Ch.292Chapter 292: Threats and…

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“So that damned woman finally reveals her true identity. Is her body that heated up?”

That was Fafnir’s irritated voice echoing in my head the moment Desire revealed the scales on her arm.

Judging by his annoyed attitude rather than surprise…

It seemed Fafnir already knew that Desire had once been a dragon before transforming into a transcendent being.

We’d had many conversations about Fafnir and Desire, but I’d never heard anything about this. It was surprising to learn such a fact only now through Desire herself.

[I didn’t feel the need to mention it. To you, me, and everyone confronting this demon realm, the fact that that damned woman was actually a dragon isn’t particularly important. What matters is that she’s damned.]

‘You have a point.’

I could only agree with Fafnir’s words, which seemed to respond as if he’d read my thoughts.

Though delivered in an indifferent tone, what he said was fundamentally correct.

It’s not important, is it? The fact that this divine being who should be immediately banished from this land was once a dragon before attaining divinity.

It’s not like knowing her origins makes it any easier to deal with her.

If there was a problem…

[I should have noticed when I saw your mother’s portrait at your house back then.]

Was it that Fafnir cared more about aspects related to my birth than Desire’s identity?

I wondered why he was acting this way, but then…

[Young one.]

Unlike his previous indifference, Fafnir addressed me with a deeply serious voice.

[From now on, I want you not to be surprised by anything that damned woman tells you.]

His concern was so palpable I could almost feel it on my skin.

‘I understand.’

Accepting Fafnir’s advice, I lightly organized the questions floating in my mind and focused on what Desire, who had revealed her identity, might say to me.

Until then, I hadn’t understood why Desire had chosen to reveal her identity before attempting to persuade me.

Nor did I understand why Fafnir had expressed concern about Desire’s actions.

#

Right after my brief conversation with Fafnir.

Wondering if I had seen wrong, I rubbed my eyes with one hand and then looked—no, glared—at Desire sitting on the throne, but…

“Hehe…”

With a faint laugh, the prominent features on Desire’s arm as she sat regally on the throne were unmistakably scales.

Moreover, they were identical to the scales of the red dragons that once flourished on the western continent.

After the Great Holy War a thousand years ago, their numbers had declined so drastically that they were now considered extinct except for mixed-bloods who inherited dragon blood.

Even though I’d never seen one in person, I couldn’t possibly mistake the red dragon scales that were easily recognizable through various materials related to the Great Holy War that still circulate today.

Anyway, I couldn’t deny that what was revealed before my eyes were red dragon scales.

Yet even accepting this, questions still filled my mind.

‘…Why is she revealing this to me?’

I couldn’t understand why she was revealing her origins to me.

No matter how I thought about it, there seemed to be no connection between Desire revealing her roots and my mother.

Even if, as could be inferred from Desire’s words and Fafnir’s reaction, my mother was a red dragon hiding her identity among humans…

Desire had fallen into a long sleep at the end of the Great Holy War and had awakened after nearly a thousand years.

I couldn’t imagine any bond between my mother and Desire that could transcend such a temporal gap.

And initially, revealing the scales on her body only proved that she was a dragon; it had no correlation with claiming my mother was a dragon.

From my current perspective, I could only conclude that Desire’s words were complete lies meant to deceive me.

The best response to deception is to match it with equal rudeness.

So, with a deeply furrowed brow, I glared at Desire still sitting on the throne and said:

“Fine. I get that you were once a dragon, but what does that have to do with my mother? Do you have any proof my mother was a dragon?”

I intended to provoke her with deliberately harsh words to extract information from her reaction, but…

“Proof? Proof…”

Despite my provocative words, Desire maintained her position on the throne, pretending not to notice and feigning ignorance. Her demeanor showed no sign of being offended by my rough language.

Rather, how should I put it?

In her gaze as she looked at me—anxious from not being able to gather satisfactory information from the limited data—there was a twisted leisure, as if she were watching the antics of an insignificant creature.

It was literally expressing that kind of gaze that infuriates someone just by making eye contact.

…While I was working hard to agitate her emotions by constantly wagging my tongue, she was just irritating me with a mere glance.

At this point where we weren’t equally getting under each other’s skin, this was as good as my defeat.

Feeling that continuing to stare would only worsen my mood, I tried to look away and gauge the truthfulness of Desire’s words, but…

“Well, I don’t need to bring up evidence. If what I’m saying is a blatant lie, you could simply state that your mother is not a dragon, couldn’t you?”

“…”

Her words, delivered with a voice of innocent appeal, left me speechless.

As I mentioned earlier, knowing so little about my mother, I couldn’t give such a definitive answer.

“Hehe… as expected.”

Accurately reading the meaning of my silence, Desire let out the same faint laugh she’d been giving since our confrontation in this hall, then…

“Traits that remain unchanged regardless of what blood they mix with, like hair color, aren’t unique to your family.”

As she said this, she extended her right index finger, which had been resting on the armrest, toward me and wiggled it side to side.

Since this seemed like a response to my deliberately disrespectful behavior earlier…

*Grind*

I unconsciously gritted my teeth, trying to express my anger toward Desire, but…

“Oh my, tsk!”

…As Desire shouted like someone scolding a disobedient pet, a bright crimson energy—quite different from the dark red aura she had been emitting—burst from her body.

*Thump-!!*

“…Ugh.”

My heart responded to that energy with an irregular beat, constricting my chest and causing me to groan.

*Thud-*

One of my knees, which I had been determined to keep straight even if standing awkwardly, touched the ground.

Even during my time as an Agent before my regression, when I lived essentially as Desire’s puppet…

Even when I was controlled by the divinity she shared and lived a life no different from a servant…

I had never experienced this new form of power.

*Thump-!!*

It was by no means pleasant to experience this invisible force tormenting my heart and binding me.

[…Kugh!!]

Moreover, if this physical force wasn’t just affecting me but even made Fafnir, in his spirit form, groan in pain, then there was nothing more to say.

“Let me share one more piece of information here.”

Desire, expressing an irritating level of composure in her voice, was about to reveal something else to me as I knelt on one knee in pain.

I didn’t want to hear it, but I was too helplessly sprawled out from the severe pain to even tell her to stop.

“What’s making you suffer right now isn’t my divinity, but a portion of the authority I acquired with my own power before my rebirth.”

She seemed intent on proving that what she had revealed was not false.

“Judging by your expression, you seem quite curious about what kind of authority this is…”

No, I’m not curious—I’m just grimacing from the pain.

“Well, since I intended to teach you from the beginning, I’ll tell you right away.”

Despite misreading why my expression was contorted, Desire steadfastly proceeded to reveal the nature of the power she was currently using.

“Ahem.”

After clearing her throat lightly…

[This… damn woman… why… is she… revealing… that… shit…]

Despite his words breaking up due to pain, Fafnir’s voice revealed his fury at whatever power she was about to disclose.

Whether she couldn’t hear Fafnir’s outcry or was pretending not to, Desire’s words were…

“This is the Authority of Submission. It works absolutely on my kin whom I’ve devoured completely and those who have inherited even a drop of their blood. Normally, only those with pure blood would suffer this much pain, so you must have inherited quite concentrated dragon blood.”

Her words seemed to confirm my bloodline, which even she had found somewhat ambiguous.

[KRAAAAA!!]

At the same time, Fafnir’s roar of rage at Desire’s use of the word “devoured” completely erased any trace of the groans he had been making from pain.

[You kin-devouring woman! How many of our kind’s souls have you consumed?!]

“Hmm, I think I’ve eaten all except you.”

Given that Desire stuck out her tongue and answered Fafnir’s outcry—which should have only been audible in my head—it quickly became clear that she had been pretending not to hear him all along.

Even amid the pain still constricting my chest, my mind was working sharply.

Apparently, I had thought my hair was inherited through atavism from ancestor Lumen Ranos, who carried Fafnir’s blood.

But it seemed to be the result of that atavistic trait mixing with the blood of a red dragon with incredibly dominant genes.