< Heavenly Secret Demonic Immortal (2) >Among dragons, the pinnacle of divine beasts in the Ganghwan Realm, there were broadly two factions.
The clan of the Five Dragons, born as dragons from the very beginning and raised as such by virtue of their bloodline,
and the acquired dragons who, after long cultivation, earned the right to ascend.
But between those two factions, there was no particular gap in ability to speak of.
The blood of the Five Dragons held mysteries steadily accumulated over long ages, but those who had climbed the Dragon Gate—said to be so difficult that one might appear only once in a thousand years—by their own strength alone were by no means inferior in capacity.
If one had to compare them, it would be the difference between someone born a noble and a self-made tycoon who built a household of his own.
The problem was that even between them, unavoidable discrimination existed.
The clan of the Five Dragons, treated preferentially in every way under the name of the Dragon God’s descendants, and long reigning as the vested interests.
Those from the Dragon Gate, who had risen to an equal position, yet whose treatment was not particularly different from other divine beasts.
The discrimination between them was obvious from a single glance at Geumodo’s leadership, which governed the Illusion Realm.
As Geumodo was an alliance of various divine beasts and yokai, the members of its leadership changed with the times, but its number usually remained between ten and twelve.
And yet, of those seats, five—nearly half—were always fixed seats for the Five Dragons.
Moreover, since it was an alliance in name, the dragons alone could not occupy every seat, and in the end, the only one from the Dragon Gate who could rise to the leadership was Yinglong.
The remaining seats were evenly divided among non-dragons such as the Qilin, Xuanwu, and the nine-tailed fox.
Given such circumstances, how could dissatisfaction not pile up?
However, as befitted beings who had surpassed their limits through long cultivation, those who became dragons through the Dragon Gate did not particularly voice any complaints worth mentioning.
It was largely because most of them tended to focus more on surpassing their own limits than on such titles and offices.
However, not all of them were like that.
Because in the world, there were also mutations like “him.” ‘Are they all idiots? Why are they simply accepting this absurdity and letting it pass?’
He simply could not accept the present reality.
Because they were a clan that inherited the Dragon God’s blood, that much was unavoidable?
By that logic, he too was likewise a descendant of the Dragon God.
Though unlike the orthodox Five Dragons, his bloodline was no different from that of a bastard, weakened through repeated dilution…
Though until he climbed the Dragon Gate and was recognized as a true dragon, he had been treated like a mere yokai despite being a member of the dragonkind! ‘And yet… How did I claw my way up this far…!’
After thousands of years of cultivation, he had painfully, truly painfully, crawled all the way to this point.
And yet, for no more reason than that, he was supposed to quietly watch as someone stood atop his head?
Every time he faced all sorts of discrimination that pervaded everything in subtle ways besides that, he felt as if hives were breaking out all over his body.
Feeling stifled, he went to seek out Yinglong, a member of the leadership, but nothing changed.
Yinglong merely looked at him with an attitude as if he had no interest in such matters at all, and instead reproached him for lacking cultivation. ‘Am I the strange one? Are they right, and am I wrong?’
After that day, he agonized over it countless times, but no matter how much he thought about it, he still found nothing wrong with himself.
Meanwhile, within him—he who had surpassed his limits fueled by an extraordinary drive for improvement and desire—rebelliousness rapidly swelled and began to distort. ‘No, the ones in the wrong are those who indulge in favoritism and discrimination. I too am a descendant who inherited the Dragon God’s blood. I have legitimate rights and qualifications.’
Rage toward a system he could do nothing about with his own power.
Jealousy toward those who, unlike him, enjoyed every benefit.
Greed for what he did not have and could never reach. ‘Therefore—this is a sacrifice absolutely necessary for reform.’
The heart demon that grew in an instant swallowed him before he could do anything.
But he did not resist it at all, naturally accepting it…
And in that state, he ran rampant and committed an irreversible taboo.
Crunch—
Crack—!
If he did not have it, he simply had to take it.
It was not very difficult to coax a naive young Red Dragon who had only just completed his yeouiju and was in high spirits.
Because the child firmly believed that, surely, a fellow dragon would never harm him inside the Illusion Realm. ‘Foolish thing.’
Now with two heads, he concealed the new head within his body and continued his work.
As his power had clearly increased compared to before, the task proceeded more easily than expected.
[W-what are you doing…! Keheuk!]
He had three heads.
The growth of his power was steeper than expected.
If he had known this would happen, he would have used this method long ago.
It drove him mad to think of all the time he had wasted until now.
[Do you think you’ll be forgiven after doing something like this…!]
He had four heads.
As expected, the effect was outstanding.
As his power grew stronger, the level of targets he could hunt gradually rose as well, and he had more choices for whom to target. ‘This must be what they call a virtuous cycle.’
Centered around his original green head, red, black, and white heads each twisted their necks with a yeouiju in their mouths and cried out in clamor.
It seemed they were not yet fully tamed.
For the time being, he would need to consolidate his foundations a little. ‘…Or so I thought.’
The situation worsened.
Even if they were dragons who had completed their yeouiju and finished their coming-of-age ceremonies, three young dragons who were not particularly old suddenly vanished without a trace, so how could it not arouse suspicion?
It seemed he would have to hurry things along a little. ‘Damn it.’
He had five heads, but the situation gradually began to rush toward the worst.
Geumodo’s investigation team tightened the noose around his neck with each passing moment.
He had thought he had made thorough preparations before carrying out his deeds, but the investigation team moved faster than he had expected. ‘Interfering to the very end! Now only the Yellow Dragon remains…!’
He had not yet been definitively exposed, but that was only a matter of time now.
At this point, it was all or nothing.
Whether he was discovered or not, he had no choice but to act swiftly and decisively, then leave this place.
With security growing stringent, targeting an easy young dragon as he usually did was utterly impossible.
Now was a moment that required a certain degree of risk.
He lured out and attacked a mature Yellow Dragon who had been investigating the incidents.
[You bastard! How do you possess such power…!]
Perhaps because he had only targeted young dragons until then, his opponent had let his guard down. Or perhaps the power he had rapidly grown through his feasting was even greater than expected.
After a battle easier than he had imagined, he finally devoured the Yellow Dragon and completed his sixth head.
[Hah—now you have truly become a monster. Why would you do such a thing…]
[He has been completely swallowed by demonic influence. It is astonishing that he managed to hide his true nature until now. We had grown far too lax.]
[Tch, it must be because of his roots. This is why we should not accept just anyone.]
In exchange, of course, his identity was completely exposed, and before he knew it, he was entirely surrounded by those who had flocked there.
They must have considered what he had done gravely indeed, for among the leadership, the Azure Dragon, Black Dragon, and Red Dragon personally stepped forward.
Before that overwhelming force, everyone thought this situation would be cleanly resolved with that.
They thought that the demonic dragon who had finally committed this outrage that enraged heaven and man would be subjugated, and everything would return to the peaceful days of before.
[Kuhat! Roots? Did you say roots? How utterly laughable! For you lot to say such a thing!]
But the situation flowed in a direction no one had expected.
Goooooooo—
From the six-headed dragon’s entire body, an aura of an entirely different dimension from before erupted like an active volcano.
It was not merely the combined strength of six dragons, but as though something had been completed and his very grade had surpassed its limits.
[Yes, as it happens, I was just thinking it would be a shame to stop at a mere five. Since I have already begun, I shall devour all of you Five Dragons entirely!]
Originally, even if he had devoured as many as five dragons, it should have been normal for him to be unable to absorb their power in full.
There was the inevitable loss that occurred in the process of seizing another’s power, and above all, the yeouiju—the medium through which dragons exercised divine powers—was an object whose efficiency plummeted when multiple were used, to the point that using just one was actually better.
[Now that I think of it, that is the most certain method! If all the Five Dragons disappear from this world, if I swallow and digest every last one of those damned “descendants of the Dragon God”…!]
However, if there was a variable, it could be found in his foundation before he became a dragon.
Though he was a bastard, he too was a being who inherited the Dragon God’s blood.
And not only had he simply relied on his bloodline; after thousands of years of cultivation, he had proven his own qualification, and by seizing the karma of dragons, he had forcibly awakened the power within his blood.
[…Then I shall become the Dragon God’s one and only legitimate heir!]
His origin was “Greed” (貪).
A monster of legend said to have devoured everything in the world, and even devoured itself.
***
“So? What happened after that?”
“…The problem was that we underestimated the enemy’s strength. Many, including the Red Dragon of that era, died in battle, and the Azure Dragon and Black Dragon also suffered serious injuries and had to retire. Of course, that Tam Dragon also lost several heads and fled with barely his life intact.”
At Horus’s urging, his eyes shining brightly, the Azure Dragon continued speaking gently, as if telling an old tale to a child.
Of course, strictly speaking, it truly was an old tale.
At the very least, fifty or sixty years had easily passed since then.
“But Horus, why do you ask about this all of a sudden? I feel as though it’s quite rare for Horus to show this much interest in a topic.”
While in the middle of continuing her story, she tilted her head and asked Horus in return.
Of course, that incident was also an extremely important matter in Geumodo.
Because in the wake of that chaos, a sweeping renewal regarding countless forms of discrimination and conflict was carried out.
…However, that reform plan had become unnecessary now that the Leader of the Beoncheon Society’s bloodbath had killed off Geumodo’s members en masse, including dragons.
This crisis, in which they might well face destruction if they were careless, was more than enough to unite everyone as one, regardless of discrimination or whatever else.
“Ehehe… Because simply rebuilding the Dragon Heart won’t be the end of it, right? We need to learn about the bad guys in advance too. That wicked dragon must be plotting something very bad by now and waiting only for an opportunity!”
“…That’s true. Yes. For some reason he has not shown himself directly all this time, but that doesn’t mean we can simply feel at ease.”
As if realizing something from his words, the Azure Dragon nodded gravely.
Before she knew it, her hand was carefully stroking his soft, fine hair.
“I learned something important from Horus. Until now, I was so busy dealing with what was right in front of me that I had somewhat set that matter aside. I should take this chance to prepare countermeasures against him as well.”
“Ahem!”
“Hehe. …Of course, we’re very short-handed. Still, collapsing from overwork would be better than letting it grow into a major problem later.”
Even as she carefully stroked Horus’s head with all her heart, the Azure Dragon lightly closed her eyes and sank into thought.
At the sight of her sunk in anguish, Horus, who had been shrugging his shoulders with a smug attitude, smacked his lips and quietly shifted his gaze. ‘…So that’s how it was? It feels like there isn’t a single dimension that’s intact. In Auterica, some bastard called a human god caused trouble, and here, a bastard child of the Dragon God went and made a mess.’
Of course, it was the Leader of the Beoncheon Society who had dealt the fatal blow to the Ganghwan Realm, but even then, Yelü Huan, who had been serving as the strategist of the Demonic Cult, must have had no small influence.
On top of that, judging by the story, did that bastard not have a high chance of becoming a disaster on the level of Auterica’s Immortal King? ‘Seeing as the other heads that were cut off are intact, it seems he has finished recovering during all this time. Come to think of it, there wasn’t a single dragon corpse at the Demonic Cult’s main mountain either. Was that because that bastard ate them all?’
The Leader of the Beoncheon Society and the Heavenly Demon would have known he was a yokai, so they must have tolerated his devouring to some extent.
Of course, unless he had hunted them personally, there would have been limits to seizing their karma as well, so he likely had not grown explosively like in the story he had heard.
For him, that was a most fortunate thing. ‘Yes, at his current level, he’s still within the range I anticipated.’
Horus smiled contentedly and nodded.
Not in this place, filled with a serene atmosphere, nor in Geumodo’s headquarters in the Illusion Realm…
But on a battlefield where fierce combat was raging.
as he watched the fierce battle unfolding in the heart of the land known as the Demon Realm.***[Kraaagh—! You insects! How annoying you are!]
A thunderous roar rang out, and a storm swept out in every direction.
Rumble—!
Those whose realms were lacking staggered as the violent emotional waves contained within it made them cough up blood.
Yet even amid that, the undead army shrouded in the dense aura of the abyss merely faltered for a moment in the torrent of energy.
Soon, without any particular reaction, they moved mechanically and continued sweeping away their enemies.
In the end, the damage was being borne entirely by the Demonic Cultists, but even while grasping that fact, the Six-Headed Dragon simply could not respond calmly.
And for good reason···.[Kroooooo——!]
Just then, a savage roar burst out from the front, as if answering his enraged bellow.
A cry steeped in the thick aura of death, impossible to think of as belonging to any living creature.
Kwaaaaang—!
Immediately afterward, a wave of destruction he had already experienced several times came crashing down toward him.[Grr! Futile!]
The six yeouiju all shone at once, and the offensive aimed at him weakened, twisted, scattered, and in the end vanished without piercing his barrier.
An exchange that had already repeated several times.
But the current situation was not as simple as it appeared on the surface.‘What is it, damn it! Just what kind of creature is that bastard···!’The Six-Headed Dragon’s six heads growled in unison as they glared in every direction.
Right after he had fully revealed himself and begun fighting in earnest, the Demonic Cultists had hastily retreated, leaving only the dead around him.
And every last one of them was an elite monster scattering a dense aura of death.‘If it were one-on-one, I would have smashed it to pieces at once···!’The first thing that caught his eye was the skeleton of a gigantic winged lizard.
Possessing a massive body nearly equal to his own, it was the very one that had just unleashed that attack.
A troublesome opponent that did not shy from hand-to-hand combat using its size, and spewed out the breath of death whenever it found an opening.
On top of that, it was not the only foe.
Not only black jiangshi he had never seen before in his life, but even familiar-looking yokai jiangshi circled around him, watching for any gap.
Every one of them had a lethal energy imbued with deep death wrapped around their entire bodies.
Yes, that was the biggest problem.‘Does this accursed energy never run dry!’The ominous black flames enveloping their bodies were no different from deadly poison to living beings, but to the dead, they became a weapon more excellent than any other.
Not only did every metric, including attack power and defense, surge tremendously, but even if their entire bodies were smashed apart, they recovered in an instant, and merely touching a living being inflicted fatal damage.
It was truly the supreme weapon, perfect in both offense and defense.‘Kuh, I should not have eaten them in a fit of anger!’And he was the one experiencing that effect more vividly than anyone.
No matter how much he broke them, they kept regenerating, so in his irritation he had swallowed several black jiangshi and part of the skeletal lizard’s body···.
Gurgle—
A loud sound came from within his enormous belly.
Having never once suffered ill effects from eating anything until now, he was experiencing an upset stomach for the first time in his life.‘Krrgh!’For him, who perfectly absorbed everything inside his body and thus possessed not even an anus, let alone the need to excrete, it was a disaster-like situation.
Of course, since he possessed the authority of gluttony, even this would eventually subside with time···.
“Heh heh heh— You look to be in considerable pain, don’t you? That is why you should not carelessly pick up and eat just anything.”[Grr··· you bastard···!]
The problem was that he had no such leisure at the moment.
Along with the voice of the culprit behind all this ringing in his ears—
Kwaaaaaang—!
Rumble—
From the strange patterns that had, at some point, surrounded him on every side, waves of destruction began to surge once more.
Chains, lightning, flames, thorns, fangs, beasts, axes, and more···.
Taking on varied forms of death, too numerous to easily count.