Dragon Maken War - Chapter 124

Chapter 124

Chapter 124 – Specters from the Past (4)

“What do you mean?”

“They are living their lives as members of society, so there are cases where we can’t mobilize some of our members .  For example, what happens if there was an uprising of monsters in a certain region, and it required the member to take care of the region for an extended amount of time?”

“Mmmm…… . ”

This truth could be discerned by looking at Kairen and Beorein .  The Guardian Shadows had a preference for picking members, who had influence over society .  In terms of martial prowess, they didn’t need much help, but they needed members, who could carry out their work as members of society .

“In recent days, everyone is tied down in taking care of their own responsibilities .  Anyways, we are doing our best . ”

“I see .  So why do you keep following me?  Are you trying to confirm that I am the person from the prophecy?”

“That is one of them . ”

“So that isn’t your only aim .  What other goals do you have?”

“If Reygus does show up, I’m pretty sure he will appear in front of you .  I look forward to it . ”

“You look forward to it?”

Azell furrowed his brows .  If it was as Balseru had said last time, the Keepers of Prophecy had fought with Reygus’ Undead form, and they had been crushed .  Yet Balseru was looking forward to it?

“Will you be able to defeat Reygus’ Undead form?  If not, are you planning on fighting Reygus with us as a united front?”

“Since he is an Undead, I’ll be able to take care of him by myself . ”

“…… . ”

Azell stared at Balseru .  Something really bothered Azell about him .  He knew the other man was a Spirit Order Practitioner, but Azell couldn’t read the depth of his power .

Normally, he would consider such a person to be formidable .  However, Azell couldn’t make that call yet .  He had a weird feeling about Balseru .

Balseru spoke .

“However…  Yes .  If there are others aside from the Undead, it might be hard for me to defeat them .  In such a situation, I would like to work with your party .  At the very least, when we are fighting the Dragon Demon king worshippers, we can be sure that we are allies . ”

“Let us do that .  Still, our movements haven’t been revealed to our enemies yet .  Maybe… . ”

“If you are thinking about the possibility of me leading the enemies to you, I won’t .  I don’t do such acts . ”

“Hmm . ”

“I’ve shown myself the least amongst the Keepers of the Prophecy .  They probably don’t even know what my code name is . ”

“You codename?  Now that I think about it you guys use the ancient alphabet like Delta and Theta . What is your code name?”

Alpha, Beta, Delta, Gamma, Epsilon, Zeta, Eta, Theta, Iota, Kappa, Lambda, Mu, Nu, Xi, Omicron, Pi, Rho, Sigma, Tau, Upsilon, Phi, Chi, Psi and Omega .

The Keepers of the Prophecy used the 24 ancient alphabets, which existed before the legend of Babel, as their code names .  It was also letters frequently used by magicians when they conducted a magic ritual .

Balseru answered .

“I’m Alpha . ”

“If you are Alpha, you are the first letter in the ancient alphabet .  Is your code name related to seniority?”

“Yes . ”

“Are you allowed to just give out such answers like this?”

“We decided we could tell you a certain amount of information . ”

“I’m thankful that you hold me in such high regards .  So you are the first amongst the Keepers of the Prophecy… .   Doesn’t that contradict with your previous story?”

“Which story?”

“You said you quit being a knight around 50 years ago .  If you became a Keeper of the Prophecy at that point in time, you became one during the Great Darkness .  Doesn’t that mean you became one much later than Leone?”

“Correct . ”

“Then your story doesn’t match . ”

“I inherited the code name when the original Alpha died .  My memory of that person is fuzzy, but I think he was my uncle . ”

“You think… . .  What do you mean by that?”

“I don’t remember much from before I became a Keeper of the Prophecy .  It might be the fact that my body had suffered through death .  I believe it is the cost for being revived as a Keeper of the Prophecy . ”

“Mmmm?”

“It seems Leone hadn’t discussed this with you .  All the Keepers of Prophecy used to be humans .  We are existences that were raised from the dead . . ”

“You guys were raised from the dead? Do you really want me to believe such nonsense?”

“I understand it sounds preposterous .  Still, is it so absurd when one takes in the fact that we don’t age?”

“Mmmm…… . ”

“The Dragon Demon king is a murderer, and we were killed while holding a grudge against him .  At the moment of our deaths, the nucleus of the magic making up the Guardian Shadows made contact with us .  We were revived… .  Or that is what we think happened .  We were revived from death by some means or other . ”

“Some means or other… .  Aren’t you guys being a little bit too loose on the facts?”

“Those of us, who were originally magicians, are divided in opinion .  We aren’t able to come to a consensus no matter what .  The non-magicians amongst us just accept the situation as is .  In the end, the only thing that is important to us is the slaughter of Dragon Demon king worshippers .  We don’t care about anything else . ”

“Hah…… . ”

A forced laugh leaked out of Azell .  This guy was really an absurd bastard .  He kept revealing incredible facts, yet he was serene .  It was as if he was talking to a neighbor about an unimportant matters .

“You said you lost your memories?”

“Yes, I have no memories of my previous life .  We only know about the reason why we are doing these tasks . ”

“Aren’t you, at the very least, suspicious?”

“About what?”

“Aren’t you suspicious of that fact that someone might have manipulated all of you?”

They had no memories of their past .  They had no idea,who had made them that way .  They didn’t even know what criteria allowed them to become Keepers of the Prophecy .

The were completely ignorant of their own situation, yet they followed the truths that came to them on an instinctual level .  They had become the embodiments of revenge .  They possessed the body of a human, yet they had given up being humans .  They devoted themselves to eradicating the Dragon Demon king worshippers .

“…aren’t you suspicious about the possibility that this is all a fabrication made through magic?”

“I never thought about it . ”

“…… . ”

“You expression is asking how I can be so foolish . ”

“You speak as if you can see me . ”

“I can see you . ”

“Even though you have your eyes closed?”

“I’m not blind .  Even if my eyes are closed, it doesn’t interfere with my sight .  Anyways, that is how it is .  When we became the Keepers of the Prophecy, we were given an offer by an unknown being, and we made a choice .  We remember making our choice, so we have no doubt . ”

“Is that really enough?”

“Yes .  Do you want us to become suspicious of the process?  Wouldn’t that in turn make us deny our own existence?  I have no desire to do so . ”

“Are you afraid of doing so?”

“No .  I just…  I believe in the evidence provided by my hatred . ”

“Hatred?”

“Funnily enough, I can’t feel anything .  This conversation I am having with you feels like a daydream . ”

However, when he was in front of the Dragon Demon king worshippers, he could feel that he was still alive .  The hatred he had for them burned .  It awoke him to the fact that he was still alive and breathing in this world .

Azell now identified the madness he had felt when he saw Leone .  These people really had lost everything .  The elements that used to make up the identity of these people were all snatched away by the Dragon Demon king worshippers .  The only thing left behind were empty dolls that were driven by hatred .

‘Who made this system?’

The curiosity he felt for this truth was almost unbearable .  How much enmity did the creator of the Guardian Shadows have that he went down this ruthless road?

Balseru spoke .

“This is my warning to you, sir Azell .  Reygus will come looking for you . ”

“How do you know this?  According to Laura… . ”

“There is someone amongst them that has the ability to find you .  At the very least, we know that fact . ”

“You speak as if you are a soothsayer . ”

“I’m something akin to that . ”

“What?”

When Azell became surprised, Balseru answered in a calm manner .

“Amongst the 24 Keepers of the Prophecy, only two of us has a fixed role .  Alpha and Omega . The name has nothing to do with when we became a Keeper of the Prophecy .  The one named Omega can catch a glimpse of what the Plain of Darkness is doing .  They keep track of their members through the being, who resides in the Great Darkness .  We are able to learn about what power they possess and what they are going to do… . ”

“Basically, you are using their information network against them?”

“It isn’t as clear cut as you make it out to be .  In truth, it isn’t that helpful .  We don’t know the content or the timing of the information we will receive .  However, once we learn of an information, we are sure of its veracity . ”

“I always have this thought… . ”

Azell was astonished .

“I can’t tell if you guys are amazing or extremely poorly run . ”

“The world is an inconvenient place where there isn’t a clear cut answer . ”

Balseru answered in a disinterested manner .

As soon as Azell walked away, Balseru spoke as he looked between the trees .

“You should come out now, Omega . ”

“…… . ”

“He is far away enough . ”

“…still, I’ll be discovered if I’m not careful . ”

Soon, a voice of a young girl could be heard .  Accompanying a rustling sound, a girl appeared from between the trees and bushes .

If Azell saw this sight, he would have been shocked .  She had been so close, yet she had been able to evade Azell’s senses .

The girl looked to be 15 or 16 years old .  From her appearance, she didn’t look too special .  Since she had been hiding in the bushes, she was dirty .  Her hair was tied in twin tails, and her hair was disheveled .  She had a plain looking face with freckles .

The only thing unusual about her was her green eyes .  She was looking straight at Balseru’s face, yet her eyes were out of focus .  It was as if she couldn’t see… .

Moreover, her sense of presence was absent like Balseru .  It was understandable to see why Azell failed to notice her .

Balseru spoke as he filled a bowl with soup .

“Does it matter if he finds out about you?  At the very least, we aren’t enemies with him right now . ”

“Still, he really hates us . ”

“That is true . ”

“I don’t like being hated .  At the very least, I don’t want him to look at me like that .  I’ll decline . ”

“Is it because he might be the person from the prophecy?”

“Yes . ”

Omega took the bowl of soup from Balseru as she nodded her head .  Omega’s eyes were out of focus, so it looked as if she was looking into the empty air .  However, she had no problem receiving the bowl .

“If he is the person from the prophecy… .  I have to give my everything to him .  I don’t want to do something like that to someone that hates me . ”

“I think every one of us are already hated by him . ”

“That is why I won’t show myself until it is necessary .  Unlike you, I don’t move in a herd with the other Keepers of the Prophecy .  I don’t want him to hate me as an individual . ”

Omega drank the soup after she said those words .

Balseru spoke .

“You still cling to your romantic ideals . ”

“Unlike you, I even lost my name . ”

Omega camly spoke about her loss .  It didn’t’ matter what order she joined as the Keeper of the Prophecy .  She was given the last codename .  Of course, she didn’t remember her past, but she also didn’t remember her name .

Balseru spoke .

“Well, you’ll find out about it soon enough . ”

“How do you know this?”

“I just have a hunch . ”

“You are speaking as if you are a soothsayer . ”

“I don’t know about anything else, but my hunches are almost always correct .  It has been so for 50 years, so you can put some trust in it . ”

“Is that why you gathered everyone?”

“Yes . ”

Balseru nodded his head .  This was the end to the conversation between the two .  Within the silence, it was as if the two assimilated into the landscape .  Their presence were buried within the stillness .