Chapter 32

In the city of the Light Dragon, Haraldoniki, in the Dragon Spirit Hall on the 99th floor of the Imperial Court…

The small and large elements of war gathered, and the yellow Sage Dragons observed the outcomes of the war and made important decisions.

“Reporting!” The griffin rider, who still had frost on his goggles, bowed with his hands together in respect. “With His Excellency, the Heavenly Castle’s help, the Kerknude evacuation was a success, and all troops and refugees, except those who died during the defense, were transported to Thalia Island.”

The Sage Dragons exclamations, not even thinking about protecting their ancient majesty.

Rescuing the troops on the Eastern Front of Kerknude was not simply a matter of preserving life. The victory had a greater and deeper meaning—it could be used in propaganda that would directly lead to an increase in military morale.

「Extrapolate. You are being confusing. What exactly happened before the victory?」

In response to Cardinal Hargon’s question, the rider raised his head. “First, they say the failing vanguard was successfully defended thanks to a strategy designed by Lia Riley, the disciple of Sharon Alter Tas Alfo.”

「She is a very bright child.」

“However, the chief of the Tahuf Clan participated in the battle, causing a heavy blow to the garrison, and close to 80% of the soldiers were killed.”

「Were you able to collect, Sharon, that child’s, body?」

“She is alive.”

「What?」

The cardinals looked confused. It was a well-known fact that Sharon’s vitality had already reached its limit.

Hearing that she had survived and emerged victorious against the combined forces of the uruk army led by a Hai-khun-tark chieftain was extremely absurd.

Hadn’t Sharon been ready to die when she was deployed to Kerknude?

Enricht looked at the clouds passing by the window. 「What happened?」

“Kaisen Alter Aradamantel charged in alone, cut down 3,000 members of the Tahuf Clan, and decapitated the Tahuf Chief, disintegrating the enemy! After that, enemy morale imploded.”

The cardinals’ eyes dilated, and Enrich’s eyes widened.

All eyes suddenly turned to Cardinal Yoshhar after the Sage Dragon slammed his fist into his armrest and jumped up, shaking with great tremors.

‘The child born to Raminea and raised by Kamila…’

Cardinal Parrem was the first to regain his composure and speak. 「Tell Sharon and her disciple to come to the Imperial Court before it’s too late. We need to prepare for the succession ceremony.」

“Yes, my Lords.”

「The war is still just beginning, so tell the headquarters that Kaisen Alter Aradamantel will be deployed as the core of the Thalia Island defense line.」

* * *

Kaisen slowly regained consciousness as he felt the warm breeze blowing across his face.

Such a refreshing breeze could not be found in the midst of the volcanic ash storm in the middle of summer.

He was lying on the bed in a hospital gown, and Lia was kneeling at the foot of the bed, sleeping with her arms resting on the mattress.

“She’s exhausted from watching you all night. It should be considered an honor to be treated like that by a woman like Lia.”

He moved his eyes toward the direction of the voice and saw Sharon Alter Tas Alfo’s back as she looked outside the window at the red twilight.

She was sitting on a chair with wheels, as if she had difficulty moving, but she was alive.

“How many days have I been asleep?” he asked.

“Three days. What happened? If you hadn’t woken up by today, we would have had to leave you and go to the Imperial Court.”

When Kaisen explained his unusual use of the dragon sprit, Sharon was amazed.

“His Excellency Yoshhar himself… was able to use such great power.”

“The risk is also high. During training, I was unconscious for about one to four hours, but I guess it’s different in real life.”

“It’s not because it’s a real battle… it’s because you fought to the point where you were overloaded with dragon spirit. It means you overextended yourself. Thanks to that, I’m alive.”

He looked blankly at Sharon as she turned the chair. All of her hair, from her head to her eyelashes, was stained gray.

His gaze remained on the chair more than anywhere else. A chair with wheels… Did it mean that she couldn’t even walk anymore?

Sharon must have read the emotions in his eyes and wheeled closer. “Don’t look at me like that. I originally gave up on living.”

“But…”

“Yes, but thanks to you, I can now witness Lia inheriting my holy sword. I haven’t seen it yet, but until then, I will work hard to survive.”

Sharon stopped the chair at the head of the bed and gently patted the cheek of the student whom her former friend had raised with love with her bony hand.

“After that, I’ll probably go see Kamila, right?”

“…”

“I will tell her, ‘Kamila, do you know what? Your student is just as eccentric as you, but he also became a Warrior just as great as you.’”

Kamila’s name made him miserable and pale, but it also sent a mysterious thrill down his spine.

For a moment, he thought about how good it would have been if the parting between him and his teacher had been that peaceful.

He imagined what Kamila’s expression would have been when he came out with pure white hair and Aradamantel on his waist.

“Kamila wouldn’t have taught you these things, so I’ll teach them for her. Kaisen, always get into the habit of thinking about what a ‘true hero’ is.”

A true hero…

Hiding a dream that could not come true, he gripped Sharon’s wrist and nodded quietly.

“Thank you for your hard work so far. Rest in peace now.” That was the last farewell he gave to his late teacher’s friend.

After Sharon pushed her chair and left with a sleeping Lia in her arms. He grabbed Aradamantel, which was leaning against the bed, and went out.

The clear sea breeze hit his face, causing him to wrinkle his nose at the pungent smell.

Thalia Island…

Geographically, it was a large island used as a port of call for the Calnal Peninsula and the continent, but to be more exact, he was in the summer palace of the Ginaris monarchy.

Since the summer palace was built on high ground, he could clearly see the southwest port.

“…”

The port was overflowing with refugees.

From the day his mother died, he found himself shedding tears for no reason whenever he saw children toddling while holding their parents’ hands.

Every time, he had to hold his chest and gasp until his hyperventilating subsided.

‘It hurts.’

The hole in his chest…

‘It hurts so much that I can’t breathe.’

The hole burned fiercely every time his mother’s memory overlapped with his daily life.

‘It didn’t get fixed even though I have the body of a Fake Warrior…’

To calm his breathing, he pulled out his mother’s shortsword. The blade deflected the red twilight and seemed to be whispering with its deep, bloody scent.

There were still nightmares to be slain. Even then, they were pouring in endlessly.

Echoes of that distant past… anger, grief.

A voice broke through his muddled thoughts.

「Kaisen Alter Aradamantel.」

He flinched in surprise and raised his head. A pure-white figure stood before him.

「If you’ve recovered enough to move, it would’ve been nice for you to show up at the ceremony. It would’ve brought many people comfort.」

Even the lingering sound of sheathing his sword seemed to turn white.

Truly, everything seemed pure in the being’s presence.

Not only were the being’s external elements, such as hair and eyebrows, white, but even abstract parts such as facial expressions, mood, and voice.

The color was holy and noble.

Even if it weren’t for his noble majesty, Kaisen would have recognized the figure’s status. He tried to kneel the moment he recognized the figure.

「Don’t kneel」 The Heavenly Castle, Mirngadia—pne of the Three Heroic Dragons left behind by Dragon Sage Rain Ludwig. 「There’s no need to be so polite to me.」

The majesty of the Three Heroic Dragons was legendary both in and out of the military. In particular, Mirngadia was famous for leading the fairies on the Edea Peninsula in destroying the main force of the six great demons, the necrons, the Immortal Legion.

Such a being was before him. Mirngadia recognized him and, with a single wave, had the palace guards retreat.

When he hesitated, not daring to stand up, Mirngadia raised his eyebrows in interest. 「You look a lot like your mother, but your character resembles your teacher’s. Your mother would have asked if I had brought something to eat and grumbled about the fact I came empty-handed.」

“Did you know my mother?”

「I knew all your ancestors. All the way to Dragon Sage Rain Ludwig.」 A momentary ripple of grief passed through Mirngadia’s expressionless face.

In the past, while they were heading to the Calnal Peninsula after Kamila died, Yohan Wolf Frost had made a fuss about his great lineage.

“The leader was Ludwig’s descendant. Do you know what that means? She was a direct descendant of the Dragon Sage! Kaisen, you are also his descendant!”

It was an extremely unrealistic story, to the point that it didn’t touch his heart, so he’d ignored the man’s words.

His mother was just a mother. That alone was great. He didn’t want people to say it was because of his bloodline or because he was a descendant of a great person.

“I didn’t attend because I don’t see what there is to celebrate when so many died.”

「It looks like you forgot about cutting down the Tahuf chief.」

“I just did what I had to do as a swordsman.”

「Was this also just something that had to be done? Can you say such cutting words?」 Mirngadia took a moldy and rotten piece of wood out of his arms.

Was it not possible to get paper? The letters on the wood were written crookedly, showing a child’s clumsiness.

Hello.

Thanks to the Warrior, I was able to eat with my mom again today.

The others said the Warrior was sick, so I couldn’t meet him. I left a letter to the soldier.

The Warrior is my hero.

Thank you.

Was it really a coincidence that his younger self was superimposed on the back of the child leaving the port?

A coincidence…

「Kaisen, there is something you misunderstand. The victory celebration is not simply meant to praise achievements.」 Mirngadia’s pure white hair and robe danced quietly with the sea breeze as he looked toward the distant horizon.

Sea birds landed next to him. Were they prostrating before an absolute being? They were so gentle that Kaisen couldn’t believe they were mere animals.

「It is meant for us to talk to those who couldn’t stand on the battlefield, those poor people who had no choice but to abandon all they held dear and run.」

Such a celebration was meant to say: It’s alright. The night is coming to an end. The nightmare is fading away. One step at a time. Don’t worry. It’s okay to have hope instead of struggling in despair…

「The victory you achieved at Kerknude brought such hope to many people. Engrave this in your soul with pride.」 A faint smile appeared on Mirngadia’s lips as he stroked the seabird’s head.

“…” Kaisen had no choice but to absent-mindedly lower his head and avoid the dragon’s gaze.

Was it possible to perceive such a distant future? It was something an ignorant mind like his could not even imagine.

「Shall we get to the point? I waited until you woke up to test your will.」

“What do you mean…?”

「Do you know why I sent this clone here when the war on the Edea Peninsula has not yet ended? It is because of the battle on the central front.」

The central front was the fiercest battlefield on the continental front after the collapse of the Inferno Line.

The 2nd daughter among the Three Heroic Dragons, Setsunen of the Lightning, was at the center of the defense line.

Many Fake Warriors were also dispatched there—not only the current Deputy and 3rd Seats, but also Seira and Ophelia after their investiture.

“A battle? Do you really mean that?”

Since the beginning of the war in 1692, humankind had avoided battles. There was an overwhelming power difference between humanity and the abyss, so they did not want their troops to be swept away with just one battle.

What humanity chose was an extreme war of attrition—they bided their time, hoping to cut off the enemy’s supply from overseas.

On the other hand, the abyss wanted direct confrontation.

What was it other than saying that they would comply with the other’s intentions?

「My father, that is, the Dragon Sage, used to solve and explain all problems using math while sitting opposite me at a table like this.」

It was a story from an extremely distant past. It was difficult to guess the depth of time that had passed, but Kaisen was able to gauge the longing contained in that voice.

「The days of Fake Warriors being called asymmetrical powers are over. They were standardized a long time ago. They hold the strength of one or two brigades, that is, a minimum of 4,000 and a maximum of 8,000 people. The enemy is also making the same estimate, but what about you?」

“Me?”

「Didn’t you receive a fragment of Pillar Yoshhar and the Light Dragon, Haraderiman? No one can predict what you are capable of.」

This was the first time Kaisen had heard such a thing.

A fragment of the Light Dragon? Was he saying that he’d received more than just Yoshhar’s fragment?

「You can bring out the power of a Sage Dragon and a Divine Dragon for approximately three minutes. Isn’t that right?」

“That’s right.”

「That’s why you are an unpredictable variable. You are the only such variable in the mathematical equations of this world that would otherwise always point to despair.」

It was difficult for an ignorant mind to understand such words, but that tremor of fate overtook his whole body.

「And I want to insert that variable into the equation at the central front」

“What exactly do you want from me?”

「Leave for the Red Mountains at dawn. Marshal Krauzan and the five pillars at the Imperial Court want to leave the eastern front to you, but the central region is more important than the eastern front right now. If we can destroy the enemy’s main force, we will have a better outlook on the fate of humanity. Decide now, Kaisen, son of the Crimson Lotus… Which front will you stand on?」

Kaisen heard fate beckoning to him and the echo of the sword in his heart.

He heard Aradamantel crying and opened his mouth to answer.

More than anything, it felt as if the sword in his heart replied for him.

“Your Excellency, the Heavenly Castle, please command this Fake Warrior.”

____