Chapter 166: Chapter 166

CHAPTER 166

The Dragon Emperor Grateria.

The strongest dragon on earth, blessed by the Seven Goddesses with the fate of protection.

“You don’t know about the Dragon Emperor?”

At Karnak’s question, Demphis, baffled by the lack of understanding, asked back.

“How can dragons have an emperor?”

In fact, this was more common sense.

Though the alliance of dragons, elves, and dwarves is called the Verus Federation, they do not have a distinct political structure like the Seven Kingdoms Alliance or the Lacaenia Empire.

Originally, nations start as tribal or city-states and gradually evolve into feudal systems or centralized governments.

Currently, the Seven Kingdoms Alliance is feudal, and the Lacaenia Empire is partially centralized.

But the Verus Federation was different.

Elves and dwarves still maintained a tribal and city-state system.

The reason was simple.

Their lifespans were too long.

What was several generations for humans was merely a few generations for elves and dwarves. As a result, changes in their national systems were naturally slow.

And dragons didn’t even live together at all.

Dragons begin as beasts, then grow into intelligent beings like humans or elves, eventually aging into wise sages.

In their youth and adulthood, dragons are beasts driven by instinct, wielding immense mana and physical strength without reason.

They don’t establish nations for geopolitical reasons like humans, but rather choose their habitats for ecological reasons, like wild animals.

Even mating, driven by instinct, occurs during this period.

In middle age, they gain intelligence and learn language and reason.

But they are still a species without social needs, so they rarely interact with their own kind unless there is a special reason.

In old age, they shut themselves in their lairs and spend most of their time in the “Dragon Sleep.”

Most dragon habitats are scattered like dots between the territories of elves and dwarves.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

While the expansive land they inhabit in the eastern continent is called the “Verus Federation,” there is no political contract between the dragons and the elves.

There was no need for such a contract either.

The dragon habitats themselves formed a massive natural barrier, preventing the Lacaenia Empire’s invasions, and the elves rarely dared to provoke the dragons.

Thus, the concept of a dragon nation simply doesn’t exist, nor does the idea of a Dragon Emperor.

“Well, it’s more of a nickname, actually, but…”

The title of Dragon Emperor was given to Grateria because of his overwhelming strength and greatness as a dragon. It wasn’t that he held any real authority.

“If Grateria decided to act, there was no one strong enough to stop him, so in a way, he was an emperor in all but name…”

Karnak, mumbling, glanced at Baros.

“Come to think of it, we only found out much later that there was such a thing as a Dragon Emperor, didn’t we?”

“That’s right. Grateria only appeared after all the human forces had been defeated.”

The guardian Grateria usually remains in a deep Dragon Sleep, only awakening when the world faces destruction.

In other words, unless the world is on the verge of annihilation, he doesn’t interfere.

Even events like the Lacaenia founding war and the early Western Continent war of the Seven Kingdoms Alliance were just “petty human squabbles” from the perspective of the Dragon Emperor.

As a result, there are almost no records of him in human history.

At most, distant legends and myths handed down from ancient times.

“On the flip side…”

Serati, who had been listening, asked in disbelief.

“Are you saying that what Lord Karnak did was of mythic or legendary proportions?”

Karnak shrugged.

“When I do something, I do it right.”

“That’s not a compliment!”

In any case, what Tesranak had done could certainly be compared to Karnak’s deeds.

But in Tesranak’s case, the Dragon Emperor didn’t appear.

“Maybe Grateria doesn’t exist in that world?”

“Or maybe Tesranak took out the Dragon Emperor first. If he dealt with him before the world knew, it makes sense that Governor Demphis wouldn’t know about it.”

“That would mean he killed that monster before becoming Astra Spiritus. But how on earth?”

“That’s another problem, isn’t it?”

Karnak and Baros pondered intensely but couldn’t come up with a clear guess.

“Anyway, Tesranak only became Astra Spiritus to defeat the combined assault of the Archmages and the Martial Kings, right? So he’s weaker than the young master.”

“It’s not that Tesranak was weaker than me. I would have had no chance if they had all teamed up against me, too.”

When Karnak, in his human body, took down the three Archmages and the Four Martial Kings, it was only by targeting them one by one.

He hadn’t allowed those insanely strong beings to join forces.

And there was a reason for that.

“Tesranak was alone, but we had two.”

The Death King Karnak had the most reliable, strongest swordsman on earth by his side—Death Knight Lord Baros.

“Of course, back then you were probably ranked around fourth on the planet and not yet a Death Knight, but still, you were a useful subordinate.”

“If you’re going to compliment me, why not just do it without adding conditions?”

Had Karnak been alone, no matter how powerful he was, he wouldn’t have been able to manage all of them simultaneously. But with Baros, they could launch diversionary tactics.

“But in the end, both Tesranak and I became Astra Spiritus. Yet, the Dragon Emperor didn’t appear on his side?”

Karnak rested his chin in thought.

“Did things turn out differently for him afterward?”

Demphis, who had been quietly waiting, spoke up again.

“After becoming Astra Spiritus, Tesranak transformed into the God of Death, and from that point on, there was no one left to stop him…”

***

All three Archmages became Tesranak’s subordinates.

Three of the Four Martial Kings also joined him.

Only Laficel, the Martial King of Syphras, managed to escape, continuing a weak resistance.

But it was like a dying flame.

In the end, even she was defeated.

The last hero of humanity fell into the hands of darkness, her body and soul torn apart, her fate cruelly displayed before all.

Even the authority of the Seven Goddesses faded from this world, leaving the God of Death as the undisputed ruler.

No one could stand in his way anymore.

For decades, Tesranak reigned supreme as the Death King and God of Death.

Then, one day, Tesranak made a declaration.

–I was the one who ruled over death.

–It took 100 years for me to realize this.

–To become the true God of Darkness, I must rule not just death, but life as well!

Baros couldn’t help but snicker.

“Pfft!”

That sounded all too familiar.

Wasn’t that the same kind of thing Karnak used to rant about?

“But this one sounds more impressive. Honestly, young master, you always sounded so petty…”

“Shut up, Baros.”

“Yes, sir!”

As the two bickered, Demphis cautiously asked.

“Uh, have you two finished your conversation?”

By now, Demphis had grown accustomed to their antics and didn’t even get angry anymore.

In fact, it felt strangely familiar, as if it had been this way for a long time.

‘Why does this feel so natural to me?’

It was almost as if he had been dealing with these two bickering fools for ages.

In any case, Demphis cleared his throat.

“Then I’ll continue.”

Karnak and Baros’s expressions turned serious.

From here on, it was a story they didn’t know.

***

As Tesranak transformed into the ultimate undead, he fully grasped the power of darkness and death.

But in exchange, he became increasingly distant from light and life.

This was his dissatisfaction.

He wanted to control everything in the world, and the domains of the goddesses were no exception.

How could he become the absolute being, governing both life and death, and all the fate of the world?

He pondered and researched endlessly. Finally, he found a clue.

‘If I return to a living body, and in that state, obtain the power of light equal to that of darkness…’

However, realizing this was far from easy.

Simply stealing the body of another living being wasn’t enough to maintain the perfection of Astra Spiritus.

Nevertheless, the God of Death eventually found the answer.

‘If I use my own body as the base, it’s possible.’

The problem was that Tesranak had long since discarded his original body.

So, he turned his gaze to the past.

If he transcended time and possessed his body from the past, he could achieve his long-cherished goal!

The research continued. There were failures.

But he didn’t despair.

Having already gained immortality, time was a meaningless resource for him. He could waste as much of it as needed on new attempts.

Finally, the ultimate spell to transcend time and space was completed.

Standing before a dark red monolith, Tesranak thought to himself.

‘With this, I can return to the past. But even this isn’t perfect.’

The monolith could only send his soul back in time.

Of course, since his body as Astra Spiritus was made of spiritual energy, this spell could send both his soul and his power to the past.

But that would separate his soul from his power.

‘That would be problematic.’

He hadn’t developed this spell just to return to being a powerless servant, wailing for his lost master.

‘What should I do?’

He found the answer.

The separation of his soul and power occurred because his soul had a place to reside, but his power did not.

While it wouldn’t violate the laws of the world for Tesranak’s soul to possess his past body, the power of Astra Spiritus was too vast. The moment it forcibly intervened in the past, it would be met with resistance.

‘The best way to maximize the power of necromancy is through dispersion.’

Rather than immediately initiating the time regression, he would remain in a subspace, maintaining the union of his soul and power.

Then, in that state, he would slowly disperse his power into the past, gradually spreading darkness across the world.

In doing so, he would prepare a place for his arrival.

‘With this, it’s possible.’

However, there was still a problem with this plan.

In the past, the Seven Goddesses were still alive. The Church of the Seven Goddesses, humanity, dragons, and elves all remained intact.

Even if he dispersed darkness into this world, it would likely be purged quickly.

He needed beings who could return to the past first and spread darkness for him.

***

“The spell to transcend time and space didn’t exist before Tesranak. Naturally, there was no certainty it would work.”

According to Demphis, before sending his loyal servants back, Tesranak conducted preliminary experiments.

“He sent souls that, though strong enough to withstand time regression, were expendable.”

The soul of a human hero who had resisted until the end, someone whose powerful soul Tesranak couldn’t subjugate.

“The Martial King of Syphras, Laficel Crotéum.”

Laficel’s soul successfully crossed the boundary of time and returned to the past.

Though Tesranak had no way of knowing what happened to her afterward, just confirming that it had worked was enough.

“After that, he moved in earnest.”

To prepare for Tesranak’s descent, it wasn’t enough to rely solely on the powers of darkness, death, and necromancy.

He also needed to harmonize with the powers that already filled the world—mana, aura, and divine power.

Thus, the three chosen for the vanguard were selected.

The Archmage representing mana, Elezar de Reflacion.

The Martial King representing aura, Dreltain Telix.

And the fallen Pope of the Sun, Zedex Thieland, representing divine power.