As they neared the battlefield, they could see the goddess’s touch.
And then, the falling Dragon.
It was only natural for Freya’s heart to fill with anxiety.
And then, after a short while—
…….Huh?
Even the soul’s distinct presence, which had been so clear, vanished without a trace.
Only then did Freya become certain that something had gone terribly wrong.
As expected, the scene at the site was devastating.
The Dragon lay still, as if dead, under the pouring rain.
Regarda stared at it blankly, with Hio standing behind him.
Thick raindrops pounded fiercely on them, but none of them moved.
Even though the sound of rain was everywhere, silence filled the place.
Regarda, uncle!
Freya, standing firm on the ground, called out to Regarda with all her might, but the silence remained unbroken.
After all, Freya had never been able to speak since birth.
No matter how brightly she called out in dazzling letters, if the other turned his back, her words would never reach.
Only by facing each other could the conversation continue.
Regarda, uncle…….
Still, Freya slowly approached Regarda.
Even knowing her words would never reach him, she continued to try.
The very first story she heard upon opening her eyes to the world was about her true self, Aerial, and the knight who protected her—Regarda Ovierre.
She thought it was admirable.
A knight who endured for a thousand years, far beyond a mortal lifespan, for the sake of protecting a single existence.
A knight who, along with the Master Magician, sealed the Dragon deep within the island and, from that day on, guarded all of Arilleia.
As much as she admired it, she also felt a growing weight of responsibility.
If she failed, Regarda’s mission might never be fulfilled.
So, Freya gave her all to her own mission.
To awaken Aerial and restore her to her original state.
Everyone said that was her destiny, so she believed it without question.
Though she was only a “half-wit” who could not even speak.
A foolish Piece of Dragon who couldn’t complete a single circle, and yet everything depended on her hands.
The hopes of Arilleia, Regarda’s long mission and hope—all rested on her lacking shoulders, so she did her utmost.
And because she tried her very best, she came to understand, even if faintly.
How empty it felt when everything was for nothing.
When the Magician summoned the Dragon and began to purify it, she felt both joy and emptiness deep in her heart.
Then what use was she now?
If the task she thought was her mission had been completed by someone else, why did she even exist?
For what purpose had she been born?
She couldn’t fathom the answer and her own conclusion was rather miserable.
‘A failure’ or ‘Aerial’s mistake.’
Otherwise, why would someone go to the trouble of creating someone as useless as herself?
Even after reaching that conclusion, her heart did not sink completely into the depths thanks to the help of many people.
- If you keep trying, someday you’ll make it.
- Let’s do it together, Freya.
The encouragement of Magician Hio.
- Because of you, all the Arilleia People have hope, and live vibrantly. Thank you, Freya.
Isidore’s gratitude.
ᆞYou are the Great Dragon, Freya.
All those words stacked up, supporting her sinking heart.
Knowing this,
Knowing just how much strength such words could give, Freya walked toward Regarda.
She kept speaking to his forlorn back, who stood in the pouring rain, gazing endlessly at the dead Dragon.
“It’s all right…… It’s all right, Regarda uncle.
Even she, who had only lived a short life, felt this much emptiness—how much more must Regarda feel now?
Perhaps it was wrong to even compare her small experience to his.
Someone who endured a thousand years for the sake of a single being.
Who could dare to fathom how he felt, now that it had all ended in a single moment?
Yet Freya did not stop walking.
That back, always steadfast in its conviction, now looked so perilously fragile.
Everything will be all right.」
She didn’t even know what to say, or what she was even saying.
Of course, her words wouldn’t reach.
How could a mere string of letters without emotion console him?
Though Regarda’s gaze would never turn this way, Freya kept moving toward him.
She continued to try, sending words that could never reach.
-Honestly, just tell me.
Furnel’s voice whispered slyly, like a devil.
- When that child just arrived, what did you think?
At Furnel’s question, Hio shrugged with a clueless look.
“Hm? I didn’t think anything, really?”
-Tsk tsk…… You’d rather fool a ghost. Be honest. Didn’t you think of quite an idea?
For the record, I was in favor.
“What are you saying…… Are you implying that I thought about killing the perfectly fine Freya, extracting her soul, and then using Kreutzvalt-style necromancy on Aerial’s body? Not at all? No way?”
- ……Did you actually think that far, did you?
Hio fell silent.
Of course he had no intention of doing it, but the idea had indeed crossed his mind.
Freya, who was originally a part of the great soul.
What soul could fit the conditions for Kreutzvalt-style necromancy better?
But there was a huge problem: he would have to turn Freya’s perfectly fine soul into a dead one.
He had considered it, but had no intention of following through.
- You really would make a fine necromancer.
||
……
.Well, at least there’s no need for that now, so that’s a relief.”
From ancient times, Dragons and anything related to them were shrouded in mystery, and there were many wonders. I agree.
–
But…… this is truly mysterious.
The scene viewed from a little distance behind.
Nothing particularly special.
Freya was merely approaching Regarda after arriving at the scene.
And, naturally, drawing nearer to the dead Dragon, Aerial.
But what if, during that process, Freya’s body began to shine like a star?
What if she seemed to be dispersing like stardust?
-This is a hidden magic engraved directly by the Dragon.
Freya herself was already a kind of magic.
·Judging by the activation conditions, it would require the Dragon’s death. Or for the soul’s complete extinction, and then that child approaches.
The fact revealed by this was rather cold.
-The Dragon must have foreseen her own death.
So she detached and sent forth her purest soul.
She cast a spell so that, someday, when only the empty shell remained, Freya could take its place.
“There will be quite a few side effects.”
-Of course. The disparity is immense, and there’s no guarantee that child can handle the supreme being’s body. The Dragon surely knew better than anyone the value of her own body.
The Dragon’s body, now just a shell after the soul’s departure.
If word of this spread, a continental war could break out over who would possess it.
Such a tremendous burden, such a vague plan—what did she trust in that small, young, innocent soul to accomplish?
-They say Dragons possess a method to destroy their own bodies, to prevent greed from calling forth calamity.
But she didn’t do that, and instead sent that child……
The answer is simple.
……
..She knew Regarda still remained.”
She knew the only one she could rely on still carried on his mission.
That must be why.
Regarda Ovierre.
Because the Dragon Knight had promised.
She trusted that he would do whatever it took to keep his promise, to fulfill his mission.
Though she foresaw her own end, she believed in that and created Freya.
Perhaps she even wished for Regarda to continue living on.
“Anyway, it’s a truly wondrous sight.”
With each step Freya took, her body gradually crumbled, scattering as stardust.
The especially bright stardust in the darkness gathered, one by one, into Aerial’s body.
“It’s all right…… It’s going to be all right.』
The only ones who didn’t notice were Freya herself and the dazed Regarda.
But even their oblivion had limits.
Soon, Freya reached just behind Regarda, and the starlike radiance surpassed all bounds.
At last, Regarda turned around.
Regarda.
What he saw before his eyes was nothing but a fragment soaring through the night as stardust.
As Regarda turned his head, the Dragon’s heavy eyelids began to move ever so slightly behind him.
- A wondrous magic indeed.
The rain had stopped before anyone realized.
Was it a hallucination?
“Regarda.”
445
It was unmistakably a voice calling him.
A voice he could never forget, no matter how hard he tried.
So familiar, it felt almost strange—it was definitely Aerial’s voice.
“Aerial……?”
Knowing it couldn’t be, he turned around anyway, and what he saw then was so very small—
But just as bright, a powder of stardust.
What was this?
He was aware that one was a stranger, and one was someone he knew.
He recognized that the familiar presence was Freya.
He realized she was approaching him.
But there was neither reason nor meaning to care.
No, he had simply lost all meaning for living.
Freya, a fragment of Aerial’s soul.
He knew that, but also knew that they were two separate beings.
Aerial was neither clumsy, nor did she struggle with basic magic, nor did she smile like a child, nor was she someone who would catch cold at night.
They were, thus, different beings.
And the one behind him now was clearly Freya.
Not Aerial, but unmistakably Freya.
He was sure of it.
Then.
“
What is this dazzling stardust?
This was undoubtedly Aerial’s magic.
How could he not recognize it?
Just like…… that time.
Just like the magic Aerial first showed him when she was still young.
“What are you trying to tell me, Aerial?”
What was she trying to say through Freya?
What was she trying to convey to him, even calling forth this dazzling stardust?
And the answer—
-Uh…… Huh?
Came from behind.
-Why is everyone so small…… Huh? M-my voice!
It wasn’t a mistake.
Aerial’s voice.
But the one speaking with it was unmistakably Freya’s childlike soul.
So much smaller than the original.
A soul so weak that, left alone, would be devoured by the body rather than govern it.
Regarda’s gaze filled with the image of such a Dragon.
- What in the world…… Ah, Regarda uncle! Are you all right?
Because he was Regarda. Because no one knew Aerial better than Regarda, he realized immediately what had happened.
Eyes.
Aerial.
・So this was your choice.
The Dragon he knew to be wiser than anything in the world.
Could Aerial not have foreseen her own irreversible condition?
So Regarda quietly looked up at the Dragon.
The green Dragon, now Freya, not Aerial.
A fragile soul that looked as though the wind would sweep her away, rather than rule it.
- My body feels strange…… Whoa! What’s this!
Gone was the ever-calm, mysterious gaze, replaced with green eyes sparkling with worry, curiosity, and excitement.
- D-Dragon! I’ve become a Dragon, Regarda uncle!
Regarda knew this phenomenon would not last.
A supreme body required a soul to match.
If not, before long, she would collapse and be consumed.
To govern the Dragon’s body, she would have to quickly elevate her soul’s standing.
- I’m a Draaagon! And I can speak toooo! Wowwww!
And that method, in this world, only Regarda knew.
It would not be too hard.
He just had to teach her.
He’d never done it before, but the years spent watching, the years spent remembering, were boundless.
The Dragon’s etiquette, dignity, how to walk, how to fly, how to transform her body.
He only needed to teach her.
- But…… why am I a Dragon……?
Just as Aerial once taught him.
Now it was his turn to teach Freya.
- Freya.
For a Dragon Knight is always one who walks alongside the Dragon.
- As the last Dragon, hold yourself with dignity.
A faint smile appeared on Regarda’s lips as he spoke.
Whether it was a smile of regret at saying farewell to an old friend, or at her choice, or simply at Freya’s awkwardness—perhaps not even he knew.
The only thing left to consider—
- As the last Dragon Knight, I too shall fulfill my duty.
Did he keep his promise to smile when she opened her eyes again?
Or not?
- There is much to teach.
He would have to ponder these things slowly as he lived on.
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