Chapter 259: Chapter 259

Chapter 259: Era of Dragons (1)

In his eyes, which had crossed countless lines of death, Han Siah's eyes were alien.

There was neither fear nor reason there.

Only a burning, chilling madness was glistening.

'This woman, she's not in her right mind.'

A fanatic wearing a human mask.

Just as Nakazawa was about to tightly grip his sword hilt out of instinctive repulsion, Kim Minwoo abruptly intervened.

"All the guardians we've encountered so far couldn't be communicated with at all. Isn't that right?"

Because all the guardians they met so far were crazy.

Kim Minwoo, glancing at Han Siah, said.

"Ms. Siah, it seems you had some communion with that guy. Is that right?"

"Yes. He was also a very pure and sincere believer. Thanks to him, we had a very beneficial conversation."

"Whose believer is he? Archaia?"

"Yes. He definitely repeated that name..."

Through the Demon Eye, he examined the praying Dragonkin.

[Species: ?? (Sub-Dragon State)]

[Armament Level: Terrible.]

[Characteristic: One of the Guardians of the False Corridor. He was forcibly subjected to numerous compressions. As a backlash, the completely mad Sub-Dragon is atoning through self-harm.]

[Thoughts on the Target: This Sub-Dragon's mind is filled with worship for the Primordial Dragon. Besides that, the only thing this mad dragon recognizes is a fanatic like himself.]

At a glance, it seemed conversation wouldn't work at all.

'But, if it's Han Siah...'

Extremes tend to connect.

Plus, didn't they share prayers amicably?

"I'd like to have a conversation with that dragon."

"It's prayer time right now so... Could you, could you wait just a moment?"

Han Siah answered while stomping her feet as if apologetic.

"It, it's not that I don't want to...! You have to wait for that so he will also have the will to converse."

"We'll do that. Don't worry. I also know that Ms. Siah always does her best."

At those words, tears welled up in Han Siah's eyes.

As if she had received tremendous emotion.

"K-Khm... Then since we have time, let's organize things for a bit."

They organized the contents they saw there together with the party.

The content was simple.

The days when he commanded from the throne.

The Dragon Race was truly enjoying a golden age.

All the treasures of the world gathered in their nests, and no race dared to step on a dragon's shadow.

But even the Dragon Lord, praised as an Absolute, could not go against the flow of time.

His strong body declined, and the shadow of death was cast even on a life that seemed eternal.

That was the first fear the arrogant monarch experienced.

The longing for survival soon degenerated into madness.

To extend his life, he began to exploit the life force of other races by using them as sacrifices.

At first, monsters, humans, and non-human races spilled blood on the altar. But it was like pouring water into a bottomless jar.

The thirst was not quenched, and eventually, his greedy eyes turned toward his own kin.

As it progressed, the murals became increasingly grotesque.

The Dragon Lord and his blindly obedient royal guards were brutally slaughtering their fellow dragons.

Scales being torn off and dragon blood spurting like fountains.

Amidst those desperate screams, Archaia was forcibly drinking the life force of his kin.

But the result was horrific.

The Dragon Lord depicted in the final painting there was far from regaining his youth; he was closer to a grotesquely dried-up mummy. As if the tens of thousands of lives he forcibly swallowed had become poison, his hideously twisted body was filled only with despair.

"He was definitely dying..."

"And his appearance changed grotesquely."

"Then this Corridor 8..."

The next story should be depicted.

However, unlike other corridors, there were no paintings in Corridor 8. It was only full of red murals and flesh.

"We can't know. Since we haven't caught that guardian yet. If we kill him, something might be revealed..."

The group conversed busily.

Han Siah's eyes sparkled.

Jerus, who had been kneeling with his head down, was raising his body before they knew it.

It was at that moment.

Han Siah approached Jerus, stepping in the pool of blood.

A distance where a normal monster would have rushed in with killing intent immediately.

But Jerus was docile.

His crushed eyes stared intently at Han Siah.

In those eyes, a strange camaraderie lingered instead of hostility.

Madmen recognize madmen.

Han Siah, reflected in Jerus's eyes, was not an intruder.

She was a priest, more sincere than anyone, serving an 'Absolute Existence' just like him.

Han Siah bent her knees to meet his eye level.

Her white hand carefully stroked Jerus's torn scales.

"What torments you so? Why do you seek forgiveness while harming yourself?"

At the affectionate question, Jerus's body trembled slightly.

The breathing, which sounded like a beast's cry, subsided, and a rasping voice mixed with a metallic sound flowed out.

"Sin... I committed a sin..."

"I dared... to doubt Him. I tried to judge His great will... with my narrow insight!"

Jerus curled up his body as if to crush his head against the floor again. It was a confession mixed with extreme self-loathing and fear.

"Thus, I have been punished for eternity. Even amidst the pain of rotting flesh and crushing bones, even death was not permitted. This is both the mercy and the punishment He bestowed!"

Jerus shed tears of blood and reached a twisted hand toward the empty air. It was a desperate gesture, as if trying to grasp the hem of an invisible god's robe.

"Cough! Only He... Only the great Lord Archaia can grant me true salvation! So I must beg. Until I am forgiven...!"

Han Siah asked with a solemn face, like a priest listening to a confession.

"Brother, what did you doubt?"

A dreamlike golden airflow flowed from Han Siah's white fingertips.

It was different from ordinary divine power.

Blind faith toward her own god, an alien healing power created by that madness-filled obsession.

As soon as the light touched him, Jerus's body twisted violently.

Jerus braced himself against the floor and vomited a mouthful of dark blue blood clots.

It was a reaction closer to purification, or rather, exorcism, than healing.

Rotten flesh melted away, and smoke rose from the spot.

Park Siwoo, who was watching, covered his mouth with a pale face.

A scene that looked like torture to anyone watching.

It was because her intention was to heal, but Jerus was dying instead.

Just as she was about to withdraw her hand, Jerus grabbed her wrist tightly.

A groan full of pain.

However, a bizarre level of euphoria lingered in that voice.

"Cough―! I can feel it... The Lord's curse that bound my body and soul... is being pushed away... Priest, I beg of you. Please end this pain!"

His eyes were changing.

The murky gaze glistening with madness vanished, and a painful yet clear reason was returning in its place.

A scream as if forcibly dragging out something that must not be forgotten. Soon after, his pupils flashed.

"I saw it. The King's deepest secret chamber, the Golden Garden!"

Kim Minwoo's eyebrow twitched.

It was a name he was hearing for the first time.

"There, the King... was insane! To regain his youth, he was placing dragon eggs that hadn't even hatched yet onto the altar!"

It wasn't simply the realm of gluttony, eating his own kin.

"He was sacrificing... the children. To that indescribable thing beyond the dimensional wall!"

"By 'that thing'... do you mean an Outer God?"

A heavy silence settled among the group.

Does that mean even that great Primordial Dragon ultimately colluded with an Outer God?

"As a Royal Guard Knight... I could no longer bear it. I endured offering the blood of my kin for the old King out of knightly loyalty. But...!"

Jerus's fist struck the floor.

"The King, giggling while selling off unhatched eggs, the future of our race, to monsters... was no longer the Lord we knew! That was just a monster!"

The loyal knight became a traitor, and as a price, he was imprisoned here under a curse that didn't even allow death.

As he continued speaking, Jerus's body was rapidly collapsing.

Because Han Siah's divine power was burning away the Dragon Lord's curse embedded in his body, and the life force maintained by that curse, simultaneously.

Blood clots poured out again.

Now his body was crumbling to the point where it was hard to maintain its shape.

Han Siah lowered her eyes as if feeling pity.

"It is fine... This is the rest I wanted..."

With fading vision, Jerus looked at Kim Minwoo.

His dying eyes took on a strange gleam.

"Human, I feel an arrangement from you..."

"We struggled for salvation... but eventually, we all faded away. All that remains is a very small hope hidden from the King's eyes."

Jerus raised a trembling hand and pointed at Kim Minwoo's chest.

"Cough―! You... possess it. I, 'Jerus', as a resister and... the leader of the 11th Corps... acknowledge your qualification as the owner!"

It was at that moment.

A strong vibration was felt from Kim Minwoo's inventory.

[You have learned about the hidden secret history of the Dragon Race!]

[You have been acknowledged by a resister!]

[You have met the third qualification condition of the Jewel of the Forgotten Dragon!]

[The information of the Jewel of the Forgotten Dragon changes significantly!]

A blinding flash that seemed to swallow the entire corridor burst out.

At the same time, Jerus's body became particles of light and slowly scattered.

In his final moment, he was wearing a peaceful smile more than pain.

"I contained... time... So you can... analyze... the King's... power... and resist... So that the last lifeline... of our Dragon Race... will not be cut off... Please... salvation... to our Dragon Race..."

The will could not continue to the end.

But Kim Minwoo was not one to miss the meaning.

He took out the Dragon's Jewel.

[Jewel of the Forgotten Dragon]

[It is the final arrangement left by the Dragon Race who resisted Archaia. Between beautiful halos, a massive golden city is visible.]

[Activation qualification conditions met.]

[Upon use, you can transfer to the 'Era of Dragons'.]

[Transferable Personnel: Current party members.]

[Activatable Time: 30 minutes]

[Caution! Activation is impossible after time passes!]

The jewel was activated.