As I was chatting and listening to various conversations, the topic of Peridot suddenly came up. The chief of Kun grumbled softly as he fed dried figs to Daphne.
“I heard reports that it was due to scorpions, but this is the first time I’ve heard that scorpions harm plants.”
The Kun chief narrowed his tattooed eye. Princess-unnie replied in a deeply regretful tone.
“It seems the venom of the scorpions damages the roots of the plants. Peridot is the best botanist alive; if she says so, it must be true.”
“Tsk, it doesn’t have to be Kun’s territory anyway, so it wouldn’t be a bad idea to visit each clan’s oasis during the next Lakurum.”
“Alright, I’ll tell Perry that.”
Ah, so it failed after all. Even though it’s not nice to revel in someone’s failure, I couldn’t help but smile. Well, it’s not like I sabotaged it; they failed on their own. Humming to myself, I repeated the word “failure” to myself.
‘Looking at what happened one after another, I can’t tell whether it was Peridot or Aragorn who sent the scorpions to me.’
Even if it were Aragorn’s doing, my feelings towards Peridot wouldn’t improve in the slightest. Because it doesn’t change the fact that Peridot is someone who could do something that vile to me.
It was quite a pleasant evening.
* * *
While humans were clapping their hands in excitement and joy,.
This place, a realm where otherworldly beings reside, was extremely quiet.
<Hm. You’ve finally come.>
Dark, sand-colored hair falls to the floor. The ‘being’ sat in a field of sandy flowers. Dragonas opened his mouth softly towards the person standing behind him.
<I’ve been waiting for you. Young demon.>
There was an air of resignation and surrender surrounding the being. Or perhaps it was the peaceful demeanour of someone finally confronting what they had awaited for so long.
Behind Dragonas. Aragorn, holding a sharp spear made entirely of pitch-black darkness in his hand, grumbled while sweeping his bangs with his free hand.
“I know right, it took so long. Do you know? I even gave up my temple just to come here.”
<Yes, you were indeed the last-born demon. Because of that, there have been only a few temples for you… and now all of them are gone. The last one you had, you gave up. How painful that must have been for you.>
“Ah, cut the sentimental crap. There’s only one thing I want, and it just so happens that you have it.”
Although he spoke in a seductive tone as usual, Aragorn was genuinely angry. He was angry about the living hell he had endured. Angry at the dragon who stood by and watched it happen. Dragonas pressed his eyes shut and spoke softly.
<If it’s the bell, it is already owned by someone else. You can’t have it.>
“Oh, please, I know. I know everything. Do you think I am someone who wouldn’t have figured that out?”
Aragorn stopped laughing and turned solemn.
“What I want is your head—the head of the hypocrite who closed his eyes even though he witnessed everything.”
<Young demon, you’re consumed by hatred.>
“You keep repeating that I’m young, but if you knew I was young, wouldn’t you have treated me better?”
<I’m sorry. But I already knew it would come to this…>
“Whatever. Just die.”
<At last, the end has come for me.>
Dragonas put his hands together humbly. Aragorn’s face twisted in displeasure at seeing Dragonas find peace in the face of death.
How dare he seek comfort? How dare he?
“I was going to kill you, but then I changed my mind. You wish to die, don’t you?”
<… … Yes, you are right.>
“Then I can’t kill you. I will let you live, but I will throw you into the same hell as me.”
Thud, crack, thud. The subspace shattered, revealing a black void. What lies beyond is darkness. It was a starless darkness.
<You have grown strong, young demon; how many souls have you consumed?>
“Is that any of your business? That’s something an old man who stood by and did nothing while the Fata-Morganas wreaked havoc, would have no right to speak about. Well, its no surprise, really. You have always been a bystander. You never wanted to get involved with anything.”
Dragonas face turned dark at Aragorn’s sarcasm. He tried to atone by dying, but even that didn’t work out as he wanted. He knew very well how cowardly he was, which is why he wanted to erase his existence. There was no denying that he wanted to run away, but Dragonas did not resist.
In fact, when he gave the bell to the red-haired child he had met today, he placed all of his power within it. He had no strength left to resist the remnants of the demon.
<If this can be my atonement… Rekiel…>
Before his faint whisper ended, the space above his head shattered, pouring out a viscous darkness. Dragonas froze, unable to utter another word.
What he was trying to say will now be forever unknown.
* * *
A short while later.
Aragorn stood, gazing at the petrified form of the dragon. The treacherous race that had betrayed him and sided with humans—the dragons.
Among them, he hated Dragonas the most. After he had fallen for ‘her’ and stolen the power of creation, Dragonas must have known that she wouldn’t return the power and that the punishment he would receive from the Sun God would be severe. Dragonas was a prophetic dragon, after all.
Despite that, he chose humans and willingly hid ‘her’. Aragorn hated Dragonas’ selective benevolence to the point of puking. Except for Rekiel, he loathed Dragonas more than any other dragon.
Dragonas’s so-called compassion had only caused him suffering. It was hypocrisy.
“Well, I expected it, but it doesn’t feel satisfying.”
Aragorn straightened his back and turned away from the dragon. As soon as he took one step, he was able to escape from the subspace. If Dragonas had been at full strength, such an escape would have been impossible, but Dragonas was now weak. He had always been tenderhearted, so this was inevitable.
He was struggling with feelings of guilt, and as such, he decided to hand over his power to someone else. To be exact, he had forced it upon them. Well, it made things easier for Aragorn.
“Now, I think my dear Kanut has something important hidden here somewhere.”
Sacred ground. This place, which was Dragonas’ Lair, was extremely luxurious except for the nest where the main body of Dragonas was sleeping.
Carpets woven with gold thread are spread out on the floor, and the finest pottery and paintings that were popular thousands of years ago are spread out. The ‘upper floors’ where they, Fata-Morgana, lived were filled with dazzlingly splendid items. As a result, those who find this place only take things that look expensive and valuable. They would not have even touched something that looked shabby.
“Yeah, I know you would remain here. Because humans are so foolish that they don’t know what’s really important.”
Aragorn’s eyes gleamed darkly. A large chalice of water—Typically, such chalices were adorned with carvings of grapevines or deer and filled with water to float flowers for mere enjoyment. However, this one was different.
“Krazen’s treasure… … .”
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