Chapter 232

For a split second, I sank into a swamp of choices.

If Varen transformed here too, he wouldn’t save Kaldrok. They would simply capture two dragons instead of one.

But even if Varen charged in as a human, there was no telling whether he could break through that powerful magic and the knights’ formation to rescue Kaldrok.

No. “No telling” would be lucky. It was obvious Varen would be in danger too.

“I’m sorry, but... no. Absolutely not!!”

I wrapped both arms around Varen and locked my fingers together, holding on.

If he forced me off, every one of my fingers might be ripped out, but that didn’t matter.

“Ugh, Ceryl, please...!”

Varen was exactly as I expected. Even with blue light blazing from his eyes, he couldn’t bring himself to shake me off.

Instead, killing intent began pouring from his entire body. Pressed so close against him, I felt pain like my skin was being sliced open.

“Damn it, I’ll... I’ll kill them all. Every human....”

When I first met Varen, after he had spent his whole life trapped in the underground prison, he had seemed almost like a child.

He expressed every emotion he felt without restraint, whether joy or sorrow. His anger, especially, was something he couldn’t control at all.

But after his coming-of-age ceremony in Belzena, Varen had matured. He had learned to stay calm. Sometimes he seemed more adult and dependable than I was.

“I’ll burn them all to death.... I’ll kill them all....”

That was why it had been so long since I had seen him panic so badly that he couldn’t judge the situation.

When I glanced up, dragon scales had risen across Varen’s face. His blue eyes, clear as the sea, flashed with vertical reptilian pupils whenever he blinked.

Sharp dragon claws pushed out from the fingertips trying to pry me loose. My fragile human skin tore easily, droplets of blood welling up.

Not long ago, when I had nearly died at the rebel base, Varen had shown dragon traits while still in human form.

And he had almost lost his reason and burned the entire forest down. Seeing him look exactly like that again sent a chill down my spine.

“Haah... Varen, calm down. Please calm down.”

I tried somehow to soothe him, but far from calming, Varen was growing hotter by the second. Every place his body touched mine felt like it was being burned.

Then I felt something cold and dreadful beneath my feet. I hurriedly looked down, and this time a golden tail was appearing.

It hung low, its tip rigid and alert. Like a predator just before it sprang on its prey.

A powerful sense that this could not continue seized me.

There was a limit to how long I could stop Varen alone, and if I lost my grip, he would absolutely charge straight into the trap humans had dug.

Frantic, I looked around.

But the rebel operatives couldn’t even approach through Varen’s murderous aura, and even Theo only faltered in terror.

“Kh... Varen, please....”

The arms I had wrapped around him trembled violently.

The heat Varen radiated felt as though it were scorching my flesh.

My interlocked hands were so strained they seemed about to come loose at any moment. Blood seeped through my clenched teeth, filling my mouth with a metallic taste.

I couldn’t last even a few more seconds.

A human could not stop a dragon on the verge of losing his mind to rage.

In the end, all I could do was pray desperately.

Please... please, anyone....

“Haah... Ce... ryl....”

At that moment, a faint voice, thin enough to break, rang beside my ear.

It was a voice that brought relief just by hearing it, and at the same time made tears surge so hard they almost spilled over.

Swallowing a sob, I turned my head.

There, Morpha was looking at me, even the whites of their eyes stained red with blood.

“Sto... p... Va... ren....”

Perhaps because they had taken such a severe attack, Morpha couldn’t even use a dragon’s true speech. They could only move their torn lips.

“Haah... hur... ry... go....”

Their breath-laced words couldn’t even form complete syllables.

Even so, I understood perfectly what they were trying to say.

The blood Morpha had shed had gathered into a red pool on the grass.

They had always stayed immaculate no matter what form they took, but now they were covered in blood and dirt.

I stared at Morpha, then squeezed my eyes shut.

The tears that had been gathering spilled down all at once.

Morpha, who had appeared every time I was in danger.

Morpha, the ever-reliable problem solver who had guided me through every hopeless moment.

“Morpha... help me.”

Pathetic bastard that I was, I had no choice but to reach out to them again this time too.

“Ugh... stop Varen for me.”

At my words, Morpha barely shifted their dying eyes.

With those blood-reddened eyes, they took in Varen’s back.

Then they moved their body, which was hardly different from a corpse.

Even that only amounted to a faint twitch of their fingertips.

Gathering every last trace of magic they had left, Morpha stretched a hand toward Varen.

Something invisible flowed out of them and brushed past Varen.

It was too faint to even call wind.

“Ugh...!”

But Varen groaned low and collapsed.

Because he fell, I hit the ground with him.

The moment I went down, I hurriedly pushed myself up again.

“Varen, are you okay? Huh?”

I grabbed his bowed face in both hands.

His head felt impossibly heavy today, but I forced him to lift it.

“Haah... ha....”

Varen panted shallowly and met my eyes.

They were slightly unfocused, but his blue eyes were back to normal.

The scales that had climbed over his cheeks were gone without a trace, and the tail that had lashed so threateningly had vanished too.

At the sight, a hollow laugh burst from me.

Then I looked at Morpha, lying collapsed nearby.

After using the last of their strength to calm Varen, they had fallen into a deep sleep.

“Grrrrgh...”

“Cut off the neck! Now!”

Even then, cruelty was still unfolding behind us.

Varen’s gaze naturally moved toward the commotion.

I caught the nape of his neck and gently pulled him down, pressing his face against my chest.

“I’m sorry... I’m so sorry.”

Holding Varen tightly, I repeated the same words over and over.

I prayed that only my voice would reach his ears.

Even knowing full well what kin meant to Dravergh, the fact that I had no choice but to stop Varen made my throat close.

“I can’t... let you be in danger too, ngh....”

Perhaps Varen would regret this moment for the rest of his life.

Perhaps he would resent me for stopping him from saving Kaldrok as Kaldrok was killed before his eyes.

That was fine.

I could bear Varen’s resentment as much as I had to.

But if something happened to Varen here, I would curse myself to death for failing to stop him.

So in the end, it was selfish.

“Ha... Ceryl....”

A palm still carrying crackling heat rose to my back.

Varen wrapped that burning hand around me.

I flinched, but still hugged him tighter.

I tried to keep him from seeing the scene that would obviously become a nightmare.

That was the only kindness I could offer.

“I’m... all right now....”

But contrary to my expectations, Varen spoke calmly.

The hand patting my back felt no different from usual.

Startled, I blinked, shaking loose the last of the tears clinging to my lashes.

Then I faced Varen with a dazed expression.

Varen smiled at me with a weary face.

But behind that smile, unavoidable grief had soaked in deep.

“...Ngh... I’m sorry....”

Only after meeting Varen’s eyes did I realize how self-centered my thinking had been.

The helplessness of being unable to do anything was something Varen felt far more brutally than I did.

“Ceryl, move. I... I have to do this....”

The calm smile Varen forced onto his face looked even sadder.

Biting my lip, I pushed myself up.

Then I moved aside so he could face Kaldrok.

The copper dragon was still bound tightly in golden ropes, unable to move at all.

The humans surrounding him were so revolting it sent chills through me.

They looked like maggots swarming a rotting corpse.

“Damn thing is disgustingly tough. Hey! Focus on one spot!”

One of the mage knights raised his voice.

Even though they were supposedly the most skilled mages in this country, more than a hundred of them still couldn’t cut off a single dragon’s neck.

Strangely, the sight made me laugh.

It made me realize all over again just how powerful dragons were as a species, and how weak humans were by comparison.

Varen stared quietly at Kaldrok, then slowly stretched out one arm.

With his palm facing Kaldrok, he closed his eyes tightly.

‘The body returns to flame, and flame soars into the sky.’

Varen’s lonely voice echoed inside my head.

I let out a low breath and bit down on my lips.

‘May your breath become fire and light the beginning of the heavens once more. We will remember you and raise the wings of eternity high.’

It was the prayer recited during a dragon’s funeral in Belzena.

Only then did I understand what Varen meant to do.

Soon, murmurs arose from the mage knights.

They were panicking at the sudden change in Kaldrok’s condition.

Then Kaldrok’s peaceful voice rang out in turn.

‘Lord Varen, thank you... for saving my child... and my soul....’

With his eyes still closed, Varen lifted the corner of his mouth in a small smile.

At the same time, black smoke began rising from Kaldrok’s body.

For dragons, the body was only a vessel they occupied for a while.

What mattered was the heart that held the soul.

So having his heart taken by humans meant having his soul stolen.

‘Kaldrok, rest in peace in the First Flame.’

Just as Kaldrok had rotted Ordin’s heart as his final act of loyalty, this time Varen showed mercy by burning Kaldrok’s heart.