Chapter 47
It was the fruit of her experience from her previous life.
The skills she had honed over countless battles were something that couldn’t be gained by the power of the Pendragon alone.
“Argh!”
The wolf howled, unable to contain its frustration.
It kept trying to attack Maya, but every attempt ended in vain as she moved just before each blow could land.
Why can’t I land a single scratch on this tiny human?
The wolf grew more and more agitated.
Its movements doubled in speed.
Finally, the wolf’s front paw grazed Maya’s body. With a ripping sound, her dress was shredded.
Her right wrist and shoulder were torn as well.
“Ah…”
That was a serious wound.
Maya clenched her teeth. The sudden surge of pain made her vision blur.
“Hey! If you pass out now, you’re in big trouble!”
Pendragon’s panicked voice emphasized just how serious the injury was.
For an ordinary person, it would’ve been fatal. The only reason Maya was still alive was because she was Maya.
“…Maya!”
Tristan called out urgently and caught her collapsing body, lifting her onto the wyvern.
“Ah… Tristan. It’s not that bad.”
Even in her hazy state, she easily recognized him.
She barely held on to consciousness, but she wasn’t sure how much longer she could keep it up.
‘Ah… Why are human bodies so fragile?’
Just one blow from a monster could throw her to the brink of death.
Tristan cupped Maya’s cheeks in both hands and whispered in a low voice.
“Don’t lose consciousness.”
The urgency in his tone was unlike him. It was because Maya wasn’t acting like her usual self.
Placing a hand on her forehead, Tristan poured out his strength. He closed his eyes tightly and focused.
‘I’ve never pushed the power of House Beaiden this far before…’
But that’s how desperate he was.
A black light enveloped Maya’s body.
Even Tristan wasn’t sure if it would work.
“…Ah.”
Her nearly closed eyes slowly opened.
Her breathing became steadier.
Maya blinked in confusion.
Twitch. The sensation returned to her fingers, which had just been numb.
The strength returned to her body, which had felt split in half.
“As expected of a Beaiden!”
The white dragon’s loud voice echoed with joy.
‘That was definitely a fatal wound…’
Maya still couldn’t believe what had just happened.
A wound that had nearly claimed her life had healed in an instant.
It was a power just as extraordinary as Pendragon’s.
“…Is this really possible?”
“I would’ve made it possible, even if it wasn’t.”
Tristan muttered through clenched teeth and held Maya tightly in his arms.
Pressed against his chest, she could clearly hear the frantic pounding of his heart through the fabric.
“That attack was truly dangerous.”
The tremble in his voice conveyed his sincerity. Maya felt sorry.
‘I didn’t mean to make him worry.’
She whispered in a voice as small as an ant’s.
“…I was trying to be careful. I’m sorry.”
“You did nothing wrong. I should’ve healed you better.”
But Tristan hadn’t done anything wrong.
“That’s not true.”
Maya quickly corrected him, but he didn’t accept it.
“I’ll be more cautious from now on.”
Maya thought of a better solution for both of them.
“Then I’ll fight even harder and bring that wolf down quickly. Once it’s gone, we won’t have to worry like this anymore.”
Her bright, innocent smile brought a faint, oddly out-of-place smile to Tristan’s lips.
‘A normal person would say they’d be more careful…’
But Tristan liked this part of Maya.
“All right, then. Let’s get back to the fight.”
“Yes.”
It had only taken about a minute to heal.
Maya looked down at the wolf wreaking havoc below, rampaging through the training ground trying to find her.
“Where’s Seren Baker?”
“I left her at the entrance of the training ground.”
As expected of a royal knight’s training ground, the space was massive.
Big enough to fit three large mansions side by side.
That size was one of the reasons they’d brought the wolf here.
‘It’s far from the entrance. As long as I steer the wolf away from that area during the fight, it should be okay.’
Maya nodded.
“I’ll stay down there, so you should fight from the wyvern. It’ll be safer.”
“Okay, Tristan.”
Maya decided to take his advice.
The more she used Pendragon’s power, the stronger she became—but even with her awakening, she wasn’t as strong as she had been right before she died.
“Then I’m off.”
Just in case, Maya dropped Tristan off next to Seren, then mounted the wyvern and circled the wolf.
“Kriiing.”
“You think I should be more careful too? Were you worried?”
The wyvern clamped its mouth shut suddenly.
So it really had been worried.
“I’ll be more careful. With your help, I think I can do even better.”
That encouragement seemed to ignite something in the wyvern. Maybe it liked hearing that.
Maya and the wyvern moved in perfect sync, dodging every attack from the wolf.
The wolf was stunned again.
‘Isn’t this the one who was about to die just a moment ago?’
How is she moving like this now?
She dodged every strike, making attacks pointless.
And when there was an opening, she struck precisely, making defense meaningless too.
‘What is this human?’
The wolf felt a creeping fear toward Maya’s overwhelming skill.
‘Aren’t dragons supposed to be asleep?’
Back when he had served the Demon King, he’d witnessed such fear once before.
The two dragons who defeated the strongest Demon King in the world.
The moment the Demon King spoke of his plans for the future and warned them to flee if needed… the white dragon, Pendragon, had attacked.
And with tears in his eyes, the wolf had fled to survive and fulfill those future plans.
Yes. That white Pendragon—his greatest enemy—looked just like this.
“Are you a descendant of Pendragon?”
The wolf muttered in a low voice.
He suddenly stopped attacking.
Maya frowned.
The shift in the wolf’s energy was jarring.
“And if I am?”
There was no longer any will to fight in the wolf. It was as if it had given up.
That must be a mistake.
“And if I am…?”
The wolf began to say something, then stopped.
“You ignorant humans wouldn’t understand.”
“But aren’t you losing to this ignorant human? And quite thoroughly at that.”
As soon as Maya finished speaking, she launched herself at the wolf again.
You must never let your guard down in battle. The enemy likely knew that too.
She thought it would retaliate.
But the wolf simply took the blow head-on, not resisting at all.
Thud. Its body slumped to the side.
‘…What?’
It was completely different from when it had been screaming over the white snake’s death or charging at her in a rage.
Why?
The only thing that had changed was Maya revealing that she was a descendant of Pendragon.
‘But knowing that should have stoked revenge, shouldn’t it?’
She was the descendant of the one who killed their Demon King.
The unease wouldn’t go away. Maya furrowed her brows.
What am I missing?
“Oh, what’s that?”
Pendragon pointed to something that had fallen in front of Maya.
“Looks like it came from the monster.”
Maya crouched down. In the grass lay a red gemstone she had never seen before.
‘Was there something like this when we defeated the white snake?’
She tried to remember. They had brought the corpse back, but she wasn’t certain.
She’d have to speak with Kendrick, who had handled the body afterward.
Still frowning, Maya picked up the round gemstone.
“Maya!”
Tristan ran over as soon as he saw the wolf collapse. Seren followed behind him.
“We need to hide you immediately.”
He lifted Maya onto the wyvern first.
Then, as he moved to help Seren, she shook her head.
“I’ll stay here.”
Her words made Maya pause. What did she mean by that?
Maya climbed back down from the wyvern and walked up to Seren.
“Why? You must be shaken.”
“Don’t you want what I just saw to be kept secret? Then at least one witness should remain.”
Seren still had many questions for Maya.
From a distance, she hadn’t seen Maya clearly—but the result had been obvious.
Her swordsmanship far surpassed the winners of past martial tournaments or even the commanding knights who ended them with a flourish.
She had heard the Emperor inquire about Pendragon’s awakening.
‘Now I understand why they wanted to keep it hidden.’
