Chapter 306

“The Dragon King…!”
Ronan sighed. It was a face he hadn’t seen in a long time. It was Azidahaka, Lord of Adren, the dragon king who had been reborn and entrusted with the defense of Driemoor.
The golden behemoth was covered in scars, but it still hadn’t lost its shine. The dragon king’s two heads opened their mouths at the same time as their gaze fell on him.
【It’s been a long time-】
This is the child who saved the dragon city.
The bizarre speech patterns were still there. Where the left head left off, the right head finished the sentence. Ronan snarled.
“—You’re early, and you even look healthy.”
Honestly, I thought we’d been killed by the giants long ago, too late, and there were too many of them, no matter how fluidly we’d been instructed to deal with them. The left head twitched.
【Sorry for the delay-】.
[I’ve been catching up on work].
The dragon king explained that he was late because he was busy rallying the resistance and rescuing Navardoze. Ronan wondered how he knew where Navardoze was, since even Adeshan hadn’t found him yet. Ronan shook his head.
“I’m grateful you’re here, but how did you find Mr. Navarordze?”
【It was a stroke of luck. You know him well—]
The Dragon King was about to answer a question. BOOM! The sound resonated as if mountains were colliding at the spot where Navardoze and the King fell. I looked down and saw the King and Navardoze engaged in a savage battle.
[Now go away, you monster!
“How dare an immortal of an inferior race—!”
It was an overwhelming sight to behold. Navarordze’s teeth were flashing, and red and blue blood was splattered with every swing of his fist as the king missed his greatsword. One by one, the giants attacking the allied forces changed course to help the king.
[—-Below-]
[I think I need to take care of that first].
“I agree.”
Ronan nodded at the dragon king’s words. The boring explanation would have to wait. A shrill cry shook the night sky.
【Call! All who come from Dreammoor, do as Jim commands!
[Kill the dirty invaders, stop the end of the world!
Then, a thousand meters wide, golden wings exploded out. A fierce gale tore through the clouds. From behind the sea of white that covered the sky, hundreds of dragons emerged.
【Kraaaaaaa-!】
[Kahahaha, this is a great place to live a long life!
The roar echoed. It seemed they had indeed arrived. The dragons, led by the Dragon King, began to descend in unison.
The sky seemed to be falling, and the panicked giants hurled spears of light at them, but after their battle with Duaru, they were not as easily shot down as before.
“That movement is—.”
[Did you think we’d let you get away with it-].
[You monsters!
Bewilderment crossed the faces of the giants. The allied forces on the ground and the legions of dragons descending from the air began to crush them, acting as hammer and anvil. Suddenly, a familiar voice came from behind Ronan.
【Ronan. I was indebted to you before.
“You are—.”
Ronan turned his head. An all-white dragon stared down at him. Silvery-white scales made of metal. It was Naranthonia, the Dragon of Steel, the Dragon King’s closest advisor.
I just got the news about your sister. Somehow, most of it was flavored. We’ll send reinforcements as well.】
“Thank you. I suppose the Captain delivered it to you. But you, your wings—.”
Ronan’s eyes narrowed at the sudden sight of Naransonia’s wings. The wings that had been torn off while fighting the giant Duaru had sprouted back.
The dragon king’s left hind leg was back in one piece. She wondered if such a regeneration was possible, even for a dragon. A young man popped his head out of nowhere from Naransonia’s back.
“Well, don’t you just know, I think it’s pretty good.”
“Holy shit, what a surprise.”
Ronan, startled by the sudden appearance, cursed. What the hell is he doing on that thing? The young man looked at Ronan and burst out laughing.
“Hahahaha, scaredy-cat. There’s something cute about being an asshole.”
“What are you?”
“Don’t tell me you don’t remember, this is a shame.”
The young man grunted in disbelief. The strangely irritating topsides were somehow familiar. Looking up at them from the ground, the Savior’s eyes widened.
“Alibrihe?”
“—Savior.”
The young man locked eyes with the Savior and averted his gaze. He had the look of someone who was feeling remorseful. Ronan raised an eyebrow at the name Alibrije.
A master prosthetist and one of Nebula Clasier’s elders. A Black Dragon whom you met and parted ways with in Adren.
In the Savior’s memories, Alibrihe had taken on the appearance of a young man. The polymorphs were giving him the coloring of an old man, but that’s who he really was. The Savior stared at him, then spoke.
“Good to see you, my friend.”
“—Don’t call me that. Why should I care to be called your friend?”
Alibrije twisted his lips. He seemed to feel a twinge of conscience that, unlike Elsia, he had been cooperating with Nebula Clasier for so long. The Savior didn’t seem to mind.
“We’ll have to get out of the rain, but. Did you set Mr. Navarordze free?”
“—Well, yes. The sealing stone that Abel used was designed and made by me in the first place.”
Alibrihe rambled on. A genius inventor, he said that one day, at Abel’s command, he would create a tool that could seal even the most powerful beings.
“It was the best work I’ve ever done, with ingredients I’ll never get again—I never thought it would be used to seal the Mother of Fire.”
“You mean it wasn’t originally intended for that?”
“I don’t know the details, but probably. Abel didn’t even see Ms. Navarordze as a variable in the first place–is he dead?”
“Maybe. I honestly don’t know.”
The Savior narrowed his brow. Alibrihe shook his head at the vague answer. Dead is dead, what else does Amado say?
“Well, that’s something we’ll have to check out later. That—— is Cain.”
“Why but.”
“—I’m sorry. Really.”
Alibrije bowed his head. The words were spoken with much regret. The Savior, smiling slightly, held up a hand as if to say it was all right.
Ronan deliberately said nothing. The pride of males is the same, whether they’re giant-blooded monsters or dragons. Soon enough, Alibrihe, who had raised his head, smirked.
“Haha–I’ve never seen such a mess in my life, by the way.”
There was so much noise and color everywhere, I couldn’t see where to look. I hadn’t seen anything like this since I came out of the egg. Even though I was warned of the situation beforehand, I couldn’t help but be frightened.
Flames were rising from every corner of the once impregnable General Headquarters. An unidentifiable storm roared atop the tower’s pinnacle.
Nebula Clazier’s doom was at hand. I thought there was no hope, that no matter what they did, they would never defeat Abel, but they did.
‘You really defended it.
Alibrihe’s fists clenched with emotion, and Ronan, who looked back and forth between him and the Savior, spoke up.
“You’re not going to be a bystander, are you?”
“—You’re not giving me time to impress. Well, I was going to, but I’ve changed my mind.”
“All of a sudden, why?”
“You and your friends have given me hope. I can’t help but think that maybe, just maybe, I can do this.”
Alibrihe dragged on, saying that he had built the Dragon King’s legs and Naransonia’s wings, as well as artificial bodies for all the other crippled dragons.
“That’s good.”
Ronan smirked. Things are much better than they were a moment ago.
The legions led by Navarordje and the Dragon King were the most powerful forces on the planet. Ronan took a deep breath and spoke.
“Okay. Let’s get this over with.”
Alibrihe responded with a smile. At the same time, Ronan, who had activated his auror, mounted Naransonia’s back.
The flapping wings folded in on themselves. Kaaaaaah! The fastest dragon in Adren began to swoop down toward the King of Giants.
****
[Kahahaha! I’m the strongest!
[Kheh, kheh, kheh, kheh!
BANG! One by one, the dragons in their blissful dreams fell, each one giggling despite their broken bones, each one a force sent to capture Iriel. Her abilities had racked the minds of even the most powerful race in the world.
“Ahhahaha… So, should we play here?”
Iriel was still laughing her way across the battlefield. Her unnaturally fast pace made her hard to keep up with, with a squadron of dragons in the sky and Adeshan’s allied forces on the ground.
[Be vigilant and keep a certain distance!]
Adeshan exclaimed, taking her eyes off the king for a moment to focus on Iril.
The dragons that had been mindlessly chasing Iriel flew into the air. They cursed as they watched their kin make fools of themselves in real time.
[Holy shit, what the hell is that power? That brilliant Wolfrancita has turned into a complete asshole!
[If it’s annoying, why can’t I just burn it?
“I mean it, and you’d better not say that again.”
Adeshan warned sternly. Fortunately, at the mention of Ronan’s name, the dragons quieted down without complaint. They knew who it was that had killed Duaru and saved Adren.
[Okay. Okay, I’ll just do what you say!
Then one of the pursuing dragons unleashed his magic. His horns flashed, and massive walls of rock rose up around Iriel. One wall was ten meters high and completely blocked her path.
[Now, envelope!]
Seizing the opportunity, Adeshan ordered. The soldiers who had been chasing Iril around the perimeter rushed forward.
Taken over by the spirit, they played their part with stupid grins on their faces. Adeshan, seeing them plunge inside the rock wall, asked the Savior, “What are you doing?
“If I drink this, are you sure I’m going to be okay?”
In her hand, she clutched a small glass vial. Inside, a red liquid sloshed about. It was the blood the Savior had drawn from near her heart.
“Yeah. Probably, because whatever my foolish brother did, it’s probably some kind of curse.”
“Okay, that’s good to hear, the workaround is pretty straightforward.”
Adeshan breathed a sigh of relief; he’d been wondering if he’d have to knock her out or dump her somewhere, but it looked like he wouldn’t have to do anything that harsh.
He was trying to figure out how to get the medicine into her now shaking body. Suddenly, an explosion erupted from within the rock wall that surrounded Iril.
“What?!”
Adeshan and the Savior turned their heads at the same time. The siege wall had collapsed on all sides, spitting up dirt and dust. Adeshan bit his lower lip at the sight of the clean section.
“—This is going to be harder than I thought.”
All of the men had fallen unconscious. Then a woman emerged from the mass of bodies. Looking around, Iriel muttered in a shaky voice, “I’m sorry.
“Ooh, we’re–why are you doing this?”
“Damn.”
Adeshan sighed. Still with her eyes closed, Iriel’s right hand clutched a longsword. In the world beyond her eyelids, she was desperately resisting the enemy that threatened her sister and children.
“—You’re hallucinating, and you didn’t kill anyone in the process.”
The Savior muttered. There were the occasional slashes and stab wounds among the sprawled soldiers, but none of them were dead.
“We’re going to have to do it the hard way.
Adeshan gritted his teeth; at this rate, he was going to have to send more troops on the offensive. With all due respect to Ronan, it looked like Iril might get hurt.
She wanted to explore other options, but she couldn’t afford to. Even for her, it was no easy task to run an army against a giant and a chase party at the same time.
Determined, Adeshan was about to send a telegram. Not far away, he heard someone’s voice.
“I—not.”
“What?”
The voice was familiar; he had heard it four times in his four lives. Turning his head, Adeshan’s eyes widened.
Schlieffen Siniban de Grancia, the genius who, against all odds, had risen to become the First Swordsman of the Continent, stood there, covered in blood.