Chapter 560
Chapter Title: A Promise in the Ruins
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Whoooosh-!
A dry wind blew.
Lisinas stared at the ruins spread before him, silently clenching his fists.
Ar-on squeezed his eyes shut and turned his head away from the horrific sight.
Dragonia.
Since time immemorial, this place had been the dragons' domain, their sacred land.
The Age of Calamity began.
Invaded by Erebos and Tartaros, the dragons were driven from their home.
And after time passed, they drove out Tartaros and were able to set foot in Dragonia once more.
But the Dragonia they had struggled so hard to reclaim had been utterly destroyed by the demons.
In the land where thousands, no, tens of thousands of years of dragon history lay dormant, nothing but ashes remained.
Even in the Age of Gods, dragons were the most powerful race.
In particular, the dragons were agents of the gods, guardians of the earth.
Erebos hates the world.
Naturally, he stood in opposition to the gods, the world's administrators.
And so the demons born from Erebos cursed the dragons, the agents of the gods, more than any other race on earth.
That was why the demons of Tartaros, after conquering Dragonia, had destroyed it completely, capturing dragons to torture and kill them brutally.
The corpses of cruelly slaughtered dragons could be seen scattered about the entrance.
Blood trickled from Lisinas's lips as he bit down hard.
His tightly clenched fists trembled.
Dweno spoke to him.
“Lisinas, I understand how you feel... but right now, we must tend to their bodies first.”
“Right.”
With a difficult nod at Dweno's words, Lisinas collected the bodies of his kin.
Before the gathered bodies of the dragons, Luna knelt and clasped her hands.
“O great agents of the gods, may you return to nature and rest in peace.”
Fwoosh-
The draconic funeral rite was to burn the bodies completely, returning them to nature.
It was a duty that should have fallen to Lisinas, but Luna took charge in his stead, as collecting the countless bodies of his kin had already drained him mentally.
As a candidate for the Elven throne, Luna had received a high elf's education and was well-versed in the funeral rites for dragons, the agents of the gods.
Though she was usually far from proper etiquette, she now mourned the dragons with a solemn air.
Kyle, Dweno, and Ar-on stood behind her, observing a moment of silence for the blazing pyre.
Lisinas sat blankly, watching the scene unfold.
Later, after the sun had set and everyone was asleep.
Lisinas sat silently in the middle of the ruins.
In his hands was a small box.
“What's that?”
“Ah...”
Startled by the voice from behind, Lisinas turned his head.
“Kyle? What are you doing up?”
“What about you? What are you doing away from the camp?”
Between Kyle's fingers were several gourds.
“What are those?”
“Alcohol. Found it in the ruins.”
Kyle bit the cork stopper at the mouth of the gourd and pulled it out.
Pop-!
With the sound, the scent of liquor spread in all directions.
Kyle put the gourd to his lips, gulping it down, then wiped his mouth and handed it to Lisinas.
“...”
Lisinas never drank during expeditions, but for today, he took the gourd from Kyle.
Gulp, gulp-
“Hah.”
Kyle let out a short laugh at the sight.
“What?”
Wiping his mouth with his shoulder, Lisinas asked, and Kyle replied.
“You drink just like Luna. I was wondering if that's how you always drink.”
“I just wanted to drink without thinking. Though this is too fine a vintage for that.”
Lisinas handed the gourd back to Kyle.
“As expected of dragon-made liquor. It's good stuff.”
Kyle drained the rest of the gourd.
Then he opened the next one and asked.
“So, this place?”
“The house I lived in as a child.”
“I see.”
Kyle picked up a half-burnt leather cover lying on the ground.
The place was such a mess that one could only vaguely tell it had once been the site of a house.
What appeared to be furniture was barely recognizable.
But the layout was strangely familiar.
“Was this a study?”
“My room, to be precise.”
Though its form was gone, the place reminded him of Lisinas's study.
Kyle drank silently.
Lisinas had a strong attachment to his homeland, Dragonia.
It wasn't just him.
It was a trait of all dragons.
That was why Lisinas had made his own study resemble his house back home.
To soothe his longing, even if just a little.
Most of those born before the Age of Calamity had lost their homes.
But Kyle and Luna were orphans, so they had no feelings for their birthplaces beyond that.
Dweno had always wanted to see the wider world.
The destruction of his homeland was unfortunate and sorrowful, but he felt nothing more.
Even if they saved the world, he had no intention of going back.
But Lisinas was different.
He always spoke of returning and rebuilding his home.
He looked genuinely happy whenever he talked about Dragonia.
Which was why the shock of this tragedy must have been immense.
Lisinas sat down and drew his knees to his chest.
“I knew. I knew it would be like this.”
He buried his face in his knees.
“But seeing it in person... I can't control my emotions.”
Dragonia had been a beautiful place.
The sight of his beautiful home, destroyed without a trace, was enough to shake Lisinas, who had always feigned composure as the leader of the expedition.
“Just how much more do we have to lose for this to end?”
“...”
“Is there even an end to it?”
Lisinas's voice trembled.
“What if... what if we fail?”
To that voice, laced with anxiety, Kyle spoke coolly.
“Don't show weakness.”
Lisinas's shoulders flinched.
“You're the one who brought all these people here, crying out for a hope they couldn't even see.”
“...”
“If you show weakness, who are they supposed to rely on?”
“...”
Lisinas bit his lip hard.
He wasn't wrong.
*Just as Kyle said. I can't let myself get this weak over something like this.*
Many people had lost their homes.
They had grown accustomed to despair.
If he, who had promised them hope and comforted them, showed himself wavering...
There could be nothing more irresponsible.
Lifting his head, Lisinas stood up.
“Sorry, I showed a weak side...”
“So.”
“...?”
“I didn't see you like this today.”
Kyle said, raising the gourd to his lips.
“I won't say a word to Ar-on, Luna, or Dweno.”
Guzzle-guzzle-
The alcohol flowed ceaselessly down Kyle's throat.
“Luna and Ar-on rely on you more than you know. If they saw you like this, they wouldn't be able to offload their own burdens onto you anymore.”
Kyle wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.
“And Dweno, that old geezer is different from the other two, but he'll try to shoulder your burden.”
Lisinas stared blankly at Kyle.
“If that happens, this party will fall apart. Our party can only hold together if you carry the most.”
Kyle looked straight at Lisinas.
“So show your weakness for just one day. I'll drink and forget everything.”
“...Kyle.”
Lisinas looked at Kyle with trembling eyes.
Then he clutched the box in his arms tightly.
“Come here for a second?”
Lisinas patted the spot next to him.
When Kyle sat down beside him, Lisinas leaned his head on Kyle's shoulder.
“While I'm leaning on you, can I ask for one more thing?”
“If it's something I can do.”
“It is. Remember what you said? That you'd live with me in Dragonia when this is all over.”
“How could I forget? I had to learn dragon etiquette until it was second nature because of that.”
Kyle grumbled with a frown, and Lisinas burst out laughing.
“When this is all over, will you help me rebuild Dragonia?”
“Rebuilding this entire massive city would take more than a lifetime, don't you think?”
“You said I could lean on you today, didn't you? And didn't you say you'd have nothing to do after peace returns to the world?”
“Fine, I get it.”
Laughing at Kyle's resignation, Lisinas opened the box he was holding.
Click-!
Inside the box was a palm-sized fragment of something.
Kyle tilted his head, looking at the shard that resembled obsidian.
“What's that?”
“The shell of the egg I hatched from.”
“Oho.”
Kyle's expression was one of fascination.
Seeing him, Lisinas narrowed his eyes.
“You just had a rude thought, didn't you?”
“It just hit me that you're a lizard.”
At that, Lisinas jabbed Kyle's temple with his elbow.
As Kyle rubbed his temple with a scowl, Lisinas handed him the piece of his eggshell.
“Write your name on it.”
“Why my name?”
“It's a dragon custom. A kind of contract we make for important promises.”
Lisinas gave a slightly wicked smile.
“You said you'd help rebuild Dragonia, right?”
“And you need a contract for that?”
“Hmph? Isn't it your fault for showing an opening to a swindler?”
“Tsk.”
At Lisinas's words, Kyle clicked his tongue and carved his name.
Taking it back, Lisinas placed the fragment back in the box.
“Now you're mine.”
“Treating me like manual labor.”
“We'll see.”
With a somewhat playful smile, Lisinas stuck his tongue out slightly and looked around at the scenery.
“With you by my side, Dragonia will surely regain its former glory, right?”
“Yeah.”
At Kyle's reply, Lisinas smiled brightly.
***
“...”
Leo stared silently at the entrance to Dragonia before him.
Beside him, Chelsea wore a puzzled expression.
“What are you staring at?”
“Just remembering something from the old days.”
Leo let out a small laugh and shook his head.
This wasn't his first time visiting Dragonia in this life.
But it was the first time he had truly seen its landscape.
During his first visit, he had met Melina through the Forbidden Library and hadn't seen the outside at all.
His second visit was the overview he saw in Rodia's world.
Other than that, he had only seen depictions passed down in literature.
Therefore, visiting Dragonia again like this felt nostalgic.
After that, neither Lisinas nor he had been able to return to Dragonia.
*It seems the dragons of later generations inherited Lisinas's will and steadily rebuilt it.*
The entrance to Dragonia didn't look much different from how Lisinas had described it.
*Come to think of it, I wonder if the box with the eggshell I wrote my name on is buried here somewhere?*
Leo was recalling the fragment of the egg Lisinas had hatched from, the one he'd written his name on.
“So you were already here, Black Rabbit!”
Hearing a familiar voice from behind, Leo turned his head.
There stood Ar Tune, arms crossed and tail swishing.
Beside Ar Tune stood a burly student from Azonia.
“It's been a while, Leo.”
“It has. Kalian Veydean.”
Azonia's student council president, Kalian Veydean, extended his hand to Leo.
Leo took his hand.
“You brought some interesting news. An inter-academy competition.”
Kalian Veydean's lips curled into a smile.
“What has Azonia decided?”
“The students of Azonia revere strength. We wouldn't refuse an opportunity to prove our might. Of course.”
Kalian Veydean's eyes flashed.
“That's assuming it's a stage worthy of announcing our arrival.”
“You won't have to worry about that.”
Leo chuckled.
“I'll be preparing a stage befitting heroes.”
Leo's red eyes shone with an eerie light.
For a moment, seeing him like that, Ar Tune and Chelsea shivered involuntarily.
*This guy! What is he plotting now?!*