Chapter : 147
Chapter 15: The Shooter of the Cursed Arrow and the Seer Priestess
After parting ways with Sio, Mirea quickly changed clothes, gathered her weapons, and returned to where Laked was. Finding Laked’s location was not difficult—she just had to follow the line of evacuating young dragons.
Mirea held one sword in each hand: her original sword and the one she had received from Aris. Since Aris’s sword was a bastard sword, its blade was longer and heavier than Mirea’s usual sword. But that didn’t pose a problem. Mirea was skilled enough to handle any type of sword, and there was no rule that twin swords had to be identical. Different lengths could be used in different ways to attack.
She flexed her hand around Aris’s sword. According to Aris, Mirea’s sword aura was similar to his own. Since the probability of this happening was extremely low, Mirea had never actually seen it happen, so she found it fascinating. The leather wrapped around the hilt fit Aris’s hand, giving her a somewhat unfamiliar feeling.
“Lord Laked!”
Laked had taken off her long overcoat that reached the floor and was now dressed simply in her inner garments. Eunhyun held a sword that seemed to belong to her and was supporting Jin. Jin also held the hilt of his axe, but he didn’t seem to have the energy to swing it.
The four of them stepped out and looked up at the monsters still gliding in the sky, not yet attacking.
“Why haven’t they attacked yet?”
“They don’t seem intelligent, but they appear to be following Rauno’s orders. Maybe they’re waiting for instructions.”
Laked gave orders to the others.
“Your goal is to get out of here safely. Forget the idea of fighting all of them.”
“And you, Laked?”
“I have to protect this sanctuary. If the dragons’ embryos fall into their hands, that would be a disaster.”
“Alone, it’s impossible!”
Despite Mirea’s objection, Laked shook her head.
“I am an elder. Even if it’s impossible alone, protecting this place is my duty.”
“That’s basically suicide.”
“If I give up, the dragons will end with this generation!”
Laked’s expression showed an uncharacteristic anxiety. Mirea gripped her sword tightly and said,
“I’ll stay.”
“Are you sane? Have you forgotten you’re supposed to go to Aris?”
“Dragons are part of this world too. Saving them is only natural.”
“You’re mistaken about something…”
Laked licked her parched lips and continued.
“Have you forgotten why humans created dragons? Dragons were born to protect humans, to protect this world from monsters. Protecting this world and humans is our duty. If you intervene, it will be putting the cart before the horse.”
Grumbling, Laked waved her hand at Mirea in a dismissive manner.
“If you really want to help, assist with the evacuation of the other young dragons. Escape with them.”
At that moment, a mechanical sound came from Mirea’s pocket, followed by Sio’s voice.
― Excuse me, Lord Laked. May I say something?
It seemed the communicator that Mirea had taken along with her sword was still on. Sio, who had been listening to the conversation, spoke with a slightly nervous tone.
― You said it’s putting the cart before the horse, but Raswalen considers protecting all life within Rashuon as the primary goal. I believe dragons are included in that. So please allow us to assist as much as we can.
“Fools.”
― And, Lord Laked, haven’t you seen these monsters before? We have fought them once, so wouldn’t our help be useful?
Laked hesitated briefly, then reluctantly nodded.
“Do as you wish. They weren’t obedient before, so I doubt they will be now.”
Laked quickly gave instructions.
“Mirea, block the monsters at the hallway leading to the embryos’ room. Sio, cover our blind spots from your position. I’ll protect the evacuating dragons. Eunhyun and Jin, guard the dragons while escaping. Jin, you can’t fight in your condition. I’ll tolerate Mirea and Sio going wild, but you, don’t talk back. There’s a warp gate leading to another hidden sanctuary for the escape route, but it has a limited active time. There are five warp gates, each lasting thirty seconds.”
Swallowing nervously, Laked continued while assessing the situation.
“There are roughly a hundred here, so split them twenty per gate. To extend gate activation, constant mana is required, but no one here has enough. The dragons are still young and inexperienced with mana. Evacuate the youngest first, and if they can’t pass through the gates in time, follow the underground waterway beneath the sanctuary. That will be a safe route.”
Then, with a serious look, she added to Eunhyun:
“Ensure the evacuating young dragons remain safe. Understood?”
Eunhyun nodded tensely. Supported by her, Jin said grimly,
“Good luck, everyone.”
Eunhyun added,
“Once this is over, we’ll meet again.”
Mirea nodded.
“Yes, let’s save Aris together. It’s a promise.”
Eunhyun gave a faint smile at that.
As they began helping the dragons evacuate, someone in the sky began shouting through a megaphone.
“Ah, ah! Hello~ Can everyone hear me?”
Hearing the familiar voice, Mirea gritted her teeth. It was Manisha, the golden-winged Derkaid who had fought Sephiros. She hovered in the very center of the circling monsters, flapping her wings, waving toward the ground.
“Some of you know me, right? Nice to see you again. It took some time, but we managed to trace the coordinates of the warp gates you rats escaped through. Oh, you probably already know, seeing I’m here.”
Laked clicked her tongue. If Sephiros had handled things properly, there would have been only faint traces of folded space, yet this was Derkaid. She had tracked them down in less than two days, faster than expected.
“So, I was excited to catch you… but oh my! The place you ran to happens to be the dragon sanctuary we’ve been desperately searching for!”
She laughed and continued,
“We were running low on magic stones, but now we have a chance to get a large number of dragon cores. Can’t say no to that.”
Laked’s face paled, then hardened with anger.
“So you didn’t just come for us.”
Now, the dragons being evacuated were in danger. Manisha would extract their cores alive, just like the dragon’s skeleton’s owner they had seen in Timon.
Moreover, not all dragons here had hatched. The embryos’ cores were immature, but as long as the embryos were raised, they could easily become full dragon cores. None could be taken.
Manisha spoke with a greedy expression:
“Just know this: we have no regrets for you.”
With that, the monsters began descending.
“Move quickly if you understood me!”
At Laked’s command, Eunhyun and Jin began running with the young dragons. Laked created a massive barrier around the sanctuary to protect them. She didn’t expect it to last long with Manisha present, but buying time was important. The monsters chased the dragons but were blocked by the barrier and prowled around it. Mirea adjusted her grip on her swords, tracking their movements.
“They’re not human, not human. They’ve crossed a point of no return… Damn it! How can anyone cut them down and remain unfazed?!”
Mirea, scolding herself, cursed repeatedly. Her palms were soaked with sweat.
“Alright, even if I don’t do it… someone has to. It can’t be postponed.”
Wiping her sweat on her sleeve, she pretended to be calm and contacted Sio.
“Senpai, how many of those monsters do you think there are?”
― Around fifty, I’d guess.
Sio replied in a somewhat formal tone.
“That’s fewer than I expected. If the three of us take seventeen each, it’s similar to yesterday?”
― …I sometimes wonder where your reckless optimism comes from.
“Why? You lack confidence? Then I’ll take twenty-five, you take ten, and the remaining fifteen, Laked will handle, right?”
Sio chuckled. Even though the number was smaller than the last attack, there were still only three of them besides Eunhyun. The situation was still unfavorable. But this bravado was Mirea’s way of easing her tension.
Following Laked’s instructions, Mirea headed toward the embryos’ room. Running down the corridor, she kept glancing at the sky to monitor the situation. Outside, things were not looking good. The monsters, following Manisha’s orders, released magic, slowly breaking down the barrier.
