Chapter 61
Chapter 61
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 60
Chapter Title: Two Hearts
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Two of the five great generals who maintained the continent's balance had arrived at Legion's execution grounds.
A gorilla-masked man clad head to toe in steel armor, and a fox-masked girl covered from head to toe in fox fur.
The two swallowed hard as they watched the colossal battle unfolding before them.
'Is this truly what one would call a battle between humans?'
Valentine de Strange soared through the air, slicing it with wings as beautiful as those of an angel.
And facing her was a single Black Dragon.
"W-Wendy, that's a dragon, right?"
The musclebound man called Clark asked the girl.
"...Probably."
The girl known as Wendy couldn't give a proper answer to his question.
The dragons she knew were legendary monsters passed down in tales—beings no human could hope to defeat.
For such a creature to suddenly appear in Legion's skies? And right at the moment she had come to visit, no less.
'Moreover.'
The one facing that dragon now was one of the continent's top ten powerhouses.
Valentine de Strange, judge of the swordsmanship dynasty powerful enough to upend the continent's power structure.
Clark and Wendy could only watch the fight, not daring to intervene rashly.
But they could immediately tell who their enemy was.
"Dragon."
"Dragon."
Clark and Wendy said in unison.
They exchanged a quick glance and gave a small nod, signaling each other.
No words passed between them. Clark kicked off the ground and charged toward the dragon, while Wendy curled her fur-covered body into a ball and launched herself at Valentine.
Tang, tang, tang!
"Lady Valentine!"
Valentine, who had been battling the dragon, turned her gaze.
"...Wendy?"
"I've come to help!"
Valentine didn't ask why one of the five great generals was here.
She simply felt relieved that her chances of victory in this fight had improved, even if just a little.
"The enemy is strong."
"That's why we're here."
"We?"
"Yes, that gorilla over there is one of the five great generals fighting alongside me. Clark, once called the Pirate King of the West."
Valentine raised one eyebrow, as if she knew of him.
And well she should. The Pirate King Clark was the man who had single-handedly stormed Glazer Castle and slain two 7th-circle mages.
Of course, it was nothing compared to Valentine's fame and achievements, but he was still a powerhouse acknowledged across the continent.
Clark, armored in steel, drummed on his abdomen with both fists like a drum.
Thud thud thud—thud!
His fists swelled to the size of cannonballs, radiating intense Aura.
Whoosh!
"You damned lizard bastard, how dare you turn God's land, Legion, into this mess!"
Clark leaped high into the air.
He flew straight to the dragon and smashed both fists down on its head.
Bam! ⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ Cross Judgment (Ten Postures Execution) The Black Dragon jerked its head back from the impact. But that was all. It hadn't taken fatal damage—it merely nodded as if in greeting, then quickly regained its composure and snatched Clark's body in its massive claw.
Crunch.
Black pupils without sclera.
Clark froze the moment his eyes met the dragon's.
Unable to overcome the chilling terror that gripped his entire body, he averted his gaze.
Grrrrowl—
Black flames leaked from the dragon's maw.
An intense heat, as if it might erupt at any moment, began to envelop the surroundings.
Valentine, sensing this, flew in swiftly. ⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ Nine Thorn Pattern (Nine Thorn Inscription) Splat!
It couldn't pierce the skin.
Still, it was a powerful strike that forced the dragon to release its grip on Clark.
Thud!
Clark landed on the ground and shouted loudly.
"Thanks!"
Valentine replied without taking her eyes off the dragon.
"Its weak spot is the belly."
"The belly?"
"Yes."
There was no time to ask why.
They could only quickly assess the situation, identify the enemy, and prepare countermeasures.
The Black Dragon resumed its assault as if it had never been struck.
This time, Wendy—who wielded a nine-tailed fox as her Guardian Spirit—took the lead in blocking the dragon.
Whirrr—
Splat splat splat!
All nine tails detached from her body, forming drill-like shapes as they spun rapidly toward the dragon.
It was a perfect strike targeting the weak spot.
'However.'
-Grrrrowl!
The dragon merely staggered for a moment before regaining its balance and soaring through the sky once more.
"L-Lady Valentine."
"Your attack was perfect. The dragon is simply strong enough to withstand your spell."
"Then what should we do? If our attacks aren't working..."
Even Valentine didn't know the answer.
She had only read about dragons in the archive bookshelves; she'd never crossed blades with one in person.
Legendary monsters like dragons didn't exist in this era, nor were there any creatures comparable to them.
All she remembered were the words left by ancient people: "Dragons cannot be defeated by human power."
"I'll handle this. You two, evacuate Legion's citizens."
Wendy and Clark asked simultaneously.
"Are you sure?"
"Can you manage alone?"
Valentine replied with an icy expression.
"Don't ask twice. We don't have time—hurry."
With that, the battle between Valentine and the Black Dragon resumed.
And soon after, an absurdly powerful aura filled Legion's skies.
Those who saw Legion's sky from afar that day are said to have spoken thus:
"Two suns rose in the sky."
Shrieeeek—
A massive fireball the size of a castle spun, radiating intense heat.
The Black Dragon scanned its surroundings from within, searching for its target.
'Valentine.'
It would kill this woman no matter what.
No, it had to kill every living being bearing the Strange name.
This was its destiny, reborn as an Apostle.
"Vanish, Strange."
The massive fireball swirling in the sky began plummeting toward Legion.
Rumble rumble rumble.
Valentine tried to block the dragon's flames, but the heat was so intense that even approaching slightly would melt her armor and wings. She was at a loss.
'This is bad.'
If this continued, Legion—the holy city—would be destroyed.
A catastrophe that could plunge the entire continent into darkness.
In this moment when no one knew how to respond, a golden-haired boy in a fluttering Strange crimson cloak leaped high into the air. ⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ Lightning Swoosh, kabooooom! ◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ 'Where the hell did that dragon come from?'
Judah, who had accompanied me in this battle, provided the answer.
"To think I'd witness the birth of a new Apostle firsthand."
He clapped his hands in delight.
'A new Apostle?'
Did that mean the dragon used to be human?
The question was answered before I could even ask.
'Monestier.'
It had to be him.
The faint killing intent I sensed in the dragon's Aura.
"Yes, a new Apostle. I don't know who it is, but he's come to carry out God's will!"
"So the dragon attacking Legion is God's will?"
"Exactly."
"Why?"
"I don't know. It's that Apostle's desire."
God's will was the Apostle's desire.
I had found the answer in the 'memory fragments' of the Apostles I'd seen in the tower.
Monestier, now transformed into a dragon, was attacking Legion out of resentment for his unfulfilled ambitions and rage at his death.
'...Strange.'
But why had he become an Apostle now?
No, had Monestier even become an Apostle in my previous life? I couldn't know. I hadn't reached the top of the tower, and even if I asked Brunhilt or Siegfried, their ascents were tales from the past.
I shook my head to clear the jumbled thoughts.
The biggest issue wasn't why Monestier had become an Apostle.
It was why he'd appeared here and now.
"Damn it."
'Dragons cannot be defeated by human power.'
These were the words of the legendary knight who had visited Legion before the tower appeared in the continent's heart.
In my previous life, I'd admired his saga, but deep down, I'd wondered: if even he with such power couldn't defeat a dragon, what could I do?
'He was strong.'
His feats in the 'Anti-Demon War' were legendary; the barrier he'd erected over Legion still lingered even now.
If even he couldn't win, could I truly triumph over a dragon?
That dilemma had been resolved when I became an adult.
By the man now picking his nose above my head with a nonchalant expression.
The legend of our family, Siegfried de Strange.
"Huh? You want me to teach you how to slay a dragon?"
"Yes, quickly! We're short on time!"
"Are you yelling at me right now?"
"No, not yelling, but—"
"How dare you speak to your master like that!"
Ha—.
'This stubborn old coot.'
I pointed at the fireball swirling in Legion's skies.
"If you don't want to see your disciple die, teach me how to slay a dragon fast."
"No, that thing isn't a dragon, so why would you need a dragon-slaying method?"
"It's not a dragon?"
"Yeah, can't you tell just by looking?"
Even looking again, it was a dragon.
I knew because I'd fought one before.
A Black Dragon that wielded flames powerful enough to devastate the area in an instant.
Its abyssal eyes without whites gave away its identity.
'What nonsense is this old man spouting?'
He wasn't the type to joke in a crisis like this.
"It's a hatchling."
"A hatchling?"
"Yes, it's not yet worthy of being called a dragon."
Didn't hatchling mean baby dragon?
I looked at the Black Dragon again. Its size was similar to the Red Dragon I'd fought in my past life.
So what made Siegfried call it a hatchling?
'Could it be.'
Upon closer inspection, there was one difference from back then.
Two short horns protruding from its head.
Far shorter than those on the Red Dragon I'd faced before.
"I understand what you mean, Master."
"What you need now isn't learning how to slay dragons. It's figuring out how to make full use of the abilities you already have."
He'd said the same in my previous life.
Back then, I'd snapped that the old man had lost his mind. But this time, I understood what he meant.
Brunhilt watching silently confirmed it wasn't nonsense.
"You think I can take down that hatchling?"
"More than enough."
"More than enough?"
"Yes. Remember the Aura Blade I taught you last time?"
"Yes."
"That's one of the key techniques for slaying things called 'dragons.' And you wield it better than I do, so you can win."
Siegfried declared my victory with certainty.
'Aura Blade is a core technique for slaying dragons.'
Valentine, who could be called the strongest swordsman after Father, couldn't fell it.
But I could, with my own hands.
'If the old man's words are true.'
I gripped my sword tightly, channeling Aura into my right hand and Mana into my left, then kicked off the ground and soared upward.
'Today, I'll cut you down.' ⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ Lightning Swoooosh—
'And become this era's greatest swordsman.' ⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ Burning Blade Rumble rumble.
The continent's one and only Dragon Slayer.
"Monestier de Strange."
Crack!