Dragon Maken War

Back to the present.

The air was cold. At least, this 200 year old ruin had good ventilation. They had no trouble breathing. However, the cold air that was emitted from the Undead in front of them was making the temperature of the room drop slightly.

Azell thought about the old stories as he looked at the Undead claiming to be the Demon King Balserk. He asked it a question.

“If you really are Balserk, I have couple questions I want to ask you....”

<You can ask me anything. I exist here to answer your questions.>

“That really sounds like something a Demon would say.”

<No, I don’t mean it like that. It is as I’ve said. I am here to answer your questions. I was placed here for that exact purpose. To be precise, it was....arranged to be this way.>

“What?”

Azell was surprised.

Balserk tapped its finger on its head as it spoke. Its fingers were all bones.

<It was made so that I couldn’t renew myself anymore. I was imprisoned here with my knowledge intact, so I could pass it onto a suitable person. You can ask me anything. If I can answer it, I will. Everything about me ceased to move forward around 300 years ago, so I can’t give you any fresh information.>

Azell furrowed his brows. Was this something arranged by Carlos? However, the facts didn’t add up.

‘The foremost problem is when it was imprisoned. What is going on?’

The guide had revealed the second gift, and it was something clearly left behind by Carlos. However, this one seemed to have no connection with Carlos.

Azell hid his confusion as he spoke.

“You claim to be a Demon. So how am I supposed to trust your words?”

<You seem to know much about the Demon race, yet you speak such words? Demons can’t lie.>

“However, they subtlety bend the truth to lead others down the path of destruction. First, I have a hard time believing you are a Demon.”

<Why?>

“Demons are existences with no real body. So how can one become an Undead?”

<That is a pertinent question. Before I became like this, I thought it was impossible too. Since

you already know a little bit about me and the Demon race... Weren’t you a bit suspicious about the story that was being told about my demise?>

“Are you talking about how a Demon without a corporeal form was killed?”

<That’s right.>

“My friend had a theory that even the Demon King’s demise was part of its plan.”

<Ho-oh. That is an interesting story. Could you go into further details?>

“Basically, Balserk was an existence that someone summoned in an attempt to make the world realize the existence of the Demon Race, and the danger they posed....that was his interpretation. Well, it sounds like a crazy plan, but we are talking about a being, who upended the world. So the crazy seems likely.”

<Ha ha ha. So the disappearance of the Demon King was intentional? It’s a fun conspiracy theory. Unfortunately, he was wrong. There was someone superior to me roaming this world, and I was caught by him. He imprisoned me. He had knowledge that the Demon race didn’t know about, and he had the ability to use that knowledge. I was put in a living human being. I was able to to feel pain and the depth of despair that can only be felt by the living....>

“Who was it?”

<I’m not in a position where I can tell you that. I want to tell you, but unfortunately, I’m prohibited from telling you. I really hope you realize that I am sincere. Usually, Demons like to speak and preen. I’m not sure if I can call myself a Demon anymore... Ah. Ah. The fact that I’m able to speak to someone is a good thing. This is fun, and it makes me happy. I want to do anything for you, who makes me feel this happy. Is this perhaps....>

Balserk spoke after he went over its thoughts for a moment.

<Is it love?>

“...probably not.”

<However, if we go by the definition of love, I think the emotion I’m feeling is love.>

“If that is true, it is unfortunate. I cannot reciprocate your love.”

Azell furrowed his brows. A Demon King, who left his name in history, was talking such nonsense.

Still, he could understand why it was happy.

It wasn’t a false assertion when it said that it was happy just to have a conversation with him. It’s mental wave was flowing out unfiltered, and it confirmed the veracity of the Balserk’s words.

<That is sad to hear. Well, it is said that first love is never realized. All right. Let us continue to exchange questions and answers.>

“If it is as you’ve said, the person that put you in this predicament probably had a grudge against you. That kind of person left something behind for me.... How can I trust such a person?”

<A grudge? He might have had one. Please believe me. That is my only request. I’ll tell you everything. I have to fulfill my duty.>

“What do you gain from doing so?”

<Death.>

“.......”

<I can’t do anything anymore. I can’t get out of here. I cannot die, and I can’t even go mad. This place is my own personal hell. I just want to be released from it. I can achieve that goal by fulfilling the task I was given. Shall we do an experiment? Get me to tell a lie.>

“Are you really the Demon King Balserk?”

<Nope. Everything I’ve said before is a lie. In truth, I’m.....>

Suddenly, the light in Balserk’s eyes disappeared. Azell stepped back in surprise.

“What the hell is this.”

At the same time as Azell mumbled to himself, all the bones making up Balserk’s body fell to the floor. Yuren was taken aback.

“There were no warning... The magical energy forming the Undead just disappeared.”

The Undead was already dead, and a foul technique was used to tie the soul down to the body. Basically, if the magical energy that was maintaining the spell disappeared, the soul could no longer remain in this plane of existence. Basically, the nucleus of the Undead would be gone.

However, something strange was going on here. The fact that one was able to become an Undead meant one had a soul that possessed a strong will or a lot of resentment. It would linger around for awhile upon its destruction like a ghost....

However, it had been snuffed out like a candle?

Doo-roo-rook.......

It happened at that moment. Within the shock and silence...

The fallen bones started to move.

It was as time was being rewound. The bones, which had fallen in a disorderly manner, rose into the air. They reassembled to form the skeleton of a human. After the process ended, the phantom fire started to burn with the skull, and the uneasy magical energy forming the Undead started to emit an ominous magical wave.

<Hah.......>

A tormented sound came out of the skeleton’s mouth.

<I would have preferred death to that. The time.... Uh? How much time has passed?>

Balserk asked with a trembling voice. It was as if it couldn’t think straight, because of the fear it was feeling. Everyone was confused by this fact. Azell answered the question.

“It wasn’t even a minute..”

<Only... It was only about... I was sent into the emptiness, and you guys only....>

Balserk hugged its body with both arms. It looked as if it was feeling cold, but the cold didn’t affect the Undead.

It took awhile before it calmed down.

Balserk spoke.

<...if I break one of the rules set by that bastard, I would suffer that fate. I cannot lie at all. If I do, I’m shut in an emptiness where I cannot perceive anything. Even my senses doesn’t exist at all. I even start to doubt if my thoughts exist. You don’t know how awful it is.....>

“What will you say if I said you are putting up a pretty good acting performance?”

<Then.......>

At Azell’s cold question, Balserk answered with a trembling voice.

<It’ll be unfortunate. That means anything I say won’t be believed. I don’t care if you believe me or not. I would have to beg for you to just hear me out.>

“.......”

It’s words were plaintive. It had revealed itself to be a Demon King, who once caused massive chaos in the world. Now it was in a situation where it was begging them to just listen to its words. It didn’t even care if its words were taken as the truth.

However, Azell’s eyes were cold.

If its words were to be believe, it had suffered a very cruel fate. Death through torture seemed like a kinder fate. It was a through violation of its soul.

Still, he decided to think further on it. How much chaos and destruction was caused by the Demon King Balserk?

What is this was done by someone, who had a unfathomable hatred for the Demon King? If so, would this be considered excessive?

‘It isn’t up for me to decide that.....’

Azell stopped thinking about it as he spoke to it.

“All right. You are the Demon King Balserk, and you have words you have to deliver to me. I’ll believe you for now. I’ll just how useful your information is after I hear it.”

<Thank you very much.>

There wasn’t a single drop of sarcasm in his words. The other party members excluding Azell looked at each other in confusion.

Azell asked a question.

“Then let me ask you this first. Someone imprisoned you, and someone wanted you to give me a message. Are they the same person?”

“Uh?”

Yuren’s eyes became wide. Azell was able to identify and ask the question that was at the heart of the confusion. Balserk gave an answer.

<No.>

“As I’ve expected. Then are you able to tell me the identity of the person, who arranged all of this?”

<I also cannot speak about him.>

“Hmm. So both of them didn’t want their identity known? Yet they wanted some important truth to be know.... Is the knowledge you possess something that can be known to anyone?”

<That’s right. Let’s put aside the discussion for now as to whether it is useful or not. This isn’t a secret that can’t be disseminated. However, most Demons do not know about this knowledge, so it is high in scarcity value.>

“I see. It makes me more curious as to who’s playing this mischief on me.... Ah, I have one more question regarding him. Was the person, who arranged all of this, a human magician?”

<That’s right. Yes, he was at a caliber where it was hard to believe he was a human magician.>

“I see.”

Azell’s expression turned serious. It was a useful clue in figuring out, who the guid was.

“All right. Then...”

Azell thought for a brief moment before he asked the question.

“What did he want you to tell me? ”

When Balserk’s existence was found out to be arranged by the guide, Azell knew the truth that would be told to him was set from the beginning. If he couldn’t ask for the guide’s identity, he was just going to ask only for the pertinent information.

Yuren was surprised, so he joined the conversation.

“Uh. Wait a moment.”

“Why?”

“If one read between the lines of what it said, wouldn’t it be released after telling you the message?”

“Isn’t it so, Balserk?”

<I believe so.>

When Balserk answered in the affirmative, Yuren was put in a sticky situation.

“Let’s ask that question later. I have couple things I want to ask it. If Demon King Balserk was so amazing, he must have been a big figure within the Demon race. Even if it is knowledge 300 years out of date, it probably possesses knowledge that’s worth a lot..... It might be the break we need to increase our power in groundbreaking fashion.”

“Hmm. I can see why you feel that way as a magician.”

“Shouldn’t it be the same for you? The knowledge of the Demon race isn’t only useful to magicians.....”

“You are right, but I don’t want to risk my life on a baseless information given to us by some unknown being. I can see why this Demon is attractive to magicians. It presents itself as a Demon that won’t lead others down the path of destruction.”

Azell took a glance, and it seemed Laura was showing some interest too. She didn’t reveal her feelings through her expression, but there was a light in her eyes as if she was itching to ask it a question.

“All right. Let me express my apology to your first, Balserk. It seems your liberation will have to be pushed to a later time.”

<It doesn’t matter to me. The fact that I’m able to converse with someone brings me great joy. I’ll think of it as entertainment before this lowly being meets its end. Even this is too go for me.>

Azell retreated, so Yuren and Laura could converse with Balserk. He sat in a corner as he spoke.

“We should meditate. I’m pretty sure this will be long and boring. Since there’s no time restriction, this might go on for several days.”

“Mmm.”

At those words, Kairen and Leticia let out a groan. As expected, when the two high ranked magician started to converse with Balserk, their words sounded like alien words to the two swordsman. Laura, who was normally quiet, was asking various questions with a twinkle in her eyes. They could already tell the waiting period would be long and tortuous.

However, the wait was unexpectedly short.

Koo-roo-roong......!

Only an hour had passed when an explosion from the surface shook the ruin.