novelTo the Land of the Demons (4)
| ← Ch.113 | Ch.115 → |
Chapter 113 - To the Land of the Demons (4)
5
No one could comprehend Azell's actions. However, Azell didn't explain himself. The only one, who could question Azell's choices, was Kairen. However, he decided not to ask Azell anything. Many parts of Azell was a mystery to Kairen, but it seemed he had decided to just observe Azell.
Kairen asked a question.
"So... Where do you plan on going next?"
After Azell came to the County of Karzark, he never spoke about his future plans. His head had been filled with the idea of reaching this place.
"I'm not sure. I might......."
Azell did have a plan in mind. After he woke up in this era, he always thought about what he should do. Two hundred twenty years had passed, and he wanted to find a survivor. He wanted someone, who he could talk to about the old days. He didn't want to find such a being, because he wanted to fill the emptiness caused by his longing. There must be someone out there that could fill in the blank that had been caused by his sleep. Moreover, he needed allies, who were like himself. He needed beings, who would fight alongside him.
Unfortunately, the only survivors he confirmed were his enemies. He even checked with Kairen. No one, who went through the Dragon Demon war, was still alive on his side. He even read official accounts that confirmed the deaths of all the Dragon Demons from that time.
Their deaths couldn't be solely blamed on time. The Dragon Demon King worshippers might have made sure that they didn't survive. Anyways, Azell only had one hope he could cling to.
"I'm going to the Albatan Forest."
"Mmm? Perhaps... Are you talking about the land of the demons on the east of the continent?"
Kairen asked in surprise.
Land of Demons Albatan Forest.
This was before the fracture of the Nadick Empire. This storied land of the Demons rebuffed any attempt of human invasion. Numerous Dragons took residence in this land a long time ago, and even at the height of the Nadick Empire, they didn't dare to make this place their territory.
Azell nodded her head.
"Yes."
"Why are you going to such a faraway location? Moreover, the only information known about that place is the fact that it is dangerous and the place is full of Dragons...."
"I'm going to go meet a Dragon."
"Mmm?"
Kairen's eyebrows rose. It wasn't just him. Everyone looked as if they couldn't understand Azell's decision. Laura asked a question.
"If you plan on doing the Dragon Slayer's ritual, you don't have to go there. There are plenty of Dragons elsewhere."
"That isn't it. Actually, I might as well do the Dragon Slayer's Ritual, since I'm visiting there."
"... you might as well?"
Laura was dumbfounded. Even in the Plain of Darkness, the Dragon Slayer's Ritual was only performed by those accomplished in terms of skills and achievements within the organization. It was an honorable tribulation where one had to put one's life on the line. She knew Azell challenged and won in the Dragon Slayer's Ritual. However, she never expected him to speak so lightly of the ritual.
Azell asked her a question.
"How much does the Plain of Darkness know about the Albatan Forest?"
"We don't have a lot of information about that place. We know there are Dragons there, and there's a group there, who worship the Dragons."
"There are those who worships the Dragons? What do you mean?"
The one to pose the questions was Kairen. Laura answered him.
"We don't know anything definite. However, they were very strong, so we couldn't be rash in acting against them."
"So you are basically saying there is another organization aside from the Dragon Demon King worshippers and Guardian Shadows that resides in the shadow of the world? Aren't there also other secret societies and groups of Black Magicians that aren't affiliated with you guys?"
"There are a lot of them. However, we do use some of them."
Azell was astute enough to pick out what Laura had omitted.
"Is this how you guys are able to operate without revealing yourselves as Dragon Demon King worshippers? Or are you guys trying to take advantage of the fact that Guardian Shadows don't intervene unless the Dragon Demon King Worshippers involves themselves?"
"Yes. Moreover... It is an attempt to obfuscate the eyes of the humans."
"I see."
The Dragon Demon king worshippers would have to be eradicated even in human society. The deep wounds had been created in the Dragon Demon war, and while 200 years had passed, the wounds hadn't healed yet. This was also why the Dragon Demon king worshippers had worked hard to hide their existence even when there weren't in any danger from the Guardian Shadows.
Kairen asked a question.
"What do you mean by you are going to meet a Dragon?"
Kairen was having a trouble comprehend what was going on. Azell was speaking as if he was going to go see an acquaintance. However, the only reason Azell had to seek out a Dragon was to conduct a Dragon Slayer's Ritual.
Azell spoke.
"You already know why Dragons conducts the Dragon Slayer's Ritual."
"If the Dragon wins, it can gain wisdom from the humans."
"In the past, a lot of humans and Dragon Majins conducted the Dragon Slayer's Ritual. There were people like me, who were able to take the power of the Dragons, to become much stronger. However, there were also losers, who had to give up their wisdom."
"What are you trying to say?"
"What if... On this world, what if there were Dragons, who were able to win numerous Dragon Slayer's Ritual? What would have happened to those Dragons, who achieved their ultimate wish?"
"... the Dragon's wish is to gain wisdom. Are you saying a wise Dragon resides in the Albatan Forest?"
Kairen asked the question, and his expression indicated that he was having hard time believing the story.
Azell grinned.
"The ruler of the Albatan Forest is the only Dragon I know, who had freed itself from the Dragon Slayer's Ritual. This particular Dragon had gained the wisdom it had wanted, so it has no reason to carry out the Dragon Slayer's Ritual."
The name of the Dragon known by Azell was Albatan. It was a Dragon, who had freed itself from its own fate.
6
After leaving the County of Karzark, they immediately headed east. Kairen grumbled.
"We left one land of the Demons to go to another land of the Demons. I feel like an explorer, who seeks out land of the Demons."
"Events somehow turned out like this."
"Are you perhaps going to another land of the Demons after the Albatan Forest?"
"They do sound like attractive destinations to visit. I'll take it into consideration. The continent is large and there are a lot of land of demons."
They bantered with each other as the party started moving at an astonishing speed.
When they were trying to find a suitable place for a lunchbreak, Laura asked a question. She sounded fed up.
"Do you guys always travel at this speed?"
"Before you guys joined us, we traveled much faster."
The party had been traveling for four hours, and they were traveling in a straight line at 60 km/h. It didn't matter what the terrain was like. They were traveling at a surprising speed, but while they were coming to the County of Karzark, Azell and Kairen had traveled at 300 km/h. Basically, they were travelling at a very leisurely speed right now.
Yuren looked as if he couldn't believe that statement.
"... you traveled faster than this? That sounds preposterous."
Yuren was a magician, so he was able to use Flight magic. He wasn't affected too much by the terrain. It wasn't as if the terrain had no effect on him. If one flew higher, one needed more skill, and the magical energy was consumed at a faster rate.
He had bee flying over mountains, lakes, forests and plains for the past four hours. They were traveling in a straight line to their destination at 60 km/h. It was pushing Yuren to his limit. His magical reserve was being squeezed dry, and it made him wonder if he was better off running on the ground. He was so tired that he didn't think he could travel any more.
However, they were actually travelling at a slow pace?
Kairen spoke in a nonchalant manner.
"We are just matching your speed. Do you realize how far the Albatan Forest is?"
"... are you perhaps thinking about running all the way towards the Albatan Forest? You are going to run from the midwest of the continent to the eastern portion of the continent?"
"What other method is there? If you are suggesting we ride horses, it is a nonstarter. Horses are too slow."
"......."
"If you can't even keep up with this pace, we can go our separate ways. I'll just drag Laura along."
Laura was having a much easier time keeping up with them compared to Yuren. Azell still had a shunt in her energy pulse, but he allowed her to use her magical energy. He could monitor her in real time, so he could seal her magical energy at any time.
Laura spoke when she heard Kairen's words.
"I've seen files that said the Dragon Sword Duke transcends common sense... You are amazing."
"Does the Plain of Darkness really view me like that? What else do they say about me?"
"You are know as someone, who hasn't learned the forgotten secret techniques. However, you were known as someone with abundant power, so if possible, we were instructed to avoid you."
Before he met Azell, Kairen hadn't been able to learn any secret techniques. However, he was someone that was still feared by the Dragon Demon King worshippers. He may be a blank slate in terms of skills learned, but he had developed his powerful Dragon Demon magic to the extremes. Moreover, he had been able to make the Dragon Sword through his own research. He was able to reach a frightening level by combining his technical sense of manipulating the Dragon Demon magic and his fearsome battle capabilities.
Kairen grinned.
"I see. It is an old assessment of me, but I'll take it as a compliment."
After meeting Azell, Kairen now knew secret techniques. His overall fighting power was much higher than before.
Even Azell remarked in admiration at how fast Kairen was able to learn techniques. He had been a master for over 100 years, but he was able to absorb Azell's teaching as if he was a young man in his growth phase. He was growing at a very rapid pace.
Laura spoke.
"Our agents couldn't track you, so we thought you had some kind of high speed transportation device. However, you were moving in such a primitive way...."
The Guardian Shadows were a big mystery to those in the Plain of Darkness. Therefore, whenever they didn't understand something about the Guardian Shadows, they assumed that the Guardian Shadows were using some special method. When it looked as if Kairen was using some kind of abnormal travel ability to move around the continent, they were suspicious as to whether the Guardian Shadows had a mode of transportation similar to the 'Road of Emptiness'.
Kairen asked in puzzlement.
"... Road of Emptiness?"
"It is a legacy left behind the king."
Laura described the Road of Emptiness. Kairen was astonished.
"You are able to jump space to get to various locations on the continent. Such ridiculous magical device exists? So this the reason why you guys are so elusive."
"Is it nearby?"
Azell, who had been listening silently, suddenly intruded into the conversation.
Laura tilted her head in puzzlement.
"I'll have to look at a map. Why?"
"We'll have to modify our course. While we are heading towards the Albatan Forest, we'll attack as many waystations connected to the 'Road of Emptiness. '"
"......."
At those words, Laura's eyes turned round. She never expected him to attack these locations as soon as he heard about it.
Laura spoke.
"It would be pointless in eliminating all the troops guarding the Road of Emptiness. It can't be used by outsiders."
"That is unfortunate. However, I think it'll be worth it to just destroy it."
"You should refrain from doing so."
Yuren butted in. When Azell looked at him, he spoke.
"The Road of Emptiness is a legacy that is controlled through the Great Darkness residing with Queen Aincera. The mere act of approaching it would alert Aincera of your existence. This is the reason why Leticia and I never attacked the few waystations we were aware of."
"Mmm..."
Azell furrowed his brows. If it is as Yuren described, he had to weigh the benefit of suppressing the enemy's transcendent mobility against exposing his location to his enemies.
In the end, which would be more beneficial?
'I have to think this through. '
The threat level of the Road of Emptiness was too high to leave it alone. The fact that they could exchange information in real-time was a overwhelming advantage. Moreover, it also allowed the transport of people... This device did not exist in the era of the Dragon Demon war.
'Mmm? Wait a moment. '
It meant Atein had finished creating this legacy before he died. So why hadn't he used this in the Dragon Demon war?
When he asked about this point, Laura answered.
"Only a limited number of people can travel through it."
The Road of Emptiness had limited fixed destinations it can travel to, and it was impossible to move a large number of troops through it. This was why they formed attack organizations across the continent. The officers were the only ones that would be able to use the Road of Emptiness.
Azell accepted the explanation.
"I see. I'm glad there are such limitations to the device. It wasn't probably known during the Dragon Demon war, but they probably used it to transport small amount of troops.
"What should we do?"
At Kairen's question, Azell thought about it for a bit before he made a decision.
"We'll give up on my idea. If we could use it, it'll be worth attacking the waystations even if we overextend ourselves. Since we can't use it, it would be better for us to operate under the radar for a while."
"It would be great if we can alert the Guardian Shadows to attack the waystation in my kingdom...."
"That I can agree with. Is that possible?"
"... mmm. In truth, it might be impossible to arrange it right now."
They had already crossed two borders, so it would be difficult to get a message to the Rulain Kingdom. They could enlist the Guardian Shadows, but it was uncertain if they would deliver the message.
Azell felt regret at the missed opportunity.
"That is too bad. If we could use it, we could immediately infiltrate the Plain of Darkness...."
Larua was surprised by his words.
"Even you will get killed trying to pull that off."
"I guess so."
Azell passively accepted her assessment. The core forces of the Dragon Demon King worshippers were all gathered at the Plain of Darkness. It wouldn't be easy to take all of them down.
"Still, we have to do something. We have to stop the Revival Ritual before Atein is able to revive."
"......."
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"I'm really curious as to who you really are."
"You can continue to be curious until you figure out the answer."
"Meanie."
Laura's lips made a small pout.
| ← Ch. 113 | Ch. 115 → |