Chapter 505

Episode 505. The Guardian Dragon (5)

After the initial bewilderment of the sudden encounter with Deus, Alon-nim shifted his gaze beyond him. More precisely, toward the fallen border guards. They all lay on the ground, battered and barely moving. Fortunately, it seemed there were no fatalities, indicating that Deus had restrained himself at least a little.

—… Was there a problem?

At Alon‘s question, Deus shook his head immediately.

—No, there was no special problem.

—… None?

—That is correct.

When Alon looked at him with eyes asking “then why did you do this?”, Deus replied without hesitation:

—Those guys insulted you, Alon-nim.

—Me? Suddenly?

—Yes. They said you were a vassal of Contanias, that one from the lineage of the great emperor.

—… A vassal?

—Yes.

Hearing this, Penia, who was standing nearby, added as she understood the situation:

—Hmm, it seems he felt embarrassed.

Penia, having seen Contanias in the Tower of the Seeker of the Path, could deduce his character without difficulty. Alon nodded, and Rine also looked down at the fallen men.

—Hmm, but even so, don’t you think leaving them in this state creates unnecessary conflict?

At Rine‘s remark, Deus said calmly:

—They said, in a joking tone, that Alon-nim was Contanias’s doormat.

—And why didn’t you kill them? It seems they are still alive.

Alon was left speechless by the radical change in Rine‘s attitude after hearing Deus‘s response.

‘I like that when they insult me, they defend me UFC-style instead of WWE, but…’

Isn’t it a bit extreme to ask why they are still alive, Rine? After that brief thought, Alon meditated on how to handle the situation. Given that Deus had wiped out the guard without a word, it didn’t seem easy to resolve the matter amicably. After a moment of silence:

—… For now, let’s move on.

Alon decided to pass by without trying to fix the mess. If he tried to offer explanations, it was very likely he would lose more time than expected.

‘It will be better to speak directly with Contanias.’

Just as Alon was preparing to cross the border:

—Damn you!!

One of the guards lying on the ground stood up with difficulty and glared at Alon with a gaze charged with fury.

‘By his uniform, he looks like the captain of the border guard…’

It was an unknown face. Naturally, since it was the first time Alon had crossed the northern border.

‘No, I’d swear there was someone else here last time too.’

Recalling that the person at the border last time was someone else, Alon approached the captain to try and talk.

—E-err, first, calm down.

He didn’t really know how to start the conversation, so he tried to appease the other’s excitement. However:

—Get out of the way! You damn piece of junk Mage!

Perhaps furious at having been humiliated by Deus, the captain shouted while looking at Alon with even deeper hatred. In that instant:

—Oh.

Alon felt it. A strange sensation coming from the sky. A peculiar feeling, as if someone were watching him. When Alon looked up at the firmament:

Something with a gigantic green light, beyond the blue sky, was subtly observing him from above. Realizing this, Alon turned his gaze. He saw Deus with a disturbing expression and Penia frowning visibly.

—… Wait.

Alon let out those words by pure instinct. But it was already too late. In the next second, Deus‘s identity hit the man’s face.

—Ugh!

The captain of the guard, whose name they never even learned, began to be beaten by Deus. In such a sinister and cruel way that it was hard to watch. After the storm passed:

—… Let’s go, Alon-nim.

—I think we should heal him…

—Heal him?

Alon‘s head throbbed seeing the man’s state, who not only bore the marks of Deus‘s beating but also small embedded ice crystals thrown by Penia.

—And Rine.

—Yes, Godfather.

—It seems it would be better not to bring those things out lightly.

—Oh, don’t worry, Godfather. It was just for intimidation.

—For intimidation?

—Yes.

—I see.

—Of course. What did you think I was going to do?

Rine responded with a fresh smile, but… to Alon, that smile felt strangely artificial.

—Was it really just for intimidation?

—Yes.

—Are you sure?

Rine shifted her gaze subtly to the side.

“…It’s for intimidation, right?”

Alon‘s mind filled with complications once again.

After crossing the border with ease (?), Alon, who had dismounted from Basiliora to camp, asked Deus a belated question.

—Deus.

—Yes, Alon-nim.

—By the way, what brings you to the Empire?

Since Deus was alone when he encountered the border guard, Alon asked curiously. Deus put on a slightly shy expression.

—It’s nothing special.

—Is it something you can’t talk about?

—It’s not that much, but…

Deus stammered unusually. Seeing his reaction, Alon waved his hand dismissively.

—If it’s hard to tell, you don’t have to say it.

—… I appreciate it.

Deus bowed at Alon‘s consideration. Since Alon didn’t want to pressure Deus to the point of discomfort, he shrugged and added:

—You’ve joined us naturally, but are you okay with it? We are heading toward the capital of the Northern Empire.

—It’s fine. I am also heading there for some pending business.

Deus replied to Alon‘s question.

“…What business could he be referring to?”

Once again, doubt crossed Alon‘s mind, but he decided to push it aside. If he couldn’t ask, there was no point in being curious.

—… Let’s prepare dinner.

—I will prepare it immediately —Evan replied—. By the way, what will we eat today?

—What will we eat…? —Alon meditated on the question.

‘How many days have we been eating the same thing?’

He thought of the days they had eaten sweet potatoes for dinner. Although he didn’t mind eating them all the time, he knew the others didn’t like them as much, so he decided:

—Today we will eat meat.

—An excellent choice.

Evan nodded with a radiant smile at Alon‘s decision. Conversely, the expressions of Penia and Rine became somewhat subtle, but Alon did not notice.

—…

Only Deus, watching the scene from behind, noticed it and couldn’t help but tilt his head in confusion.

Contanias, the prince of the Northern Empire, had been feeling quite good lately. Strictly speaking, he couldn’t help but feel that way due to the new power he had obtained.

The power he originally obtained by visiting the Seeker of the Path was not a strong ability, even if it was surreal. But that was only at the beginning. Since he met the Saintess in the Seeker’s Tower and, following her words, met with his relatives (excepting Nataman) to join forces and create the “Consecration Matrix,” he began to feel even omnipotent.

The reason was that, after creating the Matrix, his capabilities were strengthened in an absurd way. Originally, his ability wasn’t much: it only consisted of “listening.” Of course, it wasn’t just hearing better than others; his ability consisted, literally, of seeing through thoughts. It was an impressive ability, yes, but not enough to stop a Divine Blood.

However, from the moment he joined forces with his relatives to create the Consecration Matrix/Formation, his ability changed. Or rather, it should be said that it fused. Since the Matrix that repels new forms was created, Contanias was able to use the powers of his other relatives.

He could use the “Eye” that sees through everything.

The “Mouth” that fulfills any wish.

And the “Ear” that hears anything.

All of it in a much more powerful form than before. Especially the “Mouth” of Serdea Polanticia; although it was of a lower rank than dragon language, it allowed the manipulation of mana, which made Contanias feel even more all-powerful.

Of course, such strengthening came with the restriction that it could only be used within the area of the Consecration Matrix, but that was not a big problem for him. The Matrix currently covered the entire territory of the living Empire, which meant that within the Empire, he could wield immense power.

Furthermore, the abilities Contanias used grew gradually. Yes, growth. It was not a static power. The capabilities of the princess and the princes, including Contanias, strengthened as they used them. It wasn’t just that they got used to the handling; they literally grew, as if they were practicing martial arts.

Because of this, Contanias lived his days to the fullest, and his arrogance, which had withered after the Seeker’s Tower incident, was slowly inflating again. Thus, he did not feel so intimidated by recent rumors… not even when he heard that Alon Palatio, whom he so yearned to see, was approaching.

Yes, that’s how it should have been. But…

—… Wh-what is that…?

—How is it possible…?

—New forms are not supposed to be able to enter!

Contanias listened to the voices of his subjects while looking at the sky. And in the sky he observed:

Pachik! Pachichichichik!

Black lightning fell as something crossed the Empire’s firmament, swimming calmly toward the capital. As if the entire sky were its domain, scattering black mist and red lightning.

That silhouette, appearing suddenly in the blue sky, was enough to instill despair, but in reality, Contanias didn’t feel that much terror from the figure itself. Unlike his subjects, his eyes saw something else, even though that gigantic and chilling thing was approaching.

He saw a man riding on that black mass.

The King of Palantia.

That is, what was soaring through the sky was not an enemy. However, despite knowing this, Contanias’s face was pale as paper. The reason, ironically, was his ability. The “Eye” he had trained fervently after creating the Matrix, and which had grown to allow him to identify what was at a great distance, showed him something.

—… Ah.

It was forcing him to see what he would have preferred never to have seen.

Tch-ak!

A giant eye, floating in the abyss.

The apocalypse.