A magic circle to summon the sleeping dragon.
It was completed over the course of two days.
It was certainly an extremely difficult spell, one that required the patterns of the 5th Circle, but there was an answer, wasn’t there?
If he had been told out of nowhere to summon a dragon with nothing to go on, there would have been no way to do it. But that was not the case.
The book Isidore had handed him contained everything, from the dragon’s location to the magical formula needed to summon it. All he had to do was copy it.
—Are you not concentrating! Your mana is leaking all over the place!
Of course, simply copying it did not mean the magic circle would neatly complete itself.
He had to hold mana within the patterns he engraved, and the channels between them also had to be adjusted so that mana could flow through them smoothly.
—Tsk, tsk... Slow. Far too slow.
A magic circle of such immense size that an ordinary 4th Circle mage would not even dare attempt it.
If not for Hio’s talent for handling mana with extreme delicacy, the workload might have taken over a month.
And yet he had completed it in just two days. How astonishing was that?
But as the saying went, one only saw as much as one knew; in Arilleia—no, perhaps anywhere on the continent—there was likely no one who could recognize the incredible feat Hio had accomplished.
—Hmm... If you had concentrated a little more, you might have finished it in a single day... Are you ill or something?
And even the only ghost who could acknowledge it was spouting nonsense like that, so what more needed to be said?
Purnell, too, had now grown accustomed to Hio’s talent.
“......”
Of course, he had not made it in hopes of being recognized by anyone, so Hio lightly ignored Purnell, who was muttering things like, “Hmm, is that all?” and looked down at the completed magic circle beneath his feet.
A wide clearing located beneath Arilleia’s Divine Tree.
The clearing, made by cutting the grass short, was a vast space created solely for drawing this magic circle.
“Are the preparations complete?”
Isidore asked in a calm tone.
Even in those clear eyes, there was a trace of tension.
After all, they too had attempted this magic circle.
But what they had reached after countless attempts had always been failure.
“To my ignorant eyes, it looks the same as it always has.”
Unlike themselves, they had thought that the magic circle drawn by Hio Pavlenko would somehow be different, yet the magic circle visible to the eye seemed no different from the one they had drawn.
Its enormous size, the placement of the mana stones, the shapes of the patterns.
The fact that he had drawn it so casually in two days, despite working alone, only made it seem more so.
“Well, it’ll work out.”
Hio merely shrugged.
According to Purnell’s analysis, there was nothing wrong with the magic circle, and Hio’s talent had drawn it perfectly, without the slightest error.
If there truly was a dragon, it would reveal its majesty here, atop this magic circle.
For the first time in a thousand years.
『It will definitely succeed...!』
Freya’s message appeared as splendidly as ever.
Freya herself, however, was terribly tense.
She had never seen her own original body either.
She was only aware that she was a dragon; everything else was faint, for she was an exceedingly small soul.
“......”
Regarda, standing beside Freya, wore an expression devoid of emotion.
Hio did not know what he was truly thinking or feeling, but at least outwardly, he did not seem greatly shaken.
“...Then.”
Hio glanced over the faces of those gathered, one by one, then approached the magic circle he had drawn.
Countless gazes fixed on him.
A dragon they had done their utmost to protect more than anyone, yet whose true form none of them had ever seen.
Would it truly be possible to summon it?
Everyone’s expectation and doubt, hope and tension mingled together, and the air settled heavily.
“Let’s begin.”
The starting point of the magic circle.
He approached its catalyst and placed his hand upon it. Within his unseen body, four Circles spun fiercely, pouring out mana.
That mana traveled through his hand and was transmitted into the magic circle.
This was the beginning.
Light began to spread rapidly along the channels drawn into the magic circle.
The patterns drawn here and there lit up one by one, each beginning to exert the power assigned to it.
Wherever the mana’s strength was about to run out, a mana stone had been placed without fail, and the mana, receiving power again from those stones, continued to spread and illuminate the patterns.
Before long, the entirety of the enormous magic circle began to shine brightly.
“Truly......”
The vast clearing was filled with the light of magic.
And the people of Arilleia surrounding it trembled.
“The magic... the magic circle is working.”
The magic circle they had tried countless times, yet had not once succeeded in activating.
The thing that had not budged, that had left them with no idea what to even attempt, was truly shining now.
Was it not shooting light out, filling the wide, wide clearing?
And as that light gathered, it finally began to form a certain shape.
“Ah......”
A gigantic form slowly revealed itself.
Beneath the sacred tree that rose high into the sky, what appeared was a green tail. Green wings.
Scales that shone like jewels beneath the sunlight, and a size that, even curled up, reached halfway up the tree’s trunk.
“A dragon.”
It was an emerald-colored dragon.
The figure of the dragon was reflected in the eyes of everyone gathered there.
Beneath the towering Divine Tree, the dragon lay curled up as though protecting it, fast asleep.
Everyone opened their eyes wide, unwilling to miss even the smallest part of it, and engraved the majestic form of the dragon into their memories.
All but one person.
Regarda Obier.
“Only today......”
While everyone else opened their eyes wide in emotion, he instead closed his.
“You have appeared.”
Whether his eyes were open or closed made no difference to Regarda.
Because he had always been picturing it in his mind.
Not its current form, sleeping as though dead, but its great form from the past—he remembered that.
“I waited far too long.”
Because he had failed to keep a single promise, far too many years had passed.
What had a thousand years been like for you?
Had they been terribly painful years of endurance?
Or had they been but a fleeting moment, no more than closing and opening your eyes?
He did not know, but at the very least...
“For me, it was an exceedingly long time.”
For Regarda, it had been a span no different from eternity.
When Regarda opened his eyes again, the sight of the sleeping dragon filled them.
“O dragon.”
Just as it had been a thousand years ago, when it sealed itself before his eyes.
* * *
—It’s a Green Dragon. This is my first time seeing one in person as well.
What had appeared atop the magic circle was a radiant green Green Dragon.
“It’s majestic.”
Its size alone was something humanity could scarcely approach.
On top of that, an immense presence could be clearly felt.
The dragon’s entire body, every single scale, was filled with tremendous mana.
“...I can see why they were called demigods.”
Its mere appearance made the vast mana feel suffocating.
It was as though the air had settled heavily and was tightening around his throat.
The others, not knowing the reason, would simply think it was because of the pressure the dragon exuded.
Well, that was not exactly wrong.
—Mm... Am I really seeing this correctly?
“Why?”
—Look with the Ghost Eyes.
“With the Ghost Eyes?”
As Purnell muttered as though in a daze, Hio activated the Ghost Eyes.
「Trait - ‘Ghost Eyes’ has been activated.」
And he could see it.
“...Holy shit.”
The dragon’s soul was so immense that the word gigantic was not enough.
Its exalted rank.
—This is... a first for me as well.
And it was stained a horrifically pitch-black color.
It was not the black of an undead soul steeped in death energy.
It was far deeper and darker than that.
Yes, if he had to describe it...
“...The abyss.”
A soul stained by the Abyss.
“So the dragon had been encroached upon by the Abyss.”
—According to you, ordinary people with no abilities are encroached upon by that energy, are they not?
“Yeah... That was how it was.”
That had been the case in the game.
NPCs who had awakened skills could resist the energy of the Abyss, while ordinary citizens were encroached upon by it and went mad.
“That was the Abyssal energy that leaked out when a raid failed... but it seems the thing that encroached upon the dragon is a different kind.”
A more direct, more blatant kind of energy.
For instance, something like the energy that had lurked everywhere when he was dragged into the Abyss, the kind that had even made Daphne lose her mind.
“The extinction of the dragons really was deeply connected to the Abyss.”
He had suspected as much, but the shock of seeing it directly before his eyes was beyond imagination.
It was his first time seeing such an enormous and exalted soul, and yet seeing it completely polluted like that... was quite a dreadful sight.
—Now I understand why they left behind not divine magic, but 4th Circle Purification to cleanse the dragon’s soul.
“I agree. If divine magic were cast on that... the soul would probably be annihilated along with it.”
He had thought that once the dragon was summoned, cleansing it would be easy.
He had assumed they had arranged Purification, the lowest-grade of the cleansing spells, because they had foreseen that magic would be lost in later generations.
After all, Hio had the highest-level defensive skill, “Celestial Realm.”
It was a skill that could repel all hostile things within the domain touched by the goddess’s hand.
And that included not only physical things, but mental ones as well.
Moreover, since it even required the Divine Power stat, it was a top-tier defensive skill in the divine magic system.
And that was the problem.
—That has already seeped deep into the soul. It is no different from part of the soul itself.
Powerful divine power would surely be able to eliminate the energy of the Abyss.
But had it not already fused with the soul? Had the soul itself not been stained by the Abyss?
What meaning would there be in annihilating the dragon’s soul along with the Abyss?
They could not conclude Arilleia’s thousand-year mission in such a manner.
—At least the dragon’s rank is extremely high, and it seems to be barely kept asleep by the sealing magic spread across its entire body.
“What do you think would happen if the seal broke and the dragon opened its eyes?”
—Before it is cleansed, you mean?
“Yeah.”
—Then, well, is it not obvious?
Purnell spoke in a calm tone, stating what would naturally happen.
—The dragon would go mad and rampage, and the world would be destroyed. Since it would not be in its right mind, if enough time were taken, it might somehow be defeated, but the damage would be beyond description.
Before the world could face the Abyss, it would first have to deal with a mad dragon.
Infinite mana, and scales that could not easily be cut even by aura.
Its massive body was agile, it could fly freely through the sky, and from its mouth it could spew a powerful breath.
It was calamity itself.
Naturally, the damage would pile up, and as much as that, they would be unable to focus on the Abyss.
“...That’s horrifying.”
—Which is why you must work hard to cleanse it. Conversely, if you succeed in cleansing it and the dragon regains its senses, there could be nothing more reassuring.
“Should I call Kkingkkingi and ask if he can extract only that black energy?”
—That is not a bad idea either. If it is an inhuman Death God, perhaps it may be possible.
“Good.”
The skill activated the moment he thought of it.
「Skill - ‘Summon Death God’ has been activated.」
Darkness entered the space that had been bright with midday sunlight.
His vision grew dimmer, as though someone had lowered the contrast, and at the same time, he felt the aura of death.
A black figure suddenly appeared behind Hio.
A scythe as red as blood was placed before his neck.
The Death God’s eyes, even redder than that, flashed as it looked down at Hio.
“Tsk! Kkingkkingi, you’re scaring me.”
Kking!
In response to Hio’s one word, Kkingkkingi instantly became small and squirmy.
The so-called Kkingkkingi-style sulking began and ended at the same time.
“Kkingkkingi. Like how you extracted death energy from Sylvia last time, can you extract that?”
The Death God could control the energy of all living beings within its range.
He had experience saving Sylvia from the brink of death with that effect, so he asked with a bit of expectation, but...
Kkiing......
Kkingkkingi shook his head from side to side.
As though anxious that he could not help, his eyes were filled with unease.
“It’s an energy that shouldn’t exist in this world in the first place?”
Kking!
“So that’s why you can’t handle it?”
Kkingkking!
“Then you’re useless right now?”
...Kkiing.
“Do you want to go back?”
Kkiing, kkiing......
His eyes were already brimming with tears, and if Hio teased him any more, he looked ready to truly cry.
“I’m kidding. You can stay a little longer.”
Hio tapped Kkingkkingi with his finger, then turned his gaze back to the sleeping dragon.
It could not be resolved with the Death God, nor could it be cleansed with the divinity of Celestial Realm.
Then in the end, the only thing left was the orthodox method.
“I’ll have to use Purification.”
He moved his feet and headed toward the emerald-glowing dragon’s head.
He stretched out his arm toward that head.
At best, he could only reach one scale near its jaw, but in any case, he had to cast Purification, so he moved his mana.
The four Circles rotated in different directions, and power began to manifest from the patterns.
The power that began to move gathered into one and formed magic.
“Purification.”
With his left hand on the dragon’s scale and his right hand holding his staff, the 4th Circle cleansing magic manifested.
The high-level magic, formed through a fairly complex process, burrowed into the dragon’s scale and reached its soul.
Following the law imbued within it, it exerted its power to cleanse the polluted soul.
And soon, Purification splendidly carried out the role assigned to it.
It had succeeded in cleansing the dragon’s soul, which was polluted by the deep Abyss.
Thus, the dragon’s soul stained by the Abyss was purified.
“The cleansing... did work.”
It had indeed succeeded in cleansing it.
An extremely tiny portion of that enormous soul. About as much as the gunk in an ant’s eye.
If put into numbers, perhaps around 0.0002%.
Since he had succeeded in cleansing exactly that much...
For the first time in a while, a vulgar exclamation burst from Hio’s mouth.
“Fuck.”
It meant he had to do this at least ten thousand times... no, even more than that.
“Should I just kill it?”
—...That does not seem like a bad idea.