Dragon Maken War

Chapter 225 - Old Revenants (3)

3

In the final battle at the Dragon Horn fortress, Azell had defeated Kayalia.

He didn't personally defeat her. Azell was tasked with the important task of occupying Atein in an one on one battle. This was why he had joined forces with his comrades to fight Kayalia, and she had received a grievous wound.

After they were able to mortally wound her, Azell felt something was off.

It had been too easy.

Even if he received support from his comrades, she hadn't been alone. The soldiers of the Dragon Demon king's army had supported her.

Despite his fight against Kayalia, Azell hadn't received any wounds from the fight. She had attacked him with fearsome force. There had been several close calls during the battle, but if one considered the skill displayed by Kayalia in this past, the battle had ended quite easily.

Originally, he was going to leave his comrades in mid-battle. He was supposed to disengage and head towards Atein. However, the battle had gone too well. He had been dumbfounded at the time.

Azell queried her.

"As expected, you didn't die that time?"

-I died.

"Mmm?"

-Do I look alive to you?

Kayalia raised her hand as she spoke. He could see through her. She looked like an illusion.

Azell spoke.

"You don't look dead. You look like a projection that can be created by a magician. I cannot tell if you are dead or alive with the information available to me."

-I see. Reygus oppa was confused by my form, but you immediately recognized it.

"Reygus oppa?"

Azell's expression turned peculiar. Kayalia cackled.

-I've already died once. I have no plans on playing the part of Atein's Queen. That is why I call him oppa now.

"I really want to discuss what you stated, but… We aren't in a cordial relationship. "

-May we change the relationship between us? As I've said earlier, I'm already dead.

"You want me to trust your word?"

-I never expected to run into such a problem. Maybe, the person next to you might trust my words a little bit more than you.

At her words, Azell looked towards Kairen. Since he was still guarded against Kayalia, he didn't turn his head. He used a Spirit Order technique to look at Kairen.

When he did so, he saw that Kairen had an odd expression on his face.

"Why are you making such an expression, Duke?"

"Azell."

"Please speak."

"I'm not sure what relationship you had with her in the past. Even I've heard of her name, but…… She saved your life before."

"What?"

"It was when Reygus almost killed you…. She was the one that rescued you. If it wasn't for this young lady, we might have been wiped out right then and there."

"……."

Azell became surprised. At the time, he had lost consciousness, and he had lost track of things. He had never bothered to get a detailed account on what had happened.

Still, he had never expected such a thing to have occurred.

Kayalia fidgeted as she let out a bright smile.

-Jeez. You referred to me as young lady. It has been awhile since I've been called that.

"……."

There wasn't a single ounce of tension in her attitude. He couldn't keep up his hostility towards her.

The current Kayalia was entirely different from the Kayalia from the Dragon Demon war. It almost made him skeptical as to whether she really was Kayalia. When Azell faced her on the battlefield, she had an icy expression on her face. As a magician, she had been as powerful as Aunsaurus and Baldazark. Her might had made the humans tremble in fear.

However, she was currently acting like a young girl. He couldn't get used to it.

'In fact…...'

When he lost to Reygus, he had heard someone's voice before he had lost consciousness. He remembered white clothes billowing in front of him, and he had heard the voice of…..

"It was you."

-Yes. I was being fair. I saved both of you once.

"You were the one that saved Reygus."

Azell picked up on the small hint within her words. He was able to assess the situation.

Kayalia let out a light laughter.

-That's right.

"Alright. For now, I'll believe that you aren't hostile towards us."

Azell retracted his hostility. There was a voice in the corner of his mind that said she was a danger to him. He was having a hard time suppressing that voice, but she had save him once before. This was why he couldn't chase her away without hearing what she had to say.

"Still, you referred to Reygus as Reygus oppa. I don't know about that. From what I heard from Carlos, you used a reincarnation technique to continue living multiple lives. You've lived longer than Aunsaurus…."

All four Dragon Demon generals had lived for over a thousand years. The oldest of the bunch was Aunsaurus. When Azell compared Kayalia to Aunsaurus, she jumped up and down in indignation.

-Uh-mu-muh. What are you saying? Aunsaurus lived for over 2 thousand years. How can you compare a young woman to such an old man?

"……."

-My previous experience in life is passed on to my next life. However, I'm always born as a different being. I'm always different from my past selves. Moreover, I've stop reincarnating for a while now.

"Mmm. Well… Let's just say I believe you.

-It isn't about believing me or not. I'm stating a fact.

"Alright. Alright."

Azell raised both his hands in surrender. Then he asked her a question.

"I guess it is time to hear why you've searched me out."

-Didn't you hear it from Reygus oppa?

"Mmm? Perhaps… Are you the other person that wants to be our ally?"

-That's right.

"……."

-I parted company with Aten like Reygus oppa. Is it really unbelievable?

"In truth, I'm having a hard time believing in it."

-What do we have to do to make you change your mind? I knew this would be a problem when coming here. However, I don't have a good idea as to how to solve this problem.

During the Dragon Demon war, Kayalia had killed countless people from the human alliance. How could he forget about his grudge against her? It would be asking too much of him to accept Kayalia as an ally.

In the case of Laura, the situation had been different. Unlike her, Kayalia had lived within Azell's era, and he had built up enmity against her.

Kayalia looked at Azell for a brief moment, then she spoke as she sighed.

-Let's change the topic for now. I have other things I want to talk to you about.

"What do you want to talk about?"

-I'm talking about Albatan's choice.

"Are you saying you know his answer?"

-If you don't believe me, you can go confirm it with Albatan. One of my reasons for coming here was the fact that I had to inform you about Albatan's stance. I took on the role of a messenger. Of course, I have my own business with you too.

Azell and Kairen had no choice, but to pay attention to what she was saying now. Kayalia spoke.

-Albatan plans to stick with the stance he had during the Dragon Demon war.

"He'll maintain his neutrality?

-Yes.

"However, the situation is completely different right now. If Atein achieves his goal, Albatan forest won't be able to remain free."

Even if Atein had won the Dragon Demon war, the Albatan forest would have remained off limits to humans. The Albatan forest would have continued to be one of the Demonic lands. Of course, Atein might have united the whole continent, and he might started a war with Albatan at a later date. At the very least, the Albatan forest had been free from the conflicts that arose during the Dragon Demon war.

However, the current situation posed a different problem. Atein was trying to change the laws that govern the whole world.

-He developed a countermeasure to that problem.

"How?"

-Do you remember Carlos traded away Atein's technique?

"Technique? Do you mean the curse that allows one to subordinate others to the Great Darkness?"

-Yes.

"How is that a countermeasure against what Atein is trying to accomplish?"

-The technique is also how one creates the Great Darkness.

"What?"

In a flash, Azell and Kairen became surprised. He had heard something unimaginable.

Kayalia spoke.

-Atein sealed the immortal transcendent beings as pillars when making the Great Darkness. One needs a firm home base and long years to create the system. One has to continuously supply resources to create it. This is why one can't re-create the Great Darkness in terms of size and completeness. This doesn't mean it is impossible to copy the system called the Great Darkness.

Carlos had reverse engineered Aten's technique. Carlos had done so to free Azell from the curse that would have subordinated him to the Great Darkness.

-This was how Carlos was able to create the Guardian Shadows. Since he didn't have the time or the resource to create the Great Darkness from scratch, he created his system by leaning on the power of the already existing Great Darkness.

Albatan was also an archmage that had lived for a very long time. He had accumulated many techniques and resources during this time. In his deal with Carlos, he was able to receive Atein's curse from Carlos. On top of that, Atein had installed the Road of Darkness as a gesture of good faith during the Dragon Demon war. Albatan researched both techniques, and he was able to come up with a way to copy the Great Darkness.

-Unlike the Great Darkness that surrounds the continent, this copy will only surround the Albatan forest. Albatan received support from the residents of the forest, and they had invested in this system for the past dozen of years.

At the very least, the system would be capable of remembering information about magical energy and the beings making up the system. At most, it would remember souls like the Guardian Shadows.

-If Albatan uses this, he might be able to resist the laws that'll be forced up on the world. He'll be able to create an independent territory.

"I see….... Since Albatan secured an exit strategy for his people, he no longer cares about the outside world. However, that has been Albatan's stance since the beginning. It can't be helped."

Albatan didn't interfere with the human world, and he prevented the outside world from interfering with his forest.

Albatan had always had this attitude. Azell had used Albatan's territory to his advantage, so he couldn't disparage Albatan's choice.

-Still, I was very surprised by it.

"Are you talking about Albatan's skill in magic? It doesn't surprise me. He lived less years than Atein, but he is still a mythological figure. This is why he was able to make the Albatan forest."

-I'm not admiring Albatan's abilities.

"Then?"

-I'm talking out the part where Carlos Rizester was able to decipher Atein's curse. Albatan wouldn't have been able to great the copy of the Great Darkness if he hadn't made the deal with Carlos. I was able to find out what kind of life Carlos had lived after the Dragon Demon war…. He really was amazing.

"……."

At her words, sadness and longing was reflected in his eyes for a brief moment.

Any amount of thanks wouldn't be enough. Carlos had dedicated his life to saving Azell, and he had suffered through hellish pain to protect the future. He had done it voluntarily. If he hadn't been there, Azell wouldn't have been able to reach this point.

'Carlos…….'

It wasn't just him. His descendants had suffered tragedies, while he was asleep. Yuren was Atein's reincarnation, yet he sacrificed his life to open up a path for Azell…. He had incurred so much debt that it was beyond description.

There was only one way to honor his fallen friends. It was the same during the Dragon Demon war where his comrades had entrusted the future to him. He had to defeat Atein. The only way to repay all of them was to end this long fight.

"It's all good. Albatan will keep his neutrality, so the worst case scenario will not come to pass. However…."

-Mmm. Can I talk to you about myself?

"…alright. Go for it."

He was about to say, 'I cannot accept you.'

However, Kayalia preempted him. He had to give her the opportunity to speak.

-It is as I've said earlier. I died during the Dragon Demon war.

Kayalia started her story from the point after her death.

4

Reygus put his hammer on his shoulder as he spoke.

<You are pretty good. As expected, the young ones are full of fighting spirit.>

"Oooh-ook. You really are amazing."

There was a middle aged Dragon Majin warrior sitting on the ground. He had white hair, and he possessed dark blue eyes, horn and Dragon Demon stone. One of his leg was broken, so he used his sword as a crutch to get up.

It was Havan. He was the one that had requested a duel with Azell when he came to the Albatan forest. After a sparring match with Reygus, Havan admitted his defeat.

It wasn't just Havan. Other inured Dragon Majin warriors were strewn about on the floor. When they heard Reygus had arrived, they wanted a match with him. Reygus never turned down a fight, so he agreed to every single match. He enjoyed it.

"Would you have done this if I wasn't here? You guys are too reckless with how you treat your body."

The one that was grumbling was Saibein. Aside from him, no one had extreme healing ability within the forest. Before he had awakened his Dragon Soul, magicians had acted as healers. However, the process had been slow compared to what Saibein could do now.

Reygus spoke after he put down 20 consecutive Dragon Majin warriors.

<This place is quite fun. I like it here.>

"This place is well suited for you, sir Reygus."

<I'm not a Dragon Demon general, so you don't have to call me by my title. You can just refer to me as Reygus.>

"Weren't you a king of a nation before you became a Dragon Demon general?"

<It is old news. I don't plan on becoming a king in the near future.>

"You make it sound as if becoming a king is as easy as snapping your finger…."

<It isn't hard. You just periodically kill people that you don't like, and you'll easily become a king.>

"……."

Reygus had also lived for a very long time. He was over a thousand years old. Before he served Atein as his king, he had reigned over a region of this continent as a ruler. There was a time when he had fought against the forces of Almarick.

<Anyways, you are looking better. It seems life here suits you.>

"I won't deny that fact. Also..."

Saibein hesitated for a moment before he spoke.

"…I want to thank you for bringing my daughter here.

<The little miss decided to come here. I just followed her. I didn't do much.>

Reygus waved his hand. Saibein smirked.

"You are always the same. Somehow, that is comforting."

<You've changed a lot. I like your current self much more than your past self.>

"Thank you. If I am not overstepping the bounds, could you tell me what you are planning to do now?"