Chapter 202
"In short, I express my deepest apologies for the disaster brought upon our dragon race." The man who had been riding the dragon bowed deeply to the high priest before him: "I apologize."
“No need to worry about it, these kinds of things appear in the world every day.” The high priest scratched his head, looking at the enormous figure in the distance.
That monster hasn't dissipated even now. While it possesses catastrophic magic, dragons are far more resilient than other races. This innate ability makes them virtually invincible.
Fortunately, there are three saints in this city. Even if two saints go to suppress that thing, I can still stay here to protect the people.
The city is now being rebuilt, so humans must leave the safe zone. New crops have begun to be planted, and the newly harvested food will be used to exchange for essential supplies for the city.
Relatively speaking, people here are doing a little better now than before. The last catastrophic disaster killed nearly half of the population.
So many people died, and most of those who survived were young people with better physical health and children who were under protection. Those who were sick and elderly were buried in the city, and when the fire that burned the entire city went off, they were all reduced to ashes.
At the same time, they protected the supplies. In the end, the safe zone was not damaged, and a complete production cycle had just ended. With the help of magic, both the replanting and harvesting of food were extremely efficient.
At least for now, they are all well-fed and clothed, and although their meals are still simple, they are enough to fill their stomachs.
"That dragon must have been an accident. You must have other business here." The high priest chuckled as he looked at the man standing in front of him, observing him by stroking his beard.
This is a demon spirit, a true descendant of the dragon race. Although I don't know if it has a demonic mark, I've never been afraid of someone like this.
“We want to redeem the demon king you have imprisoned,” he said softly. “At any cost.”
“That’s just a demon. His nature is very special; he can control demons.” The high priest paused for a moment. “Calling him a demon king is a bit of an overestimation. Unless you can get him the body of the Chaos Calamity, he’s just an ordinary demon.”
"This is not difficult for us; we just want to redeem a combatant that is important to us."
“Haha, child, you’re too frank, I’m almost at a loss for words. Child, you want to take him away just to use him against the church. Actually, although I look slovenly and a bit irresponsible, I am indeed a high priest.” He stroked his beard, then changed the subject: “But honestly, I don’t understand why you want to ransom a nobody. Fine, I’ll hear your offer, and if it’s reasonable, you can take him. There’s no point in keeping him imprisoned; he’s just wasting our rations.”
"Aren't you going to refuse? Aren't you afraid that the Demon King will eventually grow into something you can't control?" The dragonman paused, then asked softly.
“I believe in God. God chose us, and God also gave us the ability to fight against this disaster. I believe in myself, I believe in God, and I believe that everything God protects is not fragile.” He chuckled and said, “Or rather, rather than believing that we have enough ability, I simply underestimate you. I don’t believe you can stir up any storms.”
After a moment of silence, the dragon-man nodded slightly.
"High Priest, you are very frank, so frank that it makes me a little angry."
"I admit I'm a little angry at your frankness. But anger won't prove or solve anything, so let's talk business now. That's why you're here."
......
"Denos, aren't you going to sleep?" Nina's voice was soft as she wrapped her arms around Denos's neck and kissed him on the cheek.
"I seem to have something on my mind." Denos hugged her tighter, then pulled the blanket up so that they were completely enveloped in it.
It's the middle of the night now, and the temperature here drops below freezing at night. It's really a maddening thing; after a while, my head starts to ache every night.
He felt the warmth of the girl in his arms, and then slowly closed his eyes.
Forget it, I'll talk about it tomorrow. It's too late now.
It was past midnight when they returned from the church. The sun had been out for some time. In this dark world, they slowly made their way home. After doing what lovers do at night, they were now lying in bed.
We were going to chat for a while, but Nina was a little tired, so she fell asleep halfway through.
But when he woke up halfway through the night, Denos was still wide awake. His sleep quality was worrying; he seemed to be experiencing some insomnia.
So now the two of them are both looking out with their eyes open. The room is quite warm, and the flames from the match burning in the fireplace make their whole bodies feel soft and comfortable.
In this situation, it's perfect for men and women to sleep together in each other's arms. They'll sleep very happily, since it's so cold outside, and only here is it warm. The warmth makes it feel as if the cold outside never existed.
Denos looked at a book on the bedside table; it was his notebook.
Some past events were brought to mind because of this notebook. He wasn't Ark, and didn't have many legendary past events to recall. He only remembered that a long, long time ago, his father gave him to that guy.
He took him to many, many places, making him realize how insignificant he was as a human being. He also came to understand the kind of hell he lived in.
This is hell, and anyone who has traveled the world will come to a similar conclusion. This world is flawed and should have been destroyed long ago.
But they've survived to this day. I really don't know if it's the fault of the gods or the demons. Anyway, these guys have survived in a place that should have been destroyed long ago.
“We feel like we’ve seen those guys before,” Nina said softly. “It was in a city, I think, when we first met.”
“If I had known that the girl I helped back then would end up like this with me, I probably should have gone over and patted your head back then.” Denos said, gently kissing her forehead. “Go to sleep early. We can talk about it tomorrow morning. Someone brought us eggs and some good flour. We can bake some delicious bread tomorrow.”
“Yes, yes, bread coated in egg wash.” The girl said softly, “I should have settled in a city a long time ago. It’s true that you can’t make anything out there. Or rather, even if you do, it doesn’t mean anything. We just wanted to find a place in the world where we could settle down. Now we’ve found it. It’s not complicated, but we are safe and happy.”
“Perhaps.” Denos hesitated for a moment before saying, “I do regret not insisting on following Ark back then. We haven’t heard from that guy in a very long time; it’s like there was never such a team.”
"Perhaps they're all dead, you know the situation now. It's perfectly normal for a caravan to suddenly disappear somewhere in the world."
“I know, I know, but I find it a little hard to believe. If you knew anything about those guys, you’d know they’re not easy to deal with. Even if the world doesn’t treat them well, I don’t think they’ll be unfortunate,” Denos said helplessly. “It’s not that I’m particularly confident in them, it’s just that it’s a little unbelievable that those monsters are dying so casually.”
"What do you think is an unusual way to die?" Nina suddenly asked softly.
Denos hesitated for a moment, then fell silent.
He didn't know either, because it seemed meaningless to die no matter how.
Once you're dead, you're gone. That applies to everyone, no matter how powerful or great you were in life.
Once someone is dead, they are dead and vanish into nothingness.
"I don't know, maybe it was a mutual destruction with some particularly powerful villain." Denos hesitated for a moment and said, "Ideally, it would be seen by some poet, and then sung by later generations, and passed down as a story from generation to generation."
"Haha, that's so typical of you," Nina chuckled. "I've thought a lot about how I really want to die. The more I thought about it, the angrier I got, and I still couldn't find an answer. Why do I have to die? Our lifespans are too short; are we just supposed to live for the moment?"
She spoke softly, and Denos could feel the girl trembling slightly.
She was a little scared, not of death, but of nothingness.
Because it inevitably involves a discussion of meaning. In the end, this question boils down to asking oneself what meaning truly exists.
How could it possibly have any meaning? This world should have been destroyed long ago. This world has boundaries, and there will surely be similar worlds. This forgotten and abandoned place could collapse at any moment, and once it does, everything will be nothing but fleeting smoke.
This suspicion stems from the fact that the guy called Ghost Duke, who is currently imprisoned in the dungeon and enduring all sorts of inhuman hardships, has undoubtedly cast a psychological shadow on these two.
They didn't disbelieve what Ghost Duke said; they simply didn't want to believe it.
There exists a world where survival is not a concern. There exists something called the sun that rises in the east and sets in the west. The world has no boundaries; the universe is boundless.
Every child can go to school, and the dead can be buried.
Even the concept of burial was coined by Ghost Lord; before that, they didn't even think that people should be buried in the ground after they died.
Because humans are food, every living person will be served on the table after death. Acquaintances eat their former friends with tears in their eyes.
What a wonderful place it was! They also had something akin to gods, otherwise Ghost Lord wouldn't have come here.
How many such worlds are there? After listening to Ghost Duke's story, these guys couldn't help but keep thinking about it.
Is this the only place that's like hell?
This feeling is truly awful; it's better to believe that guy called Ghost Duke is just a clown spouting nonsense. If it weren't for his inability to die, he would have been worn down by reality long ago.
"I really hope I can go to the world that guy described in my next life," Nina whispered. "If it really exists."
“I hope so,” Denos said softly.
Then there was deathly silence. Nina fell asleep again, leaving only Denos awake.
Where is that guy Ark now? Once this question popped into his head, he could no longer ignore it.
One afternoon recently, a question suddenly popped into my head. It was a very ordinary question: I just wanted to know where my friend was right now.
But once this problem arose, the human suddenly felt that he absolutely had to figure it out.
It's utterly absurd. That creature has left, and they may never have the chance to meet again. Or perhaps, like his father, when he's very, very old, that creature will visit again, and he'll be sitting with it, drinking tea, in some position that humans would consider quite remarkable.
He'll tell you stories then, tales of wondrous adventures you never witnessed. You'll need to have achievements to boast about, otherwise you'll appear pathetic, having nothing to brag about in your entire life.
But one day, he suddenly had a strange premonition: would Ark die?
This thought, which I had never considered before, suddenly appeared and could never be erased.
That guy will die too, or he'll be something like Ghost Lord. He won't die no matter what he encounters.
In short, if I never see that guy, won't I be bored forever?
To be honest, he had indeed enjoyed a sense of peace and tranquility during this time. He didn't have to worry about dying someday, and he had a lovely girl by his side. He had given up his fantastical adventures with Ark in exchange for this peace and stability.
Or perhaps it wasn't a conscious choice on his part, but simply because Ark felt he had been with him for too long. The infection might have seeped deep into his bones, and he might die young, not even old age.
So Ark made him stay there, which was a form of coercion, because he didn't want his companion to die like that.
But didn't that guy ever consider that he also needed a peaceful place?
The more I think about that guy, the more uneasy I feel. It's strange, considering I've followed him for so long, yet I know absolutely nothing about him.
He was like a seashell, with something hidden inside, but no matter what he did, he couldn't open it. Those very close to him could glimpse even the slightest detail of what was inside.
But it seems like no one has ever truly understood that thing? Because once he leaves his life, it's as if he's never been there again.
Even though it's only been a year, he's already forgotten parts of that guy.
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