I Became the Martial God's Youngest Disciple

A dining hall at midnight wasn't the right place for a long conversation.

According to Leone, no permanent administrators were assigned to each activity, but unannounced inspections occasionally took place in the early hours of the morning.

It was best to avoid anything that would arouse suspicion, so I quietly returned to my room. Calling it a room was generous, since it was little better than an animal cage. After that, I tried to get some sleep.

For the first time in a long while, I actually dreamed. Once I came to my senses, a lion overflowing with black mana stood before me. It was larger than an ordinary lion, and its eyes were red.

Under normal circumstances, its size alone would have overwhelmed me, but strangely, it showed no hostility to me.

As I was locked in a strange staring contest with the unnaturally calm lion, a thunderstorm erupted in the distance. Fierce winds swept through the area, and with every flash of lightning, the silhouette of a creature appeared within the dark storm clouds.

A dragon? No, it's different. The dragons I knew had bloated bodies and thick limbs. To put it somewhat ridiculously, they looked like winged lizards.

The silhouette moving through the dark clouds was smooth like a loach. This didn't mean it was limbless. Beneath its snout, I could make out what appeared to be a pair of arms.

The mysterious dragon didn't soar through the sky as though it were flying. Instead, it moved as if it were swimming through water. I couldn't understand how a wingless dragon could fly.

Then the dragon roared, and the heavens and earth quaked.

I opened my eyes with every hair on me standing on end.

The roar scattered the dark clouds and finally revealed the dragon's appearance: ash-gray scales, the antlers of a deer, the talons of an eagle, the whiskers of a catfish. Described like this, its appearance sounded ridiculous. Yet, the dragon before me was more mysterious than any creature I had ever seen.

The moment its lightning-filled eyes turned toward the ground, instinct told me that I should never enter its field of vision. Still, how could I escape the gaze of a being looking down at me from the sky itself?

At that moment, the black lion beside me leapt across the cliff and landed firmly atop the rocky mountain. Then it looked up at the sky and roared. Compared to the dragon roaming through the sky, the howl sounded insignificant.

A dragon versus a tiger? No, a dragon versus a lion, or perhaps a suanni? [1]

It felt as if I were watching the emperor of heaven and the king of the earth warily keeping each other in check.

Then I woke up.

What kind of nonsensical dream was that?

It was strange enough that I had dreamt for the first time in so long, but the dream itself was even more absurd. Nonetheless, it was too vivid to be dismissed as a nonsensical dream.

I scratched my forehead and felt the texture of a lizardman's unique, sharp scales. After standing there for a moment, I finally got to my feet. I was still a bit dazed, but the sleep seemed to have cleared away my tangled thoughts.

For now, let's eat while thinking things through.

***

I headed to the dining hall for breakfast.

Unlike last night, the dining hall was crowded. Holding my plate, I collected my food while feeling the gazes around me shift in my direction.

Come to think of it, I am the only member of a lesser race in the dining hall. The others must still be camped in front of the monster corpses. More importantly, what are they going to do about food?

At this moment, someone approached me and called out in a harsh voice, "Hey, lizard."

I wondered who that fellow was, but his face looked strangely familiar. He was the man who had argued about the point allocation until the end yesterday.

Digging my nails into the canned food, I said bluntly, "Luzard."

"What?"

"My name is Luzard, not Lizard. Don't forget it," I said.

The man laughed sarcastically. Then, for some reason, he smiled slightly as he spoke. "Yes, Luzard. Come to think of it, you don't even know my name. I am Jorette."

"Jorette. What can I do for you?" I asked.

"I figured you don't know the rules here, so I'm here to warn you," he replied.

"Rules?"

Jorette nodded. "Yes. Meal time for lesser races starts in thirty minutes."

I frowned. Work at the labor camp started in an hour. If I waited another thirty minutes to eat, the preparation alone would leave me with barely any time. I would have to eat so quickly that I probably wouldn't even know whether the food went into my mouth or up my nose.

"Don't make me laugh. There are plenty of seats. We can just eat together," a cheeky voice interrupted.

It was Leone, still under Michael's identity. The moment our eyes met, she winked with a sly grin.

Her tone and frivolous attitude were the same as before, but now that I knew Michael's true identity, I couldn't help feeling conflicted.

"Hey, you dwarf. Why do you keep interfering in our affairs?" Jorette demanded.

"I've always been the type who can't stand injustice," Leone claimed.

"How funny. Do you think I don't know that you are trying to cling to this lizardman after seeing his little performance yesterday? Just as I expected, you're a sly fella." Jorette snorted, grabbed his tray, and stood up. "If you want to leave this place with all your limbs intact, you'd better choose your side carefully. If you keep acting like that while the director's around, you may die without anyone ever finding out."

"Is that so? By the way, why hasn't the director shown himself since yesterday?" Leone asked.

Jorette froze as he was about to leave the dining hall. His eyes darted around like he had no idea how to respond.

"Bah. The director is busier than you think. You'll get hurt if you try to pry into his business." With that, Jorette left the dining hall. The rest of the prisoners followed as if in agreement.

Then something unexpected happened. Several of them, a mix of humans, fairies, and beastfolk, approached me with surprisingly friendly attitudes.

"Thank you for yesterday."

"I am indebted to you."

"You are quite skilled with a sword."

"You guys! Come quickly!" Jorette shouted.

They followed after Jorette's call, although most still gave a polite nod before leaving.

At least they aren't completely shameless.

Frankly, this was normal. Not all seven races were evil, just as not every member of the lesser races was weak. Before leaving, I made an effort to memorize the faces of those who had greeted me.

Once again, Leone and I were left alone in the dining hall. Of course, it was nowhere near as quiet or empty as it had been the night before. For one thing, a few chefs still lingered in the kitchen.

𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

I scooped the contents from the can to eat, and Leone asked me with a sly grin, "Did you sleep well?"

"I had a nightmare," I answered flatly.

"What nightmare?"

"I don't remember much, but I think I saw a black lion."

"Black lion?" Leone let out a cheerful laugh.

Was a black lion that funny? I looked at her as if she were a lunatic.

Leone stopped laughing and said, "I never thought you would see me that way. Well, lions have long symbolized rulers, so it isn't impossible."

I frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"I was that black lion."

My hands froze in the middle of moving across the table.

"Didn't I tell you? Your disguise is useless before someone who can see your essence. I don't want your identity exposed right away, so I set up a small defense."

"By invading my dream?" I asked.

"That is the most reliable method."

What exactly did dreams mean to individuals like the Dark Pope and Leone?

Yesterday had been my first lucid dream, so I found it difficult to understand the abilities of those who could invade dreams.

So that loach-like dragon is the Dark Pope's essence?

When I saw the dragon, three impressions came to mind: mysterious, strange, and evil.

Not long ago, I had experienced a similar feeling. It came from the incomprehensible existence that Senior Sister Tian showed me before leaving Spirit Mountain. Someday, I was supposed to surpass him, but for now, I couldn't see any gaps at all. I was referring to the Great Disaster Behemoth.

"Be grateful. Thanks to me, the Pope won't be able to see your essence. It's up to you to make good use of that advantage," Leone said.

The Dark Pope... Discussing someone like that in the dining hall during the day carried a certain risk. Still, a place like this suited a private conversation better. Both of us were skilled enough to notice immediately if anyone nearby tried to eavesdrop. At the same time, the constant background noise helped drown out our voices.

"By the way, did you give any thought to last night?" Leone asked.

She had made a suggestion yesterday. According to her, now that this had happened, we should join forces and summon the Colorless Demon King. The demon king's descent was already inevitable. Our best option was to summon the one that would cause the least destruction, namely the Colorless Demon King.

I agreed with her reasoning, but I still had reservations.

"I have thought about it," I said. "However, I haven't heard the most important thing yet."

"And what would that be?"

"Your purpose," I stated.

"Did you forget what I suggested yesterday? Let's summon the Colorless Judge together."

"Isn't that the goal you only came up with yesterday?" I looked at Leone. "Meeting me here was an unexpected development for you. In other words, you had no intention of participating in the competition from the beginning. Then why did you come in person to this labor camp?"

Leone hummed and crossed her arms. "First of all, there is one big misunderstanding."

"Misunderstanding?" I echoed.

"I didn't come in person," she pointed out.

That was true. This wasn't Leone's actual form.

A moment later, Leone abruptly changed the subject. "The Pope is a very troublesome person. It's not just because of their goals, ambitions, or inclinations. The real problem is the Pope's ability. They used their own magic to split their mind."

"Split their mind?"

It was difficult to grasp from the explanation alone.

"For example, take me. Right now, while I'm speaking to you, my consciousness resides in this vessel, correct? Back at the academy, it resided in the puppet Dean Alderson created," she elaborated.

"That's right."

She continued, "The Pope is different. They are currently present at this labor camp, but at the same time, their alter egos are widely spread throughout the continent."

"Does that mean there is no main body?" I asked.

"I don't know about that. Either there is a separate main body somewhere, or every one of them is the main body."

If it was the latter, killing the Dark Pope would be nearly impossible. Still, one thing bothered me. "Is such a thing possible?"

"What do you mean?"

"Even with so many selves, the Pope has never been caught all these years. No matter how careful they are, that should be impossible."

I had assumed that the Dark Pope was the continent's most mysterious figure because they approached their targets exclusively through dreams. According to Leone, however, that wasn't the case. The realization made me understand that the Dark Pope was far more active than I had originally believed.

"Ahh... It isn't strange at all. The Pope is the only one who has received Behemoth's blessing."

Behemoth... I hesitated the moment this name came up. Delac had headed to Spirit Mountain and fought Senior Brother He Lou there, yet for some reason, their battle had ended without a clear outcome. Instead, traces of Behemoth's Dark Qi were later discovered inside Delac.

Maybe Leone knows the secret behind this incident? Since the topic had already surfaced, asking about it would be easy, but there was one complication. If I changed to this topic for no reason, she would likely realize that Delac had lost his memory.

"Ah, right. Now that I think about it, Delac is also in the south." I was still weighing my options, Leone unexpectedly brought up Delac first.

"How do you know that?" I asked.

"I received a report this morning," she replied. "It said that someone is planning to meet with Delac today to propose a deal."

"A deal? Who is it?"

"You have met her once in the north. Do you remember? A witch named Dorothy."

As surprise settled over me, Leone quietly looked at the clock hanging on the wall of the dining hall and muttered, "Maybe they've already met by now."

What kind of deal could Dorothy Maniter possibly offer Delac?

***

Delac looked at the uninvited guest. He never expected a visitor to come while temporarily staying at the Golden Lord's residence, especially not someone who could be considered such a major figure.

It was their first meeting, but Delac easily recognized the person before him. The diary contained descriptions of important figures, which made identification easy. She was the witch known as Dorothy.

Dorothy G. Maniter, a witch with a Middle Name like mine and also a member of the Abanaham Witch Society. She is temperamental, and her motives are unclear. She acts compliant when orders come from the imperial family, but she never gives them her full effort.

That was the brief summary of Dorothy's personality. He had already placed her on his mental watch list as someone to watch, but he never expected to run into her in the south.

What shocked him even more were the details of the deal she proposed.

"Give me the subordinate called Nalu." Dorothy grinned. "Of course, I know you won't easily cast out one from the Badnikers, even if it's only a subordinate. However, this deal is worth the loss."

Dorothy spoke with complete confidence that her proposal would be accepted.

Delac said, "Is the information certain?"

"I'm not brave enough to lie to you about matters concerning the Dark Church," she replied.

As Dorothy expected, Delac had little reason to refuse. Her offer was that attractive.

The whereabouts of the Dark Pope. Delac's gaze drifted past Dorothy and settled beneath the table. He stared into the shadows as he organized his thoughts.

The biggest problem was that the current Delac had no idea who Nalu was. The name had never appeared in his diary. Still, there were enough clues to form a few conjectures. For one thing, the person Dorothy encountered in the south, the one called Nalu, claimed to be his subordinate. Yet very few people knew Delac was currently in the south. Even if word of his recent movements had leaked, news like that would take time to spread.

There was also another detail.

"Who took away that subordinate in the middle?" Delac asked.

"A black mage called Lise Ladygoth," Dorothy answered.

Someone who knows my current location... Someone capable of bringing out Lise Ladygoth, who is sealed in the basement of the main house. ..Above all, someone called Nalu, a name that hardly sounds intelligent... Platinum-blond hair flashed through Delac's mind. That person was so unlike him that it was hard to believe they shared the same blood.

Delac imagined a presence that seemed to burn like the sun itself and couldn't help smiling. Even Dorothy lost herself for a moment at the sight of it.

"What did he do to you?" Delac asked.

"He humiliated me. You know I'm the type who can't live with that kind of debt," she said viciously.

"What are you going to do?"

"First of all, I'll make him take off his mask so I can see his face, right? If he's handsome enough to satisfy my sense of aesthetics, I'll give him a relatively painless death after a little torment. But if he's ugly..." A sadistic smile spread across Dorothy's face. "First, I'll peel the skin from his face. Very slowly, so I can savor the feeling of it coming off. Then I'll gouge out his eyes and sprinkle salt over the exposed flesh—"

Dorothy's voice cut off abruptly. A dark brown hand had suddenly shot out and grabbed her neck.

"Cough..."

She didn't even realize she had been seized until her airway was already half blocked. As a skilled mage, her first instinct was to gather mana rather than struggle physically. She failed. The moment she met the purple eyes holding her in place, the violently churning mana inside her instantly went still.

In that instant, she understood. If she resisted carelessly now, her neck would be snapped, and she would die.

"Dorothy Maniter, you aren't someone who can afford to let your mouth run carelessly." Delac leaned in and whispered against Dorothy's ear, "So watch your mouth, you wretch."

1. Suanni = Creature said to be a cross of a lion and a dragon in Chinese mythology ☜