Chapter 255   - One Person (1)

The Dragon Demon castle was louder than ever before.

Everyone within the castle was aware of it. There were battles occurring all over the castle. The sound of explosions continuously rang out, and the castle continued to shake.

Koo-goo-goo-gooong......!

Powerful beings were clashing against each other. The floor was overturned, and a large hole was formed on the wall. A black hair Dragon Demon could be seen within the cloud of dust. Kairen groaned.

“Ooh-ook......!”

He was holding onto his two swords, and a green Dragon soul was wrapped around his body A gale suddenly erupted indoors, and someone emerged from the other side of the cloud of dust.

It was Reshoo. He was the Dragon Demon youth possessing messy blue metallic hair. A red Dragon Soul was wrapped around his body. Kairen gritted his teeth as he charged. He swung his dual swords.

Shwee-shwee-shwee-swheek!

Reshoo retreated backwards as he dodged the sword strikes, which was as swift as the winds.

The Guardian Shadows ran at Reshoo from his back. These were Guardian Shadows capable of close quarters combat. They jumped towards Reshoo with their spears and swords in hand.

Hwahhhhhhhhl!

Flame erupted from his entire body. The fire swept the Guardian Shadows away. At the same time, Reshoo was about to kick off the ground. He was about to accelerate, but....

Shweek!

Leticia had moved with exquisite timing. She stabbed Reshoo with her spear from the side. Reshoo had been about to move forward. It would force Reshoo to come to a halt since he had to respond to her attack.

It should have been like that.

Too-ah-ahng!

A streak of red light moved forward in space. Leticia was shocked.

‘He escaped my attack?’

She had attacked with perfect timing.

If Reshoo charged forward, he should have been skewered by the spear. Moreover, if he tried to stop his charge, it would have put immense pressure on his body. He would have to regain his balance, and at that moment, Kairen would have been able to launch a powerful attack.

However, it was as if Reshoo didn’t care if the spear was coming towards him. He pushed off the ground, and his speed became several more times faster. It was much faster than what Leticia was expecting.

Kwah-kwah-kwah-kwah-kwah!

Leticia didn’t even have the opportunity to unleash her cold energy. The shockwave hit her. Kairen was committed to his attack. He trusted Leticia would be able to execute her attack. Kairen’s eyes widened.

He was hit, and it felt as if his body would shatter.

“Kuh-uhk!”

Kairen let out a scream as he was sent flying. His body bounced off the floor several times before his body was embedded in the wall.

Leticia wasn’t in any better shape. She was late as she tried to attack the backside of Reshoo. However, Reshoo kick came up from a blindspot as he struck Letica. Immediately, the Dragon Soul followed up with a powerful attack Leticia was sent flying.

-My god.......

Kayalia was taken aback.

Kairen and Leticia got back on their feet. They were swaying on their feet. Kayalia had expected Reshoo to follow up with an attack, so she had prepared a spell. However, Reshoo didn’t move from his spot after attacking them.

Kairen gritted his teeth.

‘Shit. He is fast. It is almost unreal.......’

Reshoo possessed more Dragon Demon magic than Reygus in his transformed state. It was almost impossible for Kairen and Leticia to track Reshoo with their eyes.

Many Spirit Order and Dragon Arts practitioners learned skills that could accelerate their body parts to extreme. Even Kairen and Leticia could move faster than the speed of sound if they wanted too.

However, this type of acceleration was unnatural. One had to stop for a brief moment to recuperate or the acceleration would cause too much of a burden on one’s body.

‘He is able to use Pure Copper technique to create such ridiculous speed. I see. Is this the secret to his Dragon Soul?’

Reshoo was using Pure Copper Technique on various parts of his body. This allowed him to accelerate each body part with impunity. He was able to generate transcendent speed that defied common sense.

Azell’s party had acquired information about Reshoo through Kayalia. She had witnessed the fight between Reshoo and Reygus. This was why they had been wary of his speed.

However, when they were faced with it, it was beyond imaginable. It was overpowering. Even if they used quick, short attacks, they were having a hard time responding to the continuous attacks from Reshoo.

Reshoo spoke.

“I see. You fought someone that is faster than me. Reygus was like that too.....”

From Reshoo’s perspective, he should have taken them unawares. His speed was something Kairen and Leticia should have never experienced before. Their senses shouldn’t have been able to register his speed.

If everything was as it seemed, he should have wiped them out in the first exchange. However, he saw it. They registered his movement, and they had tried to respond. Their bodies were unable to carry out what their mind had processed. Still, they were able to minimize the damage they took.

Kairen didn’t answer him as he took on a fighting stance. Cold sweat was running down his back.

‘If it wasn’t for Azell, we would have died from the start.’

It was as Reshoo predicted. The two of them had experienced movement that was faster than Reshoo. They had experienced it through Azell.

Reshoo was fast in a different way from Azell. As a clone user, Azell could exist in multiple places at the same time. He could carry out many actions at the same time. His clones could freely move between its energy form and its form of substance.

He could appear wherever he wanted at the moment he wanted to. He was able to pull off attacks in an instant. There was no delay in his control over his clones. In a battle, this could be called a form of extreme speed.

Kairen and Leticia had fought against such an opponent. This was why they were able to react to Reshoo’s speed even if the end result was awufl.

Suddenly, Reshoo spoke.

“It has started.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Azell and Atein.”

“Mmmm.......”

The expression on Kairen and Leticia’s face hardened.

They were late in realizing it, because Reshoo had been letting out too much power.

It was true. They could feel two incredibly powerful beings clashing against each other on the other side.

Leticia glared at him.

“You are quite relaxed. Does this mean you are confident you can kill us at any time? Even if you are strong, you shouldn’t become arrogant when life and death is on the line. You taught me this.”

“I’m not that relaxed right now. You guys are formidable foes, and there is an extraordinary magician helping you.”

Reshoo’s eyes were glued to Kayalia.

She was dead, so she didn’t have a body. She didn’t possess any Dragon Demon magic, and her access to the Great Darkness was restricted. She no longer possessed the same amount of power she possessed when she was alive. Despite this fact, she was one of the top magicians during the Dragon Demon war, so he couldn’t take her lightly.

‘Still, her attacks have been oddly lukewarm. I’m sure she is aiming for something.’

When he thought about the composition of their group, it made sense that Kayalia would support Leticia and Kairen instead of directly attacking Reshoo. Despite this fact, he was having a hard time believing that was all Kayalia was doing.

She truly was an extraordinary magician. She used her magic at the right place at the right time. This was why he hadn’t been able to wipe out Kairen and Leticia in the first engagement. Her actions were restricting his movements to an annoying degree.

He had to think about her past reputation. This couldn’t be all she would do. He couldn’t erase that nagging thought inside his head.

Leticia made a sarcastic remark.

“Is that the assessment you came up with after you thoroughly investigated us?”

“In truth, it wasn’t like that. Leticia, let me ask you one question. Why are you opposing Atein?”

“What?”

“I can understand why Kairen is opposing Atein. Kairen is a member of human society, and he is a lord in their lands. Why are you on their side? Is it because you despise the Dragon Demon king worshippers?”

“Unbelievable.”

Leticia let out a feigned smile as she asked a question.

“Why are you supporting Atein? Do you really think his crazy plan will bring about a paradise in this world? Do you really think everyone will be happy?”

“I support him because I believe we need preventive measures. If the gods truly did make this world, they missed some important things in designing this world.”

Reshoo had experienced a lot as he wandered around the world for the past 220 years.

He had met a lot of people. He watched children turn into adults. He watched them turn old. He had given his love to others. Leticia was one of the people that had received his affections.

Then he kept losing his loved ones. He experienced pain until he was sick of it.

Reshoo raised a fist as he spoke.

“Even if I am powerful, I cannot protect everyone in this world. In fact, I couldn’t even protect one person.”

Even if one cared very much for others, they had to live their own lives at the end of the day. It was impossible to shadow them every day of the year.

This was why a safety net was needed.

Everyone knew this to be true. When humans formed a society, law and institution was established. Each member of the society worked hard to procure safety within the society.

“However, that’s not enough.”

The safety net made by humans throughout history had been woefully inadequate.

If someone broke the law, the lawbreaker got a punishment.

There were countless times when this simple rule wasn’t followed at all.

“As a result, the blameless became hurt. Those that were loved by everyone died. The ones with the bright futures died.”

Reshoo couldn’t stand that fact. That was why he had joined forces with Atein.

There were people that avoided detection as they committed crimes. People used loopholes in the law to act with impunity. They carried evil deed without fear.

In the world created by Atein, such incidents would never occur. There would be a monitoring system. The freedom to carry out evil deeds would be taken away from humanity.

“Ha-ah.”

Leticia sighed when she heard Reshoo’s reasoning. She looked baffled as she shook her head. Reshoo furrowed his brows at this sight.

“If you have something you want to say to me, you can.”

“...Reshoo, you’ve definitely lived longer than me.”

Leticia opened her mouth.

“Since you’ve lived for a long time, you’ve seen more people than me. You’ve experienced more of life than me. I do not know about the life lived by normal humans. When I was with you, I tried to live amongst the humans. When I saw their lives, it was like watching a scene within a portrait.”

For most of her life, she had lived within the Plain of Darkness. She was ‘made’ to be one of the candidates that’ll become the heir to Almarick. When she was branded as a failure, she was thrown into hell.

The only peaceful memories she had was the time she spent with Reshoo.

While she was his student, Leticia was able to live amongst normal people. She knew their names, and she had shared stories with them. She even did tasks that were mutually beneficial to her and others.

When she looked back on it, it really was her best memories. There were times when she wanted to continue living amongst them.

However, there was a flame of hate burning within her heart. Reshoo recognized this, so he had pushed her to leave.

In truth, she was thankful that he had done that. If he hadn’t ended it for her, she would have been lost. The hate would have ate away at her.

Leticia continued to speak.

“I used to think you were capable of doing anything. Yes. I was like a human child that looked up at an adult. I thought you knew everything, and I thought there was nothing you couldn’t do..... That’s what I thought.”

He had lived amongst the humans under a mask called Jisel. Reshoo was a skillful performer. He easily mingled with other people, and in a short amount of time, everyone became reliant on him, and they liked him.

This was why she hadn’t had this realization until that moment. She had been like a child that didn’t know the worries of an adult. Leticia hadn’t known about the truth within Reshoo’s heart.

“I understand it now. You aren’t superhuman. At the very least, there is something I know more than you.”

“What is it?”

“You are talking about making the whole world into a greenhouse, and the humans will be your indoor flowers. You probably can’t even imagine what it would be like living such a life. However, I can. I grew up in such a sheltered environment and it was hell.”

“What?”

Reshoo looked as if he couldn’t comprehend what she was saying.

Leticia let out a bitter laughter as she spoke.

“I was monitored and controlled by others. Others determined what was ‘evil’ for me. I couldn’t do what was considered to be evil by these people. That is the world you want. How do you know if the ones in control is good?”

Before Leticia escaped the research facility, she had been an experiment, and the ones in charge had made her life a living hell. The research facility was a closed world, and the ones in charge determined what was good and evil. They had violated the souls of the test subjects..

“I found out the truth when I came out to the outside world. Good and evil isn’t something that is predetermined from the beginning. It was something people come to an agreement as they live in this world.”

Leticia had escaped, because she wanted to be freed from the pain. She wanted to live without being abused.

At the time, she hadn’t gone against them, because she didn’t think they were evil. She didn’t even think their actions were evil.

“There is no good and evil when carnivores eat herbivores. Good and evil is something made up by humans. I moved away from where I was born, and I found out that the good and evil in the outside world differed greatly from where I came from. You taught me that, Reshoo.”

When Leticia came out to the outside world she was introduced to a new standard. Her world view was shattered by what she learned from Reshoo. It had shocked her to her core.

“From the perspective of the outside world, I was born and raised in a place that’s perceived to be the hotbed of evil However, I’m not fighting them, because they are evil.”

“So why?”

“The simplest reason is I don’t want to see them do well.”

“.......”

“Jeez. Did you expect some profound answer?”

Leticia snickered when she saw Reshoo’s dumbfounded expression. She continued to speak.

“Those bastards worshipped Atein, so he was the source of my pain. He acts like an absolute being, and he acts as if I should be satisfied with what he is offering. He wants me to fuck off, because he plans on giving me a paradise in this world. My life had been too harsh and painful for me to accept that.”

“In the end, you don’t trust Atein. Is that what it boils down to?”