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‘Magic is convenient.’
It was quite convenient to be able to start a fire by snapping your fingers.
When I go back, I plan to ask Kanna to teach me various magic.
“Kurur······.”
“It’s okay. I’m just sleeping.”
I reassured Bbung-Bbung, who was patting Vivian. Vivian was sleeping soundly, snoring.
‘I guess the flight was tiring.’
After controlling the dragon all day, it was understandable that he would be tired. He had told me to tell him when he was tired, but he held it in until the very end and then collapsed like that. He was truly stupid.
At that moment, Vivian scratched her stomach coolly. Her clothes rolled up, and our eyes met. I clicked my tongue, took out a cloth, and rolled it up. I placed Vivian, who had become a pupa, in a suitable place on the bungbungi. Then, the shell moved and changed so that she could lie down.
‘You’re surprisingly talented at driving.’
At first, I was a little worried when I let BbungBbung drive. I was prepared to let it fall off in the middle, but its driving skills were better than I expected. Of course, it was no different from BbungBbung’s autonomous driving.
He took out a glass, filled it with alcohol, and cast an ice spell. Unlike Kanna’s, it was just a blunt block of ice. He chewed it roughly with his teeth and sipped the alcohol. He was sober, so it was just a show.
“Are you really planning to go to Gregtarkan?”
BbungBbung asked in a low, sobbing voice.
“Your name was Gregtarkan.”
It was a better name than I thought.
“Didn’t you say you were friends with him?”
“That’s right.”
Because the enemy of my enemy is my friend.
At that moment, the smell of garlic grew stronger. I turned my head and saw BbungBbung sticking his snout in. Its slitted eyes grew even wider.
“He is a fearsome being even among dragons. Tell me clearly, human. Are you friends with him?”
The dragon glared at BbungBbung, expressing its presence as a dragon. It wasn’t particularly threatening.
‘As expected, his reputation is not that good even among dragons.’
Well, that bastard’s fucking temper was different.
“That’s right.”
I answered, watching the sparks explode with a “bang!”
‘maybe.’
Memories of that guy naturally came to mind.
It was at the time when he was very popular, having run away after hitting the back of the head of the management office very coolly.
‘If it weren’t for him, I would have died.’
The memory was vivid.
***
‘···Tough guys.’
Phew-. I muttered curses while spitting out saliva that was a good mix of phlegm and blood. My heart felt like it was going to burst because I was out of breath.
The forest was so damn humid that the air was heavy. The breath in my lungs felt unpleasant.
It was quite fitting that the royal knights were put into a forest with demons and escaped.
Crossing the border was harder than I thought, but I was able to do it with the help of the guys who helped me smuggle. Of course, as expected, I almost got hit in the back of the head, but this time I hit first.
‘Even offering a bounty? – You’ve really got a grudge.’
He leaned against the damp tree and chuckled.
Revenge was not as refreshing as I thought. It was empty and dull. As my mind focused on revenge began to relax, a deep loneliness rose up.
What caught me was a joke Wayne made at the bar to empty his pockets.
I promised to live a long life until the end, and set my next goal as survival. This goal that I had set for myself was harder and more difficult than I thought.
The empire, realizing too late that they had been taken advantage of by a piece of shit, put up a bounty.
“It’s around here. Be careful. This is no ordinary guy.”
All sorts of guys were chasing me. I held my breath and shook my hands at the harsh voice. My head was spinning as the danger came again.
‘Good.’
He raised the corners of his mouth as he pulled back the sharp sword. He was actually happy about this situation. When he killed someone to survive, he didn’t have any distracting thoughts.
A thud. A small footstep was heard. The footsteps were not heavy, and the soles were thick. They were lightly armed. There were four of them. They were experienced enough to form a large formation.
The dampness of the forest made my whole body tingle with an irritating heat. I took a deep breath through my nose. The smell of hell mixed with sweat, mud, and blood took over my mind.
“It’s worth 20 gold. Be careful.”
‘It’s only 20 gold. How ridiculous.’
Still, he had completely destroyed an entire kingdom, and the ransom was lower than expected. It seemed like he hadn’t come to his senses yet even after being treated like that.
Sniff sniff. I heard a small breathing sound. It seemed like there was a guy with a good nose. I was already covered in mud.
A thud. The sound of footsteps getting closer. I held my breath and pressed my body closer to the tree. It was dark because there was no sunlight, but they hadn’t turned on the lights. They seemed to have good night vision.
Of course, I would be brighter.
I reached out and covered the mouth of the one passing by. For a split second, the man tried to resist, but my sword had already stabbed his neck. He had wrapped a leather belt around his neck that had been oiled and lined, but it wasn’t enough.
Hot blood soaked my hand as I rode the sword. In the midst of the humidity, the guy’s last breath tickled my cheek. A sour and disgusting smell tormented my nose.
It’ll be over soon. I whispered, looking at the guy’s eyes that were wide as if they were going to burst. At that moment, the guy started wriggling his hands.
Beep-. It was a more vicious bastard than I thought. I pushed the sword straight through. The sword stabbed deeply, causing the flesh to fly out, and pierced the bastard who was running towards me.
Kkaaaak! I cursed at the painful screams and guessed where the others were. The screams drowned out the sound of footsteps.
At that moment, I felt a sharp pain in my back. It felt like a stab, but it didn’t seem to completely penetrate my armor.
I braced my back against the sword and swung it with all my might. The sword cut through the flesh and bone, and the blade slashed at the guy’s neck. The disgusting sensation that ran down the sword whispered, “I just killed another person. What good does that do when it’s already hell?”
I looked around carefully, but the last one didn’t show up.
‘We’ve got a tricky guy.’
He pressed hard on the wound, grumbling.
Beep- beep- beep-. As if responding, the sound of a whistle from far away grew closer.
I took out the fallen man’s water bottle and poured it into my mouth to collect my thoughts.
Now my stamina was at its limit. Half a day was the maximum. I had to find another way.
‘If you go a little further, you’ll reach the Red Disaster Zone.’
The Red Calamity Zone. The most famous forbidden place in the Empire was within half a day’s distance.
If you go in there, no one will follow you. The Red Disaster was literally a disaster. It was famous that no one went in there and came out alive.
‘The red plague and the hunting dogs.’
If I had to choose between the two, the hunting dog might have been more likely.
However, being eaten by a dragon was a better excuse than being chased to death by these cheap hunting dogs.
‘The name is Red Disaster, so it looks cool.’
He muttered and threw the dagger. The guy who was approaching under the tree fell down. He grabbed the dagger and hurried his feet.
The hunting dogs had not decreased, but rather increased. I was quite absent-minded, so I was worried that I would pass by without recognizing the bastard’s territory.
That never happened.
Because the vast land that seemed to have no end was all a pile of ashes.
Anyone who looked at it could see that it was a red disaster zone.
‘What a disaster.’
I stepped forward at the sound of the pursuing whistle.
‘Just one person passing by-.’
The vast land was a pile of ashes, so vast that you couldn’t see the end, but you wouldn’t notice a single person passing by. There was no security system in place.
The whistle stopped in the distance. I turned my head to see a large number of hunting dogs standing on the border. They were even increasing in number. Behind them were the imperial knights.
‘There are so many people here.’
I was amazed at the number of people who lined up to fill the border. I was more popular than I thought.
They didn’t cross the border and just stood there. They just swayed around as if they were on a death line. They must have had a hard time because their tops were a mess.
Of course, he was a nobleman compared to me.
Thinking back on the hardships they had caused, I raised both my middle fingers and spread them out at them. I also poured out some harsh curses. A few of them flinched, perhaps provoked by that, but they did not fall.
Suddenly, the guys started to panic and ran away. I laughed out loud at how funny it was. I couldn’t even remember how long it had been since I laughed.
At that moment, a long shadow stretched out below me.
Even though I didn’t turn my head, my hair stood on end.
There was something behind me.
Let’s slowly turn our gaze-.
[How dare you stand before me.]
The red disaster was looking down on me.
It was a very fitting nickname for whoever gave it to him.
***
“Ugh······.”
Vivian’s small groan broke my thoughts. It was already dawning. I hadn’t slept, but I wasn’t tired.
Vivian yawned loudly and stretched out her arms. In a truly honest mood, I picked up the empty bottle.
BbungBbung also stretched out his neck and shook it to match Vivian’s rhythm.
Vivian blinked as our eyes met. Her large blue eyes narrowed and then widened.
“Oh! Hmm? Oh!”
Vivian made a series of strange sounds as if she had just remembered something. Then she suddenly bowed her head deeply.
“Good night!”
It was a truly cheerful morning greeting.
“Please eat.”
I took out the bread I had prepared and held it out. It was coated with meat fat and grilled over a fire, so it was quite edible.
“Wow! Ah! Aaron can use magic too, right? Me too-.”
“First, eat.”
If left alone, she would chatter endlessly, so I put the bread in my mouth. Vivian’s eyes grew wide, and she hesitated for a moment before chewing it thoroughly.
I checked my memory while tearing open the bread. I recalled the length of the bastard’s arms, and things like his wings. Considering his eccentric personality, it couldn’t have ended with a conversation.
“···sorry!”
At that moment, Vivian suddenly lowered her head deeply and shouted. I finished chewing the bread I was chewing because of the loud apology.
“I think I went crazy for a moment! That! That’s what I read in the book! I misunderstood! And what I said after that! I was so embarrassed that I said anything! I’m sorry for telling you to take responsibility!”
Vivian apologized loudly, her neck bloodshot. I sighed as I remembered Vivian’s tattoo.
It wasn’t my fault, since it saved Vivian’s life, but I also didn’t want to leave it as is.
‘I guess I’ll have to find a way to fix it.’
Kanna is Kanna, so if she has time, she will find a way.
“Don’t worry, I’ll take responsibility.”
He nodded and answered.
“······yes?!”
Vivian, who was still apologizing at a 90-degree angle, just raised her head. Looking at those round eyes, I thought I had misheard, so I spoke clearly.
“I said I would take responsibility.”
Vivian opened her eyes, nose, and mouth wide at the same time. She clicked her tongue slightly in honest surprise. She didn’t show it, but it seemed like the tattoo was very bothersome to her.
“······yes.”
Vivian, who had been flustered for a moment, answered with her head bowed.
“Then let’s go.”
He got up, dusting off the breadcrumbs. Vivian nodded without answering. She became strangely obedient.
“······good······!”
Vivian was talking loudly, but the wind drowned out her words.
at that time-.
Kkieeeeeek-!
A sharp sound was heard through the noise of the wind.
‘It’s a wyvern.’
I squinted my eyes and looked ahead.
In the distance, I could see strangely shaped wyverns. They were larger, pure white wyverns. The knights above them were also wearing white armor.
‘They did something to the wyvern too.’
It was faster than the wyverns I had seen before. It was quite threatening, but this one was a dragon.
No matter how much you tune a wyvern, it can’t compare to a dragon.
“······Enemy! It’s the enemy!!”
Vivian shouted belatedly. Her hands holding the shell were trembling. She seemed to be panicking. It seemed like BbungBbung had also heard of it, as the plane began to shake.
I put my hand on the shell Vivian was holding and pushed it sideways. Then the squid hesitated for a moment and then turned around.
The wyverns followed, but were a little slow. However, they were holding out sticks instead of swords. It was the magic tool that turned Flitton Castle into a sea of fire.
“Can you spit something out or something?!”
I asked in a loud voice. If you are brave, isn’t your breath your trademark? If you use him-.
“That··· That’s a little······. I’ll try!”
“Boom boom! Can you spit it out!”
Ignoring Vivian’s answer, he urged BbungBbung.
“I’ve never done it before!”
The shock was conveyed simultaneously with BoongBoong’s confident answer.
Flames were flying from the hind legs, as if the fireball they had thrown had hit them directly. They couldn’t penetrate the hard shell, but BbungBbungi staggered.
‘If a few more are stuck, the child will be in trouble.’
I squinted my eyes and checked the distance between me and them. There were ten wyverns in total, spread out. They were trained for aerial combat.
At that moment, Vivian gently pulled away.
‘Why are you being so picky···.’
He slapped Vivian’s hand away and shouted.
“Try to run away as fast as you can. I’ll take care of it.”
“Huh?! Ah! Yes!!”
Vivian nodded her head vigorously, her face looking bewildered. Her appearance was a little unsettling, but I decided to trust her for now. She had driven well up until now.
As I turned around, a harsh wind blew against my body. They were shooting fireballs from the sticks again.
At that moment, BbungBbung turned diagonally. The fireball that was shot went sideways. Vivian seemed to have come to her senses.
However, because I changed direction, the distance between me and the wyvern narrowed. I put my foot on the protruding part of the shell and turned my right hand.
The sword cut through the flesh and extended. I pulled it out and focused on the one closest to me. If it was a ranged attack, I had one too.
However, since it was not an easy swordsmanship, I had to grit my teeth.
The loud wind, the rough wind hitting my face, the wyvern’s howl, everything was distracting, but I drew my sword anyway.
The helmet of the nearby creature soared into the air. The wyvern, having lost its master, shook violently and fell, tangled with the creature next to it.
‘Okay.’
He laughed, shaking off the pain in his arm. It was the swordsmanship of the master of the sword. When he actually used it, it was quite difficult.
‘The distance is not enough, and the power is not that great.’
If it weren’t for a situation like now, there would be no reason to use it. Sure, it was cool, but the recoil was stronger than I expected. It felt stuffy, like wearing clothes that didn’t fit.
The Wyvern Knights were attached. It seemed like a decision was made because there were long-range strikers on this side.
Of course, it was better for me.
“Keep moving forward!”
“yes!!”
When I shouted loudly, Vivian nodded.
‘An air battle?’
I raised the corners of my mouth and released my hand. I plotted a course while watching the approaching wyverns. When I thought I had hit them, I kicked their shells.
For a moment, I felt no wind or resistance. The surroundings felt quiet, as if I was in zero gravity. There was a distant landscape below, but I focused on the guy riding the wyvern.
In the strange silence, the wyvern approached in an instant. The knight let go of his reins and drew his sword. The aura that radiated brilliantly filled the air.
I turned my sword diagonally to match that. My sword flowed along the aura. It was a move closer to a trick than swordsmanship, but now I could do it even while yawning.
Even if the imperial knight was painted white, he was nothing compared to the master of the sword.
Auror naturally stepped aside. I grabbed the guy’s helmet through the wide-open gap and crushed it. With a small amount of resistance, red blood flowed down my hand. Woof! Only then did the silence break and the sound of a rough wind could be heard.
I grabbed the reins and turned. I had never handled a wyvern before, but I could clearly remember him handling one.
I pulled the reins towards the next guy. The wyvern resisted, but a few blows to the head fixed it.
“You are now a tweet.”
Chirp Chirp cried loudly as if it liked it. Chirp Chirp quickly approached the guy next to him.
When there were about three left, I felt something behind me. I turned my head to see BbungBbung with its mouth wide open.
“I’m hurt!!!”
“You’ve worked hard, Chirp Chirp. You have to live bravely there too!”
I said goodbye to the cute tweet and jumped up.
A huge stream of energy poured down long and long.
I was barely able to get on BbungBbung’s back.
‘It’s powerful, isn’t it?’
When I looked down, I saw the pierced wyverns falling quickly.
“are you okay?!”
“Look ahead.”
“Yes! That’s a relief! I was worried about Aaron, so I urged BbungBbung to hurry up and….”
Vivian kept mumbling something. I let it go in one ear and shook my sword.
‘The wyvern came this quickly?’
Even if he was a Wyvern Knight, there was no way his reaction would be this fast. If that’s the case, then he must have been nearby······.
‘There’s something.’
I squinted my eyes and gauged the distance. It was a distance I could run.
I’ve gotten over it now, but if I were to encounter the Wyvern again, things could get worse.
‘When you go, just ride the red disaster.’
He grabbed Vivian’s shoulder. Vivian, who had been cowering, turned around. He showed him his palm. It was a sign for him to stand up.
Vivian nodded and pulled the shell. The giant wings of the Boongboong spread out and stopped for a moment. It was a flight ability that was hard to compare to the first time.
“You should go back first. Just go the way you came.”
I tapped Vivian on the shoulder and got up. There was no way there would be a problem if we went back the way we came. I had planned the route with that in mind.
“Aaron?!”
Vivian screamed. Her hair was flying wildly in the wind, as if the string had snapped. Her clear blue eyes were filled with worry.
Since I had nothing to say, I saluted and ran back.
A cool breeze caught me.
“······You said you would take responsibility!! Hey!!”
Vivian screamed as she watched Aaron disappear into the thick forest in the distance.
However, Aaron had already disappeared into the forest.
***
“A sudden order to be assigned to the Red Disaster? Isn’t it so strange these days?”
Imperial soldier Hunt grumbled softly as he looked around. He was originally standing guard on the northern border, but he was suddenly dragged into the Red Disaster Zone, so he was full of complaints.
Of course, it ended with just soldiers swearing at each other.
“I heard there was chaos in the capital. A rebellion broke out!”
A guy nicknamed Wangko because of his unusually large nose spoke quietly.
“I heard that too. The capital city collapsed!”
“The king of demons has appeared-.”
The gathered men began to murmur. Although they were Imperial troops, they had served in the South for a long time, so they didn’t really care.
“···Do you believe that?”
Hunt asked sheepishly. There was a moment of silence, and then everyone laughed.
The power of the Empire was something they, the Imperial Army, knew very well. To say that the Empire was in danger was ridiculous.
“Why did you suddenly come to Red Calamity?”
At that moment, an unusually thick voice asked. Was there such a voice? Hunt thought for a moment, but there were so many different types of people mixed together that he couldn’t tell them apart.
This was something everyone was curious about. Everyone’s attention was drawn to Wangko. Wangko was very sociable, so he often interacted with the knights. He was famous for gathering various information.
“I don’t know. I wonder if the knights received some kind of order. They didn’t open their mouths! They didn’t even take off their helmets!”
Wangko answered with a grin. Everyone nodded.
The Imperial Knight originally had some weight to it, but not to that extent. The atmosphere was definitely strange.
“We’ll be fine if they don’t touch us. Is it usually difficult to please a knight?”
Hunt said and pulled out a die. Originally, everyone was supposed to take turns standing guard, but they chose two people to do it.
This was originally a red disaster zone. There was no way that a madman would go through the imperial army and head towards the red disaster. There was no need for everyone to stand up. It was an efficient distribution, so to speak.
“I feel good today!”
Hunt said as he threw the dice. Roll, roll. The dice stopped rolling, and the number was ‘2, 3.’
“Ningiri! You piece of shit! You piece of shit!”
I cursed at the low number that was almost certain.
The others snickered at such a hunt. The others rolled the dice one after another, but there was no number lower than ‘2, 3’.
Then, the last one grabbed the cup. It was the one who had been speaking loudly earlier.
The only one with such a large body was ‘Fatty Cow’ Haxon. Haxon had a very foul personality, befitting his size, and did not socialize with anyone.
The voice wasn’t originally that deep-. I had that thought, but I swallowed it because I had no intention of scratching the student’s neck. The other guys seemed to think the same.
‘It’s over.’
Hunt muttered a curse. Haxon was a thug, and he would surely win even if he lost the dice game. The one who rolled the lowest number after Hunt let out a long sigh.
At that moment, Haxon threw the dice. Knock-knock-. The dice, which had rolled dazzlingly, stopped. The number was-.
‘1, 1? I have really bad luck.’
Even I was surprised at how such a low number came out. What good would it do? He was a fucking loser, so it was clear he would win. No, there was no need to win.
at that time-.
“I got caught.”
Hakson got up and packed his bags. Everyone was slightly shocked at Hakson’s appearance as if he was standing guard.
That student accepts the result! The guy who should have been on guard with Hunter just smiled broadly.
“Then go.”
I don’t know what their intentions are, but-.
‘···This is fucked.’
Hunt covered his face with the huge hand of the scholar who grabbed his shoulder.
How alert must he have been that Hakson didn’t even bring a signal stick, which is the basic alertness.
However, since he could not point him out, Hunt took two signal sticks.
***
‘It’s taking too long.’
In the Cassadic Hall, Monk Ains paced anxiously in front of the tightly closed door.
A day passed after Brighton went in to give Joanna and Johelia their blessing, but they did not come out.
He wanted to see what was going on, but he couldn’t open the door because Brighton had strongly warned him not to. Then Ains looked for Aaron, but Aaron wasn’t at Cassidyck.
‘No more······.’
Ains kept his lips tightly shut and held the doorknob. Even if he was reprimanded, their safety came first.
Rattling.
Ains looked down at his hand as the door opened quietly. It was only after he hit his face against the door that he realized it had opened from the inside.
A tall woman was looking down from beyond the open door.
“······Lady Joanna?”
Ains, who had fallen backwards, spoke gropingly.
Her appearance was clearly Joanna, but there was something different about her. She seemed a little more dignified and majestic. It was as if she had a halo around her.
‘···There really is a halo?!’
In fact, a soft white light was emanating from behind Joanna. Ains opened his mouth, forgetting the situation. What does a halo mean in a classroom?
Behind Joanna, the room was visible. Brighton was sitting in the chair in the center, as quiet as death. He was moving slightly, so it seemed he was alive.
“Joanna has returned as a Knight of the Temple! The Terror of Demons! The Demon Slayer! Joanna! My Sister! Joanna!”
Johelia, who was lying crumpled to one side, let out a cry of emotion.
Gulp.
‘Joanna, are you a knight of the temple again?’
Ains heard the story of the old Joanna from those who were excommunicated from the Temple Knights.
He praised Joanna, saying that no one could match her in capturing demons, and that she was always at the forefront of literally slaughtering demons.
But the Joanna that Ains knows······.
Then Joanna reached out her hand.
“ah!”
It was clear that he was trying to help Ains, who had fallen down after being hit by the door, get up.
‘That Joanna was so kind… Was she perhaps cursed?’
Ains was so touched that he clasped her hand.
It was a natural behavior since he fell down after being hit by the door that Joanna had pushed open, but it was touching because the other person was Joanna.
but-.
“Aaah!!”
Ains jumped at the sharp pain he felt in his hand.
Joanna, her face slightly wrinkled, still held out her hand.
Ains then hurriedly handed over the cake he had prepared.
Joanna took him in her mouth with familiarity.
It was just eating cake, but the halo made the sight look unnecessarily pious.
Ains searched quietly for God.
