Chapter 45

Chapter 45

The moment Zeon saw the man in the desert darkness, he felt goosebumps rise all over his body.

The man was like a desert mirage.

He was clearly standing before their eyes, but he felt like someone not of this world.

Zeon knew that feeling was not a lie.

This was unknown land, untouched by human footsteps.

Perhaps Zeon and Deioden were the only humans who had entered this place.

Even the two of them had barely reached this place after a desperate struggle.

Because Deioden was an absolute powerhouse who had surpassed human limits, he had not suffered any particular wounds, but Zeon had truly crossed the threshold of death several times.

Because of that, deep scars that would never disappear had been branded all over Zeon’s body.

Yet the man before his eyes showed not even the slightest trace of injury.

The skin visible between his clothes was so strangely white that even the capillaries beneath it could be seen.

Most of all, a man walking through the desert alone possessed no equipment whatsoever.

He was not wearing armor or a robe like Zeon, nor did he possess a sword like Crayon, as Deioden did.

And yet the fact that he could walk leisurely through the desert night as if taking a stroll meant that he was an incredibly powerful being.

Such a powerful being had appeared without warning.

It was clear he had not come with good intentions.

Zeon carefully asked,

“Who are you?”

“I am someone passing nearby. I saw the light from afar and came to see.”

“And your name?”

“I am Haieltun.”

At that instant, Zeon felt all the blood in his body turn cold.

“Then you’re a dra......gon?”

“For now, I am simply a passing guest. There is no need to be so wary.”

The man who introduced himself as Haieltun smiled faintly.

At that moment, Deioden opened his mouth.

“A lizard bastard, coming here without fear......”

“That is a little harsh. I am still called a dragon, yet you compare me to a mere lizard.”

“So you really were hiding here.”

“Hiding? What would I be afraid of, that I should hide? I have simply been staying here for a long time.”

Even under Deioden’s killing intent, Haieltun answered with an unbothered expression.

“So what brings you here, lizard?”

“The way you address me is a little irritating, but I, broad-minded as I am, will understand. If uninvited guests came to your home, would you sit still? I am the same. Uninvited guests came to my home, so I came out because I was curious.”

“Uninvited guests? Us?”

In the darkness, Deioden’s eyes shone intensely.

Even under his mad gaze, Haieltun remained calm.

He said,

“Is that not what one calls those who behave without manners like this? Or is the meaning used differently on Earth?”

“You bastards are the uninvited guests. You lizard bastard! Who was it that Terraformed Earth and tried to migrate here by force?”

“I do feel somewhat sorry about that. But we had no choice either. Crasias, who attempted the Terraforming of Earth, is a being above the gods. At least in our world, he held that level of status. Who would have dared object to what he did?”

“You really are a lizard bastard. Your tongue is filthy long. In the end, you’re still the same kind of lizard, aren’t you?”

“If you are placing me on the same level as him, then I can only be grateful. But I dare not be compared to him. In our world, he is a being equal to the Creator. He merely chose the same shell as us for convenience.”

“So what are you trying to say? Did you come here to brag about how great Crasias was?”

“Your hostility and fighting spirit truly are remarkable. Enough to make even this body tremble.”

Haieltun laughed as he looked at Deioden.

Contrary to his words, he did not look tense or intimidated at all.

He said,

“Think of it as an unavoidable disaster. Like a typhoon, or an earthquake. If you do, you may be able to live with a little more peace of mind.”

“So you’re telling me to just go back?”

“I am politely advising you to do so.”

“What a load of fucking bullshit. It’s easy to say when it’s someone else’s problem. Could you forget it and live on?”

“Unfortunately, oblivion is not a blessing permitted to me. But I believe I could bury it and live on.”

“Only your tongue is alive, prattling away. That is why you are a cripple. I will see whether you can keep spouting that crippled nonsense after I rip out your tongue.”

“Mm! I would rather decline. I can convey my thoughts with Telepathy Magic, but using a voice is far more convenient.”

Haieltun casually approached Deioden.

Zeon held his breath and watched Haieltun.

Haieltun naturally walked toward the Sand Angler’s corpse.

“Oh! A Sand Angler. I like them quite a lot as well. You could call it a delicacy.”

RIIIP!

He reached out and tore off a handful of the Sand Angler’s flesh. Then he chewed it noisily.

There was not the slightest trace of dignity in Haieltun’s appearance.

Zeon opened his mouth without realizing it.

“Um, that’s mine.”

“Mm?”

“I caught it. Shouldn’t you ask permission before eating it?”

“Haha! Is that so? My apologies.”

“If you’re really sorry, you should give me something.”

At Zeon’s nonsense, Haieltun pretended to think seriously before opening his mouth.

“It would be difficult to give you one of my possessions, but if you survive later, look for the rocky mountain one hundred kilometers north of here. There is a masterless dungeon there, and it should contain quite a few useful items.”

“A dungeon?”

“With your ability, you should have no difficulty finding it.”

“What is the true nature of dungeons? How can something like that exist?”

“Mm! That is an interesting question. You are the first person to ask me such a thing. To explain simply, dungeons are fragments of Kurayan. They should originally have disappeared along with Kurayan’s destruction, but due to the aftermath of Terraforming and the backlash, remnants became isolated in the gaps of time and space.”

“So they’re Kurayan’s dregs?”

“You have a talent for explaining difficult things very simply. You would be useful if made into a Chimera.”

“What?”

“Nothing. It would be best to view them simply as treasure vaults left between Kurayan and Earth. If one finds them properly, there are quite a few useful items inside.”

“Then the monsters inside?”

“They too are remnants of Kurayan. Pitiful things isolated in the gaps of time and space, unable even to perish.”

He said that, but his face did not look pitiful at all.

Zeon did not know it, but dragons were originally beings like that.

Beings who had stood at the peak of the world called Kurayan.

Except for Crasias, nothing stood above them.

Not even beings called gods.

Gods could exist only if there were those who believed in them.

Faith gathered to form divinity, and only then could they exist as gods.

Because of that, when the world called Kurayan was destroyed, and most humans and nonhuman races died, the gods too had no choice but to vanish.

Dragons, on the other hand, could live as complete beings by themselves even without such things.

Even without faith, they could use one hundred percent of the power they had wielded in Kurayan.

They had been absolute beings in Kurayan, and they could live as absolute beings on Earth as well.

Haieltun continued,

“I highly value the fact that you defeated my Guardian, Akaruk, and came all the way here. But he is not my only Guardian. Rather, he is closer to a failed creation. My true Guardians are far stronger than he was.”

“So what are you trying to say, you lizard bastard?”

“Have I not been saying it since earlier? Just go back. If you do, I will forgive you. I am a generous dragon, after all.”

“You fucking lizard bastard!”

“After hearing those words repeatedly, they are starting to put me in a bad mood. If you say it one more time, I will not forgive even you.”

“Forgive, my ass...... You don’t even have the courage to come out yourself and sent a doll instead.”

“What?”

SHAAAK!

At that instant, Deioden swung Crayon.

Haieltun, startled, tried to dodge, but he could not avoid Crayon.

SLAAASH!

With a chilling cutting sound, Haieltun’s body was split in two.

Haieltun’s body rolled away, upper and lower halves separated. But no blood flowed from the severed parts.

Deioden looked down at Haieltun and said,

“I knew it. You cowardly lizard bastard. You sent a fake and did nothing but babble nonsense. Your kind is always like this. That is why I can never forgive you.”

“Haha! I did not expect this. In any case, I understand your will well.”

Haieltun laughed even with his waist severed.

Zeon’s expression paled slightly at the grotesque sight he had never seen before.

Deioden raised Crayon high and said,

“I will see you soon, you crippled lizard bastard!”

STAB!

Crayon pierced straight into Haieltun’s head.

Only then did the life vanish from Haieltun’s entire body.

Deioden’s ability, the authority of death, had bestowed perfect death upon it.

Deioden withdrew Crayon and said,

“To think he sent a mere Chimera to threaten me.”

“You’re saying this is a Chimera?”

“Yes! That cowardly lizard bastard did not have the courage to appear himself, so he sent an artificial lifeform. KAK! PTOOEY!”

Deioden spat phlegm onto the Chimera.

Zeon silently watched the scene.

---

“Grrgh!”

Haieltun opened his eyes with a groan, and his scales rubbed together, producing a strange sound.

CLATTER!

From head to tail, he was no less than one hundred fifty meters long, and his entire body was covered in dazzling golden scales.

Two horns rose from his head, and a pair of wings was folded neatly against his body.

His four legs were thick and sturdy enough to support a gigantic underground cavity.

Haieltun raised his enormous body and blinked.

As the link with the Chimera was severed, his soul had suffered no small amount of damage.

At that moment, the woman standing before Haieltun carefully spoke.

“Are you all right?”

“The connection with the Chimera has been completely severed. It was true that he possessed the authority of death.”

Haieltun shook his gigantic head and spoke.

“The authority of death, you say?”

“Yes! It is astonishing that a mere human possesses the authority that only Crasias had in Kurayan.”

Haieltun looked at the small woman.

Her upper body was human, but her lower body was that of a spider.

It was Chimera Magic, grafting different creatures together to create a new lifeform.

One of his specialties was studying various lifeforms and creating Chimeras.

Originally, even in Kurayan, creating Chimeras had been a forbidden domain.

Even dragons who stood at the peak of Kurayan would be sanctioned by other dragons if they touched Chimera Magic.

Because of that, Haieltun too had not dared think of creating Chimeras in Kurayan.

But this Earth was different.

Unlike Kurayan, there were no sanctions here.

The dragons who had crossed over to Earth were busy building their own territories and paid no attention to the lives of other individuals.

Thanks to that, Haieltun was able to focus on Chimera Magic, which had always interested him.

The spider woman before him, Iblis, was one of the Chimeras made that way.

Created by fusing a human and a spider, she possessed both human cleverness and a spider’s cunning.

That was why he had entrusted her with the heavy responsibility of managing his lair.

Iblis lowered her head and watched Haieltun carefully.

Haieltun’s lair was entirely made of gold.

The walls, ceiling, and floor were all gold.

Most of the surface had turned to sand in the aftermath of the Terraforming backlash, but the ore veins deep underground had remained intact.

As befitting a Gold Dragon, Haieltun had made his lair in an ore vein full of gold.

Inside the golden lair, he studied Chimeras to his heart’s content.

In order to create Chimeras he liked, Haieltun brought women of each race to his lair, personally Polymorphed, and mated with them.

He then combined the children born from that with monsters and turned them into Chimeras.

Iblis was also a Chimera made through that same process, and all the Guardians protecting the lair were made up of Chimeras as well.

He was extremely reluctant to leave his golden lair and go out into the outside world made of sand. That was why he had sent a Chimera instead of his true body, only for this incident to occur.

“Deioden!”

Killing intent filled Haieltun’s golden eyes.

He was enraged at Deioden, who had dared kill his clone.

The Chimera he had made as his clone was extremely special.

Because it had been made as a vessel to hold even part of his soul, it used a dragon’s authority. Therefore, it could not be killed by ordinary methods.

The severing of the link meant the Chimera’s complete death.

The fact that Deioden could grant a Chimera perfect death meant he could grant death to Haieltun as well.

He did not know how a mere human had obtained such an authority, but it was clear Deioden posed a great threat to him.

Haieltun ordered Iblis,

“Move the Guardians.”