02 - Birth of the Demon Dragon

There was a god.

Let's call him the God of Creation.

He was old.

He lived a long life and was considered eternal. He created many worlds, but his physical and mental limits had long been surpassed.

He knew his death was near.

He decided to create one more world as his last task.

But he hadn't created a new world in a long time.

Perhaps it was because of his advanced age, the resulting world became terribly distorted and unbalanced.

He no longer had the power to fix the world.

But he had the experience of creating many worlds.

So he created another world.

It was another distorted world, just like the first world.

He didn't care and created one world after another.

Six worlds in total.

An upside-down world, inhabited by a powerful race of dragons.

A world of miasma and mirage, inhabited by a tough race of demons.

A world of rich forests and mountains, inhabited by a race with sharp claws and keen senses.

A marine world rich in life, inhabited by a race with gills, fins, and scales.

A world of floating rocks in the sky, inhabited by a winged race flying freely in the sky.

A world of pastures and plains, inhabited by a race with weak bodies but brilliant minds.

Each world with its own distortions.

Any imbalance in each world would quickly lead to its collapse.

So he united the worlds.

By firmly uniting the worlds, a balance was achieved.

Thus, a unified world was formed.

But God was not satisfied.

The Six Worlds, with their delicate combined balance, needed to be carefully managed until they settled and stabilized.

With the remaining strength, God divided his body.

Then, from those divided bodies, came the beings tasked with managing the dangerous balances of each world.

Then God died.

No one knows what happened to his body after he died.

Or perhaps there was never a God of Creation to begin with.

Because no one ever saw.

After that, between each of the Six Worlds and the races that inhabited them, there was a special existence.

Because of their divine origins, we began to call them gods.

Each of the gods descended to their own world.

They came to their respective races in each world, working diligently to make them prosper.

However, it was not as if all races were able to prosper.

In particular, the Dragon World and the Demon World remained primitive for a long time.

Despite their long lives and strength, even survival was difficult for them, let alone the development of a civilization.

Because the worlds inhabited by the dragons and demons were harsh.

It wasn't so easy to take control of a world where rebellious dragons and demonic beasts roamed.

The dragon and demon tribes took a long time to dominate their worlds.

So, whether out of pity or frustration…

A God made a suggestion.

"Why don't we meet regularly and exchange information about our worlds? We can learn from each other and help them prosper."

The suggestion came from the Human God.

God of the human world.

The human race was a weak race with the shortest lifespan.

Even within a decade, many of them would die from diseases and injuries.

However, the human world was temperate, rich in nature, and abundant in food.

Thus, the human race prospered faster than any other race.

Their short lives forced them to learn quickly.

And so their rapid generational change helped them quickly accumulate knowledge and wisdom.

The Human God wished to share this with the other gods.

Thanks to this, the dragon and demon tribes learned many things.

From words and letters to community life and the formation of a social order.

They gave the light of civilization to the races that once lived like beasts.

Of course, they were not just receiving the generosity of the human race.

Each one also imparted their strength to the human race.

The dragon race taught how to use the inner power of the body.

The demon race taught how to empower and transform a weak body to withstand this power.

The beast race taught how to tame fierce beasts.

The marine race taught how to purify water and keep it clean.

The winged race taught how to read the wind and control the weather.

The Six Worlds were meant to prosper together, helping each other.

Although the human world was still the most prosperous, all the worlds were developing well.

All the gods were confident that they would prosper steadily in the coming tens of thousands of years.

But no one knew at that time.

Not the Six Gods, not even the God of Creation.

Within the world, a being was silently born...

■

That is how the world was born, and tens of thousands of years passed.

However, from the current point of view, it was still a long time ago.

For you, it was still an age of myths.

At that time, I was in a corner of the Demon World.

Of course, nameless.

I had this size and shape since birth.

No, maybe a little smaller.

One head, four limbs, white and transparent skin, and wings on my back.

A corner of the Demon World.

It was a land of death, full of miasma and wandering demonic beasts.

I didn't know it at the time, but the demon race called it the end of the world.

There, in a cave somewhere, was where I perched.

No one knew when I got there.

I don't know either.

When I became aware, I was already in a cave, eating demonic beasts to survive.

You say that's impossible?

Even if you asked, I wouldn't remember, and no one else knew.

Maybe I was born in a demon village and abandoned there.Maybe I was born in another world and teleported there.

At that time, strange things were happening across the Six Worlds.No one knew why.

Regardless, I never saw anyone near me.

And I never really questioned it either.

Because I knew nothing.

Other people? How do they live? Talking? Learning? Magic? None of it.

I might be wiser than most people now, but back then, with no one to learn from, I wasn't.

When the sun rose, I crawled out of my cave and hunted demonic beasts. When I was satisfied, I returned to the cave and slept.

Demonic beasts are cruel creatures.

The size of hills, large and strong, yet surprisingly agile and capable of moving in packs.

The dominant species in the Demon World was, of course, the demon race.

However, even the demon race struggled against these beasts unless they trapped them.

Yet even against such powerful beasts, I hunted them with ease.

Silently sneaking up, attacking, biting, killing, and eating until I was full.

Alone.

Yes, I was strong even back then.

Easily dominating some demonic beasts.

However, strength alone was not enough against them—it also required wisdom.

The wisdom to build, to set traps, to deceive them.

That is why I lived freely in a corner of the Demon World.

I had no doubt that I would hunt, live, and die by instinct.

But everything has a turning point.

One day, I saw something.

What do you think it was?

It was a family of demonic beasts.

In the shaded area where I waited, the demonic beasts huddled together, licking each other, playing with each other.

When I saw that, I felt something unfamiliar.

A sudden sense of being alone in the world, my chest tightening with anxiety and impatience.

Well, in a word—loneliness.

I killed the beasts and ate them, but the loneliness did not heal.

When I returned to my roost and lay down, the loneliness still remained.

In fact, the more I stayed in that dark cave, the lonelier I felt.

I looked at my hands and feet in the darkness.

Hands and feet, completely different from the demonic beasts.

I was a creature different from the demonic beasts.

But I had never seen anyone like me.

When I realized that, the loneliness consumed me.

Without thinking, I leapt.

I ran out of my territory and began wandering aimlessly.

Along the way, I killed many monsters.

There were all kinds of demonic beasts.

Some had eight limbs, some had three faces, and some were swarms of tiny insects gathered together.

Yet none of them were like me.

I killed the demonic beasts and kept wandering.

Then I found it.

A collection of square buildings surrounded by high walls.

Yes, a city.

A demon city.

There were creatures in the city that looked like me.

One head, two hands, two legs.

Not all were exactly like me, and there were small differences between them, but they were far closer to me than any of the demonic beasts I had seen.

There were many of them.

Living together in a community.

I was excited.

I wanted friends too.

Maybe this would heal my loneliness?

I approached the city with my heart pounding.

But the first person who saw me screamed and shouted.

"Monster!"

A large crowd quickly gathered in front of me, confused.

All of them held weapons in their hands.

Why did they react to me that way?

I knew nothing back then.

After all, I had never seen myself.

I didn't understand.

I was obviously different from the people of the city.

Claws and fangs?

No, not that. Many demons also had claws and fangs.

These golden eyes?

No, not just golden eyes. Demons had eyes of all kinds.

What they found most taboo was my hair.

Look here.

My hair, stained white and green.

See how, when observed closely, the mottled pattern seems to shift.

You may have gotten used to it, but others find it unsettling, stirring deep anxiety and discomfort.

For that reason alone, it's understandable that they thought I was a monster.

The people, weapons in hand, surrounded me with clear hostility and murderous intent.

In response, I thought of how to show that I was harmless.

Maybe I should have run away.

But somewhere in my mind, I thought I would be fine even if they attacked me.

Even surrounded by hostile people, I didn't think they were very strong.

Honestly, if we fought, did they really think they had a chance?

But before that could happen, someone appeared.

A massive figure with black skin. A man with six arms.

Yes, the Demon King.

He attacked me suddenly.

He was terrifyingly strong.

I fought desperately, but I was overwhelmed—my claws crushed, my wings broken.

It was impossible, no matter how much I resisted.

I had no choice but to flee, facing for the first time an opponent stronger than me.

Dragging my wounded body, I escaped.

Death is frightening.

I didn't want to die.

But I also felt sorrow.

Sorrow that those who looked like me could not accept me.

I dragged my battered body back to my roost.

In that dark, silent, messy cave, the loneliness remained.

Pain, sorrow, and solitude.

That was everything to me.

There was no anger.

Only the question—why?

The questions grew, and I asked myself countless times.

I couldn't find the answer.

I think I may still be searching for it.

When my wounds healed, I returned to the village.

I knew.

I was certain the same thing would happen again.

But I couldn't stop myself from going.

The loneliness was far stronger than the pain.

I went to the village, watching it with envy, and in the end, unable to avoid getting too close, I was driven away.

This repeated itself.

It was something I didn't know at the time, but it seemed that demons feared me as a "demonic beast in human form."

A powerful creature that not even the Demon King could defeat, persistently returning no matter how many times it was pushed away.

Thus, I lived for hundreds of years, lonely and wounded.

But everything has an end.

One day, I received a mortal wound.

Not defeated by the Demon King.

Not defeated by demonic beasts.

The opponent was a creature I had never seen before.

Its body was three times larger than a normal monster and much faster. It had multiple heads and spewed fire and poisonous mist. It was far stronger than the monsters I had encountered so far.

Not a demonic beast, but a true monster.

The monsters of the Demon World were far stronger than those here.

I was burned, pierced, beaten, and barely escaped with my body.

Normally, I would return to my perch, eat something, sleep, and let my wounds heal. But this time, my wounds did not close, and the blood continued to flow.

Probably because of the monster's poison.

I instinctively realized that my death was near.

I knew nothing, yet I had some understanding of death.

I had killed and eaten many demonic beasts.

As a witness to tens of thousands of deaths, I understood what death meant.

When my consciousness began to fade, I knew I was about to die.

And that moment was not far away.

I considered various ways to survive, but there was nothing to be done at that stage.

Nowadays, I would have used a detoxification technique, but back then, I knew nothing.

That was when he appeared.

"Hmm. I decided to come after hearing there was a monster in human form, but... how interesting."

From my perspective, I could only sense that someone was there.

As I hovered on the edge of consciousness, he looked at me, still bleeding.

"A mixed race of demons and dragons. Where and how were you born?"

I looked at the other person in a daze.

He looked like me.

One head and two limbs.

Wings on his back.

Golden eyes.

His fangs and claws were long and sharp.

He was just like me.

The only difference was that his beard was silver, and his skin was covered in silver scales.

"Is this also due to the influence of the monsters?"

He saw that I didn't even have the strength to stand.

Then our eyes met.

His gaze was piercing, yet filled with an unfathomable warmth—a sight I can still vividly remember.

Those eyes that I had never seen before.

"Very well. If the Demon God has neglected you for so long, he wouldn't mind if I simply took you away. Even though there are so many uses for you... what a waste…"

Of course, I didn't recognize what the words meant.

However, I remember the sound of those words.

I could never forget them.

Then, after I learned to speak, I recalled what he had said and understood it much later.

He clenched his fist right above me.

Sharp claws pierced his palm, and red blood began to flow.

The red blood dripped onto my wounds.

Then, the wounds, which until now had shown no signs of healing, began to close.

When he saw my wounds disappear, he took off his cloak and wrapped me in it.

I opened my eyes in surprise as the pain suddenly vanished and saw that he was carrying me.

At the entrance of my perch, there was a massive carcass of something.

I was surprised once again.

I recognized it.

It was the monster that had nearly killed me.

Now reduced to a tattered corpse.

Probably, after mortally wounding me... it had been beaten to death by him.

"A monster… it's a relief that only a few have appeared in my world."

As he said that, my consciousness faded.

■

When I regained consciousness, my surroundings had changed.

No more poisonous swamps, miasmas, or the cracked copper-colored ground I knew.

What I saw were mountains.

And they weren't just ordinary mountains.

Because they were upside down.

The mountain descended from the sky.

"!"

For a moment, I thought I was upside down.

Or that the world had inverted for me.

But it was different.

Gravity was still pulling me downward, as always.

Yet there was definitely a mountain above me.

And an endless sky below.

A bright blue sky and white clouds as far as I could see.

For a moment, I didn't realize that was the sky.

Because the sky in the Demon World had always been gray.

There, I saw myself flying.

No, it wasn't me.

It was the person holding me.

Yes, the man who had wrapped me in a cloak and carried me was flying while holding me.

"You're awake? Don't panic now."

The man said when he noticed I had woken up.

I had never spoken words before, so I didn't understand their meaning.

However, I remember being afraid of the sky below.

I curled up.

The man seemed satisfied with that and accelerated.

We flew through the sky like that for a while.

This world with upside-down mountains and an inverted sky was a new sight to me.

The man explained nothing, and I lacked the knowledge to understand it.

But I knew I had arrived in a place different from the world I had lived in.

Not the world where I was alone and driven from the village, but a completely different world.

A world I feared I might never return from.

When I thought about it, I felt a bit nostalgic for that dark, messy cave, but the scenery around me quickly overwhelmed that feeling.

This was not a place to indulge in nostalgia.

After some time, I saw a great mountain.

So tall that I couldn't see its peak.

The mountain came to dominate the view as we approached. Then, without a flap or the sound of the man's wings, we began to descend.

Is there something below?

I looked down and thought, noticing something on the mountain slope.

I didn't know what it was, but if I had known back then, I would have called it a "landing strip."

A stone slab jutted out from the mountain slope, leading to the entrance of a wide cave.

The outcrop of rock and wood was clearly artificial.

As I got closer, I discovered that there were many people on the outcrop.

They looked like the man.

Creatures with wings, scales, fangs, claws, and golden eyes.

"Dragon God!!"

"The Dragon God has returned!"

"Everyone! Prepare to greet him!!"

...Yes, his true identity was the Dragon God.

Ruler of the Dragon World and king of the dragon race.

Suddenly, they caused an uproar upon seeing the Dragon God.

And quickly, they lined up in order on the outcrop.

So many people.

Seeing so many of them together, I shrank back again.

In the Demon World, the memories of being driven away by demons over and over resurfaced.

I thought I might be attacked again.

"Welcome back!"

But contrary to my expectations, they did not attack.

When the Dragon God descended, his people lined up in a row, arms crossed over their chests and wings slightly folded.

Their expressions were full of pride and joy.

It was a look I had never seen before, but I knew there was no hostility in it.

"Dragon God, welcome back!"

There was a man with a slightly different color at the back.

A little larger than the people lined up, with a different aura.

His scales had a slight greenish tint, giving a calm impression.

However, his most striking feature was his eyes.

In the same golden eyes as the others, instead of softness, there was a strong will behind them.

At a glance, I knew he was the leader of this group.

But of course, he was not the apex here—the Dragon God was.

When the Dragon God approached him, he crossed his arms over his chest and folded his wings.

A salute of the highest honor for the dragon race.

"How was the meeting?"

"Szilard. There wasn't much progress. How have things been here while I was away?"

"Not much has changed here either, but monsters appeared twice."

"How many people died?"

"Three. Two from the first attack, one from the second. Small losses… What is that?"

The person called Szilard noticed what the Dragon God was holding.

"I found him at the edge of the Demon World. He is a half-breed child of demons and dragons."

"I've never heard of any dragon race in the Demon World."

"It may be related to the occurrence of monsters."

"I see. What do you plan to do with him?"

"I will raise him."

When the Dragon God said that, Szilard looked at me.

Perhaps he was wary of a child with such taboo-colored hair.

But he said nothing about the Dragon God's decision.

Among the dragon race, he was one who adored and trusted the Dragon God the most. He would never doubt the Dragon God's actions.

Once he understood the situation, he relaxed his salute and stepped back.

The Dragon God gave no further details and entered the mountain through the outcrop.

Of course, still holding me.

He walked through a dark, squared-off passage.

Common sense told me that the deeper a cave was, the darker and narrower it became.

But contrary to my expectations, the end of the passage opened into a vast hollow.

The hollow was crossed by several thick pillars, with round buildings attached to the ground, the ceiling, and the pillars.

Additionally, a strong light source occupied the large central pillar, illuminating the cave's interior as bright as day.

Many people flew between the round buildings with their wings.

Yes, a city within the heart of a mountain.

The inside of the mountain had been excavated and transformed into a city.

The Dragon God leaped and spread his wings.

There were people flying through the city, but all who saw the Dragon God stopped moving and crossed their arms over their chests in salute.

The Dragon God continued flying without responding.

I immediately knew where we were heading.

It was the largest building at the innermost part of the city.

From a distance, it was a simple, round building, but as we got closer, I saw that reliefs were engraved all over it.

The Dragon God landed on a slightly elevated outcrop near the center of the building.

And he walked inside without hesitation.

The interior was just as large as it seemed.

A grand hall, a chamber, passages.

Each one was as luxurious as anything I had ever seen.

The Dragon God silently descended the stairs.

There was no hesitation in his movements.

It was as if his destination was already decided.

Eventually, when we reached the front of a room, the Dragon God stopped.

Even though he had stopped, it was only for a moment.

After that brief pause, as if in thought, the Dragon God knocked on the door.

Knocking lightly, twice.

And then he opened the door.

"I'm back."

"Welcome back, husband."

I saw a soft fabric bed, a wooden table, a leather chair, and a person sitting in the chair.

It was a woman.

A woman whose appearance was completely different from the people who had flown through the city and stood on the landing strip.

Her skin was white with a reddish tint, soft and without scales.

No wings or tail.

No fangs or sharp claws.

Her belly was slightly swollen.

She was a race I did not know.

"Who is this child?"

"A child of a dragon and a demon. I found him near death at the edge of the Demon World."

"Ah, I see... You're going to raise him?"

"Indeed."

"So you will adopt this child?"

"Is that a problem?"

"No, everything is the will of the Dragon God."

After placing me in the room, the Dragon God turned to leave.

However, he was immediately called back by the woman.

"Husband, what is this child's name?"

In response, the Dragon God looked back and shook his head, slightly troubled.

"He doesn't have one."

"That won't do. Please give him a proper name. A father must name his child."

"Even one I picked up?"

"Yes!"

He looked at me.

I looked at the Dragon God and waited.

"...Laplace. Your name is Laplace."

Of course, I did not understand it then.

It was the first time I had ever exchanged genuine words with someone.

But even then, I knew that the man before me had spoken a very important word to me.

"Laaa--- Laa Paa Laa Suuu."

That's why I desperately repeated it.

That word, my name, I would never forget.

Thus, I was born.

Laplace.