<Me? (5)>
Cale ignored reality.
The Five Colored Lights religion that was about to start new in Aipotu…
“Wait-”
He ignored the smiling Clopeh behind him and quickly ratted off to Pope Casillia.
“Wait, aren't the Five Colored Lights the foundation of this world? Then what the people worship is not me but the foundation of this world. And what do you mean by a temple? That makes no sense!”
It really made no sense.
“It has only been three days since we took down the Dragon Lord! Three days!”
This was unbelievable.
Cale subconsciously started to raise his voice but he had no idea he was doing so.“No, seriously, please think about it. A new religion rises up in three days and a temple is going to be built? How does that make any sense?”
He had to catch his breath.
After rattling on for a while, Cale had to stop to catch his breath.
“Hoo hoo.”
Clopeh was still laughing behind him.
Cale looked at him with annoyance before flinching.
Smile.
He looked holy.
Clopeh truly looked even holier than the Pope in front of him as he smiled.
“…….”
Cale just turned away.
He was a bit scared of this bastard now too.
‘Choi Han!
I should have brought Choi Han instead!’
Unfortunately, Choi Han was with Choi Jung Soo, dealing with Cotton.
Choi Jung Gun, the Demon World…
He had left that up to the two Choi men.
Click.
Casillia picked up her teacup and leisurely took a sip.
She made eye contact with Cale and spoke calmly.
“Did you not see it?”
"See what?”
She gently smiled and continued to speak despite the rude response from Cale.
“Commander-nim, five colored lights went through your body to spread all over this world. The people there all saw it.”
“…….”
Cale was at a loss for words.
Everybody, both allies and enemies alike, had seen that happen.
"But still, the five colored lights belong to the foundation of this world.”
“Why is that important?”
It was thanks to Cale that this world was able to return to its original self.
Cale realized the meaning behind Casillia's gaze and slowly looked away.
“And the people who were there just happen to be major figures here in Aipotu.”
“Mm.”
Cale groaned.
The Pope laughed.
“Building a new temple? It is nothing for them. And now that everything the Ten Dragon Gods attempted to do is known to everyone… With that temple being empty, shouldn’t it be up to the people to decide what they will fill it with?”
‘Haaaaa.’
Cale held back a sigh.
– Something always happens no matter where you go.
Starting from Xiaolen, then the Central Plains, and now Aipotu…
Cale thought about how he was being thought of in the worlds he had passed through.
‘Let’s forget about it.’
He then ignored it.
In return, he nonchalantly asked.
“How much is left?”
He was looking at Casillia's hand.
“…….”
Casillia stopped talking for a moment.
Her hand was completely covered in Dragon scales.
That hand had been slightly shaking the whole time while she held the teacup.
Casillia did not hide that from Cale.
She opened her mouth after a while.
“…I'm not sure. I'm at a point where it would not be weird to leave at any time.”
Having been born as a Dragon half-blood, her death was near.
“My goodness-”
She sighed.
“I said all sorts of things about how I was going to drop this world into chaos and what nots. But there really isn’t anything I did properly.”
She was unable to hide the bitterness from showing on her face.
The Pope and the bishops…
The Dragon half-bloods had not been able to do much in this battle.
The biggest reason was that Dragon Lord Neo had overloaded and stopped time before they could even start to fight properly.
“I've also lost the subject of my revenge.”
Neo was dead.
“The remaining ones I would get revenge on have all submitted as well.”
The remaining Dragons had so easily shown their intentions to surrender.
Aipotu would figure out how to deal with them.
"All that remains is a shabby life.”
Casillia spoke almost in a sigh.
Click.
She put her teacup down.
Her body was destroyed to the point it was not very usable and she was not even able to hold a teacup for a long time.
“I guess…”
She heard Cale’s voice at that moment.
“You really didn't do much this time?”
His voice was casual but that was why it stung.
“In fact, the Beast people were more helpful. Even the Elves helped the World Tree to do a lot of things at the end.”
Cale’s stoic gaze observed Casillia.
The Pope saw her reflection in the Commander's eyes and thought she looked useless.
Cale’s calm words continued like sharp daggers as she did that.
“When you were my enemy, I had to pull you in as my ally because I thought you would ruin everything. But once you ended up as my ally, you weren’t that helpful.”
Of course, the Pope and the bishops had jumped into the battle.
It was just that Cale’s group had done so well that their efforts were not very visible.
Casillia lowered her head.
Her reflection in the tea…
The scales had gone past her neck to her face now.
Her body was at its limit and it would not be weird for her to die at any moment.
“…Ha, haha-”
She started laughing.
Only after ending up looking like this-
‘I don’t want to destroy it.’
She did not want to destroy this world.
And-
‘I want to live.’
But so what?
She had no more time left.
“That is why… Pope-nim.”
Casillia, who had been calmly listening to Cale, opened her eyes wide.
“Will you please help me with something?”
‘What?’
“You also remember the condition Axion mentioned, right?”
The Third Saint Dragon…
The Dragon who betrayed Neo and sided with Cale for his wife and child.
Pope Casillia thought about the condition Axion had offered her.
‘He said he would give me a way to extend my life forever.’
She thought about the one who told her about this.
Click.
The door opened and someone walked in.
“… First Bishop.”
First Bishop Molde, the one who had always protected Casillia by her side.
Casillia recalled her conversation with him.
‘Axion made me an offer. He said he would give me a way to extend my life forever.’
‘…Did you say forever?’
‘Yes. Forever.’ A Virtual Reality game. He must be talking about that, right?’
‘I believe so, your Holiness.’
‘Axion said that he would give me and only me a chance to experience it.’
‘Will you tell Commander Cale about it?’
‘He seems to already know even without me telling him.’
Casillia had said this to Molde at that time.
‘I’m not tempted by this offer at all.’
She had then added on.
‘I have no reason to keep living.’
Molde and Casillia made eye contact.
“My role is to assist you from the side, your Holiness. How would it be okay for me to not know your intentions?”
Pope Casillia couldn’t think of what to say at Molde's comment.
At that moment…
Tap, tap.
She heard someone tap on the table.
Casillia turned her gaze.
She made eye contact with Cale who was looking at her.
Smile.
Cale had a refreshing smile on his face as he spoke.
“The condition Axion offered you. Why don’t you continue that deal with me?”
Cale's group would leave Aipotu.
The foundation of this world and the World Tree were existences that protected Aipotu, so they were unable to leave this world.
‘The Dragon Lord's lair.’
However, he should be able to ask them to protect this place.
He had already discussed this with Axion as well.
‘In that case, I need people who can connect Aipotu with New World.’
What would be the proper group for that?
‘The Pope and the bishops.’
To speak frankly about it, most of them did not have much life left.
Especially Casillia…
‘She will have to become an NPC.’
She would have to exist only in the game, similar to Eden Miru.
However, the bishops following her, no, rather than following, the bishops who cherish her like their younger sister, should be able to come and go from the game world for a while, even with short lifespans left, as mid-level NPCs.
‘This is especially true of First Bishop Molde, who has quite a bit of lifespan left.’
Furthermore, they all loathed the Hunters.
It could not be helped.
The Hunters were on Neo's side.
‘And Eden Miru.’
Cale, Raon, and the others may end up in a situation where they could not protect Eden Miru.
For example, they were heading to the Demon World soon.
They needed people to protect the Seventh Evil in such situations.
‘The Pope.’
And the bishops…
He had never seen them fight properly.
Even Third bishop Hons had surrendered immediately.
‘But I'm certain that they are strong.’
Otherwise, Neo would not have kept the Pope and the others as his subordinates along with the Inquisitors.
“If you keep your word about doing the things I ask you to do…”
Cale made an offer to the Pope as well as the other Dragon half-bloods of Aipotu.
“I will not interfere with your decision to live in that world in any appearance you wish.”
“…Any appearance?”
“Correct.”
The Dragon half-blood.
No, Eden Miru.
Just as that bastard had wanted…
“Please live in the appearance of your choice.”
In New World, a virtual reality game…
This ‘new world’ would give them the opportunity they seek.
“…….”
Casillia clenched her eyes shut.
First Bishop Molde spoke calmly to her.
“The bishops have agreed to follow your will, your Holiness.”
He then added on.
“The surviving Holy Knights have shared the same desire as well.”
Holy Knights.
In some aspects, they were also existences who carried the blood of Dragons. They were not chimeras, but they had to persist through the Dragon blood in the jewel embedded in their chests.
Just like the Dragon half-bloods, they were strong but not in very good conditions.
Pope, bishops, Holy Knights.
They had something in common that anybody outside that group would not be able to understand.
“…….”
Casillia closed her eyes.
She responded after a long time.
Her voice was shaking and her eyes were still closed as she spoke.
“…I want to try it.”
I want to try it.
Those words made Molde smile.
Casillia slowly opened her eyes and saw Cale’s hand.
The hand stretched toward her…
“…….”
Casillia shook his hand.
As they shared a handshake…
“Please continue to take good care of me.”
A smile appeared on the Pope's face.
The smile was full of anticipation.
“Same with me.”
She then asked Cale.
"What is it you need us to do?”
"Everything has not been confirmed yet, but… There are currently two things I need you to take care of properly.”
She nodded her head at Cale's honest response.
‘As expected of the Commander.’
It had only been a few days since Neo had disappeared, but…
The Commander already had a rough idea of what needed to be done before he offered this deal to them.
Such a person was someone she could trust and follow.
Cale let her know the two things she needed to do.
“First. Inside New World… We must become the greatest villains.”
‘Hmm?’
Casillia let go of Cale's hand.
She then looked at Molde.
“?”
Molde looked confused.
Casillia was just as confused.
But she calmed herself down and looked back at Cale.
Cale smiled gently and told her the second thing she needed to do.
"And please protect the Dragon egg.”
‘…Dragon?’
As Casillia’s face turned odd…
“I'm talking about the half human, half Dragon egg.”
“!”
The Heinous Dark Bear had told Cale the race of the Dragon egg.
Eden Miru was half human, half Dragon.
“Do you remember the black Bone Dragon? That Bone Dragon was the residing spot for the soul of a Dragon half-blood that lived close to 1,000 years.”
“……!”
"That Bone Dragon will soon be born again in New World as a true half human, half Dragon.”
Casillia clearly remembered that scene.
She saw how that white gold light Dragon pushed forward to stop Neo.
She also knew, after being told, that the light Dragon had originated from the Bone Dragon.
Cale recalled what the Heinous Dark Bear had told him.
The final boss of the Seventh Evil.
‘The Dragon that will hatch from this egg will be the true heir to the Seventh Evil. I will tell them this is the next generation Dragon. I am here as a temporary boss to help him. That is what I will tell them!’
The Heinous Dark Bear told him that he would turn the egg, Eden Miru, into Neo's successor.
He would hold the position of the final boss of the Seventh Evil until that point.
"And that half human, half Dragon, Eden Miru, will take the position Neo held in that world.
Ah.”
Cale then added on.
“Only if he wants to, that is.”
Casillia subconsciously mumbled.
“…A half human, half Dragon will take Neo's spot?”
‘That Dragon half-blood that tried to stop Neo?’
“…….”
Casillia could not say anything.
Her mind suddenly felt complicated.
She looked at Molde again.
“…….”
“…….”
Molde also seemed to be hearing this for the first time as he was looking at her with a complicated gaze as well.
However, the two realized they were thinking the same thing and Casillia soon answered Cale.
“Those sound like some fun tasks.”
From protecting Eden Miru, the egg that would hatch soon…
To becoming the greatest villains as asked by the one who saved this world…
‘Yeah, it sounds fun.
I want to try it.
Not because someone decided it for me but because I want to do it.’
“I'll do it.”
Casillia smiled as she answered.
Cale felt satisfied with this.
“I'm sure it will be satisfying for both of us.”
Casillia simply answered with an energetic gaze.
They had no way of knowing about the distant future.
They had no idea that this place… They had no idea that this was the starting point of the ‘Miru Knights Brigade,’ otherwise known as the ‘Dragon half-blood Knights Brigade.’
They had no idea that they would become a whirlwind that shakes not just the evil villain society of New World but the entire New World as a whole.
They had no idea at all.
***
"Alright, time for you to hand over the goods?”
Cale had a twisted smile as he extended his hand out.
Ssssssssss-
A breeze blew by.
Flower petals fluttered.
Pssss—
To be more accurate, flower petals were falling because the World Tree that was full of flowers was shaking.
Pat pat.
Cale brushed off the flower petals on his arms and pushed his hand a bit farther forward.
“Time for the reward. Don’t you agree?”
Smile.
Cale smiled.
Pssss—
While the World Tree and the foundation of this world shook in terror.
It was time to pay up.
—
Translator's Comments
A Lannister, I mean a Henituse never forgets his debts (owed).
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