Mushoku Tensei: Reincarnated as a Beast Race Chapter 399: 398 - Second Chance — The Dead Awaken

Red Dragon Lower Jaw

POV: Eidar

Some people used to tell me my future was bright. Some of them admired me, others even envied me.

I myself had certain expectations for my future.

I aimed to become a great swordsman and maybe, who knows, even a great hero recognized throughout the world.

But let me tell you something.

Hopes, expectations, security... all of those are illusions we create to convince ourselves that happy times are coming.

Don't believe me?

Well, then let me tell you the story of a foolish young man chasing after his destiny.

This boy was talented, a swordsman who had reached Water Saint level at sixteen years old!

Isn't that impressive?

Of course, if you compared his talent to those around him, he would certainly seem a little more ordinary, especially when his leader was the young Beast God.

But this boy knew his own worth. It was not that he lacked talent, it was just a matter of perspective.

This boy had great aspirations. After all, he was engaged to a talented and beautiful young woman named Isolte Cruel.

When he learned more about his future bride, the young man became so happy he would not stop talking about her for even a second.

He crossed half the world to meet her.

His grandmother was well established in the Great Forest, and his younger brother was safe under the care of the Iron Legion.

And he was about to meet his fiancée.

How could he not be happy?

But it was a pity.

As I said at the beginning, all of it was merely an illusion for our hero.

His dreams were destroyed along with his heart by a mere whim of the invincible and terrifying Dragon God, Orsted.

That was the end of our hero.

Eidar.

Not even the powerful Sword King, Ghislaine, or the fierce Red Wolf, Rygar, could save him.

He died with absolute certainty, trying to protect little Aisha Greyrat in his arms while he felt his body grow cold as red blood flowed endlessly from his pierced chest.

Right. Our hero met his end in the Red Dragon Lower Jaw.

So...

What the hell was I looking at right now?

In front of me stood a brown gravestone. Clearly carved with Earth Magic.

And written on it was my name, Eidar.

For a few minutes, I simply stood there. I lowered my eyes to my hands, opening and closing my fingers.

I clenched my fingers tightly, feeling the tension in the tendons, the muscles stiffening, and the skin reacting to the cold.

I was alive. How?

I looked over my entire body and nothing seemed very different. I felt completely fine, strong as always.

Maybe even better than I should, considering my last memory was a hole opened in my chest.

The only real difference was the new scar, one mark on my chest and another on my back. The clean path of the piercing blow that killed me.

I slowly ran my fingers over the scar. It felt very real... I died, but now I was still here, breathing.

And, for some reason, I woke up naked.

In front of my own gravestone.

Fortunately, the insensitive woman beside me gave me a few changes of clothes to wear. Good thing, because I was a little embarrassed when I woke up with nothing on my body in the middle of the mountains.

Not that this was exactly the biggest problem in the situation.

I looked around once more. The mountainous region and the cold winds were exactly the environment I remembered dying in.

The Red Dragon Lower Jaw.

But everything looked a little different. The snow seemed to be a different color, and moss had grown in places where there had once been clean stone.

It was as if I was in the same place, but in a different season.

Then I looked at the woman beside me. She was a woman of the beast race, probably an Adoldia.

She had silver hair tied in a beautiful braid and light-red eyes. She wore accessories that looked like magical items, along with elegant, tight-fitting clothes, very different from what I would expect to see on someone traveling through a dangerous mountain region.

If I had to guess, I would say she was a renowned noblewoman. But her beast race went against that idea.

Or at least it would have, in the world I knew.

She wore white gloves and kept her arms crossed, watching me with a certain impatience.

According to her, I knew her. This was supposedly Lisena Adoldia in person. But I doubted that a little. Actually, I doubted a lot of things at that moment.

The Lisena I knew was a little girl around eight years old, someone Rygar said had a lot of talent for Magic.

This woman in front of me had nothing of a little girl about her. And she was looking at me with the expression of someone looking at an idiot.

I felt a little embarrassed for seeming so confused. But hey, who could really blame me? I had been dead a few minutes ago.

I cleared my throat, which felt dusty, and my voice came out a little hoarse.

"Ahem... let me see if I understood this correctly..."

Lisena rolled her eyes, and I took a deep breath.

"I died about sixteen years ago, murdered by the Dragon God."

I watched her reaction carefully, trying to identify any sign of a prank.

Nothing.

"After that, Rygar and the others continued on their way to the Sword Sanctuary. Rygar became the Beast God by defeating the Sword God. Meanwhile, the Iron Legion went to war with the Holy Kingdom of Milis. Rygar returned, won the war, and founded a new kingdom covering the entire former Milis Continent..."

My own voice became less confident as I spoke.

"That kingdom eventually became the most powerful in the world. Several battles and wars happened. And recently, everyone has been gathering in a labyrinth in Begaritt for a great battle between gods. And inside that labyrinth, there are magic stones that resurrect people."

I looked at her curiously, challenging her to confirm that insane story.

"Did I miss anything from your explanation?"

Lisena's expression remained unchanged.

Obviously, her explanation had been far more complete and concise than that absurd summary. But, in general, that was basically it.

Seriously, if she were me, would she believe that? It was too much to take in!

My grandmother had passed away. My younger brother, blind since birth, had become a mage and researcher.

That brat Eris was the current Sword God, and little Aisha had become a God-level mage!

Forget Rygar, I already expected him to become some overpowered monster.

But suddenly learning that so many things had happened, and that the entire world had changed in scale while I was dead, was an enormous shock.

It bordered on impossible.

Lisena finally seemed to show some empathy. Or at least that was what I identified in the tiny movement of her eyebrow.

Her expression was so still that I was beginning to understand why her current title was Ice Empress.

She released what I thought was a sigh.

Then she spoke calmly:

"I understand that all of this may be a great shock to you right now. Your questions will be answered sooner or later. I am certain Leader Rygar will be pleased to see you when he has time. But unfortunately, now is not the time to reflect on the changes."

Lisena moved her hand.

The earth around us responded in an instant.

My grave, along with my gravestone, was quickly assimilated into the rocky terrain, as if it had never existed.

And the gravestone with my name sank into the earth without leaving a trace. I was impressed by how naturally she used Chantless Magic.

It was as if she had always done that since birth. So this was what happened when someone talented learned magic that way from the beginning?

I remembered Rygar saying that Lisena had the greatest magical potential among the trio he taught, which also included Taes and Kilian.

But it seemed I had still underestimated those words. I do not think even Rygar could use magic so naturally.

As soon as I thought that, I smiled bitterly, remembering that he had still been only twelve years old when I died.

If all of this was true, then he should now be close to thirty. What a strange thought.

Lisena pulled me out of my thoughts when she turned and began to walk. She signaled for me to follow and continued speaking:

"We are in a delicate moment. The battle in Begaritt may become very dangerous, so I will take you to the Kingdom of Gaia and then immediately return there."

I followed behind her, still trying to keep my head in place.

"Although your grandmother, Eleonora, has passed away, your brother is well established in the Kingdom of Gaia. He has some renown as a magical researcher and will be able to help you settle in."

My brother... is a magical researcher.

My only memories of him were of a timid and fragile boy. Because of his blindness, he had always needed my help for everything.

I remembered worrying about his future, and about who would take care of him while I was away.

I wanted to ask about that, wanted to know everything about my brother. But, at that moment, my sense of duty spoke louder.

If my friends were heading into a dangerous battle... then I wanted to be there. It did not matter how much time had passed, or how much the world had changed.

I was still me.

I clenched my fists and spoke with the most serious and determined expression I could gather despite the whirlwind of emotions and confusing information:

"If there is an important battle, do not worry about making a detour. I will help. Take me with you to the Begaritt Continent!"

Lisena briefly looked back and observed me for a second. Her face remained impassive.

Then she continued walking.

"Good sentiment."

For an instant, I almost felt praised.

"But I did not come all the way here to revive you just so you could get yourself killed at the first opportunity. Believe me when I say this: that is not a battlefield you can handle."

I was stunned. What did she mean I could not handle it?

From what she told me, there were hundreds of warriors from the Iron Legion there. Was she saying I was weaker than all of them?

I became a Water Saint at sixteen, and I had improved a lot over the last two years. I definitely was not just anyone.

Before I could complain, however, a sharp whistle sounded, and Lisena spoke at the same time:

"Galtland!"

I immediately realized she was using what I recognized as Howling Magic to increase the propagation of her voice. Another extremely complex application of magic.

The sound crossed the mountains and spread through the air. In the next moment, a roar sounded in the distance, rapidly approaching.

I looked toward the distant sky.

I saw an enormous blue figure coming in our direction. A dragon.

Its body was covered in shining blue scales, its muscles were prominent, its claws looked capable of crushing rocks, and the fangs protruding from its jaw were as frightening as any weapon I had ever seen.

And on top of that, its jaw and neck were dripping with blood, blood that clearly did not belong to it.

Instinctively, I tried to grab my sword, but I no longer had it.

The dragon landed with a crash, and the ground trembled beneath my feet.

I unconsciously took a step back.

The Blue Dragon lowered its neck courteously as Lisena approached it with complete calm.

As if it were a well-trained horse.

She extended her hand.

A jet of extremely pressurized water struck the dragon's face, washing away most of the blood running down its jaw and neck.

Lisena even complained:

"I already told you not to get dirty while eating, Galt!"

I stared in disbelief. The dragon merely closed its eyes while being washed, as if it were used to it.

Like a child being scolded for dirtying their clothes.

After cleaning off most of the blood, Lisena grabbed the saddle on the dragon's back and climbed up easily.

She walked along its neck to its back with complete naturalness and sat down, as if riding a Blue Dragon were an everyday thing.

Then she looked at me with an even more impatient expression.

"What are you waiting for? I already said I do not have time. Get on already!"

A sudden realization struck me. I finally understood my situation.

Nothing was like before. The world had continued without me. So I could no longer behave as I had before either.

I took a deep breath, and ignored the blue beast watching me closely.

I walked toward it, and placed my foot on the saddle. I climbed up awkwardly, fearing for my life every second.

I swallowed dryly and settled myself behind Lisena.

Well, first, let us fully understand my situation.

Either way... this is my second chance at life!

----

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