Chapter 1212: 199. Felimon
“How heartless...”
The baby opened his eyes. Within those pitch-black pupils, there was none of the innocence or childishness that belonged to an infant, only malicious mockery.
“They are friends you only recently met, aren’t they? They were clearly so friendly toward you, yet you treated them like this? And now you even intend to kill their poor child with your own hands?”
The baby placed particular emphasis on the word “child” and giggled.
“Eight hundred years have passed, yet you still have not changed in the slightest.”
“Shut up.”
With a crack, Hamreign directly snapped the baby’s neck.
But he did not die. His head merely drooped limply to the side as he looked toward Muen on the other side.
“Young man over there, do you truly intend to keep serving as this evil dragon’s lackey? Anyone who remains by her side will ultimately meet a terrible end. This is a fact that has been proven countless times. She is precisely such a hateful, even nauseating existence.”
“What do you mean?”
Muen narrowed his eyes.
“I advise you to leave as quickly as possible. I do not wish to drag you into this,” the baby said.
“I think the more nauseating person here is you.”
After everything Muen had experienced up to this point, his temperament had already been tempered far beyond that of an ordinary person. Yet even now, he still found it difficult to suppress the anger in his chest.
“You actually hid inside the body of a baby only a few months old. Do you have no shame?”
Of the two possibilities Muen had proposed earlier, it was now undoubtedly the second one that had been proven true.
Because that baby looked so young and delicate, like a piece of pure white, flawless tofu. It seemed as though Hamreign could crush him beyond recognition with the slightest squeeze.
Without a doubt, the child Daphne’s mother had given birth to had truly existed in this world. He was not some kind of suggestion or illusion.
It was simply that no one knew when that poor child had already been occupied by another soul.
He had completely become a tool for that soul to hide from pursuit.
“Yes, it is disgusting. I think so myself. But in truth, I did not want to do this either. We personally built this city, and I watched the people here grow up with my own eyes. How could I bear to let them be sacrificed so casually?”
The baby pursed his tiny lips, his expression both sorrowful and eerie.
But very quickly, that sorrow transformed into pure rage.
“However, who told you to come here? Everything here would originally have continued existing beautifully, just like the Tars of eight hundred years ago. This New Tars, this reborn ‘carefree place,’ would have carried all the beauty it was meant to possess and continued existing silently in some corner of this world forever... That was all I originally hoped for.”
“But who told you to come here? I originally did not even want to help those fellows carry out their plan. But now that you have come all the way here, how could I possibly refuse to help them? This is all your fault! It is all the fault of you, this evil dragon! Eight hundred years ago, Tars should never have taken you in, and we should never have saved you!”
The baby’s tone grew increasingly intense. By the end, it had already become an uncontrollable roar.
He roared at Muen. He roared at the world.
But more than anything, he roared at the fiery-red figure before him.
That roar contained his unwillingness, his resentment, and the malice he had accumulated over a full eight hundred years.
That malice had nearly twisted his entire mind, allowing him to so easily... treat the people of New Tars, whom he had once considered important, as chess pieces.
“Answer me, evil dragon! During these eight hundred years, have you never felt even the slightest regret?”
“...”
For some unknown reason, faced with the baby’s roar, Hamreign, who had only moments ago been radiating terrifying rage, suddenly fell into an eerie silence.
She seemed to be thinking about something, or perhaps preparing something. Unfortunately, her features remained indistinct, making everything impossible to see clearly.
Muen wanted to speak but stopped himself.
The baby’s words were completely illogical and nothing but nonsense. With Muen’s personality—someone who might suffer losses anywhere except in a verbal confrontation—he would ordinarily have argued until this fellow had nowhere left to hide.
But when he looked at the silent Hamreign, he ultimately failed to say a single word.
Thus, in the end, what emerged from those cherry-red lips was unexpectedly a soft sigh that even surprised Muen.
“Felimon?”
The baby froze, then chuckled softly.
“Yes. I am Felimon, Sister Dragon.”
“You used to be a good child. I never expected you to become like this.”
Hamreign lowered her gaze, seeming to carefully examine the baby... or perhaps her gaze passed through the baby and studied the soul she had not seen in a very long time.
“I did not recognize you at first.”
“Ha... Of course I used to be a good child. But after any good child spends an entire eight hundred years living in constant fear and anxiety, their mind would probably become abnormal as well.”
Felimon began laughing again.
“Are you feeling sorry for me, Sister Dragon? That good child from the past has now become a demon who kills without blinking? Oh, no. You would never feel sorry for anything. After all, compared with you... I do not even possess the qualifications to be called a demon.”
“I originally believed that among those rats, you should have been the most rational one.”
Hamreign said,
“I never expected that even you would lose yourself within this vague and illusory dream.”
“People always change.”
Felimon sneered.
“Sister Dragon, on the other hand, has not changed much at all. Seeing you like this makes me begin to doubt Priscilla’s claim. I wonder whether the weakness she discovered can truly destroy you.”
“Of course it cannot. No matter what you are planning to do.”
Hamreign’s tone was decisive.
“Ha. That is something we can only know after everything reaches its conclusion, although I most likely will not live to see that moment.”
Felimon grinned.
“To tell the truth, I am also looking forward to it... I am looking forward to seeing the mightiest dragon, who stands high above everyone else, have her mask of arrogance completely shattered by that ‘deadly poison.’ That scene... will surely be beautiful.”
“You have already dreamed to this extent. It seems there is nothing left to say.”
Her fiery-red hair began to drift. The killing intent that had briefly solidified once again surged outward.
“Felimon, that question you asked just now... I will answer it through my actions.”
Had she felt even the slightest regret during these eight hundred years?
Of course not.
Something like that had already been completely erased by her in Tars eight hundred years ago.
“That’s right. There has never been anything to say. From the very beginning... it has always been this way!”
Bang!
The baby suddenly exploded, turning into a cloud of blood mist.
Within that blood mist, some invisible thing abruptly shot into the sky and rushed toward the air above the city.
Felimon knew that he could not resist Hamreign. Therefore, just like Avik before him, he had never intended to fight her. Instead, he seized the opportunity and fled without the slightest hesitation.
He quickly disappeared from sight.
But Hamreign’s gaze did not change in the slightest. Even those golden pupils did not flicker.
She merely silently looked at her own hand... the hand that had been stained red by the baby’s blood and was no longer fair and pale.
“Miss Dragon?”
Seeing that Hamreign had not moved for a long time, Muen could not help reminding her.
“Wait here.”
Hamreign abruptly closed her hand, scattering and evaporating the bloodstains upon it. There was no longer any anger audible in her voice.
“I will be right back.”
The fiery-red figure suddenly vanished.
Immediately afterward, the sky above the entire city, which had been shrouded in mist, became incomparably dark.
At that very moment, a streak of crimson lightning illuminated the heavens, seemingly splitting the entire sky in two.
A thunderous explosion echoed through the air, as though displaying Miss Dragon’s fury. The apocalyptic scene covered all of New Tars, causing Muen, who had originally intended to use illumination magic to conceal it, to helplessly give up.
This was heavenly might that the entire city was absolutely incapable of resisting.
Countless people trembled because of it, and some even prostrated themselves on the ground.
Fortunately, it did not last very long.
Very soon, the crimson lightning disappeared.
The city beneath the radiance of the magic stones became bright once again.
Everything seemed as though nothing had happened.
Muen turned his head and saw the fiery-red figure reappear in the courtyard.
In her hand, she held a blurry shadow. Judging from its outline, it seemed to be a middle-aged man.
That was probably Felimon’s true soul.
This fellow had not lasted as long as Avik.
“Speak. What exactly are you planning to do?”
Hamreign lowered her gaze.
“Ha... Speak? Why should I speak? Besides, I never expected you to ask such a question. Evil dragon... could it be that even you have begun to grow timid?”
The shadow struggled, its laughter shrill.
Hamreign glanced at Muen.
“Of course I am not afraid of your so-called conspiracy. I simply find it troublesome. Otherwise, a certain fellow will keep nagging beside my ear, and it is truly irritating.”
“Irritating? It is rather surprising to hear such words from you.”
The shadow grew increasingly faint, yet even at a time like this, he continued laughing.
“But rest assured. This time... our... no, their plan will certainly satisfy you.”
“It sounds like you are very confident.”
Muen sneered as he joined the conversation.
“Since you are so confident, why not simply tell us? Isn’t the most insulting strategy in the world one where you reveal all your cards openly? You have planned for so long. Do you not wish to seize this opportunity to humiliate Miss Dragon thoroughly?”
Hamreign glanced at Muen again, her face expressionless.
“Ahem... That was an example. I was only giving an example.”
Muen coughed dryly and hurriedly explained.
“An overt scheme? Hahaha, brat, you are very intelligent. This is indeed an overt scheme, and given that evil dragon’s personality... it is one she will inevitably walk into!”
The shadow clapped his hands and laughed loudly.
“What do you mean?”
“Judging by the time, it should already have begun. You will soon understand what I mean.”
Felimon whispered,
“Goddess above, may you protect the children here... and allow them to fall into peaceful sleep!”
Bang!
The dim shadow suddenly expanded.
At this moment, Felimon was actually attempting to detonate his own soul!
Fortunately, Muen reacted extremely quickly, and Hamreign had clearly been prepared long ago. Her jade-like hand closed upon the air, directly sealing the space around Felimon. As a result, the speed of his self-destruction was delayed for an instant, and Muen had already seized that opportunity to reach out and touch him.
The two of them had not mentioned anything related to this beforehand, yet at this moment, their cooperation was extremely tacit.
Thus, black flames began to flicker.
Sizzle.
The shadow was completely devoured by the black flames in an instant.
After being beaten by Hamreign, Felimon had almost no ability to resist. Even the terror that appeared upon the vague outline of his face only flashed for an instant.
Muen closed his eyes and began digesting those soul fragments as quickly as possible.
With Miss Dragon present, the Black Book did not dare show itself. Therefore, those complex fragments could not be conveniently categorized, and he could only examine them one by one.
Scene after scene appeared before his eyes.
Barren land.
People dressed in rags.
Rampaging vicious beasts and monsters.
And... the heroes who suddenly descended.
Guidance, assistance, leadership.
The heroes led the people in developing the wasteland. Gradually, smiles began appearing on the people’s faces, and the clothing they wore became better and better.
Thus, a new city rose from the ground... from layer after layer of foundations to the carefully planned buildings above the surface, every brick and tile came from the people’s arduous struggle.
Tianyu Literature—this was where the dream began, and also where the dream came true.
And then...
Everything fell into darkness.
“Damn it!”
Muen abruptly opened his eyes, his entire body drenched in sweat.
His gaze remained dazed for several seconds. Only when a trace of warmth appeared beneath his nose did he gradually recover.
Due to the rapid depletion of his mental strength, his body swayed, only to be casually and steadily supported by that jade-like hand.
“Was it useful?” Hamreign asked.
“...No.”
Muen shook his head with a bitter smile.
“Just as Miss Dragon said, these fellows prepared long ago against abilities involving the soul. Just as I was about to see the important part, the images suddenly ended.”
It seemed that those important pieces of information had completely vanished together with Felimon’s death.
“What about the unimportant parts? What did you see?”
“Those...”
Muen frowned and thought carefully.
“It was probably a scene from when this city had only just been built... Felimon was not lying about one thing. This city truly was built entirely with the help of those survivors.”
“Is that so?”
Hamreign asked nothing further.
After all, something like how the city had been built, which could be confirmed with a single glance, was truly unimportant to her and Muen now.
She merely suddenly looked toward Daphne and her parents, who were lying unconscious on the ground.
“Perhaps we should have knocked them unconscious sooner.”
Muen looked over as well. Daphne’s young face, still covered in tears, was especially heartbreaking.
“Would that have helped?”
Hamreign turned away without the slightest reluctance and coldly walked outside.
“The fact that I killed their child... cannot be changed no matter what.”
“You were not the one who killed their child. Felimon was. Just as you were not the one who killed Kran. Avik was.”
Muen quickly followed her in several long strides.
“There is no difference.”
“...”
Muen did not know what to say either.
Because in a certain sense, there truly was no difference.
Just like what had happened with Kran before, faced with a situation like this, no matter what you did... it would not be the correct answer.
There were only wrong answers here.
“Looking at the good side, another hidden danger has been eliminated. We have already completed a small portion of our mission, haven’t we?”
Muen forced out a smile. He did not know whether he was comforting Hamreign... or himself.
Most likely the latter.
After all, why would the mightiest dragon in the world need him to comfort her?
“We need to move faster.”
“Understood.”
The figures of the two flickered, and they directly appeared on the street.
Looking at the quiet street and the golems patrolling as usual, Muen unexpectedly felt as though an entire lifetime had passed.
He patted his face, forcing himself to quickly regain his focus.
This was not the time for reflection.
“This street can be considered fully inspected. Next, we should begin from...”
Muen took out the map and was just about to determine the next street they should inspect when—
“L-Lord Muen!”
At that moment, Morton hurriedly flew toward them, his expression panicked.
“S-something terrible has happened!”
“What is it?”
Muen jolted.
“Did someone cause trouble?”
“N-no.”
Morton panted heavily.
This elderly man, who was normally extremely dignified and composed, now had his graying hair disheveled like a chicken’s nest. He looked completely different from when he had first met Muen.
“No one caused trouble. Rather, among the people you previously inspected... someone has suddenly fallen ill with a strange disease!”