Chapter 404: Guardian and fucked up

So Luke stood there in his human form. Somehow the effect of the pill was taken down or the system scammed him. Regardless, his real face was in full view.

In a room filled with dragons and elves, two races that harbored a deep-seated animosity toward humanity, a human had just made an appearance.

For a few moments no one spoke and Jorma continued to watch him with his eyes widened and body tense.

Just then,

"You...!"

Terra, the woman who had brought them here, moved first. Her eyes blazed with fury, and for a moment, it seemed she would gladly decapitate Luke where he stood.

Luke immediately prepared himself for battle, while inwardly commanding the system to teleport him home the instant his life was threatened. Since at the moment Terra wasn’t the only potential threat here.

Terra moved with astonishing speed. She crossed the distance between them in less than half a breath, and a dagger suddenly appeared in her hand as she raised it toward Luke.

Luke tensed, ready to defend himself.

"Halt, Terra."

One of the elderly elves spoke, and his voice carried such authority that Terra stopped mid-stride.

Her eyes remained fixed on Luke for another moment before she reluctantly turned toward the elder.

"But, Father..."

"Silence. Let the elders speak first."

He silenced her before she could voice just how dearly she wanted to see the human’s blood spilled.

Luke quietly exhaled.

At least there were still some sensible people here who understood the basic principles of hospitality.

Turning toward the elders, Luke spoke calmly. "Thank you. I came here with a purpose."

"I am aware."

The figure seated in the center spoke. His eyes were completely white, devoid of even the faintest trace of pupils, while the deep wrinkles covering his face marked him as the oldest among them.

"How did a human climb the wall and reach this place?" one of the dragon males asked with a frown.

The disgust in his gaze was unmistakable.

"Not only this domain, but ours as well," the Dragon King added, leaning back in his seat.

That instantly caught everyone’s attention, and Luke froze.

The man knew.

Yet his expression remained calm. If Astaroth truly knew everything, Luke would have been attacked by now.

There was no denying that the man was immensely powerful.

And his stats, even in human form...

[Str: 151

Spd: 160

End: 200

Int: 146]

Insane...

He was the strongest being Luke had ever encountered. Even beneath the moon, where his own strength reached its peak, Luke believed he would be effortlessly overpowered by this man. His speed alone was more than four times Luke’s normal stats.

So yes, if Astaroth wanted him dead, he could have attacked already, and Luke might not even have noticed the movement.

’Even standing in the same room as this man is dangerous.’

For the first time in a long while, Luke felt genuine fear.

Because he knew that if the man decided to kill him, he could cleave through Luke’s neck before he even had the chance to defend himself.

[Host, you are still in the dungeon.]

Luke silently exhaled.

Right.

Even if he died here, only some Gamma Points would be reduced. He would not actually die.

"You met my wife and convinced her to change my mind about this war," Astaroth said.

Luke immediately realized that his movements had not been as discreet as he thought. Agatha had apparently met with Astaroth before they arrived here.

’Wait... Does time flow differently in each realm? This is strange.’

It had taken them roughly half an hour to travel from the dragon realm to this place. There was no way Agatha could have reached her husband, convinced him to reconsider the war, allowed the Dragon King to gather his people, and then arrived here in such a short span of time.

Luke decided not to dwell on it.

"I take it it didn’t work?" Luke asked.

A low growl came from somewhere behind Astaroth. Whoever it was clearly wasn’t pleased with Luke’s words.

Luke didn’t so much as flinch.

His expression remained composed, though his guard never dropped for even a moment.

Astaroth calmly spoke. "That’s why we are here. To determine our next move."

He then turned toward the elders, and Terra’s father spoke first.

"I have always believed humanity deserves no place in this world. Their kind has brought nothing but chaos and bloodshed to the other realms before the Ritual divided us all and cast them aside."

Ouch.

As a human himself, Luke couldn’t help but feel a sting at those words.

Regardless, another elder spoke up.

"However, we cannot risk losing the Ritual over this. The ancient spell is what has kept our domains safe and separated for countless years."

"Mind if I ask what the situation was like before the Ritual... happened?"

Luke suddenly chimed in despite knowing he probably shouldn’t have.

But curiosity got the better of him.

The elders turned toward him.

The blind elder was the one who answered.

"We... were... at war."

Luke frowned.

"Against whom? Each other?"

The room fell deathly silent.

One by one, the ancient beings averted their gazes, as though they desperately wished to avoid the subject.

The Dragon King, however, seemed rather interested.

He looked relatively young compared to the others, so perhaps he didn’t know the answer either.

The ancient elf shook his head and slowly raised a hand toward Luke.

"We... were fighting against humans."

"...!"

Luke was taken aback.

"Wait. What do you mean by ’we’?"

He glanced toward the dragons.

"Surely, with them involved, the war wouldn’t have..."

He trailed off when he realized he was already displeasing several people in the room. Jorma tugged at his sleeve, silently urging him to stop.

The elder, however, continued where Luke had left off.

"Yes... dragons, elves, beastmen, dwarves, druids... every other race. They were all fighting against that one race... the race that reigned supreme."

Astaroth scratched the back of his neck.

"So it’s true. We were once slaves."

"..."

Shouldn’t you be a little more annoyed while saying that, King?

Luke glanced around the room.

Unlike Astaroth and the ancient elf, everyone else looked visibly disgruntled. Yet none of them dared to raise their voices, interrupt the elder, or challenge his words.

Whatever had happened in the distant past, it was clearly a subject none of them wanted to discuss.

The elder shook his head, correcting the statement of his fellow chambermate.

"It wasn’t... that we were separated because we deserved better and they didn’t. We were simply spared from annihilation at their hands during the war. The realms were separated afterward to prevent anything similar from happening again."

Luke quietly connected the dots, and the more he did, the more absurd the situation became.

Humans were weak. There was no doubt about that. Luke had assessed and fought several of them himself, so he knew their limitations better than most. More importantly, they lacked the advanced technology and natural abilities of races like the elves. If even a single dragon descended upon them, humanity would have struggled to defend itself.

Then how had they once stood at the top?

How had humanity become such a threat that even the deities themselves had been forced to intervene and create that colossal wall to separate every race from one another?

’So that wall isn’t protecting humanity from the other races...’

Luke’s expression darkened.

’It’s protecting the other races from humanity?’

Yeah.

That was absurd.

Terra clicked her tongue and glared at Luke.

"Then isn’t it for the best that we eradicate them once and for all?"

"Not as though the thought has never crossed my mind," the ancient one said.

For the first time since Luke had entered the room, he felt a faint chill.

Even the one person he had considered a potential ally seemed to be leaning toward the same conclusion.

"But..." The elder paused, his expression turning solemn. "There is one obstacle standing in our path. The Guardian."

His words immediately drew Luke’s attention.

"The one who always appears whenever you attempt to erase them."

Luke leaned back slightly where he stood.

Despite knowing the man couldn’t see, he couldn’t shake the strange sensation that those ancient, empty eyes were fixed directly upon him.

"Guardian, huh?" Astaroth asked, a grin slowly spreading across his face. "Who is he? Is he strong?"

The elder slowly raised one hand.

His aged fingers extended toward Luke.

"Oh, he is present right here with us."

Every person in the room turned toward Luke at once.

Luke’s expression stiffened.

For a moment, the entire room fell silent.

’...You have got to be kidding me.’

~~~

A/N:- Thanks for reading. Well, talk about being present at the right place at the right time

Now Luke would annihilate the whole draconic army and bring peace back to the world....jk.

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