The Dragon Slayer Who Regressed After 1,000 Years - Chapter 18

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Dragon Slayer’s Return After 1000 Years – Episode 18
In the Secret Library of the Mansion, Alton fell into quiet contemplation.
‘A servant, then…….’
He knew there wasn’t a shred of falsehood in Lorenzo’s words.
The man lacked the audacity—or the spine—to lie before him.
Still, he’d beaten the truth out of him to be certain.
Not that the information gained proved particularly useful.
‘Dario Antonio. He’s the one who brought her, then.’
That man had to be found first.
Perhaps he’d burned with the duchy when the flames consumed it.
‘If he’s dead, I’ll find the corpse.’
At that moment, the Crystal Orb flared with light.
The pulse of Mana told him whose call it was.
A smile crossed Alton’s lips for the first time since he’d entered the library.
“Yes, my boy.”
―Father. Are you well?
“What an odd question to ask out of nowhere.”
―I heard that a dragon burned the duchy of Belion. Rumors of it are circulating throughout the Empire as well.
“Don’t concern yourself with idle gossip. Focus on your training instead. What tier are you at now?”
―…….
“Your silence tells me you haven’t reached it yet.”
―I am…… trying.
“If you’re trying and still haven’t awakened your Aura, then something is clearly wrong.”
―…….
“I’ll find you a new swordsmanship instructor.”
―Again? It’s only been a week since I started learning from this one…….
“No excuses. I’ll find someone better.”
Alton ended the call by touching the Crystal Orb.
His eldest son.
A thorn in his side—one who hadn’t even awakened his Aura yet, lacking all talent in Swordsmanship.
‘This Dario or whoever stands on the threshold of becoming a Sword Master, yet my own boy can’t even master a simple Aura…….’
Suspecting something might be amiss, he’d once visited the Magic Tower of the Estatr Kingdom, only to be told there was nothing physically wrong with the boy.
‘He must be more frustrated than I am.’
If even the father found it this maddening, what must the son endure?
Alton shook his head and resolved to stop dwelling on his son’s shortcomings.
He’d nearly given up on the matter long ago.
It had been years—not days or weeks—of the same stagnation.
Then the Crystal Orb flared again.
This time, the call came from a subordinate, not his son.
―My Lord. An urgent matter has arisen.
“What is it?”
―A Black Dragon has been sighted over Belion Kingdom.
“A Black Dragon……?”
Belion and Black Dragon.
Those two names alone conjured a figure in his mind.
‘Belacors?’
Just moments ago, he’d passed information about the Red Dragon to Belacors.
That Camiloas had set the duchy ablaze.
‘Surely not……?’
Alton pressed urgently for more details.
“In which direction?”
―It was flying toward Red Flame Mountain, according to the reports.
Where Camiloas’ Lair lay.
‘Did my words light the spark…….’
Belacors was surely heading there to confront him.
‘If two dragons clash…….’
Calamity beyond measure would follow.
Alton’s expression hardened like stone.

* * *
Red Flame Mountain.
A black shadow descended upon the scarlet rocks.
Thump!
Between scales dark as pitch, golden eyes gleamed.
Belacors, the Black Dragon.
[C—a—m—i—l—o—a—s—!]
The roar shook the entire mountain range.
His voice carried raw magical power.
So it was that Camiloas had no choice but to emerge from his Lair.
[Is that you, Belacors?]
His tone was respectful.
One could hardly presume familiarity before an Ancient Dragon six thousand years old.
Yet Belacors’ eyes still burned with killing intent.
Camiloas knew well enough the reason why.
And so he let his gaze slide away.
[Why do you avoid my eyes?]
[Pardon?]
[Look at me directly.]
It would have taken only a turn of his eyes.
But Camiloas could not bring himself to do it.
[You know, don’t you? What filth you’ve committed.]
[I am sorry……]
[Then why did you do it―!!]
His wrathful voice echoed across the mountain chain.
[You know where I dwell, don’t you?]
[……Yes.]
[The lands of Belion Kingdom are mine. Every treasure that comes from there shall be mine as well.]
[……I understand.]
[Knowing that, you came openly and set fire to it?]
Belacors fixed Camiloas with a look that burned with murderous fury.
[Why did you do this?]
[There was reason for it…….]
[It had better be a sound one. If it isn’t, words won’t be all that suffers.]
[A Seer came to visit.]
At Camiloas’ words, Belacors fell silent for a moment.
It felt as though cold water had been poured over him.
[A Seer…… came, you say?]
[Yes, a Seer.]
No further explanation was necessary.
No dragon among the Ancient Dragons was ignorant of the Seer’s existence.
[The prophecy was true, then? No—why would the Seer seek you out?]
[He asked for an Ancient Artifact from me. He said that to prevent the Extinction of the Dragon Race, we must recover our strength.]
An ancient artifact left behind by the Seer for a distant future.
Belacors himself possessed one.
[So you gave it to him? To this self-proclaimed Seer?]
[Yes.]
[What did he look like? Was he human?]
Belacors was no fool of a dragon, driven only by rage.
His interest shifted at once toward the Seer.
Any dragon would have felt the same.
In their world, the Seer was a savior known only through legend.
With his anger seemingly forgotten, Belacors allowed Camiloas to catch his breath.
[Yes, he appeared in human form.]
[I suspected as much from the artifact’s nature, but to think he would manifest in the guise of such an inferior creature…….]
Though it fell short of his expectations, Belacors’ curiosity remained undiminished.
[What proof did he offer that he was the Seer?]
[He wielded the artifact’s power. Before me, directly.]
No one knows what power the artifact possesses.
Not even dragons.
For no one has ever used it before.
That was why Belacors’ golden eyes gleamed so brightly.
[What ability? What power does this artifact possess?]
He was curious.
In six thousand years of life, he had never heard of such a thing—an artifact with this kind of power.
[It could issue me commands that I could not disobey.]
[Commands?]
[Yes. If it commanded me to prostrate myself, my body would obey. If it commanded me to close my eyes, I would close them. My mind resisted, but my body moved of its own accord—an Absolute Command that admitted no refusal.]
[Hm…….]
It was admiration rather than fear that stirred in him.
A human who could command dragons.
Or rather, the Seer merely wore the shape of a human—he was a transcendent being.
In any case, it was a staggering ability.
[I’d like to meet this Seer once.]
[……It would be better if you did not.]
[Setting that aside…….]
Once his curiosity was sated, Belacors’ eyes hardened again.
[Why did you burn my domain?]
[Ah, that.]
Camiloas could speak boldly now.
He had revealed the Seer’s ability, after all.
[It was unavoidable. It was the Seer’s command.]
[What?]
[The Seer commanded me to burn the Duchy of Antonio. It was a command that could not be refused by will alone.]
[…….]
Belacors fell silent.
This time he felt as though struck from behind.
[So…… it was not of your own will?]
[That’s what I’m telling you.]
[Then why?]
[I don’t know myself. Why he issued such a command. Perhaps it was to prevent some calamity?]
It was an excuse, a self-justification, but Belacors could not accept it.
[Listen.]
[Yes?]
[Who burned the domain?]
[……The Seer, sir.]
[No, I’m asking—who breathed the fire?]
As the atmosphere twisted, Camiloas studied the Ancient Dragon’s expression again.
[I……did.]
[Right. It was you. So why are you blaming the Seer?]
[I didn’t want to.]
[But you still did it.]
[It wasn’t my will?]
[Either way, you’re the one who did it.]
By rights, Belacors’ fury should have been directed at the Seer.
But the Seer was not present.
And so his rage turned toward Camiloas—a natural consequence.
It mattered little who had given the order.
He simply needed something to rage against.
[In the end, it’s what you did, isn’t it?]
[That may be so, but the Seer…….]
Whack!
Camiloas’ head snapped to the side.
Belacors’ tail had lashed across his cheek.
[B-Belacors……sir?]
[You keep invoking the Seer to dodge responsibility.]
The Black Dragon Clan were already infamous among dragons for their cruelty.
The fact that Belacors had only slapped his cheek showed some restraint; normally, he would have killed him outright.
Whack! Whack!
Belacors struck twice more, then opened his eyes wide.
Camiloas could not bear to meet that gaze.
[It doesn’t matter whether it was your will or not. What matters is that my territory burned to ash.]
[I’m… I’m terribly sorry.]
[I was lenient with you because you’re Ignision’s child. And you go and dance to a Seer’s command.]
[…….]
Camiloas wanted to insist once more that it had been a forced order, but he let the thought drop.
Belacors seemed to have shut his ears entirely.
[You turned the house that swore loyalty to me and paid tribute for decades into cinders? Tch…….]
He struck again, rage blazing in his eyes.
Camiloas staggered but caught himself, his head rising despite the blow.
He was grateful they hadn’t killed him outright.
[How will you make it up to me? How will you compensate for what my territory has lost?]
[I will offer you the treasures I’ve collected…….]
[Treasures?]
Something flickered in Belacors’s eyes—a spark of interest—and Camiloas pressed forward carefully.
[Would you like to… see them?]
[Bring them.]
Camiloas flew back to his Lair and returned almost at once.
With a shimmer—
An avalanche of gold and silver treasures spilled before Belacors’s eyes.
[Is that all?]
[Pardon?]
[Don’t play deaf with me.]
Belacors’s glare made it plain his rage would not be sated by this alone, and Camiloas exhaled softly, forced to return to his Lair once more.
Another cascade—
[I’ve brought everything from the Lair.]
Camiloas spoke in a hollow voice, the treasures piled before him.
[These are treasures I’ve collected over thousands of years…….]
[Mm…….]
Belacors examined the hoard piece by piece, and at last his expression shifted—a satisfied smile baring his teeth.
[There. That’s how it should’ve been from the start. Then your face would still be intact, wouldn’t it?]
[…….]
He lifted the treasures skyward with his Mana, wings spreading wide as he laughed.
[Next time, mind your manners? Don’t go making excuses about the Seer’s orders or whatever.]
With that, Belacors took to the air.
Watching the dragon disappear beyond the distant mountains, Camiloas’s teeth ground together.
[It wasn’t my will…… you cursed little lizard.]
The words he couldn’t say to the creature’s face came out as a growl as he returned to his Lair.
[…….]
Camiloas stared at the now-empty treasure vault with hollow eyes.
[The thieving wretch…… came here planning this from the start……]
Now he understood.
Why Belacors had provoked him so relentlessly, striking him again and again.
Why he’d so viciously ignored every mention of the Seer’s command.
He needed an excuse. A pretext to seize the treasures.
[Filthy thieving lizard…….]
He wanted to kill him.
Part of him wished it were that simple, but reality offered no such mercy.
Living longer meant accumulating more Mana—far more than he possessed.
A direct confrontation would offer no chance of victory.
Even if he managed to kill Belacors, it would become a problem.
With whispers already spreading of race extinction and prophecy, the other dragons would hardly smile upon two of their kind locked in a lethal struggle.
[Damn it…… Can’t kill him because he’s my elder…….]
“Want to kill him?”
Camiloas’s head snapped around at the sudden voice.
An unexpected human stood before him.
[The… Seer?]
What was this human doing in his Lair?
Anger surged forward faster than surprise.
The reason for all of this was crystal clear.
“I happened to see just now. You fighting Belacors. Though ‘fighting’ is generous—you were getting pummeled.”
‘Why have you come here?’
“Rather, shall I help you? I have a good way.”
‘What way do you speak of?’
“Listen closely.”
Camiloas bowed his head, and Cain whispered into his ear.
“Kill Belacors.”
Camiloas’ eyes widened.
‘That is…… impossible.’
“Go and fight him. Now.”
It was a command that could not be refused.
Camiloas’ wings unfurled of their own accord.
Against his own will.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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