Chapter 111 - To the Land of the Demons (2) âWe just hoped they could be used as ingredients in forming the vessel of the king.â
â...what do you mean?â
âThe kingâs body is being slowly formed within the abyss. If what Aincera-nim says is true, the kingâs body will recover to the one he had when he was alive.â
âHeâs going to restore an already destroyed body?â
âHis body will return to its previous form. When the restoration of the body ends, an incomprehensible method will be used to put the preserved soul into the body. Itâll be a complete revival.â
Laura had checked, and a significant portion of Ateinâs body had already been restored. It was a bizarre sight where the body was floating in the darkness, and there were gaps in the body. However, as time passed, the gaps were being filled in.
âWe studied and analyzed his magic for a long time. However, no one was able discern the true nature of the spell. There were several hypothesis formed, and one of them was about using those with blood ties to the Dragon Demon King as a form of fertilizer. It was hypothesized that sacrificing those with certain strong characteristics would accelerate the recovery process.â
Basically, the Dragon Demon Princess and the Dragon Demon Prince would be carved up for the parts needed for Atein to recover his body.....
It was a ghoulish plan.
Azell and Kairen was taken aback.
âYouâve all lost your minds.â
âI knew your organization was never sound of mind, but Iâm speechless. You guys were going to grind up Arrieta and Seigar. They would have been used as nutrients, so the Dragon Demon King could make his body... You all deserve death.â
Kairen grinded his teeth. His anger was renewed when he learned what they were going to do with his students.
Azell asked a question.
âIâll ask again. Since this trash of a plan failed...â
âIt didnât fail. However, it did fail in its outcome.â
âAre you trying to play a trick with words?â
âWe failed in kidnapping the Dragon Demon Princess and Dragon Demon Prince of the Rulain Kingdom. However, the candidates that could be used for this plan wasnât limited to the two of them.â
â.......â
Basically, other chosen candidates, who checked off the same characteristics as Arrieta and Seigar, was kidnapped from other places. They were sacrificed to accelerate the revival of Atein. Laura spoke in a dispassionate manner towards the angry people around her.
âHowever, it was a failure. We couldnât comprehend the kingâs magic, and it was proven that we couldnât interrupt the process.â
â...that is a stroke of good luck in the midst of misfortune. So how long do we have until Atein revives?â
âI donât know.â
â.......â
âThis is something every follower of the king wants to know. The only thing we can be sure of is the fact that the day is close at hand. The recovery has advanced far enough to assure this.â
âI see. So we have to do something before that happens.â
Azellâs expression darkened.
âIf that bastard really revives to his former self... There is no way Iâll be able to stop him right now.â
At the end of the Dragon Demon War, Azell had to hold out until the outcome of the war was determined. However, he had exceeded expectation by defeating Atein. However, there was no way he would be able to win against Atein right now.
The fact that his overall power level had dropped wasnât the only problem. If he put in time and effort, he was sure he could exceed the power he had in his prime.
However, he could do nothing about the Dragon Demon weapons. Azell could recover his âSword that Splits the Heaven, but the other 12 Dragon Demon weapons given to him by his comrades was gone forever. Moreover, he had been able to gather so many in the first place, because it had been the Dragon Demon war. Everything he was able to achieve was through blood and tears.
After thinking it over, Azell shook his head from side to side.
He asked Laura a question.
âI probably should have asked this in the beginning... Why did you surrender to me?â
âThat was the only way I would have survived the situation, and I wanted to observe you.â
âWerenât you someone important in the Plain of Darkness? Your action was so foolhardy that I canât comprehend it.â
âMy position is worthless to me. Iâm just a tool thatâs being used to further their ambitions.â
Laura spoke with a much colder voice. One could clearly make the distinction with her words from before.
âThe kingâs revival is approaching, and the people, who were close to the king in the past, is impatient.â
This was why the Aunsaurus tribe unleashed such madness to acquire the perfect successor. They wanted to bask in glory next Atein after his revival. This goal drove them nuts.
âI wasnât born into this world through a normal process. They had wanted the perfect successor, so they created me through magic. Iâm a doll they created. Countless siblings of mine were created for this purpose. All of them were killed through this experiment.â
â.......â
Everyone was at a loss for words. The Dragon Demon worshippers were like human nobles. They put a lot of meaning behind bloodline and race. However, they went so far as to commit those acts?
Laura spoke about her past in a calm manner to her audience, who were unable to speak. She told them about how she was born, and what she had to go through to become the heir of Aunsaurus.
Her life story was long. There was no way her life could be described as being humane. Unlike the despairing nature of her situation, she spoke in such a serene manner. Laura gave her confession, and it captivated her audience.
â...I became the heir of Aunsaurus, because I was the last one standing. I was created for this role, yet I never wanted it.â
This was a truth that Laura had never been able to tell others. Her family and close acquaintances didnât know about how she felt... She would have never imagined in a million years that a time would come when she would be telling her secrets to her enemies. However, she felt unusually relieved.
Laura looked straight at Azell,
âI was born to be the heir of Aunsaurus, and Iâve lived to fulfill that role. I never thought about anything else. I never even thought about being anything else.â
After losing all her siblings, she had become the heir of Aunsaurus, and she no longer had any aspirations. She had just followed orders to achieve the wishes of her creators. She had merely been a doll following instructions.
However, a strong desire was kindled when she saw Azell. This was a first for her.
She wanted to observe him. She wanted to know more about him.
These desires made Laura throw away all the shackles that had restrained her. She had lived up until now to bring otherâs wishes to reality. This was the first time she acted from her own desire. This was why she was willing to risk death to see this through.
Laura looked at Azell with determined eyes as she spoke.
âI want to be by your side to see who you are, and what you will be able to accomplish. To achieve this goal, Iâm willing to give you Aunsaurusâ Dragon Weapon.â
3
One didnât need an elaborate ritual to pass on oneâs Dragon Demon weapon. It was the same when Liglan gave Azell one of his twin swords. When Liglan transferred the weapon, he had to suffer through losing a part of his soul forever.
The process of giving the Vitanâs Chalice to Azell was simple and short.
Azell asked her a question.
âAre you ok?â
â...Iâm a bit dizzy.â
Laura furrowed her brows. It felt as if there was a hole inside her chest. It felt empty. She had lost a presence that had been within her, and the sense of loss was bigger than expected.
Azell spoke.
âA magical vacuum occurred where the Dragon Weapon used to occupy. Itâll become better as time passes.â
He wasnât surprised at all as he received the Vitanâs Chalice. Laura asked him a question.
âHave you received a Dragon Weapon from someone else before?â
âThatâs a secret. However, I am well informed about the process.â
âYou never give me a straight answer.â
âYou only ask me questions without a straight answer.â
At his words, Lauraâs expression slightly changed. It was a very small change, so it was hard to detect. However, if one was observant, one could see she was sulking.
Laura spoke.
âThen Iâll ask you another question. Is your Dragon Weapon perhaps the âSword that Splits the Heavenâ used by Azell Karzark?â
âDo you even need to ask that question? Dragon Weapons are born with an innate name. The name canât be changed even in an attempt to hide its presence.â
âAs expected.......â
She received the answer to her question, yet it didnât settle the confusion inside her head. Her confusion deepened.
What was the identity of this man?
âCould a human really live this long?â
The problem was the fact that Azell was human. It didnât matter what method one used. It was impossible for a human to live this long.
âIâm pretty sure I heard the descendants of Karzark was completely wiped out....â
If one looked at this realistically, Azell Karzark probably went underground to prepare for the eventual return of the routed forces of the Dragon Demon King. She guessed Azell Karzark passed down his Dragon Weapon through his descendants. However, her heart didnât allow her to believe in those conjectures.
âMaybe his plans werenât disseminated to us. Did it fail?â
Azellâs words were causing confusion within her. It was true that the upper classes of the Plain of Darkness didnât tell the young generation everything. They left out a lot of information. She wondered if the truths she knew were actually lies.
Azell asked her a question.
âSo how were you able to inherit the Vitanâs Chalice?â
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âAunsaurus died at the hands of Carlos. However, he didnât die immediately on the battlefield. It was assumed he was able to retreat before he died, and he was able to pass it on his Dragon Weapon to his successor. However... Baldazark was killed, and his body was destroyed. So how was weapon passed on to his successor?â
Azell had killed Baldazark with his own hands. In the battle, Baldazark had used his Dragon Weapon called âBleeding Starâ. There had been no chance for Baldazark to transfer his weapon.
âHowever, Iâm pretty sure his descendant had used the Bleeding Star.â
Even in Lauraâs case, it was weird. Even if Aunsaurus was able to transfer his Dragon Weapon before death, wasnât the heir before Laura killed by the Guardian Shadows? How did she receive her Dragon Weapon?
Laura spoke.
âThe Dragon Weapons of the four Dragon Demon Generals was preserved by the kingâs magic. While the magic set up inside the Dragon Demon castle is active, those Dragon Weapons will never be lost even if the owners died.â
âHmmm.......â
Azell wasnât surprised. He had an inkling that this would be the answer.
âCarlos was successful in preserving my Dragon Maken, so of course, Atein could do it.â
Carlos was well qualified to be called an Arch Mage, but in the case of Atein, it was hard to stick that title on him. Atein was a transcendent being, and Arch Mage was a insufficient descriptor. If Carlos could do it, Atein could probably do it also.
âIs this restricted to only the Dragon Weapons of the four Dragon Demon Generals?â
âYes. No one has been able to replicate the effect of this magic.â
âTherefore, if I die, the Vitanâs Chalice would be returned to the Plain of Darkness?â
âI believe so.â
âWhat if I transfer it to someone else?â
âIt wonât return until the wielder dies.â
âI see. When it becomes ownerless, the item is sent to a set location, and it is stored.â
Azell furrowed his brows. He tried to approach the Vitanâs Chalice, which resided inside him now.
During the Dragon Demon war, he remembered the nightmares caused by the Vitanâs Chalice. Aunsaurus was a mage, and his power even without the Dragon Weapon made him a walking disaster. However, in terms of using the Dragon Weapon, he was superior to Atein.
He never imagined that someday heâll be able use Aunsaurusâ Dragon Weapon. This was why they said anything could happen over time. He couldnât even see an inch further into his future, and it was marvelous.
âI donât see any problem with it.......â