Chapter 185
Chapter 185
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 185
Chapter Title: The Last Dragon (4)
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The dragon's tale began from a rather abrupt point.
- Do you know what a 'mountain range' is, mortals?
There was no way he didn't. This continent was dotted with all sorts of mountains, but there was only one formation called a 'mountain range.' A massive chain of peaks that cut straight across the central continent from east to west.
One had to cross it to reach the 'wastelands' and the 'demon realm.'
A barbarian who had come from beyond the mountains in the setting and had personally scaled them nodded readily. He had no clue why such a question was being asked.
- Then, do you also know how that 'mountain range' came to be?
Realistically speaking, it was probably due to the collision of continental plates. But Kadim's instincts screamed that it couldn't possibly be such a mundane cause.
And sure enough, an unimaginable story emerged.
- The 'mountain range' was formed from the piled-up corpses of my kin.
"..."
- The bones and flesh of a thousand dragons. Layer upon layer of those accumulated, decayed, eroded remains, buried under merciless eons of sediment—that is the true nature of the 'mountain range' that spans the continent...
Dragons were the strongest beings on earth. A single dragon could raze a city, ten could topple a nation, and a hundred could annihilate a continent.
Yet the inscrutable laws of the world often unleashed catastrophes beyond the comprehension of mere creatures.
One day, in the span of a single night, a thousand dragons were helplessly exterminated.
The 'Night of Heavenly Punishment.'
It was the cataclysm that drew the curtain on the 'Mythic Age,' when humans, elves, and dwarves vied for continental hegemony, gods intervened directly in earthly order, and dragons eyed the heavenly citadels.
After this event, all non-human races save those who followed Elga vanished into the hinterlands, and the dragons—who had reigned as living embodiments of destruction—faded eternally into the annals of history.
No official records of the 'Night of Heavenly Punishment' remained. Only vague oral tales persisted, saying the dragons, drunk on their arrogance, challenged the gods and were wiped out by divine wrath.
But according to the firsthand account of a dragon who had lived through it:
- We dragons realized one day that Elga's 'divinity' had changed.
"...!"
- The shell of its godhood and form—the foundation of absolute authority—remained intact, but the 'divinity of light and order' within had vanished without a trace. In its place lurked something unspeakably ominous, masquerading as the supreme god.
This 'false Elga' that had abruptly seized the heavenly throne was nothing like the just and merciful true Elga. It showered excessive blessings on its followers, took the sun as its eye to surveil all creation, and slaughtered any who pierced its true nature or denied it, throwing the continent into chaos.
The dragons would not stand idly by. As the mightiest of creatures, they took responsibility, gathering every dragon at once to launch a full assault on Elga's eyeball: the 'sun.'
And the result was beyond horrific.
- That night, the sun did not set... Heavenly punishment, heavenly punishment, heavenly punishment... The sun, defying natural order, unleashed a deluge of 'heavenly punishment' like a world-ending downpour... The false god's lightning pierced our sturdy scales and wings like blank paper... Even so, we dragons fought to the bitter end without giving up... But in the end, we couldn't even scratch that loathsome eye and were utterly annihilated...
Dragons were the strongest beings on earth, invincible save to gods. Yet before a god's fury, even dragons were mere creations.
All dragons perished. Without poetic flourish, their corpses formed mountains. Only one—Rapustran, miraculously revived after being buried under the pile—survived.
Even in survival, the last dragon could no longer wield its former might. Stepping into the light beyond Elga's gaze invited 'heavenly punishment,' just like the followers of the Forgotten God.
Rapustran had no choice but to retreat to its lair. It cut ties with worldly affairs, incinerating intruders and hoarding treasures. It ignored great demons, rifts, or demonic hordes...
The sole exception in millennia of seclusion was confronting the 'world-consuming inferno.'
Even that wasn't truly to avert doom, but for other reasons. And perhaps... after such vast ages, it hoped it could now withstand 'heavenly punishment.'
Yet the outcome was as tragic as ever.
- That mage's flames were threatening enough, but tolerable. But that damned Elga's 'heavenly punishment'—even after all that time, I still couldn't endure it... No chance to unleash full power... The moment I reached the World Tree, I was bombarded and forced to withdraw.
Dread filled its split pupils. Its crouched posture slackened, revealing the lingering scars of heavenly punishment on its torso.
Now it all made sense. Why the supreme being trembled in fear, why it ignored worldly matters, why it fled in defeat without properly fighting the grand mage...
Kadim grimaced slightly. To slaughter a thousand dragons—heavenly punishment's power was far beyond imagination. If true, securing the dragon's aid against Melissa again wouldn't be easy.
However.
"Great Supreme Being, Rapustran. Please take a look at this for a moment."
This time, there was a solution.
Ilenia unfurled a large dark shroud. A holy relic from the church: the 'Nightshadow Veil.' This darkness-imbued veil could temporarily block the sun and evade heavenly punishment.
Rapustran's pupils dilated massively. Hearing testimony of safely using dark holy power in broad daylight sent them to their peak, alight with excitement.
But that excitement quickly faded.
Torn by anguish, the dragon refused the plea. Even hordes of dragons had fallen helplessly to heavenly punishment; it couldn't trust a relic from some nameless lesser god. Ilenia pleaded earnestly—its effects were proven, it didn't block punishment but deceived the eye, this wasn't confronting the sun head-on—but it remained unmoved.
- ...Even so, I cannot aid you. Kill or roast that mage yourselves now.
Kadim couldn't hold back and provoked it bluntly.
"Coward to the bone, then and now. If the name 'dragon' is too precious, why not rename yourself 'Golden Basement Lizard'?"
"..."
"..."
The room fell into stunned silence.
Heavenly fire ignited in the dragon's pupils.
That blaze had surely absorbed all ambient warmth. No other explanation for the sudden chill in the air.
- ...What did you just say?
"I called you a coward bastard. And suggested renaming to 'Golden Basement Lizard.'"
―――――― Kwaaangggg - !!!
Dragon Speech—the savage dragon's roar—thundered through the lair. The shockwave cleaved the treasure pile in two, collapsed a corner of the ceiling, and stripped all life from the flesh of every living thing.
Kadim showed no sign of agitation. He had anticipated this. Defying the crushing pressure that shriveled every cell, he glared fiercely at the dragon.
"If there's no counter to 'heavenly punishment,' maybe. But fleeing despite a proven one? That just means you're a coward with a big body. If you're going to live so pathetically, why not die with your kin and add one more ridge to the mountains?"
"That insignificant worm already saved the world once. While you rotted away in this cozy nest, I endured every filthy, ugly ordeal, clawing through to sever a great demon's neck."
- ...
The erupting dragon's rage halted abruptly. Kadim signaled his comrades behind him with resolute eyes.
"And it's not just me."
- ...
"This woman endured 'heavenly punishment' like you, yet aids me without fearing the sun. That man built a force rivaling the Elga zealots' empire without any god's help. Even the merchant passed out on the floor followed me, abandoning his family, proving his worth time and again."
The snarling maw clamped shut. The blaze in the dragon's eyes had transferred to the barbarian's. Kadim stepped forward.
"While these worms with short lives and feeble strength thrashed desperately, what did you, the 'Supreme Being,' do? Collect treasures? Turn a human into a dragonkin for amusement? Venture out briefly, get scorched, and crawl back to your nest?"
- ...
"Since when did dragons become reclusive hoarders of trinkets? How long will you cower from that accursed false Elga's gaze? Aren't you ashamed before your kin who nobly formed mountains in death? Where did the dragons who ruled as living doom and dared challenge heavenly gods go, leaving only bloated reptiles?"
- ...
"A bird that doesn't flap its wings topples to the ground. A fish that doesn't swim drifts away in the current. A dragon that never leaves its lair is forever buried in time's dust and forgotten. So what I'm saying is."
- ...
"...Those who do not struggle gain nothing, dragon."
The declaration of the war god's proxy rang out crystal clear.
Echoes faded into silence.
Chaos dawned on the dragon's face.
It was a chaos beyond single words: rage, passion, defeat, humiliation, shame, remorse, regret, release, courage... A riot of emotions painted an abstract masterpiece on its scaled visage. Its sheer scale made it seem like a shift in the weather rather than a facial change.
The storm of emotions converged toward 'acceptance.' But one lingering thread of fear blocked the final step.
Kadim decided to shove the dragon's back.
"How about a wager to rekindle old memories, dragon?"
- ...What kind of wager?
"Breathe your full breath on me for 10 seconds. If I'm alive after, aid us against Melissa as requested. If I die... do as you please afterward."
Recreating the legend where he turned a near-death young master into a dragon-slaying hero.
Remillion gaped, regressing to the young master's awe at the savior-like barbarian's arrival. A flicker of hungry playfulness from bygone days gleamed in the dragon's expression.
- Letting you pick one treasure... like back then?
"Yes. But no need for something new."
Kadim nodded at the familiar black lump atop the treasure pile.
"That shield. My treasure is that same shield as before."
- ...!
"...!!"
Everyone but the barbarian was aghast.
The treasure Kadim chose was 'Embrace of the Frost Mother.' An epic shield with the bizarre effect of granting greater heat resistance the lower the wearer's level.
In the game, it was trap gear—except in one quest: betting with a dragon. There, it shone, nearly perfectly blocking the dragon's devastating breath even early-game. Its efficacy was proven in reality when first-run novice Kadim survived the breath.
But expecting the same now seemed unlikely.
Not just because Kadim was far stronger. After blocking the breath twice back then, the shield was ruined. Melted black and twisted into scrap—it couldn't block dragon breath again.
"Ka, Kadim... sir...? If you're really making that bet... wouldn't another treasure be better?"
"Y-Yeah... that might be wise. Back then, it performed impressively... but now, it's definitely not a good choice..."
- ...A wager only stands if both sides have a chance to win. Pick another treasure, mortal.
Despite his comrades' horrified pleas and even the dragon's advice to reconsider, Kadim didn't waver.
Shouldering his jet-black axe, he climbed the treasure pile steadfastly. Lifted the melted shield without hesitation. His eerie eyes gleamed as he intoned boldly.
"Breathe your breath, dragon. As hot as the rage condensed in your soul."
- ...
For a moment, locking eyes with the unyielding gaze, just like 300 years ago.
The dragon resolved and drew in a deep whoosh of breath.
Chilling air, swelling chest, lethal combustibles surging from the core, evaporating into acrid gas, mingling with exhalations flowing up the throat, igniting to amplify power, swelling, swelling, swelling between its jaws—a brilliant golden orb.
At last, jaws agape with gathered might.
―――――――― Kwaaangggggoooaaa - !!!
The breath that incinerates oceans erupted in blinding explosion, surging toward Kadim.