One Who Must Serve

Isera frowned.

Having withdrawn his forces at Basara’s word, he had sensed the birth of a new Dragon Vein.

Did that mean Basara had been wrong?

Isera shook his head.

It appeared entirely anew.

He felt his power weaken further still. Dragon Veins and Dragon Gods functioned as suppressors that weakened any “being that disrupted the balance.” They drastically reduced the stats of demons who had invaded from Pangenia, for instance. That was precisely why Isera had sought to eliminate the Dragon Gods first.

Yet before he could even find one, a new Dragon God was already in the process of being born.

I briefly connected with the consciousness of the newly conceived Dragon God. This is definitely a Dragon Vein that cradles a Dragon God.

At first he had thought only a Dragon Vein had appeared. Dragon Gods sometimes generated Veins alone, to weaken or deceive invaders. But just now he had clearly felt the consciousness of a Dragon God being conceived. Isera himself had been born of a Dragon God, after all.

And this one doesn’t seem like an ordinary Dragon God.

This creature was no normal Dragon God. It was clearly a mutant — like himself, or like Basara. That brief connection of consciousness had left him certain.

…I cannot leave it be.

He could not allow a Dragon God to be born. Once the Dragon Vein was complete and a new Dragon God emerged, the demons’ combat power would weaken dramatically. A mutant Dragon God would be even more troublesome. An invasion he had believed could not fail might yet fail. He had not even found the existing Dragon Gods — he could not allow this one to reach completion.

Seven days until the Dragon Vein is complete and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the Dragon God is born.

If they failed to destroy the exposed Dragon Vein within seven days, the Dragon God would be born and impose further debuffs. Dragon Gods were natural enemies to invaders. Discovering the “strike condition” of a mutant Dragon God would be far more difficult — just like his own.

Isera could modify his own “condition,” but it came with a weakness. Once modified, it locked for a set period, and taking a hit that matched the condition dealt far greater damage.

…So until I’ve fully assessed Earth’s forces, my condition must not be exposed.

Just as when he had lost to Wilhelm in the past. That monstrous bastard he never wanted to think of again. He had never dreamed anyone would discover the condition: Attack only when every buff has less than five seconds remaining. The moment the condition was exposed, Isera had died without being able to do a thing more.

And there was no guarantee Earth lacked someone like Wilhelm. He would only step forward once everything was certain.

Having ordered his thoughts, Isera commanded his legion.

“All soldiers, hear me. From this moment, we will prevent the Dragon Vein’s completion.”

A full mobilization of his troops. An iron will that a new Dragon God must never be allowed to be born.

The problem was time.

Seven days until the Queen of the Demon Blood Species became a complete Dragon God. If the exposed Dragon Vein was not protected, the Dragon God could not be completed.

Isera will desperately try to stop the Dragon Vein from completing.

His movements were as plain as day. He would do anything to prevent completion. But the problem was that I could not leave the Dragon Vein.

The Queen is absorbing both the Dragon Vein and my energy simultaneously.

If I left the Vein, she would no longer be able to absorb that energy. Without me, completing the Dragon God would hit a major snag.

…What do I do.

The message to protect the Dragon Vein had been delivered to everyone. But could humanity hold out for seven days without me? Even with the demons further weakened, the alliance led by Drakestar was not exactly inspiring of confidence.

And conveying my will to someone was difficult as well. To enter the Dragon Vein from outside required the Dragon God’s permission — and the Dragon God had not even been completed yet.

It might be possible.

But I saw a sliver of possibility. The Faith Declaration. That power to transmit will across space might make it work.

To whom should I leave what Faith Declaration?

After a moment’s thought, I opened my mouth.

The moment Park Taewoo read the words that a Dragon Vein had formed in Korea, his heart began to pound madly.

A Dragon Vein appearing in Korea!

At first he had thought it good news. But he quickly realized it was the beginning of tragedy. He had learned that every movement of the demons was now directed toward Korea.

Ah, O God. Why do You visit such trials upon us!

Park Taewoo, the warrior who represented Korea, despaired. The alliance had also issued a full mobilization order for Korea, which might have been fortunate — but Korea itself had transformed into the greatest battlefield of all. Win or lose, the aftermath would not be small.

All that remains is ruin. Everything in Korea will be shattered.

When a war ended, the place became a wasteland. Nothing would remain. Countless lives would be lost, every building reduced to rubble, and Korea would walk the path of collapse.

Yet there was nothing he could change. Park Taewoo was among the most powerless in this alliance.

It was as he stepped onto Korean soil in despair that it happened.

“You are…?”

Someone had quietly come looking for him. A clean-cut foreigner. When he heard the man’s introduction, Park Taewoo’s mind snapped to attention.

“…Hudson? W-wait — Hudson as in Randolph’s right-hand man from Labyrinth City? You were a player?”

Originally, the Queen of the Demon Blood Species had possessed neither knowledge nor wisdom. Only the instinct to preserve her species. Born of the Demon Blood Species’ yearning for reproduction, this was only natural.

A life that followed instinct alone, without a single doubt or hesitation. That was the fate given to the hastily created Queen of the Demon Blood Species.

Transcendence. To surpass one’s limits and reach beyond.

But through the Core of Transcendent Evolution, the Queen of the Demon Blood Species gained consciousness for the first time. The moment consciousness bloomed, she felt bewilderment at her own form.

A massive, thick body. A flesh that could barely move, dull beyond measure.

I must serve the King. This form will not do.

In this shape, she could not serve the King. She had to transcend the limits given to her and change. The moment that will took form, the Queen’s appearance began to transform. Two legs grew as if she were human, her outer form took shape, and bone structures like wings formed along her back.

This form was the result of her thinking of her “master.” The King who led the Demon Blood Species. He had taken human form.

And it was not only her appearance that changed — her mind and thoughts began to deepen like a human’s as well.

—The Root of the World Tree.

But that was not the end. The moment the transformation finished, she could begin learning the “truth” held by the Root of the World Tree.

The root is the beginning. The origin, and everything.

Her consciousness expanded further. Knowledge deepened, and profound insight settled in both her eyes. The primordial tree. The Root of the World Tree contained even the truths of the universe.

She was no longer merely a Queen of the Demon Blood Species who chased instinct alone.

I want to know more. I want to grow stronger. Desire and thirst. These never existed in me before.

A dramatic change. But it was not a bad one.

My growth is the growth of all Demon Blood Species.

She was Queen and sovereign. She stood in a position to rule countless Demon Blood Species. That they would grow as she grew was only natural.

But it was not over yet.

—The Broken Egg of the Heavenly Realm

An enormous egg of unknowable contents. Broken, yet profound. Intense divinity clung to it. Even with eyes that had grasped the truth, she could not fully measure its ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠worth.

This is a cocoon.

But she understood the egg’s purpose. Though broken, the vast energy that had once gestated something still remained. With that energy, she might evolve ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠into a higher being.

Slowly, the Blade Queen walked into the egg.

And at the same time—

…!!!

The world expanded. She felt every consciousness connect in a single instant. Beginning with the minds of the surrounding Demon Blood Species, it spread outward — the sounds of insects and grass beyond the Dragon Vein, countless humans and demons, even the existence of things on the far side of the world — all of it felt as if it were herself.

As though she had become a “god.”

…This is an egg from which a god was conceived and born in the distant past.

And she understood. This egg had cradled a god. She did not know which god, but she had inherited a fraction of that energy.

Then the Dragon Vein bestowed upon her the mantle of a “Dragon God.” The Dragon Vein itself became a kind of “Tower.” A Tower was the dwelling place of divinity — and divinity itself.

But I am not a god.

If she became a pure Dragon God, she would be nothing special, and she would be unable to leave the Dragon Vein. What she desired was to aid the one she served directly. Had she not transformed her very form for that purpose?

Above all, she could not become a god.

The only god for me is the one I must serve.

Randolph. If a god existed, it was only him. Therefore, she could not become a god.

She was still insufficient to become a perfect divinity in the first place. Various materials had sharply raised her rank, but that was all. Even if she forced herself into becoming a Dragon God in this state, could she truly be called a real god? Having grasped the truth, the Blade Queen could declare with certainty: no.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

She would be a half-measure. She would be incapable of properly fulfilling the mantle.

It was then.

…Ah.

What was this now?

This was glory. Memory. The past. Footprints left behind by those who had once shone brilliantly in antiquity. Most had been shattered into fragments and scattered, but the Complete Golden Rule was a crowning treasure that held everything they had been. A treasure among treasures that could fill every “void” merely by being used!

And he had freely offered that treasure.

If this is the King’s will…!

The Queen trembled with emotion, her body shaking finely. The only being who could bestow such immense grace was Randolph. It was the will of the King — wishing to make a half-measure more complete, wishing for her to become more perfect.

If her King and God so desired it, then she, his faithful servant, was bound to obey.

The Blade Queen no longer doubted.

…