Chapter 199
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 199
Chapter Title: Dragon Bow Sword Hruntir (4)
The spot where Kyle was keeping watch over Theo.
Tsutsutsu—
Madness and demonic energy swirled around Theo's body, ready to surge in at any moment.
Theo looked as if he might fall any second.
Yet the face of the man with his eyes closed remained utterly serene.
“I have no idea what they're talking about in there. It's frustrating. Doesn't look like a pleasant chat.”
Kyle wasn't the only one watching Theo.
The Black Dragon, Julius, and the Plum Palace Lord.
All the sworn brothers who had built today's Ragnar Family alongside Kyle were gathered.
Unlike their usual warm gazes toward Theo,
They all stared at him with tense faces, each gripping a sword in hand.
Sweat even beaded on their fingertips.
A sight they had never shown even against Troyvan's Nine Seals.
—If Theo goes berserk, it'll be a headache. So prepare for contingencies.
Even Kyle, the eldest, had separately warned the three, a testament to the immense pressure the Mad Dragon Emperor exerted on them.
The shock from the coup was still fresh.
How horrific had that situation been for the Plum Palace Lord to still dream of it as nightmares?
“…….”
Sure enough.
Tremble, tremble...
The Plum Palace Lord's hand gripping her sword was shaking.
Eyes that looked down on all with arrogance.
Madness that raged like a storm.
Family members swept up in it, losing their minds.
Soldiers slaughtering each other in frenzy, among them their master pierced by a blind sword...
‘Theo must not get caught in that pain...!’
She had been shocked enough when Kyle first gave Theo the Mad Dragon Emperor's half-sword.
When she learned he now planned to awaken its remnant will for the ‘final test as acting family head,’ her anger had boiled over.
For the first time, she had nearly yelled at Kyle.
But Kyle had merely shaken his head calmly.
—A child who says he'll inherit our karma himself. Then he must overcome this much.
The Plum Palace Lord had read the worry in Kyle's voice and said no more.
Still, if anything went wrong with Theo, the future looked pitch black.
“I hope he doesn't get fooled by appearances.”
At Julius's mutter, the three gazes turned to him.
Julius shrugged.
“No, I mean, right? That guy looks perfectly normal on the outside.”
The Black Dragon nodded silently.
He knew what Julius meant.
Before the Mad Dragon Emperor was consumed by madness, his moniker had been ‘The Sword Gentleman.’
Unlike a Ragnar, he had always been polite and courteous.
That had drawn many nobles and notables eager to associate with him.
When the Mad Dragon Emperor was ousted, public opinion in the empire swayed, seeing him as an innocent victim.
Julius himself had once fallen for that facade.
Probably the one who had pledged the greatest loyalty here?
But one day, he gripped his sword backward.
Because the lord he served was no longer the lord he knew.
—Monster.
Having lost the woman he loved, his lord went mad and unleashed his rage on everyone around.
“In some ways, he even resembled Theo... No point dragging this out; it'll just tire my mouth.”
Julius clicked his tongue lightly and turned to Kyle.
“In your view, big brother, what's the odds Theo overcomes the Mad Dragon Emperor's remnant will?”
A calm voice.
But the Black Dragon and Plum Palace Lord knew well: if Theo succeeded, Julius would be the first to swing his sword, discarding all lingering regrets.
Among them, Julius harbored the greatest rage and grudge against the Mad Dragon Emperor, not Kyle.
“Ten percent.”
“……Ten percent?”
Julius's head tilted sharply, while the Black Dragon and Plum Palace Lord furrowed their brows.
Yet,
“That's high, given Theo's mental fortitude.”
“……!”
“……!”
“You call that odds...?!”
The Black Dragon and Plum Palace Lord hardened their expressions in shock.
Anger flickered in Julius's eyes.
A first for the man who had devoted his life to obedience and loyalty to Kyle.
But Kyle regarded Julius with a composed face.
“Got a better way? If you do, speak up.”
Julius was momentarily speechless.
“The guy's been scurrying like a rat for decades. If not this, how do we draw him out? It's a gamble for me too.”
“…….”
“If that bastard uses the bead of shame's madness to directly harm Theo? If Theo gets devoured? We'd lose the Selector outright.”
Losing the Selector.
Having the regression ability they desperately guarded stolen away.
The thought alone sent chills down their spines.
“But I trust this child. I'm his father. At least don't cross the line, Yous.”
Yous.
Julius's youthful nickname.
But the shock hit Julius elsewhere.
—I'm his father.
Had big brother ever directly called any of his many children ‘this child’?
In the end, Julius clamped his lips shut.
He realized the one most anxious about this was none other than Kyle.
“It's ending.”
Then, the Black Dragon, who had silently watched Theo, spoke.
The other three gazes snapped toward him at once,
Kukukuku...!
And Theo's body began to shake violently.
The upheaval began.
‘What power!’
‘This aura alone?’
‘One wrong move and we're done!’
They knew Theo had already reached Dragon Gate Swordsman level.
So they knew if he were dyed in the Mad Dragon Emperor's madness, or awakened as his personality, he'd achieve absurd growth.
Yet the madness and demonic energy he exuded now rivaled the Nine Dragons—no, perhaps surpassed it.
If Kyle hadn't scattered Dragon Slayer Aura to contain the spread, the building might have collapsed already.
A precarious state where madness could rampage like during the past coup.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
Theo's body convulsed wildly with his heartbeat.
The madness and demonic energy churned, forming tangible waves in response.
“……Brother.”
Then, the Black Dragon sent Kyle a mental message in a steady voice.
「This seems dangerous.」
The Black Dragon's words cut off midway.
Kiaaaah!
Suddenly, madness and demonic energy tangled chaotically, enveloping Theo's body.
“Mad Dragon Manifestation!?”
“What the hell?!”
Julius and the Plum Palace Lord shot to their feet.
The Mad Dragon Emperor's signature trademark had appeared, reviving past traumas.
「Brother!!」
The Black Dragon thought Theo had been fully consumed by the Mad Dragon Emperor.
They had to attempt a ‘seal.’
Like what they brothers had done to Fengzun in the past.
But Kyle remained unmoved.
Finally, unable to hold back, the Black Dragon lunged forward.
Flash!
Suddenly, a sword blocked his path.
It was Julius.
“Wait, brother.”
“You!”
“Isn't big brother staying put too?”
“What if he fully awakens the Mad Dragon Emperor's personality like this?!”
“He said ten percent.”
Julius glanced at the inscrutable Kyle, then back at Robert.
“Then we trust him. Isn't it a sure success?”
The Black Dragon nearly retorted, but clamped his mouth seeing the Plum Palace Lord now beside Julius.
She looked as if she had overcome her trauma entirely.
She too believed in that ten percent.
‘Ten percent...’
The Black Dragon murmured it softly, then realized belatedly.
The path Theo had walked was one of even slimmer odds.
Hadn't doubting Theo at first, only to end up cheering him on later, been because of his passion?
Kwaaaaa!
In that instant, an overwhelming wave incomparable to before shattered Kyle's Dragon Slayer Aura.
Crash! Crash!
Glass shattered, and the world seemed to crumble beneath them.
The Black Dragon, Julius, and Plum Palace Lord all staggered, losing balance.
Only Julius maintained his stance unshaken.
Then, like a lie, the typhoon abruptly stopped.
‘What happened?’
‘Too quiet.’
‘Theodore...’
The three exchanged wary glances.
“It's over.”
When Kyle smiled faintly, Theo slowly opened his eyes.
His crimson eyes had deepened, now tinged with brown.
‘He's grown more!’
‘He fully contained the remnant will?’
‘He might even surpass Dragon Gate Swordsman, rivaling the Lunar Ring now.’
The three realized the moment they saw Theo's eyes.
—Can't read him!
If masters like them couldn't gauge his realm, it was one of two things.
Either he'd refined his mana control to deceive them, or he'd reached their level.
Probably only Kyle knew the truth?
“How was it, meeting your grandfather for the first time?”
Grandfather.
The word made the three flinch involuntarily.
Theo had been puzzled why three more people were there besides Kyle, when he'd only awakened the remnant will moments ago.
But he quickly composed himself and scratched his cheek awkwardly.
“Uh, well.”
“What? Did he say something pointless?”
“He told me to give his regards to Father...”
“What? Hahaha!”
Kyle burst into laughter.
His laugh rang out clear and bright.
Even amid Kyle's intense reaction, the three didn't miss that Theo deliberately avoided calling the Mad Dragon Emperor ‘grandfather.’
That alone made clear where Theo's mindset lay, easing their hearts.
“So that's all he said to his first grandson? Just like him.”
Kyle chuckled coldly before asking,
“And? He must've said more.”
Theo recalled what the Mad Dragon Emperor had said before passing through the ‘gate.’
A serene tone laced with faint amusement.
Yet one phrase still echoed in Theo's ears.
For a moment, Theo's expression hardened.
“It was something he said to me.”
“What was it?”
The memory surfaced vividly.
—See you again.
“See you again.”
The Mad Dragon Emperor never spoke of an end.
—My...
“My disciple.”