17-7
The Pride of the Horned Race
Translator : PolterGlast
「Ooh, Wagahai
believed that you would definitely return!!」
「Shinza,
I'm so glad you're safe! We were so, so worried, and Zirant-sama looked
like she was about to cry—」
「Eei,
shut up you country girl, Wagahai made no such face!」
「You
seriously came back... So, what did you eat?」
Sigrun's
figure was not here. No, she was. While the others were worried about me,
perhaps she got tired of waiting, she was sleeping soundly on the floor in the
back.
「Fuga...?
Ooh, you came back... Nnn...」
「Yeah,
as expected, going back and forth between the Abyss and the surface is tiring.」
All that's left is
to close the gate. When I turned around towards the gate, that Guardian was
standing there.
「Since
when have you been standing there?」
「I have
been here the whole time. This physical body is, so to speak, a shadow.
Regardless, you did well; from now on, I will fulfill the promise.」
「Oi you
guys, what did they do
over there...?」
Seeing me making eye
contact with the Guardian intimately, Zirant started to get suspicious.
「Even
if you ask what I did. I just sat for tea, and then did a little light yard
work.」
「Yard
work? I don't understand the meaning...」
「Explain
it to them, Guardian. You are more familiar with the circumstances than I am.」
Suddenly having the
topic thrown at him, he seemed troubled too. But perhaps thinking he couldn't
just close the gate without explaining, he thought for a while before opening
his mouth.
「The Demon
Nobles were originally gods who ruled the surface from the heavenly realm. A
piece of land that peeled off and fell from the heavenly realm drifted to the
land where the Demon Nobles reside. We could only watch as that earth was
gradually polluted by the Abyss. That Shinza over there saved it.」
「Heeh,
so that's why you're saying you'll close the gate? I don't really get it, but
from your perspective, this is a bridgehead to invade the surface, ain't it?」
Just as the old man
said, that was the most out-of-place aspect. Normally, they would have put all
their effort into defending the control of this Abyss gate. Despite that,
withdrawing from here just for a tea session and yard work is strange.
「That
is impossible. The only ones who can pass through this gate are lower-class
existences, specifically limited to Abyss Hounds and Abyss Ants. To use a
metaphor, it is something like a very large Abyss Gate.」
...It seems I was
completely deceived. It seems there was no strategic value here from the
beginning.
「No,
let me rephrase that. The Horned race who created this probably never intended
to survive at the cost of destroying the world from the very beginning. This
gate is not the Horned race's ungraceful struggle at their end. It is the very
pride of the Horned race.」
In short, it means
we were made to go along with a needless worry.
「When
we meet again, let us cross swords. Farewell.」
The gatekeeper
closed the gate of the Abyss. Then, that physical body could no longer maintain
its substance, and crumbling, it turned into black mud. That became a charred,
dirty liquid, and vanished into the depths of the earth.
While giving a magic
sword to Yord, they gave me Demonic Spirit Silver and show a reasonable
attitude. I really don't understand these guys...
『At that
point, they are sufficiently enemies of the Empire. Do not let your guard down;
there are those who can be reasoned with and those who cannot, it is the same
in any world.』
That's true too. In
that regard, the Emperor's family is no laughing matter either. We turned back
from the closed Great Gate of the Abyss and headed towards the Horned race's
village to report.
・ The
Ancient God Who Fell to the Abyss
「This
is surprising... What on earth happened?」
「You've
returned, Wentos.」
The White Knight
Wentos, my servant. But he is an existence hard to call loyal. While following
my orders, he doesn't stop his arbitrary actions. But I have no intention of
punishing him either. I was expecting that he would create a new flow.
「I
gained an opportunity to invite a guest to the Abyss. And that guest left,
giving us hope.」
「The
vortex of impurity, that space itself has been splendidly gouged out, hasn't
it... That guest, could it be...」
「Kukuku,
our sworn enemy. Samael's final fate...」
「So it
was indeed the work of that Prince Ashley. This is the celestial world...
the Duke-sama's birthplace, is it... My word, it is far too beautiful...」
There once was an
angel called Samael. Created solely to be loved by us, deliberately designed to
be simple-minded, a foolish but adorable child... Samael existed for us to love
and toy with. An arrogant act. So to speak, we were probably burned by our own
karma itself.
「If you live here for a
trillion years, I wonder if you Demon Nobles will be able to slip through the
Abyss's barrier and return to the heavens...」
「I do
not know. Unlike you, who can come and go freely...」
Everything is
because we tried to kill the dimension-crossing dragon, Yulan. The
foolish Samael snatched the heavenly hidden treasures from us, obtained wisdom
and power, and banished those who tried to kill his friend named Yulan
to this Abyss. Naturally, we cursed Samael...
「Then,
will you wait here for a trillion years before taking action?」
「Hope
is also despair. I cannot wait... Wentos, I want to return... once more, to
that shining world... In that land, this time for sure, I shall manage this
world correctly...」
「Then,
according to plan, although I cannot thank Prince Ashley enough, let us
stir up the Empire.」
「Umu...」
But Samael too, fell
into the same darkness as us. When one sits upon the high seat of heaven, that
person can become boundlessly arrogant. He too began to toy with the people of
the surface, and in the end, was betrayed by Yulan himself, the very
motive for betraying us.
Samael was sealed in
the heavenly prison, and planned his resurrection over a long period of time,
but... In the end, he chose the option of returning to the prison himself, due
to his other self, Emperor Ausar.
Ashley
probably does not know. That within him sleeps Yulan, a dragon of the
same nature as Zirant. And because of that, perhaps those two were drawn
to each other.
「I
understood after meeting him... Strangely, I feel no desire to take revenge on
him... Even though I hated him so much, now I harbor pity for a fellow kind...」
At that time, even
if Samael had not betrayed us, someone else would have betrayed us. Just as
Samael was betrayed by Yulan. Because we were the rulers of all, we
disregarded each and every life; we were selfish, and simply arrogant...
「I like
him too. Even knowing he is an enemy, I can't help but care about him. In the
sense of inviting chaos to the world—it is bad if he or Prince Georg
sits on the Emperor's throne, though...」
「That
is our weakness, I suppose... We are eternal. Because we do not perish, we lack
the aspect of thoroughness.」
If I felt like it, I
could have confined him here and made him my tea-drinking companion for
eternity. But that would be boring. Doing such a thing would hurt our pride.
That is our weakness.
「I am done
with revenge against Samael. We just want to return to that heaven. Please,
Wentos, return me to the place where this beautiful world was...」
「As you
command. Even if it takes millennia, I shall fulfill that wish.」
For the godless celestial world desires my return...
-----
Thank you for my Patrons !!
[Platinum]
-
[Gold]
B random
Nepheos
[Silver]
Corey Hicks
Creris
Frédéric Bertrand-Hudon
Jake Seagraves
Matthew Fraser
Tbaum56
Xavier O'Donoghue
Anton Lim
Austin Lorenzo
Baelee
Christopher Feliciano
Ctdela
Curious Panda
nick nasca
SD Fox
Read Advanced Chapters only on my Patreon
-----
