Chapter 172 : The Demon King and the Dragon
Chapter 172: The Demon King and the Dragon
‘A dragon?’
A dragon?
There had been a dragon in the Ergest Mountains.
Before the regression, when the existence of the dragon in Ergest became known, a storm had swept through once.
That was why he had warned Krutu and the princesses as well. There had been no reason to deliberately clash with the dragon known as the strongest in Arein.
But the time it became known wasn’t now, was it? And injured, at that?
“Where is it!”
『Here....』
“I’ll be there shortly.”
Berje spread his black wings.
* * *
There truly was a dragon there.
The enormous body visible atop the pure white snow was unmistakably a dragon.
However, the majesty befitting a dragon had long since been lost.
Its resplendent scales had all been shaved away. Its wings were severed, its tail gone. Its shattered claws had lost their edge.
The dying creature, staining the pristine snow with its own blood, was closer to a toothless lizard than a dragon.
“Demon King.”
“Why is it in this state?”
“It was already like this when I arrived.”
Berje carefully examined its condition. Despite having lost so much blood that its body was half-submerged, it was still alive.
At the same time, it was dying. That feeble life would certainly perish if no measures were taken.
- Demon King...?
Dim golden pupils followed Berje.
- Kheh heh.
The dragon let out a powerless laugh.
- How absurd. To be struck down by a hero and then face death at the hands of a Demon King.
- To think the end of this great body would be like this.
“A hero?”
- Hooh, now that I look at you, you’re one of my kind.
The authority of dragon eyes pierced through Berje. Though faint, vitality returned.
- No, perhaps calling you my kind is a stretch.
The Demon Dragons of the Demon Realm and the dragons of Arein were fundamentally different.
They were both dragonkin and born with powerful authority, but unlike the dragons of Arein, whose true bodies exceeded thirty meters, Demon Dragons did not possess such massive main bodies.
Their current humanoid form was their true body, and even if all restraints were released, they would only transform into something close to a dragonkin form.
Still, they were of the same dragon race, and in terms of authority alone, it was difficult to determine superiority.
“Enough nonsense. What do you mean by being struck by a hero?”
- Curious?
- Well, as a Demon King, it’s only natural you’d be curious about heroes.
The dragon laughed.
Its scales, reddened even further by blood, trembled.
- If you wish to know, then save me.
“What did you say?”
- If you’re a Demon King, and a dragonkin at that, you must have some method.
- As a great dragon, no matter if the hero received the power of dimension, I cannot die to something as trivial as a human.
- If you save me as one of the same dragon race, I’ll tell you about those wretches.
“Do you not understand your current situation?”
- I understand it perfectly, which is why I say this.
- I will exact revenge on those who did this to me.
- Save me. I swear upon dragon speech that not only will you receive the answers you desire, I can also serve you for a thousand years.
A thousand years was an extremely long time, but to a dragon who lived for ten thousand years, it was merely ten percent of its life. Ten percent was not insignificant, yet for revenge, it was willing to serve.
“A thousand years of service....”
That was rather tempting.
Seeing the positive reaction, the dragon brightened.
- Yes. You would command this great body of the Red lineage.
- Save me and give me the chance to take revenge on those damned heroes!
- I will help you conquer this dimension!
“Aren’t you also a lifeform of this dimension?”
- You know it as well, don’t you? A dragon’s authority can cross even dimensions.
- Of course, in another dimension I’ll be affected by interference power, but that’s a problem time can solve.
“Then let me ask. Who did this to you?”
- Saving me comes first.
“I swear upon the great First Demon Emperor and The Demon King’s Standard that I will save you. Now answer.”
- The First Demon Emperor....
The dragon gave a faint nod.
- I don’t know who he was. But there were several of them, and the bastard who stabbed a blade into my heart was extraordinarily strong.
“That’s vague.”
- A sword. He wielded a sword made from the bones of my kin.
“...Bones of your kin?”
That meant a dragon sword made from dragon bone. And as far as Berje knew, only one such sword existed.
“What colour was the blade?”
- Red. It was a red-bladed sword.
“...!”
Found it.
Berje shuddered.
“It was definitely red?”
- A dragon never forgets what it has seen even once.
“What was his name?”
- I don’t know that much.
“But you’re certain it was red.”
Kheh heh....
Berje burst into laughter.
At last, at long last, he had grasped a proper clue.
‘If it’s not a hero, but heroes, then there’s only one possibility.’
The subjugation force that had come to Ergest to kill him. One of them wielded a red sword.
‘Could that be him?’
It probably was. This was a dragon—Arein’s strongest lifeform.
If someone capable of inflicting a fatal wound on such a dragon existed, then everything made sense. The reason Berje had been forced to die.
“If you don’t know his name, then what did he look like? His hair, his eyes!”
- ...Save me first.
- I’ve lost too much blood. Maintaining my wounded heart any longer is impossible.
“If you want to live, speak now.”
- Black hair, black hair! His eyes were black as well! Even in the darkness, I clearly remember those killing pupils that shone!
“Black hair, black eyes.”
That too matched the one who had killed Berje.
He repeated it over and over, so he would never forget.
- N, now save me!
- All the treasures I’ve gathered over thousands of years will also be lost, turning into a dimensional labyrinth!
- Please...!
The Red Dragon pleaded.
“Ah, that’s right.”
Berje slowly approached its side. He gently stroked the wounded scales.
And then—
Crunch-
He pierced through the scales and grabbed the wounded heart.
Guhk— the Red Dragon vomited blood.
- W, why...?
“Unfortunately, there is no method that can save a dragon whose heart has been shattered by half.”
Even if he made it a retainer, he could lend it strength, but he could not save one that was already dying.
Nor was there a healer skilled enough to save a dragon in the tower.
- The oath sworn upon the First Demon Emperor and the Standard...?
“Ah, I forgot to mention.”
Berje shrugged.
“I loathe the First Demon Emperor and the Standard. I’m the only Demon King who can call the First Demon Emperor a son of a bitch.”
- Y, you bastard...!
- Do you feel no shame as a dragon...!
“Before I’m a dragon, I’m a demon. To obtain such fine byproducts for a moment’s shame—doesn’t that make it a profitable deal?”
Berje sneered.
“I’ll make excellent use of your heart, scales, bones, and flesh.”
And—
“Your revenge.”
I’ll take care of it for you.
“No matter what happens, without fail.”
Crunch-
The dragon’s heart was torn free.
* * *
“....”
A massive heart, shattered by half. Faced with the immense mana contained within it, Berje hesitated for a moment.
Was it truly right to eat this?
Mana and demonic energy were completely different forces. They conflicted and could not coexist.
‘But the power of the Phoenix resides within me and coexists with demonic energy.’
It had been an extreme coincidence.
Because Demon Dragons were born with two hearts, he had obtained the greatest fortune. He had been able to use both mana and demonic energy, and had freely roamed the continent under the identity of Pale.
But could he really absorb this as well?
A dragon’s mana was vaster and more violent than that of a Phoenix.
It was dragon mana, and fire mana at that, so there was a certain familiarity, but in the end, it was still mana. A force different from demonic energy.
‘Still, it’s far too wasteful not to consume it.’
This was a Dragon Heart.
Even at great risk, it was something worth taking.
‘I am a Demon Dragon.’
The most arrogant and greedy race even in the Demon Realm. Yet a great race with the qualifications and the ability to digest everything.
‘Afraid of a mere lower-dimensional dragon?’
Impossible.
‘A major problem may arise, but if I digest it properly, I might even regain all the power I had in the Demon Realm.’
Therefore, he had to eat it. Hesitation was a luxury.
Berje grasped the heart. Using demonic energy, he suppressed the rampaging mana, compressing it again and again.
At last, when the heart had shrunk to the size of a small orb, Berje swallowed it.
─────!
* * *
“...Waa?”
Lavinia, who had been helping construct a fake tower using chimera-made monsters, turned her head.
Her eyes sparkled.
Abandoning everything, she ran. The corpse brought out from the Demon King’s subspace exceeded her imagination.
“A dragon.”
It was beautiful.
“A dragon.”
Though its scales were wounded and its eyes had lost their light, that did not erase the dignity of a dragon.
“A dragon.”
The remnants of its strength were vividly felt as well.
“A dragon.”
What if she made a chimera from this?
Just imagining it filled her with rapture, making her tremble.
“Yes, a dragon.”
The Demon King replied. Her gaze turned toward him.
“Me?”
“No.”
“Me.”
“There’s no such thing as free in this world.”
“What?”
“Can you become my retainer?”
“A retainer, a dragon?”
“Yes.”
Up until now, he had overlooked things because she had been cooperative, but a dragon was different. If he handed this over, appropriate compensation and trust had to follow.
And for Berje, trust meant a retainer.
“Hm.”
Lavinia fell into thought.
If she became the Demon King’s retainer, there would be no turning back. She would cease being a guest or collaborator and become a subordinate.
Was that acceptable?
‘There’s no reason it wouldn’t be.’
Ernan.
Ellena.
Kaede.
Louise.
All the princesses she knew did exactly that. They became the Demon King’s retainers without hesitation and lived satisfied lives.
If anything, it almost felt strange that she alone had not yet become one.
And above all—
“A dragon.”
The dragon’s corpse was far too enchanting to refuse.
Lavinia nodded.
“Swallow it.”
She ate Armani’s Orb. The squishy, writhing sensation was unpleasant, but she endured it.
“Now?”
“Yes. I’ll give you a portion as your share.”
“Thank you!”
Lavinia suddenly hugged Berje. And only then did she sense something strange.
“...Different?”
His hair was a dark crimson, and so were his pupils. But it couldn’t be expressed by appearance alone.
It had deepened.
So much so that she couldn’t even glimpse its end—something was different.
“Yes, it’s different.”
On one hand, Berje ignited flames of demonic energy. In the other, flames of mana.
The flames of the Demon Dragon and the flames of the Phoenix were completely different.
They were both fire, yet as demonic energy and mana, they stood at perfect opposition.
But the dragon was different.
It shared the same dragon race as the Demon Dragon.
It shared the same mana as the Phoenix.
And the dragon’s mana and authority, which embraced and devoured everything, that commonality of flame, bound the two different powers into one.
The three forces became wholly one within Berje’s body.
“I am no longer constrained by demonic energy or mana.”
This was fundamentally different from using demonic energy and mana in separate directions through two hearts.
Though his essence remained a Demon Dragon of the Demon Realm, and dimensional interference had not vanished—
The two different powers no longer clashed, nor did they need to be used separately.
Yes, now Berje could use both demonic energy and mana equally as a single power.
And with power that had grown even greater by absorbing a Dragon Heart.
“Waaah.”
Clap clap clap—
Lavinia clapped vigorously, then pointed at Berje’s horns.
“Horns?”
“Don’t play dumb.”
“...Wings?”
“So you don’t want that Dragon corpse?”
“No!”
“Go and finish the tower. If the tower isn’t completed on time, I’ll give all the dragon byproducts to the dwarves instead.”
“No! Dwarves bad! Thieves!”
Lavinia scurried back to her original position, blocking the dwarves who had belatedly noticed the dragon and were about to go into a frenzy.
“Work!”
“B, but d, dragon...!”
“Hurry!”
“Trying to hog it all yourself is low! Even if you’re one of the Four Heavenly Kings, that’s unacceptable!”
“That’s right! That’s right!”
“Work! Work!”
At the scene that looked like a stage play, Berje let out a small chuckle. Then he clenched his fist.
“I’m looking forward to it.”
The day he would meet that damned hero of the red sword again.