Chapter 74
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 74
Chapter Title: Denial (1)
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A massive crystal shard glowing with a deep crimson light pierced straight through the guard's body.
It looked just like a decorative statue mounted on a wall.
The guard's red blood trickled down the smooth surface of the crystal and pooled on the ground.
I turned away and slipped through the fortress gate, which hung slightly ajar.
With my entire body shrouded in a black robe and the hood pulled low over my face, I must have looked incredibly suspicious—but no one paid me any mind.
The streets were deserted, devoid of any signs of life.
That was because most of the residents and soldiers of Cornick Fortress City had flocked to the central plaza to witness the massive spectacle unfolding there.
It was quite the spectacle, alright. Compelling enough that even I'd come to see it for myself.
I quickened my pace toward the central plaza.
The plaza was packed to the brim with people—so crowded that I couldn't see a thing ahead.
They clustered together in a writhing mass, shouting unintelligible cheers and belting out raucous songs at the top of their lungs.
On one side of the plaza, a band blared out deafening music.
Listening to the lyrics, I realized it was a triumphal march sung upon victorious return from battle. My first time hearing it live.
I wormed my way through the gaps in the crowd, inching closer to the center bit by bit.
The people were all fixated on a massive dragon, tightly bound and slumped atop the ruins of a fountain in the middle of the plaza.
What an entertaining sideshow, really.
That was what I tried to tell myself, anyway. Truth be told, it wasn't all that amusing.
As I drew nearer to the plaza's heart, I spotted the pitch-black bulk of the beast, feebly heaving breaths while tethered to the fountain.
Lesion soldiers encircled it, along with knights and nobles decked out in fine ceremonial garb.
One portly noble with a vacant, dopey expression cackled as he jabbed at the dragon's flank with his sword.
Its black, tough scales peeled away, black blood oozing out.
The crowd erupted in cheers every time the dragon twitched.
My ears were ringing.
Frowning, I pushed toward the side where the black dragon's head lay.
It was bound so securely that its long neck was twisted to the right and pinned flat against the ground.
The wounds on its body were all superficial; nothing life-threatening... but it still soured my mood for some reason.
Self-inflicted, that's what it was. All his own doing.
I clicked my tongue as the thought crossed my mind.
By all rights, I should have been back in the capital by now, kicking back and relaxing leisurely—instead of smack in the middle of this filthy, noisy fortress city.
That squat little Lordri had promised to lay out some fine liquor for me.
I wasn't much of a drinker, but today it sounded especially tempting.
We'd lost most of our decent soldiers crossing the Quint Mountains, but it hardly mattered. I could've just turned back.
Berkis would've been thrilled, actually. He was always whining that things were no fun if they came too easy.
If that lizard with a reptile brain the size of a fist rattling around in its oversized skull hadn't gone rogue to rack up some feats of valor by flying straight into the heart of Cornick Fortress... everything would've been far less of a hassle.
'It hurts! It hurts, you worthless beasts!'
The black dragon let out a guttural growl, and the crowd went even wilder with cheers.
Some idiots even hurled stones and filth at it.
Had that moron forgotten how to even mimic the voice of "worthless beasts"?
I edged closer.
The knights and soldiers, drunk on the thrill of capturing the dragon, didn't notice a shady figure like me approaching.
The knights in their fancy armor prodded at the dragon's head with their blades.
Seemed like they were debating how to kill a beast this size.
"We offer the head to the royal palace and mount the wings in the hall as decoration. Wouldn't that be splendid?"
"Let's split the tail among ourselves. What if it gets too strong and causes us real trouble?"
They guffawed loudly at their own inane chatter.
I sidled up while they were deep in their fun and whispered right by one knight's ear.
"Eating the blood or flesh of a magical beast will turn you into a demon. That'd be a real catastrophe, wouldn't it?"
"Gaaah! W-Who are you?!"
The knights' reactions were surprisingly swift.
They whirled on me with horrified faces, swords raised high.
The surrounding knights and soldiers drew their weapons in unison.
The crowd began to murmur, though the oblivious triumphal march droned on.
"One tail to spawn a bunch of demons? Now that's a profitable venture."
I sighed and stepped right up to the dragon.
Its massive red eyes swiveled around to fix on me.
'M-Master.'
"Nice mess you've made, Bertharot."
The dragon Bertharot must have sensed my presence well before I got this close.
Dragons perceive their surroundings by reading mana flows, not visual cues.
That's why he was already scared out of his wits.
I placed my hand on the spot beneath his eye where the knights had gouged out scales, causing black blood to stream endlessly. His enormous body shuddered violently.
"Who the hell are you?! A mage?!"
"Step away from it and surrender now!"
The growing clamor was starting to give me a headache.
My head felt heavy, throbbing.
I swung my hand, slick with the dragon's blood, and decapitated the two knights who'd gotten too close.
Silence fell over the area.
Much better.
Crimson crystals erupted from the headless corpses.
The crystals devoured people one by one, starting with those nearest.
The blood of the dying splattered onto the living, crystallizing anew.
"Kyaaah!"
"Run! It's the Demon Emperor's mage!"
The teeming crowd finally screamed and scattered, the triumphal march twisting into eerie wails before fading away.
Blood droplets and red crystals flew everywhere, engulfing people left and right.
I didn't linger on the sight.
Leaving the magic to do its work, I drew a dagger and methodically sliced through the thick ropes binding Bertharot.
That took more effort than casting the spell.
Once the ropes were cut, Bertharot slowly rose to his full height.
A magnificent dragon, cloaked in tough black scales, with a long tail and a pair of enormous wings.
I'd even stuck a pair of black horns on his head to make him look the part.
As Bertharot stood tall, his massive shadow blanketed everything overhead.
To meet his gaze, I had to crane my neck back awkwardly, so I climbed atop a towering red crystal pillar as a makeshift platform.
'Master...'
Bertharot gazed down at me with mournful eyes.
"Speak up, Bertharot. I'm the only one talking here. People might think something's off if they overhear."
Not that there were any living souls left; they'd all fled or fallen to the red crystals by now.
I shrugged and continued.
"And don't call me master."
I roughly chipped away the sharp tip of the crystal with my foot, blunting it.
Then I shrugged off my hood, straightened my robe, and perched atop it. Now our eyes were roughly level.
Bertharot looked like he was struggling to remember how to form words.
I waited patiently, and soon a slow, rumbling baritone emerged.
"Luuuutherrr."
"...If that's how you're gonna say it, then shut up and just think it."
Bertharot's head drooped dejectedly.
Hah. I sighed and clutched my forehead.
Screams still echoed from not far off.
They weren't pleasant either, so I tuned them out.
Humans are made of blood, bones, flesh, and skin. The only difference from demons is that they have 'life'.
'Not much of a difference, is it?'
Berkis always said as much.
"P-People... are running. Shouldn't we chase them?"
Bertharot finally managed a proper sentence after all that time.
About damn time.
"They can't escape. I told you to make sure no one who saw your pathetic display lived to tell the tale."
This place was surrounded by sturdy walls on all sides but the north gate, so escape routes were limited anyway.
That's why I'd set up barriers around the north gate and walls, ensuring nothing with a pulse could get out.
And I'd enhanced the crystal magic to spread rapidly.
The Lendaik family's secret art was life creation, but my specialty was barriers.
"Did Berkis tell you that?"
Bertharot knew full well no one else could give me orders, yet he asked anyway.
I scowled, watching his massive eye blink slowly.
"I've told you a thousand times: Berkis is your master. Not me."
"You made me, Master."
Watching that sluggish blink made my irritation boil over.
"I made you, sure—but Berkis is your master, you stupid lizard. That's why you and I both follow his orders."
"Why? Why follow Berkis's orders?"
What an utterly brain-dead question.
Did I really have to explain this? I snapped in frustration.
"Because...!"
"Because?"
Because... why?
A stabbing headache pierced my skull, blanking my mind in an instant.
My vision went white. I squeezed my eyes shut and cradled my head.
"Luther? What's wrong?"
Looked like I'd burned through a good deal of mana.
The barrier around the entire fortress city, plus the crystal magic devouring every living thing.
Normally, I wouldn't stick my neck out like this.
"This is all because of you, idiot."
Anger surged, pushing back the pain.
Bertharot flinched and pulled his head back from where it'd gotten too close.
"Sorry, Luther."
There was genuine remorse in his voice.
He probably didn't even grasp what he'd done wrong, yet this fool meant it sincerely.
There wasn't much I could say to that.
"Berkis ordered me to dispose of you."
"Disspooose?"
His massive head tilted sideways.
I let out an audible sigh. Should've made his brain bigger when I had the chance.
"He wants you scrapped. Because you can't follow orders properly."
Did that sink in now?
Bertharot stared blankly before dipping his head slightly.
"...Sorry."
"Don't apologize to me! You're done for now. I'm going to kill you."
Yelling made my head throb again. Probably low mana.
I gritted my teeth, dispelled the giant crystal pillar I'd been sitting on, and recovered its mana.
Stepping down to the ground, I was surrounded by corpses.
The screams now echoed faintly from afar.
The air reeked of blood and smoke everywhere.
It didn't improve my mood any.
Not that pleasant surroundings ever helped much anyway.
I approached Bertharot and placed both hands on his black bulk.
Though most of his house-sized body was clad in tough black scales, his underbelly was covered in thick gray hide.
Even a blade wouldn't pierce that hide easily—it was his one relative weak point.
And yet, even as I touched it after declaring I'd kill him... Bertharot offered no resistance, just gazed down at me steadily.
"Don't you get what dying means?"
I couldn't hold back the words. My gut boiled with frustration.
Coming here, unleashing this pointless slaughter—it was all because of him.
I just wanted to wrap this up quick, head back, drown myself in strong liquor, and forget it all.