Chapter 274: Awakening (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 274: Awakening (1)
Kuarne's face twisted fiercely. As that beautiful visage transformed into something resembling a grotesque demon mask, it appeared far more evil.
"...Dragon Lord."
Despite his aggressive posture, as though he might strike at any second, Kuarne merely muttered through gritted teeth. He did not seem terrified; to draw a human comparison, his reaction was akin to running into a minor nuisance.
The Dragon Lord, Valerion, let out a weary sigh.
"When might I hear your answer? Will you spare these people, or won't you?"
At Valerion's pressing, Kuarne's expression brightened unexpectedly.
"Tell me, is this proposal your own sole decision, Dragon Lord, or does it reflect the will of the entire Dragon Clan?"
"Is that a question I am obligated to answer?"
"Do not test my patience, Lord."
"You truly are bothersome."
Valerion crossed his arms and gestured with his chin toward the sky above Kuarne. A swarm of dragons was circling in formation, as though coiling in the heavens.
"Can you not tell by the fact that we all came together? The entire clan agreed, which is why they are here with me."
At the Lord's answer, Al'tair's eyes widened in shock. The Dragon Clan—a force whose total strength was said to rival five Corps Commanders combined. Ironically, they were never known to gather in groups, as every single dragon possessed a fiercely independent nature. They were, in essence, individualistic monsters.
'So how on earth did the dragons gather like this?'
His doubts did not stop there. Why were the dragons confronting a Corps Commander to protect humans? And what was this request from his 'granddaughter'? The more he turned it over in his head, the more questions piled up.
Yet, one thing could be inferred from this situation.
'They are allies.'
The Dragon Lord used his own body to shield the patriarch from Kuarne's sight. From that small consideration, the patriarch could tell the Dragon Lord's words were no lie. And even if they were, he had no choice but to remain silent.
There was no room for humans to intervene in the conversation between monsters. The fate of every Auditore hung in the balance.
"I see."
Kuarne uncrossed his legs and stood tall in midair.
"Very well, Lord. I shall withdraw for today."
Kuarne snapped his fingers. Instantly, the ground beneath his feet rippled before tearing open to the left and right like a beast opening its maw. Soon, the gaping fissure turned into a passage leading somewhere.
Kuarne looked down at the Lord.
"I will demand the price for this matter next time. Naturally, not just from you, Lord, but from the entire Dragon Clan."
"Fine, fine, spare your breath and just leave. Ah, before you go..."
Valerion picked his ear with his pinky finger.
"Since we're on the subject, there's something I wanted to say. The one with whom our ancestor, Lord Ouroboros, struck a neutrality pact was Lord Lycan, the true monarch of Gehenna—not a half-baked fraud like you, 2nd Corps Commander."
The Dragon Lord was mocking the fact that Kuarne was originally an angel, not a demon.
"The Dragon Lords before me remained silent, but..."
Valerion blew gently on his pinky. A speck of earwax flicked into the air toward Kuarne.
"Right now, you are ignoring Lord Lycan's final wish that there be no further wars with humanity, my dear angel."
"Hahaha."
Kuarne burst into raucous laughter. The sound rippled outward in circular shockwaves, causing the entire area to tremble subtly.
Rumble, rumble...
It felt as though their bodies would be blown away. Every member of the Auditore family groaned softly. Each of them planted their weapon into the pavement to anchor themselves.
On the other hand, the Dragon Lord stood nonchalantly with a sullen expression. Kuarne mocked him.
"Even if you have been holed up in your nest for hundreds of years, you are terribly ignorant of the ways of the world, Lord."
"..."
The Lord slightly furrowed his brows as if annoyed, but he did not retort. He loathed unnecessary chatter.
"This war is the very war Lord Lycan initiated. At any rate, stay healthy until we meet next time, Lord. Your body needs to be in tip-top shape for torture to be enjoyable."
A sadistic smile curled on Kuarne's lips. The Lord replied with unamused eyes.
"Thanks for the well wishes. You take good care of those feathers too, Mr. Angel. I intend to pluck them all out before clipping them."
Kuarne snapped his fingers once more. A magically created door spiraled like a waterspout, swallowing both Kuarne and Leon at once. It churned as though digesting them, and only a moment later did the torn pavement completely seal shut.
* * *
At the same time, in the Academy's Special Pavilion.
Hon was pressing her fingertips gently against her temples with her eyes closed. She was currently communicating with the Dragon Clan.
'To think Hon was a blood relative of the Dragon Lord.'
Since she had shed her Imoogi form at a young age and ascended into a dragon, I expected her lineage to be extraordinary.
But who could have guessed she was directly related to the Dragon Lord? Once again, I felt relieved that I had rescued Hon from the Pertinax Auction House.
'If word of that had somehow reached the Dragon Lord's ears...'
Dealing with the Corps Commanders alone was overwhelming enough. If the neutral dragons had joined in as enemies, even a sliver of hope would have vanished.
"Phew..."
The silence broke. Letting out a deep breath, Hon turned to look at me.
"It seems the 2nd Corps Commander has departed."
She gave a soft smile, though her face looked pale, likely from exhaustion.
"...It looks like he left for now."
Hon still seemed somewhat uneasy. I was dying to ask her more, but I held back.
"You've worked hard. Let's go get some meat."
Instead, I uttered the magic words that would cheer her up.
"I made reservations at an SSS-rank Korean Beef restaurant."
Hon's complexion instantly brightened. Meanwhile, Choi Seol-ah cheered in delight.
"Yay! My Lord is buying!"
I glanced sideways at Choi Seol-ah and grumbled.
"And what did you suffer through to tag along?"
"B-B-But..."
"Just in case, stay here at the Special Pavilion. Since you're contracted with Hon, you might not be able to transmit messages, but you can still receive replies, right?"
"That's so mean, Lord! Give me a reward too!"
"A reward's value comes from hard work. But you haven't done a thing today."
I gave a curt reply as I helped Hon up.
"Why should I feed someone like you a meal that costs a million won per serving?"
"I don't care, I don't care! Take me toooooo! SSS-rank Korean Beeeeeeef...!"
Choi Seol-ah flopped onto her back and threw a childish tantrum. A long, mournful wail echoed loudly through the Special Pavilion.
"Waaahhhh...!"
*
Nox's legs gave out.
"...Huu."
Starting with him, every member of the Auditore family collapsed to the ground. The assassins were drenched in sweat, looking like people who had just awakened from a terrible nightmare.
"Is everyone alright?"
Al'tair, the only one standing on his two feet, asked. Everyone merely nodded faintly; none had the energy left to answer aloud.
Though some of his children were breathing heavily, everyone's limbs were intact and they were safe.
"What a relief, truly."
Just as Al'tair sighed with relief and wiped away his cold sweat, Valerion slowly turned around. Meeting his gaze, the Auditore members' complexions turned pale once more. They had only just belatedly processed the fact that Valerion was a dragon.
"Why did you come to the Demon Realm?"
A sudden question. The patriarch stepped forward before the inquiring Dragon Lord and bowed his head deeply.
"Before answering, allow me to express my gratitude for saving me and my children, Dragon Lord."
"Spare me the pleasantries. Just tell me your business here."
Al'tair fell into thought. Should he state plainly that they came under the orders of the Heavenly Sword? Even though they had saved their lives, these beings were still demons. Even if dragons had strong neutral tendencies, they were monsters nonetheless.
The long-held prejudice that they were humanity's primary enemy could not be flipped in an instant. This was especially true for an old man like the patriarch.
"I will speak on our behalf."
The one who spoke up was Nox. Staggering slightly, he stepped up to face the Dragon Lord.
—If it were the Heavenly Sword, he would have told him. He is a person who keeps a clear tally of debts and grudges. If anything goes wrong, I will take full responsibility.
Nox whispered to the patriarch via telepathy. The patriarch stared at his grandson with wide eyes before letting out a soft chuckle.
"You foolish boy. Is this something you can take responsibility for?"
The patriarch spoke aloud.
"It is good that you've matured early, but there are conversations best left to the adults."
"...Yes, Grandfather."
The patriarch patted his grandson's slightly slumping shoulders. A warm smile spread across his lips.
"Still, I appreciate the thought. You have grown immensely over the two years you spent at the Academy. For now, step back and rest."
At the patriarch's words, Nox nodded. As he stepped back, the patriarch apologized to the Lord.
"Forgive me, Lord. It is truly shameful of me to hesitate in the face of debt and favor."
"It matters not. Whatever the circumstances, I only need to hear the truth. At the very least, we dragons need a proper justification to break our neutrality and turn against the 2nd Corps Commander."
"Br-breaking your neutrality?"
The patriarch asked in surprise.
"Did the 2nd Corps Commander not retreat out of fear of making an enemy of the Dragon Clan...?"
"Kuarne was originally an angel who betrayed God and fell. Would a fellow like that fear mortal dragons? Hardly."
Valerion clicked his tongue. He then stared into the empty air where Kuarne had been floating moments ago.
"Kuarne is far crazier than you imagine. It was practically him who instigated the demons to start the war 700 years ago."
"Was it not the 1st Corps Commander who declared war?"
Valerion shook his head.
"On the contrary, Lord Lycan opposed it at first. However, it is true that he ultimately declared war. He likely wanted to cross swords with the Hero of the Origin. War was merely a pretext for that."
"Ah..."
Sanctioning a war just to cross swords with the Hero of the Origin—from Al'tair's perspective, Lycan was no less of a lunatic. However, the patriarch swallowed the words that almost slipped out. To voice them would be needlessly provoking the Dragon Lord.
Valerion spoke up.
"State your business for coming. I despise talking, so I will merely listen."
Al'tair nodded. After talking briefly, he realized the Dragon Lord was someone who could be reasoned with. An old man's keen eyes were sharp in such matters.
Al'tair confessed their reason for coming to the Demon Realm. Of course, he took great care not to cause trouble for Kang Geomma.
After listening to the patriarch's entire story, Valerion was silent for a moment. Once a few minutes passed, he asked out of nowhere:
"Could I meet this man called the Heavenly Sword?"
"...!"
The patriarch froze solid. Even though he had held back mentioning Kang Geomma as much as possible, Valerion singled him out directly.
He couldn't play dumb and refuse; his counterpart was a dragon. They possessed Demon Eyes. Discerning the truth behind an excuse would be child's play for them.
'Yet to refuse coldly would be ungrateful after receiving such a favor.'
No matter if they were demons, the Auditore family could not live bearing unpaid debts. That was the Auditore conviction passed down through generations. Repay what was given, whether it be enmity or grace. That was the order the Auditore sought to maintain.
'...Even so.'
Seeing the patriarch hesitate, Valerion added:
"The situation you fear will not come to pass, so do not worry. To be precise, I intend to express my gratitude."
"Gratitude? For what?"
"I heard he was the one who rescued my granddaughter when she was about to be sold at an auction in the Human Realm."
The patriarch sucked in a sharp breath. That skinny pointed-ear... no, that girl was the Lord's granddaughter?
"Auditore, I was also told that you people helped rescue my granddaughter."
"...Is that why you sought to protect us?"
"Would we break a neutrality maintained for over hundreds of years for no reason?"
The Dragon Lord softened his stiff expression.
"From ancient times, we dragons have always been clear when it comes to debts and favors. What we receive must be returned."
The House of Order and the Clan of Neutrality. The convictions of the two powers transcended species.
"Saving your lives roughly settles the score with you, but I have bestowed nothing upon the one called the Heavenly Sword yet. In truth, even without that, hearing your story makes me want to meet him."
The Dragon Lord tapped beneath his eye with a finger.
"Perhaps I might even be able to help him awaken his eye."