Chapter 354
Chapter 354
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 354
Chapter Title: Epilogue: Dragon Body
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Traffic control was over.
With the biggest obstacle, Duke Redburn, out of the way, Second Prince Irid's ascension to the throne was like an open highway. The empire's power had united as one.
"Huhu... I have no intention of becoming emperor. I'll give the crown to my brother Irid within the empire, and I'll take charge of the eastern front to protect the empire from external threats going forward."
"The empire's crown isn't something you can wear just because of bloodline. Even if the blood of the Black Dragon Great Emperor flows through me, how could I claim to be qualified...?"
First Princess Elaine and Third Prince Sledo had declared their support for Irid, and their forces were naturally absorbed under him.
Especially decisive was the revelation that Maximus Redburn was a black magician.
After the former Duke Redburn—the leader of the noble faction—had all his scandals laid bare, a chilling wind of sharpened blades swept through, forcing the nobles to bow low and grovel. Acting carelessly now could get them branded as black magicians and strung up.
Irid felt the power and duties gathering in his own hands. Once he donned the crown, he wouldn't be able to roam freely like he did now.
Which was why there was something he had to do at this very moment.
"Gather the empire's three dukes. I have urgent matters to discuss with them."
Irid summoned the three pillars upholding the empire and held the final summit before becoming emperor. Grandiose as it sounded, it was plainly for the fate of this nation and the world.
The meeting place was Sophora Palace.
The first to arrive was the Duke of White Lym. His was a loyalist house that had served the imperial family for ages, already backing the Second Prince for quite some time.
He arrived in a neat yet luxurious carriage of pure white, accompanied by the bare minimum of attendants by noble standards. Including the coachman, just about ten people in total.
The Duke of White Lym descended from the carriage under his servant's escort. He surveyed his surroundings with dignified poise.
He had heard Sophora Palace was a standalone building used to educate young imperial scions. But it looked utterly neglected now. The garden was a mess, and ivy climbed the mansion's outer walls.
In the midst of the overgrown garden sat a table with four chairs. Irid occupied one, waiting.
It was unusual to wait outside rather than within the building. The Duke of White Lym approached cautiously and offered greetings to the next emperor.
"Your Highness, greetings. I suppose I should congratulate you on your ascension. You'll soon rise to the seat above all mortals."
"High among humans, perhaps, but below the divine. Will you wait until the other two arrive?"
"Of course. But... this is peculiar. If you must wait outside, does that mean there's something inside the palace?"
"Indeed. I'll explain once we're inside."
The two passed the time discussing future economic policies. For the Duke of White Lym, it was time well spent, far from wasted.
At the same time, he felt tension. The next emperor had summoned dukes no less—what could he intend to convey? Something requiring the empire's might to be rallied and united...
Perhaps talk of a war of conquest.
The next to arrive was Northern Grand Duke Elbillion Julius. He came to Sophora Palace with only a carriage draped in beast pelts, a coachman, and a single guard.
The carriage door opened, and a man with a cold, sharp demeanor stepped down to the ground. Without a word, he took a seat at the table.
The silence made the Duke of White Lym's eyebrow twitch.
"...Northern Grand Duke, greetings are a matter of courtesy, and courtesy is the fine tradition that elevates beasts to men. Even if not for me, shouldn't you show it to His Highness?"
"Duke of White Lym, your words ring true. But I have no desire for private talk with the Second Prince—because—"
"Northern Grand Duke, how's your romance with Heart going? I hope you two have a child soon."
"I'll say it again, you mad Second Prince. Our relationship can't be summed up in a single word, and your meddling is utterly unnecessary. So stop sending girls' baby supplies every set interval."
Aha.
He couldn't even guess why the Second Prince meddled in others' love lives, but he understood why the Northern Grand Duke was so surly. The Duke of White Lym nodded in comprehension and quietly closed his eyes.
The First Princess had shown deep affection for a man shorter than her, after all. It seemed the Second Prince had his own peculiar tastes...
The last to arrive was the new Duke Redburn, Roderus Redburn.
He brought no carriage, no servants—only one person.
"No wrinkles, tie's perfect, you're flawless, Daesu! Even if the prince is picky about attire, he'll have to approve! Ah! Hair—let's fix your hair a bit more. Oh, right. Should I spritz some cologne?!"
"Kim Lulu, that's enough. It's plenty. I'm not heading to a ball; this is an official meeting."
"But what if the other dukes look down on you! If some kid-duke gets dismissed out of hand, just tell me! I'll set 'em straight!"
Tang tang. Kim Lulu thumped her chest reassuringly.
Roderus sighed, feeling like he was watching his mom show up at school on class president election day, handing out burgers. He was grateful. Truly. But this wasn't necessary.
"I'll take the sentiment, so... please go now. I'll be out as soon as the meeting ends. You didn't even need to see me this far."
"Then, farewell kiss!"
"........."
Kim Lulu, once short on common sense, had studied diligently to become a wise wife and mother. The result? She could now check her husband's outfit like this—a meteoric rise.
Knowing her effort and devotion, Roderus couldn't bring himself to refuse the farewell kiss. How could he ignore such earnestness?
Nine embarrassing sounds.
Afterward, Roderus maintained a stoic expression as if nothing had happened and took the last seat. But Daesu-Lulu's lovey-dovey antics had already carried beyond the walls.
The henpecked Duke of White Lym gazed at Roderus with lukewarm eyes and offered warm counsel.
"Those are good times. Duke Redburn, time spent with a loved one slips away all too quickly. Make her happy enough to have no regrets."
"...I'll handle it."
"Indeed, the duke is a hermaphrodite. You must understand a woman's heart deeply, so few quarrels between you, I imagine."
"Now that we're all here, how about we get to the point...!!"
Irid nodded at Roderus's desperate pivot.
"We're moving. No attendants allowed. What you hear here goes to the grave with you."
Step. Step.
Irid opened the entrance to Sophora Palace. Kiiiiiiek. Hinges creaked, dust flew, and they entered the palace interior, thick with the marks of time.
The three dukes followed the next emperor.
As they left footprints down the long corridor, Irid spoke without turning back.
"Do you believe in beings that control fate?"
"........."
"To be more precise: have you ever thought someone was directly meddling in my life, swaying my entire existence at their whim?"
"Like a chess piece moved by human hands?"
Irid nodded at the Duke of White Lym's question. A strange tension filled the air. The duke glanced at the other two; both had hardened expressions, as if they suspected something.
This wasn't mere fatalism. Nor was it fanatic zeal. So what was Irid trying to convey?
At the end of the long corridor stood another door. As Irid approached, it opened on its own without a touch.
And in the vast hall beyond was a man with jet-black hair and red eyes. He smiled comfortably, yet exuded an aura that forbade easy approach.
"...Mad Wizard."
"Hello, friend. Nice to see you. Pleased to meet you, Duke of White Lym. I've been waiting."
The Mad Wizard, huh.
Irid's close confidant, credited with capturing countless black magicians, the outstanding professor who had nurtured this generation's academy talents into fine prospects... or so they had thought. Clearly, that wasn't the whole story.
The Northern Grand Duke and the new Duke Redburn both seemed acquainted with the Mad Wizard. Irid gave him the signal.
"Begin, Mad Wizard."
"As you command, Irid."
He spread his arms wide and launched into a theatrical explanation.
Thud. The palace darkened, and a single spotlight beamed down from the ceiling, illuminating the Mad Wizard. His shadow rippled and shifted forms.
"Long, long ago. There lived a lizard covered in jet-black scales. It was a master of illusion magic, with a vile temperament that delighted in people's pain and misfortune..."
It was the tale of an evil dragon.
The empire's secret history.
This evil dragon, rivaling the goddess in power, wandered the world, toying with human fates. It created the empire, forged heroes, birthed villains. And ruled over all.
"The First Prince lost his name and heart to it. If Sister Elaine hadn't poisoned him, the imperial grandchildren would have ended up even more broken."
"Presumably, it meddled with the four 'Named Black Magicians' active in this era too. They knew of the dragon's existence and coveted its power."
"Also, the demons appearing on the eastern front—and the succubus race itself... there's suspicion they were created by the evil dragon."
"The empire was mere playthings on a grand stage."
This absolute being, treating the world as its toy, would do anything to write its own story.
But the dragon's eternal game came to a halt one day. Sealed away in the mind of a genius born by chance.
"Right here in this head."
"...No wonder he likes slimy tentacles and such filth."
"Quiet, Oh Daesu. You're the ones who insisted on adding those—Yuli and Aisha. Anyway, I've been working hard to deal with this hazard, and there are results."
There had been something off.
During the previous battle with the 'Little Lamb,' when he'd unleashed his abilities at 100%. The Mad Wizard had, for a fleeting moment, glimpsed the outline of the evil dragon in his mind.
The form that the 'Promise' module strained to suppress lacked any material substance. At the time, he'd dismissed it as the dragon operating in an informatized body like his own.
But after acquiring the kaiju transformation function, comparison made it clear. The sealed entity had no capacity to revert to its evil dragon form clad in black scales.
It had completely discarded its flesh. Or else—it was elsewhere.
"This thing loves splitting its body and stashing the pieces. It uploaded its powers to a cloud server floating in the skies. Its heart is probably stowed in the imperial family. Its ego—or soul—is in my head. That leaves one piece missing, right?"
The body.
The dragon's flesh was absent.
How could a body without heart, soul, or powers move on its own? As absurd as it seemed, the evil dragon was just that monstrous.
"I think there's a chance that body will move to lop off my head and reclaim its soul. Perhaps even directly."
"...It's an outrageous tale that gives me a headache, but I've followed so far. Then the reason Your Highness summoned us... in other words...?"
"Exactly."
Preparation for when the dragon's flesh—which had reached the realm of gods—came assaulting for its own revival.
"—Preparations for the 'Evil Dragon Subjugation.'"
The Mad Wizard and Irid took in the breeze atop Sophora Palace's highest point, the bell tower. The sky was blue, the clouds white, the wind refreshing.
The wizard draped his arms over the railing and said,
"Whew, good work. Next Emperor Majesty. They're all pitching in—feels so reassuring. Thanks for suggesting it first. I was just gonna handle it myself."
"If that thing breaks free, it'll be chaos. It's not just your problem. The freedom of everyone in this country is at stake, so I stepped up."
"Sometimes I think how fortunate it was that you were the first I met. Meeting me wasn't bad for you either, right, Your Highness?"
"...If we're splitting hairs, it was luck. That said, don't think this excuses sabotaging my stomach health. You're a walking disaster."
Even as he spoke those words, Irid wore a faint smile.
Gazing at the imperial palace across the way—soon to be his residence—Irid thought of the frail old man dying within and spoke.
"Mad Wizard."
"Yes."
"The Emperor... my father. Can you save him? If you can save that pitiful man, I won't hand over the imperial Dragon Heart."
"...I'll gratefully accept the offer, but even if you'd just asked, I'd have done it. You know my heart, right?"
Irid answered silently in his mind.
Yeah. You're that kind of guy. That's why I trust you. I know you'll pull it off in the end.
"Yup. Be right back."
Whoosh.
The Mad Wizard scattered and vanished in an instant. Magic now on par with the Violet Magic Tower Master, where superiority was hard to judge. Irid stared wordlessly in the direction he'd been.
Finally, he cast one last glance at the imperial palace before quietly descending the bell tower.
Waiting for good news.