Chapter 502: Chapter 300: Weaving Fate

After confirming that Alicia, who was responsible for contacting him, had safely departed the harbor with the information and returned to the Old Continent, David, donning the Elven alias ’Saphiros,’ boldly made his way toward the military department in Dewensen.

Standing at a towering height of two meters and thirty centimeters, even among the generally handsome High Elves, David certainly stood out.

Additionally, with his notorious military exploits in the Gloomy Region having risen sharply over the last two years, wherever he passed, the Elves were careful to give him a wide berth:

“Ah, it’s Lord Saphiros.”

“Hurry and lower your head, don’t look at him.”

“…Why?”

“You’ll get beaten up.”

“Why?”

“Last time, Viscount Drot’s animal companion, a hunting dog, just snarled and barked at him on the roadside, and he ended up slicing it with his sword.”

“…Ah? Isn’t he afraid of Viscount Drot making trouble for him?”

“Of course not. The grass on the grave of the last noble who indignantly challenged him to a duel is already three inches tall.”

Indifferent to the Elves’ whispers, David approached the civilian desk at the military department and, looking down at the somewhat terrified civilian clerk, said in a deep voice, “Who’s on the hit list this time? Give me the complete list.”

“Yes!!!”

“It’s… It’s all here, Lord Saphiros.”

David, without another word, took the list, stepped onto the Hippogriff landing pad on the military department’s training grounds, and departed towards the ’Well of Miracles’ within the territory of Saeolus.

Only after his figure vanished did the Elves at the military department, who both respected and feared him, dare to breathe a sigh of relief.

Ever since the battle at the Montero coast, where the Spider Goddess Rose openly defied Corellon, the chief god of the Elves, by ’saving’ David from the “Radiant Guard’s Spear,” military clashes between the High Elves and Drow had escalated drastically.

It had since evolved into the current localized war over the dominion of the ’Well of Miracles.’

From this perspective, in the eyes of some naive folk, David’s current actions of hunting Drow might seem like ’biting the hand that feeds.’

However, David himself carried absolutely no moral burden over it.

Leaving aside whether he, as a Red Dragon, even possessed such a thing as morality anymore, the real world was never about pure black and white or simple good and evil.

Only interests are eternal.

Rose’s assistance at that time was merely due to David’s continued existence being a thorn in the High Elves’ side—a pawn that could significantly tie down their military might for the Drow.

In turn, the Drow represented a similar strategic asset for David and the Dragons. It was much like how the Chromatic Dragon Queen Tiamat had once conspired with the Spider Goddess Rose to grievously deceive the War God.

Tiamat received the War Priesthood. This allowed her to gain continuous benefits from godly wars or even planar conflicts, creating the possibility of her suppressing or even defeating Bahamut.

Rose, in turn, achieved her desire to be promoted to a greater divine power, once again possessing the qualifications to contend with Corellon, the chief Elven god, across the divine chessboard.

As long as their interests aligned, everyone cooperated with an uncanny understanding.

And when their positions conflicted, swords would clash.

The Dragons, High Elves, and Drow—these three powers were like the Three Kingdoms of the neighboring Blue Star, mutually exploiting and yet also mutually constraining one another.

Initially, David hadn’t thought so deeply about it.

His decision to use his Authority to transform into a High Elf and hunt Drow in the Gloomy Region was simply because it was one of the most intense battlefields in Elariya at that moment.

And battlefields are the best whetstones for familiarizing oneself with one’s power.

As a Dragon, the best way for him to become adept with his legendary powers would have actually been to hibernate.

Yes, simply sleeping would have been far more effective than any other method, allowing him to learn through the guidance of the Dragon’s legacy and nearly realistic dream training.

But the problem was that as a young Red Dragon, especially a legendary one, this sleep would have lasted at least five years.

By the time he would have woken up five years later, it would have been too late.

Since war was inevitable, he decided against sleeping.

Instead, he simultaneously used the Authorities of Jealousy, Arrogance, and Gluttony to transform and take over the identity of a High Elf named Saphiros.

This also represented an exploration and advancement in his mastery of the domain of Authority following his promotion to legendary status.

It was no longer a matter of simply using Jealousy for outward appearances; it was a complete replacement, from the inside out.

It could be said that he, David, *was* the High Elf Saphiros.

A master-class Wanderer.

He possessed all of the other’s past, inhabiting and directing Saphiros’s destiny from that moment forward.

Even if Corellon himself were to look, not even a god could detect the slightest incongruity.

David referred to this ability as—

Fate’s Weave.

And just as David was wondering what to do with this power, fate began to actively intervene.

Once, after slaying a dozen Drow elites, he fell into a deep sleep on the battlefield.

However, he was ’rescued’ against his will by Aria, the Moon Goddess’s Chosen, who passed by and mistook him for an injured soldier.

As a result, Aria, who was so conspicuous on the battlefield herself, fell into an ambush by several Drow Matriarchs.

Realizing this was an excellent opportunity, David naturally did not miss the stage to play the hero rescuing the damsel.

After they fought a fierce battle together, David experienced a battlefield promotion amidst the ’dire straits,’ ’awakening’ to his Legendary Destiny.

Facing encirclement by five Drow Matriarchs, he managed to kill one and seriously injure two. Then, to the amazement of all Elves present, he broke through the Gloomy Region battlefield with Aria and returned to the military headquarters, shocking the entirety of Dewensen.

’Strongest Sword Dancer,’ ’Drow Hunter,’ Saphiros the ’One-Winged Angel,’ became famous in that single battle.

The three-meter-long Elven long knife he had spent a fortune to craft also gained instantaneous fame.

Consequently, a flurry of Elven nobles blindly followed suit. However, they only managed to get their blades stuck between stone slabs or found the entire crossguard obstructing alleyways, resembling foolish dogs unable to get through a door with a stick in their mouths.

These farcical episodes quickly became laughingstocks.

In contrast, David used the heads of countless Drow warriors as his pledge of allegiance. Coupled with the endorsement from Aria, the Moon Goddess’s Chosen who was smitten with him, he successfully infiltrated the core circles of Dewensen’s Elves.

Thus, obtaining the military intelligence of the High Elves became a matter of course.

As for why Aria, the Moon Goddess’s Chosen, would fall for him—a Wanderer with a foul temper and brutish demeanor, as if she possessed masochistic tendencies—?

It was naturally thanks to the more than four hundred days and nights she had spent in captivity.

David had initially racked his brain on how to deal with this particular Moon Goddess’s Chosen.

Killing her was naturally not an option; unless Pafila herself descended to extinguish her soul directly, the Elves could always revive her.

It was just like the battle at Montero Coast. When Corellon, the chief deity of the Elves, tried to instantly kill David, whom he saw as a hidden threat, it immediately provoked a joint interception from Pafila and Rose.

If Pafila, a deity herself, were to act, the consequences would be the same.

But keeping a Godchosen at one’s side could invite attacks from the Elves at any moment. As the saying goes, one can be a thief for a thousand days, but one cannot guard against a thief for a thousand days.

Eventually, David found inspiration from the Drow:

Even a Godchosen, once fallen, would face the wrath and rejection of their god.

It wasn’t that the gods didn’t want to redeem them; divine patronage and favor are like containers.

Once a container’s specifications changed, or it became tainted, it naturally became unsuitable.

Faith is the process of altering and attuning the container.

Therefore, the Drow, especially their Priests, were particularly fond of luring others to depravity.

Because every time they witnessed a most devout member of the clergy betray their deity at the altar, the divine grace granted by the Spider Goddess was always relatively stable and substantial.

The Drow called this the ’Cup of Filth.’

Thus, David conceived his ’Plan for a Divine Fall.’

However, David did not know if the Moon Goddess had any other means to find a replacement once his plan succeeded.

So he prepared to boil the frog slowly.

He tormented and reshaped her body. During her brief respites in dreams, he would infiltrate using the Authority of Greed, and employ the Sin of Lust to erode her psyche and sculpt a brand-new personality.

However, after each night, he would use the Authority of Sloth to ’imprint’ this new personality and the dreamscape, causing them to sink into dormancy.

Until he awakened it.

By then, the proud, pretentious, Elven-supremacist Aria, the Chosen, would exist in name only.

A different Aria—simple, humble, weak, masochistic, and utterly submissive to him, David—would take her place.

This was the precursor to ’Fate’s Weave.’

What gave David some headaches was his feeling that Aria was already showing signs of transformation towards this submerged personality, often teetering on the brink of losing control. Perhaps this was because he hadn’t reached legendary status at that time.

Consequently, he spent more of his efforts these days trying to stabilize the balance between her personalities.

Soon, it will be soon…

David looked up at the boundless starry sky, as if he could pierce the planar barriers and see a crimson comet slowly speeding towards the Toriel Plane.

He wouldn’t even need to wait for The Slaying King Star to descend.

On the next full moon night, he planned to strike first.

He would deal with these Elven emissaries, gathered from various planes for a military council…

take them all out in one go.

A full-scale war with the High Elves.

It would be initiated personally by him, the Red Lotus Nova, who would soon become the ’Dewensen Destroyer’—David Uthos.

The Authority of Greed flared within him. At the thought of that future scene, David couldn’t help but grin from ear to ear, bursting into villainous, dragon-like laughter, “I am the embodiment of power! AHAHAHA! HAHAHAHA!”

His laughter echoed, a pure display of Arrogance. Perhaps it was indeed too grandiose and demonically bold, like that of a Dragon.

Even though David did not exude any Dragon Might, the Hippogriff he was riding was still so frightened that it lost control of its bowels.

Its legs kicked, and its wings stiffened.

It went into shock…

And so, spraying filth across the sky, it plummeted towards Saeolus City, crashing.

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