Chapter 232 - Dragons with Collars (1)

Under the World Tree with its fluttering red maple leaves, Kihano silently watched Vlad, who sat with his head buried in his knees.

This was because Vlad's image in that posture reminded Kihano of his own past when he had also sought refuge in another's world, silent and full of despair.

[...It seems there is a dragon fragment embedded in Frausen's heart.]

It wasn't easy for Kihano to start speaking, but seeing Vlad in a condition that didn't seem to improve soon, he decided to do so.

Although it wasn't the right path, he understood the weight of the worries Vlad carried with him.

[If you manage to stop that fragment, even for a moment, Frausen will also close his eyes.]

The founding king and master of swords.

Although Frausen returned to life in a pitiful manner, he was like an insurmountable wall for Vlad.

Kihano knew that to overcome Frausen, Vlad would have to stop following only the conventional path.

"How do I do that?"

[You must fracture your own world.]

Not the revived Master of the Sword, but the dragon fragment he carries.

It was also a method that only Kihano, who had already experienced destructive perfection, could suggest.

[Use the fractures in your world to create a crack in the perfection of the fragment.]

Vlad slowly lifted his head when he heard Kihano's voice sound different than usual.

Kihano was like a beacon for Vlad, always showing him the right path, but today he shone fiercely.

[…To harm another's world, you must also be prepared to be hurt.]

Kihano's eyes, when they met Vlad's, reflected a deep sadness.

The depth of the sadness that Vlad could not dare to understand came from memories of long ago and was also directed at the young knight who now had to navigate the harsh reality.

[Knight Vlad, are you prepared to endure wounds to do what you must?]

The most wounded being in the world was asking the question, addressing the one who would succeed him in that pain.

'How do you see me now?'

In Vlad's long silence, Kihano remembered the most perfect of the dragons he had faced in the past.

The most perfect dragon, who could become anything because he was a brilliant possibility, was a being who didn't know what he wanted to become until the moment of his death.

"…You don't need to worry so much about me, Kihano."

But Vlad's response, after that silence, was different from back then.

"I already swore I would do whatever it takes."

Although born from the same origin, Vlad's answer was entirely different.

Hearing it, Kihano could confirm that the choice he had made in the past had not been wrong.

Unlike the most perfect dragon from back then, Vlad, who was now in front of Kihano, was a man who clearly knew who he was.

***

"Get out of the way!"

"Guards, open the gates!"

While Vlad and the Great Mother were facing off, the walls of the city of Namarka resounded with the deafening sound of hooves.

It was the sound of what seemed to be about fifteen galloping horses.

However, the guards who were supposed to guard the gate did not stop the running horses but hurriedly took cover when they saw the flag ahead of them.

"Dragonslayer knights?"

"Why are they here…?"

A city without a proper owner and, therefore, without anyone to take responsibility.

There were flags running toward the city without hesitation.

The flag, which was hoisted with a fierce force that seemed as if it would cut anyone in front of it, had a long line drawn dividing the dragon's neck.

"Where are you, Vlad?"

Mirshea's blue eyes shone as he looked at the city he had just entered.

This was because the presence of Vlad, whom he could feel clearly because he was close, made his heart race.

"…Over there."

Although not as powerful as his father, the dragon duke, Mirshea had inherited the Dragulia blood and had been trained as the legitimate heir.

Mirshea, who was exploring the dragon's world with his left eye closed, could see a golden world waving from the end of an alley in the distance.

"You keep staying in places you don't belong, Vlad."

Although his blood was noble and the light he emitted was bright, his younger brother was still trapped in a pitiful place.

Although Vlad was an opponent he had to face, Mirshea disliked seeing him in those places and frowned as he took the reins of his horse.

"Let's go."

"Yes, commander."

The last refuge of the Ruga tribe, which had wandered restlessly for so long, was now under the shadow of a dragon flag, ominously waving as they advanced.

Like the eyes of Mirshea, who now leads the Dragonslayer Knights and moves forward.

***

"Great Mother!"

There was an urgent voice that broke the cold air in the room.

The atmosphere in the open room was not friendly enough for anyone to be easily disturbed, but it didn't matter to the beastman who had just entered.

"It's the Dragonslayer Knights! They're coming this way!"

"…"

The Great Mother of the Ruga tribe, who had discovered the nature of Vlad and the spirit of Kihano he harbored, lowered her pipe upon hearing the ominous news.

"In the end, it has happened."

The Great Mother's eyes were calm as she looked at Vlad.

Although she had recognized Vlad's strange nature, dragons had always been harbingers of destruction for them.

"They always end up trampling our home. In the old days, and now too."

"…"

Although there are countless possibilities of having been trampled by dragons, probably no one has suffered as cruelly as the beastmen who lost their home and were forced to sink into the sea.

Perhaps it was that grudge that led them to deliver that curse to a master swordsman.

"I am not like those outside. I…"

"No matter how much you explain, I don't know you."

The cries outside grew louder.

The shouts from outside increased in volume. They were the cries of the beastmen, confused and terrified by the sudden incursion of an unstoppable force.

"Give me your dagger."

"My dagger? Why all of a sudden…?"

No matter how different he was, to the Great Mother of the Ruga family, Vlad's face in front of her was just a dragon.

He wasn't an ordinary dragon but a remnant of innate blood, and the remnant of the most perfect dragon was the Vlad that the Great Mother identified.

However, the situation they found themselves in was urgent, and there was nowhere to ask for help, so the Great Mother of the Ruga family had to make a decision.

"If you want to prove to me that you are different and obtain the dragon-slaying engraving, you must do it quickly."

With those words, the Great Mother of the Ruga tribe pulled a large feather from her headdress and began to dip it into the bucket of black dye beside her.

It seemed to be some kind of mystical technique that made the once beautiful feathers turn completely black despite only being lightly dipped.

"Dragons are greedy creatures who never let go of what they take. Because through what they accumulate, they try to reach perfection."

The Great Mother began to draw something on Vlad's dagger with the feather dyed black.

Although it was only an image painted with ink, on Jorge's dagger, the image was marked as a solid engraving.

"But if you say you are different, prove it to me with this."

A black-toned engraving was already inscribed on Jorge's dagger, which was finally drawn in the midst of the urgent shouts coming from outside.

Although it was only drawn on the surface, the engraving was firmly established as if hammered in and took the form of a jagged rope.

"Let's see if you really are different from the other dragons."

"…"

Vlad, who received the dagger, didn't say much, but he seemed to know what the Great Mother of the Ruga family wanted from him.

Dragons are beings who only possess and never share.

But the Great Mother was telling him that to prove his sincerity, he had to suppress even his dragon instincts.

***

"Ugh…"

Radu, sitting in the prison cell, shivered from the sudden chill he felt.

Even his face was turning completely white, making it clear to anyone that his condition was unusual.

"What's wrong with you? Have you caught a cold?"

"He's here… He's here."

Pedro, who was next to him, approached Radu, who was trembling, but the source of his chills wasn't illness but pure fear.

"He's close, Mirshea, Mirshea has arrived."

"…!"

The son of Dragulia, the one closest to the dragon duke in blood purity.

No matter how weakened he was, Radu could feel Mirshea's presence because he too was a dragon.

However, his ever-imminent presence was like a death sentence for Radu.

"We need to get out of here, right now…"

"Guards!"

Recognizing the gravity of the situation, Pedro called out to the guards outside the prison, but all he received was an empty silence.

The guards were so desperate that they ran away without leaving a single person behind, so the only ones left in the prison now were Pedro and Radu, who were separated from each other.

"Vlad! We're here!"

However, as if Pedro's shout hadn't been in vain, there were people running from the darkness beyond the torchlight.

Seeing those familiar shadows, Pedro waved his hand, signaling, "We're here."

"Do you have the key?"

"If we had it, do you think we'd be locked up in here?"

"Then step back."

Crack!

Pedro was annoyed by Vlad's stupid question, but when he saw the bars fall away due to the rainwater, he had no choice but to keep his mouth shut.

No matter how rusty the bars were, facing Vlad's sword, which was being swung, seemed like a piece of cake.

"Get up."

"Argh!"

Vlad entered the prison and firmly grabbed Radu, who was still trembling, saying that Mirshea had arrived.

Radu, who was old and weakened, had no choice but to be dragged by Vlad's brute strength.

"You said this happened because your blood was drained, right?"

"Yes, that's true."

Vlad's blue eyes glowed as he looked at Radu.

The look in Vlad's eyes, which Radu could feel as if he were a dragon, slowly began to push away the shards of fear that had settled in Radu's soul.

"Then how can you rejuvenate?"

"What?"

"Get them into the alleys!"

"First secure the Great Mother!"

The shouts coming from outside the prison were growing louder.

It meant that the Dragonslayer Knights were now close enough to be recognized just by the sound they made, and it also meant that Vlad didn't have much time left.

"Do you just need more blood to rejuvenate? Could you then face the other knights?"

"…"

"Then, even if you face Mirshea, can you stop the other knights?"

Radu Dragullia.

A half-bastard who inherited blue eyes but not the bright blond hair.

Although he has now lost all his potential to his father, he also had a brilliant time as a knight.

"Of course. In my day, only my father and Mirshea could stop me within the Dragonslayer Knights!"

Even though he was arrogant, Radu seemed to have returned to his normal state. Seeing Vlad's provocation, a smile appeared on Vlad's face for a moment.

However, despite the smile, a deep wound opened on Vlad's hand.

"Don't forget why I'm giving you this blood."

"…!"

Drops of blood fell along the dagger with a strange engraving onto the prison floor.

Radu's eyes began to turn red as he recognized the potential of the dragon shining brightly within him.

Thick dragon blood that you can't obtain even if you kill dozens of dragons.

The blood now dripped slowly, tempting Radu.

"You will help me stop the Dragonslayer Knights."

"Ugh! Slurp!"

Desperate for every drop, Radu opened his mouth and drank.

With each gulp, he felt his power and potential as a dragon return, reminding him of his true nature.

"Graah!"

As he swallowed the blood, his fangs lengthened, and his muscles began to swell.

Additionally, strange marks started to appear around his neck, slowly spreading as he drank Vlad's blood.

"Wow."

Pedro was speechless for a moment as he watched Vlad share his potential and Radu receive it eagerly.

And through his vision, he began to see strange engravings slowly spreading around Radu's neck.

The marks were slowly extending in black around Radu's neck, like a collar of thorns.

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