Dragon Maken War

Kayalia was an existence that had escaped the restriction of space and time.

She could be anywhere she wanted to be, and nothing could restrict her movement. Even Atein was incapable of doing that.

It was proof that Kayalia wasn’t really part of this world.

She belong to a worlded called the Great Darkness. She watched this world from a vantage point that was out of this world, and she was merely projecting a shadow into this world. This was why she could appear anywhere she was viewing, and she could intrude into any place she wanted.

This was why it hadn’t been strange for her to disappear from Reygus’ side in one moment, and appear in the middle of the Dragon Demon palace in the next moment.

-It has been a while, unni.

“Kayalia. I heard you made an appearance in this era.”

Aincera had been in her room, but she showed no signs of surprise when she suddenly saw Kayalia. She already knew that Kayalia had been awoken alongside Reygus.

On the other hand, Kayalia was taken aback. It was as if Aincera wasn’t a living creature. Her eyes were dead, and she was completely different from the the Kayalia she remembered.

-.......

“I welcome your return. The time when we’ll able to carry out the king’s great work is nearing.”

Aincera was unperturbed as she spoke in an emotionless voice. Kayalia felt an extreme sense of foreignness.

-I already knew about this, but.... You are really are giving me the chills.

“What do you mean?”

-I’m talking about unni’s attitude.

In the past, Aincera had held extreme hatred for Kaylia. She didn’t even bother hiding her enmity during official events.

The reason was simple. Aincera had been in love, and she had been tormented when Atein showed interest in someone else.

She hated the second wife Tedrin for the same reason. However, if one compared her hate for Kayalia to her hate for Tedrin, it looked as if Aincera liked Tedrin.

Kayalia was in a special situation. She was the third wife, but at the same time, she had made a contract with Atein. She was also placed in similar regards as the Dragon Demon general. She was a comrade that could help Atein finish his great word. This made Aincera insanely jealous.

However, such emotions could no longer be found in Aincera.

“Are you talking about my past emotions toward you?”

-Yes.

“A lot of time has passed.”

-I don’t think that is the problem.

“It might not be.”

Aincera was still emotionless. Her current face superimposed with the face of Kayalia she remembered. It was the same face. She looked as if time hadn’t touched her face. She had kept the same appearance, yet how could she be so different?

Kayalia held back a sigh as she spoke.

-Alright, unni. I’m here, because I’m curious about something.

“You are more deeply linked to the Great Darkness. Why would you feel the need to ask about our current work?”

-It isn’t about that. I’m just curious about the king. You know it, right?

“What are you referring to?”

-I’m asking about the king’s goal.

“I know it.”

For a brief moment, Kayalia was surprised. There had been a faint smile on Aincera’s lips. For the first time, she had revealed a human emotion. It was as if life had been breathed into a stone. This was why Kayalia was surprised.

Kayalia asked her a question.

-I see. Reygus oppa and sir Almarick doesn’t know about it, but I knew unni would know about it. Please tell me. What is the king trying to do this time?

“He is.......”

Kayalia didn’t know if she wanted to laugh or cry when she heard Aincera’s answer.

2

Silence spread into the surrounding. For a brief moment, the members of Azell’s party thought they had heard wrong, so they turned to looked at Yuren.

“...that being is Atein?”

Yuren didn’t answer that question. He looked as if he would faint at any moment. He just glared at the hooded being.

The hooded being spoke.

“You are an interesting human. How were you able to recognize me?”

“.......”

Everyone stopped breathing.

The hooded being admitted to being Atein.

He raised both his hands towards the hood. Then he slowly lowered the hood.

Laura stopped breathing when she saw the the face that was revealed.

“King.......”

Naturally, she unconsciously mumbled her words. It was inevitable.

He possessed long black hair. It was as if one would be sucked into his dark blue eyes and Dragon Demon stone. He was a Dragon Demon youth with thick black horns. He looked to be carved out of marble, and he always seemed to have a far away look as if he was constantly looking into the distance. Countless portraits of him had been placed all over the Plain of Darkness, and he looked exactly like the portraits of the Dragon Demon King Atein.

“It is as you’ve said. I am Atein.”

Atein let out a soft smile as he spoke.

This was fulfillment the prophecy that had propped up the Dragon Demon King worshippers. Their belief had become reality at that moment.

Atein had returned from his death after 220 years.

Kairen bit his lips.

“...I never expected you to be revived already. It feels as if I’ve been hit squarely in the back of my head.”

“If it wasn’t for you guys, I would have revived at a later date.”

“What do you mean by that?”

Kairen furrowed his brows.

In his heart, he was struggling. He didn’t know what they should do. Should they attempt to flee? Maybe, they should buy time until reinforcements arrives?

A decisive battle, which would end the conflict, wouldn’t be waged here. If Azell was fine, it might have been a possibility. However, Azell had been ambushed and he was at death’s door right now. They had no chance of winning.

‘We’ll buy some time for now.’

They had to last until the arrival of the Guardian Shadows. The fact that they were at the mercy of their enemies until that time made his insides boil. However, they had no choice.

Atein spoke.

“Since you guys destroyed the pillars of the Great Darkness, my revival was pulled up a little bit.”

“Mmmm.......”

Kairen groaned.

Atein’s words could be interpreted in multiple ways.

Did he awaken in haste because the Great Darkness was threatened? Or was this part of his plan? Was the destruction of the pillars a prerequisite for his revival?

‘If it is the former, there is a possibility that the Great Darkness is unstable. Even if that is true, it doesn’t mean much now.’

Just the glimpse of the ability shown by Atein confirmed that he was too much for them.

Even if the fact that Azell was at death’s door from the ambush was put aside for now, the timing of the attack had been devilish. Atein’s attack had been outside of every possibility that had been considered by Kairen. They had been taken unawares.

Kairen shuddered, because it meant that Atein had escaped the attention of the information net cast by the Guardian Shadows.

He had mobilized over half of the Guardian Shadows to surveil the waypoints of the Road of Emptiness. If their enemies were moving long distance, they would used the Road of Emptiness. No one using the Road of Emptiness would have escaped the notice of the Guardian Shadows.

Atein, Almarick, and Atein had suddenly appeared in this place, so that left only one possibility.

“...is it the White Fire Phoenix?”

“Correct.”

Atein gave an affirmation.

Azell possessed 13 Dragon weapons, and he possessed a Dragon weapon called the Crying Phoenix. It was very similar to the White Fire Phoenix. The White Fire Phoenix was like the Crying Phoenix in that it was a Dragon weapon capable of high speed flight and battle.

Azell had told Kairen about it. The Crying Phoenix was created by copying the design of the White Flame Phoenix.

Kairen queried him.

“You came here to stop us from destroying this pillar of Darkness.”

“No.”

“What?”

At Atein’s sudden denial, Kairen was taken aback. Atein’s gaze headed towards Azell, who was receiving emergency care.

“In truth, I assumed the pillar here would have already been destroyed, so I had given up on it. However, I found out that I still had a chance to stop it, so I did.”

At the same time, Atein’s Dragon Demon magic flowed out. It was like a tsunami. It was an enormous power that exceeded the power of Almarick and Reygus.

The party flinched for a brief moment, but they weren’t overwhelmed by it. Atein was amused by the party’s reaction.

“Have you met someone that has comparable amount of magical energy to me? Aside from those that were sealed, there shouldn’t be anyone.... Hmmm. It might be possible if it was Albatan. Or did someone reach this level during my sleep?”

At his words, the party members furrowed their brows. Atein’s words were off for some reason. It was hard to pin down, but there was a sense of incongruity.

There was simple reason as to why the party members were able to keep their cool when faced with Atein’s wave of Dragon Demon magic.

Azell’s Dragon Demon magic was stronger.

Surprisingly, the amount of momentary power generated by Azell’s eight dual-banded Rings of Life exceeded Atein’s power. Azell had indifferently admitted that his power exceeded what he had possessed in his prime.

This was limited to the power generated by Azell’s body. If he used an outside vessel like the Dragon weapon to amplify his power, it was hard to believe that he was human. Of course, Atein could also display enormous amount of power if he started using his Dragon weapons. However, Atein’s power wasn’t outside the realm of possibility to the party members.

“Almarick, may you take care of the Tree god? I want to talk to them for a little bit longer. You’ll be able to seal it using this. Since he is in such a state, it won’t be too hard to seal him.”

“I’ll do so.”

Atein handed over a staff to Almarick. Almarick received the item, then he shot towards the Tree god.

Fierce winds erupted behind him, and thunder rang out. The Tree god finally regained function from the attack of Azell’s party, but it started to go under when faced with repeated attacks from Almarick.

“I’ll be able to easily seal the Tree god thanks to your efforts.”

Atein treated the massive power shaking the heavens and earth behind him as background noise. He calmly spoke.

“What shall I discuss first.....”

3

It had truly been a long time since he felt fear in front of an enemy.

Of course, he had been living on the knife’s edge as a warrior, so he was familiar with fear. It was the fear of not knowing when his life would end. He was afraid of the consequences that arose from his own death. These fear had always been with him.

However, it had been a very long time since he had been afraid of an enemy.

Reygus and Almarick had been unable to make him feel this way, yet he was afraid of Atein.

Was it because he was the Dragon Demon king?

No, that wasn’t it.

It wasn’t Atein’s legendary reputation that had caused it. Atein, who was in front of him, was causing this fear.

Atein didn’t show any hostility or murderous intent.

He simply wanted a conversation with Azell’s party. On the other hand, he had ambushed Azell, and Azell waso a critical condition. Almarick was in the background, and he was suppressing the Tree god with frightening display of power. It was as if Almarick was going to flip this world on its head.

Kairen didn’t understand why he was feeling this way. Maybe, it was the fact that he couldn’t predict what Atein was going to do. This might be the cause of his fear.

Atein spoke.

“I am curious about you all. I have a lot of questions.”

“You can continue to be curious.”

At Leticia’s retort, Atein spoke.

“Do you want to fight me right now? My goal is to take away Azell Karzark. There is no need for me to take all of your lives right now....”

“What?”

Anger infused into Kairen’s expression. Atein’s words implied that they weren’t even being considered to be worthy foes. Anger surged as it overshadowed Kairen’s fear.

It happened at that moment.

“How come you don’t know about it?”

Yuren suddenly asked his question. He truly had an odd expression on his face.