Knadil yawned and lay down on its belly. The self-illuminating red scales reflected Tanya’s healing light and looked like a giant ruby. The genteel eyes intently watched the two, and the breath from its nose was warm.
Things that had only existed as outlines within Tanya’s vision the whole time began to absorb the light and became visible in detail. On the wall behind the red dragon, a drawing made of glittering white lines like powder was drawn. It was too enormous to take in the entire appearance at a glance.
Right behind Knadil’s back, feet were drawn, and on the immensely high wall, there was a head, and at one end of the deep darkness, there was a wingtip. It depicted a completely different dragon from Knadil. This place was a tunnel with a round top and a flat bottom, unlike Nontil’s cave.
‘This isn’t Knadil’s dwelling, but a passage leading there. Even Nontil had his own dwelling, so it doesn’t seem like Knadil would live in such an openly connected place.’
The passage led upward, and the steep slope was turning in a spiral. If the mountaintop was the entrance to this place as Rai had said, this spiral path was probably a maze completely hidden inside the mountain.
Tap tap tap tap.
The sound of someone running was heard. Two shadows approaching from the end of the passage were seen. One of the two shadows had its wings spread and was flying in the air, and the other was running with steps as fast as the winged being.
The walking figure shouted something and drew his sword. A red light burst from the blade and penetrated Tanya’s white light.
It was Lofin. He ran with a terrible momentum and stopped upon seeing the dragon lying at ease. Rai also spread his wings and charged straight ahead but belatedly changed direction. He rudely glided widely around Knadil’s body and landed, stirring up dust.
Knadil looked at the two as if interested and said,
“Oh-ho, there are more visitors in a week than in the past five hundred years. Moreover, one even carries Ganel’s sword?”
Rai stared at Knadil, then approached, knelt, and bowed.
Seeing the Kagua corpse in front of him, Lofin immediately understood the situation.
“Oh dragon, I pay my respects. Please tell me your revered name. I am Lofin from Aranthia.”
“I am Knadil.”
“Sa-Knadil! I invaded your territory without seeking permission. Please forgive me.”
“I know it was to save your comrades. And the time for such etiquette has already passed.”
Knadil looked at Kassel and Tanya with a pleased gaze.
“I had already foreseen your coming and was waiting. You’re a little late. Was my oracle too difficult?”
“Oracle?”
Lofin asked and was startled.
“I knew that oracle wasn’t given by Nontil!”
“That child is already dead. Don’t you know?”
“I know. I found out late.”
“It’s unfortunate. That’s precisely why I called, ‘Dru Gizderzs Bepupub.’ The other three are here too. ‘Wazaiybt… Gvom Zvi Moepdiaap.’ ‘Dru Gizderzs Gaiub.’ And ‘Ladu Worg.’ Well done.”
Nodding its head, Knadil said,
‘The one required by the oracle couldn’t come. There are only four. Is that okay?’
Tanya was worried about that part for no reason.
Lofin spoke quickly,
“That’s right, Master Knadil. I want to discuss that matter with you. A great danger has come upon us, the Lemifs, and the dragons. That matter is…”
“Ah, if it’s a story, let’s have it after that Wazaiybt wakes up.”
With her hand on Kassel’s chest, without stopping the recovery magic, Tanya said,
“I am listening, Master Knadil. Time is short for everyone, please speak.”
Knadil said to Lofin with a smile,
“Swift Foot. You were called to guide the sorcerer here. Because you are an Ugeh who knows the way better than the Lemifs.”
Next, Knadil spoke to Rai, who was still kneeling.
“Rise, Fastest Wing. You are one of the few Lemifs who know the exact location of this place, so I called you. Thank you for your hard work in bringing the sorcerer.”
Then Knadil looked down at the collapsed Kassel and Tanya.
“I sensed how weak the sorcerer who would find this place was. So I thought there should be the strongest guardian to protect the sorcerer. ‘Ladu Worg.’ As I hoped, you faithfully protected the sorcerer. Now wait for ‘Wazaiybt’ to wake up. The injured eyes will soon be able to open.”
Tanya, still not knowing what was what, just held Kassel, whom Knadil had pointed out, and Lofin struggled to find words to say.
As always, the one who was watching at ease was Rai.
Lofin gently turned the sword with one hand and put it back in the sheath.
“Master Knadil, Kassel is… not a sorcerer.”
Knadil tilted its head. Although the dragon’s expression couldn’t be read, the curve formed by its large mouth looked like a smile no matter how you looked at it. It resembled Sanadiel’s smile, which contained a pleasant curiosity that found everything interesting.
“I don’t understand human standards. If a human who guided me with Ztokh Worg’s light and used my power to kill the Kagua is not a sorcerer, then who do you call a sorcerer?”
She couldn’t dare argue magic with the High Lord of the dragons, so Tanya couldn’t retort. Lofin barely accepted it and continued. Even the unchanging Lofin had a stiff face when facing Knadil.
“Come to think of it, it was Kassel who led us all here. It was Kassel who drew in Rai, who knew the way here, and it was Kassel who suggested we find another dragon midway. If not for his words, we would probably be having a meeting in Larden to find another dragon or joining reinforcements to save Lutia.”
Knadil closed its eyes, looking into the distance. She thought it had only closed its eyes for a moment, but when it didn’t speak for too long, Lofin cautiously asked, thinking it might have fallen asleep.
“Um… Master Knadil?”
“Quiet.”
Knadil stretched out its hand. And the dragon hardened like a statue and stayed still.
Lofin shrugged and approached Tanya.
“How is Kassel? Seems like he injured his eyes.”
“A rock fragment pierced his pupils, but with the help of Knadil’s magic, I immediately healed him. He won’t be able to see for a while, but it won’t last long. Rather, the accumulated fatigue is greater. I’m constantly using recovery magic, but I don’t know when he’ll be able to wake up.”
Suddenly reminded, Tanya asked Lofin,
“By the way, you recognized me well.”
“I already knew you were hiding that level of beauty, and Tailed told me everything about the scar on your face.”
Lofin said. Tanya unconsciously tried to touch the cheek where she had drawn a knife in her childhood but stopped. She didn’t want to take her hand off Kassel’s chest.
“My master told Lofin everything, it seems.”
“He only told me. There’s a reason for that.”
“Reason?”
Tanya wanted to speak in a sharp voice, but a gentle voice came out on its own.
‘It will take some time to get used to speaking in my original voice.’
Lofin said with a somehow sad smile,
“He said if he dies, he wants me to protect you in his place. To become another teacher to you…”
Shrugging his shoulders, Lofin continued,
“Of course, it won’t work. You know from experience. What kind of teacher am I? Besides, you no longer need my protection.”
Tanya said without minding,
“Thank you.”
“For what?”
“You’ve been pushing me until now. About the part where I’m hiding my emotions.”
“I was just frustrated. I knew you two would end up like this the moment I saw you, but both of you were hesitating… More importantly, wrap the bandage properly. Your chest is showing.”
“Didn’t you say you’re only interested in older women?”
“You can even joke now?”
Sighing long, Lofin continued,
“Anyway, sorry I’m late. After you fell off the cliff, I ended up drawing Vena Esarck to stop the Kagua. That guy also knew the power of this sword and didn’t recklessly attack. Ah, cover your chest, I said!”
“I don’t want to. I don’t want to stop the recovery magic even for a moment.”
“Damn, then I’m fine with it. Anyway, that’s when that Redward bastard attacked again. This time, he didn’t choose a head-on confrontation with me but brought Fvoe Lemifs.”
“It wasn’t just a difficult fight here.”
“It might not have been as hard as you guys, but there were so many of them. Even if the relationship between the Fvoe Lemifs and the Zvi Lemifs is bad, they should have the same heart of worshiping dragons, so why did they side with those who kill dragons?”
Shaking his head, Lofin pointed to Rai.
“Rai used a lot of his strength. If it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t have made it here and would have died. If Lergo had given him a suitable sword, I wonder what power he would have displayed. I guarantee he is equal to or greater than the current active White Wolves.”
“That’s high praise. But did Rai obediently follow your words?”
“Rai suggested it first. He said he would try gliding to the cliff while carrying me. He said since Kassel promised his Gider, he had to follow it. Strange, isn’t it? What about Kassel drew Rai in? It’s not just that he was persuaded or follows because he was treated well. You know if you look, Rai isn’t that kind of guy.”
‘Perhaps even Rai doesn’t know why he’s following Kassel.’
Tanya asked,
“In the end, Rai’s suggestion couldn’t be realized, it seems?”
“The Kagua went down the cliff first. We couldn’t be hit directly by its fireball while flying. There was no time… That’s when Rai said he remembered the entrance he had found before and flew into the sky carrying me and entered that hole. After seeing you fall into the Hup, I knew that hole was connected to the Hup.”
Licking his lips, Lofin blinked his eyes wide a few times.
“Yeah… Knadil’s oracle, I get it now. The ‘Fastest Wing’ necessary to come here is indeed Rai. The ‘Swift Foot’ had to lead the party, and the ‘White-Furred Wolf’ had to protect the ‘Sorceror from the Sky Mountains’.”
Tanya looked down at Kassel again and stroked his head.
“It’s much better now that you returned to your real face.Now I can read your expressions too. But since when did you fall for Kassel?”
Lofin asked another pointless question. But this time, answering that question didn’t feel bad.
“Was it when looking for books in the library? No, I think it was on the roof of the inn before arriving in Nadium. I liked how he kept trying to talk to me and failing. It was also fun to see him scolding Jaymer. I wasn’t head over heels, but I think I had a good impression of him since then.”
Tanya smiled brightly, and Lofin frowned.
“Hey, don’t smile!”
It was almost a threat close to ‘don’t smile, you bitch.’ Tanya furrowed her brows.
“Why?”
“I’ll warn you in advance. You can think of it as advice with the qualification of a teacher that Tailed asked for. From now on, smile as preciously as you use magic.”
“So why?”
“To put it from Knadil’s perspective, your smile is almost like magic. It’s rat poison to men. If you recklessly spread such magic, other men besides Kassel will say they’ll give their lives for you. Moreover, you’re showing me your chest right now. Who are you testing?”
Tanya finally took her hand off Kassel’s chest.
The light of recovery enveloping Kassel went out. The healing that could be done with magic was over anyway. Now she had to wait for Kassel to get up on his own.
She tied the bandage on her chest.
“Is it okay now?”
“Hmm, it’s fine. It’s a bit better now.”
Only then did Lofin approach Tanya and stroke her head.
“You did really well, Tanya.”
Lofin said the words she had wanted to hear from Tailed.
“Thank you.”
Tanya said sincerely.
“But… if all these oracles were by Knadil, what was the ‘Maiden Who Awakens Sleep’ supposed to do? Sinabia’s role here, um, look. Isn’t Master Knadil already awake?”
Lofin said.
“Come to think of it, you’re right.”
That’s when Knadil opened its eyes.
Since the dragon’s red light couldn’t be used as illumination, Tanya raised her hand and floated a few light orbs in the air. Seeing her do this casually, Lofin let out a short exclamation. Knadil, on the other hand, extinguished one with its own power as if it was too dazzling.
Knadil asked,
“Tanya, you said? The sorceress from Lutia in the west?”
“Yes.”
“Right now, Lutia is being attacked by the Mozes and the knights who follow darkness.”
Tanya recalled the worry she had forgotten.
“There will be a battle at sunrise tomorrow, and in that battle, Lutia will not survive.”
At Knadil’s words, Lofin groaned softly.
“In the end, it seems the Lemifs didn’t send reinforcements.”
Hearing his small voice, Knadil said,
“No. The Lemifs of Larden and Mandir left to save Lutia. But they will not arrive at as timely a moment as you have come here. If left as is, Lutia will lose everything.”
The dragon brought its huge face close to Tanya. Its breath was hot like bringing a fireplace flame close.
“Go and help them, Ladu Worg.”
“But…”
“Your work here is done. But Lutia will need your power. I will safely protect ‘your’ sorcerer.”
Kassel still hadn’t woken up. But that wasn’t what she was worried about. She had finally realized her feelings and didn’t want to part here. Even if she went, she at least wanted to say goodbye. But she couldn’t.
“Then I entrust him to you, Master Knadil.”
Tanya gently laid Kassel’s head on the ground and stood up.
‘Maybe it’s for the best. Knadil is right. My work here is done. But if I see Kassel’s face after he wakes up again, I’m sure I won’t be able to leave for Lutia and will hesitate. It’s better to leave now while he’s asleep.’
Tanya looked down at Kassel’s face with his eyes closed. She wanted to at least kiss his lips. But she couldn’t because Lofin was observing intently from the side.
“Then please take care of him.”
Tanya bowed deeply to Lofin once more, then swiftly turned her body. Lofin asked with a very disappointed face,
“No goodbye kiss or anything?”
‘Who’s the reason I couldn’t do it?’
Tanya didn’t reply and walked the path Lofin had come from.
“Do you know the way out?”
Lofin asked again.
“I can see everything now.”
Tanya changed into the form of a wolf while running.
The direction Lofin had come from wasn’t a huge tunnel leading to the mountaintop. It was a rough and twisted path that ordinary human feet could never descend.
‘He ran through a path like this? Lofin is really amazing. If only he talked less, I would have respected him much more.’
Tanya ran at high speed through the winding path that looked like it had been dug by a rock-eating worm. She traversed the rough uphill path by alternately stepping on the floor and ceiling, and where the floor was cut off into a deep cliff, she ran along the wall. Emerging from the last uphill slope, the stars of the clear sky came into view.
It was the Sky Mountains again.
☆ ☆ ☆
The scent of fresh grass tickled her nose, and the pleasant singing of nocturnal birds could be heard. It felt unreal that a being trying to destroy the Sky Mountains was walking here.
Throughout the night, Tanya ran westward. The trees surrounding her as she ran through the forest distorted and receded backward. The wind couldn’t catch up with her, and the air hitting her face hurt. The deer of the Sky Mountains that used to run and compete with her in speed now didn’t even know she had passed. She ran with her eyes narrowed, not looking back at the east where the surroundings were getting brighter.
When familiar terrain appeared, Tanya stopped.
It was the Outsearch of Lutia.
An unpleasant energy was prevalent all around. Tanya closed her eyes and swept the air around Lutia with her senses. Lutia was under attack. By a tremendous number of Mozes at that.
Beyond that feeling were the Lemifs. They were positioned on the rocky mountain west of Lutia. Fortunately, the Lemif reinforcements had arrived. Considering they had gone through various meetings, they had come really quickly. But for some reason, they didn’t move. Knadil had prophesied that they would not arrive at the right time.
‘Why?’
Tanya ran around the Outsearch to the Down Forest. A much larger number of Mozes than expected had occupied that place.
They were surprised to see Tanya’s approach and raised their weapons, but Tanya ignored them and charged into their midst. She infiltrated faster than they could swing their axes and rammed into them. Countless hairy beasts with long arms were thrown into the air, and in her wake, Mozes trampled by the wolf’s paws lined up.
Soon, the Kvotz River that ran through the Down Forest appeared. She ran without stopping, even faster, and leaped across the river in one breath. The forest ended and a high rocky mountain appeared. She still didn’t reduce her speed and ran up the sheer rocky mountain with no place to grab onto, using the momentum of running.
Tanya took position at the highest point nearby and looked down at Lutia. The Mozes had somehow laid huge logs across the Kvotz River and were using them as bridges to cross over to the Nonsearch. The Larvitten Bridge was broken and the village was burning.
The Mozes had already surrounded not only the Nonsearch but also Kainswick.
At that moment, a black dragon flew in from the distant sky and landed on the top of Lutia’s tower where the White Mystery was. The black wings swallowed the white light of the White Mystery.
It was Guanil!
Shortly after, the White Mystery shattered. It looked small from a distance and no sound was heard. But the sense of loss that something precious had disappeared was by no means weak.
‘I was too late.’
It wasn’t that the White Mystery was inside Lutia, but that Lutia was in the place where the White Mystery was. That was a phrase the masters habitually recited. The White Mystery had just disappeared, and therefore Lutia had disappeared…
‘It wasn’t Guanil who shattered it.’
It wasn’t a mistake due to the distance. Guanil had landed on the tower after the White Mystery shattered. The protective glass was broken by its claws, but the White Mystery was shattered from the inside by someone else.
A sorcerer in a black robe rode on Guanil’s back. Tanya recognized him immediately. It was the very one who had first brought Guanil to attack Tanya and made her part with Kassel.
‘Lutia’s traitor.’
Tanya was about to chase after him right away but changed her mind. The priority now was the side of Lutia being attacked by the Mozes. Finding out the traitor was a task for later.
Tanya ran to the highest point of the eastern rocky mountain where the Lemifs were. A large number of Lemifs riding Venons were gathered there. Surprised to see the huge wolf, the Lemifs screamed and retreated or thrust their spears. Tanya immediately transformed into a human and shouted in Lemif language,
“I am a sorcerer of Lutia and a friend of Sinabia, the maiden of Larden. Is there a Lemif named Pankentin here?”
Tanya hoped her pronunciation was correct. Fortunately, there was someone who understood.
“Pankentin didn’t come here since he’s protecting Larden. I am the commander of this army.”
A muscular, large Lemif stepped forward.
“Name?”
Tanya asked.
“Fergusnai. So you are the White Wolf I saw back then.”
“Have you come as reinforcements?”
“Hudintin, the Hopet of Larden, ordered us to help Lutia without even a divination.”
‘Thank you, Sinabia.’
Tanya said inwardly.
“Then why are you stopped here, Fergusnai?”
“We tried to join Lutia’s army since dawn. But we couldn’t. When we try to go down, at some point, we find ourselves going up.”
“Magic?”
“Our Sorceror was killed as soon as we arrived here. There’s a tremendous Sorceror on the other side. We can’t do anything about it.”
“Then I will fill the empty spot. Follow me.”
Tanya ran down the rocky mountain. At that moment, a force strong enough to darken the view enveloped the Lemif army.
Tanya could see the space bending sideways, but the other Lemifs were being deceived by the warped space and changing direction.
This magic was of a power surpassing Lutia’s masters.
Tanya shouted,
“Don’t slow down.”
Tanya lightly jumped onto the rock. Even without transforming into a wolf, her body was very light.
‘I don’t need to turn into a wolf.’
There was no one on the rock. But Tanya swung her arm towards the empty space. Her robe fluttered and the rock in the direction she swung shattered. Something invisible swiftly dodged to the side.
Tanya followed it. She thought it was running away, but that person stopped and shot a blue flash at Tanya. Tanya caught it with her bare hands and broke it, standing on the rock. The blue blade of light shattered and fell like powder around her body.
It was a female Lemif of the Fvoe tribe. Her smooth black skin, neatly tied black hair behind her back, and blue eyes were beautiful. On her hand, three or four light orbs were swirling, merging and separating repeatedly. On her shoulder was a deep wound tied with long leaves.
“You broke my barrier just by running here. Are you a master of Lutia?”
The Lemif Sorceror asked in Lemif language.
Tanya knew the wound on that woman’s shoulder was exactly the same spot where Rai had thrown a sword and wounded her. It was the very sorcerer who had blown Tanya away yesterday.
“We probably have met before.”
Tanya said.
“That wasn’t the face that was hit by my magic yesterday…? No, the feeling is the same. You didn’t die by the Kagua?”
“As you can see.”
“Amazing.”
“I’m more amazed that you ran that distance in a day and are here. Was it the order of the Ugeh named Redward to attack Lutia?”
The Lemif woman couldn’t answer. There was a humiliated expression on her face, but it was clear she couldn’t deny it.
Tanya pressed harder.
“A Lemif following the orders of an Ugeh, were you born with Gider to be dominated by Ugehs?”
The Lemif’s black hair fluttered and the magic light floating in the air grew even larger.
“Insolent Ugeh bitch! If you survived one defeat, you should have just backed down. Anyway, the only Ugeh in this world who can kill me is Lutia’s Grand Master. And he is our ally!”
It was as Lofin thought. Lutia’s traitor was Ruskin.
So Tanya could retort without being surprised.
“I see. Then from now on, I will substitute for the Grand Master.”
The blue light orb stretching from the Lemif’s hand flew to Tanya’s face. A bursting sound of penetrating the surrounding air rang out, and a force that seemed to shatter heaven and earth flew in. But Tanya dodged it slightly, not enough to touch. It was a trick from the beginning.
A real sorcerer wouldn’t make such a visible attack. Moreover, they wouldn’t forcibly make such a loud sound. That was clear now.
Tanya jumped into the air. Eight white spears that rose from the ground without a sound lost their target and collided with each other and shattered. Tanya swung her hand towards the neck of the Lemif sorceress who was stepping back with surprised eyes. The fluttering robe created air that turned into a blade cutting through space and struck the opponent as it passed.
The Lemif cast a barrier to protect herself until the end, but it was after her arms and neck were severed. Red blood splattered on the invisible barrier, tracing the outline of a hemisphere. The Lemif sorceress’s body rolled off the rock.
Tanya stood at a distance and looked down at Lutia. The sun was rising in the eastern sky, and in the meantime, the Lemifs who had descended the rocky mountain swept into the Mozes’ army.
At first, the Mozes fought back, but they couldn’t last long against the Lemif soldiers and began to retreat. And at the exact timing, Lutia’s army, which had been hiding inside Kainswick, broke out and joined them. The Mozes’ army collapsed in an instant.
The debris of the shattered White Mystery was glistening in the morning sunlight.
‘The fight isn’t over. And my adventure doesn’t end in Lutia either.’
Tanya flung her body from the rock. And just before landing on the ground, she transformed into a wolf and ran. She descended the mountain like a breeze caressing the rocks.
Lutia’s tower got closer. In front of the tower, Jaymer, covered in blood, was shouting at someone without noticing Tanya coming.
“It’s not over yet, Nathan!”
A black knight in a black cloak stood in front of Jaymer.
‘Nathan? Wait, did he say Nathan?’
It was the dragon slayer who had killed Nontil.
‘It’s that bastard.’
Tanya charged straight at the black knight.
–TL Notes–
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