“The final conclusion to your life?”
“When you first saw her, what sorts of thoughts did you have in your head?” Serpina pointed at Lyla. Brave glanced at Lyla momentarily and quickly turned back to place his guard up against Serpina.
“It’s hard to say. I haven’t thought about the matter deeply, but it’s clear that unlike you, she is a very upright soul.”
“Yes, as you say, she and I are different. Then, let me ask my next question. What do you think about Zich?” Although Brave’s name was also Zich, he immediately knew that Serpina was referring to the Zich who was currently fighting a dragon outside.
Brave’s expression looked conflicted as he replied, “Um, he’s a complicated guy.”
“That’s one way to describe him. He says he does kind deeds, but he doesn’t have the same characteristics as you.” Unlike Zich who tormented villains in the name of doing kind acts, Zich Brave was genuinely a just person. It was natural that he didn’t feel comfortable with a character type like Zich’s.
“However, no matter how much that guy’s behavior doesn’t suit you, you can’t help but think of him as special. You know the reason for that too, right?”
“Yes, because that guy is me.”
Although he had become a completely different person through various incidents and experiences, the Zich that was fighting the dragon right now was also him. It might have been different if Zich had been a complete stranger, but people always went easy on themselves.
“Yes, we can’t help but see our other selves more specially. It’s the same for me too.” Even if Serpina constantly criticized Lyla and despised her, she couldn’t disregard her. It was because Lyla was also herself.
“Truthfully, she was quite disappointing, but she also interested me. She made me think, ‘If I gain different experiences, I suppose I would also change like that.’” In another way, Lyla was another possibility of herself—she was directly facing things that most people only dreamed about.
“Thus, I asked her many questions. She didn’t have much experience to share because it hasn’t been long since she gained consciousness. She couldn’t bring up many topics that interested me except one.”
“What’s that?”
“Her love for Zich.”
Brave’s expression turned awkward.
“Don’t even dream about it. The Zich she loves is the one who is battling on the surface, not you.”
“I didn’t dream of such a thing. Even though Lyla is a good soul, there are times when I get shocked seeing her because she has the same face as you. So, why would I even dream of that?”
“For a hero, you’re prejudiced.”
“The Demon Lord I fought made too much of a lasting impression on me.”
Serpina snorted and continued, “Lyla looked like she was really enjoying herself when talking about Zich. To be honest, that part of her really piqued my interest and filled me with awe. It was simply astonishing that I, who gave up everything for Clowon and loved the empire with my whole being, could become like that. I wouldn’t have blinked an eye if it was anyone else’s story. No matter how great or passionate the love was, it wouldn’t have even touched my heart except this one.”
“In other words, her love touched your heart because Lyla was another version of yourself.”
“Yes, and as I continued to watch her, I began to think, ‘This version of myself isn’t too bad.’”
“Then, you should’ve just let them do what they wanted to do.”
“I couldn’t let that happen. Even if I gained a personal wish, it doesn’t change the fact that I am Clowon’s princess. That’s why I planned this event.”
It was then that Brave understood what Serpina was saying.
“So, if the dragon wins, you are going to aim to revive Clowon as the empire’s princess, and if Zich wins, you are going to completely give up on the matter.”
“I did my best as Clowon’s princess. If this plan fails, there’s nothing left for the princess to do. The outcome of this battle will decide whether I will remain as Clowon’s princess, Serpina, or a normal woman who loves a man named Lyla.”
“You sure put much thought into this complicated thing.”
“I wish I could live simply as you.”
“I also have many thoughts too.”
“Yeah, sure, whatever you say,” Serpina replied sarcastically.
“If what you say is true, then that’s good news for us. Thanks to Lyla, Zich has a better chance of defeating the dragon now.”
“Yes, I didn’t think of that. No wonder Zich left her here to guard against me. To think that she would find a way to turn the situation around right away…” Serpina readily complimented Lyla this time and added, “Although it was useless to call you.”
“Well, that’s because we don’t trust you yet.”
“Fine, I will acknowledge that calling you was good judgment on her part,” Serpina glanced at Lyla. “But the price of that was great.”
“…” Brave didn’t respond to her words.
Boom!
* * *
The dragon raised its body again. Due to its massive size, it looked as if a mountain was rising. Its eyes turned to Zich. Until now, its eyes had been filled with fury and loathing, but now there was a sense of vigilance mixed in. On its shoulder area where Zich had struck, there was a wound deeper than any of the previous ones. It wasn’t critical, and considering a dragon’s strong stamina and vitality, the injury wouldn’t hinder its movements either. Nevertheless, it didn’t take away the fact that this was a huge breakthrough. Furthermore, it hadn’t even been a proper attack that made it either. Since Zich had used mana that suddenly surged out of him, he couldn’t use any special skills or techniques immediately. The dragon also instinctively knew that future attacks were going to be even more critical from now on.
Wiiing! The dragon prepared its magic. The sight of five different types of magic getting created in an instant was astonishing no matter how many times one saw it—though an enemy couldn’t purely admire the view. Zich moved his awakened mana all over his body. The gigantic amount of mana seemed to evoke a sense of omnipotence inside him, but Zich didn’t forget to remain level-headed.
‘My mana amount is on the same level as a dragon now, but that’s all there is to it.’ Zich didn’t have scales that could compare to rare metals, and his stomps alone could not shake the ground either. He also didn’t have his breath mixed in with high-temperature mana or magic skills that could form five different types of elemental magic at once.
Zich landed next to Hans and Snoc. Weig and Til were supporting them. Zich approached Hans and took Estellade from his hands while saying, “I’ll be borrowing this.”
“Yes, sir.” Even though his precious sword was being taken from him, Hans obediently passed his sword to Zich.
Zich held Estellade and began moving again. Glen was crouched in a fetal position and was shivering from head to toe.
Swish! Zich swung his sword toward Glen without warning. Even while shivering in fear, Glen managed to block Zich’s attack. However, Zich had already recovered his mana from his prime, and the sword he was using was Estellade, which was the opposite sword equivalent to Glen’s Tornium.
Bamm!
“Aghhh!” Their positions were completely flipped from before. Glen wasn’t able to endure Zich’s attack and rolled on the ground like a bug.
‘Should I kill him?’ Zich became slightly conflicted about whether he should kill Glen or not, but he soon gave up on this thought. ‘It would be better to let him live and distract the dragon for us.’
If he compared the risk of the dragon in front of him and Glen, who had completely fallen into despair, the scale would completely be tipped towards the dragon’s side.
“Give that to me!”
Punch!
“Ack!”
Zich kicked Glen’s stomach as he was staggering, and Glen collapsed while vomiting blood from his mouth. Then Zich immediately broke Glen’s hand.
“Aghhhh!” A scream burst out of Glen’s mouth, and Tornium fell helplessly to the ground. Tornium was the reason why Zich had approached Glen even in the face of the dragon’s threat.
Tap! Zich lightly kicked Tornium in the air and held Tornium in his empty hand.
Flasssh! The dragon completed preparing its magic attack. Zich kicked Glen one more time.
“Agh!”
Again, a painful moan came out of his mouth, but thanks to Zich’s kick, he was able to escape from the center of the dragon’s magic attack. Of course, since the size of the dragon’s magic was substantial, he couldn’t completely move away from the range of the attack. However, Glen was fully capable of escaping the dragon’s attack from that distance.
‘Continue to act as our bait.’ Zich had no doubt that Glen would be more than willing to play this noble role. The amount of debt that Glen owed to him was unmeasurable; acting as bait for a dragon was nowhere enough to pay just the interest, and Zich thought Glen should be grateful for his generosity. After thinking these fruitless thoughts for a moment, Zich began moving. Thanks to his fully released mana, his movements were significantly faster than before.
Baaaam! The dragon’s magic attack fell toward the spot where Zich used to be. Lightning and flames surrounded by a gust of wind ferociously danced around to engulf Zich.
‘Three elements—it’s convergence magic!’ It was on the same level of magic as Walwiss’ Inferno. Of course, the dragon’s magic didn’t have just three elements as earth and ice were also mixed into the attack as well. Even though there were elements that offset each other, the dragon’s incredible magic ability and enormous mana forcibly converged them together into one huge magic attack. It was a frightening sight to see elements that should have never existed next to each other converge and bare their sharp teeth. Fortunately, the earth and ice elements disappeared due to Walwiss’ interference.
However, the remaining elements were still threatening and dangerous. Zich put more strength into his hands, and he strongly gripped the two swords. The swords devoured Zich’s mana and began to transform it into power. He held Estellade in one hand and Tornium in the other. Light and dark mana leaked out from Estellade and Tornium while the mana from the Key that Distorts Destiny mixed in with the two swords. Then, their powers exploded.
Swish! Zich lifted Tornium. It had been a long time since he’d last held it in his hands. Tornium’s characteristically rough mana ran wild, and this was the reason why Tornium was called the Demon Sword; those who weren’t able to properly control its mana were harmed by Tornium instead. However, it didn’t pose any threat to Zich who had used Tornium like his hand before his regression. Instead, the sensation of Tornium in his hand even evoked a sense of longing.
Swing! Zich infused a large amount of mana into Tornium and swung it. Tornium’s mana crashed against the dragon’s magic.
Crasssssh! Tornium’s raging mana pushed back the dragon’s magic. The wind scattered, the flames died down, and the lightning cracked down a notch. It seemed like the magic was screaming. Zich watched this sight and lifted Estellade this time. Before his regression, this was Glen’s ego-sword that always stood in his way. He thought that he would never use it, and even when he found out that he could use it, he had passed it off to Hans.
Estellade let out a brilliant light in the hands of a former Demon Lord. Zich’s enormous mana rapidly turned into light, and Zich concentrated his mana to the tip of the sword and pierced the dragon’s magic attack.
Wiiing! Light emitted out of Estellade, and it penetrated the magic that was already weakened by Tornium.
Bang! The dragon’s magic attack lost its sense of direction and died while raging in the air. Zich’s eyes and the dragon’s eyes met.
Roaaaaar! The dragon let out a loud roar and rushed toward Zich with its mouth wide open. While engulfed in light and dark mana, Zich also rushed toward the dragon.