< Carina Dragonia (3) >
[Join the pantheon, Dragonia. We are willing to share with you as a community of destiny.]
“”···············.””
For a long time no one responded to the voice of the goddess.
Lion Heart King, who has served the gods for a long time, and Dragon King Dragonia, who was ultimately defeated as the archenemy of the gods.
“This is impossible!”
Leon was the first to react. He recognized the significance of the offer to join the pantheon.
Dragonia joins the pantheon. It has one meaning.
It meant that he would acknowledge Dragonia as one of the gods and surrender his divinity.
[That ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha…!]
The spirit of the dragon, which has become a thought, bursts into laughter. It will do just that.
The nemesis they had fought for so long, the victorious ones, now came up with a humiliating deal.
And that negotiation was only because of one human being.
It reached the unconventional conclusion that the gods yielded their divinity in order to save just one human being.
[That’s funny. You’re willing to give up your divinity for just one person? Does a mere human have such a value?]
[Not just one person. My knight, the famous daughter of the Lion Heart King who represents the gods, and the Holy Grail Knight who represents the divinity.]
[I know what Lion Heart King means to you guys. A hunting dog that is easy to use. Have you ever provided such convenience to Lion Heart Kings of the past? Even the first lion heart king would never have given such special treatment?]
It was natural.
The gods are the guardians of providence. They must abide by the principles, cherish and bless their deputies, but never deviate from the logic.
This was even more radical than raising the dead in paradise.
“Impossible! It is impossible!”
As if he was happy to even hear the gods’ proposal, Leon dropped the sword he was aiming at Dragonia and knelt down.
“For the convenience of a mere human being, a lofty divine throne is given! And even to an evil lizard!”
[This guy?]
Dragonia was furious at the disparagement he hated hearing the most, but Ariana calmly persuaded Leon.
[Leon, you are my knight. You are not just a human being. All gods, the world, all the souls that have accumulated since the beginning of history owe you. The gods have an obligation to repay you.]
“but···!”
[Say no more, my knight. That the gods love you more than you can imagine. You deserve it.]
[under······.]
The dragon king was dumbfounded that there was a human the gods favored so much.
It was not simply an irrational act, but a surrender of divinity, the absolute authority of the gods. It is also to the enemy who has been antagonistic to destroy each other for a long time.
‘Did I say that I finally destroyed the demons alone?’
There must have been lords as well as supply demons.
Even the Dragon King knows the transcendent strength of the demon lord. It tends to be regarded as just above the grand duke, but it is not an existence that can be approached by ‘the grand duke’.
They were beings older than themselves, the progenitor dragons, and the gods of the pantheon couldn’t even surpass the stronghold of the demon lord.
If he was a being who killed such demon lords and saved even the afterlife of those who should have perished…
‘Is it the only hope?’
It was understandable why the gods couldn’t spare it.
The gods, the pantheon, and their paradise are maintained by the presence of one man, Leon.
[However, arrogant gods. Do you think that this dragon king of Drakara will sit on the same cushion as you? I’m a myth You guys are just latecomers.]
“How dare this lizard?
[Choose whether you agree or disagree…]
Dragonia said something as if she was dumbfounded, but Leon returned it with primary swear words and criticism.
[Dragon King, take our proposal seriously. This would not be a bad suggestion for you either.]
Even after the humiliating proposal was rejected, the goddess calmly began to persuade the dragon king.
[Our world has already been destroyed by evil, and has found a new home. It’s not that far away from us recovering our faith there.]
In other words, with just a spoon, Dragonia can become one of the gods.
Dragonia objected.
[I have already established absolute power here. This world is my world.]
Dragonian Empire. The world’s only hegemonic country. Karina is the living absolute power of such an empire.
Even though I am already in the same position as a god, is there any need to go beyond my sphere of influence and live a precarious life?
[You are not a god here. It’s just a thought parasitized by the emperor.]
[What?]
[You will know. The reason why he could not be resurrected after living in the hearts of successive grand dukes for thousands of years. Because you are a being dependent on the body.]
Goddess Ariana spoke of the benefits of Dragonia acquiring divinity.
[If you acquire divinity, you will become the subject of faith. And the body to be formed with the faith gained through their worship will be an incarnation, not an incarnation that traps your soul.]
In other words, true immortality. And for this, Ariana emphasizes that Dragonia should be an object of faith, not worship.
[Above all else–]
Ariana delivered the final blow.
[The resurrection of your race is also possible.]
[·······.]
The most primal power of the gods. It is the power of creation.
Light, darkness, sun, moon, sky, sea, flame, life, death, iron.
All those primordial ideas nurture the world and make living things prosper.
[We will cooperate. I, Ariana’s light, will illuminate the skins of dragons who will be born, and Demera’s life will sprout them. The sky, the sea, and the flames will bless them, and the sun and moon will protect them day and night.]
So, like all life, it will be fruitful and multiply.
[·······.]
It reminded me of the dragon king’s duty.
He is also the king of the tribe. Even if it is a myth itself, as long as he claims to be the king, he also has responsibilities.
The dragon king’s agony did not take long.
* * * *
The Black Gate, which occurred in Washington, DC, the capital of the United States, made the entire United States tremble with uneasiness.
In the middle of the capital city, even a red gate would cause a stir, but the appearance of the black gate, a catastrophe in human history, immediately paralyzed all administrative work in the United States and caused hundreds of thousands of refugees.
Considering that all the black gates so far have destroyed or brought about the crisis of destruction, these measures will not be insufficient.
“Damn, when the hell is it coming out?”
US President Anthony Hobson waited for the return of the Hunters at the Black Gate, which occupied a district in Washington, DC, every day.
I’d rather not know if the attack failed and even the survivors returned. It’s been over 20 days without anyone coming out like this, so I’m going crazy and running wild from the standpoint of waiting.
“Would you win?”
“That’s us too…”
“No, our country’s powerful hunters have gone astray, and the pantheon has come at full strength, so there’s no way we can’t clear it!”
Then why did you ask… While the aides were dumbfounded by President Hobson’s scolding, they understood his feelings.
Considering the social and economic repercussions of the black gate’s dungeon break in the capital, there’s no other way to describe it than just being terrifying.
Above all, the hunters who were mobilized for this gate pushed the best elite power in the United States. Losing them could cause more damage than Washington being blown away.
“Your Excellency, this is a message from President Ahn of Korea.”
The hotline connected for this situation is buzzing. They must be asking about things like what happened to the gate or whether our hunters are all right.
It’s not just the US that sends their country’s best hunters and gets a shitline.
‘shit! After dispatching reporters, what else do you ask when you know everything?’
President Hobson discovered that leaders around the world were less patient than they thought.
Right now, even in England, a long-time ally, if they lose S-class hunters in this situation, they are confused about how to take responsibility.
For President Hobson, who used the best hunters of the allies to ensure success in the attack, he had to see that his political life would end if this situation failed.
Of course, allied administrations that decided to dispatch their own elite hunters to the United States would also become partners on the afterlife.
In any case, if this attack fails, it means that it won’t end with one or two people dying.
“God bless America…”
When the president prayed to God, some of his aides prayed to the gods of the pantheon.
The reason they are at least relieved is that there is no movement in the pantheon in mainland Korea.
If Lionheart had died inside the gate, the feedback would have been that something had happened in Korea, the home ground of Manshinjeon.
Not to mention that South Korean President Andong-gil calls Mansinjeon officials to the building every day.
With the world’s attention focused on it, the 23rd day of the black gate attack. While a snowy white Christmas was expected, it was a day when not everyone could enjoy the festive atmosphere.
“Your Excellency! Your Excellency haaaaaa…!”
The Provisional Office of the President, away from Washington. President Hobson, who had been crying all night, had his aides running to him without even wearing a tie.
“At the gate…! The hunters are returning from the gate!!”
“Everyone, let’s leave immediately!”
President Hobson straightened his tangled tie and hurried to the military airfield. He wanted to figure out the situation as quickly as possible.
* * * *
“There are really iron beasts roaming around.”
Downtown Washington DC. Karina was admiring it while walking down the street with Leon.
Streets filled with tall buildings and shops are deserted and devoid of people. Karina questioned the lack of people on such a busy street.
“If there is a gate, they evacuated in case the monsters inside came out. This gate was the highest grade among them, so there will be no people in this area.”
“indeed······.”
Thinking about it, Karina looked at the empty shopping streets, assuming that this was a natural move.
“Are you feeling well?”
“It’s the body of a Holy Grail Knight. It can’t be bad.”
“Okay… that’s it.”
Leon awkwardly walked ahead down the street. Walking together for the first time in hundreds of years is both welcome and awkward.
“Do you still resent Jim?”
Words with many implications. Karina shook her head.
“As I said two hundred years ago, it was a choice Your Majesty had to make.”
“Not as the Lion Heart King, not as the Grand Duke of Dragonia… as Karina’s father, Leon.”
“·······.”
Karina stopped at Leon’s question. Footsteps stop on the snowy street. Even as the snow piled up on her feet, Karina could not easily answer.
Leon’s actions and judgment were extremely correct. As a king, yes. But what about Leon, Karina’s father? As a Castilian husband?
It was wrong… I had to say that. No matter what logical or grand national reasons, her husband, Leon, and his father, Leon, shouldn’t have done that.
That clear answer did not easily come out of Karina’s mouth.
Because they know what the responsible person should do. It’s not just Karina, it’s hard for her to say that because she’s Karina Dragonia.
“I think you’re wrong. No, I didn’t want you to be that way.”
For the sake of the 30,000 Northern Army, for the safety of their souls… Leon, the father, does not want his daughter, Karina, to sacrifice himself. He says it’s wrong.
“······me too.”
Because Leon said that first, Karina was able to express her honest feelings.
Words that have been cherished for a long time, words that I wanted to say but couldn’t. For the first time, Karina vomited the kind of resentment she thought she shouldn’t even think about.
“My father, my mother’s husband, shouldn’t have done that. He should have saved my mother.”
There is no resoluteness in the voice of blame. We just sympathize with each other.
For the first time in 200 years, honest feelings uttered to each other. The first resentment that erupted between the father and daughter, who could not blame each other because they knew each other’s responsibilities, made the two laugh rather.
For the two people who don’t laugh often, it was a very light, faint smile, but it will grow louder in the future.
-Ki-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i!
A deserted Washington street due to evacuation. A large SUV that comes to a sudden stop in front of two people.
“Le, Your Majesty Leon!”
The one who opened the car door gasping and appeared was President Anthony Hobson.
He has been running non-stop in a military transport and bulletproof vehicle for two hours since the two crossed the gate.
“You’re all right!”
“Who is it?”
“It’s like the king of this country.”
“???”
If a king is a king, what does something like a king mean?
Apart from that, President Hobson, who was waiting for Leon’s safe return, found Carina next to Leon while expressing his delight.
“this person is?”
To President Hobson, who expressed doubts, Carina introduced herself.
“This work is Karina Dragonia. Lion Heart King Leon Dragonia is the legitimate successor to Lionheart and the ‘Duke’ of Dragonia.”
