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Chapter 019: Yvalice of Promises

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The Inner Continents —a world twice as big as the planet seen in the Surface Continents... it has four Major Continents divided into the conjoined three with a separated fourth.

It has three seas, or oceans, and occasionally, the sight of a huge earthen pillar could be seen joining the sky and the land in a monstrous mountainous spectacle akin to walls in the middle of a forest or even the seas.

The forests' trees were larger; the lands wider, the gap between the canopies of the vegetation were denser... and a lot more dangerous! Even to the point that when compared to the Anazon Forest, a Danger Zone to the Surface Dwellers, it becomes the monster while the above-mentioned "Danger Zone" is like a domesticated livestock.

Here were the plants and animals all monsters in a particular standard —blessed with the rest of the 50% gifts the Universe separated from all Terrans.

Even a harmless mushroom could sprout an array of sharp teeth at the next instant to devour beasts a hundred times larger than their size.

All the monsters here are in the standards of Little Blacky —with innate Elemental Constitutions— the very nature of their surroundings had honed them all into more savage beasts of carnage.

And Siva even saw a scary-looking face of a giant, only to realize that it was a group of insects trying to ward off their potential predators... them.

"What a bizarre place." He could only mutter.

He had seen life thrive in many ways before, but he had never seen such a perfect balance of the ecosystem maintained in a dense localized land.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

From afar came the sounds of thumping. A look of marvel flashed on his face as his [domain] caught sight of a particular large beast.

"A True Dragon!"

Right. In the Inner Continents, precisely within the Dragon Territories, the most dominant 'monsters' are all True Dragons!

9km away from him was the head of a gargantuan creature, beautiful in every way, monstrous in each passing second, and magnificent in the eyes of the powerful Gods... it was a marvel... a genuine living True Dragon —Siva was dumbfoundedly amazed.

He jumped in the air and summoned one Liberty Drone, sending it in the air and used its invisibility cloaking functions to hide from plain sight.

Siva used a part of his gathered "energy" from his living and breathing battery to power it up and so in seven days, it can function as strong as BMA, with the inclusion of a Camera for visual imaging!

Its scales shined brightly pink in the "light" of those crystals above them, and its spikes, bones, and its wings looked majestic and scary at the same time.

"Beautiful, indeed... back then, the Dragons have been extinct because the Devil Gods feared your race's limitless potential so when they've launched their invasions, they first targeted your settlements to expand their lands to seize resources... I recall that back then it was a Corrupted Krishna and the Pandava Army that invaded Khandava World where Vasuki's Naga Serpent Clan once lived... if I wasn't travelling close by back then, he wouldn't have lived past that day..."

The silent and still sulking Electra was in front of him, leading the way. When Siva stopped to take a look at that [Crystal Dragon], she also stopped and so heard what he said.

It made her wonder... she didn't know much of the bitter history of the Dragon Race. All she knew is that there was a feud between the Terrans of this world and her Dragon Ancestors, and that there is this divide between the continents since both were fighting over the right to claim Middle Earth as part of their own.

"The Naga Kings..." she spoke out, her curiosity is triggered by his rumblings, "...according to Father, the current Dragon Kings were young in terms of age and authority over the entire Dragon Race; as true Dragon Kings of our race has died along with a certain war back then... I heard that... after the war ended, a menace was born and scourged the entire Universe, hunting every Devil, God, and all the Immortals or existences on their levels... that our ancestors fled as far away as possible, which eventually led us taking our roots to this very land."

Siva, again, felt the pang of guilt in his heart. She's not told everything but what she knew wasn't far from the whole truth of the events.

He wasn't aware of all the details but throughout all the short episodes where he'd steal his mind back to his body, he'd been made aware of the havoc he had caused in his rampage.

At the last dregs of his sanity, Siva established an island... and lived there in solitude. He didn't care at all about the Universe, and only chose to slowly heal his mind and forget the haunting past and the memories it entailed him.

He didn't even know what happened to the island later for as soon as he stepped out of it as he held another person's hand, he had ultimately forgotten about that place —until he was reminded of it again when he awakened back in the Cellar Dungeons in the lower depths of Apus Epirus.

"To be precise," he said, "all Dragon Kings of back then are all peak Elder Dragons who had lived lives so long and ancient, they were untraceable. Amid the rest of the Eight Dragon Kings, Vasuki was the weakest but the most intelligent in their generation. While the rest of the Dragon Kings focused on power, he focused all his efforts into maintaining the surety of the bloodline heritage of his clan. It was the reason why, within the Elemental Dragons, the [Vajras] are the most numerous in number."

"But times have changed." She said, "Us Vajra, are deteriorating in number because of all the rest of the Elemental Dragon Tribes, Lightning Element is the hardest element to control. It was already lucky enough that I have a sister... but my mother, and all my other relatives are all sole children, with just a few like me having a sibling... and you even killed my father who was our last chance to continue our lineage protected."

"What more..." she inhaled deep and looked at him with a glare, adding in a harsh tone, "...I, as the next heir to the throne, was even enslaved by you and made into your living battery."

"..."

Siva had no comment on that last statement.

What he did was indeed cruel but for the sake of his brother's life, all sacrifices are necessary; even if he had to burn his soul and forget the cry of his guilt and the screaming sense of shame to his all and every actions... if he could save Baron, then he'd be willing to shoulder all responsibilities of his actions, even taking all the blame.

But until then, he will continue forward with this path until he sees its ending.

"You still haven't made it clear though, what are the Naga Kings and why are they different from this generation's Dragon Kings?"

Siva was just about to avoid her topic when the next inquiry she said made him escape his sense of guilt he was to escape from.

He then looked at her and pointed at the direction of the 5km large Crystal Dragon resting on a forest 7km away from them.

"Tel me what do you see on that Dragon?"

"...?" Electra was confused.

Isn't that just a mere Dragon? Why is he asking her a stupid question like that?

"A four legged monster with wings and tail... that looked like a cross breed of a lizard and a dog..."

"Alright then... so how would you describe the rest of the Dragon Kings' tribes?"

Electra thought for a moment. "They look normal to me in every way possible... what's the connection of your questions to my question?" she was on the last bits of her patience.

Siva then pointed at the Dragon far away, "In the era I was aware of... the Naga Kings are all Naga Serpents that took [Hominid Form] to blend into the society of Terrans. Back then, the title of being a [Dragon] is given to the strongest of a particular lineage or ethnic race... the Naga Serpents are the first ethnic race to totally master the blending of an Elemental Bloodline into their genes and on doing so had earned them the respective title of being a [Dragon] amongst all serpentine races; which then led to them totally abandoning their ancestral roots, becoming a race of their own... which still carried the title of being a [Dragon] —which is the Dragon Race you are aware of today."

Shock was evident on her face. According to their historical tales, Vasuki is a mighty warrior who had pursued the conservation of the tribe as he fought to let his descendants get away before escaping.

But he didn't know that he was a [Serpent]!

"You mean to say, that all the 'Naga' are serpents?"

"Do not exclude the 'Naga' because although they are technically serpents... serpents in general are merely animals, monsters even, but Naga Serpents are all Divine Beasts and through their efforts to study and imbue the Power of the Elements into their bloodlines, they became the origins and the true ancestors of what's called the Dragon Race!"

Siva then sagely explained, "From merely being an award and designating status, the title of [Dragon] is now solely relating to your Race. This glory is all dedicated in the name of the first Naga Kings of the Naga Serpents —the first generation Dragon Kings of your race— and the Ancestral Deity for all Lightning Dragons is Vasuki alone..."

He wasn't wearing his helmet and Electra was just a few meters away from him. At this point, she saw him close his eyes as if he was reminiscing the old eras in the past —an era rich with culture, where a sense of adventure is the greatest religion, where war is but a thing for leaders of each world has to worry about... where life can be called wonderful, where Mortals and Gods exists side by side.

Ah, it was such a wonderful era... but the Demons destroyed that peace when they were made into a puppet army by Lucifer's claims.

It was that claim which ignited Siva's mission to be a teacher of Immortality, spreading his teachings, to see if there are others like him who had come from a different world...

....which led to everything that had happened.

"And did you know that amongst the Dragon Kings of that era... your ancestor's sister, Manasa, was invited to join the Circle of the Zodiac Sisters..."

"Z-Z-Zodiac!!? The Terrans!" this was a piece of news an entire race would find hard to believe.

But they are all aware... that in the Terran History, there existed a sorority of powerful Terrans that'd established a Faction which hold a major power an entire Star Sea had bowed in submission for.

This sorority, this Female-only Sect... was the Circle of the Zodiac Sisters.

Even the Dragons knew of them —for they have been at war for many generations now and they'd all been made aware of some of their most powerful historical figures.

The Zodiac Sisters was one of them.

But contrary to expectations, one of their members is actually from their Dragon Race! It was a hard to believe news indeed.

"You're lying!" she yelled, lightning crackled on her hands that threatened to burst out of her. "We will never be at peace with the Terrans!"

"Hah! Truly naïve!" Siva commented harshly, "You didn't even know that nine out of the twelve who joined the Zodiac Circle were of Divine Beast Race origins and the three are all neutral parties of the Terran Factions —which led to The Circle being a Neutral Faction that only cared to preserve all their interests! Hmp... and to tell you a fact, how do you think your entire Dragon Race managed to survive the Grand Invasion of the Demon Armada? Where do you think your surviving ancestors hid after the desperate escape from your home worlds?"

Where indeed? She wondered.

All they knew is that there was a war back then and their Dragon Race escaped for a very long time until finally taking root in this planet which was too far away from the war back then...

Is he really telling her the truth? If so, then just who the hell is this murderer?

Why the hell does he know so much about their race and the history of the Terran Universe?

She was stunned, unable to divert from the chaos of her thoughts colliding with her beliefs.

The Terrans and Dragons have always been at war with each other and time and time again, they've all fought over that huge piece of ungoverned land in the middle of their territories.

Siva saw her predicament and sneered disdainfully at her inability to talk back, "I'll tell you a fact about this Universe of yours; all those people that you've called Terrans... and you, Dragons, in fact, all the rest of the already extinct Divine Beast Races... in my eyes, you are all just the same in general...... all of you are called Terrans!"

Electra backed off as she felt Siva's presence in front of her grew bigger in her eyes.

This imposingness, this presence of his being, he hadn't emitted any Mana fluctuations but she could feel his every word and very tone itself telling her that everything she heard from him was true.

It was a decree, it was a fact. Everything he said to her felt like things that he had seen and had been an experience in the past.

"Wh-Who are you... really?" only now did Electra realize that perhaps her pursuit of revenge had all been a pointless, fruitless endeavor.

Just why is this man's presence so great to her?

Siva smiled at her, but to her eyes, it was ugly and the smile looked sinister and scary instead.

"Haven't you already said who I am?" Siva said in a mysterious manner, "In the past, I did scourge the entire universe to kill every Immortal, Gods, and all Devil Gods... back then, I burned worlds one after another, and I destroyed and trampled their lives as if they were nothing more than grass. Back then during the Era of the Gods, I was simply called as The Destroyer...... nothing more."

A chill run down her spine.

"Y-Y-You're that S-S-S-S..."

As if realizing something, Siva blinked and made a dry laugh at his mistake.

"Oh, right. I haven't told you my name, haven't I, so yeah... you're probably right... I am Siva."

The cause of the twilight of the Gods...

The bane of all Demons...

The legendary Blood Immortal...

The destroyer of worlds...

As the list of his nicknames goes on, his reputation to every "Terran" in the Universe grew darker. He was the scourge of the heavens, the darkness in the light of life; his shadow was darker than any of the blackest color, and he breathes fire as if they were nothing more than his air....

...his was a name that only those on the top of the ladder of power are dreadful of...

......for he was a legend, both shiny and dark at the same time!

Siva...... the God Slayer... Protector of the Stars...

.....The Destroyer.

While Electra recalled the stories, along with all the names he'd been given, that her father once told her about the monster that ended the Grand War of the Gods and made them extinct, or eternally carry on in hiding, her body began to feel the chill that crawled on her back like electricity.

Heck, it was weird for a Lightning Dragon to feel a current of electricity travel their bodies, but she did felt the chill crawling on her back and numbing her entire body.

She, a mighty Elemental Dragon, a Noble Blood at birth and someone who had qualified to further her bloodline and evolve and grew into an Elder God, is right now in the presence of a frightening being.

—and was even a slave of that frightening being!

All prejudice, all grievances, all her other plans and thoughts to get free of her slavery contract and kill the man responsible for the death of her father, the Elder Dragon of their Tribe, and the protector and Patriarch of their family... have all vanished in a puff of smoke.

How could she not have imagined it? She killed an Elder Dragon as if he was swatting a fly and he is able to enslave her that easily despite the obvious difference in their (surface) strength and ability...

Why didn't she connect the dots earlier?

How could she not have thought of the possibility of it happening at all? Why? Why must she anger the God who caused the extinction of an entire civilization of Gods and Immortals? Why must she experience this fate and not anyone else? Why is it her? Why must it be her?

From the fear she felt on her realization, Electra's knees felt weak as she knelt in one knee and bow her head at him.

For the first time in her life, no, perhaps it may be the second time in her life... she had feared death.

"I...I....I'm——"

"Stand up."

"Yes!"

It must be said; Siva's reputation precedes his true identity... for if those people who knew it were to see him now, they wouldn't even believe it if they are told that he —this cursed being with perverted thoughts and had not a strand of an aura of life or of Mana radiating from his body; and is a weakling that can't even use any [magic] nor can he even fly without the aid of an external tool —was the once mighty and feared Destroyer.

In fact, as all the "people" who knew Siva's name as The Destroyer himself were quite few, there is indeed a very high chance that they will act just like Electra did —discard him like any ordinary Terran, and even if they hear the name "Siva" will still feel as if it was just like any other Terran name.

That was the normal reaction.

That should be their normal reaction.

But to those who are aware of the events back in the days of Ragnarok, especially those who were involved in the pre– and the post– war events, all of them will tremble in fear and kneel down in front of him... or suffer his ire and die without a corpse if he gets displeased.

Electra's image of her Father's death back then is still clear in her memories and even if she was told that the person who killed her father was called "The Destroyer" back then, right now, she wouldn't even believe it. Because, well, what are the odds that those two persons are the same?

And yet things did develop on that direction.

She didn't dare to uphold any negative feelings in her heart for she feared that after he killed her, he would go after her family next.

Electra might not fear her own death, but she fears the death of her family... especially her little sister.

Just thinking of her little sister burning in that fire was enough for her to tremble in fear and anxiety, she immediately decided to abandon all notion of revenge in order to save the people important to her life.

"P-Please... please forgive my audacity... I... I will never seek revenge ever again. I will follow you! I will also do the things you wanted me to do in your mind, but please.... please... I beg you, oh mighty Overlord of the Universe, please spare my family!"

She didn't dare to kneel down again as she was in effect of an order, but she was still bowed down, standing, and her body was trembling from head to the edge of her toe as she begged and cried.

—WTF!!! Even at this point, you still didn't fail to point out those things!?

It would seem that Siva's reputation in her heart is already set in stone.