The 9Th Class Swordmaster: Blade Of Truth [EN]: Chapter 324

214. Platinum Dragon’s Lair (5)

[Divine Power?]

The blue snake wrapped around Carryl’s arm materialized, flicking its tongue as it spoke.

[Are you suggesting the Platinum Dragon used divine power?]

“Well, I don’t know, so I’m trying to confirm. What do you think, Mael?”

At that moment,

The blue snake shook its head and said,

[What do you mean by asking that?]

“Just wondering. Since you’re both reptiles, I thought you might think similarly.”

[Crazy… You’re the only one who would talk about Master Key and a dragon who lived through the Mythical Age like that.]

“Yeah, that’s why I’m asking.”

Mael fell silent at Carryl’s words.

“If the Platinum Dragon’s research so far wasn’t just a pastime, then what he ultimately seeks is divine power. But why did he experiment on humans and other races?”

[…….]

“It means that even the greatest dragon can’t reach the realm of the divine. On the other hand, he found that possibility in us. Humans are insignificant creations, but ironically, they have the potential to be exceptions.”

[Hmm…….]

“He took all his treasures left in the lair. No, even though he had the ability to move the entire lair, he left the corpses in the laboratory at the entrance. And even Rael, along with the chimera, to deliver his message.”

Everyone focused on his words.

“Why would he bother with such troublesome things? If he wanted to hide his research, he should have hidden it so no one could see it, like he has until now.”

Mael flicked his tongue, looking at Carryl, and said,

[I don’t know. Maybe it’s just a nasty disposition from a reptile’s head, as you said.]

“What if he wasn’t trying to hide it completely?”

[You speak as if you know the Platinum Dragon very well. It’s as if you know what the Platinum Dragon is thinking, something we don’t know.]

“What does he want to tell me?”

[…….]

Carryl closed his mouth.

‘If so, why did he choose such a complicated method? Hiding something ultimately means someone shouldn’t know.’

Instead, he spoke to them in his mind.

[Could it be.]

‘If he wants to inform someone but hide it from someone else…….’

[Are you saying that the one the Platinum Dragon is trying to hide from is God?!]

Carryl nodded.

As if he, too, didn’t want to be noticed by the being who might be looking down on him from above.

Everyone was silent at his words.

‘There are definitely traces.’

Carryl was certain.

As they said, he doesn’t know about the Platinum Dragon of the past. But Carryl, on the other hand, has experienced the Platinum Dragon of the future that they don’t know.

‘The past doesn’t notice the changes in the future. But if you know the future, you can know what thoughts the past will have. His habits and actions that I know.’

Platinum Dragon, Nardie Mauge.

He seemed like a noble dragon who resonated with everyone and fought for them, but in reality, he was an insidious being whose end could not be known.

‘But that guy sent me to Pharell [a location]. Letting me kill Oliven, the only emperor, and allowing me to change the past. Why? Because he believed I would fail even if I regressed [returned to the past]?’

Carryl shook his head.

‘If he sent me with such troublesome actions, it would be better to help Oliven and kill me, which would protect the trust he has built up so far and achieve his goal.’

Carryl frowned.

‘But he chose me. That means that, apart from benefiting humans, he himself also wants to change the future. Only… he didn’t care what happened to us in the process.’

The proof of that was this laboratory where humans were experimented on, the abandoned coffins, and the scattered corpses.

Why didn’t I know?

In my past life, I thought of Nardie Mauge as a dragon and comrade who fought for humans.

But even if the intentions are the same, the desired results are not all the same. I looked at the future from the perspective of humans, and even if he fought with me, he would have wanted it to change to the future that the dragon wanted.

From his point of view, whether it’s Wooden Cloud or the Empire, they’re just the same humans after all.

‘He was just using us as pawns to get to the future he wanted.’

I don’t think he’s selfish.

In the end, only the survivors can reign over the rest.

Carryl was rather grateful that he had been given another chance by being told that he could return to the past through Pharell.

‘Nardie Mauge. That twisted thought must be the same even now in the past. You still think of humans as tools, but in this life, you will be my tool.’

The reason why Carryl doesn’t let go of the string of doubt when everyone says there’s nothing is because of this.

Nardie Mauge has never shown his true colors even once.

‘His insidiousness wouldn’t have changed back then or now. In the end, there’s something he wants to hide until the end.’

Carryl said, stroking the empty wall.

“As you said, there may really be nothing. But he has been conducting research secretly for over a thousand years, from the current Wooden Cloud and the Empire, to the Fall, to the Seven Elders and Altemann in the Magic Era. What is the connection between them? Aln. What do you think is his ultimate goal?”

[Hmm… As you said, it’s either the power of God or the power against God. Either way, they are ultimately related to God.]

“That’s right. Then, where would be the perfect place to keep secrets completely during that research?”

[Of course, it would be his own front yard. This forbidden area where humans never set foot. Right here.]

Carryl nodded.

“Yes. This place must have been his nest and laboratory. The fact that he revealed such secrets to us means that he wanted us to notice. That what is not there is not necessarily absent.”

At Carryl’s command, Mael wrapped around his arm and slowly disappeared as if absorbed into the wall.

“There must be a hidden message inside.”

He said quietly, looking at the wall.

Woo woo woo woo…….

At that moment, the walls of the lair began to shake as if there was an earthquake.

It was then.

Whoosh……!!

As magical power flowed through Carryl’s hand and through the cracks in the wall, light began to leak out between dozens, hundreds of thin lines, like a spider web.

[This is…….]

Lamine, who was watching the scene, let out a low exclamation without realizing it. She frowned, looking at the small particles of light left in the lair.

“It’s warm…….”

Miliana said quietly without realizing it, looking at the light scattering from the wall. But it wasn’t the heat from the fire, nor the warmth from the wind.

She wanted to express something properly, but she frowned slightly as if she couldn’t think of a suitable word.

The energy emitted from the light itself.

[I can’t believe it.]

Duarte said with a sigh, watching the particles of light scattering into the air.

“What is this?”

“…….”

Miliana asked Carryl.

Realizing that the faces of the Spirit King and Carryl were stiff, she tilted her head.

Unlike her, Carryl, who has the power of the spirits, could definitely feel the power.

“Lasis…….”

Carryl recited the name of the Spirit King of Light.

[It’s definitely the power of the Second Wilderness [a realm of spirits]…….]

[But it’s different from when I was. Unlike Eintrieger [a location], where my power was sealed, this is just a part of Lasis. No, it’s just a tiny speck that’s not even a part.]

[But it’s definitely his power.]

[Is it for the same reason that the chimera had all the power of the Second Wilderness a little while ago?]

Lamine and Etheral continued.

“This confirms it.”

Carryl bit his lip.

“There’s no way we mortals, not gods, can have the power of God. The Platinum Dragon must have chosen the Spirit King of Light as an alternative to reach that realm.”

[Why…….]

The Spirit Kings said as if they didn’t understand.

To them, dragons were just loyal servants of God after all.

[Could it be that the dragon is thinking of rebelling against God?]

[I don’t know. Conversely, he might be trying to offer Lasis as a sacrifice to God. Lasis is the only one who has the same power of light as Yula.]

Carryl said, looking at the pure white particles scattering like dandelion seeds flying in the wind.

“Whatever the reason, there’s one thing we can be sure of.”

The fact that the remnants of the Spirit King of Light, sealed in the Platinum Dragon’s lair, remain,

“It means his seal has already been broken.”

[……!!]

The Spirit Kings’ energy shook lightly, as if surprised by his words.

[Certainly……. That’s highly likely.]

[No, that can’t be. No matter how much of a dragon he is, there’s no way he can break the seal that Yula herself placed.]

Opinions were divided.

But it wasn’t just Lasis’s seal that was the problem.

One person came to Carryl’s mind.

Another man who was with the Sword Demon, the first Blader, in the Millennium Ice Cave.

And the power he had.

‘Now, the blonde man in the Millennium Ice Cave was also said to be related to Lasis.’

He didn’t exist in my past life.

‘If……. If Nardie Mauge can really break Lasis’s seal. The one who woke him up in the Millennium Ice Cave is Nardie Mauge. It must be you. I need to know what that means and what you were trying to hide.’

[Calm down. And use your head. Carryl. If, as you said, the Platinum Dragon is chasing God and seeking the power of the Spirit King of Light, then we can’t necessarily think that the dragon is on God’s side.]

“But we can’t think that he’s on the side of humans either.”

[Yes, that’s it.]

Aln immediately pointed out Carryl’s thoughts about the Platinum Dragon that he had felt since his regression.

He laughed softly.

[We’re not trying to fight God with the dragon. The dragon is just a mountain to overcome in the end. The fight with him or them won’t be as simple as with humans. Hunting dragons is a challenge for humans in itself. We have to think ahead and overcome it. In the end, this is a numbers game.]

Carryl nodded at his words.

[If, as you said, this trace was not meant to be hidden but to be shown to you on purpose, then he will be looking for you as you are looking for him.]

[Does that mean that they are both aware of each other’s existence?]

[The place where we must meet……. It will be the battlefield in the end.]

The Spirit Kings said in a low voice.

“Yes.”

The time has come.

Now, it was time to unravel the tangled threads as a sword on the battlefield.

No,

“The tangled threads must be cut with a sword.”

Carryl scattered the crumbling particles of light and moved his steps out of the lair.

“Before that, we must tie up the loose ends of the human problem.”

Miliana followed him and said,

“That’s right.”