The Record of Orc Civilization - Chapter 453: The Twin’s Journey

Tears began to track through the soot-blackened skin of his cheeks. “That was why I didn’t fear the Mana Cream Cultivation. Even though it felt like being flayed alive, even though it felt like my organs were being ripped out one by one, I gritted my teeth and endured until I evolved. But what did I find after becoming a Hobgoblin? Not pride, not the joy of protecting the realm, nor the honor of a new life. I found abandonment, indifference, and contempt!”

“Finding a female Goblin willing to marry me was a nightmare! they would rather undergo a Mana Cream Cultivation more horrific than hell itself than be with me! Every female Hobgoblin looked at me with scorn and disgust! They preferred to stay single, waiting for some new Orc to successfully evolve into an Asura!”

“Still, I chose to protect this kingdom and went to the front lines. But what did I see there? You turned us into bait! Nothing more than fodder to lure the enemy so you could reap the points! And what of my brothers who fell? Did they receive an honorable burial? No! They were discarded in the earth without a single soul to weep for their passing!”

“That was when I realized the kingdom I loved had become a harvest for you, the Asura! A field where you reap flesh to grow stronger! So, don’t you dare speak of your ’care’ for monsters and this kingdom in front of me. it only makes me more nauseous! Ptuih!”

Leon’s spittle flew, aimed at Swa’s face, but the Director simply tilted his head to avoid it.

Swa drew closer again. This time, the pity in his eyes had vanished. He no longer looked at Leon as a subject of the kingdom he loved, but as a stranger who had come to dismantle it. In Swa’s eyes, Leon was now merely an enemy.

Swa did not waste words. He knew it was futile. He didn’t try to explain the true state of the kingdom, or the logic behind Moku’s policies that favored the Asura, or the fact that a Hobgoblin actually had the choice to be a builder rather than a soldier. No. Swa understood that logic was powerless against a man whose heart was blinded by hate.

Moku had once said that truth is merely a matter of perspective. A person who only sees the back of an elephant will argue with absolute conviction that an elephant looks exactly like that. Truth will never be accepted by those who have blinded themselves with ego. “Not a blindness of the eyes, but of the heart and mind”. So it was written in The One’s Book.

Swa decided not to torture Leon physically; the process was too slow. He would tear Leon’s mind open by force. Swa raised his right hand, placing it directly over Leon’s forehead. Instantly, Swa’s Dragon Prana surged, emitting a dark blue aura that squeezed the oxygen out of the room.

In the teachings of Vivid Dream, Nakula is the swiftest form, while Sadewa is the freest. An Asura who masters Nakula can traverse “Time,” while one who masters Sadewa can traverse “Space.” For those capable of uniting the two, they can step anywhere and at any time.

And Swa was the only Asura capable of wielding both forms—except for Moku, of course.

Stepping “anywhere and at any time” was not just about the physical dimension, but the dimension of the mind as well. Moku had mentioned that with enough Dragon Prana, Swa could even witness the past freely. The power was limited by the “object” Swa stepped upon, and fortunately, that object didn’t have to be a physical thing; a mind could serve as his foothold.

“[Vivid Dream: Twin’s Journey]!”

Instantly, the atmosphere in the room shifted. Leon’s eyes bulged. He felt ethereal threads erupt from Swa’s fingertips, battering their way into his mind with unstoppable force. His consciousness began to fade, as if being forcibly pulled into a long slumber. Simultaneously, Swa’s consciousness stepped into the labyrinth of Leon’s memories.

There, Swa read Leon’s life like flipping through the pages of a biography. In truth, this process didn’t require Swa to touch the target’s forehead. The Mind Realm is a collection of the imaginations and thoughts of every living creature. Swa could search for the gate to someone’s mind from there without needing to meet face-to-face.

However, the Mind Realm was too vast and dangerous, teeming with horrific ancient entities. Searching for one specific mind there could be a suicide mission. The closer Swa’s physical position was to the target, the easier it was to pinpoint their mental location.

One by one, Leon’s secrets were laid bare. Nothing was hidden; even memories Leon himself had forgotten were clearly visible. Leon’s birth, his childhood, the agonizing Mana Cream Cultivation, his failure to find a mate, and the beginning of his military career—it was all there, vivid and raw.

Leon’s subconscious self stared in horror. The veins in his neck bulged as if ready to burst. The pain didn’t come from his flesh, but from the sensation of a thousand needles forcibly shredding his deepest memories. Swa pressed inward without mercy.

Finally, Swa found what he was looking for: the moment Leon’s entire unit was slaughtered. Not by ordinary mana demons, but by a figure far more terrifying—Furfur, the Living Volcano.

Swa heard every promise Furfur whispered and saw how the seed of Demonic power was injected into Leon’s body.

In that instant, Swa understood the true nature of the gem in Leon’s chest. It wasn’t just a “second heart” as Luna had guessed, but a parasite designed to seize total control of Leon’s body and transform him into a Mana Demon under Furfur’s command. Worse still, the stone functioned as a data storage device that would transmit all of Leon’s memories to Furfur upon his death.

Swa’s face went pale. He felt incredibly lucky to have discovered this before Leon died. If he had been too late, their greatest secrets would have been exposed. However, on the verge of uncovering the stone’s final function, the gem in Leon’s chest suddenly pulsed violently, emitting an unstable wave of mana.

“Swa! The energy fluctuations in his chest are exploding! The host’s body temperature is rising exponentially!” Luna’s voice pierced through from the physical realm.

“AAAAAAAAAAAARGGGHHHHHH!!!” A harrowing shriek of agony tore from Leon’s throat.

Swa jolted. Sensing the surge of destructive energy, he frantically retracted his neural threads.

“You might be able to destroy me…” Leon’s voice drifted faintly among the strands of memory Swa was pulling back. “…but our grudge… the grudge of every Hobgoblin you’ve trampled… will live on… and swallow you from within…!”

BLAAARRR!!!

A dull explosion rocked the subterranean chamber. Leon’s body did not shatter into shards of flesh; instead, it disintegrated into searing ash, erupting in every direction as the internal pressure finally breached his skin.

Slowly, the ash settled atop the cracked stone floor. The room was left with nothing but a suffocating silence, the faint hum of the air circulation system, and a sharp, metallic chime echoing across the floor.

Tring… ting…

Swa wiped the ash from his face, his gaze fixed beneath the chair. In the center of the heap of ash that was once Leon lay the red obsidian gem. It was completely unscathed. In the dead silence, the gem pulsed dimly, flickering slowly at Swa and Luna like an eye watching them.

Waiting.