< 127. In Search of the Scream (4) >
#127
“Let’s go. “Innocent people are waiting today too.”
“Sure.”
“I will go out first and wait for you.”
The woman with her back turned went out the door. The place where she stayed gave off a faint scent of lilies. Ronan was constantly trying to do something, but the body of the savior who had imprisoned him never relinquished control.
‘Damn, what happened?’
I felt bad because I felt like I was being asked to just watch in silence. The savior walked to the desk and hung the seven-pointed star pendant around his neck.
Sparkling mana was rising like fog from the rugged seven-pointed star. Once again, the lips moved uncontrollably and a low murmur came out.
“…May the stars bless you.”
The savior adjusted his clothes and opened the door. With the sound of creaking hinges, a completely unexpected scene unfolded before my eyes.
‘what···.’
Ronan’s eyes widened. A small village reminiscent of Nimburton was built under the blue sky. Every time the wind blew, the wild flowers in full bloom were lying down and getting up again and again.
The door and the building he came through were all gone. It was a change of location that frequently occurs in the world of dreams and images. Ronan, who was looking around, tilted his head.
‘Was there a fire?’
Contrary to first impressions, it did not seem to be a very peaceful village. Among the buildings, most of which were made of wood, many collapsed or burned down.
Rather than a fire, it felt like I had been attacked by something breathing fire. Residents wearing scorched clothes were walking around busily. At that time, Ronan’s eyes stopped on a certain place. Something strange was happening.
‘That’s…’
As many as a hundred different animals, including water buffalos, horses, and monkeys, were carrying wood and stones. Judging by its translucent body, it was a spirit, a living being made of magical energy.
Small and medium-sized spirits were carrying materials or restoring destroyed houses. The giant spirits that were occasionally seen were doing large-scale tasks, such as digging up the ground or creating a garden out of a pile of dirt.
It didn’t take long to realize that the action was to draw water from a distant river. Ronan, who was looking at the spirits’ civil engineering work, laughed.
‘That’s amazing.’
Since the mana waves felt from the spirits were the same, they were all controlled by one person. Considering that the average spiritist wields two to three spirits at most, this was truly an incredible skill.
The savior walked towards the center of the village. The woman I had talked to earlier was surrounded by residents. Residents in shabby clothes were repeatedly lowering their heads to express their gratitude.
“I thought I was going to freeze to death this winter…! thank you!”
“Wow, you are allowing the river water to reach the front of the village… There is no need to do that…!”
“The land here is fertile, so many people will flock here in the future. “After we complete the reconstruction work, we will begin drawing water from the river in earnest.”
The red-eyed elf woman was controlling the spirits with perfect precision. The mana emanating from her spirits was oozing out of her. The woman made eye contact with her savior and bowed her head politely.
“Savior.”
“Your skills have improved again, Elthea. “I think they can all become mid-level spirits.”
“Thanks to our savior. “The magic book you compiled yourself was very helpful.”
“is it. How does it compare to the first book?”
“Of course Lerant was a great book, but I think what you wrote this time is even better. By the way, have you decided on a title?”
The woman took out a book from inside her robe. Ronan’s eyebrows were crumpled like tissue paper.
The book, with its cover and inside pages both black, was so familiar to the eye that it made me sick. Words that drove a wedge flowed out from between the lips of the savior who moved again.
“Vajra.”
“That’s a good name. “I will work harder.”
“okay. Please try a little harder.”
The woman, who bowed silently again, concentrated on her elemental magic. Ronan, who was watching the scene from inside her eye sockets, was in shock and could not say anything.
‘f*ck, how long ago is that?’
The fact that Vajra was written by this savior was surprising, but what was even more shocking was the current time period. Aire, the librarian of the Dawn Magic Tower, guessed that Vajra was used at least 2,000 years ago.
It was unbelievable. The scenery you are seeing now is from more than a thousand years ago.
Ronan stood in place, forgetting to resist for a moment. Either way, the savior moved on as he pleased. Every time I stepped foot, residents stopped by.
“Savior. Thank you very much. “I never thought you would come to our village too…”
“Hehehe… A monster, a monster burned the entire village and ate the people.”
“Rest assured. “Because a very talented warrior went to slay the monster.”
The savior reached out and stroked the crying child’s head. I was in the middle of walking around the village with the residents.
I saw a large man sitting at the corner of the village. The man’s back, as wide as a stingray, had a large tattoo of the seven-pointed star, the symbol of Nebula Clage.
“Hey! Oh, it hurts!”
“Hold on a little. Because connecting is what hurts the most.”
A dwarf farmer was lying in front of him, screaming. The giant was holding his leg and trying hard to put something on it.
Ronan realized that the farmer’s right leg had been cut off below the knee. The giant shouted.
“Okay, connect. “Hmph!”
“Kwaaaa!!”
A long scream rang out. Her wife and children, who were watching, covered her mouth. Eventually, the farmer came to his senses and raised his head.
“Ugh…huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu…?”
“Hahaha, you did well. Now stand up.”
A leg made of metal was attached underneath the cut surface of the leg. I felt that the sense I had lost had returned. The farmer carefully got up. He took a careful step forward and let out an intense exclamation.
“Ooh, it’s moving…! “I’m walking!”
“Hahaha! Of course I have to walk. “This is a prosthetic leg I made, not anyone else!”
The man let out a hearty laugh. The farmer ran over with joy and hugged his wife and child. It was a warm scenery. The savior approached with great strides and spoke to the giant.
“You worked hard. “You always look good with your hands.”
“Ah, are you here?”
The giant stood up. It was about 2 meters tall and looked closer to a beast than a human. He continued speaking with his hands in his pockets.
“It’s all thanks to the skills you taught me. “How on earth do you know that?”
“It’s no big deal. “I just had a little more experience than others.”
“If I ask you what your experience was, you won’t answer this time either, right?”
The savior shook his head in silence. The man who had been twitching the corners of his mouth eventually burst into laughter.
“Haha, after all, you are the strangest mortal I have ever seen.”
“I don’t want to hear that from a dragon who makes prosthetics for mortals. Alibrihe.”
‘Alibrihe…?’
Ronan’s eyes widened after hearing the man’s name. He was a person I had heard about from Terranil and Yuria some time ago. A master at making prosthetic hands and legs.
I thought I would like to meet him someday because he was a blacksmith with great skills, but I never thought I would see him face to face like this. By the way, what is a dragon? Just as various questions were raising their heads, a voice came from behind.
“Savior. “I killed the nearby demon beasts as you instructed.”
Ronan, who belatedly sensed the presence, was startled. Her powerful energy was piercing my back in a way that was incomparable to that of Elsiana Ali Bryhe.
The savior turned his head. A man with a white robe pulled down to his nose was standing there. The longsword hanging from his waist was soaked in blood.
“There were a lot of bodies, so I only cut off the head of the one that looked like a captain and brought it back.”
Sparkling mana was spreading from the sword body, which was wrapped in a cloud of white light. Drake’s head, bigger than a decent house, was tied to his back. Ali Bryghe admired, touching her chin.
“Oh wow, just the head is this big. “You could call it an honorary dragon.”
“It’s pretty big. “It is presumed that this guy is the one who burned down the surrounding cities and villages.”
“There wasn’t a single drop of blood on your clothes this time either. “As expected, you are amazing.”
The man wearing a robe lowered his head. I don’t know anything else, but I liked his attitude without being arrogant. The savior opened his mouth.
“Good job. ■■.”
“thank you. “Savior.”
“Get some rest. “The reconstruction work is almost finished…”
Ronan frowned. He couldn’t make out the word that was supposed to be the man’s name. It was the moment when the man who had bowed again was about to take a step back. I thought there was a dark shadow, but everything became brighter.
“hmm?”
Everyone present raised their heads at the same time. And at the same time, I took a deep breath. Crimson flames were pouring down like a waterfall from high above.
“what···!”
The flames were powerful enough to cover the entire sky as far as the eye could see. Alibrihe’s face twisted in confusion. Screams erupted from all over the village.
“Ugh! Boo, it’s fire!”
“help me!”
The first to move were the Eldian spirits. They hurriedly threw their bodies and put up a shield, but they could not last even a few seconds and were engulfed in flames and destroyed.
Alibrihe also shot a magically created stream of water into the sky, but it did not help much in extinguishing the fire. Ronan shouted.
‘You idiot. do something!’
Despite the imminent crisis, the so-called savior just stood calmly. The distance from the flames was about fifty steps. Suddenly, the savior raised his right arm and opened his mouth.
“Everyone please calm down.”
For a moment the screaming stopped. At the same time, a fire engulfed the village. Quaaaaa! The torrent of flames that continued pouring down ceased only after engulfing not only the village but also the nearby land.
‘···what?’
Ronan, who had closed his eyes due to the heat, looked up. Nothing happened. He said that no one was killed or injured, and the buildings in the village were intact without a single trace of scorch.
The reason could be found in the sky. A hemispherical curtain shimmering purple was covering the sky over the area.
‘Blessing of the stars…!’
Ronan’s eyes widened as if they were about to pop out. She, like Bajura, looked familiar. However, it was on a different level from the starry protection he had seen so far.
The thickness was incomparably thick, and the radius seemed to be several kilometers. It almost looked similar to Ahayute’s shield.
【What tricks did you use?】
At that time, a magnificent voice rang out from the sky. The sound of wings flapping that had been heard earlier was gradually getting closer.
Whoa! Suddenly, the smoke covering the shield dispersed. Dense shadows fell over people’s faces. The wind from the wings was pushing away the smoke and residual fire. Before long, the culprit who spewed flames appeared.
‘f*ck.’
Ronan twisted his lips. The length from head to tail seemed to be well over seventy meters. The red color covering her body denied the truth of the world just by its color alone.
A red dragon, considered the most prestigious of all dragons, was looking down on the village. Ali Brie, who saw this, scratched her head as if it were annoying.
“Damn it, why did that bastard come here?”
“Do you know each other?”
“okay. Red Death Gargarens. “He’s a guy with a dirty temper, but why did he end up here…”
Alibrihe explained that the dragon was a member of Navardose’s clan. Ronan also knew Navardose well.
She was a great dragon who is still praised as the Mother of Fire, and she was the only strong person to kill a giant during the final battle without dying. The savior said.
“Noble dragon. “Why are you doing this?”
【Give me the man who killed my servant.】
“Servant?”
【okay. A servant who served me for hundreds of years has just passed away. The culprit must be here.】
The moment Ronan heard those words, he looked back at the man covered in robes. Given the circumstances, it seemed clear that the Drake he had cut down was a servant.
“I···”
“Stay still.”
It was a car that the man was about to step forward. The savior who stopped him opened his mouth.
“I’m sorry, but that might be a bit difficult.”
【What does it mean?】
“It is true that we killed him. But that’s because your servants trampled on people’s homes and ate mortals at will. “This time, won’t you admit each other’s mistakes and move on?”
【Funny sound. Do you think that the lives of my servants and those of you insects have the same value?】
“At least it is to me.”
The savior answered without any hesitation. A terrible silence fell. Everyone there was frozen as if they were statues. The red dragon’s sneer echoed across the sky.
【Then it has been decided. You will all turn to ashes and disappear.】
The dragon’s chest began to swell. The flickering flames were preparing to pour down.
At the same time, the savior stretched out his hand and pulled the hilt of the man’s sword. With a smooth sound, a sharp-looking sword body appeared.
“Savior, I…!”
The man tried to say something, but the savior ignored him. Paang! The savior’s body, which had been curled up, shot out like a spring.
【what···!】
The distance narrowed in an instant. There was confusion in the dragon’s eyes. The savior, who rose high enough to face him, swung his sword.
The elegant slash created a white line across the dragon’s horn. It was the moment when he, who had risen to the peak, fell again. Suddenly! The horn, divided into dozens of pieces, scattered like an explosion.
【Khaaaaaaaa!】
A painful scream burst from the dragon’s mouth. Everyone below covered their ears to the voice that shook the heavens and earth. Unable to overcome his pain, the dragon fell and barely regained his balance just before he hit the ground.
“Waaaa!!”
“Yo, the dragon is running away!”
The situation ended in an instant. The moment the savior landed on the floor, cheers erupted. Most people were distracted by the fleeing dragon, but not Ronan.
‘oh my god.’
The sword path drawn by the savior was floating in my mind. Although he could barely follow it with his eyes, he could clearly see it.
The savior’s sword technique was very similar to Nabirose’s sword. A wanderer I met in the jungle once taught me this.
