704 – 8. Will (78)
Emma will die.
It wasn’t even a one in a thousand or one in ten thousand possibility. The only being that could stand against a dragon was a dragon.
Yes, except for that monster guarding the West.
The current strongest military power of mankind had a certain deterrent power.
“This incident happened because of me in the first place. It’s only natural for me to take responsibility until the end… ….”
“You mean with that body?”
It was a short but powerful rebuttal.
I was speechless for a moment and chewed my lips. Because I can’t think of anything to refute.
What on earth are you doing like this?
I knew.
Yes, even though I know it.
“Your Highness. There’s still some more time left…….”
“Ian Perkus.”
I couldn’t let go of my regret until the end, and then I had to hear a cold call.
First of all, it is not a title like ‘Sir Ian’ as it is commonly called.
It stimulated my intuition. This feeling as if my brain and body are screaming at me to shut up right now.
Developed senses paint an ominous future. Before I knew it, cold sweat was forming on my forehead.
“You probably know better than anyone else. “A dragon never speaks twice.”
There was no elevation in the voice. Overwhelming confidence that there should be no objections because it is telling the most obvious truth.
This was the essence of the dragon.
“But I will say it a second time now. “Traitor Emma will die by my hands.”
Soon, the woman shows her back without regret.
It was an expression of the will not to listen to a single word anymore.
“Please don’t let my favor go to waste… Ian Perkus.”
Only then will the pressure that was suppressing the lungs be relieved.
Ha, ha.
A sweet smell comes from my panting breath. This fatigue just made its presence known, as if I had run a long distance with all my might.
The level was different. He was an opponent that someone like me could not overcome.
I see.
I finally realized it. What a ridiculous dream I was having.
You won’t lose anything.
In order to do so, he beat Vision until his body was broken. I became stronger, and I thought that if I became stronger, I would not lose anything.
But, what is this?
With the sound of heavy breathing, my mind becomes a mess. Broken body, exhausted mind. It was only a moment, but it was enough to rob me of my reason.
Probably so.
“…… Majesty!”
Otherwise, I wouldn’t have done such a crazy thing.
At the voice that seemed to be squeezing out her throat, the woman’s eyes turned to me. Even though her eyelids were closed and I couldn’t see her pupils, I could clearly feel her gaze.
Enough to give me goosebumps.
But my appeal did not stop.
“My responsibility… “It’s something I have to finish.”
“Ian Perkus.”
“Please just hold on! “If only you could give us a little explanation!”
“You… ….”
“I don’t want to lose anything anymore!”
The Dragon King’s body stiffens for the first time.
The woman narrowed her eyebrows and looked down at me in silence. Clearly, there are no pupils beyond those eyelids.
“I lost so, so much… Already, everything! Ha, once… “Just once.”
Her fists are clenched. Trembling arms and clenched teeth.
“Give me a chance.”
I hit my head with a thud.
It was the best courtesy I could show. It’s been a few years since I gave up, saying there was nothing I could do.
I didn’t want to do that anymore. Because I, too, still had a human heart left in me.
So much so that my body becomes a mess.
The woman, who probably knew this better than anyone else, said nothing for a while.
Be silent, keep silent.
“…… Ian Perkus.”
The dragon said.
“Are you finally going to go against my will? “I’m sure he would have said that even the second chance was thanks to my favor.”
I didn’t answer.
Because that was the clearest answer of all.
Soon, the woman sighs.
“I see. Well then… ….”
The next moment.
The sensation of the fur all over her body becoming stiff pierces the nerve endings. There was no time to question whether it was intuition or instinct. I immediately raised my head from the ground.
Then you can see it.
The atmosphere had completely changed, and a bright blue light was spreading between the shadows of the woman with her back to the light.
It is her right eye.
In a place that was supposed to be empty, incomprehensible geometric shapes were rotating over and over again for eons. It is as if the spherical trajectory drawn while rotating like that is an eyeball.
And the moment my eyes met that shape.
A pain that felt like white flames shooting up through her spinal cord hit her brain. There wasn’t even a space to scream. I simply followed the command of my survival instinct and threw myself in the opposite direction with all my might.
“…… “Go away.”
Boom!
I couldn’t remember anything after that. The distance that a warrior who is on the verge of becoming a master can leap with all his might without even caring about physical damage is far beyond the limits of a criminal.
But even that was not enough.
The air, space, everything in the area were ‘erased’. The atmosphere rushed in to fill the empty space, and the combined air pressures met in the center, creating an upward air current as if exploding.
Dust, debris, world, me.
Everything was in a mess and I opened my eyes to find myself vomiting blood.
Stutter, stutter.
I scanned the dirt floor with the feeling of my palms, and then scanned the surroundings with my vision that was just now coming back.
Just one word.
With that alone, a part of the world evaporated. What if I didn’t leap at the last minute?
I would also have disappeared without even leaving a trace.
This is the power of the Dragon King.
The strange eyes, called ‘the eyes of all things,’ were staring at me. As soon as I saw the eyeball full of shapes, letters, and symbols, I held my head, suppressing the urge to scream.
The voice of the person who caused all this disaster was extremely calm.
“You survived.”
As if it was unexpected.
“The crime of daring to go against the will of the dragon… “Your courage is limited, but you will have to prove your worth.”
The alien blue eyes were still shining.
Endlessly, glaring at me.
The woman declared with an expressionless face.
“This is ‘Test of the Dragon.'”
I will give you a test that no one has ever passed.
It was the moment when my purpose was decided.
Survival.
I had to survive.
**
The midwinter day was cold.
As Emma opened the window for ventilation for the first time in a long time, she realized that fact. Every time she exhales, her white breath freezes and leaves a trace.
What is Ian doing?
The day I woke up after being unconscious for a long time.
After waiting, I met Ian and talked to him, and it was a question that came to mind every day after that. The heat of her first love was terrifying and the inherently devoted Emma would do anything for her Ian.
That’s why I don’t regret it.
As she walked slowly, Emma’s eyes caught the mirror. There, a gaunt woman was reflected, with a hemostatic pad on her face and bandages on her delicate wrists and ankles.
It was the reward for sacrificing myself for Ian.
Not in a figurative sense, but literally.
Ian’s body had already been ruined for a long time. There was no way to connect the fragmented body with the images, and if there was one, there was only one.
None other than Emma’s sacrifice.
It was a fact that came as a kind of revelation. Emma had been having strange dreams for several months already, but recently she had been hearing specific whispers in her ears.
Do you know what value you have?
To be honest, it was the first time I heard it in my life. So I was confused, and at one point I spent some time sitting on the bed in a daze.
It was okay now.
Wasn’t that able to help her first love? Emma was satisfied just by being able to help Ian, who was having such a hard time and seemed so desperate.
Knock, knock.
It took a few minutes before the sound that woke Emma up from her confusion was heard. Only then did Emma come to her senses, went straight to the door, and asked.
“Who… ….”
“It’s me.”
It was a familiar tone.
Emma opened the door as if entranced, and beyond was a girl with dark blue hair and a downcast look on her face.
To summarize, the princess’s business was like that.
“Please, please die…” Senior Emma.”
Those words were spoken as she lowered her head and tried hard to hold back her tears.
Suddenly, a scene flashed through Emma’s mind. Contents that are closer to delusions than memories.
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Will she be able to marry Ian someday?
It may be difficult to connect, but if we do, we will create a warm family. She grew up without a mother, but she learned that hard.
Mushroom picking tips, mushroom cooking secrets, whatever… Anyway.
I was also worried about what would happen if the child was too healthy. What should I do if I resemble Ian and have too much of a sense of justice, wandering around here and there and causing trouble?
It was a useless worry.
“…… Yes.”
Emma said with a smile.
“I will.”
Because it was destined to be that way from the beginning.
There is only one day left.
Time was cruel, as always. Like a short and sweet dream.