Chapter 75
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 75
Chapter Title: Impurity (2)
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"Luther, does it hurt?"
Bertharot wasn't looking with his eyes—he was reading information through mana.
In that sense, he was seeing me more clearly than anyone else.
I let out a groan and rested my forehead against Bertharot's torso.
Bertharot flinched, unsure what to do.
"Master... no, since you created me, Luther, I'll do whatever you say."
"Yeah. I did create you."
A dragon stone fragment found in some ruins, mixed with reptile brain, magical beast blood and flesh, then shaped using that talented fool Randike's life creation secret art.
For some reason, that secret art was damn hard to pull off successfully.
I must have been the last one to tinker with it, but I couldn't for the life of me remember what I'd done differently.
Maybe from now on, I should stick to making pets like horned rabbits.
Bertharot's question from earlier kept echoing in my head: 'Why do I have to follow Berkis's orders?'
I'd answered quickly and tried to forget it, but the response I'd thought would come easily just wouldn't surface.
My mind felt foggy, like it was shrouded in mist.
"Luther?"
I placed both hands on Bertharot's underbelly and focused my mana. He called out to me anxiously.
"Be quiet."
I took a deep breath and gathered my mana.
I decided not to think about Berkis anymore.
Just wrap this up quick, head back, and rest.
"Th-this feels weird."
He couldn't even follow a simple order to stay quiet.
I tamped down my irritation and concentrated my mana even harder.
It wasn't long before I pulled away from Bertharot, mentally exhausted.
I'd burned through so much mana I felt dizzy... but thankfully, the spell had worked.
The massive black dragon was gone, replaced by a young man.
A gaunt youth with long black hair and pale red eyes, his white, skinny body completely exposed.
The young man stared at me with wide eyes and a blank expression, then started patting himself down all over.
He made weird noises—ooh, ugh, ooaaah—then grabbed his throat.
Guess he was thrilled to have human vocal cords.
I chuckled and draped my long robe over his shoulders.
"Dragon Bertharot is gone now. All that's left is... just a naked guy."
A Denan youth in the prime of life, maybe.
I hadn't thought much about race or age—just went with what felt right—and since Bertharot was my creation anyway, shaping him was easy.
"Lu-Luther. I..."
His face was exactly the same as when he'd been a dragon. Ridiculously dumb and innocent.
"Listen up, Bertharot."
I grabbed his face with both hands. His eyes widened, taking in my features completely.
"The black dragon has been scrapped. On Berkis's orders. You're going to find some clothes nearby, put them on, and get out of here.
Head to any place with people around, then make up some story about losing your memory in this mess. Show them that face you're making right now, and they'll buy it."
"Master..."
"I'm not your master! And I never will be."
Staring into his pitiful face started making me laugh.
How did I craft him so perfectly?
He looked totally different from his dragon days, but the vibe was spot-on.
Come to think of it, he even resembled Berkis a bit.
"From now on, you're your own master. Figure out what you want to do and do it. Stay out of trouble and danger. Got it? Nod if you do."
Bertharot nodded slowly.
"Good."
I grinned and let go of his dumb, pitiful face.
His legs gave out, and he plopped down right there.
Would he even remember what I said? Whatever.
The moment I left this place, I planned to wipe him from my mind completely.
"One last thing."
Bertharot looked up at me with pleading eyes.
"I'm going to report to Berkis that black dragon Bertharot is no more. So don't make me out to be a liar."
I dropped the smile and spoke seriously, but he just blinked at me.
Clearly, he didn't get it.
What a pain. Maybe living among people would teach him something.
"...Don't ever show up in front of Berkis or me again. Understand?"
"Uh, yeah. Got it."
Bertharot finally nodded.
"Now go."
I sighed.
His human body still unfamiliar, Bertharot staggered to his feet with difficulty.
He stared at me like he was trying to memorize my face, then glanced at me hesitantly before turning away.
The robe hem swayed, and his pale white feet wobbled precariously between corpses and stone fragments.
He moved so slowly it was frustrating.
I had to wait an agonizingly long time until his figure vanished completely between the buildings.
Only then did I turn my weary body and start walking in the opposite direction.
I had no idea if this was the right call. Or why I'd even done it.
I could've just killed him on Berkis's orders and been done.
Still, Bertharot didn't seem like he'd cause any real backlash.
That's what I told myself, dressing up this uncharacteristic whim.
The disobedient, annoying, dumb dragon was gone now. As per Berkis's orders...
That was enough.
"There he is!"
A rough voice shouted, and an arrow sliced through the air.
It whizzed past me into the buildings, but it definitely grabbed my attention.
A group of soldiers poured out from an alley, bows and swords at the ready.
A neat-looking man at the front stood awkwardly with a long staff.
Aha.
I'd figured a garrison this size would have at least one mage since they caught Bertharot. And here he was.
But how did he dodge my decision magic?
I'd designed it so no living person could avoid it.
"Ar-arrows! Shoot properly!"
The soldiers fumbled to nock arrows again.
I turned and walked toward them. A few arrows came flying fast.
But they shattered into red crystal shards just before reaching me.
The soldiers' faces went pale.
"Ugh, I-I don't wanna die!"
Two soldiers in the back panicked, turned tail, and bolted.
"Ah. After coming at me first..."
Chasing them down and combing the whole city sounded like hell.
I clicked my tongue and dashed forward.
Red crystals surged from the ground. I leaped off them, landing on a second-story rooftop in an instant.
Then I vaulted lightly, dropping right in front of the fleeing soldiers in the alley.
"...Running away is cheating."
"Gaaah!"
Krunch!
I thrust my hand out. Sharp crystal pillars erupted from both alley walls, skewering the soldiers.
Their faces frozen in shock.
The ones behind got caught too, losing their lives to the pillars—except one. The staff-wielding mage, who collapsed to the ground.
I pushed the pillars back into the walls, clearing a path.
Mangled corpses hung from the walls. The narrow alley was slick with blood in seconds.
"Hmm."
I stepped over the blood-soaked ground toward the garrison mage.
Some skilled kingdom mages had strong resistance to spells.
The moment enemy mana touched them to manifest, they canceled it with their own.
I'd seen a few like that on battlefields, but this guy didn't look the type...
His trembling hands barely gripped the staff. His face was ashen, eyes locked on me, drenched in cold sweat.
"Wh-why are you doing this?!"
Too terrified to stand, yet his mouth kept going. Impressive.
"Because you captured the dragon."
I didn't enjoy chatting with the soon-to-be-dead, but he'd blocked my spell once. Maybe some trick I didn't know.
I eyed the mage.
His staff, the skinny hand clutching it, the wide long sleeves, the pale sweat-soaked face.
Kingdom mages didn't manifest through will like us. They used staves, books, gems, jewelry—or even tattoos and runes on their bodies.
Sometimes those were faster and stronger than spells from shaky minds or sloppy wills.
"You killed all these people for that?!"
Mana flowed from the mage. A magic circle appeared under my feet before I knew it.
Unfamiliar runes flashed.
"Oh."
Pre-set trap? Or stored in the staff?
No clue what it did, but it didn't feel friendly. I stomped, shattering it just before activation.
This is why talking to the doomed is a bad habit.
I conjured five crystal arrows of various sizes in the air, aiming at his head.
He shook with deathly fear, but glared at me with eyes full of hate and rage.
"Demon Emperor's mage, this sin will return as a curse!"
"Thanks for the advice."
The crystal arrows flew at him.
Surprisingly, he survived again.
A barrier formed around him, smashing the arrows.
In that moment, I sensed something on his chest manipulating mana.
"Gah!"
I pinned his chest with my knee and yanked out the necklace he wore.
A finely crafted magic tool.
Right, these local mages loved their toys.
"N-no, that's from Lord Althur..."
I pressed his head down with one hand and ripped the necklace off. The chain snapped.
Red crystals surged from the ground onto his face.
He didn't even scream or take a last breath.
I gripped the pendant and stood.
This blocked my magic? How?
No echronium, common in magic tools. Just a fist-sized flat round metal disc.
I fed it a bit of mana. It repelled me, forming a circular barrier.
I got a slight burn on my palm and stepped back.
The disc inside the barrier revealed its embedded rune. Must've glitched when its protected owner died.
Kingdom magic—most runes unreadable.
But a few words stood out.
Nullify mana, dispel magic, reject impure beings...
Impure being, huh.
My palm stung. Cocky trinket.
Fuming, I focused mana on the metal disc.
Crack!
A red crystal pillar shot up, slicing the barrier and disc in half.
Handy in a pinch, but kingdom magic handled different quantities and qualities of mana than imperial.
Inherent difference, you could say.
Then, a distant scream echoed from somewhere in the fortress city.
Still survivors, huh.
Probably... the citadel.
Covered in defensive magic, my crystals might not spread well there.
Fatigue crashed over me hard, but I started walking anyway.
Orders had to be completed, after all.