Chapter 120:  Interlude – Dorothy’s Story (1)

Rewinding time, it had been two and a half years since Lier drew the holy sword and embarked on her journey.

At that time, the hero’s party had grown immensely powerful through successive battles and growth buffs.

So much so that even the seemingly invincible legion commanders fell one by one before their blades.

Adding to this, Mana had mastered Greater Teleportation, enabling the group to fly anywhere, making the five of them an unparalleled deterrent to the Demon King’s army by their very existence.

At this juncture, the demon forces revised their strategy.

Instead of brute-forcing their way forward, they decided to maintain pressure by deploying an army of illusionary beasts created by [Sloth]’s powers.

These illusionary beasts, a signature move of the contemporary [Sloth], had the significant advantage of regenerating over time with mana, even if destroyed.

Their overwhelming numbers were a bonus.

The Demon King’s army utilized this strength to its fullest, continually wearing down the allied human forces, seasoning them in preparation for the eventual second grand invasion.

“This path is dangerous.”

This sense of crisis was shared by everyone.

The problem, however, was that there was no alternative.

Sloth’s tactic of endlessly producing illusionary beasts from the Demon Realm was nearly impossible to neutralize from their current position in Elpidion.

The only solution was to cross directly into the Demon Realm and subdue him.

However, the Demon Realm’s high mana concentration meant ordinary individuals couldn’t last more than three days before succumbing to weakness and death.

Only a select few superhumans with incredibly trained bodies could withstand and survive the oppressive mana.

In other words, it was up to Lier and his party.

The allied human forces ultimately decided to deploy the hero’s party as a special unit to the Demon Realm to resolve the situation.

Their top priority was to eliminate [Sloth], and if possible, assassinate Demon King Astaroth, the strongest force on the demon side.

This was a gamble upon which the fate of all Elpidion rested, entrusted to one hero and his team because no other options existed.

Once the plan was set, the next steps were clear.

The Demon King’s forces completely controlled the gates connecting the Demon Realm and Elpidion, so a different, secret passage was needed to send the hero’s party into the Demon Realm undetected.

This process, while not overly complicated, took time, as an immense amount of mana needed to be gathered to activate the gate.

During this time, Lier decided not to sit idly by but to strengthen his position.

The primary target was the chromatic dragons—traitors who, despite residing in Elpidion, had made deals with the Demon King’s army and betrayed everyone else.

Considering that their betrayal led to the extinction of the metallic dragons, who had been allies to humanity, there was no reason to forgive them.

By this point, each member of the hero’s party had gained enough strength to easily subdue adult dragons.

They traveled across the world, hunting down the wayward chromatic dragons one by one.

The final target was Oz Gwendolyn, the blue dragon wyrm and leader of all chromatic dragons.

“Ugh, no! Impossible! How could I, this mighty being, be defeated?!”

Despite being revered as the “Sky above the skies,” even Oz fell pitifully before the combined might of the five superhumans.

He crashed to the ground and perished without even leaving behind a proper last word.

It was a humiliating end for the once-greatest blue dragon who had ruled the world.

“Phew, we somehow managed to take it down again,”

Sien remarked, landing on the ground and wiping the sweat off his brow after dismounting his flight magic.

“Dragons all feel like the same type—strong and tough but slow and lacking in reflexes.

Once you have the firepower to pierce through their durability, they’re easily hunted, no matter their majesty.

Don’t they ever think about compensating for their weaknesses?”

“Well, they don’t need to,”

Mana replied, folding her wings beside him.

“You mentioned ‘firepower to pierce durability,’ but only a handful of beings among the demi-humans possess such strength.

Even across all life in Elpidion, they’re incredibly rare.

And dragons at the wyrm level can survive even meteor strikes with no damage, so it’s not unreasonable for them to be overconfident.”

She added, “They probably never imagined their adamantine skin would be so easily sliced apart by a mere slash.”

Meanwhile, the strongest hero of humanity, who had delivered the final blow to Oz, was sprawled on the ground, gasping for air.

Even with his steel-like endurance, fighting a wyrm-level dragon had taken its toll.

Lier Riosoul, the man who delivered the finishing blow to Oz, muttered weakly,

“Esther… Heal… me… quickly…”

“Yes, right away!” Esther hurried over, placing her hands on Lier’s body.

A bright healing aura flowed through her delicate fingertips, soothing his injuries.

Lier’s expression eased as he sighed in relief.

“Ah… finally, I feel alive again. I really thought I was going to die.”

-“Are you all right, Master?”

“I’m fine now, for the moment. But I wasn’t earlier.”

That much was understandable.

Taking multiple body slams from a 10-ton creature would leave anyone bruised all over.

Oz, being an ancient dragon, was a formidable opponent capable of casting magic.

His shields, strengthened by his immense mana reserves, were ten times thicker than normal.

If it weren’t for Exia, their victory might have been nearly impossible.

“Can you stand on your own, or should I help?”

“…Just let me rest a bit longer.”

And then there was him.

Throughout the journey, it became clear that Sien might have been stronger than the rest of the team combined from the beginning.

Every time the party faced danger, he would unveil a new spell or skill to overcome the odds, never once retiring prematurely during a battle.

Even now, when Oz unleashed a massive area-wide lightning strike in his final moments, Sien had shielded them with a creative spell.

Without him, they might all have plummeted, charred and lifeless.

Using a web of metallic wires to block the current—where she even got that knowledge remained a mystery.

‘It’s such a relief,’ Lier thought, ‘that he’s on our side and not the enemy.

If Sien were a demon, I can’t even imagine how we’d face him… The thought alone is terrifying.’

But such fears were unnecessary.

After all, Sien was undeniably human.

It is already a well-established fact that [dragons] take significant damage from Human-bane weapons.

However, it’s also true that sometimes—no, quite often—they feel as wicked as the demons themselves…

“Hey, comrades!”

At that moment, while Lier was lost in needless imagination, Gareum, who had entered Oz’s lair, waved his hand from inside, signaling for them to come closer.

“What’s up, Gareum? Did you find some treasure?”

“Well… calling it treasure might be a stretch, but you’ll see when you come.”

After saying this, Gareum strode out of the cave with something in his hand.

And…

“Ekusiboh ciasa dono kesana herok!! (Let me go, you wretched little dwarf!!)”

The thing in his hand yelled in an unknown language.

Its basic form and coloration resembled a Blue Dragon like Oz, but with one distinct difference—it was significantly smaller.

It was so tiny that even the dwarf Gareum could hold it in one hand.

Its scales appeared incredibly thin as well.

At this size, even an average adult man with a sword could easily kill it, or so it seemed.

“A dragon hatchling? Could it be Oz’s child?”

“It seems so.”

To Lier’s question, Esther nodded.

If a hatchling dragon were in the lair, the only plausible explanation was that it was a direct offspring.

Its appearance was strikingly similar to Oz’s.

“But I’ve never heard of Oz having a child…”

“Judging by its size, it might be a newborn. At most, it looks about ten years old.”

“Maybe…”

But there was no way to confirm it now. Oz was dead.

The dead do not speak, no matter how much time passes—an unchanging truth.

“!%$!^#&%@^$%!!!”

Meanwhile, the hatchling continued to shout angrily, and even tried biting Gareum’s gauntlet with its teeth (to no effect).

Seeing this, Lier scratched his head awkwardly.

“I have no idea what it’s saying…”

“I can understand it.”

“Someone here can use translation magic?”

Mana stepped forward.

She cast the Comprehend Language spell, granting everyone in the group the ability to understand draconic speech.

Moments later, the hatchling’s cries transformed into words they could comprehend.

“If you’re going to kill me, just do it already! You disgusting trash dared to take my father’s life!

I’d rather bite my tongue and die than live bowing to you inferior creatures!”

As expected, the voice—now transformed into that of a young girl—revealed the hatchling to be Oz’s child.

She had likely witnessed her father’s death with her own eyes.

Realizing this, everyone present understood the intense hatred she harbored for them.

Everyone except Sien, that is.

“So, this thing is asking us to kill her?”

“Probably…” Lier replied hesitantly.

At that, Sien let out a short hum, drew his sword, and strode toward the hatchling without hesitation.

From behind, Exia screamed in shock.

-“What are you doing?! Stop!”

“What? She’s asking to be killed. So, I’m going to kill her.”

-“What?! Are you serious?! Come on, really!”

Does this man have no empathy at all?

Exia felt yet another wave of exasperation wash over her, a feeling she had experienced countless times before.

Though the other four didn’t react as strongly as Exia, they also showed hesitation.

Meanwhile, Sien frowned, as if unable to understand their reactions.

“What’s with those looks? Don’t tell me you’re planning to let her live? A dragon—one that harbors deep hostility toward humans?

Surely you know what kind of catastrophe that kind of naïve decision could lead to.”

“…..”

Theoretically, Sien was correct.

Even wild animals that taste human blood are put down immediately as a general rule.

And a creature harboring hatred toward humanity should certainly not be spared.

Yes, his logic was sound, but…

“”””………..””””

The remaining four exchanged glances, seemingly trying to gauge each other’s opinions.

After a moment, Lier cleared his throat and spoke.

“Well, let’s not rush to a decision, Sien. There’s no need to end her life right this moment, is there?

For now, we could tie her up with a sturdy rope to prevent her from escaping. Doesn’t that sound reasonable?”

“…Hmm?”

Sien narrowed his eyes further, clearly unimpressed.

“That’s fine, but why bother? What’s the benefit of keeping her alive?”

“It’s not about benefit or loss…”

Lier sighed.

Convincing Sien with a few words in this situation would be challenging.

His arguments always had their own internal logic, after all.

And this time, Sien’s position could even be considered the more rational one.

When faced with such divided opinions, the group traditionally resorted to one method:

“Let’s have a discussion. The topic will be: ‘Should we spare this hatchling’s life or not?’”

And so, the debate began.