During the last great war, the Demon King’s army built a fortress in the Mereka Mountains and trained wyverns for battle.
At the time, the wyvern unit was feared by soldiers and referred to as “the plague in the sky.”
Most of those wyverns were eventually killed in the war, and their population had significantly decreased.
Ironically, however, only a few years later, the number of wyverns in the Mereka Mountains had grown far beyond what it had been before the war.
This was because the Demon King’s army didn’t stop at merely training wyverns—they had tampered with their ecosystem to ensure a stable and continuous supply.
In the wild, female wyverns are far fewer in number than males.
This is because, from the moment they hatch, smaller-bodied female hatchlings are outcompeted by males in the struggle for food and naturally eliminated.
But the Demon King’s army had captured and raised these young females in protected environments, which led to an explosive increase in their numbers.
Wyverns breed rapidly.
A single female lays up to ten eggs at a time, and within a month, the hatchlings grow to adulthood and begin reproducing again.
If we hadn’t destroyed that fortress early on, the entire mountain range might have been overrun by wyverns.
And with that, the number of wyverns deployed to the battlefield would have been far greater.
According to Medluf, due to the wyverns’ violent nature—they frequently bite and kill one another over food or minor disputes—their population won’t increase indefinitely in the wild.
In fact, he says that within a few decades, it will naturally return to its original numbers.
But for now, the number of wyverns in the Mereka Mountains is the highest it’s ever been.
Some wyverns cautiously approached Eril, seemingly on guard, but none dared attack.
Though ferocious and dangerous, a wyvern is still a beast at its core.
It instinctively recognized the phoenix as a superior predator.
“Hm. But where could he be?”
Baglos, after vowing not to assassinate anyone following Lowell’s will, secretly entered the Mereka Mountains after the war, telling only us.
The ancient forests surrounding the mountains and the wyvern hordes kept people away, and even a well-equipped army would risk annihilation entering here, making it the perfect place for someone to disappear.
The only problem was that he had only mentioned heading to the Mereka Mountains—he never gave us an exact location.
Searching this vast area for him wouldn’t be easy.
Of course, if he sensed my presence, he’d likely come to me on his own.
But even if I lit a flame in the sky or released smoke, he would still need to be within visible range.
“Let’s check the old fortress first.”
We decided to head toward the mid-mountain area where the Demon King’s fortress once stood.
Though it was half-destroyed, some livable parts might remain, making it a sensible place to settle.
Then again, Baglos was not known for making ordinary decisions.
Along the way, we passed numerous piles of rubble—remnants of anti-air towers and barrier generators that once stood tall.
Built from black stones from the demon realm, the towers now lay shattered and weathered, overgrown with nameless weeds.
It was a complicated feeling.
Now they looked pathetic, but in the past, those towers were symbols of overwhelming power.
Their spells and barriers made it unthinkable to approach from the air like we were now.
Not to mention the wyvern units and soldiers that would rush in from all directions within minutes.
Only those of us who were there know how hard it was to breach that fortress.
We had lost countless summoned creatures here.
It was early in our adventures, so we didn’t have many strong summons, but we had diligently formed contracts with beasts and monsters that we liked—many of which were sacrificed as mere shields.
Even that intelligent horse that turned to ashes in the flames…
Losing a summoned creature—especially one with whom you’ve shared a bond—is heartbreaking.
When your soul and mind are synchronized with theirs, the pain, fear, and then the crushing emptiness that follows overwhelms your own consciousness.
Such emotions and trauma are not easily forgotten.
In that great war, we lived surrounded by death.
The death of enemies.
The death of comrades.
The death of innocents.
We were at the very center of it all.
And not just us—everyone who endured that war shared that experience.
But even so, those deaths belonged to others.
They were outside of us.
Never truly ours.
Death is not pain.
Death is not despair.
Pain, regret, and anger are merely fleeting sensations before death.
What the soul and body feel just before crossing to another world is absolute emptiness.
A void so deep it erases identity itself—a hollow that no one can imagine or understand unless their soul, senses, and consciousness are synchronized with another.
“…I’m fine, Eril.”
She had sensed the heaviness in my emotions and sent her concern.
“I was just thinking of the past.”
She tried to comfort me in her own way, despite the difficulty of expressing it in words due to our language differences.
But that didn’t matter.
Her sincerity came through clearly via our shared consciousness, and that warmth gently embraced my heart.
It felt cliché and self-righteous, but I bowed my head nonetheless—to pay respect to the fallen summoned creatures, comrades, the innocent, and even the enemies.
More for myself than for them.
The road to the mid-mountain fortress held no visible traces of the past battle except the black stones and ruins.
The wyverns were certainly numerous.
The wild plants and the wyverns’ activities had completely erased the old battlefield.
Tracks, claw marks, droppings—signs of their overwhelming presence were everywhere.
There were even skeletal remains of wyverns, likely killed in mating or feeding competitions.
Passing all that, we finally reached the place where the fortress had once stood.
“…I should have thought of this earlier.”
All that came out of my mouth was a sigh.
What I saw before me was completely different from what I had imagined.
“Of course. That was a foolish assumption.”
Contrary to my expectation that some remnants of the old fortress would remain, the entire area was now completely overrun by wyverns.
I should have realized this sooner.
The Demon King’s army chose this place for a reason—its geography was ideal.
Naturally, the wyverns would also be drawn to it.
Some were probably even hatched and raised here.
Thinking it would be unoccupied was naive.
“Calm down, Eril. They won’t attack us unless provoked. No reason to pick a fight.”
Around twenty wyverns had nested across the ruins.
Judging by their size, they were all females.
They let out piercing cries, clearly trying to protect their eggs and young, but as long as we didn’t approach, they wouldn’t attack.
Ordinarily, twenty wyverns wouldn’t be a threat to a phoenix.
The problem was that I was riding her.
When going all out, a phoenix’s body is engulfed in intense flames.
I could block the fire with a barrier, but once the barrier activated, I wouldn’t be able to hold on to her.
A momentary slip and I’d fall.
So if a fight broke out, I would have to handle the combat.
Which meant summoning new creatures—something I really didn’t want to do unless absolutely necessary.
We weren’t here to hunt wyverns, after all.
“Well, looks like Baglos isn’t here, so let’s try another loc—”
Eril suddenly gave a sharp warning cry, and a shadow fell over me.
I quickly tightened my grip and ducked low as she made an evasive maneuver.
A black figure swept past the spot we had just occupied.
To attack from above, without hesitation—that wasn’t something a normal wyvern would do to a phoenix.
But that creature could.
“…Unbelievable. I didn’t think any were still alive.”
It was a black wyvern—easily twice the size of a normal male, let alone a female.
Black Wyvern.
A special breed created by infusing unhatched eggs with magic and curses by the Demon King’s army.
Due to the low success rate, there weren’t many, but their sheer size, unmatched aggression, speed, and combat prowess made them incomparable to normal wyverns.
They were reserved for commanders of the wyvern corps or higher.
I thought they had all disappeared along with the fall of the fortress, but judging from the lack of the iconic silver armor on its head or neck, it must have hatched after the fortress was destroyed.
“No wonder the nests were unusually close to each other. They were all this guy’s females.”
Normally, it’s impossible for a single wyvern to have multiple females.
If males compete over a female, one usually ends up dead.
Even during mating season, no wyvern is foolish enough to engage in repeated, intense fights.
But in this case, the others probably didn’t even dare to challenge him.
And even if they had, there’s no way they could have won.
Clearly, my senses had dulled recently.
I used to be able to pick up on these things without fail.
“But maybe it’s for the best.”
A smile crept onto my lips before I even realized it.
I couldn’t lie — during the last war, I had secretly envied the captains who rode Black Wyverns.
Sure, to our allies they were wiped out just like any other wyvern, but the sight of a Black Wyvern clad in silver armor, overwhelming everything around it, had a definite charm.
Black Wyverns can only be created through special rituals and constant magic infusion.
Even if two Black Wyverns mated in the wild, only regular wyverns would be born from them.
In other words, now that the Demon King’s army is gone, seeing a Black Wyvern is practically impossible.
The one in front of me might very well be the last remaining Black Wyvern in the world.
As a summoner, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want it.
But Eril, who had clearly picked up on my thoughts, didn’t bother hiding her discomfort.
“Don’t be jealous, Eril. This is just collector’s greed. No matter what, nothing could ever compare to you — my friend and a phoenix.”
Still, Eril didn’t hide her discontent.
She looked ready to kill the Black Wyvern on the spot, and the Black Wyvern, in turn, began preparing for its next attack.
“Eril. Don’t fight it — lure it to the ground.”
If we fought in the air like this, it could get seriously injured, and the other female wyverns might get involved.
But she pretended not to hear me.
All she said was “Hold on tight,” then began channeling her magic and suddenly spewed flames at the Black Wyvern.
Following my magic, massive white sigils began forming in the air.
I could’ve left this to Eril, but I needed to pay that arrogant creature back in kind.
“Let’s see how it reacts to this.”