Chapter: 644
The infamous Horrific Dragon, Atelius. A legendary fighter who significantly contributed to Humility’s transformation from a colossal phoenix to a mere chick.
During the religious wars, he dealt fatal blows to the evil gods who reigned with nightmares and even sealed the sun, which ruled as the sole deity, marking a dark chapter in history.
And just as Atelius himself claimed to have battled various gods, the ominous rumors about him didn’t just stop with Humility.
“I… was sleeping by the lake… and kicked the shell when it got noisy… That’s why I hid away for a while…”
Atelius, the one who supposedly ambushed Humility for being too noisy, was the same one who ended up getting a whack on the head from a quiet, diligent creature.
“I originally had nine tails. They said they would only take one because I had plenty.”
Purity, who claimed to be a nine-tailed fox, ended up with eight after Atelius snagged one, and the consequences lingered until the day of his sealing.
“What? You guys got taken down by that Horrific Dragon too? I had my beak smashed in, and I’m not sure I ever fully recovered.”
Once considered one of the four strongest evil gods among the holy deities, Vigor claimed to have been badly wounded by Atelius. He recovered quickly due to his strong divine nature, but still…
‘What is going on?’
As I absorbed the cacophony of screams and grievances filling the air, it dawned on me that I had counted four known victims: Humility, Diligence, Purity, and Vigor. Out of the eleven deities, four had significant histories of battling Atelius. Quite the extraordinary past!
Furthermore, although the deities only faced Atelius once upon their revival, this dragon had tangled with four of them at once. With all the scuffles he had supposedly had with spirit monarchs on the side, calling him a “fighter” barely scratches the surface.
“Ugh, that damned lizard! If he were alive now, I’d peck his eyes out!”
While feeling the weight of the Horrific Dragon’s illustrious achievements, Vigor flapped his wings in frustration.
“Alive?”
That felt like a strange statement to me. It was as if they assumed Atelius was dead.
“I don’t know how you know the Horrific Dragon, but he’s been silent since before we got sealed. He must have racked up enemies everywhere and died because of it.”
Humility, who was flapping nearby, continued chiming in.
That reminded me of what Atelius had said: before he started a family, he had been excessively hot-headed, getting into all sorts of disputes.
‘Did he mellow out after getting married?’
No matter how I thought about it, that had to be it. The Horrific Dragon found a spouse who embraced his manic personality, transforming him into a new dragon who chose peace instead of conflict. From the vantage of the deities, it likely seemed like he had just dropped dead out of nowhere.
“If he’s still alive, you’d have lost your eyes by now.”
“I would have snagged a tail. With nine of them, what’s the big deal of losing one? For that matter, shouldn’t you toss away one of your two eyes?”
“I… don’t want to see him again… It took ages to recover my shell…”
Watching the deities talk among themselves, all convinced that Atelius was “definitely” dead, sparked a little idea in my mind.
Though they bore a grudge against him, they at least knew Atelius. They were in a position where they could say things they wanted to and things they shouldn’t say without fear.
Maybe their existence could breathe new life into Atelius? Sure, they jokingly threatened to peck his eyes out, but at their current level, they were practically on par with rabbits rather than posing any real threat to Atelius.
“Hey.”
“What is it, Master?”
“Let’s go out together for a bit.”
“Uh… what?”
In front of me stood the four deities I had gathered, along with seven more who were scattered throughout the mansion.
If I gifted Atelius with connections to eleven beings, perhaps it could extend his life a little.
Inside the cave, an awkward silence enveloped us.
“Heh.”
Eventually, Atelius broke the silence and looked down slightly.
“I thought there was something strangely familiar about this aura. So, it’s you guys.”
His words hinted that he remembered the deities from their evil god days. Vigor, who had been staring in a daze at Atelius, suddenly flapped with excitement.
“You, you lizard…! How dare you break my beak and still be alive…!”
“Seriously, I’m the only one who survived a broken beak?”
“Hey, you!”
Atelius’s calm retort caused Vigor’s body to shake even more in agitation.
But ultimately, it was just noise. Vigor, who was no bigger than a common eagle, stood no chance against the dragon Atelius. He could easily find himself on the menu for lunch instead.
“That makes it ten of us: just four worries and seven sins.”
Atelius seemed to understand that Vigor, now a mere eagle, wasn’t a threat to him. He glanced at the deities accompanying Vigor in the cave.
In that mix, Humility, who threatened to poke Atelius’ eyes out just like Vigor, silently lowered his head and focused on the floor. Now that was a truly humble demeanor.
“That chick…”
“Peck?”
Atelius pointed out Humility, who reacted by tilting its head and making a little chick noise.
What a shame. Even if he was significantly weaker than during his evil god days, acting like a chick is just too much.
“Squawk! Caw! Squawk!”
But Humility’s disgrace seemed to set an example for the others. Purity let out a fox’s yelp, while Diligence hid inside its shell.
Seriously, don’t go around claiming you used to be evil gods. That’s your last shred of honor!
“…Looks like a lot has happened while I just stayed in the cave.”
Given that pitiful display, Atelius decided to change the subject.
He seemed to know everything already but chose to keep his mouth shut, so no one’s feelings would get hurt—what a nice touch.
“You all seem to be lacking in pride! It may be true that we lost our divinity due to the flow of time, but being beaten by a dragon back when we were gods is downright embarrassing!”
Vigor, clearly furious, shouted at Humility, Diligence, and Purity.
What an interesting sight. Usually, when pride is at stake, Diligence would cause a ruckus while Vigor would watch, yet now it was Vigor throwing a fit while Diligence just quietly observed.
‘Is it because there’s no connection there?’
Diligence lay sprawled on the ground lazily, yawning.
If Diligence had ever been subjected to Atelius, no one would have heard the end of it. Thankfully, he didn’t have any grievances to speak of, which is why he stayed chill while Vigor raged on.
…
‘Hold on!’
Sensing the odd tension from Vigor, I suddenly felt something amiss.
Back when I was confirming the seals of these beings alongside the Eternal Blue Sky, I recalled pondering the treatment of the ex-evil gods that had suddenly burst out from their sealed state.
— You can’t physically eliminate a god, right?
At that time, the Eternal Blue Sky had mentioned that it was impossible to physically eliminate someone who was a god.
Yet now, these gods were openly admitting to being thoroughly beaten by Atelius. They had undeniably sustained physical blows.
I felt confused. The Eternal Blue Sky should have been above all—someone who wouldn’t muddle the characteristics of a god.
“Hey, Elder.”
“What is it?”
Atelius, who had been gazing bemusedly at the deities, finally turned his attention to me.
“I heard that you can’t physically eliminate a god. So how were you able to harm them?”
“Oh, that?”
At this direct question, Atelius blinked, seemingly lost in thought for a moment, before casually continuing.
“I piled on a bunch of enhancement spells and then hit them, so it worked. While I couldn’t eliminate them, I sure did get a hit in.”
“Master! That bastard lizard is the one who would’ve eliminated us if he could!”
Now Vigor was practically frothing at the mouth as he flailed.
That was an impressive and outrageous answer. So even though physicality didn’t work, he kept swinging until it did? No wonder those guys who got clobbered by Atelius bore such grudges.
“Plague. I’ve been silent as I listened to old stories, but it’s strange. You sound like I attacked you for no reason.”
Just then, Atelius, who was quietly lying down, suddenly got up.
“You were a threat to the land and living beings by your mere existence. If you flew through the sky, the ground below became tainted, and if you set foot on the earth, even ants would perish. Was it an evil deed to drive out such a plague?”
“You didn’t suffer a bit!”
“My protection became a fatal disaster for the life forms I sheltered.”
As I listened to the exchanges between Vigor and Atelius, I began to understand Atelius’ position.
Wouldn’t it be an issue either way if a creature that posed a problem was nearby? If it was possible to get rid of it, I would prioritize chasing it away over anything else. If I thought I could eliminate it, I might even go that route.
“Pride stirred human emotions, incited conflict, and its followers, claiming they were the best, caused all sorts of chaos. That ruckus spread into my realm, making it only natural for me to intervene.”
“Peep peep!”
“…It seems like there’s no pride here.”
Atelius quietly turned his head away from Humility’s valiant chick cosplay.
“I remember lust also caused moral collapse among humans and led to chaos. That’s why I took one of your tails, because you bragged about charming creatures with it.”
At those words, Purity curled its last tail protectively beneath its belly, as if determined to keep it.
“I’m sure this gluttony…”
As Atelius was about to finish discussing Diligence, he suddenly closed his mouth.
“…What was it? I can’t remember.”
“You bastard lizard…”
Diligence’s despondent voice dripped with sorrow. Maybe Diligence had been randomly mistreated or had ended up in an outrageously ridiculous situation that Atelius couldn’t even recall.
“Anyway, you all aren’t innocent either. After all, you were once evil gods, so you shouldn’t be playing the victim card.”
“Even so, you were excessively brutal! While other dragons watched humans quarrel, you were the only one causing a ruckus!”
“True. I admit that was my fault. Without Lord’s command, dragons should have refrained from overly meddling with the realm of humans.”
With those words, Atelius reached out a hand toward Vigor.
“So, shall we call it even?”
“What?”
Vigor stared at Atelius in confusion, flapping his wings anxiously.
“I owe you a debt to the child you refer to as Master. We’re bound to meet again, and it would be tiresome to end up fighting every time. Given that it’s all past, why not let it go?”
Vigor looked uncertain at the unexpected proposal for peace.
‘Grab it.’
With that thought creeping into my mind, I mouthed the words silently, prompting Vigor to grasp Atelius’ oversized claw.
What a delightful scene.
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