Dragon Raja 3; Chapter 268: A Friend of Justice (4)

Dragon Raja 3

“Induced? What do you mean?” Caesar asked coldly.

“Dragon blood has a tendency to greatly activate genes, leading to uncontrollable deformities—such as scale-body mutations, bone deformities, and blood abnormalities. These Death Servitors display serpent-like deformities. Originally, they had legs, but during the mutation process, their legs fused into tails, becoming what you see now. Their skeletal structures are between human and reptilian, resembling Titanoboa. You should know that creature if you attended Professor Senoy’s class.”

Chu Zihang nodded. “Titanoboa, the largest snake species ever, lived during the Paleocene. The largest individuals were about 20 meters long.”

The subject Chisei brought up was familiar to Chu Zihang and Caesar. All three of them had taken Professor Senoy’s class on paleontology at Cassell College. Though they were enemies now, they had been trained in the same school.

“Snakes’ ancestors had legs, which disappeared over the course of evolution. But it’s possible that Titanoboa still retained deformed legs—an incomplete evolutionary result,” Chisei continued. “These Death Servitors rapidly mutated under the influence of dragon blood, eventually taking on this form, which is somewhere between human and reptile.”

“And what does that have to do with being induced?” Caesar asked.

“Deformation is uncontrollable. Dragon blood is a catalyst for chaotic evolution, meaning the Death Servitors should have evolved into all kinds of forms. But almost all of them have taken on this serpent form. That can only be the result of genetic guidance. Serpent mutations are one of the highest-grade, rarest forms of mutation, just below dragon mutations. Yet, as you can see, there are at least dozens of serpent-form Death Servitors down there.”

Chisei said, “Someone created these things and released them into this building. This is a planned attack.”

Caesar and Chu Zihang exchanged a glance. As incredible as it seemed, this did resemble a carefully orchestrated assault. This could explain the strange wounds on the bodies in the mural hall. The attackers weren’t human. This group of Death Servitors had been lurking in the elevator shafts, climbing up and down, following the scent of humans. Fortunately, Tachibana had sealed off the building; otherwise, these Titanoboa-like beasts would have already broken through the safety doors, flooding every floor. Even with all the Execution Bureau’s elite gathered here, they wouldn’t be able to stop the Death Servitors. Every inch of the building would be covered in blood, with serpentine trails marking the floors.

“The person behind this attack doesn’t want to conquer this building. They want to destroy it,” Chisei said slowly.

Internally, he was far from calm. Tachibana should have been waiting for him on the beam below, but now those beams were overrun by Death Servitors. There were still hundreds, maybe thousands, of people trapped in the building, at risk of becoming the creatures’ food. And he had no way to organize an effective defense. Yamata no Orochi had no plan for dealing with a Death Servitor attack. Time was ticking away, and tonight might mark the end of Yamata no Orochi, but there was no tremor in Chisei’s voice. Panic wouldn’t help; he needed to convince Chu Zihang and Caesar to cooperate with him—this was his only chance. He had no other allies left.

Chu Zihang nodded slightly. Destruction, not conquest. There had been a conqueror king in history with a similar approach.

“The Scourge of God,” Attila the Hun, advanced westward, burning cities along his path and never bothering to govern the lands he conquered. He was a peerless arrow, whose power never diminished, no matter how far he was shot. The Roman Emperor Valentinian III once screamed in frustration, asking what that barbarian truly wanted. “This is Rome, the land beloved by the gods! I can offer him so much! Tell me, what are his ambitions?” To which his sister, Princess Honoria, coldly replied, “He wants only destruction.” Attila was a Dragon King, and his march resembled the advance of a crazed dragon. Dragon wars are always filled with overwhelming fury, with the sole purpose of utterly destroying their enemies.

“Is it theoretically possible to control Death Servitors?” Caesar Gattuso asked.

“There’s a legend that the ancient Persian royal family kept Death Servitors, forming them into the Immortals Corps【In the ancient Persian Empire, the royal family commanded a legendary army known as the Immortals, said to be an invincible force of 10,000 soldiers. According to myth, these warriors were immortal, coming from the underworld, interested only in slaughter. No matter how grievous their injuries, they would heal themselves. From a historical perspective, this invincibility stemmed from their rigorous training. Any losses were quickly replaced by reserves. However, Persian legends claimed these soldiers had extraordinary regenerative abilities.】, but that’s just a legend,” Chu Zihang said.

He understood what Caesar was thinking—controlling Death Servitors, whether by humans or Hybrids, seemed unimaginable. It wasn’t hard to conclude that a certain “god” had awakened and was orchestrating this bloody assault.

“So, do we now have grounds for cooperation?” Chisei asked.

After a few seconds of silence, Chu Zihang nodded. “Yes. Both school regulations and the Abraham Covenant mandate that members of the Secret Party must stop dragons and Death Servitors from harming humans, even at the cost of our lives. Under these circumstances, we can cooperate with you.”

“Don’t joke around! Cooperation? Look at what this thing is!” Caesar pressed the gun to Chisei’s temple. “This is the great ‘Emperor’! A freak more like a dragon than a human! I can’t trust something like this!”

Hearing Caesar’s words, Chu Zihang hesitated as well. Indeed, Chisei was hard to trust. Since they had met, he had pushed them to the brink of death more than once. The only reason they were still alive today was sheer luck.

“If we go through all the trouble to help this guy deal with the Death Servitors, do you think he’ll pop champagne to thank us?” Caesar sneered. “Don’t be naïve, President. He’ll call the Execution Bureau to surround us, and in a moment, we’ll go from heroes to prisoners. If he doesn’t shoot us in the head, we’d be lucky! Think about it—just a few minutes ago, this guy nearly stabbed you in the heart with his sword! And remember how he cut the cable and left us in the deep sea when we called for help from the ocean trench! Am I right, Chisei?”

“Yes, if I had the chance, I would call in reinforcements to surround you and make you prisoners,” Chisei said slowly, looking straight into Caesar’s eyes. “Regardless of whether you’ve done a favor for Yamata no Orochi or not.”

Caesar froze. If Chisei had tried to argue and defend himself, claiming he wouldn’t betray them, Caesar would have mocked him sharply, despising him even more. But Chisei’s calm admission left Caesar momentarily speechless.

“I’ll say three things. First,” Chisei spoke almost deliberately, “what a man must do has nothing to do with debts or favors. The reason a man must do something must outweigh such small things as gratitude or obligation.”

“Second, I am part of the underworld. I have done evil, and some of it far worse than leaving you stranded in the deep sea. I admit I’m not a good person.”

“Third, in this situation, you cannot take me with you. If you don’t want to help me, leave my sword. As the leader of my family, I have a duty to fight.”