I Married the Dragon I Killed
Chapter 97
Chapter 97
Two men stood at a distance, watching the village.
“So that is Hestia.”
“It is.”
“To think it could change this much in just a few months.”
The larger of the two men expressed his amazement.
The Far East was a place where no one dared to set foot. To see a proper village established on that land, so close to the border, felt surreal.
“Until a few years ago, wasn’t it considered impossible for a new village to take root in this land?”
“It was impossible. The perception of the Far East is just that poor.”
“Then how is this possible?”
“One can only call it sheer resourcefulness. With the full support of the Pascal Company, the declaration of alliance from the Iorga faction, and the inclusion of Halim from the south… it’s nothing short of alchemy, wouldn’t you say?”
“Alchemy… Well, since it’s a place where money congregates, calling it alchemy is quite fitting.”
Transforming such a wasteland into a gold mine was beyond impressive.
“And all of it was achieved under the name of Ferda Valdrova.”
“A dangerous individual. If he continues to expand his influence like this, it will become a problem for our plans.”
“Hmm…”
The man looked down in silence.
Watching his back, the large man made a suggestion.
“How about we show ourselves now?”
“No. That does not align with our plan.”
The answer came back sharp and cold, a product of dispassionate judgment.
“What we need in the first place is Valdrova’s isolation. What would happen if we openly stepped forward and destroyed Hestia?”
“Wouldn’t they lose their focal point?”
“No, they would unite. Just like during the Dragon-Demon War.”
The Dragon-Demon War.
Hearing those words, even the large man’s excitement cooled.
To the demons, no event was more humiliating than that.
“A ‘cause’ is a terrifying thing to humans. They have gathered before under the banner of eradicating evil. Even now, with only remnants left, they are still trying to wipe us out.”
“True.”
“Therefore, we must leave them be. So that their descendants lose their sense of vigilance against the demon race.”
The man murmured as if reciting poetry.
“It is peace that rusts the sword; it is peace that ages the castle walls; and it is peace that blunts the human mind.”
The large man conceded to that logic.
However, unable to quell the unease settling in his chest, he tossed out one more question.
“But if we leave them like this, won’t their power continue to grow?”
“Of course. That is also something we cannot overlook.”
To break it would ruin the grand design; to remain hidden would allow their influence to solidify.
Everything had begun when Ferda Valdrova accepted the engagement.
“So, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to sow a few seeds, would it?”
The man revealed a finger hidden beneath his robe.
His finger was exceptionally slender and pale.
That finger traced a vertical line in the air.
At his gesture, a shimmering, multicolored rift tore open before him.
What emerged from it was a wolf.
—Grrr…
No, they were monsters in the shape of wolves.
One by one, they stepped slowly out of the rift and lined up.
All of them possessed eyes devoid of reason, yet they were submissive. They waited like obedient hounds serving the man in the robe as their master.
The man commanded in a polite tone.
“Sweep them away.”
—Woof! Woof!
The moment they heard the command, the monsters lunged forward.
Beings filled with nothing but the malice to destroy raced toward Hestia.
“Wartime situation! Mobilize all soldiers and alert the adventurers! I repeat. This is a wartime situation! All civil officials, evacuate the residents! All soldiers capable of combat, assemble!”
Isabella, who held authority as commander in times of emergency, shouted.
“The number of approaching enemies?”
“Fifteen!”
“Fifteen, I see…”
Isabella was busy sending out magical transmissions for the mobilization.
In the meantime, Erica kept her mouth shut and looked down at the ground.
‘It’s strange.’
She pulled back mentally to look at the situation from a broader perspective.
‘The sudden appearance of monsters. And fifteen of them appeared at once.’
She considered the recent incidents and the current circumstances. Even while making leaps in logic that might seem forced, she searched for the answer that best fit this crisis.
‘Perhaps…’
Erica looked at Isabella and spoke.
“Bella! Will you be alright without me?”
“Are you not joining the battle?”
“There must be a mastermind behind this monster intrusion. I intend to find them.”
Five different transmissions were constantly pouring into Isabella’s ears.
With a deep scowl and a fierce glare, she replied.
“The children of the Great Iorga-nim are watching our backs. Do not worry.”
“Thank you.”
Erica calmly assessed the situation and deployed a magic circle.
Unlike ordinary humans who drew a single magic circle, five circles were rotating around her.
That was the true power of Erica, the renowned Master of the Blue Eyes Magic Tower and the leader of the Blue Dragon spawn.
Multi-casting.
She could chant two spells at once and hold five spells in preparation.
Erica activated the first magic circle.
“Go, be my eyes.”
The mana condensed in the magic circle scattered in all directions as dozens of blue sparrows.
Equipped with motion-sensing and mana-detection magic, they tracked anyone acting suspiciously.
As expected of the alias ‘Blue Eyes’—which monitored all magic—no one could escape her pursuit.
The eyes of a sparrow, which had spread past the village and into the thick forest in an instant, caught something.
“Found you.”
Erica immediately deployed one of the prepared magic circles on the ground.
It was a Teleport spell.
Quickly setting the coordinates, she dropped down above the blue sparrow that had triggered the detection magic.
What had appeared only as mana signatures began to take clear shape to her naked eye.
Erica didn’t hesitate.
She had decided to treat anyone releasing monsters as a demon, without exception.
She immediately unleashed a prepared magic circle toward the visible targets.
“Bending Time.”
A high-level spell that made time flow infinitely slow at a designated point.
For a mage of Erica’s caliber, it was even possible to stop it entirely.
Everything affected by the spell froze on the spot.
Two magic circles remained.
She fused those two circles together to form a new geometric pattern.
That bizarre magic was something only Erica could wield.
Elemental Demolition.
It was a destructive and savage spell that used the repulsion between two opposing elements to blow everything in the vicinity away.
It was destructive to the point of excess, but Erica didn’t care in the slightest.
It was a fitting response for the demons who once tried to rule the continent, and a testament to her resolve to leave no opening for their remnants.
However, while preparing the spell, Erica’s sixth sense sharpened.
The heightened five senses of a dragon spawn.
Among them, something in her field of vision reacted sensitively.
‘Impossible.’
Time was literally frozen.
If it was within the range, nothing should be able to move.
However, she did not blindly trust her rational judgment.
And that was the correct choice.
Within the space where time should not have been flowing due to Bending Time, something flew toward her.
A large, black object with a hideous face reached out a hand the size of a pot lid.
The moment Erica saw that hand, she knew instinctively.
The moment she was caught by that hand, she would die helplessly.
The hideous hand grabbed her leg.
No, it grabbed the space where an afterimage remained.
She had already escaped the danger using Teleport.
Erica landed on the ground and adjusted her stance.
Before thinking about preparing another magic circle, analyzing what had just happened came first.
‘Was the stasis magic neutralized?’
The trembling of the leaves and the crawling insects were all frozen there, drained of color.
The magic was still in effect.
Yet, there was one thing moving within that space.
A man covered in a gray robe.
Only that man was ignoring everything and looking at Erica.
‘How is that possible?’
To block Bending Time, one would typically deploy resistance magic.
However, there had been no resistance up until the moment of activation.
Everything was stopped, rendered defenseless.
That was why Erica had intended to land a finishing blow.
How could he move alone in a frozen space?
“You seem quite surprised.”
The man’s voice rang clearly in her ears.
“Even though the descendant of the Great Iorga and the Wisdom of the 12 Expeditionary Force is hardly facing a demon for the first time.”
The man’s voice carried a mocking tone.
Erica regained her composure and maintained a stoic front.
“Indeed. It is surprising to me that there is still something left to surprise me.”
“That is good news. It means we haven’t regressed.”
A moment later, the large figure that had leaped into the air landed on the ground.
Thump!
The vibration in the ground was deep, matching his heavy mass.
The man knelt and stood behind the robed figure.
Without looking back, the robed man asked him.
“Did you fail to catch her off guard?”
“Her situational judgment was faster than expected.”
“Isn’t that obvious? Our opponent is one of the 12 Expeditionary Force and the head of the Blue Eye Magic Tower; it would be stranger if she fell helplessly.”
The man’s eyes were faintly visible beneath the robe.
Black pupils shining like obsidian and red irises.
The leisure and contempt contained within them provoked a deep rage in Erica.
‘I should kill them all…’
Contrary to her heart’s desire, reality was not so simple.
The price of failing to cast high-tier magic was too great.
The mana backlash had not only drained her magic but also disrupted the mana circulating within Erica’s body.
‘It can’t be helped.’
She set aside human magic for a moment.
Erica cautiously reached behind her.
It was for the canteen fastened to her belt.
Pop!
As soon as the cap was opened, the contents inside swam out, following her fingers.
The water that filled the air became a ring surrounding her.
One of the large man’s eyebrows shot up.
“A ring of water?”
“Iorga is not just about magic; it is the phase of water.”
“Hmph, what can you do with mere water?”
When the large man scoffed, Erica extended her hand forward.
A portion of the water ring turned into droplets and floated above Erica’s hand.
“I can do this.”
With a flick of her finger, the water droplet became a bullet and flew in a straight line.
The large man reached out his hand to block the water bullet.
“Ugh?!”
The pressurized water bullet pierced through cleanly, even burrowing into his heart.
“Gah!”
It pierced his chest, exited his back, and flew on to strike the robed youth standing behind him.
However, it failed to pierce the mana protection surrounding his body and bounced off.
“Guaaah… what is that? It’s just a water droplet…”
“Didn’t I tell you? Iorga is the phase of water and magic. Naturally, magic wielded by their leader would pierce your skin.”
“You should have told me that sooner.”
“Don’t you prefer to feel things for yourself?”
The large man wore a face full of astonishment.
However, the one even more shocked was Erica, who watched the two of them conversing nonchalantly.
‘I shot that with the intent to kill them both…’
Her water droplets boasted lethal power.
When it pierced the heart, the target should have been torn to pieces by the rotational force and water pressure.
Even for a demon, whose body was several times stronger than a human’s, a fatal wound should have been unavoidable.
Yet, the pierced demon stood right back up as if it were a minor injury, like being pricked by something.
‘Furthermore, it didn’t even pierce the demon in the back.’
The simple mana protection he wore was at that level.
‘To think remnants of the demon race are at this level.’
At least Noblesse-class.
And a Noblesse-class close to Emperor-class at that.
Now that Bending Time and Elemental Demolition had both failed, she had no more tricks up her sleeve.
‘I have to retreat for now and come back prepared.’
She deployed a Teleport magic circle.
The magic circle activated, and the light enveloped Erica’s body.
However, her body did not teleport.
“Cough!”
Instead, blood sprayed from her mouth.
She staggered in pain, coughing up blood without knowing why.
‘My internals… feel like they’re twisted.’
She knew what that side effect was.
It was the phenomenon that occurred when one used an imperfect Teleport spell.
‘Me, implementing a magic circle incorrectly?’
That was impossible.
Erica had lived for over a thousand years and had used Teleport hundreds of thousands of times.
Erica was so proficient that she could draw a Teleport circle and move somewhere even in her sleep.
‘That means that man used some sort of trick.’
She had been played like a fool.
Erica looked at the man with a resentful expression.
“Did you think you could leave as easily as you came?”
A thick smile could be felt in his voice.
Whether she should be angry or cold, she had to do something, but she could do nothing but lean forward and let out a groan.
“Since the Tower Master has greeted me so passionately, I suppose I should offer a response as well.”
He raised a finger from within his robe.
His hand was not black, but pure white.
That finger pointed forward and traced a vertical line.
A multicolored rift appeared and spat out its contents.
—Krrr.
—Krrr.
They were monsters modeled after Wyverns.
They flapped their wings and rose into the air.
There were at least twenty of them.
It was an utterly desperate situation for the cornered Erica.
The man’s finger pointed at Erica.
“Take her life.”
—Kieee!
The Wyverns lunged at Erica all at once.
It was then.
A heavy gale swept toward them.
An object so large it blocked Erica’s vision became a barrier.
The Wyvern monsters that had lunged were killed in a single blow.
Thump!
Dust billowed as it slammed into the ground.
Erica opened her eyes and looked at the object.
It was an axe.
A battle axe with a blade so large it looked like something a giant would use.
Erica knew the owner of that axe.
A petite frame that contrasted with the vicious axe she wielded.
An silver-haired girl whose martial prowess was great enough to earn her the alias ’Nightmare of the Frost Giant.’
“Greetings, Erica-nim.”
It was Ruri Silverwind.
“I heard you were visiting the territory and came running to greet you, but perhaps I’ve intruded needlessly?”
Erica wiped the blood from her mouth with her index finger.
“I’ve shown a pathetic side of myself to Valdrova’s maid.”
“I do not mind. However, from now on, it would be best to mind your conduct a bit more carefully.”
There was no need to ask what Ruri meant.
She soon felt the presence of someone walking this way.
A pitch-black suit, gray hair, and blue eyes.
He was tall, but his slender silhouette caught the eye immediately.
Yet, no one could think of him as weak.
His eyes were fixed on the enemy without a flicker of hesitation, as if he carried the might of a thousand armies behind him.
Ferda Valdrova.
He stood beside Erica with a majestic presence.
