Reincarnation of the Sword Demon - Chapter 180

WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Editor: Coughing Baby

Chapter 180: The World Has Turned Upside Down

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"Every Eastern dragon and every western dragon turns into a being like that when it dies?"

"Why would I have any reason to tell my benefactor such a lie? This is not some groundless speculation. I saw it with my own eyes long ago, after the Dragon Queen of the West crossed into the East and the gray wall isolated this land."

Imugi's eyes darkened.

"Among the western dragons brought by the Dragon Queen, and among the Eastern dragons living in this land, some reached the end of their allotted Lifespans. I was a young Eastern dragon at the time... so I attended the funerals. Do you know what happens when an Eastern dragon dies?"

"No."

"The moment its allotted Lifespan ends, an Eastern dragon's corpse scatters into dust and returns to nature. It leaves nothing behind in this world."

Even in the Sword Tower, which held countless rare treasures, there were no materials related to western dragons. Thinking about it now, that was strange.

Accounts of western dragons passed down through myths and legends described creatures as large as mountains. Yet no one had ever seen a western dragon's corpse, and materials such as western dragon scales and bones were extremely rare. Even the few that existed were said to have been given as gifts rather than collected from corpses.

"Normally... that is what should happen. But the funeral I witnessed was different. Its Lifespan had clearly ended, yet the Eastern dragon's corpse did not return to nature. Instead... it was reborn."

"Reborn?"

"Yes. I can still vividly recall what I saw then. Its entire body melted into bloody water, and from the enormous pool it created... an eye swathed in pure white wings was born."

The angel Kyle had met in the Beltua Secret Realm had looked like that.

"None of the Eastern dragons attending the funeral knew what that being was. The newly born creature... flapped its dozens of wings and rose into the sky. In the end, the Dragon Queen devoured it."

As Kyle listened to Imugi's words, it felt as though the tangled threads in his mind were beginning to unravel.

Why the demon that had emerged from the Black Cube called the angel speaking through Jor's mouth a Deluded Dragon.

Why Velatus had crossed from the West into the East and isolated this entire land.

Why Velatus's servants had attacked Kyle's necklace in terror.

'Velatus fled the West and shut herself away in this land as though she feared something.'

Now he understood what the arrogant Dragon Queen had feared.

Velatus feared the end of her Lifespan.

::Because western dragons have received greatness, they cannot betray that grace::

Western dragons were a race born great. They lived longer than any other race in the world and were stronger than any other race. That greatness was not something western dragons earned through effort. It was simply bestowed upon them because they were born western dragons.

Being born a western dragon was itself an immense grace, so western dragons could not betray that grace. Thus, even in death, western dragons could not rest. They became apostles of the sky gods.

"She devoured it..."

"Yes."

Imugi nodded.

"That being was not the only one she devoured. Starting with that meal, the Dragon Queen began hunting every Eastern dragon in the East as though she had lost her mind."

"Didn't the western dragons who came with the Dragon Queen stop her?"

"Ha ha, stop her? Even if the Dragon Queen was the ruler of the western dragons, could she have fought every Eastern dragon in the East by herself? They moved like her hands and feet, hunting Eastern dragons and presenting them to her."

Imugi chuckled and turned toward the farm people. Their meal had already ended. Yet perhaps they were still hungry, because their eyes sparkled as they stared at Kyle.

They only stared. They did not cry out for food. That training had been carved into their bones. Imugi watched them for a moment before looking back at Kyle.

"My benefactor. Their meal is over. It could be dangerous to remain here too long, so let us move on."

Kyle quietly nodded.

The procession began. Under the group's direction, the farm people made a few babbling sounds but did not resist as they began walking. Looking at Imugi's back as Imugi led the way, Kyle spoke to Fragment.

'Did you know about this?'

[No...]

Fragment answered in a trembling voice. Ever since they met Imugi, Fragment had remained silent.

The shock had been too great for Fragment to make a sound. Velatus had crossed into the East and devoured every Eastern dragon in this land. And Eastern dragons and western dragons became angels when they died.

'I told you. Those who endlessly preach about some grand cause are usually obsessed with petty self-interest.'

[Ah, it is still too early to guess Velatus's true intentions.]

Fragment stammered out a defense.

[Whatever the case, it is true that Velatus helped Ruin Alastor. It is also true that she built the Sword Tower and created the Seal that blocks the waves of the outer sea. Velatus... must have had a reason for rejecting death. A reason for the world.]

'Like what?'

[If Velatus dies, the Sword Tower's Seal disappears...? Yes, that must be it. Velatus made the Sword Tower herself. If she dies, the Sword Tower will not be able to remain.]

Fragment's voice stopped trembling. They continued in a voice filled with certainty and a desperate longing for it to be true.

[Velatus resisted death for that great cause. While waiting for the reincarnation Ruin supposedly arranged for you! And now that you have finally reincarnated, she must intend to give you the heart she has guarded all this time and finally find rest!]

'Fine, let's say she devoured Eastern dragons because she didn't want to die. But why did she turn the East into this shitty hell?'

[That is... that is what I told you earlier...! Western dragons regard only themselves as great! To Velatus, a western dragon, the humans living in the East would have been lives without any value. The other western dragons besides her must have been the same!]

'Do you think that way too?'

Fragment fell silent at that question. Unable to continue, they hesitated before letting out a long sigh.

[I... am not a western dragon. I am merely a fragment Velatus left behind to maintain and repair the Sword Tower. So I... cannot regard everything besides myself as worthless, as Velatus does. That does not mean I cherish or love humans, but I, too, see this place as hell.]

Kyle snickered at the answer. Fragment truly was different from Velatus.

"You said you used to be an Eastern dragon."

Kyle spoke to Imugi, who was walking ahead.

"You said every Eastern dragon was hunted down and devoured by Velatus and the western dragons. So why are you still alive?"

"Because I chose to fall from dragonhood and become an Imugi."

Imugi shrugged.

"I tore out my heart, split it in half, and destroyed it. It was a desperate measure only possible because I was a young Eastern dragon."

"An old Eastern dragon couldn't do that?"

"It would probably be impossible. An Eastern dragon's body grows larger as time passes, and its heart accumulates enormous mana condensed from all those years. If such a heart is split apart, the body can no longer be sustained. In the end, it would be no different from suicide. It might be possible... but old Eastern dragons would never choose such a method."

"Because they regard themselves as great?"

At that, Imugi stopped walking and turned to Kyle with startled eyes.

"...Yes, just as you said, my benefactor. All Eastern dragons believe themselves to be the noblest and greatest beings in heaven and earth. They are born that way, and as they live, they become aware of it and grow certain of it. That is why Eastern dragons would never choose to fall from dragonhood."

"You must have been quite an unusual Eastern dragon."

"Rather than unusual, I was simply young. I had not yet developed enough pride to insist that I was noble and great. In the end, I merely struggled to survive."

"Like Velatus?"

Imugi silently stared at Kyle for a moment. Then Imugi let out a short sigh, turned around, and resumed leading them.

"You have a mischievous side, my benefactor."

"You said it yourself. You hate Velatus, admire her, and are grateful to her."

"I chose this kind of fall from dragonhood myself, but even then, I had the pride of an Eastern dragon. That is why I hate the Dragon Queen who left me with no choice but to become an Imugi."

The procession entered deep into the forest on the mountain Kyle had descended from.

"I did not know that Eastern dragons became such ugly, repulsive beings when they died. I learned that truth because of the Dragon Queen, so I am grateful to her."

As they went deeper into the forest, Kyle sensed something strange in the mana here. Just as when he had entered Izelion's forest, this forest was covered in a complex formation array.

"The reason I admire the Dragon Queen... is because she is more like an Eastern dragon than any Eastern dragon I have ever seen. Every Eastern dragon values only itself and considers itself noble and great. In that sense, the Dragon Queen is more like an Eastern dragon than anything else."

Imugi stopped walking.

Rumble...

The forest began to shake. Imugi raised both hands, turned around, and looked at Kyle and the others.

"We will be descending from here. Please do not resist. Trust me and follow."

The ground began to sink. The farm people made startled noises and murmured among themselves, but when Kyle conveyed, [Do not move], they all covered their mouths with both hands and hunched their shoulders.

"As you have seen, my benefactor, the East today is no different from hell."

The ground beneath their feet descended deep underground, while the surrounding earth rose and blocked off the ceiling. In the pitch-black darkness, Imugi created light. Countless lights, drifting like fireflies, illuminated the darkness.

"All of this was done by the Dragon Queen to evade the fate and karma of her race. My benefactor, there are no western dragons in the East now besides the Dragon Queen."

"So she did not only devour Eastern dragons."

"Yes. When some of the western dragons who came with the Dragon Queen began reaching the end of their Lifespans, the Dragon Queen... devoured every western dragon that had followed her into this land as well. She had already accumulated power by devouring all the Eastern dragons, so the western dragons could not resist."

Kyle looked around as he listened. He could see the earth continuously rising around them. They were descending deep beneath the forest.

"That was two hundred years ago. Having become the only western dragon in this land, the Dragon Queen scattered her own blood and flesh throughout the East. There was a limit to extending her Lifespan by devouring Eastern dragons and western dragons. So she tried to share the Heaven's decree awaiting her with this entire land."

Soha let out a short groan.

The lives of those who carried Izelion's blood were bound to the roots of the Spirit Tree. If the Spirit Tree's roots rotted and died, all of Izelion would perish.

"The humans who received Velatus's blood and flesh rejoice, calling it the blessing of the Dragon Nether. But in truth, they are merely scapegoats made to share the Heaven's decree meant for the Dragon Queen. They drain vital essence from humans, make and consume cultivation pills, and offer living sacrifices to the Dragon Queen. But all of it is simply sorcery to prolong the Dragon Queen's life by even one more day."

The trembling around them began to subside.

"There would be no end if I tried to describe every atrocity the Dragon Queen has committed in this land. After all, it has gone on for three hundred years. First of all... my benefactor, welcome to the Underground City."

The earthen lift stopped, and the walls blocking their way opened to either side. Before Kyle and his party unfolded a sight that was impossible to believe lay underground.

"Wow."

An exclamation escaped Kyle's lips before he realized it. A massive cavern beyond all common sense. Beneath a ceiling so high it hurt his neck to look up, an enormous city spread out before them.

Crystal-like ores were embedded in the ceiling and walls like stars, shedding a soft glow. Towers built throughout the cavern each gave off different lights.

He saw streets lined with red lanterns beneath the eaves, rooftops covered in blue and green glass tiles, pavilions painted with golden patterns, and scarlet bridges connecting them. Beneath the bridges flowed clear rivers.

Who could have imagined that such a vast city existed beneath a mountain range? And people lived in that city. They were different from those who lived above, beneath the sky and sun. They were not mixtures of humans and trees, nor mixtures of humans and western dragons. They were not naked creatures with protruding ribs and swollen bellies either.

They were ordinary people.

"Originally, this was the nest of an ancient Eastern dragon."

Imugi smiled faintly as they stood beside Kyle.

"That dragon was my great-grandfather. That dragon returned to nature before the Dragon Queen came to this land, and the city cultivated in the nest as a hobby was left abandoned."

"You brought people here?"

"Yes. The Dragon Queen never approaches the Wisdom Mountain Range, and those who received her curse do not come near this place either. There was no better place to hide."

"There seem to be quite a lot of people."

"I have not counted them, but there must be tens of thousands. Unlike me, humans cannot live on mana alone, so I cannot say they live abundant lives. But I am confident it is better than living on the surface."

Kyle had not seen all of the East, but the Mok Family's farm alone was enough to let him guess.

The world above was hell. Those who received Velatus's blood and flesh separated themselves from ordinary people, calling themselves Treefolk, servants, or Dragonkin. Though they had originally been ordinary humans themselves, they called humans lowborn, used them as slaves, devoured them, and turned them into cultivation pills.

That was not happening only on the Mok Family's farm. It must be happening throughout the East. Above ground, human lives were fuel for maintaining the Wall of Severance and nourishment for fattening those who had received Velatus's curse.

It was a life where dying at any moment would not be strange. And even if they somehow survived, they could not live as people. They could not learn language, wear clothes, or even eat properly.

But here, even if life was not abundant, it was far better than above.

"The world has turned upside down."

Jade muttered as he looked down at the city. He was right. Those living beneath the sky and sun could not live as people, while those unable to see the sky and forced to hide underground lived like people.

"They will live here."

Imugi looked back at the farm people.

They, too, stood with their mouths hanging open as they stared at the Underground City.

"They will learn language from the other humans here, then receive names. After that, they will become members of the Underground City."

"Do you normally bring surface humans here this way?"

"In the past, I brought humans hiding in the wilderness, or clan lords who rejected the Dragon Nether. But honestly, that has not happened in recent decades. I have only guided the occasional person who fled as far as this forest."

"That alone makes you unlike a western dragon in many ways. So what do you want from me?"

"My benefactor, you came from beyond the Wall. You will return there someday, will you not?"

"I know what you want to ask."

Kyle snickered and leaned against the railing overlooking the Underground City.

"You want me to take you and these people with me, something like that?"

"Yes."

"I don't think that will be necessary."

"...Pardon?"

"I came here to kill Velatus."

Kyle's voice quietly sank.

"And now I want to kill her too."

Velatus had said she would give him her heart.