Dragon Raja 3; Chapter 289: The Last Emperor & The Last KGB Officer (4)

Dragon Raja 3

Chisei was stunned. “Uesugi Koeru? I’ve never heard of him, and the family history doesn’t mention him at all.”

“Because he was a disgrace to the family. The family didn’t want to reveal his existence to ordinary descendants. He was the strangest Emperor in the family’s history. He wasn’t purely Japanese but a mix of Chinese, Japanese, and French. His education was also foreign—he earned a doctorate from the University of Lyon in France. You could say he was a complete Frenchman. The other family leaders saw him as a freak, someone who didn’t understand Japanese culture at all, unfit to be the Emperor of Japan’s underworld. But according to the ancient, unchanging rules of the family, as long as someone inherited the Emperor’s blood from the gods, they would be the supreme leader of the Yamata no Orochi. He ascended the throne in 1934 and abdicated in 1945, reigning for 11 years. During that time, he left the Yamata no Orochi in a mess. His abdication was essentially an escape, and before he fled, he burned down the family’s original shrine. Do you remember the charred torii at the entrance to the current shrine? That’s a remnant of the old shrine.”

“Uesugi Koeru… is he still alive?”

“No one knows. After that day, he completely disappeared from history.”

“I’ve been retired for more than sixty years, Anjou,” Koeru said with a bitter expression. “When I retired sixty years ago, I even burned down the family’s shrine. They should be too ashamed to mention me now. Whatever they did to offend you has nothing to do with me. I’m just a retired gangster, so please leave me in peace.”

“I’m here because we’re friends,” Anjou said calmly as he sipped his soup.

“How ridiculous! Back then, we were sworn enemies, fighting to the death. They say a long absence makes enemies into old friends, but that’s just nonsense,” Koeru scoffed.

“If you don’t help me, things could get serious. Your children are doing something very dangerous, and they’ve crossed me. If we can’t find a proper solution, I’ll have no choice but to finish what I should have done sixty years ago—destroy the Yamata no Orochi,” Anjou shrugged. “You know I’m capable of doing it.”

Koeru rolled his eyes but maintained his nonchalant expression. “I’m just a ramen vendor. What do I care about the affairs of the underworld? Let them be destroyed. I’ve never liked that bunch anyway. Why else would I have abandoned my position and fled all those years ago?”

“Think carefully,” Anjou said, staring directly into his eyes.

Uesugi Koeru hummed a tune while washing the dishes, and the broth simmered with a bubbling sound. Anjou began humming as well. Koeru hummed the Japanese folk song “Rāmen Kojo,” while Anjou hummed the British anthem “God Save the King.” It felt as if they were competing or simply enjoying themselves, with rain drumming on the awning. Five minutes passed, and with a loud clatter, Koeru threw the dish into the water and slapped his own wet head in frustration, looking up at the sky. Anjou continued eating his side dishes at a leisurely pace.

“Fine, fine, fine, fine!” Koeru slammed his hands on the counter. “Tell me! What have my descendants done to offend you this time?”

“Are the marinated eggs fresh? Slice one for me,” Anjou swirled his wine glass. “And some sake.”

“You… you… you’re such an old rascal! Ever since I met you, my life has been a mess! When I die, I’m going to have a tombstone saying ‘No Anjou or dogs allowed,’ so I don’t have to roll over in my grave out of anger!” Koeru fumed as he grabbed a marinated egg. “We’re out of sake, only shochu left! Want it with ice or hot?”

“You may hate me, but leave the dogs out of it. Serve it hot,” Anjou smiled. “On to business—I’ve always known you all were the descendants of the White Empress, but I never pressed you for the secret of the White Empress’ lineage. First, because it would have been useless; while you pretended to submit to the Secret Party, you never truly saw us as allies. Second, the secret of the White Empress’ lineage was in your hands, and I knew you wouldn’t abuse it. Although you were involved in criminal activities, you still upheld order rather than seeking to destroy it.”

“And finally, you could gradually uncover the secret of the White Empress yourself. You allowed the Japanese branch autonomy over the years, which lulled them into lowering their guard,” Koeru snorted coldly. “You’re a staff officer in the U.S. Navy; intelligence is your specialty!”

“Of course, I’m cunning,” Anjou still smiled. “I originally only wanted to learn how to break through the critical blood limit, but sixty years later, I discovered your secret was far beyond that. You’ve been guarding a hidden city, submerged deep within the Japan Trench. It contains dragon technology, prophetic bronze pillars, corpse guardians… and the remains of a god.”

Koeru was silent for a long time. “How did you know? Do you have the technology to reach the depths of the abyss?”

“Yes, we sent the Trieste deep-submergence vehicle to the trench.”

“The key to entering the divine burial site is not the submersible but the person who descends. That place is cursed; even those who drink dragon blood can’t leave once they go.”

“We happen to have some young people with exceptionally strong bloodlines, and they survived the curse, returning from the abyss. But your family members installed a device similar to a nuclear bomb on the submersible, and now the ruins of Takamagahara have sunk into the earth’s layers.”

“Isn’t that a good thing?” Koeru shrugged. “What use is it to keep that thing in the world? It should have been blown up long ago. To celebrate that Takamagahara is finally done for, I’ll offer you another drink.”

“But the god is no longer there. Someone has awakened it.” Anjou pulled out a photo and placed it in front of Koeru—the photo depicted the Lenin, now encased in a cocoon of flesh. “About twenty years ago, before humanity had the technology to dive into the abyss, an icebreaker carrying an ancient dragon embryo ventured there. The embryonic blood awakened your god, and the Trieste found a horde of corpse guardians in the abyss, but no god to enjoy the blood sacrifices. The only explanation is that the god has broken free and regained its freedom.”

Koeru returned the photo to Anjou, his face pale.

“The person who released the god must know your secret. It’s very likely that they are hiding within your clan,” Anjou said while eating his marinated egg. “If I can’t find the truth, I’ll have no choice but to uproot the Yamata no Orochi family to eliminate the threat.”

Koeru pondered for a long time before walking around the small cart to sit beside Anjou. He poured himself a small cup of shochu, slowly drinking it down. “Has the situation really become that dire?”

“I assure you, I haven’t told a single lie. I came to you because I want to solve this problem without causing too much damage. But you need to understand that if it comes down to waiting for the Dragon King to awaken, I will destroy the Yamata no Orochi family first. I don’t bluff.”

“You need to tell me everything you know so I can find the person hiding behind the scenes and kill the god. I don’t know what kind of entity your god is, but I know it’s something that must never be resurrected.”

“I know very little, to be honest. My first language is French. When I first came to Japan, I barely spoke Japanese. There were many ancient scrolls hidden in the old shrine, all written in classical Japanese, which I found difficult to read, so I skimmed through them.”