Chapter 786

The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations

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Chapter 786

So You Know Who I Am. (3)

Dragons were wise and mighty beings.

Endowed with wisdom accumulated over thousands of years and a mission inherited from ancient times, they were revered as if they were agents of the gods.

What they guarded was the balance of the world; their very existence served as proof of order.

However…

They were, at the same time, feral and brutal monsters.

Weary from the boredom of countless years, they began to see themselves as absolute beings, viewing all other lifeforms as insignificant specks of dust.

Their rage had no reason. Their whims were unpredictable.

On some days, they acted as wise arbiters and judges of the world; on others, they became calamities that set the world ablaze.

They were endlessly contradictory, beings who wavered between Gods and Monsters.

That was precisely what made them both great and the most fearsome of all.

Arterion spoke with eyes that glimmered with a blend of madness and wisdom.

“I cannot understand this. I don’t know you. And yet, how is it that you know who I am?”

Arterion was certain. It wasn’t just a guess based on Ghislain’s expression or demeanor.

It was the power dragons possessed—

That transcendent sense was what had informed him.

A change finally appeared on Ghislain’s face. He smiled and said,

“I don’t know what you mean. I simply remained cautious of someone who approached me so suddenly.”

“…”

“Didn’t you say you would lend us your ship? I’d like to have a deeper conversation with you.”

“You’re quite an amusing fellow.”

Arterion extended his hand. He intended to grab Ghislain by the neck and attempt mind control.

However, as Ghislain lightly stepped back, Arterion’s hand ended up swiping at empty air.

“…Huh?”

Arterion looked down at his own hand.

He had made a light move, one that most wouldn’t have been able to evade. Yet the human before him had avoided it effortlessly.

His eyes curved into half-moons, expressing delight.

“Then try dodging this one, too.”

Crack!

Arterion’s hand moved even faster than before. So fast that an ordinary person wouldn’t have been able to perceive the motion.

Clang!

Ghislain, who had already drawn Gramdyr at some point, blocked Arterion’s hand. But even that light strike pushed Ghislain back.

“Ghislain!”

Julien drew his sword and brought it to Arterion’s neck. The others also raised their weapons, surrounding him.

Arterion looked around and laughed.

“How rude, to treat someone who came to offer help like this.”

He wasn’t just speaking to the mercenaries.

Dozens of assassins had appeared at some point, encircling Arterion.

The townspeople recoiled in shock. At this rate, the guards would surely swarm in.

Darents spoke to Arterion with a disinterested expression.

“You seem like a nobleman with some skills, so why don’t you back down now? These people also hold a status that’s ‘currently’ no less than that of nobility.”

Darents now revealed himself without hesitation. After all, their attempt to stay hidden had failed long ago.

Of course, stepping forward like this was also more convenient from the standpoint of protecting them.

Arterion narrowed his eyes and asked,

“And who might you be?”

“I’m someone acting under orders from a high-ranking figure to protect this mercenary corps. Continuing this won’t do you any good.”

“Oh… a high-ranking figure, you say?”

Arterion tilted his head slightly, then smiled.

“Could you be referring to the Pope, by any chance?”

“…”

Darents briefly wore a surprised expression.

This was supposed to be a top-secret operation, and yet even an unidentified outsider knew about it.

He had no idea where the leak had come from.

He briefly shot a glare at Marika, then asked Ghislain,

“Can I kill him? I think we’d be better off just cleaning this up quickly. He may seem like a noble, but we’ll handle the aftermath.”

“…”

Ghislain looked momentarily dumbfounded.

‘Who’s killing who here?’

Arterion was someone that not even everyone here combined could defeat.

If Arterion merely stretched out his hand right now, Darents’ neck would be snapped.

Of course, Arterion—grinning from ear to ear—didn’t seem inclined to do that just yet.

Ghislain shook his head.

“I’d rather you didn’t act without my say-so. I told you before that I didn’t like seeing you, remember?”

“This is our mission. I have no choice.”

“Then just do your job and protect us. Don’t go around saying stuff like who’s killing who. Just go. I’ll handle it.”

Darents glared at Ghislain for a moment, then withdrew along with the assassins.

His mind was now preoccupied with trying to figure out where the leak had sprung from.

Once the so-called escorts had pulled back, Arterion turned to Ghislain and asked,

“If a fight breaks out, wouldn’t it be better to fight together? The more people, the better, right?”

“I don’t plan to fight. All of you, put away your weapons and fall back.”

Julien and Kyle hesitated. Even to them, Arterion’s movements didn’t seem ordinary.

He didn’t look that powerful based on the aura he gave off, and yet…

“It’s fine. I think we can talk.”

The Arterion of the future had been so far gone he couldn’t even hold a conversation.

But now, it seemed he wasn’t nearly as insane as he had been in the future.

He was still fully in control of his madness, and beneath it, there was a deep, weighty insight.

Once the others stepped back, Ghislain let out a sigh and said,

“Let’s go somewhere quiet and talk.”

“Let’s do that.”

Arterion obediently followed Ghislain.

Once they reached a secluded area, Ghislain deployed a massive mana field to ensure no sound would escape.

He had sensed Darents and the assassins following them to the vicinity.

Arterion stroked his chin as he observed the mana Ghislain had spread.

“Hmm, impressive.”

It was a genuine expression of admiration.

It wasn’t that Ghislain’s magic was particularly high-level, nor that he possessed immense mana.

What surprised Arterion was how naturally and effortlessly Ghislain had deployed the field, as if breathing.

With a wave of his hand, Arterion conjured a small table and chairs.

Ghislain involuntarily chuckled at the sight.

The Arterion of the future had also pulled out that same table and chairs whenever they conversed.

‘So, he must be fond of that table.’

Arterion looked at Ghislain curiously, then said,

“Have a seat. I’ll entertain your conversation.”

Without hesitation, Ghislain sat across from Arterion.

The party looked on, confused.

This man had just attacked them without warning, and now he calmly wanted to have a chat?

They couldn’t make sense of his behavior at all.

Noticing their puzzled expressions, Arterion opened his mouth with a hint of amusement.

“There’s no need to find it strange. I was simply enjoying my rare outing and thought I’d have a little fun then found this mage interesting, that’s all.”

The moment Ghislain was singled out, he sighed.

“Let’s stop this and reveal who you really are now.”

“Hmm…”

After a brief pause, Arterion spoke with solemn weight in his voice.

“I am the sovereign who rules the Eternal Blizzard, the guardian of wisdom, Lord of Frost, and the one who upholds the world’s balance—Dragon Lord Arterion.”

The moment he said that, everyone in the group froze.

They all stared at Arterion, unable to believe it.

They had intended to meet the Dragon Lord, but to think he would appear before them so directly—it was beyond expectation.

As they stood dazed, Ghislain calmly said,

“That’s right. This man is the Dragon Lord.”

The reactions came instantly.

Some awkwardly attempted to bow,

Some instinctively reached for their weapons,

Some took a few steps back,

And others simply froze in fear.

Dragon.

That single name alone was enough to intimidate countless people across the world.

Even the seasoned Julien Mercenary Corps, with all their experience, couldn’t help but feel a crushing pressure in the presence of a dragon.

Arterion, no longer paying attention to the group, asked,

“Now then, tell me. How did you know who I was?”

“…I guessed.”

“…Hm?”

“We were on our way to meet the Dragon Lord, and then out of nowhere a mysterious man appeared.

If even I felt he was too much to handle, there could be only one answer—he had to be a dragon.”

“Your explanation is lacking.”

“If you were going to polymorph, shouldn’t you have at least changed your hair color? Anyone could figure it out with a bit of thought.”

“…”

Arterion furrowed his brow. While the answer made some sense on a logical level, his instincts told him it was a lie.

The person in front of him knew far more about him than he was letting on. But for the life of him, Arterion couldn’t explain why he felt that way.

It was a sensation born from the dragon’s innate intuition.

Ghislain remained shameless.

No matter how powerful the Dragon Lord was, there was no way he could know about a future a thousand years from now.

And it would never even occur to him that someone from that far future had come back to this time.

The two stared at each other in silence for a long moment.

Arterion furrowed his brow as Ghislain, a man who had reached the height of his craft through countless real battles, maintained a flawless performance.

After a moment of consideration, Arterion asked,

“Is your name Astion?”

This time, Ghislain was slightly surprised.

He knows more than expected.

If he knows that name, then he probably also knows this group is the Julien Mercenary Corps.

It seemed Arterion hadn’t just randomly wandered out for fun—he had come here knowing about them.

“Yes. My name is Astion.”

“Who gave you that name?”

‘Hm?’

At that moment, Astion urgently spoke within his consciousness.

—Just say it was a passing mage who gave it to you when you were a child!

In truth, Astion had grown up an orphan with no real name.

People had just called him things like “hey,” “you,” “kid,” or “beggar.”

It wasn’t until he met his first possessed host that he was given a proper name.

That host had named him after a star—one that shared its name with the great Dragon Lord, Arterion.

It symbolized one who inherited the name of the star borne by the Dragon Lord himself.

Ghislain spoke naturally.

“I grew up an orphan, so I had no name. One day, a passing mage taught me a bit of magic and gave me my name as well.”

Arterion slowly nodded and murmured,

“So that name’s become known somehow. A coincidence, I’m sure.”

“Does my name have a special meaning?”

“It’s nothing significant. A very long time ago, humans used to worship dragons. Among them were individuals who could communicate directly with us.”

“People who communicated with dragons?”

“Yes. They were called Dragon Speakers. They studied the stars and learned many things from dragons, which they passed on to humankind.

A forgotten legend, these days.”

“…”

“In any case, that name was used by someone who once spoke with me. I gave it to him myself. Hearing such a familiar, long-lost name again just made me curious, that’s all.”

“…I see.”

What Arterion spoke of must have taken place several thousand years ago.

Only then did the immense lifespan of a dragon truly hit home.

Astion let out a sigh of relief and spoke within Ghislain’s consciousness.

—That person was the first one to possess me. He laid the foundation for my magic and gave me a prophecy. If Arterion finds out the truth, he’ll probably capture me immediately for experimentation.

‘Seriously?’

—Yeah. That dragon was known for his insatiable curiosity—he used to experiment on anyone regardless of race. That’s why he knows so much.

‘And you’re telling me this now?’

—I was going to tell you before we got on the ship! I just forgot ‘cause I was meditating and sleeping all the time! There was plenty of time anyway!

‘Hmm…’

As expected, dragons were not benevolent beings.

It would be a mistake to assume they were allies just because they fought against the Demonic Abyss.

One only worked with them out of necessity—the essence of a dragon couldn’t be judged by human notions of good and evil.

They were beings that operated on entirely different principles and orders, incomprehensible and impossible to empathize with.

“What’s got you so deep in thought?”

A conversation within the mind was but a fleeting moment from the outside.

Yet Arterion had sensed that Ghislain’s thoughts were elsewhere.

Ghislain replied with a nonchalant expression.

“I was thinking of changing my name.”

“Why?”

“Just the idea of it being tied to a dragon—it’s a little overwhelming, don’t you think?”

“Hahaha! There’s no need for that. It doesn’t hold much weight anymore.”

Arterion laughed heartily before continuing.

“But I’m still suspicious. You clearly know who I am. Yet I doubt I’ll get the answer I want out of you right now.”

“I don’t know why you’d think that, but I’ve already told you the truth. You showed up at such a suspiciously perfect moment. And your appearance too—it just made sense.”

“Very well, let’s set that aside for now. We’ve got time—we’ll figure things out slowly.”

“Then… may I ask why you sought us out instead of waiting for us?”

Arterion leaned back in his chair and shifted his gaze.

He was looking at Deneb, who stood not far away.

“I came to meet the Saintess.”

“You mean Deneb?”

Arterion nodded and spoke calmly.

“Yes. I came to give her a warning before she dies.”

“…”

Ghislain frowned at the sudden words.

At the same time, Julien’s expression turned cold.