◈ Episode 409. Four Days, Time to Repay (1)
The seed of the World Tree.
Its sprout was as large as the seed itself.
Large enough to easily cradle a single chick.
“I like how cool it is.”
Froznax moved his beak.
He had to faithfully carry out the command bestowed by the Black Dark Dragon.
And so, Froznax showed mercy to the humans.
“You may focus on observing Antonium. The sprout of the World Tree will be watched over by me and the impudent Dragon Knight. Are you confident, Dragon Knight?”
“……
Yes.”
Skal nodded with a deathly expression.
Nam Taemin was dumbfounded.
He abruptly looked back and muttered.
“Skal, that guy’s as fickle as they come too. One moment he was saying he’d be willing to die if he could meet a dragon. Now that there’s actually a dragon in front of him, why is he acting like that?”
The only one who could answer that question was Skal himself.
Skal glanced at Froznax.
If only it had been in the form of a dragon, he would have gladly obeyed its orders.
But.
Where had the majestic.
Fantasy dragon gone, and why was there a chick instead?
And what was with that flippant way of speaking?
But it was a reality he could not deny.[Class Quest: Dragonblood]
Dragon Knight, if you wish to mount a dragon, then carry the same scent as they do. The only thing that can make that possible is pure dragon blood. Drink dragonblood and be acknowledged as kin who shares their blood.
-Acquire dragonblood. (Optional)
-Build affinity with the ice dragon, Froznax. (Optional)
The system did not lie.
The newly added quest objective was telling him that the talking chick was.
The ice dragon, Froznax.
“For now, knead this body’s shoulders.”
“……
Yes.”
The king of all creation.
“Not very refreshing. Enough. Tell me an interesting story.”
“……
Yes.”
His fantasies about dragons.
“Tsk. You still have a long way to go before you can mount my back.”
“……
Yes.”
Were being shattered in the cruelest way.
The biggest problem of all was that the hardship was only just beginning.
But had they said that even tragedy looked like comedy from afar?
The imperial palace mage, Nash William, spoke to Nam Taemin.
“I had only heard rumors about you adventurers. But it seems you truly possess limitless possibilities. A Dragon Knight! Sir Skal will one day be recorded in the empire’s history books.”
Nam Taemin nodded.‘He deserves that kind of treatment.’The one and only hidden class, Dragon Knight. Nam Taemin, who had watched Skal since the days of the Arcana Continent Chronicle, knew well just how absurdly powerful it was. Nam Taemin lifted the corners of his mouth in a grin and replied.
“If I want to leave my name in the empire’s history books, I’ll have to work hard too.”
Wouldn’t Mr. Hoyeol allow this kind of friendly competition?
Motivation surged within him.
Nam Taemin had just been lightly warming up.
When, suddenly, Nash’s steps came to a halt.
“Why? Can’t a barbarian be recorded in the empire’s history books?”
“No, of course not. That’s not what I meant…….”
Nash’s gaze was fixed on none other than the walls of Antonium.
Slide—Nash raised a finger and continued.
“Do you see it? What is that? At a glance, it looks like a plant. Since when was something like that on top of the wall……. I didn’t see anything like that even yesterday.”
Sensory organs closer to a beast’s than a human’s.
Nam Taemin looked at the wall with his wide field of vision.
And then, he really did see it.
“That looks like a thorn vine.”
“Pardon? A thorn vine?”
“The sharp parts look like rose thorns too…….”
Were they trying to drape thorn vines over the wall instead of barbed wire to keep anyone from climbing over recklessly? But considering the height of Antonium’s walls, it didn’t seem like it would have much meaning.
Nam Taemin stroked his chin.
“Unless you raise the ground like our Commander-in-Chief’s magic……. You couldn’t climb up the wall with something like a ladder. And no matter how sharp the thorn vines are, they’d have a hard time piercing armor like this, wouldn’t they?”
“That is true. The empire would not set up such a flimsy measure.”
Nash nodded vigorously. He was an imperial palace mage who knew the empire’s circumstances well. That was precisely why the thorn vines on the wall made even less sense to him.
“Would you wait a moment?”
If it were his brother or the senior mages of the Magic Tower…….
Perhaps they had some idea.
Nash sent a telepathic message.
“Keep watch over the top of the wall?”
Bensch was accompanying Hisagi.
Hisagi was not pleased, but it was an unavoidable pairing.
If Nam Taemin or Leonie had accompanied Bensch.
“It really is true, little brother. So what are those vines? Makes me want to burn them.”……
Something uncontrollable might have happened.
Let’s think calmly.
Hisagi did not let himself be swayed by Bensch’s reaction and observed the situation.
“Senior Mage Bensch, does anything come to mind?”
“Hmm, well.”
The eldest son of the prestigious William family of mages.
When it came to formality, Bensch had never once fallen short even by Hoyeol’s exacting standards. Since Hisagi asked with due formality, Bensch too answered with the formality of a senior.
“Even I, Bensch William, find those thorn vines of Antonium difficult to understand. Judging by the telepathic replies coming back, it seems Senior Mages Matisse and Bellier are no different from me.”
Hisagi bit his lip.
So they were no ordinary thorn vines.
Not even a full day had passed.
And already, Hoyeol’s absence was beginning to be felt.
“Wait, who goes there?”
Yet, as if even that absence had been foreseen.
Soon, Hoyeol’s arrangement began to reveal its presence.
From the lowly sewers.
That no one looked at.
Nor even spared a glance.
“The king of the Scavengers, Emilio.”
“Emilio, you say……?”
“Our king conveys the situation in Antonium to the Holy War Alliance.”
“!”
The Scavengers had come to seek out the scattered Holy War Alliance in order to relay Emilio’s words. If it was from inside Antonium, they would be able to find information about those thorn vines without difficulty.
Before long, the news they had been waiting for arrived.
“Everyone in Antonium, everything, has been devoured by those thorn vines.”
“……!!!”
The first words were utterly unexpected.
Even without being urged.
Even if they could not believe it, the words continued.
“A human who comes into contact with the thorn vines turns into a rose blossom. Petals sprout over their skin, one layer, then two, covering their body. In the end, they become a rose blossom.”
“Bullshit.”
Leonie answered reflexively. Bellier, who was accompanying Leonie, agreed wholeheartedly with her response.
Because even from the Magic Tower’s perspective, it made no sense.
“Even the highest-level magic cannot transform a human into a rose. No, even if it were possible, it would consume an enormous amount of mana. And you’re saying everyone in Antonium was turned into that?”
Grab!
Meanwhile, Nash roughly seized the Scavenger by the collar.
“I am serious right now, Scavenger. That merciful person may have trusted even you completely, but I do not. So where is Emilio now?”
The Scavenger, held by the collar, answered crookedly.
“You can’t trust us?”
“That’s right. How could I trust someone from the bottom…….”
“This is why palace bastards are—”
“What?”
Ptoo!
The Scavenger spat onto the dirt.
“This is why we should’ve stopped him until the very end. Emilio risked his life to enter the imperial palace! Do you even know where the thorn vines extended from, you high-and-mighty imperial palace mage? Those thorn vines poured out from beneath your imperial palace!!”
The Scavenger wiped at his tearful eyes.
He had no choice.
They had merely avoided calamity because they were hiding in the sewers.
They had clearly watched the residents of Antonium being devoured by the thorn vines.
Watched them turn into blossoms.
“……
The thorn vines extended from the imperial palace?”
Slowly.
The strength left Nash’s hand as it gripped the collar. Nash raised his head and looked at the wall. If those words were true, then the fact that the thorn vines had appeared atop the wall meant.
All of Antonium was……?
“If you still cannot believe it, then listen.”
“!”
“To what sounds come from beyond the wall.”
Nam Taemin, who had been silently guarding Nash’s back, flinched.
He realized it belatedly.
Even when he strained his hearing, as keen as a beast’s.
He could sense no sound, no presence at all.
“What on earth……?”
Nash and Nam Taemin.
Bellier and Leonie.
Matisse, who was alone.
It was a moment when everyone had lost their bearings.
Only.
“It is a simple matter, Apprentice Mage Hisagi!”
Bensch opened his mouth with overflowing confidence.
Hisagi flinched at Bensch’s words.
Was that confidence grounded in something?
Or was it the habit of a senior mage who wanted to show off in front of an apprentice mage like him?
But perhaps even that suspicious gaze did not enter his mind.
Step, step.
With a dignified stride.
Bensch approached the walls of Antonium.
“The exact cause is unknown, but Antonium has been covered by thorn vines that transform humans into rose blossoms. Furthermore, in order to find that cause, the king of the Scavengers, Emilio, has entered the imperial palace. Which means…….”
His blue eyes flashed.
“Chief Lee predicted even this! As expected of the true power of the Magic Tower. To rise to the position of Chief, one must be able to foresee even a future of this degree? Indeed, the seat of Chief is not to be taken lightly.”
With eyes clearer than ever.
“Then the order given to us also makes sense. Do not enter Antonium no matter what happens for four days. Because we have no way to return humans transformed into roses to normal. In that case……. Here is a question. Apprentice Hisagi.”
“……
I’m listening.”
“Would Chief Lee have a solution?”
Hisagi flinched and asked back.
“Don’t tell me…….”
Bensch let out a satisfied smile.
“Indeed. If it is 『Reversal Magic』, created by Chief Lee and which only Chief Lee can manifest? Then he should be able to overcome this crisis well enough. Then, another question. This time, you may answer as well, Scavenger.”
“……
Me too?”
“Observe Antonium. What is the hidden meaning behind the concise order Chief Lee gave? For reference, I am exceedingly accustomed to this sort of metaphor from the Chief.”
His shoulders rose proudly.
There was no discouragement in Bensch.
For he was a man who took even discouragement as something positive. The positivity with which Bensch had attached his own excuses to every rejected application to leave the Tower was now shining.
After a moment of silence.
Bensch continued on his own.
“To desperately prevent those thorn vines from crawling out of Antonium during the four days that Chief Lee is absent. That is the true mission given to us.”
“……!”
“Now everything makes sense.”
Bensch had been puzzled.
“As expected, Nash was merely one part of the superficial reason.”
Was the fact that his younger brother was an imperial palace mage.
The only reason he had been granted permission to leave the Tower?
Absolutely not.
Even if Tower Master Marcelo had thought so.
“Chief Lee had foreseen my usefulness all the way to this point.”
At last, he understood why Chief Lee had asked him the reason for leaving the Tower.
The time for me to shine has come.
Bensch slowly began to draw up his mana.
Hisagi hesitated.‘Even if he is a senior mage, the opponent is…….’The identity of the thorn vines that had swallowed Antonium itself was unknown.
If the being beyond standards, Froznax, joined them.
The story would change.
However.‘He’ll already have his hands full with the seed of the World Tree.’In the end, it meant they had no choice but to stop the flood of thorn vines with their current strength. Hisagi could not help wondering. Was it possible? Even with the senior mages of the Magic Tower…….
“Apprentice Hisagi, and Scavenger. Consider yourselves fortunate.”
“……
Fortunate?”
“You will be the first to witness my arcane magic.”
But Hisagi had been underestimating them.
The Magic Tower, the greatest armed force on the Arcana Continent.
Its leadership, the senior mages, had not once revealed their full power to the world since the Cataclysm.
Because they possessed mighty abilities.
And because they knew well the weight of those abilities.
But now, the situation was different.
Senior Mage of Fire Magic, Bensch William.
Did he not now have an incomparably great cause?
At last, flames surged from Bensch’s body.
“Four days, was it?”
Heat dwelled in every syllable he uttered.
Uncontrollable flames spread throughout the area.
The thorn vines that had been climbing down the wall stopped growing.
From their tips, they began to wither.
No, they began to ignite on their own.
In a tone without the slightest trace of levity.
“The trust Chief Lee placed in me completely.”
The king of flame.
The Flame Emperor.
Bensch William finished his words.
“That is time enough to repay it.”...
The ice dragon, Froznax.
The chick wriggled its downy feathers.
This was the blond brat from the Magic Tower, was it?
“There was a fairly decent human after all.”
“……
Are you referring to me?”
“Do not dare intrude upon my monologue. Self-proclaimed Dragon Knight.”
“……
Yes.”
“Compared to him, you still have a long way to go.”
To think he dared make this body feel heat.
That brat.
Contrary to how he looked, he was rather capable, wasn’t he?