Chapter 12: Marine’s Trial by Fire

Inside the dark, ancient ruins.

Marine, who had been crying while hugging Hendel’s pale body, wiped away her tears and stood up.

“I will never… I will never let him die.”

She checked his pulse and confirmed he was still breathing.

The power of healing magic could save most people, but if someone truly died, they couldn’t be revived.

It was incredibly difficult, but knowing she was the only one who could save Hendel now, Marine felt the mana Hendel had transferred to her and gripped the staff tightly.

Mana, her greatest weakness and Hendel’s greatest strength.

Managing the mana, which was easily five times her original amount, she looked back at Hendel.

‘I’ll definitely come back.’

It was a promise to Hendel and a vow to herself.

Marine ran through the open door.

The staff Marine held shone brilliantly with mana.

---

Krrrrr.

After passing through the first door, what appeared was a golem that looked to be at least 3 meters tall.

The floor trembled each time the golem took a step.

Marine gulped and drew up her mana.

Though it was the first time her sword aura had manifested, Marine handled it as skillfully as a knight with decades of experience.

“Hoo.”

After taking a deep breath, Marine charged at the golem without hesitation.

Kwaang!

The golem’s metal arm and Marine’s staff collided, and a sound like an exploding bomb rang out.

An unbelievably tense balance for a clash between a small girl and a golem with a massive body.

The taut balance of power broke, and surprisingly, it was Marine who seized the advantage.

While the golem faltered for a moment, pushed back by Marine’s strength, she bravely drove her staff into its body.

Kkiiik.

Sensing danger, the golem’s eyes flashed as it swung its arm.

Peong.

Making full use of her small frame’s advantage, Marine easily dodged the golem’s arm, which it swung frantically in a sense of crisis.

Marine didn’t know the golem’s weakness, but she instinctively felt that the core in its very center was the weak point.

Kwajijik.

The staff Marine wielded smoothly sliced through the golem’s core.

Giiiiik.

Once the core was cut, the light in the golem’s eyes vanished, and it ceased to operate.

“Hoo.”

It was Marine’s first real battle, but her lineage was undeniable; instead of feeling her physical limits, she felt her energy rising.

Drrrrrk.

When the golem fell, another wall appeared.

This newly formed wall also had a mural of a dinosaur, and Marine intuitively sensed that the master of these ruins lay beyond it.

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Drrrrrk.

The room that now opened felt distinctly different from the previous ones.

In the center of the room was a massive throne, but the boss she expected to be waiting was nowhere to be seen.

Even so, Marine didn’t let her guard down and remained wary of her surroundings.

[Rex qui olim mundum rexit]

An unfamiliar language was inscribed on the throne.

Hendel, who loved books, might have recognized it, but unfortunately, Marine was not as fond of books as he was.

The standard procedure would be to carefully examine the surroundings, but with Hendel’s life on the line, Marine unhesitatingly placed her hand on the unfamiliar script.

Dudududu.

As expected, when she touched the script, the ground trembled.

Marine didn’t relax her vigilance and drew up her mana.

Kwakwakwang!

Finally, the legendary dinosaur, the Tyrannosaurus, revealed itself.

Gueeeek.

The Tyrannosaurus looked at the small-bodied Marine and licked its lips.

It was a sight that would make archaeologists or biologists faint in terror.

However, for the still-young Marine, the appearance of a dinosaur didn’t evoke much emotion.

A boy obsessed with dinosaurs might have had sparkling eyes, but to Marine, it was just a giant monster.

Kueeeek.

The king of dinosaurs let out a monstrous roar and raised its small forelimbs.

Hwarreureuk.

A massive fireball spewed from the Tyrannosaurus’s mouth.

It was a blaze powerful enough to make even the Captain of the Imperial Knights flee in terror, but Marine, carrying the weight of Hendel’s life, did not retreat.

Marine performed a dazzling, butterfly-like sword dance with her staff.

Seogeok seogeok seogeok.

The fireball, which seemed at least ten times Marine’s size, was sliced into ten pieces by her splendid, butterfly-like sword dance.

Kkieeee.

The Tyrannosaurus, enraged that a tiny creature dared to easily block its attack.

Perhaps thinking magic wouldn’t work, the Tyrannosaurus switched to physical attacks.

It charged, opening its massive maw to show off its gleaming teeth.

Explosive speed generated from its strong leg muscles.

Marine, who had intended to evade, intuitively sensed that dodging would be difficult and held her staff horizontally to meet the attack head-on.

Kwaaaang!

“Ugh…”

Marine, who had even won the power struggle against the golem, couldn’t withstand the Tyrannosaurus’s charging force and was sent flying into the air.

Judging it had gained momentum, the Tyrannosaurus stomped its foot once more to secure its advantage.

“Hoo.”

Realizing she couldn’t win through strength, Marine exhaled and reset her stance.

Gueeee.

The Tyrannosaurus charged, letting out a monstrous cry.

Marine threw her body aside, dodging the Tyrannosaurus’s charge.

It was impossible to see the Tyrannosaurus’s charge and then dodge it, but if one anticipated the charge, it could be narrowly avoided.
Kkueeee.

When Marine dodged its charge, the Tyrannosaurus slammed its face into the innocent wall and shrieked in anger.

The more agitated the Tyrannosaurus became, the calmer Marine grew.

While there was a vast difference in their physical size, what determined a true ruler was not brute strength but intelligence.

Marine carefully touched the ring Hendel had given her.

Ugyagyagyagya.

The Tyrannosaurus charged powerfully once more.

Worried that Marine would evade, the Tyrannosaurus increased its speed, even at the cost of straining its leg muscles.

Contrary to the Tyrannosaurus’s expectation, Marine did not dodge.

Thinking Marine had given up, the Tyrannosaurus grinned and opened its massive maw.

The moment its nearly sixty sharp teeth were about to pierce Marine.

“Protection Magic.”

A protective barrier formed around Marine.

Kwadeudeuk.

The Tyrannosaurus’s sharp teeth couldn’t penetrate the barrier, but they created a large crack in it.

Startled by the magic that appeared without an incantation, the Tyrannosaurus judged it couldn’t afford to give Marine an opening and tried to bite again.

However, in a battle between the strong, this fleeting moment could make a huge difference.

Judging this to be the turning point, Marine drew upon her remaining mana without reservation.

The staff emitted a brilliant light.

“Hup.”

With a short cry, Marine threw the staff into the Tyrannosaurus’s throat.

Throwing her only weapon was a significant risk, but Marine didn’t hesitate.

Kaaaak.

The Tyrannosaurus, tormented by the staff lodged in its throat, thrashed on the floor.

Marine distanced herself, avoiding the Tyrannosaurus as it lost its sanity and wildly swung its claws and tail.

Her gambit had worked, but it seemed impossible to defeat the creature, once a ruler of the Earth, with just a staff.

It seemed the Tyrannosaurus would eventually die if it became a protracted battle, but thinking of Hendel, she didn’t have the luxury to wait that long.

Marine clenched her small fists and rushed towards the Tyrannosaurus.

A battle to determine the true ruler, without any tools, began.

Unable to rise due to the staff in its throat, the Tyrannosaurus used its entire body as a weapon, trying to take a companion with it to the afterlife.

Objectively, Marine approaching the Tyrannosaurus, which possessed far superior physical abilities, was a hundred times more advantageous for the dinosaur.

However, when death approaches, living beings instinctively fall into panic.

Naturally, the Tyrannosaurus, having lived its entire life as a ruler of this world, had never felt the fear of death, so it was bound to go berserk more than other creatures when experiencing it for the first time.

In a war between apex predators, feeling fear meant one could never win the battle.

Peok peok peok.

Marine continued to punch, unconcerned by the blood splattering on her face.

Kkeueeee…

Tears welled up in the eyes of the Tyrannosaurus, once a ruler of the Earth.

The Tyrannosaurus, seemingly devoid of energy to move, offered no resistance and only shed tears.

Marine sensed the end and threw a punch.

Peok.

The eyes of the Tyrannosaurus, which once commanded the land, closed, and the firmly shut wall cracked open.

The gazes of the rescue team, who had been diligently pounding on the wall to enter the ruins, focused on Marine.

“Young Lady!”

From the Knight Commander to Matado, the Master of the Karde Magic Tower.

Seeing reliable faces, her tension eased, and drowsiness overwhelmed her.

“Over there… inside… Hendel…”

Marine, squeezing out her last bit of strength, pointed to Hendel’s location.

Relieved to see the clerics rushing in, Marine lost consciousness.