Chapter 168
Chapter 168
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 168
Chapter Title: Asurada's Philosophy
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A faint magic circle formed, centered on Mazdari's staff.
Basen Rak Orasun realized that the magic circle had already been etched into the staff itself.
Mazdari chanted words and phrases in a sharp tone that Basen didn't recognize, and the corpses at the dragon's feet began to warp and twist.
The dragon tilted its head slightly at the end of its long neck.
-This is...?
Mazdari slammed his staff into the floor once more.
The next instant, the corpses exploded simultaneously.
-Boom!
Each corpse burst into projectiles of blood, flesh, fat, and bone, hurtling toward the dragon.
'Like thorns.'
The moment they exploded, the remains solidified mid-flight, resembling blades sprouting straight from the ground.
But these blades were red, yellow, or white in places, and much of them bore the ashen-brown hue of Rakshasa skin. Basen could even spot a long strip of torn Rakshasa face skin.
'But what about the dragon?'
Basen hadn't seen the dragon move at all, so he assumed it had been caught in the erupting corpse blades.
The twenty or so blades sprouting up blocked Basen's view, preventing him from confirming his guess right away.
'...What if I look from another window?'
As that thought crossed his mind and Basen started toward the opposite window, Mazdari shoved him toward the wall with his staff.
Before Basen could demand to know what he was doing, a brilliant yellow eye filled the window he'd been heading for.
-A mage?
As the great Asurada shifted to the next window, Basen and Mazdari quickly ducked into a blind spot.
There was no sign of pain from the dragon.
Despite its massive bulk, it had evaded the magic.
-Crude skills... but why would a mage... not follow the will of the gods?
Basen understood Asurada's words.
Mages were supposed to defy the gods' power, just like dragons.
So from the dragon's perspective, it must have been baffling.
-Are you dancing to the gods' schemes?
Basen and Mazdari exchanged a brief glance.
They couldn't just sit there idly.
Given Asurada's size, a single kick from its foot could shatter the tower.
Even with divine aid, Basen doubted their adventuring party could defeat it.
Mazdari pointed to his own chest once, then repeatedly clenched and unclenched four fingers and his thumb beside his beak.
Basen understood the gesture.
It meant he would buy time.
The dragon wasn't wrecking the tower out of curiosity toward Mazdari, so it was a sound strategy.
Basen nodded first.
'But... stalling for time alone won't solve this.'
The rest of the party might come to their rescue on the mobility platforms they'd arrived on, but a small force could end up taking heavy losses.
Later, the main party might board the halted mobility platform, but it was questionable if the dragon would wait that long with its patience.
'I need a backup plan in case Mazdari fails to stall. I can't leave everything to chance.'
This time, Basen lightly tapped his own chest and pointed upward.
Mazdari didn't know exactly what he planned, but he could tell Basen had an idea.
'Fine. Do what you must.'
Mazdari nodded.
Basen began crawling along below the window, heading toward the stairs leading higher up the tower.
To divert Asurada's attention, Mazdari spoke up.
"I haven't the foggiest idea what you're on about, Asurada."
Asurada let out a chilling laugh.
-Arrogant, as expected of a mage. ...What have the gods promised you? Authority? Wealth? Or have they taken something precious as hostage?
Mazdari replied.
"Authority and wealth are things I can claim on my own. And I have nothing held captive by the gods."
-Then why serve them?
Mazdari felt the need to prolong the conversation.
"On the contrary, I'm the one who's curious. Why are you content with this pathetic civilization? I always believed dragons possessed greater intellect and knowledge beyond our ken. Yet here you are, satisfied with being propped up by Rakshasas."
Asurada shifted.
Mazdari worried for a moment that Basen had been spotted, but no.
Asurada had merely switched to peering through another window.
-Because this is right.
An unexpected answer.
Out of pure curiosity, Mazdari asked back.
"Right?"
-Survival of the fittest.
The great Asurada continued.
-The strong ruling over the weak. This is nature's ancient law—not the petty, false values of ethics, justice, and laws that you mortals fabricated to deceive the gods... but the sole order that existed from the beginning, before even I or the gods came to be. I revere this unchanging beauty.
Mazdari countered.
"To me, it just looks pathetic and primitive. You may be the Rakshasas' master, but you're not truly managing them. You accept living sacrifices and exploit them, yet you don't act as their protector. With ancient knowledge at your disposal, you could provide them a more comfortable life. Or is it merely a sadistic hobby of inflicting pain on the weak as the strong? All this talk of the sole order and unchanging beauty... aren't you just a primitive lizard that never evolved?"
Mazdari worried he'd gone too far, but fortunately, Asurada didn't rage.
-No, I properly protect not only the Rakshasas but all creatures within my reach.
"Just... by leaving them be?"
-Yes.
Asurada affirmed.
-You... mortals think you know something. Mages like you especially. But you know nothing.
"But the gods..."
-Yes. Those very gods.
Asurada's pupils dilated.
It wasn't searching for Mazdari.
Asurada was gazing off into the far distance.
-The gods lurking somewhere in the heavens, eavesdropping on our conversation even now—they know nothing either. They just think they do.
The players seated in the conference room fell silent for a moment.
Kramphus spoke up.
"Is that lizard talking to us right now?"
Seong-un said.
"Let's hear more."
Mazdari asked.
"What do you mean?"
-The gods, and you who follow them, are fated to destruction.
"Fated to destruction?"
Asurada's eyes narrowed slightly.
It was reminiscing about the past.
-Yes. Once, I too believed in your gods—and you mortals. Not just me. All dragons believed in that thing called 'civilization.'
Asurada spoke in a singsong tone.
-I won't deny it was brilliant and beautiful. Can you even imagine? Spires piercing the heavens, streets aglow with colors even after sunset. Rivers that no longer overflowed in the rain, buildings unyielding to earthquakes, machines that cooled the heat and warmed the cold. Mortals, despite their fleeting lives, could go anywhere and have whatever they desired.
"And then?"
-That was one face of the curse.
"Curse?"
-Remember this, mage. Every curse first seduces with sweetness.
Asurada said.
-It's simple. That brilliant civilization amplified everything. Everyone was dazzled by the beauty, but beauty wasn't the only thing amplified. Among the amplified was weaponry. Weapons mortals couldn't handle. ...Can you imagine? A mere child tapping a finger to extinguish hundreds of thousands of lives?
Mazdari was simply puzzled.
Even a mage's imagination couldn't fathom such a thing happening.
Mazdari denied it.
"I don't quite follow. If such weapons exist, we'll eventually destroy them. No one needs tools that kill so many. Isn't it all tied to evil gods anyway?"
Asurada said.
-It's the curse called civilization. Just as your mortal lives are predetermined to end, everything you create is fated to ruin. Those weapons I mentioned are merely one example.
"One example?"
-Yes. Building towers, widening rivers—all the fruits of civilization come from transforming something else. Believing you can sustain change forever... that's your folly. The evil gods merely hastened what was inevitable, fanning your weakness.
Mazdari thought for a moment.
"So... that's why you're doing this?"
-Yes.
Asurada replied.
-That's why I chose not to build civilization. To avert your mortals' predestined end.
Mazdari sensed leaps of logic and madness in the great Asurada's tale.
In his view, this ancient being had lived too long, leaving its mind somewhat unhinged.
Yet it seemed to hold fragments of truth somewhere.
"...But."
Even as Mazdari considered the dragon's words might hold truth, another thought stirred.
They just might be right.
If, as the great Asurada claimed, the Garudas losing their flight was born of such folly, it made sense. If it was a curse.
But even as Mazdari pondered if this was an inherent trait of his kind—no, all mortals—he muttered.
"This time might be different."
Asurada said.
-I see.
"See what?"
-Why a mage like you follows the gods' will.
Asurada raised its head.
Mazdari checked for signs of Basen and glanced out the window.
-Because you're fools.
Asurada's massive body lifted as its forefoot reared up.
Mazdari gauged for a split second if he could survive jumping out.
Basen shouted from atop the tower.
"Get down, Mazdari!"
Basen hurled his backpack at Asurada.
The smell of gunpowder wafted through the air.
A bullet from Basen's matchlock rifle struck the powder-filled backpack.
Gunshot.
Followed by a deafening explosion that rattled the ears.
'Did it hurt? This should buy us time to escape...'
Mazdari watched the dragon expectantly.
The dragon appeared to be clutching empty air with both hands.
Within those hands glowed orbs of red light.
Mazdari realized it was magic.
'It contained the explosion with magic!'
-Hmph.
Asurada clapped its hands together, then spread them wide—the explosion was gone.
-Did you think I wouldn't smell that?
Basen didn't panic and reloaded his next shot without hesitation.
'So you knew in advance? ...Good sign. If it didn't know ahead, that means we can hit it.'
As if in no hurry at all, Asurada casually shifted its body and reached a hand toward Basen.
-I knew, didn't I?
It wasn't Asurada.
The voice came from beyond the corpse blades towering dozens of meters high.
Basen, Mazdari—even Asurada turned toward it.
Thunderous footsteps echoed from atop the mobility platform.
-That the gods were listening...!
In that instant, the corpse blades Mazdari had conjured shattered, revealing a massive, gleaming horn.
Asurada hurriedly twisted its body to block the horn.
Though its body was less than half Asurada's size, the horn's owner charged with such force that it shoved the dragon back.
It was a gigantic stag beetle.
Hekap hooked Asurada's flank with its massive horn, then flipped its body over.
The dragon's hill-sized bulk lifted clean off the ground and slammed into the earth.