Chapter 249

249. Ah, is that so? (Part 6)

#4 Their Circumstances A Certain Hero’s Circumstances

The man before me was definitely not the Demon King.

He was one of the Instructor’s disciples.

As a disciple of the Master, I knew how dangerous the existence of the Master’s disciples could be. I had thoroughly gathered information about his appearance, behavior, characteristics, and even his personality.

But what was certain was that this man was dangerous.

My instincts were screaming at me. They were telling me to run, that he was not an opponent I could defeat right now!

“Who are you...?”

It took me a while to find the strength to speak.

What on earth did he say?

Even if he claimed to be the Demon King, I would believe him.

“Are you talking about me?”

He chuckled at my question and pointed at himself.

“Yes, you. You are definitely not the Demon King, but...”

What incredible power was he talking about?

“Who am I...? Hmm... How can I explain...”

I bit my lip in frustration as I watched him scratch his head, pondering my question.

It wasn’t his actions, but the behavior of the demonic forces around him. You see, I had heard that the minds of the demonic armies were filled only with thoughts of destruction!

Yet, the demonic army around him acted as if they were patiently waiting for his instructions.

“Hmm... should I call myself another executor of evil, or maybe, for the sake of you humans, should I just call myself another demon king?”

He called himself a Demon King.

Normally, I would have dismissed it as nonsense, but his overwhelming presence and the way he commanded the demonic forces made it difficult to say it was wrong. n.)o/(V//e.-l(/b)(I-)n

“Well... I see. That makes sense.”

He was silent for a moment, deep in thought about how to describe himself.

“Maybe this fits me best. A dragon tainted with evil, an evil dragon. That’s what I am.”

“Damn it...!”

I drew my holy sword without hesitation.

If he claimed to be a dragon, it would not be strange for him to have such an overwhelming presence.

“Ho-ho! Indeed, you’re quite a hero for defeating my kin. Well, maybe I shouldn’t call them my kin now?”

Seeing me like that, the man clapped his hands and laughed.

“But you’re still missing! No matter how much Arquette has let his guard down, you can’t defeat him with just that level of power. Is it because you’re a hero blessed by the gods? But even divine blessings have their limits, don’t they? I’m curious. Very curious! What could possibly make you or Arquette win?”

Damn it! He casually mentioned a 20,000-year-old dragon.

At least that’s what he said about his age.

“Lord Sween... do you believe what he said?”

“I don’t want to believe it, but it seems to be true. I’d rather he was just a madman, but even if his control over the demonic army is a lie, he’s still a threat to us.”

“He could be using humans as puppets, with the Demon King controlling them from behind.”

Damn it! There was no one suitable.

No one felt the enormous presence around us. Maybe I should break away... but as long as that healer is with the teacher.

I’d end up being captured again, and I’d have to fight that monster.

It’s better to fight now. If I run away and the other heroes are wiped out, I’ll have to fight it later with a group of rookie heroes.

“He’s stronger than me.”

“Are you serious?”

“Do I look like I’m joking?”

As I spoke, the atmosphere around us began to change.

All I had to do was stop talking. That alone conveyed my sincerity.

“Oho! It seems that you are all eager to fight.”

“We have no intention of turning back.”

Even though that monster wouldn’t let us go, it was better to stay and endure than to endure the eternal pain of being crushed.

Well, he said he would keep me alive forever.

It seemed better to die here than to endure this agony forever.

“Our opponent is stronger than me.”

“Really?”

“Do I look like I’m joking right now?”

As I was saying this, the dynamics around me began to change.

I gave the order to stop speaking. That alone conveyed my sincerity.

“Haha! You all seem to be full of fighting spirit. But it’s not much fun like this.”

“Argh!”

“Heroes!”

Yes, as long as we hold out, everything would be fine.

“Let’s step back from the formation and put those who aren’t swordmasters in the back!”

“Understood!”

After giving the order, I drew my sword and stepped forward.

“Hmm... so it’s you after all? The heroes of this era who will judge evil?”

“Heroes of this era? What nonsense!”

I wondered why he even bothered to be a hero if he wanted to enjoy his old age. If the me from the past saw this, I’d want to tell myself to just run away instead of trying to be a hero.

“You killed my relatives, and now you are standing in front of me, ready for a duel. That alone makes you great heroes. I can vouch for the fact that you’ve defeated demons. Of course, you still have a long way to go compared to the heroes who’ve defeated demons, but still!”

Demons appeared every thousand years or so.

There were some exceptional cases, but on average, you had to wait at least a thousand years for them to appear.

The time it took for a nation to be born and die.

But for dragons, this was an experience they could have dozens of times in their lifetime.

Yes, dragons could witness demon-related events as they happened.

“They’re just born in the cradle of dragons, and yet they come out like this!”

The man held his sword in front of me.

The Cradle of Dragons, where all dragons are born. Is it for the balance of the world?

It is said that dragons only produce one or two offspring in their lifetime. Although they are known for their individualistic behavior, the future of their race, known as Hezzlings, is crucial.

Therefore, dragons give birth in the safest place for them, the Cradle of Dragons, and raise their children there for over a hundred years. They then take their young to their lairs and raise them until they reach the age of a thousand, known as Hezzlings. After that, they leave their children to live their own lives.

There are only two reasons for dragons to return to the Cradle of Dragons: one is to have more children, and the other is when a demon appears!

“Oh, don’t misunderstand me. I didn’t stupidly come out of the Cradle of Dragons to be tainted by evil. I came out to become a full-fledged dark dragon.”

“Zenzahhh!”

Kwaaaah!

He laughed while swinging his arm, no, an attack from the Dark Dragon pushed me back several meters.

“Damn! Is he really the Demon King?”

According to my mentor, the Demon King cannot use magic. Instead, he is dealing with an unknown power.

But I’ve heard that the Demon Apostles are only human?

Besides, the Demon Apostle already exists!

“Why are there two Demon Kings?”

“Your human Demon King was quite competent. Well, he was different from previous Demon Kings. While the others lost their minds and went on a rampage, he acted methodically. He managed to get most of the evil fragments, gave one to me, and turned me into another Demon King.”

“Does that mean you can create as many Demon Kings as there are fragments?”

“In theory, yes.”

Chills ran down my spine.

There are only two races that the Demon Apostle can’t create: the elves, who are protected by the World Tree, and humans, for some unknown reason that even the gods don’t know.

And apart from these two races...

“Aside from elves and humans, anyone can become a demon king?”

“That’s right.”

The dragon’s grin made my cold sweat pour down like a waterfall.

“Please, let there not be such a crazy dragon!”

“Yes. The Cradle of Dragons is a place that even the gods can’t easily touch. Maybe if the world was on the brink of destruction and all forces were mobilized, but that’s impossible now.”

Fortunately, it seemed unlikely that another demon king of dragon lineage would emerge.

“If Arke’Tai were alive, he would have joined us. Why does he do this now?”

He clicked his tongue as he spoke, and the name he mentioned was very familiar.

Arke’Tai.

The dragon I had faced alone, led by my mentor. And surprisingly, he easily defeated another dragon that was 20,000 years old. If we hadn’t captured that dragon back then, there would have been three demon kings by now.

However...

“That means... whenever a dragon that claims to be a dark dragon appears, it can potentially create a demon king...”

I sincerely hoped that there wouldn’t be such a crazy dragon.

“Yes. Even though I’ve maintained my sanity as a Demon King, there’s still one thing I must do by force. That’s to bring about the destruction of this world.”

As he spoke, a black substance began to emerge from his lightly-wielded sword. I tried to block it with my own sword, but the difference in strength was too great.

“Grrgh...”

“Therefore, in order to protect the world, I must be strong enough to defeat myself. The real Demon King is still stronger than me, and with the final fragment of evil, he’ll become even stronger.”

Come to think of it, that guy wasn’t the final boss. The senior who turned this guy into a Demon King was the real final boss!

I trembled at the thought that the enemy was so overwhelmingly powerful that I had completely forgotten about it.

“Huh?”

“Could it be that the Demon King...!”

“Yes. He was trying to find the last fragment. We were bait. He wanted to deceive you and the gods and lead his main force here. The real Demon King, that guy should be at your main base by now...”

Reacting quickly to the sudden revelation, I channeled my magic and unleashed a burst of golden energy.

“Get to the point, you brat!”

“Oho! Did you rise to stop the danger at your main base? Or perhaps to protect the last fragment of evil?”

Ignoring the mocking laughter of the evil dragon, I gathered all the magical power I could for an attack.

“Hahaha! That’s right, come at me like that! If you want to defeat me!”

“Shut up!”

#5 Your Circumstances: The Story of a Certain Dragon’s Circumstances

“Shut up!”

It’s quite something for a human.

Even in a psychologically challenging situation, he’s making rational judgments.

He seems to be preparing for a final attack now, but he’s subtly weaving magic.

That’s probably his ultimate goal.

But there’s something this hero doesn’t know, something he doesn’t realize: the person who received a fragment of evil is beyond the norms of this world.

He can’t use magic, but he’s also immune to magic attacks, which is one of the rules of the world. Well, he might still take some damage if the attack directly manipulates matter.

“What a shame.”

If only the opponent wasn’t a representative of the Fragment of Evil, there might have been a chance. But for me...

“Hmm?”

My head tilted slightly as I prepared to withstand the hero’s attack.

The reason being...

“He’s retreating?”

The hero was retreating.