Proud as Could Be
Dullahan flinched and twisted his body at Christina’s gaze, his movements awkward and tentative as he fidgeted cautiously.
“Fire mana…… and this life force… you channeled Baekya’s power through the vessel.”
“Kyu.”
Rune nodded, and Christina tilted her head, focusing more calmly.
Dullahan averted his gaze somewhere uneasy, yet Christina’s eyes pierced straight through everything.
Rune clenched his fist tight and urged him inwardly: just hold on a little longer.
“I revived Dullahan’s body, but its core is the soul of a great human… that is why it could fuse with the phoenix’s feather.”
Even in the midst of the analysis, Rune’s ears perked up at the intriguing words.
Christina continued. “Though it wears a cursed body, its spirit remains that of a mighty being. She even purified his soul that had been slowly corrupting with the power of the phoenix.”
The frown on Rune’s brow eased, and anger gradually faded from her voice.
A great soul. Though the flesh was that of a cursed death knight, its spirit was refined to a degree that even a Gold Dragon elder would admire.
Analysis complete, Christina nodded. “His heart, which should have been as cold as ice, now burns hotter than anyone else’s. He is grateful to you. A soul indebted must serve you loyally.”
‘I didn’t expect that much.’
Rune’s red eyes sparkled. It was a harvest far better than anticipated.
“……No matter how difficult, it’s a black dragon. As expected.”
“Kyu?”
Rune lifted his head with a questioning gaze. Christina’s eyes, fixed on him, held a distant, nostalgic warmth, as if recalling distant ages long past.
“Black dragons are the race that rules over darkness. They move silently in the shadows, saving the broken and wounded who fought bravely yet were defeated.”
“……”
“How fitting. They have always been like that, as if born with fate itself.”
Christina’s gaze while speaking seemed both sorrowful and wistful.
[Christina……?]
A faint smile bloomed. The sorrowful expression vanished, replaced by one of pride as she stroked Rune’s head.
“Be proud, Rune. No matter what others say, you are an excellent black dragon.”
The deep emotion in her eyes was too profound for Rune to fully grasp.
***
The aftershock was milder than Rune had expected. Though he had to accept the year-long restriction on leaving the lair and Dullahan’s freedom to roam the black room, the situation was far from terrible.
Warnings against recklessness had been issued, yet in truth it was little different from before.
Sighing, Rune walked the passage to Amelia using a copied **mana key**, with Dullahan at his side.
‘I need to introduce this guy to Amelia so she doesn’t fear him.’
Recently Amelia had grown far braver and more spirited than before.
But Dullahan’s appearance was not the sort to win instant affection.
At the boundary of the water domain, Rune hesitated briefly.
Then he glanced at Dullahan, turned back to the front, and stepped forward.
Splash.
Deep in the abyss.
As Rune entered, Amelia approached at once, as if waiting.
The mermaid, ready to greet him warmly, froze upon spotting the bulky black figure behind him instead of Baekya.
[Ru, Rune……? Who……?]
Dim green eyes flashed in the dark gloom.
[Hik!]
Amelia instantly shrank behind a rock and peeked out timidly.
Rune looked at her, pointed at Dullahan with his forepaw, and said, “Kyu, kyu.”
[My knight. His name is Dullahan.]
[……! Rune……’s knight?]
Amelia leaned out a little more.
Then, as if sensing something frightening, she shrank back behind the rock.
Rune shrugged. “Kyu.”
[Yeah. I’ve only been alive for a day.]
[B-But only one day……?]
The mermaid peeked out again.
Rune grinned and tapped Dullahan’s armor lightly with his forepaw.
[From now on, we’ll practice combat with this guy.]
[Combat……?]
Both Amelia and Dullahan turned to Rune in surprise.
Responding to their stares, Rune nodded calmly. “Kyu.”
[Exactly.]
‘Uwah…’ Amelia gripped her spear, utterly flustered, while Dullahan stood silently, green soul flickering.
A smirk.
Rune curled the corner of his mouth.
In the deep sea, no matter the noise, there would be no casualties.
Instead, the pressure would make them stronger than usual and demand greater effort for the desired attacks.
Under such training conditions, they could expect excellent stimulation and growth for each other.
‘Amelia is a dragon with talent in martial arts. But she lacks real combat experience compared to her gift.’
A novice would harden up the moment they faced actual battle.
From that perspective, Dullahan was the perfect partner to fill in those gaps.
A being born from darkness, inheritor of an extraordinary soul.
He even possessed strong combat ability.
Christina had left Dullahan in the black room, yet here he was guarding a place where nothing would happen.
It was like leaving a jewel to rot.
‘I might as well put him to good use in Amelia’s training.’
Rune crossed his paws.
[Amelia, this guy is the ideal opponent for you. Even with all your strength you won’t die, and darkness won’t devour you. He can even recover from wounds.]
[R-Really?]
Fortunately the girl trusted Rune’s words.
To seal the deal, Rune looked at Dullahan and said,
[Yeah. Though he looks like this, he was once a great hero in his prime. A truly valiant and remarkable being.]
[I-I see……]
[More than anything, he’s quite kind.]
Rune recalled how Dullahan, kneeling beside him in front of Christina’s wrath, had endured far more than mere survival.
Yet he remained the loyal knight who protected Rune’s place.
Amelia, seeing Rune’s gaze, gripped her spear tightly and lowered her eyes.
[Sorry, Dullahan. I only saw the outside…… and I was so s-surprised……]
Clang!
Dullahan waved a hand.
His gesture looked surprisingly polite, so Amelia let out a soft laugh.
Amelia could not suppress her trembling and tightly shut her eyes.
But soon she extended her finned hand for a handshake.
[Th-Then, from now on…… please take care! Dullahan!]
Dullahan silently took her hand and shook it.
Amelia, shoulders already tensed from the surprise, widened her eyes in astonishment.
[……Surprisingly…… n-not cold……]
“Kyu.”
[That’s because of the phoenix’s power.]
Despite the cold armor, the hand squeezed through the gauntlet felt warm and cozy.
It was possible because Dullahan moved with fire mana and life force.
‘Good, they match well.’
Nodding, Rune continued.
[This guy is quite strong. It’ll probably be tough to face him.]
He grinned like an imp.
[It’d be better to experience it once than explain it many times? Both of you, get ready.]
A heavy atmosphere unlike the handshake now settled on Dullahan’s body.
Amelia clenched her spear, **Mael**, with all her resolve.
‘Me too. I trained hard while waiting!’
Dullahan’s loyalty was absolute, as Rune had said.
But the moment he took combat stance, a sharp aura prickled like thorns.
‘Terrifying……’
Even though it was only a battle cry, Amelia felt cold sweat.
A sense of the opponent’s strength. It proved Amelia’s outstanding talent for combat.
‘Can I win?’
Despite being unarmed, Dullahan’s stance left no opening.
The instant Amelia raised her spear and tensed,
KUNG!
Dullahan rolled his feet, enveloped in darkness.
The sea floor trembled as if struck by an earthquake.
Amelia, sensing the opponent’s power, tensed and shrank her shoulders.
Uwoong!
Inside the armor, Dullahan’s green soul challenged her.
Bare hands versus spear.
Normally Amelia would hold the longer spear as a lich and have the advantage.
But the young blue dragon hatchling chose caution instead of charging recklessly.
Rune watched with a nod. ‘As expected.’
She was not scared.
Focused Amelia felt the skill gap and held a solid defensive stance, even using the surrounding currents to counter Dullahan’s pressure.
Kuru ruru.
The massive water currents swayed protectively around Amelia’s long hair.
According to the girl’s will, the currents began flowing straight at Dullahan.
The pressure to move even a single step against the flow nearly crushed him.
Dullahan’s follow-up attack was, in a way, self-imposed handicap and praise for her judgment.
‘……! He’s coming.’
Amelia sensed Dullahan’s rapid footwork.
Her body reacted on instinct.
KWAANG!
Dullahan shot forward like a current and threw a straight punch.
Amelia, eyes wide, tracked the fist’s trajectory to the end and swung her spear to deflect it, but the strength pushed her back.
She slipped along the spear’s path, spun out of her defensive stance with agile grace, and immediately counterattacked.
Good judgment.
But Dullahan, having anticipated it, withdrew his fist and spun together with her.
THUD!
A heavy impact.
[……!]
Amelia was driven backward from the strike to Dullahan’s armor.
Rune, watching them, fell into thought. ‘It’s over. The skill gap is huge.’
After one exchange, Rune had measured their abilities.
Amelia, having watched the attack through, waited for the straight punch and thrust her long spear forward.
But she lost to the power and, though she reacted quickly afterward, she was already inside Dullahan’s counter range.
‘I prepared a counter assuming he’d come from that direction, but he used it against me.’
Amelia’s eyes saw the fist vanish from her counter path.
Instead, an unexpected massive, solid torso charged forward.
But Amelia immediately pushed her body back to minimize impact.
If she had this much talent, her skill would grow by the day.
‘As I use the spear, I’ll naturally learn the distance and style that suit me.’
Dullahan was already holding back quite generously.
Yet balancing his body under the heavy pressure of the deep sea was good basic training for him as well.
Evidence: Dullahan clenched his fist twice, then began releasing dark aura.
It was…… dangerous.
‘……I’ll be fine. I told her beforehand that I’d face her at beginner level.’
Dullahan began releasing thick dark aura.
For now, simply not being overwhelmed by the pressure in front of him meant Amelia had essentially done everything she could.