Chapter 185 : Woodrock (4)
Woodrock (4)
"I have committed a discourtesy up until now."
Lao Khan, king of Woodrock, knelt down before Orbel.
There was no need for him to treat Orbel, who had already been dismissed from his position, with such respect, but the courtesy was not directed at Orbel himself.
"It is an honor to meet a Hero of the past. Sir Isaac."
The presence currently residing in Orbel's body was one of the five Heroes who had once risked their life to defeat the Chaos Dragon long ago.
No one could understand how he ended up inhabiting the Crown Prince Orbel's body, but there didn't seem to be any falsehoods about it.
"Then I suppose I can speak freely now."
Isaac, inside Orbel's body, stopped using formal speech.
"It's truly good to meet you like this."
Now that Lao Khan knew his true identity, he bowed his head in genuine respect.
Although there were still many questions, there was no reason to reject him in the current circumstances of Woodrock.
"By the way, how did you do that?"
Lao Khan pointed to the drug that had just removed the soldier's torture stigma.
At a glance, it looked like an ordinary medicine sold at a pharmacy, but a moment ago, it had demonstrated astonishing properties.
He had heard that removing a torture stigma was impossible unless one was the Emperor of the Imperial Court.
"Removing this spell is impossible for anyone at the moment. That's why no one can escape from the so-called 7th Legion."
"How did you make the impossible possible?"
Lao Khan asked as he looked at the soldiers Isaac had brought.
They looked nothing like the regular soldiers of the Empire and had the distinctly guilty appearance of those who had committed crimes.
"It wasn't exactly simple. Since reviving in this era, I've been pondering how to reclaim my strength. Then I met a certain helper."
That helper was none other than Eramon.
A demonkin who had risen to the vacant position of Great Devil, and was an expert in brainwashing and research.
"Thanks to her help, I discovered a way to liberate the soldiers of the 7th Legion. Fortunately, she had been researching that very subject for many years."
With Eramon's help, isaac obtained the medicine he now held in his hand.
It was the first thing in the world that could erase the stigma of the 7th Legion.
"But could the stigma really be removed this easily?"
"That part is a mystery to me as well. She had perfected a drug to erase the stigma long ago. But even after countless experiments on soldiers, all of them failed."
The medicine had already been perfected, so what was missing?
Was it not a problem that could be solved with the drug alone?
While the experiments continued, the problem was suddenly resolved.
"After a string of failures, we succeeded all of a sudden. That was two years ago."
"Two years ago...?"
"That was the very day the Holy Nation bowed its head beneath the Empire."
It was a truly uncanny coincidence.
How could the removal of the stigma suddenly succeed at the perfect moment?
"Thinking about it, this torture spell originated from the World Tree, did it not? That got me thinking."
Naturally, the Holy Nation managed the World Tree.
Why would such a powerful Holy Nation bow to the Empire?
After piecing it all together, this was the result.
"The current World Tree has become trash. To the point it can't even defend against this drug."
Until now, the spells had resisted the drugs because the World Tree had sustained them.
But now, even that had weakened, and their means of defense was gone.
That's the conclusion that came to Isaac's mind.
"Or perhaps... it was already dead. Forcing itself to look alive by squeezing out leftover strength. But that's over now."
Thanks to that, the defected soldiers of the 7th Legion now followed him.
They were expressing gratitude to Isaac for freeing them from their stigmata and regaining their freedom.
"But if so many defect, won't the Legion notice?"
"It doesn't matter. The Legion officers won't believe these guys have escaped. They'll just assume they're dead."
As long as they triggered the spell, they could kill a soldier from a distance.
By now, the spell had easily been triggered several times.
With such a convenient feature, there was no need to track them in person.
"Thanks to that, they were able to make it here safely."
"But, what do you intend to accomplish with these guys?"
"Hm... Do you remember what I said a moment ago?"
When Lao Khan asked what he meant, isaac replied.
"That the Chaos Dragon is still alive."
"......"
The moment Lao Khan heard those words, his interested expression hardened.
Just hearing the name Chaos Dragon was enough to make him go cold.
"Is it really true that monster is alive?"
It was simply unbelievable.
Could it be possible that the great beast, once subjugated long ago, had lived until now?
"You know this as well—I am the one who fought that monster directly. So I can say for sure."
"......"
Now that he thought about it, isaac was indeed one of the five Heroes who had fought the Chaos Dragon.
Of course, if Isaac himself said so, one couldn't help but believe it.
"That beast's strength was cast into another dimension ages ago. It was too strong to eradicate, so that was the only option. But now, after all this time, it has returned to this world."
"So—where is that beast now?"
"Where else? The Empire, of course."
Isaac gestured beyond the mountains seen through the window.
"Somewhere inside the Empire, the Chaos Dragon is living in hiding—in human form."
"In human form?"
"Exactly. The beast has transformed into a human. It looks safe for now, but before long, it will rampage again."
In fact, isaac had pinpointed the beast's location.
He had even made some preemptive moves.
"Recently, I summoned several advanced-rank monsters and dark spirits from the demon realm to the place where it resides. If those were subjugated, then it exists. If not, then my theory would be wrong."
It was something of a gamble.
But the outcome was the first.
"All the creatures from the demon realm who dwelled there were wiped out. This confirms that the Chaos Dragon exists."
"......"
Now that its existence had been proven, Lao Khan's face turned as pale as a sheet.
Isaac watched him carefully and spoke.
"Just as I thought... you seem frightened."
"Yes. To be honest, I've never seen the Chaos Dragon with my own eyes... but I don't know why I'm so afraid."
Just hearing the name made his body tremble as though there were an earthquake.
"As expected... the spirit of a past king must be connected to you. But it's not mere fear, is it? Don't you sense a different feeling?"
"A different feeling?"
"You can't say you're trembling solely from fear."
"......"
Lao Khan's shaking hand was clenched in a fist.
What was this sensation, as if he'd made up his mind?
It was fury.
"Speak honestly. Don't you want to subjugate the Chaos Dragon that drove Woodrock to collapse in the past?"
"... Yes!"
When Lao Khan finally answered, full of sincerity, isaac smiled.
"Good. This isn't simply revenge for your kingdom. By subjugating the Chaos Dragon, you all have a chance to secure tremendous standing!"
A chance like this wouldn't come twice.
This was potentially the key to the kingdom's revival.
"Right now, it's the Empire that shelters the Chaos Dragon. Doesn't that seem strange to you?"
"You mean the Empire is protecting that disaster of a beast?"
"Exactly. But with such overwhelming power in their grasp, do you think they'd give it up easily?"
What a country wants is absolute power.
Once it's in hand, they'll do anything to control it.
"The Empire now has the Chaos Dragon's power. It could threaten the entire continent—even the world. Right now, only we know this. Do you understand what that means?"
Bringing the Empire's true face and the beast's identity to light for the world—
That would make the Empire an enemy of the world, and Woodrock could then use that as justification to strike the Empire.
"These soldiers are to be your military force for that."
When Isaac indicated the defected 7th Legion soldiers, Lao Khan's eyes gleamed.
"But I have a question."
"What is it?"
"Our opponent is the Chaos Dragon. Do we really stand a chance?"
No matter the strength of his forces, how could they hope to stop a disaster?
Only Isaac, who had fought it, could know.
"That's nothing to worry about. The key to victory is you, yourself."
"Me?"
"More precisely, your royal bloodline."
The Woodrock royal family possessed a bloodline that had once made pacts with devils.
Thanks to that, both Lao Khan and most royals were born with a unique constitution.
"Only a beast can stand against a beast. Your bloodline is the key to awakening our side's beast."
"A key?"
"Blood-soaked aura. Do you know what that is?"
The blade technique used by the one called the Demon King during the demonkin war.
In fact, that power was closely connected to the Woodrock royal family.
"The Blood Sword Technique. That is the ultimate key to reawakening the weakened great devil! It was meant to be activated through the demonkin war, but unfortunately, that failed."
As one truth after another was revealed, a question came to Lao Khan's mind.
"May I ask something?"
"What is it?"
Their conversation seemed far too strange for someone called a Hero.
Lao Khan asked Isaac,
"Are you truly the Hero Isaac?"
To that, isaac replied,
"And what if I'm not?"
What would Lao Khan do?
Despite lingering doubts, Lao Khan didn't mind and laughed.
"It doesn't matter!"
Who Isaac truly was, didn't matter.
Only the fact that he could help Lao Khan achieve his ambitions was important.
****
"Young master. I had a strange dream last night."
In the rattling carriage, Rio spoke to Louis.
"Will you listen?"
"If you're going to talk, quit leaning on me."
When Rio tried to sneakily stick to his side, Louis stopped her.
Looking disappointed, Rio explained,
"Suddenly, I was fighting in my dream."
"That's a good dream for you."
For the fiercely combative Rio, it wasn't so odd.
But then, what was strange?
"I fought against countless soldiers."
"Soldiers?"
"But suddenly, my hand turned into a monster's hand."
"You have no idea what that dream means."
"Yeah, that's why I asked."
Unfortunately, even Louis couldn't offer much insight.
Still, ever since that dream, Rio had strange thoughts.
"Just in case... Young master, do you know anything about my origins?"
"Aren't you from the Seifert domain, too?"
"Yes, that's right. I was born and raised there. But what if I was born somewhere else?"
It wasn't outside the realm of possibility.
Louis's parents, the previous lords, had taken in many orphaned children.
"I wonder if I was taken in at your village, too."
"......"
Unlike the others, who at least had some family, Rio's background was unknown.
She seemed to have come from a different walk of life.
"So, do you want to find your real parents?"
"Hmm..."
After thinking about it, Rio spoke.
"If I ever meet them, I'll introduce them to you, young master."
"Why me?"
"Because if I ever find my family, I want the three of us—you, me, and them—to meet."
"What?"
Did she just say what I think she said?
"I mean it literally."
Rio said calmly, unconcerned about what others might think.
Fortunately, Silia, Pram, and the other team members were asleep in the carriage.
"If my real parents are out there, I want all three of us to meet them together. What do you think?"
Genuinely curious, Rio's expression left Louis momentarily speechless.
He thought it might be better not to face her directly.