(+ Minerva Illustrated Rough)
“This is unexpected.”
The giant man sitting in the chair muttered quietly.
The man, also known as Randsch, was covering his right eye with one hand.
His right eye was illuminating a scene far away from where he was.
He clicked his tongue quietly as he saw a raging dragon with black scales flashing and resembling Minerva from his old memories.
“really… It was unexpected.”
It was chewed up by the dragon, beaten with its forelegs, and then hit with the breath authentically.
Just before that, he was hit head-on with a roar, which can be said to be the exclusive property of Minerva, which scatters mana, so there must have been no time or way to do anything.
Gracius’s obsession with life, he admits, was not enough to survive.
Without having to check, I could tell that Gracius was dead.
The first evidence of that was that the undead lost control and started to rumble or even bite each other… .
“… … .”
The disappearance of one of the tattoos on the back of his hand was second evidence.
The patterns that once filled the back of their hands are now the only two left.
What it meant was that it was now only herself and Natalia Milited.
“Twitter.”
Randsch clicked his tongue in annoyance and focused a little more.
Losing Gracius was disappointing in many ways, but the biggest thing was the fact that he couldn’t get the lens he was aiming for.
To be honest, I really liked Gracius.
However, the fact that they did not obtain the crystal needed to unlock the seal of their master, Milited, was a huge mistake.
He was ready to break into the battlefield at any time just in case, but as soon as he saw the black dragon, Randsch threw the plan he had in mind.
Because there was no way I could fight against such a thing and win.
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Of course, the dragon in sight looked like a hatchling just before it became an adult, but the power it had inside was not something a young dragon could hold.
If you go now, in nine out of ten, you’ll even die yourself.
Not for the sake of his master, Milited, but at least for the sake of Gracius, he didn’t even have the slightest desire to do it.
“… … .”
It was unreasonable to take the lens back now.
He spoke to Natalia Milited quietly, thinking in his head how to use useful long-term horses, such as Choi Jun-hyung of Upbringing, a human who thought he had lost a child to Yoo Ji-hyuk, and an old leader of the World Tree clan who lost everything.
‘Natalia. operation is stopped Get out of the place immediately. Gracius is dead, and the lens has already been taken and passed into their hands.’
There was no response from her, so Randsch closed his eyes once more and focused.
‘Natalia. Can’t you hear me?’
― Please shut your mouth! Before I tear you apart and kill you!
Randsch’s eyes widened without a word at her venomous reaction.
Soon his right eye, which had been illuminating Gracius, began to illuminate Natalia Milited.
Alone in front of him are the three of the Ten Rivers and Alice Blesbuck, known as her daughter.
And I saw Natalia Milited fighting a familiar young man.
Randsch, who watched the young man slowly, let out a small laugh and mumbled out of his mouth without realizing it.
“You must be really crazy, Natalia.”
A homunculus who dares to imitate our Master.
Now it seemed that she knew why she was so unwilling to leave Alice Blesbuck’s affairs quietly.
Randsch looked at Natalia’s figure with even more subdued eyes.
She was so obsessed with adorning her appearance and body that she was devastated.
Then, in the end, she was pierced by the stake that Alice Blesbuck had pulled out, and immediately got up from her seat only after capturing the entire scene of being captured by them and becoming a prisoner.
Unlike Gracius, Natalia was able to save enough, but he didn’t.
It was because the sin of creating a homunculus that dared to resemble its master was heavy.
“where… .”
He exhaled slowly and began to organize his thoughts.
Information of various humans that Gracius traveled around, collected and contacted.
Natalia Milited’s special selection, raising and training her children.
And in addition to the things he had prepared for himself, a number of other things came to mind, such as Isaac McDowell, the leader of the Big Watch, with whom he was once an ally.
After a while, he was able to conclude that the plan had to be pushed back a little.
But he didn’t care at all.
It was because he had been waiting for hundreds of years from that day to today anyway.
At most, I could wait with a smile for the time that only a few months had passed.
It was soon.
* * *
“therefore… .”
After everything was done, and after completing simple first aid and tidying up, the party looked up at the giant dragon and murmured.
“Is this kid Jihyeok?”
“… … .”
Han Soo-young nodded quietly.
Meanwhile, Yeeun Lee looked at Minerva, who was standing next to Sooyoung Han, and asked.
“Then what about it? Unless my memory is wrong, obviously… .”
“My name is Minerva.”
Minerva said so and looked around slowly.
“It’s also the Seven Evil Bells that you all tried to defeat together.”
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On the contrary, the party seemed to be at a loss for words due to that dignified attitude.
Han Soo-young, who was looking around, tilted her head and asked Jin Ye-seul.
“Hey, Hyeonu? Where the hell did he go?”
“ah.”
At Han Soo-young’s question, Jin Ye-seul rarely hesitated and licked her lips.
Then he answered, avoiding her gaze.
“He said he went somewhere for a while because he had an important story.”
“Is it important?”
“Well, I don’t know more than that.”
Jin Ye-seul said so and shook her head as if she did not understand.
Then he slowly glanced at Minerva and opened his mouth quietly.
“More than that, can you explain how this happened?”
Jin Ye-seul turned her head and looked up.
Yoo Ji-hyuk, who became a dragon, looked down at her and blinked his eyes.
Jin Ye-seul, who looked at him for a long time, muttered quietly.
“… I think Jihyuk was really right. No matter how many eyes you see, Jihyuk is your eyes.”
“Yeah, there’s no way you can be mistaken for those dazzling deer-like eyes. I don’t know what’s going on… First of all, I’m glad that it seems to be okay, unlike what I was worried about.”
At Lee Ye-eun’s response, Lee Yu-na tilted her head as if it was a puzzling thing.
Then, once more, he looked up at the dragon that they all said was Yoo Ji-hyuk.
Vertically split black pupils.
Unlike the dragons he knew, his eyes looked more calm and gentle.
However, as Yeeun Lee said, her eyes were never as bright as a deer.
How the hell did you find Yoo Ji-hyuk’s appearance from that dragon? ?
Everyone said it was right except for me, so I wondered if it was me who was wrong.
“As I said earlier, I think I need to hear a little more detailed explanation.”
Ye-eun Lee said so and looked at Minerva and Han Soo-young alternately.
“I like either of you, so can you tell me what’s going on?”
At that, Han Soo-young glanced at Minerva.
The reason she didn’t know the details was because she was the same.
As everyone’s attention was focused on him, Minerva nodded as if understanding and ruffled his hair.
“I don’t mind releasing my history, but… I think it’s going to be a bit of a long story. Don’t let me sit down and talk.”
Minerva, who moved her tail to make it look like a chair, and laid herself on it, opened her mouth with a relaxed attitude.
She tilted her head as if contemplating something for a moment.
“I’m not good at telling stories like this, so please understand that.”
Minerva said so, and first started telling the story of how the battle with Yoo Ji-hyuk ended.
Yoo Ji-hyeok defeated himself, but his own blood was spilled during the battle.
Dragon, and the blood of the Seven Evils. Even he was worried that he had spilled his own blood, which is widely known for being extremely poisonous, so he ripped out his heart and ate it.
Because he lost his heart, the source of life and his everything, he thought he was going to die.
But when he woke up, his eyes were opened in his shadow, and he decided to stay by his side… .
When she said that, Jin Ye-seul gently raised her hand.
“Wait, then, you mean that Jihyuk’s shadow was swallowed up by you?”
“It wasn’t intentional, but it was meant to be. And to be precise, it would be more appropriate to say that it is parasitic rather than swallowed.”
At those words, Jin Ye-seul’s expression lowered even more.
It was because of the thought that the shadow of Henir, the link between Yoo Ji-hyeok and himself, and the only thing in common between the two of them, was taken away.
“Can I ask one thing too?”
This time it was Yeeun Lee.
She was looking at her with eyes as cold as Jin Ye-seul.
“Isn’t that the Seven Devils? Enemy of mankind and one of the seven plagues that have only been passed down in legend.”
“That’s right, child of the World Tree.”
“… And now he’s saying he’s subordinated to Jihyuk, are you saying that we should trust him now? No, rather than that, I can’t understand why they’re talking to each other in such a friendly way.”
“I understand. Your question is also natural.”
Minerva turned her head and said, looking at the dragon with her eyes closed.
“He and I fought for each other’s lives and everything. And I lost, and everything I belonged to him. Since ancient times, it has been common for the loser to become the winner’s trophy. That is, my name and my existence… All of my life is in his grasp, and it can be seen that it is determined by his will. Simply put, because of his mercy and grace, I can say that I am alive now.”
Minerva exhaled a sweet breath.
“If I had won, on the other hand, I would have taken everything he had. So there is no dissatisfaction or shame in following him.”
“… Do you want us to believe it? Do you mean that you simply lose and follow Jihyuk? Is that also a seven-evil bell?”
At Lee Ye-eun’s question, Minerva looked at her quietly.
Her question was understandable.
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Of course, I met Yoo Ji-hyuk in the past 300 years ago.
He promised that he would meet again, and at that time, he was sealed with himself.
He was attacked by Aegis while protecting him.
And Yoo Ji-hyuk would have been able to convince him enough by telling him what he was trying to protect without taking care of himself, but she didn’t say it.
The reason was simple.
It was because it was a precious secret and memory only for himself and Yoo Ji-hyuk.
So Minerva didn’t want to talk.
“If you don’t believe it, what will you do?”
Minerva asked, smiling slightly, still relaxed.
“Are you going to even kill me?”
At those words, the atmosphere became even colder.
Han Soo-young took a step forward and waved her hand as if to mediate, hoping that something like this would happen.
“Okay, let’s all calm down. There is no need to fight each other like this in the current situation.”
“No, that’s right.”
Lee Yu-na nodded and agreed with Han Soo-young’s opinion.
Then he looked at Minerva and asked carefully.
“Uh… How can I call him?”
Minerva stared at Yuuna.
“Call me Minerva, you white duckling.”
Looking at Minerva who called her to come, Lee Yu-na immediately made an expression like ‘what are you talking about’.
“So the reason Jihyuk is like this now has something to do with Minerva?”
Lee Yu-na asked while looking at the sleeping dragon with her head lowered as if falling asleep at any moment.
“It is true. It could be said that it was the power that was created by swallowing up my power and my name.”
“Then you can go back to how it was… Right?”
At Lee Yu-na’s question as if anxious, Minerva put on an expression as if she was asking something so obvious.
“Then, you are asking me something too obvious. If you can’t come back, it’s just a curse and a curse, how can you call it power?”
After saying that, Minerva let out an even breath and looked at the sleeping dragon.
“He can come back at any time at his will, but now he is sleeping soundly, as we all see. So this time it’s presumptuous, but let me get him back to his original form.”
With those words, she slowly reached out to the dragon with a confident attitude.
After a while, Minerva, who quietly removed her hand, rose from her tail and muttered in a low voice.
“… Well?”
She tilted her head and went straight to him and placed her hands on the scales.
After moaning for a long time, she muttered in a cold sweat.
“… uh?”
The appearance of the dragon, who fell asleep, had not changed as much as the eye mucus.
* * *
“… … .”
As soon as the situation was settled to some extent, Nam Hyeon-hwa headed to an unpopular place, sitting there and treating his wounds.
His body was covered with scars as he rushed towards him, and his mana was almost depleted.
Fatigue and pain weighed heavily on his whole body, perhaps because he had fought a fierce battle in a state where he could not recover properly.
It was time for her to sigh heavily.
“You were here.”
She was startled by the sound of a voice approaching her.
Choi Hyun-woo, who grabbed Nam Hyun-hwa, who was about to get out of the seat in a hurry, said quietly.
“It’s okay, just sit down. Now I know it all. So… .”
He smiled cautiously.
Knowing everything, he looked at her with eyes that seemed to understand everything, and said cautiously.
“It needs to be treated properly. You said you have to be especially careful with the wounds you get from the undead. … to us.”
With those words, Choi Hyun-woo sat next to her and lifted a potion.
Nam Hyeon-hwa looked at him with an expression that had a lot of things to say, then slowly turned his head as if he had no face.
how long has it been
“I’m sorry.”
Choi Hyun-woo’s hand, which had been bandaged for a moment, stopped at the voice filled with guilt.
“I had no intention of cheating. But, I really didn’t know it would turn out like this… . I have nothing to say to you, especially Hyeonu, even with ten mouths.”
Nam Hyun-hwa quietly muttered with his head bowed.
It was only after the bandages were closed without a word that Choi Hyun-woo quietly opened his mouth.
“later. Once the situation is settled, please explain to us while Sooyoung is with you.”
“… Yes, it should be.”
In response to her answer, Choi Hyun-woo exhaled a small but long breath.
It was a long breath, as if exhaling everything he had put inside.
“Even later… A few years later, when I brought up the story now.”
He was still smiling.
“Master, myself, and Sooyoung… I hope we can all laugh and talk about it now.”
But, at least for Nam Hyun-hwa, it wasn’t now.
She just kept her head down without saying a word.
It was because he did not have the courage to look directly at the boy he raised as his disciple and family, who he thought was a child.
So the two sat silently for a long time.
with each other guarding each other’s side.