The Road to the Erebor Kingdom
"Sirmiia.. Please stop using such vulgar words. Why must you speak that way with such a pretty mouth?"
'I don't want to. But more importantly, Seria is safe, right? If you did anything to her.. I won't let it slide. Not ever.'
"Mmph, mmph.."
"Too bad. I could have killed you."
Angelica removed her hand from Seria's mouth and released her.
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"Phew.. That monster tried to kill me. Save me, unnie!"
'What? No! Don't come near me! Angelica, grab Seria!'
"Yes!"
"Kyaa.. Get away!"
Seria was caught by Angelica once more. Annoyed by the girl's constant struggling, Angelica used magic to bind her.
'..Thank goodness.'
I was currently cloaked in Thunder God. If Seria had entered my range, she would have been electrocuted and died from shock.
"Sirmiia. I won't hurt the kid, so dispel that spell already. Only then can I cast a regeneration spell. Your condition is extremely serious right now."
'Yeah. I know.'
I was dying in real time. My internal organs had already burned away, and electricity flowed through my veins instead of blood. Every cell in my body was dead, and I couldn't see a thing. Honestly, wasn't I already dead? My body had essentially ceased all vital functions.
'How the hell am I still alive?'
Even I was puzzled.
"Sirmiia, hurry.."
Angelica urged me anxiously.
'Got it.. Just wait a moment.'
I knew it too. I had to release the spell quickly so she could heal me. But..
Huu.. Damn it.
My hands trembled violently. Was it because my body temperature had dropped? No, that wasn't it. It was fear.
If I dispelled Thunder God now, wouldn't I die instantly? The thought terrified me. What had I done? Using Thunder God with a human body.. Was I an idiot?
Looking back, I must have completely lost my mind back then.
Chatter, chatter, chatter.
My teeth clattered. I was scared. I didn't want to die. I hadn't gotten my revenge on the Demon King yet. I hadn't even gone to save Julius. And even though I was in a human body now, there were still so many things I wanted to do in life. So I didn't want to die yet.
"Sirmiia, it's fine. Just release it. Don't you trust me?"
'But.. if I release it, I'll die. I'll really die..'
"It's okay. Even if you die, I'll bring you back. Who do you think I am?"
'Crazy dragon..'
"That's right. A crazy dragon.. Wait, no I am not!!"
Angelica stomped her feet in anger. The sight was so ridiculous that it actually calmed me down a little.
"Release it now."
'..Alright.'
I took a deep breath and dispelled Thunder God.
Crackle, crackle.
The remaining electricity drained from my body.
..My body felt so heavy. Was all the fatigue from the battle hitting me at once? No. That wasn't it. This was the sensation of death. Though it was my first time feeling it, I knew exactly what it was.
My vision flipped. Was my body tilting? I couldn't put any strength into my limbs. So this is how I die, I thought. I don't want to die..
Tears welled up in my dry eyes.
Thud.
"Nice catch!"
Angelica gently caught my falling body. She immediately snapped her fingers.
Click.
A massive water droplet engulfed me.
Water Beads
It was warm. I couldn't remember much from when I was a baby, but it felt just like being in my mother's arms.
Regenerative
The wounds on my body began to disappear. It was similar to receiving a massage in the Demon Realm. The knots in my muscles slowly loosened, and the fatigue throughout my body gradually faded.
I felt drowsy. I couldn't fight off the sleepiness creeping in. What would happen if I closed my eyes now?
Tap, tap.
I moved my eyes toward the sound. It was Angelica. She was saying something. What was she saying? *#yo. I couldn't hear her clearly. I watched her lips carefully.
Sleep. Well.
Angelica smiled softly. Was it okay to sleep now? Honestly, I didn't know. The drowsiness made it hard to judge the situation properly. But for some reason, I felt like I could trust her words. I closed my eyes and surrendered to the overwhelming sleepiness.
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"Mm. Sleep well, Sirmiia."
Sirmiia had fallen asleep. As expected, her body was in terrible shape. Using attribute mana so recklessly was bound to destroy her body. Sirmiia was far too clumsy when it came to handling mana. Well, if I told her that, she'd probably get violently defensive. But what could I do? From a dragon's perspective, a human handling mana was like a newborn trying to use chopsticks. Though occasionally, there were cases like the Demon King or sages—newborns born with an adult's fingers. But those were extremely rare. In that sense, Sirmiia was just a newborn baby. A newborn who couldn't even flip over, let alone use chopsticks. That was exactly Sirmiia's level of mana control.
'I should properly teach Sirmiia how to control mana later.'
Of course, she might refuse out of pride. But still.
"Mmph, mmph.."
'Ah, right.'
I'd forgotten about her because I wasn't interested. I'd asked Sirmiia to hold the kid down. I lowered my head and looked down. The kid, gagged and bound hand and foot, was glaring up at me while groaning.
I'd gagged her because she was noisy, but now she was drooling disgustingly.
"Could you be quiet? I'm admiring our Sirmiia right now."
The kid kept struggling and groaning. Her eyes looked like she had something to say.
"Sigh."
I removed the gag from her mouth.
"Phew.."
She was quite exhausted and panted for a while, unable to get up. Honestly, I had no interest in the kid, so I turned my gaze back to Sirmiia.
'The clothes Sirmiia was wearing are all burned away. They were quite pretty, too..'
The blouse and flare skirt she had been wearing were torn and burned beyond recognition. Well, the battle had been that intense. She'd even cloaked herself in lightning. If I hadn't put up a barrier in the middle, other humans would have swarmed in by now. Not that I cared how many bugs died, but Sirmiia would have been hurt. Where else would you find such a kind dragon? Sirmiia was blessed. Ah, and so was I, for meeting Sirmiia.
Just as I was busy patting myself on the back, the kid spoke up.
"Get away from unnie right now, you monster."
"Hm?"
What did that bug just say?
"What did you just say?"
"I said get away, you monster. What did you do to unnie? Release that water ball right now!"
They say a dragon becomes a holy dragon if it endures three times, but the kid had already used up both of her chances. That left just one. But I wasn't a holy dragon. If anything, I was closer to an evil dragon, wasn't I? So there was no need to hold back.
"I'll split your head into six pieces."
The bug, exposed to my killing intent, trembled and teared up.
"Wait a moment. Hold on, dragon."
Now what? I turned my gaze behind the bug and, lo and behold, there stood the hero, perfectly fine.
"I thought you'd died from Sirmiia's attack, but you survived quite well."
"I was half-dead. But that's not important. Don't kill that girl you're trying to kill."
"Hm? Why? You were trying to kill her just a moment ago too, hero."
It was infuriating how he tried to act like a hero now after attempting to kill the bug together with me.
"Sirmiia tried to protect her. There must have been a reason."
Right. Sirmiia had told me not to kill her. Hmm.. Choosing between venting my anger and earning Sirmiia's hatred. There was no need to think about it. I had no choice but to spare her.
"That's true, but do you have the right to say that? Thanks to you, Sirmiia ended up like this."
"That.. is indeed my fault. But there's something that feels off."
"Are you making excuses now?"
The hero frowned and retorted.
"I don't kill people without reason. It goes against my will. But with that girl, I suddenly wanted to kill her for no reason."
No, that wasn't it.
"I wanted to kill her so badly that I would have made up a reason if there wasn't one. And I still feel that way. If the Saintess hadn't poured purification magic on me, I would have drawn the holy sword to kill her by now."
The hero looked truly wronged. But what did that matter to me? I didn't care whether the hero felt wronged or not. I just wanted him to stay away from Sirmiia.
"It's my fault."
The girl who had been quietly watching from the side answered cautiously with a tearful face.
"Stay out of this, bug. The adults are talking."
The girl shouted angrily.
"Monster! I'm not a bug, I'm Seria!"
Angelica tilted her head and said,
"Yes. And I'm not a monster, I'm Angelica. Bug."
Angelica, estimated age 7xx. Seria, estimated age 2xx. The argument between the two oldest members of the group was incredibly childish.
'They're fighting like children.'
The hero thought to himself.
"It would be good to hear the story, dragon."
"Yes. Yes! We should listen. That's a good idea, hero-nim."
"Haa.."
The hero let out a long sigh.