Chapter 193 - The City Where the Dragon Roars (1)

The Dragulia mansion in the capital, Brigantes.

Sarnus, The Blood Dragon, stood by the window, gazing northward into the distance.

His reflection in the window looked very gaunt, perhaps due to the white bandage wrapped around his neck.

'…The Sword Master's blade was drawn.'

On that day when the pact suddenly activated, Sarnus was sure of it.

The Sword Master's blade has been unsheathed somewhere in the empire at this moment.

Though it was only for a short time, the pact with the Sword Master that was activated could only be connected through blood or will.

'The Duke of Iron? Or Bayezid?'

There was no way a successor to the already deceased Frausen could suddenly emerge, so the only possibility left was the Sword Master's blade.

And according to rumor, there was a white lightning bolt that split the fog-filled city of Moshiam.

"If I find it and get rid of it, I will be free."

Sarnus, who as someone who took by force but was bound by an oath and had no choice but to become a protector, now dreamed of true freedom.

And at the end of the dream he envisioned, the perfection desired by dragon blood would be waiting.

"Hmm?"

However, for a brief moment, really a very brief moment, Sarnus felt a twinge in his neck.

It was something different from the sensations he had felt before, but it was definitely a familiar pain.

"...Blood?"

A fleeting sensation that was almost like an illusion.

Touching the bandage with his fingers, Sarnus was surprised to see the red liquid spreading across his fingers.

"Could it be that the sword has already been drawn?"

The sword might have been unsheathed, but without a legitimate successor to the will, the silver knight could only remain silent.

However, a single drop of bright red blood spread across the white bandage that Sarnus wore.

Though it was a very small trace, it clearly revealed its presence.

***

Is the person in front of me a dragon or a knight?

The northern lords, with their swords drawn, watched Vlad, who silently bowed his head.

The blond knight who had been roaring fiercely a moment ago was clearly shouting with the voice of a dragon.

"We must kill him right now."

"...Wait."

"Count Peter, I understand your concerns, but this is for the greater good."

"..."

Peter gritted his teeth hard when he heard the voice of someone beside him.

He was right.

If you are where you need to be, you have to do it.

For the North, which needed to become one, the blood of Dragulia was like poison.

"Even so, let's wait a moment."

However, Peter could not easily move his sword.

A young knight born in Soara and found by Bayezid.

Peter remembered the young squire who had wielded his sword countless times under the walls of Sturma.

And he also remembered his son's smile when he brought that squire.

"He's moving."

Vlad was kneeling on one knee and bowing his head.

As he slowly began to rise, the eyes of the lords sharpened.

Some were already invoking aura through their closed left eye.

"Lord Vlad..."

Alicia, who was behind the lords, looked at Vlad, who was still silent, and seemed about to cry.

The inexplicable vibrations that still shook the ground continued to shake her anxious heart.

Crash-thud-thud-

Dust fell from the stone ceiling.

Amid the cries of the fragments urging to hurry and return to this place, Vlad silently opened his eyes.

Vlad's opened eyes were still pale blue, but they were clearly focused.

"Vlad Aureo."

In the heavy silence, the voice of the Iron Lord Timur was heard from the highest position in the conference hall.

Although he tried to suppress it, his voice could not help but tremble, blurring the end of Timur's words.

"Tell us here. Who the hell are you?"

There was something in the world Timur saw and felt but could not believe.

The other lords might not have known, but Timur, the guardian of the oath, saw the young dragon recognized as a knight under the shining tree.

"I am Vlad."

How many people in this world know who I really am?

But today, Vlad truly realized who he was.

He had found his roots and the goal he wanted to reach in his life.

"The master of myself. Vlad."

With those words, Vlad turned his head away from the boundary of becoming a noble.

Because he no longer needed others to give him his name.

Thump-

In his chest, which he had been holding tightly, a star still shone.

Vlad gathered the stars and silently transferred them to the Sword of the World Tree.

Seeing the light following the heart of the dragon, the sword of the world tree began to shine.

"Then I'll do what I have to do."

Although no one allowed it, Vlad began to walk towards the doors through which he had entered.

These were the doors he had been trying to enter until now, but when Vlad turned, he showed no hesitation.

***

Following the dragon fragments' roar, the wyverns in the sky echoed with their own roars.

The more the fragments roared, the stronger the wyverns' scales became, no longer yielding to arrows. With their constant breath, they pushed the knights of Bastopol into a corner.

The northern knights gritted their teeth and fought as the dragons grew more perfect with each passing moment.

"Is this all, Rutiger Bayezid?"

"...!"

Kaaaaang-!

The clash of swords sounded like an explosion.

Mirshea's roar filled the hallway with hot wind.

"It's almost like losing momentum at this point!"

Between the clashing swords, Mirshea could be seen laughing fiercely.

Though his golden hair was stained all over, his blue eyes, full of madness, remained unchanged.

"That bold strike. Why don't you try it again?"

"If that's what you want..."

Beyond the grinding swords, their gazes locked. Ignoring their positions and the situation, both focused solely on each other.

"...I will!"

Rutiger struck his sword forcefully and used the recoil to lift it high once more.

Rutiger's world, dragged from the depths and unleashed through the crater of anger, manifested a hot aura at the tip of his sword, like lava erupting from a volcano.

'I see it!'

However, Mirshea, looking at Rutiger's sword, continued to smile.

As he approached the fragment, Mirshea's senses became more perfect.

The dragon's vision, which could see even from afar, showed him exactly where Rutiger would strike.

Kwoooang-!

With a thunderous sound, stone dust began to fly in the aura.

However, what the tip of Rutiger's sword touched was nothing but empty air.

"...!"

"I told you before."

Rutiger could feel a chilling energy reaching his ears.

A voice that brushed past but penetrated sharply.

With an instinct faster than thought, Rutiger began to roll down the hallway.

"You're too slow!"

Kwaaang-!

The spot where Rutiger had been was shattered by Mirshea's blow.

The hallway wall, unable to withstand the unleashed force, broke and slid away.

Seeing the superhuman strength, Rutiger felt a chill.

"...This is..."

Mirshea smiled as he looked at the dust-filled hallway.

Though he had seen it with his own eyes, he couldn't believe the strike he had just delivered. The sensation still transmitted from his hand to his brain.

"This is what it means to be a dragon."

I am an entity that can be felt through others who have been wounded.

Seeing Valkov and the northern knights lying in the distance, and Rutiger thrown by the wind, Mirshea finally realized who he was.

I am a dragon.

A perfect being that such miserable people cannot stop.

"Let's finish this. I have nothing more to do with you."

Although they had been face to face just a moment ago, now, with dragon vision, Rutiger was an inferior existence.

A moment ago, he had been directly in front of Rutiger, but looking through dragon vision, Rutiger suddenly became an inferior existence.

Dragons have the instinct to crush what is below and look upwards.

Mirshea decided to climb Mirshea's body to meet the higher world of the Iron Duke.

"It's time to say goodbye."

"…If you can, try it."

Rutiger silently began to breathe deeply as he watched Mirshea prepare for the final blow.

Though he didn't know how, his opponent grew stronger over time.

Before Mirshea's strength became an unstoppable torrent, Rutiger had to cut him down.

"..."

Mirshea's world, seen through closed eyes, was like a shining jewel.

A world polished by someone else, seeking perfection without allowing the slightest flaw.

Thump!

However, Mirshea could not summon his own world from the depths.

This was because he noticed someone running behind Mirshea at an incredibly fast speed.

"Who are you?"

A speed that even the eyes of a dragon couldn't keep up with.

However, the light was golden and nothing less than beautiful.

Kaaang!

Faster than the fastest dragon.

Cleverer than the cleverest dragon.

"I am Vlad of Soara!"

Finally, two worlds met.

The two people who met had exactly the same blue eyes.

***

Crunch-

As the dragon met the dragon, the pieces below began to roar loudly.Among the dragons I have summoned, they are the closest to perfection.

Recognizing their brilliant potential, the fragments cried out to be taken.

"We are not meant to be fighting."

"So, what is our relationship?"

The swords clashed thunderously, with no space between the advancing and defending.

"Now you know, don't you? Who you are."

Screech-!

The balance of the clashing swords tilted heavily towards Vlad.

The force only dragons can possess was pushing Vlad relentlessly.

"Ugh..."

[Get out of there! Don't try to understand that guy by human standards!]

The marble floor Vlad stood upon mercilessly cracked.

It was marble that had been preserved for a long time, but it couldn't withstand the force of the pressure and was crumbling.

"Come with us. Brother. If you are who you are now, you are more than qualified."

The brightest among the seeds scattered by my father.

Mirshea's words upon coming to Dragulia were clearly sincere.

Because that's how the Dragulia family was maintained.

"Damn it!"

"…!"

However, Vlad was greatly angered by Mirshea's words about going to Dragulia.

"That offer should have been made before my mother died."

"…!"

If they were so proud, they should have come and extended their hand a long time ago.

When my mother died, it was so cold and I was so young that I couldn't even make her a grave.

Kwankwang-!

With Vlad's anger, the Sword of the World Tree rebalanced itself.

Vlad's muscles began to burst with the strength that pushed back the force.

"You can't be my older brother when you weren't there then."

Bang!

If you are a dragon, then so am I.

Vlad accepted his identity as Dragulia with bitter memories.

Although he hated and wanted to reject the blood running in his veins.

"Agh!"

Although he could strike, he had never received a blow from a dragon before.

Feeling the strength for the first time, Mirshea was pushed to the end of the hallway.

"Lord Rutiger!"

"Yes."

There is something called an idea that communicates even without being said.

The two made eye contact and decided to do their part through a familiar experience.

"Buy us time!"

Thud!

Rutiger plunged his sword into the ground, quickly closed his left eye, and fell back into his deep world.

Deeper than before, touching his essence.

Taking advantage of the time gained by Bayezid's finest Dragon Slayer.

"Vlad! Vlad Dragulia!"

"Don't call me Dragulia!"

Vlad shouted loudly at Mirshea approaching in the darkness.

He accepted the blood, but couldn't bear to be called that.

Because that was the name they gave him.

"I will not live as you do."

Vlad, Vlad, Vlad.

Vlad, who had established the names he had gained, began to build his world remembering the people who helped him obtain those names.

The golden tree Vlad created rose above the land given by his mentors.

"I will live as a knight, not as a dragon."

One step ahead of Jager.

The art of forging armor by Justia.

The optimal path to attack taught by August.

The solid energy surrounding my entire body by Ramund.

And from now on, the technique of killing with a single blow by the knight among knights. From the Sword Master.

"Huaaaa!"

With Vlad's powerful roar, the Sword of the World Tree began to glow intensely.

That light was his deep world, carried by his pulsating heart alongside the stars.

Look at me, dragon. It's me.

No longer with someone else's name, but shining with my own name.

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