It had been hard to see. His line of sight, which had been eroded by black and red, was suddenly illuminated by the light. Eugene looked up at Sienna’s face without saying a word.
‘Is this… a dream?’
He could not understand. Sienna was sealed in the World Tree, and there was no way for her to come here in the gap between dimensions. Eugene had failed to kill Raizakia. He had pushed the Black Dragon to the brink of death, but he had run out of energy first.
So how was it possible for Sienna to be here? She didn’t have a single wound on her, and her expression was one that Eugene knew all too well — a face that made it hard for him to discern whether she was laughing or crying. How was it that she was here, staring at him?
“Are you surprised?” she asked with a bright smile. When she pointed her finger towards him, the light that surrounded her was redirected towards Eugene.
Fwoosh…!
The light enveloped Eugene. It was a warm, gentle light, and it penetrated deep into Eugene’s twisted, broken, scarred, and dying body. Eugene could feel precisely how the light permeated deep into his vessels, rejuvenating them as blood, how it glued each fragment of bone, and how it wove the torn muscle fibers.
Kyahahahaha—
A burst of clear laughter resonated in Eugene’s head, or rather, throughout his entire being. He could clearly see the light that once again illuminated his sight. The light that permeated Eugene wasn’t the light of the divine power but rather the light of the pure spirits. It was the light of the World Tree, the same light that prevented Sienna’s death and protected her and the elves for hundreds of years.
His body began to heal, and it wasn’t just limited to external injuries either. His broken organs, including his heart and his Cores, which were utterly destroyed as a result of using Ignition twice in a row, were restored by the light of the World Tree.
Eugene could no longer taste death in his mouth, and he no longer stood on the boundary between life and death. The irresistible despair had already disappeared, and the black and red that filled his sight was completely dispelled by the light.
“What’s happening…?” stammered Eugene. Although his body was healed, he still couldn’t understand what was going on. Sienna wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, then passed Eugene with a brisk step.
“Can’t you tell?” she asked.
Eugene could see Raizakia behind the veil of light, unable to advance any further. He was attempting to break through the light with disbelief on his face but failing to advance even a step further. His path was blocked by the spirits of the World Tree, as well as Sienna’s magic.
“It’s me, Hamel. Sienna Merdein.” Her voice quivered ever-so-slightly. She continued forward after passing Eugene, then stopped right in front of Mer. The familiar was on the ground, broken.
Her small, frail body had been broken by Raizakia’s Dragon Fear and the magic he used to intentionally break her. Sienna lowered herself and brought Mer’s small figure into her embrace.
“Fortunately, I’m not too late,” Sienna muttered while quietly restoring Mer’s magic, imbuing mana into the helpless familiar.
“Lady… Sienna…?” Mer was still conscious. Although she couldn’t move properly and could not speak, she opened her eyes and saw a miracle.
Sienna smiled in response and stroked her cheek. “You worked hard.”
“Lady Sienna…. Lady Sienna…!”
“Yes, yes.”
Mer buried her face in Sienna’s chest and bawled. Sienna raised herself and returned to Eugene, holding Mer tightly in her arms. Eugene’s fully recovered vision allowed him to see Sienna clearly and accurately. It was… truly a miracle. Her existence in this place could not be called anything else but a miracle.
Sienna’s current form did not possess a body. This Sienna in front of him was a spiritual existence created by her soul and the light of the World Tree.
“It was destiny created from the conditions,” Sienna explained. “Raizakia connected this space with the forest in which the World Tree resides, creating a path. And right now, Hamel, you are here with Akasha.”
The necklace Eugene wore was a relic of his previous life, and it contained Sienna’s magic. In addition, Akasha was originally an artifact created for Sienna to use.
“It was I who found you again, Hamel. Hamel, you… did it for me. You, stupid, dumb fool. It was because you were running wild without thinking about your life and pushing that dumb, shitty lizard against the corner. And it was because you were about to die again,” said Sienna.
She slowly stretched out her hand and helped Eugene to his feet. Eugene staggered up, then looked down at Sienna. Sienna took a deep breath, then raised her fist and gently tapped it against Eugene’s chest.
“I couldn’t just watch. That’s why I, Lady Sienna, came here to save you, just in time,” continued Sienna. Technically speaking, the ‘light’ that rescued Eugene wasn’t Sienna’s power but rather the power of the World Tree.
But was that really important? It was Sienna’s soul that brought the light of the world tree upon this darkness, and it was only possible because Sienna had longed to save Eugene. Thinking so, Sienna gave a confident smile. Then, she turned her head to the side.
Raizakia, the Demon Dragon, her adversary of centuries, was glaring at her with bloodshot eyes while shouting something. His Breath and Dark Power were causing the light that separated the two sides to quiver.
“It’s too dark here for us to celebrate our reunion,” grumbled Sienna, then lifted Mer, who was still buried in her arms.
“Mer, I am not complete enough to fight while holding you, so….”
Smack.
She gave a light kiss on Mer’s cheek before continuing, “Go to Hamel.”
“Y-yes.” Mer barely managed to clack her jaws together, then wriggled into Eugene’s cloak. Sienna fixed her hat, then turned and faced Raizakia.
“…Ehem,” with a small cough, she reached out to Eugene.
“What is it…?” asked Eugene.
“Staff!” she responded. Sienna was still unstable in her form. Her body was still sealed in the World Tree, and most of her mana was contained within it. Although she had manifested herself in this place by a miracle, she had already consumed most of her power to block Raizakia’s advance and heal Eugene.
However, if she could use Akasha, she could still fight, even in her incomplete form. Recognizing this, Eugene handed Akasha to Sienna.
“It’s been long,” muttered Sienna with a bright smile. Her words were directed to Akasha, which she had touched for the first time in hundreds of years, and to her friend, whom she was fighting along with for the first time in centuries.
“How’s your body? Can you move?” she asked.
“It’s a lot better than before, but honestly, it’s not moving great,” answered Eugene. He had been brought back from the brink of death. His heart had been made whole, his broken limbs mended, and his organs restored. However, even after the miraculous recovery, his body did not move as well as he expected.
“But it moves, right? That’s enough for now. Ah, and I’m only going to say this once, but don’t use Ignition. If you do, I’ll make sure to prioritize beating you up,” said Sienna.
“Do you think I used it because I wanted to? I used it because I had no other choice,” retorted Eugene. 𝘳𝘦.𝒸𝑜𝘮
“That’s why I’m telling you not to use it from now,” said Sienna, raising Akasha in front of her.
Rumble!
Raizakia’s Breath penetrated the light that was separating the space. But the scattering light gathered in front of Akasha according to Sienna’s will, forming a magical shield and blocking the Breath.
“I’m by your side, Hamel.”
He wasn’t alone. Right now, he was by the side of Sienna Merdein, the only wizard capable of fighting a dragon or a Demon King. Sienna smiled, revealing her white teeth, and Eugene gave a hollow laugh in response.
“You’re not even in perfect shape,” said Eugene. He could feel the tip of his fingers quivering finely. However, he could dispel such things by slightly tightening his grip. Once again, Eugene took the Moonlight Sword and the Holy Sword in each hand.
With his mind clearing up, he could once again make the connections between the blurs of his memories. He remembered how Raimira, the Dragon Duchess, had chosen to walk out of the cloak, tears in her eyes, and stood in Raizakia’s way.
~
—And… if t-this Lady is swallowed by something….
—Then I will take you out of this “something’s” jaws.
~
It was a conversation they had shared only a few days prior. Even until that moment, Ramira had refused to admit that the somethin’ was Raizakia. However, it was clear that Raimira would have had a hunch. She would have known that her nightmares were foreshadowing a definite future, as well as what the source of her nightmares was.
The red jewel embedded in her forehead would have shown her a glimpse of Raizakia’s thoughts, engraving into her mind and body how she would be used by Raizakia. Even so, Raimira had voluntarily stepped out of the cloak, standing between her father and Eugene. She had refused to let Eugene and Mer die.
[She’s…. She’s still alive, Sir Eugene,] said Mer.
“I know,” responded Eugene.
Raizakia had given birth to Raimira only to use her for breeding. He had planned to make her lay eggs continuously after allowing her to mature. As such, Raizakia had swallowed her whole instead of chewing. Raimira was still alive inside Raizakia’s stomach.
“That was a promise,” said Eugene, glaring at Raizakia.
Everything had been over. Hamel’s frightening flames had died, and his body had met the rightful fate of an insignificant human.
Raizakia could have finished everything if he had taken just one more step forward. Unfortunately, he had failed to take that one step.
He first prioritized swallowing his child, whom he felt not even an ounce of warmth towards.
He prioritized destroying the insignificant familiar, an existence even inferior to humans, who dared to stand in his way.
“Sienna Merdein!” roared Raizakia in anger. Sienna had been given a chance to materialize because of the delay in his single step. “Are you attempting to unleash your magic before a dragon? In your incomplete form…!?”
He could clearly see that Sienna’s existence was incomplete. The power of the World Tree was allowing her to materialize in this place, but what could she do with that less-than-perfect power? There was nothing she could do. There could be nothing she could do.
Raizakia raised his hand as he ground his teeth. “You should not have come to this place. You should not have shown your incomplete self before me. Do you really dare to think you can stop me in your current state? You cannot. It is impossible!”
This was only a matter of course as well. Hamel’s wounds had recovered, but he would not be able to fight like before. Raizakia saw that Hamel’s mana was not flowing like before. In his current state, it would be impossible for him to explode the mana in his heart and his Core.
Indeed, whether he failed to take a single step made no difference. It had simply been delayed. Raizakia was not out of strength yet.
The Lord’s Dragon Heart he consumed three centuries ago had empowered him with more Dark Power. Moreover, if necessary, he could deprive his hatchling of her power.
“You must be scared, right?” whispered Sienna. “My existence must be a nightmare to you.”
“Do not get ahead of yourself, human…!” snarled Raizakia.
“I have the right to act arrogant in front of you, don’t I? I was the one who imprisoned you in this pitch-black darkness. Raizakia, you’re no dragon. You’re just a cowardly bastard. You tried to kill me and rob me of Akasha when I was mortally wounded,” retorted Sienna.
Even Eugene had been unable to use Akasha until he was granted ownership by Sienna. However, Sienna could use Akasha even after giving ownership to Eugene because Akasha was a staff that was exclusively created for her.
Raizakia had coveted Akasha. He had desired to kill Sienna to take Akasha as his own.
“You could not tolerate my existence,” Sienna said with a sneer. “Akasha wasn’t the only thing you were obsessed with. You were obsessed with me. I, a human, was a greater wizard than you. You could not tolerate my existence, which was why you came to kill me at my weakest moment, right?”
When Sienna came to the Samar Rainforest, she had not been in possession of Akasha. At that point in time, Akasha had been enshrined in Akron. Even so, Raizakia searched for Sienna, and he came to the land of the elves to kill her.
Sienna smiled and wiggled her finger. “Raizakia, do you know what I thought when I discovered your name? You’re a coward. A coward who didn’t want to die, a coward who was so afraid of the Demon King that he betrayed the dragons. A coward who is complacent with being a duke, a coward who is too afraid to challenge the Demon King even after being corrupted from a great existence.”
A light appeared from her wriggling finger. A storm of mana began to form around her ethereal form. It was Eternal Hole, the epitome of the Circles Magic Formula. The mana that poured out of Akasha drew an infinite trajectory in Sienna’s Eternal Hole.
“I admit it, Raizakia. You can kill me anytime. You have the power. Even so, you cannot best me when it comes to magic. You didn’t come to me because you knew this truth, did you? That’s why I call you a coward,” said Sienna.
It was a remark not worth refuting. And yet, how did it find its mark deep inside his heart…?
Raizakia shook with anger and humiliation. He stared at the infinite trajectory of the whirlwind in Sienna’s chest. He had heard of the Eternal Hole. After the war, the human wizard was said to have settled in Aroth, inventing the Circles Magic Formula to greatly develop human magic. The epitome of magic she developed after studying for only decades… was that.
He could not admit it. Raizakia attempted to understand and grasp the Eternal Hole, but even he, a dragon, could not comprehend the infinite trajectory formed inside it.
“Kuaaagh!” Raizakia kicked off the ground with a roar. If he could not understand it, he would destroy it. There would be no need for comprehension once he destroyed all traces of it.
“I must have had it right on the dot for you to get this angry,” giggled Sienna before turning to Eugene. Eugene mimicked her smile while raising the Holy Sword and the Moonlight Sword.
“Let’s go, Hamel.”
A whirlwind of magic appeared around Sienna.
𝘳𝑎.𝒸ℴ