Rogue Villain-Chapter 264: Swept

Tararat’s miniature sun swallowed Ackster whole and turned the surrounding area into a pool of molten rock as it melded with the ground and pushed Ackster to the bottom of the pit.

Tararat watched the sun blaze and rage like a wildfire until it had burned through all of its mana, leaving only a pond of lava. His gaze was fixed on the center of the pool, piercing the thick liquid. He had a grim face.

Soon, an ivory hand reached above the surface like the dead rising from their grave.

"Fucking monster."

Following his hand, the rest of Ackster’s skeleton climbed up from the thick, almost solid molten rock. He had lost basically all of his flesh. But his skeleton was intact, and as soon as he left the pool, his soft tissue started regenerating and covering his skeleton again.

Ackster rolled his shoulders and stretched his neck from side to side, making popping noises. He looked at Tararat.

"You got any more tricks up your sleeve?"

Tararat sighed. He had underestimated his opponent’s strength and growth.

"Even if I did, I doubt I could kill you."

Ackster shrugged.

"Maybe so. Still, that last sun packed more of a punch than I thought it would."

Tararat shot Ackster a sharp glare.

"That was supposed to kill you, you know? Are you sure you aren’t backed by the Dragon of Life?"

"Not holding anything back, huh? And yep. I don’t have anything to do with that fellow yet."

Tararat noticed Ackster’s choice of words but couldn’t be bothered to ask what Ackster had next on his agenda. He was too tired to bother.

"Now then. How about you tell me what the deal with Kargas is?"

Since Tararat had also lost his fighting will, Ackster didn’t see a meaning in continuing the fight. Tararat was smart enough to know that fighting an unkillable opponent would only be a waste of time.

"Or what?"

"I can show you that if you want."

Ackster’s smile disappeared, and a chilly expression took its place. He didn’t need to say anything else for Tararat to understand that Ackster threatened Tararat and his people. If Tararat didn’t do as he said, he would suffer for it.

Tararat sighed.

"Why do you even want to know? You didn’t seem that close to Kargas, so what’s all of this matter to you?"

"If it weren’t for the Land of Dragons’ reaction to Kargas, all of this would have never happened. My words would have just been treated as shit in the wind. Of course, I’m curious."

’I can’t really say it’s because I like lore and because I want Kargas to continue obeying me in the future.’

Tararat looked at Ackster, trying to discern the truth. Eventually, he just gave up. Outsiders didn’t have any business knowing the Land of Dragons’ history with Kargas. It was shameful, but it was also a weakness.

However, Ackster didn’t need to take advantage of that weakness if he wanted to harm the dragonlings.

"Fine. The gist of the situation is that Kargas has doomed our race. Or rather, he is the incarnation of our race’s demise. Something like that."

"Because he’s a Dragon Slayer? Don’t just need to not be slain?"

Tararat glared at Ackster.

"It’s a little more complicated than that. As the child of a dragonling and a dragon, Kargas should have, in theory, become something like a superior version of a dragonling or something close to a true dragon. It would have been a blessing to his tribe and our people."

Tararat closed his eyes and heaved a silent sigh.

"But instead, he was born with an antithetical power to dragons. Dragons are beings too powerful and mighty to exist without any natural weaknesses or flaws. Nature’s way of making up for this is a Dragon Slayer. The power of a Dragon Slayer naturally stretches to any race related to dragons, especially dragonlings, since we’re so closely related."

Tararat looked at Ackster again.

"Kargas’ mother died in childbirth since she couldn’t handle the power of a Dragon Slayer. After that, not a single child has been born in the entire dragonling race. He is our doom."

"I see. I guess that’s a pretty valid reason. You do know Kargas couldn’t exactly have stopped himself from being born if it was ordained by nature?"

"Of course. That’s why Kargas was allowed to live and leave the Land of Dragons."

Tararat refrained from mentioning that killing Kargas would also hasten their doom and remove any chances of the dragonlings regaining their fertility.

Ackster paused for a second as he pondered Tararat’s words.

"But what about Kargas’ dad? The dragon? Did he just skedaddle down to the nearest convenience store and disappear?"

"Convenience?—What? No, never mind. No. In the first place, dragons don’t get involved with us. It’s unclear why the great dragon even initiated a relationship with Kargas’ mother and sired a child, but no one knows where he went after that."

"Deadbeat father, dead mother, and a people who want to kill him and blame him for their misfortune. No wonder he went crazy."

"..."

Tararat didn’t have anything to say to Ackster’s words. From an outsider’s perspective, Kargas’ treatment and fate were indeed pretty harsh. But Kargas’ existence symbolized the dragonlings’ doom. There was no way the dragonlings would treat him with all the kindness in their scaly hearts.

"Well, I guess that’s that."

Ackster shrugged. He knew the gist of what had happened with Kargas now. All that was left was to get him even stronger before bringing him along to the Dragon of Life, Vider, Tenger, and the Alchemaze.

Since Tararat didn’t live up to Ackster’s monstrous expectations, Ackster scrapped the idea of taking him as well. But now that he was sane and could be reasoned with, Kargas would possibly be even more reliable as an ally than Ackster had hoped before.

Ackster started leaving toward the Council Billage while thinking about how things might pan out in the future when he felt his entire spine abuzz with lightning. A moment later, an overwhelming pressure spread across the entire region of the Land of Dragons. Even the lava pool Tararat had left behind stopped bubbling as a momentous shadow swept over the land.