When Kassel opened his eyes, the surroundings were filled with a red glow. A small voice that sounded like a lullaby was ringing in his ears.
Kassel looked around with dazed eyes. One eye couldn’t open properly, and when he forcibly opened it, it hurt so much that it felt like his eyeball would pop out.
‘How long have I been asleep?’
His muscles and bones were all stiff, and so much sticky stuff was smeared on his body that it was very unpleasant. However, it wasn’t just an unpleasant feeling enveloping his body. A warm energy was gathered on one side of his chest, and every time the blood in his body circulated, it felt like that warm thing moved along with it.
‘Blood.’
Kassel dusted off his hardened hair. Every time he dusted, powder fell off with a thud. It was powder formed from dried blood.
Looking ahead, there was a huge black beast lying down. It was the Kagua. Its widely opened eyes were directed at him, but it didn’t feel particularly scary.
The hazy veil covering his memory gradually lifted, and past events flashed by quickly in reverse order. The moment he last shouted at the Kagua, walking through the cave carrying Tanya on his back, Tanya’s touch still holding him even as he fell from the cliff, the Lemifs, the five to awaken the dragon…
“Ah.”
Kassel noticed the dragon that had been looking down at him for a while and sprang up from his spot. The red light filling the surroundings was emanating from the scales of a dragon much larger than the the Kagua split in two.
Kassel hurriedly bowed his head.
“I apologize for not showing proper courtesy, Master Dragon. No, Master Knadil.”
The dragon, who had been resting with its body stretched out to the side, spoke to Kassel with a generous gaze.
“No need to apologize. Everyone needed a short rest, and I provided that. Just waking up without delay is enough. Even if you had woken up early, we would have had to wait anyway, so there’s no need to rush.”
Even though it lowered its voice in its own way, Knadil’s voice still echoed throughout the cave.
‘It will take a long time for my ears to get used to this voice.’
When Kassel looked back, Lofin was sitting with his arms crossed, and Rai was leaning against a rock, regardless of his wings being folded.
“Lofin, you came.”
Kassel limped over and said,
“It’s a bit late to receive thanks. If you had died, I would have regretted not using this sword until I died. Thank Rai. Are you alright?”
“My leg hurts a bit. And this eye won’t open.”
“It won’t be blindness. ‘It was healed with magic, so it will take some time but will recover,’ Knadil said.”
Just recalling the moment the rock fragment pierced through his eye made him feel like tears would pour out. Kassel rubbed under his eye and approached Rai, saying,
“Thank you. For coming to save me.”
Rai spoke with an expression that looked even stiffer in the red light.
“Waited. For you, to wake up.”
“I’m sorry for making you worry. And…”
Kassel looked around again and asked,
“Where’s Tanya?”
“That child left for Lutia. It’s been quite a while since she left. In terms of outside time, it’s currently night, and she’s probably sleeping comfortably in Lutia by now, don’t you think?”
“Was I asleep for that long?”
“If it weren’t for Tanya’s magic, you would have woken up tomorrow morning, and even if you did wake up, you wouldn’t be able to move this vividly. You can use up about half of the thanks you owe that child for the rest of your life.”
Kassel nodded gloomily and looked at Knadil again. Knadil was lying down with its chin on the ground as if sleeping. It seemed like a posture considering the three people who would have to look up at it if it stood straight.
“Many things happened to get here. But I think you already know all that, and…, I hastily request. Please help us.”
At Kassel’s words, Knadil laughed softly.
“I’m not unfamiliar with the nature of the Ugehs, but they all blurt out such words to me first.”
Lofin chimed in from behind.
“I’d like to tell you that our matter is that urgent.”
“I understand. Although I don’t know everything you’ve been through, if I combine the fragmentary glimpses of your past and the story Lofin told me… Yes. Even if you don’t explain your matter, I can understand why you’re asking for help. And I intend to actively assist with that matter.”
Kassel’s face brightened.
“Thank you. I was worried about what wisdom I should devise to explain and persuade this matter. But how embarrassed I was to have to present such clumsy wisdom to the High Lord of the Dragons…”
Kassel was sincerely relieved. Knadil watched that sight with pleasure and turned its body.
“But I can’t help but pour cold water on one thing in your heart. The dragon who wishes to help the Ugehs’ matter is not me.”
“Pardon?”
Lofin and Kassel spoke simultaneously.
“What does that mean?”
“It’s regrettable that I can’t take the time to explain this important matter in detail, but I can’t help but follow the hastiness of that wicked Guanil fellow. Now, if I have to intervene in the fight between Ugehs and Lemifs, it must be a big deal that you can’t solve with your own strength and also the fault of a dragon.”
Knadil nodded and continued,
“That’s right. Kassel, you don’t need to persuade me. If Guanil, born from the sins of dragons, tries to harm Ugehs and Lemifs, of course I have to step in. But there are difficulties in doing so for two reasons.”
Kassel felt like pounding his chest and said,
“Why? Master Knadil, you wouldn’t be bound by trivial formalities, and you wouldn’t want me to bring up words of persuasion just to test a trivial being like me.”
“You won’t be late to eloquently express such desperation after I first state the two reasons, Kassel.”
“Ah, I… I’m sorry. I’ll listen.”
Kassel closed his mouth.
Knadil raised its body largely and spoke,
“I don’t know how far I should speak honestly and how far I should remain as the sacred image of a dragon. But this part, I must say sincerely so that you can understand my situation and the matter of this underground. I cannot defeat Guanil.”
Lofin widened his eyes and spoke loudly,
“Are you exercising the privilege of lying that only Ugehs can do? Even Le-Ganel, who gave me this sword, said Guanil can be defeated.”
“Ganel, who can only see one step ahead. The goddess gave him strength but couldn’t gift him wisdom. Guanil is not alone. Even just here in the Sky Mountains, he has powerful reinforcements.”
“Are you referring to the Black Knights? They did kill several dragons, but… that was a cowardly assassination of sticking a spear in the head of a sleeping one.”
“Right! Knights can kill a sleeping dragon, but they can’t do anything to an awake dragon. But there are two beings that can kill an awake dragon, one is the knight with Guanil’s sword, and the other is the sorceror of the Ugehs. Those two are what I fear.”
“The sorceror of the Ugehs? You mean the Grand Master of Lutia?”
Lofin asked.
“In the world, there are beings where one plus one equals more than two. That is the alliance of an evil sorceror and an evil dragon. Defeating Guanil is not difficult, but it’s hard to block the beings allied with Guanil as well.”
When Kassel looked at Lofin, Lofin noticed what he was curious about and briefly explained.
“If it’s the Grand Master of Lutia, he has magic that can kill even dragons. When you fainted and Tanya was protecting you, in other words, it was Knadil who killed that Kagua, but Tanya could have also killed the Kagua. Knadil expressed it as a sorceress with the power to kill him.”
Knadil took over Lofin’s words.
“Yes. If that child helps me, hmm, we might be able to block the alliance of Guanil and Lutia.”
“Then why… Forgive me for interrupting. Then why did you send Tanya away?”
Kassel spoke as if blaming Knadil.
Knadil said,
“If all this is not to turn out for the worst, Lutia still needs to exist. Don’t you also know with your own thinking what place is being attacked for all that’s happening now?”
Kassel answered,
“It’s Aranthia.”
“That’s right. Lutia is the magical shield protecting Aranthia from the Sky Mountains. And Tanya should be in that position. Don’t worry too much. If the magical shield becomes safe, that child will return.”
This time, Lofin asked,
“Who is the knight with Guanil’s sword?”
“I don’t know the name. But if we can’t stop him, the Sky Mountains will perish.”
“To that extent? If it’s a knight with a sword, I will stop him. My juniors are also in the Sky Mountains.”
“Well, it would be fortunate if that’s possible, but.”
Knadil spoke in a tone that truly hoped for that.
“Now, I stated the first reason. The second reason is because I can’t leave this place for the time being. That’s because of the knights who go around killing dragons. As you found this place, it means it’s exposed to them as well. I have to protect this place even more.”
Lofin asked in puzzlement,
“Protect… what do you mean by protect? Does this place have meaning beyond where you reside, Knadil?”
“How should I explain that concept to you? Since you came from Aranthia, it’s easy to explain. I am the one in the position you originally should have had in Aranthia, Lofin.”
“I’m sorry, but I’m neither a High Lord nor a child of a noble family in Aranthia.”
Lofin said with a hollow laugh.
“That’s probably true. But don’t you still hold a position equivalent to a High Lord? No, I misspoke. I should say you ‘would have’ held a position equivalent to a High Lord.”
“Do you mean… the Queen’s Guardian Knight? It’s true that I could have been in that position, but there was a friend more devoted to that role, so I conceded. Then Knadil, you are… Oh, damn it!”
Lofin shouted loudly and then quickly tapped his lips.
“Forgive me. This damn mouth sometimes spews out profanity beyond human will. But with my short vocabulary, that’s all that comes out.”
Kassel didn’t get a hint from Knadil’s words, but he understood what it meant after seeing Lofin’s reaction. Kassel asked with great tension,
“It may be the application of a childish idea, but then, Master Knadil, are you… the ‘Queen’s Guardian Knight’?”
“How can you be awake when I haven’t even awakened you? Even an Ugeh who doesn’t know much about the providence of dragons, if you found this place with your own wisdom, didn’t you notice something strange?”
Lofin pressed his temple for a moment to organize his thoughts, then said,
“Then, if someone like Knadil protects someone else, with my clumsy knowledge, there is only one. That is…”
Lofin seemed to have difficulty opening his mouth and licked his lips.
“That is?”
Kassel also followed Lofin’s words in a small voice.
“Isn’t it Nadiuren, the goddess of the Sky Mountains?”
Knadil answered,
“That’s right. I am the Guardian Knight of Nadiuren before being the Le-Hopet of the Dragons.”
‘The Guardian Knight of the goddess, even though it’s too unrealistic. It’s not surprising at all.’
Kassel was just blinking his eyes, trying to figure out what level of being a goddess would be. On the other hand, Lofin fell into a panic as if he had heard the words, “Actually, I am your mother!” from the witch he believed to be his mother’s enemy. And he asked stammering,
“I thought the goddess was a symbolic being. Like someone humans believe to be the absolute. But you mean such a being is inside this cave?”
Knadil spoke as if understanding,
“The concept of a god cannot be easily accepted by Ugehs. It’s only natural since the very existence of a goddess was conveyed through the Lemifs. But does it feel that unfamiliar? There should already be two swords delivered in the name of Nadiuren in Aranthia, right?”
“Vena Esark and Vena Silk. Yes, that’s right. That’s true. But still, I thought it was symbolically just a very good sword.”
“Just a good sword? It should have its own will, so it would communicate a bit, right?”
“I thought it was a coy sword that only speaks occasionally.”
“Well, that’s enough explanation. Let’s go see the goddess.”
“What? Right now?”
“Do you want me to explain anything else?”
“No, that’s not it…”
Lofin stammered. It was the first time Kassel saw him so flustered.
“I… I wish I had known beforehand. Do we really have to go meet her like this? I need time to catch my breath.”
“The Ugeh who was in a hurry because there’s no time is in no position to say that.”
Knadil’s breath lifted the dust on the floor with a whoosh.
“Still, follow me. It’s better to talk while walking. I don’t want to mention her name several times in a space where the Kagua’s corpse is starting to rot. And now it’s time to take Kassel even if I had to wake him up if he hadn’t woken up.” (TL Note: You guys might have noticed by now, but the Dragon speaks in a really weird way.)
Knadil raised its body and walked down the slope of the cave.
It was the path Kassel had walked carrying Tanya on his back, being half dead and half alive. Here, Tanya had vomited blood and writhed. After that, her voice had changed. Her appearance seemed to have changed too. But Kassel never got to see her face in the end. The moment the Kagua appeared, his eyes were injured, and he fainted before seeing Tanya again. Only the embarrassment of blurting out something stupid right before fainting came to mind.
“Ugh…”
Even with the dragon he had only heard about and had wanted to meet so much in front of his eyes, and now being told he was going to see the goddess, Kassel was thinking about Tanya. He went over what he had said to her at the last moment several times, but it was only words that were embarrassing to say in such an urgent situation.
‘Tanya rejected me. She said sorry. Then I shouldn’t say anything more! What the hell did I blurt out? She must think I’m a stupid, cowardly, dirty, and annoying guy who clings on.’
Rai, who didn’t know the context, asked from behind.
“Is it… painful… to see… the goddess?”
“No, that’s not it.”
“Then, another reason?”
“Yeah. Another reason.”
“I’m curious. Another reason.”
“I appreciate your concern, but I absolutely can’t tell you that reason.”
Kassel shook his head firmly.
Lofin said as if pitying him.
“Do you even know what a historic moment this is, and you’re absurdly thinking about a woman? Ugh.”
Kassel’s face flushed red. Not from embarrassment, but from anger!
‘As expected, Lofin is quick-witted. And he’s treating Tanya carelessly.’
Kassel frowned and said,
“I’m not thinking about a woman, I’m thinking about Tanya.”
“Oh my, is that so?”
“Shut up!”
“Okay, I’ll consider your youth. At that age, such issues can be more important than the end of the world. I lost that innocence too early, so when I see a kid like you, I just want to tease you for no reason. Damn it!”
“Why are you getting angry, Lofin?”
“I’m jealous. Damn it!”
Knadil’s footsteps were very quiet compared to its size. Kassel had thought a dragon would naturally make echoing footsteps in a cave.
In fact, many poems praising dragons always emphasized ear-splitting roars and majestic footsteps. But Knadil was quiet. It was like careful steps to avoid waking someone’s sleep. So Lofin’s voice was relatively loud.
“By the way, since when did you start liking Tanya?”
“I won’t say. You’ll definitely tease me.”
“I won’t tease you. When you get old and sick like me, just hearing such stories from young people makes you so happy.”
“Says the one not even forty!”
“No, don’t be like that, okay? Okay?”
Lofin tapped Kassel’s shoulder with his shoulder. It was already dizzying, and his tapping made it even more so. If left like this, it seemed it would go on all day.
“I think it was when she helped me find books with me in the library. At first, when we met, she was a little scary, but she wasn’t as scary as she looked. There’s that thing, you know? When the fear fades away and you feel a sense of closeness… I don’t know if the analogy is appropriate, but as a child, you fear your father, but when you grow up and understand the man who is your father, you become even closer to him than your mother…”
“I don’t really relate because I always had big fights with my father whenever we met.”
“Anyway, as we looked through the library books together all night and made eye contact, the fear turned into affection. The moment she turned into a wolf and carried me on her back, I thought we would become really good friends, but she was still a woman who was difficult to approach…”
Kassel scratched the back of his head, embarrassed by what he had said.
Lofin exhaled strongly.
“You two are exactly the same. Was it both in the library? Making a connection by staying up all night in the library is for the Royal Academy students who make eyes at each other while preparing for the graduation exam every year and screw up the exam.”
“If I had to specify, that’s it. How can you designate the turning point of emotions to one place, one hour?”
Kassel spoke curtly and stopped walking.
“Wait a minute, Lofin.”
“Yeah?”
“Tanya said to me… ‘I’m sorry.’ But what do you mean by both in the library?”
Lofin also stopped walking and clicked his tongue.
“Oh, oh, oh, damn it! Shit! Dammit!”
Lofin stomped his foot while walking. Kassel just watched what he was doing, not understanding why.
“I spilled the beans on a perfect situation where I could have enjoyed watching you two fidget if I had kept it to myself! I thought something must have happened because Tanya was holding you so affectionately, but it wasn’t? I forgot that you two are both idiots experiencing love for the first time. Ah, what a waste!”
“Lofin, please tell me. What did Tanya say?”
Kassel clung on even though he knew Lofin would like it more the more he was anxious, and as expected, Lofin didn’t tell the rest of the story.
“Shh. This is the goddess’s shrine. Be mindful. Captain Kassel. Keep your voice low, your posture low. Abandon impure thoughts.”
Lofin put his index finger to his lips and only walked faster.
‘If Rai absolutely obeyed my command, I would have told him to put a sword to Lofin’s neck. No, that level doesn’t even need absolute obedience, right? Rai always wanted to fight with Lofin.’
Kassel was conflicted.
Lofin spoke as if he could see through Kassel’s inner thoughts.
“It doesn’t matter to you, but it’s not polite to Tanya for me to say everything. You have to cherish a woman’s heart. I’m the type of person who absolutely hates involving others in this kind of thing. But since I already leaked it, let me give you one piece of advice. You shouldn’t change your heart just because Tanya’s appearance has changed.”
Lofin always threw out a lot of reasons to hate him and then inserted a great line at the end. And always at the perfect timing. So Kassel became even more annoyed.
“It won’t change.”
“No matter how much of a cesspool the past is?”
“It won’t change.”
“Can you be sure?”
“What’s important to me is Tanya’s heart.”
“That’s funny. Let’s see if you still say that after seeing Tanya’s face. Men are all the same!”
Kassel glared at Lofin, and Lofin went ahead, giggling.
‘How ugly did Tanya change for him to warn me like that?’
He was warning him so much that Kassel was a little scared. But soon his heart was filled with warmth.
‘Tanya didn’t reject me. She didn’t!’
The ceiling lowered a bit and the width of the cave narrowed a bit. Knadil lowered its posture to walk, and the three following also unconsciously hunched their heads.
Kassel asked,
“Um, I’ll apologize in advance if I’m making a mistake. Is the goddess Nadiuren a dragon by any chance?”
“What have you been listening to so far? If she’s the goddess of the Sky Mountains, of course she’s a dragon.”
Knadil answered.
“T-then is she… sleeping now?”
Kassel asked in surprise.
“That’s right.”
“Then the one who will wake her up is Master Knadil directly?”
“Even a dragon cannot break the rules established between Lemifs and dragons. It’s not because it’s a rule, but it was made into a rule because that’s how it is.”
“Then in the end, to wake up Nadiuren, a Lemif maiden is needed, right?”
“That’s right. You make me mention the oracle again. Didn’t I designate the first of the five to awaken the dragon as the ‘maiden who awakens sleep’? Because it’s the most important.”
“Sinabia! We left Sinabia behind.”
Kassel shouted to Lofin.
Lofin also realized and asked,
“I also had that thought for a moment. Since Knadil is already awake, who is the maiden trying to wake up? That question is now answered. The maiden who awakens sleep mentioned in the oracle was not Le-Nontil or Sa-Knadil, but the Lemif to wake up the goddess Nadiuren. But the maiden named Sinabia who left with us withdrew, saying her Gider was over. Then who will wake up the goddess?”
“If I call, she will wake up on her own too.”
Knadil said.
Kassel finally breathed a sigh of relief.
“That’s fortunate then.”
“But it will take some time.”
“How many days will that take?”
“It can’t be measured in the unit you call ‘days.’ It can’t be measured in ‘months’ either.”
Kassel’s heart sank. Knadil continued,
“That’s why the maiden who awakens sleep was needed. Yes, in the joy of opening my mouth to converse after a long time, I have tormented you too much.”
Knadil passed through the Hup’s rough floor and entered another not-so-large cave, and made several turns there. The process was so complicated that Kassel couldn’t possibly memorize the entire route.
“Don’t worry. Nadiuren is already awake. Not to the extent of having a direct conversation yet. So don’t worry.”
“Who woke her up?”
Lofin asked.
“The maiden who awakens sleep.”
Knadil replied simply.
“A maiden? It wouldn’t be Sinabia.”
Lofin continued, gazing at the end of the path that was getting brighter as they went down.
“Come to think of it, you said there have been more visitors in the past week than in the past five hundred years? Then does that mean there were other visitors besides us?”
“Yes. The maiden who awakens sleep found this place, leading an unexpected companion. It’s also because I led her, but that child’s strong will found this place that absolutely cannot be found. That child urged me more urgently than you Ugehs to wake up the goddess. And the companion who brought that child left so hastily that it was as if they appeared and disappeared. So how can I not discuss the hastiness of the Ugehs?”
Knadil lightly touched a huge stone door with a red light seeping through the cracks. It didn’t seem to use much force, but with only a slight sound of friction, the door opened. Even though the door was only half open, Lofin and Kassel simultaneously exclaimed at the intense red light visible from inside.
The door fully opened, and there was the goddess of the Sky Mountains.
Nadiuren.
The goddess of the Sky Mountains was a dragon of almost the same size as Knadil, wearing crimson scales like armor all over her body. Three strands of silver horns occupied her head instead of a crown, and a pair of other horns crossed her face like hair, covering her cheeks. The wings folded on her back moved slowly up and down with the same regularity as breathing, like the Lemifs.
The white and transparent stones filling the surroundings absorbed the red light of the two dragons and sparkled enough to dizzying the eyes. On the ceiling, stalactites that could only be seen in limestone caves were hanging, transparent and barely visible.
The goddess still had her eyes closed. And in front of that goddess lay a black-skinned Fvoe Lemif. Even though it was a small female Lemif, Rai reflexively showed a wary appearance.
“An extraordinary Lemif. To awaken Nadiuren from her long sleep requires tremendous power different from waking up an ordinary dragon, and the time is also long. But that child accomplished what needed to be done in just one day and collapsed from exhaustion. As if exhausting her own life, she gave it her all. The maiden I called through the oracle was this child.”
Knadil approached Nadiuren’s side, careful not to touch the collapsed Lemif woman. The sight of two dragons side by side was beyond words. Even so, Kassel’s eyes were drawn to the collapsed Lemif woman.
Lofin asked,
“Even if the Fvoe Lemifs are hostile to the Zvi Lemifs, I thought they were helping the act of killing dragons. Why is their maiden here?”
“How could the goddess discriminate among the tribes of the Sky Mountains? Both the Fvoe tribe and the Zvi tribe are all children of the goddess. It’s just that some of the Fvoe tribe betrayed their own god. Isn’t it the same for you Ugehs?”
Knadil looked down at the Fvoe woman with pride and said,
“Then this maiden is a Lemif from the Fvoe nation that hasn’t betrayed yet?”
Lofin said while approaching the collapsed woman. Kassel and Rai also followed with careful steps. It wasn’t just because it was the goddess’s space. It was like respect for that maiden as well.
“That child is a maiden and princess of a city called Larunton. She said her name is Sermei. And the warrior who brought her was also an Ugeh like you.”
Kassel’s heart was already pounding due to the connection of the events that had been happening, and he asked,
“What is the name of that warrior?”
“He was in such a hurry that he only revealed he was one of the Aranthia Wolf Knights. Haha, he boldly demanded that I give him a weapon worthy of killing Guanil, saying he would kill Guanil. To test whether Guanil’s death was in that child’s Gider, I did give him a sword that can kill a dragon, although it can’t be called worthy of the name Vena. If he had given me about a month’s time, I might have been able to give him a sword like the one you’re wearing, Lofin. It’s a pity.”
Kassel swallowed and asked,
“Was it a man?”
“It was a man.”
Then he could figure out who it was without further asking.
“Was he alone?”
“He was alone.”
“When did he leave?”
“Two nights ago.”
Kassel was relieved that he was still alive, but soon it bothered him that he was alone. Kassel asked Lofin,
“Azwin should be with him. Why didn’t she come? And if he came with that maiden Sermei, why did he leave without waiting for her to wake up?”
“Looks like we’ll have a lot to ask that Fvoe tribe maiden when she wakes up.”
Lofin said worriedly.
Knadil waited for the two to exchange a few words. Perhaps it wasn’t a special consideration, but maybe it just considered that much talking time short.
“Now, Kassel, Lofin, Rai. Pay your respects to the goddess of the Sky Mountains. From now on, I will lend this body to her and speak with her voice.”
Knadil slowly raised its body and stretched its neck long towards the ceiling. The three knelt on one knee and bowed their heads. A thunder-like sound erupted from Knadil’s mouth, then a thick but soft woman’s voice flowed out.
It was heard overlapping in human language and Lemif language.
“Luiv dru worvtz ab draz n’haiker, mai klatvert.”
“Lend your ears to my voice, my children.”
The goddess’s voice, which was mixed with Lemif language, was soon heard only in human language. But in fact, it was later learned that the goddess’s voice was heard only in Lemif language to Rai.
“I am Nadiuren, who rules the Sky Mountains, and Sa-Knadil, the High Lord of all Dragons.”
A majestic energy was felt within the space reached by the voice, as if everything should worship before the dragon. Hot heat quickly filled the cave, riding on the voice. Kassel barely opened his mouth, overcoming the heaviness that felt like being crushed and suffocated.
“Speak. We are ready to listen.”
Kassel thought Lofin would also follow and speak. Since he was a person with more experience and courage, he expected him to lead all future conversations. But he was having a harder time than Kassel and couldn’t even lift his head. Even Rai was like that.
Having no choice, Kassel had to continue speaking.
“Or should we first speak of the events we have experienced?”
“I have read the story you brought within Knadil’s memory. And the child who awakened me told me about the events that occurred elsewhere. You don’t need to repeat it.”
In between the goddess’s words, incomprehensible languages often echoed like an echo. It was neither the language of the Lemifs nor any language that existed in Acrand, as Lofin later explained.
It was an ancient language forgotten by living beings. But strangely, that language was familiar to Kassel.
“I can usually see everything happening within the Sky Mountains.”
The goddess’s echo-like voice created the illusion that it wasn’t being heard in human language.
“But I couldn’t do that for the past few years. In the end, Knadil and I had no choice but to watch until it came to this.”
“Does the matter you couldn’t see have to do with the events currently unfolding?”
“Guanil. That fellow disrupted my vision that should have watched over the Sky Mountains. Whether the veil of the Sky Mountains has weakened or that fellow’s power has grown stronger, or maybe both…”
“I beg your pardon, Nadiuren. But Guanil is currently within the Sky Mountains.”
“Names truly play an important role. I know you have been confused by the same thing being called by different names.”
The head of Nadiuren in the form of Knadil’s face slowly came down and met Kassel’s gaze. The long eyelashes covering the pupils somehow reminded Kassel of ‘a certain woman’ he knew. But he couldn’t recall who that person was at the moment.
The current situation felt like something he had experienced before.
“The Kagua, they are creatures created by Guanil by condensing his own blood. Monsters that can’t be called dragons or children of the Sky Mountains. But you called the Ugeh Dragon Hunters the Kagua.”
“Yes, until we saw that wingless monster in person, we mistook the Excelon Knights for the Kagua.”
“That’s right. The Fvoe Lemifs also called the hunters named Excelon Knights. It was forgetfulness that occurred in a mere 10 years and a mistake made by not being able to see through a single black cloak. Much less, how could Ugehs, who call a thousand years history rather than memory, know a name forgotten by even the Lemifs over a thousand years? Since there was no memory in the first place, this should be called ignorance, not a mistake.”
Kassel struggled to understand the goddess’s words and replied,
“We even call a thousand years not history but legends. Perhaps what dragons call history, we should call myths.”
“I didn’t say ignorance was a sin, but you are putting words first to make excuses. It’s not easy for a living being to open its mouth in front of me, so how can you open your mouth so easily?”
There was a hint of laughter in the goddess’s whispering voice. It was still a forceful and thick, strong tone, but Kassel strangely felt that the goddess was speaking with a smile.
Even though the facial expression of Knadil, who was speaking for the goddess, didn’t change at all, Kassel thought the expression was also smiling.
‘She’s not blaming me for talking a lot. She’s really asking out of curiosity.’
Looking to the side, Lofin was still having a hard time lifting his head, and Rai was also fixed in his kneeling position. It felt like time was flowing only for Kassel.
The goddess spoke again.
“Oh, Ztokh Worg. If there is another power to offset Vena, it would be none other than that sword that created the power of a dragon with human power. I would like to hear the name of the craftsman who made that sword.”
“It’s Lergo.”
“Convey my praise to him.”
“It will be the highest praise for Lergo.”
“It will be a matter to consider whether it’s the Gider of that sword or your Gider that you came to possess that sword. If you pass through the Sky Mountains in the future, that sword will become the torch to guide you and your friends. Perhaps that sword went to you for that purpose.”
“A torch…, may I ask what kind of miracle it is?”
“A miracle is called a miracle because it brings about unexpected things, isn’t it? And you call an Ugeh who does such things a sorceror. So what miracle it will be, decide for yourself.”
“I am not a sorceror.”
Kassel hurriedly shook his head.
“That story will be told by your comrade next to you instead. The only thing to explain here now is the existence of Guanil.”
“You said Guanil is not in the Sky Mountains but on the continent. Then is the name of the dragon that attacked me along with the black-clothed sorceror some time ago also my mistake due to ignorance?”
“It can be called a subtle mistake. The black dragon you know is a descendant of Guanil, and as a descendant, it uses the same name.”
Lofin, who had been silent until then, spoke up.
“So you’re calling two different beings by one name?”
Kassel glanced at Lofin. Lofin was finally getting used to the goddess’s voice and had enough leisure to look at Kassel. Now that he looked, the Vena Esark Lofin was wearing was flashing violently, reacting to the goddess’s voice, and the Aranthia’s national treasure sword was also shining and dimming no less. If drawn from the scabbard, it seemed it would become another light source rivaling the red light of the dragons.
Lofin was gasping and barely trying to ask what he was curious about. But Nadiuren spoke a little before him, so he missed the chance to speak.
“To lead the conversation easily, I also need to sort out the issue of titles. You call the one I call Guanil the ‘Lord of the Undying.’ Perhaps that name is more familiar to two of you three?”
Regardless of the two not being able to speak, the goddess’s story continued.
“Giving this long-winded story now will be nothing more than a boring history lecture for you humans, and for me, it will be a task of tracing painful memories. However, it cannot be left out to discuss what will happen in the future. I will omit the part you mentioned as myths, as it is meaningless. For everyone present here, the meaningful time will probably be from the dragons’ battle that took place in the human world a thousand years ago. Well then, how should I explain that story? Even for me, a thousand years is a long time.”
The goddess took some time to find the end of the tangled thread in her mind. But the words she actually brought up were Kassel’s identity, relying on Knadil’s memory.
“I see. If you are the captain of the Wolf Knights, it is rather easier for me to tell the story. This is also the history of the Wolf Knights. So this is a story you must inherit and a mission, Captain Wolf.”
“I heard that the history of the Wolf Knights is also the thousand-year history of Aranthia.”
“That’s right. I am also very excited to meet a Captain Wolf after a thousand years.”
Kassel’s heart swelled up as if it would burst to hear another legend, from the mouth of the goddess, in this majestic space.
“It may not be an important story, but what kind of person was the Captain Wolf a thousand years ago?”
The goddess Nadiuren looked at Kassel, who was clenching his fists and waiting for her words with a very tense face, and said,
“You are saying strange things, child. If you are a true Captain Wolf, shouldn’t you have already met Aranthia’s first captain?”
Kassel laughed hollowly.
‘No matter how much of a goddess, it seems difficult to match a dragon’s sense of time with a human’s.’
Kassel said, hoping not to be rude,
“Forgive my presumptuous words, Nadiuren. I am merely an Ugeh, and a young child who has just barely passed twenty years old. How could I know someone who existed so long ago?”
“The child to whom I personally bestowed the blessing to be with Aranthia forever didn’t meet you? How can that be?”
“Pardon?”
Kassel looked at Lofin in bewilderment, and Lofin looked at Kassel in even greater bewilderment. Kassel thought he would never see Lofin look so surprised again.
“Behold, this is the story I want to tell you.”
Sa-Knadil’s form suddenly disappeared.
Kassel closed his eyes at the suddenly brightened sky, dazzled. One eye still couldn’t open, and the other eye that was open also stung and hurt from the sudden change in brightness and darkness. But it wasn’t because of the injury from the rock fragment.
Barely blinking and looking around, Kassel was suddenly outside the cave. There, a brown-haired girl was facing a huge red dragon.
☆ ☆ ☆
The red dragon said to the brown-haired girl,
“You are the child who was born with a name resembling me and a soul resembling mine.”
“Yes, my name is Nadiel. I also had a dream of you and came out here to see.”
The girl said,
“I wonder what Gider led us both here. My foresight is not limited to within the Sky Mountains, but why are you not within my foresight? Speak for yourself. What do you want to do?”
“I hope this place where I was born and raised remains the same.”
“Make it happen.”
“I will build a city here, following your name.”
“I allow it.”
“With that power, I will fight the black being that appeared in my dream.”
“Who is that black being?”
“I saw. In the Sky Mountains, I met someone who resembles you but is completely different from you, who has your power but is so wicked that I couldn’t bear to look at them to the end.”
“Show me your dream.”
In the girl’s dream, instead of white clouds in the blue sky, black clouds were covering the land. There was a black dragon with its front legs on a snow-covered rock, glaring at the continent. The black clouds were not clouds, but smoke from dragons flying around and burning the land.
Standing in that place without a single human scream was a gray-robed sorceror. The black dragon came down and kissed the back of the hand the sorceror held out. Inside the robe, instead of a living person’s face, there was a rotten skull.
As the skull’s mouth opened, a damp voice erupted. It was a warning to the girl who was the owner of this dream.
“Let the path open. I will offer your soul as the last supper praising me.”
But the girl shouted bravely.
“My name is Nadiel. Reveal your name. If we ever meet, your name will never stand before me.”
“Until now, I have been called death, but until you meet me, call me Guanil. Until then, this dragon will represent me. But when you meet me, all beings north and south of the Sky Mountains will call me by a different name.”
The gray-robed sorceror shouted.
“Lord of the Undying!”
The dream disappeared, and the dragon was giving the girl a sword.
“This sword is Vena Silk. Make this your power. As Guanil is a power that should not exist in the Sky Mountains, I will allow a power that should not exist in the human world.”
“Let the power of Nadiuren be where this sword is.”
The girl answered.
The dragon reached out a finger as if touching the girl’s chest, then suddenly stuck it in. The girl flinched in surprise. In the dragon’s finger that came out of her chest without pain, a jewel with a mysterious light was sparkling.
“Take it.”
The girl received the jewel with both hands.
“Have this jewel in the country you establish. If we meet again someday, that orb will be the junction between you and me.”
Kassel had seen that jewel before. The jewel the Queen showed him along with Tanya. The power that protects Aranthia on its own. Kassel still recalled her voice asking for the protection of the Dragon Orb. In front of the orb, he swore loyalty to the Queen and officially became the captain of the Wolf Knights.
After that, the girl’s image became blurry. He couldn’t distinguish what came first and what came later. It was like a hallucination.
First, he saw a flag burning. He couldn’t tell which country it symbolized. Just above the flag, the wings of more than ten black dragons brushed past. Humans could not resist that power.
Only one place was resisting. Behind that huge wall, soldiers aided by sorcerors shot arrows. Due to the arrows infused with magical power, the black dragons could not approach. Behind the wall, golden, red, blue, and silver dragons stood firm and spewed fire. Black dragons and dragons of splendid colors clashed and fought with the wall between them.
The wall was stained red with the blood shed by the dragons, and the golden wheat fields that were about to be harvested were either burned down or soaked in dragon blood in an instant.
Soldiers resurrected from death climbed over the wall. The golden dragon that went down to fight them to block them was instead caught by dozens of ropes they threw and fell to the ground.
Then, the Knights who rushed from behind the wall drove back the resurrected soldiers and saved the dragon. The risen golden dragon drove back the black army with a force that no dragon dared follow.
Mages blocked the dark attacks spewed by the black dragons and supported the Knights and soldiers fighting below and above. The black dragons were startled that they were being pushed back by human power.
At the very front of all these armies was a girl in white armor, wielding a red-bladed sword. Nadiel.
The girl had become an adult. Fifty Knights followed that girl. Whether below the wall or on the wall, their prowess stood out. Even if compared to dragons, the power of these Knights was not inferior. The more than ten black dragons and the undead force of over tens of thousands eventually could not cross this wall stained with the blood of these dragons.
Kassel recalled Sheyden’s story. The legend of how the Yellow Gate became known as the Red Gate.
The battle reached its final stage. The one who stepped forward last was not the girl leading the white-armored Knights with Vena Silk, but a sorceress girl of the same age as her. Leading all the other sorcerors, the girl blocked the flames spewed by the dragons flying in the sky. And now she swung her staff at the greatly weakened Guanil. The white light emitted by the sorceress girl exploded into the sky. As a reaction, the wall she was leaning on collapsed. The white light’s magical blade severed the black dragon’s neck.
The gray sorceror standing on that black dragon was defeated by the girl with the red sword who chased after him and vanished.
The two leaders of the dark legion were simultaneously defeated by the two girls. In front of the girl holding the magic staff, the sorcerors chanted her name.
“Lutia!”
“Lutia!”
Next, as the girl with Vena Silk raised her sword, this time the Knights chanted her name.
“Nadiel!”
“Nadiel!”
The other dragons, except for two, also bowed their heads before the two girls. The captain of the Knights who fought the resurrected army below the wall approached and offered his sword to the girl.
“I gathered the Knights of the fallen Arok to come aid Aranthia.”
The girl received the sword and the captain knelt.
“Henceforth, if Arok is rebuilt, Arok will forever be the nation of Knights protecting Aranthia.”
“If Arok’s blessing is with us, I believe Aranthia will also be eternal. A dragon says he owes you his life and wants to give you a gift. Meet him.”
In front of the two captains, the golden dragon stood and solemnly declared.
“To this valiant order of Knights who protected my honor and life, I will bestow my four children as guardians. And as a sign that my power is with them, I grant that nation the name of me, Le-Ganel Landor.”
The captain of the Knights bowed his head in gratitude, shedding tears.
“Then from now on, Arok will be called Carnelock and this order of Knights will be named the Dragon Knights.”
The girl with Vena Silk put her hand on the shoulder of the female sorceror standing next to her and said to the dragons.
“Here is the shy maiden who brought down Guanil. Please bestow a gift upon her as well.”
Unlike the brave girl in armor, that sorceror was very embarrassed and hid behind the girl. Then a blue dragon came forward and spoke.
“Then on behalf of everyone here, I, Le-Nontil Larden, will bestow a gift. I give you land within my territory where you and your sorcerors can live, and name that land the same as your name, Lutia.”
At the dragon’s words, the sorceress girl tried to hide her flushed cheeks and bowed her head.
“Thank you, Nontil. The sorcerors living under my name vow to live as residents of the Sky Mountains for life.”
This time, a red dragon stepped forward.
“Then as a sign of permission, I, Knadil, will bestow my power within that land.
The red dragon pointed southwest with its finger and continued.
“My power will breathe within Lutia, your city. If you follow south of Nadium and reach Nontil’s western land, there will be a large jewel there. Have its light never go out by the sorceror who inherits my power.”
“I will keep that in mind.”
Finally, the highest dragon among the dragons came forward.
“To you, the first Queen of Aranthia and the first captain of the Wolf Knights, I will personally bestow a gift.”
“Speak, Nadiuren.”
The girl sheathed her sword and knelt deeply.
“I will put my blessing in the orb I gave you as proof that you possess the same soul as me. As long as that blessing is with you, you will be the first and last king of Aranthia, and Aranthia will be a self-guarding nation that serves as a gateway through the Sky Mountains and Acrand. Also, as a sign of all dragons’ respect for your valor and strength, I will bestow the position of High Lord of Dragons. This is proof of our promise that we dragons will never attack the human world.”
“Nadiuren, how can I alone receive all these immense gifts? I will consider all these blessings not as bestowed upon me, Nadiel, the captain of the Wolf Knights and Queen of Aranthia alone, but upon all lives of this land.”
The dragons spread their wings and flew one by one towards the Sky Mountains. Finally, only the goddess Nadiuren remained, looking down at the girl.
While everyone was elated in a festive mood, cheering and seeing off the dragons, only the girl was not smiling. The goddess Nadiuren said,
“Nadiel, don’t cry.”
“I’m not crying.”
“You are already like my daughter. I don’t want to see my daughter’s tears.”
“Yes. I will always protect this land with a smile, Mother.”
Nadiuren smiled brightly.
“By the way, why did you choose wolves for your Knights?”
“The wolves came to me on their own, relying on Gider.”
“I think I know who it is.”
Nadiuren spread her wings again and flew into the sky, creating a great wind. The girl’s waving hand gradually moved away from the dragon’s gaze.
☆ ☆ ☆
The hallucinations shown by Nadiuren had all ended. Kassel was crying. As if embarrassed to shed tears at a melodrama he didn’t want to be moved by, Kassel hurriedly wiped his tears. Lofin was sitting down, anguished by everything Nadiuren had shown.
“What have I been seeing? Her Majesty had already shown everything, yet where have I been wandering the continent seeking answers?”
Kassel wiped all his tears and looked up at the goddess. Of course, it was the form of Sa-Knadil in appearance, but Kassel discovered Nadiuren’s benevolence there. He could now tell who the dignified voice, possessing both strength and beauty, resembled.
“I knew the position of High Lord was learned from dragons, but I never guessed it was a position directly bestowed.”
Kassel said.
‘The High Lords of each gate probably don’t know either.’
The history of Aranthia was actually all in its name. The reason there could only be one true High Lord within Aranthia was because the truth was already in the Queen’s name.
For dragons, the position of Knight is Ka, the position of nobility is Re, and the position of High Lord is Sa. A thousand years ago, Nadiel directly received the position of ‘Sa’ from the goddess, and her name became Sa-Nadiel.
Lofin managed to get up and said,
“Indeed, if pronounced in Aranthia’s unique pronunciation, not the Acrand common language, it’s more accurate to pronounce it as Sanadiel rather than Sa-Nadiel.”
There was a lonely smile on Lofin’s face that Kassel couldn’t understand. Even though he was once considered the best among the Knights who bore the name of Wolf, he gave up the captain position to his friend and left…
Kassel could only imagine the shock and overwhelming emotion Lofin must have felt upon learning the origin of that captain in this place.
Kassel recalled the night just before arriving in Nadium, when he and Jaymer were being chased by Black and crossed the Gold Gate. The Queen personally sought out the village to see him in advance, with a heart as excited as a child. Why had she been in such a hurry? She herself confessed it was no different from prematurely peeking at the ending of a novel.
Now he seemed to understand. Why she looked at him with such affection.
‘I see.’
Kassel placed his hand on his heated chest.
There are only three High Lords of the Sky Mountains, and even the Lemifs do not know where they are. The first is the goddess Nadiuren, and the second is Master Knadil who protects Nadiuren. Both lived in the Hup, the center of the Sky Mountains and a forbidden space. Now Kassel knew the secret of the Sky Mountains that even the Hopet of Larden did not know.
The third and last High Lord of the Dragons lives in Aranthia. Still smiling and waiting for everyone to return.
Kassel closed his eyes and pictured Sanadiel’s face.
‘Greetings from a junior a thousand years later to a senior a thousand years ago.’
Kassel tried calling out her name in his heart, the name that would have been chanted in front of the Yellow Gate, which is now the Red Gate.
‘Captain Nadiel!’
–TL Notes–
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