Kwa-jik!
The claws slammed down on the corpse of the monster that was already lifeless.
Without any resistance whatsoever, the claws dug into the skin, effortlessly tearing the muscles apart and splitting the body in half.
Eu-jeok eu-jeok.
Once a terror reigning over mercenaries, it now savagely devoured the monster reduced to mere meat.
Red blood dripped between the sharp teeth.
Having consumed the remaining half without leaving any scraps, it nervously scratched at the ground.
-Not enough….
This was not sufficient to satiate its hunger.
With just these remains, it could not regain its original strength.
To recover its power….
-….
Prey smelling ominously, resembling humans.
When it first encountered those prey, instincts warned it of the ominous tension, causing it to flee instinctively.
The closer it got, the more it felt its very existence twisting.
But now it understood.
To regain its strength, it must consume that prey, scented boldly with ominous odors.
It realized it smelled the same.
It turned its gaze.
Towards the tranquil scenery of the distant village.
*
While we were away, it was quite the timing that Krumo’s shadow arrived in the village…
… but that’s too tedious to explain, so let’s just call it a shadow.
Was it a coincidence that the shadow appeared?
Or was it targeting the village during its vulnerable moment?
‘Hmm, I don’t know.’
Personally, I’d prefer it to be a coincidence.
If it’s the latter, that means it has that level of intelligence, and facing it will be even more of a headache.
Either way, what needed to be done did not change, though.
“We have to go back.”
As quickly as possible.
At that moment, Atysha’s voice was cold and hardened.
Her previously listless tone vanished as if it had never been, making me momentarily think she was someone else.
Atysha speaking properly like this was strange.
It hadn’t even been a day since I met Atysha, but my mind had already painted a lethargic image of her.
Of course, I could understand why Atysha was reacting this way.
The creature that had shredded the monsters around its nest would not have come to the village with innocent intentions.
Expecting it to suddenly show up at the village saying, “I’m Krumo, just moved in. Nice to meet you!” would be naive; it would be downright foolish.
“Kana-ria.”
It was the first time Atysha called my name.
“Help me.”
“I was already planning to do that.”
I had come this far with that very intention, so it felt unnecessary to ask me now.
Letting things go wild would leave me in trouble if the boats heading to Raxia were damaged.
More importantly, there were not just demon races in that village right now.
‘I should have brought her with me….’
Often in hindsight, choices made as the best option at the time were recognized as not so great.
Like now.
Just as I was about to head out, a warm sensation touched me.
“…Selin?”
Selin and I rarely exchanged conversations.
It wasn’t awkward or uncomfortable; it was due to the language barrier.
Whenever Selin spoke to me or I spoke to Selin, we had to communicate through Da-eun, which must have been quite a hassle.
Thanks to the word cards Da-eun made, things had improved slightly, but natural communication remained challenging.
So it was a first for Selin to approach me like this and pat my shoulder.
“It’ll be okay.”
A short phrase.
Maybe because of that, I could read her feelings embedded in the words.
“…Yeah.”
Indeed, with magical tools, it should be okay.
Given that it was made from the Dragon Orb, there would be some resistance against mana attacks….
It wouldn’t help if it just stomped around with its massive size, but it wouldn’t recklessly descend to the ground with at least some intelligence.
That’s what wings are for.
‘Hmmm, maybe that’s not the case.’
If the shadow indeed had a dragon-like temperament, then who knows.
If it were the guy I know, he would just scoff at the idea that mere humans could harm him and leap forward.
“Hah….”
I’ll just stop my random thoughts here.
Worrying and causing a ruckus here won’t help resolve the situation at all.
“I’ll go first.”
With a quiet exhale, I summoned my mana and dashed forward without waiting for a reply.
‘Ah, I should have brought Selin.’
Her holy magic would have been helpful.
But, what can I do? I had already gone quite a bit ahead.
It would be much better to arrive first and fight rather than turning back to carry Selin with me.
The chaotic scene with flames flashing and magical energy soaring wildly looked like quite a mess.
As the scenery blurred and distorted around me, my eyes were fixed on the target.
As I closed in on the village, the figure of the foe became clearer.
‘Definitely not a dragon.’
Sure, it was small in size, but it also couldn’t cast magic, meaning it was out of the running.
A dragon, the supposed master of magic, not able to use magic?
That’s no joke, it would earn scorn even in a cheap tavern.
Let’s make some sense, shall we?
As I pondered this ridiculous notion, I continued to run, and soon I could see the entrance of the village.
Even though it was visible, the actual distance was still quite far, but I could cover that quite quickly.
Good, I’m not too late.
Just as I was about to breathe a sigh of relief.
I suddenly noticed the shadow taking a deep breath.
“Breath…?”
…Come to think of it, it could breathe despite not being able to use magic.
Whatever was irritating it, it had stopped shooting fireballs and was preparing to unleash its breath.
That’s somewhat problematic.
It wasn’t just the appearance of the breath; the amount of magic gathering around it was alarmingly significant.
“Mana… breath….”
The more I learned, the more absurd it became.
However, being absurd was secondary; I had to stop the breath it was about to unleash.
The moment its gaze focused on something, I already knew that familiar figure stood there.
‘What the hell did they do….’
Well, I could kinda guess.
Knowing Da-eun’s personality, she was probably meddling where she shouldn’t.
I wouldn’t say that’s a bad thing, but….
Seeing her boldly standing in front of that shadow, holding a sword, I couldn’t help but chuckle.
With that serious expression on her face, it seemed she understood what the shadow’s deep breath signified, yet here she was trying to block it.
No matter how much she borrowed the power of the Dragon Orb, there was no way she could withstand that.
‘…What can I do?’
I detached some of the mana enveloping my body and redirected it elsewhere.
Woo-oong—
A slight vibration echoed, and the ring began to glow red.
Simultaneously, a fierce mana surged forth, coursing through my body like needles piercing me with pain.
“Hh-ugh…!”
I grit my teeth, but a groan slipped through the gaps.
…This is why I didn’t want to use it.
As always, dragon mana is painfully ferocious.
Whenever activated, it turns my body to shreds, so no matter how well crafted it is, a gift from a dragon just becomes a nuisance.
It’s a hell of a fine piece, whoever made it sure did a wonderful job.
-It’s been a while since you called, and you haven’t changed at all.
“People don’t change; they die.”
-No, I’m talking about your appearance.
“….”
…Whose fault do you think that is?
I retorted in my head as I reached out.
Before I knew it, a light pinkish-red sword appeared in my hand.
“…Pfft.”
Suddenly, a laugh escaped me.
Here I was, borrowing Gracis’ power to stand against the evil dragon.
I felt like a protagonist from an old fairy tale.
Of course, I’m not Zigrid, and unlike Zigrid, I didn’t make a direct contract. But neither did this floating creature match the evil dragon either.
It’s just how it feels.
Gripping the familiar sword, I infused it with my mana.
Fwoosh—!
A red mana, brighter than my original mana, flowed along the blade.
It looked as if I held a blazing flame in my hand.
There was no time to waste.
The breath it had unleashed was already rushing towards Da-eun.
Thap!
With a light leap, I soared over Da-eun’s head.
The heat mixed with mana surged towards me as if it wanted to consume me.
For a breath unleashed by a fake dragon, it was quite hot.
“Not a chance against the real deal.”
In mid-air, I swung the sword down.
─────!
Red flames sparked along the blade’s arc.
The flames that blossomed like heat haze seemed to flicker before the crimson breath as if they might be extinguished any moment.
But the small flame born in the furious blaze did not dim.
Chwaaaak—!
Instead, it greedily swallowed the incoming breath, advancing forward.
Slowly but surely—firmly.
As it moved forward, the flames’ intensity grew fiercer and wilder.
Just as those flames approached the mark upon which they would ignite—
Hooosh—
Feeling the imminent danger right in front, the shadow ceased its breath and hurriedly dodged.
It was rather amusing to see it desperately scurrying, not quite befitting its large size.
…Well, that problem was solved.
I turned around to look back at Da-eun, and thankfully she appeared unharmed.
Originally, she wouldn’t have been injured since I had blocked it.
Her tightly shut eyes fluttered open, scanning her surroundings.
“Ah, ahaha…! I did it! I did it!”
After confirming the breath had stopped, she began bouncing with joy.
Feeling the unrestrained emotions pouring from Da-eun, I found it utterly ridiculous.
“Doing it, my foot.”
… I get that she’s happy to be alive, but can’t she see me?
Her gaze skimmed over me ever so slightly, as if it were on purpose, making me briefly wonder if she was doing it intentionally.
“Just saved you from burning to a crisp, you know.”
Had I not helped, she would have probably turned to ash by now.
No, chances are she wouldn’t even leave any dust behind.
I tried to hide the waning pain in my body as I grumbled at her.
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