novelThe Sword that Split the Heavens (7)
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Chapter 104 - The Sword that Split the Heavens (7)
The next day Laura realized almost half of her siblings were gone. The chosen received their names, and the rest were culled.
At that point, Laura had a good idea what they were doing.
The Aunsaurus tribe had come up against their limitation. Aunsaurus was one of the 4 great Dragon Demon Generals, and he was a first generation Dragon Demon. Basically, he was born without parents, and his power couldn't be compared to the normal Dragon Demons. Even if his descendants were proud of carrying his blood, there was a clear limitation to their powers.
It wasn't enough to intermarry between Dragon Demons. They needed a more surefire way to gain a talented successor.
As expected of magicians, they came up with an insane solution. If marriage between good bloodlines weren't enough, they would just add magic to artificially make talented offsprings.
This was how Laura and her siblings were born.
In truth, the word'born' was an inadequate description. Artificial wombs were created using the secret arts of Black Magic. If one didn't use such a method, it would have been impossible to gather over 100 siblings of the same age.
From the beginning, they were made to be the perfect successor of Aunsaurus. They were a product made with great care and effort. Their growth process was a period of time where their makers could check which product was defective or not.
If it ended there, it would have great. However, the Ausaurus family wanted perfection.
Even if there were no defects, they weren't satisfied. They merely wanted the one that transcended beyond all standards. In the end, they wanted a single exceptional being.
'The one that never fails will inherit his name. We don't want failures. '
The failures disappeared one by one. Laura knew what happened to them. In the initial phase, the unnamed ones were sent to the Black Magic research facility to be used as lab rats. If one had received a name, their fate was bound by Black Magic. They were forever forbidden to reveal themselves as they sacrificed their whole lives for the tribe. They became tools for battle.
In the end, the last one standing was Laura.
'Congratulations. From now on, you are Laura Aunsaurus.. '
On the day when all her siblings were gone and she was all alone, Laura became an Aunsaurus. She inherited the cursed Dragon Demon weapon called the Vitan's Chalice not too long after. Then she was officially introduced to the world through her coming of age ceremony. She had an identity in this world.
Afterwards, Laura lived in an achromatic world. No, if she thought about it, she had exited her glass cage, and she had found the world to be gray. She hated everything that had surrounded her. There was nothing of worth around her. This was true for the bloodline of Aunsaurus, and it even extended to her life, which had been manufactured for her to become the heir.
In such a world, the only thing that could move her hardened heart were her competition.
She was unbelievably jealous of Niberis, who was able to display hate and a competitive spirit towards her. From the start of her life, Niberis never had to doubt her own existence, and she had been revered by everyone around her. Niberis had everything Laura never possessed. This was why she hated and envied Niberis.
It was the same for Kieren. He grew up fighting with his numerous siblings for the honor of being the heir. This was where all the similarity ended. He was born into the world through a natural process, and he had experienced each steps of his life like a normal being. This was why Laura disliked Kieren too.
However, Kieren was competent, yet in many ways, his heart was absurdly delicate. This was why she looked at him in a slightly more favorable light.
He had everything he could want in this world, yet he ate his heart out as he looked at Niberis. Laura found the situation to be amusing and pitiful.
Still, Kieren treated Laura like a person even though she had been thoroughly molded into being a tool. She had been able to feel human-like emotions through him.
'I'll repay my debt right now, Duke Baldazark. '
Laura opened her mouth as this thought crossed her mind. She walked towards the most dazzling being she had ever seen up until now. She headed towards the being that had stirred her heart.
"Azell Zestringer. I have a proposal for you."
10
Laura dispersed her Dragon Demon weapon, and she walked towards Azell. It was as if she had a death wish. However, she had retracted her Dragon Demon weapon and her defensive magic. She was completely defenseless.
As the white hem of her skirt fluttered, the Guardian Shadows charged towards her. It didn't matter what she said. They didn't show any signs of compromise in their actions.
"Wait a moment."
Azell got in the way of the Guardian Shadows. When he swung his sword, the thunderbolt stretched out to stop the movement of the Guardian Shadows.
"In any battlefield, it isn't honorable to kill a defenseless person, who wants to talk."
「Enemy....... 」
「Have to kill... At all cost....... 」
「No forgiveness....... 」
"That's your problem. I'll decide if I want to cut her down after I hear her story. Or are you willing to fight me to see if I'm serious?"
Azell spoke with a cold voice. The Guardian Shadows became confused as they looked at Azell.
「Why....... 」
「We have to kill....... 」
「But... He....... 」
If it was anyone other than Azell, the Guardian Shadows wouldn't have hesitated to carry out their attack. However, Azell might be the one they had been waiting for. He might be the one foretold in the prophecy, so they put a brake to their actions. In the end, the Guardian Shadows whispered to each other in a heated discussion as they retreated backwards.
Azell yelled out loud.
"Everyone stop!"
His voice rang out like a lion's roar. Everyone unconsciously stopped fighting, and as if it was a lie, a silence descended on the surrounding.
In this unnatural silence, Laura's clear voice rang out.
"I'll surrender myself to you. Instead, I want you to let the rest of my group go."
"What?"
Azell was dumbfounded.
"Do you really think your proposal is reasonable? You may be from the bloodline of Aunsaurus, but this is revered only in the Plain of Darkness. Your bloodline is worthless here."
The Dragon Demon king worshippers were already defeated. Their complete destruction was only a matter of time. In such a situation, why would he let everyone else go, because Laura surrendered herself to him? The sensible move was to slaughter every Dragon Demon King worshippers.
Laura spoke.
"I am well aware of that fact. This is why I'll give you something of equal value."
"What do you have that will make me spare their foolish lives?"
"I'll give you my Dragon Demon weapon."
"...... !"
Azell, who had been making sarcastic remarks, stopped breathing from the surprise he felt. It wasn't just him. All of the Dragon Demon king worshippers were taken aback.
"Duchess Aunsaurus! What are you saying!"
Niberis and Kieren were in critical condition. The only one able to speak against her was Jeffers Almarick. He was so surprised that he didn't even maintain his guard against Leticia. He stared at Laura.
It was a really stupid move.
"I just want to kill you right now... However, I'll wait and see how this turns out. How unfortunate."
Leticia had used this opportunity to put the blade of her spear up against Almarick's neck. From Almarick's perspective, he had made a really silly mistake.
"Kook...... !"
Laura didn't pay attention to Almarick's advice as she continued to speak.
"I'll let you inherit my Dragon Demon weapon'Vitan's Chalice'. I believe that is more than enough to strike a bargain."
"Mmmm......."
Azell labored over the decision. This proposal was really beyond his imagination. He had to admit it. This expressionless Dragon Demon girl got one over him.
The Dragon Demon weapon could be transferred to another person only if the owner sincerely desires it.
It was impossible to inherit the Dragon Demon weapon by killing or threatening the owner. The Dragon Demon weapons had a form of sentience, so it could discern the true feeling of its owner. If one stole it using threats, it would provoke an unpredictable reaction from the Dragon Demon weapon.
Moreover, it wasn't a guaranteed she'll go through with the transfer even if Azell accepted her proposal. If she was willing to sacrifice her own life to kill Azell, the inheritance of the Dragon Demon weapon could...
Laura spoke.
"I want to observe from your side. Maybe, you are the one that will give us the chance to turn back the fate of the king."
"What are you talking about?"
"If you accept my proposal, I'll answer any questions you are curious about."
"Hmmm......."
"Duchess Ausaurus! Are you betraying us?"
Jeffers had heard enough. He grinded his teeth. From the perspective of a Dragon Demon King worshipper, Laura's proposal was unacceptable. This was a precious Dragon Demon weapon passed down from the Dragon Demon wars. How could she just give it away to an enemy? Moreover, she was planning to spill confidential information.
It wasn't as if Laura knew all the secrets, yet the ones she knew could be lethal to them.
All the young Dragon Demons here possessed the highest of pedigree. However, their duty was more important than their lives. Until the day their savior returns, they had to fulfill their duty even if it required the sacrifice of their lives.
Jeffers yelled out.
"Don't make me laugh! This is do or die! Fight! Everyone... Kuhk!"
He couldn't finish the sentence. Leticia unhesitatingly hit his face with the flat of her spear head. Her attack flowed like water to strike him, and Jeffers fell unconscious.
"Even if you fight to the death, there aren't many of you left. How ridiculous."
Currently, there were only 10 members of the Dragon Demon King worshippers that were in any shape to fight. If the fight started up again, they'll be slaughtered in an instant.
Leticia snorted as she spoke.
"It does make me feel a little bit better. You there. I recommend you don't take this deal. I would love to kill this bastard right now."
"... Hmmm. Now that I've heard Miss's words, I feel the need to act in a more rational manner."
"Miss?"
Leticia had on an expression as if Azell had said something very offensive. From her appearance, she did look like a young woman. However, it had been very long, since she had been called by that term.
Azell smirked as he asked her a question.
"Would you like to be called madam?"
He remember having a similar conversation before. At the time, he had been speaking to the Dragon Demon King worshipper named Regina.
Leticia answered him.
"If you want to die, you can call me that."
"What a scary Miss."
Azell shrugged his shoulder then he looked at Laura. He looked at her to read her true intentions, but he couldn't. There was no expression on Laura's face, and there were barely any emotions revealed in her eyes.
"All right. I'll accept your proposal. However, I have a condition."
"What is your condition?"
"I want you to incinerate all the dead bodies here with your hands."
"......."
At those words, the Dragon Demon King worshippers became restless. Even Laura showed signs of unrest. However, Azell was adamant.
"If I let them take the intact corpses, won't your side bring back the useful members as Undeads? I'm used to destroying beings returned from the dead, but it isn't as if I enjoy doing it."
"... all right."
Laura nodded her head slightly. Azell spoke.
"I want the survivors to be gathered, and they can run away like dogs with their tails lit on fire. I'll give you all three minutes for everyone to get out of my sight. Moreover..."
Azell looked at Kieren, who had wrapped his body around Niberis.
"If you want to say something, I want you to speak it out loud. I don't like little Dragon Demons talking in secret. This situation has deteriorated too much for me to feign ignorance. If you are recovered enough to use Whispering, you should be able to speak it out loud."
"H... How..."
Kieren was surprised. He had been secretly Whispering towards Laura, yet Azell seemed to have sensed it.
Azell spoke.
"I accepted her proposal. Guardian Shadows... Will you disagree and go against my decision?"
「We don't know....... 」
「Don't... understand....... 」
「But....... 」
「We won't stand against....... 」
In the end, the Guardian Shadows decided to give up on opposing Azell's will. Then the Dragon Demon worshippers retreated as if a fissure was about to swallow them from behind. Laura created fire as she burned every single corpse to ashes.
| ← Ch. 104 | Ch. 106 → |