EP.15
Kellypak stared blankly at his surroundings.
…What happened?
He was certain he had died. He thought he had been devoured by that immense being, leaving no trace behind.
But what is this?
He found himself in a strange space.
A space that was endlessly dark and damp, making him feel uneasy.
At that moment.
Something grabbed Kellypak’s ankle.
[W-what?!]
It was human.
Or was it human…?
The skin was completely rotten.
The aged and frail body was full of wrinkles, covered in blood and pus, looking like nothing more than a corpse.
However, it moved.
Tap, tap.
Something continued to grip him.
Only then did he realize that where he had been standing was not ground.
It was made up of corpses.
A mountain of corpses that refused to die.
Kellypak gasped in horror and attempted to cast Dark Magic.
No.
[…Why?]
He tried to shout.
Yet no magic was triggered by his hand.
An oppressive silence.
Soon, the corpses began to gnaw at Kellypak’s ankle.
Those weak teeth shouldn’t have left even a trace of sensation on him.
Crack!
[Aaaah…!!]
It was different.
Completely different.
What he thought was a feeble bite made his legs, which had lived as a supreme being for hundreds of years, feel battered and worn.
It hurt.
This was a pain unlike any he had ever experienced.
Without hesitation, it continued to crawl up his body.
Ankles, thighs, waist, chest, head.
Soon, all of Kellypak’s body was being chewed and devoured by the monsters shaped like corpses.
But still.
Nevertheless.
[Aaaah…! Just kill me…!!]
He did not die.
Endlessly, his body regenerated while he felt infinite agony.
[Aaah….]
In that endless whirlpool of despair.
Kellypak regretted being born.
* * *
“Build a statue!!”
“Hey, Jörmungandr didn’t look that round!”
In the Kingdom of Trelinia.
An air of renewal filled the place.
Everywhere in the streets, statues shaped like a giant serpent were erected, and passersby prayed before them.
In the Kingdom of Trelinia, no one had failed to witness his existence.
Having heard the whole story of the events, the people of Trelinia sincerely expressed their gratitude to Jörmungandr.
So much so that now Jörmungandr had become the new religion of the Kingdom of Trelinia.
A church centered around him was also established.
In the great sanctuary, the deeds of Jörmungandr began to be recorded one by one.
With every movement he made, the earth trembled, the sky split, storms raged, and tales of mythical power where heaven and earth obeyed his will were inscribed in the sanctuary.
Leading this was, of course, Eliserde.
Having now relinquished her title as princess, she had become a goddess solely for Jörmungandr, eagerly establishing the cult.
[Hmm….]
Jörmungandr, overlooking all of these scenes, quietly closed his eyes.
The awe, worship, and respect they directed towards him.
All of it coalesced into a small energy that was being absorbed by Jörmungandr.
Now, he understood.
That is one of the qualifications to become a god, the Divine Status.
And upon awakening that Divinity, his perception crossed into a new stage once more.
He could see what was invisible.
Moreover, he was able to see what did not exist in this world.
To be more precise, he could delve deeper into the truths of this world.
[How strange.]
He had thought it was simply a fantasy world.
He imagined it to be a typical fantasy where heroes and demon kings clashed against each other, a common setting in novels.
However, as he surveyed this broader world with his expanded awareness, it appeared otherwise.
A simple Western fantasy.
[East and West fantasy…?]
Jörmungandr soared through the sky towards the place where he sensed that energy existed.
Endlessly powerful.
Towards a being that harbored divine energy.
* * *
He existed one day.
The question of when or at what point he was born was a laughable one.
He had existed at every point, in every world.
Thus, it was a mystery.
Why did he exist here?
This place was a strange world.
A realm where heroes and demon kings roamed.
A bizarre place where a so-called dragon, resembling a lizard, strutted about with its shoulders held high. To him, it looked like a frail creature that hadn’t even managed to fully grow.
Daring to challenge him, he kindly admonished it and sent it away.
As a result, hundreds of these dragons came flocking, but it didn’t particularly concern him.
He knocked them all down in an instant and quietly sent them away.
Whenever these so-called dragons sullied the name of dragons, he personally stepped in to instill the proper mindset in everyone.
After that, the lizards grew quiet.
So, he spent long years simply closing his eyes and sleeping.
Though a small snake that appeared suddenly crossed his mind, he didn’t pay it much heed.
This world was incredibly strange, and the birth of such beings was nothing out of the ordinary.
However.
[…….]
A massive energy approached.
Crossing the endlessly vast sea, it headed towards a gigantic island that existed at the horizon’s end.
The eastern horizon.
The place where the sun always rises, inhabited by a dragon.
The Four Divine Beasts.
The Azure Dragon.
He opened his eyes and gazed upon the being floating before him.
A dragon?
That thought crossed his mind.
The long, jet-black scales extending endlessly, its lengthy body filling the sky, resembled him in some way.
But.
‘It is different.’
It was clearly distinct.
Unlike him, it did not have antlers on its head.
Unlike other dragons, it lacked whiskers and a lion’s mane. Most importantly, it had no limbs, and its sleek body indicated it was not a dragon like himself, but a serpent.
Then is it a snake?
He wasn’t sure.
At a glance, one might think of it as a large snake.
However, the immense presence transcending that flesh undoubtedly implied a marked difference from an ordinary serpent.
‘Is it a dangerous being?’
He couldn’t tell.
He hadn’t faced it long enough yet.
But at the very least, he felt no malice from it. Rather, an endlessly noble and pure energy emanated from it, possessing qualities befitting such a divine being.
However.
[His head is held high.]
Ku-goong!
Thunder rumbled.
As the Azure Dragon released its aura, dark clouds gathered to fill the sky, and the previously calm waves surged violently, causing the sea to undulate like a massive hailstorm.
He was displeased.
The sight of that serpent looking down from the sky as if it were superior irritated him.
He was a dragon.
No one should be able to look down upon him.
Although he had been drawn into this unfamiliar world, tamely remaining uninvolved, he was not mild enough to allow anyone to gaze down at him in such a manner.
The Azure Dragon thought that the serpent would soon become frightened and fall to the ground.
After all, it was a dragon—at least, it resembled him, so its essence should be similar.
If that were the case, no kin would be able to defeat him.
Moreover, especially one as insignificant as a great serpent that even lacked a pearl.
He intended to remind the serpent of its place.
He aimed to show the intruder who had dared to trespass in his territory what it meant to stand in the sky.
However.
‘……What is this?’
The Azure Dragon sensed something unusual.
The aura he emitted was undeniably overwhelming.
Simply releasing his aura had caused the sea to ripple, and the sky had turned furious, generating massive currents.
Any ordinary creature would have lost its existence merely facing that aura.
And yet…
The creature remained unscathed.
Instead, its gaze, as if wondering what he was doing, ignited his rage.
How dare it.
How dare such an insignificant snake look down at him with such eyes.
The Azure Dragon rose into the sky.
The mysterious power from the pearl in his mouth wrapped around him, coating him in a golden hue.
He intended to unleash a breath attack.
He believed that such an absurdly foolish serpent, having only emitted mere aura, would recognize its place after this level of assault.
However.
[Stop.]
[……!!]
The moment he unleashed the aura, the energy surrounding the Azure Dragon abruptly dissipated.
That wasn’t all.
The grand nature that had solely lain in the grip of the Azure Dragon was swiftly stolen away.
The turbulent sky fell into a tranquil slumber, and the once-mighty sea calmed as if nothing had ever happened.
That scene resembled the welcoming of a new master.
The Azure Dragon frowned.
Yet he could not voice his complaints.
The aura he had just emitted was undoubtedly of a divine status similar to his own.
Certainly, the quantity of that divine status was very minimal and weak.
However, the long-accumulated energy compressed within that divine status surpassed his imagination.
Simply by existing, it felt as if the very space around him was distorted.
The Azure Dragon quietly closed his mouth.
Though he disliked submitting to it, he realized that fighting against it would mean risking his own death.
As he glanced quietly at the creature, the great serpent regarded him with interest and spoke.
[Azure Dragon, huh……]
After a brief moment, when the serpent opened its mouth.
[Have you also been drawn here?]
[……!! How do you know that?]
The Azure Dragon’s eyes widened in surprise.
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