I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 353

“You, only you, must remain human.”

I blinked in confusion at Nameless’s words.

No, what a natural thing to say.

“I’m just fighting against the monsters as a human commander. Of course, I have no intention of becoming a monster.”

“……”

Nameless stared at me with a blank look, then,

“……Your handkerchief is dirty. I’ll wash it and return it to you next time.”

She took the handkerchief I gave her, tucked it into her robe, and pulled up the hood.

Her pale face, as white as her hair, was hidden in the shadows.

“Then, Ash. See you again.”

And Nameless disappeared into the darkness.

I just stared blankly at her retreating figure.

Why?

What Nameless just said to me sounded like a warning, but…

It sounded like something she wanted to say to herself.

‘Don’t become like me…’

Then does that mean Nameless herself is already a monster? Already swallowed by the darkness?

“…I won’t become a monster, Nameless.”

Even if I become a tyrant standing on the rules of the game.

I will not become a monster.

I will become a tyrant within the bounds of humanity.

“And I won’t let you become a monster either.”

The 742nd game.

I remember the final boss I met in that last stage – ‘The Sleepless Lake Princess’.

I remember her appearance, completely tainted by darkness, having fallen into a wretched monster.

‘I won’t let your end be that hideous monster.’

You are someone within my reach.

So… I will save you too. Nameless.

I clenched my fist tightly.

Definitely.

By any means necessary.

***

Time passed quickly. Almost ten days had gone by.

The snow that had fallen several times lost its momentum and subsided, and the weather was dry and clear.

Crossroad is preparing for the next defense battle with all its might.

The sounds of construction to reinforce the city walls, the sawing of wood to trim the palisades, and the shouts of people busily moving military supplies echo throughout the city.

After all, this Crossroad is a fortress city. The front line of the world where it collides with monsters.

This is the true form of Crossroad, doing its best to stop the monsters.

And, in a corner of Crossroad that is so busy-

“A~sh~i~i~i!”

…I was caught.

By the dragon lady, Dusk Bringer, who was growling with her sharp teeth like saw blades.

‘Damn it…!’

Dusk Bringer’s tiny hands held terrifying power. I couldn’t move an inch even though she just grabbed the edge of my collar.

I had been desperately avoiding Dusk Bringer for a while after the last siege battle, but I finally got caught…!

“You’ve been running away so well! I won’t let you go now! Now, look at me properly! Let’s have a conversation, Ash!”

“……”

I tried to turn my head away and avoid her gaze, but I was just sweating profusely.

The reason why Dusk Bringer had been looking for me and why I had been running away is simple.

It’s because she found out that I ate the Dragon Heart.

“What is that thing inside your body! Where did you pick up such a bad… something that’s not good for your body! Tell me the truth!”

“…No, what are you talking about? I’m royalty. I don’t eat junk food, only clean, clear, and expensive organic food…”

“Don’t talk nonsense! I’m a woman with dragon blood flowing through my veins! There’s no way I wouldn’t sense the dragon energy flowing through your body!”

“……”

“Can’t you tell me the truth! When, where, how did you get that power!”

“No, I mean, it’s not like I wanted to eat it…”

In the end, I told her everything.

How I collapsed from mana exhaustion after using [Imperial Decree] for the first time, and how Nameless got a Dragon Heart and fed it to me.

After hearing the whole story, Dusk Bringer looked dumbfounded, then reached out and grabbed my ear. Ouch! That hurts!

“You just ate it all up like that?”

“No, it wasn’t like I ate it all up… Someone else fed it to me while I was sleeping! It was against my will!”

“You idiot! If someone puts something in your mouth while you’re sleeping, you should spit it out! What kind of home education did you receive?”

“Who in the world gets home education to spit out food while sleeping!”

“Royalty should! Poisoning prevention is the most basic thing!”

Oh? Really? Do royals get that kind of education?

After bickering, Dusk Bringer seemed to have lost her strength and tapped her round forehead with her small hand.

I carefully asked, looking at her furrowed brow.

“Are you angry because I ate the heart of your kin?”

“What? Kin? Kiiiin?!”

Oh dear. Did I say something wrong?

It seems like I literally touched a nerve. Dusk Bringer looked completely pissed off and growled fiercely.

“What did you say? Kiiiiin?!”

I immediately bowed my head.

“I’m sorry. It was my fault. If you explain why you’re angry, I’ll correct it.”

“……Haaa.”

Dusk Bringer, with her hands on her hips, let out a sigh and slowly opened her mouth.

“The Dragon Heart you consumed is not from my kin.”

“Huh?”

What is she talking about? You’re a dragon. Then isn’t a Dragon Heart the heart of your kin?

“In the distant past, there were many kinds of dragons, but among them, there were two species that were arch-enemies.”

Dusk Bringer glanced at the sky.

“Red Dragons and Black Dragons. The Red Dragon Clan and the Black Dragon Clan.”

“Ah…!”

“As you know, the Red Dragon Clan are wise, intelligent, elegant, and considerate complete life forms, but the Black Dragon Clan are violent, evil, vicious, kraak, uaaak! Very, very bad guys.”

Somehow, the explanation is becoming more straightforward as it goes on.

“The Red Dragon Clan believed that the world was worth protecting and that life should flourish, but the Black Dragon Clan did not. They argued that this world was fundamentally wrong and that all life should be completely annihilated and restarted from nothing.”

“……”

“These two dragon clans fought each other from birth to the end, and eventually waged a great war. As a result of this war, the two dragon clans annihilated each other… leaving only my ancestor, the last Red Dragon, the previous ‘Dusk Bringer’.”

The guardian dragon who gave her name to the current Dusk Bringer, and who married the emperor of the Everblack Empire.

That’s why that Red Dragon was the last dragon in the world. They all died fighting each other.

Dusk Bringer placed her hand on her slender body.

“As you know, the blood of the Red Dragon Clan flows through my body. And what you consumed is…”

I finally had a hunch.

“…Are you saying it’s the heart of the Black Dragon Clan?”

“That’s right! Now do you understand the identity of the bad heart you ate!”

Dusk Bringer pointed at me and shouted.

“You ate the heart of the Black Dragon Clan just because you were in a state of mana exhaustion?! It’s like lighting a fire in your body because you’re cold! It’s like a huge bomb has been planted inside your body!”

“Hiiiik!”

Ah, no! Nameless! Why did you feed me something so dangerous! I know the situation was urgent, but!

“Do you know what happens when an ordinary human consumes a dragon heart?”

“What happens?!”

“You become a ‘vessel’ that can contain a dragon. It means you’re halfway qualified to become a dragon!”

Ho, holy shit! I was born in the year of the dragon on Earth!

“Then, what’s the other half of that qualification?!”

“……”

“Huh?! What is it?! I’m scared right now! I don’t want to become a dragon! I’m going to live as a human!”

But Dusk Bringer didn’t tell me about the other half after bringing it up.

Instead, she coughed and changed the subject.

“Anyway, the Black Dragon Clan are very, very bad guys. They tried to destroy this world.”

“No, what’s with the sudden change of topic? So what do I have to do to not become a dragon!”

“They must all be killed and eliminated, and they actually died out. But you suddenly ate their heart from somewhere! Where on earth…”

Dusk Bringer, who had paused, trembled as if she had just realized something.

“Could it be that the Black Dragon Clan is also resurrected in that dungeon…?”

“Yeah? Yeah, well…”

The Black Dragon Legion.

One of the most powerful monster legions. Every time I fought these guys in the game, my allies died in droves.

But they weren’t an immediate threat, so I honestly hadn’t given them much thought…

Dusk Bringer gritted her teeth and muttered fiercely.

“The Black Dragon Clan are beings whose birth is a sin in this world. They must all be killed and eliminated.”

“No, isn’t that too extreme?”

To say that being born is a sin.

That’s too much.

“There are beings whose birth is a sin, Ash.”

But Dusk Bringer said this with a serious face.

“For example, think about the monsters you are fighting.”

“……”

“The goblins that are attacking this time. They are like tumors and skin diseases of this world. They are monsters that only repeat looting, killing, and burning.”

Dusk Bringer poked me with her index finger.

“Aren’t you in a position to exterminate them all without leaving a single one? Wouldn’t you say that these monsters are guilty of being born into this world?”

“That’s… certainly, I’m in a position where I have to kill them all, but…”

But.

Even so.

Is being born, existing in the world, a sin just for that reason?

The reason I’m trying to kill them is because they tried to destroy the human world.

If there was a goblin that didn’t harm people, an individual that wasn’t interested in looting, killing, and burning.

Even such a goblin, should it be killed as soon as it’s born?

Is that… the right thing to do?

‘No, why are you having such a useless worry! Are you full? Soon, over 50,000 goblins will invade here!’

I know.

But… the sudden question was unavoidable.

Dusk Bringer snatched my hand as I was lost in thought and dragged me away.

“Anyway, let’s go to the temple.”

“Huh? Why the temple?”

“Why else! You ate junk food, so you need to get checked to see if you’re okay!”

No, what kind of check is that! Of course, I’m perfectly healthy!

***

In the end, I visited the temple, unable to resist Dusk Bringer’s stubbornness.

But I couldn’t get a checkup right away. The temple was quite busy.

The parties that had gone on autonomous exploration of the dungeon today had just returned, and it seemed that several people had been injured.

I could see the hero characters groaning and receiving treatment from the priests.

“It’s a relief that there don’t seem to be any seriously injured people.”

Dusk Bringer, who had stretched her neck and looked at the injured, said. I also carefully looked at the heroes.

“Huh?”

And, I found a man standing alone, separated from this group of injured people.

“……”

It was Torkel, the leader of the newly joined Leprosy Extermination Corps. He was leaning against the wall of the temple corridor, wearing his usual helmet, and standing still.

“Torkel!”

I was startled when I got closer. It was because there was a pool of blood at his feet. What the heck!

“What’s this, are you okay? Are you badly hurt?”

“…Ah, Your Highness.”

Torkel, who slowly turned to me, bowed his head. Blood was dripping from his body. What is going on!

“Are you okay?! You’re not going to die, are you?!”

“I’m fine… I can endure it. I’m waiting to get treated last…”

“What are you waiting for! Go over there and get a bandage right now!”

“……”

When Torkel glanced at the other patients gathered over there,

Whoosh!

The other patients, who were watching us, flinched and hurriedly moved away.

“…That’s why I’m waiting to receive it last.”

Torkel muttered bitterly from inside his helmet.

“Because everyone avoids lepers.”

“No…”

“It’s okay. I’m used to this treatment.”

Torkel silently lowered his head.

“It is said that those who committed sins against the goddess in their previous lives are reborn as lepers.”

“……”

“So we lepers are guilty of being born into this world.”

Being born into the world is a sin…

It was a topic that came up a little while ago. I didn’t expect to hear it again here.

While I was stammering, not knowing what to say, Dusk Bringer, who had popped out from beside me, shouted.

“No, no matter who it is! There’s no way that being born into the world is a sin!”

…Isn’t that a bit different from what you said earlier, Grand Duke?