What is the relationship between the soul and the body?
It’s one of those things that, even after decades since that fateful day I was possessed, I still can’t figure out.
On one hand, there’s the argument that the body and soul are separate entities, and while there may be a body that is ‘suitable’ for the soul, they do not ‘identify as the same.’
On the other hand, there’s the belief that the body and soul are one, inseparable entities. No matter how much the soul may change, the ‘body is ultimately identified as the original soul.’
Honestly, I can’t tell which side is right.
Even as the person whose body and soul have swapped, I still don’t know who I really am.
I am Lilyda.
I am… someone.
By now, I’ve shifted so much towards Lily that I even refer to myself as Lily.
“Well…”
If the original Lily existed, would she have had the same way of thinking as me now?
Perhaps I am not Lily at all?
I’ve looped in that thought so many times that I’ve given up on it.
It doesn’t matter anymore.
I am Lily Elbrite, and that fact doesn’t change.
I’ve decided to live that way, and so I will continue to do so.
But that’s not the problem.
“Sugaredo.”
For the current me, there’s a reason why the relationship between soul and body must be ‘the former.’
On the first day I sealed Sugaredo, I delved into his memories.
As usual, a massive ice dragon soars towards the sky.
And then the heavens opened.
A painfully frigid darkness manifests in the world.
An extreme cold where even the mere act of breathing is not permitted before her.
Even though it’s clearly a fragment of memory, my whole body froze, and cold sweat trickled down.
An existence I could never reach until the very last moment.
‘The end of the demon race. The fifth throne.’
A frozen soul, the Demon King Tempere of brutal cold.
A tiny fragment fell from the slivers of her demon realm, which revealed only a tiny part of itself.
I don’t know why the dimensional tear opened and the remnants of the Demon King fell.
It could just be a coincidence, or perhaps the Demon King had some arrangement.
What’s certain is that that Demon King is no longer in this world.
I don’t know why all six Demon Kings and the Eight Seats are either dead or unable to show themselves, but Tempere is definitely absent from this place.
If she were here, Sugaredo’s body would have collapsed already.
Above all…
“She was not a child.”
From the beginning, Sugaredo didn’t have anything like a child.
The hatchling was a creature created by the powers of the ice dragon Sugaredo.
It seems Sugaredo ultimately couldn’t endure the remnants of the Demon King.
It seems I couldn’t finish the job.
Maybe due to the will to survive, I somehow managed to create a Hatchling, but in the end, the Main Body lost its self and will, becoming a literal ‘monster.’
The Hatchling has been growing strong for a long time, under the protection of Sugarado, who turned into a monster.
“Just like a ‘mother.'”
I’m not sure if it’s an unconscious instinct to protect something that came from me, or if it was destined to be this way from the start.
What’s important is that I can substitute for the ‘soul transfer’ that Sugarado wanted to perform unconsciously in the past.
If the hypothesis that the soul and body are separate is correct, I can transfer Sugarado’s soul into a ‘suitable’ body that perfectly mimics Sugarado’s physical form.
If I manage it as Sugarado intended, there shouldn’t be any side effects or particularly problematic issues.
But…
“…The Hatchling definitely has a self.”
Due to Sugarado’s long absence, the Hatchling, which was merely a shell, has been born with a complete self.
Though it may not have been born from a belly, the Hatchling is undoubtedly a dragon’s offspring.
“……”
Is that right?
“To revive Sugarado by killing the Hatchling?”
The Spirit of Darkness I met in Bluering’s forest was sealed away and disappeared from the Beastman’s body, but the Beastman itself, being just a shell, retained a complete self.
The Hungry Copycat who followed me was also obliterated by the Spear of Annihilation, yet ‘something’ remained in that body and conveyed words to me.
“What should I do? Sugarado.”
Should I kill the Hatchling’s self as per the original plan and save Sugarado?
Or should I let the Hatchling live as it is and leave Sugarado there?
My head is a mess.
It took me three days to sort out my thoughts.
During that time, I retraced Sugarado’s memories and also came across memories of myself.
“I too…”
If ‘I’ disappear, will ‘Lily Elbrite’ remain in that place?
If not, and if something does remain, is it just a residual consciousness that the body remembers, not the ‘soul’?
No, does it even matter to distinguish between that at all?
“If it has a soul, it’s something noble that must be saved. If it doesn’t, it should be discarded?”
“Uuuuu…”
The Hatchling cradled in my arms murmurs in its sleep.
I stared down at the child for a moment.
Boom!
Pure white wings spread out from my back.
A massive formation unfolds behind me, warmly enveloping both the Hatchling and Sugarado.
The dilemma has ended.
“That’s right. It’s Sugarado.”
“Uh?”
Sugarado.
Since the hatchling doesn’t have a name, I’ll just call it Sugarado.
It’s also correct to say it’s a Sugarado.
I said with a smile.
“By the way, capturing this child will count as defeating a World Boss.”
“Hmm, is that so…? NEEEEEEEK?!”
Suddenly! Yena jumped up from her seat.
If someone saw it, they would think something huge just happened.
“That makes no sense! What?! No, capturing a child will clear it!!”
“Not really something to be surprised about.”
“It is definitely surprising!!”
[What?]
[???]
[Are you crazy? ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[Dammit, did Lily actually think it through!!]
[Wow, what did I expect? Was the plan to clear with a baby?]
[Legendary ㅋㅋㅋ]
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[No wonder the difficulty was insane]
[Awesome]
[So it seems like clearing with a child is the plan]
[Easily clearing by turning the hatchling into a World Boss…]
[Big Ria]
[The fact that they’re not going for the immediate kill suggests it’s not ready yet?]
[Is it not ready now?]
I brought Sugarado, who was munching on meat, in front of the camera.
Uh. With an “oo” sound, Sugarado looked at the camera with round eyes and licked it once.
A pink tongue snaked across the screen before disappearing back into its adorable mouth.
[Cute]
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[But damn it, it is pretty cute]
[Where are you licking?]
[It’s adorable, but killing it seems like a waste]
[Why not just let it live?]
[Let’s just kill it now ㄱㄱ]
[Since it says it takes 3 weeks, looks like we need some time, huh?]
I nodded while glancing through the chat window.
“That’s right. This child will need some time to become a World Boss. To be precise, we could call it ‘synchronization.'”
“Synchronization?”
“The hatchling is definitely Sugarado’s child. Since it shares almost the same body, if we just adjust it well enough, it can become the same existence. But it requires ample time and support to get there.”
I handed Sugarado over to Yena.
While she received it in a daze, she couldn’t bring herself to touch it, shaking with excitement at the fact it’s a World Boss.
After she quietly nodded, she finally started petting it enthusiastically.
Looks like she likes it.
“The deadline is similar to preventing the First Damage. About 3 weeks. Depending on how well it synchronizes, it might take longer…”
“Hehe. Ah, wait a second. But didn’t you say it counts as a catch even if we grab it now?”
“That’s right. It’s still ‘Sugarado’ right now.”
If she wants a reward, there’s no problem with capturing Sugarado right now.
However…
“Sugarado up on that ridge is also Sugarado. If it’s not fully synchronized, capturing it will just trigger ‘Despairing Cold’ as scheduled. According to the quest, it has to be in a ‘perfect’ state to solve it.”
“Even if we catch the Ramen, the ‘Despairing Cold’ will explode as scheduled. Looking at the Quest, it seems we can only solve it if we’re in a ‘perfect’ state.”
“So if we want to complete it in three weeks, we have to somehow catch the Sugarado at the top.”
“But even if we catch the fully synchronized Hatchling Sugarado three weeks later, the Sugarado on the snowy mountain will still remain.”
“By then, the Despairing Cold will have already vanished.”
[So the Hatchling is basically a contingency plan, huh?]
[Are they creating it in case they can’t catch it?]
[Wow.]
[Lily has it all planned out.]
[LMAO.]
[How can they not trust Lily and go crazy?]
[Just ‘Great Lily’.]
[The Hatchling is like the final bastion against the continent’s destruction.]
[Can’t we just not kill it? It’s so cute.]
[For real, lol.]
[Agreed.]
[I want to see the Dragon Knight Lily too.]
“Hmm…”
Yena lifted the Hatchling with a troubled look.
It seemed that her vigilance was still not completely gone, growling softly but not swinging her claws or attacking.
Instead, it was watching Yena with wide eyes.
Yena turned to me.
“…You’re not going to kill it, right?”
“That’s surprising. I thought you’d say we should kill it, Miss Yena.”
Isn’t she the one who chose to slaughter Beastmen to obtain a Mythical?
But she’s not going to kill the Hatchling, huh.
As I asked that, Yena’s expression turned sulky.
“Ugh, I feel like I’m becoming garbage.”
“Oh come on. Who’s going to complain if you kill it?”
“…Lily?”
“Me?”
[You.]
[LMAO.]
“If you said to kill it, I’d tear it apart with my spear immediately.”
[For real, lol.]
“There’s no way I’d kill a dragon in my hand.”
“Even if I did, Lily would kill it.”
“You’re not denying it.”
“I’ll do my best to make sure it doesn’t come to that.”
Yena turned the Sugarado back around.
The Sugarado yawned, nestled in my arms.
“But be careful. Since you mentioned this fact on the broadcast, there will probably be people coming to try and kill the hatchling.”
“……”
“Three weeks later, there will also be those who will say to kill it in the name of the greater good.”
“Let them come.”
If they break me, I will gladly hand over the Sugarado.
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