Chapter 175 - Another Enemy (3)

"I also have a question about that point.  Currently, I'm living my reincarnated life.  I don't think the Guide is holding back information to preserve my new sense of self…..."

"Why?  If it is as you've said, the guide has a clear objective, and the guide is leading you towards a specific direction…..  Why wouldn't the Guide clear up his ident.i.ty?  Wouldn't it be better if your goals is aligned with his?"

"My guess is that the Guide has set conditions he has to follow."

"Conditions?"

"It doesn't matter if it is me or Baion.  After being reincarnated, I believe the Guide isn't allowed to act in a way that would hinder the independence of the newly formed self.  If there are two selves present, I believe memories of the two selves might overlap and merge.  The confusion caused by this act might result in a completely different person emerging from the process"

"So you created another theory to support your other theory?"

"I did.  That is why I can't ask you to believe in it, since I don't know if it is the truth."

Yuren let out an embarra.s.sed laughter as he shrugged his shoulders.

This was what he thought, and if Kairen didn't believe him, it couldn't be helped.

If Kairen thought about it, Yuren's att.i.tude had always been like this.  His att.i.tude remained consistent from the moment Kairen had met him.  He was a hard person to trust, but his actions under duress made Kairen want to trust him.

"You are light-hearted and carefree.  Baion was much more earnest and meticulous.  How can a guy like you claim to be his descendant….."

"I'm not his descendant.  I'm really him."

"Yeah, yeah."

5

There were a lot of Dragons within the Albatan forest.

Unlike other places, Albatan and Libetan took control and created order within their habitat.  This was why there were a lot of Dragons that were reaching their maturity here.  The number of Dragons that reached adulthood was easily over 1000.

Moreover,the Dragon Slayer's Ritual was considered to be the most honorable tribulation one could go through.

When she learned this truth, Laura was puzzled.

"This place is ruled by a Dragon, so why……."

One of Minerel's pupil was getting ready for the Dragon Slayer's Ritual.

When one decided to go through the Dragon Slayer's Ritual, one had to notify and get permission from Albatan.  Then the Dragon that will be challenged would be notified, and a future date was set.  Both sides fought at peak condition.

Minerel tilted her head.

"Is it weird?"

Of course, it was weird.

The Plain of Darkness only treated the Dragon Slayer's Ritual to be a honorable tribulation, because it allowed them to acquire ma.s.sive amount of power.  On top of that, it was the only way they could create a Dragon weapon.  However, how could taking of a Dragon's life considered to be honorable when this land was ruled by a Dragon?

Minerel let out a laugh.

"It is like this from Albatan-nim's perspective.  He had acquired wisdom, so he wouldn't deny the other Dragons their rights to do the same. Wisdom is what the Dragons desire the most.  Wouldn't it be cruel for Albatan-nim to deny their chance to pursue their desire?  Should the Dragons give up their desire just because he protects them?"

"Ah……."

"After Reshoo-nim invented the Dragon Soul, the number of people attempting the Dragon Slayer's Ritual have decreased.  However, there are still many that wishes for a Dragon Soul or a Dragon weapon.  The Dragon Slayer's Ritual is essential for this.  Unlike the outside world, Albatan-nim presides over the ritual.  It is fair for both sides."

"I see……."

The Dragon and challenger wanted the fight even at the expense of their lives.

From the perspective of a civilized society, it was barbaric.  However, neither Dragons nor humans were able to find an alternative method to acquire what they want.

Laura querier her.

"The Dragons…  How many Dragon Slayer's Ritual does one need to go through to gain wisdom?"

It had been several thousand years since the Dragon Slayer's Ritual was found.  However, very few Dragons had acquired wisdom during that time.  There might be other wise Dragons residing in this wide world.  However, Laura only knew about Albatan and Libetan.

Minerel answered her.

"I have no idea."

"What?"

"Albatan-nim and Libetan-nim does not remember how many Dragon Slayer's Ritual they had performed.  It also depends on the opponents they faced…..  However, I'm sure one or two Rituals isn't enough."

It was an almost never ending tribulation for the Dragons.

They had no idea when they would acquire their wisdom.

Yet they continued to fight with their lives on the line for that sliver of possibility….

"The only thing that is certain is…  Each successful Dragon Slayer's Ritual brings about a noticeable rise in intelligence.  However, even in victory the Dragons possess the intelligence of a beast.  The wisdom is acquired by the Dragon only at the last moment when the threshold is crossed.  This is the extent of information that is known to us."

"It is quite cruel."

"Isn't it?"

At Laura's comments, Minerel let out a bitter laugh.

From the perspective of the Dragons, it was cruel.  It didn't matter if a Dragon was one step away from achieving wisdom.  They could die without experiencing any results they had accrued if that last step wasn't taken.

Minerel spoke.

"There might come a day when a more sensible person might find another way. On the other hand, people get sick, old and starve….  There might be no ideal solution to a painful death. We only had this method."

6

Saibein was a bit uncomfortable with Azell residing within the forest. 

At the same time, we was gripped with the desire to converse more with him.

It was quite the conflicting emotion.  The funny thing was the fact that Azell shared the same emotions as him.

"May I ask you for a favor?"

"What is it?"

"Will you help me persuade my daughter?"

"…I believe I was clear in spelling out my relations.h.i.+p with Niberis."

Of all the people he could ask, he was asking this of Azell?

Saibein let out a sigh.

"I know.  However, I have no one else I can ask for help.  I'll tell you information that will be of help to you.  I believe the truth I can tell you will be worth it."

"You have no idea what information I was able to gather outside.  Do you really think you'll be able to produce any useful information?"

"I do.  I have information that'll definitely be worth it."

"Hmm……."

"I want you to persuade my daughter. No, if you can't persuade her….   I want you to subdue her by force.  Bring her here.  Please give me a chance to persuade her."

Azell thought about it for a brief moment.  Could his information really be of any worth?  He already had enough information about the inner workings of the Plain of Darkness…..

However, it was also true that he was intrigued by Saibein's attempt at trying to persuade him.  Saibein seemed.  In the end, Azell nodded his head.

"I'll attempt it.  However, I cannot guarantee success.  Is that fine?"

"Thank you."

Saibein lowered his head.  When he saw this, Azell's expression turned complicated.  In the past, Saibein had been the prince of a hostile enemy force.  They had tried to kill each other.  Now he was lowering head, while asking Azell to save his daughter…..

Saibein spoke.

"There is two crucial important information I can give you…. First, I'll have to finish the story I didn't finish last time.  I'll have to tell you how I got here…..."

"You said you had two reasons"

"You remembered. First…  It was my wife's death."

When the madness descended, the remnant of his kingdom morphed into a religious organization.  Saibein became tired of the Plain of Darkness.

Just spending a year or two in such an environment would make anyone want to quit.  He spent over a 100 years there….  He monitored the situation that spanned longer than a human's lifespan.  

The things he loved and cherished was turning hideous.  All his work had built up his hope, but he knew full well that his actions hadn't improved anything.  Still, he continued to work hard believing that things would get better.  He hoped that everything he had loved once could return to what it used to be.  He deluded himself as he endured through the long years.

By the time his delusion crumbled, it was a wonder he hadn't gone crazy.

"It was an arranged married, but I loved her.  At first, I pitied her, and I wanted to treasure her….  My feelings started out like that.  It was funny.  After a little time had pa.s.sed, I realized I found my first love at my age."

His married life with his wife Elberis was his most brilliant memory during his long stay in the Plain of Darkness.  There was no tension between them, and he had been happy spending peaceful times with her.  They had been so happy when Niberis was born….

Azell had a peculiar feeling as he watched Saibein, who was reminiscing on old events.

Saibein had loved his wife, and he was happy for the birth of his daughter.

This wasn't the first time Azell had experienced this. His enemies had been capable of laughter and tears.  They showed they were capable of love and humanity.   

Hadn't he counseled Laura about this very subject?

Even though he had encountered this a many of times, he couldn't help but feel complicated emotions arise from within him.

Saibein didn't realize Azell was feeling such emotions.  He continued to speak.

"However, treachery was fermenting in the background."

Saibein spent more time wandering around the world than the time he spent inside the Plain of Darkness.

While he was gone, Elberis had been abused.

He wasn't talking about physical abuse.  From the time she was young, Elberis had been sickly.  Those that had called her useless in the past continued to bully her.

Elberis had always smiled in front of Saibein as if nothing was wrong….  From behind the scenes, she continued to be mocked and insulted.  They told her she was useless even as a tool for propagating the great bloodline.

Even after she gave birth to Niberis, the insults never went away.  Others pressured her to take drugs for fertility.  They pressured her to go through with magical experimentation.

"I was really an idiot.  I realized this after she had died."

When Saibein was with her, he had tried to s.h.i.+eld her.  No one dared to speak out of turn.

However, he had to go out for missions.  Moreover, he couldn't stop branch members of her family from approaching her.  They were her kin, and her tribe was one of the influential families within the ruling body of the Plain of Darkness.

"They conducted body modification experiments, so she could have more children.  In the end, her body became too burdened by the stress, and she lost her life."

When he found out the truth, Saibein had gone mad from rage and grief.

His usual self-control was nowhere to be found. He had killed the person that had authorized the experiment, and he had killed everyone that had carried out the experiment.  It resulted in him eradicating Elberis' entire tribe.

At his actions, the elders reacted in anger.

However, they couldn't kill Saibein, who was the legitimate son of Atein.

They tried to imprison Saibein, but he fled the Plain of Darkness before they could.

"That means……."

Azell furrowed his brows.

"Basically, you are a traitor."

"That's right.  However, I found this out when I talked to Laura.  They covered up what I did."

Saibein let out a bitter laugh.

Laura and the younger generation within the Plain of Darkness were told that Saibein had went missing after fighting the Guardian Shadows.  They didn't tell anyone what had happened.  They had completely sealed away information that would shake the loyalty of the younger generation.

"I asked my mother to take care of Niberis, who had just went into hibernation."

It was questionable as to whether Aincera was able to still feel love for her own child anymore.  Still, she was his only option, and Aincera agreed to his request.

"My mother put my case into arbitration, but the elders were uncompromising.  They sent out a hunting party to take me into custody.  However, I used the fruit of the missions, which I carried out over the years."

"Fruit of the mission?"