“So, this is the Residual Thought you guys developed, huh?”
“Yes, that’s correct. We suspect it came from beyond dimensions…”
The Dead Dragon first sensed Kaitel when it felt his intent to use the Residual Thought. This was before Robert’s life began to repeat. Desperately trying to escape a trap set by the Moon Goddess, the Dead Dragon thought nothing of Kaitel. How many humans had sought to use him after all?
While it was indeed interesting that someone serving the Moon Goddess would intend to use him, he thought it would probably collapse from the strain of the power. He regarded it as nothing more than that. At this point, he had already solidified some understanding of the concept of reincarnation. He had found the target to initiate the reincarnation but faced the biggest issue: he couldn’t fully execute his will due to the Goddess’s interference.
The reincarnation required two subjects; thus, beyond Robert Taylor, he had to find another person capable of withstanding the flow of time. The Dead Dragon, having forgotten Kaitel, ignored him. He thought he would likely sense the Residual Thought again in a few days.
It had been a long time since he had contacted the Imperial Family, but he never saw any fruitful results.
Time brought no sensation to the Dead Dragon. Just blinking a few times passed months; after spending a couple of months idling, the Dead Dragon finally began to feel a sense of dissonance. A human excellently possessing his Residual Thought had allowed for some subtle connection with human sensations.
“Heh.”
It was a feeling he hadn’t sensed in a thousand years. Trapped in the flow of space and time, he felt even the tiniest touch as pain, a tingling sensation on his skin made the Dead Dragon chuckle softly. He had finally found a human who could be sacrificed.
#
Robert Taylor must repeat reincarnation. Originally, he planned to break the human’s mind completely through repeated reincarnation, but only after embedding the reincarnation stone did he realize the Moon Goddess had played tricks. He inadvertently made a blunder that would lead to his own downfall; however, he could not give up on resurrection.
First, he had to come back to life before doing anything. Now that he had embedded the Residual Thought into his body, the Dead Dragon planned to gradually consume Kaitel while Robert Taylor was repeating reincarnation. His fiery personality also helped. The more intense his emotional turmoil, the greater the gap widened, so he spent time occasionally organizing Kaitel’s surroundings.
For example, targeting his mentor or a long-time aide who had supported Kaitel. It was quite enjoyable to observe the human who blamed everything on himself. Watching him realize he was falling apart and slowly crashing down was equally pleasurable.
The passionate attempts of a human trying to achieve his dreams were quite amusing. Sometimes, he would rampage and press a knife against his father’s throat, and at other times, he would execute his younger sister, who pitied Robert. Initially, it was merely a level of confinement, but as the Dead Dragon’s Residual Thought grew stronger, rampaging became a regular occurrence.
It felt good. Sometimes I would rampage and thrust a sword against my father’s neck, and I even executed my younger sister who pitied Robert. At first, it was just a matter of confinement, but as the residual thoughts of the dead dragon strengthened, the rampages became more frequent.
The unification of the continent was something that former emperors used to say as well.
“Everything I have is dead, though.”
Now, my senses had mostly returned. The Moon Goddess’s power had faded, and she could no longer bind me. The residual thoughts planted within Kaitel’s body were increasing in strength. The more Robert died, the stronger I became. I was slowly regaining my former power, merely waiting for the moment to crumble the empire created by the goddess.
The emperor who unified the continent, the projection who claimed to have reached the pinnacle of humanity, the swordsman who had seen the tip of the sword, and the magician who created the grimoire capturing the essence of magic. In the end, they all died to me, the dead dragon. It was I who killed hundreds of demons and left only four alive.
I know that my adversary is getting stronger little by little, but still, they are weaker than me, so I didn’t worry much. Whenever fate twisted itself, I would somehow use Kaitel to kill him. I was at ease when he lost his mind and repeatedly encountered death, yet I had begun to see him swinging his sword again.
Why does he not break? Kaitel, who had long forgotten my dream and was tossed around, had long since slipped out of the dead dragon’s interest. Robert eventually achieved what he desired. He reached a realm that no human had ever attained, and humans would not be able to face him.
If I were to kill him, it should be at the beginning of the reincarnation, but as time passed, Robert began to evade all such attempts. It was as if he was aware of what I intended; I searched for the goddess’s intervention but felt no presence. How then?
It’s strange.
Whenever he was about to collapse, connections stacked up, and Robert Taylor rose again based on emotion. As he approached death, he burst forth with unbelievable vitality. Like the heroes of old, he charged at the demons from the demon realm, much like the leader of humans fighting to slay them.
He was stronger than them and possessed a more steadfast mind. Yet, I did not feel danger. After all, they were mere demons; the dead dragon knew the tip of a sword would not reach me. After dying a hundred times, Robert started a hundred and first life, and because what he desired was death, I found some solace in that.
“But…”
The dead dragon, having completely taken over Kaitel’s mind, laughed. It was a somewhat hollow laugh. Didn’t I think that I had completed all my plans, erasing all of my followers and seizing the imperial palace? I had reached the end. Even with just Robert alone, I believed it would be a perfect success.
I believed it.
“…You’ve managed to survive.”
I never thought you would make it this far after wiping out those two demons. The flash stretching up to the sky must surely be Robert’s magic power. Among humans, Robert is the only one who possesses such pure magic. That level is something even demons find hard to reach.
The expressions of the watching demons are also freezing in place, aren’t they? They probably know better than anyone that facing him means death. If it’s not them, they’ll just be meat shields. Did that girl play her cards right? Tsk, the dead dragon clicked his tongue and slowly stood up.
There wasn’t enough time to manifest in the form of a dragon yet. Gathering the power needed for that would require at least an hour. I wonder how long it will take Robert to get here? The dead dragon’s frown tightened as he tried to estimate the time. He should arrive in just a few minutes.
Even though the two demons attacked together, it was merely a shared demise.
The power Robert was radiating felt like a completely different dimension compared to back then.
“What will you do?”
The three-headed wolf asked. Considering that the remaining one wouldn’t be much help in battle, this creature alone would have to block Robert. The dead dragon stroked his thin chin and let out a quiet sigh. Why is there not even one useful creature here? If only he had an hour, he could easily crush them.
“Maybe he didn’t come alone.”
He might have the saint who would be with Robert or even Adele Igrit, whom he couldn’t bring himself to kill in the North. Even if no presence is felt now, they will surely arrive before long. I intended not to touch the dimensional portal beneath the order. When they come through, I can have the demons attack that place.
The rift I slightly miscalculated grew big enough to strangle its own neck. If I had known this would happen, I would have started planning more cautiously. But even so, there’s no longer any ‘power’ left to turn back time. I had completely spent the power of time on my resurrection.
The crimson-colored eyes scanned the empty air. A formidable presence felt from afar was approaching this way, tearing through the air and crushing the army of the undead he summoned.
I recall the moment I first laid eyes on Robert. Did we expect to face each other like this? The dead dragon stepped down from his throne and walked slowly forward. Sending the two standing demons in another direction, he crafted the bone pulled from his arm into the shape of a sword.
It was a sword he often used when fighting in human form.
It was a sword he often used.
“…Five.”
Four.
As the time slowly diminished, the gaze of the dead dragon turned toward the ceiling. It was coming with quite the commotion. Of course, from his perspective, he would want to kill himself, so it was natural. At this point, the dead dragon no longer believed he could buy more time. He would win anyway. His inherent arrogance was overshadowed by a resurgence of emotion.
Thud.
When the counting mouth closed at five, a human figure emerged through the shattered ceiling. Covered in a pure white flash, the human merely looked like a demigod. Perhaps that wasn’t entirely incorrect. If one only looked at this appearance, the dragon himself would seem more human.
“It’s been a while. No, is this the first time you’ve seen me?”
The dead dragon laughed. Robert merely gazed quietly at the dragon. Although many emotions boiled inside him, oddly enough, he seemed to calm down. For some reason, his mind felt frozen and only cold. He looked like Kaitel but was merely a shell. Inside, there was definitely a dead dragon.
“I was impressed by you as a human. Honestly, I didn’t think you’d endure all this reincarnation. A regular human can’t survive even a single death, let alone torture. Don’t you know?”
“……” “I admit it. You are the best among humans. Daring to point a sword at me is, sure, forgiven. But don’t think for a second that I’ll let you go alive. Everything ends today, right here.”
When the dead dragon first appeared, there wasn’t much reason for killing humans. What purpose is there for a human squashing an ant? He never particularly wished for the world’s destruction; he merely cleared away what was visible.
Yet, that grew until it reached this point. A gigantic wave he never even thought of himself was finally showing its end. How could it not be enjoyable? Aww— the heart of the dragon, which only a dragon could possess, vibrated, and an even clearer flash than what Robert had shown engulfed the world.
The flash containing the sun’s light began to melt the imperial palace. Amidst the slowly melting ruins, the dead dragon opened his mouth.
“I know you’ve come to stop me.”
What this enormous dragon loved was fun and enjoyment. Finally recalling what he initially sought, the dead dragon chuckled with glee. Blood flowed from his torn mouth, staining the pure white clothes of Kaitel.
“Then try to stop me.”
Twilight. The only time where light and darkness coexist, the hourglass heading toward destruction was flipped over, starting to signal the end.
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