Chapter 783: 783: The Legend Of The Evil Godking, Gardinia

On the way back to the western port.

Fran was having a chat with Tzaluta.

While they did kinda hit it off, they both had something they wanted to ask each other.

Fran wanted to know more about the abilities of the Three Gordician Families and the Camellia family, and Tzaluta enjoyed explaining things to her.

Once the conversation got going, it didn't stop. Right now, she was in the middle of telling us the old myths passed down the Camellia family.

It was a story about the birth of the Three Gordician Families.

「Thousands of years ago, this continent was inhabited by a large number of elves.」

「What about the dragonkin?」

「It is said that dragonkin and humans were few and far between, living in secluded villages. The seal on the Evil God Fragments existed even in those days, but it was not widely known.」

The gods had hidden this knowledge away, so many elves did not know that the Evil God was sleeping right under their feet.

「But one elf learned of their existence and began to worship the Evil God. He apparently had a special physical constitution that made spirits uncomfortable and caused them to run away from him.」

The elves greatly respected spirit casters, so that elf was treated very poorly. They even apparently abused him.

Why can't I summon spirits? Why do the spirits hate me? Had the Tree God abandoned me?

He stopped caring about everything, locked himself in his room, and began worshiping the Evil God, before finally being driven out of his village. He wandered aimlessly through the forest, and that's when he arrived at the seal of the Evil God.

Whether this was by chance or the Evil God guiding him somehow, no one could say for sure.

He did exactly as the Evil God told him, weakening the seal of the Evil God Fragment, and obtained the blessing of the Evil God.

In the first place, he was not actually hated by the spirits. It seemed that the spirits were just afraid to come close to him because of his innate "Spirit Eater" skill.

Maybe this unfortunate story could have had a different ending if there had been someone with an Appraisal powerful enough to recognize that skill.

At any rate, he gained tremendous power by combining the dormant power of his Spirit Eater and the blessing of the Evil God. But he did not seek his revenge immediately.

He had not forgiven the elves at all. Rather, he wanted to destroy them slowly and completely, even if it took a long period of time.

After mastering the art of suppressing his evil energy, he returned to the land of the elves. There, he entered the military and rose quickly to prominence. It was said that it took less than ten years for him to come to power.

Then came the day of his revenge. Using chimera synthesis technology, which was still in the research stage at the time, he fused himself with the four Evil God Fragments sealed in the continent of Gordicia.

After taking in the lives of thousands of elves as well as the Evil God Fragments, he rose to become a being that transcended humanity.

There were no records of his original name, but what he called himself afterwards was passed down the ages. "Gardinia, the Evil Godking".

Gardinia first used his power to brainwash the elves, ordering them to hunt down their brethren, then repeating the process with his new servants. But one day, he simply went out of control.

This was due to the innate instability of chimeras, which was a completely unknown phenomena at the time. As a result, an infinitely-growing abomination was born, devouring elves and other creatures as its appetite demanded.

Gardinia grew so quickly that it was only a matter of time until he devoured every last elf and spirit on the continent.

But then, the monstrous Evil Godking suddenly vanished.

Even in his rampage, his urge for vengeance against the elves had somehow remained. Apparently, he crossed the sea in search of elven lands on another continent.

There was no detailed account of Gardinia after his disappearance from the continent, not even from the Camellia family.

However, after a few years, Gardinia had somehow returned to his elven form. He came back to the continent with the evil erased from his heart, yet his mysterious power to control fiends remained with him.

At that time, the country of the elves had been destroyed and the country of the dragonkin had risen. Gardinia, however, rallied the humans who had been persecuted by the dragonkin, quietly establishing a settlement at the edge of the continent.

However, the peaceful times did not last long.

One day a female elf appeared, seeking revenge after losing her family to Gardinia.

She apparently called herself Weena, but her identity was not known for sure. That was a common name for elves in those days.

Gardinia allowed her revenge and accepted death. That was because he managed to regain his heart in the first place due to Weena's twin sister.

He already knew this day would come. That's why he had sealed away his powers in advance. The "monster soul", the core of the chimera, as well as the Evil God Fragments, which he had split into three, were hidden away around the outskirts of his settlement.

Just before his death, he shared his power with his three sons and told them to protect the seal of the Evil God Fragments before disappearing.

Thus was the beginning of the Three Gordician Families.

「But in time, the threat of the Evil God and chimeras was forgotten. That's when Trismegistus, the king of the dragonkin, took notice.」

The rest happened following the legend of Trismegistus. Using the Evil God Fragments, the monster soul of the chimera, and other materials, he created the most notorious monster in existence, the "Abyss Eater", and received his divine punishment.

The most interesting part of Tzaluta's story for us was the elf who had taken revenge on Gardinia.

(Weena, the Weena we know?)

『I think that's a strong possibility.』

A long time ago, a great magical beast appeared in the kingdom of Belioth and was sealed by Rhyn's sacrifice. What if that beast was actually Gardinia?

I don't know how Gardinia managed to regain his elven form and return to Gordicia, but maybe he cut off a part of himself just before he was sealed.

Then Weena followed him and got her revenge. That's quite possible. It would also explain why she had knowledge of the Evil God's Communion.

Well, we won't know the truth until we ask her.

After walking with her during the long talk, the western port was only a short distance away. This was where we parted ways with Tzaluta.

They lived in the dragonkin reservation, a short distance from the port.

There were apparently dragonkin reservations on the north, south, east, and west sides of the continent, all near the ports.

「Be careful of the dragonkin in the northern reservation.」

「Dragonkin in the north?」

「Right. They look down on other races, and have been especially belligerent these days, sometimes picking fights with people they just met. However, because of that, they are quite strong as well. I can say for sure they are well acquainted with all the dragonkin on this continent.」

Well, they would certainly be troublesome to deal with. I'm glad someone told us.

「Got it. I'll be careful.」

「Okay. I hope we can meet again soon.」

「Nn.」