Chapter 474: There’s always a price to pay

The Supreme Commander.

Kiel Bazarov, as he was now known in the Bolvat Dynasty, sat down in a comfy chair inside a luxurious room that was originally used by royalty.

He was able to drive Mastigius’ army back, but he was unable to capture Mastigius. It was probably the best opportunity he had. As expected, their strength was solid. Not even a single soldier should be underestimated.

He had to rethink his plan again. He had to think thoroughly. The chair felt strangely soft, enveloping Kiel’s body and worries.

To be honest, it wasn’t that relaxing since his obsession was consuming him. He dressed nicely and behaved ostentatiously because of the emotions that burst from deep within.

After all, Kiel knew that this position was merely something he had taken from someone he had seen an opportunity to seize. So if he showed even a moment of weakness, someone else would surely come and take his position.

It could be one of the veteran sorcerers, or someone who was no longer a sorcerer.

After all, it didn’t matter who were in his position, at least to the demons. Kiel thought as he pushed his slightly bent ear.

What the magical devilish beings wanted was someone to rule over humans. Someone who would understand their intentions and act in line with their thoughts.

Kiel managed to get this far, so he used his control to seize power. But there were plenty of other people who could take his place. That’s why he couldn’t relax.

Kiel made sure no sound was emitted from his dark room. Then, he stared at the painting hanging on the wall.

The painting depicted a single person. A man who wasn’t particularly manly but had a likable smile.

Most of that man’s personal belongings had already been disposed of, and the painting was the only thing left that showed he was alive.

Kiel narrowed his eyes nostalgically and lowered his head. Then, he muttered to himself.

「…I wonder why I’m here. I wish you were sitting with me here, brother. Why am I the only one who survived? 」

Leonid Bazarov was Kiel’s proud older brother. He was the first to be recognized for his magic talent in the Bazarov Family, the first in the family to have been blessed with talent for magic. He was even able to attend the magic academy.

Of course, Kiel was often compared to his older brother Leonid, but he never once resented his brother.

His brother always doted on Kiel, and Kiel adored him.

Kiel felt he himself would surely end up being ordinary. But he knew that his brother would be different. His brother would surely reach a world he could’ve never imagined. Kiel had vaguely believed in this since he was a child.

As if to answer those expectations, Leonid continued to forge ahead, and before long he became the only Bazarov Family member allowed to have his name on the military roster.

He was Kiel’s pride and, of course, the Bazarov Family’s pride. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that his older brother was Kiel’s everything.

…But he died so suddenly. Kiel realized for the first time that the battlefield was not as beautiful as the stories he had heard.

But if he had to accept his brother’s death, then it would’ve been better if the battlefield was the sole purpose of this death.

To die as a sorcerer. An honorable death in battle. Even if there was sadness, those facts would provide some momentary comfort.

If they had found that comfort, Kiel and his parents might have been able to live normal lives after that. They would’ve found hope for tomorrow.

But all that Leonid received in death was the insult of being removed from the military roster for desertion while facing the enemy.

Kiel was convinced that this was a deliberate stigma. His brother wasn’t the type of person to abandon his comrades and run away. His brother had protected him many times when he was in danger and had taken his own wounds.

In fact, some people questioned Leonid’s desertion. Who would’ve seen him desert before the enemy when the enemy was defeated in the first battle? First of all, why were there so few witnesses? Could it be that the noble commander was just trying to cover up his mistake?

Many doubts were raised, but in the end Leonid’s desertion and removal weren’t overturned. After all, the Bazarov Family had a low rank and had no achievements as sorcerers, so few people cared about them.

Kiel believed that the Bazarov Family was so weak that they were immediately branded as deserters when facing an enemy.

It was terrible from then on. His father, who was originally ill, started drinking every day, throwing his life away as he wanted, and his mother followed suit. In the blink of an eye, Kiel became the head of the family despite being the second son.

Even now, Kiel wondered. If his brother had not died that day. Or if he had died, but with an honorable death in battle. What would’ve happened to Kiel and his parents?

Kiel closed his eyes for a moment, and with a bitter smile, he suppressed his emotions. It didn’t matter, and there was nothing that could be done about it.

Kiel turned to the painting and spoke to it as if he was reporting. When Kiel took off his glasses, he realized that him and the man in the painting looked very similar.

「Brother, watch me. I’ll do it. I’ll definitely avenge you even if I die tomorrow. 」

Kiel lowered his face as he said those words with a heavy heart. He just couldn’t keep staring at his brother in the painting.

Instead, Kiel clenched his fists tightly. And so he strengthened his resolve.

The army that had taken his brother. The noble families. The mighty sorcerers. Were all of those things necessary for this country? This country didn’t need anything of that. It was because of those things that this country got rotten. It had to be emptied.

If this country was to be saved, then it must be rebuilt after everything had been taken away. The Bolvat Dynasty had no value anymore.

The country could only be saved in the ashes.

Kiel put on his luxurious cloak and stepped out of his private room. He had already decided what he had to do next.

—

A small bird was chirping, making a strange noise. It wasn’t a normal bird cry, but an ancient language.

The bird stared at one person from among the trees covered with death snow. Sometimes it tilted its head, and other times it clicked its beak impatiently.

「That’s…That’s the current Altia? 」

Shadraput, the bronze dragon that had transformed into a bird, muttered to herself as if asking a question. She only muttered to herself out of caution, but the ancient language was clearly pronounced.

Her yellow eyes looked at the male leading the human group. He was wearing green clothing.

Shadraput could certainly smell a familiar scent like that of Altia. There was no doubt that he was related to Altia.

But that wasn’t all. Upon closer inspection, there was a faint aura of the Giant King Flimslat, and also the scent of the Spirit God Zebrililith. To be honest, even Shadraput wasn’t sure what to make of it. What was going on?

However, the impression Shadraput got from seeing that male was that he was strange.

…Was that male really strong?

Shadraput couldn’t tell, but compared to Altia, who was someone she had seen before, that male was frighteningly weak. There was no way he could defeat the Great Demon Vrilligant.

What Shadraput wanted was protection. No matter how much Altia’s scent lingered in that male, being weak was no good.

If she wanted safety, then it should be under the protection of a strong person. Shadraput’s beak went downwards as if letting out a sigh.

However, Shadraput knew that Altia wasn’t that strong from the beginning either. In fact, she had high probabilities of being killed by a magical beast at first.

Then perhaps this male would also become strong. Maybe that was the habit of those who succeeded Altia.

Shadraput spread her wings while clicking her beak suspiciously. Then, she put her foot down at the end of the path where the human group would likely cross.

She decided to have a look. In any case, she could give up on them quickly if they ended up being weak. With that in mind, Shadraput changed her appearance from that of a bird drastically.

Her wings turned into arms, her claws into human legs. She also transformed her body into that of a human. Naturally, Shadraput wouldn’t do something as dangerous as turning her body into a dragon.

It would be very bad if humans discovered her as a dragon and chased her. They would change the color of their eyes and come to kill her. They would come for her heart, her scales and her eyes.

Shadraput thought to herself how barbaric they were, since they would turn her very being into some kind of elixir.

And so Shadraput changed her eye color as well as her hair color. She changed them to gold. She became the most beautiful human she knew.

…Altia in her prime. Shadraput had never known a more beautiful and powerful human.

Moreover, the human she was going to meet was a male. Shadraput felt that he would be enchanted by this appearance. That way he would surely be motivated to follow his instincts and protect her.

A green military uniform came into view at the end of the road. Shadraput tried to walk naturally, speaking the words of this era for the first time in a long time.

She tried to make it look like she had fled from somewhere. Shadraput had some confidence in behaving like a weakling. After all, she had survived for hundreds of years by running and hiding.

It had been a long time since she had come into contact with a human being, but she was confident that she could handle it without any difficulty. Shadraput spoke with a frail tone. Her voice sounded similar to that of Altia’s, the one she had once heard.

「Please, you there, please help me…huh!? 」

A chill covered Shadraput’s whole body the moment she spoke. Something froze Shadraput’s spine. Shadraput didn’t know what it was.

She only knew one thing. She saw the glow of purple lightning in her field of vision.

「…Help? We have unfinished business, you and me. I’ll make sure you never sing again. 」

He was wearing a green military uniform. The person who inherited Altia’s legacy had a smiley face, but he wasn’t smiling at all. On horseback, he aimed his purple lightning sword at Shadraput as if he was going to crush everything.

He spoke calmly, yet with an emotion that couldn’t be suppressed. The people around him widened their eyes at his reaction.

「You deceive me once again by impersonating the woman I love. Altia, keep saying those cheap words like you always do, and I’ll give you your last moments in return. 」

Shadraput had an intuition. She felt like she had done something wrong. And she was on the verge of tears.

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That dragon named Shadraput is a huge scaredy-cat!

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