Dragon Maken War

Chapter 146 - Heaven and Hell (2)

They were the Guardian Shadows.  Over 50 of them were following along as if they were guarding Azell.  As time passed, the number grew.

Kairen had a peculiar expression on his face.

“Is it possible for us to communicate with them?”

“It seems we have a hard time understanding them, but they understand us pretty well.”

“Mmm.  I think you are right.”

“Also, we aren’t really asking them to do anything difficult.”

When Yuren approached them, all the Guardian Shadows turned to look at him.  They were ghost-likes figures, and they all stared at him at the exact same moment.  It was eerie.  Yuren gulped as he spoke.

“I have a request.  I don’t care what kind, but could you guys capture some of the animals nearby?  They have to be brought back alive…..”

「We can do it…….」

「Beasts…….」

「We hunt…….」

About half of the 50 Guardian Shadows dispersed into the forest.

In short order, Yuren had a pile of animals in front of him.  Either bones were broken or magic was used to immobilize the animals.

“This is enough.  You should use this too, Laura.  I’ll continue Azell’s treatment for now.”

“Understood.”

Unlike Yuren, Laura’s magical energy and stamina had been exhausted.  

It was more effective to steal life energy rather than meditate.  

Yuren continued his treatment as he asked Kairen a question.

“What should we do now?”

Since Azell had lost his consciousness, it was up to Kairen to lead the party.

Kairen spoke.

“I thought about taking us to the nearest city to avoid them…..   However, I decided against it.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know about the others, but I don't think Reygus will give up even if we go into a city.  If we go into a city to use the civilians as shields, what happens if they do decide to attack….”

A catastrophe would occur.  If Reygus went wild at the center of a city, there would be several thousand civilian casualties.

Yuren spoke.

“However, it’ll be hard for us to continue running away like this.”

“Still, our situation won’t improve by going into a city.”

“I guess you are right.  Even if they don’t attack us, we’ll become surrounded.”

“For now, we have to rely on them.”

The number of Guardian Shadows were increasing.  It was as if all the Guardian Shadows on the continent was gathering here.  If the Guardian Shadows could hold back the enemies, it wouldn’t be too difficult for the party to run away.

Suddenly, Kairen asked them a question.

“You guys are all gathering here…  As expected, Azell is the man from the prophecy?”

「Prophecy…….」

「The person from the prophecy…….」

「Hero…….」

「We put our trust…….」

「The person that made our existence possible…….」

The Guardian Shadows started to speak from all sides.

Kairen confirmed it when he heard their words.

Azell was the prophesied being.

‘He is human yet he possesses Dragon Demon magic.  He will be the vessel for a great power, and he will attain our greatest wish.’

The being that created the Guardian Shadows had left behind this prophecy to the Guardians of the Prophecy.  The person mentioned would bring total destruction to the Dragon Demon king worshippers, and he would end this fight.

At the same time, he had a question.

“What do you mean by ‘the person that made our existence possible’?”

「He started…….」

「He was the beginning…….」

「He connects the beginning and the end….…….」

“…….”

As expected, it was hard to communicate with them.  Kairen’s face hardened from annoyance.

“Wait a moment.  The founder of the Guardian Shadow was….”

When Azell had explained his own identity, he had spoke about this very topic.

‘“His best friend, Archmage Carlos, devoted himself to completing an incredible magic.  What if this magic was used to put Azell in a deep sleep where his aging process was suspended?  What if he was placed in a location far away from prying eyes?  What if he slept like a Dragon through the long years in a place where humans didn’t dare travel?’

At the time, he had thought Azell was talking nonsense.  However, he now realized that Azell had confessed the truth to him.

It seemed the truth had been buried, and it had been lost to the world.  Who was the last person to know of Azell’s whereabouts?  Who could have made a prophecy that pointed to Azell as the final hope?  What magician was audacious enough to make ludicrous beings such as the Guardian Shadows?

Kairen could only think of one such person.

“Archmage Carlos Rizester…..”

There might have been others that may have known where Azell had been sleeping.

However, when one entered the qualifier that this person had to be a caliber of a magician able to create the Guardian Shadows, the only one that came to mind was Carlos.

Yuren spoke.

“Didn’t Reygus ask about the whereabouts of Carlos?”

“Since Azell is Azell Karzark, it wouldn’t be strange if Carlos Rizester was still alive somewhere.  It really is hard to believe, but the proof is right in front of us.”

“The strongest pair from the Dragon Demon war will re-emerge into the current era.  It really does sound like a joke.”

“It is a story that comes up quite often between knights and magicians.”

“What?”

“It is theorized that the records from the Dragon Demon war was exaggerated.  Still, many people try to be objective when discussing this subject.  The magicians and knights talk about how they would have fared against the figures from the Dragon Demon war……  This was why I’ve heard a lot of those talks between men.  They talked for days comparing who was stronger.”

Kairen let out a bitter laugh.

He felt the truth in his bones when he saw the fight between Azell and Reygus.  He knew now that the records from the Dragon Demon war wasn’t exaggerated.  The truth was written into the record as is.

‘However, if Carlos had created the Guardian Shadows, there are still many unanswered questions….’

The Guardian Shadows were a secret organization, and their existence weren’t known to the world.  So why didn’t Carlos reveal his identity to Azell and the Guardian Shadows?  Why did he only leave behind such a vague prophecy?

Moreover, even if he had the capability to create such beings, Kairen couldn’t discern the exact purpose behind creating the Guardian Shadows.

If Kairen was in Carlos’ shoes, he would have done it differently.  After faking his death from the world, wouldn’t it have been better to use his influence from the background to create an organization that could rival the Dragon Demon king worshippers?

Carlos had hidden his existence from the Guardian Shadows, and the Guardian Shadows started their activities only after the Great Darkness.  Kairen wonder why Carlos hadn’t opposed the Dragon Demon King worshippers before the Great Darkness when they had trampled over the human society.  What situation prevented him from doing so?

Suddenly, Yuren spoke.

“However, we can’t say for sure that this was done by Carlos.”

“Why?”

“The hints gathered here makes it easy to point the finger towards Carlos.  However, there are many unanswered questions.  Wouldn’t it be likely be the work of a descendant of Carlos that had been hidden from history?  I’m also one of the unknown descendant of Carlos.”

“You say you are Carlos’ descendant.  It seems you have no doubts to the veracity of that claim.”

“Azell did say I looked like Carlos.”

“Still, it isn’t definite proof that you are a descendant of Carlos.  Of course, there is also no reason not to believe your claim.”

“Jeez.  You are casting doubt on the identity of your comrade.”

“Since we have the same goal, I’ll honor the fact that we are comrades.  However, your identity is a bit suspect….  First, your guide is very suspicious.  Don’t we have to figure out his identity first?”

“Sadly, I can’t refute that point…..  Anyways, I recently came up with a fun theory about the identity of the guide.”

“What theory?”

“It could be Sage Baion…..”

“Baion? Why are you suddenly bringing him into this?”

Kairen furrowed his brows.  He had suffered through the Great Darkness, so of course, he was sensitive about that name.

Yuren was about to reply when it occurred.

“Ooh-ook…….”

Azell moaned as he opened his eyes.

Yuren had a look of pleasure on his face.

“Azell!”

“…….”

“Are you awake?  Can you hear me?”

Yuren asked the questions.  Azell spoke in a labored manner.

“Loud….”

“Huh?”

“Stop speaking so loudly……. My head…is ringing…….”

“Ah.  I’m sorry.  I was just so surprised.”

Yuren let out a bitter laugh.

Azell let out a sigh then he opened his mouth.  However, his mouth moved without emitting a sound, so Azell decided to communicate using Whispering.

-Since it is too difficult to speak, I’ll communicate through this technique.

“That might be fore the best.”

-Someone filled by body with turbid life energy.  Did you do it, Yuren?

“It was the only way we could treat you.”

-It seems we didn’t have the luxury to go to a healer.  I am worried about the side effect…. I guess it is better than dying from lack of treatment.  

As he spoke those words, he started actively using the life energy of the beasts injected into his body by Yuren.  When he was unconscious, he had passively received the life energy.  Now he was aware of the status of his body, so he could focus the life energy towards the locations that needed it the most.

Yuren was surprised.

“It seems something accelerated the process?”

-It is thanks to the power of the Dragon.

“What do you mean?”

-I’ve taken the power of the Dragons using the Dragon Slayer’s Ritual, but I hadn’t been able to digest it all yet.  In the process of healing, the power is now permeating into my body.  It is a huge waste of power, but it can’t be helped.

Azell furrowed his brows.  If he used the power of the Dragon for recovery, there was a downside.  He had originally planned on using the power to strengthen his body.  He had planned on using it to turn his magical energy further into Dragon Demon magic. That power was now being diverted.  Still, this was the best way forward right now.

His body was becoming noticeably better as his recovery speed increased.

The members of the party wondered if Azell could recover from such an injury.  Even if he was able to get better, it was assumed that Azell would suffer from the aftereffects.  His wounds were that serious.  His bones, muscles, organs and nerves…..

Blood flow had been stemmed through force, but now his blood circulation was slowly normalizing.  The damaged tissues were regaining their original forms.

The process was quite slow.  His recovery speed was much faster than a normal person, but he wasn’t able to be instantly cured from a serious injury.

-Please explain our current situation.

“It has been about an hour since we’ve exited the battlefield.”

-Only that much time had passed?

Azell was surprised.  He had completely lost consciousness, so he had no idea how much time had passed.

Yuren was terse as he explained the current situation.  He also told Azell about the Guardian Shadows.

“…this was why we were treating you while we took a break.  Moreover, we can’t dally here much longer.”

-I see.  I don’t know what method they are using, but they are able to track us….

“If their tracking method is still viable, they can track us down at any moment.  If they do track us down, we have to rely on the Guardian Shadows.  We have no choice but to keep running away.”

-The path to the Albatan forest will be quite treacherous.

“It seems you still plan on going there.  Maybe, that location might be the safest place for us….”