Chapter 199 : Stigma Liberation (2)
Stigma Liberation (2)
"Dragon?"
The Emperor was startled upon hearing those words.
Large monsters like dragons existed only in the demon realm.
Could it be the same as last time in the Seifert domain, where monsters of the demon realm were summoned into Imperial Court territory?
"Did it also come out of the demon realm this time?"
[We aren't sure, either. We measured it with a magitech device for detecting magic power, but there was no trace of any summoning spell.]
When the monster had been summoned in Seifert Village, the Magic Tower's measurement results showed that the summoning magic was detected.
But since there was no such result this time, that meant it simply appeared naturally—something no one could understand.
"A monster like a dragon appeared with no sign at all?"
[That's right. It feels ominous.]
Not only the Emperor but even Silia felt a foreboding sense of doom.
If it was the dragon they were thinking of, there was only one boy who always stayed nearby.
[Currently, all troops are on standby for your command, Your Majesty, to subjugate that dragon...]
"That won't do!"
Suddenly, Silia jumped in to stop the Emperor from giving the command.
"If it's the dragon I know, sending troops will only get them annihilated instead."
"So you really know just how powerful this dragon is."
"That's right."
Noticing Silia's tone, the Emperor refrained from deploying troops.
She had undoubtedly lived closely with the dragon and crossed swords with it several times.
Trusting Silia's word was only natural.
"Do you remember what that Great Devil, Hartmon, said earlier?"
Estelle recalled Hartmon's parting words,
that very soon, incredible news would reach them.
"I think we might've been completely outmaneuvered by that Great Devil."
If the dragon's appearance was also part of Hartmon's plot, then they'd walked right into his trap.
Even the Special Task Force going to Woodrock to find the deserters had likely played into Hartmon's hands.
"What is he planning to do by luring all of us to Woodrock?"
By all accounts, Hartmon had clearly allied with Woodrock's king.
That king's aim was to obtain the Blood Sword Technique, which could be used to reawaken the Great Devils.
'But for a dragon to suddenly appear...'
If that dragon was really Louis, then they must have done something drastic to transform him like that.
After all, Louis's goal was to control that power, not to go mad on a rampage.
'Could their plan have changed?'
The more she thought, the more muddled her mind became.
There was nothing to do but reunite with Louis.
[Something terrible has happened! Odd images are playing on the notice boards installed all over the empire!]
Just then, another spirit flew over and landed in the Emperor's hand.
"Strange images? What do you mean by that?"
[The notice boards invented by Headmaster Ferus, which broadcast information throughout Imperial Court! You must see them immediately!]
The Emperor hurried for the center of the capital to check the screens.
Naturally, even the capital had one; Ferus himself had installed the very first.
'Those notice boards weren't the result of Headmaster Ferus's genius alone.'
Originally, record-keeping magitech devices were nearly single-use.
They could only record one situation, never more.
But ever since that boy Louis appeared, even those magitech devices advanced impossibly.
'Now, one device can record multiple events.'
It was a leap so far ahead that people wondered if this really was the future.
All because of Louis.
In the past, attempts were made to develop a magitech device to record what people saw, but all failed.
To record things using a human's body, a brain was required—but no one had a brain that could withstand the device's magic power.
'The first to attempt was Isaac, an ancestor from our imperial family.'
Isaac eventually abandoned the project.
There were many further attempts under Headmaster Ferus, but none succeeded.
Not until Louis appeared.
'A monstrous brain that could endure the output of all magitech devices. If someone had that, everything that person saw could be stored as records.'
Such a person literally became a walking magitech device.
By spreading small spirits around and sharing vision, he could record hundreds or thousands of scenes all at once.
'And even after recording all that, that boy's brain was still unharmed...'
He was quite literally a monster.
A boy who transcended humanity, able to do the impossible.
What killed an ordinary person instantly was little more than an itch to him.
'Thanks to him, an absurd result was born.'
Because of that boy, the impossible advancement of record-keeping magitech was finally realized.
Turning a person into a recording device like him was impossible, but now a single magitech device could hold multiple records.
'The large notice board in the square is one of those results.'
Since it was a breakthrough Louis achieved, he deserved a reward.
He had managed what no one in the continent's history had.
Instead of using his incredible power for selfish desire, he contributed to the advancement of the continent.
He truly deserved to stand at the summit of this world.
"Father... what is that?"
But the greater the expectations, the deeper the sense of betrayal.
The Emperor and Estelle, having arrived at the capital's notice board with their guard knights, stood dumbstruck.
"Squad Leader Silia, that... is that...?"
"Yes..."
For some reason, the view of Woodrock was shown on the screen, and in its center stood an undeniable dragon.
"It's unmistakable."
Silia knew that dragon all too well.
Others called it a wicked monster, but that creature had helped and lived alongside Silia multiple times.
And it didn't just show the dragon's form.
It was even showing, on loop, the very moment the boy Louis transformed, step by step, into a dragon.
"Louis...!"
Even Silia was horrified by the live broadcast of Louis's transformation.
Naturally, the people gathered before the notice board in the capital were terrified by the monster's appearance.
"It's a dragon..."
"A young kid suddenly turned into a dragon..."
"What is that?"
"Shouldn't we subjugate it right away?"
People began to perceive Louis not as a person, but as a monster that must be eradicated.
[This must be that Hartmon's doing, huh?]
[If it's him, it's more than possible. He retained all of Isaac's knowledge, after all.]
Mirianne and Frederick were also speechless at the situation.
[That boy contributed so much to making those magitech devices...]
[And now he's being publicly buried by them.]
****
"Damn it... What the hell is going on?"
Dragging his now heavier body, Louis quietly hid behind the cliff at the bottom of the castle wall.
Not only was he heavier, his body had grown enormous. Fortunately, the cliff was big enough to conceal even him.
"Young master has become the Chaos Dragon."
"Yeah, I know very well."
Even without meaning to, Louis had turned into the Chaos Dragon again.
He had no clue why—and there was an even bigger problem.
"Why isn't my body changing back?"
"Hmm..."
Rio looked troubled at that question.
If he wandered around the streets like this, the people would obviously reject him.
"I think... it's already too late."
"Why?"
"You might not hear it, but a big commotion has broken out in the center of Woodrock."
Louis's hearing had improved dramatically in dragon form; he could hear everything happening in the town.
He understood that a crowd had gathered at the notice board, amazed at the image of a dragon appearing in Woodrock.
"I didn't expect to have the record-keeping device used against me."
Rumors were even spreading that the dragon was a boy who had transformed.
In reality, Louis's face had been exposed across the continent via that notice board.
"What do we do now?"
"It'll be fine!"
Just then, Pram—clinging to Louis's dragon horns—called out.
"As long as I'm here, young master will never lose his mind."
Even after turning into the Chaos Dragon, Louis was able to keep his sanity because Pram remained nearby.
Just her presence was enough to restrain the Chaos Dragon's rampage, making Pram indispensable for now.
"......."
"What are you staring at? Jealous or something?"
When Rio gazed wordlessly at Pram, Pram nuzzled her cheek against Louis's horn, mocking her.
"Pram, that's enough. Or I'll really pull you off."
"Would you really?"
"Ugh..."
"Hahaha! Young master and I are destined to be one body!"
With Louis unable to retort, Pram laughed loudly, delighted at her victory.
"Anyway, we need a plan. None of us wants me stuck in this form forever."
"True."
"That's right."
It was a problem for both him and the others.
They tried to think of a way to return Louis to his normal body, but nothing came to mind.
"This has never happened before. I think the cause is that black liquid that fell from the ceiling."
"Come to think of it, after young master was hit by that, the 7th Legion's stigma disappeared."
"If that's true, then you can't use the spell anymore."
They all agreed he could no longer use spells to restrain the rampage.
But simply losing the spell shouldn't have locked Louis in dragon form.
"It seems it wasn't just medicine to erase the stigma."
This was what they had been after all along.
Of course, he didn't believe Woodrock's king was the mastermind.
Given the desertion of the 7th Legion soldiers, it had to be the work of a monster on the level of a Great Devil.
"Young master! Big trouble!"
"The subjugation force is heading this way!"
Victor and Simon shouted as they sprinted up.
"Everyone's eager to hunt you down, young master!"
Rozen, bringing up the rear, was panicked too.
Hunt? Seriously?
"Just who do they think they're hunting?"
Rio's expression twisted in anger, but Louis spread his wings and blocked her.
"Calm down. Even if they try, they're not much of a threat."
"That's true."
The real threat would be to their would-be hunters, but Louis had no intention of fighting them.
First, he had to resolve his exposed identity.
"I'm going to take off—everyone, grab on tight."
"Okay!"
The task force began hanging onto Louis's body.
"By the way..."
Louis looked over his shoulder at his hind legs.
"Why are you two here?"
"Aaah!"
"......"
Kaid and Yugwang were clutching Louis's dragon leg for dear life, trembling all the while.
"It's just, well..."
"We had nowhere else to go..."
"Should we get off?"
The sharp glare from Louis's dragon eyes frightened them even more.
He was scary enough as a human—how much worse must it be, now?
"Fine, just ride along."
"What?"
"Really?"
"Or should I leave you behind?"
"No! We'll go!"
"Please take care of us!"
Once everyone had grabbed onto Louis's body, he spoke to Pram.
"Pram, secure everyone with magic so nobody falls off."
"Why not just hang on tight?"
"It's my first time flying."
Thinking back, Louis had turned into a dragon before, but hardly ever actually flown.
He was nervous about what accident he might cause.
"Got it!"
With that, Pram cast defensive magic around Louis.
A barrier materialized, enveloping everyone holding on and fixing them firmly to his body.
With their 'seatbelts' secure, Louis flapped his wings.
KWAANG!!—
Just then, Louis's form vanished from the ground, a mighty shockwave blasting out behind.
"Aaah! Young master! Stop for a second!!"
"This is too fast!!"
"Mommy mommy mommmyyy!!"
The team members screamed in terror at the speed.
"Yo, young master!! Slower!! Slow down!!"
"Uuuuugh!!"
The acceleration was so sudden that Rio nearly threw up.
"Damn it!"
Louis was as startled as anyone, so he did his best to adjust his wingbeats and slow down.
"Y... young master...!"
Even so, everyone was still terrified.
"Where are we?"
"It's dark."
"The stars are sparkling?"
What are they talking about?
Once his speed was under control, Louis looked ahead again.
"Ah..."
There was nothing but darkness.
Countless stars twinkled, but this wasn't just any night sky.
This was the source of the night, what people called 'beyond the sky'.
"We've arrived..."
Louis stared, dumbfounded, at the outer reaches of space beneath his feet.
He had literally broken through the clouds and atmosphere, and everyone looked ready to pass out.
"How did we end up way up here?"
Even Louis himself couldn't believe he'd come so far up.
Without Pram's defensive barrier, they'd have been in real trouble.