Chapter 312









〈 Chapter 312 〉 What the Star Desires (5)

*

The wings of dragons are like the pride of dragons.

This is a saying that has been passed down from a distant past.

With wings, they can soar through the sky, and their massive bodies can block the sun, earning them the title of sky’s master. For a dragon, wings symbolize pride.

Thus, a dragon that loses its pride inevitably falls.

The cursed dragon with torn wings plummets.

Though it flaps its shredded wings after the fall, it cannot fly again for it has lost its pride. Crawling on the ground in a grotesque form, it lets out a scream.

BAM!

However, it doesn’t last long.

A massive circuit appears directly in front of Chloe as she raises her arms. The circuit is flowing with concentrated starlight. The circuit shining with condensed starlight radiates brilliantly.

The power inherited from Galahal.

Chloe, still struggling to master it, barely manages to harness its potential. Soon, the concentrated starlight is unleashed and erupts in a flash.

The completed spell is the Swift.

With a momentary flash, a wave of starlight crashes down upon the fallen dragon. The filthy muck that had fallen to the ground melts away the moment starlight touches it. For a dragon made of muck, Chloe’s starlight is like an antithesis.

FIZZ!

The flesh of the dragon swept away by the wave begins to dissolve.

The flesh and muscles, stitched together with muck, are torn apart, leaving a dragon that has lost the very essence of its being. Yet, the dragon that survives struggles within the torrent of light.

It howls desperately to survive.

There is someone who hears that desperate howl.

What a pitiful thing.

The ancient god, the mother of all dragons and master of dragons, sits atop its contractor’s shoulder and clicks its tongue.

You wish to live, even after losing your pride. How pitiful. Your life was already severed long ago.

The dying dragon desperately sought its god, but the god turns a blind eye to the voice of the pride-lost dragon.

At least die like a dragon.

A life that should have already ended.

The god disregards the wretched life that survives in disgrace. The dragon’s plea directed at the shadow cast on the ground is ignored by the god until the end.

The starlight completely devoured the dragon.

2.

What remains where the starlight swept through is the dust of the dragon’s fragments.

“I can’t believe we actually took it down…”

The knights who had been holding their breath begin to speak one by one.

What they had thought impossible had been achieved—the dragon had fallen. Faced with the unbelievable spectacle, the knights look at the girl standing before them.

Initially, her appearance was not sturdy but seemed precarious… now, the knights catch a glimpse of the fragment of a hero from the back of the young girl.

Inexperienced, still with a long way to go.

The young hero has successfully taken her first step.

She has accomplished an achievement thought impossible.

She responded to the sacrifices of the knights who bled for her. Some knights collapse, drained of strength, while others feel relieved to be alive. And…

“…Ah.”

Chloe turns around.

The hero looks at those who have survived. She senses the gazes of the knights fixed on her. As Chloe grapples with how to react to those gazes, she hesitates.

“Nod your head or something. No need for a big reaction.”

Kelharlem whispers while patting Chloe’s shoulder.

“Good job.”

“…Thank you.”

Chloe mumbles in response and offers a faint smile to the knights watching her. Late cheers erupt. They call not only for Chloe but for Kelharlem as well.

The shadow sorcerer, Belnoa.

They chant the name of the boy they had only heard rumors about. The boy who had saved them time and again before Kelharlem arrived is not forgotten.

As the cheers pour out, Belnoa walks.

He heads towards the remnants of the dragon reduced to dust. In the powder, Belnoa discovers something. Reaching out, he extracts a bone fragment from the dust.

“…A bone?”

“It’s the material that forms the core of the familiar.”

Kelharlem, who had approached from the side, mutters.

Kelharlem points at the bone that Belnoa is holding.

“It seems that was all that was left.”

Belnoa blinks.

Kelharlem lets out a short sigh and speaks.

“The Gletus selects a material that will become the core when creating a familiar. Then, it attaches flesh to it. To explain it simply…”

He gestures.

“What we faced was not the offspring of the black dragon, but merely a part of it implanted in Gletus’s familiar.”

“…Just a part? Producing this much power?”

“Compared to a black dragon, it was nothing. I had expected that I could hold my ground.”

The compatibility between mages and dragons is almost fatal.

They reject mana, and attacks that don’t envelop them in starlight go easily ignored. Once his spell worked, Kelharlem had anticipated to some extent.

“They must have captured dragons and muddled them together. They likely implanted a shard of the black dragon’s offspring in it.”

“Does that even make sense…?”

“It doesn’t make sense. That’s precisely why it’s a disaster. In the battlefield, nonsensical things happen frequently. Just accept it.”

Kelharlem sighs.

“I’m just grateful that we turned Belial’s entire skeleton to dust.”

Even though they received serious injuries and lost all their familiars, a disaster remains a disaster.

“We need to come up with a countermeasure.”

Muttering this, Kelharlem lightly taps Belnoa’s shoulder.

“Good job. I’ll report this, so you rest.”

Nodding slightly to the departing Kelharlem, Belnoa turns to the side. It seemed that he was not visible to Kelharlem, but…

What do you see?

He can see it.

The god he has come to serve, standing beside him.

Do you have something to say?

“Y-you’re not gone, are you?”

I’m everywhere. The wind blowing is my body and soul; I am all things in the world…

“Are you going to stick around?”

If you desire?

The Lord of Shadow Dragons smiles.

A very captivating smile.

3.

Ganikalt, the Death’s Blade.

The most feared disaster was thwarted by the hero, Kyle Toven. Not only did he repel death, but he inflicted wounds upon it as well. This was an occurrence that had never happened in the kingdom’s centuries of history, something remarkable to be called an achievement.

Such news would typically stir the world, but the story doesn’t stop there.

The next candidate for the hero, Chloe of the Flower Clan.

The black tower’s master’s apprentice, the shadow sorcerer Belnoa.

Their tales swiftly spread to the royal capital. Their victory against the cursed dragon that attacked the refugees even reached the ears of Grace, the ruler of the North…

“Thank you. You will soon be the heroes of the North.”

Grace prepared great rewards for the two and arranged a banquet. While the White Night Castle buzzed with preparations, Belnoa walked alone down the corridors of the castle.

A lot had happened in a short period.

He wasn’t used to the suddenly changed gazes, nor could he ignore the newfound power in his hands. Belnoa suddenly stared at his fingers.

His fingers, worn down from offering sacrifices.

Among them, one joint of the index finger was stained black. Almost like a badge of something. As he gazed at it, someone whispered in Belnoa’s ear.

It’s the mark of the contract. Take pride in it, child.

Startled, Belnoa frowned and quickly turned his head. There, a woman was halfway hovering in the air. Belnoa was nearly driven mad by the uninvited guest who appeared incessantly over these past few days.

“I-it would be nice if you could signal me before coming…”

I’m always by your side, so why bother?

“Yes, please do…”

You’re quite prickly. This is my first world tour in hundreds of years, you know.

She murmured, sounding disappointed.

Did you know? Until a few hundred years ago, there were quite a few who prayed to me. Now, there’s not a single one left. Naturally, without any wishes, I can’t maintain my presence.

When asked what that meant, the goddess replied.

I’ve wandered through the world for a long time without consciousness, and only woke because you called me. Is it not natural to be a bit joyful?

Not something he particularly wanted to understand.

Ignoring the goddess’s incessant whispers, Belnoa continued on his way. Time did not stop as it did before, so there were more than a few people who looked at him like a crazy person for talking to the air…

‘…Whatever will be, will be.’

With that thought in mind, Belnoa stopped in front of a certain room. Knock, knock, gently tapping, a voice from inside said he could come in.

“Oh, Belnoa.”

Inside the room was Raniel.

Having exhausted her mana, she was resting, raising a hand to welcome Belnoa.

“I heard the rumors. You took down a dragon?”

Impressive, she murmured with a smile, but suddenly blinked and raised her arm. She was pointing to the woman floating next to Belnoa.

“But who is she next to you?”

“…Huh? You can see her?”

Raniel nodded.

Her eyes sparkled a bright blue.

*

“Uh, um… so…”

I hesitated, raising my head.

I had already heard the rumors about Belnoa tearing the dragon’s wings apart, so I assumed he had gained some new powers…

‘This… I didn’t expect.’

I slowly began to speak.

“So, is that lady the goddess you came to serve?”

“Yes, um… that’s how it turned out.”

Hovering in the air was a woman clad in a black dress. Each time she moved, her hair resembled a night sky.

So it seems you can see me?

“Um, you’re speaking because you can see me, right?”

And you can hear my voice?

“It seems so.”

Then, you must be the Guide.

Guide.

A title I received from the Mage of Ancient Dragons.

I nodded slowly.

“I was named by the Mage of Ancient Dragons. Does that relate to my ability to see you?”

I had been told that even Chloe couldn’t see the goddess floating beside her. If I could see her, it meant there was some reason behind it.

The Mage of Ancient Dragons? Yormun?

“Yes, Yormun van Dragonik.”

Still using that name?

She approached me laughing as if incredulous.

As she swam closer, she brought her face directly next to mine. Her golden pupils, akin to the Mage of Ancient Dragons, gazed right into my eyes.

How interesting.

She nodded.

That liar’s eyes are one to froth over.

Backing away, she perched on Belnoa’s shoulder and pointed at me with her finger.

Looks like you’re someone who will stir up trouble big time.

Saying that, she vanished without a trace. As I blinked in surprise, Belnoa let out a sigh and shook his head.

“She does that a lot. Disappearing suddenly and then appearing out of nowhere again.”

“What a… unique person.”

The words “she’s crazy” almost slipped from my lips, but I bit my tongue and shot Belnoa a sideways glance.

“So, it sounds like you’ve advanced to the next level?”

Having shaken a dragon down with a storm.

This meant he had progressed to the next stage of shadow sorcery.

“Yes. Thankfully…”

Belnoa nodded.

A smile he couldn’t hide lingered on his lips. I felt the Holy Grail tremble within my arms. After Lac, Belnoa had also hit a milestone.

The trials of the Holy Grail call forth Belnoa and Lac.

As if there are messages waiting to be conveyed.

As the current generation of heroes, including Kyle and me, stand firm against death, it seems that the next generation of heroes has also moved a step forward. Smiling at my disciple’s growth, I beckoned to Belnoa with a finger.

“Come here.”

“Uh? Why suddenly…”

I pointed at Belnoa’s fingers.

“You’ve injured your fingers again, haven’t you?”

Belnoa’s face turned pale.

As pale as one filled with fear.

Not entirely sure why, I gestured to Belnoa.

“I’ll make it better, so come closer.”

“I’m fine!”

“Shh.”

I had just learned a more efficient way to align the bone with Sarra. Extending my hand, I grasped Belnoa’s finger.

“Come on.”

It’ll be over soon.

*