The silver-haired Dragon, Kendall, left his spot and Pope Casillia, raised her head.

She saw the empty chair.

She remained kneeling as she quietly observed the empty spot.

“Your Holiness.”

One of the bishops approached her.

“Has Kendall-nim left?”

“Yes.”

“Did he say that he will head north right away, your Holiness?”

“He did not say much, Bishop-nim. However, he did tell us to get a celebration ready. He also said that he will take an Inquisitor as well as some servants.”

“He is moving very quickly.”

The Pope looked the same as usual as she answered calmly.

The bishop was quiet for a moment before asking this question.

“Didn’t the Lord not say anything?”

The bishop, who had heard Kendall and the Pope’s conversation outside the door, recalled what the Pope had said to Kendall.

‘It looks like you will have to go to the North, sir.’

‘Is it the Lord’s order?’

‘Yes, Oh God of Victory.’

However, the Pope had never received such an order from the Lord today.

No, she had not even reported the issue to the Lord.

“Hoohoo.”

The Pope chuckled quietly.

“Bishop-nim.”

“Yes, your Holiness.”

“Please gather all the bishops.”

“!”

There were ten bishops scattered throughout the continent.

The Pope was the only one who could summon all of them at once.

Furthermore, the Pope could only do so with the Lord’s permission.

The bishop flinched before asking with a calm look on his face.

“May I ask the reason for this summoning, your Holiness?”

The Pope was still looking at the empty chair.

“The Lord has left for a bit.”

Dragon Lord.

The Dragon Lord was the overseer for all Dragons on Aipotu as well as the single ruler of this world.

That Dragon Lord was currently absent.

“He has gone to a different dimension. I do not know the reason why, but I presume he is looking for something.”

Not even the smallest smile was on Pope Casillia’s face.

“I noticed a law breaking in the North once again. We have not received any contact from the subjugation squad. Furthermore, the Haru Kingdom has the white snake. That bitch has been hiding herself so well that we have not been able to find her.”

The Pope said something crass in a calm tone but neither the bishop nor the Pope reacted to it.

“I’m certain that the subjugation squad was taken out.”

“I guess it is possible for the subjugation squad to be taken out if the white snake and the Haru Kingdom’s hidden powers stepped in.”

“That is correct. They are fake and not real, so the limits of their powers are clear.”

The Pope slowly stood up.

She raised her hand to fix her slightly messed up hair.

Shhh.

Her wide sleeves fell and revealed her arm.

Her skin, that was usually not revealed, was visible.

The inside of her arm… A portion of it resembled the scales of a reptile.

“This is our chance while the Lord is not here.”

The Pope walked up the steps and sat on the chair as she looked down.

She looked at the spot she had been kneeling and opened her mouth.

“We were the ones who bled the most and fought like dogs two hundred years ago. Bishop-nim, we fought while getting blood on our hands. I want to create a place for us, those who are neither Dragon nor human, to continue our lives.”

The bishop was silent.

The Pope continued to speak.

“However, we still remain as subordinates of the Dragons even after the cataclysmic period.

Hoo hoo.”

She quietly laughed.

“Dragons as gods?”

She mumbled while nodding her head.

“I cannot wait any longer, Bishop-nim.”

“Your Holiness, even if the Lord has left for another dimension, we have no idea when he will return. Shouldn’t we be as careful as possible?”

“Bishop. I have less than one year left of my lifespan.”

The Bishop’s eyes opened wide for the first time.

“Casillia-”

He called her by her name for the first time.

“Orabuni. There is no world for us Dragon half-bloods.”

The bishop read the anger and loathing in the Pope’s eyes.

“I want to fill the world with chaos once again.”

She then stopped talking for a moment, allowing the Bishop to sigh and respond.

“So what do you plan on doing, your Holiness?”

“It has been two hundred years. Shouldn’t some Dragons die as well?”

“Mm.”

“It is a win if we can offer up just the Haru Kingdom to take down a Dragon.”

“…Do you think the Haru Kingdom is capable of taking down a Dragon?”

The bishop saw the Pope smile at that moment.

Her voice was extremely soft as she spoke with a gentle smile on her face.

“The White snake. That bitch should be able to take a Dragon out at the cost of her life. That bitch will never die on her own without taking out an enemy.”

“But your Holiness. Maybe that was the case before the cataclysmic period, but the current Kendall-nim… Even if he is the lowest of the ten gods, he will be too much for the white snake.”

“Hoohoo.”

Casillia quietly chuckled.

“We got some news.”

She looked at the bishop with a warm smile.

“He is by the white snake’s side.”

“……!”

The Bishop was unable to understand what she meant before realizing something and asking in a nervous voice.

“…Have you found the location of that Dragon, your Holiness?”

“Yes, Bishop-nim. The Dragon who sees the past.”

One of the two Dragons who rejected the laws of this world ruled by the Dragon Lord.

“We learned that he was acting as a fortune teller and sought out his location. My goodness, a Dragon acting like a sham of a fortune teller? That was why we had not been able to find him all this time. Anyway, we received news that he is headed toward the Haru Kingdom. I’m certain that he has gone to the white snake. There was also an odd rumor in the village he had been staying at.”

The Pope stopped for a moment before saying two words.

“Dragon Hunter.”

“…Excuse me?”

“There was a crazy bastard next to the fortune teller who was shouting that he was a Dragon Hunter. The villagers naturally considered him a lunatic and paid him no attention, but… You should know, right?”

The Bishop answered her question.

“He must be a wanderer.”

Single-lifers with the qualifications to become gods.

They were called wanderers when they died and chose to roam instead of becoming a god.

“Yes, Bishop-nim. That damn rat that has been poking his head throughout the continent until a few months ago must have gone to that Dragon.”

The Bishop was silent for a bit before speaking up again.

“The white snake, that Dragon, and a wanderer… If they are all in the Haru Kingdom right now… And if Kendall-nim has gone to capture them…”

The Pope and the Bishop looked at each other.

“Kendall-nim will probably die.”

“That’s right, Bishop-nim.”

The Pope stood up.

She walked toward a map of the continent.

“The Dragon Lord is currently absent… And one of the ten gods supporting him dies. The continent will fall into chaos.”

She was speaking as if she had nothing to do with it.

“We just need to use that opening to gain what we deserve.”

Casillia stood with the map of the continent behind her and opened up her arms toward the Bishop.

Her appearance made him think of a holy Pope.

“I wish for the destruction of this world. What about you, orabuni?”

“…….”

The Bishop politely bowed his head.

“I am here to simply follow your commands, your Holiness.”

He stood up straight again and answered her.

“I will gather the Bishops.”

He then added on.

“Secretly. Without the Inquisitors finding out about it.”

“That is a smart decision, Bishop-nim.”

The Bishop quietly headed out after receiving the Pope’s praises. The Pope, left alone in the room, looked toward the map of the continent.

“…We are going to die soon anyway.”

She was a true Dragon half-blood and not one of those fakes.

She will be unable to handle the Dragon blood inside of her body and her heart will soon explode.

Casillia had no plans on dying like this.

“If I can’t have it, then it can only be destroyed.”

Her face looked gentle but her eyes were full of deep grudges and loathing.

“Oh Lord.”

She looked up at the sky.

“Father.”

The corners of She’s lips curled up as high as possible.

“I will trample upon your wishes. Just as you trampled on my dreams.”

Cough.

She coughed almost as if she was vomiting.

Dark red blood dripped out of her mouth.

Cough cough.

The coughing continued as if it would never stop.

Blood that she vomited out seeped into the map of the continent.

Casillia smiled while looking at this.

Anybody would think this smile looked beautiful and holy.

* * *

The leader of the subjugation squad that was headed toward the Erghe Mountain Range…

Captain Zenyu of the Holy Empire’s First Knights Brigade could not hide his anger as he sat there with a gag in his mouth.

His hands and feet were tied and his shirt was undone.

“This jewel has Dragon blood in it and those who can handle this blood are called Dragon half-bloods?”

Mila nodded her head at Sui Khan’s question.

“It does seem that way. This is not even a chimera. We need to inform them about this.”

Mila left without any second thoughts and Sui Khan quietly observed Beacrox, who was silently taking off a pair of white gloves.

“What is it?”

“It’s nothing.”

Sui Khan shrugged his shoulders at the gruff question and approached Zenyu.

“Aren’t you cold? Let me button you back up.”

He was smiling nicely but Zenyu looked back at him with disgust. However, he avoided Sui Khan’s gaze as soon as their gazes met.

He looked scared.

Beacrox looked at him and snorted before looking at a spot.

“…….”

The Dragon half-blood, who was now a Bone Dragon, was quietly observing Zenyu. Maybe Zenyu noticed his gaze as he looked toward the Dragon half-blood.

He then flinched and lowered his head once they made eye contact. This was Zenyu’s first time seeing a Bone Dragon. He was thinking it was just another kind of Dragon.

“Is there something you wish to say?”

The Dragon half-blood shook his head at Sui Khan’s question.

The Dragon half-blood, who came saying that he wanted to help investigate the Dragon half-bloods of Aipotu, did not have much to do.

The jewel on top of their chest that they found almost immediately as they started inspecting Zenyu’s body gave them the answer as to how they were created.

“Then I’m going to drag this guy back to the cell?”

“Yeah.”

Sui Khan walked away from the rear garden of the Black Castle after hearing the Dragon half-blood’s answer.

The Black Castle did not have any cells, making them temporarily use a few rooms as cells.

Beacrox left as well and the Dragon half-blood was left by himself.

“Dragon half-blood-nim.”

Someone walked up to him.

It was Mary.

She could be called the person who gave him this body.

The Dragon half-blood hesitated for a moment before speaking.

“I want to chat with Cale Henituse when he returns.”

“I’m sure young master Cale-nim will welcome it.”

“Will he?”

The Dragon half-blood smiled bitterly before curling up his body that would fall into a deep slumber.

Mary patted a bone wing that was getting covered in snow before leaving him alone.

She didn’t know why, but it felt as if the Dragon half-blood wanted to be alone.

The now alone Dragon half-blood looked at the falling snow and thought to himself.

‘…How terrible.’

Aipotu. This world was truly terrible.

Zenyu wasn’t human or really anything. He was called a Dragon half-blood but he was more like some sort of machine.

It was more accurate to call him a living golem.

‘A living golem…

I was a chimera.’

He was the one who had consumed the hearts of multiple Dragons.

‘How terrible.’

The longer he remained in the Black Castle and remained by the side of peace…

The Dragon half-blood’s memories of the past became clearer instead of slowly disappearing.

He couldn’t help but think about what he had done in the past as well as if it was okay for him to continue living like this.

Especially-

“Isn’t it cold?”

Former Lord Sheritt walked up and gently spoke to the Dragon half-blood.

Her freckled face looked young but the years of experience visible in her eyes showed she was old enough to lap the Dragon half-blood many times.

The Dragon half-blood started to speak.

“…There is no way I would be cold, Sheritt-nim.”

How could he be cold when he was only bones?

“But still,”

Sheritt smiled and brushed off some snow by the Dragon half-blood’s eyes.

The Dragon half-blood felt warmth in her touch.

He should not have any senses but he felt warmth and pain.

Lord Sheritt’s child…

He was born by eating that child.

‘I don’t know.’

He couldn’t tell the emotions behind Lord Sheritt’s smile as she looked at him.

Sometimes it felt as if he could see anger…

Other times regret…

He could even see sympathy and sadness.

In addition…

He could also feel affection.

‘No.’

That should be a mistake.

Affection? Anger, regret… Yes, he could even understand sympathy.

But affection should be his mistake.

‘Yes. It is just a delusion because that is what I want.’

The Dragon half-blood ignored Sheritt and clenched his eyes shut.

“Cale said that he has decided on your name. He said he wanted to chat together once he returns from the capital.”

He pretended not to hear that.

A name?

‘I don’t want something like that.’

Yes, he just wanted to remain as the Dragon half-blood forever.

He couldn’t fully comprehend the emotion he was feeling.

However, his whole body felt cold despite not being able to feel the cold.

He felt worse now than when he had six months left to live and his whole body was continuously in unbearable pain.

‘But I don’t want to leave.’

He still wanted to stay in this place.

He wanted to remain in this Black Castle.

The Dragon half-blood felt a sense of disillusionment with himself. That was why he closed his eyes and remained in the darkness despite not needing to sleep.

Former Lord Sheritt quietly looked at the Dragon half-blood before raising her head.

The white snow continued to fall, creating a layer on top of the Dragon half-blood’s black bones.

* * *

Oooooong– oooooong–

‘Ah, seriously.’

Cale felt the divine item continuing to vibrate while he was chatting with King Dennis and pulled it out.

He then flinched.

A message had arrived.

It had come from Central Plains.

< Urgent news! >

< Found a Dragon who has stealthily snuck into the Central Plains! >

‘A Dragon appeared in the Central Plains?’

< He was spotted in Sichuan! >

Cale flinched.

“What is it?”

“Human?”

He heard Eruhaben and Raon’s voices behind him but Cale looked at the mirror and slowly smiled.

“…Ha.”

Sichuan.

A reason a Dragon would appear there…

There was one reason such a Dragon would stealthily sneak in.

The basement connected to the Sichuan Castle Lord’s study…

That was where Cale got three items Maxillienne left behind.

The ring.

The sword.

The crown.

Of those, the ring-

‘It belongs to the Dragon Lord.’

Aipotu’s Dragon Lord. The Dragon with purple eyes was looking for that ring.

And right now, that ring-

“Human, why are you looking at Goldie gramps like that?”

“…Why are you looking at me like that?”

Ancient Dragon Eruhaben.

He had the ring in his pocket.

Basically…

‘He’s wasting his time.’

The Dragon Lord had gone to the Central Plains for no reason.

‘If that’s the case, this-’

The situation seemed to be moving in an interesting direction.

A bigger smile appeared on Cale’s face.

“Human, what is it?! Why are you smiling in such a scary manner?”

He ignored Raon’s comment.

—

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