novelThose who Follow the Prophecy (1)
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Chapter 62 - Those who Follow the Prophecy (1)
1
The Plain of Darkness was located north of the continent.
There was a magical barrier placed there that prevented humans from getting close. Even in the past, it was place of brutal coldness. There were dragons who weren't friendly to humans that lived here. The place was overflowing with monsters. On top of that, after the Dragon Demon King worshippers were defeated by the humans, they had also settled in the Plains of Darkness. Everyone knew this location was the nexus of evil yet no one was able to mount an attack against this place.
For the Dragon Demon worshippers, this place was basically their holy land.
Niberis had returned to such a place.
"This place......."
Regina couldn't help but feel surprised after she arrived at the Field of Darkness.
She had gone through the process of coming to the the northern end of the continent. It was a place where human feet had never treaded. It was completely different from what she had imagined.
If they had traveled here by normal means, they would have had to travel an incredibly long and treacherous road from the Rulain Kingdom to this place. However, they were able to significantly cut down on the travel time.
"So this place is the Plain of Darkness...."
Regina's emotional eyes took in the surrounding.
There was a circular structure made out of metal behind her. It was decorated with magical adornments. The circular structure was slowly rotating, filled with darkness that made it look like a bottomless pit.
This was a great magical artifact left behind by the Dragon Demon King Atein. It was called'the Road of Emptiness. '
They had used this to jump several thousand kilometers in an instant. It was an artifact no one in this era could replicate. It was the reason why the beings that called the Field of Darkness their base was able to travel to various places on the continent. It was their secret.
Niberis spoke.
"Think of this as an honor. Usually, a minor being like you isn't allowed on this land."
"Yes."
Regina looked around her surrounding. There was a majestic castle made out of cold bricks in front of her. During the Dragon Demon war, it was a place built by the Dragon Demon King as a fallback position. It was secret base named the Dragon Demon castle. It had been over 200 years since it was built, but it was still in perfect shape.
When Niberis and Regina exited the room where the Road of Emptiness was installed, someone was blocking their path.
"You've returned safely, Niberis."
He was a young man of the Dragon Demon race with gorgeous blonde hair. His two horns curved backwards. It looked as if his horns had been carved out of ice, and the color had been seeped in afterwards. The dark green color of the horns was the same as his eyes. Also, a bright gem on the back of his hand was letting out light. The Dragon Demon Stone also held the same color as his eyes.
Niberis looked at him with cold eyes.
"You worried over nothing. Did you perhaps think I would be killed by the enemy?"
"No, I just... My intentions are pure. I was just worried about you. I heard this mission was very dangerous."
"Kieren. I thought you received the same mission as me? How did it go on your end?"
"My target wasn't a member of the royal family."
"Whatever."
"Mmm. So... I did succeed."
The youth of the Dragon Demon race called Kieren avoided her gaze as he spoke. Niberis' endlessly cold attitude made the young man uncomfortable.
His answer made Niberis eyes grow colder.
"I guess I should congratulate you. Could you get out of my way now? Unlike a talented man like you, I am incompetent. I have to tell the queen of my failure."
"Niberis."
"Get out of my way."
"Mmm. All right. I know you are tired. I'm sorry for bothering you right after you've returned."
Kieren got out of the way as he felt sorry for himself. Niberis' cold attitude brushed by him. Regina peeked a glance at him, then followed after Niberis.
'What's the relationship between those two?'
The organizations of the Dragon Demon King worshippers were moving all the time, so Regina didn't know much about her superiors. The Plain of Darkness was bestowed as a holy land by Dragon Demon King Atein, and everyone who lived here ruled at the top of the organizations. They were the backbone of the Dragon Demon Worshippers.
Regina only knew Niberis was an important person from the Plain of Darkness. She had no further information regarding her. Regina wondered what kind of power structure existed here.
"Regina."
Niberis, who had been in front of her, called out her name. Regina instantly broke out of her thoughts and she answered Niberis.
"Yes."
"Follow this servant to my accommodation, and stay there."
Niberis had already called for a servant. He looked like a normal servant from a noble's household. Regina looked at the human servant and she was shocked once again.
"What is miss going to do?"
"I'll have to go see my grandmother. I'll be back by dinner. If I'm going to be late, I'll send you a message."
"Understood."
When Niberis walked to the end of the hall, the human servant tried to guide Regina away. However, Kieren was already there next to the servant.
"I'll be borrowing this person for a moment. You go do your chores."
The servant immediately obeyed his words. Regina looked at him with a shocked expression.
Kieren spoke.
"What's your name?"
"My name is Regina. I'm affiliated with the Dragon's Shadow."
"Dragon's Shadow? Mmmm... It seems it is one of the lower organizations Are you working directly under Niberis?"
"I'm sorry, but I do not know. When miss came to the Rulain Kingdom, I was just ordered to help her...."
"Well, we keep everything as need to know basis for the lower organizations. Then I guess you don't know much about this place."
"I know nothing except that this place called the Plains of Darkness, and it is considered to be our holy land."
"Hmmm. You weren't born here, and the information restriction hasn't been lifted yet. So you shouldn't have the qualification to be here... No, Niberis brought you here so there must another reason."
Kieren mumbled as he introduced himself.
"I'm Kieren Baldazark."
Regina was surprised by his words.
Baldazark.
He was one of the 4 Dragon Demon Generals, who had served under the Dragon Demon King Atein.
'The Blood shed by a star' Baldazark.
'The Hammer that swallowed the scream of the land' Reygus.
'The Sword that parts a storm' Almarick.
'The Goblet containing the heaven's tears' Aunsaurus.
They were of the Dragon Demon race, and each of them had the strength of a thousand men. They had made their enemies quake just by stepping onto the battlefield. The Dragon Demon race was known for the outstanding power they were born with, but there were those who were exceptional even amongst the Dragon Demon race. Moreover, these four beings had been acknowledged by the Dragon Demon King. Their strength was at an earth-shattering level.
Kieren spoke.
"You are thinking about the right Baldazark. I'm a direct descendent of Duke Baldazark."
"Of course."
This meant he was on a different level as the Dragon Demon worshippers. He possessed a noble background. Cold sweat started running down Regina's body. Kieren spoke softly to her.
"You don't have to be afraid of me. Since Niberis brought you here, I have no thoughts of harming you. I just want to listen to your story."
"Which story do you want to hear?"
"I heard a report saying you were with Niberis all this time... Yes. I want to know exactly how she failed. I would like you to give a more detailed account."
2
At that time, Niberis arrived at the center of the Dragon Demon castle.
This place had been built as a safe haven for the Dragon Demon King Atein, so a throne had been built in this place. The throne remained empty for his eventual return. The audience chamber ended and a split hallway appeared. At the end of the hallway, the room of the queen who had mingled her body with the Dragon Demon King existed. It was the living space for the queen, who had borne his children.
The room was sunken in darkness.
There were windows in the room with curtains that hadn't been drawn. The sun was still in the sky outside, yet this room was ruled by pitch black darkness. In the middle of all of this, a woman was buried in the cushion of a large chair, and she had her eyes. closed.
Like Niberis, she had long black hair and was a woman of the Dragon Demon race. She had an aura of calmness and elegance. In terms of human criteria, she looked to be around early to mid 30s. The horn above her ears were black and her Dragon Demon Stone was the color of gold.
"I'm back, grandmother."
She was Niberis' grandmother, and she also held the highest position in the Plain of Darkness.
She was the Dragon Demon King Atein's first wife, Aincera.
This was the reason why Niberis was treated like a treasure. She was a direct descendent of the Dragon Demon King Atein.
Aincera opened her eyes at Niberis' greeting. She had golden eyes, which was the same color as her Dragon Demon Stone. At the same time, the darkness surrounding her disappeared and the natural light filtered in.
"Niberis. You came back unharmed. I'm happy."
Unlike the content of her words, her expression was cold. However, it wasn't as if she was intentionally putting on a cold expression. Her face was like a finely made sculpture and her face didn't show any emotions.
Niberis lowered her head.
"I'm embarrassed. I failed to carry out my mission."
"Don't blame yourself. We gave you too dangerous of a mission when we knew you were short on experience in the first place. The reason for this result is our lack of preparation."
"But... Kieren succeeded."
"Kieren's mission was not as difficult as your mission. Moreover, Kieren has much more experience carrying out missions compared to you. He also tasted plenty of defeat. You shouldn't feel a sense of inferiority over this."
"......."
"It is good that you have the desire to improve yourself. However, if you get fixated on a small mistake that occurred in the past, you will lose your future. You should never forget this point."
"... I understand."
"I want to ask you one thing. I'll get the detailed report from you later... I have something I have to confirm with you before all of that."
"What is it?"
"I heard a human with the name seeped in sin had interfered with you."
Niberis bit her lips at those words. When she thought about Azell's face, she felt humiliation surge up inside her.
Aincera asked her a question.
"Did that person perhaps possess the Dragon Demon Qi?"
"Dragon Demon Qi? How can that be?"
Niberis was taken aback. No human in this era possessed Dragon Demon Qi. The Field of Darkness had used all their resources to eliminate those who had Dragon Demon Qi. Then they had cut off any information regarding it from being passed on.
Aincera asked her a question.
"Are you sure?"
"I'm sure. If that man did have the Dragon Demon Qi, why didn't he use it when his life was in danger? Moreover, if he did possess it, I couldn't guarantee that I would have come back here alive."
"Hmmm......."
What she said was true. Niberis had great confidence in her talent and strength, but Aincera had hammered into her the fear of the Dragon Demon Qi. Moreover, Niberis had also experienced it. They had erased the existence of the Dragon Demon Qi from the world, but it existed in the Plain of Darkness.
Niberis spoke.
"However, the man with the name seeped in sin had knowledge of the secret arts, and he knew about the Dragon Slayer's ritual."
"He knew about the Dragon Slayer's ritual? Really?"
There was a change of expression on Aincera's statuesque face. There was a slight expression of surprise on her face as she waited for Niberis' answer.
"Yes. Moreover, I suspect he had killed a dragon through the Dragon Slayer's ritual."
"Such an event had happened...."
Aincera's expression became serious.
He knew about the Dragon Slayer's ritual.
That fact in itself was shocking. However, he had also killed a dragon through the Dragon Slayer's ritual?
Niberis spoke.
"Of course, this is all a conjecture. The eyes were missing from the dragon's corpse, so I think there is a high chance that the Dragon Slayer's ritual had been carried out. However... There are too many holes in that conjecture."
"Why do you say that?"
"The man with the name seeped in sin wasn't strong enough to defeat a dragon by himself."
Niberis still didn't have the answer to this question. What method did Azell use to kill the dragon?
Aincera calmly listened to Niberis' explanation.
"His magic was weak and he didn't possess any Dragon Demon Qi. Yet he knew about the Dragon Slayer's ritual and he had carried it out... It is a set of circumstances that we can't ignore."
"I believe we need to keep an eye on him from now on."
"All right. I'll arrange it myself."
"Grandmother. Please let me..."
"No."
Aincera spoke in a small voice, but Niberis' body shook as if she had been whipped.
Niberis had failed, because of Azell. She wanted her revenge. This was why she wanted to volunteer herself for this job. However, Aincera expressed her disapproval before Niberis could speak.
"You've already been exposed to the Dragon Sword Duke. You will have to lay low for a while. I'll allow the release of a new magic manuscript, so you should behave yourself and learn the magic."
"... Yes."
Aincera had made her resolute intentions known, so Niberis didn't dare to push any further on this issue. Aincera closed her eyes again, then spoke as she called the darkness back.
"You can go now."
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