Dragon Maken War

Chapter 228 - Father & Daughter's Choice (2)

"…he has a double standard when it comes to himself. He is truly selfish. He's afraid of the possibility of corruption within himself, yet he immediately reincarnated himself. He shoved the whole world into the brazier of war, and he was the very reason why countless people had lost their lives. He didn't deserve to make such a choice."

Niberis had been born in the Plain of Darkness, and she had been shackled by the madness of the Dragon Demon king worshippers . The Plain of Darkness had been a ground experiment for Atein. This was why she couldn't forgive Atein.

She accepted it now. The world had pointed their fingers towards the Plain of Darkness for being evil. It was well deserved.

However, Atein was the only one that didn't have the right to condemn the Plain of Darkness.

"I don't want to entrust the fate of the world to such a being. In truth, I don't know how the world will change if the freedom to act out evil is stolen from everyone. I'll have to think more deeply on the subject if I want that answer. However, I know one thing for sure."

It didn't matter what kind of world Atein wanted to make. Niberis couldn't accept it.

"I will fight him even if I lose my life to him."

Her promise was as cool and hard as an ancient boulder. Laura could feel Niberis' resolve through her words.

"…as expected, I wasn't wrong."

"What do you mean by that?"

"You'll find out soon. Saibein-nim?"

Saibein had been blankly listening to his daughter talk. He woke up from his haze, and he turned to look at Laura. Laura spoke.

"Would you excuse us, please?"

"Mmm. Alright."

When Saibein excused himself, Laura spoke.

"Niberis, there is a weapon we need if we are to resist against Atein's will."

"What do you want to say to me?"

"That is……."

Laura spoke about jer true purpose in coming to the far away Albatan forest. Niberis' face was filled with shock.

3

Larua and Arrieta stayed for an entire day before they left the Albatan forest.

After they left, Saibein sought out Niberis.

"You've already made up your mind. You are going to fight him."

"Yes."

It took 20 years for the reunion between the father and daughter to come to pass. They looked at each other with a truly complicated expression on their faces.

Niberis' current resolve to act worried Saibein the most. If he was honest with himself, he wanted to stop her. He had finally reunited his daughter again, and he couldn't stand watching her walk back into danger.

He hesitated before he spoke in a laborious manner.

"Can you not give up on this idea? He is my father, and he is absolutely out of our league. He is an absolute being that the Dragon Demon generals didn't dare to go up against. He will no longer rely on anyone to carry out his work. He plans on making his vision into reality, and anyone that opposes him will….."

"Father."

Niberis spoke in a quiet voice as she stopped Saibein from speaking.

"I loved you and mother. I still love both of you."

"……."

"If I said I understood your despair, it would be an arrogant statement. You have lived much longer than me, and you still carry many wounds you suffered during the Dragon Demon war."

Saibein had despaired for a very long time.

He despaired at the fact that others were worshipping Atein as a god. He despaired at the fact that he couldn't stop the Plain of Darkness from descending into madness. Above all else, he hadn't been able to protect his wife….

It would have been laughable if someone said they understood his feeling of pain and helplessness. He had worked desperately for couple hundred years, yet his efforts brought no results. How could he express this feeling? He had nothing left after working so hard.

"It'll be a lie if I said I don't resent you, father. As much as I missed you, I resented you an equal amount."

"……."

"However, that is no longer true. I now understand how deep and heavy your burden was. I understand your choice, and I forgive you. Despite all of this, I want to walk a different path from you."

"Niberis……."

"I know I can stay here. I'll be able to ignore what goes on in the world."

She could bury the anger she had towards Atein and his followers. She could live a peaceful life within this place. She didn't know about the distant future, but at the very least, she won't have to put her life on the line in fighting a god-like magician called Atein.

"However, my heart cannot put up with it. Even if the path I take leads to death, I do not want compromise my pride. Even if I'm alive, I won't truly be alive at that point. I won't be able to face Duran, who gave up his life for me, in the afterlife."

Saibein was at a loss for words. He had abandoned his responsibilities as a parent. While he was on the run, his daughter had grown up to be an individual that possessed a brilliant soul. It would be a lie to say that he saw his wife in his daughter. Their appearance might be a bit similar, but their personality was drastically different.

In fact, Niberis reminded him of his comrades in the Dragon Demon war.

These were people that had willingly put their lives on the line for their principles. Saibein had fought desperately for such people. He wanted them to find true happiness, yet in the end, no one had found happiness.

"I……."

Saibein raised his hand, but he hesitated. He wanted to to grasp his daughter's shoulder, but why couldn't he carry out such a simple gesture? Why was it so hard for him?

He wanted to stop his daughter.

At the same time, he couldn't stop her.

"…I'm a failure as a father. It is the same now as in the old times."

"No."

Niberis approached Saibein, who was hesitant. She hugged him.

"You stayed alive, and you waited for me. That is the reason why I was able to run away,and find a place to rest. That is enough."

Saibein felt like crying, but he desperately held back his tears.

His reddened eyes looked straight into Niberis' eyes. Her eyes were beautiful like frost gems. It was cold, yet there was a hardened resolve behind her eyes.

"I am a father with no redeemable quality, yet I want to do something for you. Please give me couple more days of your time."

"Father, I……."

"I will teach you everything I know about the Book of Darkness."

Saibein looked at her with earnest eyes as he spoke.

"Even if you don't plan on fighting my father, you need power in this world. Even if you go through intense training for the next couple days, you won't be able to dramatically increase your power. However, I'll be able to show you how to use your tools properly.

As he spoke, a new resolve became etched in Saibein's eyes.

4

Kayalia's ability to peruse the information within the Great Darkness had been taken away by Atein.

Despite this fact, she had great insight into what Atein was planning to do.

-Atein already started his work on copying the Guardian Shadows.

Why was Atein not working harder to protect the Road of Emptiness?

He needed the Dragon Demon King worshippers to sacrifice their lives. He needed time to construct the enormous magic ritual, and at the same time, he needed more of a particular resource. It was a plan where he was killing two birds with one stone.

-I'm talking about those that are connected to Great Darkness. They made their contracts, because they agreed with Atein's will. When they die, their souls will be infused into the Great Darkness, and it would generate more power for the Great Darkness. In the end, their souls will become ingredients. It will allow Atein to create a system that'll enforce his will.

It wasn't just the transcendent beings that were inside the Great Darkness. Countless souls were being incorporated into the Great Darkness. The magical energy, the thought process and memories of the Dragon Demon King worshippers were being retained by the Great Darkness as information. Even their souls became a resource that added more functionality to the Great Darkness.

Currently, Atein needed his followers to sacrifice themselves at a higher rate.

-In the short term, he needs those, who are contracted to the Great Darkness, to supply their souls. The Great Darkness will be more powerful than ever before. In the long term, Atein will start creating beings that are similar to the Guardian Shadows.

These beings will become a force that'll enforce Atein's will. In order to protect the pillars of the Great Darkness, Atein had sealed powerful monsters within the Great Darkness. It was an example of what Atein could accomplish with ample time. It was easy to imagine the terrifying result that would occur if Atein was allowed to work.

Azell opened his mouth.

"That means……."

-Ah. Wait a moment.

Kayalia interrupted him. When Azell put on a perplexed expression, she gave an explanation.

-From now on, you shouldn't tell me any crucial information in regards to your plan. Just give me orders while minimizing the information you give me. I'll just carry out your orders.

"Why?"

-Atein might find out about it.

Kayalia became restricted by Atein, but she still possessed a good amount of authority within the Great Darkness. This was why she was able to sever Niberis, Kieren and Saibein from the Great Darkness. She was also able to shield information about Reygus and herself from Atein.

-However, I cannot guarantee that my abilities are foolproof. If Atein and I are looking at each other's information at the same time, I might not be able to completely stop him from seeing my information.

Atein and Aincera could gather information through the Great Darkness.

Unlike Aincera, Atein was able to be more tactful in using the Great Darkness. He could search for the specific information he needed before viewing it. If he tried to learn everything all at once, Atein knew his mind and sense of self would be damaged.

It was dangerous to read the emotions and memories of other people. A powerful experience could unconsciously change one's personality.

-He can't immediately take in all the information like Aincera. He must qualify what he wants to learn, and he has to go through the process of finding that information. This is why his search for information takes longer, but the information he finds is much more detailed.

Aincera immediately accepted all information into herself, so she couldn't filter out the truly important information she had to learn. Atein's way was slower, but his results were more precise.

-This was also true in regards to Carlos.

"Why are you bringing up Carlos?"

Azell sounded agitated when she mentioned Carlos. Kayalia explained herself.

-Carlos was so talented that even Atein had been surprised by his use of the Great Darkness. However, even Carlos couldn't hide all of his information.

Yuren had told Azell about the arrangements left behind by Carlos. Atein had used Belrun's ability to read Carlos' information in the Great Darkness.

-However, I think Carlos intended that to happen to a certain degree. He had come up with a plan. He knew he couldn't hide all of his information. In order to protect the truly important information, he revealed everything else to Atein.

Atein and Kayalia knew that Carlos had succeeded in recreating the Extreme Extinction. However, they didn't know the exact details of the technique.

"I see. Until the end, he really..."

He was almost moved to tears as his words trailed off. Even after death, his friend had the talent to deeply move him.

-If you have any questions, you can ask me. However, you shouldn't tell me anything important. You should be careful, because you might say something important without realizing it.

"Understood. I'll be careful."

Azell's party accepted Kayalia's advice.

This was why Laura had traveled to the Albatan forest even though Kayalia had the ability to be anywhere in an instant.