Chapter 17: Golden Dragon, Black Wolf — Finale
A short while before Sunlight Annihilation was unleashed.
"...Was I mistaken?"
Lactea looked at the Golden Dragon flattened against the ground, then turned her head with a face gone cold.
Black Wolf.
The leader of Black Wolf would never do something like that. Not even as a joke.
Needless worry. Don't dwell on it.
The only thing she had to concern herself with now was the order the Captain had given her: clean up the trash. Calling Black Wolf's face to mind settled her, and Lactea took stock of the situation once more.
First, this side.
The fifth member of Black Wolf, tenth among the Ten Strongest — Monster Dragon, Dalan. And the third member — Tal, Hanryang.
"Come on, I said let's talk!!"
Dalan had closed in the moment he finished disposing of the trash, and he kept pressing for a conversation. Hanryang, following the order Lactea had left him, ignored the old man utterly and drove him back.
"Denied. Carrying out the order—I am!!"
BOOOOM!!
Two enormous hands slammed down on the roof, and reddish-brown bricks burst upward in every direction. Fist-sized shards filled the air, sealing off Dalan's sight and his movement alike.
"It ends—it does!!"
Hanryang threw both arms up to guard his head and hurled his body at Dalan.
CRACK!
CRACK, CRACK!
Bricks shattered one after another against that huge, solid frame, but Hanryang paid them no mind. He clenched his fist for the next blow.
Power (A++)
KRRRK!
A vicious blue-green force spilled from the fist as it clenched, savage, and stretched toward Dalan. Driven all the way to the roof's edge, Dalan let out a heavy sigh.
"It would only take a moment. You really don't mean to listen, do you?"
There was no answer. Even if one came, he would be knocked out cold before he ever heard it. Hanryang's razor-edged fist was a breath from striking Dalan square in the face.
"Haa. Knew you'd be like this, you rascal."
Shff.
Dalan was gone.
WHOOSH!
The fist, already thrown, tore through nothing but an afterimage. Hanryang lost his balance and staggered.
"I'll apologize in advance."
Somehow Dalan had already wound his whole body around Hanryang's arm and locked a joint hold.
CRRRACK!!
The arm did not bend in one direction. It snapped and broke in every direction at once.
"—?!"
Startled, Hanryang flung out his other hand to seize him, but all he caught was an old tan cloak. Dalan had already shifted to that arm. He bent it the same way and murmured,
"Ask Peter to patch you up."
CRRRACK—!!
In a single breath, both arms were useless.
Monster Dragon, Dalan. He was versed in every martial art and every art of the body, and his movements were so grotesque they could not be predicted at all. He favored a style that wrapped an opponent and broke them without ever drawing a weapon, and the sight of it — like some monstrous dragon — was what had earned him the name. Hanryang, at least, could see those movements, and he had tried to match them. His injuries slowed him, and that was enough.
"Don't need it—I don't!!"
Even so he tried to charge, determined to follow the order somehow. Lactea was already there, and she stopped him.
"Enough. You still haven't recovered from what the Emperor did to you. Keep this up and you really will die."
"But—!!"
"Tal. If you want to die that badly..."
She cut him off, lowered her head, and pushed those chilling golden eyes into his face.
"Release the Restraint and die on your own."
The Restraint of Black Wolf. A power little different from a curse: it made Black Wolf stronger, and in exchange bound the life and death of whoever had contracted with him to his own. That was why her voice sounded like someone holding herself back — she wanted to kill him this instant, and could not, because the Captain would be in danger.
"...Sorry—I am."
"That's enough. Fall back."
"Yes, Vice-Captain."
Only after Hanryang withdrew did peace return to the bakery roof.
No.
It only seemed to, and only for a moment.
Lactea Babylonia (S+) releases the Restraint of Black Wolf.
Of all the members, only Lactea could release the Restraint completely. She drew her full strength up in an instant and spoke toward Dalan.
"Release your Restraint, Dalan."
A murderous aura, thick and grim. If I weren't under Black Wolf's Restraint, my head would already be gone.
She was never honed this sharp before. What turned that merciful First Imperial Princess into someone so fierce?
Dalan swallowed the bitterness spreading quietly through him and slipped a hand into his robes.
"I meant to tell you sooner. Forgive me for delivering it only now, with so much commotion around us."
Clink.
What he drew out was a dagger worn nearly to nothing, engraved with the mark of Black Wolf. Every member carried the same kind of blade, but one ornament of a golden moon and one of a silver sun glittered, as if asking to be told apart.
"..."
Lactea picked the dagger up from the ground and looked at Dalan without a word.
"These are orders from the Moon. He is in the midst of winning the Golden Dragon over, so for today, leave it here and return to the hideout. And..."
Dalan let the end of the sentence trail away, and every nerve in Lactea fixed on his mouth.
Gulp.
It was only a message passed through someone else's mouth. Why was she this tense? Her heart pounded, a smile rose, her hands shook. She barely swallowed her quickening breath and, without meaning to, leaned toward him — and in that moment Dalan added the last of it.
"...The Hero will return. Be ready."
The instant he finished—
Sunlight Annihilation (EX)
FLASH—!
A brilliant golden light came flying in. The second time.
"Vice-Captain!!"
Hanryang had already felt that power in his own body. He threw himself in front of Lactea—
"Enough of that. Bring Persona. We're returning to the hideout."
"...?!"
She caught him instead and hurled him toward Luna.
...Clink.
She had already gathered up the dagger and clutched it tight. Canceling the release of her Restraint, she added,
"Tell the Captain. Three days exactly, today included. Until then, I will wait without a word."
"...Yes, Vice-Captain."
"Remember, Dalan. Exactly three days."
The next instant—
SHRRRRK!!!
Everything the flash touched was cleaved in two, its insides laid bare: the rows of buildings, a stretch of the imperial castle behind them, even the clouds still drifting past. Not once was the light obstructed. It flew on and died in the far sky. Where it had grazed, only Dalan remained, murmuring under his breath.
"Ha... I wouldn't even get to present my name."
Thud.
He sank down and turned his eyes the way Lactea had gone. That was where the attack had come from — where she had thrown Hanryang to bring Luna back, and where the Captain still remained. To anyone watching, it would look as though Black Wolf's subordinates had closed in to take the Golden Dragon. In truth they were all of one company, so—
"The Captain can finish it himself. This old man needs to lie down a while."
And so the central plaza found its peace again, on a certain noon.
The skill — Sunlight Annihilation.
At first I had taken it for something vague, not much different from a flash bomb.
...The performance is solid.
Of course, the moment I used it every drop of aura was spent, and a draining weakness washed over me. Thanks to the Ring of Iaso, not collapsing was at least possible. The two shadows that had been standing on the spire were gone; Dalan had played his part well. Either way, it looked as though I had clashed with Black Wolf's subordinates and driven them off, which gave me one more excuse to attach when I abandoned the named commission.
"I've got something to tell His Majesty the Emperor."
"The Emperor...?"
Damn.
"Nothing you need to know."
I gripped the greatsword and turned as if it were nothing, and Luna — who had likewise barely held on — raised her voice as though she'd been wronged.
"Why, when you've got that much power, are you moving for the Emperor...!!?"
The Emperor, as things stood, was being misunderstood as incompetent — the work of Eclipse.
"You don't even know why we are, why people are suffering like this!?"
The members of Black Wolf disliked her even more than that, so Luna's sharp reaction wasn't hard to understand. But as I'd said, it was only a misunderstanding. Every named commission that came down to the Golden Dragon was meant to ease the people's suffering. The one who issued them was the Emperor, and though treacherous ministers had deceived her into looking incompetent, she was a good person, striving for the Empire in her own way.
"The ones who truly know nothing are all of you."
With that, I turned. Talking to the members now would do no good, no matter what I said. Whether as Black Wolf or as the Golden Dragon, I would have to move and clear the misunderstanding myself. But the moment I had fully turned—
"Golden Dragon."
I met a chilling killing intent head-on.
Lactea.
I knew her at once and tried to raise the greatsword, but she simply passed me by, whispering in a beautiful voice.
"...I remembered."
That was all. When I turned to look again, she was already gone, without so much as a footprint. I stayed frozen a long while, wondering if she might still be near, and only eased once I saw Dalan flop onto his back.
"...It's over."
If I had my way, I wanted to sprawl in the street like Dalan too. But—
"Everyone, look!! Lord Golden Dragon drove off Black Wolf's men!!"
"Did you see that!? He drove off three of them all by himself!!"
"Even Black Wolf tucks his tail before the Golden Dragon!!"
Citizens had gathered before I knew it, eyes shining with adoration, and I set my feet on the ground again.
Effect
It sparkles and shines. Ooh, so cool. If someone who harbors Respect toward you beholds that sparkling light, they are afflicted with the status ailment Adoration. The Blessing of the Sun is the best in the world!
I hated the system window that had surfaced as if to mock me. Still, I was alive because of the Golden Dragon's skill.
Clank!
Still wearing the Golden Dragon's shape, I lifted the greatsword in one hand and declared victory.
"A new hero is born!!"
"Long live Lord Golden Dragon!!"
"Long live Lord Monster Dragon!!"
The citizens' tremendous cheers rolled past the central plaza and all the way to the imperial palace.
"What?! What now!! Huh?"
Dalan, who had fallen asleep at some point, jolted upright at the fervent roar—
THUD-CRASH!!
He missed his footing and tumbled down, and with that the Central Plaza Assault came to an end.
"Urgh!!"
"Get your head on straight and clean this up, you bastard!!"
"Hey!! Bring the rest of what's been cut!!"
"Damn it, what the hell is this...!!"
Guards came running late to deal with the aftermath, and the cheers never stopped. I collected Dalan, turned away, and made myself a promise. Three days until the return.
"Captain. How do you mean to spend the three days left?"
"I'm going to laze around and eat."
"...Pardon?"
"I said I'm going to laze around and eat."
I had truly decided to do nothing at all and rest. And yet—
"Heheheh. If it isn't too forward, shall we talk a moment somewhere nice, Lord Golden Dragon?"
Who the hell is this?
Looks suspicious at a glance... Don't tell me.
I jerked my gaze aside and checked the small status window that had risen inside the helm.
A New Hero. (Complete!)
Now, as anxiety swells with the Hero departed on the Expedition, the Babylonia Empire needs a new hero.
Conditions. (Complete!)
1. Drive out Black Wolf.
2. Do not let it be discovered that Black Wolf is the Golden Dragon.
3. Survive.
Reward. (Complete!)
The attention of Eclipse.
On Failure & Refusal. (Deleting...)
Annihilation of the Golden Dragon.
Had Eclipse come calling as the reward for clearing the sub quest?
"Monster Dragon."
"Already have him."
Before the words were finished, Dalan moved and seized the man by the throat, twisting.
"Khek—kheek!! Wh-what is this...!!"
A black robe. A twitchy little mustache. Eyes bent in a mean, crooked line. I asked the suspicious man, dangling and thrashing in the air, as if whispering.
"Did Eclipse send you?"
"...!! How do you know that name...!!"
"So I was right. Dalan."
"Of course."
"Kheek!!"
I nodded at Dalan, and the man's face flushed as if it might burst.
Eclipse is the hidden greatest mastermind of the story, tied to every bad ending.
Hidden so tightly that even the original had never found them.
Because of that, the Hero and the Emperor never cleared their misunderstanding. Black Wolf was dragged in with them, they perished together, and it ended in a bad ending.
So if every bad ending was to be stopped, finding Eclipse came first. I packed as much killing intent as I could into a short question for Dalan.
"Monster Dragon. You any good at torture?"
"Puhah! My good man, you call that a question? That's my specialty!"
"Then show me what you can do."
"Right. Let's see... A man has two eyes, doesn't he?"
A shadow fell across that kindly face, and the thin slit eyes opened, sharp.
"We'll crush one, and start from there."
He had barely finished speaking, and was moving to push a finger toward the man's eye, when—
"W-wait!!"
The man, shaking all over, yanked something out and thrust it forward as he shouted.
"I-I-I'm Her Majesty the Emperor's secret guard, I am!!"
The identification plaque he held out bore the Emperor's affiliation and rank, stamped with the imperial seal.
"Is that the end of your proof?"
"There was the named commission Her Majesty issued not long ago, wasn't there...!? She sent me to tell you to withdraw it! Not a single lie, there isn't...!"
"Certainly information one has no choice but to believe. ...First, let's make one thing clear."
I let out a short laugh, took one step back, and pointed at Dalan.
"The one who assaulted you wasn't me. It was Monster Dragon."
"?"
"Meaning I have nothing whatsoever to do with this incident of violence."
"What? Now see here, Golden Dragon!!"
"What."
Honestly, I wasn't wrong.