In the southeastern reaches of the Truvenia Continent stood the vast Pelusia Mountains, soaring as if to pierce the heavens. They were the highest mountains in Truvenia, an inaccessible wilderness of matchless ruggedness.
The Pelusia Mountains were a range steeped in the joys and sorrows of many races that had risen and fallen over the ages. During the First Racial War, the defeated and scattered orcs made these mountains their final refuge. Because the land was so rugged and barren, humans did not dare even consider subjugating it. Thanks to that, the orcs were barely able to preserve their lineage, and eventually, with a great counterattack, they crowned the Second Racial War with victory. And Nidelhark, the Great Demon King defeated in the War of Darkness, also used this place as his base while plotting a counteroffensive. Though it all came to nothing in the final moment due to the intervention of the dragons, if Nidelhark had been able to awaken the ancient tombs of the many races scattered throughout these mountains, no one could have predicted which way victory would have gone. Bearing such a history, the Pelusia Mountains still looked down upon the Truvenia Continent with clouds resting upon their brow.
Yet atop one of those dizzyingly high peaks, a single shadow stood firm. It was a human, a race already driven from its place as master of Truvenia and reduced to living out its days as slaves to the orcs. With a face so handsome it was hard to believe he was human, and his pleasing red hair streaming in the wind, his gallant figure was more than enough to shake the hearts of countless maidens. But then, a sigh suddenly escaped the red-haired young man’s lips.
“So it ended in failure after all?”
Bitterness was carved around the young man’s mouth. It was the frustration of seeing matters fail to unfold as he had intended.
“In all the eight thousand years I have lived, there has never been a single thing I set my mind to that I failed to accomplish…”
The young man’s true identity was none other than Verkis. He was the one who had mobilized a large number of his Guardians and launched an aerial assault on Felzentin. Though he had driven countless humans into the pit of death by deploying powerful Guardians en masse, the losses he had suffered were enormous.
First, the Iron Golem he had poured his heart and soul into creating had been destroyed, and of the twenty-two Bronze Golems he had deployed, not a single one had been recovered. The lich legion led by Gedenhyde had been utterly annihilated. He had lost every last one of the forces he had committed. Verkis shook his head as if in disgust.
“And yet I still failed to retrieve Incresia…”
Verkis’s sole objective had been Incresia. Even while fleeing the fierce assault of the Death Knights, he had not doubted for a moment that the final blow he had unleashed had succeeded. In that situation, there had been no way for that detestable Damon to escape.
However, on his way back to Truvenia, Verkis realized that Damon had not died. The fact that Incresia, which should have come to him, had not returned was proof that Damon was still alive.
At the time, Verkis had been seized by grave anguish. He wanted to take the risk of going back and finishing Damon off, but the presence of the Death Knights and countless human knights made it impossible for him to decide easily. The human mages, as well as that foolish White Dragon of Arcadia who opposed him, were equally troublesome. One-on-one, they would never be his match, but if they joined forces with the humans, the outcome would not be so easily decided.
In the end, Verkis gave up and chose to return. The dragon’s innate instinct to thoroughly avoid danger had come into play. Recalling that moment, Verkis bit his lip hard.
“It is regrettable that I could not display my original strength because of the side effects of failing to sleep properly. I wasted precious lifespan for nothing.”
Because dragons possessed immense power and exceptional intelligence, they had to maintain the balance of their bodies through sleep. Only then could they sustain their enormous forms. But Verkis had refused to do so. By deceiving his body with advanced magic, Verkis had become the only dragon capable of moving during his sleep period.
But that was a violation of the ordained order, and shortcuts always brought side effects. Because of that, Verkis had lost a considerable portion of his allotted lifespan, and the balance of his body had also been significantly disrupted. Even so, the reason Verkis had forced himself to carry out the raid was precisely because of Incresia’s importance. Within it was something that must never fall into human hands. Verkis’s eyes gleamed.
“I disguised it so thoroughly that he should not be able to find it easily. I must retrieve it before he realizes what it truly is.”
If he had only recovered Incresia, the losses among the Guardians could have simply been forgotten. With his magical skill, he could restore the Guardians to their original state in a short time. But despite sacrificing the Guardians, he had failed to reclaim what he had sought, so Verkis had no choice but to feel bitter.
Now, all that remained to Verkis was one Iron Golem and eight Bronze Golems. He was gathering human slaves on a large scale to revive the annihilated liches, but he could not even guess how long it would take. As he thought of that, Verkis’s brow suddenly twitched.
“That fool Gedenhyde. To be defeated so pointlessly…”
That detestable Damon had endured in his grasp for a full ten minutes. But Gedenhyde had not. When he thought of Gedenhyde being destroyed without even putting up a proper resistance, anger surged up in him once more. Yet at present, the one Verkis needed most was precisely him. For now, Gedenhyde’s assistance was desperately necessary. Because of that, Verkis was pouring his utmost effort into reviving Gedenhyde.
“The Third Racial War will break out soon. I have ended up needlessly instilling a sense of crisis in the humans of Arcadia…”
In the worst case, Arcadia might launch a preemptive attack. But Verkis was not worried in the slightest. That was because, immediately after arriving in Truvenia, he had gone to the Dragon Lord and taken certain measures.
“No matter how quickly the humans move, they will inevitably need some time to prepare. One month will be more than enough for Kranus’s arrangement to activate.”
As Verkis wore a thin, sinister smile, something surfaced in his mind. It was a certain statue he had seen in Kranus’s lair. A very beautiful girl, a girl with tears brimming in her eyes, stood turned to stone in one corner of Kranus’s lair. Of course, Verkis knew exactly what the statue was.
“What a pity. If I used that, I could set the perfect trap to lure him in…”
But the Dragon Lord had not allowed it. Instead, he had sternly rebuked Verkis for what he had done. As he recalled that fact, a furious light flashed in Verkis’s eyes. Though he had endured the torrent of reprimands in silence, it seemed his anger had yet to subside.
“If the Dragon Lord were not chosen by age…”
If that were the case, the current position of Dragon Lord would certainly be his. Whether in power or in magic, Kranus was no match for Verkis.
Kranus, an ancient dragon who had lived for ten thousand years. Yet because he was not particularly aggressive and because of his uniquely lazy disposition, the accomplishments Kranus had achieved had long since been surpassed by Verkis. All because of the difference in talent and effort… That difference, so commonly seen in the human world, was, though rarely, also being applied among dragons. Of course, not all dragons were like that. Without extraordinary effort and talent, one could not overcome the difference brought by the passage of time, and the only dragon who had surpassed it was Verkis.
Having lived two thousand years longer, Kranus’s body was far larger than Verkis’s. He was also of the silver clan, acknowledged by all as the strongest among dragons. Even so, Verkis was fully confident he could defeat Kranus. If he had not been conscious of the eyes of the other dragons, Verkis would already have subdued Kranus by force. Thinking of that, Verkis narrowed his eyes.
“Fortunately, Kranus fell for my scheme, so I was able to carry out my game with ease. In order to bring that game to a successful conclusion, I must continue to use him.”
Ironically, what had enabled him to surpass Kranus had largely been what he learned from humans. Verkis silently recalled the time when he had plotted the Second Racial War.
The human disposition to use any means and methods necessary to achieve their goals, their tenacious effort, and their cruelty had been a shock to Verkis when he first went out to play his game.
“What truly fascinating creatures.”
After much thought, Verkis resolved to learn everything about humans. That was precisely why he had become fanatically engrossed in playing among them. Afterward, Verkis transformed himself into many kinds of humans and burrowed deeply into human society. Living many different kinds of lives, he devoted himself to researching the secrets possessed by the human race. The scale of it was dozens of times greater than the games other dragons enjoyed.
Through that process, Verkis came to know a great deal about humans. And that experience made Verkis dramatically stronger. He became, so to speak, the dragon most influenced by humans. And to humans, that became an irreversible misfortune.
Once Verkis became certain that he had surpassed Kranus in ability, he decided upon his final game. It was to erase forever from the world the human race that had made him stronger.
“Though the humans made me stronger, there is sufficient possibility that they could influence other dragons as well. I must cut off at the root the birth of any dragon stronger than I am from now on.”
Having decided to exterminate humanity, Verkis gathered the four dragons who trusted and followed him. Russellant, who had met his end in Arcadia, was one of them. But no matter how strong they were, they were still insufficient to deal with the vast number of humans. In the end, Verkis decided to draw in the Dragon Lord. As he recalled that time, a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
“The methods I learned from humans played the greatest role in getting Kranus to join.”
Having mastered the understanding of humans through his game, Verkis knew well what the dragons’ weakness was. Each individual dragon was so powerful that no race dared oppose them, but their numbers were overwhelmingly inferior. To overcome that weakness, Verkis drew in the nearly destroyed orcs. His arrangements were carried out step by step without the slightest error.
As a result, he succeeded in dragging the humans down from their position as masters of Truvenia. Though many humans survived, as slaves to the orcs they could no longer influence any dragon. The game he had plotted had, in a sense, succeeded. Recalling the process, a thick smile spread across Verkis’s lips.
“But I cannot be satisfied with that. So long as the humans of Arcadia remain, my game will continue.”
Verkis approached the edge of the cliff and looked down. The state of the distant canyon came clearly into view. It was a distance an ordinary human would not even have been able to make out, but to Verkis’s eyes, it was perfectly visible. That place was his lair. Newly created Guardians were guarding the lair without the slightest gap. Most of them were hastily assembled Stone Golems and medium-sized monsters he had hurriedly gathered, but since there were also many orc infantrymen brought in from nearby villages, there seemed to be no need to worry too much about the safety of the lair. A sudden look of fatigue appeared on Verkis’s face.
“To reduce the side effects, I will have no choice but to enter sleep. The sea dividing Arcadia and Truvenia will soon become a deathly wasteland; not a single ship will be able to reach Truvenia.”
At present, the only being capable of posing a threat to Verkis was Damon. The Bone Dragon he possessed would be more than enough to cross the open sea… But Verkis actually hoped that he would raid his lair. If such a thing happened, Verkis would gain the perfect opportunity to recover Incresia.
“One Iron Golem, eight Bronze Golems, fifty Stone Golems, around two hundred medium-sized monsters, and one thousand orc infantrymen should be enough to delay their entry to some extent. I have placed a certain spell, so half a day should be enough for me to awaken. This time, I will retrieve Incresia without fail.”
Having settled his thoughts, Verkis leaped from the cliff. His body descended slowly, ever so slowly, down the face of the cliff. Even in that moment, Verkis’s mind was turning smoothly. In two years, all dragons would awaken from their sleep, and Verkis intended to end his own sleep at that time as well. In order to bring his game to a perfect close…
“This is the place.”
Damon’s mouth fell open. The Imperial Memorial Hall was far larger than he had imagined. After leaving the office with Theodore, he had headed straight for the Imperial Memorial Hall. His curiosity about Emperor Crocen was that great. As before, Damon had to walk for quite some time before he was able to reach the memorial hall. But the scale of the Imperial Memorial Hall far exceeded what he had imagined… Damon grumbled in displeasure.
“It’s damn huge. The fools. To build a mere memorial hall this grand…”
Watching him, Theodore shrugged awkwardly.
“I do not know for certain, but I have heard that the portion hidden underground is far larger than the portion revealed aboveground.”
“…”
Seeing Damon roll his eyes with a dazed expression, Theodore gave an awkward laugh.
“As you know, Emperor Crocen is akin to a god in Arcadia. There are even frequent discussions that the memorial hall is too small and should be expanded.”
“Madmen.”
Damon spat the word coldly and strode forward.
“We greet His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince.”
The knights on guard all bowed in unison, but Damon paid them no mind. It seemed he had decided to ignore them completely. Just as massive as the building itself, the main gate was enormous. It was large enough that more than ten fully armed soldiers could march through in a horizontal line without difficulty. Standing before the gate, Damon looked around. No matter how hard he searched, he could not see any device for opening it.
“What is this? There isn’t even a handle… How do we get inside?”
Theodore trotted up and pointed to the edge of the door. A single crystal sphere emitting a brilliant light was embedded in the door.