episode_0154

Shu… .

A huge cave located in the north.

A portal opened in front of the space where Bertain’s ancestors were sealed.

Flick.

Elin came out with light steps.

Of course, his steps were light, but his expression was extremely serious.

Knock knock.

As she knocks on the barrier, a fierce energy pushes Elin away.

Swish, swish.

Elin’s stupid hair shaking in frustration.

Originally, only contractors were allowed into the Dragon’s Cave.

Although the curse that was on Elin was transferred to Bertain through a contract.

That’s Luke’s contract, not Elin’s.

“Um… .”

Elin thought for a moment.

Haven’t you ever entered the cave without making a contract with Bertain?

At that time, definitely… .

“I solved it with force.”

Aurora poured out her immense divine power and forcibly broke the barrier.

Then it can’t be Elin.

Woof-!

As I concentrate, a murderous sound spreads out.

Kukukuku…!

The ground shook so much that an evacuation order would have been issued if it had been the capital, not the north.

Exactly.

Elin threw a sphere of mana compressed to its limit.

Crunch, crunch!

The dragon’s barrier, which only contractors were allowed to use, was torn like a piece of paper and sucked into the mana sphere.

Before the barrier is restored in an instant.

Ellen squeezed into the torn gap.

Inside a cave with a high concentration of mana.

The heavy mana that clings to the skin seems to be trying to push away the intruder who has forcibly entered.

However, Elin pushed it away with her magic and headed towards the depths.

《…What the hell are you, you insolent bitch?》

“You’re up.”

Berthain was not asleep.

But I kept my eyes open waiting for Luke to come someday.

Even if I was asleep, I would have woken up.

How can you sleep comfortably when someone is banging on the front door and coming in noisily?

“Why is your expression like that? It seems like it’s me who should be angry right now.”

Bertain pointed out Elin’s distressed expression.

Judging by the face alone, it seemed like the victim, Bertain, was 100% at fault.

“Please give back the teacher’s soul.”

“……what?”

Bertain let out a hollow laugh.

If it were Luke, he would have flown away.

Elin held on with her magical power.

“So, you’re saying that you came into the Dragon’s Cave and damaged it because of your teacher?”

“Yes.”

“Wow, is there such a stupid and impudent woman?”

No matter how sealed it is, a dragon is still a dragon.

It’s no different from having been storing up strength in a treasure trove for hundreds of years.

But a mere human being suddenly barges in and says something so shameless?

《… … 》

It was a little depressing that it was his descendants who took most of his power.

“You’ve lived hundreds of years longer than me, so if you go back quietly, I won’t hold you accountable. Don’t be so angry anymore and just go away.”

This was a generous gesture that surprised even Berthain himself.

Even if Luke, who gave me the title of wise man, had done this, I would have torn him to pieces right away.

The descendants became weak-hearted because of this.

“Please give me back my teacher’s soul.”

But Elin kicked away the dragon’s generosity.

Didn’t you come here to get your teacher’s life back in the first place?

I had no intention of going back until I achieved what I wanted.

《Huh… That’s why humans can’t speak. I guess my body has become too weak after being locked up for so long.》

Flash-

Berthain opened his eyes and growled.

Kuuung-!!

That alone made the cave vibrate.

The insignificant human being should have had his eardrums burst and blood pouring out of every orifice in his body.

however.

“… … ?”

Elin blinked and looked up at Bertain.

As if asking what I just did.

《… … !》

Come to think of it, Elin didn’t just receive Bertain’s power.

Magic power that has been passed down through generations in the form of a curse.

Didn’t Luke just take away the curse and give me pure magic power?

In fact, Elin was now the owner of a mana heart so strong that she could be considered a half-dragon.

“If I sign a contract again, can I get my teacher’s soul back?”

《… … 》

Bertain barely resisted the urge to swing his forelegs.

He had been storing up his strength for hundreds of years.

It’s not like you can mess things up by getting angry at a brat the size of a grain of rice.

If we just gather our strength for another 300 years or so, that will be enough.

That was such an irrational act.

“I’ll get straight to the point, so listen carefully and then get out of here. To be precise, your master’s soul was not mine.”

“Is that so?”

《The day of promise is approaching, and I have decided to consume the mana that comes out when your master’s soul splits into all dimensions.》

The scattering of a human soul was not as gentle a process as one might think.

It means that the body that was supposed to die quietly in the dimension it was born in explodes so loudly that it crosses over to another dimension.

It necessarily involves that much energy.

“Rather, it would be difficult if this body didn’t eat.”

It wasn’t necessarily Berthain who made the contract to gather power.

From the beginning, Luke said he would give everything he could.

In fact, Berthain’s role was to help Luke’s soul explosion not affect the dimension.

“I understand.”

《Okay, then now… … .》

“Then make a contract with me. Cancel all contracts with the teacher.”

Of course, that wasn’t Ellen’s job.

Whether Bertain helps or not, isn’t the teacher going to die anyway?

There was no way Elin, who cared more about Luke than the survival of the world, could stand by and watch that happen.

“Hey, you stupid bitch! Do you think a dragon contract can be made and broken so easily?!”

The entire cave shook several more times.

Elin had a natural talent for enraging ancestral dragons.

《A contract with a dragon cannot be cancelled under any circumstances. Even if you offer your soul in exchange!》

Luke initially took Elin’s curse in exchange for his life.

Next, the body was temporarily restored to normal at the cost of the soul’s destruction.

It was impossible for Elin to cover this with a contract to sacrifice her soul here.

This is because the sacred dragon contract is not a contract that can be modified.

“Is there still no way?”

“This is exactly what the teacher said.”

Even Luke said those words and gave up his soul.

The descendants are following the same path as the previous years.

《No, no. Can you offer a price more precious than the destruction of your soul?》

“… Half of my magic power?”

《I told you it won’t be done with magic power! And what about the other half? Huh??》

I’m not saying I’ll give you everything, I’m just saying I’ll give you half.

That’s also Bertain’s original magic!

《Give up, child. There is no way to save your master anymore. Just spend the remaining time making good memories…》

“What if the subject of the contract disappears?”

“What did you just say?”

Berthain’s eyes became sharp.

When we say that the subject of the contract has disappeared, we are probably not talking about Luke.

Because they’re storming into the Dragon’s Cave and causing trouble just to save Luke.

in other words.

The subject of the contract that must disappear is Bertain.

《Surely a mere human wouldn’t have mentioned the death of this body?》

Kukukukukuku… … !

It’s not like the cave is shaking.

The atmosphere vibrates.

The will is contained in all the magical power that fills the cave.

With the sole intention of subduing Elin.

Kuk.

It was such an enormous pressure that even Ellin, who had been holding on, had no choice but to bend her knees.

“I don’t want to do this either. But there has to be a way.”

I might just blow it up like this.

Ellen continued speaking boldly.

“Are our ancestors that incompetent?”

《I, I, I, I… … !!!》

Bertain almost collapsed from the extreme ingratitude.

If I had polymorphed into human form, I would have definitely been holding the back of my neck.

If the plan was to enrage the dragon and drain its power, it was a great success.

《No matter how stubborn you are, it won’t work. This is the last time I’ll tolerate your rudeness, so don’t open your mouth anymore.》

There are two cases where the dragon shows mercy.

Or a contractor you really like.

Or a contract candidate you really like.

Elin is neither.

It’s just that Bertain is a very affectionate dragon and is surviving.

“If you don’t tell me… I can’t help it.”

Knock knock!

Elin forced herself to straighten her back with her magical power.

《…!?》

It was impossible.

All the mana in the Dragon’s Cave is suppressed, but you can move freely?

Even Berthain opened his mouth in surprise at the sight he was seeing for the first time.

“If you don’t want to talk, I’ll make you want to talk.”

Wooow-!!

The mana surrounding Elin is pushed out.

《This crazy woman…!》

Only then did Bertain realize.

Elin’s mana is soon condensed Bertain’s mana.

If Bertain can move the mana inside the cave at will, so can Elin.

In theory, yes.

But a theory is not just a theory for nothing.

There must be a madness that surpasses the will of a dragon that has lived for eons.

《Are you prepared to sacrifice the world… no, the entire dimension to save your master?》

Elin took the initiative away from Mana.

With just one absurd insistence on saving Luke.

This isn’t just blind love.

《It seems like I’m looking at my old self.》

A fanatical obsession that seems to see the dragon’s eternal love.

It was just like seeing Berthain when I was young.

“But to dare to fight back with my own strength is beyond reproach.”

Nostalgia for the past is just nostalgia.

Now he was just a spoiled descendant who dared to inherit his power and commit a crime.

“I have shown mercy many times, but you do not recognize my generosity.”

A cool, soothing voice.

Rather than hearing it, it felt like it was imprinted on my mind.

“If you want to die like that, give up all your strength and die.”

“Until I fix the teacher… …I can’t die.”

Elin’s legs tremble.

But blue eyes burning with a will that never dies.

“It will be painful. Fall down regretting your arrogance, cursing your foolishness blinded by love. I will tell your master the end.”

Kukukukukuku… … !

Mana in the cave, where the initiative is taken away in an instant.

Wooow-!!

Elin also generates maximum magical power.

The mana heart of a half-dragon creaks and screams in frustration.

Bertain and Elin split the cave’s mana in half.

Kwaaah-!!

The ancient dragon’s will built up over eons and its mad love to save just one person clashed.