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Kairen’s hand moved towards his sword sheath as he asked the question.

There was something there beyond the darkness. It wasn’t a Guardian Shadow. It was some being with a powerful presence.

<I’m not your enemy.>

An Undead made its appearance as it spoke those words. At a glance, this being didn’t look like an Undead.

It was a being wearing a worn out black robe. However, there was nothing within. The robe was filled with darkness.

‘It is akin to a Guardian Shadow, but it is an Undead. What should we do?’

If it wasn’t an evil spirit, a part of a corpse had to be used as the core to make an Undead. Normally, there should be bones that would be visible.....

<This happens once an Undead exists for a very long time. Even if the bones are protected by magic, they aren’t eternal. Please don’t ask how long I’ve been like this. I do not remember.>

The Undead spoke as if he could read what the others were thinking about him.

Kairen queried ihim.

“May you reveal who you are?”

<I am his messenger.>

“Archmage Carlos’ messenger?”

<I believe he went by that name before.>

‘What about now?’

There was a strange nuance hidden within his words. However, the Undead didn’t give the party time to question him any further. He continued to speak.

<He said it would be rude to make guests wait indefinitely, so he wanted me to deliver what he had prepared for all of you..>

“He prepared something?”

<He prepared items that might be of great strength to you. He has observed you all for a long time. This is why he had prepared tools that will be useful to you.>

“Ho-oh.”

Kairen’s eyes shone. The Archmage had created the Guardian Shadows. Of course, Kairen was interested in the tools prepared by him.

This was especially true, since he had lost one of his two Dragon Swords in the battle with Almarick. When he resided within the Albatan Forest, the smith offered to replace his sword as a gift, but he had found the new sword lacking.

The Undead turned around as he spoke.

<Please follow me. I will guide you to his armory.>

3

The conversation between Azell and Carlos was never ending.

They talked about memories from the Dragon Demon war, and the events had that occurred during Azell’s sleep. Then they talked about events after Carlos receded from the surface of history......

There were plenty of topics to talk about. Even if they talked for four days and four nights, they wouldn’t have run out of topics to talk about.

“It is unfortunate that we don’t have any alcohol here.”

<I didn’t have the means to acquire any alcohol. Still, that is the world’s most precious water.>

Carlos shrugged his shoulders.

Azell held a cup made out of ice, and light was sloshing within it. It was groundwater from within the mountain peak of Laus. As expected of the sacred mountain peak, the water contained enormous amount of energy. Carlos had refined it with magic, and Azell was drinking that water.

<I don’t really remember what alcohol tastes like. It is the same with food. It’s so faint that I have to ruminate over it through my memories. I think about it until the memories run out......>

It was a miserable story.

However, it was something that happened naturally for an Undead. An Undead could not experience what it enjoyed as a human. Basically, an Undead couldn’t enjoy the fruits of being alive. It was the biggest reason why Undeads lost their minds over time.

Azell could tell that Carlos was a special existence when compared to the other Undeads. However, this didn’t change the fact that he wasn’t alive.

‘No, even if he was alive......’

Memories became altered, and it wore down through the flow of time. Carlos had been trapped in this dark space for over 100 years, so it was inevitable that his past memories eroded away.

Azell briefly looked at Carlos, and he brought up a topic he had been putting off.

“I have a lot I want to ask you.”

<You want to know about events that occurred after I died?>

“Yes.”

<Hoo hoo. Where should I start the story from.......>

Carlos hesitated. When he raised his arm, the black chains binding his body clanked.

<Hmmm. The problems that occurred during that time was so numerous that I’m having a hard time talking about it. In truth, I want to put off talking about it. If possible, I never want to talk about it......>

“If that is what you want, I’m fine with it.”

<Those from the Plain of Darkness might come here at any moment, yet you are ok with it?>

Azell had already been worrying about that possibility. However, he spoke in a firm manner.

“I don’t care if they come or not.”

<...ha ha ha. You haven’t changed at all, Azell.>

Carlos let out a cheerful laughter. There was such a bleakness in his voice, but Azell was able to find the voice of Carlos within it.

<If I was alive.... If blood pumped through my heart, I would have shed tears. That’s right. I would have immediately rushed out from this place with you, and......>

“If you want to do it, you should do it. What’s the big deal about you being dead? I doesn’t matter if you are alive or dead. That isn’t the important part.”

<I’m already dead, Azell. I was removed from the surface of the world, and the only thing I can do is to prepare for the future in the dark and damp darkness.>

“In historical terms, I’m in the same boat. The era I lived in died the moment I was put to sleep.”

<That’s.......>

“You are Carlos. It doesn’t matter what you look like right now. You are Carlos Rizester, who put your life on the line with me. We fought the Dragon Demon king’s army. Who cares if your heart doesn’t pump any blood?”

Azell didn’t hesitate as he spoke. A part of his mind thanked Leticia.

He had listened to her advice, and he had resolved the indecision within his heart. If he hadn’t done so, he wouldn’t have been able to express his feelings clearly. If he had been indecisive, he might have hurt Carlos.

<Hoo. Yes. In truth, you don’t have to worry about the problem I just spoke about.>

“You mean those bastards from the Plain of Darkness?”

<Yes, they won’t be able to find this place. It has always been that way.....>

“I see.”

Azell didn’t ask how this was possible. If Carlos said it, it was based on him having sufficient evidence to make that statement.

<Azell.>

Carlos’ voice was infused with emotions that he couldn’t voice.

<I’m sorry.>

“About what?”

<I wanted to apologize to you if we ever met again. I want to apologize for not being able to protect the County of Karzark.>

“You don’t have to apologize for that. You did all you could.”

<How can you be so sure?>

“If it’s my friend Carlos, I’m sure he would have done exactly that.”

<.......>

Carlos’ shoulder shook. Only darkness existed where his face should be, but he laughed as he covered his face. It was as if he was sobbing from the grief he felt, but at the same time, one could also feel his joy. It was a confusing laughter.

Carlos laughed for a long time before he spoke.

<If we met when I was alive, we would be having a slightly different conversation.>

“You probably would have gotten angry when I mentioned your baldness.”

<Maybe. No, I’m sure I would have been angry. Maybe, there would have been a distance between us, because I would have spoken to you like an old man. In the latter years of my life, I pretended to be a respectable Archmage.>

“You aren’t acting that way right now.”

<Is that so? Jeez. I tried by hardest to live, so I could someday treat you as if you are a brat. However, when my body became like this, such thoughts started to fade away. Instead....>

For a brief moment, Carlos thought about the right expression he wanted to say.

<From the moment I met you, I feel like my old self. It is as we’ve gone back to the old days.>

“I see.”

Azell snickered. It was true that Carlos’ attitude towards him hadn’t changed much.

“I’ve already had a similar conversation in the past.”

Azell told him about the conversation he had in the past with the Carlos’ thought construct, who had been old. Carlos started to snicker.

<I’m glad I left behind my thought construct. It relayed words that I cannot convey to you right now.>

“I’ve received many benefits from your forethought. No, I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you.”

If Carlos hadn’t found a way, he wouldn’t have been able to win out against Atein’s curse. From the moment he had woken up, he had benefited from all the measures taken by Carlos. He wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for Carlos’ planning.

The friendship between the two of them had transcended a timespan of 220 years.

“That is why it is my turn to help you. I’ll help you in any way I can.”

<Just one.......>

Carlos spoke.

<I have one request I want to ask of you.>

“Are you planning on asking me to end Atein’s ambitions? If so, you don’t even have to ask it of me.”

<Of course not. The tasks we couldn’t finish in our era.... Yes, it is our duty. We have to settle it.>

“Is that why you sacrificed yourself? You let yourself become what you are for that reason?”

<It isn’t as if I did this, because I wanted to do it.>

“I know. You probably did it, because you had no choice.”

<.......>

“What is your request? I’ll grant whatever request you have.”

<You promise?>

“Of course.”

When Azell nodded his head, Carlos spoke.

<Let’s talk about that later. Before I can tell you my request, you have to know some other facts first. If you have something you want to hear first, ask me it.>

Azell furrowed his brows at Carlos’ words. However, he followed Carlos’ suggestion instead of questioning him.

“I heard it from Albatan. As compensation, you traded Atein’s curse to him. He spoke as if something meaningful had happened. What was it?”

<That old Dragon should have told you everything if he went so far as to tell you that. He always does such annoying.......>

“I know right. He is a Dragon yet he acts like a naughty old man.”

The feelings the two of them felt for Albatan was completely synced, so they sniggered.

Soon, Carlos confessed to something Azell could have never imagined.

<Azell. In truth, I failed in the attempt in saving you.>

“What?”

<The disappearance of the curse inflicted on you had nothing to do with the sleep of the Dragons. There is a really important story I have to tell you.>

4

Carlos had suggested the sleep of the Dragons in attempt to save Azell from Atein’s curse.

The Dragon and Dragon Majins displayed a surprising amount of life force during their hibernation. In exchange for entering a period of no activity, a wound that could have killed a Dragon or a Dragon Majin could be healed over a long period of time. However, one was completely defenseless in this state.

It was unlike the hibernation of other animals. There was proof that magic was active during this sleep.

Carlos took notice of this characteristic. Since Azell possessed Dragon Demon magic that exceeded most Dragon Demons, he hypothesized that Azell would be able to overcome the curse through the sleep of the Dragons.

<I was too naive. At the time, I didn’t even know what Atein’s curse was, and I failed in identifying the true nature of this curse. I merely allowed you to maximize your strength. It allowed you to resist against the curse, but I couldn’t find another way to defeat the curse at the time.>

“However, I woke up from the 200 year sleep, and I recovered from the curse..”

<The curse didn’t disappear, because you recovered from it. I found this out later, but the curse wasn’t something that could be overcome with just power. It was obvious if I look back on it. Atein was the founder of magic, and he reached the zenith in the art of magic. A being of that caliber had used this curse in the moment of his death. It was Atein’s final technique.>

“So why did the curse disappear?”

<I eliminated it.>

“What?”