Water Magician

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Editor: Tseirp

Instead, ‘something’ descended from the sky.

It landed before them, in what appeared to be a plaza.

“A golden…”

“Dragon…”

Both Abel and Ryo could only utter those words.

Utterly overwhelmed by its presence.

>

Abel was the first to speak.

“I am Abel, King of the Kingdom of Knighley.”

“…And I’m Ryo.”

Ryo managed to follow up.

Still awestruck.

>

(Nullus? Nullus? Could it mean null? Nothingness? Void? Zero?)

Ryo’s mind raced to deduce the meaning behind the name, recalling his knowledge.

A name reflects one’s essence.

The names we bear or are given inevitably influence us over time.

If this holds true for humans, whose lives span mere decades.

How much more profound would the effect be for a dragon…

“This voice we hear in our minds… is it you? May I confirm that you are indeed the Dragon King, Nullus-dono?”

>

Nullus nodded.

The gesture of its massive, over 50-meter-long body created a significant gust of wind.

Yet, Abel stood firm.

Though initially overwhelmed, he now conversed with the dragon with the poise of an equal.

Ryo couldn’t help but admire Abel’s composure.

“Abel… you’re incredible.”

“Huh? If the Dragon King meant to kill us, we’d already be dead, wouldn’t we? And besides, meeting a dragon is legendary enough. To meet the Dragon King himself… it’s an adventurer’s dream.”

Abel laughed as he answered.

And Ryo felt a deep tremor in his heart.

He was moved.

By Abel’s sheer strength of character.

>

“What do you mean by that?”

>

“What?!”

At the startling words of Dragon King Nullus, both Ryo and Abel were left speechless.

Dragons were said to live forever.

Of course, after the recent ‘Death Dragon’ incident, they knew this wasn’t entirely true.

Still, dragons were believed to have lifespans of hundreds of thousands of years.

“Are you about to become a death dragon?”

>

“So you’ll be reborn? That’s a relief.”

Ryo said, feeling genuinely happy for some reason.

Though he couldn’t explain why… For some reason.

>

Nullus said with a laugh.

Ryo and Abel didn’t fully grasp the situation.

But for Ryo, the word ‘reincarnation’ stirred a faint sense of nostalgia.

“Is there anything we can do to help?”

>

“Thousands of years…”

“The Dragon King’s sense of time is entirely different from ours.”

Abel said, astonished, while Ryo nodded in agreement.

After all, Ryo’s so-called slow life had lasted just about twenty years…

>

“Hah. By any chance, will you return as a baby dragon, and we’ll have to raise you or something…?”

>

“Oh, I see…”

Ryo had asked the question based on his knowledge of manga he had read back on Earth…

It seemed they wouldn’t need to take care of a baby dragon after all.

>

“Huh? Yes, Ruwin is my neighbor. How did you know that?”

>

“Mark… when did that happen…?”

>

“Consume…?”

“Ryo, you must be delicious…”

Dragon King Nullus said with a laugh, leaving Ryo stunned and speechless.

Abel glanced at Ryo and muttered.

“A-Abel, I’m not tasty at all! If you try to eat me, I’ll fight back!”

“Nah, I don’t need to. You’d probably upset my stomach.”

“That’s just as bad in its own way…”

Eating other humans—or anything human-like—wasn’t exactly an encouraged practice.

“You mentioned other Dragon Kings. Besides you and Ruwin, are there more? I’ve only ever heard of the Dragon King Ruwin.”

>

Nullus seemed to enjoy explaining that.

Perhaps because he rarely spoke about it to anyone.

“Excuse me. I have a question!”

Ryo raised his hand to ask permission to speak.

>

“At Ruwin-san’s place, there were so many red dragons. But with you, Nullus-san, there don’t seem to be any gold dragons…”

>

“None?”

>

“That’s…”

Ryo looked a bit saddened by this revelation.

>

Dragon King Nullus didn’t seem sad at all.

He had simply accepted his nature as fact.

But his words hinted at something profound.

“Even after living for hundreds of thousands of years, you’ve never met your creator?”

>

“You’re absolutely right.”

Ryo nodded, agreeing with Dragon King Nullus, who chuckled as he spoke.

While Ryo didn’t entirely dismiss evolutionary theory, the deeper one delves into various fields of study and thinks logically, the more apparent it becomes that certain ‘systems’ could not have arisen purely by chance. It seems reasonable to conclude that some form of creator or designer intervened at key points.

Of course, this doesn’t necessarily mean ‘God’.

In many cases… the designer, the founder, and the manager are entirely different entities.

Similarly, the one who started something, the one who carried it on, and the one who oversees it now may all be different individuals.

On Earth, particularly among the most elite physicists and mathematicians in the West, there’s often a refusal to outright deny the existence of a creator.

The more logical a scientist is, the less likely they are to dismiss the idea.

At the very pinnacle of their fields, most refrain from denying it.

Even if they do not explicitly believe in it.

Some even suggest that considering the possibility of a creator makes things easier to explain.

Conversely, those lower in expertise or with narrow, specialized knowledge often deny the concept outright… perhaps they lack the breadth of knowledge or the ability to think independently—an unfortunate but understandable limitation…

Thinking for oneself.

Ryo believed it to be one of the most important human traits.

“Abel, this is great news. It seems Nullus-san doesn’t need to eat you to reincarnate.”

“Huh? What are you even talking about?”

“Well, I thought a great being like Nullus-san would need a sacrifice to reincarnate. And naturally, someone powerful, like a king, would make the perfect offering…”

“Couldn’t we use a premier duke as a substitute?”

“No way! I’m not okay with that!”

“Why not?”

“Because being a sacrifice means dying. And I don’t want to die yet.”

“…Neither do I.”

Ryo and Abel always seemed to miss each other’s wavelengths.

Perhaps this was inevitable for a magician and a swordsman.

Suddenly, an unrelated memory popped into Ryo’s mind.

It was from when he had first reincarnated into ‘Phi’ and received two books from Michael (pseudonym). One of them was the ‘Monster Encyclopedia’.

At the end of the ‘Monster Encyclopedia’, two creatures had been appended—likely by Michael himself.

Dragons. And Akumas.

Those two, and only those two, had been placed together. Ryo couldn’t help but wonder if there was a reason for this.

Since the opportunity had presented itself.

He decided to ask.

“Excuse me! I have another question!”

Ryo raised his hand enthusiastically.

>

Dragon King Nullus encouraged him calmly.

“If… it’s a question you can’t answer, please just say so… But what exactly are Akumas?”

Ryo asked.

>

Nullus paused, breaking the smooth flow of conversation for the first time.

It was clearly a different matter.

His gaze flicked to Abel.

>

“Yes, I am. I’ve never fought one… but I was caught up in an incident involving them just the other day.”

>

Nullus’ eyes briefly settled on the sword Abel carried on his back.

>

“Not of this world?”

“Ah, I thought as much.”

Dragon King Nullus admitted, Abel tilted his head in confusion, while Ryo said with a nod.

Ryo had once told the trio from ‘Room 10’.

That Akumas didn’t seem to belong to the same lineage as the creatures of this world.

Of course, he had no concrete evidence.

It was just a feeling.

But intuition should not be underestimated.

And now, it seemed his hunch had been correct…

>

“You’re kidding…”

“Incredible…”

Both Abel and Ryo were shocked by Nullus’ statement.

But Ryo quickly considered the matter.

While Akumas were indeed powerful, he wondered how they compared to dragons…

He decided to ask directly.

“Akumas are certainly strong, but against dragons… especially the Dragon Kings—wouldn’t they be at a severe disadvantage?”

>

“In the usual realms?”

Ryo tilted his head, puzzled by the phrasing.

>

“Wait, what…?”

>

“They did use a Death Dragon recently, though.”

>

Nullus shook his head slightly, dismissing the matter.

“For humans, even a Death Dragon is a massive problem.”

>

“I-I see…”

Abel looked unconvinced by Nullus’ explanation.

But Ryo quietly shook his head and added.

“Humans themselves cause plenty of trouble. Just by existing, we’re already a hassle. Compared to that, dragons are quite reasonable.”

“R-Really…?”

Abel asked, still doubtful.

The three of them continued their conversation, light-hearted and unguarded.

At last, Nullus broke the flow.

>

“I see. Then this is goodbye, for now.”

“When you reincarnate, please visit the Central Countries. If this king, Abel, gives you trouble, you can come to Rondo Forest instead. Ruwin could join us, and we can chat.”

>

With that, Nullus began to shine even brighter, his golden glow almost blinding.

>

And with those parting words, the Dragon King vanished.

At the same time, the golden city disappeared.

When the light faded, Abel and Ryo found themselves standing in a grassland, surrounded by dense jungle.

“To witness the reincarnation of a Dragon King.”

“I’m only now getting goosebumps. Truly a privilege for an adventurer.”

The two exchanged thoughts.

Fully aware that they had witnessed something few, if any, humans ever would.

What an experience.

It was only natural they were excited.

“Reincarnation is in ten years, huh?”

“Let’s hope Abel survives that long…”

“I-I’ll be fine…!”

“Reckless is spelled A-B-E-L. That’s how dangerous you are.”

“What kind of logic is that…?”

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