Chapter 355
Chapter 355
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 355
Chapter Title: Epilogue: Dragon Heart
-----------------------------------------------------------------
What happens to a wild beast put on a leash?
"Evil god, I will not submit to you!"
It would have resisted at first. Free will—what a sweet resonance those words carry.
How could one abandon the value of thinking for oneself, moving on one's own, and forging one's destiny? Thus, it had no choice but to bare its fangs and fight back fiercely.
Each time it twisted against the choking leash, its skin would chafe and blood would flow. But the more it struggled, the tighter the leash constricted—not just around its own neck, but others' as well.
"Airi, why..."
"Darling, since you denied Him, I had no choice but to atone in your place. If I could ease your sins with my own fingers, how could I hesitate...?"
When he saw his beloved's fingers all severed, he stopped barking. He realized that thrashing was pointless.
If it couldn't overcome it, it would have been better to surrender early. But because it was too stubborn to stop struggling, blood flowed. Lessons are always etched in alongside scars.
If its rebellion brought misfortune to everyone around it, then there was no reason left to fight. The once-free youth finally accepted the leash. He accepted the existence of the great god who gripped and shook his fate.
But what the leash's master desired was not submission. It was amusement.
"Your Majesty, the Empress... has passed away."
"Is that so."
Whether it rebelled or not, the leash yanked with agonizing force. There was no escape from the pain. All that remained was adaptation and resignation.
After blood flowed and clotted repeatedly, eventually the leash fused completely with the skin, and even the pain faded from memory.
Though its throat was throttled and its breaths came in ragged gasps, it deceived itself into believing it had always been this way. It came to regard the leash as part of its own body.
It lost all will. It was dragged along wherever the leash pulled, without even a whimper. It no longer had the strength to cry out.
It was exhausted. Utterly worn out.
And so, only the bare ashes remained, wearing a crown.
...
This world is a puppet show, and it is a puppet. No matter how much it grieves or wails, nothing changes. Its children will all suffer under absurd fates, and there is no way to stop it.
Thus, it gave no love or happiness. Such emotions only make the pain worse. To live as a puppet, a hollow, empty heart is preferable.
Live.
The god overlooking the empire would not permit escape through death, nor grant a free life. Your fates are entirely in someone's grasp, from one to ten.
Live.
It could decide nothing. It had no choice but to sway in the blowing wind and survive. And so, the emperor could only pass on one crude word to his children.
He could only tell them to live.
I doubt he'll believe it. My gut tells me so.
Even if I said that evil god—or evil dragon—crawled into my head and got sealed away, the emperor wouldn't buy it.
Because it feels like he's been betrayed by such hopes countless times before.
You know, like those stories where a killer releases a hostage victim, who clings to hope and tries to escape right before getting stabbed.
"Did you really think I'd let you go?"—plunging them into despair.
It seems like he's endured that kind of tempering dozens of times in his life. If I went to the emperor and spouted all sorts of things, he'd just think the evil god was playing another trick and brush it off. Poor man.
A human who can't even flee once the leash is off.
So how could I save him? How should I approach to convince him? I pondered deeply while clinging to the palace ceiling.
And then it hit me.
If he believes, then I can use that belief against him.
I'll play the evil god. From now on, I'm the evil god. And I'll give a reason even the emperor can accept... a reason to stop toying with this world and withdraw.
I prepared various theatrics, hypnotized the knights patrolling the palace to chase them away without interference, and then appeared before the emperor.
To awaken this old man from his long nightmare.
The throne room.
The emperor, enshrined on his throne, sensed the anomaly. The guards flanking him began retreating without any order.
Step. Step. Step. Step.
The footsteps overlapped into one. The knights vanished from the throne room simultaneously, leaving the emperor alone without protection.
And then the audience chamber doors creaked open, and from the end of the red carpet walked a man with black hair.
Step. Step.
With each step, his form wavered. He was a butterfly, a dragon, a girl, an old man, a youth.
No illusion mage could empty the throne room with a single gesture. The emperor naturally realized the empire's god had returned.
He spoke.
"I've grown bored of the empire."
"..."
"Too long repeating the same genre. Even the finest delicacies lose their appeal if eaten every day. I'm sick of the empire, sick of the kingdoms. I need... something new, let's say a new era."
"A new... era, you say."
Whoosh.
A chair materialized in midair. He crossed his legs arrogantly and prattled on about his grand idea.
His expression was so pure, so innocent. The emperor couldn't help but tremble at that chilling playfulness.
"Emperor. Can you imagine the future? How far humanity will advance, what form of civilization they'll build? You can't, but I can see it. The next era will be cyberpunk."
"..."
"Elven networks, advancements in magic and technology, power monopolized by the strong, skyscrapers piercing the stars... and in their shadows, the mold of immorality blooming. Just imagining it excites me."
Swoosh. Miserable scenes flashed by. People drowned in drugs, shut-ins staring at monitors in dim rooms, hyper-evolved social ills, workers ground up in factories.
He couldn't understand it all. Too many alien images and words.
But the emperor grasped the core from his excitement. He was speaking of a new form of hell.
"I bet there'll be all sorts of stories to enjoy. Cool, right? So cool I can't wait. That's why... I won't. I'm going into hibernation."
"...Hibernation, you say."
"Yeah. Planning to sleep in a cave for about 500 years. Sleep is so convenient. Close your eyes, open them, and boom—a new era right before me."
Hibernation.
Ripples stirred in the emperor's heart. Faint ones. The man before him caught the emotional flicker instantly and said,
"What, feeling hopeful?"
"..."
"You're right. You're a worn-out, broken toy, and I have no intention of waiting 500 years wide awake for trash like that. I'll skip the boring parts. You'll get a brief taste of freedom."
Is that so? The reason He hasn't shown Himself lately... was boredom. Like a child, simply grown tired of it.
Snap.
With a flick of his finger, the Dragon Heart stored behind the throne floated into the air. It drifted lazily through the sky and settled into his hand.
The Dragon Heart was the wedge. It guaranteed unconditional talent to the imperial heirs and managed the empire to prevent its collapse.
If He took that away, then truly... Was He withdrawing from the empire to sink into deep slumber? Would humans gain a short span of freedom?
He rose from his seat and said,
"Take good care of my playground, Emperor. The layers of time you build in peace will be a gift for me in 500 years."
Whoosh.
And like a mirage, he vanished.
As if it would happen regardless of acceptance—a declaration and notice, then gone.
...Is it real?
Moments later, the guards returned to their posts with dazed eyes. The elderly emperor sat rigidly for a long while before rising from the jade throne.
I can't believe it.
Leaning on his staff, he went behind the throne. Even groping with his hands, the spot where the Dragon Heart lay was empty. Gone. Truly gone.
The emperor of the empire collapsed into his seat, at a loss. The leash was off. The choking sensation around his neck lingered, and he couldn't quite grasp it yet...
A week later.
The emperor began tending to a single potted plant.
Second Prince Irid's ascension ceremony was proceeding smoothly. Seeing the Defense Bureau agents bustling about, it looked like there was a ton to prepare.
After all, with the empire's emperor changing, they'd need to set up the coronation event, accommodate nobles arriving from all over, and host an after-party too.
I lounged beside Irid, who was slashing through a mountain of documents.
"Can I really take this?"
"Yes."
"No take-backs, for real?"
"You mad wizard, that's the ninety-seventh time you've asked. How about stopping before I actually kill you?"
I just can't believe it.
I rolled the Dragon Heart around in my palm. This magical organ kept producing dizzying amounts of mana—no idea how it worked.
With this, I could easily run a virtual reality MMORPG server across the entire empire. So many possibilities now. I could even pull out NPC friends like Centra semi-permanently...
One? Hell, I could pull out a hundred Centras and still have spare.
And... it wasn't as dangerous as I'd thought.
Given the context, this was the evil dragon's heart, so wouldn't it suddenly open its eyes and lunge with "I'll take your body!"? I'd been on high alert.
But the Dragon Heart was sealed. By none other than my past self.
This vile dragon had the power to usurp the names of its chosen targets. The First Prince's name, the boy knight's, and mine. Overwriting them.
Irid had told me about this. In the past, he'd had this conversation with the First Prince:
—"Brother, your name is weird. You're the only one so unique. Is it because you'll become Emperor?"
—"Amusing thought, but no, Irid. The order's reversed..."
In other words, hacking someone else's ID and changing the nickname to its own. To ■■■.
But now, no one knew or could recall that name. I'd thought the dragon erased it itself, but now I knew the truth.
My past self had wiped it.
As a result, this Dragon Heart was in a "logged out" state. It needed its name inputted to function properly and possess bodies, but that input field was blank—like a guest account.
In short.
As long as I don't recall its name, I'm fine.
Now I get why I can't remember people's names no matter what. My past self had added an extra safeguard for any eventualities. Not insanity.
I could remember players' names from sessions because I saw them not as people, but as story characters—like game ones.
"..."
In other words, though I'd called out Yuna, Yuri, Selvia plenty of times.
I'd never truly called them by "name."
Someday, I want to. To do that, I need to beat this thing and find a way to erase it. Conveniently, I have a plan. I tucked the Dragon Heart into my bosom and stood.
"Your Highness, I'm off."
"Get lost."
But first... maybe help some friends.
Crown Hall Capital Knight Order Headquarters.
"Arrrghhh!"
The scream-duty knight toppled stacks of "Blue Rose" files while wailing. That such a beautiful person was actually a man—what tragedy was this?
But an even weightier issue loomed: whether to continue pursuing the illegal vigilante group "Blue Rose."
"Blue Rose spotted at a nearby cafe with the Capital Knight Commander! Looks like a date!"
"...Blue Rose we've been chasing turned out to be Duke Redburn—what do we do? Keep... tailing him?"
"What about the Knight Commander?"
"Ughhh...!"
It was a dilemma. They agonized between justice, self-preservation, their boss, and reality.