Chapter: 54
After handing the rough blueprint of the afterlife to Talos and shoving off the expansion work—Talos’s expression looked incredibly sad for some reason, but that must just be my imagination. When do golems even have expressions?—I watched over the dragons, the Life Givers.
It seemed they were quite bored in their corners, as a fair number of dragons had gathered, which was quite the spectacle.
“Eeeek?! Creator Dragon God?! Why, Creator Dragon God?!”
“Lord! This isn’t what you said!! You said the Creator Dragon God wasn’t here!!! I have to get out of here!!!”
“O noble Creator Dragon God. Please look upon us with your merciful heart. O noble Creator Dragon God. Please look upon us with your merciful heart. O noble Creator Dragon God. Please look upon us with your merciful heart.”
Ha-ha-ha. What a mess.
The only thing I could say while watching this chaos was,
“Do not be afraid.”
A perfectly un-reassuring statement.
“I know what you’re afraid of, but my being here isn’t for that reason. I just came to ensure that what you’re trying to do goes smoothly.”
I looked around at the gathered dragons and said,
“So do what you gotta do.”
The Dragon Lord, seemingly in agreement, chimed in:
“As the Creator Dragon God has said, we must do what we need to do. We don’t want to waste our lives napping in dark caves where sunlight doesn’t reach anymore!”
“That sounds kind of nice, though!”
“Shut that guy up!!”
Ignoring the clueless dragon who was getting a tail-whipping from the surrounding dragons, the Dragon Lord continued.
“If we do this task well, the Creator Dragon God will no longer yank us out of our bodies and turn us into spirits! Thus, we’ll gain freedom!”
No, I’m not going to do that. This guy… He knows I don’t get mad about that anymore and is using it to control the dragons…
“From this day forward, we will be called the Life Givers, and the Creator Dragon God will assign us with caring for the many lives in this world! We will become the workers who freely roam the world, nurturing the tree of life according to the will of the Creator Dragon God!”
The task I gave the Lord was merely to neutralize the malice rising from the ground, but why is the conversation going this way?
This guy… is sneakily expanding the scope of their assigned tasks…!
What’s the intention? He can’t actually have a weird hobby of increasing his workload!
“Now, O Creator Dragon God. Those who will follow your will have gathered, so please say something to them.”
Huh? Suddenly turning the attention to me?
I’m not sure what he’s hoping for, but… might as well play along.
“I’ll be cheering you on, so do your best.”
And at that moment, the roars of numerous dragons filled the world.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
“So, what’s the scheme?”
“Scheme?”
The Dragon Lord, polymorphed into a human, smiled calmly and said,
“I just wanted to offer a different choice to my kin who are inclined to do nothing.”
“There was no need to involve me in that.”
“No, it was absolutely necessary.”
The Dragon Lord continued in a light tone,
“The last era of dragons. The scene the Creator Dragon God showed… became a heavy burden for the surviving dragons. The sight of countless dragons losing their bodies and becoming spirits at your mere gesture… just thinking about it gives me the shivers.”
I thought that was a bit much, but… it was what they had wanted.
Even knowing the outcome, I had still complied.
“If it’s like that, what about the other dragons? They would probably think that if they fall slightly out of your favor, they’ll end up like those spirits.”
“I said I won’t do that anymore.”
“Even if you say so, it won’t resonate the same way with the other dragons. In such a situation… Ta-da! A new task has emerged.”
“A new task…”
It must refer to the job named Life Givers.
“A task directed by the Creator Dragon God, named by you, and backed by you. By doing this job… the dragons will gain a slight belief that they won’t be abandoned by you.”
“I wouldn’t abandon them in the first place.”
“Even if you say that… it’s different for the other dragons.”
Are you telling me the dragons were too scared to come out of their corners because of me?
Hmm… I might have gone a bit hard on them back then…
“Anyway, now the dragons will start moving, so I hope you continue cheering for them. If you do, all the dragons will move like your limbs.”
We will rely entirely on your kindness!
At those words, I nodded slightly.
Indeed, there wouldn’t be a creature stronger than dragons on this land. Their usefulness would be unparalleled.
Though, I’d have to worry about the balance of the world collapsing due to their overwhelming strength.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Thus, the dragons began to neutralize the land overflowing with malice… the land known as the Dragon’s Tomb, using their life force.
The dragons, who significantly boosted their life force with magic, set about washing away the malice with it.
While observing the dragons, I researched the condensed malice and also created a spring that would help restore the life force of dragons who overused it.
A spring where the water could be drunk or splashed on, proving quite effective. This spring was very helpful to the dragons who had drained too much life force.
But then, they quickly built structures around the spring and ended up making a pretty grand temple… what’s that about?
What’s more, they even offered me the best room in that temple. I’m a bit grateful, but I’m not sure this is necessary…
Well, I guess it’s not something I should be worrying about.
While conducting various research and observing the dragons’ work, the Dragon Lord, looking frantic, burst into my room.
“Creator Dragon God, the dark spirits are gathering.”
“The dark spirits?”
“Yes. I’ve heard there are so many they’re practically countless. One of the dark spirits claimed they were doing the task you assigned…”
At the Dragon Lord’s words, I nodded slightly. It seems they actually followed my orders to gather as many dark spirits as possible.
“So many? It seems they’ve properly carried out the task I assigned.”
It’s nice to have extra hands on deck, so they seem to have brought in a lot.
“Where are these dark spirits?”
“I’ll guide you.”
Following the Dragon Lord, I made my way to the Dragon’s Tomb.
“Creator Dragon God, we have completed the task you assigned. Please give us your next command.”
I was met with the sight of numerous dark spirits, including Shades, gathered together.
Now this is quite the show. The land has completely been engulfed in darkness.
“It’s truly amazing. The malice can’t even get close to the dark spirits.”
“I’m curious if it’s the same for other spirits, but for now, we need to prioritize what we have to do.”
I approached the largest spirit in front, Shade, and said,
“You’ve gathered quite a lot. Do you know how many there are?”
“We’ve gathered so many that counting would be meaningless. We hope our efforts will aid the Creator Dragon God.”
Shade spoke politely. I looked at Shade and smiled slightly.
“The place you’ll be working is still under preparation, so there’s nothing for you to do right now… Hmm. For now, it might be good to learn how to transport souls.”
“Transporting souls?”
“Yeah. The task I’ll assign you involves bringing in the souls of the dead.”
Right now, I don’t have any souls to demonstrate how it’s done, but I’ll have to teach them once I collect some.
Ah, right.
“And for you, as the representative of the dark spirits assigned to the tasks, I have a gift.”
“A gift? I am truly honored.”
I pulled out an item made from condensed malice.
A large scythe, entirely black, from blade to handle.
Well, if you’re a reaper, you’ll need a scythe!
“This is….”
“It’s a scythe made from materialized condensed malice. It’s a weapon crafted for you, the leader of the dark spirits who transport souls.”
I handed the large scythe to Shade, who carefully accepted it.
As expected. A scythe that could be dangerous for other creatures doesn’t seem to affect Shade at all.
That said, it fits them perfectly, just as I imagined.
And I have one more gift.
“I will now give you a new name. You, the leader of those who transport the souls of the dead, will henceforth be known as Thanatos.”
The god of death from Greek mythology. That’s what I’m naming him.
“Thanatos… my new name.”
“Yep. I look forward to working with you, Thanatos.”
The dark spirit, previously known as Shade, now carrying the name Thanatos, bowed deeply towards me, appearing quite touched.
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