kscans

CHAPTER 6 FYUZARION – Episode 7 The Tale of King Jean (Part 2)

4 (t/n: this is zariya talking to bard)

King Jean was not of this land. From far beyond the skies, he arrived here aboard a Starship, along with many Sailors and even more Sleeping Folk. It’s a curious thing, really. Both the Sailors and the Sleeping Folk had journeyed through the stars in slumber. King Jean was one of the Sailors. When the Starship landed on this land, everyone was supposed to awaken, but for some reason, King Jean woke up first. He tried to rouse the other Sailors, but it was as if they were made unawakable. Only a few Sailors could awaken the Sleeping Folk, and unless those few awoke, the Sleeping Folk remained in slumber. King Jean, thus, set foot on this land alone and began his adventure. (t/n: skies or star can also be tl as heavens. so he came from far beyond the heavens)

This land was inhabited by many people. Ah, not humans, mind you. They’re what we’d call demi-humans today. King Jean referred to them as the “Original Folk.” The term “demi-human” wasn’t coined during King Jean’s era. It came much later. I’m not fond of the term “demi-human,” but I’ll use it here for familiarity’s sake.

Demi-humans were in conflict with other demi-human races and even among their own tribes. King Jean made friends among them, united many demi-humans, and brought peace to this land. To accomplish such a monumental task in just a decade or so truly speaks to King Jean’s greatness. The demi-humans came to call him the one true king. The once young King Jean had grown into his prime.

Eventually, the Sailors began to awaken. King Jean was overjoyed and attempted to awaken the Sleeping Folk as well. However, some Sailors opposed this. King Jean believed, according to ancient decrees, that Sailors, Sleeping Folk, and demi-humans should join hands and live together. In contrast, some Sailors thought that they should become nobles, the Sleeping Folk the commoners, and the demi-humans slaves. There were ranks even among the Sailors, and King Jean was not of high rank. The highest-ranking Sailors, including the Captain, refused to accept King Jean’s ideology. Instead, they imprisoned Jean, who had woken up early and become a king, labeling him a traitor. They simply wanted to be kings themselves. The highest-ranking Sailors decided to divide the territories and rule over the people, planning to awaken the Sleeping Folk only after embedding their control mechanisms.

With the help of some sympathetic Sailors, King Jean escaped. The Sailors split into two factions, one led by the Captain and the other by King Jean. A long and fierce war ensued. The Sailors possessed powerful weapons brought from beyond the stars. Spears that could slice the sky and hammers that could shatter mountains were wielded. Forests burned, and rivers dried up.

At one point, King Jean was captured by the enemy. Just before his execution, a miracle occurred. A spirit, which had been close to King Jean, merged with his life force, becoming one. It was the world’s first instance of a “Spirit Possession.” Until then, no one had thought such a thing possible. The Sailors couldn’t see spirits, though they had the means to make them visible. However, spirits were considered inconsequential, merely floating about without causing harm or offering help. King Jean was such an oddity for befriending even these seemingly useless beings.

Spirits originally resided in a realm not of this world, born into our world from somewhere else. Upon death, they return to their original realm, gain new power, and are reborn into our world endlessly. When a spirit merges with a person, becoming part of their life force, that person gains mysterious powers. Their bodies become robust, wounds heal quickly, strength increases, and they never tire. Their lifespan greatly extends. Not only that, but they can amplify the powers of fire, water, earth, and wind, create illusions, and perform various other magical feats. With the powers gained from spirit possession, King Jean regained his freedom.

Following this, the two factions of Sailors became desperate to become spirit-possessed. Methods were devised to forcibly incorporate spirits. Many spirits were taken in. Some, like the spirits that were my friends, were not taken.

In the end, with the help of the demi-humans, King Jean emerged victorious. The Captain was captured and executed, and all opposition to King Jean was eliminated. However, the central continent (t/n: not the central plains) had become uninhabitable. King Jean awakened the Sleeping Folk and settled them in the frontier districts of the west, east, north, and south. Thus, a peaceful era finally began, but it did not last long.

Demonic beasts appeared. Animals that were once ordinary suddenly transformed into demonic beasts. Their bodies grew larger, their lifespans extended manyfold, and their vitality increased astonishingly. The cause of the demonic beast transformation was initially unknown. King Jean researched, pondered, and found the answer.

Spirits, even in death, would eventually revive, retaining their previous memories. However, spirits absorbed by humans and vanished never seemed to return.

That was not the case. They did revive—as demonic beasts.

When spirits merged with humans and were reborn, they lost their memories. Not only that, but they also lost their wisdom, hearts, and kindness, essentially becoming mad spirits upon revival. Mad spirits, upon revival, seek to possess living creatures. However, mad spirits cannot possess beings with intelligence. Thus, they possess beasts. Beasts possessed by mad spirits become stronger and more robust. But that’s not all. They become ferocious. And this ferocity is directed solely at humans. Upon seeing or smelling humans, they become enraged and attack, compelled to tear them apart. That was the true nature of demonic beasts.

Yes. The result of the Sailors, now spirit-possessed, killing each other was the birth of many mad spirits. These spirits possessed beasts, creating the demonic beasts.

Killing a demonic beast releases the mad spirit, which then possesses another beast. Demonic beasts do not hate beasts or demi-humans, only humans. When humans approach, demonic beasts become ferocious, and nearby beasts also turn violent. Demonic beasts, killed and reborn as demonic beasts, continue to hate and attack humans.

King Jean was shocked and grieved upon learning the truth. Not only had he destroyed the once innocent and happy spirits, but he had also doomed them to an eternal cycle of hatred and killing with humans.

Nonetheless, demonic beasts could not be left unchecked. King Jean created weapons capable of defeating demonic beasts. It seems he borrowed the power of great spirits, though the details are unclear. These great spirits were akin to gods of spirits, possessing immense power equivalent to hundreds or thousands of spirits. Yet, they never conversed with spirits or observed the world with them, remaining mysterious beings. A sword imbued with a spirit god’s power could reportedly defeat a hundred demonic beasts in a single swing. However, killing them only resulted in their revival as demonic beasts.

By this time, King Jean, who had become long-lived through spirit possession, was nearing the end of his life. With his limited time, he desperately sought a way for humans and demonic beasts to coexist without killing each other. The result was the creation of Yelgorg (Blue Stone), Lologorg (Red Stone), and the Great Barrier.

You’ve seen the Yelgorg (Blue Stone), haven’t you? It’s a magical stone capable of calming and controlling demonic beasts. The Lologorg (Red Stone) attracts spirits attempting to revive. King Jean surrounded human-inhabited lands with a massive wall. Thus, the birth of Jean’s Great Wall, Jean Dessa Law. (t/n: blue stone is used by the Jameen to control the yelger (blue panther). maybe that’s why bard’s blue-green phosphorescence can calm demonic beasts.)

Bard Rowen. Do you know what lies beyond the Great Barrier? Hehehe. Yes, yes. A forest inhabited by demonic beasts stretches out. And what do you think lies beyond that?

You don’t know, huh? I thought so. It’s beyond common sense. Water. Salty water. The land inhabited by humans is encircled by the Great Barrier, beyond which lies a forest inhabited by demonic beasts, and even further, the forest is surrounded by salty water. It’s as if this land floats atop the water.

Hyah, hyah, hyah. Can’t believe it, can you? It’s no wonder. Without seeing it with your own eyes, it’s hard to believe. I know it, but whether I believe it myself is another matter. But that’s the truth.

What? What lies beyond that water? I don’t know. That’s beyond even my knowledge. It’s not in the memories of the spirits that merged with me.

There’s a vast land in the central continent, and the frontier districts are extensive. The area outside the Great Barrier is roughly the same size as those two combined. King Jean embedded a large amount of Lologorg (Red Stone) outside the Great Barrier. Then, he exterminated the demonic beasts inside the Great Barrier. When possible, he captured them alive and discarded them outside the Great Barrier. When a dead demonic beast revives, it’s drawn to the Lologorg (Red Stone) and revives outside the Great Barrier. Since Yelgorg (Blue Stone) is embedded in the Great Barrier, almost no demonic beasts attempt to cross it.

You understand now. King Jean separated the places where humans and demonic beasts live. By doing so, he aimed to prevent further killing.

However, King Jean had regrets. He regretted driving the spirits to such a fate. At the same time, he wondered if there was no hope. Therefore, a small gap was created in the Great Barrier.

Currently, humans and demonic beasts have no choice but to kill each other. However. Someday, far in the future, perhaps. The madness may subside, and the spirits may return to their innocent and friendly selves. He hope for that day. He wish for the day when humans and spirits can be friends again. That wish is embedded in that gap.

Right? Without the gap, demonic beasts and humans would remain separated. Even if they returned to their original spirit form, they wouldn’t know. Hoping for the day when demonic beasts calm down. Looking forward to the day when demonic beasts disappear, and spirits are revived. As a bond connecting humans and spirits, that gap was created.

King Jean died, and the techniques brought from beyond the stars were lost. Humans could no longer fly through the sky or shatter mountains. King Jean probably thought that was for the best.

Ah, yes. You’ve noticed that many domesticated animals have horns, right? Those are the beasts that came to this land aboard the Starship with humans. When those beasts were awakened, the Great Barrier hadn’t been constructed yet. To prevent domesticated animals from becoming demonic beasts, a mechanism was implemented to prevent mad spirits from possessing them. That’s what those horns signify. However, it seems that adding horns to the beasts originally from this land couldn’t stop them from becoming demonic beasts.

Let’s leave King Jean’s story here for now, Bard Rowen. I don’t know any more than this. But the “stones” mentioned by the Queen of Manuno are undoubtedly the Lologorg (Red Stones). Where did the large amount of Lologorg (Red Stones) come from? Did someone dig up the area outside the Great Barrier? Using Lologorg (Red Stones) to forcibly turn beasts into demonic beasts and set them on humans is outrageous. Someone is trying to disrupt the order established by King Jean. And the stone Jameen had was probably a Yelgorg (Blue Stone).

I know about the Dragonoids, but they didn’t participate in the Sailors’ war. They were a particularly strong race among the “Original Folk,” dominating other races. No, no, they weren’t governing. They didn’t bother with such tedious matters. They merely issued commands to other races for amusement. They were supposed to avoid involvement with the people from the stars.

I heard that voice saying, “Found it,” too. It was a voice that conveyed terrifying power. I don’t know who or what it is. That means it appeared during a period when the spirits within me were separated from humans. If it’s from King Jean’s era, it should be in the spirits’ memories.

The demi-humans hold the key to the secret. They’ve been passing down ancient knowledge in the form of legends and laws. All the humans here are descendants of the Sleeping Folk. They don’t know the old ways. Ah, yes. You know that demonic beasts can’t reproduce, right? The same goes for spirit-possessed humans. Humans who became spirit-possessed can’t have children. That’s why the Sailors died out long ago.

Set out on a journey, Bard Rowen. First, visit the demi-humans who had the Yelgorg (Blue Stone) and those who are friends with spirits. It’s surprising that any spirits survived unharmed. There’s no better news than that. I don’t know much about Lujura-Tiant. But Lujura-Tiant has always been good at befriending spirits.

I think your premonition is correct. This won’t end here. Something terrible is going to happen. Set out on your journey, Bard Rowen. As soon as possible.

5

Hearing this story, Bard fell ill and was bedridden. It affected him that deeply.

The revelation that humans were not originally from this world but descendants of people from beyond the stars was intriguing but not particularly surprising to Bard. It wasn’t a novel idea. The doctrine of Ketcha-Li God states that humans naturally emerged from the earth, while Corama God’s doctrine claims that God created humans from star fragments. There are not a few doctrines suggesting that humans have origins in the sky or heavens. The idea that humans came from beyond the stars seemed plausible. The new aspect was that among those people, there were those who led with god-like power and wisdom and those who were led.

However, the demonic beasts. The truth about demonic beasts shocked Bard.

One could say Bard’s life was largely dedicated to protecting people from demonic beasts. Not just Bard. All knights of Pakula did the same.

Demonic beasts were the embodiment of irrationality and malice. One could tell by facing them how much they hated humans. They would throw away everything to attack humans for the sole purpose of destruction. Fighting and defeating them was nothing but justice.

They had to be made to pay for the blood they made people shed. By killing them. They had to be stopped from terrorizing people any further. By killing them. Demonic beasts were something that could be killed, that had to be killed, and there was no question about it. They were considered the world’s aberrations, destroyers, and enemies of peace.

But that was not the case. The right to seek revenge was not on the side of humans. It was on their side. Humans had trampled on their happiness and dragged them into an eternal nightmare of killing.

It was humans. Humans who had trampled the world for their desires and deserved to be revenged upon by the world. They appeared as the representatives of the world to make humans pay for their desires. And they will continue to appear. They were the avengers, and humans were the ones to be judged. What a revelation.

A few days later, when Bard got up, he was determined to set out on a journey. But before he could act, a messenger arrived. A knight under Arflaburne. Arflaburne and his party, who had headed back to the imperial capital, encountered an unbelievable report on the way.

Suddenly, the Shinkai army invaded the Goriora Empire and captured the imperial capital. Moreover, unbelievably, the Emperor announced that the Goriora Empire would become a vassal state of Shinkai and ordered knights from all regions to gather in the imperial capital.

“Please come to Lordvan Castle immediately.” The messenger conveyed Arflaburne’s earnest request to Bard.