Chapter 17 Dragon Slayer’s Ritual (2).
Chapter 17 - Dragon Slayer’s Ritual (2)
“The P, Princess has always been able to sleep well in any place.”
Enora spoke nervously.
Enora was just a normal girl, so today’s events had taxed her physically and mentally. She felt like she could fall over any second from fatigue. However, she couldn’t sleep because she was afraid and nervous.
Azell laughed bitterly, while looking at Enora.
“Being able to sleep anywhere is a merit. Especially on the battlefield….”
“……”
“Little lady should also sleep a little.”
While speaking kindly, Azell touched Enora’s forehead with his fingers. This caused Enora to suddenly feel sleepy.
‘Ah, how come….?’
Such a question occurred to her, but it didn’t last long. She fell asleep just like that.
Rick queried.
“What did you do?
“I made her sleep.”
“You can do that?”
“It’s easy. Should I do it to you?”
“Is there any side effects?”
“None.”
“Please do so. I don’t think I’ll be able to fall asleep…….”
After saying those words, Rick fell asleep once Azell’s hand touched him.
Azell looked at the night sky through the trees as he mused.
‘The stars are still the same.’
This was the only thing that was intact from his memories.
3
Curiously, Azell hadn’t dreamed once since he woke up. It was as if he had dreamed a life time worth of dreams during his long sleep….
Of course, he couldn’t have. This was proven when Azell slept after he had rotated with Arrieta.
‘Azell’
Azell heard someone calling his name inside his dream.
‘Azell’
It was the sound of an unfamiliar man’s voice. However, there was some nostalgic sound mixed in there.
‘Who are you?’
While thinking this, Azell looked towards the owner of the voice.
Is it because it was a dream? The process of finding him wasn’t needed. The moment Azell thought he wanted to see the person, the person appeared in front of him.
‘Is this a dream?’
‘Yes. It is your dream.’
‘Who are you?’
‘Those are the most disappointing words in the world.’
The other person smiled wryly.
However, he couldn’t see the other’s face. It was as if his gaze wouldn’t reach above the other’s mouth….
‘You have to know who I am. Only then can you see me.’
Azell was momentarily lost in his thoughts, when he was given this unreasonable requirement. Then he suddenly thought of this one person, and he was shocked.
‘…Carlos?’
He was recorded in history as an arch mage, and he was Azell’s best friend.
Then his face was revealed. In front of his eyes, there was an old man with crooked features.
‘You….’
For a moment, Azell looked him over with surprised eyes. Carlos laughed playfully. Azell spoke while looking at him.
‘…you lost all your hair?’
‘Is that the only thing you can comment on!’
Carlos flew into a rage.
Yes. The man who was called an archmange, Carlos, was bald. All of the hair on his head was gone, but he had a robust beard. Azell smirked, while watching him fume.
‘What can I do when that’s the most visible thing. Anyways, you have aged.’
‘I’m different from you. I’m guessing you haven’t aged at all?’
‘Thanks to you. Can’t you tell by looking at me?’
‘I can’t see you.’
‘What?’
‘You are seeing a remnant I left in your energy pulse(TLN: think of it as his dantian). I’m just talking and moving like the Carlos you knew. However, I am not him. Also, I don’t share the same time as you. I can only have a conversation with you.’
‘The Carlos I knew wasn’t a bald headed old man…’
‘Is that the only thing you have to say!’
Carlos flew into a rage again. Azell burst out in laughter.
‘Poot.(TLN:sound of suppressed laughter) You must have become very temperamental when you aged? Carlos had a cold intellect. He was famous for being a cold and patient magician, who always made the right judgements. I don’t know how he became a bad tempered bald old man…. Tsk tsk. He must have swapped his precious thing for an archmage’s reputation. ‘
‘When you said precious thing, what are you trying to say to me? Huh? Surely, you aren’t talking about my hair? You aren’t, right?’
‘You are well aware of it yourself?’
Azell had a fun time teasing him.
The Carlos, in front of his eyes, was not the real. It was only the remnant of his thoughts he left behind. He must have made it to deliver a message to his friend who would wake up in an unknown period in the far distant future….
Still, it was quite enjoyable to make conversation with him. Even if he was a mere illusion, his memory of the time he spent with Carlos was revived.
Azell spoke.
‘By looking at your appearance, you must have made this remnant long after I fell asleep.’
‘Yes. I was 78 year old.’
The voice was different from Azell’s memories, because he had aged. However, there was a similar sound akin to the voice Azell remembered.
Even his appearance was like that. He had lost his hair, grown a thick beard, and the wrinkles were everywhere…. Still his eyes was very similar to the Carlos he knew.
Azell asked.
‘When did you start losing your hair?’
‘Stop talking about that.’
‘Jeez. Just tell me. If you don’t, then I’ll find out about it by looking through the history books.’
‘Do what you want. I’ll exercise my right to remain silent on the subject. Young kids have no manners.’
‘Jeez. I might look young, but I’m way older than you. I’ve woken up after sleeping for 220 years.’
‘The human age isn’t about how long you have existed. It is about how long you have lived.’
‘However, shouldn’t we include sleep as living?’
‘I guess so.’
‘Then acknowledge my age.’
‘If a person mimics an animal’s hibernation and sleeps then it isn’t included.’
‘You are forcing it.’
Azell laughed. Then he spoke.
‘Maybe you can’t react to facts you don’t know or wasn’t able to correctly predict?’
‘Yes.’
For example, Azell told the remnant of Carlos’ remnant that 220 years had pa.s.sed yet he didn’t show any surprise. Maybe, it was an information that couldn’t be entirely processed by the old remnant, so it couldn’t be respond to it.
Azell asked.
‘How long do you have?’
‘Not long. Most of the time had been wasted having a conversation with you.’
‘So we can’t have a long conversation.’
‘Maybe if I was a ghost, but I’m a remnant left inside someone else’s energy pulse.’
This meant that once Azell started circulating the magical energy through his magical pulse his own sense of self would become stronger, and the remnant would continue to fade.
It probably was disappearing even at this moment.
Azell queried.
‘Then I’ll ask you something important. You exist to give me what message?’
Carlos wouldn’t have made a remnant of his spirit to just stroke at his memories. There must be something he wanted to pa.s.s on to Azell.
Carlos spoke.
‘I don’t know when you woke up. Also, I have no idea what the situation at that time period will hold.’
He just felt relieved that it didn’t happen during his life time. The remnant of Carlos’ spirit said so.
‘I can only talk about the news based on when I lived. Azell, Atein is alive.’
‘What?’
Azell was taken aback.
The Dragon Demon King Atein was alive? This can’t be. Azell had killed him directly. Azell had killed him after setting up a situation where he couldn’t have survived the final battle!
Carlos spoke.
‘To be precise, he didn’t die all the way. Before you killed him, he prepared a method that’ll allow him to revive himself. Moreover, this method is being secretly carried out by his followers, who follow his will. This has been going on for a couple decades.’
‘If a dead person resurrects, then this sounds a bit different from the Undead body?’
Undead body uses black magic to recall the reaper above ground. However, they aren’t actually alive. They are corpses moving with the help of magical energy.
Carlos answered.
‘Yes. It isn’t the Undead body. This is a true rebirth.’
‘Is it possible? Even if it is Atein….’
‘I’ve concluded that it is possible, but even I can’t replicate it.’
‘Mmmm. If you concluded that it could happen then I guess it’s possible.’
Azell trusted Carlos’ judgement. At the very least, his predictions never missed the mark when it was related to magic.
Azell asked.
‘Then he could have already resurrected by the time I woke up?’
‘I don’t know. He could have revived or he could have failed to revive.’
‘What kind of an irresponsible answer is that?’
‘This will happen after I die, so why should I care? You have to live in the future, so I have to overcome my annoyance to give you a warning. Be thankful.’
‘That is really like you.’
Azell laughed bitterly.
Carlos spoke.
‘When you woke up, I don’t know how many of the arrangements I made had survived. I hope most of it survived, and it’ll be a help to you.’
‘So there is no guarantee any of it have survived?’
‘Just think about what you did while you were living. You robbed many ancient ruins and mazes. After I am dead, how can I guarantee the arrangements I made won’t meet the same fate? If one buries a treasure, then someone will always dig it back up.’
‘Mmm. That is true….’
The ruin, where Azell was asleep, was placed where not many humans would travel. However, the ruin was eventually found and a ma.s.sive excavation work began. Didn’t Azell wake up because of it?
Suddenly Azell asked a question.
‘Why have you appeared now? Why didn’t you show up when I first awoke?’
‘I guess it is because you didn’t come out of the ruins using the normal procedure.’
‘Huh?’
‘You didn’t get any of the items I prepared for you before coming out?’
‘…correct.’
‘Since it is none other than you, I thought that possibility would be high. Without the power of the ruin, this remnant wouldn’t have shown up in front of you.’
It wasn’t an easy task to maintain the remnant inside someone else’s magical pulse for around 200 years. It was only possible for Carlos, who was an arch-mage.
‘Inside the ruin, I left a map indicating where all the items you have to earn is located at. However…’
‘However?’
‘The fact that the remnant of my thoughts have appeared, it means the ruin is slowly losing its defensive powers, and it is transitioning into an emergency state.’
‘What?’
‘Someone broke through the protective system from the outside, so I appeared here to tell you the important informations. Also… When you are really in trouble, something you need will appear once and lend a helping hand..’ (TLN: it’s either something he needs or something that is needed – he is making a vague statement)
‘What do you mean by something I need?’
‘You will find out soon. Therfore… Live well.’
While laughing bitterly, Carlos disappeared from Azell’s dream.
4
“I can’t believe he became bald……”
Azell’s eyes naturally opened, and he muttered.
The words he muttered came out of nowhere, so Arrieta asked.
“What are you talking about?”
“Never mind. I was talking about my dream.”
Carlos’ apppearance in the dream was shocking. He used to be a cold handsome man who used to steal the heart of numerous ladies. However, he lost all his hair when he grew old.
Moreover, the fact that he had aged was shocking in itself. He had never thought he would be able to live and see his friend get old. Azell had never imagined it before.
Suddenly, this made him realize anew that he (TLN:Carlos) had died, while he slept.
Azell thought about the fact that he had been thrown into the far future by himself, and it made him feel lonely.