CHAPTER 120

A red maple leaf falling slowly.

The maple leaf finally landed on the sword, firmly planted on the rock.

The gleaming silver sword stood tall.

The sword that everyone seemed to covet was attracting Vlad's attention.

"······."

However, Vlad could feel it.

The silver sword standing proudly on the rock was aimed towards him.

A guardian sword that had protected someone and slaughtered countless enemies.

And the Dragon Slayer, which pierced the heart of the most perfect dragon.

That sword was now staring at Vlad.

With a bright blue day ahead.

Do not approach any further. You are still just a child who has not even opened their eyes yet.

Before I cut you down.

※※※※

"Ugh!"

Blue eyes piercing through the dark night.

Vlad, who had just woken up from a nightmare, was constantly shaking.

"······Urgh."

Vlad unconsciously wiped the sweat from his forehead, but sharp pain surged from the bandages wrapped tightly around his hands.

The wounds from yesterday, where he held the sword upside down, still tormented Vlad.

'What a vivid dream.'

Vlad recalled the vivid nightmare and clicked his tongue.

The scene from yesterday vividly came to mind whenever he closed his eyes.

Despite its imposing appearance, there was something ominous about the silver sword he saw yesterday.

Enough to haunt him in his dreams.

"You slept too much."

"....You've come."

Vlad turned his head towards the voice.

The window was slightly ajar.

Auguste stood with his arms crossed at the window where soft moonlight streamed in.

"How's it going? Have you finished investigating the tea fields?"

While Vlad helped bloom the flowers of the World Tree, Auguste was investigating the Tujon tea leaves in the elves' territory.

However, despite each of them finding their own clues, they were both lost in thought.

"The fields are divided."

"What?"

"...It's said that they have separated the tea leaves they'll sell to humans and the ones they'll drink themselves."

Two separate tea fields for humans and elves.

It could simply be for smooth sales, but as Auguste approached the fields, he could tell.

The varieties of the two tea leaves were subtly different.

"It seems it was filled with malice from the beginning."

"······."

The elves' tea. Absilon.

The green malice that started from the east could be considered the original sin of the Empire.

The elves' resentment towards humans had been entirely sparked by the Empire.

While the dragon that burned down the World Tree was the most perfect, those who drove them out of the forest were none other than the Empire.

"Enemies surround us from all sides."

Beneath the shining Empire lay the blood and tears of countless individuals.

The Empire was nothing more than another dragon standing over their world, crushing it.

And now, the Empire had to reap the seeds of sin they had sown for so long.

Whether they wanted to or not.

Far away, beneath the night sky, there was still a tree shining on its own.

The old knight's eyes, looking at the newly blooming world tree in contrast to the gradually fading empire, could not help but be filled with confusion.

※※※※

"So why were you holding the sword upside down like that?"

"······."

Now, finally, on this early morning as the sun rose.

The girl was unwrapping the messily wrapped bandages, grumbling to herself.

Even though she had wrapped them herself, the bandages didn't seem to come off easily and were giving her a hard time.

"If I knew things would turn out like this, I would have just put it in its scabbard."

"People who make excuses aren't trustworthy."

A knight who had injured himself with his own sword.

And if that injury was acquired while holding the sword upside down, then no one would want to hear any excuses.

"So why didn't you tell me beforehand?"

"It was my first time too. It was my first time trying the Blooming Ceremony."

She thought she just needed to show the amber stone.

But the two World Trees used their world as a conduit, exchanging memories and reality. Vlad had no choice but to bear with it.

If he had known it would go like this even a little bit, he would never have held the sword like that.

'Who should I blame?'

Strictly speaking, it might have been the girl's fault for not giving any warning, but Vlad's fault couldn't be ignored either.

There was nothing more pathetic than a knight's excuse that looked as feeble as the girl's words, so Vlad decided to keep quiet now.

"Done."

The girl, who had finally taken off all the bandages, smiled brightly and opened the wooden box she had brought.

Inside the box were various powders and liquids.

The inside of the girl's box was filled with colorful substances, almost like cosmetics.

"Just wait. I just need to use these."

"Have you actually tried it before?"

"It's okay, I've watched a lot from the side."

Vlad wished for a skilled hand if possible, but the girl ignored those wishes and simply picked up the vials.

"Give me your hands."

"······."

With the girl's arbitrary attitude, Vlad reluctantly held out his hands.

Vlad's palm was deeply cut.

As the girl looked at the knight's palm still gushing with red blood, she involuntarily pursed her lips.

"It must hurt."

"Not really."

Even though he replied dismissively, Vlad knew that his injuries were due to his own shortcomings.

But since both the girl and the World Tree were experiencing blooming for the first time, someone had to bear the brunt of their mistakes from behind.

Vlad's wounds were evidence of that.

"The elders gave me a lot of things to use on you. They should be effective."

Even though the elves rejected humans, they considered it important to treat Vlad kindly as he had helped with the significant blooming ceremony. 

Besides, they couldn't send him away empty-handed, especially since he had lost family's heirloom.

The medicine she brought was a small piece of compensation for what was to come.

"By the way, about the sword that was there at that time..."

"Yes, the Swordmaster's sword."

The girl replied casually, but those listening couldn't help but startle, including Auguste and Gott who were nearby.

The term "Swordmaster" held special significance among the Imperial citizens.

"Why was it there?"

"....I was curious why it was stuck there."

They had thought it was an extraordinary sword, but they never expected it to be the Swordmaster's sword.

From retired knight to stable boy, the three humans in the room unconsciously leaned forward, waiting for the girl's response.

"I heard the Swordmaster gave it."

"The Swordmaster... gave that sword? Personally?"

"Yes."

The golden eyes of the girl facing Vlad sparkled.

It was a gaze devoid of any lies.

"The Empire may be bad, but the Swordmaster was kind. That's why he gave us the sword."

"······What does that mean?"

Even Auguste lost his composure and asked, but all that returned was the cold gaze of the elven guards.

In this place, only Vlad could converse with the girl.

"That sword there is the Dragon Slayer Sword. A talisman for protecting the World Trees."

The girl pointed her eyes towards the young World Tree outside the window.

The World Tree of Ausrina, still emitting a faint glow as it bloomed.

Auguste and Gott might not have seen it, but Vlad, who had absorbed traces of the voice, could faintly see the tiny spirits frolicking on the World Tree.

"······What protects the World Trees?"

You have to see the truth hidden within the phenomenon.

Josef had always said that to the inexperienced boy.

Why did the Swordmaster leave his sword behind?

What did he do it for, to protect the World Tree?

The person who could answer that was none other than the girl in front of him.

"The Swordmaster's sword is the ultimate Dragon Slayer Sword."

The majestic silver sword.

The most perfect Dragon Slayer Sword.

"So all the dragons in this world fear that sword."

The sword he saw yesterday was speaking to Vlad.

Hurry up and get out of front of me.

Before I cut you down.

"······I see."

Vlad finally realized.

The strange sensation he felt yesterday wasn't just a delusion.

It was a sharp warning from the Swordmaster's sword to Vlad.

Thump-!

'······?'

As Vlad recalled the sword from yesterday through the girl's words, he suddenly felt his heart pounding.

A sudden pulsation of the heart, unlike anything Vlad had felt recently.

With each beat, an uncontrollable sense of unease began to well up inside Vlad.

It was a sensation completely different from anything he had experienced before.

"Priestess."

As Vlad was caught off guard by the sudden seizure, the door of the room creaked open, and the elven guards accompanying the girl began to enter hurriedly.

With urgent steps, as if there were no time to waste.

"You need to leave now."

"We will escort you."

Having received the situation through whispered words from the guards, the girl looked at Vlad, her pupils beginning to tremble slightly.

※※※※

Somewhere in the forest of Ausrina.

A group of elves, tense and alert, stood gazing beyond in the dark depths of the forest, away from the elven city.

"Ahhh!"

However vigilant they may be, there is sharpness that cannot be avoided.

Thorns flying from all directions.

Another elf fell victim to the sharp malice spewed forth like arrows.

"Form up!"

"The protective gear is useless!"

Even amidst the cries echoing from all corners, Baradis's gaze remained unwavering.

'Just a little more...'

The darkness lurking in the woods stared back at the elves.

In those dark eyes, there was a sneer and a burning hunger.

'Do you want to leave them like that?'

All dragons in this world are greedy.

They were always striving for perfection.

They were creatures who did not hesitate to shove anything into their cursed mouths to become perfect.

"It is coming out of the forest!"

"Raise your shields! Protect the mages and archers!"

Smoke filled the air in many places.

The elves did not hesitate to set fire to the forest to draw out the sharpest of dragons.

The cries echoing from all over were surely not only from the elves.

'Come out.'

With one eye closed, Baradis pulled the bowstring.

At the tip of the arrow aimed by the greatest ranger of the elves, a small magic circle was forming.

Filled with his anger.

Burning red.

Kaaaa-!

At the tip of the flying thorn hangs a poisonous malice.

The roar contains uncontrollable anger.

But even in the face of this horrific creature, not a single one turned and fled.

"Here, you son of a bitch!"

"Cursed dragon!"

Now the elves had nowhere else to retreat.

The young tree behind them was the last World Tree left in this world.

"Nidhogg..."

Approaching the elves who were firmly prepared for battle was the darkness of the forest.

A sleek body covered in sharp thorns.

Although now it was awkwardly trudging on the ground, the thin membrane on its forelegs once dreamed of soaring through the sky.

"It's bigger than expected!"

"We need to stop it first!"

Magic circles scattered everywhere.

It would take time for them to fix their coordinates.

Time for the dragon to stay still.

"Block it!"

Knowing this, the elves rushed towards Nidhogg without hesitation.

Kraaah!

The beast changes direction!

Protect the mages!

One of Baradis's eyes began to bulge as he heard the cries of his comrades.

Now, instead of poison, the sharp thorns of the dragon were stained with the elves' red blood.

"Baradi-s! Now!"

With a thrown grappling hook.

With a shield deflecting its jaws.

And with the corpse of someone who had just screamed, barely stopping its advance.

Graaaah!

Finally, the sharpest dragon stood still.

Its cursed eyes glared fiercely through the hazy dust.

"....Now!"

Various colored magic circles, having finally found their target, began to fly mercilessly towards Nidhogg.

Along with one arrow shot by Baradis.

The red arrow tip, carrying a gust of wind, flew through the air.

Carrying newly born young flowers on its back.

Behind the splattering blood, far away, the branches of the young World Tree were trembling.