I am not a returner Episode 321
Interlude – Caelus Benedictio
“Whew.”
Oh Jin, who was behind the podium, put down the microphone in his hand and smiled slightly.
‘It went better than I thought.’
There was some confidence.
Even though the Dragon God’s soul does not contain will, the power contained within it is real.
When I saw the wings of fire stretching tens of meters, I couldn’t help but think of the ‘Dragon God’.
‘Even my older sister is an awakened person from the Stigmata of Dragon.’
The Dragon’s Eye, the Stigmata of the Dragon, and even the Dragon’s Heart and Dragon God’s soul that I obtained from Mt. Baekdu.
‘This feels like the Becoming a Dragon God bundle set.’
Ha-eun took all the power related to the dragon, as if collecting Exodia limbs, but if she couldn’t fake it, there was a problem.
The conditions were already in place.
Ha-eun’s lack of acting skills was covered by Oh Jin imitating Yongshin’s voice, so there wasn’t really a problem.
‘And there was help from Kelion.’
As the elder of the Yongin tribe, he personally took on the role of wind catcher, so he was rarely viewed with suspicion.
If you don’t succeed despite all these good conditions, you’re disqualified as a fraudster.
“Well, anyway, this is all settled.”
The Yongin tribe gained hope for life.
Ha-eun gained the power of the Dragon God.
Is that it?
There could be no ending more perfect than this, as there were tens of thousands of people who believed in and followed Ha-eun.
‘Because what my sister lacked was vanguard.’
If thousands of Yongin warriors protected her, Ha-eun’s powerful firepower could be utilized 100%.
At this level, it would be safe to say that the benefit was much greater than expected.
‘What remains is a way to control the runaway magical energy of the dragon people.’
Until now, I had somehow managed to suppress it with the stigmata of Dragon.
As time passes, the number of dragons who cannot control their magical power will increase.
‘That too can be resolved to some extent if you have patience.’
Controlling the magical power of the Dragon’s Eye.
He was able to control the soul of the dragon god, but there was no way he could not control the magical power within the dragon people.
“It seems like it worked out just as you said.”
Kelion approached Ojin, who was hiding behind the podium.
His eyes were mixed, as if he felt bad about lying, but his expression was much brighter than before.
“Yes, now the Yongin people will have hope for survival.”
Although you will not be able to receive direct care from the Dragon God like before.
They will escape from the care of the Dragon God and live as a single subject called the ‘Yongin Tribe’ rather than as slaves.
‘Right now, it feels like my older sister has just taken over the role of the Dragon God.’
As time goes by, won’t they change too?
No, it will have to change.
Because the Demonic World was not an easy world where one could live with the help of someone else forever.
“Now that I think about it, I don’t think it’s particularly wrong.”
Kelion looked up at the sky and muttered in a faint voice.
“What?”
“It’s about Cailus’ prophecy.”
A prophecy that a woman with dragon eyes will save the dragon people.
Of course, the Dragon God did not awaken, but didn’t the prophecy he left come true exactly?
“It was a little different from the salvation we had imagined… But seeing him smiling so brightly makes me wonder if this was the real salvation that Cailus had prophesied.”
Kelion smiled kindly and looked at the dragon people rushing out of the grand banquet hall.
A race called the Yongin people, born to worship and serve dragons.
Wouldn’t it be true that now that they have freed themselves from the shackles of slavery and taken a step forward on their own?
Ojin chuckled as he looked at Kelion, who was soaked in appreciation.
“Well, if you think about it that way, it makes sense…”
Stand tall.
Ojin’s movements stopped.
‘…uh?’
okay.
In the end, his prophecy is roughly correct.
To the point of excessiveness.
To the point of awkwardness.
accurately.
“Elder. “What exactly did Cailus’ prophecy say?”
“huh? “Didn’t you tell me at the beginning?”
Kelion tilted his head and continued speaking.
“It was a prophecy that a woman with dragon eyes would wake up the sleeping dragon god and save the dragon people.”
Among them, the only thing missing is ‘awakening the sleeping dragon god’.
The rest was roughly what Kelion said.
‘wait for a sec.’
My head is hot.
A chilling shiver ran down my spine.
“Elder… What was the reason the Dragon God fell asleep?”
“They said it was because you used too much power in the battle with the demons.”
“Who said that?”
“It’s Cailus. “He fought with the Dragon God until the very end in the final war.”
Isn’t something strange?
He ‘fell asleep’ because he used too much force in the middle of the war.
“…Then, the Dragon God’s soul was transferred to the soul stone.”
“Of course you are Cailus.”
“….”
Click, click, click.
The feeling of gears that were misaligned turning into gear.
Oh Jin gritted his teeth, clutching his heated forehead.
why.
Could it be that the prophecy of ‘awakening the sleeping dragon god’ was wrong?
‘What if there was no intention from the beginning to wake up the sleeping Dragon God?’
no.
What if it was his intention to have the Dragon God ‘fall asleep’ in the first place?
‘Then what is Cailus’ identity…’
Ojin chewed his lips.
There was one more thing.
“What did the human prophet’s name… say?”
“Caelus. “I am Cailus Benedict.”
Cailus Benedict.
“…Benedick.”
It was a word that felt somewhat familiar.
Oh Jin jumped up from his seat and quickly ran out of the banquet hall.
Kelion’s panicked voice was heard from behind.
ignored.
“Damn it…!”
Why didn’t I notice it earlier?
Why didn’t I notice it sooner?
The place Oh Jin ran to after leaving the banquet hall was the house where he and Ha-eun Isabella were staying.
It is one of the few houses that remains intact in a city that was devastated by the invasion of the Demon Race.
Quang!
When I roughly opened the door and went inside, I saw Isabella with a surprised expression.
“What’s going on?”
She did not have a particular role to play in this fraud, but was quietly waiting for Oh Jin and Ha Eun at home.
Ojin took a deep breath and looked at Isabella.
“Have you ever heard the word Benedict?”
“Benedict?”
“huh.”
If even he, who had not received a proper elementary education, remembers hearing a word somewhere, Isabella, who has received education for gifted children since she was young, would definitely know the meaning of the word.
“It’s a word often used in Catholicism.”
“Catholic?”
“yes. “The previous Pope’s name was Benedict.”
Isabella nodded and wrote ‘Benedictio’ in her notebook.
“It means ‘grace’ in Latin.”
“….”
A soggy discomfort spreads down my spine.
Ohjin continued speaking while clenching his fists.
“What about Cailus?”
“hmm. If Caelus is also Latin….”
This time, what I wrote down in my notebook was the word ‘Caelus.’
“ah! It means ‘sky’!”
Cailus Benedict.
Caelus Benedictio
Heavenly grace.
Heaven’s grace.
“…Haeun.”
under.
A drowsy laugh flowed from between Oh Jin’s lips.
He put his hand on his forehead and shook his shoulders.
“Why sister?”
Isabella tilts her head.
She doesn’t know.
The meaning behind the name ‘Haeun’.
The only people in the world who knew that were Oh Jin and Ha Eun.
‘no.’
There is one more person.
I don’t know if I should express it as ‘three people’.
“Sorry, I’ll go out for a moment.”
“Oh Mr. Ojin?”
I kicked down the door and went out.
I activated the stigmata of the constellation Canis and found Ha-eun’s location.
“Ahh! Let go! Let go of these! “I can work too!”
“You need to rest, miko!”
Ha-eun is surrounded by the Yongin tribe, making a fuss.
Ojin leaned his back against the wall, looking at her from afar.
I looked up at the sky and let out a low laugh.
It’s a blessing from heaven.
“…Did you hope that your sister would know?”
Or maybe it was just self-satisfaction.
“Why did you…”
As I was trying to continue asking why I did that, a memory from the past suddenly flashed through my head.
A rooftop filled with starlight.
The promise I made with the girl there.
The oath engraved in my heart.
-I will protect my sister.
okay.
I said those words out of intoxicated sensitivity.
“under.”
A laugh escaped me.
Protecting something does not necessarily mean stepping forward and protecting it.
She herself becomes stronger.
Creating tens of thousands of followers and making them follow her.
Broadly speaking, it falls under the act of ‘protection’.
“How many people did you need for that…!”
Lightning-like anger rose up.
What if it was you who put the Dragon God to sleep a hundred years ago?
What if all of this was just a scam for Ha-eun?
What happens to the Dragon people who believed in the prophecy that he would wake up and endured that distant time?
-The truth is not important, sister.
The words he said to Ha-eun turn his head to face him.
What does it matter whether you fooled a few people?
The truth doesn’t matter.
because.
“…because only what appears to be true is important.”
Oh Jin gritted his teeth and chewed his lips.
okay.
Could know.
There was no way I didn’t know.
Because you were me.
Because I was you.
* * *
Grumble, rumble.
Black storm clouds change shape like sticky tar.
A body so distorted that its shape is unrecognizable.
Like a child kneading mud, the body continues to collapse and regenerate.
“Hehe.”
The price of going back in time.
The punishment for going against the natural order of the stars ate away at his body like poison.
but.
Nevertheless.
“ha ha ha.”
He let out a quiet laugh.
Amidst the dark clouds that change their shape every second, a blue natural flower flashes.
“Okay… you’re in.”
I felt that the gift I had prepared for a long time had found its owner.
A dry laugh escaped through the dark clouds.
“I kept my promise…?”
however.
Who was the promise made with?