Novel

After Eugene stepped into the gap between dimensions, Kristina knelt on the ground and started praying. She beseeched the God of Light for Eugene’s safe return.

Cyan had also knelt beside Kristina. Though he wasn’t a follower of the God of Light, he, too, offered prayers for his brother’s safety. After all, faith wasn’t a prerequisite for such a plea.

“Ah.” Lovellian was the first to detect the anomaly. He had been wandering aimlessly in the vicinity with a face full of worry when he noticed a distortion spreading across the clear sky.

“What is that?” Melkith, who had been seated on a boulder communicating with the spirits, stood up abruptly when she noticed the disruption.

Kristina and Cyan raised their heads, and suddenly, the distortion grew larger, turning into a fracture in the sky. Soon after, the fracture silently split open, and Eugene dropped out from its center.Fôllôw 𝒏ew stories at n𝒐/v(e)lb/in(.)com

“Sir Eugene!” Kristina cried out in surprise.

She had not been expecting him to return so quickly. Barely an hour had passed since Eugene had entered the dimensional rift. Could he have slain Raizakia in such a short time?

Her questions were immediately answered. A gigantic corpse of a dragon fell right behind Eugene. It belonged to Raizakia, the Demon Dragon. The deep wound on his neck made it appear as if his head was on the verge of separating completely, but not a single drop of blood flowed from the wound.

“Kyaaaah!” Melkith burst out into a high-pitched scream. Her eyes flipped to show their whites as she flung her arms toward Raizakia’s falling corpse. It was almost as if she wished to be crushed under the falling corpse.

Naturally, Melkith had no intention of meeting her demise by being crushed with the enormous weight.

However, the graceful curves of its massive form, the smooth black scales, and the near-metallic bones visible in the cross-section of the deep wound on its neck were incredibly alluring to her. Melkith’s White Tower was not only a hub for spirit magic but also alchemy. Thus, Melkith possessed a fair knowledge of alchemy, despite being the master of spirit magic.

But no! Even a wizard, not just an alchemist, would be thrilled to see such a well-preserved corpse of an Ancient Dragon.

“Are you just going to stand there?” said Eugene, shooting Melkith a reproachful glance. Lovellian hurried over and attempted to drag her away, but Melkith stubbornly resisted, clinging to Lovellian.

“Y-You can have me! I’ll give you… everything I have! Just give me that!” she shouted with excitement.

“Stop talking nonsense and go,” Eugene grumbled, stretching his hand toward the sky.

Krrrr!

The mana Eugene conjured suspended Raizakia’s gigantic corpse in mid-air momentarily. He let out a long sigh while slowly laying the massive body onto the barren land.

“It’s so damn big,” he complained.

The dimensional rift had been a dark, empty space, which made it hard to estimate Raizakia’s true size. But now, with the surrounding scenery for comparison, the enormity of the dragon’s size could be fully appreciated. The corpse of Raizakia was large enough to rival a sizable castle.

‘I must have been out of my mind,’ Eugene grumbled inwardly.

He had engaged in close combat with that enormous beast. Eugene shivered as he glanced at Raizakia’s gigantic tail, recalling the blow he had taken from it. He knew that the force of that single hit could have easily killed him.

‘My body… hasn’t fully recovered.’

Eugene realized and examined his body with a grimace. He had barely managed to survive, thanks to the World Tree and the light of the spirits. He would have been dead if their timely intervention had been just a moment later.

It truly had been a miracle. It was as Sienna had said. Eugene could not find any other words to describe it. His broken heart and Core had healed, and even his bones, flesh, and internal organs had mended together.

However, he could not consider himself fully healed. Judging from how his flow of mana felt obstructed, he would need to rest for a good while to recover fully. Given that he had used Ignition twice in a row — a technique that usually caused him to be bedridden for days after a single use — it was nothing short of a miracle that he was able to stand on his own.

“Sir Eugene!”

The examination of his condition was cut short by a shout. Kristina had flung herself onto him from behind. Eugene tried his best to ignore the soft, malleable sensation pressing into his back and coughed awkwardly.

“Are you safe? You’re really safe? You’re not hurt at all?” Kristina’s barrage of questions gave away her anxiety.

“Well… I did almost die, but I somehow managed to survive,” responded Eugene.

“What? What do you mean by that?” Kristina asked urgently.

Eugene managed to squirm away from her, then turned to see that she was already in tears.

“Hold on, just hold on. I’ll explain everything,” he said hurriedly.

Cyan was also approaching him, and Lovellian had a look of immense curiosity. And Melkith? She was stealthily approaching Raizakia’s corpse.

“If you want even a single scale, you better behave yourself,” said Eugene.

“You’re getting more and more insolent, aren’t you?” retorted Melkith.

“That’s because, Lady Melkith, you are becoming less and less respectable,” said Eugene.

Or had she been like that from the very beginning? Eugene cast Melkith a sideways glance, who displayed none of the dignity expected of an Archwizard. Melkith turned elegantly before returning to Lovellian’s side, acting as if nothing had happened.

“So… what happened was….”

Eugene had no intention of discussing the true nature of the Moonlight Sword, his suspicions about Vermouth, and any such matters. These topics were for him to discuss with Anise and Sienna.

Instead, he delved into the battle with Raizakia, the Dark Power Raizakia had stolen from the power Edmund had gathered for the ritual and the help he received from Sienna during the battle.

“Are you saying Lady Sienna helped you?” Lovellian asked with surprise.

“Apparently, she received the help of the World Tree. Honestly, if Lady Sienna had not helped, I would have died,” Eugene responded. If Raizakia had been weakened as he had initially thought, victory would not have been impossible. ‘Though difficult,’ Eugene thought.

“I’m wondering if Balzac had something to do with this. Maybe he was behind all this,” Eugene grumbled while grimacing.

Lovellian shook his head after a moment’s thought. “I don’t think so. You said it yourself that the Demon Dragon was the first to speak. Edmund had coveted the dragon’s power, and his ritual and magic fell apart with his death. For a dragon such as Raizakia, it would not have been a difficult task to seize the scattering power before his connection to Edmund was severed.”

“You seem surprisingly defensive of Balzac,” Eugene grumbled.

“I simply don’t support unfounded accusations and suspicions. To be honest, I don’t particularly like the Black Tower Master, but… his wish was quite touching,” said Lovellian with a bitter smile.

There was one thing Eugene was sure of. Throughout his past and present life, Lovellian was the most honorable mage he had met.

[What’s wrong with Lady Sienna’s character?] Mer complained.

‘Frankly, she’s not an outstanding citizen.’

[I’m going to tell Lady Sienna.]

‘Do tell, tattletale,’ Eugene mocked before clearing his face.

“Anyways, everything ended well. We almost died, but we didn't. Instead, we killed Raizakia and even saved Lady Sienna. She won’t be able to return immediately, but she did say she would come to Aroth after recovering her strength,” said Eugene.

“T-To Aroth?” asked Lovellian, his face turning a shade paler. In the past, when Eugene revealed his ownership of Akasha, the Kingdom of Aroth held a hearing on whether to officially recognize Eugene as the master of Akasha.

—And she said to me that she will return to the Aroth and knock over the whole country.

—Lady Sienna is not only alive but also furious with Aroth.

—I am not sure how she will vent her wrath…. Hmm…. As far as I know, the Abram palace was a gift from Lady Sienna… The lake that surrounds the palace was also made by Lady Sienna. Isn’t the palace’s devil-seal circle also the work of Lady Sienna? So… she might drown the whole palace….

—Or else… she might pour a meteor shower on the palace. It’s none of my business, though….

“You don’t need to worry,” Eugene assured with a wink. “Didn’t I tell you during the hearing? Neither you nor the Red Tower will suffer any harm from Lady Sienna’s wrath.”

“That’s… that’s not what’s important. Aroth is not prepared for Lady Sienna’s return. We need to make contact immediately and….” mumbled Lovellian.

“I don’t think Lady Sienna would appreciate that. Perhaps it would be better for us all to stay quiet and avoid her wrath,” Eugene suggested.

“What about me? What should I do, Eugene? I helped you a lot this time around, right? Don’t just worry about the Red Tower. Take care of the White Tower as well, will you?” Melkith asked, immediately changing her stance and attempting to butter him up.

Eugene stopped her advance and pushed her away with mana as he continued to speak. “Anyway, I think it would be better not to inform Aroth about Lady Sienna’s return. If word gets out prematurely….”

“Hmm, we certainly need to be cautious about that,” Lovellian had no choice but to agree. Eugene had a valid point.

“What are you going to do about this?” he asked, pointing at Raizakia’s corpse.

The dragon’s corpse was as big as a castle, but what was important wasn’t its size. It wasn’t just the corpse of any random creature or monster, but the body of Raizakia, a millennium-old dragon considered the best, strongest, and also the worst.

Cyan was overwhelmed by the sight and barely managed to speak up.

“Are… are we going to bury it here and hold a funeral?” he asked tentatively.

“Are you out of your mind? Why would we bury such a valuable thing? It’s a trophy. Lady Ancilla will be thrilled if we bring it back to the Lionheart family,” explained Eugene.

A trophy? The corpse of a dragon? Cyan looked alternatingly at Eugene and the corpse with disbelief.

“There’s nothing to waste in the corpse of a dragon, but that’s only the case with normal dragons. But now…. We’ll have to throw away quite a bit of it. Especially the blood, we absolutely cannot use it. The flesh… meat? Maybe we could cook and eat it, but I’m afraid it might do more harm than good,” continued Eugene.

“There is a rumor that you can gain immortality by eating dragon meat,” said Melkith with gleaming eyes. “Of course, no one’s ever verified it. They say that if you eat dragon meat, other dragons will definitely find out and come to kill you. But couldn’t that be proof? The dragons come to kill, and you end up dead. It means that it’s just a ridiculous myth, after all. I mean, who would believe such things in this day and age?”

“Then Lady Melkith, why are you bent on so many myths?” asked Eugene.

“Myths? What are you talking about? I don’t believe in myths. Everything I do is based on truths that I have personally verified.” Melkith was quite confident on this matter, and in fact, she had succeeded in forming contracts with three Spirit Kings.

“The meat will probably be inedible,” said Kristina after collecting herself enough to speak. “It’s like you said, Sir Eugene. Like its blood, the flesh of the Demon Dragon is likely to be extremely toxic to humans.”

“The bones, scales, skin, and teeth could be useful, though,” Eugene suggested.

“Purified, they might be, but given their size and scale, it will take quite a bit of time,” responded Kristina.

“There’s no need to rush. I will just seal it for now, store it in my cloak, and take it around with me,” said Eugene. But as he spoke, he realized his mistake. It wasn’t only Mer who resided in his cloak now, but Raimira as well.

Raimira had recently come to her senses and was being briefed by Mer on what had taken place. Even so, would it not be insensitive to store Raizakia’s corpse right next to Raimira?

‘Well, I’ll just have them come out of the cloak,’ Eugene thought.

It wasn’t a big deal.

“First, let me return this to you,” Eugene said, taking off the rosary from his neck. His action caused Kristina’s expression to suddenly change.

[Kristina…,] Anise called out urgently.

‘No, Sister. We already have an agreement. This grace is for me to enjoy and for me alone.’

[How cruel…. Don’t you pity me? I’m already dead.]

‘No, I don’t.’

She gave a curt, unwavering answer, unwilling to cede even an inch. Even Anise, who was usually sly, was at a loss for words at her cold response. Kristina took off her hat, pushed back her lush, blonde hair with both hands, then slowly made her way in front of Eugene before kneeling on one knee.

“Please,” she whispered in a sweet, gentle voice. It wasn’t anything important, but Eugene couldn’t help but gulp as he looked down at her. Having brushed her golden hair aside, Kristina had exposed her neck, which was as smooth as ivory and gleamed with sweat.

“…Ah, ehem.” Eugene cleared his throat, then bent down to place the rosary around Kristina’s neck. His mouth felt dry when he caught a whiff of a fragrance emanating from Kristina.

[Just die,] Mer shrieked inside his head while holding onto Raimira. Thankfully, her words brought Eugene back to his senses. He immediately linked the rosary around her neck with a click. He was about to quickly retreat when Kristina suddenly grabbed his hands.

“Sir Eugene,” she called out as she intertwined her hands with Eugene’s into praying hands. “I am glad you returned safely.”

She peered upwards with moist eyes. Eugene could clearly feel the warmth permeating the back of his hands.

Eugene could only remain silent as he gulped loudly. Seeing his reaction, Kristina released her hands with a small smile.

‘He’s reacting, Sister.’

[Indeed…. It seems that conveying our heart to Hamel last time was effective.]

‘Yes, undoubtedly.’

[That foolish man doesn’t understand anything that isn’t direct. In that sense, we possess an advantage over Sienna. That girl is quite shy, so she won’t easily confess to Hamel even after reuniting.]

After traveling with Sienna for over a dozen years, Anise had a perfect grasp of her character. Within the fairy tale that the two had co-authored, the single line Sienna had carved at the end had been the bravest, boldest move she had made in her life.

—Sienna, I liked you.

“So, are we taking this back to the Lionheart mansion?” asked Cyan, stealing a glance at Raizakia’s corpse.

They had no more business in the Samar Rainforest. Although they had not yet claimed half of the spoils after defeating the Kochilla Tribe, Ivatar would ensure it was delivered to the Lionheart family.

“You go back first,” Eugene responded.

“Why?” Cyan asked with a surprised face.

“I’m going to stop by Aroth,” proclaimed Eugene. He had thirty days remaining. It was already a tight schedule even if he were to return directly from the center of the Rainforest, so what if he were to be delayed by one or two days because he had stopped by his family?

Eugene shuddered as he imagined Sienna’s wrath.

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