Chapter 501. Disarray (3)
The energy was stronger than Chi-Hyun remembered. Perhaps it should be expected since after being absorbed, the Last Dragon had been inputted with Sernitas’ information. Yet even though her strength was greater than before, she was unable to use it properly.
—No, not just unable to utilize the strength, she’s getting swayed by it.
It was like she was a robot that was forcefully getting controlled by someone else. Unable to bear the overflowing power, she was crashing and shooting fire anywhere. It reminded him of a hatchling who had just broken out of her egg. There was no way this was really the Last Dragon he knew. There was a reason he acknowledged her abilities and used to travel around with her as his comrade at one point in time.
Yet all she did now was rush forward with killing rage at her enemies. Because her movements were so unnatural, there were many openings. If Chi-Hyun wanted to, he could've killed her dozens of times already.
‘What are they thinking…’ Chi-Hyun stopped, thinking the Sernitas had definitely set up a trap. His eyes widened when a possibility came to his mind.
‘No way…’
***
Going back to when the Celestial Realm had first detected the crisis on Liber and dispatched Chi-Hyun alone. After investigating the situation on Liber, Chi-Hyun couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of it. All nations had fallen to ruins, and continents were thrown into chaos by the invaders coming from all sides. Members of humanity who somehow managed to survive were captured as prisoners and turned into slaves; they lived pitiful lives without any home or resting place, simply hanging onto their lives because they couldn’t die.
Due to the complete mess the world was in, even the legend didn’t know where to begin. As he sat on the edge of a crumbled castle wall, Chi-Hyun contemplated what to do alone. It was then a giant shadow cast over him. Then, it shrunk in size as it came farther down until it was smaller than even Chi-Hyun’s shadow. A freckled girl with pigtails gently landed on top of the castle wall.
Pat, pat. Chi-Hyun didn’t react even when he heard her footsteps.
“It’s been a while.” Not caring about his lack of response, the girl sat next to Chi-Hyun and looked up at the sky. “You finally came.” Unlike her cute, friendly appearance, she said in a solemn, dignified voice. “I thought you would come sooner.”
“The Celestial Realm caught onto the situation too late,” Chi-Hyun replied nonchalantly.
“I mean the situation wouldn’t have gotten to this point if you were here before the major event broke out.” The girl smiled bitterly, looking from side to side. “By the way…did you come alone?”
“…”
“What about your younger brother? You know, the one we saw that time…”
“Quit it,” Chi-Hyun immediately responded. “That guy from the future…I’m not saying he isn’t my brother, but…” Chi-Hyun clenched his teeth in remembrance of that day. Originally, Chi-Hyun and the Last Dragon shouldn’t have that memory, but it came into their mind as a result of Future Chi-Woo’s intervention in this worldline.
“I don’t want a future where that guy becomes like that. He most likely doesn’t know anything right now. While he was growing up, I didn’t tell him anything and erased my parents’ memories just in case. So, there’s no way he will come here. Never.”
Seeing that Chi-Hyun’s response was more intense than she expected, the girl could make a rough guess about what had happened at Chi-Hyun’s home.
“Is that so?” She murmured with a hint of regret. “It’s a bit unsightly though.”
“What?”
“Did it hurt your pride that much to lose to your future brother? Even so, I can’t believe that you are patting yourself on the back for winning by keeping your brother inside his room before he could progress.”
“Shut up,” Chi-Hyun shouted sharply.
The girl hurriedly raised both hands in surrender and let out a long sigh. That was enough playing catch up. “Anyway, as you can see, this is what we’re dealing with.”
“…”
“It’s not an exaggeration to say that humanity has already fallen to ruins. I warned them countless times to make preparations, but they didn’t listen.”
“That’s not surprising to hear. It’s understandable, considering that they hadn’t faced any crisis for centuries. Anyway, so what?”
“What else? You should come to our side for now,” the girl continued, “The humanity who always supported and listened to you whenever you came to this world is gone. Still, not all native creatures disappeared. I’ve established a base in the Cassiubia Mountain Range, so it will be better to start from there.”
“Are there any humans there too?”
“Almost none.”
“Then, no.” Chi-Hyun shook his head. “What I have to do is to return Liber to how it was. It’s not to build a new world for you guys.”
“The situation is urgent. Why don’t you think about that after you save the world first?”
“Don’t make me laugh. You failed to even convince humanity. You think you can convince me?” Chi-Hyun snorted. “Even with the current situation, I need to rebuild humanity on Liber to the point that you and your faction can’t look down on them. I will talk about alliance after that.”
“Well, do as you wish. I didn’t expect much from the beginning.” The girl shrugged. She had already been chosen as Chi-Hyun’s comrade multiple times now and knew how stubborn Chi-Hyun could be.
“What about Boboris?” Chi-Hyun asked.
“She has been holing up at Ayalpa mountain peak for a long time. I asked her for help a couple of times, but she told me to not call her until she found someone who she wanted to give her jewel to.”
Chi-Hyun looked at her curiously. “Someone to give her jewel to? What does she mean?”
“I asked her the same thing because I was curious, but she kept her lips tightly sealed. She said she wouldn’t tell me because it could change the future.” The girl smacked her lips. “But since you came, I can forcefully drag her out of her place if you want to see her…”
“No, leave her be.” Chi-Hyun shook his head. “I’m sure Boboris has her reasons. She won’t do anything that would bring harm to Liber anyways.”
“…How come you always call Boboris by her name, but call me ‘hey’ or ‘you’?” The girl said a bit dejectedly and glanced at Chi-Hyun. But all she got was an expression that seemed to be questioning why she would bring up something so trivial now. Thus, the girl turned away again and grumbled.
Chi-Hyun snorted and continued, “Anyway, what happened to the Demon Empire?”
The girl flinched.
Chi-Hyun said, “This is the greatest crisis Liber has faced, bar none. I remember you coming together for even lesser crises.”
It was true. Even when humanity, the Cassiubia League, and the Demon Empire fought all the time, when a crisis they couldn’t handle found them, they would all unite against the common problem. But the Demon Empire now turned their backs on them even as Liber was on the verge of disappearing.
“Did the first-ranking great demon change after the last time? From Bael to some insanely stupid lunatic?”
“Well…” The girl hesitated. After some time, she closed her eyes and lamented, “I don’t know either. I don’t understand why she acted like that…”
“Have you tried talking to her?”
“Of course I have. But she doesn’t even respond. The last time I went to visit her, I almost died, not jokingly, but for real.”
Chi-Hyun’s face darkened. The fact that the Last Dragon had felt a threat to her life meant that Bael had attacked her in earnest. Chi-Hyun stroked his chin. “Bael isn’t the type to get swayed by public opinion or some advisors by her side.”
“Yes, she’s someone who crushes everyone who goes against her. Who would dare to control her?”
“Then, we should assume that she’s acting on her volition. But it does feel rather sudden.”
“Rather than that…” The girl continued after glancing at Chi-Hyun warily. “It’s my personal guess, but I think it might be because of that day.”
“What day?”
“You know, that time when your brother suddenly visited us at the end of our journey?” At that time, a crisis humanity couldn’t solve alone had occurred on Liber. Thus, Chi-Hyun made the decision to extinguish the currently unsalvageable World and replace her with a new World. Yet Chi-Hyun failed to complete that plan. It was because his brother had suddenly come from the future and intervened.
However, Chi-Hyun didn’t back out till the end. He even called forth powers from other worlds to use his Second Coming ability and tried to extinguish the World, but in the end, he lost to Chi-Woo and couldn’t fulfill his goal. At that time, Boboris and the Last Dragon had witnessed Chi-Hyun’s defeat. No, from Chi-Hyun’s perspective, they had both betrayed him since they later helped Chi-Woo block him.
There was only one person who believed in and helped Chi-Hyun till the end: Bael. It was because she made the important decision to join hands with humanity and the Cassiubia League for the first time. Yet after Chi-Hyun’s defeat and right before he had an important conversation with Chi-Woo, he knocked Bael out so that Bael couldn’t hear and later recall their conversation.
[I joined hands with her this time because I didn’t have much of a choice, but demons are an untrustworthy race by nature.]
“I think it might be because of what happened that time. She followed us because she had some trust in us, but she was the only one left out. After that incident, our relationship with the Demon Empire got completely cut off too.”
“If what you’re saying is true, she sounds like some petty child. It’s not like I killed her. She must also be aware that we didn’t have much choice in joining hands with her because of the situation.”
“That wasn’t the problem,” the girl said frustratedly. “Bael was…sincere to you. Maybe not to anyone else, but at least she was to you.” That was a loaded statement. “She refused to talk to me, but she could respond differently to you. How about it? Why don’t you go have a chat with her now? Since the Demon Empire hasn’t sided with the Sernitas yet, you should go before it’s too late…”
“No,” Chi-Hyun said firmly. “It’s meaningless. Even if I go meet her, there’s not much I can say to her anyways.”
“This isn’t the time to be difficult. Shouldn’t you try to grab onto any thread of hope at this point? And the Demon Empire isn’t just any thread.”
“Then, are you telling me to go apologize for what happened on that day and say that it was all a lie or something?” Chi-Hyun asked in an annoyed voice.
“That’s not what I’m saying. I’m telling you to just talk to her and word things in a way that will change her mind.”
“I struck you from the back that time because I didn’t trust you, and my belief hasn’t changed. But considering how difficult the current situation is, I came to ask you to work with us. If this is the gist of what I have to say, I doubt it will move her.”
The Last Dragon opened her mouth but closed it again. Chi-Hyun was someone who would lie without hesitation if he thought it was necessary. But the fact that Chi-Hyun was acting so firmly about this indicated that he had completely excluded the Demon Empire and Bael from his plans.
“I can’t rely on the Demon Empire. Though we joined hands with them before, if you look at the history of Liber, they are more enemies than allies. And it’s clear how resolute they are in their decision seeing how they turned their back on you even in this situation.”
“…”
“In a situation where a single mishap could make us fall off the cliffs, we shouldn’t have a companion we can’t trust to support us from behind. We will finish the Demon Empire along with the Sernitas with this opportunity.”
The Last Dragon didn’t say anything, because she knew what Chi-Hyun would say in response. He would probably go cold and say harshly, ‘Don’t make me repeat myself.’
After a short silence, Chi-Hyun said in a low voice, “…I knew Bael was sincere at that time.”
“But…why…?” the Last Dragon cautiously asked.
“Bael’s conviction is too strong,” Chi-Hyun said calmly. “That conviction doesn’t serve Liber, but only the Demon Empire. That’s why we won’t be able to trust her when it’s really important.”
“Hm. I think you are worrying too much,” the Last Dragon said.
“Even if that’s true, you can never be too careful,” Chi-Hyun said firmly. “The universe is full of monsters you don’t know of.”
“Could you name some examples?”
“For instance, there are those that could swallow you up and absorb all your information, including your memories, and revive you into a new form.”
The Last Dragon finally got what Chi-Hyun was getting at. Bael had always dreamed of a place and system only for the Demon World, and that vision was in direct conflict with what humanity and the Cassiubia League were yearning for. This meant that although the three forces could join hands, they could never work toward the same goal. And while it appeared that Bael planned to establish the system she had only been thinking of with this opportunity, another enemy that they had to absolutely beat—the Sernitas—was still unaware that the Celestial Realm was intervening.
Furthermore, they knew nothing about Chi-Hyun’s existence and his plans. This was the biggest weapon that Chi-Hyun could use right now. And this weapon could turn to nothing if he tried to persuade Bael, who could turn her back on them at any time. The Last Dragon nodded and smiled sadly. Every time she saw Chi-Hyun, it always reminded her how much of a constant Chi-Hyun was. What more could she do? She would follow his lead this time too. Besides, she didn’t feel particularly dissatisfied about this decision since Chi-Hyun’s decision had never been wrong before.
“All right. What else can we do but follow you? After all, you’re not just anyone, but the legend.” The Last Dragon got up. “I should make preparations for that.” Wings stretched from her back, and the Last Dragon suddenly caught herself and looked back. “Oh, by the way, can I ask one thing?”
“No, you can’t.”
“What about me?” Though Chi-Hyun said she couldn’t, the Last Dragon still asked. “How come you didn’t knock me or Boboris unconscious that time? I mean, considering how important the situation was.”
Chi-Hyun didn’t say anything. He simply frowned, but that was enough of an answer to the Last Dragon.
“I see. Though you are always grumbling, you still think of us as trustworthy companions in the end,” she said a bit proudly and chuckled. Then, she twirled her fingers and said, “Should I say…I’m honored? It feels like I’ve been acknowledged.”
“Stop wasting time and leave now.”
“Fufu. No need to be embarrassed. It’s nice though,” the Last Dragon cleared her throat. “I should repay that trust.” She extended her index finger, quickly murmured something, and then tapped on her temples.
“I just cast a magic spell on myself.”
“?”
“In the case that I lose my life, all memories related to you will instantly disappear.”
“…What?”
“Then, you won’t have to worry about your information getting exposed to the enemy even a little bit.” The Last Dragon placed both hands on her waist and stretched her shoulders. “How is it? Don’t you think I’m more trustworthy than Boboris now?” She winked and smiled widely. Seeing this, Chi-Hyun also couldn’t help but laugh aloud.
***
Recalling the memory, Chi-Hyun realized what was going on. The Sernitas knew how to build upon existing information, but they couldn’t build with nothing to start with. In other words, they couldn’t make something out of nothing. This was the Sernitas’ weakness. Chi-Hyun’s mouth twitched for a while before he spat out a mutter.
“…Is that so?” He looked blankly at the Last Dragon as she charged headlong toward him. The two met eyes. The Last Dragon’s face was emotionless. She simply flew straight as if she was asking to be killed as many times as she was revived.
“Is that what happened?” Chi-Hyun repeated, and his lips curved ever so slightly that it was hard to tell whether he was smiling or crying. In the end, Chi-Hyun gathered mana into his hands and stretched them out while murmuring.
“Thank you.” With this, there was still a bit of hope left. “You’ve done well…Raphine.” Soon afterward, an enormous beam of light shot out from Chi-Hyun’s hands. It blasted head-on and penetrated the Last Dragon’s—Raphine’s body.
Updat𝒆d fr𝒐m freew𝒆bnov𝒆l.c(o)m