Chapter 212 - Dragon Slayer (2)

The golden line cutting through Leviathan began to grow more intense.

The line, which shone even brighter because both the sea and the sky were completely black, looked like a horizon containing the rising sun when seen from a distance.

"Wow. Talent is inherited. Blood calls."

A dragon killing a dragon.

Barbosa, the Golden Duke, opened his mouth in genuine admiration as he watched Vlad running along Leviathan's body.

GRRRROOOAAAARRR!

The further the line advanced, the louder Leviathan's roar became.

Barbosa, watching Vlad recreate a legendary scene, began to clap softly.

"Captain."

"…"

"Captain?"

After a long howl, the sea dawned.

Barbosa's aide, seeing the sea calm, belatedly began to look for his captain.

The battle with the dwarves, which began with a fight of 43 ships against 7, suddenly turned into a disaster with the appearance of the dragon and the kraken, and they vaguely realized that even that situation was now a disadvantage for them.

Creak, creak!

"What?"

However, Barbosa, who had been applauding Vlad until a moment ago, was no longer there.

He had quietly gone to a corner of the railing, lowering a lifeboat.

"…What is he doing?"

At the astonished question from the first officer, Barbosa only shrugged.

"Hey, do you know what's more valuable than gold in this world?"

"Yes?"

As he asked that question, Barbosa lowered the lifeboat and, with a mischievous smile, climbed onto the railing.

"It's life. Life. If you survive, we'll see each other again."

Splash!

With those words, Barbosa jumped into the sea without any regret.

The first officer, shocked by the absurd situation in front of him, soon looked up at the sky with wide eyes, as if understanding something.

-······.

The largest dragon had fallen, and now only the Kraken remained over the sea.

The large eyes that looked at the humans began to squint.

"…Sh*t."

As the atmosphere grew increasingly ominous, Barbosa's crew began to murmur anxiously.

Above them, a huge tentacle rose high into the sky.

"That, that can't be..."

"Is it really not?"

However, although they desperately wanted to believe it wasn't, the sinister feeling was always there.

One of the Kraken's tentacles, which had stood tall like a long tower toward the sky, began to bend like a whip.

"Aaaah!"

"Run! Everyone jump into the sea!"

Despite the crew's screams, the Kraken's tentacle did not stop.

In front of the gigantic world of spirits, the ships brought by humans were nothing more than wooden boards.

Kwaaaaaaaaaaa!

"Ugh…"

Screams echoed over the waves that splashed like fireworks.

The dwarves shrank their short necks as they saw the remains of the ships drifting aimlessly.

The sun rose over the horizon that Vlad had drawn for the dragon.

Leaving behind the tragic collapsed island of Lemnos.

The sea, stained red with dragon blood, carried Barbosa's golden flag floating.

***

"Ugh..."

In the sea with bright red waves stained with blood.

Vlad, sitting on an uneven reef, was retching and had a pale expression.

His head was spinning, and he had no strength in his hands, a feeling similar to when he had borrowed Kihano's strength.

"…There's a problem with this."

Vlad wiped the corner of his mouth and began to look at the sword that had just cut Leviathan.

When he received the power of the fragment, he felt a sense of euphoria, but he also felt the aftermath was severe.

Buzz, buzz!

The World Tree sword was blue when he first held it, but now it was wrapped in silver metal.

No, the one that should now be called Dragon Slayer because it contained a piece of dragon must have felt Vlad's eyes on it, so it began to hum and say something.

"What is it saying now?"

However, the buzz had not yet fully reached Vlad.

The knight and the sword looked exactly alike, but they had not yet been deeply assimilated into each other's world.

They still needed more time to fully trust each other.

"…Are you still looking at me?"

[That's right.]

"Do I look angry?"

[No.]

After hearing Kihano's response, Vlad cautiously looked up.

When he looked up, there were still giant eyes staring at him.

The ancient sea spirit. The Kraken.

The being that had just reduced 43 ships to dust was now looking only at Vlad with its large eyes.

"You don't blame me for eating some squid earlier, do you?"

"You won't blame me for having eaten some calamari before, right?"

[Who knows.]

The Kraken looked at the young knight who was a dragon, but not a dragon.

The sword Vlad held emitted a familiar energy, and his blue eyes reflected a glorious knight of the past.

[It seems like it's looking at me.]

However, it seemed that the glorious knight did not recognize it.

Well, back then, it wasn't as big as it is now, so it was natural not to be recognized.

However, although it wasn't recognized, the Kraken decided to be content with the encounter, drawn by a welcoming light.

[I'm leaving.]

"Huff..."

With a sigh of relief from Vlad, the Kraken began to submerge again into the depths of the sea to do its work.

The ancient sea spirit, who had to protect the young spirits from the heat of the endlessly erupting volcanoes, had to continue with its duty.

Rumble!

With a thundering sound, the wounded sea spilled its blood.

That hot, thick blood spread across the sea and the island of Lemnos, showing its presence.

"Vlad! Get up here quickly!"

The sea where the Kraken had disappeared.

Lava continuously flowing from the top of a collapsed mountain.

Vlad, who was quietly sitting alone on a reef in the sea, contemplating the enormous and powerful world in his eyes, turned his head when he heard a voice calling him.

"We must quickly go see the blacksmith! The island is sinking!"

"…"

Vlad, who heard Vulcan's cry, silently sheathed his dragon-slaying sword while watching the sea heat up.

The one that kept buzzing seemed to know that now was the time to be silent, so it simply settled quietly into its sheath.

***

A week had passed since the volcanoes in the west erupted.

The sea of Lemnos Island, once covered by thick fog, was now filled with volcanic ash, and the dwarves who had taken refuge in the city of Nassau were still resting their tired bodies in a place set up in the city.

"Thank you for keeping your promise, Joseph of Bayezid."

"It was something that needed to be done, Warlord."

Olmukar held the glass of whiskey Joseph offered him, swirling it around his lips.

The aroma spreading over the tip of his tongue was certainly wonderful, but he didn't have the time or the qualifications to savor it at this moment.

"…Still, we can't stay here forever."

No matter how considerate Bayezid was, it was true that the dwarves had once again lost their homeland.

If the central point of Nidavellir is lost like this, the dwarves will face the same fate as the aimlessly wandering beastmen.

"In the end, we'll have no choice but to accept the Northern Alliance's offer."

With the whiskey glass on the table, Olmukar let out a deep sigh.

Surviving was a relief, but to continue living, they would have to fight again.

Olmukar, who realized that the only alliance he could choose was the Northern Alliance, felt a bitter water welling up inside him.

"You won't regret that decision."

Joseph, with his hands behind his back, was looking outside and saw a carriage approaching the mansion.

Although the carriage was the common type in the north, the flag waving on it did not belong to the north.

"The last Ravnoma promised that if you help defeat Gaidar, the city of Torchea will be yours."

Joseph, who confirmed that Charlotte Ravnoma had arrived at the mansion, looked at Olmukar and raised his tea cup.

Torchea is a port city that originally belonged to Gaidar but was taken by the Golden Duke Barbosa.

However, since Barbosa's whereabouts were still unknown, Torchea, without an owner, couldn't protect itself from anyone's attacks.

"…I'd rather trust Bayezid than the illusory Ravnoma."

Olmukar looked at Joseph, who was by the window, and pulled a letter from his pocket.

The letter, entirely in sinister black, was the one Joseph had given him when he first arrived on Lemnos Island.

"As you wish, we will hand over the sacred artifact we have been guarding. I hope this serves as proof of our alliance."

"Of course, it will."

"And please..."

Olmukar stood up after finishing what he had to say.

He finally spoke to Joseph, giving him a heavy look he couldn't hide.

"It's not my place to say things like this, but take care."

"…Thank you for your consideration."

A homeless leader sending his concern.

Joseph felt a bit bitter about the reality that even Olmukar, who had a very busy future ahead, was sending his sincere concerns.

"But I still have to do it."

Joseph slightly turned his head from the window and looked at the black letter on the desk.

The letter, with its blasphemous symbols drawn on it, was filled with darkness that even the sunlight coming through the window couldn't illuminate.

***

Clang! Clang!

Somewhere in the port of Nassau City.

Though it was usually a remote and deserted alley, it was now crowded with people.

"Someone stepped on me!"

"Get in line! Weren't you behind me just a moment ago?"

"That's why, who told you to lose your place?"

In front of the crowd of people arguing and fighting, there was a small building with a chimney that constantly belched smoke.

In the past, it was just a rundown smithy that was falling apart, but now it had temporarily reopened under Joseph's instructions.

Fuuu!

"The old man and the kid are having a hard time."

Vlad clicked his tongue as he watched the young lizard constantly spitting fire at the old tall furnace.

There was probably no one whose heart wouldn't break seeing him work so hard to help in any way possible.

"There's no other choice. Without a safe place, even children have to do their part."

However, Rukhta, who was beside him, simply struck the metal silently as if he had no emotion.

The old dwarf, who had survived hardships as a slave, was a man who knew well that even a child, no matter how small, had to do their part.

"So, why did you come here? I'm busy."

"I'm leaving."

Rukhta's eyebrows arched when he saw Vlad saying he was leaving with an indifferent voice.

"Where to?"

"I don't know. I don't have a fixed destination..."

Scratching his head, Vlad answered Rukhta's question.

There was work to be done, but he still couldn't decide where to go.

"But anyway, I have to go."

Vlad is the one who promised to find Kihano's name.

But now Kihano's name was split in half and wandering somewhere in the empire with a sinister darkness, so to fully fulfill the promise, he had to find the man who identified as Frausen.

"…There are some things I still haven't repaid."

And also, for the memory of Justia, who died for him.

Vlad would never forget the little canary that had tried to show him the way.

"Give me that."

"What?"

"Your sword, idiot. Give me the sword."

Rukhta extended his hand without even turning his head towards Vlad, who said he was leaving.

"You said you couldn't fix it."

"That was before."

Before the knight who had protected them left, he wanted to do him one last favor.

Rukhta nodded while looking at the dragon-slaying sword carefully placed in his hand.

"It's different now."

The sword that had found its desired form.

The World Tree sword, which wanted to share its owner's burden, took a piece of a sinister dragon and assumed its complete form.

The young sword, which had only been standing on the world's border, had now fully merged into this world through Vlad, so Rukhta's hammer would also be fully within its reach.

"Now I can sharpen the blade."

Buzz, buzz, buzz!

The flames emitted by the young lizard reached the sword that was crying.

The heating process was not without pain, but the Dragon Slayer sword decided to endure it.Because now it realized that to grow, it needed this kind of cooling.

"Wait a bit. I'll do it quickly."

Clang! Clang!

Gathering the breath of the young spirit, the last dwarf blacksmith struck the sword.

Wishing that the sword he was forging for the knight who had protected them would become a little stronger.

"…"

As Vlad watched that scene, for some reason, the image of the old smithy in Soara came to mind.

Feeling the heat of the smithy warming at the end of winter, Vlad simply sat there, not understanding, and watched the old furnace.

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