Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 125

125.

“You don’t mean that sword…….”

He took a step back without realizing it. Caribdis was puzzled by the sight of the being who had been so high and mighty the whole time freezing up. He tilted his head for a moment, then readily replied.

“They call it Bleister.”

“……!”

For Messeterius, it was a word he would rather not have heard. The name of the sword created back then was indeed Bleister!

‘Damn it! No way! That was Bleister? Why is that thing out in the world! I clearly heard that it was sealed deep underground by the other Spirit Kings and disappeared!’

His face turned blue as he gnashed his teeth. A sword imbued with the power of a demigod. Rumor had it that to create that sword, not only was a high-level spirit sacrificed, but Minerva even shaved off her own lifespan. So much so that the other Spirit Kings, unable to bear watching, deemed Minerva insane and even suggested annihilating her.

The monster created in such a way was right here. And in the hands of his enemy, of all people! Could his luck be any worse? If Minerva were in front of him right now, he felt like he could pour out a torrent of abuse.

Until now, he had been pretending to enjoy the situation, but he hadn’t forgotten that his opponent was a Sword Master. A being with the power to cut even the body of a dragon, his true form. Once he seized the initiative, he was an existence that could threaten his life at any moment. That’s why he had been pushing him with all his might from the start, to prevent him from even getting a chance to counterattack. But all of that was now about to turn to dust in an instant.

‘What should I do? Should I ask for help?’

The only thing that can overcome the power of a Spirit King is another Spirit King. As a Black Dragon, he was contracted with the Earth Spirit King, and Trowell was also the godfather of their brothers. If he asked for help, he would surely come. However…….

‘No! I can’t do such a shameful thing!’

A shred of pride blocked the impulse to call out immediately. The world of dragons was narrow enough as it was. To preserve his life by receiving help from others during a battle, he would surely become a laughingstock to his entire clan if that fact became known. How would he bear that ridicule, and what face would he show his father, who prioritized the honor of the clan above all else? Especially his smug younger brother would surely shake his head with a look of pity. The mere thought of it was horrifying.

‘But I can’t keep fighting like this…….’

A demigod’s power to a Sword Master was like giving wings to a tiger. He wasn’t foolish enough to engage in a battle he had no chance of winning. Of course, it would be much better than begging to survive, but dying at the hands of a human would be just as much of a laughingstock. From the past to the present, clansmen who died at the hands of humans couldn’t even have their names recorded in the dragon genealogy. He would absolutely refuse such a thing.

Fortunately, the other side hadn’t grasped the situation yet. Quickly racking his brain, Messeterius soon made a decision.

“Ahem, you’ve been taught a lesson enough, haven’t you?”

“……What?”

Ignoring the questioning gaze, he said solemnly, feigning composure.

“Now that I think about it, you did it without knowing, so I think I was too harsh. Well, I’ve already found all my belongings, and you seem to have understood my anger by now, so let’s just stop here. You really got lucky. It’s not often that I’m this generous.”

“I’m not sure what you mean. It doesn’t matter if you’re not generous.”

“What? Geez, you should know how to accept it when someone extends a favor. Do you like fighting that much? Are you happy to see your comrades bleeding and falling? Do you want me to slaughter all your subordinates? You look normal, but aren’t you a completely ruthless guy?”

It wasn’t his place to say, considering he was the one who had been carrying out the one-sided slaughter, but Messeterius shouted shamelessly. And Caribdis, who unexpectedly heard such a remark, hesitated uncharacteristically. The opponent’s behavior was so unexpected, and he wasn’t good with words, so he didn’t know how to handle the situation.

“That’s not what I meant…….”

“Right? It’s not, is it? You also think it’s better to end it here, right?”

“That’s…….”

“Yeah, I knew it. See, I know people’s minds so well? I’m so considerate. Anyway, in that sense, I’m leaving now! Let’s never see each other again!”

“What? Hey!”

By the time Caribdis, belatedly realizing the meaning, frowned, Messeterius had already disappeared from the spot. The best plan he could come up with at the moment—running away.

Thump! At that moment, as if waiting for it, a group of soldiers burst through the door. They were the ones who had belatedly rushed over after hearing the explosion.

“Lord Commander! Are you safe?”

The soldiers who entered were speechless at the sight of the room turned into ruins. It was a natural reaction, as one room had almost been blown away. Caribdis glanced at them for a moment, then frowned again.

‘Could it be that he retreated first so that they wouldn’t get involved?’

As a knight to the bone, he couldn’t even imagine that his opponent had fled during the duel. Moreover, he couldn’t even imagine that such a powerful being was intimidated by him. In the end, he chose to believe the words that Messeterius had thrown at him at the end.

‘To avoid innocent bloodshed, maybe he’s not as evil as I thought.’

Thus, an misunderstanding that no one knew about was deepening.

* * *

“Damn it!”

The place where Messeterius arrived using space- 이동 magic [teleportation magic] was in the forest a little away from the scene. He gnashed his teeth as he watched the soldiers busily moving from a distance.

Was his name Caribdis? That arrogant Sword Master was the last sacrifice to decorate the finale of his revenge. He had found and eliminated all the other owners, but he had left that one to the end only for this day. But to think that his perfect plan would fail so absurdly.

‘Ugh, I’m so angry! I was going to crush him to death and hang his corpse on the castle walls as an example! I couldn’t even start properly and had to retreat! How could this happen?’

He should have cut off his breath when he was staggering. He should have done it a little more, but he regretted taking his time to show off. After all, you shouldn’t give a Sword Master an opening. A lesson he already knew pierced his heart anew. Moreover, that guy will become even stronger in the future. Now that he has obtained Minerva’s power, there will be no one among humans, and even among dragons, who can read his presence. He felt even dirtier thinking that he had contributed to that process.

‘Wait, but is it okay to leave that alone? A power that disappeared from the world has reappeared, shouldn’t I inform the Spirit Kings?’

But he soon shook his head. To inform them of Bleister’s existence, he would have to reveal the circumstances of its discovery as well. If that happened, the process of him being humiliated by a human would have to be revealed as well.

‘I can’t do that. Who would pretend to know? I didn’t see anything. Yes, I didn’t come here today. So I don’t know anything about what happened here, yes, that’s right.’

He muttered as if hypnotizing himself and nodded satisfactorily. Fortunately, in preparation for such a situation, he had deliberately left no traces that would directly reveal his identity. If he left as he was, no one would be able to figure out his involvement. Messeterius was so confident. Until he experienced the next thing.

Thwack!

“Ugh!”

Suddenly, something struck the back of his head hard. It was such a tremendous impact that he was pushed forward by the pressure.

“What, what is it! Who dares!”

Barely supporting his staggering body, he grabbed his throbbing head and turned around. He was already in a bad mood, so whether they knew it or not, he was determined to teach them a lesson.

Until then, he hadn’t thought about it. It’s rare to find a mentally ill person who attacks strangers, and there aren’t many beings in the world who can rush at him knowing his identity. The sight that came into view immediately froze him in place. Because he saw the figure of a being who shouldn’t be here.

“Hmm, who is this? Isn’t it Mete [nickname for Messeterius]? I felt a familiar energy somewhere…….”

“……!”

Even the frosty face and sarcastic tone were familiar. He was leisurely standing with his arms crossed, repeatedly tossing a small stone into the air and catching it with one hand. Just looking at that, there was no need to find out what had hit his head a little while ago.

“You, you……!”

Messeterius couldn’t do anything but gape like a goldfish. The pain was long forgotten. Rather, the shock of seeing the scene in front of him was greater. Good heavens, no way. Why is this guy here? This was not in the plan at all?!

As if reading his horrified feelings, the one in front of him smiled. Then, the chilling impression softened to an amazing degree, and he began to exude a captivating atmosphere. It was that very smile that had made countless people flutter and, at the same time, frightened them for thousands of years. Messeterius shuddered without realizing it. Eyes that seemed to contain blood, and hair of a flamboyant red color that seemed to be burning, were clearly imprinted in his eyes to the point of pain.

“Long time no see, brother.”

Lapis Lazuli, his worst brother, was standing right there.

* * *

The journey, one month after departure, was very smooth. It was natural since I, a Spirit King, was on board, but even in sections known to be dangerous, the ship continued to sail safely without a single disturbance. The cabin was spacious and comfortable, and the group worked well together, so it was a relatively comfortable journey. ……Except for the incessantly ringing calls every day.

“So what happened?”

『He ran away.』

“Ran away?”

『Tsk, he disappeared in an instant and I missed him. He’s gotten quite clever in the meantime. How dare he try to escape in front of me? I’ll have to catch him and re-educate him.』

“Re-educate him……? He’s your brother.”

『That’s why I’m doing it. Do you think I’d do such a bothersome thing if he was someone I wasn’t related to? I do have affection for my blood relatives, you know. I cherish him quite a bit.』

That’s not cherishing, that’s tormenting, isn’t it?

I couldn’t bring myself to shout that at Lapis, who was sneering. Inside the round bead, his frowning face was flickering dimly. Was it called a communication stone? Lapis had given it to me before leaving, saying it would be necessary.

There are many stones and gems with unique properties in this world, and this is one of them. This stone, classified as a magic stone, has the property of projecting nearby objects as images when magic power is injected into it (although the image and sound quality aren’t very good). What’s unique is that if you divide it in half, both sides are connected and project the images they each see to each other. It doesn’t connect to other communication stones and is only possible between those who have divided the same communication stone, so it’s more often called a companion stone.

Anyway, because of such properties, this stone is usually made in pairs and used as a means of communication. Of course, in my case, I can’t inject magic power, so Lapis is the only one who can contact me unilaterally. Moreover, the call sound is so loud that I can’t ignore it. The cunning guy takes advantage of that and calls me every day.

‘If I had known this would happen, I shouldn’t have accepted it.’

Should I throw it into the sea? I was tempted to do so several times a day, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it because he would surely come after me right away.

He usually contacted me with useless matters, but sometimes he gave me useful information. Just like now. The Duke’s pursuit party, which had been chasing Clamor so closely, had withdrawn some time ago, leaving only a few behind. A certain incident that occurred at the official residence was the cause, and it seemed that the Black Dragon Messeterius, who was said to be Lapis’s brother, was deeply involved in that incident. For some reason, he caused such a huge commotion that he burned down one of the official residences, and the commander was transferred to the capital for questioning because of that.

According to Lapis, he learned about this fact because he happened to meet Messeterius, who was fleeing, right after the incident occurred. Although he ran away in an instant and couldn’t get all the information, he managed to obtain some useful information even in that short time. The most noteworthy of these was that most of the Duke’s knights had died, and that they had a spirit sword called ‘Bleister’ in their hands.

“Bleister?”

『It’s a sword that Minerva made in the past. You can think of it as an object strongly imbued with his power.』

“Is it very dangerous?”

『Of course, it’s imbued with the power of a Spirit King. There are many types of spirit swords, but Bleister is especially dangerous. At least it’s clear that it shouldn’t be in the hands of a mere human. That’s why it was buried deep underground a long time ago.』

“Hee, who took it out?”

『That’s what I was trying to find out, but he quickly ran away, you know? It must be that guy’s doing. He’s been digging up perfectly good land to collect ancient artifacts since a long time ago. I knew that guy would cause a big accident someday.』

“Hmm, anyway, the pursuit party has it now, right?”

『Yes, to be exact, it’s in the hands of their commander. It seems like he’s already awakened it.』

‘If it’s the commander, is it that man who is said to be the Duke’s right-hand man?’

I recalled the man I had glimpsed at the port. I thought he had an unusually strong scent of wind even though he wasn’t a spiritist, but now it seemed to be because of that sword.