episode_0089

-Thud.

Iris wipes the blood off her sword.

In a situation where everyone held their breath, she was the only one moving freely without any constraints.

-Thump, thump.

Stepping lightly over the corpse of a large wyvern, she descends.

Dragging something several times larger than her body in one hand…

Soon enough, she casually tosses it in front of us.

-Thud!

She just casually tossed it.

The ground seemed to vibrate loudly, as if not lying, revealing the clear weight of what she had thrown in front of us.

…Yes.

She had thrown the last remaining wyvern’s head in front of us.

“Wow!”

“Hail Iris!”

“It’s over! It’s finally over!”

“Our great victory!!”

Squelch.

Iris passes by the cheering special forces towards me.

“Are you hurt, sir?”

“…Thanks to you, I’m unscathed.”

“Still, you’ve been through a lot.”

Iris smiles as she pats my head.

…The smell of fresh blood wafts from her clothes.

Since we were only on interception and defense duty, Iris single-handedly took down almost all the wyverns, so it was natural for her attire to be soaked in blood.

Initially, I worried about how to protect Hedy while fighting, but that concern was unfounded.

Iris swiftly dealt with the wyverns flying at unbelievable speeds, bringing the situation to a close.

We were mere spectators, thinking the operation was too easy.

Of course, it’s fortunate that everything ended without any casualties…

If that’s the case, what was the point of the hellish training to elevate Hedy’s skills?

“Hedy, you’ve worked hard too.”

“Yes, yes!”

Seemingly sharing my thoughts, Hedy receives a pat from Iris with a slightly uneasy expression.

Well… it doesn’t matter.

I look around.

No casualties, everyone celebrating happily.

Special Forces Commander Galvolf, checking the numbers with a satisfied smile.

Two special forces members who faced danger yesterday, now grateful to be alive, sharing a relieved smile.

Where could there be a better victory?

Perhaps it’s important that Hedy and I didn’t have to fight, that no one got hurt, and that everything ended peacefully.

Iris, turning away from me, speaks to Galvolf.

“Let’s head back now.”

“Yes! Form up! We’re returning to the Romant coast!”

Hedy and I also start moving to board the carriage again.

Yes, this should suffice.

Having seen the wyverns with our own eyes and tested their combat strength, Hedy must have gained valuable experience.

Returning to the academy for rest doesn’t sound like a bad idea.

It’s been busy until now, so a bit of peace wouldn’t hurt.

…Thinking this, as I was about to board the carriage, it happened.

Boom.

Suddenly, I felt like my body was floating in mid-air.

Not just me.

Hedy, too, looks at me with a bewildered expression, both of us suspended in the air.

“Iris…?”

What’s happening?

With incredible speed, Iris swoops down on us.

One arm holding Hedy, the other holding me close.

With an urgent expression, she mutters something…

In a moment that felt like time stood still, a few seconds passed after realizing it.

Kwoosh!

The carriage we were about to board moments ago vanished.

Or more precisely, it disintegrated without a trace, swept away by something.

The coachman who was about to drive the carriage, the special forces surrounding him, all turned into ashes due to the sudden burst of flames.

Thud.

“Ugh!”

“Gah!”

As Iris covers us and we collapse to the ground, groaning.

The calm surroundings from moments ago now erupted into chaos.

“Aaargh!”

“Plague! Plague-!”

“What the heck!! What’s going on!!”

“Maintain formation!! Enemy attack!!”

The soldiers tremble in fear, thrown into confusion.

Gavolf, seeming excited, shouts loudly, trying to somehow stop the chaos that is unfolding.

“An invasion…?”

In an unbelievable turn of events, I looked up at the sky Gavolf was pointing at.

Flutter, flutter.

Something was flying towards us.

Red scales.

The numerous scales covering its massive body were as threatening as a hedgehog’s spikes, seeming like they would cause great harm with just a touch.

Facing us, its mouth agape, it seemed ready to spew something out any moment with a loud sound.

It was…

A dragon.

“W-What…!”

As I stood there in shock, Iris, who had thrown herself at the dragon, suddenly got up and charged towards it.

“Everyone scatter! If you bunch up, you’ll die!!”

I had never seen Iris so desperate before.

From her whole body, a blue aura began to explosively surge.

“Aaargh!”

“Grrrr….”

Iris, leaping towards the dragon at an incredible speed, raised her sword towards its gaping mouth.

And a few seconds later.

As the sound of the collision between the dragon and Iris reached us, an enormous shockwave swept through the surrounding area.

-Koohoooo.

“Ugh!”

“S-Sian?! What’s happening… Ugh…!”

The heavy pressure, almost unbearable, weighed down on our shoulders.

Thud! Thud! Kuwoong!

In the distance, we could see Iris fighting the dragon.

Blocking the dragon’s fierce movements with just one sword.

When the dragon breathed fire, Iris countered with her own attack.

The aftermath of their battle and the wind pressure from the dragon’s flapping wings reached us where we stood.

I quickly assessed the situation.

“I don’t know what’s going on, but right now, there’s nothing we can do to help!”

Even Iris, fighting in the air, seemed to be urging us to flee quickly.

I shouted to Gavolf.

“Captain of the Special Forces! We need to retreat! Iris wants to retreat!”

“What are you talking about! With all the Empire’s Special Forces gathered here, you want to run away?! The Empire’s reputation will hit rock bottom! Form ranks and don’t worry about them! This is war!”

“W-What…?”

Is he insane?

Trying to uphold his reputation against a dragon…?

We, not even Swordmasters, what can we do.

Wrong. Communication is impossible.

“Hedia! We have to run too! Can you move?!”

“Y-Yes….”

“Master Gong! Please dodge-!!”

“…?!”

At Iris’s sudden words, Hedia and I turned around.

And then.

“Roooaar-!”

In front of us, the rampaging dragon that Iris couldn’t stop was flying towards us.

Incredible speed.

Hedia and I instinctively activated our auras, but it didn’t seem like we could stop the dragon’s movement that Iris couldn’t halt.

“Shoot elemental magic! Keep firing without giving it a chance to recover!”

Amidst this urgency, Gavolf was shouting orders to the rear guard.

…In a few seconds, it seemed like the dragon and Iris would collide and die, truly a foolish move.

“I have to save Hedia.”

“…Huh?”

Hedia, pushed far away by the wave of my hand, momentarily looked surprised.

I reinforced her body with magic to push her away with force. Now she was safe.

That should do it.

I witnessed the dragon flying towards me with its mouth wide open for the last time before closing my eyes tightly, preparing for the pain that would come.

….

What’s this?

However, even though I closed my eyes and waited, I felt no pain at all.

The surroundings were eerily quiet.

I opened my eyes.

“…Huh?”

It was bright around me.

No, precisely speaking, only around me was bright.

How did this happen?

The dragon stood frozen in front of me, and everyone was staring at me with puzzled expressions.

“Sian, what happened to you…”

I lifted my head.

And then.

As I looked up at the sky…

A bright pillar of light was descending around me.

It was a strangely warm and gentle pillar of light that didn’t hurt the eyes.

***

Verdi and Cain were exchanging documents in an empty classroom at the end of the semester.

“Really… You’ve certainly caused quite a stir, Cyan Master.”

“That’s right! If we show these pieces of evidence to Cain’s friends, they’ll see just how dangerous Cyan really is!”

Verdi finished organizing the documents, neatly tapping them twice on the table before handing them to Cain.

“Cyan will be back at the academy after finishing his field training in two days. I heard this from a reliable source, so it must be true. Let’s gather all of Cain’s friends and show them this evidence then!”

“Indeed… With this, Lucy and Aria…”

“They’ll definitely steer clear of Cyan! This is a sure thing! Now, hold onto the documents and wait at the dormitory. When the time comes, we’ll call you.”

“….”

Cain left the classroom with the documents.

Alone in the now-empty classroom, Verdi chuckled softly.

Everything was going according to plan.

Having gathered all the past misdeeds, it was only a matter of time before proving that Cyan was a villain.

‘Unless a pillar of light suddenly falls from the sky and appoints Cyan as a hero, this plan is foolproof. Hehehe.’

Of course, the chances of that happening were much lower than being struck by lightning.

Verdi was looking forward to what would happen in two days.

Would he be able to maintain his facade as a good person in front of everyone after all the misdeeds he had committed?

He was very eager to find out.