Chapter 256: A■■ne(4)[R-18]
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 256: A■■ne(4)[R-18]
“Kuaaaaah!!”
The Transparent Dragon, the strongest among all dragons, let out a thunderous roar.
The Transparent Dragon was so incredibly durable that no weapon could leave a single scratch upon its hide.
The Transparent Dragon defeated every devil and demonic beast it faced.
The Transparent Dragon was the ultimate, the strongest.
However...
Even the Transparent Dragon had a single scale that grew in reverse beneath its neck.
That Reverse Scale was so fragile it was pitiful. In the end, the Transparent Dragon met a hollow death when a human pierced that very scale with a mere sprig of mistletoe.
This was the old legend Hayangi’s mom had told her.
“....”
After the short story ended, her mom had said to her:
Telling someone your True Name is no different from showing them the location of your Reverse Scale.
Because to the person who knows your True Name, a dragon is no longer the World’s Beloved.
But...
‘It’s okay!’
It was okay to be imperfect in front of Ian.
No, rather, she wanted to be imperfect.
Hayangi didn't want Ian to love her because of her power as the World’s Beloved...
She wanted to be the only existence in the world that Ian loved for who she truly was.
“You weally, weally... can’t tell anyone else... Only you, Ian... only you can know, fowevew.”
“I get it. I’ll be the only one who knows. A— mmp!”
When Ian tried to casually utter her True Name, Hayangi jumped in surprise and clamped both hands over his mouth.
“Nu-uh! You can’t call me that yet!”
Thump—! Thump—!
Her heart was still pounding so hard that she felt like she might collapse if Ian actually called her by her True Name right now.
“What... you’re the one who told me... Then, what should I call you?”
“Ha... Hayangi...?”
“Huh? Didn’t you just say a second ago that you weren’t Hayangi?”
“Ah... I take it back! I’m Hayangi too! Heheh.”
The name Ian had given her was just as precious to her as her True Name.
Seeing her like that, Ian gave a small laugh and took Hayangi’s hand.
“Alright. Hayangi. Let’s go now!”
“Ung? Go whewe?”
“Where else? To our village. You said you were coming with me.”
“Wha—at? No! Not wight now!”
She had certainly made up her mind to leave with Ian.
But she hadn't realized he meant they should leave this very second.
“To-tomowwow! I’ll go tomowwow!”
There wasn't just one or two treasures she had to pack from her nest...
And honestly, she needed time to sort out her feelings.
Leaving the nest meant turning her back on the entire world she had known since she was born.
“Ah, you’re coming tomorrow...?”
Ian scratched the back of his head awkwardly at Hayangi’s answer.
“...But my dad said we’re leaving tonight?”
“Whaat...? Leaving today? Then... do we have to go wight now?”
As tears began to well up again in Hayangi’s eyes while she looked back at her nest in distress, Ian quickly added:
“Uh... don’t worry! I’ll try begging my dad. We can make one night work somehow.”
“...Weally?”
“Yeah, really! My dad is the highest-ranking person there... So, I’ll come back to get you tomorrow morning. We’re going together then, okay?”
“...Ung. Tomowwow mowning, I’ll go with you.”
“Okay, then I’ll head back for today.”
“Whaat? Going back alweady? Ian, you just got hewe...”
“I’m sorry, but if I’m too late, we might leave before I can even say anything. Instead, we can be together forever starting tomorrow, so please just bear with it for a bit.”
“...Okay.”
She couldn't help feeling a little sad...
But she couldn't hold Ian back when he was heading back for her sake.
“I’ll come to get you early tomorrow morning. Don’t oversleep.”
“I don’t ovewsleep!”
“Right, see you tomorrow then.”
“Ung! See you tomowwow!!”
By the time Ian’s retreating figure, waving his hand, had completely vanished into the snow, Hayangi hurried back to her nest and began packing her things.
“Now then...!”
Hayangi spread out a large cloth her mother had left behind on the floor and began placing her treasures on it one by one.
The flat gray pebble that Ian had made skip across the water over and over.
The long tree branch that Ian had stuck in as a nose while making a snowman.
The now-withered flower crown that Ian had placed on her head with his clumsy hands.
Hayangi’s world was entirely filled with traces of Ian.
“All done!”
After quite some time had passed, a bundle so large it was a struggle for a young child to carry was finished.
“Hnnngh!”
After moving the bundle to a corner of the nest, Hayangi curled up in the spot where her mother’s scent still lingered and closed her eyes.
“Mommy...”
The nest that had been Hayangi’s world was like a small but peaceful egg...
But now, it was time to break the shell and go out.
The next morning.
From the early hours of dawn, Hayangi waited for Ian in front of her nest, carrying her bulging bundle.
Her heart had been pounding with excitement and worry all night, and she didn't know how many times she had woken up and fallen back asleep.
Squeeze—
She tightened her grip on the bundle.
Still, from now on, she would be with Ian.
Even if something scary happened, Ian would surely protect her, just as he had promised.
“....”
However...
Ian did not come.
Even though he had clearly said he would come early in the morning...
Until the sun rose high above her head, Ian did not appear.
“Ian is a dummy!”
Even the gentle Hayangi was getting angry now.
Knowing with what kind of heart she had decided to leave her nest!
After even making a promise to protect her for a lifetime!
How could he be late on such an important day!
Twitch—
At the same time, a faint fear began to sprout in a corner of her chest.
...What if Ian had just left without her?
Shake, shake!
“No!!”
Hayangi shook her head violently.
She didn't want to doubt Ian.
He probably just overslept!
Well, that was quite infuriating in its own way, but...
“It can’t be helped! It was that way, wight?”
Readjusting her bundle, Hayangi began to waddle aimlessly in the direction Ian always came from.
Stomp, stomp—
How long had she been walking?
“Ung...?”
A sensation she had never felt in her life brushed against her skin.
It was a feeling as if the world itself was baring its teeth at her.
“....”
Driven by an unknown sense of anxiety, Hayangi quickened her pace.
As the village began to appear faintly in the distance, a fishy smell carried by the wind stung her nose.
“Ian!”
Realizing something was wrong, Hayangi threw aside the bundle she had worked so hard to pack and ran toward the village.
—Splash
“Ah?”
Hayangi’s bare foot stepped on something wet.
It was a pool of blood.
As if red paint had been scattered recklessly across a pure white canvas, the ground was stained entirely in crimson.
Who? Why? How?
The answer to those questions came quickly.
Between the collapsed wooden houses, something massive was writhing.
It was a Demonic Beast, dying from deep wounds.
—Growl
The beast let out a low growl upon spotting Hayangi.
The smell of rotting meat was carried on the beast’s breath.
Only then did Hayangi realize what the sensation she had felt was.
Malevolence.
Since it was a remote forest, Demonic Beasts had always existed, but no beast had ever been hostile toward Hayangi, the World’s Beloved.
But this beast was different.
Like the ‘Devils’ in the stories her mother told her, it was radiating malevolence toward every living thing.
“...A...ah...aaaaah!!!”
Hayangi let out a roar mixed with rage and terror.
K-Boom—!!
That was the end of it.
The power of the world’s last remaining Dragon erased the Demonic Beast in an instant.
“Ian!!! Ian!! Whewe awe you! Ian!”
Hayangi called out Ian’s name, falling into the snow over and over again.
No answer came back.
“Ugh... huck... I-Ian...”
Looking at the corpses and the blood that still held a lingering warmth, Hayangi screamed in agony.
Judging by the state of the blood, it hadn't been long since the beast appeared.
If so, if she hadn't hesitated and had left with Ian yesterday...
Or if she had decided not to leave at all...
Ian’s village wouldn't have stayed here for another day, and this tragedy wouldn't have happened.
The thought that this tragedy occurred because of her own hesitation was more than Hayangi could bear.
Flinch—!
Then, a thought suddenly flashed through Hayangi’s mind.
Instinctively, she felt she shouldn't delve any deeper into it...
But the thoughts spiraled, dragging Hayangi into even deeper despair.
This world was made to be convenient for Hayangi.
When Hayangi was about to fall, the soft grass would cushion her body, and before Hayangi could get hungry, the trees would bear fruit for her.
If so...
What would happen if Hayangi came to hate someone?
It was only for a moment, but Hayangi had certainly hated Ian’s family.
Because she thought they were the ones taking Ian away from her.
It felt as if the blood in her body was turning to ice.
...What if this tragedy was something the world had committed, following Hayangi’s will?
“Ugh...!”
Something nauseating surged up from within her.
She wanted to believe it wasn't true.
But Hayangi had never hated anyone before that moment.
That was why she was even more terrified. Terrified that all of this had really happened because of her.
“Ah... ah... aaaaaah!... huck... Ian... Ian...”
Because her heart felt like it was collapsing, Hayangi stopped thinking.
Instead, she wandered aimlessly through the blood-stained village, calling Ian’s name.
Thud—
After searching for Ian for a long time, Hayangi collapsed onto the snow, exhausted.
Crunch, crunch—
Then, someone stopped in front of Hayangi.
She couldn't remember anything clearly.
“Poor thing.”
Only a faint sensation remained—that the presence was warm and beautiful.
“Do not blame yourself. It was merely... fate.”
“....”
“...Sleep well.”
That being covered Hayangi’s eyes with a hand...
“....”
And when Hayangi opened her eyes again, everything had changed.