Chapter 188
Chapter 188
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 188
Chapter Title: Descendant of the Mad Dragon Emperor (3)
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Torkel had never once considered himself a genius since the day he was born.
That was because there were already so many brothers and sisters ahead of him who possessed outstanding skills.
Instead, Torkel took pride in that fact.
"I love having so many brothers and sisters! It's always so noisy and fun!"
"Our son must really like his siblings..."
"Yeah!"
He hadn't understood back then why his mother looked at him with such a bittersweet expression as he beamed innocently.
So Torkel decided to go find his siblings on his own.
Even though he had never properly greeted or spoken with most of them.
He believed that since they shared the same family name, they would welcome him warmly.
That was the kind of "family" he had seen in fairy tales.
If he could go learn all about how wonderful his family was and tell his mother about it all day long, then she would smile too.
That was what he thought.
But,
"Pfft! Why am I so strong? Well, because I'm just that great?"
His immediate older sister, Rjeze, always boasted her free-spirited personality,
"Did you see that, Anzio? The guy's got such a dumb look on his face. Do we really have to call a punk like this our brother? Just how many more bastards does Father plan to make?"
"Watch your mouth, brother. Torkel, was it? Let's get along from now on."
Gishar and Anzio, already famous as the genius twins, were too busy laughing at him while he stood there.
Gishar didn't even bother hiding her blatant contempt, and Anzio smiled warmly while subtly putting up a wall.
And then,
"You're my little brother? So what?"
The eldest brother, Kinkarnon, didn't show even a shred of interest.
"I called you here on a whim because someone said you wanted to see me. But you're asking some weird questions."
The emotion that struck Torkel at that moment was despair.
Even so, he was the eldest brother known to be closest to their father, boasting achievements as impressive as his talent.
Even though they had never met in person, Torkel had always carried that name close to his heart.
Every word that came from his mouth,
"Do you think how many punks like you there are to me? I don't even remember half of them. I've got more important people to worry about than you lot."
Struck Torkel's heart like daggers.
"If you want to catch my eye, struggle that much. Who knows? I might remember your name."
A name not even worth remembering.
To Kinkarnon, Torkel's existence was worth exactly that much.
'I... I was wrong about everything.'
The other siblings didn't even bother meeting him most of the time.
And when they did, they glared at him like they wanted to kill him.
Some even attempted to assassinate him.
So he went crying to the family head's quarters where his father was.
But the response he got was just one thing.
"So?"
Kyle turned away after saying that.
Only then did Torkel realize.
'This isn't a family. It's a den of beasts.'
No, even beasts cherished their own families at least. So this place was worse than a beast's den.
That must have been when it started.
When Torkel began training with gritted teeth and renewed determination.
A sword in his right hand, a spear in his left.
He knew himself well.
Compared to his other siblings, his talent was lacking, so he had to work harder to make up for it.
When others trained for one hour, he trained for five. Otherwise, he could never catch up, let alone surpass them.
Was it thanks to that?
After a very long time passed, he finally became the captain of the Black Iron Knights he had so desperately wanted.
The gossips cheered the birth of a genius threatening the existing heirs, and some made a fuss that the "five candidates" were finally complete.
And then came the reunion with Kinkarnon.
Now the eldest brother would have no choice but to remember him, and even feel threatened, Torkel thought.
Even Rjeze and Gishar, who had dismissed him as a child in the past, now regarded him warily at least.
But,
"You look familiar. Who are you again?"
Torkel bit his lower lip hard at Kinkarnon's words.
As expected.
There was truly nothing to like about this damn household.
* * *
"I see. So you're my grandson."
When was that?
It was a day when he harbored hatred for the Ragnar family in his heart but had no way to act on it right away, so he only thought about claiming the throne.
Torkel had been out on a mission that day too.
The mission was to subjugate the remnants of the Holy Demon Church.
He had moved to suppress those who caused a massacre in a small city within Ragnar territory.
That was where he met him.
An elderly man.
Small stature, ordinary appearance, but with an aura that made it hard to approach easily.
With Torkel standing before him, he called him "grandson."
Torkel was dumbfounded.
His maternal grandfather had passed from a long illness, and Torkel himself had carried the bier. As for his paternal grandfather, he had died in Kyle's rebellion before Torkel was even born.
But,
"There is such a thing as resurrection. It refers to descending to this land by receiving a god's spirit and flesh directly into one's body. I received the spirit and flesh of disgrace and was able to open my eyes again."
The old man explained that he was indeed the Mad Dragon Emperor.
And the secret arts he demonstrated were ones that no one but a direct descendant of Ragnar could possibly know.
The fusion of madness, demonic energy, and dragon power.
The moment he sensed those energies that seemed impossible to mix, Torkel naturally gripped his sword.
He was prepared to die for it, but the Mad Dragon Emperor calmly lowered Torkel's sword instead.
"You bare your hostility toward me... Yes. In a way, that's natural for you all. That's what Kyle and Robert taught you."
The Mad Dragon Emperor smiled.
Very warmly.
"So feel free to regard me as an enemy. But before that, won't you hear my story first?"
Torkel learned all the secrets of the "Day of Exile" that the world did not know.
How cowardly Kyle was, how cunning the Black Dragon was, how hypocritical Julius was, and how vicious the Plum Palace Lord was.
So he wept there for a long time.
Because his grandfather's story was so heartbreaking.
Because that man had been abandoned by the children he trusted, pointed fingers at by his family, saddled with all sorts of vicious false charges, and forced to wander his entire life.
"But fortunately, I was able to settle here. Would you like to meet them? My new 'family.'"
Following the Mad Dragon Emperor,
Torkel finally learned.
What a true family was.
And he realized.
The family you're born into is one you can't choose, so there's no way to stop whatever harm they do.
But the family you choose will embrace you with genuine hearts.
That day,
Torkel laughed heartily for the first time in his life, letting go completely.
* * *
Torkel returned to Ragnar.
To one day seat his grandfather back in the place where he belonged.
And he thought that "that day" had finally come...
"Theoooooo!"
Torkel roared at the sight of the Orb of Disgrace that vanished in an instant.
Only fragments of the shattered orb fell from his tightly clenched fist.
The madness and demonic energy it contained had already turned into falling thunder, sweeping away Troyvan's White Dragon Knights and the Black Iron Knights entirely.
"Brother!"
"It's too dangerous right now. We should fall back first."
But two hands grabbed Torkel as he tried to rush to Theo.
Arnold and Harke. They were the captains of Troyvan's White Dragon Knights and Black Iron Knights, respectively.
Torkel wanted to scream at them to let go, but he bit his lower lip at the sight of their serious eyes.
"But we didn't lose all the Orbs of Disgrace, right? At least take back what we've recovered. Your master will understand."
"But...!"
"Can't you see? That guy's assault isn't over yet."
At that moment, Theo clenched his widely opened fist.
[Fire Hell]
As the second form of the Yeui Jutae Sun unfolded, flames erupted wildly from the falling thunder that had struck the ground.
Dozens of whirlwinds formed from all directions, turning the entire area into a sea of fire.
Even those who managed to dodge the initial assault got caught up in it.
Moreover, the dragon legion seemed completely unscathed by the flames as they ran freely, intensifying the chaos.
Over half the forces had already collapsed. The rest were only a matter of time.
It was a catastrophe born from the enormous energy contained in the Orb of Disgrace.
"Brother!"
In the end, Torkel had no choice but to turn his body away.
As his brothers said, survival had to come first...
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwang!
"Damn it!"
Before Torkel could even take a proper step, flames shot up dozens of meters in front of him, creating a wall of searing fire.
Even wrapping himself in aura and charging through seemed like it would backfire.
Theo had completely blocked the retreat.
Paaat-
And then Theo, his entire body wreathed in the flames of Fire Hell, started charging toward them.
"He's coming!!"
"Brother! We'll hold him off here somehow, so open a path any way you can!"
Arnold and Harke moved to block Theo's path without even waiting for Torkel's reply.
Their minds were filled only with the thought of saving Torkel and sending him off somehow.
If they were Ragnar siblings... such sacrifice would have been utterly unthinkable.
'What right do I... what right do I have!'
Tears streaming down his face, Torkel slashed at the firewall.
His head was filled only with the thought that he couldn't let his brothers' sacrifice be in vain.
But as soon as he split the firewall, new flames rose to fill the gap, and even when blasted away by shockwaves, it quickly recovered its intensity.
Theo was pouring every ounce of Fire Hell's power toward Torkel.
Pew-pew-pew-peng!
Slash! Slash!
The Dragon Slayer Sword charged forward.
Arnold, who had tried to clash with Theo first, had his armor shattered, a hole punched straight through his heart.
The Moon White Sword fell.
Harke's steps, trying to exploit Theo's blind spot at the cost of Arnold's sacrifice, came to an abrupt halt.
In that instant, the Spirit Phantom Sword flashed, severing his head.
Ziiiiing!
At that moment, the sword's orb in Theo's mind was emitting a more intense resonance than ever before.
Reacting to the madness leaking from the Orb of Disgrace, it had activated to its maximum.
Thanks to that, Theo exercised extreme focus, selecting only the most correct insights from countless inspirations, following the path they presented to swiftly eliminate his enemies.
Right now.
Theo had reached the peak realm his current body and mind could touch.
Hwaaak!
And in that moment, yet another new path presented itself.
A straight line directly to Torkel.
"Caaaaaptain!"
"It's dangerous, Captain!"
The Black Iron Knights' members tried to gather somehow, but most were sliced by drake blades or picked off one by one by the White Dragon Knights' pursuit.
In the end, Theo reached Torkel's position,
And Torkel, having failed to break through the firewall, turned his black spear backward, aiming for Theo's head.
Chaaaang!
The black spear scraped along the greatsword's blade as it thrust toward Theo's head.
Theo tilted his head slightly to dodge, and at the same time—
"Got you."
The Moon White Sword clinging to his left hand drew a crescent.
Slash!
A deep red line traced from Torkel's crown down to his jaw.
"I... hate... you all... so much...!"
Torkel's gaze stared blankly at Theo, and then,
Pshwaaaak!
With a gushing fountain of blood, he fell limply downward.