Chapter 318

Chapter 318

Just hearing the strange myth is already absurd enough, but now he starts talking about how to summon a blue dragon and these three strange conditions. My mind was on overload. It felt like a sudden plot twist in a novel.

“A magical incarnation… What on earth is that?”

I flinched violently as if struck by lightning. Kaichen’s silence and Jungyeonhae’s glances toward him…

I turned to Kaichen and asked, my voice trembling.

“Master… what does he mean?”

Why is Kaichen silent? Why does Jungyeonhae look at him like that?

I didn’t want to believe it, but my mind was piecing together all the information I had gathered and putting together the puzzle pieces.

Because of his extraordinary mana, Kaichen was regarded as a human loved by magic. Others even claimed he received the blessing of magic. Hamal said he picked Kaichen up at an oasis, where the golden magical aura drew him.

Kaichen lying on a blue shell… Was it really a shell? Not scales?

I closed my eyes slowly and took a deep breath.

The golden-scaled dragon sacrificed itself for the blue dragon just like the two dragons before it. His sacrifice made it possible for humans to use magic.

When the Golden dragon sensed that the Blue dragon was shedding tears of sorrow, he wandered around, protecting the world with magic. The Golden dragon hoped that the Blue dragon would to return to the world and witness the beauty it cherished.

The Goldn dragon comforted the Blue dragon in this way—safeguarding the beauty of the world the Blue dragon loved.

It was just a deduction, but it made sense.

I even felt that there would be a side story regarding this after the story was completed.

Remembering the continent’s history, great wizards like Kaichen oftren appeared. So despite his exceptional abilities since childhood, no one found Kaichen strange. They just considered him a once-in-a-century genius who appeared every few hundred years.

“Two conditions are already fulfilled. I don’t know how you knew about summoning the blue dragon, but the second condition is not far off.”

“…”

“Judging by what happened in the Empire, those who know the method don’t seem to have good intentions.”

“…”

“Protecting the summoning law is the mission of the Suran Imperial Family. I’d like to know how you acquired this information, but first… we must prevent the summoning.”

Jungyeonhae spoke to me with a cold gaze in the midst of my confusion.

“Prince Julius said that if I told you this story, there might be a way to prevent the summoning.”

A bitter laugh escaped from me. It seemed Julius had the same thoughts after hearing the story.

Exchetra’s words that Kaichen would not be by Julius’s side when he became emperor weren’t off the mark. If we couldn’t stop the summoning, Kaichen would undoubtedly be sacrificed.

Given Exchetra’s statement, it was likely that all three conditions were already met.

‘Ah… magical residue…’

She created a drug using magical residue.

I always  wondered why she would use hostages but then it made sense with the second condition Jungyeonhae mentioned.

“Second, the land must be stained with blood due to cruel deaths. To put it accurately, when the land is filled with sorrow to the point where the sky sheds tears.”

My mouth was dry, and my fingertips grew cold. When had she prepared for this?

It must be from the very beginning.

She read the novel to the end. Chances are, she already knew the story that Jungyeonhae had just shared.

The existence of the blue dragon, Kaichen’s true identity—she knew it all without needing to uncover the summoning method.

Kaichen’s disappearance after Julius became the emperor indicated that the blue dragon had been summoned. The method would have been described in meticulous detail.

My teeth were clenched hard and my fingers balled into fists at my side.

“You don’t need to sacrifice anyone.”

I clenched my fist, placing it neatly on my thigh after chewing on the flesh inside my mouth.

“The three conditions are still incomplete. The land hasn’t been soaked in blood, and the magical incarnation… it exists but won’t be sacrificed.”

“…”

“The blue dragon will never be summoned.”

I declared, staring at Kaichen’s firm, golden eyes. I forced the words out as if making a declaration.

I will make it so.

It must happen.

* * *

“What’s so beautiful about that world?”

Exchetra flicked a chess piece over the board. As if not finding it enjoyable, she turned her head. The golden snapdragons in the garden made her dizzy.

She slowly rose from her seat, satisfied with how her mind was reeling.

An entire wall of windows gave her a clear view of the outside, but no one dared to look into the garden from outside.

Few visited the hypnotic snapdragon garden. It was the residence of the Princess, who wielded all the power in the palace, but even when invited, most people were reluctant to enter.

The primary reason was the brilliant and deadly snapdragons filling the entire garden. Exchetra knew this. Still, she planted more of these dangerous plants with a satisfied smile.

The snapdragons were an unspoken reminder that if you wanted to speak to the Princess, you’d better be prepared.