Chapter 340: Graxar (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 340: Graxar (4)
Crunch.
He stepped onto the snow.
It felt different from usual.
The moment his foot sank, something cold and solid stopped it from going any deeper.
It was a corpse.
From afar, he had thought there would be at least some clear ground to walk on. Instead, the body parts protruding above the snow were merely the topmost layer of a mountain of corpses. As they ventured deeper into the Elves' territory, the eyes of Jairo and his soldiers trembled. A single glance at their surroundings told them that the dead piled here numbered not in the thousands, but in the tens of thousands.
"...What on earth happened here?"
He swallowed hard.
An ominous thought crossed his mind.
What if?
What if Roman Dmitry's army had been defeated after a fierce battle, and their corpses were the ones buried beneath this snow? Jairo moved forward, examining the bodies one by one. Though initially overwhelmed by the sheer scale of the carnage, he soon began checking whether the dead were human or Orc.
But something was strange.
He couldn't find a single human corpse.
The protruding arms and legs bore the distinct, tough skin of Orcs, and the severed heads rolling in the snow all had upturned snouts. Goosebumps erupted across his skin. Without even one human corpse visible among hundreds of Orcs, a sudden surge of emotion washed over Jairo.
"No way..."
It was undeniable.
Right here, Roman Dmitry's army had slaughtered the Orcs.
In a completely one-sided massacre, the Orcs had fallen screaming. The snow had simply blanketed their piled bodies, creating the macabre scene before him. His hands trembled violently. He had lost track of how many dark thoughts had plagued him as they pushed through the blizzard. He had feared that if the Luna Kingdom fell to ruin because of him, merely dying after killing a few Orcs would never be enough to atone to his people.
His heart had burned to ash with worry.
He had regretted it countless times—his foolishness, his rashness, and his incompetence.
Thud.
He fell to his knees.
Burying his face in his hands as tears streamed down, he asked the man approaching his side.
"...Caden. What kind of person is Lord Roman Dmitry, exactly?"
Step.
Caden stopped.
Looking down at Jairo, he described the man exactly as he had experienced him.
"He is a man of absolute boundaries. He clearly distinguishes between his people and his enemies, and there is not a shred of hesitation in his actions. Because Luna chose to become a vassal state of Dmitry, we received his protection as his people. And the fallen fortress of Luna... he successfully reclaimed it with a force of only thirty men."
It was still hard to believe.
It was a miracle.
Luna had been graced by a miracle.
"That is the man we will serve from now on."
Jairo bowed his head, overwhelmed with joy.
Knowing that hope still existed for Luna made him feel as if he could finally breathe again after suffocating for so long.
"Thank you so much. Thank you... truly, thank you."
He offered a prayer of gratitude, clasping his hands together tightly.
For a long time, Jairo stared out at the snowfield littered with corpses, repeating his thanks over and over again.
He no longer looked up at the heavens.
To him, Roman Dmitry was the only existence worthy of his prayers.
* * *
By the time the battle ended, Roman Dmitry and his subordinates were drenched in blood.
The resistance of the cornered Orcs had been fierce, but with their commander dead, they had no chance of survival.
"Chris."
"Yes, my lord."
"Locate the remaining Orcs and wipe them all out. We must leave no loose ends in this war. Just as the people of Arcadia curse the Orcs, we shall become demons to the families of the Orcs."
"...Understood."
It was a cruel order, but one that had to be carried out.
Roman did not entertain even a shred of half-hearted mercy.
Graxar had started this war to solve the plight of the Orcs, but in the process, he had slaughtered far too many lives. Entire species had been wiped out, and the people of the Luna Kingdom suffered severe trauma whenever they recalled the horrific sight of their families being devoured. That was the reality of war. Graxar might have been a savior to his kind, but to those standing against him, he was a ruthless demon.
While the losers paid the price with their deaths, the victors could not simply rejoice; they had to pluck out the seeds of future trouble to prepare for any contingency.
Even if it meant slaughtering the powerless.
It was better than letting them grow up to threaten his people.
Just then, a group of figures approached Roman Dmitry.
"Tersha of the Elven clan greets our savior."
"We greet our savior."
Fair, pale skin and pointed ears. They were Elves.
The handsome, blonde man who introduced himself as Tersha bowed politely, showing his utmost respect.
"If not for your help, the Elves would have perished. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts."
"Our goals simply aligned. Once the situation in the Luna Kingdom is settled, I will send an envoy to invite the Elves to a meeting. The order of Arcadia is in utter chaos due to the Orcs. We must gather the representatives of each race to discuss how to resolve this."
"Understood. We will certainly attend. But if I may ask, could you spare a moment of your time?"
Roman Dmitry maintained his courtesy.
Unlike Luna, the Elves were not vassals of Dmitry.
As Roman looked at him, silently questioning his reason, Tersha carefully explained his purpose.
"In truth, when the Orcs first initiated this war, we borrowed the wisdom of the World Tree to glimpse a portion of the future. Amidst a vision where countless non-human races perished, we witnessed a single human appear and slaughter the Orcs. That is why we defended the territory of the World Tree until the very end. We were certain that the human of prophecy would appear and aid us. The problem... is what transpired immediately after. The power Graxar used is a highly dangerous force that shakes the very foundation of the world. To speak of this, Mother Elf wishes to meet with you in private."
The power of a demon.
Mother Elf.
These were pieces of information he needed.
Roman Dmitry sheathed his sword and looked at Tersha.
"Very well. I also have some things I wish to confirm."
* * *
Elves did not usually age.
They maintained the appearance of someone in their early twenties until the moment they died, but Mother Elf uniquely possessed the appearance of an elderly woman.
She exuded an extraordinary, profound aura.
With calm and gentle eyes, she got straight to the point upon facing Roman Dmitry.
"By any chance, do you know of the Demon Realm?"
"I recall reading about it in books. The Heavenly World, the Demon Realm, and the Earthly World. I heard it is one of the three dimensions that make up the universe—a world where demons reside."
"Correct. According to the laws of the Lord God, the Heavenly World, the Demon Realm, and the Earthly World are strictly separated so they cannot interfere with one another. However, long ago, a rift formed between these separated spaces. Through a microscopic dimensional tear, an existence that disrupts the balance of the world fell onto the Salamander Continent. Because of that existence, the rift could not be sealed, and the cold air emanating from the dimensional gap froze the continent of Arcadia."
It was a familiar story.
The Dimensional Orphan.
She was referring to Alexander.
From the moment he—a man who should have lived and died in Murim—fell onto the Salamander Continent, a disaster unknown to ordinary people had begun.
"A long time has passed since then. Because of that existence, the dimensional rift has worsened, and the wall separating the dimensions is now extremely weak. The result of that is the very power Graxar used. The purple-hued power of the Demon Realm should normally never manifest in the Earthly World, yet Graxar accepted that demonic power and transformed into a demon. What do you think that signifies?"
When she had first seen the future, Mother Elf had been horrified.
Though it was only a single transformation, the fact that such a precedent existed was an omen that would plunge the Earthly World into disaster.
"The demons of the Demon Realm are targeting the Earthly World. For now, their influence is limited to merely granting demonic power, but as time passes, they will undoubtedly exert even greater influence. Lord Roman Dmitry, the existence that disrupts the balance of the world—the Dimensional Orphan—must be dealt with as soon as possible. As long as he exists, the dimensional wall will eventually collapse, and the demons of the Demon Realm will flood into the Earthly World. The power Graxar manifested is but a fraction of theirs. The King of the Demon Realm is an existence that has ascended to the realm of gods, and beneath him are countless subordinates like Graxar. Due to the laws of the Lord God, they cannot fully manifest their power in the Earthly World right now. But the moment a perfect descent is achieved, there will be no way to stop the invasion of the Demon Realm."
The force backing the Kronos Empire.
That was the truth of it.
Just as Graxar had accepted the power of a demon, Alexander had joined hands with the Demon Realm for his own greed.
The pieces fell into place in his mind.
He understood.
Alexander.
The purple space.
And what Kronos was aiming for by swallowing its pride to declare a ceasefire.
'He is likely waiting for the dimensional wall to weaken further. If, as Mother Elf said, Graxar is merely a subordinate serving the King of the Demon Realm, they cannot be stopped by human strength. The reason Alexander is so confident in his victory is because the premise itself has transcended the human level.'
Suddenly, a question arose.
If Alexander was an existence that exacerbated the dimensional rift, then what about Roman Dmitry himself?
What kind of existence was he?
Just as Kim Pan-seok had crossed the dimensional rift to become Alexander, Baek Joong-hyuk had also crossed over to become Roman Dmitry.
'My existence in this world as Roman Dmitry could be a coincidence, or it could be fate. What is certain is that unless I take my own life, the situation Mother Elf fears is bound to happen.'
It was amusing.
Kill Alexander, and then kill himself?
That was out of the question.
Above all, from the moment he learned of the world called the Demon Realm, Roman Dmitry felt his heart race.
'The people of Murim could not even handle the Earth Stage. I never once had the opportunity to manifest the Realm of Heaven.'
There was no turning back now.
Now that he knew the identity of his enemies, it was time to figure out how to defeat them.
How strong those enemies were was not a particularly important matter.
Roman Dmitry spoke.
"I will not promise to grant your request, Mother Elf. However..."
With a sharp scrape of his chair, he stood up.
He had obtained enough information.
"If they stand in my way, I do not intend to sit idly by."
* * *
Mother Elf.
There was nothing she could do.
She could only speak the truth, and the plans of the Demon Realm had already progressed to an unstoppable degree.
Disaster was approaching.
If Roman had previously merely wished to reign supreme, he now realized he had to prepare for a fight that went beyond the Kronos Empire, directly against the force backing them.
It was a decent harvest.
Knowing versus not knowing—the difference was vast.
When Alexander showed himself to the world once more, he would surely appear with the Demon Realm at his back.
'What matters is that their plans are not unrelated to me. To protect Dmitry's territory and reign as the Absolute, I must make thorough preparations starting now. I must ensure that no matter what happens, Dmitry's iron fortress will never fall.'
He took a step forward.
Just as he was about to leave the Elves' territory, Tersha approached him.
"Mother Elf has prepared a gift for our savior. We will lend you the wisdom of the World Tree. If you commune with the World Tree, you will be able to see what you desire. Whether it is the distant future, the ancient past, or something happening in the present, we do not know. But the World Tree will surely reveal the information needed by Lord Roman Dmitry, the one who protected the Elves' territory."
"I heard that only Mother Elf is permitted to touch the World Tree."
"That is true. However, Lord Roman Dmitry, who saved the Elves and stands as the hero of Arcadia, is an exception."
It was a good opportunity.
The World Tree.
He wanted to see it for himself—to see how a mere tree could be called the foundation of this world.
He followed Tersha.
Soon, a tree so massive it filled his entire field of vision caught Roman's eye.
It was colossal.
It was of a scale he had never experienced, even in his past life, making him feel incredibly small before its massive presence. However, the World Tree was withered and looked remarkably bare. While it had once glowed with vibrant life to protect the Elves' territory, it was now barely clinging to life.
Just as the rumors said, the World Tree was dying.
Its barren branches, stripped of every single leaf, seemed to represent the bleak future of this world.
He approached the World Tree.
As Tersha had instructed, to commune with it, he had to place his hand upon its trunk and focus his will.
Touch.
He placed his hand on the bark.
At first, he felt nothing. He waited calmly.
Focusing his will, he allowed the energy rising from his Dantian to commune with the World Tree.
At that moment, a change occurred.
A mass of the Flame Demon's fire sparked. The heat originating from it began to boil furiously.
Whoosh!
Roar!
An exploding blaze!
The powerful flames instantly swallowed Roman Dmitry whole.