Chapter 356
Chapter 356
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 356
>Chapter Title: ……Me, Wyvern
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A deathly silence settled over the space.
Snow scattered like dust in the chill wind sweeping across the wasteland.
In the suffocating tension that threatened to make one faint, the wyvern fixed its gaze on the red dragon without flinching.
Flap, flap.
Its small wings beat relentlessly.
[This one, my friend.]
The wyvern advanced toward the red dragon, declaring it like a chant.
It wasn't long before the red dragon broke the silence.
[……A friend?]
Its voice carried doubt, as if questioning whether it had heard correctly.
The wyvern gave no reply.
[Gaaaargh!]
A menacing roar.
But the red dragon was no black wyvern, and naturally, it showed no fear at the cry.
It merely shifted its massive eyes, taking in the wyvern and Aster in turn.
"Get back."
[Kyak!]
Aster seized the wyvern by the scruff of its neck and hurled it behind him.
[You! Barbaric human! Me! Great dragon!]
"Shut up."
Whether the wyvern was truly a dragon or something else, the size difference with the red dragon was absurd.
Like heaven and earth…… If the red dragon was a real dragon, the wyvern looked like a mere lizard by comparison.
So, what to do.
"……."
Aster's eyes darkened. He condensed his senses, focusing them on a single point. Naturally, that point was the red dragon.
He steadied his mind with an inhaled breath and cleared his head with an exhaled one—
Smack!
"……."
A blow to the back of his head from an exhausted striker made Aster lose his breath.
The wyvern's assault didn't end there.
[You! Barbaric human! Me! Great dragon!]
Thwack! Thud! Pow!
Perched on his shoulder, the wyvern pummeled the back of Aster's head with its front paws and tore at his hair with its jaws.
"Ow! Ack!"
[Barbaric human goes back! Great dragon goes front!]
Under the wyvern's furious onslaught, Aster could only take the beating helplessly. The attack stopped only after he grabbed its scruff again.
"What the…… Are you insane? Can't read the room?"
[You're the insane one.]
Dangling from its scruff, the wyvern still glared at him with bulging eyes.
[That one, dangerous. You, barbaric. Me, great.]
In other words, as the great dragon, it meant to protect the barbaric human Aster. But that attitude left Aster utterly exasperated.
Who was protecting whom, exactly.
"You…… Hoo."
Aster started to snap back but let out a deep sigh at the sight of the wyvern's glistening eyes.
He'd thought it was brave out of stupidity……
[Me, great.]
Glistening eyes.
Trembling breaths.
The wyvern was afraid, too.
And etched into that fear was…… a thread of guilt.
What drove the wyvern forward was guilt born from the fact that it had led Aster here.
Aster stared into those eyes for a moment, then clenched his fist.
"Take a break."
Change struck in that instant.
Keeein—!
"……."
Mana so densely packed it was unbelievable. Aster's fist, aimed at the wyvern's head, was halted just short.
The red dragon's voice rang in his ear.
[Let it be, master of Reverse Heaven.]
"……."
[Our meeting was unexpected, and words have spilled, but you are not my target. And……]
The red dragon's piercing gaze took in Aster and the wyvern at once.
Its eyes saw it.
[You are connected.]
The chains of Reverse Heaven binding Aster and the wyvern. And the fact that those chains made their fates one.
The red dragon accepted the truth calmly, then beckoned the small dragon forward.
[Time is short. Child, come forth without fear.]
[…….]
The wyvern didn't move. It just stared at the red dragon with bulging eyes.
[I shall not touch the master of Reverse Heaven. Why would I ruin my long wait with these hands?]
At the repeated urging, the wyvern looked to Aster. He glanced at the red dragon, then nodded.
"Go on."
[…….]
Only then did it flap its wings with a flap, approaching the red dragon.
[Come closer.]
[…….]
The wyvern beat its wings harder, climbing toward the red dragon's head. In response, the red dragon lowered its own.
When their eyes finally met at the same level, the red dragon asked the wyvern,
[Child, I am curious about your name.]
[……Me, wyvern.]
[No, you are a dragon. Though…… born against the natural order, you are indeed a dragon now.]
As if knowing even the story of the wyvern's birth, the red dragon calmly awakened its true identity.
But the wyvern shook its head.
[Me, name. Wyvern.]
[……?]
The red dragon blinked in confusion, stared at the wyvern for a moment, then shifted its gaze to Aster.
Eyes burning with fury.
[That one, my friend.]
[……Understood.]
The red dragon looked ready to devour Aster whole but reined itself in at the wyvern's words.
When it looked back at the wyvern, its once purely affectionate eyes now held a tinge of regret.
It had much to say, but alas, the red dragon's time was limited.
Any longer, and even the power it meant to pass on would be exhausted before reaching the child.
It should have had ample time, but……
‘……Reverse Heaven.’
That loathsome thing was the variable.
Thus, the red dragon cut straight to the point.
And that point was……
……The transmission of its mission.
The mission had two parts.
One was to revive the extinct clan. The other was to restore the world's balance by reviving the clan.
The concern, however……
‘……That its origin stems from Reverse Heaven.’
Reverse Heaven, which defied the natural order, had revived the guardians of balance. What, then, was its intent?
There must be some scheme.
Joy at the clan's lineage enduring mingled with anxiety over Reverse Heaven's unknown motives.
The red dragon wavered between the two emotions for a moment, then gathered its thoughts.
‘This, too…… is part of the flow.’
Reverse Heaven surely disrupted the natural order, but even that disruption ultimately belonged to it.
Even if the distortion birthed tragedy, that tragedy was not the world's own.
Thus, the immediate priority, as said, was transmitting the mission.
And……
‘……Severing the chains of Reverse Heaven.’
[Child, close your eyes.]
[……?]
Puzzled but obedient, the wyvern shut its eyes. With them closed, its body swayed unsteadily.
The red dragon raised a massive forepaw to steady it, then closed its own eyes.
And then.
[Child, I shall impart to you the clan's mission.]
The red dragon's will stirred the mana.
This was…… a authority transcending magic.
A mystery granted only to the dragons' sovereign.
[……!]
The wyvern shuddered as vast knowledge flooded its mind. But the change didn't stop there.
Authority came with the knowledge.
[Endure it.]
For the young one to assimilate all this knowledge and authority at once was impossible. Most would sink into its subconscious and slumber.
But when the time came, that dormant knowledge and authority would awaken as strength.
So.
[Endure it.]
The red dragon soothed the writhing wyvern. Its voice carried boundless compassion.
……The moment the last dragon passed its will to the first.
* * *
As the wyvern writhed in agony from the influx of knowledge and authority,
the red dragon turned its gaze to Aster.
It had passed on the knowledge and authority. The mission within would guide the young dragon's life henceforth.
Now remained the crimson gem…… safely delivering the power within the Dragon Heart. But first, something must be done.
‘……Reverse Heaven.’
Severing those chains.
Breaking the shared fate between Reverse Heaven's master and the young dragon, granting the young one true freedom.
Truth be told, this posed a grave dilemma for the red dragon.
The power in the Dragon Heart was the bare minimum it deemed necessary for the young dragon to stand on its own.
Yet.
‘After severing the chains, how much will remain? No…… whether it can even be severed.’
Reverse Heaven was incomplete.
Less than half its full state.
Thus, the chains' bonds weren't overly strong, yet predicting success remained uncertain.
For Reverse Heaven's power inherently defied the natural order.
Even this scant power burdened the red dragon, which sustained its existence through authority alone, without flesh.
Thus…… it needed aid.
Having thought that far, the red dragon regarded Aster.
[Master of Reverse Heaven.]
"Speak."
Meanwhile, a thought occurred.
Would a greedy human…… one bearing Reverse Heaven…… go to such lengths for the young dragon?
Would it release the dragon in its grasp?
From the humans the red dragon had observed, the odds were slim.
Not just greed…… depending on circumstances, it might demand more than mere "effort" as payment.
But.
- This one, my friend.
The red dragon decided to hold out hope.
- Get back.
- Kyak!
The light in its eyes as it stepped forward for the young dragon.
[I assume you know of the chains linking you and this child.]
"……."
Aster said nothing. Silence was affirmation.
Moreover…… his head was already a mess.
From the dragon to Reverse Heaven to the wyvern, it was all too sudden.
The red dragon regarded such an Aster steadily.
Then it spoke.
[If there is a way to sever the chains, what would you do?]
"A way…… exists?"
At Aster's question, the red dragon affirmed.
[Difficult, but it exists. However, it requires aid from you, master of Reverse Heaven. Thus, I must ask. For this young dragon, will you……]
Whoooosh—
A chill wind sliced between them. The red dragon continued right after.
[……defy the will of Reverse Heaven?]
"……."
[If fortune favors, it may end with minor effort. Otherwise, you may pay a greater price.]
Aster narrowed his eyes.
The Fire Mark burned hot in that moment.
Sizzle—
"……."
As if warning against idle thoughts.
Aster furrowed his brow at the pain spreading through his body.
It was excruciating.
Even his transcendent mind could only stifle screams.
[…….]
The red dragon watched Aster silently. Then it quietly set aside its faint hope.
The master of Reverse Heaven would refuse aid.
Reverse Heaven would not permit it.
In truth…… calling it the "master" of Reverse Heaven was mere flattery; its essence was that of a "slave."
A slave begging for transcendent power and obeying Reverse Heaven's will.
[Enough. Just don't interfere……]
"……Bullshit."
[……?]
The red dragon narrowed its eyes at the sudden curse.
Interfering after all? As dismay deepened, Aster's mouth opened soon after.
"……Tell me the method. What do I need to do?"
[That means…… you'll help?]
Aster gave no answer. He couldn't. Clutching his chest, he focused on swallowing the pain.
But.
"……."
He barely lifted his head.
His eyes said it.
……Gladly, no matter the cost, he would help.
That gaze…… was utterly, utterly different from the "slaves" the red dragon had seen before.
[……Thank you.]
The red dragon bowed its head.
……The moment the first dragon claimed its freedom.