Chapter 11. You Possess Humanity

 

I had a vague understanding.

 

My eyes were different.

 

I could see peculiar things that ordinary humans, or any other creature, could not.

 

Therefore, I knew.

 

More precisely, I could make some guesses because I saw it.

 

A very dark, pitch-black something had seeped into the princess’s heart. It seemed as if a massive malevolence had been endlessly compressed and condensed. Although it was very faint and difficult to confirm even with my naked eyes, it undoubtedly existed.

 

‘It must be a type of curse.’

 

And a very vile one at that.

 

The reason I didn’t tell the princess about this was simple.

 

She also seemed to have noticed that she was under a curse, and more importantly, I had no solution for it in my current state.

 

No matter how I was Jörmungandr, my power was still focused on my original form.

 

No curse, poison, or weapon could affect me.

 

But that didn’t mean it could impact others as well.

 

Therefore, I couldn’t release the princess from her curse.

 

It had already been gnawing at her life for years, becoming a part of her.

 

If I tried to remove it carelessly, she wouldn’t remain unscathed either.

 

Of course, there wasn’t no way at all.

 

Although I didn’t know exactly how, there was certainly a way to cure her.

 

Several vague possibilities came to mind.

 

But among them, there was nothing that Jörmungandr could actively do.

 

Everything depended on the princess’s choice and her will.

 

Moreover, I couldn’t tell the princess about this.

 

I had a clear intuition.

 

If I told the princess what I was guessing, it would never come to fruition.

 

Therefore, Jörmungandr watched over her.

 

I simply watched over the delicate flower facing the storm.

 

Instead of uprooting her and keeping her safe in a cozy well, I hoped she would endure the cold pain and overcome it herself.

 

‘Please, let her notice this.’

 

I earnestly wished.

 

* * *

 

The Hero of Nobility, Asgard.

 

He delivered the news of the princess to the Kingdom of Trelinia and was once again on the move.

 

To be precise, he was heading to the battlefield between the Kingdom of Trelinia and the Kingdom of Calibargo, where the war with the Demonic Realm had continued for thousands of years.

 

And the closer he got to the Kingdom of Calibargo, the more Asgard felt something strange.

 

‘…It’s quiet.’

 

A suffocating silence.

 

This was undoubtedly a battlefield.

 

A place where blood was endlessly spilled, and death and flesh were scattered.

 

Therefore, such silence never led to good outcomes.

 

On the battlefield, silence was always a harbinger of a new storm.

 

Asgard enveloped his eyes with aura and looked around.

 

Even from the highest mountain where he could see everything in a glance, he couldn’t find anything particularly unusual.

 

There was still no one around, only an empty battlefield remained.

 

Therefore, it felt even stranger.

 

He focused more aura into his eyes.

 

Blood vessels burst in his eyes, staining his vision red, and the excessive use of power made his eyes dry, but driven by an ominous feeling, he continued to strain his eyes and search for something.

 

“……!!”

 

He saw it.

 

In the seemingly peaceful mountain range, there was an alien black flow.

 

The hero began to trace back the bizarre magical flow.

 

And he saw it.

 

“What is… that….”

 

Spread endlessly along the mountain range.

 

A massive army of monsters and humans.

 

And their destination was clearly….

 

“…….”

 

The hero began to track the army.

 

* * *

 

Cal Lediums.

 

Standing in the midst of tens of thousands of monsters and humans, he wore a deeply satisfied smile.

 

“Hm, it’s good.”

 

The army, vast enough to see no end, was completely under his control. That fact brought immense joy to Cal Lediums.

 

The army was tens of thousands strong.

 

Each one had the power to destroy a decent-sized village, and moreover, they were veterans who had crossed the brink of death multiple times.

 

Even a dragon wouldn’t be able to break through this army.

 

Cal Lediums grinned broadly, imagining the Kingdom of Trelinia submitting to him.

 

It wasn’t far off.

 

Until his kingdom became the rising sun on this continent.

 

“Everyone, halt!!”

 

A voice resonated through the battlefield.

 

Ahead of them was a massive cave.

 

A cave large enough to easily accommodate hundreds of people.

 

Standing before it, Cal Lediums curled his lips into a grin.

 

“The information is accurate, right?”

 

[Yes, the princess is inside.]

 

“All units, deploy… no, you’re coming out yourself.”

 

Cal Lediums grinned at the sight of the emerging presence.

 

“So, the princess was that precious? Acting like a sacrifice, you come out to protect her…”

 

—Ssss.

 

At first, it wasn’t that large.

 

I thought it was just some common beast.

 

But as it revealed more of itself, its ebony scales came into view, and as its massive body emerged, along with its blue eyes, the moment its entire form appeared.

 

-……….

 

The battlefield was filled with a suffocating silence.

 

The entity was covering the sky.

 

Growing endlessly, as if declaring itself the sky, as if asserting it was the sole owner of this vast mountain range, it swelled its enormous body, looking down on them as if they were insignificant insects.

 

Cal Lediums’ face turned pale.

 

“What, what is that….”

 

Was that a dragon?

 

No way.

 

There couldn’t be a creature of such size.

 

Then… what was that?

 

Its piercingly cold blue eyes focused in this direction.

 

The moment I met those eyes, my entire body stiffened.

 

I was also a veteran who had rolled and tumbled on the battlefield for decades. Thus, I was used to facing killing intent. Rather, the more killing intent I faced, the more excited and frenzied I became.

 

But.

 

In front of that overwhelming disparity.

 

Under that lofty gaze looking down on everything.

 

Even I.

 

Could not dare open my mouth.

 

[It’s you.]

 

It was a sound as if the earth was boiling over.

 

The eerie resonance made the ground tremble violently. Dark clouds began to gather in the sky, and huge lightning bolts fell from the parched sky, burning the army, and a massive storm engulfed them.

 

In the now darkened sky.

 

Only the piercingly cold blue eyes floated like the moon, watching them.

 

The moment those eyes filled with anger.

 

“A, aaaaah……!!”

 

A soldier, who had been still, screamed.

 

All the monsters, beasts, humans, and magicians watching him simultaneously cried out in pain and collapsed.

 

Their ranks, their thoughts, their minds.

 

They could not contain the enormity of that existence, and their brains were about to burst.

 

Cal Lediums was no different.

 

“What, what is…! What the hell, dammit!! That… thing. What is it…!!!”

 

Blood flowed from his eyes.

 

Facing that disparity alone paralyzed all the muscles in his body.

 

It felt as if each cell was dying of extreme fear.

 

He clenched his teeth so hard that his teeth broke, and blood flowed, but he had no time to feel the pain. His entire body was overwhelmed by that dragon.

 

There couldn’t be such a creature.

 

That couldn’t exist.

 

That couldn’t be a dragon.

 

Its very existence was a catastrophe.

 

A natural disaster that no mere human could resist.

 

The earth shook.

 

A massive volcano erupted, spewing ash into the sky, and a tidal wave swept over the soldiers, while lightning filled the surroundings, blinding them.

 

It wasn’t a fight.

 

It was divine retribution.

 

Yes, divine retribution.

 

It was the greatest punishment and sin the heavens bestowed upon arrogant humans.

 

Ah, ah….

 

Cal Lediums’ mind, ego, and thoughts.

 

They began to melt away.

 

In front of that overwhelming presence, all consciousness seemed to dissolve.

 

And at that moment.

 

[Stop.]

 

A low rumbling sound.

 

It wasn’t the dragon’s voice.

 

It was a sound like a boiling, bubbling mass of black formless liquid, a screeching cry of metal against glass, the death song of all living creatures’ flesh and blood.

 

It was such a sound.

 

[Stop, Dragon.]

 

The blue eyes turned towards the demon.

 

But he only grinned, baring his fangs.

 

In his grip, a certain form appeared.

 

The form of Elyserede writhing in agony on the ground, clutching her heart.

 

[……!!]

 

Jörmungandr’s eyes wavered.

 

The demon didn’t miss that moment.

 

[Activate the spell!!]

 

The voice, filled with the thunderous sound of magic.

 

Those who were writhing in pain all regained their senses and began to cast spells at Jörmungandr.

 

More precisely, it was a sealing spell that came at the cost of their lives.

 

Chains made of terribly wicked energy were shot towards Jörmungandr.

 

Tens, hundreds, thousands of chains.

 

All the wizards who cast those chains instantly turned into black skeletons and crumbled away.

 

The sealing spell that cost the wizards their entire lifespans and souls.

 

Even Jörmungandr couldn’t ignore such a spell.

 

Of course, it was only to the extent that it couldn’t be ignored.

 

These chains were so weak that a single struggle would break them.

 

[Stay still.]

 

Seeing the black curse in the demon’s grasp and who it was connected to, Jörmungandr let the chains bind him.

 

———Boom!!

 

The massive body crashed to the ground.

 

In front of the blue eyes glaring at him as if to kill him.

 

The demon curled his lips.

 

[You possess humanity.]

 

That is, indeed, your only weakness.