abcnovels
Book 5: Chapter 27: Weakness
Book 5: Chapter 27: Weakness
Book 5: Chapter 27: Weakness
Lilith was left breathless.
Even without experiencing or witnessing the tragedy for herself, she could imagine how desperate the dragons must have been just by listening to her mother’s account.
She had used the Dragon Eater’s black flame before so she knew very well how absurdly powerful that thing was, but she had never expected it to be terrifying enough to defeat the once invincible dragons and force them to flee their home.
From once owning one to three stars each, they were now forced to live in a world where many races coexisted.
The dragons were ranked as the top three powerful races in the world, but they were now deemed as extinct to the rest of the world, and some even used their name to flaunt their power.
It was no exaggeration to say that they had fallen from heaven and straight to hell.
“What happened after that…?
“Well, the dragons were defeated. Most in their tribe were either killed or wounded. The Third Major World was reduced into a wasteland. The only adult dragons who survived at that time were only Gerald the Origin Dragon and myself.”
“The Origin Dragon left and I had no idea where he went. I took the only remaining dozen dragon eggs I had and came to this world.”
“Dragon eggs… You mean…”
“Yes.” The Dragon Queen nodded. “Those guys… don’t know about this.”
Lilith was at a loss for words. She did not know how to react to this revelation and she could not find her voice either.
If those idiots were still unhatched dragon eggs when Mother brought them over to this world… And if they were the last dragons in this world… Then that means…
Mother… the Dragon Queen… had no one else to rely on but herself back then.
The pain of facing extinction, the pain of leaving her homeland… All of this was enough to break a person.
For the past nine million years that was unimaginable to humans, she had carried the burden in silence.
All alone…
“Oww… that hurts!”
The Dragon Queen suddenly flicked Lilith on her forehead. The impact was so loud that it could be clearly heard from several meters away.
Lilith held her forehead and grunted in pain.
“What are you doing all of a sudden, Mom! That really hurts!”
The Dragon Queen tapped on the tip of Lilith’s nose lightly.
“That look on your face just now, you’re not feeling sorry for your mommy, are you…?”
“Well, of course I was, because Mommy…”
Lilith’s mouth was suddenly covered by the Dragon Queen.
For the first time since Lilith was born, the Dragon Queen showed anger toward her most precious daughter.
“I do not need anyone’s pity,” the Dragon Queen said coldly.
“I. Do. Not. Need. Anyone’s pity,” she repeated, emphasizing every word.
For one moment, Lilith thought she saw a fiery-red figure sitting on a high throne, with a ferocious beast lying at her feet and molten lava behind her that could melt anything.
Her gaze was icy. Any creatures whom she laid eyes on would bow down to her in reverence.
Yes, this person in front of her did not need anyone’s pity.
She was the esteemed Dragon Queen. The proud and powerful ruler of her race.
Any act of kindness toward her would be perceived as an affront to her dignity.
She had maintained her pride for countless years, and would continue to do so for many more years to come.
Even so, Lilith somehow could not help but feel a twinge of sorrow deep in her heart.
“Besides, Mommy has been very content with this new life. Although this world may not be as prosperous as the others, it is peaceful. I don’t have a lot to worry about. There is also a lot of entertainment in this world for me, such as instructing those fools and pretending to fight with all my might against the Demon King or that little guy from the Sea of Origin. It is always amusing to watch how hard they fight, thinking they can beat me when in reality they can’t even harm a single hair on my head. Of course, Mommy now has one more thing to enjoy.”
The Dragon Queen’s expression softened again as she heartachingly stroked the red, aching spot on Lilith’s forehead where she had flicked earlier.
“Well, I’ve already told you all the past, let’s talk about the person in front of us.”
Her gaze drifted to Lilith’s belly, but Lilith knew very well that she was not talking about her but the Dragon Eater inside her.
“We did not walk away empty-handed after that great war. Technically speaking, that person inside of you, was the only spoils of war we got from the war that nearly exterminated our entire race.”
Lilith also lowered her gaze to her flat tummy that was unobstructed from her view thanks to the absence of a certain pair of peaks.
“It took an entire clan… to defeat one single Dragon Eater? What a depressing difference in power. How many Dragon Eaters were there?”
“A total of… six.”
The Dragon Queen lowered her head, her face became concealed, rendering her expression indiscernible. “Only six Dragon Eaters, yet they were able to decimate nearly half of the Great World.”
Lilith drew a sharp breath.
“But that didn’t matter. Ultimately, we were victorious.” The Dragon Queen chuckled.
“So… then this thing inside me….”
Lilith’s lips began to tremble as she spoke. “Is one of those six Dragon Eaters?”
“Yes, correct.” The Dragon Queen affirmed with a nod.
“So it’s complete and whole? Not just a soul fragment or a clone?”
“It’s a Dragon Eater. Complete and whole.”
“What? So you’re telling me that…”
Lilith stared at her own hands, on the verge of a mental breakdown. “I have something that is strong enough to destroy the world living inside of me?”
The Dragon Queen smiled and patted Lilith’s head. “Something like that.”
“What?! What am I supposed to do now? Is there a way to remove her from me? Can we just get rid of her altogether? Why did you put such a dangerous existence inside me? This petite and flat body of mine can’t possibly house such a godly being! What if I accidentally release her? Won’t that make me a perpetrator of world annihilation?”
“Do not fret. Even the Dragon Eaters aren’t perfect. They have their own weakness, though it is relatively minor,” the Dragon Queen reassured her.
She pointed to herself and continued, “Like us, they also have a soul.”
“Huh?”
A look of confusion appeared on Lilith’s face. “What kind of weakness is that?”
Doesn’t everyone have a soul?
“Of course it is a weakness. It was with this knowledge, we managed to figure out how to deal with them.”
“Do you know, my dear daughter, in addition to the three abilities I previously mentioned, the Dragon Eaters also possess another unique and incredible ability? It was this ability that rendered the entire Great World nearly powerless against them.”
“W-What… is it?”
The Dragon Queen stared at Lilith deeply for a moment then slowly said, “The Dragon Eaters… are immortal.”
“Immortal?”
Lilith’s eyes suddenly turned wide with shock though this was not the first time she had heard about immortality.
In her previous life, she heard about revival spells in games.
Thea also mentioned that the gods could be resurrected by the faith of all beings.
In fact, dragons were also depicted as immortal monsters in numerous tales due their remarkable regenerative abilities.
Even so, all of them had their own limitations.
Certain games required players to undertake arduous quests to obtain revival spells that have an incredibly long casting time. If the spell was interrupted, the consequences could be dire.
If gods were to be resurrected, their stats would be reset, which pretty much meant they would start anew as entirely different individuals.
As for the dragons, they were simply created with an innate resilience, which was not related to immortality in any way.
However, this “immortality” which rendered the entire Great World powerless that her mother spoke of…
“It is what you have in mind, my dear daughter. The Dragon Eaters possess an ability that can be used infinitely without any temporal restrictions. They can be revived in any circumstance as long as they have sufficient energy… On top of that, their primary ability is to consume…”
“So it’s a never-ending cycle…”
“Indeed. Therefore, despite being an almost invincible foe, the Dragon Eater’s only weakness is possessing a soul. When reduced to this form, they become incapable of using their extraordinary ability. This was how we emerged victorious in the monumental conflict that spanned from the Third Major World to the entire Great World. Without this weakness, the outcome would have been uncertain.”
“Uncertain, huh?”
Even without personally witnessing the tragic great war, Lilith understood how devastating it was. Countless powerhouses from various parts of the Great World had rushed toward the Dragon Eaters like moths to a flame, solely for the sake of creating a small opening to enable the latter to directly strike at its vital point.
Although the outcome of the battle was a stunning victory, the toll it took was unimaginable.
“Hey, wait a minute. Isn’t that even worse? After hearing your story, the Dragon Eater’s level of horror has skyrocketed. Why did you put something like that in my body? Why did you not kill her right after her soul was stripped out of her body?”
The Dragon Queen shook her head.
“Everyone in the Great World would love to kill the Dragon Eaters too. Unfortunately, they are not dead, even if only their soul is left.”
Lilith’s eyelids twitched.
So they were not dead even if they were left with only their soul? Just how crazy were these Dragon Eaters?
“But didn’t you mention that the Dragon Eater’s infinite resurrection requires energy? Since they can’t use their powers in their soul state, they can’t consume to replenish their energy. If you keep killing them while they are in that state, won’t they eventually die?”
“Indeed. Someone once had the exact same idea as you, my dear daughter. He did nothing and just focused on killing the Dragon Eater’s soul. Can you guess how long he kept up with that?”
“How long…?”
The Dragon Queen gave her a small smile and said, “A million years. Yet, the Dragon Eater’s soul still came back to life again.”
“One… million…” Lilith froze.
“Wait! Please tell me you’re exaggerating!”
The Dragon Queen let out a soft sigh.
“My dear daughter, although the soul is very fragile, the energy needed to preserve it is much smaller than that needed to preserve a physical body. Can you imagine how much energy the Dragon Eaters have stored in them after devouring countless worlds, and how long it will take to deplete all that energy?”
A million years is not enough to kill them. Now, imagine spending a million years futilely trying to kill them, only for them to taunt you and say that you’re not killing as fast as how they killed your family. It’s enough to drive even a god crazy.”
Lilith shuddered.
“This was why the only option we had was to seal the soul of the Dragon Eaters and let time slowly wear it down. As long as one reaches the deity realm, life is infinite and they can afford to wait it out,” the Dragon Queen explained.
“But… why me…?” Lilith asked in confusion.
“I’m neither a deity nor a powerful person. Why place something, which can easily threaten the entire Great World, in me?”
If she were to accidentally release the Dragon Eater, it would be catastrophic.
“Because… you are special, my dear daughter.”
The Dragon Queen emphasized every word as if trying to etch them into Lilith’s soul.
“The title of a Dragon Queen is not given arbitrarily. It represents something that you will come to understand as you grow older.”
“Until then, walk with confidence, my dear daughter. Never look back and never allow any useless distraction to cloud your vision. No matter when or where, Mommy will always be by your side.”