[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
Chapter 168
"Melvria. We've been deceived by Kaina."
"…It seems that way."
Inside the magic research lab of Geysir's imperial castle.
Deep within the castle, hidden from sight, Caius had led Melvria there, his expression twisted.
"He... is undoubtedly our father. Seeing him create the Six Sword Path leaves no room for doubt."
"That's right."
"But the father I met during my time as Emperor of the Meier Empire was also undoubtedly him..."
"During your reign as Emperor? Wasn't he missing?"
At Melvria's question, Caius shook his head.
"No. He went into hiding to destroy the empire himself."
"Father... destroyed the empire? After all the effort to unify it, why would he do that?"
"For Father, the Dragon Heart, to fully ascend as a complete dragon and become the Dragon God... he needed human blood."
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Caius gazed at Melvria with somber eyes.
"You already know why we've been offering human sacrifices, don't you?"
"…Yes. Every human is a fragment of the continent, Avelia."
The land known as Avelia, where humans lived—
This entire continent was the body of a dragon.
The springs and seas were the dragon’s blood.
The mana spread throughout the atmosphere was the dragon’s breath.
And humans, who thrived on this land, were fragments and remnants of the dragon itself.
Even if each individual human was no more than dust compared to the vast body of a dragon,
If gathered together, they could provide the necessary power to resurrect a dragon.
"All humans living on this continent bear the remnants of the dragon… Compared to elves or dwarves, humans retain the most traces of the dragon."
Elves and dwarves were far superior to humans in terms of racial abilities.
But when it came to 'dragon remnants,' humans possessed the most.
"Yet, you sacrificed elves and dwarves just the same."
"They had their uses. While their overall dragon remnants were lacking, elves symbolized the dragon's wings, and dwarves represented the dragon's fire. To complete those specific aspects, they had to be offered as sacrifices."
"I see… But that aside, something is bothering me. If Father was still alive a thousand years ago and waged war for this purpose… then shouldn’t he have achieved his goal?"
At Melvria's question, Caius smirked.
"He almost did. If not for the Celestial God."
"The Celestial God…"
"Yes, Melvria. Doesn’t it seem strange to you? No matter how powerful the White Demon King was, should the Celestial Realm have fallen so easily?"
"…I’ve always wondered about that. The Demon Realm forces that Father destroyed somehow surged back to power so quickly."
The numbers of the Demon Realm army, which had been annihilated by the hero Ernstine, were staggering.
Even the angels who had fought alongside the Meier Imperial Army were convinced that the Demon Realm had been dealt with and would never again invade the Middle World.
And yet, at some point, the Demon Realm's strength grew explosively.
Dungeons and portals began appearing, and the Middle World was swallowed up with ease.
Even the Celestial Realm was eventually invaded.
"All of that happened because the Celestial God was absent."
"The Celestial God… was absent?"
"Yes. The Celestial God ambushed Father just as he was about to become the Dragon God… through a traitor."
"A traitor?"
"Yes. Kaina told me the traitor’s name—Baldrix."
At the mention of that name, Melvria's eyes widened.
Baldrix, the second son of Ernstine.
The first man to raise the banner of rebellion against the unified Meier Empire—had he not eventually founded his own kingdom?
But to think he was involved in this, and on top of that, he had betrayed them...
‘So that's why the Helmeier family despises Baldrix so much.’
They loathed him to the extent that they replaced every prisoner’s face with his.
In the past, she had thought it was simply because he had brought down the Meier Empire.
But now, she realized there was a far greater betrayal behind it.
Melvria finally started to understand.
“Father, who had not yet become the Dragon God, could not overcome the Celestial God and was sealed away. But even the Celestial God suffered a severe blow and is now in hiding…”
“So that’s why the Celestial Realm is being pushed back so hard.”
“Exactly. After that, the Helmeier family sought refuge with the Demon Realm. You know the rest.”
Receiving information from the Helmeier family and realizing that the Celestial Realm was weakened, the Demon Realm launched a large-scale invasion of the Middle Realm.
The angels who had been guarding the Middle Realm were swiftly subdued, and the world seamlessly became a colony of the Demon Realm.
But the White Demon King was not satisfied with just that—he invaded the Celestial Realm as well, achieving significant results and earning the title of the ruler of the Three Realms.
“For a thousand years, I have hated the Celestial God and Baldrix. To fully resurrect and complete Father, I endured the disgrace of transforming this wretched body.”
Melvria’s gaze instinctively dropped to Caius’s lower body.
A half-undead corpse, reduced to nothing but bones.
To survive for a thousand years in a human body, he had sacrificed half of himself.
“And yet, the Dragon God Meier I struggled so hard to revive… turns out he is not even our father.”
“Heh… I watched as the empress and children were executed… ignored their desperate pleas for mercy… and made it all the way here.”
Caius stroked his beard. His trembling hand quivered as though afflicted with palsy.
“Baldrix… he may have known.”
“…That the Dragon God Meier wasn’t actually our father?”
“Yes. He was a Sword Master. He might have sensed something off about Father, who had abandoned the sword.”
“The truth is lost now. He’s dead, after all.”
“…Who knows.”
Caius’s trembling hand stilled.
With a calm and steady gaze, he looked at Melvria.
“Melvria. Go to Starn.”
“I…?”
“Yes. Tell Father everything that has happened so far, and all that you have seen and felt.”
“What about you, Brother?”
Caius chuckled at the word “Brother.”
It had been so long since he last heard it.
“Kaina just tried to brainwash me earlier. No… perhaps I’ve been under her control all this time. My mind has never felt clearer than it does now.”
“You’re right. I feel the same.”
“Yes. Maybe it’s because her power has weakened for now that the brainwashing has worn off… but it could return at any moment. And…”
Caius opened his palm and looked at it.
“I have committed too many sins. I do not seek to be judged and granted salvation by Father just yet. I will stay in this nest of demons a little longer and gather more information.”
“…That goes for me as well.”
“Heh. You might still have a chance for redemption. After all, I was the one who dragged you into this.”
Caius gestured toward Melvria.
“So go.”
“…Alright. Be careful of that witch.”
Melvria lowered her head and disappeared.
As she left, Caius also rose to his feet.
His mind had never been clearer.
He couldn’t just stay still.
‘I need to conduct my own investigation.’
Kaylen, having clashed fiercely with Helmeier, continued his conquest of the eastern continent instead of returning to the capital.
"…Understood. I will plant the flag of the Starn Empire."
"Good. You made the right choice."
The occupation of the northern coastal territories proceeded smoothly.
Having reached the realm of a Grand Sword Master, Kaylen possessed godlike martial prowess from the perspective of ordinary people.
As a result, even the eastern kings who initially resisted had no choice but to surrender after witnessing their royal castles split in half with a mere flick of his hand.
'The northern coastline is nearly subdued.'
The long coastline of the eastern continent.
It took less than two weeks to plant Starn’s flag along its entirety.
"Observation chief. What are Geysir Empire’s movements?"
—There has been no activity since then. While we cannot observe the imperial capital itself… if the Dragon Knights were to sortie beyond the empire’s territory, we would notice. However, there have been no such movements at all.
"The damage they suffered must have been severe. But if we can’t observe the capital, then it seems Kaina wasn’t annihilated back then, after all."
At Kaylen’s words, the colonial observation chief, Ederna, recalled the events of that time.
The Marquis of Helmeier, wielding magic power befitting the Crimson Flame Demon King.
And Kaylen’s overwhelming might, which split the sky and earth in half and subdued him in an instant.
'…This man is undoubtedly the previous Hero.'
She was now certain.
He was the previous Hero, Ernstine, who had defeated her father, the Crimson Flame Demon King.
As his daughter, the thought of aiding the man who had slain her father filled Ederna with unease.
'…But for now, I have to cooperate. The White Demon King’s words, too. Besides, if we want him to clash with the Demon King… he must not lose to Geysir.'
The power of the Marquis of Helmeier alone was already immense.
She couldn’t even begin to imagine how strong the Dragon God they sought to revive would be.
If Kaylen was meant to battle the Demon King, it was better to help him win against Geysir rather than let him fall to the revived Dragon God.
'Even so… someday, he will be the target of my father’s vengeance.'
Thinking that, she had no desire to engage in lengthy conversation with him.
—I’ll inform you if there are any changes.
With that, Ederna ended the communication.
Meanwhile, Kaylen inspected his Six Swords.
What bothered him was that before disappearing, Kaina had sprinkled Infinity onto his swords.
'The Light Sword is fine.'
The Light Sword, in which the Holy Sword Astella resided, showed no abnormalities.
'The Fire Sword too… it merely contains the sword Kaina threw… no particular issues.'
The Fire Sword now held the broken remains of the Dragonflame Sword.
According to Kaina, this sword was forged by grinding down ten thousand dwarves, and it contained an immense concentration of fire mana.
'If it were in its original form, it would be nearly on par with a Holy Sword.'
Though now broken in half, in its complete state, it could have ranked among the Divine Swords.
'Rather, the Fire Sword seems to have grown stronger after housing Kaina’s sword… but the other Four Swords are the problem.'
The swords of Water, Wind, Earth, and Darkness—each of them had been infused with Kaina’s Infinity, interfering with Kaylen.
'They… are distorting the form of the swords.'
Before Kaina’s Infinity had latched onto them, Kaylen’s Six Swords had been in perfect condition.
Now, if left unchecked, they slowly attempted to change.
Into golden, star-shaped forms of the Six Demon Blades.
'If only I could absorb them, I’d grow even stronger…'
Kaina’s Infinity was a double-edged sword.
Kaylen’s Six Swords could be further strengthened, but there remained a risk that they could be transformed into the Six Demon Blades.
‘She tried to manipulate my Six Swords into becoming the Six Demon Blades.’
Thinking of Kaina made Kaylen feel stifled.
The other children had acknowledged that he was indeed Ernstine after witnessing the creation of the Six Swords.
Yet, she alone denied him with absolute certainty.
Just how convincing was this supposed fake Ernstine for her to be so adamant?
‘Should I just charge straight into Geysir?’
At times, he even felt such an impulse.
As he continued pondering the Six Swords and Kaina…
He hadn’t even noticed that he had arrived at his destination until he heard Drake’s voice.
[Master. Arrows incoming.]
"Ah. Right. This was the last of them."
The Kingdom of Siberia, located at the northeasternmost edge of the continent.
It had a fairly large territory, but most of it was frozen wasteland, leaving little usable land.
‘I should finish this quickly and return.’
With that thought, Kaylen lightly leaped off Drake’s back and landed atop the fortress wall.
"Stop right there."
"The Emperor of the Starn Empire."
As if already prepared, Kaylen observed the knights approaching him with keen eyes.
He had been subjugating kingdoms so swiftly that information about him had yet to spread far.
This was the first nation to recognize him on sight.
‘A well-trained knight.’
Since they had anticipated his arrival, he decided to see how they would respond.
Just as he was watching the knights draw their swords…
Kaylen’s eyes suddenly widened.
"…A Sword Master?"
[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]