Dragon Quest - I - Chapter 4, Part 4

T/L Notes (for solidarity):

悪魔の騎士、影の騎士、死神の騎士 - Devil knight, shadow knight, and reaper knight. As it is awkward to say 'the x knight' over and over in English, the final draft will likely be edited so that their names more commonly read as names as I began to attempt in this chapter. (Same with 'the star chimera' possibly sometimes referred to as 'Star').

4 - The Dragonlord (pp160-168)

“Star chimera’s been killed!?” gasped the Dragonlord as he lept up from his throne. A cruel, angry expression contorted his face. He couldn’t help himself. The closest thing he had to a sibling had just been murdered.

“Yes sir. It happened last night,” responded Archwizard Zaltotan. Beside him, the three other Dark Generals, the shadow, devil, and reaper knights, prostrated themselves before their overlord.

“Who was her enemy?”

“The one who slept the great golem, sire,” replied Zaltotan again.

“The same human!?”

“Yes, sire.”

The Dragonlord was not the only one who was shocked to hear of the star chimera’s fate. Zaltotan thought his ears were deceiving him when he first heard the news from the chimera battalion survivors. The other three Generals reacted similarly. The shadow and devil knights, in particular, did not take the news well.

Shadow clutched his fist and shook with rage, cursing inwardly. “How could that stinking child still be alive?”

“How should we proceed in regards to his highness, knowing this information?” Zaltotan had asked the shadow and devil knights.

Shadow and Devil were still half in doubt as to whether or not Aleph was actually a true descendant of Loto. Despite this, now that one of the six Dark Generals has been killed, they couldn’t continue hiding their knowledge of the would-be descendant’s actions any longer.

“She was one of us, but she wasn’t just a Dark General to his highness,” reasoned the Archwizard.

“I know that!” shouted Shadow, banging his fist against the floor.

“We mustn’t continue this,” said Zaltotan, shaking his head. We mustn’t continue to lie.

Reaper said nothing in response to the wizard’s words and merely nodded. The shadow and devil knights had no choice; after a lengthy silence they acquiesced as well. They had headed immediately to the audience chamber and prepared for the worst.

“Who is this boy?” demanded the Dragonlord.

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“Sir,” began Zaltotan, answering deliberately. “He is believed to possibly be a descendant of the hero Loto.”

“What!? The boy carries Loto’s blood?” asked the Dragonlord, reeling.

“He is a boy of just fifteen, my lord,” Zaltotan said.

“Fifteen? That would mean…”

“Yes, sire.”

“The descendant was alive? All this time!” the Dragonlord roared.

“We have yet to ascertain definitive proof that he is indeed related by blood. That question will only become a certainty if he reaches this island.”

Zaltotan glanced over to the shadow and devil knights to see their reactions. They were both staring down silently at the marble floor, biting their tongues.

“According to the report I received from the Domovoi,” continued Zaltotan, “the boy told him he was searching for a way to cross over. And that he was searching for the three artefacts Loto entrusted to his sages.”

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“Artefacts? What artefacts are these?” asked the Dragonlord.

“I have no idea, sire. Only that the boy has apparently acquired two of them already.”

The shadow and devil knights gaped at Zaltotan. The two of them had heard nothing from Zaltotan regarding the sages or their artefacts. No matter how many times they had asked, ‘How is the investigation going?’ Zaltotan had replied with, ‘These things require patience,’ over and over.

“Devil knight!” called Dragonlord, glaring down at him with spiteful eyes.

“Sir.”

Devil raised his head reluctantly with fear shown plainly in his face. He couldn’t meet the Dragonlord’s gaze directly. It was obvious he was quite uncomfortable.

“Who was that child you brought before me fifteen years ago? Was that corpse not the body of Loto’s descendant!?”

“Y, your highness, it must have been!”

“Silence!” the Dragonlord snapped, cutting off the general’s excuse.

“Yes, highness…”

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The devil knight’s terror had moved into the realm of despair. He was certain he was to be executed. He had seen it happen so many times before. Once again, he prostrated himself deeply before his master.

The Dragonlord took a deep breath, then said, “I’ll give you one last chance.”

“Sir?” asked Devil, raising his head in surprise. He had never expected to hear those words.

“But I do not forgive failures a second time! You know this!”

“Yes, lord!” Devil cried, lowering his head once more.

“Zaltotan.”

“Yes, highness,” replied the Archmage.

“If I recall correctly, you said the descendant would only be able to defeat me after obtaining the love of a princess. Correct?”

“Correct, highness.”

“Devil knight!” the Dragonlord yelled.

Devil jerked upon hearing his name like he were struck. “Yes, milord,” he replied, raising his head.

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“The daughter of Ralus XVI was killed fifteen years ago. There was no mistake, correct?”

“Yes, highness! No mistake!”

“And if she were to have survived?”

“Well,” Devil began. He gazed at the Dragonlord. Hesitating now would be the same as admitting it were true, he thought. “That isn’t possible, sire! I stake my life on it!”

“Do not forget those words,” replied the Dragonlord with a fierce glare. His shoulders heaved with a large sigh as he sunk back onto his throne.

The throne was suddenly showered in a bright light, which swirled around the Dragonlord. When the light faded, the Dragonlord had completely disappeared.

“Archwizard, you lied to us!”

“Aye, what’s going on!?”

Devil and Shadow pressed Zaltotan, looking for answers.

“Why did you hide something so important from us?”

“You should have told us before informing his highness!”

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“As though you gentlemen have not been keeping secrets from me, as well?” responded Zaltotan with a controlled fierceness in his voice.

“Secrets!”

“Your attempted attack. And subsequent failure,” Zaltotan reminded Shadow, laughing haughtily.

“Bastard, been spying on me!?” yelled the shadow knight, moving to grab the Archwizard.

“Hold, Shadow!” called out Reaper. “What good would it do to fight amongst ourselves now? We are the Dark Generals, and we have only four of our number left!”

When Alefgaard was invaded, the six Dark Generals dispatched with their armies to various parts of the continent were the shadow, devil, and reaper knights, the star chimera, the Archwizard Katusa, and Gigantes. Gigantes fell in the battle at Radatome, succumbing to the reinforcements that came from the southern nations, while Katusa was executed by the Dragonlord following his failure to resolve the golem situation at Melkid. Zaltotan, risen from the grave, was to take Katusa’s place. The other Dark Generals had never thought of Zaltotan as one of their original number, despite the Dragonlord’s appointment.

“At any rate, we must be cautious,” Zaltotan said to Shadow and Devil, as if lecturing them. “With no proof that this boy is a true descendant, to end him now would prove to his highness nothing. It would just repeat that mistake from fifteen years ago.”

“Watch your tongue!” the shadow knight yelled, staring Zaltotan down. “I don’t recall agreeing to take directions from a newcomer like you!” he spat, and stalked out of the chamber with the devil knight in tow.