Chapter 95: Now you can rest in peace

The dragon’s small body trembled with rage. What was wrong with this human? Was he seriously missing a few screws?!

Damn it!

It roared with all its might, but its tiny body could only produce a hoarse, strained cry.

"You are a heartless bastard! Are you sure you’re not a demon?! I’m already dead, yet you can’t even spare me a few moments to talk after taking everything I left behind before I died, only to tell me to just vanish!"

Its voice cracked toward the end, almost as if it were about to cry.

"And besides... what do you mean, ’we’?! Who else is here besides you?! This is my resting place! You are the intruder who came here without permission!"

As it spoke, the dragon swept its gaze across the dark underground chamber.

Only then did it notice, from the corner of its eye, the faint glow of the dome Zephyr had created around Lucien’s body in the distance. It was the only source of light remaining in the darkness after Zephyr had absorbed the last core. Even the biting cold that had once filled the chamber had vanished, leaving behind a strangely comfortable, slightly damp atmosphere.

The dragon suddenly stopped struggling.

Wait...

It seemed to have misunderstood.

This human had only taken one of the cores. The other one...

Its gaze shifted toward the gently flickering dome, and it could clearly sense the power of the other core within the sleeping human inside. The realization slowly dawned on it, and the fury in its eyes faded slightly.

So that was what had happened.

Zephyr remained silent for a moment.

Although he hadn’t intentionally done anything to harm this creature that had suddenly materialized, and he certainly hadn’t been the one to put it through any suffering, there was one thing he couldn’t deny. By following Lucien here, he had indeed intruded upon its resting place.

After thinking for a moment, Zephyr sincerely apologized.

"I apologize, both on behalf of myself and my partner."

The dragon immediately fell silent.

For a moment, it felt completely stifled.

It stared at the strange human before it, utterly baffled. One moment, he was being so cruel and indifferent, and the next, he was calmly apologizing.

Now, where was the dragon supposed to direct its grievances?

The dragon opened its mouth several times but couldn’t find anything to say. It had been prepared to fight with him until the end, yet his sudden apology had completely disrupted its momentum.

When the dragon didn’t respond, Zephyr continued, thinking that if it started crying, things would become troublesome. He had no idea how to comfort someone who was crying. Besides, it was better to settle this as quickly as possible. They had already made quite a bit of noise, and it was probably disturbing Lucien’s sleep.

"I can’t promise that I’ll kill more demons. I don’t know where to find them, and I’m not sure what they’ve done to warrant killing them. But if I encounter them in the future and they’re truly evil, I can promise to kill them for you."

He paused before adding in his usual calm tone.

"Now you can rest in peace."

The dragon, which had just begun to think that perhaps it had misunderstood him and that this human actually had decent morals, suddenly choked on empty air.

Its entire impression of Zephyr shattered in an instant.

What good person?!

What kind of good person repeatedly tells someone to just vanish?!

This guy was clearly a two-faced bastard!

The dragon’s tiny claws clenched in frustration, but after a few moments, it forced itself to calm down. There was no point getting angry at someone who seemed completely incapable of understanding why his words were so infuriating.

Still, after thinking for a moment, the dragon finally spoke in a cold tone.

"I can’t vanish just yet. I would never have awakened if you hadn’t touched the dark core. Now that you’ve awakened me, you’ll have to bear the consequences. Be grateful, human. I’ve decided to follow you."

It puffed out its chest, trying to recover some of its former dignity.

"Although I can no longer give you any power, I can still teach you many things. I was the strongest of my race, after all. So, since you refuse to call me Master, treat me as your benefactor until I disappear."

It muttered sourly and clicked its tongue.

"Not that I want a disciple like you anyway."

Of course, the dragon didn’t mention that it had already exhausted almost all of its remaining power. The tiny amount left was barely enough to maintain its current form, meaning it could no longer seal itself away.

At this point, it had only two choices—wait for itself to disappear or follow this human around until its remaining power was completely exhausted.

Naturally, it chose the second option.

Zephyr’s eyes flickered, and he muttered almost subconsciously.

"How annoying."

The dragon immediately roared.

"What did you say?! Say that again!"

Zephyr’s expression didn’t even change.

"Nothing. But... if you want to follow me, you’ll have to swear that you won’t harm my partner. Mere words aren’t enough. There needs to be something that guarantees you’ll never be able to hurt him. If you break that promise, you should disappear immediately or something."

The dragon fell silent.

This guy was more worried about his partner than himself.

After a moment, it sighed and decided to come clean.

"There’s no need for any of that. Only you can see or hear me because you absorbed the dark core. Your partner can’t even perceive my existence."

It paused before continuing in a tired voice.

"Besides, I’m not even powerful enough to kill a fly right now. How could I possibly harm someone as large as your partner? If you can’t even treat me as a benefactor, then just treat me like air until I disappear. It won’t take long."

Zephyr was already developing a headache from all the talking.

After learning about the creature’s tragic past, he didn’t want to say anything too harsh after his earlier slip-up. But there was no reason to hide what was on his mind, either.

"Air doesn’t talk, nor can it feel like a pair of eyes watching me."