Reincarnation of the Sword Demon - Chapter 181

WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Editor: Coughing Baby

Chapter 181: Assassination

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"You came... to kill the Dragon Queen?"

Imugi asked in a trembling voice. Their eyes held not only understandable shock, but disbelief as well.

It could not be helped. Imugi had witnessed everything Dragon Queen Velatus had done in the East for three hundred years.

Except for Imugi, every Eastern dragon in the East had been hunted by Velatus and the dragons, then devoured by Velatus. After that, even the dragons other than Velatus had been eaten by her. Thus, Velatus had become the oldest and last dragon in the world.

Then Velatus's blood and flesh had been scattered across the East, so everyone living on the surface revered Velatus. Had Mok Jin-un not said it? That the master of the Dragon Nether was a great and beloved creator. That was how the people on the surface felt about Velatus.

"That is impossible."

Imugi composed their expression and spoke firmly.

"There is no one on the surface who does not revere the Dragon Queen. The direct descendants of the Five Great Families, who once ruled the East, all ate the Dragon Queen's flesh and became her bloodkin. Those granted even a drop of her blood became her servants. They cannot defy the Dragon Queen's commands."

Most powerful clans that had not received such grace were exterminated and reduced to lowborn. The East was now a hell where a small number of bloodkin worked and devoured countless humans like livestock.

"If you wish to kill the Dragon Queen, you must fight the entire East. My benefactor, you are strong enough that I can hardly believe you are human, but you and your companions are far too few."

Katarina, Soha, and four members of the Sword Wolf Knights. It was a pitifully small number to face the Dragon Queen and her bloodkin. Imugi looked around the Underground City with a short sigh.

"I cannot offer any help in a full-scale war against the Dragon Queen. The people of the Underground City are weak compared to the Dragonkin, and I myself..."

"You don't need to help."

Kyle snickered.

"Velatus called me to this land, saying she'd give me her heart. Normally, doesn't someone die when their heart is ripped out? Even if she doesn't die, she'll be weaker than before."

Probably.

She did not seem like the type to die. Velatus had shut herself away in the East, isolated the entire world, devoured every member of her own race, and used humans as scapegoats simply because she did not want to die.

[Velatus went that far in order to wait for your reincarnation...!]

Fragment hurriedly defended Velatus, but Kyle let the words go in one ear and out the other. No matter what her true feelings were, Velatus was obsessed with living. It was extremely suspicious for such a being to willingly hand over her own heart.

Velatus would not die even without her heart. Kyle decided to assume that for now.

"If Velatus dies, wouldn't there be no reason to cross into the East? From what I've seen, those bastards who received the Dragon Nether's blessing seem to share Velatus's fate. If Velatus dies, won't they all die too?"

"I... don't know."

It was something Imugi had never considered even once, so they could only stammer out an answer.

"Even if they don't die, they'll take a hit. Doesn't that make killing Velatus even more clearly the right answer? If Velatus dies, the Wall of Severance will disappear, and the East will be more peaceful than it is now."

Kyle could not think of a clearer solution than that. The civilization of the East was being preserved here in the Underground City. There might only be tens of thousands of people here, but there were also the lowborn who had been raised on the surface. Their numbers would quickly grow.

Of course, it would not be as easy as saying it. But things would work out somehow. If necessary, they could move people from the West into the East, or make a deal with Duke Oun and send the Crows in to begin large-scale development of the East. People multiplied somehow as long as there was land.

It would take a great deal of time, but that was not something Kyle needed to worry about. It was better than relocating tens of thousands of people to a foreign land where they could not even speak the language and the civilization was different.

"I'm not asking you to lend us your strength, so just tell me where Velatus is. I heard she's in a place called the Dragon Nether. Where exactly is that?"

Kyle asked with a smile. Though he was speaking of going to kill a Dragon Queen who had lived for countless years, there was no tension or resolve on his face.

Imugi could only stare blankly at that sight for a moment. No one could cross the Wall of Severance. Therefore, someone from the West who had crossed that wall would naturally be someone the Dragon Queen herself had permitted to enter.

'I thought he was someone who brought a way to preserve the Dragon Queen's life.'

The heavenly servant who had come to guide him had gone mad, while the invited guest himself had become furious at the state of the East and seemed to pity the humans from the farm. Imugi, who was no longer an Eastern dragon, and the residents of the Underground City were people with no value to Velatus. Imugi had hoped that helping the envoy might let them escape this hell.

Yet Kyle said he would kill Velatus. It was an utterly absurd claim to Imugi, but there was not the slightest wavering in that boy's golden eyes. He had truly resolved to kill the Dragon Queen.

"...The Dragon Nether lies in the center of the eastern continent, in the heart of the Sand Sea."

Imugi composed their expression and spoke.

"That place was once a thriving great city until several hundred years ago, but it has now become a vast desert. Entering it is difficult enough, but leaving is impossible. The flows of ancient spirits throughout the East, such as the Spirit Tree, all lead there and intertwine to form a powerful barrier."

"T-the Spirit Tree?"

Soha flinched in surprise.

"Do you mean the Mok Family's Spirit Tree?"

"Yes. And not only the Spirit Tree. Every spirit served by the Five Great Houses is connected to the Sand Sea."

That made even Kyle tilt his head. He did not know about the other spirits, but if the Spirit Tree was connected to the Sand Sea and Velatus was draining its power, then was not the reason the Spirit Tree's roots, which supposedly extended all the way into the West, had begun to rot simply because Velatus had sucked away too much power? Not the Emperor or the Moon Church?

'It was a good thing I didn't listen to Family Head Muheok at the imperial party.'

Muheok probably had not known the circumstances in the East either. If Kyle had listened only to Muheok's words and attempted an assassination for Izelion's sake, the Emperor would have been wronged for nothing.

"Velatus has remained shut inside the Dragon Nether for decades without coming out. If you truly intend to kill the Dragon Queen... first subjugate the Mok Family, which is not far from here. If you free the Spirit Tree afterward, it will surely help with what you intend to do."

Soha sharply turned her head and looked at Kyle with pleading eyes. Her first priority was freeing Izelion from the shackles that bound it. If the Spirit Tree's rotting roots were related not to the imperial family but to Velatus, then freeing the Spirit Tree would mean helping her clan.

"Let's do that."

Kyle slowly nodded.

He still did not know whether Velatus had decided to hand over her heart because she intended to nobly accept death. Kyle did not think a Dragon Queen who had clung so pathetically to life for three hundred years would simply hand over her heart and kill herself.

'She must have some other purpose.'

There was no guarantee it would end once he received her heart, so he needed to cut off Velatus's limbs in advance. If Velatus had already prepared herself for death, she would not complain much even if her limbs were cut off. And if she had some other scheme, it would weaken her power. Either way, it was good.

"Since you have made such a great resolve for this land, I must make a resolve as well. I will prepare several magic treasures to aid your great undertaking, so please grant me a few days."

"I wasn't planning to leave right away anyway."

Kyle looked down at the city, which was so vast and brilliantly colorful that it was hard to believe it lay underground.

"We came all the way to a foreign land. We should sightsee."

If possible, he would also buy Kaya a souvenir.

* * *

Imugi lived in a palace at the center of the Underground City. Kyle declined Imugi's offer to guide them personally, sent them away after saying he would find the place himself, then went down into the city streets with his companions.

"Are all geniuses like that?"

Jade grumbled.

"I heard the conversation between the captain and Imugi, that person, too. But everything you said was so absurd I couldn't understand any of it. How can you answer so easily?"

"What did I say?"

"You said you're going to kill the Dragon Queen. Dragon Queen Velatus! Captain, do you know this? Even the legends about Velatus that I've only heard as old stories go back three thousand years. She's older than the Empire's history."

[Velatus has lived for roughly five thousand years.]

Fragment muttered weakly. His feelings could not help but be complicated in many ways.

Fragment's feelings for Velatus were a mixture of love and hate. He had been created by Velatus and left alone in the Sword Tower for three hundred years. He missed her because he had once been a part of her, but he also hated Velatus for abandoning him without telling him anything.

At the same time, he had felt pride. The Sword Tower was meant for the world, after all, and he had believed Velatus's seclusion was also for the world.

But Velatus had devoured every member of her race for her own survival, and turned even the East, where she had secluded herself, into hell.

This was too much. It was not right. Was there no other way? Was this truly the best she could do? Such thoughts swirled inside Fragment. His promise with Kyle had been that he would not take Velatus's side if she threatened Kyle.

But now Kyle had resolved to kill Velatus instead.

Then what should I do?

Fragment could not find an answer to that question. He only... only thought Velatus was wrong.

"Velatus has lived for five thousand years."

Kyle knew what Fragment was agonizing over, but he said nothing more to him. No matter what he said, those words would come from Kyle's own human perspective. Kyle was human, while Fragment was not. Their views were different from the start.

"Five thousand years...? You're going to kill a Dragon Queen who's lived for five thousand years? No matter how much of a genius you are, Captain, how can you make that decision so easily?"

"The captain has never even beaten the Sword Church Master, who has lived for five hundred years."

Narua, whose eyes had been sparkling as she looked around the stalls lining the street, spoke up.

"You've never beaten the Castle Lord either, and he hasn't even lived for a hundred years. So how can you kill a Dragon Queen who's lived for five thousand years? Narua doesn't understand."

"Living a long time doesn't automatically make you strong."

Kyle snorted.

"My grandfather and the Sword Church Master have lived a long time, but they're in their prime right now. Velatus isn't. The Dragon Queen has lived too long and gone senile. Her body probably isn't even sound anymore."

That was why she had devoured all kinds of things just because she did not want to die.

"People who might die any day are the ones who go crazy for health food."

"What if you lose, Captain?"

"What could happen besides dying? You all know, right? If I die, you die too."

"That's true for us. But if we die first, you won't die, Captain."

"I'll avenge you instead. If, by some chance, I die and you survive through luck, you need to avenge me too."

"I will follow you in death, Sir Kyle."

Lucia spoke. Her expression was as usual, and her voice was calm. That only made it sound less like a joke. Kyle turned to Lucia with a dumbfounded look.

"Why would you follow me in death? I'm telling you to avenge me."

"I will avenge you. Then I will follow you in death."

"Why?"

"Avenging you will not bring you back to life, Sir Kyle."

Why were there only women like this around him? Kyle could only let out a deep sigh without realizing it. Helenas and Lucia alike considered Kyle too important and were obsessed with him. To be honest, Kyle preferred cold and uncomplicated relationships to this clingy, obsessive affection. Or rather, he had never experienced any relationship other than that in his previous life.

'Come to think of it, the women around Ruin were also clingy and obsessive.'

Demon King Astaros, who had left Baal behind and told Ruin to kill himself.

Velatus, who had waited for Ruin for hundreds of years, turned the entire East into hell, and devoured every member of her own race.

Compared to those two, Helenas and Lucia's obsession was almost cute. At least for now.

"Anyway, I have no intention of dying in this faraway land. I don't intend to let any of you die either. So stop thinking such unlucky thoughts and enjoy the sightseeing. We came all this way. Shouldn't each of us buy a souvenir?"

The knights could only let out hollow laughs at his casual words. Saying he would kill the Dragon Queen who ruled the entire East was absurd enough, but Kyle's boldness in talking about souvenirs after declaring such an absurd goal was difficult to understand in many ways.

"Souvenirs... right, souvenirs are nice. But the currency is different. How are we supposed to buy anything?"

Jade gave up on understanding and let out a deep sigh. There was no need to understand in the first place. As long as he followed the captain's orders, that was enough. In the past, he would not have been so blindly loyal, but now Jade could risk his life without hesitation if Kyle ordered him to.

Kyle had given him that much. Jade had been born with a weak Spirit Root and few Circuits. Jade had not been rejected by the Krase Family because he was an illegitimate child, but because he had not been born with enough talent to overcome that status.

He had left the family and earned his living with a single sword as a freelance knight. But Jade knew his limits better than anyone. Before even discussing his talent with the sword, his vessel was too poor. He knew he would reach his limits faster than others, and that he could never overcome those limits through effort alone.

But now, after learning the sword from Kyle, receiving many Elixirs, and even having Artificial Circuits implanted by the Crows, most of what Jade had lacked from birth had been resolved. After receiving so much, he could offer his life without hesitation.

Jade was not the only one who thought that way. Lucia and Bruno had received much from Kyle as well. As for having received something, Narua had not yet received what she truly desired. Yet she, too, had long ago offered her life to Kyle for the sake of avenging her tribe.

"Even if the currency is different, we can barter. Hmm, wouldn't a jewel be enough?"

Kyle looked over the items on a nearby stall and pulled out a small jewel from his Out-of-Place Artifact. The things that immediately caught his eye were small dolls made from colorful woven threads and splendid spinning tops made from painted wood.

The stall owner, who had been staring wide-eyed at Kyle, chattered something in the eastern language.

"They say you can take whatever you want."

Soha interpreted. She looked over the eastern people who had gathered around them. The children's eyes sparkled as though they were watching a fascinating spectacle, but the adults' eyes were filled with reverence. To the easterners, Soha was naturally the most familiar person in the group. When their eyes met Soha's, they cried out loudly.

"What are they saying?"

"Hmm... they're all saying similar things. If there's anything we want, we should take it. And if we're hungry, we can come to their homes and they'll serve us a meal. They say they'll give us rooms too."

"I don't really want to take things from these people for free."

Kyle muttered as he picked up one of the dolls he had been eyeing.

"Well, if you think about it, it isn't free."

He had just decided to save the eastern continent, which Velatus was draining dry. It was cheap compensation for saving an entire continent, but this was all the people here could offer.

So Kyle decided to accept what they offered.

'I had nothing to do with heroic deeds in my previous life. Yet after reincarnating, I've ended up doing so many things I never intended to do and that don't suit me.'

Come to think of it, it was not only women's problems that had made him resemble Ruin. Just as Ruin saved the western continent from the Dark Age and restored its light, Kyle was about to undertake the great task of saving the eastern continent from Velatus.

'Fate...'

Arrangement.

Turning Point.

Such things drifted through his mind. Perhaps... coming to the East and resolving to take on such a great task was also part of a massive set of gears.

'If so, that pisses me off.'

Kyle narrowed his eyes as he stroked the doll.

'But what Velatus is doing pisses me off even more.'

He had never done anything heroic in his previous life, but that did not mean he had been a villain who did not know right from wrong.

At least, that was what Kyle thought.

* * *

Three days later.

Kyle and his party emerged from the Underground City and returned to the forest.

"Hmm."

Kyle lifted the long robe draped over his body. It was a magic treasure Imugi had made over three days, imbued with a technique that hindered the perceptions of others.

"We can see each other just fine, so I can't tell whether it's working properly."

Kyle muttered as he looked over the knights wearing identical robes. According to Imugi, they could deceive not only the Dragon Queen's heavenly servants but even the eyes of ordinary Dragonkin. Still, it was not omnipotent.

The technique fundamentally hindered perception, so it could not conceal them if they made contact with someone or revealed too powerful a presence.

"So in the end, we need to carry out an assassination."

Katarina muttered with an unhappy expression.

"Martial artists of mighty Alastor have to sneak in and commit an assassination..."

"An assassination does not necessarily mean killing someone in secret, does it?"

Kyle shrugged as he lowered the robe he had lifted.

"If we kill every witness, that counts as an assassination too."

"...Are you serious?"

Even Katarina, who had a violent and hot-blooded side, had never thought that far. Kyle snickered at her stunned expression.

"Well, I'm saying it might come to that depending on the situation."

Speaking casually, Kyle unfolded a map.

"First... let's head toward the Mok Family's main house."