Blue-Eyes White Dragon: Adopted by the King of Knights [64]

Chalk City
Outside
Deserted Plain

Bluey and Artoria stood together beneath the open sky.

Looking back, the distant silhouette of Chalk City was already nearly swallowed by the horizon. Overhead, dark clouds suddenly swept in, blotting out the moonlight and starlight that had been so clear a moment ago.

The world fell abruptly into darkness.

This was, without a doubt, Bluey’s doing—a simple trick to let the night hide his current form, to shroud himself in shadow.

But honestly, there was no longer any need to hide.

“I should have realized it sooner.”

Watching Bluey standing there, making no move to transform into his dragon form, a look of deep regret appeared on Artoria’s face.

She really should have realized it sooner.

After all, Bluey used to hate appearing in human shape. He’d rather live alone in some mountain valley than take on human form and mingle among villages or towns.

But ever since he defeated Vortigen, the Usurper King, he had kept to his human form—never again transforming into a dragon.

Up to now, she had assumed that meant Bluey had “grown”—become an adult, and so had chosen to show himself as human.

But now, after summoning the Knights of the Round Table from the Throne of Heroes and hearing their stories—of that history, so full of sorrow, which they still called “right”—

To be King is always to pay a price.

And if I haven’t felt that pain myself, it only means someone else has paid it for me, long before I ever had to.

“So tell me—what price did you pay, for the sake of my ideal? Will you?”

At her gentle request, Bluey fell silent.

Then, a whirlwind of black wind erupted from him, swirling outward.

The wind was bitter and venomous, carrying curses of rage and despair, as if trying to drive them straight into the King’s soul.

But Artoria did not flinch before the blast. She didn’t even blink—she only forced her eyes wider, struggling to see what Bluey had become.

—He was still a white dragon.

But unlike before—unlike the blue-eyed white dragon who radiated majesty and divine might—this dragon had lost all of its beauty, all of its holy luster.

His once-mighty frame was now emaciated, his hide bleached pale as bone, his whole body grown harsh and monstrous. Inky blackness had devoured the top of his skull—and, most striking of all, his wings were nearly swallowed up by darkness.

[Malefic · Blue-Eyes White Dragon].

A dragon dragged down by rage and curses, one who, despite his willpower, could no longer return to the divinity he once had.

“You…”

Suddenly, Artoria’s heart ached.

Her eyes went wide, searching for something—anything—that might bridge this dreadful skeletal dragon before her to the little hatchling who once shared food with her and talked of the world beneath the stars.

I…

Artoria stared down at her own hands, for the first time in her life wearing a lost, helpless expression.

She had already suspected what she would find. But the reality, now that she saw Bluey’s true form, still left her shaken to the core.

Was it worth it?

She asked herself this question.

On one side of the scale: the happiness and smiles of hundreds of thousands in Britain; on the other, the child she’d watched grow, the hatchling once radiant with divinity, now fallen into darkness for her sake.

To weigh such things against each other—it was torment. It broke her heart and battered her reason.

“But—”

Just as Artoria fell silent, wounded by grief—

“There’s no need for you to look so heartbroken.”

Bluey pointed at himself, his tone calm and even.

“It only looks frightening. Honestly, it’s nothing. I could keep this up for another three thousand years at least.”

Three thousand years—a blink in the span of seas rising and falling. By then, who could say whether Camelot would exist, or even if there would still be humans left on Britain at all.

“So really, there’s nothing for you to worry about. Your Round Table knights didn’t come here because of this.”

Another gust of wind rose. Bluey shifted back into human form, and patted Artoria gently on the shoulder, quietly assuring her things weren’t as dire as she imagined.

—But looked at another way, maybe things were even worse.

Bluey was right: a slightly “skewed” Camelot was nothing special. It might have changed history a bit, but the Counter Force wouldn’t dispatch seven knights for something so minor.

And now, with the six who existed in this world, there were thirteen Knights of the Round Table gathered—an unprecedented assembly, especially here, on the eve of the Age of Gods’ final twilight.

So, here was the real question:

What kind of calamity would be needed to warrant all thirteen Round Table knights joining forces?

“Oh, I wonder… What could it be?” Bluey said, feigning thought.

“Cath Palug, don’t tell me it’s you?”

Suddenly, another man’s voice sounded in the darkness.

And alongside it, a very indignant little beast:

“Fou (Me)?”

“Fou fou fou fou fou! (You’re the one who deserves extinction the most!)”

An unexpected intrusion—by a magician.

Though really, it was never that unexpected.

He was always like this: appearing out of nowhere, vanishing just when everyone was looking for him.

“Fou fou—!”

The moment he saw Bluey, the beast known as Cath Palug instantly leapt free from the magician’s arms, scampering up Bluey’s body with squirrel-like agility, and claiming his usual spot on Bluey’s right shoulder.

“Merlin???”

“Ah, good evening, King.”

“Though I’m very proud to have helped raise such a fine King… it seems, when it comes to nurturing, your talents now outstrip even mine.”

“???”

“I’d love to tell you the whole truth myself, but perhaps it’s best to let this deity explain it to you in his own words.”

“Or, if you like, you could call him this—”

“Beast IV—the Fourth Beast who bears the Principle of Sublimity, the calamity rejected by human history!”

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T/N: BLUEY IS A BEAST????

This is a fan translation of 综漫：青眼幼龙，被骑士王捡到了 by 歌冰丽月. All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!