Ch.164Chapter 164 – Flying Dragon (3)

That hideous monster had no vocal cords.

Therefore, even when it roared, no sound actually echoed.

Yet clearly, it was roaring.

The vibrating air around it revealed that it was unleashing a silent roar.

“My ears…!”

Eve grimaced in pain and finally collapsed to her knees.

Not just her, but Sera and I also covered our ears and hunched over.

Even while hunching over, we kept our eyes fixed on the monster.

Soon the silent roar stopped, and I saw it fold its wings and briefly lower its body.

And the next moment.

Its eyes began to glow ominously.

And heat rays started shooting from those eyes.

“Clay Wall!”

Sera quickly extended her staff, raising an earthen wall in front of us.

At the same time, the monster began spinning in place.

The heat rays bent like whips, burning everything around, and eventually struck the mud wall.

“Step back from the wall!”

Sera said this while grabbing Eve and me, pulling us backward.

The next moment, the mud wall began to melt, and explosions erupted all around.

“Cough, cough!”

“Miss Seraphina, are you alright?!”

“Yes!”

Eve called out worriedly to Sera, who was coughing.

While the two checked on each other, I quickly glared at the monster.

And I saw something glowing beneath its pupils.

“That purple light…”

Eve must have seen it too, as she carefully spoke.

“That jewel seems to be the source powering the monster.”

Come to think of it, the puppet was moving perfectly well despite having no puppeteer.

I should have noticed that it had some magical power source embedded in its body.

‘Damn it.’

Frustrated at my overconfidence after just cutting off the puppet’s neck, I unconsciously struck the wall beside me hard.

Then immediately clutched my chest.

“Kay, I told you not to overexert yourself!”

Sera grabbed me in alarm, while Eve quickly began watching our opponent.

Fortunately, the monster didn’t attack again.

No, it started moving.

“It’s moving toward the castle wall…”

Eve’s voice trembled slightly.

Trying to get up somehow, I asked her.

“Do you, *cough*! Think the remaining soldiers can defeat that monster?”

“……”

Eve couldn’t answer easily.

Then she quietly said:

“…If Miss Beatrice were at full strength and together with Miss Christina, perhaps…”

Eve’s voice was trembling slightly.

I quickly processed the information I’d heard earlier.

‘They said they annihilated the enemies on one side of the wall.’

Beatrice could certainly manage that.

The problem was the scale.

If she used magic powerful enough to annihilate enemies on one side, would she have much magical power left?

‘Plus, Christina went to another section of the wall.’

At this point, it was unlikely the two were together.

Though troops that had gone outside the walls had returned, they would still be busy eliminating monsters outside, so they wouldn’t have come in yet.

‘There’s not enough force at the wall to stop that thing.’

A cold conclusion formed in my mind.

“Damn it… must go…”

“What, what are you doing?!”

As I tried to stand, using my weapon as a cane, Sera exclaimed in surprise and supported me.

Looking at her, I said quietly:

“I have to go. Christina and, *cough*, Beatrice are in danger.”

“I told you that you shouldn’t move!”

Sera tried to force me to lie down.

Looking at her, I said:

“They’re in danger. I need to go…”

It was my decision that sent them to the wall.

If they got hurt by that monster, I wouldn’t be able to face myself.

“Kay…”

Eve looked at me with a troubled expression.

Our eyes met briefly.

Then Eve nodded as if she’d made a decision.

“I’ll go.”

“Eve?”

“Miss Seraphina, please take care of Kay.”

Eve began to turn away, and I immediately called out to her.

“Why are you going…”

“I’ll go get Miss Beatrice and Miss Christina and bring them back.”

Eve said quietly.

“If possible, I’ll try to get the soldiers to retreat too. It’s dangerous.”

“No, it’s dangerous…”

“Less dangerous than for you.”

After saying that, Eve pushed my body gently.

Just that small touch caused sharp pain in my heart.

“*Cough*!”

“See? You can barely maintain consciousness right now.”

Eve’s hand briefly held my arm.

The persistent coughing and pain momentarily paralyzed my thinking, but when I finally came to my senses, I saw Eve smiling.

“Kay, rest somewhere safe.”

Eve smiled at me.

Then she slowly looked at Sera.

“Miss Seraphina, please take care of Kay.”

“Miss Eve!”

Sera immediately called out to Eve.

But Eve had already begun moving away from us.

“Wait, hold on…”

“Kay!”

My consciousness began to fade with the pain in my heart.

‘Can’t let her go…’

My consciousness broke off once more.

+

“Eve!”

As soon as I regained consciousness, I shouted loudly.

But there was no answer.

Sera should have been beside me, but I couldn’t see her.

“This place again.”

It felt so familiar now that I even thought it routine.

Sighing slightly, I turned around and sure enough, the person I was looking for was sitting there.

“You’re back again.”

Pia was sitting there, smiling.

“Pia.”

“It’s been a while.”

I quickly spoke to her.

“My companions are in danger.”

“You mean those people you were trying to save even at the cost of your own life.”

I nodded at Pia’s words.

And immediately continued:

“I don’t care what it takes, a way to help… ugh!”

Pain shot through my heart.

As I involuntarily fell to my knees, Pia looked down at me and spoke.

“It’s impossible.”

“What…?”

I asked, enduring the pain.

Pia pointed at my body and said:

“Almost all my power is being used just to keep you alive, so it’s impossible.”

I bowed my head at Pia’s words.

Then I looked at her again and said:

“Then…”

“Then?”

“…What if I give up on being kept alive, would it be possible?”

Pia’s eyes flickered slightly at my serious question.

“If you give up on being kept alive, you’ll die?”

“But at this rate, Eve and the others will…”

Pia blinked a couple more times.

Then she started laughing.

“This isn’t funny.”

“Really, you care about those around you more than your own body, don’t you?”

Pia said, laughing.

But soon she made an apologetic expression and said:

“But it’s still impossible.”

“Impossible?”

Pia nodded and said:

“Let me be clear. I can’t draw out any more power than this.”

My heart sank.

“It was originally just a replica of my heart. Compared to the real thing, it has clear limitations.”

Pia pointed at me.

“It’s actually surprising that you can draw this much power already. It’s almost become like the real thing, I’d say. But still, since it started as a fake, it remains a fake.”

“Is there really no way?”

I approached Pia directly and asked.

And just as she was about to say something—

“You’ve been acting so frustratingly dense. Pia.”

‘What…?’

Surprised, I looked behind me.

And froze momentarily.

A man wearing black armor was standing behind me.

“It’s been a while.”

A familiar voice.

“Yuto.”

“I’m glad you remember me.”

Yuto in armor was looking down at me.

“I even called out to you earlier, and honestly, I was worried that someone as dim-witted as you wouldn’t recognize me.”

‘So that familiar voice from before was him.’

When the monster rose again earlier, a voice had suddenly echoed in my head.

So that voice was him.

‘But why is this guy here?’

Honestly, I wondered why Yuto was here, but the situation was urgent.

There was no time to investigate why he was here, so I immediately looked at Pia and said:

“Can’t we get rid of this somehow?”

“Do parasites leave when you ask them to?”

That was a fair point.

Still, maybe if I asked sincerely, the heavens would help?

“Would you please leave?”

“Shut up. Insolent fool.”

After saying that, Yuto continued quietly:

“I left my will in your pathetic mental world, and this is how you repay me. What was wrong with me before I died?”

From Yuto’s words, I finally understood one thing.

That this place with Pia was my mental world.

Honestly, every time I came here I was nearly dead, so I thought it was the threshold to the afterlife or some boundary between life and death.

“Enough. Foolish one.”

Yuto looked down at me and said:

“Your intention is to eliminate that hideous thing outside and protect your insignificant consorts. Am I right?”

“…Consorts? I’ve never even dated them.”

As I grumbled quietly, Yuto and Pia fell silent for a moment.

Pia was looking at me somewhat coldly, and Yuto seemed to be looking at me with pity.

“…Fine. I’ll tell you the method.”

I glared at Yuto and said:

“What price do I have to pay?”

“Do you think we’re some kind of demons? Do you think we’re such swindlers?”

After saying that, Yuto added:

“And you don’t need to pay a price. That power has been yours all along.”

Yuto pointed at my heart with his finger.

“Search your memories. Remember again.”

“What…”

I stopped there and looked at Yuto’s appearance again.

Black armor with a dragon motif.

‘Could it be.’

The memory came back.

That vague memory from before.

Clearly, it was from when I fought the dragon.

“You seem to remember.”

“…Yes.”

I nodded quietly toward Yuto.

“…There will be backlash.”

“That’s fine.”

I answered Pia’s question.

“If you’re unlucky, your body might not hold up and you could die during the fight.”

“I’m prepared for that.”

I answered Yuto’s warning.

“Are you ready?”

“Are you prepared?”

The two dragons asked.

I nodded silently.

“Then.”

“Let’s begin.”

The two dragons reached out their hands toward me.

+

Eve was running.

‘Somehow, I need to at least get Miss Beatrice and Miss Christina out.’

Otherwise, Kay would certainly push himself too hard again.

Eve ran, identifying the paths to take and choosing the fastest route.

‘First, Miss Beatrice.’

Beatrice was the easiest to locate.

The gate where the most monsters had gathered but were ultimately annihilated by magic.

She probably wouldn’t have recovered yet, so she was likely to be nearby.

But whether Eve could get there in time was honestly doubtful.

‘So those wings weren’t just for show.’

The monster had been flying through the sky all along.

And of course, Eve had no wings.

Her movement speed was inevitably slower than the flying monster.

Still, she ran forward.

‘Fortunately, that monster seems focused on destroying everything in its path.’

It was heading toward the wall but was slowed down by randomly destroying nearby buildings.

With very good luck, she might reach the other gate a little faster than the monster.

‘I hope Miss Christina isn’t where that monster is heading…’

Eve thought this while biting her lip slightly.

“Please, for his sake, stay somewhere safe, Miss Christina.”

Eve said this as she ran.

And the very next moment.

Eve saw herself burning.

‘Oh no!’

She quickly made an emergency stop, jumped backward, and even rolled several times.

She rolled desperately, not caring that her clothes were getting torn.

And heat rays struck exactly where she had been just moments before.

“…Ha.”

It seemed she had been spotted.

The monster was slowly descending from the sky.

Eve quietly drew her sword.

Looking at the monster, which had already fixed its large eyes on her, she quietly assessed the situation.

‘Can I win?’

She thought quietly while pointing the elven sword she was holding.

Her usual short sword was more suited for fighting humans, so this was the natural choice for facing monsters.

But did Eve have the skill to face a monster alone?

‘It’s impossible.’

Honestly, she didn’t.

If it were an ordinary monster, and if she were at full strength, it wouldn’t matter.

But this was a magical beast larger than most houses.

And she wasn’t at full strength.

There was almost no chance of victory.

‘How many monsters could fight such a beast with just one sword?’

Nevertheless, Eve pointed her sword.

“But that doesn’t mean I can give up.”

She gripped her sword tightly.

‘I can’t give up.’

She must survive and return.

‘Because he would be sad.’

She must survive and return to his side with the people she needed to save.

As the monster slowly approached and Eve pointed her sword, thinking of her next move.

And the moment the monster raised its leg.

-THWACK!!

With a terrifying impact sound, the monster’s body flew backward.

“What?”

As it fell, embracing a building, dust began to rise all around.

Eve quickly hid behind a building to avoid the dust.

Or rather, she tried to.

“Huh?”

Something snatched her up and began to fly.

Just as she was about to struggle, Sera’s face came into her view.

“Why are you here…?”

“Kay, Kay!”

At Sera’s words, Eve slowly turned her head.

What she saw was white armor modeled after a dragon.

“What?”

More than that, Eve was momentarily confused about how a person could fly.

But she soon understood why.

‘There are wings on his back.’

Dragon wings made of light spread from the back of the white armor.

Though they didn’t move much, they were cutting through the air at incredible speed.

As the wall soon came into view, the white armor began to descend while holding them.

Upon reaching the top of the wall, he set Eve and Sera down very carefully.

And Eve could identify who was in this white armor.

“Kay.”

“Scold me later.”

He said this as he turned around.

His weapon had somehow changed to a halberd.

Red lightning and blue energy flowed once across the surface of the white armor.

“I’ll be back.”

With those final words.

Kay, clad in white armor, flew toward the monster.