Chapter 120: The Dragon, the Knight, and the Villain

Hio’s hypothesis was correct.

There was a reason why, in Ventair Online, the very first kingdom to fall was the Holy Kingdom of Hibernia.

The Abyss Monsters instinctively sensed their own weakness and acted to destroy it.

Isn’t the vivid proof of that right here before our eyes?

What other reason could there be for one to journey from the distant western island nation of Arilleia all the way to the capital of Hibernia, if not for this?

What other reason could there be to so brazenly embark on a path of destruction?

They sensed some trace of divinity and moved by instinct.

And the cruel truth contained in those words—

“Abyss Monster.”

There was no turning back.

All souls had been completely tainted by the Abyss.

A story all too cruel for a single person.

Yet the very one concerned refused to give up.

Neutralize Aerial and then seal it again.

“With the magical knowledge we have now, re-sealing is impossible.”

• I’ll find a way.

“And the damage we’ll suffer in the meantime?”

• I’ll block it with my life.

A momentary silence fell.

After that, a heavy voice came forth again.

“Kill the dragon.”

-Impossible.

Regarda stood tall, thrusting his spear skyward with unwavering conviction.

-That is—

Regarda Ovierre.

His true identity: the Dragon Knight who had endured for a thousand years.

A Dragon Knight is one who protects the dragon.

Before me, such words are unacceptable.

So, as always, he protects the dragon.

It was both his lifelong duty and the task he must continue to carry out.

“Sorry. I just… I can’t bear to watch this world be destroyed again.”

Hio also gripped his staff more firmly.

Just as Regarda had his own circumstances and mission, Hio, too, had things he had to protect.

Ever since that promise to the old magician who had taught him magic, there were so many things he was responsible for, almost too many for him to bear.

Each had something different they needed to protect.

They came from different backgrounds.

Their beliefs and values were different.

Even their perspectives on the dragon were different.

To Regarda, the dragon was a parent, a teacher, and a friend from the moment of birth.

To Hio, it was the ever-strengthening Abyss, a huge variable for the future—perhaps even a harbinger of destruction.

So this—

-I thought you and I could have been good friends.

“So did I.”

A tale in which each became the villain to the other.

[Skill – ‘Thunder Emperor’ activates.]

Dark clouds gathered in the sky, and from afar, a heavy peal of thunder signaled the unhappy beginning.

As Hio lifted his head, white radiance washed over his ashen eyes.

Regarda’s aura, filled with his conviction, manifested as a yellow dragon, emitting a light akin to lightning.

Krrrrrrrrr

And into the space between the two, the dragon tainted by the Abyss charged forward.

BOOM!

A lightning bolt struck the dragon’s head.

-Krrrrr… da

The hit landed.

Its tough scales were said to render most magic useless, but Thunder Emperor was a true top-tier skill.

The intense current ran along the dragon’s body, and for an instant, the dragon flinched and stopped.

BOOOOM—!

What clashed with that massive body was Regarda’s spear.

With all his strength, Regarda struck with the spear stripped of its aura, and the dragon tainted by the Abyss, Aerial, was pushed back.

Pushing the dragon away like that—it was only the beginning.

[Skill – ‘Blue Flame’ activates.]

Thunder Emperor and Blue Flame.

With increased mana, Hio wielded both at once, pressing down on Regarda, but—

-You already know it’s useless.

Regarda easily deflected them with a few swings.

-You step aside for a moment.

Then Regarda summoned the sea dragon guarding the western coast.

Though they weren’t at sea and so couldn’t display the same majesty as before, it was still enough to keep Hio in check.

Lightning crashed against lightning.

Regarda blocked Aerial as she charged in again.

Thunder rumbled and lightning flashed without rest.

Right beneath, dragon and Dragon Knight clashed.

Hio dodged the sea dragon, unleashing Blue Flame and thunder upon Aerial.

BOOM!

Several times, Regarda blocked his attacks.

Other times, they struck Aerial directly, yet she remained unscathed.

No, wasn’t she growing even tougher and stronger?

Even the time she flinched from Thunder Emperor’s lightning was getting shorter.

“It’s… not just my imagination.”

The sense that it was becoming harder was no illusion.

It was the plain truth.

The ominous energy of the Abyss thickening around Aerial was proof.

“The tainted dragon’s soul is starting to control Abyssal energy.”

That alone was a terrifying prospect.

From birth, a being already the strongest creature on earth.

Hadn’t she been a being of such stature as to be called a demigod?

Even after being corrupted, she adapted to a new soul and new powers.

Right now, she was merely a massive, fast, and sturdy creature, but left alone, as she continued to adapt, who knew what kind of disaster she could become.

“I have to end this here.”

BOOOOM—!

Again, Hio invoked the power of Thunder Emperor, unleashing a thunderous strike.

He evaded the attacks of the sea dragon, whose body was like a serpent with horns on its head, and then slammed lightning down upon Aerial.

He planned to simultaneously gather Blue Flame in both hands and drive it in himself.

-Impossible.

But Regarda had drawn near and thrust his spear at Hio, forcing him to dodge.

In the meantime, Aerial ignored both Hio and Regarda and flew toward the Cathedral.

“Where do you think you’re going!”

-Aerial.

Of course, with the hundreds of stacked lightning strikes and Regarda blocking her again, she was forced to veer far off course.

Krrrrrrrr

The battle continued in this fashion.

When Aerial charged at the Cathedral, both blocked her; when there was a brief gap, they checked each other.

Hio looked for an opening in Regarda’s defense to land a blow on Aerial.

Regarda blocked Aerial while simultaneously trying to neutralize Hio.

The sea dragon relentlessly pursued Hio, while Hio, evading it, poured attacks on Aerial.

Regarda blocked Hio’s path, all the while swinging his spear at Aerial.

Repeat this for about an hour, and even Hio had to admit—

“This won’t work.”

His opponent was clearly a level above.

The fact that Regarda could continually block Aerial while still dealing with Hio proved it.

For Hio, who couldn’t wield aura, there was no way to slip past Regarda and land a critical blow.

But what, join Regarda’s plan?

That was even more absurd.

To save one dragon, all of them would die.

Aerial was clearly adapting to her new body and the Abyssal power.

She was this strong without being able to control limitless mana—what if she replaced mana with some other energy?

What if she could use it like mana, or even use magic with it in the end?

It might sound like a leap, but it wasn’t impossible.

If that happened, it truly would be too late to do anything.

There’d be no way to reseal Aerial, no time to find a method, and even if there was a way, a soul completely soaked in the Abyss could never return.

Whatever Regarda was thinking, Hio knew this much as common sense.

“Somehow, a change is needed…”

Both their stamina and mana, at a glance, far surpassed Hio’s.

One was a supreme creature—a dragon.

The other, not just lived, but endured a thousand years… no, survived a thousand years.

It was obvious.

At this rate, Hio would be the first to fall.

Just as Hio reached that conclusion, a more solemn voice echoed in his mind.

Furnel, who had been quietly observing the battle, spoke up.

-You… why aren’t you using it when you know?

Those words struck a painful chord.

-If you use it, the tide will turn in an instant.

Did Hio not know this?

-Don’t hesitate. Hadn’t you already decided? To become a ruthless villain for the sake of tens of millions, even if it meant damning a single soul.

When Hio looked up, Regarda still blocked Aerial’s path.

Regarda Ovierre, who didn’t bother to attack Hio as he withdrew.

Dragon Knight.

Did he really believe he could bring the dragon back?

Did he simply want to believe?

Hio didn’t know. But what was clear was the desperate, almost hopeless feeling emanating from Regarda.

“I… I don’t know.”

He didn’t know what kind of bond Regarda had forged with Aerial.

What Regarda felt when the dragon slept, and what he endured for a thousand years.

What promise made him endure the passing centuries.

And just how desperately he was trying to protect her now.

He knew nothing.

“He’ll probably curse and hate me forever.”

-That’s what choices are. And as far as I’ve seen, you’ve always made the right ones.

Furnel’s words brought a bitter smile to Hio’s lips.

He had the power, yet had kept hesitating because the act was bound to be too cruel.

To others, it was a hero’s radiance, a power of salvation.

But to those two, it would shatter their mission, faith, and thousand-year promise.

In fact, from the very first meeting, Hio had known.

Dragon Knight, Regarda Ovierre.

He wielded a spear, possessed aura, commanded the sea dragon, and had the secret weapon known as the Dutchman—a monster of unmatched strength in history.

And yet—his weakness.

It was obvious.

-No human can live that long.

Even elves, famed for their long lives in harmony with nature, lived an average of only 150 years.

There was no being that could live for a thousand years, except for the dragon before their eyes.

So, how had Regarda endured?

How was his powerful body so unshaken?

And why did Kreutzvalt send Hio to find Regarda?

Upon reflection, it wasn’t such a difficult question.

His surroundings were always cold; his blood was surely cold; his flesh and soul, not one and the same.

Regarda Ovierre.

His true nature—

-Kreutzvalt’s necromancy.

A Dragon Knight who had died a thousand years ago.

So—

He’s undead.

Hio’s hand moved with bitter resolve.

[Purchase ‘Holy Power’ stat for 340pt.]

[‘Holy Power’ stat increases by +34.]

“S-Saintess… doesn’t it seem like something is terribly wrong…?”

The captain of the guard stammered as he called Irina.

Given his usual words and behavior, it was extremely unusual, but in the current situation, understandable.

Thunder flashed in the sky, dozens, hundreds of times.

Dragon, knight, and human flew about, roaring louder than thunder itself.

Their ears rang and the ground trembled from the impact. How many could remain unscathed in such chaos?

“It really feels like we shouldn’t be here…”

But Irina was calm.

On reflection, she had always been that way.

Thrown into unfamiliar Hibernia as a Saintess, she quickly understood her role and found her place in no time.

She awakened.

Before swordsmen, magicians, and countless nobles, she pleaded to save her friends and revealed her divinity.

So Irina calmly did what she had to do, even now.

Even as the building shook and the ground trembled from the clashes, she sat in place and worked tirelessly to recover her divinity.

It was the best place for divine recovery.

The heart of the Cathedral.

This place, called Sanctuary.

So, even as the battle raged overhead, she sat quietly, striving to feel the Holy Power.

BOOOOOM—!

BOOM—!

BOOOOOOM—!

After about an hour of that—

“Hiiik! S-Saintess! Are you not done yet? It seems like the Dragon Knight is starting to lose ground…”

At last, Irina opened her eyes.

“Captain, could you turn all the holy tree branches in the central hall toward me?”

“Y-Yes? These rods, you mean?”

“Yes. Just point all of them at me.”

“Understood!”

After an hour of focus, she was able to rapidly recover her Holy Power.

Of course, compared to what she originally had, it was still far too little, but it was surely enough to protect the Cathedral.

So she turned all the holy tree branches, which normally stretched in all directions, toward herself.

This meant she would bear the full burden of the Holy Blessing alone—a blessing normally managed by at least ten people.

“…I’ll do it.”

Between Irina’s outstretched hands, pure white light began to pour out.