Ch.57Chapter 57. Tachia Philoi

-BANG!

The moment my half-gone consciousness returned at the successive booming sounds.

To lose consciousness just from being hit in the head by a flying fragment would be considered humiliating for a being called the pinnacle of all creation.

But she was already broken to her limits, to the point where even such humiliation didn’t matter.

-Ah, fa.

However, in her position where she must prioritize the contract to test humanity, she couldn’t simply discard this power from her body.

Tachia frowned at the sobbing of the “tool” created for that purpose as it floated in the air, and spoke through blood-stained lips.

“He’s not your father.”

-Daddy, daddyyy…….

“Nothing will change no matter how much you throw a tantrum. Unless that guy says he’ll take you…”

-WAAAAAAAAHHH!!

A self-awareness awakened much faster than expected.

But even so, it was still only at the stage of a 2-3 year old infant.

Mana driven by tantrums is fierce and rough, and doesn’t discriminate in its destruction.

-BOOM!!!

As cracks formed throughout her body from the resulting shockwave, powder spilled through the gaps and settled on the floor.

Normally it should have scattered and turned to dust, but soon it was drawn back to her body, transforming into droplets of blood.

This was only natural.

The pinnacle of all creation carries weight even in the smallest utterance, and thus must keep promises even if made on a whim.

Even if her lifespan had exceeded its limit, as long as the contract wasn’t fulfilled, this world would not permit her death.

“…As expected.”

But such an innate nature now felt like nothing more than a curse.

As she straightened her deteriorating mind, this transcendent being finally let slip what could only be called resentment.

“As expected, I should never have raised a human.”

Toward the past mistake she had committed, unable to calm her own heart.

She felt growing revulsion toward the curse created by her innate nature.

***

Dragon.

The supreme being, the pinnacle of all creation, who reigned as part of the world through innate power and contributed to building this world…

But from the moment they completed their mission of perfecting the world, their descendants completely lost their purpose for existing.

No matter how much power they possessed, they had nowhere appropriate to use it, and with nothing existing above them, everything in this world seemed trivial.

“Ow, ma. Mama…..”

Volcano Dragon – Tashian Pailoi.

She left her nest in the volcano and wandered the world due to a whim that arose at the end of such an empty life.

She thought it wouldn’t be bad to experience whatever came her way during her travels, as even sleep had become tedious.

“You, don’t you have a mother?”

“Waaaaaaaaah!!”

Yes, it all began with a cradle floating down the river she encountered during her travels.

It was merely an extension of that whim that she picked up and raised that child.

“…Heh, really, why does a child not even a hundred years old have such a loud voice?”

But the declining dragon felt, for the first time, simple emotions awakened by that tiny life that she had never experienced before.

Whether it was because she thought her life would end with raising this child, or curiosity about which would die first—the long-lived species with little life remaining or the short-lived species just born.

Either way, this journey that began from a simple whim led to a desire to watch over the life she had accidentally picked up.

“Well, it’s my last days, so this might not be so bad.”

But regardless of the initial motivation, the feelings that developed during the process must have been genuine.

Like an elderly person with few days left picking up an abandoned puppy to ease their loneliness.

The generosity born from it being the end of her life was enough to evoke “affection” for the being she would live with for her remaining lifespan.

****

“Mom. What’s wrong with your body…?”

But such simple contentment was short-lived.

One day, as the declining being gradually acknowledged her own emotions, the baby she was with began to tremble, detecting abnormalities in her body.

No, not a baby but a girl.

What was a mere instant for a supreme being was enough time for a newborn baby to become a young girl.

“Why are there cracks in your skin? Why is sand-like stuff coming out of your body?”

When the babbling child gradually awakened her self-awareness and eventually detected the abnormalities in the body of the one who had cared for her.

As such questions gradually transformed into incomprehensible emotions, the dragon belatedly realized the fact she had overlooked.

Though her remaining lifespan might be similar to the girl she had grown fond of, all the girl would see as she grew up was “the final time heading toward death.”

Not a complete life but a deteriorating 50 years.

From the moment this girl detected the anomaly, she would have to continuously watch her falling apart.

“…Mom, are you okay?”

Despite the countless eons she had meaninglessly let pass, the end was approaching, and she would endlessly display that ugly end to the one she held dear…..

The moment she realized this, the look in the eyes of this small girl facing her no longer felt welcome.

As she sensed that such feelings would only grow stronger, she felt her heart beating violently.

-Thump, thump.

There was no way she could calm it down and maintain composure.

For a being empty from birth, such emotional turmoil was far too alien.

“Mom, where are you going!? Mom!!”

Without even realizing her rashness, she fled the place and returned to her lair where the girl didn’t know, hiding herself.

Turning away from the girl who had grown up seeing only her, she focused solely on calming the emotions she was feeling for the first time.

If she became any more unstable, she would reveal her true form.

If that happened, the girl might see an expression even worse than the one she had seen before.

-Thump, thump.

But no matter how much time passed, the pounding wouldn’t subside, and she felt her confusion growing because she couldn’t understand it.

Why did that expression on the child’s face cause such great confusion?

For an immortal who had lived for over ten thousand years, emotions that developed from living a limited time like mortals were not easy to understand……

“It’s here! The dragon is right here!”

Before she could even have the leisure to realize it herself, beings who had tracked her traces began to interfere at every turn.

Humans.

Unlike that child who retained pure innocence knowing nothing, a race steeped in arrogance and vanity.

“So it was true that it flew this way.”

“Oh, a dragon that was only passed down in legends actually exists!”

As the race whose reproductive desire had faded in their empty lives gradually disappeared, they began to show ambition to place all beings except their own kind under their feet, as if they were the pinnacle of this world.

A generation that had forgotten even the status and fear of beings like herself had arrived and began to flaunt their insignificant prowess.

“If we dissect the dragon, it will surely be worth a fortune!?”

“I will offer this head to my king and make my country greater!”

“By beheading the dragon, I shall prove my strength!!”

Wealth, fame, proof of power…

Just seeing them charge while speaking of such trivial things made her irritation surge.

Beings like insects that she wouldn’t normally even glance at.

They were disturbing her when she was already struggling to control her own emotions.

-KWAAAAA!!

She shot her breath randomly at the incessant buzzing in her ears.

Weak beings who turned to dust just from the heat sweeping across the area.

Although the gap between dragons and humans was overwhelming, to the point where they died in droves from just that much, the insects who hadn’t seen that majesty continued to swarm around her, making her annoyed.

Like moths flying into a bonfire, not knowing their place, they kept charging…

Unless she properly taught them their place, such incidents would continue to repeat.

“Aaaahh! It’s a dragon!”

“The dragon has appeared! Everyone run!!”

So she would leave her lair and wipe out their seed.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t have the leisure to calm her confusion.

Even if her physical body crumbled under the strain, accepting that as her fate, she would exterminate all humans on this land.

-Rumble, rumble.

Thus, the battle of humanity against the declining dragon shifted from an attack to realize their desires to a defensive war to protect their existence.

After mercilessly crushing even that and destroying several countries, she finally defined the emotion stirring within her.

‘It’s humans.’

From the beginning, it was because she got involved with humans that she ended up like this.

She realized that it was all humans—beyond mere annoyance, they had made her final days so confusing and had robbed her of that peace.

“Tashian Pailoi.”

Relying only on the contempt awakened at the end of her life.

The one who blocked her advance as she burned her body forward was someone with particularly special power among those insects.

“…Do you remember me?”

She realized immediately.

That this person possessed the power of a dragon like herself.

But even that was infinitely insignificant compared to a real dragon.

Even though the declining dragon recognized the similarity in power this being emitted, she ignored even that and tried to continue what she intended to do.

No matter who the opponent was, if they were human, they were no different from those who had contributed to burning up her body.

That flame would never be extinguished until the moment it completely burned her body.

“It’s fine if you don’t remember. I didn’t come here to have a leisurely chat with you either.”

The woman who blocked the dragon that had chosen to reign as a calamity.

Imbuing the power inherited from her into her sword, she murmured quietly.

“Hero, Tachia Pailoi.”

Speaking the name inherited from the mother who had raised her.

“From now on, I will eliminate the calamity threatening humanity.”

Gripping the sword emanating blue light.

She began to flash fierce eyes toward her.

“I’ll make you regret abandoning me. Damn mother.”

Tachia Pailoi.

The last hero born in this world, and a champion who would not be recorded in history, overwhelmed by the numerous calamities that would come later.