Chapter 6 - Everything Within Me (6)
The First Poison King, Kainens, was a man who wished to change the world.
The world belonged to those who could feel the leylines and wield Aura, and those not born with such talent were destined to be slaves to the gifted.
That is why Kainens became the Poison King.
Because poison was equal to everyone.
He sought to raise that power to its extreme and change the world.
Snuffing out the lives of countless enemies who challenged him, relying only on the power of Aura.
However, the Poison King's attempt ended in failure.
Dion Blackluna.
The one who proclaimed himself the Sword King.
Before the unparalleled talent who had mastered not only Aura but also swordsmanship to its pinnacle, the Poison King acknowledged that his power had reached its limit.
He couldn't win against that.
So, at his last moment, the Poison King chose another method.
The Leyline.
The life force flowing beneath the earth.
He cast his entire being into the source of that loathsome Aura.
His goal was to pollute the leylines.
That way, they would never again be able to wield Aura.
Then, perhaps, their era would come one day.
The era of the powerless, the untalented, those who couldn't feel the leylines.
And 250 years passed.
"...Ugh!"
The Poison King, regaining consciousness, trembled as his breathing returned.
He lived.
He had returned alive.
But what came to mind first was the frustration of failure.
"Kuk..."
In the distant past, the Poison King had melted his own life away to become death itself.
Life-Death Poison
Thus, having seeped into the earth, the Poison King desperately burrowed into the leylines.
To pollute the leylines.
But it was an impossible challenge.
Only after experiencing it did he understand.
The leyline was not something that could be changed by the grudge of a mere human.
It was immensely vast and profound.
It was the life of the star and the will of the star.
Over the past 250 years, the Poison King had only affected an extremely small part of the leyline.
The leyline severed that part and released it onto the surface.
That was Leyline Poison.
Leyline Poison contained a portion of the Life-Death Poison, which could be called the Poison King himself.
It was that very Life-Death Poison that had now gathered in a child's body and revived as a single will.
"Cough! Cough!"
Coughing was proof of being alive.
The Poison King sighed deeply and shook his head.
"Phew... I'm alive? I'm truly alive... How did this happen? To possess the body of a living being... Who orchestrated such a thing? Who revived me?"
No one answered his questions.
All he saw were horribly dead bodies.
The Poison King looked around the empty cave and shouted.
"Is there no one here?"
It was an incomprehensible situation.
The Poison King belatedly examined his own body and began to click his tongue.
The body of a boy who still looked young.
Someone had employed an unimaginable, special method, gathering the Life-Death Poison that flowed through the leyline into this boy's body.
"Remarkable talent. Did a useful descendant appear? But this child's body... Oh?"
At some point, the Poison King's eyes widened in admiration.
"Astonishing. This child has an open Heavenly Meridian."
Heavenly Meridian.
It had only been a rumor, and he had lived almost his entire life not even knowing if such a thing existed.
But the Heavenly Meridian actually existed.
If the leyline flowed beneath the earth, the Heavenly Meridian was another source flowing somewhere in the heavens.
A special power that most humans couldn't even perceive the existence of.
He himself had only been able to sense its existence after flowing through the leyline for hundreds of years.
"But conversely, the leyline is closed. And perfectly so. Ha, hahaha! Hahaha!"
This child's body resembled his past self.
A pure human with no leyline affinity whatsoever.
The Poison King nodded with satisfaction.
"Good. Very good. This child truly is my true comrade. Is that why he was chosen as the vessel? But conversely, the Heavenly Meridian is open... It's wondrous. There could be no better body for descending into the world again."
The Poison King looked up at the cave ceiling and closed his eyes.
"Oh... The gate to heaven is open above."
His eyes were closed, so he shouldn't have seen anything.
But beyond them, countless illusions he didn't recognize began to unfold.
"Yes... That's right. I see the path I must take. So many futures unfolding... I don't know who it is, but they've prepared a truly good body. Ah, is it you? Thank you. Hmm, is this how it's going to be? However, to achieve my great ambition, I too must set aside my stubbornness..."
The Poison King conversed with someone as he saw the future.
And on the Poison King's body, a transparent aura gradually began to rise.
Aura.
The power of the leyline, which the Poison King had hated so much.
"To make that future my future... To fight against the descendants of that loathsome Sword King... Yes. I too need to wield the same power. Poison must be subdued with poison. First, I'll just open the leyline a little to activate Aura, then... Hmm?"
At that moment, a different, alien energy surged from the Poison King's body, not Aura.
A reddish poison mist.
A thick, blood-red poisonous aura began to rise from deep within his body.
"Wh-What is this?"
The Poison King was flustered.
The new poisonous aura had already begun to push the Poison King's consciousness out of the body.
"Aaargh! Ugh!"
The Poison King thrashed in pain.
"Kuk! Cough! You, what exactly are you?! Why are you in such a place?!"
The staggering Poison King suddenly rolled his eyes back and vomited transparent masses.
"Ugh!"
The masses poured out endlessly.
Then they gradually coalesced, beginning to form the shape of a new human.
"H-How dare you..."
The form of a wizened old man.
That was the true form of the Poison King: Life-Death Poison.
The Poison King, expelled, shouted at the boy he had once possessed.
"Thought-remnants! You bastards! How dare you do such a thing, you mere thought-remnants dissolved in leyline poison!"
"..."
"Get out of that body at once! I am Poison King Kainens! I am the Life-Death Poison itself, your very origin! How dare you defy a being like a parent?!"
"...Ha."
The boy burst into impudent laughter.
"Hahaha! What? Are you crazy? Parent? Where do you think you are, spouting such nonsense?"
"What? What did you say?"
"You're the enemy. Because of you, we all died."
The boy clenched his fist and glared at the old man.
"My family fell, my relatives vanished, and my dream disappeared. Everything's gone! You're a pest! A pest that leaves ruins in its wake! Someone who should be chewed up and spat out, and you're talking about parents?!"
"...Only my little brother survived."
At that moment, the boy's voice changed, and he sadly watched the Poison King.
"Poison King Kainens. The nightmare that tormented the world. I cannot hand my brother over to something as terrible as you. Get lost. And never return. Forever."
"That's right. We can't let someone like you run rampant."
The boy, whose voice changed again, nodded with a warm smile.
"Even if it means I die, I'll protect Ray. No, wait. I'm already dead, aren't I? Then that's even better, right? Since I'm already dead, there's nothing to fear. Isn't this just pure luck?"
"You, you bastards... You're just remnants of memories, how dare you..."
"How dare we what? What can you do about it?"
Suddenly, a red aura poured from the boy's body like arrows.
"You're weak, aren't you?"
Dozens of arrows pierced the Poison King's body.
The shocked Poison King collapsed, unable to even maintain the form of an old man.
"Gasp. Th-this can't be..."
"We've already confirmed it. You can't use your power unless you're attached to a human body, can you?"
"H-How did you...?"
"Don't you remember? We were together, weren't we? Even if it was brief."
"Kuk..."
"We know you. We remember everything about you. Your strengths, your weaknesses."
"This is ridiculous..."
The formless Poison King scattered into droplets of water.
At that moment, the boy's expression changed, and he warned with a cold gaze.
"Get lost. How dare you covet my brother's body."
"No. I just returned..."
The Poison King, now droplets of water, thrashed as he felt his consciousness fading.
"I don't know who, but someone revived me. I saw a beautiful future. My future, my family... It gave me a new purpose. I can't return to the leyline like this..."
Then, dozens of arrows flew from the boy's body.
It was a fierce attack that mere water droplets couldn't withstand.
The formless Poison King shattered into fragments and began to seep into the cave wall.
That was the end.
"Phew..."
The boy let out a long sigh.
"Is it finally over?"
The boy looked at his perfectly intact arms and smiled wryly.
"But this isn't me. Ray... My proud little brother. You are the last of the Granvelle family. You must survive and rise to a high place."
And the boy embraced his own body with both hands.
"Ray, my good little brother. Make many good friends and be happy. Your sister will always cheer you on."
Finally, the boy smacked his lips towards the empty air.
"Ah. I want pumpkin pie. Ray? I'm glad you at least survived. You have to eat lots of delicious things for my share, too, okay? You promise? Haha..."
The boy laughed and mumbled in a single voice.
"Goodbye, Ray."
"Farewell, Ray."
"We don't think we should be here anymore."
"Because we're poison."
"You're human."
"Still, just in case, we'll watch from afar."
Soon, the coalesced red energy left the boy's body.
It was a spherical orb.
"Cough..."
The boy, having lost the orb, knelt and collapsed.
The orb lingered briefly beside the fallen boy, then floated into the air and began to fly out of the cave.
Slowly, towards the light-filled sky.
After a very long time...
"...Survivor! Survivor found!"
"Near the entrance. There's a survivor among the bodies near the entrance."
"Initiating first aid."
"Breathing is stable, and heartbeat is normal. He can be saved!"
"Get a stretcher immediately. Move him to a safe place first."
"Is he on the list, perhaps? Compare him with the Granvelle family members."
"Uh... I'm sorry. I don't recognize him by face alone."
"Wait! I'm coming!"
"Eh? Inspector?"
"I know his face! I know everyone from the Granvelle family! So this is... Ray! It's Ray! Ray Granvelle!"
"Ray Granvelle?"
"You mean the third son of the Granvelle family? To think there's a survivor from the Granvelle family..."
"Thank heavens. It's dangerous here. We don't know when the enemy army might swarm again. We need to transport him across the border as quickly as possible..."
"Frontline Special Forces emergency report! A new large enemy force is approaching the poison den!"
"Damn it... All units withdraw! While the Special Forces buy time, the search party protects the survivor and withdraws!"
"Huh? Right now, you mean?"
"Yes. Right now."
"Inspector. Of course, our orders include rescuing survivors, but..."
"What nonsense are you talking about?! Speak quickly!"
"More importantly, on-site investigation and securing the site take precedence. As long as we are affiliated with the defense force, we must follow orders from above."
"Don't spout nonsense! This is more important!"
"Of course, I know it's important. However, transporting the survivor should be left to the rearguard..."
"By the name of Inspector Pale Trace, I order a full withdrawal. Right now!"
"...Yes! Understood! Full withdrawal!"
"Withdraw!"
"Withdraw! Move the stretcher! Secure him so he doesn't fall!"
"Phew... For now, the survivor is our top priority. He must be saved. He is the last of the Granvelles. By the name of the Sword King family, he must be saved, no matter what!"