First Reunion (10)

Camille had heard everything…

Because of that, I was the one who was more flustered.

“Hmph… That hurts…”

Camille staggered to her feet.

Perhaps due to the impact of throwing her body earlier, she was covered in scratches.

“Is that woman, the Lady, really that great?”

“…”

“Well, since she has such an ardent follower like you, I suppose there must be something to her.”

When Camille showed an unexpected reaction, a look of bewilderment crossed Undine’s face.

Undine had probably expected her to cry or, at most, whine…

But whether in a good way or a bad way, Camille was not such a weak woman.

Because if Camille set her mind to something, she could become endlessly ruthless.

“Helix.”

“Yeah.”

“What did you ‘do’ with that Lady?”

“Camille, be careful…!!”

Kwooong!!

Before I could even finish my sentence, a Termite lunged at Camille.

But Camille nimbly threw herself aside, dodging its attack.

“Oh God, punish this evil spirit!!”

Chwareureuk!!

Following that, Camille successfully bound the Termite with golden chains using a divine spell.

It was a golden opportunity to strike a blow against the creature.

I instantly pushed off the ground, leaped, and charged at it.

“Damn it…! What are these cursed chains!!”

Pushik!!

“Kwaaak!!”

I instantly plunged my sword into one of its eyes, simultaneously chanting a spell.

“Wind Spear.”

“Kwaaaak!!”

I succeeded in blinding both of its eyes at once.

But it was not yet time to relax.

The terrifying thing about Termites was their regenerative ability, which surpassed their combat power.

Although it was currently bound by chains…

Precisely because of that, it would quickly repair its damaged body by remaining still and recovering.

Even restoring its eyes would only take a few minutes.

“Tsk, my Magic is insufficient…”

Of course, it wasn’t completely depleted.

If I put my mind to it, I could deliver one more blow here, but…

If I did, Undine would be immediately unsummoned.

In that case, it would become impossible to summon the Lady here in a dire situation.

‘Stabbing it with a sword will only get its eyes at most…’

That particular Termite seemed to have its abilities concentrated on defense.

Most magic attacks wouldn’t even scratch it.

This sword, imbued with the sap of the World Tree, wasn’t entirely ineffective, but unfortunately, I wasn’t a swordsman capable of bringing out its true potential.

“Helix! Quickly, tell me the method! The method that woman, the Lady or whatever, was capable of!”

“Wait.”

Camille urged me on.

There was no time.

I had to make a decision quickly.

“Camille, you and I have an imprint.”

“An imprint…?”

“Yes, you awakened me, didn’t you? The crest on the back of your hand.”

Camille quickly looked down at the crest on the back of her hand.

The imprint still showed no reaction.

Whether Camille could truly awaken it was…

Even I was unsure.

“That crest is a symbol of our connection. Beyond us sensing each other’s presence… it’s a symbol that everything is connected.”

“Yeah! So what do I need to do…?”

“Transfer your Magic to me.”

Just then, the Termite finished recovering and began to move its body in earnest.

“Kweooooh!!!”

The golden chains of divine power were slowly breaking one by one and disappearing.

There was no time.

It would soon break free.

“But…? How do I transfer Magic…?!”

“Have a strong desire! That you want to give your Magic to me. That you want to help me!”

“O-okay….”

Camille closed her eyes tightly as if praying, reciting an incantation.

But contrary to her and my wishes…

Nothing happened.

“See? It’s not working.”

“Undine, you be quiet for a bit.”

Undine sneered as if she had expected it.

She wasn’t usually like this.

But she was particularly sharp towards Camille, so I couldn’t speak kindly either.

“Helix-nim, summon the Lady before your Magic runs out even further! Any more than this is a gamble!”

“Ugh…”

Did I really have to?

Well, if I just summoned the Lady as Undine said, that kind of Termite would be dealt with in three seconds.

But putting aside my own unprepared heart…

Camille might never be able to resonate with my Magic again.

“Helix…”

“…”

My eyes met Camille’s for a moment.

I felt many things in her teary gaze: bewilderment, self-reproach, and jealousy…

If I summoned the Lady here, Camille’s spirit might break.

“No, I won’t summon the Lady.”

“Helix-nim!!”

“Undine, I’m sorry, but from here on, I’ll do as I please.”

“Are you really saying something terrible might happen if you do that…?”

“Well, if I die, I can just regress, so it’s fine.”

“…”

Undine seemed not to have thought that far and clamped her mouth shut.

To be honest, I had only just thought of it myself.

Funnily enough, I had already experienced death six times, so would one more really be a big deal?

With an unexpected surge of confidence, I opened my mouth to Camille.

“Camille. I believe in you. I brought you here because I believed in you.”

“Really…?”

“Yes.”

To receive Camille’s Magic, shouldn’t I first believe in her?

Erasing all hateful feelings and doubts about her…

I fully faced the essence of the person named Camille, whom I had watched for decades.

“Certainly, this is something the Lady accomplished first. But there’s no reason you can’t do it.”

“Helix…”

“You are chosen by the Goddess, and you are a Saint chosen by me, a Dragon.”

“…!!”

Had she realized something?

Camille’s eyes widened in surprise, then calmly settled into the darkness as if smoke was dispersing.

But those weren’t eyes filled with despair.

Rather, they settled with a calmness, as if the fog in her heart had cleared.

“Do you need any more words?”

“No, that’s enough, Helix.”

“Then give me all your Magic. So I can defeat that bug.”

“Yes, take it.”

Camille’s eyes shone like a morning star.

And…

At the same time, the Saint’s imprint blazed hotly on the back of her hand.

Seeing that, a small smile played on my lips.

“Undine.”

“H-Helix-nim…?”

“See? It’s working.”

Kwoong!! Kwoong!!

Finally, the Termite completely broke free from the chains and charged towards us.

Perhaps because its eyes were injured, it was even more agitated than before.

“You rat-like bastards!! I’ll tear you all to shreds and feed you to the larvae!!”

“Here I go.”

At that moment, I released Polymorph and returned to my hatchling Dragon state.

Camille’s Magic was light.

Her divine power was not inherently fixed in its total amount.

A Saint was a being who received divine favor and performed miracles.

If their connection with God was strong, they could perform any number of miracles.

“Helix!!”

Woowoowoong!!

Instantly, a bright light erupted from the back of Camille’s hand and enveloped me.

At the same time, I greedily absorbed all that light, and my body began to grow.

‘It’s warm.’

Enveloped in brilliant radiance, I once again became aware of my existence.

What exactly was a Dragon?

Just as humans couldn’t clearly define themselves…

I, too, couldn’t clearly define myself.

However, despite that, we had a relatively clear purpose.

The protection of the world, and guiding people onto the right path.

As long as we did not deviate from that duty…

This world, likewise, empowered us.

“Kwarararara!!”

Over my black skin, scales like pure white armor once again enveloped my body.

It was a complete, pure white, without a single blemish.

I became a pure white Dragon, illuminating the nest filled with darkness.

“Oh my goodness… is that Helix…?”

“Unbelievable… How could that woman do something only the Lady was capable of…”

Camille exclaimed in admiration.

And Undine muttered with a bewildered, flustered expression.

I blocked the Termite’s path, as if protecting them.

I could feel it.

An enormous amount of Magic, forged from divine power, continuously flowed into me.

A quantity so immense that it made that mere bug seem laughable.

I met the bug’s eyes.

It flinched, seemingly terrified of me.

“Ugh…!! You damned Dragon!!”

Its fear was only momentary.

Apparently, it had some guts, as it opened its maw wide and spewed acidic fluid at me.

But it was a foolish act.

To confront a Dragon with a breath attack, of all things.

Didn’t that just make me want to retaliate with my own breath?

Hweeeup.

I inhaled the light Magic I received from Camille into my lungs with all my might.

Simultaneously, an immense radiance began to erupt from inside my mouth.

Kwaaaaaang!!

Its acidic breath and my divine breath collided, causing a massive explosion.

The surrounding air reverberated loudly.

“Kuk!! Even if it’s a Dragon, it’s nothing special…”

The Termite, feeling the power was weaker than expected, grew arrogant.

Well, it might look evenly matched, but…

There’s no way my breath would be pushed back by its, is there?

“Kwarararara!!”

The even match lasted only for a moment.

In an instant, my divine breath pushed it back and engulfed its body.

A moment later, when the light receded, all that remained was a gruesome pile of flesh, presumably the Termite.

It was an end befitting a filthy bug.

“Helix!!”

Camille rushed over, extending her arms towards me.

I turned my head for a moment to see myself; I had already reverted from my pure white Dragon form back to my hatchling Dragon state.

Ah, I was falling.

I tried to flap my wings, but perhaps I had overexerted myself.

My body simply wouldn’t obey.

“You idiot, you completely overdid it…”

Fortunately, Camille caught me without dropping me.

The sacred light energy she was still emitting soothed my exhausted body.

“Helix, be honest. This situation, you orchestrated it to some extent, didn’t you?”

“Kiiik…”

“Ah, I’m not angry, so don’t misunderstand. If you hadn’t trusted me at all, you wouldn’t have even attempted something like this…”

Camille’s warm hand covered my head, gently stroking it.

Was it because I felt a sense of relief?

Suddenly, an overwhelming wave of sleepiness washed over me, and my eyelids drooped.

“Helix, are you perhaps sleepy…?”

“So everyone was here…!!”

A heavy, low voice reached my ears.

Was it Vilkes?

It seemed he had finally found our location and caught up.

I’d have to apologize later for acting on my own without consulting him.

But to lead Camille to her awakening, she had to experience things like this…

“Dragon, why did you move on your own without looking for me?”

“Kiiik…”

“I’ll hear your reasons later. For now, getting out of this place is the priority.”

Vilkes was right.

Such a fierce battle had taken place in this narrow underground nest, so there was no telling when it might collapse.

Looking at the walls, dirt was already trickling down.

It was a shame, but securing evidence about those creatures would have to wait for another opportunity.

“There’s no time to hesitate. Let’s go now.”

Vilkes, with Tia’s sword in one hand and Camille tucked under his other arm, began to run down the corridor.

Deudeudeuk!!

And sure enough, the underground nest slowly began to collapse.

“Vilkes, run faster!!”

“This is already my maximum speed!!”

Realizing the situation was serious, Camille urged Vilkes on.

The slightest delay, and everyone would be finished.

Every step felt like an hour.

And then…

Ureureureung!!!

With a sound like an earthquake and thunder striking, the ground collapsed and the walls shook.

There was still a little more distance to the entrance.

“Damn it..!!”

But the stairs had already collapsed and were crumbling.

Just as Vilkes lost his balance and was about to fall…

Woowoowoong!!

Suddenly, ice bloomed like snowflakes from somewhere…

Connecting the collapsed stairs and instantly opening a path.

‘It’s not Undine…!’

With my Magic already depleted, there was no way she could cast elemental magic of this scale.

That meant…

“We’re saved!!”

“We made it through somehow… Good timing, Dragon.”

Only then did Camille and Vilkes let out sighs of relief.

But I simply shook my head at him.

“I didn’t do it.”

“Then who cast such powerful magic…?”

I turned back for a moment, gazing at the path made of ice.

Although nothing was visible in the darkness…

“The Lady helped us.”

“The Lady…?”

Vilkes expressed his confusion, not understanding what I meant.

Camille, on the other hand, seemed to tense at the name, her gaze lowering.

“I told her not to summon her, but Undine called her anyway.”

“…”

“Thanks to her, we saved our lives, though.”

I could feel it instinctively.

Although this time we had only met fleetingly…

Our reunion with her was not far off.