Once the emperor made his appearance after coming out of his long seclusion with the Marecasio, the disturbance in the imperial castle was quickly quelled. All the remaining nobles, maids, and members of the imperial family knelt before the emperor and wailed. Although there wasn’t even a tenth of the usual numbers, the emperor comforted them and assigned them appropriate tasks to bring the imperial castle back into order. Once the urgent fire was put out, the emperor turned his head toward Marecasio Caravan. The Marecasio had been very helpful in calming the disturbance by exerting a strong presence by his side.

Although Caravan had been responsible for putting him in confinement along with his eldest son, the emperor still possessed a tiny bit of respect for the Marecasio. He knew that they had devoted themselves to the imperial family for a long time. Ironically, Caravan was one of the main culprits behind the emperor’s current crisis, but he also played a major role in bringing stability to the imperial castle.

The emperor stared at Caravan with a complicated expression as he asked, “That auspicious dragon… What kind of existence is the Beholder?”

The emperor knew that talking about the past would provide no real benefit, so he asked something he really wanted to know instead. In fact, he was very curious about the dragon, ‘the Beholder.’ After all, the Beholder was the master of the golden blood flowing inside his veins.

“What a broad question…” Caravan muttered softly. His eyes were blank and empty for he had already resigned himself to fate.

He eventually answered, “He is the only true immortal of this world.”

“…!”

”I heard from my mother that the Beholder has existed for a thousand years or perhaps even longer than that. He has seen the rise and fall of numerous empires and kingdoms. Furthermore, he has even witnessed the birth and extinction of various races, as well as the world moving toward destruction several times,” Caravan explained.

“Huh…”

The emperor was in disbelief. Even a hundred years was a very long time for humans. Why were the vampires—including the Marecasio—a subject of awe, fear and jealousy for humans? It was because they had lives several times longer than humans. In particular, the Marecasio and the clan master were essentially immortals from the perspective of humans.

But to think a thousand years, or even longer…

“Perhaps… Is there anyone else besides the imperial family that has directly received the Beholder’s mystery?” the emperor asked.

“Your family is the only one in this day and age. However, I do not think that your family is the sole recipient of the Beholder’s attention during his long existence,” Caravan answered.

“I see,” the emperor answered. He laughed bitterly. He could not even take solace in being chosen by an immortal being.

“But why would he… why would he choose our family?” the emperor asked. It was one of the biggest questions in life, and although it had never been voiced until now, it was a curiosity that all the previous emperors had in their hearts.

“There is something my mother told me,” Caravan said.

“The Queen did?”

“Your family is the only bloodline that has persisted since the Age of the Lion,” Caravan explained.

“What does that even…”

“I don’t know anything more than that. But there has to be something special about your family, something special that fits the plan of the Beholder…” Caravan added.

The emperor wanted to know exactly what that was, but he kept his silence. It appeared that the Mareacasio was no brighter than him regarding the specific reason.

However, he was soon riddled with another question.

“What do you mean, the Beholder’s plan?” the emperor asked.

An unusual glimmer filled Caravan’s eyes.

“The Beholder seems to have… chosen you and all of us for his plan. And ‘he’ must be at its center.”

“By He...”

Caravan seemed to be referring to the King of Maren, someone even the Red Elegant Queen deferred humbly to.

“The Beholder must have seen something through him. After watching the world for a long time, the Beholder must have been wanting to entrust to him a role. In the first place, he may have never cared about the imperial family and us…” Caravan said.

“…!”

Disregarding the emperor’s surprised expression, Caravan raised his empty eyes toward a particular place. He could sense an irregular presence by the presence of his mother and ‘him.’ It was an energy he had encountered twice thus far, once during his covenant with the founding emperor and once during ‘his’ sealing. The gaze of the Beholder was always directed into the far distance, never on them.

***

“…”

Georg could not help but tremble when he saw the deep, golden eyes. He could not fathom exactly what profound mysteries were contained in those golden eyes. Georg was one of the top ten devils of the Demon World, and as soon as he saw those eyes, he instantly understood the other party’s might.

‘W-what a powerful soul…’

Even if this were the Demon World and his powers were whole, he would have been forced to run with his tail between his legs. The power contained in the golden eyes was that enormous.

“I-I don’t think I have had this pleasure; I am—” Georg stuttered.

“One of the devils. How is БПЮЯ?”

“…!!!”

Goerg was completely startled by the question. He shook his head violently while answering, “H-he perished a long t-time ago.”

“I see…” the Beholder responded with a faint smile.

Georg had a hunch that the old Demon King’s death was probably related to this golden-eyed being.

“I trust that you will not make the same mistake as БПЮЯ,” said the Beholder.

“O-of course...”

Georg nodded frantically. The Beholder’s calm words were scarier than any threat.

The Beholder slowly turned his golden gaze and met Eugene’s eyes.

‘This is…’

Eugene was stupefied. He was struck with this completely unfamiliar feeling. For the first time ever, he was struck with uncertainty. He wasn’t sure that he could beat the golden-eyed existence, even though they had merely made eye contact.

But at the same time, a sense of competition started boiling inside of him. He was the Demon King of Blood. He was the Origin, the beginning and the end of a race. Moreover, he was coming face to face with the one responsible for completely warping his fate without consent. This wasn’t the time to hesitate or worry..

As such, Eugene decided to go all out against the golden dragon.

However…

“You haven’t changed...”

The Beholder’s words and his strange smile completely puzzled Eugene. Neither the power nor the mystery of the dragon was contained in his words, but Eugene immediately came to a realization as a Demon King and the Crimson Dragon of the Demon World. For the first time, he was meeting someone treating him as a ‘complete equal.’

“You may not remember, but you acted similarly when you first came to this world. Well, I understand. I’m sure all the dragons of that world are eager to fight and aggressive, but, brother…”

“…?!”

Eugene’s bewilderment grew even bigger at the unfamiliar title.

The dragon continued, “We made a promise, and I kept it. So now, it is time for you to wake up from your delusion and keep your promise as well.”

Fwoooosh!

A light of power emanated from the Beholder’s eyes. Eugene instinctively evoked his Fear, but the brilliance quickly washed over his vision.

At that moment, Eugene’s broken and misaligned memories gathered together and started flowing into his soul like a river.

Kwaaaaaah!

Sometimes they gently meandered, split, then gathered back together into a single stream. However, his memories eventually became a proud river occupying his head.

“S-sir?!” Mirian called out frantically while circling around him. She was frightened because the crimson in Eugene’s eyes had been replaced with a golden light, and he was standing still like a stone statue.

“Sir! Get it together! Siiirrr!” Mirian shouted. However, she did not dare come into contact with Eugene. She could sense it as his contracted spirit. If she interrupted him, a huge problem could ensue.

Georg was also aware of it.

‘What should I do? Should I just go for it?’

The devil agonized as he was faced with the golden opportunity. He glanced at the Beholder while pondering, and he immediately decided to give up.

‘It won’t end with me being kicked out.’

He could not risk being exterminated just to get a shot at Eugene. Georg could only lower his eyes and comfort himself that there would be another chance.

A few moments later…

Wooooong! Wooong…

The golden light gradually faded from Eugene’s eyes and the original shade of crimson returned.

“Sir! Sir! Are you okay?” Mirian asked while shedding tears.

“S-sir…?” Mirian called out. She was scared. Eugene still looked the same as before, but something seemed to have changed in him.

Eugene’s lips slowly parted as he said, “Right. It was you…”

“K-kieh?”

“I had been wondering why it was you, but now, I understand,” Eugene added.

“Kieeeeehh?” Mirian squealed with puzzlement.

Eugene smiled.

“Sir…”

Mirian’s expression finally loosened at his smile. Although the atmosphere around him had changed, he was still the same Eugene she knew.

Eugene turned his gaze toward the Beholder. He finally understood.

He finally understood why the Beholder referred to him as ‘brother.’

He finally remembered the promise he made with the Beholder and why his memory had been distorted and sealed.

Eugene finally understood everything.

“Still, this was unwarranted, brother,” Eugene said.

The Beholder smiled. “Says the one who broke his promise.”

“That’s… I certainly don’t have any excuses,” Eugene said.

The Beholder of this world, Zescard, had been pretty considerate toward him. Even if Zescard’s consideration was only a part of his plan, Eugene had broken his promise first, and Zescard had only attempted to keep his promise in his own way.

Eugene asked while sifting through his memories, “So… Did I change the world?”

“Of course. You have fulfilled your promise splendidly. Now all the creatures of this land will once again fear the Tribe of Darkness and maintain their distance from the members of the Tribe while showing respect,” Zescard answered.

“A mystery should remain a mystery, and fear should remain fear…” Eugene recited the words he had heard from Zescard long ago.

“A race that breaks the balance, a race that is capable of standing alone at the top will eventually come to destroy the balance of the world as well,” Zescard said.

“I still don’t understand it, and it’s still nonsense to me. However, I agreed to your nonsense and made a promise, so I won’t voice any more objections. Most importantly…” Eugene continued while staring directly into Zescard’s placid gaze. “It has been proven that I can’t do anything against you.”

Zescard chuckled in response.

“If this were your world, brother, the situation would have been reversed,” he said.

“Well… I don’t think that would be the case.”

Eugene finally understood as well—he finally understood that he was a real ‘dragon.’

He was one of the three dragons among the top ten existences of the Demon World. Vampire Origin was just one of his essences. It had been impossible for him to go through the first passage with his true body, so he chose to use his essence as a vampire. Many of his followers in the Demon World were vampires, a race born in his shadow and had matured through his blood. That was why he was both the Crimson Dragon King and the Demon King of Blood. However, even he could not measure up to Zescard, the dragon of this world.

Zescard was the True Dragon, the Dragon of Origin, and the brother of the gods. Although Zescard treated him like a brother, there existed a clear gap between them. In terms of the hierarchy of the human world, it was similar to the difference between a child born from the empress and a child born from a concubine.

‘Come to think of it…’

Eugene smiled bitterly at a sudden thought. He finally understood why he was so obsessed with ‘gold,’ why he was so absorbed with collecting wealth, and why he felt so satisfied to see his wealth and treasures accumulate. It was all because he was a dragon in nature. Even though he had lost his memories, his essence had remained.

“Are you ready to see your promise through?” Zescard asked in an imposing voice.

Eugene raised his head.

Zescard continued while staring directly into Eugene’s eyes. “Close the first passage and open a new one.”