“Dead Dragon.”
When Adele uttered that word, I was taken aback for a moment and narrowed my eyes.
I never expected to hear anything about a Dead Dragon here. When I asked if she knew anything about it, Adele shook her head and continued, mentioning Lothos.
“If we’re talking about uncharted territories, it’s only natural to be interested in the Dead Dragon, right?”
“…I suppose so. If it’s uncharted, there’s likely only one entity associated with it.”
“You were interested in the relics when you visited the South. I thought if there was anything, it would be the Dead Dragon. And speaking of the Dead Dragon… there’s something related in the North too.”
I tilted my head at the mention of something being related to the North. There couldn’t possibly be a relic in this desolate wasteland.
It is a region associated with the Dead Dragon, but I’ve never heard of the Dead Dragon hiding a relic in the North or any ruins being there.
While investigating the relics, wasn’t it impossible not to consider the North?
Although I hadn’t ventured there many times, I didn’t think it was an area of great relevance to begin with.
What shattered that thought completely was the document Adele was trying to show me.
One of the ruins of the Dead Dragon, a place secretly created by those who worshipped the Dead Dragon long ago, accepting its remains.
Was there a reason why something like this hadn’t been revealed to the world until now?
Adele claimed she hadn’t particularly paid attention to it, but there seemed to be too many inconsistencies for that to be true.
It was a wild thought, but if Kaitel was targeting this and killed Adele, could it possibly mean that the goal was not just Adele’s power… but the uncharted territories and the ruins related to the Dead Dragon?
Perhaps this could help me understand the reason behind Adele’s death.
“Are you suggesting we investigate this together?”
“Yes, it’s not far from here. You could probably get there in a few dozen minutes riding a wolf. I don’t plan on sending you alone. If you’re going, you’ll go with me; if you don’t like that, I won’t let you go at all.”
“…Anyone would think you’re obsessed if they saw this.”
“Anyone would feel that way seeing a man get hurt or in danger every time. Blame yourself for that.”
While I hoped she’d refrain from drawing Kaitel’s attention, it didn’t seem like not going together would change anything.
She hadn’t perished even when she focused solely on the extermination of the Immigrant Tribe, right?
After a moment of contemplation, I nodded.
Instantly, her expression brightened, which caused me to chuckle unexpectedly, and I couldn’t help but wipe my face and smile.
I thought I had the upper hand in this relationship, but maybe I’m the one being manipulated.
#
While traveling on the wolf, Adele didn’t say a word.
Perhaps the name “Dead Dragon” didn’t resonate well with her.
If I was skeptical about the existence of the Dead Dragon, how could Adele feel any different?
If it were Adele, wouldn’t it be like that?
A dead dragon, an ancient being, I couldn’t assure you that if it reappeared, it could be caught.
After a while of heading in that direction, Adele glanced at me and fluttered her lips.
It seemed she had something on her mind, so I stared at her intently as her mouth slowly opened.
“Have you known about the dead dragon for a long time?”
“What aspect are you referring to?”
“I don’t think it’s sudden interest in the dead dragon. You seem to be aware that those wearing masks are looking for it, and I thought perhaps you have been searching for it for quite some time.”
To be honest, I was more interested in Kaitel, but since he had also helped me with using residual thought…
Adele, who was nodding at me, let out a deep sigh and smiled bitterly.
She looked somewhat displeased, and when I was puzzled, she replied.
“It seems you always seek dangerous tasks. Even if you have multiple lives… Ha, is that how you live?”
“I only attempt risky things that I can handle. Who lives wanting to die?”
“If there are, you would be one of them. You have quite a gift for making people uneasy. I want to compliment you.”
Though her tone was closer to sarcasm, it clearly pointed out my attitude, making me feel a sharp pang in my chest.
I asked, “Is there anyone who lives wanting to die?” but surely my life was for death, wasn’t it?
I couldn’t honestly tell Adele and merely made excuses.
And wasn’t there really no need to express that honestly?
In the interrupted conversation, Adele continued to gaze at me for a moment before turning her attention back to the front.
The slightly warm yet still cool wind swept forward.
In a region near the east, not far from the North’s territory, Adele gazed at the barren land and eventually drew her sword, stabbing it into the ground.
“You know this sword isn’t ordinary.”
“It’s a famous sword, a symbol of the North.”
“If an average person used it, they’d exhaust so much magic power that their body would burst. So… if you can channel magic into it here, then you have already surpassed a certain level.”
That was why Adele had lent me the sword.
I could endure the sword’s magic power and wield it freely, couldn’t I?
As Adele stabbed the sword into the ground, magic power began to slowly flow from her body.
The magic power flowing towards the ground became a key in itself.
The surrounding unexplored area was already a land dense with sufficient magic power, and slowly, a vibration emanated from the earth, tinted with a blue hue.
Adele felt a sensation of her legs shaking and drew her sword.
“It means it can be used like a sort of key. If there’s a sealed place like this, it can be forced open.”
“My sword will have a hard time with that. It’s not that great of a sword yet.”
“If you want, I can lend it to you. Just with the condition that you return it safely, of course.”
Adele smiled softly and quietly gazed at the completely opened ground.
With a vibration, there were stairs leading downward, but the energy felt inside made my brow furrow.
Had the Moon Stone ever reacted this strongly before?
I had realized long ago that it responded to relics, but this reaction felt like a resonance of finding one’s other half.
My heart felt like it would burst and my body swayed.
As my vision blurred and my body shook, Adele approached and grabbed my shoulder.
“…Are you okay? Your complexion suddenly changed.”
“There’s definitely something there. I just felt it.”
“Don’t scare people like that. If you do it suddenly, it makes it harder for me.”
Everything about the Moon Stone was still mostly a mystery.
A relic I obtained like fate one day, so strange that I couldn’t even recall who I got it from.
I only remembered it as if it was imprinted that it had started my reincarnation.
It didn’t exist in any books, and the records of its existence were said to be completely destroyed and vanished.
There was definitely something. However, I hadn’t figured out what that something was. Perhaps I would learn it today.
Nodding carefully as my body started to feel alright, Adele let out a sigh and dropped her shoulders.
“Well then, let’s go in. Don’t we have to see what’s inside?”
“If you’re not feeling well, we can check later-”
“We have to check now.”
Her firm response was purely to solve this question.
What exactly is the Moon Stone, and why does it react so strongly here, in a mere ruin of the dead dragon?
With a frown, Adele seemed to realize she couldn’t break my stubbornness and slowly nodded.
“…Alright, let’s go.”
As we descended the stairs slowly, the energy of the Moon Stone reacting to this ruin was growing stronger.
How deep was it? Even while descending into the darkness for quite a while, the end was not in sight.
It seemed to resemble the structure of the tower in the south.
Could there be a giant eye below?
As I walked, touching the old, damp walls, I swallowed my breath upon seeing the oddly abundant moss growing on the walls.
The more magic power present, the more these mosses thrived.
Adele also realized something was there and swung her sword, causing flames imbued with magic power to consume the moss and illuminate the path ahead.
The flames surged forward, lighting up the way like sparks igniting a fuse.
This path illuminates.
“This is my first time in a place like this. It feels like the magic power is being suppressed by something.”
“It must be the ruins of the dead dragon. Although it’s set up by those who accepted that meaning, isn’t a ruin inherently mysterious?”
Nodding, Adele slowly withdrew her magic power as a massive door appeared.
The little remaining flame only illuminated the one door left here.
Surprisingly, with a push, the door opened easily. As Adele pushed through and moved toward the other side, she suddenly stopped in her tracks.
And I was no different.
Unlike the narrow staircase leading down, there was a much wider chamber than expected, but what first caught my gaze was the overwhelming statue standing in the center.
A dead dragon baring its teeth, roaring at something.
An existence that tore humans apart, collapsed mountains, and sang of the end.
The majesty of the dragon that sought to shatter the moon and drown the world in eternal daylight was still present, prompting Adele to chuckle lightly as she began to step back slowly.
“Is this what was in the North? I guess I paid less attention than I should have.”
While Adele focused on the statue, my gaze turned to the surroundings.
Something densely inscribed surrounded the statue. It was one of the characters I had learned while exploring relics in the past, and as I rifled through my memories, I realized it was an ancient language.
It was quite different from what I had seen in Arwen’s study before.
Characters that were probably inscribed a thousand years ago.
As I slowly began to read the characters marked precisely where the eyes would be, they were related to the dead dragon.
“…The dragon that sought to steal the moon was sealed. Here, the great dragon that spoke of humanity’s end is thus vanishing.”
The story was narrated like a fairy tale, possessing a magic power that seemed to enchant those who read it.
As I touched each character with my hand while reading, I sealed my lips upon seeing the tale that followed the dragon’s sealing.
[Eternal rest is something no one could embrace. The curse that binds the great dragon is merely a seal, destined to be unraveled someday. Yet the dragon never gave up.]
Someday it will be undone, so that must be why Arwen worries about this.
However, the text did not stop there, and as I continued reading, my hand halted at one phrase.
My eyes narrowed, and momentarily I doubted what I had seen.
Letting out a small chuckle, I couldn’t help but acknowledge how foolish I had been about my previous actions.
There was a clue so close by, yet why had I hesitated all this time?
[The dragon could turn back time. If it wished, forever.]
The clue to reincarnation lay with the dead dragon.
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