100. Back to the Zodiac (2)

Meanwhile, in the Sunken Forest, outside the lake.

Three women were gathered there. Lucia, the pink-haired woman, spoke with a very worried voice.

“It’s already been two days since Yulian-nim entered the depths of this lake. Yet, Yulian-nim hasn’t come out…”

Lucia usually wears a cold expression. But the person inside the lake is none other than Yulian, to whom she has dedicated her body and soul.

So, she couldn’t manage her expression at all. She was just pacing back and forth, worried about him. Rosette, who was next to Lucia, felt the same way.

“The promised time is already up… If Yulian still doesn’t come out, I’ll go into this lake myself, even if it means…”

But Remiella shook her head at Rosette’s words.

“You mustn’t. It’s true that both of you are skilled enough to withstand the Mana of this forest. But that lake is on a different level, even compared to the primeval forest or this Sunken Forest.”

The two had already heard that explanation from Remiella repeatedly. And they were aware of it themselves.

‘The Mana pressure is ridiculously high, that’s for sure.’

Lucia thought to herself. She and Rosette had been training to absorb the high concentration of Mana a little away from this lake.

Training to resist that high concentration of Mana was more painful than she could have imagined. But she was able to endure it to some extent.

However, Lucia sensed it after coming to the center of the forest, to this lake. That lake, where Mana is extremely condensed, was a far more dangerous place than the clearing in the forest where Lucia had been just yesterday.

‘Just being near the lake makes me feel like I’m suffocating.’

Yet, Remiella said that Yulian had jumped into that lake. In fact, she almost questioned Remiella about why she didn’t stop Yulian.

Remiella is a High Knight of the Royal Knights, loyal to Yulian. So, as a faithful knight, she wouldn’t have been able to go against Yulian’s wishes.

And Rosette seemed to feel the same way as her.

“Haa… Haa… Still, if Yulian is in danger… Haa… That… That can’t happen. Somehow…”

Rosette’s breathing seemed labored due to the high concentration of Mana. It was the opposite of altitude sickness caused by a lack of oxygen.

But because the Mana was so dense, it was inevitable that her body would be under excessive strain.

‘Still, I’m worried about Yulian-nim just like Rosette-ssi…’

The promised time. Now they had to leave this primeval forest. The rebels and the Lilia faction alliance were probably still fighting in the Imperial Capital.

They couldn’t confirm the war situation from here. But it was clear that the rebels had the advantage, at least in the initial stages of the war.

The Imperial Capital Guards were mainly from the pro-Grieus faction. And they had cooperated with the Bairea Mercenary Corps in advance to seize the Imperial Capital.

On the other hand, the anti-Grieus faction Guards, who had cooperated with Lilia, hastily returned to the Imperial Capital from the Old Imperial Capital.

The knights and guards were fatigued from fighting the magical beasts. So, their forces were clearly inferior to the rebels.

‘The Aitern family’s private soldiers have joined, but…’

The rebels had seized the Imperial Capital and were defending key points. So, the longer it took, the more advantageous the rebels’ situation would become.

‘That’s why we have to head to the Imperial Capital as soon as Yulian-nim comes out of this lake.’

As Yulian planned, they had to raid Grieus’s base and cut off Grieus’s head to quickly resolve this situation.

Of course, that thought was secondary to Lucia. It didn’t matter to Lucia who became the master of the Imperial Capital.

The most precious person to her was Yulian. Yulian was her world. Lucia looked at Remiella.

“I will jump into that lake. If something happens to Yulian-nim, I will definitely…”

But Remiella calmly reassured the two.

“Please calm down, both of you. Yulian-jeonha said that if this Rosario doesn’t lose its light, he’ll be fine.”

At those words, the two looked at the Rosario held in Remiella’s palm.

‘Remiella-nim is right. That Rosario…’

Lucia, who had already mingled bodies with Yulian several times, couldn’t possibly not know about the Rosario. Even when Yulian was naked, he never took that Rosario off his neck.

After the lovemaking was over, she had tentatively asked him while nestled in Yulian’s arms.

‘This Rosario? It’s a memento from my mother.’

Yulian’s mother was the famous Great Saintess Agnes. If it was a memento from that great saintess, it was only natural that he would always keep it close.

And that Rosario was still emitting a clear light green color.

‘Then Yulian-nim is okay…’

Still, she couldn’t help but worry. But Lucia had been through the dangerous boss area of the Mana Demon War with Yulian.

So, she decided to trust Yulian. If she rashly jumped into the lake and hurt herself, she might unnecessarily harm Yulian’s plan.

Lucia sat on her magic wand and calmed Rosette, who was fidgeting and shaking up and down.

“Rosette-ssi. Please calm down. As Remiella-nim said, we have to trust Yulian-nim right now…”

It was at that moment.

Papapapapang-

With a fierce explosion, the Mana of the lake soared above the surface. Surprised, the three quickly moved away from the surface of the lake.

“W-What on earth is going on?”

Rosette shouted in surprise. Lucia also couldn’t understand the cause of the sudden explosion.

But she calmed herself as much as possible and surveyed the situation of the lake.

‘No. If something dangerous has happened to Yulian-nim…’

Then she would have to save Yulian, even at the risk of her own life. Her pink eyes turned cold. But those cold eyes soon widened.

“Yulian-nim?”

Lucia’s eyes caught a silhouette. A silhouette of a man she always thought of, even in her dreams, so there was no way she could mistake it.

And when all the Mana fog created by the explosion of the lake had dissipated. One person, no, one Dragonkin revealed himself from the center of the lake.

“Yulian-jeonha? And… What on earth is that magical energy?”

Remiella and Rosette also confirmed the figure.

The Dragonkin-transformed Yulian they had already seen. And around him, intense magical energy was rising, distorting the surrounding scenery.

As if he were in the middle of black lightning. And Yulian was emitting a dense magical energy that would instantly evaporate even the high concentration of Mana.

‘Beautiful…’

A huge amount of magical energy that would captivate you without realizing it.

Lucia, who had already created a yin gate through lovemaking with Yulian, could sense how overwhelming that magical energy was.

A huge power that was extremely beautiful. But at the same time, it was a magical energy that felt frightening enough to make her legs tremble.

She loved Yulian. But now, she felt another emotion from Yulian’s appearance.

Awe that made her feel like she should kneel before him without realizing it. That being dominated by him was only natural.

Like a common country girl standing before the Emperor. And the other two seemed to feel the same way.

“My Lord.”

Remiella was already kneeling and paying her respects to Yulian as a High Knight.

And Yulian, who had confirmed the figures of the three, finally opened his mouth and spoke.

“I made the three of you worry.”

Soon, Yulian raised his hand and calmed the Mana that was rampaging around him.

---

Finally, everything in the primeval forest was over.

The purpose of the sudden trip to the primeval forest, the Dragon’s Breath. I finally obtained that Breath.

‘I didn’t know that releasing the Breath would evaporate all the Mana in the lake.’

It was a different kind of power outburst than Aura. A huge magical energy that could even burn away the high concentration of Mana that had troubled me for two days.

That condensed magical energy of the Dragon was my Breath.

‘It’s a separate power from Aura. I’ve obtained a very valuable weapon.’

I had been away from the reality of the Imperial Capital for a while because I was in the primeval forest. But the Imperial Capital must be in a volatile situation. I had to quickly end the rebellion to gather the strength to oppose Duke Pedro’s Caceres.

‘And the 5th Chaotic Gate. The power to oppose that Gate too.’

The rapidly chaotic situation. It was as if the overture to destruction had suddenly begun to play.

But destruction had already begun since the era of Sword Empress Atlina. From the moment the Chaotic Gate appeared in Islan.

Humans, including the demons, were in a survival game to survive from those chaotic beings.

And what I had to do was to win the victory of mankind with my own hands. It was a fate that was too harsh and huge for a mere human to bear.

But I was ready to accept that fate.

‘I am the ruler. So I won’t let magical beasts and Knoias stand above my head.’

Before crossing the portal from the primeval forest to Pantheon. I reaffirmed my determination once again.

As long as I was a Dragonkin born for domination. I would never think of losing to anyone. And what I had to do now was to cut off Grieus’s head.

I clenched the Rosario that I had received back from Remiella in my hand.

‘That’s the right thing to do, right? Mother.’

The Rosario resonated. I had awakened into a complete Dragonkin without releasing the Rosario. I had found my true self without mental stabilization.

Uuuuuung-

Satisfied with the resonance that echoed again, as if it were my mother’s praise. I crossed the portal with the two.

‘Wait. But Remiella.’

At Yunir’s temple, I said goodbye to the priests there. Remiella also paid her respects to me, promising to meet again next time.

But for a knight’s attitude towards her Lord. Remiella was overly embarrassed. And I realized the reason only after crossing the portal.

‘Tricia definitely said that. High Elves only give accessories to men and women who have promised a future together.’

I had entrusted the Rosario to Remiella before jumping into the lake. Of course, I didn’t give it any special meaning. It was for survival confirmation.

Perhaps, that meaning may have caused Remiella to misunderstand. That I wanted to embrace her.

Remiella, the Royal Knight and High Elf who always held her head high, couldn’t make eye contact with me.

Of course, Remiella was a very beautiful High Elf. She was a beautiful and noble Elf, enough to be a model of the beautiful Elf that people often admired.

But I wasn’t horny enough to harbor impure thoughts towards her, who was full of loyalty.

‘I’ll have to clear up that misunderstanding next time.’

In the meantime, the three had returned to Pantheon.

“It’s a familiar underground temple.”

As Lucia said. The three had arrived at the underground temple below Istia Hall. I said to the two.

“Unlike when we entered here, we have to escape to the outer monastery of the Imperial Capital. As promised with Lilia, we should be able to join the anti-Grieus faction Guards through that route.”

The two nodded. There was also a way to leave Pantheon as it was and attack Grieus’s base.

But now, we had to reassess the war situation of the two camps.

‘That way, we can aim for the most ideal raid time.’

Rosette said.

“The vice-commander has already been contacted through the witches’ familiars. Lilia-jeonha has also joined that side.”

Rosette was right. The anti-Grieus faction Guards. They were a minority compared to the Grieus faction. But the vice-commander of the Guards was leading them directly.

He was an extremely skilled knight, and his reputation was widely known throughout Islan. He was a swordsman who had even reached the position of the 10 Seats, one of the 10 strongest in the Empire.

But the current commander of the Guards, who was in league with Grieus, always sent him out of the Imperial Capital. It was naturally the commander of the Guards, who was less skilled than the vice-commander, who was checking him.

‘So he kept rolling around in the harsh lands near the Old Imperial Capital.’

A knight famous for his outstanding loyalty to the Imperial Family. And in order for my plan to succeed, I needed the help of that vice-commander.

‘The problem is, he has no obligation to listen to me, not Lilia.’

But I had to persuade him.