Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 394

Swaaaash—

The man stood on the beach. His pale blond hair fluttered listlessly in the strong gusts of wind. It was high tide, and the rapidly rising seawater was swallowing his feet.

Villagers passing by, feeling the increasing strength of the currents, warned him to get out. He didn’t react, simply staring blankly at the horizon, as if in a trance. He seemed to be waiting for something, but nothing was there. No ships came to this place; only the finality of death, swallowed by the waves.

“Shouldn’t we stop him?” one villager asked.

“Yeah, something bad’s gonna happen if we leave him be,” another replied.

Recognizing the danger, the villagers approached the man. He wasn’t a local. He’d appeared suddenly that morning, wandering around without speaking to anyone. They didn’t know where he came from, but it was clear he was mentally unstable. They planned to drag him out of the water before he got hurt.

As they approached, the man bent and dipped his hand into the water. The villagers were dumbfounded, wondering if he was playing in the water at a time like this. The largest of them shouted gruffly.

“Hey! Are you trying to die? I told you to get out of there!”

He stopped mid-sentence, hearing a strange sound.

Splash, splash.

At first, he thought he’d misheard, but the sound grew louder and clearer.

Splash, splash.

Splash, splash, splash.

Splash, splash, splash, splash.

The villagers, feeling fear at the unknown sound, swallowed hard. Then, they felt vigorous movement in the water. Something dark was rapidly approaching the man.

“……!”

Their eyes widened. Dark fins repeatedly pierced the surface. A school of huge fish, hundreds at first glance, circled the man as if fawning over him. The man, as if expecting it, stroked the fish that rushed toward him. It was a wondrous yet bizarre sight.

The strangeness didn’t end there. Suddenly, the man slashed his palm, spilling red blood. The fish greedily devoured it. Splash, splash, splash! A fierce battle to eat continued in the water.

“Now, go.”

The man’s tightly closed mouth opened for the first time. The fish, their movements calmed, began returning to the sea, as if understanding his words. After confirming they’d completely disappeared, the man turned and left the beach, not even glancing at the villagers, as if they didn’t exist.

Until then, the villagers were frozen, speechless. Some looked back at the man, but didn’t dare approach. They had lived in this village for generations, watching this sea all their lives, but had never heard of such a bizarre phenomenon. They were afraid to touch him.

Finally, when the man’s figure had completely disappeared, they exchanged bewildered glances. One asked with a pale face, “What the hell was that?”

“……”

Of course, no one could answer.

* * *

The Karif Sea, the ocean between the Rom Continent and the Masker Continent, is vast and famous for its fast, rough currents. Only the island nation of Algiersman, settled and developed independently by descendants of pirates, exists within it. The people of Algiersman, who spend their entire lives on the island, were excellent sailors and fishermen. To them, the Karif Sea was the kingdom’s guardian deity and a precious source of life. The Algiersman people navigated the infamous sea, which had claimed countless sailors, as if it were their own front yard.

However, even they avoided the central, deepest part of the Karif Sea. There, several currents met and collided randomly. No matter how skilled the captain, there was no way to control them, and it was an unwritten rule that anyone who entered would surely die. Even aquatic monsters, which breed more actively in rough seas, couldn’t survive there. But now, someone was calmly settled in that deep place.

“Haaaah.”

The one sighing in the middle of the deep sea was a boy as beautiful as a doll. His hair, swaying gently with the waves, was as blue as lapis lazuli [a deep-blue metamorphic rock used as a semi-precious stone]. The clear pupils in his sharp eyes were also a deep blue.

Though he appeared human, it was unlikely he was. Ordinary humans can’t breathe underwater. The fact that he could stay here without problems was solid proof he was not human. Of course, even excluding humans, few races could breathe underwater and withstand the depths of the Karif Sea. Okal of the Blue Dragon Clan—that was the boy’s identity.

Since ancient times, dragons have been a rare race. Their innate strong abilities and long lifespans diminished their desire to reproduce. As a result, despite the Lord’s encouragement, only one or two children were born per clan every thousand years. The Blue Clan was in the most serious situation; hatchlings were a distant memory.

The last child born in their clan was Okal, who hatched 3,000 years ago. Because of this, he was loved by everyone as the youngest, even after his coming-of-age ceremony. He also had the strong backing of being a direct descendant of Elder Lamias, and his personality was gentle and polite, so he was praised wherever he went. But that was all in the past now.

“I know you didn’t do it on purpose, but the damage is so great that I have no choice. You must take responsibility for this.”

The coolly subdued voice of Lord Diagon echoed in his mind. Diagon, who rose to the position of Lord at a young age, was always like a pleasant uncle to Okal, but now wore a stern face he’d never seen before. Not only him, but all the dragon clans looked at him with hardened expressions. The Blue Clan was heartbroken beyond words. The model student who was the pride of the clan had become the troublemaker who caused the biggest accident overnight. Fortunately, thanks to his reputation, he ended up with a suspension. If he hadn’t been a direct descendant of Lamias, he would have been exiled for sure. Contributing to the birth of an evil god, however unintentional, was a serious crime. The Spirit Realm would no longer trust the Dragon Clan as before because of this incident. Personally, he also lost a precious acquaintance.

‘I’m sorry, Glen.’

Okal sighed again. He never dreamed his sudden death would be related to him. He shouldn’t have gotten close to the demons out of mere curiosity. If he could, he wanted to turn back time and undo what happened.

Okal didn’t even know Karyuan was a Demon King. From the first time they met, Karyuan had completely concealed his magic power and used a false name, to the point where Okal naturally recognized him as an ordinary low-ranking demon. Looking back, it was all intentional, but Okal was careless. He couldn’t have imagined the Demon King would appear while hiding his identity.

However, even if he had known, it might not have been much different. Okal was interested in interacting with different species, and demons were a race not easy to meet in Arkadon. If he had known he was the Demon King, he might have welcomed him even more. He certainly would have. Okal knew himself better than anyone, which made his self-loathing even greater.

“Are you the ‘Jeweler’ Okal? I heard you deal with rare minerals that are hard to find?”

The day he first met Karyuan was still vivid. Dragons are hardly affected by oblivion, but even if that weren’t the case, Okal would never forget that day. It was that impressive.

The first thing that caught his eye was the jet-black hair that stretched down to his waist. In Arkadon, black hair is occasionally seen, even if not common. All Black Dragons had black hair, and some human families had entire bloodlines with black hair. He had met demons before, and all had black hair.

But Karyuan’s black hair was special—a perfect darkness that didn’t allow any impurities. It felt like black ink would be all over his hands if he touched it. It was the first time he felt black hair was gorgeous. With eyes as red as blood cast upon such dark black hair, he couldn’t look away from the intense colors. From then on, he seemed captivated without realizing it.

“It’s very rare to visit here without a guide. It’s a bit unfair that only you know my name. What is your name?”

“……Ar.”

“I see, Ar. Yes, I am the jeweler Okal. What are you looking for?”

“Can you get everything I say? What is the scope of your business?”

“Anything that exists on this earth.”

Blue Dragons mostly lived in deep water, and Okal was no exception. There was no water in the lair itself, but since everyone had to dive for a long time, it wasn’t an environment easily visited. Therefore, the first transaction was usually through an existing customer’s introduction. Because of the process, not many knew where he lived. It was the first time someone had visited on his own without any introduction or guide. He didn’t know what route he’d taken, but he must have put in a lot of effort to come all the way here. There was a high possibility he already knew Okal was a Blue Dragon. Even if he didn’t, he would have realized it in the process of coming.

Most people he’d met showed more interest in Okal the Dragon than Okal the Jeweler when they noticed his identity. On the other hand, Ar’s purpose seemed only in the transaction. He was the second person after his long-time friend, the unicorn Rigleo, who didn’t care even though he knew his identity. That piqued Okal’s interest.

“Do you happen to have a soul stone?”

Moreover, this unusual guest was looking for something unusual. Okal had to try not to show his surprise.

“I didn’t expect this. A soul stone……. It’s certainly a jewel, but. Why are you looking for it?”

Strictly speaking, a soul stone isn’t a real mineral, but belonged more precisely to the soul. It wasn’t common, but there were cases where the soul was wrongly bounced out after death and fell into the gap between dimensions. If it fell into another space-time, the underworld could no longer track it, and the soul lost in this way solidified into a small stone found in a completely unexpected place. That was a soul stone.

Though called a jewel, it was originally a lost soul. The finder is supposed to immediately take it to the temple and report it, but the actual reporting rate was extremely low. There were many collectors who collected special objects, and nothing was as rare as a soul stone. It was so rare that anyone who found it was busy hiding it. Okal was one of those who actively collected these rarities. However, since it was clearly illegal, it was uncomfortable to mention it openly.

“Let’s just say it’s a personal interest. So, what’s the answer? Do you have it?”

“No, unfortunately, I don’t.”

“You’re not lying, are you?”

“Is there any need to lie? My grandfather used to secretly collect them, but I heard the Divine Realm discovered it and recovered them all. It must have been before I was born. Since then, nothing has been found.”

“I see.”

He nodded calmly. Okal was even more puzzled because he didn’t seem very disappointed even though he couldn’t get what he wanted.

“May I ask again why you are looking for it?”

“Why are you curious about the reason?”

“I just thought you might have a purpose other than mere interest.”

“Well, is that so? Then, what if the reason is to cause chaos in this world?”

At the provocative answer, Okal blinked greatly and burst into laughter, not because it was absurd, but because it was realistic. Soul stones could actually cause chaos. If processed and used, they would give objects a self. The ego sword [a sword with a will of its own] type with a human soul usually originated this way.

Even if it is a sword with the same ego, the spirit sword [a sword that enhances the wielder’s abilities] only improves the stats and doesn’t invade the owner’s consciousness unless the demon sword [a cursed sword] is in progress. However, the ego sword could be made from the beginning to control the owner’s body. It was a special weapon that could turn an ordinary person into a superhuman overnight, but if abused, it could become a mad sword that drives the owner crazy. Historically, transcendents [beings who have surpassed human limitations] who were mad with blood appeared that way. There were quite a few who made weapons for that purpose from the beginning. This world was full of people with stranger ideas than you might think.

Okal the Dragon had a different sense of ethics from humans and wasn’t very interested in what happened in the human world, so he just found what Ar was saying interesting.

“You’re an interesting person. You want to create chaos in the world?”

“Demons always crave blood.”

“But if that’s the case, you don’t have to look for a soul stone. Isn’t the demon sword that can be made in the Demon Realm enough?”

“Things from the Demon Realm are easily noticeable. Especially since someone is constantly watching me so I don’t do anything stupid.”

“In short, you want to be only behind the scenes.”

“Isn’t it natural to want to do bad things without anyone knowing?”

It was a very true statement, but not an answer to be said with such confidence. It was difficult to tell where he was being sincere and where he was joking because his tone and expression were so calm. Okal thought the demon in front of him was very interesting. He felt energized for the first time in a while, as he had been having a lot of free time lately.