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However, from Azell’s perspective, Yuren was an amalgamation of very troubling elements. He looked similar to Carlos, yet he used to be a Dragon Demon king worshipper. Moreover, he took on the name Rizester as an act of betrayal....

‘Is he really Carlos’ descendant?’

Unlike Azell, Carlos accrued fame even into his latter years as an Archmage. It wouldn’t be weird to find out that he had descendants.

“However, Carlos didn’t have any children.”

“He didn’t officially have any heirs. However, in the nature of things, affairs happen.”

“Mmmm. If that is true.......”

“What if it is so?”

“You’ll also go bald when you get old.”

“.......”

Yuren had a dumbfounded expression on his face. Then his face reddened, and he started stuttering his words.

“T...that isn’t true! My hair is very thick! Moreover, even if I am Carlos’ descendant, there is a several generational gap between me and him. How can you say I’ll go bald like him?”

“...it seems you’ve worried over this topic before.”

Azell chuckled. At the very least, this reaction proved that Yuren himself believed he was a descendant of Carlos.

“Well, the problem of authenticity can’t be determined right now, so let’s push that aside for now. First, I would like to learn more about both of you. ”

“Hmmm. Doesn’t one normally introduce oneself when asking such a question?”

Leticia was a bit further away, and she asked in a cold manner. Kairen, who had been quiet, stepped forward when he heard her words.

“You are being too harsh. We rescued both of you.”

“...we can’t deny what you did for us. It is a bit annoying, but I guess we are at a disadvantage.”

When Leticia grumbled, Yuren smirked.

“Well, I planned on revealing everything in the first place. You don’t have to be so prickly, Leticia.”

“That is your stance. I don’t plan on taking the same approach.”

“Well, you came along according to my will, so it is already a done deal. Since you stayed silent on the issue, you’ve tacitly agreed to my agenda.”

“Sometimes I have an urge to beat you, and I’m having a hard time holding myself back right now, Yuren.”

“The fact that you are able to hold yourself back like this means you possess a sound mind. Anyways... Mmmm. If you don’t want to talk, you can give a cursory introduction. I used to be a Dragon Demon king worshipper, and I betrayed them.”

4

Yuren didn’t hide anything about his past. He told them how he came to be a Dragon Demon king worshipper, then he talked about how he escaped from their brainwashing. He spoke how he chose the road to being a traitor....

Kairen, who had been listening to the story, furrowed his brows.

“That just sounds too absurd. An unknown voice appeared suddenly in your dreams, and it started guiding you? This was the reason why you betrayed the Dragon Demon king worshippers.... Do you really want me to believe such nonsense?”

“I know it is a hard to believe tale. However, it is the truth. If it wasn’t for the dreams sent by my guide, I would still be a Dragon Demon king worshipper. I was made to be loyal through the brainwashing, and I prayed each day for the revival of the Dragon Demon king. Sometimes officers would come to speak to us about the Dragon Demon war, and I was moved to tears by the stories I heard.”

“...does the Dragon Demon king worshippers really live like that?”

“Do you think I’m joking? I’m not. This was especially true at these institutes, which fostered the children. They were very thorough in observing these types of formalities. Moreover, everyone considered it to be normal and natural. From a very young age, we were instilled with the ideology of the Dragon Demon king worshippers, and anything that didn’t fall within this ideology was considered to be wrong. Moreover...”

One could make a fanatic through brainwashing. It was almost impossible to reverse this process, yet the Dragon Demon king worshippers weren’t satisfied with just that.

“There are tiers to being a Dragon Demon king worshippers. In the end, Dragon Demons are on top, the Dragon Majins are in the middle, and the humans make up the floor. However, they never fully trust a human. This policy may have arose when they suffered defeat at the hands of the humans.”

This was observed when Azell battled and ultimately killed Duran. Duran had dedicated his life to the worship of the Dragon Demon king, and he had distinguished himself numerous times in battle. He was a human, who was allowed to live inside the Plains of Darkness. However, his advancement ended there. He received very little support compared to the Dragon Demons and Dragon Majins.

“Currently, no ’humans’ amongst the Dragon Demon king worshippers possess Dragon Demon Qi. Humans aren’t allowed to go through Dragon Slayer’s Ritual.”

Only humans and Dragon Majins could enter into a Dragon Slayer’s Ritual. However, the Dragon Demon king worshippers refused to set up a stage where a human would be able to go through the Dragon Slayer’s Ritual.

“Our story strayed a little bit off topic. Anyway, they weren’t satisfied with a thorough mind control regiment.”

All their foods were drugged. This drug was moderately addicting, and a specific smell could put the subject into a state of trance. During the indoctrination of the children, the children was put in a trance state, and the worship of the Dragon Demon King was imprinted deep within their subconsciousness.

“It’s a heinous act. However, it doesn’t end there.”

All children went through a monthly verification process to see if the ideology had taken hold. In the process, the children’s minds were thrown open to be manipulated by magic. Childhood are a time when these children are supposed to develop self-identities. However, they were already in the inescapable grip of the madness.

“I was like that. When I first dreamed of my guide, I wanted to kill myself.”

“Why?”

“Guilt was the main reason. As a Dragon Demon king worshipper, I thought I had committed an egregious sin. I believed I was being successfully tempted by an evil being.”

This was why he told no one about the dreams. In the end, it had been a wise decision for him to do so. If he had told the instructors, Yuren would have immediately been labeled as a failed product. He would have been transferred over to a division where they would have experimented on his body.

“When I had the dream for the first time... It was weird. The things I considered to be obvious no longer seemed to be so obvious inside my dreams.”

As he kept having these dreams, the ideas put into his head was accepted as being illogical. This was the effect of the dream. The ideology ingrained in him felt natural as breathing. However, the ways of the Dragon Demon king worshippers felt weird inside his dream.

A fissure appeared inside his mind. As he kept dreaming about the guide every night, Yuren started to see the madness that was slowly eating him alive. He shook from fear.

“It took me 10 years for me to bring myself to escape that place. As a Dragon Demon king worshipper, I was already a broken product. However, my guide inside my dream gave me methods, which allowed me to hide this fact.”

At an early age, Yuren was classified as a candidate for becoming a magician. He learned magic from childhood. His instructors were thorough in teaching Yuren about practical Black Magic. There were also children, who were taught traditional magic, since they would be sent to infiltrate the outside world. However, Yuren wasn’t part of that group.

During all of this, Yuren was simultaneously being instructed by the guide inside his dreams. He learned magic that weren’t taught by his instructors. After 10 years, Yuren far outstripped his instructors. He developed into being a magician able to rival the Dragon Demon officers from the Plains of Darkness.

“I never found out the identity of my guide. I still do not know. In truth, I am not totally comfortable with the guidance I received. The guide taught me how to call and control a Demon. However, at the very least, I don’t think the guide is a Demon.”

“It is still a possibility. The Demon race possesses knowledge of unknown origin. Their goal is to lead humans to destruction using this knowledge....”

Azell spoke. Not many people knew about the Demon race. Unless one was a Black Magician, there was no need for one to approach the Demons. However, during the Dragon Demon wars, Carlos had approached the Demon race to gain a power that’ll destroy the hopelessness hanging over the world. The knowledge he had gained had been worth the risk.

Yuren let out a bitter laugh.

“Still... If it wasn’t for my guide, I would have never found myself. I would have wasted away as a tool for the Dragon Demon king worshippers. This is why I trust it. Even if my guide was a Demon working towards my destruction, I am still thankful. I was given an opportunity to perish as a human.”

After he spoke, Yuren hesitated before he put a disclaimer to his statement.

“...Ah. Of course, if it is really leading me down a path of destruction, I’ll direct my hatred and resentment towards it with my last breath.”

“Pfft.”

Azell let out a laugh at those words. Yuren clear his throat before he spoke again.

“Hmm hmm. The guide inside my dream said I’ll meet the man of my destiny here. It said that this person would remind me of Azell Karzark, who had defeated the Dragon Demon king. It seemed my guide was right.”

“Azell Karzark.......”

Azell let out a bitter laugh. If Yuren found out he was the actual Azell Karzark, he was curious as to what kind of expression would appear on Yuren’s face.

Azell spoke.

“In truth, your story is highly suspicious, and it has a lot of holes. The only part that is trustworthy is the fact that you opposed the Dragon Demon king worshippers.”

“I know my story is hard to believe.”

“I don’t particularly like conspiracy theories, but... This might have all been scripted by the Dragon Demon king worshipper. Isn’t that so? You opposed Niberis, and you almost died in the process. However, that can be faked.”

“However, the Dragon Majin officers were almost wiped out by you. I’ll point out that fact as a point in my favor.”

“Maybe, they underestimated me. Moreover, during the Dragon Demon war, the Dragon Demon king even threw his children away as bait if the battle was important enough. It isn’t too farfetched to think that the Dragon Majin officers were used as baits.”

“If you are so highly suspicious... Mmmm. There is no way I’ll be able to earn your trust. In the first place, I knew the story of a guide within my dreams sounded baseless.”

Yuren let out a bitter laugh.

After staring at Yuren for a brief moment, Azell asked a question to Laura.

“What do you think, Laura?”

“...you are asking for my opinion?”

Laura was taken aback.

Why would he ask for her opinion in such a situation?

The reason being Azell could now tell if Laura was speaking a lie or not. Her words would give another data point, which Azell could use to come to assess the situation.