Chapter 55
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 55
Chapter Title: The End of a Dutiful Race
-----------------------------------------------------------------
I recall Isla's movements.
Isla had used Gaumris by gathering all the dragon spirit she drew out and unleashing it in a single, explosive strike.
A brutish way of using power, possible only because she had the body of a dragon and could draw upon its spirit indefinitely.
Now, I can use that same simple, brutish method.
‘That image.’
The image of weaving together all the power of the Divine and Light Dragons dwelling in this soul, the strength, elasticity, and inertia of my body, and the flow of all that power into this one point.
A single, decisive blow.
It was said that the True Holy Sword Aizaiya had the ability to amplify the wielder's external and internal power by 3.3 times, unleashing it as an explosion of light pressure.
Gaumris and Toel, imitations of Aizaiya, had inherited a portion of this power.
In the next moment, Gaumris unleashed the amplified power of the Divine and Light Dragons within, channeling it into maximum destructive force.
“Tzaaaa—!”
The clash of Gaumris and the Soul Sword.
A deafening roar that felt like it would shatter my skull.
A halo of light spread from the point of impact, followed by a vast explosion of light.
“—Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”
The beam of light that erupted from the point of impact shot forward, striking the mountainside and carving a cave into it.
“Your Excellency—!”
The breath I had inhaled just before leaping out now burst forth as a massive gasp.
“—What do we do now!”
I asked with such urgency.
Was it because I had focused and unleashed a power with a clear time limit?
‘No time. One of my knees is already buckling.’
Blood pouring from my eyes and nose was the least of it. A coldness was spreading through my body, draining my strength.
‘A chill from the backlash of transcendent power? No, it's not just that.’
It was also a shiver born of absolute terror.
‘It's too fast... far too fast...’
Hairkan, whose entire upper body had been obliterated by the torrent from Gaumris...
From the empty space where his torso had been, swirling sand rose and instantly regenerated his body.
[It's over! The platform's defense forces have been annihilated...!]
This thing...
Is it truly a monster...?
A cold sweat trickled down my face.
[Close the train doors! Quickly!]
Where his brain should have been, a grotesquely shaped seed floated in the void.
The core of his soul.
But without the Changmyeonggeom, there was nothing I could do.
‘This was only possible because we caught him off guard, thanks to Yoshar and Seira. I won't be so lucky next time.’
An instant that felt like an eternity began.
Without even fully regenerating his body, Hairkan thrust the Soul Sword forward.
Just as my body was about to be swallowed by the vortex of screaming souls from the blade, Solang's shield deflected the blow.
The instant it was deflected, Seira lunged at Kaisen, shoving him far away.
As I lost my grip on Gaumris and tumbled to the ground.
Yoshar, who had been circling above and raining lightning down on the primitives, dove down and stomped on Hairkan with both feet.
And for a moment.
A very, very brief moment.
He looked straight at me and smiled with his eyes.
“Kaisen, child of miracles. You must continue on your path. My dutiful race ends here.”
Simultaneous Fronts, Halting Golgong King Hairkan (4)
Before I could ask what he meant, before I could realize those were his last words.
As if shedding its skin.
The golden dragon scales that covered his entire body scattered into particles of light, revealing the dragon's skeleton beneath.
“...Your Excellency!”
Those bones rained down like dozens of wedges, pinning Hairkan's body and sealing his movements.
The particles of his soul.
They gathered once more where the soul core was located, wrapping the core in a curtain of light and trapping it securely.
[What? The primitives are all starting to collapse!]
Yes, it was an immortal tomb.
A hill of sacrifice, where one dies to imprison the world's darkness.
[The Golgong King has been subjugated! The FakeWarriors did it!]
When enough time had passed for me to blink just once, the world around me was steeped in a deep silence.
The eerie, churning presence of the Abyss was gone, as was the presence of the True Dragon that had bathed the sky in its sacred light.
All that was clearly visible was a mausoleum made of dragon bones...
[Your Excellency, we're alive! We've secured the tracks for twelve railcars!]
[882! Take in all the railcars and depart!]
[You have saved millions, FakeWarrior. We salute you.]
And a symbol of hope and sacrifice that had brought the new day of tomorrow to all these people.
We hadn't even spent much time together, yet seeing that tomb, a hollow ache spread through the pit of my stomach.
Is this just a tremor felt by the soul that has seeped into mine?
‘He said he favored me. But I know nothing about him.’
He said he favored my mother.
And my master, too.
And so, he favored me, her son and his student, giving me the Cintamani and leading me from a future as a craftsman to this one.
‘If only the times had been different...’
Would there have been time to talk? About my mother, and about Camilla.
I didn't know.
I never knew.
Why is it that questions that can never be answered always surface the moment everything becomes irreversible?
“I've heard of it before.”
Seira, pushing herself up from on top of Kaisen, muttered.
“They say all True Dragons can use their own bodies and souls to seal the Old Nobles.”
“What...?”
“I think I also heard that's what they were created for...”
As if unsure herself, Seira shrugged. I tried to grab her hand to stand up, but...
My consciousness was gradually fading.
Unable to stand without support, I leaned helplessly against Seira's shoulder.
“Anyway, hmm, so that’s how it was. You’re Lady Raminea’s child? Oh my, oh my, oh my, oh my.”
“...Don’t tell anyone else.”
“You know, you’re surprisingly good at keeping a straight face.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Stop joking around and look at my hair.”
“Your hair?”
As if to make me look closely, Seira, with Kaisen clinging to her shoulder, pushed her head toward him.
It was strange.
It was covered in blood and dust... but why did it seem to smell of flowers? I quickly turned my head away.
“Just tell me what it is. My consciousness is getting...”
“Don't play dumb. It's Lady Raminea's hairstyle! This was all the rage in high society back then.”
My mother's hair...?
I turned my head again and looked at her elegantly braided hair, but it wasn't my mother's.
The mother in my memory had dyed her hair black, and she wore it long and loose.
“I don't see it.”
“What do you mean you don't see it? After how many times I've saved you today, you're going to be like this?”
“Fine, you’re right.”
“No, no, no, no. That's not the kind of half-hearted answer I want. Look properly. Like Isla.”
A sad silence fell once more.
With just the name Isla.
As my consciousness was about to sink into that silence, the master of the Thunderous Fragrance breathed a scent directly into my mind.
[Setsunen of Thunderous Fragrance speaks. Kaisen, Seira, respond.]
“This is Kaisen. Go ahead.”
[The situation was too urgent to bring your voice into the Thunderous Fragrance Resonance. Instead, Lord Yoshar headed there with the last six wyverns. What happened?]
I closed my mouth.
As the hole in my chest widened with pain, my mouth clamped shut on its own.
Seira reported in my stead.
“This is Seira. We've succeeded in subjugating Golgong King Hairkan. I had a tough time assisting Kaisen while he was trying to show off again.”
[Yes, you've done well. What of His Excellency Yoshar? His presence has weakened greatly, and I cannot reach him.]
“He... used his body... to seal Hairkan.”
How much longer must this world...
How much longer must we report someone’s death like this?
Can we not live and remain in this world together? Why must someone always depart for a place that is not this world?
[I see, so that's what happened... Then the presence I feel now must be Kaisen, holding his.]
“Yes...”
[Kaisen, cherish the lantern he gave you, but do not extinguish it with your tears. I can feel your heart's pain, and it tears me apart.]
It was simple comfort. More a reaffirmation of my mission than true consolation.
Or so I tried to think...
But her tone and sigh, like a mother embracing and soothing me with her touch, made my head hang low. The Thunderous Fragrance was a mother to all soldiers on the battlefield.
[Rest now. Seira, what is the situation on the central front?]
“We have evacuated all the refugees, and the primitive army was neutralized and lost its power the moment Hairkan was subjugated.”
[Well done. You've done very well. It is time for all the Warriors to gather once more. Only one operation remains before the subjugation campaign. We must connect the railway south of the mountain range.]
Seira's gaze changed completely.
“It won't be long before we have a knife to Neigallas's throat.”
[Indeed, and for that, I need your help. Bring Kaisen and come here. I will send a railcar so you can travel in comfort.]
* * *
I dreamed of a time that now felt so distant, just after we had subjugated Mauna Loa.
A lot had changed after the subjugation of Mauna Loa.
The hazing from the main forces of the central front, who had doubted the abilities of the newly appointed FakeWarrior, vanished all at once.
- FakeWarrior.
Instead, I found myself receiving salutes filled with respect more and more often.
At first, I returned each one, but there were so many that I switched to a simple nod before my arm fell off.
Not only that, but the invisible wall that had existed between me and the Iron Cross Knights seemed to have suddenly disappeared.
‘Why?’
All I remembered was spewing harsh words at the celebratory feast...
The distance with Tval, who had burned with a competitive spirit since the moment we were redeployed, had vanished even more dramatically.
For instance, one day Tval said.
- I had a son. He was just ten. Died with his mother from a plague that spread when the Abyss erupted during the 'Black Summer'.
- Sir?
- But if I could have taken that sickness in their place, if I could have saved my son and my wife, I would have done it in a heartbeat, over and over. I even prayed day and night for it to happen.
As he spoke, he punched Kaisen's chest, almost like a hammer blow. His head was turned far away, so I couldn't see his expression.
- But if that son I saved did nothing but cry all day, saying it was my fault, my responsibility, I'd come right back from heaven and smash his face in. I'm serious. Ha!
- ...
- A parent's heart is pretty much the same for everyone. So, what was it? What was I trying to say? Huh? Right. Hey, you idiot, stop stewing in your own misery.
Did he know the truth of my life? How?
I didn't ask.
I simply decided to gratefully accept the sincerity in his words. It was strange that I was able to.
‘A part of my heart has found peace...’
I don't know why.
It felt as if the blades of grief that had pierced my chest, the ones that throbbed every time I spoke to someone, had vanished.
Of course, they weren't completely gone, but it was strange how much the pain could subside overnight.
Now... I can see them again...
Only then did I realize how tearfully moving it was to have someone you could see again, someone you could go to meet.
I hadn't particularly wanted to know.
But at some point, I came to know it naturally, like how knowledge accumulates when you read a book.
And books.
I also soon learned that the more you turn the pages, savoring the joy of a book, the faster you reach the final page.
I hadn't wanted to know, but that too, I came to know naturally at some point.
And I learned something else.
That life... is like a book.
