Chapter 296 : Eye of the Typhoon (4)
Chapter 296: Eye of the Typhoon (4)
“Ggh…!!!”
Count Gwendil clutched his crushed wrist and tumbled backward.
Even Lian, who had witnessed the moment the wrist shattered with his own eyes, unconsciously furrowed his brows. The count’s wrist had been mangled beyond description.
What was astonishing was that despite its condition, not a single drop of blood flowed from the wound.
“Among the catalysts required to cast a curse.”
Berenistella, who had been watching the scene with indifference, quietly opened her mouth.
“There is nothing as effective and certain as blood.”
“Ugh….”
“Especially when that bloodline is connected. The power it produces becomes all the stronger.”
Muttering to herself, she added with an incredulous tone,
“…Though I must say, even I am seeing a parent stab his own chest to curse his child for the first time.”
As she spoke, Berenistella looked at the dagger in Count Gwendil’s crushed hand.
Then, as if grasped by an invisible hand, the dagger slowly began to float into the air.
“That is….”
Lian suddenly frowned as he looked at the dagger.
The shape felt strangely familiar.
Where had he seen it before?
He murmured quietly.
“The Library.”
Yes. The Library.
The man who had once been Archbishop Rahma’s subordinate—the one Lian had defeated there, whose name he could no longer even remember.
The dagger that man had wielded when he tried to attack Lian from behind looked astonishingly similar to this one.
“…What relationship do you have with Archbishop Rahma?”
Lian asked while looking down at Count Gwendil, who was groaning and clutching his arm.
Sweat poured down the count’s face as he glared at Lian with bloodshot eyes.
“I also heard that Archbishop Rahma, when he was younger, wandered around the territory of the Dragons carrying something similar to Iron Needles, until he was discovered by the Dragons. And the Man without a Head tried to embed those Iron Needles into young Dragons and even intended to use them as Human Sacrifice. Does that have anything to do with what is happening here?”
“……”
The count remained silent.
Lian asked again.
“The Man without a Head—that Demon who was the child of the Eight Demon Lords—conspired with Jadaka in various schemes. I also know that the Iron Needles he used were the same ones used by Jadaka. And when he fought us, he suddenly pulled out Rahma’s head—one that should have been shattered beyond recognition by the Spirits.”
Lian’s gaze hardened.
“I find it difficult to believe all of this is mere coincidence. What do you think, Count?”
“……”
“…Count.”
Lian quietly let out a sigh.
“I am asking you politely.”
“……”
“I would appreciate it if you answered before these questions become interrogation.”
“…You brat.”
Had his anger surpassed his pain?
Grinding his teeth, the count spat his words toward Lian.
His eyes were now completely bloodshot.
“How dare you… repay the grace of the one who raised and cared for you like this. Do you have no conscience?”
“…If things had continued like this, everyone in the family—including you—would have ended up executed.”
Lian spoke calmly.
Because he had already experienced it once before, his words carried a heavy weight of reality.
“Ha.”
Count Gwendil let out a dry laugh.
“So you bare your fangs now? Planning to bite your father before you die?”
“…Did you ever truly think of me as your child? Did you ever consider my mother your wife?”
Lian asked quietly.
“To me, it seemed more like you raised me like a pig waiting to be slaughtered.”
“A child must be willing to sacrifice their life for their parents. And deciding whether a child lives or dies is the right of the head of the household—my right.”
The count spoke as though he could not understand why this was even a question.
“What is wrong with exercising my rights?”
Before Lian could respond, Berenistella stepped forward.
“…Is there any need to continue such a useless exchange?”
She looked at Lian.
“My disciple, you said you had already prepared yourself. Why do you delay so much?”
“……”
“…Yes. The bond between parent and child cannot be severed by human hands. That is why it is called a heavenly bond.”
Seeing Lian fall silent, Berenistella muttered.
“I cannot burden you with the sin of severing that bond. I will do it instead.”
With those words, she stepped forward.
Count Gwendil swallowed the fear rising within him and spoke with difficulty.
“…Ha. So now you hide behind a woman? A pathetic wretch wrapped in a woman’s skirts who cannot even speak properly.”
Berenistella snorted in contempt.
“Just as expected of someone who gathered scraps and called it faith. Even your words are unbearably vulgar.”
“……”
The count’s eyes burned with fury.
Berenistella met his gaze calmly.
“Angry, are you? And what can you possibly do? Even if I mock you, what can a worm that has nothing but scraps left accomplish?”
“…You bitch!”
“‘Bitch,’ is it? Normally I would have torn your mouth apart for that. But since you are my disciple’s father, I will let it pass once.”
Berenistella locked eyes with him.
At that moment, something Talia once told Lian resurfaced in his mind.
‘Surely….’
Never meet the eyes of a powerful mage.
If you meet the gaze of someone truly skilled, they will read every thought in your mind instantly.
…Yes. That was exactly what she had said.
“Indeed.”
Berenistella nodded.
“I thought something was strange. So that was your intention.”
“…What are you talking about?”
“You intended to make yourself a Human Sacrifice.”
At her words, the count fell silent.
With a flick of her hand, his clothes were torn apart, revealing his upper body covered in grotesque geometric tattoos.
“Ha.”
Berenistella laughed coldly.
“What an audacious idea. To provoke my disciple and me into killing you, and through that, turn yourself into the ritual offering….”
“T-this….”
The count muttered in frustration.
Berenistella looked at him with pure disgust.
“A child killing their parent with their own hands—or allowing their death through inaction. Yes, I know this ritual well.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“It is the Human Sacrifice ritual that Jadaka favored.”
“……”
Despite acknowledging the cleverness of the plan, her gaze remained filled with contempt.
“You are more meticulous than you appear. To lay such a trap even at the cost of your own life.”
“…So.”
At last the count spoke.
His voice was completely different now—cold and composed.
“What will you do now?”
“A human crime should be judged by human law.”
Berenistella answered.
“I will hand you over and destroy this place completely. That will erase the traces of the Evil Dragon, and my disciple will be freed from this chain of sin.”
“Under human law, treason results in the extermination of three generations.”
The count spoke calmly.
“If I am charged with treason, the child you cherish so much will also be implicated and beheaded.”
“Then I will simply take him to my territory and raise him.”
“So from a pig waiting for slaughter to a bird trapped in a cage… Do you truly believe that is what the boy wants?”
“Ha.”
Berenistella scoffed.
“And now you pretend to be a father? That is not a particularly convincing way to beg for your life.”
“I am not begging for my life, Berenistella.”
Hearing her name, she raised an eyebrow.
“…Impressive. You know my name.”
“Of course I do. Ever since that day—since I carved the teachings of the Divine Dragon into my body—I have been waiting for this moment.”
The count continued.
“I wish to propose a deal.”
“A deal?”
“Yes.”
He nodded.
“Please help resurrect the Divine Dragon.”
“……”
Berenistella stared at him in disbelief.
“Even if I accepted your conditions…”
“……”
“What would you offer me in return? I cannot imagine you possess anything worthy enough to place on the other side of the scale.”
“The one paying the price would not be me.”
He answered quietly.
“It would be the Divine Dragon.”
“He wishes to become a god.”
“I already know that. He spoke of it constantly even when he was alive.”
“…But just before becoming a god, he was slain by those detestable knights. Even though his body and mind were destroyed, his will and spirit remain alive here.”
His voice burned with quiet fanaticism.
“…Help resurrect him. Someone like you could easily do it. And if you do… he will grant you whatever you desire.”
He added softly.
“Even if it is the entire world.”
“Then what would he keep for himself?”
“If he sheds his current existence and becomes a god, such matters would no longer be judged by our standards.”
“……”
“At that stage, the world itself would mean nothing to him.”
“Hmm.”
Berenistella spoke calmly.
“I want his life.”
“That would not matter either.”
The count answered immediately.
“Once he transcends flesh and spirit, life and death… he will willingly give you his life, Berenistella.”
“……”
“What will you do?”
After a moment of silence, Berenistella spoke.
“As expected.”
“…As expected?”
“Conversations with lunatics are exhausting.”
“What do you—ugh?!”
The count suddenly groaned.
It felt as if invisible chains and weights were crushing his entire body.
“I will remove that snake-like tongue of yours. If you bite it off and attempt Self-Inflicted Death, it would be troublesome.”
“…Heh. Heh…”
Instead of fear, the count suddenly burst into laughter.
For a moment Berenistella thought he had gone mad.
Then she remembered the tattoos covering his body.
Tattoos.
Yes—they were everywhere.
…But why had she not seen the Iron Needle?
Every one of Jadaka’s followers had embedded one into their bodies.
“Even among the Eight Demon Lords, it is impossible for one to know all the powers of another.”
Black, dead blood trickled from the corner of the count’s mouth.
“Cough—”
As he coughed, fragments of Iron Needles spilled out of his mouth.
“God….”
With that final word, the count’s head drooped lifelessly.
Berenistella stared at the corpse and finally realized the truth.
“…I see.”
From the moment he stood before them, he had already been a dead man.
The ritual had already begun.
“To think I would make such a mistake.”
She muttered bitterly.
“…No.”
The count answered.
No.
Something inside the count’s body answered.
“It was fate. Even if you had noticed, things would have unfolded this way.”
The corpse of Count Gwendil trembled.
Slowly, his head lifted.
And his eyes—
Those eyes…
“It has been a long time.”
Jadaka.
The being known as the Evil Dragon spoke.
“Berenistella.”