Chapter 127: The Dragon’s Lair Part 2

That person…!

Brown hair, sun-tanned dark skin, a sturdy build like that of a mountain man, and bright green eyes.

A face that once appeared gentle but now looked just like a tired and fierce beast…

I had seen that man before.

In the village of the Sherpa.

To be exact, in the family portrait hanging on the wall of Aquila's house.

Back then, the man was a bit younger and he was standing beside a beautiful young woman with red curly hair. The husband and wife were holding a child who looked just like Aquila and they were smiling brightly.

…Didn't Aquila's parents die while climbing the snow mountains?

According to the villagers' words, that was the case.

However, for some unknown reason, that man had "survived".

In this silver mountain range where no one could survive except for beasts and monsters!

"Reveal yourself, druid."

The man spoke in a low voice that sounded like a growl.

Would you reveal yourself if you were me?

I grumbled inwardly while holding my breath even more and watching the man's movements.

"…If you have no intention of revealing yourself, I have my own methods."

-Crack!

When the man clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth, a strange sound resonated, and I started to feel irregular vibrations. Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud…

"Ah, aaaaagh!!!"

Then came a sharp scream. I was startled and looked beyond the statue.

Didier!

A giant golem was gripping the witch of the silver mountains in one hand. It was squeezing her as if trying to turn her into juice.

The primal pain was too much for even a great witch to bear, and Didier couldn't suppress her piercing screams.

And next to her…

-Crack!

Khalid who looked as if he had already fainted hung limp without any movement even when his arm was twisted. The ones holding Khalid were yetis, but they were not ordinary yetis. They looked grotesque, like stitched-together corpses, with three legs or two arms on one shoulder. The horror of their burned and melted appearance was beyond words.

"It took quite a few sacrifices to capture these two."

The man's voice grew increasingly sinister.

"But killing them won't be so difficult."

Damn it …

If Khalid and Didier had been overpowered, could I really handle this situation alone?

-Grrrr…

Ayla who was crouched low behind me growled softly. I placed a hand on her neck to calm her.

-Crack!

"Aaagh!!!"

There was no other choice.

I slowly rose to my feet, raised my hands to show I was unarmed, and moved very slowly.

"Hiding like a rat."

The man burst out laughing. I asked him while facing his direction.

"…What do you want?"

"Your death."

"…Well, many people want that. And?"

"The great fragment."

As expected, he was after the fragment of Earte.

"Are you a crow?"

"…"

For a moment, a look of displeasure flashed across the man's face. It was an expression one makes when they want to deny something but can't.

"Why do you want it?"

"…To reclaim."

He muttered to himself. Then, he lowered his head, laughed, and met my eyes. His dark green eyes glinted ominously.

"I won't make unreasonable demands."

"This already feels unreasonable. You have two hostages."

"They're not dead yet, so there's still hope."

"…"

"Hand over the fragment, and I'll return them to you."

Nonsense.

The reason the crows sought the fragment of the Origin God was obvious. It held an unimaginably immense power. I had already experienced that power in Lysette and knew how dangerous it was.

One could predict what would happen without even witnessing it. Just like Grizel, this man would initially get what he wanted. However, in the end, everything would fall under the dark influence of the crows.

That could not be allowed.

…And I, of all people, needed to solve the Origin God's quest, so I can never give it up.

I had just obtained one fragment; there was no way I would surrender the second one I had found to the crows.

"It would be wise not to entertain foolish thoughts, Druid."

The man clicked his tongue once more. At that moment, Didier collapsed with a dying scream and fainted on the spot.

He was serious too.

Should I retreat for now?

Perhaps I should try stalling by talking.

If those two are the only hostages, it means Lloyd, El, and Aquila are safe.

In that case, the three of them might arrive soon.

"…Of course, I'll give it to you."

I spoke with a sly smile.

"But, you see, the truth is, I haven't obtained it yet either. That great fragment or whatever, it's still…"

"..."

"…In the grasp of that soundly sleeping dragon."

I pointed behind me with a nod, causing the man's face to twist. It seemed he too was reluctant to deal with a dragon.

"If you give me a little time, I think I can get it out. What do you think?"

He looked at me with a face struggling to contain his anger, then clicked his tongue once more. The yeti holding Khalid handed him over to the golem and approached me. I taunted him.

"Walk gently. If you wake the dragon…"

"Shut up. Stop thinking about doing anything foolish and move."

"Yes, yes."

I turned and began to walk slowly. In the darkness, I could feel Ayla glaring at the yeti with her eyes gleaming. When the time was right, I would signal Ayla to attack the yeti, and then I would immediately assault that man…

Of course, there was the worst-case scenario where he would immediately order the golem to crush Khalid and Didier. But I couldn't think of a better plan. Waking the dragon was an option, but it would likely lead to our complete annihilation along with the enemy, so that was out.

The best route was for Lloyd and El to arrive here quickly. According to the man, capturing Khalid and Didier had cost them "great sacrifices" so the chances of there being any mutant yetis or golems guarding the outside were slim. If Lloyd, El, and Aquila could infiltrate safely…

I deliberately walked slowly while heading to the opposite side of the claw where the fragment of Earte was located. Fortunately, it was dark enough that the man didn't seem to notice anything unusual.

-Cling…!

It was then.

"Stop."

The sound of a sword being drawn was accompanied by a familiar voice. We all turned to look without a word,

There stood El.

To be precise, there stood El who was holding Aquila with a sword to her neck.

"…!"

I heard the man gasp.

"If you don't stop, I'll behead your daughter and throw her to the yeti. It would be wise to dismiss any doubts you have. I am an honorable knight who knows no lies."

El's voice was so cold it was hard to believe this was the same El I knew. Her childlike innocence was nowhere to be seen; only a swordsman with a cold face was standing there. El pressed the sword deeper against Aquila's neck to show him that she wasn't joking.

"…Rubaf!"

Aquila who had her eyes tightly shut shouted. Rubaf—that must be the man's name. He gritted his teeth while looking at El and Aquila.

Good, El. Keep it up.

With this new development, my side had gained a significant advantage. Tsk, I clicked my tongue as a signal to Ayla and closed my eyes for a moment to concentrate. Soon, the familiar sound of waves reached my ears.

We must finish this in one go.

The number of yetis and golems that Rubaf brought was roughly twenty. Even if the two largest golems were occupied with keeping the wall from closing, there were still too many left. It was impossible to take them down one by one.

Therefore, a powerful single strike was needed.

At least one that was strong enough to wipe out more than half of them.

"… Come to daddy, come to daddy."

The soft sound of waves began to resonate in my ears. Yes, Ken, it's me.

-Mrrrrrrrr…

-Groooooo…

The unique hum of the Kraken, which was made by vibrating the empty space in its head when it felt good, spread gently.

That's right.

I intended to have some fun with my proud achievement, the [Grateful Squid].

-Whooooooooosh!!!

Space twisted between the ice pillars, and Ken's red tentacles shot out at incredible speed and pierced through the bodies of the golems standing in line. Thud! Thud! The tentacles skewered the large rocks like kabobs and then disappeared back between the ice pillars. As a result, the bodies of the golems that had been impaled on the tentacles fell to the ground.

-Thud!

-Thud!

-Thuuud!

We need to do this two more times.

Come on, Ken. Let's play with daddy once more. Then this time, space twisted between the opposite ice pillars.

-Whooooooooooosh!!!

The tentacles stretched at high speed and pierced through the bodies of the remaining golems once again. Some of the rocks shattered completely, and a few yetis lost their heads upon impact. Now, there were only two golems and six yetis left…

Okay, one more time…

Just as I was about to call out to Ken again, I felt a warm liquid flow from my nose and mouth.

"…Ugh."

Damn it, it was blood.

I had already used up a lot of my magical power on the way to the dragon's lair. Additionally, summoning Ken's tentacles had depleted my magical power to dangerous levels, causing strain on my body.

Ken had become much stronger than I anticipated. The stronger the summoned being was, the greater the burden on me, and it seemed Ken had grown significantly in that short period. So, just two uses had already pushed me to my limit…

If I completely exhausted my magical power, I could summon the tentacles one more time. That would wipe them all out. However…

Fainting here would be pointless.

I wiped the blood from my nose and mouth with the back of my hand and signaled Ayla with a short whistle. Ayla immediately ran towards me,

-Whoosh!

Suddenly, three arms stretched out from the darkness towards Ayla.

"Ayla!"

At my shout, Ayla tried to twist her body. However, she was a moment too late. Just as the charred black arms were about to grab her neck,

-Crunch!!!

Something enormous crushed the mutant yeti.

[… Name yourself, intruder who disturbed my peace.]