he stored the map like this.’
Storing the map directly in one's mind was certainly the safest way.
“Where exactly is the lair?”
“It's over here.”
As Kellion said, it was located in the deepest part of the city, which was carved out of the entire canyon.
“However, even if you go there, you won't be able to find the lair.”
“Because of the barrier?”
Kellion nodded.
“I must go there myself and release the barrier to enter the lair.”
In other words, Kellion himself was the key to opening the lair's entrance.
Oh-jin, who was looking down at the map, narrowed his eyes.
‘A frontal assault is too difficult.’
He didn't know the extent of the dragonfolk's military strength.
But considering they were miserably defeated by the demonfolk army in less than ten days, a frontal breakthrough was impossible even with the dragonfolk's help.
“It seems there's no other way but to sneak in, right?”
Isabella, who was standing beside him looking at the map, said with a frown.
“They're not idiots, so they must have posted lookouts.”
If Oh-jin were infiltrating alone, he could just use Black Curtain and walk in.
But if Kellion and Ha-eun had to go with him, it was a different story.
“In a situation like this, the best method is… that one.”
A deep sigh escaped Isabella's lips.
He knew what method had come to her mind without even needing to hear her say it.
The optimal method for entering a key enemy position.
A method that was effective, but required taking an equal amount of risk.
“We'll have to use a decoy.”
They had to use a decoy to focus the demonfolks' attention, then have Ha-eun and Kellion infiltrate the lair.
‘But I can't send just the two of them.’
What if Ha-eun was attacked while she was guiding the Dragon God's soul into his body?
And since Kellion couldn't be fully trusted yet, someone had to go with her to protect her.
‘I have to go with her.’
In terms of raw power, Isabella was still stronger than him.
But he had the transcendent power of Heukcheon.
There were risks, but in a critical situation, he was the one who could protect Ha-eun more safely.
The problem was that if he was gone, the ‘decoy’ side would be that much more dangerous.
“I'll be the decoy.”
Isabella volunteered, raising her hand.
“Are you sure?”
Acting as a decoy against over a hundred demonfolk and tens of thousands of demonic beasts was a task that required taking a huge risk, even for Isabella.
“Yes. It would be difficult to fight the army head-on, but I'm more than capable of drawing their attention and escaping.”
“…Still, we need more people.”
No matter how powerful she was, it was impossible for Isabella alone to draw the attention of an army occupying an entire city.
“We will lend our strength as well.”
Kellion clenched his fist, his expression filled with firm resolve.
Oh-jin turned to him and warned in a low, somber voice.
“…You will die.”
Isabella, with her outstanding personal combat skills, could probably escape even if pursued by the demonfolk.
But the other dragonfolk.
“Even if you're lucky and escape, most of you will die.”
“……”
Kellion's expression darkened.
After a moment of thought, a faint smile appeared on his wrinkled face as he spoke.
“We are prepared for death.”
The old dragonfolk touched the Stigma on his left chest and rose to his feet.
“Huhu. Still, this is the home where we have lived. If we can protect it with our blood, there is no greater honor.”
He said that, but.
Kellion's eyes were dark and somber.
“……”
Looking at the old dragonfolk elder steeling his resolve, Oh-jin let out a short sigh.
For a group, the place they've lived is that important.
Important enough to protect even at the cost of their lives.
“There is a way to reduce casualties.”
“…What way is that?”
“If there's more than one decoy.”
Oh-jin pointed to three locations on the map spread across the table.
They were around the large circular structure where the captured dragonfolk were being held.
“We will cause a disturbance in three places.”
“If it's there…”
“Yes. If a disturbance occurs here, the demonfolk will mistake it for a rescue attempt for the captured dragonfolk.”
In that case, their forces would have no choice but to be diverted toward the building where the dragonfolk were being held.
“If they then flee toward the outskirts instead of the city center, the confusion will grow even greater.”
From the demonfolks' perspective, the group causing the disturbance should naturally head for the building with the captured dragonfolk, so they'd be confused when they fled in the wrong direction.
“There will still be casualties, but at least the chances of survival will increase.”
“But even if we manage the entrance near the gate, the other two locations are deep inside the kingdom… How do you plan to infiltrate forces there?”
“I have something in mind for that.”
There was a way to draw the enemy's attention without sacrificing the dragonfolk.
“…Thank you.”
Kellion bowed his head, his voice trembling.
Not only was he helping them awaken the Dragon God, but he was also thinking of ways to minimize the dragonfolks' sacrifices.
It was hard to believe such consideration was coming from an outsider he had met only a few hours ago.
“May I ask one thing?”
“Yes.”
“…Why are you helping us to this extent?”
It wasn't something he should say, given he was the one who asked to be saved.
In the case of the decoy operation, he could have just left it to the dragonfolk.
After all, decoys were more effective the more lives you threw into it.
“…I wonder.”
Oh-jin let out a small laugh and shrugged.
Suddenly, Cassia's face, distorted by tears, flashed through his mind again.
As if talking about someone else, he muttered in a low voice.
“Maybe I want to change.”
From the man known as ‘Kwon Oh-jin.’