Chapter 58: Nikita’s Inevitability

Nikita, the Dragon Girl of Calamity, was deeply flustered.

The boy standing before her—Hanon Airei.

He had even gone so far as to disguise himself as Hania Rapididia.

Why on earth?

Nikita’s confusion was evident through her bewildered expression.

Hanon was a good junior.

He silently helped her, someone who always took on tasks alone.

Witty, he was a joy to converse with.

To be honest, among the people she’d spoken to recently, talking with Hanon was the most enjoyable.

Conversations with Hanon were comfortable and often filled with unexpected remarks that made her laugh.

He could be mischievous at times, but even that carried a sense of affection.

He seemed to know her uncannily well.

So much so that she sometimes wondered if he was someone she already knew in disguise.

Though that thought sometimes struck her as suspicious, even after considering everything, Hanon was someone she didn’t dislike.

Nikita had low self-esteem.

Her life had always been tinged with negativity.

Even her parents didn’t expect much from her.

Despite this, she persevered, climbing step by step.

Hanon recognized her efforts and constantly praised her.

Perhaps because of that, her self-esteem had recently improved significantly.

To the point where she occasionally thought, ‘I guess I did okay’.

Thanks to him, she had grown to detest hearing, ‘You’re nothing special except for your looks’.

Her habit of avoiding mirrors gradually diminished.

These days, she sometimes smiled when looking into one.

Hanon was a source of support who elevated her self-esteem.

For that reason, she never wanted to show him her disgraceful side—the side consumed by vengeance, throwing everything away in a bid to kill someone.

If Hanon saw that, he would surely be disappointed.

She felt ashamed.

She wanted to hide somewhere immediately.

She didn’t want him to witness her like this.

That’s why she had told Hanon not to come to the depths of the Demonic Palace.

Yet, here he was, standing before her, determined.

Clang!

Hanon’s hand struck toward Nikita.

What had he done to himself?

Even Nikita, clad in the magic of the Elder Dragons, was surprised by the searing heat emanating from him.

The heat from his hand was scorching, and the gaze in Hanon’s eyes was just as intense.

Nikita instinctively realized—

Hanon had burned himself out.

He couldn’t sustain this state for long.

“Nikita-senpai.”

Hanon’s strikes were relentless.

What once seemed like crude movements, had now become polished and precise.

How much effort had he put into this?

“Will you still not meet my eyes?”

Nikita flinched.

She couldn’t bring herself to meet Hanon’s gaze.

This had been the case for a long time—ever since Nia Cynthia’s death.

Nikita avoided meeting anyone’s eyes.

Ever since deciding to avenge Nia, her gaze had been fixated solely on vengeance.

Yet Hanon persistently sought to meet her eyes.

Whenever their gazes aligned, he would smile, speak to her, and treat her kindly.

Nikita turned away from this, shutting her eyes.

‘How selfish can I be?’

Nikita felt a deep sense of self-contempt.

Ignoring the care someone offered her, she remained loyal only to her own emotions.

Even now, she was no different.

The desire to avoid showing Hanon this version of herself drove her to avert her gaze, evading his direct confrontation.

But deep within, the raging flame of vengeance burned uncontrollably.

It felt as though someone whispered to her, ‘Are you truly so pathetic that you can’t even carry out your revenge?’

The voice seemed to echo in her ears repeatedly.

It was a curse.

A curse she couldn’t escape from the moment she touched the Elder Dragon’s magic.

Her thirst for vengeance had long surpassed her ability to control it.

Nikita swung her sword once more.

A storm of icy wind erupted from her blade, sweeping through the surroundings.

Hanon charged through the tempest, once again closing the distance between them.

Sword and hand collided.

In that moment, their eyes met once more.

His crimson eyes blazed fiercely, mirroring the fire within him.

Hanon was a boy who often acted unpredictably.

No doubt, he had sensed something amiss and chased her down to this extent.

Perhaps that’s why she couldn’t help but ask.

Clang!

Nikita deflected Hanon’s strike, leaving footprints on the icy ground.

“……Junior, did the Third Princess put you up to this?”

Hanon was a cousin of Iris.

Was he doing this to protect her? Nikita asked.

But even as she posed the question, she already knew.

Hanon’s gaze was not directed at Iris.

“No.”

He denied, as expected.

That denial pierced deeply into Nikita’s heart.

“I’m doing this because I want to stop you, Nikita-senpai.”

Nikita’s eyes trembled.

“Why on earth…”

Hanon had burned himself to his very limit.

Nikita couldn’t understand why he stood before her, going to such lengths to stop her.

No matter how she looked at it, Hanon had no reason to intervene in this matter.

Then Hanon exhaled, his hand blade poised.

“Didn’t I tell you on the first day we met?”

The first day.

Nikita recalled the day they met on the bridge connecting the martial arts building and the main hall.

「I’ve admired your journey, Nikita Cynthia-senpai, even before I enrolled.」

Those words of respect.

Though she hadn’t fully believed them at the time, she still remembered the earnestness in Hanon’s gaze as he looked at her.

“Because of respect, Hanon?”

To go this far for something like that.

“If it’s respect…”

The flames engulfing Hanon roared even fiercer.

“Isn’t that reason enough?”

Hanon forced a smile, his lips trembling under the strain.

The scorching heat seemed to weigh heavily on him.

“…I’m not someone worthy of respect.”

“I don’t think that’s true.”

“I’m not the person you believe me to be.”

“That’s fine. For everything you fail to notice, I’ll notice for you.”

“I…”

Nikita clenched her fists, as if swallowing her frustration.

“I…”

She couldn’t bring herself to say anything more.

Tears streamed down her face, freezing into crystalline shards in the icy wind.

The scales on her skin became more pronounced.

The Elder Dragon’s magic burrowed deeper into her body, spiraling beyond her control.

The dragon opened its jaws, seeking to completely devour her by freezing her mind.

Nikita felt her consciousness slipping away.

No matter how hard she tried to hold onto it, it kept slipping through her fingers.

This can’t happen.

If she lost herself now, Hanon would be in danger.

Nikita fought desperately to hold onto her sanity, but her mind refused to stabilize.

She bit down hard enough on her own fangs to shatter them.

Her body trembled violently.

Yet despite her struggle, the icy storm only grew stronger.

“J-Junior, r-run…”

Nikita wanted to tell Hanon to escape.

This was her sin to bear.

There was no reason for him to be endangered because of her.

But even her lips had fallen out of her control.

“After this is all over, there’s something I need to tell you.”

Hanon said with a smile, his voice cutting through the haze of her fading consciousness.

“And I owe you an apology.”

As the world blurred, Nikita caught a glimpse of his smile.

For a fleeting moment, she remembered another man.

Someone who had once held feelings for her.

Though his poor judgment led to less-than-favorable outcomes, the smile he used to show her lingered in her memory.

That smile…

She thought it resembled Hanon’s somehow.

And with that thought, Nikita was finally consumed by the Elder Dragon’s magic.

* * *

The heat from the flames made it hard to breathe, but the cold seeping through them was even more biting.

In front of me, Nikita had completely succumbed to the Elder Dragon’s magic, transforming into a dragon-human hybrid.

The dragon’s magic, driven by instinct, had recognized something.

It knew the heat within me could destroy it.

And in response, it accelerated Nikita’s transformation.

In the game’s storyline, Nikita’s death was inevitable—a fixed event that could not be altered.

No matter what Lucas tried, there was no way for him to save her.

But here, this world is real.

Lucas lacked the knowledge to stop the Elder Dragon’s magic.

But I, on the other hand, possessed the knowledge to do so.

‘The day I decided to save Nia, I already made up my mind.’

It’s my role to guide this world along its canonical path.

However, no matter what I do, I cannot follow the same trajectory as Lucas.

So, while adhering to the canonical flow, I will carve out the most ideal version of it—the one I desire.

‘I will save Nikita.’

With that resolute thought, I took a deep breath.

The moment Nikita fully transforms into a dragon hybrid, the malefic remnant will reach out and seize control of her body.

Even now, I can feel the demonic palace stirring—a clear sign of the remnant’s greed for Nikita.

‘You covet her, don’t you?’

Don’t.

You won’t have her.

Whoooosh!

A piercing chill swept through the air.

At the same time, Nikita’s eyes flashed with a brilliant light.

She’s coming.

The instant I realized this, Nikita’s form vanished.

My right hand, brimming with heat, shot forward, only to be met with the sharp clang of her sword.

Crack!

The freezing air solidified into frost, coating the void with shards of ice.

Beyond my hand, I caught a glimpse of Nikita, her aura twisted and wild.

Her reason was gone.

All that remained was a dragon hybrid bent solely on slaughter.

Then her mouth opened wide.

The moment I saw it, I quickly turned my head.

Flash!

A blinding light streaked past me, an icy beam grazing my hair and freezing strands in its wake.

Amidst this, Nikita’s right knee shot up toward my side.

I countered by dropping my left elbow onto her knee, blocking it, and stepped back with my rear foot.

Heat surged into my right hand, and I drove my fist toward her chest.

Thud!

But her sword had already intercepted my punch.

With the impact, heat and cold collided, unleashing an explosion that momentarily deafened me.

Yet even amidst the explosion, Nikita’s sword danced relentlessly toward me.

Her swordsmanship, now driven purely by instinct, flowed from her like a storm.

A slash to my left, a swing above my head to the right—the sound of clashing blades, her movements, and her intent—all crystal clear.

I didn’t miss a thing, my eyes locked onto her every motion.

My reflexes pushed to their absolute limit.

If I faltered even once, it would mean a fatal blow.

Knowing this, I clashed against her with all my might.

And then, at some point—Nikita’s movements slowed.

So did mine.

It wasn’t exhaustion causing this.

It wasn’t because our stamina was running out.

‘Finally.’

The signs were beginning to show.

The Elder Dragon’s magic within Nikita—it was panicking.

‘No, not quite.’

It wasn’t just the magic.

Deep within Nikita, something that had coiled around her for far longer was starting to show its unease.

It had realized, at last, that even it was now in danger.

A strained smile crept across my lips.

Deep within the icy magic lay something more sinister.

The remnant of the Elder Dragon

A curse that had plagued the Cynthia Marquis family for generations—the very reason Nikita had been denied talent her entire life.

This was the real reason Lucas couldn’t save her.

And the vile curse that could only be purged by touching the Elder Dragon’s magic.

This was the root of the inevitability binding Nikita.

So I had prepared the only move that could sever this inevitability.

“Finally feeling a bit flustered, huh?”

I let out a strained breath, a mocking smile playing on my face.

Deep within the icy magic, flames began to spread—flames that now reached the remnant left behind by the Elder Dragon.