Chapter 218
Chapter 218
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 218
Chapter Title: The Forsaken Aroelle Cave
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Now abandoned and untended by anyone, the Aroelle Cave exuded an eerie atmosphere rather than any sense of sanctity.
The lush jungle of central Adrion Continent, famed for its tropical climate, had overtaken the surface entrance to the cave.
Massive tree roots pierced through structures or climbed over them, while the few intact stone pagodas were claimed by vines and moss.
"From reading Obin's memories, Elamas's true name is Elsara. She was the youngest apostle of the fairy race."
Elsara?
I'd heard that name from Simian, the wandering master I'd met during the turbulent era.
Two hundred years ago—that would be five hundred years from now—she was an apostle, right?
They called her the Apostle of Xuan Yun because she wielded the power of flames with complete freedom.
I'd heard that story in front of the Chalessarum statue at Ranoa Cathedral, where it was said those two shared a bond like father and daughter.
'So that Elamas was Elsara...'
But there was something that didn't sit right.
If they were like father and daughter, and according to Simian, she'd accomplished tremendous feats, how did she end up as the second pillar of the Black Church?
Just then, Tureina's final smile flashed before my eyes, and all my doubts melted away.
'Yeah, the hearts of intelligent beings are fragile... even for a fairy.'
The jungle that had engulfed the entire area swayed in the humid, sweltering breeze, carrying cries from insects, birds, and beasts.
"Aru..."
As Setsnen shuddered violently, the fabric of Serecia, sensing its wearer's body temperature, visibly thinned and cooled.
"Aru?"
Delighted by the chill, the great imperial dragon burrowed deeper inside Serecia, into my embrace, peeking out only her face.
"Aru!"
There was no worry of the fabric stretching or tearing. Serecia's material expanded freely.
"Did you learn this from Aki too?"
"Aru?"
Setsnen adorably tilted her head, and despite the overwhelming heaviness in my heart, a smile formed on my lips.
"......"
Obin, who had only recently regained consciousness, watched us silently, then awkwardly smiled and looked away when our eyes met.
"What, want to hold her too?"
"N-No, I'm fine. I-I'm a d-dongsaeng too, so..."
"It's okay. Here, hold her."
I took Setsnen out of Serecia and placed her in his arms.
"Aruuuuuu..."
Setsnen puffed her cheeks in dissatisfaction at being pulled from the clothing by force, but she was far more docile than Aki at this age and settled nicely into Obin's embrace.
Not only that, but Obin seemed surprisingly practiced at holding a baby, as if he truly had a little sibling. He cradled her comfortably, without making her uneasy.
For some reason, as he gazed down at Setsnen, moisture gathered in the corners of Obin's eyes.
"......"
Balensidis, who had been watching Obin with a gaze of pity, spoke up again.
"The formation Elamas spread across the entire kingdom under the pretext of purifying the plague is the Great Star Formation. Once activated, the whole of Solond will become a land of plague."
This was something Chalessarum had told us before.
To neutralize the formation, we had to enter the royal castle of Solond—the Sun Castle Baras—palace.
With this in my hand: a red dragon scale the size of an adult's palm.
- This is my final physical form, so take it and enter the barrier's interior. Its power will unravel the rest on its own.
It would be a race against time: whether the Great Star Formation activated first, or we reached the capital before then.
"It's surprising that the Adrion Continent just sat idle until things got this bad."
Miria spoke with a confused expression.
We'd often come to Adrion for goblin subjugations, but I hadn't known Solond's situation had deteriorated this far.
They'd said some strange disease was spreading, making people avoid it, but in just half a year...
"It's natural you wouldn't know. Spreading soul plague in the form of a regular plague is a highly intelligent move."
"Intelligent?"
"When a plague spreads, people avoid the area and shun anyone coming from there."
"So the information gets blocked off naturally."
"Exactly. So it stays hidden until the situation becomes truly dire. By the way, the southern republic witches seem to be keeping their distance, huh?"
Balensidis shook his head at my question.
"Solond is an independent kingdom not affiliated with the republic. They have more than enough justification to stay out of it. Even within the republic, coordination would be difficult."
"Hmm."
"Anyway, the unit that ambushed us in Ranoa numbered three... It'd be nice if that was all, but we should assume there are more."
The Great Star Formation's activation was accelerating.
The brigade, with its banner of ushering in a new dawn, was on the verge of achieving its goal.
If word got out that we'd slipped away, a muster order would likely go to all brigade members scattered across the kingdom.
'Compared to Ruelraya, who showed up late and had such a faint presence...'
We'd have to face several foes even stronger than her—it was already a given.
- They too are all spirit warriors of the fairies. Do not underestimate them.
After stroking his chin thoughtfully for a long while, Miria spoke.
"Then can't we just head straight to the capital? It's the king's return. We expose Elamas's crimes to the world and execute her, right?"
"It's not that simple. Putting the stories together, there are far more in the royal castle who support Elamas than the royal family."
At my realistic words, Obin flashed a brave smile and scratched his head apologetically, but his lips trembled.
No, I feel bad now...
At that moment, Balensidis spoke in a meaningful tone.
"Indeed, no one knows how it will turn out."
"?"
"For now, we head to Solond, but we need to assemble our full strength too. It'd be great if you could contact your comrades somehow."
Rem and Bart, I suppose.
Surely Serwevon was guiding them to me by now.
"You shouldn't say it like that."
"Curious. Did I misspeak?"
"Yeah. They're not my comrades—they're our comrades."
It was something Rista had said to me back when I wasn't yet close with the hero party's members.
- They're not my comrades, Lin.
Come to think of it, this guy resembles the old me...
- They're our comrades.
Balensidis still annoyed me every time I saw him, made me feel unpleasant, pissed me off—but I figured he deserved to hear that much.
Without him, I'd have died several times over by now.
Somehow, our distant, hazy relationship had reached that point.
"......Heh."
Balensidis stared at me blankly, then after a long pause, let out a hollow smile and shook his head as if conceding.
"Fine, then let's call our comrades. Satisfied now?"
"Come here, Pipi."
"Pipi, pipi, pipi."
Pipi replied in a weak voice.
"Go to Rem and Bart. Explain the Great Star Formation and..."
Truth be told, I didn't need to send Pipi anywhere. With Serwevon's guidance, I'd meet Rem and Bart somehow anyway.
But I didn't want to take Pipi into the battlefield ahead.
It was enough for me alone to stain my hands with a comrade's—Rista's—blood. Pipi, who had waited centuries for me, shouldn't bear that burden.
'That's a burden I have to carry...'
The irremovable wounds I'd left on my comrades' lives with promises I couldn't keep—it was the frayed end of a bond I had to sever.
- Even after this journey ends, we're comrades.
This memory was probably from when the turbulent era's journey was nearing its close.
- We're like family now.
As Fride finished her meal prayer, Rista suddenly said that.
- So if any of us seems to be heading down the wrong path, we gather again then.
Fride, playfully feeding a handful of corn to Pipi from her palm, grinned.
- You're sniping Lin outright, huh? Yeah, that obnoxiously arrogant brat does seem like he'd go astray.
- No, I'm not?
- Yes, yes, yes, one hundred percent.
- Pipi, what kind of habit is that from your master!
- That's not what we're talking about.
Rista gave a somewhat bitter smile then, and the playfulness vanished from all our faces.
- Even if our journey succeeds, as time passes, the gods' seals will weaken, and the abyss's power will grow stronger. No one knows what will happen to our bodies.
If any of us falls to the abyss, we gather again. As the hero party's comrades and family.
- So let's stop each other. Help keep us from committing evil. Grant peace to our souls. So they can reach the gods' embrace.
Rista, did you foresee things turning out like this back then?
As I lost myself in memory and closed my eyes briefly, Pipi playfully pecked at my nose with her beak.
Lately, with more time spent caring for Aki and Setsnen, we'd been together less, but Pipi was still my dearest friend.
"Got it, Pipi?"
Pipi gazed at me with eyes longing to go to Rista with me, but I pushed back her wish with a wistful smile.
"Pipi, go, to Serwevon, to Serwevon."
Pipi peered deep into my eyes, then finally beat her wings powerfully and soared into the skies above the jungle.
"Alright, let's get moving too. We can't be late, right? It's a long way."
Miria watched Rain force a cheerful smile, her own expression dark. I could even feel the demon sword at her waist sobbing.
'Leaving Aki here and sending Pipi far away...'
Chalessarum said she'd return Aki when the time came, so that was one thing, but sending Pipi away too...
'It really feels like he's abandoning everything to go die alone.'
* * *
Fire Dragon, Bel'Dakidun.
A divine dragon separated as an individual entity from the exalted Three Divine Dragons Asura, and akin to the progenitor of the red dragon legion.
To aid in the mission God entrusted to you, five limbs were created—the red true dragons.
「Your mother was the first among those true dragons.」
Mother?
Mommy?
Aki's mind flashed to Miria's face for an instant, but unable to grasp even the gist of the story, she just grinned foolishly.
「And I hatched from my egg one year after your mother, the second. So call me Palkire.」
"Aki doesn't know what Palkire means!"
「In human tongue, it's the dragon word for 'uncle.'」
From one end of the horizon to the other, Aki stood in a space where mystical flames blazed.
This was the mental realm constructed by Chalessarum, a eternal world accessible only to immortals.
Transcending time's constraints, one could stretch a single moment sevenfold longer.
"Uncle?"
And standing before such an Aki was a beautiful youth clad in dragon-scale armor, with hair blazing like flames.
Aki first mistook him for Rain, but he was taller, more imposing, and above all, his red hair differed somehow from Rain's.
Chalessarum had hair like flickering flames, just like him.
"Uncle Dallettaroom!"
Chalessarum couldn't help but chuckle, forgetting his dignity as a true dragon at Aki's bold and innocent retort.
'Alakishi is the complete opposite. She was so precocious, feeling like an adult even as a child.'
For dragonkin, mental growth influenced physical development, so Alakishi had matured her body faster than any true dragon.
'But how can their personalities differ so much? The offspring of true dragons are like their very incarnations...'
No, perhaps she had that personality but, as the eldest daughter, couldn't indulge in whims.
How harsh and lonely must Akirea's life have been, the sister who had to give her daughter the name "freedom."
Even now, a millennium later, her daughter's name seemed to explain that life entirely, tearing at Chalessarum's heart with agonizing pain.
Chalessarum didn't ask why Alakishi hadn't come herself. The answer was obvious, needing no words.
「You followed me because you wished to grow strong on your own, Akirea. Why?」
Reason to grow strong?
Was it asking why she pursued martial prowess? If so, she'd learned the answer from her master.
"To be like a dragon and protect people who are weak and powerless!"
「……?」
"And also, to illuminate the dark places of the world!"
「……!」
"Aki wants to be like Master, so shiny. That's why Aki helps lots and lots of people who ask for help."
In that instant, Chalessarum felt his soul resonate deeply.
Perhaps because he glimpsed the great will underlying that pure cry.
No, even if personalities and forms differed, that beautiful heart was so strikingly like Alakishi's.
「You are still young, Akirea. But if you mature with that heart, you can become a great being who protects and cares for all.」
Ah, Alakishi...
Your child will surely become a fine dragon. A dragon growing into a life of great flames, just like you.
This foolish little brother failed, but...
'This must all be thanks to you.'
O protector bearing the fragrance of God in your soul. I understand why Alakishi trusted you with Akirea.
「The Fire Dragon birthed us in His image, that we might live holy and noble lives as He does.」
"Doesn't make sense!"
「You'll understand in time. For now, just remember this: the power you were born with is not for you alone. That's enough.」
Chalessarum placed a hand on Akirea's head, just as his sister once had for him.
"Uncle! Can Aki get strong?!"
「Of course. I often fought in dragonkin form rather than full dragon, so I have much to teach you.」
"Then Aki gets super super strong?"
「Yes.」
"Super super super?"
「You are the daughter of the greatest among red true dragons; your potential is immeasurable.」
"So much super? Then can Aki protect Master?"
Kneeling on one knee before the excited, exuberant Aki, Chalessarum smiled gently and pressed his forehead to hers.
「With your great heart, you will grow stronger than anyone on this land. And become a light illuminating this pitiful world, as your mother did.」