Though the dragonslayers all seemed to be afflicted by the miasma, they still wielded their weapons with resolution and took the fight to the Bio Corpse Hydra and the priest behind it.
The plaza where everybody was situated was in a state of disrepair, and the homes surrounding the area were destroyed.
The remaining dragonslayers who had not joined the battle were rescuing the townsfolk and carrying them to safety.
However, the hydra was much nimbler than its looks suggested. I was honestly could not have kept up with Celes and her squad as the buff from Veno’s poison had dissipated.
Veno probably knew exactly how strong it was. Strong enough to wreck me, that’s for sure.
“Ugh…”
The Bio Corpse Hydra swung its tail and struck a dragonslayer, sending him flying. The dragonslayer landed some distance away and slumped over motionless.
Don’t tell me… he’s dead…?!
Did… did this all happened because I came to this town?
‘Nay. ‘tis because I resisted their Forced Possession Summoning. Thou oughtest not to worry.’
“Yukihisa. Lord Holy Dragon.”
“Muuuu.”
Arleaf did her best casting Aroma Heal with Muu as a catalyst on the dragonslayers.
Then, she grabbed me by the shoulders and started shaking.
“Get ahold of yourself!”
“But… if I weren’t… it’s my fault they…”
‘Nay, I am to blame…’
Perhaps it was hubristic of me to think I could save anyone.
It was because they got involved with me that first Nisua… and now Lif’el…
Accompanied with a loud clap, my cheek seared with pain.
“Yukihisa! Lord Dragon! Have you snapped out of it yet? Please, stop blaming yourselves.”
“But…”
“Neither of you have done anything wrong. The one guilty of this all is… well, in the case of my village, it would be Elbatoxin and the followers of the Holy Yggdrasil. The ones guilty are whoever did this without so much a pang of conscience, the ones who tolerated all of this. They are the ones who committed these horrible deeds and not you, Yukihisa.”
When Arleaf spoke so bluntly… her expression and the way she spoke seemed identical to her ancestor.
“After learning of the truth, Celes immediately jumped into battle without even thinking about herself. What we should do is grant her wish and help take the townsfolk to safety. And then… we should defeat that foul creature and its puppeteer.”
Am I right?, Arleaf followed up her pep talk.
“Muu!”
Muu seems to agree with what Arleaf had to say.
‘… aye. We should do exactly as the la.s.s says: ensure safety for the few who are still alive, slay the beast, then deal with the priest.’
“Yeah… you’re right.”
I realized I didn’t have time to waste feeling sorry for myself. We’re a pretty capable party.
“Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”
As I was pumping myself up, Celes found a gap through the Bio Corpse Hydra and she unleashed her Luminous Blade at the priest.
It clashed against his magical barrier and then split through, cutting the priest’s veil.
She was still following through her swing, but the priest… caught her blade with his bare hand?!
“Wha—!”
Even Celes was shocked.
I mean, she’s the strongest one around, isn’t she? How can anyone stop her special move with a single hand?
‘Hmm…?’
The priest’s veil drops onto the ground, revealing a wrinkly old elf looking down at Celes with scorn.
“You have done well to make it this far, but you shall get no further! You filthy humans foolishly underestimate my power!”
Then, he sent his fist straight onto Celes’ abdomen.
It might sound like an exaggeration, but he sent her flying for about five meters.
“Ugh… augh…”
“Your misconception that defeating me would end everything is, unfortunately for you, incorrect. Ahh, it will be such a pleasure to torture Saint Yggdra’s finest warriors, ahahaha…”
The wrinkly old fart was extremely c.o.c.ky.
Well, if you’re so strong, you be the leader of the dragonslayers then.
Anyway, the Karma Blaze strapped to Arleaf’s back started to glow like it never has before.
“Whoa?!”
“W-What the…?!”
“Hmm?!”
The bright light drew the attention of the priest.
“I-Is that the light of the sacred sword?! Impossible!”
Just as he was about to torture Celes to death, the priest began to panic.
“The sword…”
The sacred sword slowly lifted itself away from Arleaf’s back and floated upwards… and in front of me.
… is it telling me I should wield it?
I gingerly extend my hand out.
“Attack! Kill him now!”
The priest shouted his command at the Bio Corpse Hydra and it acknowledged the priest with a loud roar before charging over at us.
“Cohgray!”
I immediately grab Karma Blaze and then… a scene unfolded in front of my eyes.
This seemed like some laboratory or test facility but by the far wall stands a tree.
Arleaf’s ancestor and the man who dreamt of reclamation rushes in… they look older than I remember.
Standing across from them is an arrogant-looking elf.
“Virage, don’t do it!”
“Hahaha… I did not expect you to be able to follow my trail.”
“Do you have any idea what the h.e.l.l you’re doing?!”
“Of course I do. Since we have so painstakingly revived the world tree… we would be halting the progress of civilization if we do not make the best use of its graces. Everyone here understands. Everyone wishes to live with abundance. You, however, take it too easy.”
The prideful elf spits out his words.
“There is nothing wrong with treasuring the world tree. On the reverse, you are definitely in the wrong! Not only will your machines kill the world tree, it will go out of your control! The world cannot take any more damage! Why do you think Veno sacrificed his life?!”
“Hmpf! Such foolishness… that stupid dragon wanted to see this world prosper? I am doing no more than hurrying that.”
With a snap of his fingers, the elf’s goons surrounded him… as he flicked the switch on, powering the machine.
Then, the tree in the back started glowing.
“Hahahahahahaha! Do you understand yet? This marks the beginning of a new era!”
“Stop!”
The man who dreamt of reclamation rushed over, but Virage showed no signs of stopping.
It was immediately apparent what the machine did. A black, evil light began to flicker.
“What?!”
The earth began to quake as the needles snap out of the gauges.
“Cease it at once!”
“I-I shall do no such thing! It is going critical!”
The evil glow filled the immediate area and, starting with the man who dreamt of reclamation, a force knocked them all over.
In the middle of that light… was the shadow of a dragon much like Veno flying off somewhere.
The only positive thing was that light seemed to have protected the men at the hypocenter.
What we now call miasma began infecting the nation, forcing the survivors to take refuge.
And in the middle of all of that… the shamefaced elf and his men all spout out the same rehea.r.s.ed lines and blamed everything onto the man who dreamt of reclamation.
“I was forced to go through this inhuman plan by him!”
“Lies! This was all you!”
“What are you saying?! We are the victims here! How dare you lay the blame on us?! You despicable monster! You dreamer! It is your fault that everybody has now lost their homes!”
“That’s right!”
Of course, there were people who still believed in the man who dreamt of reclamation… but it would be understatement to call it a tragedy.
Dispirited, the man who dreamt of reclamation held his Karma Blaze and began to speak.
“We will be fine… no matter how difficult, how terrible the situation we get dragged into, we are simply back to square one. We simply have to once again build a better land for everyone to live, just as how Veno lent us this land before. Let us found a nation that they would envy… let us create the world that Veno envisioned, however…”
He paused before continuing to speak to his sword.
“The only regret I have is that when Veno reawakens, he would feel utterly betrayed. He… he was a great guy. And even if I can’t do it in this generation, I want him to see how beautiful this world will become.”
I still don’t know whether his dream came true or not.
I mean, I don’t really know this world and Veno doesn’t have any relation with the people alive now.
I’ve been living as a fugitive, but I’m sure there’s a lot of the world I haven’t seen yet.
There’s not much land people can live on because of the miasma. Arleaf’s family, his direct descendent, were forced to live right by the swamp.
But Karma Blaze witnessed those days.
He pa.s.sed down his world for us to see.
Oh, by the way, Veno?
‘What is it?’
What exactly is Karma Blaze? Is this the only one there is in the world?
‘Must I explain it right here and now? Well, simply put, there are more than this one. I know not the true name of the la.s.s’ sword, but there seems to be multiple. It activates only when it judges someone to be heroic and his enemy wicked. It is an inexplicable sword.’
I understood what Veno meant though.
To get into more detail, it seems like when heroes visit a certain ancient temple, a sword would appear out of thin air on the altar.
But if there are these hero’s swords in the first place, why would they come up with stuff like Forced Possession Summoning and that crazy living creature weapon? If people want heroes, they should at least live on as legend, right?
Those heroes can just fight for world peace, can’t they?
‘I wonder. Even I til this day know not the location of that temple. However, it is surprising that the dragonslayers do not wield such a weapon. ‘tis as if they have discarded it for Forced Possession Summoning and that patchwork beast.’
You think so, too? From what I can tell, these sacred swords seem to mean bad business for some people.
And then, Karma Blaze finds that one person.
Without warning, I had been transported back to my body and the priest had just commanded to hydra to attack us.
That priest… aside from more wrinkles on his face, he looks like a clone of Virage.
“Hurry and kill him! Do not let the sacred sword activate!”
Oh… I get it.
‘I do too. Uhh… testing, one, two, three.’
Veno’s voice suddenly became a lot louder.
“Wh-What?!”
‘What a coincidence to see you here, Virage. Everything had truly worked well for thee. Thou hadst successfully outwitted him and used the rest of us as scapegoats. Thou nearly deceivedest both me and the sword too.’
“Wh-Who are you?! Veno Yveval?!”
Oh, so Elfé’s real name is Virage then?
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