185 Mother of Fire (1)
#185
It didn’t take long for the sparring to end. Ronan smiled in satisfaction after confirming that there were no more members attacking him.
“Everyone worked hard. Now, even if you throw it into any battlefield, it will survive.”
It was a sincere compliment. During the two years of absence, the skills of the club members improved remarkably. It was a golden result born from a combination of talent, effort, and excellent guidance. Of course, Ronan was never declared dead, but that was natural, so he had no intention of arguing about it.
“You guys have really improved a lot.”
Ronan added that one word and led the way. click. It was nice to hear the sound of the sheath and the sword clicking together. Combined with Rin, La Mancha gains a shortened pommel, allowing her to swing her sword more stably.
“Wow… That’s ridiculous… Wow, I thought I could win this time…”
“Oh oh… From Brahms to Hind…”
“Wow! Wow!”
After sparring, all members were in complete disrepair. Marya and Braum were stretched out with their arms wide open, and Asher, whose mana was almost depleted, was vomiting while leaning on the wall. Ophelia, the only one to abstain before it got ugly, was sitting in her chair looking exhausted and drinking a liquid she claimed was wine.
“I don’t think you will lose even if you fight Balzac now.”
“That’s right. “I went through some hardships.”
Ronan chuckled. Balzac was also a name I hadn’t heard in a long time. The younger brother of the Shadow Duke who adores Ophelia. He had taken the Blood Essence and given it to Jarrodin, and he wondered if they were both doing well.
“Don’t be too frustrated. “Look what you did.”
Ronan lifted the tip of his chin and pointed to the messed up training ground. It seemed like a huge invisible beast was drunk and was rampaging.
The places where Marya’s great sword exploded were all accompanied by huge cracks. Even compared to the sword marks left by Ronan and Schlieffen, it was at a level that would never cause them to bow down.
Braum also showed great effort. Although even the temporary Great Shield named Hynd had a different command, if this was a battlefield and the enemy was not Ronan but an unspecified number of other enemy soldiers, he would have saved the lives of all members.
“Wow, you are so too. “No matter how much I call it an Auror, where can I find something like that?”
【It’s okay, kid. It’s not that you’re weak, it’s that that devil is strange.】
Asher wiped his mouth and cried. The voice of the Winter Witch came from the Vajra in his pocket. Ronan, suddenly feverish, pulled out her sword.
“What’s wrong?”
Paaaa…! A band of scarlet light emerged from the sword’s body and enveloped Asher’s body. The gap between the two narrowed. When he closed his eyes and opened them, Asher’s face turned pale at the sight of Ronan approaching him.
“Hey! “Save me!”
“I don’t want to hear that from you, man. “To say that something is too much means that something like that is too much.”
Ronan grabbed Asel’s head with both hands and turned him toward the training ground. Ice thorns larger than most buildings were growing here and there. The cold air seeping out was lowering the temperature of the entire training ground. It was the same ice that the Winter Witch used to handle.
“Why are you talking about 15 things like that without changing your expression? too bad? Apologize to me and the other wizards, man. “I’m sorry for being born a genius.”
【If I were to be specific, his expression changed.】
“Mister, please be quiet. “She said let’s see if this is real.”
Ronan pulled Asher’s cheeks to either side, ignoring the Winter Witch. The soft cheeks stretched out.
“Ha, Hadima! “I took care of it!”
“What’s the difference between the telekinesis you’ve been using since you were stealing goblin panties and my auror? ok? Even I can only pull.”
Asher stirred, but Ronan did not let him go easily. Asher’s screams got louder as he spun the pinched ball in different directions.
“Ugh! “Let go!”
“What a shameful bastard. “Should I just tear it up like this?”
Of course, in the meantime, the corners of Ronan’s mouth turned up as if something would catch his ear. She was indeed a talent who had received an offer from Lorhorn. It seemed that if this bastard could break through the star’s protection, he could be made to fight the giants right away. Ronan smiled bitterly as he suddenly remembered the faces of powerful people who had disappeared from his past life.
‘That’s the most important thing.’
I had to figure out the law of destruction somehow. Or maybe I become strong enough to tear down all those giants and kill them. Ronan took his hand off Asher’s cheek and turned his back. In order to catch up on the progress I had missed while participating in the Sword Festival, I felt like I needed to study in advance.
“I have some good news for those of you who worked hard. “Only the principal and I know, so I’m telling you specifically.”
“good news?”
“okay. Navardose will participate in the entrance ceremony held in six days. Parent observation. “If you burn me to death for bringing evil to his son, please give the bone powder to my sister.”
Silence fell. It took me a while to understand because he spoke in a flat tone, as if he was telling me what I ate yesterday. Clink! The wine glass fell from Ophelia’s hand. Marja, barely able to regain her composure, opened her mouth.
“···What is coming?”
“Red Dragon Navardose. Even if you find out, nothing will change, so just know. I’m going.”
With those last words, Ronan left the club area. He was almost up the stairs when he heard a loud screaming sound behind him. At least it didn’t seem like he was screaming out of excitement.
****
Time passed quickly. Thanks to the delay in receiving the letter from Major Nemea, Ronan was able to focus on his life at the academy for the first time in a long time.
What he felt while taking classes for the first time in a while was that there was nothing easier than studying. Ronan, who was reading a herbalism textbook while stroking Sita, muttered.
“I just want to keep living like this…”
If it weren’t for the fucking giants, he would have actually done that. He would have graduated from the academy, gotten a decent job, married someone he loved, and started a decent family. Raising two children who resemble each other.
He couldn’t understand those who were upset because they didn’t like this kind of peace. If you have a yearning for a rough life, you will probably come to your senses if you go on a three-day field trip to the southern battlefield where the civil war is raging. Suddenly his eyes fell on the calendar.
‘It’s finally tomorrow.’
Above the number 13, a picture symbolizing fire was roughly drawn. Entrance ceremony. And it was the day when the Navarre dje came.
Kratyr, after consulting with Lorhon, eventually decided to inform the emperor of Navardose’s visit. However, since he was only coming for personal business, he agreed to keep the public as low as possible.
‘I don’t know if that will hide it.’
Of course, that was possible when Navardose came as a polymorph. He was known to be the largest of all dragons, so there was no answer if he showed up in his true form. Ronan was in the middle of organizing his notes. Suddenly, the hair on his entire body stood up at once.
“what···!”
“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
My instincts were screaming. Sita woke up from her sleep and looked at the window and cursed. At that time, something translucent and thin like a wave came into view quickly rushing from outside the window. Ronan drew his sword and swung it in a movement that could be said to be reflexive. Sgak! The wave that was about to hit me split and passed behind my back.
“Damn, what?”
I don’t know the details, but judging from the sword cuts, it seemed like some kind of magic. Ronan suddenly noticed that he could not hear Sita’s yelping. He lowered his head and shouted in confusion.
“Sita? “Hey, come to your senses!”
Sita was frozen in the same posture she had been in. It was as if she had turned to stone, not even blinking or breathing.
Only the very, very slow beating sound of her heart and the warmth that did not disappear were the only things that showed that Sita was not dead. Suddenly, Ronan noticed that all the sounds coming from inside and outside the dormitory had stopped.
“Nonsense.”
Ronan hurriedly opened the window and stuck his head out. All the students walking around the campus were as frozen as Sita. On the street where the wind was no longer blowing, even the street trees stood still, as if they had been swaying.
My head was confused. I couldn’t figure out what was happening all of a sudden. Just then, footsteps were heard from far away. As I narrowed my eyes and concentrated, I saw someone walking in the middle of the plaza. Ronan grabbed the hilt of her sword.
‘That bastard.’
Ronan instinctively realized that it was the caster who had cast this spell. It would have been a wizard as powerful as Kratir or stronger than him to cast such a spell throughout Phileon, but that didn’t really matter.
“wait.”
Ronan jumped out of the window. The sound of the soles of his shoes hitting the stone floor echoed in the silence. His mana-enhanced thighs swelled. He had set the main plaza as his target and was running, narrowing the distance by 10 meters with each step. Suddenly the world turned black.
“what?”
The hair on my entire body stood up once again. The moonlight that illuminated the road disappeared in an instant. Ronan suddenly stopped and raised his head. Where the celestial bodies in the night sky should shine, there was complete darkness.
‘Am I dreaming now?’
There was darkness everywhere I looked. It was the same even if I turned my head like I was doing gymnastics. Ronan, who knew that this was a new magic cast by the monster, was about to fire his sword energy. Suddenly the darkness cleared and stagnant moonlight poured down on my face. At the same time, Ronan, seeing the edge of darkness, sucked in a breath.
“That’s…!”
It was the outline of a wing. The bat-like wing covered more than half of Phileon with just one wing. As I moved my gaze along the wings to the right, I saw a tail this time. The tail that was still being dragged from behind the night sky looked like a whip to punish a divine being. He was staring at the outline of a shadow, dumbfounded. Pot! In an instant, the dark shape disappeared and the vast night sky appeared.
“What the fuck?”
Ronan cursed. It literally happened in the blink of an eye. No matter how much I looked around, I couldn’t find anything that was flying in the sky just moments ago.
‘It’s a dream. It’s clear.’
Ronan remained standing even after the thing disappeared. His head was not working well, perhaps because too many things were happening at once. How long has it been? From the direction of the plaza where he was heading, he began to hear the sound of a man and woman talking.
“The entrance ceremony is tomorrow, why did you come today?”
“You ask that knowing how mortals will treat me? “It’s obvious that I won’t be able to drink water properly because of the burden, but I need to talk to my son before that.”
The surroundings were quiet so I could hear it even if I wasn’t listening. Ronan frowned at her. Her female voice was unfamiliar, but her male voice was familiar.
He walked away, hiding his presence as much as possible. Itargand, polymorphed into a human, and a woman covered in robes were having a conversation. The woman raised her arm and touched Itar Gand’s cheek.
“Anyway, this is really amazing. “Maybe you’ve finished thinking about learning from humans?”
“Well… it just happened to be like that.”
The arrogant Itargand was at a loss. The woman’s face illuminated by her moonlight was indescribably beautiful. Her hair, flowing beneath her hood, was the color of a blazing red fire. The woman, who had been stroking Itar Gand’s head on her tiptoes, pressed her lips to his.
“It’s also amazing. “Come here.”
“Oh, mother, it would be troublesome to act like this in front of mortals…!”
“What if I can’t see or hear everything? “Come on, come on.”
Judging by his movements, it seemed like he was trying to kiss me on the cheek. Ittar Gand desperately waved his arms and expressed his refusal. For a moment, the woman’s face stiffened as if she was shocked.
“name. you···.”
“Well, mother… it’s not that…”
Itargand comforted her with a regretful expression. But she turned her head away as if the woman had already been hurt enough. After dabbing her saliva around her eyes, she started crying.
“That’s too much. How long has it been since you became independent from Rare that you are now berating her mother? “Huh… huh…”
“So, Soja was wrong. Do not cry. yes?”
Ronan was watching the scene with bated breath. It wasn’t difficult for her to guess the woman’s identity. Who else would Itar Gand call her mother?
I just couldn’t believe that this was reality and not a dream. It was so different from what I thought. Ronan took a deep breath and slowly stepped back.
‘Let’s go home quietly.’
I was just going to pretend I didn’t see anything. Judging from the conversation, it seemed like the magic that seemed to stop time wasn’t used with malicious intent, so it would be released soon. Okay, I should just go back and sleep. He was just taking a step back.
“Wow, that’s really sad. “How did I raise you?”
She turned her head and sniffled, and Ronan’s eyes accidentally met. For a moment, Ronan’s heart sank to her navel. He made a decision with superhuman speed and stopped moving. Her acting was so brilliant that anyone would have mistaken her for a stuffed animal or a stone statue, but she had already seen Ronan move.
“···you. “Aren’t you under a spell?”
“yes?! “Mom, what is that…!”
Itargand was astonished after hearing the woman’s words. Until then, Ronan had been desperately implying that he was a statue. A woman slowly approached and stopped in front of Ronan. A voice with a completely different feel from before came out from between her open mouth.
【Hello.】
“······hello. Mr. Navardose.”
Ronan closed his eyes tightly and opened his mouth. Navardose’s face hardened fiercely after confirming that the magic did not work. Itargand’s horrified cry rang out in the silence.
