Chapter 203
Chapter 203
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 203
Chapter Title: The Place Where Flames Have Swept Through (2)
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A vast cavern piled high with treasures of gold and silver.
- Kuhahaha! Cough, cough... So in the end, you got hit with heavenly retribution too, huh?
"That's how it turned out."
- Grrr, right, so... What was it like, getting struck by heavenly retribution for the first time in your life?
"It definitely stung like hell. If that's what you went through, I can see why you were shaking so much."
- Kuhahahaha! Whining over just one hit—what a pathetic sight! This dragon, with my mighty frame, withstood 38 strikes and endured 157 more!
"...Yeah, good for you. Must feel great beating something smaller than your own claw, you overgrown lizard."
- Grrr, kuhuhu...
A booming throat-clearing mixed with calm recitation echoed back and forth. Despite the overwhelming difference in volume and size, their conversation felt as casual as old friends catching up.
The voices filling the massive nest belonged to none other than Kadim... and the dragon, Rapustran.
The last dragon had somehow defied the will of the heavens and survived.
After taking that many strikes of heavenly retribution, suffering such grievous wounds, and losing so much blood, it had clung to life.
One horn was broken off, scales had peeled away in chunks to reveal hideous scars, and the aftereffects left it barely able to move... but it had survived. The near-immortal regenerative power of a dragon, combined with the World Tree's blessing that healed even the dying, had barely wrought this miracle.
For a time, no one was allowed near the dragon to ensure its rest. Aside from his old friend Remillion, no one was bold enough to approach uninvited anyway. But Kadim had reasons to meet it, so he'd come right after hearing its condition had improved.
The post-battle debrief between the two sole survivors of the suppression force began with Kadim's tale of taking a direct hit from heavenly retribution. Midway through their back-and-forth, the dragon's eyes narrowed sharply.
- Grk? Fine, you survived the hit, but how are you without a single injury? Your hide isn't tougher than this dragon's...
"Probably thanks to this."
Kadim pointed to the marking on his neck.
Woooong, woooo...
The grand magic 'Blessing of Fire and Ice' left by Melissa had nullified most of the direct heat from the heavenly retribution. Of course, it wasn't designed to block something of that magnitude, so one hit had nearly exhausted its power...
Kadim touched the fading legacy of the mage with mixed feelings. Rapustran immediately realized who had inscribed it.
- That's... something that mage left you before dying.
"Yeah. Come to think of it, I owe this legacy entirely to you. Without your blood, I couldn't have given Melissa peace or received even this much...
- ...
The dragon understood the human's feelings all too well. Its cracked eyes recalled a similar pain.
- The reason my kin faced that false sun on the 'Night of Heavenly Retribution' wasn't because we caused it to rise. It was what had to be done, and we were the only ones who could bear that duty.
"..."
- The outcome was utterly tragic... but this dragon still doesn't think it was the wrong choice. So don't wallow in despair staring at your friend's blood on your hands. His judgment was necessary, a duty no one else here could bear but you.
"..."
- Besides, unlike my kin buried forgotten in the sand, you fulfilled your duty and revived the World Tree and great forest, didn't you?
Comfort from one who had lost something equally precious, not as a superior being but as an equal. When Kadim's shadowed expression didn't fully lift, it added one more word.
- Some reckless mortal this dragon knew once said... 'Those who don't struggle gain nothing.'
"..."
Pfft. Kadim snorted and finally relaxed his face.
"Who's wallowing in despair, dragon? With eyes the size of a front yard, your eyesight's worse than a bat's."
- Kuhuhu... The guy who looked like he'd bawl his eyes out once that scribble on his neck fades has a lot to say. I don't want to see a mortal staining my nest with filthy tears, so I'll take precautions.
Rapustran rummaged through the treasure pile with a massive forepaw. It pulled out a stick that looked like a toothpick, then peeled off a gem the size of a fingernail and handed it to Kadim.
- Place this over the marking on your neck.
"What is this...?"
- A gem that absorbs vast amounts of ambient mana. Lately, your friend monopolized the continent's mana, making it useless... but not anymore. From now on, it'll draw in drifting mana and keep that precious marking of yours sustained.
"...Why do you even have something like this?"
- It belonged to some mage from the mythic era. A fool with grand dreams of subjugating a dragon with his magic. Grk, no need to worry about the original owner reclaiming it. He vaporized the moment he entered my nest, with one breath.
"..."
The tangled backstory drew a hollow laugh, but it was undoubtedly a priceless treasure. Kadim gladly affixed the gem over the marking and expressed his gratitude. Rapustran snorted dismissively, claiming it was worthless junk—no child would believe that lie.
As the mood settled, Kadim steadied his breath and got to the main point.
"Dragon, I have one important question."
- ...What is it?
"If I knock down that sun and kill the 'fake Elga'... will I gain divinity and become a new god after that?"
Rapustran first wrinkled its snout, ready to burst into laughter. But seeing the barbarian's earnest gaze, it gradually sobered.
- ...Do as you will. What I said when sharing my blood was just grasping at straws in my death throes—I never truly wished for you to challenge the sun.
"No, not because of that request. I just want to smash that disgusting voyeur god's eye myself."
- ...
"But... my old comrade seems to be deliberately steering me toward that situation, which feels off."
- ...What do you mean?
This was the dragon's chosen hideout, safe from heavenly retribution. Kadim laid out the full story.
That he'd received various aids from the Church of the Forgotten God, that one old comrade seemed to be its leader, that he was being hailed as the Warrior of Revelation to face the fake Elga, and that he suspected their true motives...
After spilling it all, he furrowed his brow and added in a lower voice.
"Actually, I have a vague hunch about the church's ultimate goal."
- ...What?
"Far in the future, the moment I somehow defeat the fake Elga and claim 'divinity'... they sacrifice me to restore the Forgotten God's 'rank'."
The dragon's half-lidded eyes snapped wide open. Kadim continued calmly.
"The Forgotten God lost its 'rank' and even its name, so its followers must want to restore it by any means. But whether I can even challenge the fake Elga, if gods gain rank the same way humans do, or if my old comrade truly sees me as mere 'means'... it's all too vague for certainty."
- ...
"From your view, dragon—does that seem plausible?"
Rapustran fell into deep thought.
Clouded membrane over its eyes, lids closed, sinking into primordial musings accumulated over millennia. Only after a long while did it surface and speak.
- ...Do you remember how many dragons opposed that sun on the 'Night of Heavenly Retribution'? Over a thousand.
"I remember."
- That was before the 'Forgotten God' even lost its name and rank. Yet if the god we faced that day had been the 'Forgotten God' instead of 'fake Elga'... even with countless dragons sacrificed, that god surely wouldn't have survived.
"...!"
Kadim's eyes widened in disbelief. But the dragon continued gravely, without a trace of arrogance or jest.
- Elga's divinity... is on a wholly different level from other gods. Legends even say in the beginning, only Elga existed, and he split himself to create the other four. If gods had separate classifications, Elga would undoubtedly stand apart.
"..."
- Of course, there was one other god in a similar unique category... but that's unnecessary digression.
Its majestic gaze flicked back upward.
- The point is, the 'fake Elga's' divine power fully usurped this Elga's rank. Even after the owner changed, its absoluteness remained—it unilaterally slaughtered a thousand dragons that would threaten any other god. And yet, grk... using someone who defeated even that 'fake Elga' as a sacrifice to restore the 'Forgotten God's' rank...
"..."
- In this dragon's esteemed view, that doesn't seem feasible at all. If anything, grk, the reverse sacrifice might be more plausible...
"...?"
- Anyway... what of your other old comrade? Was he trustworthy?
Kadim lowered his gaze. He recalled a distant yet near past: a priest who devoutly served Elga.
Bear-like in build and gentle in demeanor, always smoothly supporting the party, laughing off even a pea-sized mage's tantrums with saintly mirth, yet standing firm—even against a mad Arch Paladin—if it meant protecting what was right.
"...Undoubtedly trustworthy. Though I can't say now."
A mage's shadow, utterly changed from old memories, flickered in his hollow eyes. The dragon drew a deep breath and recited like a sigh.
- From ancient times, this dragon has seen... most tragedies of the world arise from trusting the untrustworthy when you shouldn't, and failing to trust the trustworthy when you should.
"..."
- Shunning everyone on mere suspicion of fog means no knife in the back. But it also means no hand to grab when you slip at the cliff's edge. You didn't revive the World Tree alone this time either, did you?
"..."
- I'm not saying blindly trust that old comrade. Don't fall into shallow confirmation bias. Keep suspicion's dagger in hand, but always leave a seed of trust in your heart. Struggle is valuable, but no law says you must walk that path alone.
"..."
- This is the best advice the last supreme being, standing alone... can give to you, a mortal overcoming imperfection through coexistence, O Great Warrior of Atala.
Rapustran spoke without the cower of a cornered cat, without boasting to mask inferiority, without the ruin of a judged absolute. Only the dignified form of an ancient, solitary, noble dragon remained, bearing insight from eons.
Kadim swallowed his lump of emotion and thumped his chest hard with his fist.
"...I'll etch that advice into my bones and never forget."
A rare Atalan salute of respect. Then, meeting the golden eyes squarely, he added.
"Also, I swear on Atala's name. Someday, I'll surely topple that false sun and make the day come when you spread your radiant wings freely across the sky."
- ...
"Until then, I pray you fully recover. Thank you again for all your kindness and counsel. Truly, may Atala's fighting spirit be with you, Rapustran."
Leaving behind a vow to achieve what even a thousand dragons could not, Atala's great warrior departed the nest with firm steps.
Only then did the dragon smooth the faint wrinkles around its eyes.
It hadn't shown it out of pride... but whether the golden light of value or the red of danger, that human's radiance was so intense it was taxing to face for long. Savoring the instinctive satisfaction from that bright light and the lingering echo of a vow that sounded absurd yet not reckless—only for a moment.
The dragon belatedly realized something and growled fiercely.
- Grk, this dragon's noble name is not 'Rapustran'... but 'Raaah-pyoo-hss-tran'...
Rapustran thought no more visitors would come to its nest for a while after Kadim.
That assumption was quickly proven wrong.
Surprisingly, no sooner had Kadim left than another being emitting light as brilliant as his appeared at the entrance. Without permission to enter, the uninvited guest strode boldly into the dragon's nest like it owned the place.
The source of that light was none other than... Kadim.
"Ah, I almost forgot the most important question."
- ...What is it, you?
"Do you know anything about weaknesses of that false sun, Rapustran?"
Rapustran snorted in exasperation. Setting aside the mangled name... if it knew such a thing, why had its kin been so powerless on the Night of Heavenly Retribution?
But upon reflection, it wasn't entirely without something.
- Grk, calling it a clear weakness... is ambiguous, but...
"Tell me. Anything, even the slightest detail."
- ...After the mythic era, there was exactly one 'period' when that heavenly retribution's power was comparatively weaker.
"...!"
A sharp glint flashed in the warrior's eyes.