EP.11
I had an inkling.
My eyes were different from others.
I could see peculiar things that ordinary humans, or any other creature, could not perceive.
That’s why I was aware.
To be precise, I could speculate because I saw.
Something dark and murky had seeped into the princess’s heart. It appeared as if a vast malevolence had been endlessly compressed and gathered together. Though it was too faint for the naked eye to confirm, it undeniably existed.
‘It must be some kind of curse.’
A particularly dreadful one at that.
The reason I didn’t mention this to the princess was simple.
She seemed to have caught on to the fact that she was cursed herself, and above all, there was nothing I could do to resolve it at the moment.
No matter how much I was Jörmungandr, my power was still predominantly reliant on my main form.
No curse, poison, or weapon could harm me, but that didn’t mean it wouldn’t affect others.
Thus, I couldn’t help the princess with her curse.
Having gnawed away at her life for years, the curse had already become a part of her.
If I recklessly attempted to remove it, she would surely not be unscathed.
Of course, it wasn’t that there was absolutely no way.
To be precise, I didn’t even know how, but it was certain that there was a way to heal her.
Several vague possibilities floated to mind.
However, none of those were actions that Jörmungandr could actively undertake.
In the end, everything depended on the princess’s choice and her will.
Moreover, I could not convey this to her.
I had a clear intuition about it.
The moment I share my speculations with the princess, I was certain it would never come to pass.
Therefore, I chose to stand by and watch.
I merely observed the fragile flower braving the tempest.
Rather than uprooting her and sheltering her within a cozy well for eternity, I wished for her to endure the chilling pain and overcome it on her own.
‘I hope she becomes aware of this.’
I fervently wished for it.
* * *
The noble hero of Asgard.
He was delivering news of the princess to the Kingdom of Trelinia before turning back once more.
To be precise, he was heading towards the battlefield that had been waging war against the Demon Realm for thousands of years, situated between the Kingdom of Trelinia and the Kingdom of Kalibargo.
And the closer he got to the Kingdom of Kalibargo, the more he sensed something was amiss.
‘…It’s too quiet.’
An oppressive silence.
This was undoubtedly a battlefield.
A place where blood sprayed endlessly and death and flesh were scattered.
Thus, silence in such a place never signaled good tidings.
In a battlefield, silence was the precursor to a new storm.
Asgard surveyed the surroundings with an aura veiling his eyes.
Even from the highest mountain, where everything was visible, nothing particularly strange could be seen.
Still, there was no one around; only the empty battlefield remained.
Thus, it felt all the more strange.
He focused and intensified the aura in his eyes.
The blood vessels in his eyes burst, tinting his vision red. Though excessive use of power made his eyes feel gritty, it was when that ominous premonition struck that he concentrated harder, searching for something.
“…!!”
He saw it.
Amidst the serene mountain range, an uncanny black flow was present.
The hero began to trace back that bizarre magical flow.
And then, he saw.
“Wha— what is that…?”
Endlessly sprawling along the mountain range was the army of demon beasts and humans.
And its destination was unmistakably…
“…”
The hero began to track the army.
* * *
Kal Rediams.
Standing at the center of the army comprised of tens of thousands of demon beasts and humans, he wore a satisfied smile.
“Hmm, splendid.”
An army of such unimaginable scale was fully under his control. This fact brought Kal Rediams immense joy.
Tens of thousands strong, each possessing enough power to annihilate an ordinary village, and moreover, they were veterans who had repeatedly crossed the front lines.
Even a dragon would find it impossible to break through this force.
Kal Rediams imagined the scene where the Kingdom of Trelinia would submit to him, and he grinned widely.
It was not far off.
Until his kingdom became the sun rising over this continent.
“All units, halt!!”
A voice echoed across the battlefield.
Before them lay a massive cave.
A gigantic cave large enough to accommodate hundreds of people.
In front of it, Kal Rediams curled the corners of his mouth.
“Is the intel certain?”
[Yes, the princess is inside.]
“Everyone, deploy… no, it’s best if the princess comes out herself.”
As Kal Rediams saw the form of the approaching presence gradually revealed, he smirked.
“Was the princess that precious? Courageously stepping forward as a sacrifice, huh…?”
——Ssss.
At first, it was not very large.
He merely thought it to be the size of an ordinary demon beast.
But as it continued to press forward, its obsidian-like scales began to show, its colossal body unveiled, and with fierce eyes, it completely emerged.
-…….
The battlefield was filled with a suffocating silence.
That being was blocking out the sky.
Growing endlessly, it seemed to claim the sky as its own, puffing its enormous body as if it were the true master of this vast mountain range, looking down at the pitiful insects below.
Kal Rediams’s complexion turned pale.
“Wha— what is that…?”
That… is a dragon?
It was unthinkable.
There couldn’t possibly exist a creature of that size.
So then… what was that being?
The piercingly cold blue eyes turned towards him.
At the moment he met those eyes, his entire body became rigid.
He had been a veteran who had rolled through battlefields for decades. Therefore, he was accustomed to receiving murderous intent from others. In fact, the more murderous intent he faced, the more it excited him.
But…
Before that overwhelming presence.
Before the divine gaze that looked down upon everything.
Even he could not muster the courage to speak.
[It’s you.]
A rumble echoed as if the earth itself was boiling.
That chilling resonance shook the ground violently. Dark clouds began to gather in the sky, and bolts of lightning fell from the dry heavens, igniting their army, while a colossal storm swept over them.
In the now pitch-black sky, only the chillingly bright blue eyes floated like a moon, gazing down at them.
Finally, when those eyes were filled with rage…
“Ah, aaahhh…!!”
A soldier, who had remained still, screamed in terror.
All the demon creatures, demon beasts, humans, and mages who had been watching him fell silent.
At the same time, they collapsed, moaning in pain.
Their levels, their consciousness, and their very minds couldn’t contain that colossal existence, threatening to burst from the pressure.
Kal Rediams was no different.
“W-what is that…! What the hell is that…!!!”
Blood flowed from his eyes.
Just facing that presence had frozen his muscles, rendering him paralyzed.
It felt as though every single cell was dying from sheer terror.
He bit down hard, causing his teeth to shatter and blood to spill, but he didn’t even have the capacity to feel the pain. His body was utterly overwhelmed by that dragon.
There was no way such a thing could exist.
Such a being could not possibly be real.
Such a creature could not be a dragon.
Its very existence was a catastrophe.
An overwhelming natural disaster that mere insects known as humans could not hope to withstand.
The earth trembled.
A colossal volcano erupted, raining ash into the sky, while tsunamis came crashing in to sweep away the soldiers, and bolts of lightning filled the sky, blinding them.
This was not a fight.
It was divine retribution.
Yes, divine retribution.
It was the greatest punishment from the heavens for arrogant humans, a sin they could not escape.
Ah, aaaah…
Kal Rediams’s mind, his ego, his very thoughts began to slowly dissolve.
Before that overwhelming presence, it felt as if all his sanity was melting away.
And then, in that moment…
[Stop.]
A low rumble echoed.
It was not the voice of the dragon.
It was as if a dark, formless liquid was boiling over, a sound akin to glass being smattered with iron, a symphony of life and flesh singing of death.
That was the sound.
[Stop, Dragon.]
The blue eyes turned towards the demon race.
But he, unperturbed, revealed his fangs and grinned.
A certain shape reflected in his grasp.
The figure of Eliserde, clutching her heart, writhing in agony on the ground.
[……!!]
The eyes of Jörmungandr flickered.
The demon race did not miss that moment.
[Embark on the spell!!]
A voice carrying thunderous magic resonated.
Those who had been overtaken by panic suddenly regained their senses and began launching spells at Jörmungandr.
More precisely, sealing magic at the cost of their lifespans.
Chains made from horrifically evil energy were hurled towards Jörmungandr.
Dozens, hundreds, thousands of chains.
Every magician who cast those chains withered away in an instant, leaving nothing but blackened skeletons behind.
A sealing magic that demanded the lifetimes and souls of its users.
Even for Jörmungandr, this was not magic to be dismissed lightly.
Of course, it was not significant enough to withstand it.
These chains were weak enough to be broken with a single struggle.
[Stay still.]
The black curse unfurled in the demon’s grasp.
Realizing who it was connected to, Jörmungandr quietly allowed its body to be bound by the chains.
———Kuuuuung!!
The massive body crashed to the ground.
Before those piercing blue eyes that glared at him as if ready to kill, the demon grinned.
[You possess humanity.]
That will be your only weakness.
To be continued…
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