After the Massive Assault

The front line was already ablaze.

No matter how I shook them awake, no matter what I tried, the soldiers would not open their eyes.

Of course, neither could I.

The only reason I could see this reality of the front line was, regrettably, because I had chosen to end it all by throwing myself off a cliff.

It was when I fell, unable to withstand the demons that rose again and again no matter how many times I cut them down, not even realizing it was a dream, that I finally opened my eyes.

= Kieeee~ =

The lust-clouded eyes of the demons staring at me made my hands clench tight.

But I had already been captured while unconscious. All of my equipment had been stripped away; the only weapon that remained was the emergency dagger I always carried on me.

- Shreeeng.

Not that it mattered. These were Lower Demons—beings a simple dagger could disable with ease.

I plunged the dagger straight through the throat of the goblin reaching for my shirt.

Fresh blood splattered across my clothes and parts of my body. There was no helping it.

= Kiehek! =

= Kiek! =

Seeing their companion die, the others quickly snatched up their weapons and lunged at me.

Not a chance.

- WHACK!

- WHAM!

One of them I sent flying with a savage kick, exploiting the difference in our height. The last one I finished by folding my leg up in one swift motion and driving my heel down onto the crown of its head.

I couldn't say what became of the goblin that went flying, but the one struck hard by my heel shuddered from head to toe and never moved again. Given the force behind that kick, even if the flying one was still breathing, it wouldn't live long.

The goblins had stripped off my armor because they wanted my body, so I tried to put it back on—but the straps had been clumsily hacked through with their crude stone blades, leaving the pieces useless. With no other choice, I kept only my light clothing, took up a longsword from somewhere, and stepped out of the tent.

And what spread out before my eyes was simply... hell.

Burning tents, and an overwhelming horde of demons swinging their swords at soldiers who could not so much as resist.

Rage boiled up inside me—but now was the time to pour that rage into the demons.

- Rustle!

- Rustle!

My first targets were the demons in the act of striking—or deliberately tormenting, savoring the moment—soldiers they were about to kill.

My second ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠targets were the demons swarming in vast numbers.

"Bihyeongcham."

I swept a crescent-shaped slash through the air ahead of me, and the Lower Demons crumpled like paper dolls.

= Kiek! Kiek! Kiek! =

- Rustle!

= Ki...! =

The demons were stripping the armor and clothing from a knight of this company who had only just come of age, about to violate her—and I cut their throats down in a flash.

"...Thank god. They didn't get to touch you."

Was it misfortune, or was it fortune...? She'd been attacked while asleep, so she didn't even know what had almost happened to her. I intended to keep it that way.

- CLANG!

"Not today...!"

A Dark Elf ambushed me, swinging a black longsword—so I drove my knee up into its stomach, and while it doubled over, unable to hold its stance through the pain, I took its head.

"Are there any soldiers still awake?!"

At my shout, several soldiers and knights who had heard me came running. Their swords and armor were stained with demon blood.

"What in the world happened? Can anyone tell me?"

Why had everyone on the front line been forced to sleep, unable even to offer resistance? The answer to that was the key to resolving this entire catastrophe.

Just when it seemed no one knew the cause, one of the knights raised a hand and spoke.

"It was the work of a Great Demon."

A Great Demon? One of those beings with powers second only to the Sins had appeared?

Impossible.

"Where is this Great Demon now?!"

Such a colossal existence could never be brought down by common soldiers or knights. At minimum, only masters of the Deus class could hope to stand ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠against one.

The knight's explanation was simple yet thorough. The Great Demon was a being called Dreamer—and Dreamer had been following Hyun.

"What? He's wounded?"

The knight had only caught fragments, being short-handed and fighting for his own life, but he had distinctly heard Hyun's groans and the sound of something massive colliding.

Which meant Hyun was fighting a battle of life and death against the Great Demon Dreamer right now, wounded as he was.

My mouth was already opening to demand from the knight where Hyun had gone—

when the soldiers around us began opening their eyes all at once.

"Huh?"

"C-Commander...?"

"I... I was just fighting a moment ago...?"

What on earth...?

In the middle of that confusion, as I looked around—

- Awoooooo!!!

An enormous wolf's howl rolled across the entire front line.

I had fought countless battles alongside Hyun; there was no way I wouldn't recognize that sound.

"Hyun!"

I ran toward where the howl had come from—and my eyes went wide.

Hyun's condition was... grave.

- So you are the Successor's beloved.

A scarlet flame had materialized out of nowhere beside Hyun.

The flame had appeared without warning and began speaking to me. Swallowing my alarm, I answered—for panicking would only put Hyun in more danger, and Hyun's survival came first.

- Yes. The Successor chose his mate well. Composed even in a situation like this. Listen carefully, beloved of the Successor.

When I nodded, the flame continued.

- The Successor has struck down the Great Demon.

...What?!

I could not keep the astonishment out of my voice.

- Because he slew the Great Demon, every soldier within the front line has awakened from the illusion.

- Now listen. Here is the matter at hand. Get every healer in this camp to the Successor at once.

- His internal injuries are grave. He vomited blood without ceasing until the moment he lost consciousness.

"!!"

Hearing this, I immediately guided the spirits carrying Hyun to the healing tents.

When I reached the tent and received Hyun from them, the wind wolves collapsed sideways, unable to sustain their forms, and faded away.

'Thank you, spirits...'

They must have burned through every last shred of their own strength to run to their master's aid. Even with Hyun unconscious, unable to sustain their forms without him.

Inside the healing tent, the recovery mages had barely held on—no, barely half of the healers were awake.

The ones who had been lost in the illusion mere moments ago were still groggy; even if they tried to cast, they couldn't. Healing demanded that much of one's mind.

"Any healer with even a little strength to spare, to the Successor! Now!"

Three healers came sprinting desperately to Hyun's side at my shout.

"Commander-in-Chief!"

"His internal injuries are severe. Focus your healing arts on his organs."

Nodding at my words, the three healers wrung out every drop of their power and summoned miracles of healing.

Watching them, all I could do was pray to the Azure Dragon—pray that he would wake again.

Once more, inside the familiar tent.

'Not this crap again...'

Apparently the wind wolves had carried out the order I'd left them before losing consciousness. Since they'd succeeded, here I was, awake and blinking.

When I tried to push myself up, tensing my stomach, a soft white palm pressed down on my chest, blocking me.

"No. Stay down."

It was Alice.

"You're hurt that badly, and you want to get up now?"

"Haha... well, if I sit up, I can get a better look at your face, noona?"

"Flattery won't save you. That's twice now. Do it one more time and I'll find out whether I actually cry or not."

So saying, she gave my forehead a light rap with her knuckles.

With her personality, she really might cry and still keep going. Steel outside, softness within—that was Alice's one weakness.

Then, near me, a scarlet flame and a sky-blue frost appeared at the same moment.

Alice's eyes went wide at the sight.

- Lord Successor. You are awake.

- Lord Successor. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠We meet again. I am Brionac, the Ice Dragon.

The flame's identity was a presence I knew well—Blaze, the Red Dragon.

The frost was Brionac, the Ice Dragon, who had given me both trial and aid.

- Our thanks, beloved of the Successor. Were it not for you, I might have lost this one.

Brionac, in the form of a tiny hatchling, expressed her gratitude to Alice.

"Ah—no, I did nothing. Guardian Dragon... could you possibly be... the Azure Dragon's...?"

Alice seemed to have grasped what they were, at least dimly.

- That is correct. But we are the Successor's Guardian Dragons now. He passed my trial, you see.

"A trial?"

When Alice, not understanding, asked again, Blaze answered.

- Each of us Guardian Dragons sets a trial to test some part of the Successor.

- And when he passes that trial, we become his Guardian Dragons—reborn as beings who serve and aid him.

"Then you too, Lord Red Dragon...?"

- Indeed. The trial of the Sword of the Azure Sky. That is what first set me in the Successor's service.

- Every Guardian Dragon's trial is different.

- Brionac's was to strike down an enemy he had no hope of defeating. Mine was to endure my flames for five minutes.

!!!

Alice stared at me, eyes wide.

Well, even to me, these sounded like acts of sheer lunacy. Which was precisely why having a Guardian Dragon at my back was such a comfort—as long as I could pass the trials, they would stand beside me and aid me.

The Guardian Dragon system was something only I, among the four Divine Beast Successors, could access.

- Blaze. You talk too much. Just give her the conclusion.

- If not for your help, I would have regretted setting my trial while watching the Successor die... Truly, thank you.

"It was nothing. After all, if not for the Guardian Dragons' help, I would never have met Hyun in the first place."

So saying, Alice stroked my hair.

But Brionac apparently wasn't satisfied with that, and turned to me.

- No. To let it end like this would shame every Guardian Dragon. There is something I wish to tell you, beloved of the Successor.

"What is it?"

- Successors may forge contracts with those closest to them.

"Contracts?"

- Yes. By bestowing the sigil of one's Divine Beast upon a beloved, the Successor may prove to the world that this person is precious to him.

- Furthermore, once the contract is made, the Successor can sense his beloved's lifesign, and the beloved can sense the Successor's in return.

So in other words...

Making the contract meant... we shared each other's heartbeat?

If her heartbeat ever went silent, I would know instantly that something was terribly wrong.

And beyond that—she would no longer be prey that others could covet. Of course not. No one in their right mind would lay hands on the contracted beloved of a Successor.

Sounded pretty good to me.

"How do I do it?"

I asked Brionac with a completely serious expression. Because I honestly didn't know. I had never once played the romance system, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠so I knew nothing about the contract's effects.

One of the blind spots of a man who had only ever played solo.

- You offer the Successor's Azure Dragon sigil to your beloved while speaking the words of the contract.

"Sigil? I don't have anything like that."

- The Azure Dragon's sigils take many forms. A horn or a fang are the most commonly given.

So... to declare that this person was mine, I was supposed to cut off a fang or a piece of my own horn and hand it over?

What. That's terrifying...

Wait. If it was a sigil of the Azure Dragon, wouldn't this work too?

One of the physical changes that had come with acquiring the skill Dragon Scale.

"What about scales?"

At my question, Blaze and Brionac both nodded.

- It is possible.

- Yes, of course it is. A scale is a dragon's symbol as well.

When I lifted my ankle, part of a bluish scale was revealed there.

I used my dagger to pry a piece of it loose.

"Ow!"

Yes, it hurt. Of course it hurt—it was still my skin, after all...

I offered the scale to Alice, pressed it against the nape of her neck, and slowly spoke the incantation Brionac had taught me.

"'The Successor of the Azure Dragon swears unto the azure sky—that a precious being has come into his life, and he proclaims it to the heavens.'"

"'The Successor of the Four Divine Beasts leaves his sigil upon his precious one—let all beings upon the earth and beneath it know that none may ever touch this person.'"

When I finished the incantation and drew my hand away, a single blue scale remained affixed to the nape of Alice's neck.

She brought her fingers up to her own throat and, wonderstruck, kept tracing the spot over and over.

And the ability to sense each other's lifesigns—that, even without Brionac, we already knew.

Because I could now feel a heartbeat inside my own body that was not mine.

Barely noticeable if I didn't concentrate—but when I did, unmistakably clear.

- THUMP!

- THUMP!

Alice pressed a hand to her own chest, checking her heartbeat.

Judging by her expression, she was happy about this too—she couldn't take her hand away from her chest.

Then Alice looked at me with a strange little smile, took my right hand, and guided it toward her upper chest.

In that instant, an impossibly soft sensation I had absolutely no business feeling began to seep into my palm.

"Can you feel it? My heartbeat?"

I did my utmost to ignore the sensation of her chest and focused my mind—and there it was. Her heartbeat, right there in my hand. And mine was beating twice as fast in response.

I fought as hard as I could to keep any strength out of my grip.

"Feel the heartbeat, not my chest, you pervert."

She's the one who put my hand there in the first place.

And she has the nerve to say that?

"When the war is over, you can touch me as much as you like. So hold on. You're an adult anyway, aren't you? Right?"

That sounds incredibly weird coming from you, noona.

Afterward, Alice began catching me up on the state of the war for all the time I'd been unconscious.

She said I'd been out of it for about three days—plenty of time for anything to have happened.

First: the Great Demon's assault on the front line had produced casualties approaching a thousand.

Then, believing our front line all but destroyed, the demons had committed to a second, full frontal engagement.

Alice won that battle easily—she positioned the crossbowmen atop the cliff and dropped boulders on the horde at the same time.

By their estimates, roughly three thousand demons had lost half their force and retreated.

For those three days, even without me—even after collapsing from her wounds—Alice had somehow held herself together and endured, because of what I had said to comfort her before I fell.

Because she believed, without a doubt, that I would wake up.

She told me everything that had happened on the front line, in detail, from beginning to end—right up until the moment she fell asleep beside me.

Just like the time I'd been carried in after striking down Klakker, she had dozed off on my bed.

Under normal circumstances I should have been sleeping too, but there was something I needed to check.

I tapped on the detailed view for Dragon Scales.

Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never lose in a hundred battles—or so they say.

Fitting, for the greatest defensive skill in existence.

Just standing there, it shaved 15% off every hit I took.

Of course, the Reverse Scale effect meant designated weak spots would take even heavier damage—but all I had to do was place them somewhere the enemy could never know about.

The soles of my feet, for instance.

The fact that I chose my own weak points, rather than fate assigning them, made the whole thing absurdly overpowered to begin with. Even if it had been forced upon me instead, the skill would still be broken.

I picked five spots that could serve as weaknesses:

The soles of my feet. The backs of my knees. The backs of my shoulders. My heels.

And last—my left chest.

There was no particular reason I chose the left chest. If I were ever in a position where someone could strike me there, I was as good as dead anyway.

It was where my heart sat. Higher damage or not, a hit there killed me either way.

And besides, demons rarely aim for the heart—they go for the throat.

Dreamer hadn't gone for my heart either; it had aimed for my neck with that umbrella.

I turned my head and laid a hand over my own heart.

There it was—a heartbeat, distinctly slower than my own.

Sleep had slowed Alice's pulse just a little.

I turned toward her and stroked her hair in gratitude.

My own small gesture of thanks. A gesture carrying the meaning: thank you for holding on, even without me.

Maybe it was because it had been so long since I'd had this kind of contact with Alice, but I could feel my own heartbeat quickening.

'Pathetic... I'm the one who initiated the skinship, and it's my heart racing.'

She had no right to lecture me about inexperience in love—I was just as bad. What could I possibly say to her?

Of course, the fact that the heartbeat I felt wasn't actually mine is something I would only learn once the Tide of Corruption had ended.

At this point, I still didn't know.