Dragon Maken War

Chapter 114 - To the Land of the Demons (5)

7

<I was awakened after a very long time, so I went out to enjoy a fight. Yet it seems the really interesting news was actually waiting for my return. Is it true that the heir of Aunsaurus betrayed us?>

The amused Reygus asked the question. He had died once to become an Undead, but he had not fallen into depression like the other Undeads. Instead of despairing, he remained cheerful. It made one wonder what his personality was like when he was alive.

He was one of the four Dragon Demon Generals, and there weren't many figures he admired in this world. The Dragon Demon King's first wife Aincera was one of the the rare ones to hold his esteem.

"That is right."

<How did that come about?>

"I have no idea. In the first place, I could never tell what that child was thinking inside. Maybe, the Aunsaurus tribe is at fault for improperly educating her."

<Hmm. I shouldn't bother you by pressing for more details. I'll ask my subordinate about it.>

"You are unchanged."

<I'll accept that as a compliment. I was resurrected from death, yet I remain unchanged. Isn't it splendid?>

Reygus barked out a laugh.

When he was alive, Reygus was very informal with his subordinates. He joined the rank and file to drink alcohol, and in recent days, he enjoyed gossiping and playing around with the servants. In the past, Aincera had been very overt in showing her displeasure with his overall attitude.

However, her attitude was completely different now. She had told him he had remained unchanged. However, her voice and expression remained indifferent. She didn't show any emotions.

Reygus spoke.

<I think the Queen has changed a lot.>

"A lot of time has passed."

<I don't think that's the only reason.>

"This is a tribulation I must endure."

Aincera knew very well what she had lost. However, she didn't have any emotions left to recoil at her change. Her soul was nothing but a thick husk. She only wanted to achieve her heart's wish. She prioritized her task above all else...

<…….>

Reygus just looked at her. He was an Undead, so at a time like this, he was able to hide all emotions. It was an unpleasant sight, but Aincera just accept his scrutiny. She was like an unfeeling doll.

In the end, Aincera asked a question.

"What result were you able to achieve through the fight?"

<Hmm. The fight was very good. It was beyond expectation. As expected, the king's magic is incredible. I thought it was an absolute travesty when I realized I was an Undead. However, since I've woken up, I'm liking this body more and more. It is a bit troubling.>

"That's fortunate. Your existence has already been revealed to the Guardian Shadows, so I'm not going to be conservative in how I use you. I expect your active participation from now on."

<If I can run amok, I'll welcome it. This is why I spurned the courtship of the netherworld to come back here.>

"You'll have plenty of opportunity to do so. Also… Did you find out anything about Carlos?"

<Unfortunately, I couldn't force those bastards to speak. We'll have to wait for the trackers to bring back some useful information.>

Reygus had put down a trap for the Keepers of the Prophecy. He had done it to find out more about Carlos. However, Delta and Zeta got in his way until the end, and they didn't divulge any information.

Aincera spoke.

"However… I'm skeptical. I don't think the sinner Carlos is still alive. In all these years, the Great Darkness was never able find his trace."

<I don't know if he is alive. However, I'm sure he exists somewhere in the world. In my opinion, the Guardian Shadows are a strong candidate.>

"You are saying he might have become an Undead."

<Yes. My opinion was reinforced after I met the Guardian Shadows. They were almost a complete product just like me. Moreover…….>

"Is something bothering you?"

Reygus stopped speaking for a brief moment as he fell into his thoughts. Aincera queried him. Reygus organized the thoughts floating around inside his head before he spoke.

<Hmm. It is nothing. I'll speak to you about it once I get a firmer grip on this idea. Anyways, it is my opinion that the magicians, who are able to pull this off, is uncommon. This is true even if one considered the magicians across the ages.>

From the moment Reygus was awakened, he just knew Carlos was alive somewhere in this world. Atein's magic was like a divine revelation, and this truth was delivered to Reygus.

When this information was disseminated, the Plains of Darkness was turned upside down. At the same time, they devoted all their efforts into finding any trace left behind by Carlos.

<I'll see myself out.>

Reygus did a courtly bow, and the gesture did not look right on his bulky body. Afterwards, he left Aincera.

When Reygus exited the Queen's room, Reygus saw an old Dragon Demon with gray horns waiting for him. The old Dragon Demon approached him, and the old Dragon Demon gave back the massive battle hammer to him. Reygus hadn't been able to take his weapon into the meeting with the Queen, so he had left it behind.

<The Queen has sacrificed a lot of herself.>

"We exist now, because of her sacrifice."

The old Dragon Demon named Chanes had a cold expression on his face. He was Reygus' lieutenant during the Dragon Demon war. Now he was one of the influential being that ruled over the Plain of Darkness. However, when Reygus awoke as an Undead, Chanes insisted on assisting Reygus.

Suddenly, Chanes spoke.

"I never expected all of this to take this long."

<I agree. When I heard that it was 223 years since the king's death, I thought it was a joke. It took so long to raise an Undead like me. I guess it means the capabilities of this body should be excellent. Still, I'm not sure what to think about all of this.>

Reygus had awakened as an Undead in recent days. He was brought back through the magic of the Dragon Demon king, so he was a very special Undead. He was an Undead, yet his memories and his thought process remained crystal clear. He wasn't swept up by the madness. Even his five senses remained.

Reygus was dead, yet it almost felt as if he was still alive. The fact that he was having a difficult time differentiating between the two state was confusing, yet he liked having such a dilemma..

Now that he was awake, the Plain of Darkness took it as a sign that the king's revival was near. It seemed he was tied to the Ritual of Revival that was ongoing in the basement of the Dragon Demon Palace.

Chanes spoke..

"By the look of you, I think it was well worth the time."

<If one looked only at my battle capabilities, it definitely was worth the time.>

While he was giving his reply, a question popped up inside Reygus' mind.

'Those bastards were very similar to me.'

This was the fact that he had refrained from telling Aincera. The Guardian Shadow's Undeads felt somehow very similar to him.

'Are those bastards related to the king's magic? Well, the king was very lax about protecting his magic. There's a chance that someone might have developed a similar magic using the remnants of spells left behind by him… If not, did Carlos really become involved in their creation?'

After thinking about it for a brief moment, Reygus opened his mouth.

<You look really old now.>

"A lot of time has passed."

Two hundred twenty three years wasn't a short amount of time even for Dragon Demon.

At the time of the Dragon Demon wars, Chanes was a young man. Now he was a white haired old man. It really drove home the fact that a lot of time had passed. In truth, Reygus was very surprised that Chanes was still alive. Chanes wasn't a 1st generation Dragon Demon, yet he had lived well past 400 years.

<You should be letting the young ones do all the work, while you play around. Why did you come running to me? You should have sent your decent subordinates to me.>

"I've raised several promising ones. I'll introduce them to you soon."

<As expected, you probably don't want to do all the odd jobs at your old age.>

"Isn't it to be expected? I've advanced enough in my station where I'm able to put my nose in the air."

<You are still the same. Such a long time had passed, yet you are the same. I like it.>

Reygus was elated, so he tried to hum. However, the sound of air leaking out was heard, and a dark energy of the Curse was dispersed. He couldn't make the sound he wanted to make. Naturally, he tried to click his tongue in dismay, but he didn't have a tongue. It was impossible.

<This body is a masterpiece. It is a masterpiece, yet I have a long way to go before I accept it as my own body. It isn't a hindrance in battle, but I'm not satisfied with that.>

The Skeleton cackled as his shoulders shook.

<I want to eat meat dripping with blood. I'm sad, because it is a dream that is forever out of my reach. Well, it's all right. I'm sure there are other edibles that are considered to be delicacies for the Undead. Maybe, I'll go look for that.>

"If you want something, I'll help you acquire it."

<I'm just saying anything that crosses my mind. Hmm. You still haven't answered my question.>

"I have two reasons. One is an official reason, and the other one is a personal reason."

<Tell me the official reason first.>

"While you were gone, I've advanced enough in my station where I'm now in charge of leading a faction. It isn't something too impressive. It pales in comparison to your achievements. However, now that everyone is saying the king's revival is drawing near, I have a chance to secure a foothold with you."

<I'm just a walking corpse now. What benefit will you gain by sticking by me?>

"I don't really have anyone else I can curry favor with."

<I see. All right. So what is the personal reason?>

"My life isn't fun anymore."

<Mmm?>

"I usually hide here with a devious smile on my face. I just plot against the humans, and I find such work to be boring. If I'm with the general, this old man will have a chance to jump into a fight where my blood will boil."

<That is very… You aren't really acting your age.>

"Now that I think about it, I remember the common criticism against you was the fact that you didn't act your age…."

<Ha. Now that you've aged a little bit, you are trying to act cheeky towards me. I'm already dead, so who care what my age is? After Balun's death, no Undead counts their age.>

"Balun?"

<Mmm? Ah. I guess kids from these days won't know about him.>

"…I'm not of the younger generation, yet I do not know about him."

<You would have known his name if you've lived 400 years longer. This was in the distant past, and the bastard had numerous bouts with the king.>

"He fought against the king? That is news to me."

<Well, there are countless beings that were killed by the king. Currently, the name Atein is officially entered into the public records as someone against the world. However, at one time, he was considered to be a hero, who had saved the world. These kinds of events happened quite often throughout history.>

Reygus went over the past events. Before he was killed, he had lived a very long time. He was basically a walking history book. He was born to no parents, so he was a 1st Generation Dragon Demon. He had transcended mortality to live a very long life.

<At that time, I wasn't serving the king as a Dragon Demon General… Yes. I was a companion of the wise, yet whimsical magician named Atein.>

Chanes' ears perked up. He was of an age where he told the younger generation about the old stories. However, at that moment, he felt as if he was thrown back to his childhood. He had listened to the stories from the adults with a twinkle in his eyes.

<The King, Almarick and I got together to carry out this task. Truthfully, I didn't have a great relationship with Almarick during that time... Hmmm. I'll skip that part of the story. At the time, we weren't even acquainted with Aunsaurus and Baldazark yet.. Anyways, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Balun was the worst foe we've ever encountered.>

"He was that powerful? He must have been one of the 1st Generation Dragon Demon."

<No. He was a human. To be precise, he used to be a human.>

"A human? A human was a threat to the three of you?"

<You sound skeptical. You should keep in mind that we lost to a human in the Dragon Demon War.>

"That is true……."

<Well, Balun wasn't a living human being. The king designated him as being 'The First to Deny Death'. He was also called the 'Originator of the Black Magicians'.....>

Balun was a being, who had lived for a very long time. Countless beings lived on the surface of the world, yet he was the first to deny death. He had raised himself as an Undead.

<Basically, Undeads didn't exist before Balun. According to our king's words, most of the Necromancy skills that exist right now was cultivated by Balun.>

"My god. Such a being existed in this world?"

<He existed. There is a first for everything. Balun was as unique as the first king anointed by the Dragon Demons.>

At the time, Balun wanted to change the world. He theorized that the pain one received over the course of one's life happened, because one was alive. This was why he wanted all the beings on this world to transcend life and death… In some aspects, he was a bigger calamity to the world than Atein. However, in the end, Atein and his companions was able to take him down.

After he finished his story, Reygus suddenly remembered something.

<Come to think of it, I heard some of our kids were betrayed. What happened?>

"The surviving members of each tribe devoted their efforts into developing the future generation. This resulted in the current young generation being quite skilled even though they are inexperienced. However, it seemed the mental aspect of their education was deficient.."

<I don't want to hear about the boring details.>

"Would you like to hear about the child who betrayed us first? Or would you like to hear about the children, who were beaten to a pulp?"

<Tell me about the one that betrayed us. How inhospitable were we to her that a child of that station abandoned everything? Why would she run away?>

"Mmm. In truth, she wasn't treated well. This is especially true for the Aunsaurus tribe. They are out of control…."

<In what way?>

"I don't know the full story. This was all gathered through rumors."

Chanes was a survivor of the Dragon Demon war, so he was one of the heavyweights that ruled over the Plain of Darkness. However, during the Dragon Demon war, he had merely been a lieutenant serving under Reygus. This was why he had less power than the survivors with blood ties to Aunsaurus and Baldazark. This was why he could only rely on information gathered from spies and rumors to discern what was going on in the different factions. The Great Darkness within Aincera united the Plain of Darkness under the same banner, but factions within the Plain of Darkness weren't unified.

"The Aunsaurus tribe conducted countless tests and rituals to be able to artificially create a perfect heir. It is rumored that the betrayer Laura Aunsaurus was the product of their efforts."

<Mmm? They did something that insane?>

Reygus was surprised. Regyus was one of the main principles, who helped Atein, light the world on fire through war. However, even he was taken aback by Chanes' story.

"If it is true, it was stupid of them. The child was made using their blood. Basically, they put forth a doll made through magic as the heir of Aunsaurus."

<Hmmm…….>

Reygus expressed a really complicated, yet subtle feeling. The beings, whom he had fought with against the world, were showing signs of madness. It really hammered home the fact that a lot of years had passed.

<In regards to that story, I'll hear the details later. What about the kids, who were beaten up?>

"They……."

After a short amount of time, Reygus heard the full story from Chanes. The light within the eye sockets couldn't hide the surprise and interest he felt.