Chapter 817 |
“The Gardener won’t just sit back and let this happen. Neither will the other transcendents. So we need to move as quickly as we can.”
I needed to save Yuhyun soon too, but unlike Liette, he wasn’t under a hard time limit. If anything, being caught by the Gardener had apparently stopped him from collapsing any further and left him in a suspended state. Liette, on the other hand, had one day. We had to bring her back before the Gardener, Crescent Moon, or anyone else interfered again.
“Liette is over there. Seong Hyunjae–ssi, here.”
I tossed Seong Hyunjae the chunk of wood embedded with magic stones. The stones jutted out from the wood in clusters, like raw amethyst crystals. It looked as though the dependents’ magic stones hadn’t been fully absorbed and had remained behind. The World Tree’s magic stone would be buried at the very center of it. Seong Hyunjae put the mass of magic stones into his inventory for now.
“Eat it slowly. You’ll get indigestion.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
Monster corpses were piled up in front of the deep-cut channel. Now that Seong Hyunjae was awake, had Sigma gone back to sleep? The King of Harmless, who had gone to Liette, flew back toward us.
– I put her back the way she was~ Now all that’s left is to revive her. Wait about ten minutes, until she stabilizes.
“Thanks. You’re even helping Noah–ssi? You seem a lot nicer than you used to be.”
“Paid?”
– Just a little something.
What did it get? I leapt over the channel in one bound. The haze of dust lying low like fog swept aside with a rush.
“Liette… can be brought back safely, right?”
Ru Ga Pheya asked quietly, glancing at Noah–ssi. The jellyfish waved its tentacles as if to ask what there was to worry about.
– Bringing dead people back is easy, isn’t it?
“No, normally it’s impossible.”
– It depends on the conditions. The most important thing is whether the individual’s origin is intact. Once the origin breaks, even the most impressive transcendent can’t bring someone back whole. But the black dragon’s only problem is that her body was destroyed.
Only? It said death like it was no big deal. Then again, it had said dependents could be revived as many times as necessary as long as their magic stones remained intact.
– However, once the body ceases activity, that individual’s origin also begins to disperse. That’s why there’s a time limit.
After we crossed the channel and went a little farther, I saw an enormous boulder jutting up ahead. Moon Hyunah was sitting on top of the rock, which blocked the way like a wall, holding her spear as she kept watch.
“Hyung-nim.”
Hyunah–ssi slid down the boulder. Her gaze moved over Noah, Seong Hyunjae, and Chief Song Taewon in turn.
“Looks like it ended well.”
“Yes. Sigma should be back in suspended animation.”
“The Puppeteer took him away separately for now. Said it wouldn’t be good for him to stay in the same place as Seong Hyunjae. The kids are behind here. Liette too.”
Hyunah–ssi’s voice was heavier than usual. Being prepared to lose someone didn’t mean you could be fine with it. Yerim and Peace were lying together. Hwang Rim, back to his original size, was there too. Liette had been laid down a little distance away. A coat had been spread wide over her body.
– You know that unlike monsters, humans only form magic stones above a certain rank, yes?
“…Yeah.”
– The higher the rank, the stronger the individual’s origin settles into place, and the more tightly it binds together, until it even takes physical form. Literally like a stone. It doesn’t break easily, nor does it disperse quickly. On the other hand, if the rank is low—around E-Rank or below—it’s like water or air. The moment the vessel called the body breaks, it pours right out.
Noah–ssi approached Liette. He looked down at her pale face in silence, then slowly bent over.
– That’s why transcendents usually don’t show much interest in anyone below S-Rank. The shock of being pulled out of a world is severe, so even an S-Rank might not withstand it. But S-Rank and above can be revived intact. Meanwhile, an F-Rank like you would be lucky to have one bucketful of water left~.
“So low-rank people lose their origin too quickly to be revived.”
– To revive an F-Rank, you would have to attempt it immediately after death. Even then, there would be some loss. Even if only one bucketful of water remained, you could add other water and bring them back. But then they would become a different being.
Noah–ssi knelt beside Liette. Quietly, as though offering a prayer. He slowly took out a pocket watch and waited for ten minutes to pass.
I turned my head and looked at Yuhyun, then at the King of Harmless.
“What about you, then? You’re not that different from someone who came back to life.”
– It happens to transcendents now and then. Just as a mountain collapses and becomes boulders and gravel, when a transcendent who has built up immense power breaks apart, the fragments and traces become something new. Of course, most of the time, other transcendents don’t simply leave a dead transcendent lying around. It would be such a waste.
They would try to make that power their own.
“Your magic stone… Chirp ate it.”
– It probably wasn’t the magic stone of a complete transcendent. Since it forced its way into the world and its existence was unstable, more of it would have shattered and scattered than remained as a magic stone. What scattered was left in your world, and I am one piece of it.
The jellyfish spun in place and fluttered its tentacles. If it had been outside, another transcendent would have happily scooped it up, but since it was our world, one they couldn’t access, they couldn’t touch it. That might have been one of the reasons Chatterbox gave up his qualifications as a transcendent and insisted on entering our world.
– I still call myself Ru Ga Pheya because I have the memories, but I am a being newly born between fragments of mist and people’s dreams. Similar to your children.
The tip of a tentacle poked my chest. Yuhyun looked at the jellyfish with a faintly displeased expression. If this had been the twenty-one-year-old Yuhyun, he would already have grabbed it and thrown it away. The difference five years made really was huge.
– There is also a child who contains a piece of you, but that child and you are different beings, aren’t you? It’s like that…
That was true. Byeol was hard to call me, of course, but she was also hard to call Blackey. She had inherited the monster’s memories, but anyone could see she was different. The same went for Gyeol. He was neither Diarma, nor Dragonkin, nor Seong Hyunjae. Seol also clearly had aspects that differed from the original black dragon.
All three children had been born anew and would live anew.
– I only have some memories left. I’m incomparably weaker than the King of Harmless~. A delicate one-year-old, you know. I’ll only grow more different from here on. I like the name Ru Ga Pheya, so I’ll keep using it, though. Among your children, the youngest one will probably see the memories of her previous life fade more and more.
“Byeol? …I heard that sort of thing happens with some young children.”
They said very small babies sometimes remembered things from the womb, or even from past lives. Then, as they turned one, then two, those memories gradually blurred. Would Byeol become like that too? Forgetting the pain from before, and this time receiving only love.
“Anyway… an innate S-Rank’s individual origin can last about a day without issue. But once it goes beyond that…”
My eyes met Yuhyun’s. Something bitter rose in my mouth. At the same time, I felt jealous of Noah–ssi. Liette had saved him. I had no right to think this. And yet something like envy surged up in me. I had had a chance too. I had too.
Ten minutes passed. Noah–ssi took a dagger out of his inventory. It was a white, ivory-like blade decorated with jewels. No—it was a dragon’s fang. He slowly rose to his feet.
“Noah–ssi, if—if you need help, say so anytime!”
I shouted that instead of asking whether it would be dangerous. Liette wouldn’t want her younger brother to get hurt because of her. Noah himself had felt the same way before. But in a situation like this, how could anyone hold back? At least, I couldn’t.
Gray eyes turned back to me. He smiled faintly.
“Yes.”
His long blond hair stirred softly in the wind.
“Dragonkin of Dio Valsesis. The far, far descendant.”
Noah–ssi’s voice continued.
“I saw the nation that vanished long ago, stayed in its capital, and protected it for three years.”
I remembered the city of dragons the twin light dragonkin had shown us. It seemed Noah had sent Liette away, then lived there afterward. It must have been a dungeon created from the past, like the one in Japan before.
“I fulfilled my duty as guardian and placed my name upon the golden registry.”
The fang dagger was held horizontally.
“The one who petitions you is the one hundred ninety-seventh son of Valsesis.”
A faint light began to glow from the dagger. He looked like an ancient priest performing a ritual.
– A resurrection rite offered to a transcendent.
Ru Ga Pheya explained in his place.
– A transcendent can grant prayers according to its own nature. The light dragonkin are transcendents of healing and coexistence, so reviving the black dragon is possible. Of course, because this is excessive interference, the conditions are complicated.
“The blood kin of your son. A twin of the dragon species.”
– Someone deeply connected to the petitioner, one who lives alongside him.
“The last of an ancient curse. She stood with the one who cut out the origin of that curse.”
– That’s you. Go on.
A tentacle poked my shoulder. Huh? Me? Noah–ssi looked back at me too. Did that mean killing Diarma? I went to Liette and stood opposite Noah. Yuhyun caught the jellyfish as it tried to follow me.
“It won’t harm hyung, will it?”
– He’s only guaranteeing the petitioner’s qualification. A simple witness~.
Ru Ga Pheya slipped out of Yuhyun’s grip and spun down near my shoulder. I looked at Noah, then Liette. I could be a witness as many times as they needed. Aside from how much I owed Noah–ssi, I didn’t want him to lose someone precious to him. Even through my envy, that feeling, at least, was clear.
– To stand in a position where you can deliver your wish to a transcendent who could be called the god of the light dragonkin, you need achievements worthy of it. That light dragon didn’t kill Diarma himself, but he did assist. That alone is plenty significant. Though he’ll have to pay a separate price.
Then would it grant my wish without a price? But I wasn’t light dragonkin, and the achievement of taking down Diarma had already been settled.
“I offer all that proof.”
The tip of the dagger moved toward Noah–ssi’s neck. The moment I flinched, the blade moved. It sliced through his golden hair in one clean stroke. The cut strands fell onto Liette’s chest.
Gu—
Ung—
At the same time, the air trembled. Light spread across the sky. A translucent shape emerged, writhing as it parted the clouds. It wasn’t real. A white dragon with feathered wings was coiled around a wingless black dragon. It embraced its flightless twin.
Even as an illusion, the black dragon’s presence was powerful. Holding onto its white twin in return, it bared teeth like blades. Though they had been born as opposing beings, they had complemented each other and spent a long, long time together. The immense black and white dragons intertwined, covering the sky.
– Aren’t they strange?
The jellyfish flicked a tentacle as if waving.
– It’s incredibly rare for two transcendents to come from the same world, much less the same country, and on top of that, they’re close twins. The two transcendents are always together and possess powerful healing abilities, so other transcendents can’t touch them recklessly. They’re neutral too.
Apparently, Diarma had first joined the Filial Duty Addicts to avoid those twins.
– Other than grinding their teeth at Diarma, they were never very interested in anything outside. They didn’t even make dependents.
Did that mean the two of them were enough on their own? The white dragon lowered its head toward us. Noah bowed respectfully beneath that gaze.
– The one hundred ninety-seventh son of Valsesis.
The dragon’s voice rang through the sky.
– You were not born as light dragonkin, but you received the name of Dio Valsesis and proved your qualifications. And now you say you will offer all that proof.
– All proof from past to future.
“…Future?”
At the ominous words, I looked at Noah–ssi in alarm. Noah–ssi did not answer me. His gaze remained fixed on the twin dragons.
“Yes. That is so.”
The fang dagger was placed over Liette’s chest, where his golden hair had scattered. The Veil of the Light Dragonkin draped long over it.
“I am going to live as Noah Luhir.”
Noah smiled.
“If I remained the successor of Dio Valsesis, I would be able to catch up to my sister soon enough. I might even surpass her. But even if I am a little slower and weaker now, that is all right. My sister will wait for me now.”
…
The Liette of now could do that. She could stop dismissing her weak younger brother, try to understand him, pause for a while to wait, then come stand beside him.
“So please save my sister. Please send her back to my side.”
– What a shame.
– But from our position, this is a request we have no choice but to grant.
– The final curse of the Venom and Curse Dragonkin has come to an end with you two. The twins of Dio Valsesis are free from the long, long cycle.
– We hope to meet you both again someday.
The veil took on light. Beneath it, the dagger and hair disappeared along with the veil. Immediately after, Liette drew in a short breath. A cough escaped her.
“Sister!”
Noah quickly bent down to check on Liette. The twin dragons in the sky faded away. Liette still hadn’t opened her eyes, but her breathing was steady. At the same time, a system message appeared before my eyes.
[The target under keyword application has revived.]
[The Final Recompense skill is being canceled.]
The strength drained out of me. When I checked my status window, Liette was no longer on the list of keyword targets. Liette really had come back to life. Deep relief and complicated emotions surged through me all at once. I saw Noah looking over Liette.
I clenched my fist tight. Yuhyun came to my side. I took my younger brother’s offered hand in mine. I couldn’t say I was okay. Of course I wasn’t okay. It hurt inside. I hadn’t wanted to let go of this hand either.
“Shall I offer you my hand too?”
Seong Hyunjae said as he came up beside me. What the hell.
“I don’t need it.”
“It’s nothing pathetic. Nothing to blame yourself for.”
Seong Hyunjae spoke quietly, as if he had read my mind. As if he were telling me I didn’t need to be ashamed of myself for not being able to feel purely happy. It was true that I couldn’t control how my heart moved… though I should keep it from showing as much as possible.
“I’m glad. And I apologize.”
Chief Song bowed his head toward Noah–ssi. Noah–ssi stared at him, puzzled.
“I bear a large part of the responsibility for Hunter Liette’s death. Because I failed to fulfill my role, Han Yujin–ssi’s team was put in danger.”
“…Ah, was that what happened? But accidents can happen at any time in the middle of battle. The one who harmed my sister was the World Tree, and that thing is gone now, so as long as it wasn’t intentional, it’s all right.”
“Anyway, Liette came back alive! Congratulations.”
Hyunah–ssi said it with refreshing bluntness. I pulled myself together and smiled too.
“I’m glad, Noah–ssi. But are you all right?”
“Yes. The stats I built up inside the subspace have disappeared, and I will never obtain the power of Dio Valsesis’s successor. But the light dragonkin title and skills remain.”
“Ah…”
“That’s enough. Even if the light dragonkin title itself had disappeared, I would have been all right. I can grow in my own way.”
I quickly nodded. Of course he could.
“Hyung.”
Yuhyun stepped back a little and spoke quietly. I moved with him.
“Why? Is your body feeling worse or—”
“It’s time for me to leave now.”
…
My heart dropped.
Yuhyun smiled.
–TL Notes–
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