Chapter 133
Chapter 133
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 133
Chapter Title: 42. Dragon Slayer (3)
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Everyone seemed to have a ton of questions, but out of consideration for my condition, they held their tongues.
Only the Captain of the Royal Knight Order, with the King's permission, confirmed a few key facts needed for securing the palace grounds.
I was short of breath, but I gave them brief answers anyway.
The existence of the Elder High Elf. The bad blood between her and me. And the three-year reprieve.
People had a hard time believing that an angel-like elf could have such a foul temperament.
The legends about elves circulating in the world must have been terribly romanticized.
But that didn't mean they doubted my word.
It was thanks to all the trust I'd built up over time.
Compared to right after I first woke up, when nobody believed a thing I said, this was a monumental improvement.
"To think such a horrific being was wandering freely through the kingdom..."
"I never dreamed elves could be that dangerous."
They marveled at the Elder High Elf's power while feeling a heavy burden all at once. The Captain of the Royal Knight Order, in charge of the capital's defenses, especially regarded Sigrun's presence with deep unease.
He seemed worried she might storm the palace at any moment.
To the captain, I assured him she wouldn't be setting foot in the kingdom for a while.
He asked why.
"She got what she wanted."
The captain furrowed his brow at my words.
Whatever it was, if a monster like that had gotten her hands on it, wasn't that a disaster? he demanded.
He had a point.
If she'd truly obtained everything she desired in full.
But I wasn't fool enough to hand over what she craved so easily.
There were countless epic poems in the world, but not all of them were auspicious or benevolent.
Rare though they were, some were ominous, harmful, and foreboding.
Desire, greed, loss, and emptiness.
Impure songs that invited ruin.
A precious few who knew of their existence called them [Calamity Odes] and warned against them.
What I'd given the Elder High Elf was one of those impure songs.
The poetry-obsessed, greedy fairy was utterly captivated by the unfamiliar lyrical form she'd never heard before.
Never realizing it was deadly poison.
It was only natural.
The [Calamity Odes] were songs of singular transmission, not widespread lore. Even in the past, only a tiny handful knew of them. And now, with time's passage, no one who remembered their existence remained.
They'd all been devoured by the poems.
All but one—an impure magic sword whose verses had become a single [Calamity Ode].
"What a rotten deal. She got her fill, but it was spoiled food."
I said it with feigned sympathy.
But no one around me bought it for a second.
They figured my penchant for screwing with people was showing.
"We can hear you, you know."
The knights cleared their throats and looked away.
The Captain of the Royal Knight Order spoke up as if it had just occurred to him.
"Then who left those massive tracks?"
I didn't answer.
"N-No way..."
My silence was affirmation. Horror dawned in the captain's eyes as he stared at me, lips sealed.
"All the way here."
As he moved to press me further, I pleaded fatigue and put off the rest till later.
And it wasn't an excuse—my body really was in bad shape.
To poison the fairy, I'd had to swallow poison myself. Even now, unresolved impure resentment was eating away at my flesh. To avoid ending up like those ancient beings devoured by verses and doomed to ruin, I needed to set everything aside and focus solely on recovery for a while.
I closed my eyes.
A signal for everyone to leave.
"If there's anything you need to ask, it can wait until he's recovered. Best if you all step out now."
The Queen backed me up.
The door opened and closed. Footsteps faded away completely.
Cracking my eyes open, I saw Adelia seated by the bed.
It hadn't even been days since we'd last seen each other, but her face was haggard.
Bound by [Dominance] and [Subjugation], I could well imagine her anxiety.
She must have fretted over my failure to return. Maybe even that nasty trait of hers had triggered.
Adelia fidgeted with her hands, then gently took mine.
She froze solid upon finally noticing me.
"Eek."
She let out a weird whimper, squirming and averting her gaze—but not releasing my hand.
Even when she'd pushed through exhaustion and passed out, and when she'd come to again, she'd stayed steadfast by my side.
For some reason, it put me at ease, and I drifted back to sleep.
I was out cold for two straight days.
Upon waking, I immediately asked the Royal Physician about the Sword Maiden's condition.
I'd already heard she'd survived the crisis alongside me and was on the mend.
Still, I needed to see her face myself to relax.
Everyone objected at once. How could I go anywhere when I could barely walk? They fussed.
But I wouldn't budge, so in the end, the knights threw up their hands and agreed to move the Sword Maiden to the room next door.
At the knight's report that it was done, I rose from bed. With Adelia's support, I headed to the adjacent chamber.
There lay a woman on the bed, deathly still.
Half her face and body swathed in bandages, the exposed skin covered in scars of unknown origin—that pitiful half-elf drew a sigh from me.
Her cries as a wounded beast still rang vividly in my ears.
[Aaah... Aaaaaah!]
The Sword Maidens' death screams echoed sharply in my mind.
"Aaaah... Aaaaaah!"
The Sword Maidens appeared out of nowhere, howling like beasts as they charged Sigrun.
Their sudden frenzy left me stunned. Sigrun looked just as taken aback.
The difference? Beneath her shock simmered thick rage.
"How dare you."
She spat icily, readjusting her grip on her sword.
It wasn't even a sword dance.
She simply slashed down from above, then left to right.
Slash.
That alone tore the Sword Maidens' flesh to shreds.
Yet they kept lunging at Sigrun.
I stared blankly.
Having overtaxed the poem's power repeatedly, my mind was sluggish.
I'd explicitly ordered the Sword Maidens to stand by nearby.
They'd never disobeyed me before.
Why were they throwing their lives away like this right in front of me?
I couldn't comprehend it.
"Stop!"
Seeing a Sword Maiden with her right arm severed by Sigrun's blade switch her sword to her left and charge, I yelled.
But she swung anyway and was slaughtered by Sigrun.
I gripped my sword with both hands.
"I said stop!"
My shouts fell on deaf ears.
"Why?!"
As I stepped forward, Gunne blocked my path.
She smiled softly, wiping blood from my lips.
[Run.]
Only then did her gestures make me realize why the Sword Maidens were charging so recklessly at Sigrun.
Hot bile surged up from my gut.
I couldn't hold it back.
So I screamed.
You idiots! I'll handle it. Fall back!
Gunne shook her head.
[She... already... resolved.]
Her gestures quickened.
[Death... worse than that.]
She said Sigrun would never let me go easily.
I knew that.
That's why I'd prepared countermeasures.
A gift ample enough to sate the greedy Elder High Elf's appetite. Power enough to shield myself from the poison within.
Or so I'd thought.
Gunne said it wasn't enough.
Her frantic gestures paused as she grabbed my cheeks.
"Shhe plhans t' kehp yuu forr liffetime."
Her mangled pronunciation from her severed tongue conveyed as much.
Even then, the Sword Maidens' screams continued.
"Aaaaaaaaah!"
Sword Maidens dying before my eyes, howling like beasts.
"Why?!"
I demanded of those fleeting deaths.
[Revenge.]
Gunne told me.
This was to protect me—and their own vengeance.
Hearing that, I went blank.
I'd never known or cared what thoughts kept the Sword Maidens alive.
To me, they were mere daggers hidden in the shadows.
My prejudice against wicked elves,
The fact that half their blood was elven,
Had blinded me so.
These pitiful souls, tongues severed by their master, ultimately discarded,
And I'd used and exploited them just like their lord.
It was like my past self.
Stripped of all glory, denied even a name, reduced to nothing but a sword.
"Aaaagh!"
A Sword Maiden's waist was slashed long. I didn't even know her name.
She clutched the wound with her slender hand, howling as she charged Sigrun.
"P-Please!"
Mangled words, desperate screams erupted everywhere.
Gunne hugged me tight.
Of all times—after chaining poems and inhaling [Calamity Ode] poison,
When reconnecting my severed mana flow would take time,
I struggled, but she dragged me away weeping.
Déjà vu hit hard.
A scene I'd witnessed before.
And I realized it quickly.
Winter Castle. Warlord. Uncle. And the knights.
The day I was too weak to save my uncle, forced to flee and leave him to die—those memories swirled in my head.
But today wasn't like that day.
The Elder High Elf wasn't a warlord; she was several times more avaricious. Sigrun strode toward me and Gunne. Sword Maidens blocking her fell dead.
Now only three Sword Maidens left, Gunne included.
Two Sword Maidens danced their sword dance and charged Sigrun.
Thwack.
Before their tongueless humming could end, Sigrun's sword flashed.
Thud.
Their arms severed.
Thud.
Legless, they crumpled.
Pierce.
Sigrun's blade impaled their hearts.
"Ah..."
Gunne sped up.
But shaking an Elder High Elf was beyond her.
I shoved Gunne off.
"Aaaah! Eeeuaaaah!"
Gunne glared at me in anger for the first time.
Her eyes said challenging a monster we couldn't beat even at full strength was suicide.
I shook my head at her.
No escaping anyway. And no need to.
I lamented over the Sword Maidens' corpses.
"If only you'd spoken up."
No, it wasn't their fault.
It was my oversight, failing to notice despite keeping them close.
"No... if only I'd realized sooner."
If I'd grasped how desperately they craved revenge,
Known their grudge had seeped into their bones enough for this rampage,
No one would have died today.
I clenched my jaw and readjusted my grip on the sword.
Sigrun approached.
Bathed in blood, she beamed radiantly and extended her hand to me.
Whispering in her angelic voice.
Come with me.
I shook my head and raised my sword high.
Her crescent-moon eyes curved with blatant scorn and mockery.
She told me.
You can't do a thing. The outcome won't change.
"You know it too. Not at your current level."
With that, she stepped toward me.
Looking at her, I—
Pierce.
—thrust the sword into my gut.
My true body: Dragon Slayer.
Sigrun's eyes went wide. Gunne, tugging at me with grunts, froze.
The world halted.
In that frozen world, I whispered softly.
"I call thee with red blood here." "Ancient winter of yore, frozen world, master of howling blizzards and frost." "Answer me. Gruhon."
⟨ Covenant Song ⟩
Twitch.
The true body impaled in my gut,
The magic sword Gruhon, began greedily devouring my blood.
I wrenched it free with both hands.
"Fucking hurts."
No blood flowed.
Whether my true body had slurped it all or the wound had frozen solid, I couldn't tell.
Didn't matter.
The only thing that did was the Elder High Elf before me.
"Behold, Elder High Elf."
Gazing at petrified Sigrun,
"This is what you so desperately craved."
I hoisted the sword high.
"The Dragon Slayer's epic."
And swung it down.
Silently chanting in my heart the deed of slaying the Mad Dragon.