Volume 13 Chapter 16 Black Dragon King’S Trial Part II
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
*Delprius’s Perspective
Dust swirled around, turning my body white.
”Ack, ack, what’s happening… I can’t see a thing around me!! Rosvita!! Ludmila!! Where are you?!”
As the dust settled and my vision cleared, I gasped at the devastation before me.
The Dragonians who had been protecting me lay piled in heaps, fallen.
I had avoided the collapse in the small space they made, but the Dragonians caught in it didn’t even try to move.
…This can’t be… Dragonians transforming into dragons and dying, it’s all a lie… Rosvita… Ludmila…
I scrambled through the gaps between the fallen Dragonians, trying to find the two whose figures had vanished.
The ruins halfway up the mountain had been reduced to a massive hole.
’My wayward descendants. You have made a reckless choice, leading to the deaths of many allies.’
The Black Dragon, its great wings spread, stared down at me with a menacing gaze.
The killing intent from the Black Dragon made my body shrink back in fear.
…Wha, what is this… I’m scared… I’m so scared…
The Black Dragon’s pseudo-limb swung down towards me, now curled up and unable to move.
I tried to move my body to avoid it, but I couldn’t move as I usually did.
Thud.
”Ughhhhh!!!”
I quickly used the [Steel Body Technique] to boost my defense, but the pseudo-limb’s attack power was overwhelming.
That strike left my left hand useless.
’You’re weak. Do you still think you can call yourself the king of the Black Dragon? You claim to inherit the soul of Ventabarl, the strongest among the dragonkind and the steed of Orphée Bleu, the main pillar god of the Celestial Kingdom! How foolish!’
The sharp jaw of the Black Dragon seemed to loosen as it looked down on me.
Again, a pseudo arm swung down toward me.
Thud.
”Cough!!”
The bones of my right hand shattered as they drooped limply, unable to lift.
”Aaagh!! It hurts!! It really hurts!!”
A shattered bone burst out of my arm, sending pain signals to my brain as if it would burn out from the agony.
Overwhelmed by the pain, I couldn’t help but start crying.
”Ugh, ugh, it hurts… I don’t want this… Why do I have to go through this…”
Unable to stand from the pain, I collapsed onto the ground.
The Black Dragon kicked me, sent flying like a rubber ball, with its front leg.
I could hear the sound of my bones breaking as my body slammed against a nearby rocky surface.
”Egh, cough, I don’t want this, I don’t want to die…”
Exposed to an overwhelming violence I had never felt before, my heart broke, and my body became paralyzed.
My vision blurred with tears from the pain and regret.
’O weak king of the Black Dragon, I will crush the vessel you inhabited and use its soul to my advantage. Just disappear already.’
The front leg of the Black Dragon came crashing down toward me.
Is this where I die…? Kent, I was such a foolish Lord… I touched what I shouldn’t have…
”Delprius!! Are you still the wife of Lord Blackdagger!? Don’t give up!!”
”Lady Delprius!! How can you shed tears in front of your subjects as a ruler!? It’s unacceptable for a guardian to speak in such a weak manner!!”
Standing in front of the Black Dragon’s front leg were Ludmila and Rosvita, who had fallen.
Despite being in Dragon Transformation, their bodies were covered in wounds and blood.
”Huh, you two were safe after all…”
For a brief moment, I felt relieved, but watching the two of them covered in wounds, I was struck once more by the realization that my judgment had put all of us in danger. A surge of self-blame boiled up inside me.
”You look like you’re about to collapse, but somehow they’re hanging on. Rosvita and I will handle this, so you, Delprius, run away!”
”I can’t… my arms and legs are broken, I can’t move…”
The Black Dragon, hindered from action, thrust out a pseudo-limb to pluck Ludmila’s feathers.
The Black Dragon then popped the plucked feathers into its mouth and began to chew with its massive jaws.
Blood squirted from where Ludmila’s feathers were plucked, drenching me in red.
”Aaahhh!! My feathers!! My feathers are being plucked!!”
”Ludmila!! Ahh!!”
The Black Dragon also thrust its pseudo-limb towards Rosvita, who was supporting Ludmila.
Then it yanked off Rosvita’s foreleg and popped it into its mouth again.
”Aaaahhh!! Lady Delprius!! Run away!! Run away now!!”
Rosvita, now missing a foreleg, clung desperately to the Black Dragon, while Ludmila also clamped her jaws onto it with all her might.
’A weak dragon is not of my lineage. Devour them all and rebuild from the ashes!!’
It’s no use… like this… everyone will die… someone, please help…
──Do you truly need my power?
As I searched for something to cling to, something to save them, a voice echoed in my mind.
In that moment, the surroundings in the lightless space changed.
In the dark, enclosed space, a girl with a delicate body and small breasts, her skin a pale brown, floated listlessly into view.
”Who are you?”
”‘Who’ is rather rude. I am the Black Dragon Prince Bendavar, sent to inhabit your soul by the Demon Lord Orphée Bleu’s decree. Of course, since the crucial Demon Lord Orphée Bleu has been taken away by the Yandere God (Sazukrain), there isn’t much meaning left in this world, but still…”
The girl called herself Bendavar.
”That’s a lie. Bendavar has turned into a dragon and is rampaging.”
The girl waves her fingers left and right in front of me, denying it.
”That’s the remnants of my delusion. After Demon Lord Orphée Bleu disappeared and my soul finished its fate here, a part of my soul got bound to that place.”
”Just a part of your soul?”
”Yes, a part of me that went mad with longing and possessiveness for Demon Lord Orphée Bleu. When my servant came to collect my soul after my fate was sealed, I discarded it as unnecessary.”
The girl speaks with a calm expression, but there’s a faint hint of sympathy on her face.
”Because of that, my precious subjects got hurt and fell. What a damned ancestor I am.”
The girl grabs my chest in anger at my words.
”It’s not my fault!! It’s all your fault!! Don’t shift the blame!! If you hadn’t destroyed the ruins, the skeletons would’ve just attacked the town and been done with it. And that guy would’ve left without turning into a dragon!”
”No, that’s not true!! I just wanted to defeat the skeletons for everyone!! I didn’t know such a monster would show up!!”
I forgot about the pain in my body and desperately countered the girl.
But her gaze pierces through me, seeing the regret and guilt hidden deep within.
”A king should never show regret for a decision once made!! Your followers will end up as dead dogs!! Accept the reality caused by your own decisions. The fact that your awakening the Black Dragon led to your subjects being hurt is the reality!! Don’t try to blame it on someone else and run away!!”
”I… it’s my fault…”
Cold sweat pours out from the girl’s body at her words.
Becoming an existence called king was a result of circumstances; I thought it would be enough to just be by Kent’s side as his wife. But I’m stunned by the consequences of a decision I made with a light heart.
It’s my fault… It’s my fault that my subjects, including Rosvita and Ludmila, got hurt…
Suddenly, my chest was squeezed tight, making it hard to breathe.
Then, a bitter bile rose up, and I started vomiting.
”Cough, cough… it’s my fault…”
”No, it’s all your fault. The decisions of one called king affect many lives. You shouldn’t call yourself king without understanding that. Right now, I could take over your body and calm that thing down. But your soul would be shattered beyond repair.”
Bendavar pressed her hand to my chest and pulled out something glowing like a jewel from inside.
”If you break this, we can switch places. Then I could save your loyal followers who seem destined to die for nothing. So, what do you say? Want to make a deal with me?”
Bendavar stared at me with a creepy smile.
…If I disappear…I hate the thought of not seeing Kent again… But if this goes on, everyone will die… What should I do…
The more I thought, the more confused I became, and my head spun.
Then, I blurted out without thinking again.
”I don’t want to die, so just lend me the power of my ancestors!!! If I get strong and can slay that thing, everything will be solved.”
”Fools stay fools, huh?! Your tutor must have been a real idiot. Well, fine. From now on, it’s your era. I’ll entrust you with my power and return to the cycle of reincarnation, back to Demon Lord Orphée Bleu. Whatever this foolish king does is none of my concern. Just one piece of advice──use your power only for your people. Never for your own selfish desires.”
Bendavar sighed like he was fed up, then pressed his hand to his chest again, pulling out a shining jewel that he fused with mine.
At that moment, explosive power surged through my whole body.
Bones that were broken mended, and torn skin sealed up as the power flooded me.
”W-what is this…”
Bendavar grabbed me by the collar again.
”You fool of a king. I’ve granted you my power!! The might of the Black Dragon King, said to be the most ferocious dragon breed of the Celestial Kingdom, I’ve given it all to you!! Use that power to aid your favored subjects and knights!! If you whine and act like a weak king again, I’ve made sure your life will shatter immediately!! Be a wise and brave ruler, and help the new Demon Lord!!”
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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