Chapter 132
Chapter 132
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 132
Chapter Title: 55. Like a Dragon (1)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Heart-Soul Severing.
Gerdt had been cleaved.
His king had been cleaved.
All hearts and souls had been cleaved.
The mass of despair woven from Adelbine collapsed into one. The demonic flower lost its vitality and withered away in an instant.
The aftermath unleashed a black mist that shrouded the sky.
Suddenly, amid it all, pillars of light pierced through the heavens and extended downward one after another.
Pale, shimmering things began ascending through those beams of light.
"Ah..."
It was like a scene from a holy painting.
Yuri couldn't tell what the sight meant.
Were Adelbine's souls departing for wherever they were meant to go? Or was it merely the final combustion as their lives evaporated?
Whatever the case, it was beautiful enough to inspire a sense of sanctity in all who beheld it.
Yuri's companions gathered at his side.
No one spoke a word.
They hadn't witnessed the past like Yuri had, but they could roughly guess what had happened. Adelbine's victims were finally breaking free from the black clutches and finding liberation.
Hose was the first to speak.
"Your Highness."
"Sir Hose."
"What in the world is happening in this realm?"
He gazed up at the wave of souls ascending along the light. With his chin held high, Yuri—who was shorter than Hose—couldn't make out his expression.
Yuri reached up and placed a hand on his shoulder. The size difference made it seem like he was barely touching it, but he didn't mind.
Yuri said,
"It means the era has come where knights must do a knight's duty."
"A knight doing a knight's duty..."
Hose chuckled lowly.
"Hearing you say it like that makes it feel a whole lot better."
The black mist gradually dispersed, and the pillars of light faded as well.
The blue sky began to reveal itself.
Sunlight poured down.
Adelbine's funeral was over.
Yuri walked toward the spot where the demonic flower had vanished. There lay a small, unidentified lump of flesh, shriveled atop a tattered parchment with roots extending into it.
It resembled what they'd recovered from Okua.
"Cory."
"Yes."
"Can you cast a seal spell?"
"Yes. I can."
"Put it on that parchment. Don't touch it."
"Understood."
Only after Cory layered seals with magic several times did Yuri brush aside the lump of flesh and tuck the parchment into his bosom.
A faint evil aura lingered, but the energy of Heart-Soul Severing suppressed it.
This would make Marilrose's work much easier.
Jared blurted out,
"One of the Ten Strongest spots just opened up. No way you're climbing into the Ten Strongest after taking down Gerdt as your last one, right?"
"You nuts?"
"That's how it usually goes, though."
"Not this time."
Yuri scanned the surroundings and spotted a sword collapsed on the ground.
It was Gerdt's blade.
As if enduring years of suppressed time all at once, the sword was rusted over, its teeth all gone.
Yuri picked it up and planted it firmly into the ground.
"Gerdt finished what he had to do and departed when it was time to go."
"What about Adelbine?"
"If we keep our mouths shut, it'll stay like this. Word that Gerdt's gone will spread naturally, so let's say nothing."
"Got it."
And so, the battle with Adelbine came to an end.
The group all slumped to the ground right there.
Yuri alone stood pondering the recent fight. The memories Gerdt had passed on left lingering echoes that hadn't faded yet.
Then, suddenly, he noticed Cory looked unwell.
"Cory, you okay?"
"Yeah..."
"You don't look okay."
"Truth is, I'm not..."
"Then say something."
"Heh heh..."
Yuri touched his forehead. It was burning hot, like a lump of coal.
"What's wrong?"
Cory lay sprawled on the ground, sweating profusely. The group crowded around, prodding his body all over.
"Why's he so hot?"
"Does this come on suddenly?"
"Doesn't seem like just a fever."
"This is..."
Hose rubbed his chin and said,
"Looks like Cory's come down with mana sickness."
"Mana sickness?"
"Yes. Let me take a look."
Hose pressed a fingertip to Cory's forehead. He closed his eyes.
"Some unknown energy inside is clashing with Cory's mana."
"That's mana sickness?"
"Yeah. I've only heard of it. Happens when incompatible energy enters the body."
"How'd that happen? From the demonic energy earlier?"
"Mana sickness isn't from external invasion. It's something you generate yourself."
Yuri had heard a similar term from Moyongchan before.
Qi deviation.
Cory spoke up.
"I think I pushed too hard earlier..."
"Earlier when?"
"When... I was creating those core letters. I don't even know how I did it..."
"Sir Hose, how do you treat this?"
"No idea."
"Damn it..."
Yuri channeled Heart-Soul Severing energy into Cory's body.
If it was malevolent, Heart-Soul Severing should drive it out.
But it did nothing.
Worse, the three energies tangled, making things even messier.
"Gah!"
"S-Sorry!"
Yuri yanked his hand back.
"Damn it, this is why you need two mages."
"Huh?"
"So one can heal the other if they get hurt. Why?"
"Oh..."
"What're you thinking?"
"Nothing."
Yuri hoisted Cory onto his back for now. He'd bulked up with muscle, making him heavier than before. But there was no time to worry about that.
"Let's run for it. Nearest village—no, a temple..."
But Yuri couldn't get far before he had to stop.
"No, what the hell is that...?"
Something was flying in from the distant sky.
A being with red wings.
It circled the group overhead a few times, as if observing them, then began a slow vertical descent.
Yuri had seen this being in Gerdt's memories.
"So it really is Cruar..."
The Ten Strongest weren't all human.
Inaril the elf had been one, and Gerdt the Death Knight another.
Two more non-humans filled the ranks.
One of them was Cruar, the last dragon.
"My god..."
Everyone fell silent.
The red dragon stood about three meters tall, with wings twice that length. Folding them revealed a serpentine body. Its scales caught the sunlight, gleaming in shades of red depending on the angle.
Yuri looked higher.
A face with two horns and an elongated snout gazed down at him.
Saffron irises narrowed thinly, taking in the group.
Its jaws parted, revealing razor-sharp teeth.
It wasn't a human voice, but it spoke the continental common tongue clearly.
Caught off guard by the sudden encounter, Yuri's group stared up dumbly.
Silence stretched on for a while.
Cruar's jaws opened again.
It was talking to itself.
Having said that, Cruar turned its head as if looking elsewhere, sidelong-glancing at the group.
No reaction still, so it muttered again.
Yuri finally caught on and started clapping loudly.
"Th-the great dragon Cruar has graced us! Who would've thought such fortune! I'm overjoyed!"
The rest were still bewildered, but Simon—raised as a baron's son, versed in reading the room—instinctively picked up the cue.
He took the baton.
"Ah, n-no way! To meet the great dragon Cruar—what luck! This lowly human Simon offers his greetings!"
And he prostrated himself flat.
Now grasping the situation, the group began greeting Cruar one by one.
"H-ha ha ha, to meet a dragon in the flesh—Hose Artur, at your service! What an honor!"
"A bumpkin like me, raised common-born, beholding Cruar! I could die happy!"
"Rolan Flandre, son of Count Franchese, greets the great dragon Cruar!"
"Ahh, an event like this... feels like I was born for today!"
"H-hello... Forgive me for not standing, I feel sick..."
Then, Cruar—who'd been pretending to look away—let its mouth corners twitch upward slyly.
Sparks flew with each fake cough.
Cruar waved a clawed hand in clumsy greeting.
Yuri didn't let his guard down.
It seemed a bit dim-witted, but Cruar was infamous for breathing fire when things didn't go its way. An imperial village had been razed once, prompting an emperor's bounty.
But Yuri had faith.
"Pleased to meet you, Cruar. Allow me to greet you again on behalf of my companions."
"Perish the thought. I am Yuri Brioll, third prince of Brioll. It is an honor to meet the great dragon Cruar."
Cruar muttered "Brioll," then flinched suddenly.
"If you mean Fiore Brioll, then yes, my father."
Cruar's face stiffened.
The last dragon wasn't an absolute powerhouse.
Nine others on the continent stood shoulder-to-shoulder with it, and Yuri's father, Fiore Brioll, was deemed the strongest among them.
As far as Yuri knew, Fiore and Cruar had crossed paths once.
Cruar stared into empty air, muttering in a smaller voice.
"Of course. Your great reputation precedes you, Cruar—I've long admired you."
Yuri bowed his head, and Cruar's expression brightened.
"Thank you for saying so."
Yuri smiled and asked Cruar,
"That said, you're famed for rarely leaving your lair, great Cruar. What brings you before us?"
Cruar's eyes darted. Its yellow pupils flashed with light.
At the end of its gaze lay Cory, groaning on the ground.
"Pardon?"
Cruar took a step forward. The ground trembled under its weight.
Hose interjected.
"Isn't it mana sickness?"
Cruar wrinkled its snout.
"S-Sorry."
Cruar extended a hand. A chill aura emanated from its sharp claws, enveloping Cory's body.
"It'd hurt, right?"
"A leg analogy—spot on, crystal clear!"
"So Cory used something he wasn't supposed to!"
"Whoa, so that's how it happened!"
Cruar's eyes curved slyly.
It pinched Cory's cheeks with two fingers, squeezing them together until his lips puckered open.
Cruar peered intently into the gap.
Simon, getting Cruar's personality, spoke up.
"This foolish human can't even guess what the great dragon Cruar knows. Share a bit of wisdom, and even a lowly one like me might grasp it..."
The group cupped hands to ears, offering them toward Cruar. Its mouth corners rose again.
It said,