Trash of the Count's Family Vol 2. Chapter 457: Gray Shield (1)

The Pope raised chaos.

Gape. Gape.

Countless mouths began appearing again.

And Cale—

“More!”

He grabbed the Pope by the collar and shook him.

“Why is this all the chaos you can use? Use more!”

“Ugh, ngh, aaagh.”

The Pope shook helplessly, staring at Cale with eyes full of something beyond confusion—full of chaos itself.

“......”

“......”

And the holy knights, even the highest-ranking holy knight—

and—

“Human, what are you doing?”

—even his allies, Raon included, could not hide their bafflement as they looked at Cale.

“Hey!”

Even then, Cale kept pressing the Pope.

“Why can’t you use more chaos than this? Make a wave like before!”

“Ugh, ahk—!”

The Pope had no idea what was going on.

The enemy felt the same.

So did Cale’s side.

RUMMMMBLE—

Then, as the massive tremor rolled in and the ground shook under their feet, everyone except the Pope and Cale had no choice but to look back out the window.

...A dragon!

Cale did too.

The Water that Devours the Sky reacted so sharply that he had no choice but to turn toward the window.

The smaller castle in the rear garden, like an annex detached from the main castle.

From here, the main castle blocked the view of the walls beyond it.

The Order’s forces were probably already waging a fierce defensive battle atop those walls against the approaching Demon King’s army.

Raon muttered blankly.

“...It’s a dragon......”

And yet now, beyond the main castle—

a dragon was visible.

It’s the kind of form we saw in the Central Plains.

As the Ancient Tree said, it was not the kind of dragon they had seen in World Unnamed 1 or Apitoyu.

It was much closer to an eastern dragon.

A dragon very much like the black dragon and white dragon that dwelled in the swords Choi Han and Choi Jung Soo used rose up above the main castle.

That dragon clearly had not even reached the walls yet.

And still—

It’s overwhelming.

Just as the Ancient Tree said, it was so enormous that they could see it even from here.

RUMMMMMBLE—

And they could feel through the trembling earth that the dragon was approaching quickly.

A blue dragon.

It was not merely the shape of a dragon formed from force.

It had the vividness of a truly living creature.

Blue scales giving off a faint blue light covered it, and beneath two massive horns, its eyes gleamed brightly.

There was even something holy about that gigantic dragon rising alone into the night.

“So it’s the Dragon King. Then it really is the third Emperor.”

The highest-ranking holy knight’s words reached Cale’s ears.

Dragon King—

that seemed to be what he called the blue dragon.

“Disaster has come.”

Cale could not deny the next thing the man said.

RUMMMMBLE—

The trembling kept growing until even the windows shook in their frames.

Damn.

At that moment, Cale realized something.

They’re beyond anything I imagined.

Five Colored Blood.

The last hunter family he would face after bringing down the Transparent Blood in the Third District.

He had thought dealing with them would not be all that different from what he had done so far.

That he could handle them step by step.

But now he realized that had been a mistake.

They’re not even gods, so how—!

He heard the voice of the Water that Devours the Sky, full of fury and despair.

How can they be this strong when they aren’t even gods?!

The three strongest beings in the Five Colored Blood family, each possessing Five-Colored-grade individuality.

The Three Emperors.

They were close to gods.

They could not be treated as mere Wanderers.

And along with that, Cale now thoroughly grasped what transcending—what becoming the transcendent being the first Wanderer sought to become—really meant.

The weight of surpassing everything.

RUMMMMMBLE—

And between the approaching dragon’s two horns, he saw the faint outline of a person.

“...The third Emperor.”

So that was him.

The third Emperor was approaching.

Approaching Moraka Castle.

“......”

The third Emperor looked down.

“Crude.”

That was his assessment as he looked at Moraka Castle’s walls and the main castle beyond them.

“The Order of the God of Chaos is truly crude.”

His gaze shifted to the side.

He gestured.

SLASHHH—

With a rush of water, a man shot up into the air.

“Urk—”

One of the Order of the God of Chaos’s high-ranking holy knights.

One of the men who had been pursuing Sui Khan and had run into Cale.

The third Emperor opened his mouth.

“There’s someone here pretending to be the first Emperor?”

“Ghk!”

The man was in no condition to answer.

His whole body had already suffered dozens of fractures, and he was barely clinging to life.

Even that breath looked ready to stop at any moment.

In truth, the third Emperor did not care about the answer from someone this insignificant.

“The Demon King said something interesting, so I came. And now I’m hearing something else interesting.”

He had come to the Demon World to find Choi Jung Gun.

The path to him was unclear, so he had contacted the Demon King to obtain information.

He had to find Choi Jung Gun as fast as possible, no matter what.

Because that Wanderer had learned about Transcendents, and he had to die.

“That time too, the Order of the God of Chaos kept me from finishing things properly.”

Because the saint of the God of Chaos had appeared, he had not been able to use his power properly, and had been forced to let Choi Jung Gun go after merely infecting him with corruption.

“Ryeon.”

“Yes, third Emperor.”

The Wanderers Cho and Ryeon.

To those two Wanderers with Transparent-grade individuality, the third Emperor spoke.

“Doesn’t this situation feel very familiar?”

Wanderer Ryeon nodded. Sharp as ever, she immediately understood what the third Emperor meant.

“It seems similar to Primordial Night.”

The holy land the Order of the God of Chaos had prepared inside New World after stabbing the Wanderers in the back—Primordial Night.

And Moraka Castle, where the Order of the God of Chaos had stayed while preparing to carry out its work in the Demon World.

And the battles that had broken out in those places.

But in both battles, something strange had always gotten involved.

While Wanderers Cho and Ryeon had been attacking Primordial Night, they had realized that the whole situation was a board someone else had arranged through interference.

“It looks like they were involved.”

And this time was similar too.

The Order of the God of Chaos and the Demon King’s army.

Something strange had inserted itself between their standoff.

“Yes. It seems there are fake Wanderers imitating the first Emperor.”

Just as fake followers of the Order of the God of Chaos had appeared before Cho and Ryeon,

this time the board had been overturned in the opposite direction.

“Was it Cale Henituse?”

“Yes. It seems he is here.”

A strange light flashed in Wanderer Ryeon’s eyes.

She had to help the third Emperor find Cale.

“How interesting.”

The corners of the third Emperor’s mouth lifted.

“I expected him to be in New World, and somehow he’s here instead. This is very interesting.”

But unlike his smiling face and interested tone, his eyes gleamed coldly.

“...Truly cunning.”

How dare he imitate Five Colored Blood.

And not just that—

the first Emperor.

“I suppose I’ll have to kill these insects first, before I go looking for Choi Jung Gun.”

That was why he had decided to act personally.

The third Emperor.

He was the sort who latched onto one thing and pursued it to the end with relentless persistence.

That was why he had personally come to search for Choi Jung Gun, even though the man had almost certainly died after being infected with corruption of chaos.

And that was why he was stepping in personally now as well.

He tolerated no existence that interfered with his work.

“......”

His gaze dropped to Moraka Castle below.

All the lights in the castle were lit, and living beings were running everywhere.

Whether they were people of the Order of the God of Chaos or demons, he did not know.

But Cale Henituse’s group would be in there too.

“There’s no need to drag things out when it comes to crushing something this crude.”

He decided to bring down Moraka Castle, which looked so unbearably crude to his eyes.

If he destroyed it outright, they would all die.

And even if—

if they somehow survived, escaped the collapsing castle, and tried to run—

“It would be entertaining to kill them while they fled.”

A cruel smile spread across the third Emperor’s lips.

“......”

Wanderer Ryeon said nothing as she watched him in silence.

The third Emperor was clearly a powerhouse on an entirely different level. He would reduce a place like Moraka Castle to rubble in moments.

The Order of the God of Chaos might fall tonight as well.

Five-Colored-grade individuality.

That power truly was like a god.

Neither the Order of the God of Chaos nor the Demon King’s army understood the true power held by the real Three Emperors.

That’s why the Order of the God of Chaos is trying to betray them and pull all these tricks.

In the direction the God of Chaos wanted.

But even the God of Chaos did not know the true strength of the Three Emperors.

That god thought only gods were strong.

But that was not true.

The proof is the Three Emperors themselves.

At least the Wanderers of Five Colored Blood knew the greatness of these three.

They could not even imagine what kind of world such near-divine beings—beings who were not gods, and yet close to them—would create.

Hmm.

And yet, for some reason, Wanderer Ryeon had to force down the sigh that threatened to slip from her lips.

...Cale Henituse......

When she had seen him, she had thought of the first Emperor.

The third Emperor was furious that Cale had imitated the first Emperor, but Ryeon kept thinking something else.

I don’t think it’ll be that easy.

Cale Henituse.

There was something different about him.

The way he had stared straight into the eyes of the God of Chaos and met its gaze.

There was something in him that felt both similar to the first Emperor and different from him.

He was clearly weaker than the first Emperor—

Then why does he leave me so uneasy?

But soon Ryeon had to stop thinking about it.

“Advance.”

The instant the third Emperor gave the order, the enormous blue dragon began to move.

SHHHHHHH—

SHHHHHHH—

With the sound of waves.

But there were no waves to be seen.

Not a single drop of water appeared around it.

Even so, anyone who heard that sound was seized by the terror that a giant wave—a tidal wave—was rushing toward them.

“Young Master Jimon!”

Young Master Jimon, lord of Moraka Castle, had been holding his breath as he watched everything unfold. At the call of the real head steward, he had to make a decision.

But he could not bring himself to do it.

“Young Master, you have to flee!”

The old steward was firm.

“If you don’t, your life will be in danger!”

At his words, Young Master Jimon opened his mouth.

“Then what about everyone else?”

“......!”

The steward pressed his lips shut and could not continue.

“It’s not hard for me to run right now! But what about the employees in this castle? The administrators? The demons of the bloodline? The people living inside the castle grounds?”

There were far more residents of Moraka Castle than members of the Order of the God of Chaos inside the castle.

They would be confused by everything happening in the dead of night.

“Young Master. But if you do not flee now, there may not be another chance.”

The old steward spoke.

“This is no longer a situation where you can simply stand by and watch.”

He pointed at the blue dragon, which had almost reached the walls outside the castle.

“The castle will collapse soon.”

“Damn it!”

Young Master Jimon did not know what to do.

He bit his lip, then finally made a choice.

“Let’s go!”

He left the office in the main castle and pointed in one direction.

“To the rear garden!”

There was only one person in Moraka Castle who could be said to be on Jimon’s side right now.

Cale Henituse.

He had to get to him.

“He’s the one who saved the Count. He might know a way! I can’t just run like this!”

He could not run.

The demons of Moraka Castle.

His revenge for Count Lupe.

And more than that, the outcome of this battle might destroy the entire territory.

He could not just stand by and watch that happen.

He had to do something.

“Hurry! Follow me!”

Young Master Jimon rushed toward Cale.

That side had a dragon, and in any case, it had plenty of strong people.

He had to ask—no, beg them to buy enough time for the demons of the castle to escape.

“Damn it!”

Dragged into the Demon King’s side.

Then, trying to respond to that, he had brought in the Order of the God of Chaos and been tossed around by them too.

And now everyone was about to die.

“God damn it!”

Unable to contain the fury rising inside him, Young Master Jimon ran toward where Cale was.

That heart carried not only rage toward the enemy, but rage toward himself for making the wrong choices, and rage at his own incompetence for having been unable to prevent the Count from being taken by the Demon King in the first place.

But even that began to fall away, until only desperation remained.

He could not be pushed around and then flee like this.

He absolutely could not run away alone.

Young Master Jimon’s steps quickened with that desperation.

And then—

“Urgh!”

The Pope seized the moment when Cale’s attention was on the blue dragon and poured out the last of his strength, blasting out all of his chaos at once.

Perhaps startled by the blue dragon, even Cale’s firebolt had weakened.

The Pope did not miss that opening.

“This is what you wanted, you fool!”

Gape, gape!

A massive gray wave came crashing down at Cale again.

Since Cale was standing right in front of the Pope, it was as if the wave rose vertically and slammed down to cage him in.

“!”

And the Pope froze.

“Heh.”

Cale was smiling.

“I knew this would happen.”

Cale, who had only pretended to be distracted, smiled as if deeply satisfied.

Gape.

Then, facing the wave coming at him together with all those countless mouths, he brought the shield back out.

Hummmmmm—

The instant the shield dyed gray began to vibrate—

Gape!

The countless mouths faltered.

And the Pope flinched at the look in Cale’s eyes.

Cale’s eyes were shining.

“Goodbye.”

The moment he said that—

“W-wait, don’t tell me—”

The Pope realized what Cale was about to do.

“You’re trying to kill me!”

The Pope laughed.

“Yes, kill me!”

Both the Pope and Cale were smiling.

And—

“Damn.”

Only the highest-ranking holy knight realized something was wrong and tried to rush at Cale, but—

BOOM!

Choi Han stepped in to block him.

“Urgh.”

Even while letting out a groan, Choi Han endured somehow. His sharp, relentless force bought a brief instant in which the holy knight could not advance.

Hummmmm—

The shield—

THRUST!

—drove into the gray wave.

And the Pope heard Cale say something else.

“I’ll enjoy this.”

What?

The Pope tried to speak but stopped.

THUD!

His heart pounded violently.

No.

This wasn’t his heart.

The force inside his heart had suddenly reacted.

Wind-Borne Chaos.

That had suddenly reacted.

If it burst, the Pope would die—but at the same time gray sickness would spread through the Demon World, and the picture the God of Chaos desired would be completed.

Ah—

But the force was not about to burst.

The Pope realized it.

“Y-you bastard—”

For the first time, a coarse curse spilled from his lips as he glared at Cale.

But he could not keep glaring at him.

Slurp.

The gluttonous priestess moved.

I’m eating it.

The moment the gluttonous priestess recognized it as something to eat—

THUD!

The Pope felt the force inside his heart lurch.

“Cough—!”

Blood spilled from his mouth.

And—

“Ah—”

“......!”

Everyone there was forced to witness a bizarre sight.

Gape. Gape.

Those mouths that had only known how to eat—

one by one—

SKREEEE—

SKREEEE—

began to let out strange cries.

They sounded almost like wailing.

“Human!”

And Cale’s arm began to turn even grayer.

Past the elbow, slowly spreading toward his shoulder.

When Raon cried out in shock at the sight—

Found it.

“Found it.”

Grin.

Cale smiled.

AAAAAAAH—!

AAAAAAAH—!

The countless mouths began to scream.

And—

“AAAAH!”

—the Pope started thrashing.

The force in his heart moved.

Because it was a divine relic of the God of Chaos,

that force held chaos within it.

And it moved toward the one who was drawing chaos in, the one who desired it.

AAAAAAAAH—

AAAAAAAAH—

Hideous screams filled the space.

The gray wave heaved.

Most people could not see what was happening inside the wave.

But one thing was unmistakable.

Those countless mouths were crying out for help.

And yet no one could move in so easily.

“Heh.”

Because from inside the gray wave—

they could hear the voice of the human turning gray, laughing.

Neither holy.

Nor beautiful.

And not solemn either.

If anything, the scene was filled only with hi