Chapter 273: The Elders (1)

In some ways, it was a predictable tale.

It’s only natural for a being of power to desire to use that power to obtain what they want.

Looking back, Dragon Lord Kaiders’ restraint and his desire to observe the world impartially were truly remarkable.

Louis nodded and asked, “So? What happened next?”

He urged Sandra on, listening with rapt attention like a child hearing an old folktale from their grandmother in the countryside.

Sandra continued her tale:

“The Lord at the time tried to persuade Lotberia, but he stubbornly refused to yield. And so… war broke out.”

The clash between the old guard, followers of Dragon Lord Kaiders, and the younger generation led by Lotberia marked the beginning of the Dragon War, a conflict hidden from human eyes.

Though humans couldn’t witness the dragons’ battles, the records that survived testified to their ferocity:

The thunderous roars of the dragons’ combat never ceased, and the earth drank deeply of their blood, which fell like rain.

The clash of these majestic beings warped the climate itself, devouring light and darkness alike.

In other words, the Dragon War was a cataclysm for the humans of the Current World.

And it’s said that this war raged for a full millennium.

“A thousand years?!” Louis’s eyes widened at the revelation.

Even for dragons, who live for ten thousand years, a millennium was an immeasurable span of time.

But what astonished him even more was the fact that Lotberia had managed to wage war against Kaiders, the strongest of all dragons, for such an extended period.

Ultimately, a dragon’s strength depended on the length of its life.

No matter how prodigious Lotberia’s talent, he could never have overcome the forces led by Kaiders.

One by one, the dragons loyal to Lotberia were eliminated, and his forces crumbled.

Just as the thousand-year war seemed poised to end, a twist emerged.

”…Lotberia introduced a wild card,” the speaker said.

“A wild card?” Louis asked.

“Don’t you remember the epithet attached to his name?”

“Ma… the Dragon Devoured.”

“Exactly. He… dragged the Demon Race into the Current World.”

In the beginning, the world was divided into three realms:

The Heavenly Realm, home to the Light Race, and the Demon Realm, domain of the Demon Race.

Between them lay the Current World, a borderland teeming with diverse species and life.

Lotberia, having struck a deal with the king of the Demon Realm, had torn a rift connecting the Current World to the Demon Realm.

As Louis listened intently to the explanation, a strange glint appeared in his eyes.

“No way… Could that hole be…?”

“You’re probably right,” Sandra nodded.

“The place where Lotberia breached the passage to the Demon Realm is none other than the Maha itself.”

“Ah! So that’s why demons emerge from the Maha.”

“Demons?” Sandra scoffed at the word.

“You call those things crawling out of the Maha ‘demons’?”

”…?”

“They’re not demons at all. They’re merely living beings consumed by the energy flowing through the Mahyeol. True demons are far more terrifying creatures.”

“Ah…”

“In any case, Lotberia opened a passage between the Current World and the Demon Realm, securing support from the demons.”

A deal with the demon king.

Reinforced by massive support troops, Lotberia swiftly turned the tide of battle, reversing his previously precarious position.

Now imbued with the essence of Ma (Demonic Energy), in addition to his existing three elemental attributes, Lotberia began to overwhelm Kaiders.

Sensing that the world would soon become the domain of Lotberia and the Demon Race if they continued to be pushed back, Kaiders devised a plan despite opposition from the other dragons.

“What do you think his plan was?”

”…That’s an obvious question. The War of Light and Dark can’t happen with just demons.”

”…”

“He summoned an external force to suppress both sides—a foolish choice that ultimately brought no benefit to the Current World.”

Sandra didn’t respond to Louis’s story. Instead, she stopped walking.

Click.

Louis halted as well, looking around.

How far have we walked?

They had wandered through Silver Flower Castle for so long that he had lost all sense of distance.

But one thing was clear: they were now in a cave at the heart of the castle.

And before them stood a massive, unadorned door.

Where is this…?

Unlike the rest of the silver-clad castle, the door was a dull, dark gray.

Sandra placed her hand on it.

Click. Grrrr…

With a heavy mechanical groan, the door swung open, revealing the interior.

“Huh?!”

Louis’s eyes widened at the sight.

Simultaneously, three distinct pieces of information flooded his mind.

The first was an utterly bizarre energy.

It was neither the 13 attributes, nor pure mana, nor anything he had ever encountered before.

A deeply contradictory energy, both clear and murky, refreshing and sticky… it defied all categorization.

The second piece of information filled his entire field of vision.

“What is this…?”

Deep beneath Silver Flower Castle, a colossal vortex churned on the cavern floor.

A spiraling force unleashed torrents of pristine white energy, resembling a blindingly white black hole.

And finally, the third piece of information.

“The Elder Lords?”

No fewer than five Elders who hadn’t been present in the Grand Assembly Hall were seated here, gathered around the pristine white spiral.

Louis realized they weren’t simply closing their eyes.

Incredible…

The Primordial Energy unleashed by the five Elders was suppressing the pure white spiral.

A strange light flickered in Louis’s eyes.

There it is. That spiral… that’s where this bizarre energy is flowing from.

The source of the eerie energy was none other than the pristine white spiral itself.

Even more astonishing was the fact that this unidentified energy was seeping through the Primordial Barrier woven by five Zero Rank Dragons.

As Louis stood frozen in shock, Sandra’s voice reached him from beside him.

“You’re right.”

”…Huh?”

“Lord Kaiders made a foolish choice. He summoned the Light Race to this land to fight the Demon Race. But at the time, it was the only option.”

”…”

“Can you feel this energy?”

“Yes.”

“What do you make of it?”

“It’s… incredibly sinister.”

“Heh.”

Sandra chuckled softly at Louis’s description.

“Exactly. Sinister. That’s the true nature of the Light Race.”

”…”

“The Demon Race is simple-minded, brutish, and savage. But the Light Race is different. They’re insidious.”

”…”

“Usually, people lie for the sake of good intentions. But the Light Race is different. They feign benevolence to conceal their lies and malice.”

Sandra’s gaze darkened as she spoke of the Light Race.

“God’s finest creation, more beautiful than any other life in the world, and endlessly generous. But if you’re deceived by their outward appearance… ultimately, only destruction awaits you.”

“So they’re even worse than the Demon Race,” Louis said.

Sandra nodded, extending a finger to point at the center of the swirling white vortex. “Do you see it?”

“Yes.”

Louis’s gaze followed her finger to the heart of the vortex.

Beyond the pure white swirl, a shimmering, iridescent light pulsed.

“That is the Seonhyeol Lord Kaiders forged.”

The First Dragon Lord had summoned the Light Race to the Current World. Together, they drove back the Demon Race and succeeded in exterminating Lotberia.

But the real trouble began after that.

“Lord Kaiders summoned the Light Race to the Current World, fully aware that it could lead to another disaster.”

“So?”

“So what? He knew better than anyone how treacherous the Light Race could be. Since he anticipated being betrayed from the start, he decided to betray them first.”

Sandra’s lips curled into a sly grin.

“After driving out the Demon Race with the Celestial King and sealing the passage, Lord Kaiders broke his pact with the Light Race and banished them back beyond the gate.”

“Wow, that’s quite something…”

Louis blinked, then slapped his palm with his fist.

”…A wise move.”

In other words, Lord Kaiders had roughly drained all the benefits from those backstabbers before discarding them.

From Louis’s perspective, it was an undeniably brilliant strategy.

Louis repeatedly nodded in admiration of the First Dragon Lord’s wisdom, then asked, “But did the Light Race just take that lying down?”

“The Light Race has always pretended to be virtuous,” Sandra replied. “Deceiving such fools might actually be easier than you think.”

“Ah! Still, they must have been furious, right?”

“Of course they were. That’s why they’re still venting their anger like this.”

Sandra gestured with her chin toward the center of the spiral, specifically indicating the Light Force flowing out along its curves.

“Light Force is a dangerous power,” she continued. “It has harmful effects on beings on the surface.”

As Louis listened to Sandra’s explanation, he stared blankly at the steadily flowing Light Force.

The holes known as Seonhyeol and Mahyeol.

The Light Force and demonic energy seeping through those fissures.

After hearing all of this, Louis’s initial question resurfaced in his mind.

“You definitely said I was worthy of hearing the secret of Silver Flower Castle,” Louis muttered to himself.

If everything I’ve heard so far is connected to that secret…

“What exactly is Silver Flower Castle?” he murmured, more to himself than to Sandra.

Sandra smiled, as if she had been expecting this question. “The Mahyeol wasn’t too difficult to contain, since Lord Kaiders and the Celestial King combined their powers. The real problem was the Seonhyeol. To seal it, we needed the most indestructible, transcendent substance in the world—something capable of withstanding the full wrath of the Light Race.”

”…Did such a substance even exist?” Louis asked.

“It did. And it still does.”

”…?”

“It’s something you know very well. Or rather, it’s more accurate to call it a living being.”

Louis’s eyes widened as he continued to ponder.

A single word escaped his lips.

”…Dragon.”

It existed.

A substance more durable and transcendent than any other material in the world.

The very flesh of a dragon.

Sandra nodded, confirming the truth of Louis’s muttered answer.

“Seonhyeol, Lord Kaiders’s own body was the first to seal this rift. He personally closed the gateway he had opened. But that initial measure was far from secure.”

”…”

“So, for countless ages, we dragons have reinforced the foundation laid by Lord Kaiders, layering it with the remains of countless kin. Silver Flower Castle… is a fortress built upon the relics of our own kind.”

“Ha…”

Louis sighed.

Silver Flower Castle, known as the Holy Land of Dragons, was, in reality, their tomb.

Having calmed his initial shock, Louis asked, “But aren’t dragons supposed to return to the embrace of mana upon death?”

“Normally, yes,” the voice replied. “But Zero Rank Dragons have historically been used to seal this passage in their final moments.”

Louis muttered in disbelief, “So, the ‘qualification’ to learn Silver Flower Castle’s secret… means I’m qualified to become its foundation?”

“You could put it that way,” the voice replied. “But don’t overthink it. After all, only Zero Rank beings become the ‘foundation’ you mentioned, and only right before they die.”

“Yes, thank you very much, Senior Material.”

“You’re welcome, Junior Material.”

Sandra, the longest-serving Elder, was undoubtedly the primary candidate to become the foundational material for sealing the Seonhyeol.

Louis and Sandra exchanged knowing smiles and chuckled. Then, Sandra asked with a smile, “So, what do you think of hearing the secret of Silver Flower Castle?”

“Quite refreshing,” Louis replied.

“Once upon a time, the War of Light and Dark devastated the Current World, and it was ultimately caused by our dragon race. Even now, remnants of that conflict still threaten the world. Protecting the Current World from that threat… that is the duty of our dragon race, the very ones who ignited the War of Light and Dark.”

”…”

“The secret of Silver Flower Castle is a highly classified matter, even among us dragons. Now that you know it, you would have been immediately sworn in and destined to become raw material for the castle upon your death. You’re one sharp little brat.”

“How fortunate for me,” Louis replied.

“For your information, any dragon who learns this secret must make a choice: to inherit the Elder position and dedicate themselves to protecting the Seonhyeol.”

“Is that really a choice? Doesn’t sound very voluntary to me.”

“Originally, it was a choice. But when Elders without successors started passing on their positions as soon as Zero Rank dragons emerged, it effectively became mandatory.”

Sandra finished speaking and turned to Louis. “So, Louis…”

“Yes?”

“Will you accept the Elder position?”

The moment of decision had arrived for Louis.