CH 170

Characters in this chapter:

Sapphiras Perfectio, former 2nd son of the Earl of Aldridge

Percival Belisario, 3rd son of Margrave of Vanderwall on the Eastern Frontier

Adeline, Margravine of Vanderwall, Percival’s mother

Adrian Aeternitas Sternkurst, Crown Prince of Sternkurst

Veritas Perfectio, 1st son of the Earl of Aldridge, Sapphiras’ former older brother 

“Even though that man was small, he had strong ambitions. He was somewhat helpful, but somehow he misunderstood something and decided to steal the heart and become the master of the dragon. That’s why I fed him, who doesn’t know what he’s doing, to it as food. He must feel honoured to be a part of the great dragon he coveted so badly.”

Fargerson-kyou’s unnecessary greed cost him his life. He’s failed with the Second Prince, so he should have stayed quiet.

But where on earth did he get these eggs from? As I recall, Insania Metus was burned up in a cauldron of fire.

“……Are you curious where the dragon came from?”

“Yeah, I’m very curious.”

“Then let me tell you. The Calamity Dragon was burnt in a cauldron of fire, but its heart remained unburnt.”

“Haa? The heart?”

What kind of heart does it have that won’t burn even in a cauldron of fire? That’s outrageous.

“The Calamity Dragon can create an outbreak of magical beasts even with a single scale. The king of any country would be a fool to burn away such a powerful force that can dominate a continent. But our country is different. The heart of the dragon has been waiting underground in our castle for 150 years, waiting to be resurrected.”

“’I see. Just like this……”

Now we know why Sternkurst’s dungeon was filled with magical essence. Just one part of the body can emit a lot of magical essence, but if there’s the heart, it’s no wonder the dungeon became a pool of magical essence.

“In order to revive the Calamity Dragon, I summoned magical beasts and sometimes gave them living blood, but it never got to the point where its heart started to move. However, as soon as your brother accidentally touched the heart, the dragon suddenly began to show signs of resurrection. Magical power was needed to revive the Calamity Dragon. I thought he wouldn’t be much of a pawn, but he came in handy in an unexpected way.”

“You must have gone crazy from soaking up the magical essence of the Calamity Dragon, right? Otherwise, there’s no way you could have come up with something so crazy as to resurrect Insania Metus.”

“You! That’s disrespectful!”

The hot-tempered escort knight put his hand on the hilt of his sword, but Percival pulled out his sword a moment earlier and stepped in front of me.

The escort knight distorts his face in frustration. Hmm. There’s nothing good about it.

I will never forget the people who shed tears when their loved ones were killed by magical beasts. That’s why I have to crush their stupid ambitions once and for all,

Nevertheless, Veritas. They know you’re not much of a magician. No matter how hard he tries to sell himself, the Crown Prince thinks of Veritas as nothing more than a dragon feeder.

I guess Veritas was also vaguely aware of this. So, in order to remain as a magician with the Crown Prince, he kept feeding magical power to the dragon even when he ran out of magical power.

“The dragon, which has gained magical power and regained its form, absorbs the magical essence in this land, and the time of resurrection is finally here. The outbreak of magical beasts that is occurring in various places is a sign of the return of the Black Flame Dragon of Calamity. You guys can hear the heartbeat of this thing too, can’t you?”

It’s absorbing up magical essence?

For a moment, the Forest of Magical Beasts flashed through my mind. No, no way. ……

It’s a good distance from this temple to the Forest of Magical Beasts. But if this dragon is sucking up magical essence, it would explain why the area around here and the Forest of Magical Beasts is quiet.

“……Sapphiras, it’s not a good idea to leave this thing on the surface1like the surface of the earth.”

“Yeah, but, it may be too late.”

The black mass wriggled eerily while emitting an eerie low growl, and a large crack appeared on the surface. An indescribable ominous presence leaked out, and blood-red eyes peered out from the gap.

“Foosh!”

“No, Cait Sith. That’s not something you can handle.”

Cait Sith, who was about to jump out with a threatening voice, was returned to the phantom world. Even for Cait Sith, he can’t be its opponent.

“Wonderful……wonderful……! Come on! My servant, Insania Metus! Let your power be known throughout the continent……!”

“Oi! Idiot! Stop!”

The dragon’s red eyes moved around and turned toward the Crown Prince, who was shouting with his arms outstretched. Just when I thought its big mouth opened, it devoured the magician who was standing next to the Crown Prince. At the same time, the Crown Prince’s right arm was gone from his shoulder as he screamed. Without even chewing, Insania Metus swallows the magician and the Crown Prince’s arms.

……Stupid. Insania Metus would never follow a man. That dragon burns and devours everything on earth while spitting out black flames. That’s all.

Having eaten the magician, it must have absorbed the final magical power needed for hatching. The huge dragon, with its slimy black scales shining, was about to reveal itself.

The altar, unable to withstand the dragon’s sheer size, begins to collapse with a tremor.

“Percival! We can’t stay here any longer, let’s get out!”

As we tried to escape outside by transferring, Percival’s gaze glanced towards the Crown Prince.

Maybe we can just throw that thing away and go? That’s what I thought, but I’m not so cruel as to abandon him while he’s still alive. I picked up the Crown Prince who had lost his arm and was groaning, and the guards who seemed to be completely useless and transferred to the outside of the ruins.

At about the same time, a huge black dragon emerges from underground, spewing up earth and debris.

The black dragon I looked up at looked exactly like the one I knew. I never thought I’d have to face this guy again. There is something deeply moving about it.

Insania Metus completely appeared on the ground, mowed down the surrounding trees with its long tail, and roared into the night sky.

“Ugh……”

I couldn’t stand the loud voice and covered his ears.

The eerie voice echoed through the area and startled birds took off in unison.

“……For now, let’s go inform Vanderwall of the dragon’s resurrection. Now that it’s revived, I don’t know what will happen. Orthus, go back for now.”

When I looked at Orthros while calling out to him, I saw that the caterpillar Veritas had been licked by two changing heads, turning it into a pulp.

“St-stop it……! Shit! Stop screwing around!”

I don’t know what’s going on, but Orthus really likes Veritas. I was actually thinking of leaving him here, but I had no other choice, so I decided to take him with me.

I have a lot of questions I want to ask him. For now, let’s have Vanderwall take care of it.

When we return to Vanderwall, we report to Vanderwall-kyou about the resurrection of Insania Metus.

The Dragon of Calamity, which was supposed to have disappeared from the earth 150 years ago, has reappeared, and as expected, the fierce warriors of the frontier were indeed disturbed.

“We don’t know what will happen, so just in case, please evacuate the territory. In particular, the villages near the Forest of Magical Beasts may need to take certain measures……but it’s just a precaution.”

Insania Metus has only just come back to life. If we defeat it before it spits out black flames, it won’t have much of an impact on the abyss.

“Sapphiras……it can’t be,”

“Yeah, I’m going to go back and take him out, so Percival will stay here just in case.”

“No!”

“!”

Surprised by Percival’s loud voice, my shoulders instinctively jerked.

……Isn’t this the first time Percival has yelled at my face? Also, he has a scary face that I rarely see, which is kind of refreshing.

“Even for Sapphiras, it is impossible to defeat Insania Metus! I will never let you go!”

“Percival is right, Sapphy. Our opponent is a dragon that could destroy the continent. It’s different from dealing with a magical beast.”

The Belisario family surrounds me. It’s not just Madam Adeline. I can see that Vanderwall-kyou and his brothers are sincerely worried about me. It’s a little bit embarrassing, but I’m fine. Last time it was a bit tricky, but this time I have a plan.

Besides, I have the tricorn wand! With this, I have the power of 100 people.

“We can’t just leave Insania Metus as it is. He burns everything with its black flames and devours all living things. If we leave it alone, the continent will become a land of death.”

“……I know, but!”

“’Listen, Percival. Maybe there is no one else on this continent who can slay that dragon but me.”

I think Percival is aware of this. No ordinary magician or swordsman can defeat that. That being said, I guess he doesn’t think I can defeat it alone.

“Remember. The magician who once defeated Insania Metus.”

“Fortis Sinistra…….”

“Yes, he was a magician who could manipulate all kinds of magic without chanting. And I’m a chantless magician too. This can only mean that Fortina, the goddess of fate, is telling me to defeat the Calamity Dragon. You don’t think so, do you?”

In the first place, I’m the person who defeated it. This is the second time, so I’ll do better than before.

“……Even so, why is it Sapphiras?”

Percival’s eyebrows were deeply furrowed and he had a pained expression on his face.

“Percival, I want you to believe in me. I will definitely defeat that guy and come back.”

I have nothing but confidence in my ability to defeat it. Besides, it would be unbearable if the continent we would explore in the future was scorched to the ground.

With those thoughts in mind, I looked into his summer sky-like eyes, and Percival closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh.

“……Sapphiras, this.”

Percival, who took my hand, took something out of the concealment of his jacket and put it on my left ring finger. It reflected a dull light on my ring finger and it was the ring of friendship, which we had retrieved from Veritas.

“I want you to promise me that you will come back to me.”

“Of course!”

“……Don’t do anything reckless.”

“Roger!”

“Sapphiras…….I love you.”

“Heh?”

I found myself in Percival’s arms.

melon: Aww

Btw, author apologises for being late as she(?) had to go away for business trip.