Chapter 116: Allen Amiel (6)
Airos.
The moment I saw him, it felt like my hair stood on end.
Countless thoughts flashed through my mind like a revolving lantern.
‘……How?’
Why on earth is he here?
Did Cecilia finally collapse?
……Then what about the others?
Suddenly, I looked up at the sky in a flash.
The pillar of fire was still burning.
No, to be precise, its size was gradually dwindling, ever so slightly.
I had been too focused on the battle with Allen to notice the change.
“There’s no need to be so on guard.”
Contrary to my concern, Airos maintained a calm demeanor.
“Your companions are all safe.”
He said in a quiet voice, looking around at the devastated surroundings, then muttered softly.
“……It’s going to take a lot of effort to clean and restore all this.”
With that grumble, he let out a deep sigh.
“…….”
“…….”
Allen and Kyren didn’t know who Airos was, suddenly appearing like that.
But at least, they immediately realized he was no ordinary being.
I, who had once desperately run from such an extraordinary existence, now only observed the situation with a complicated mind.
At that moment, Airos quietly opened his mouth again.
“You know this as well. If I……”
He paused as if organizing his words, then continued calmly.
“……still held the same intent as when we last met, I wouldn’t have appeared in human form, nor would I have waited until your matters were concluded.”
He was right.
I nodded faintly and added, seemingly indifferent.
“Well, if you truly had such intent, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. You could’ve just burned us all from the sky.”
At my words, Airos silently nodded in agreement.
Indeed, that was the case.
If Airos harbored any hostility, we wouldn't even have had the chance to speak.
‘At least he has no hostility toward us…….’
A small blessing amid the misfortune.
Then the only remaining question was why Airos had come here in the first place.
“If you bear no hostility toward us, may I ask why you came here?”
“It’s simple.”
Airos narrowed his eyes and answered.
“I’ve said it before, and I mentioned it again when we just met.”
He shifted his gaze and added,
“The invaders. That is, the grave robbers—I came to ensure they paid the price. However……”
His eyes stopped on one spot.
There, Yul Runberg and Lyslin lay collapsed.
“Looks like the task has already been taken from me.”
Airos shrugged.
His indifferent attitude made me flinch for a moment.
It was only natural, considering the ‘faintly glowing stone’ was still inside my stomach.
That was undoubtedly the item Lyslin had stolen from the mausoleum.
I briefly worried that he might demand payment from me as well, but then shook my head.
‘If that were the case, he would’ve already taken my head off.’
At the very least, I didn’t need to worry about that.
Not missing the subtle shift in me, Airos chuckled lightly and spoke.
“You catch on quickly.”
“…….”
I let out a small cough.
Airos looked at me and murmured in his usual unhurried tone.
“It seems this conversation may go long, so let’s take care of what needs to be done first.”
Saying so, he made a light gesture in the air.
Then the various wounds still on our bodies began to heal in an instant.
“Hmm?”
Suddenly, Airos furrowed his brow.
“It’s that again.”
He tilted his head slightly and murmured.
Then, in a quiet voice, he said to Allen,
“I’ve tended to the urgent wounds. The rest is up to you. It’s no longer in my hands.”
“……Yes. Thank you.”
Allen bowed his head slightly.
Airos, as if having lost interest in him, turned his gaze straight back to me.
“Well then……”
He slowly began speaking, scratching his chin with his fingers.
“More than that, I must say I’m truly surprised.”
“……Might I ask what you mean by that?”
Airos raised one hand and slowly explained.
“Before that, the Philosopher’s Stone you swallowed—that was brought separately by Yeriel, the Headmaster, and entrusted to me. It has no connection to the mausoleum. So, as you may have already figured, there’s no reason for conflict between us because of it. I’m telling you this in advance.”
At those words, I was momentarily speechless.
‘Wait, the Philosopher’s Stone?’
Though I wasn’t well-versed in alchemy, even I knew what that was.
It was said to be one of the greatest artifacts, rumored to even revive the dead.
I knew it wasn’t an ordinary object, but to think it was that Philosopher’s Stone.
“……Don’t tell me you didn’t know what it was?”
“I knew it wasn’t an ordinary item……”
I murmured with a sour voice at Airos’s question.
The Philosopher’s Stone—of all things, that was what I’d swallowed as if it were candy.
“……Can it be taken out again?”
“Do you feel any discomfort?”
“Not exactly……”
I replied.
“But I can’t afford to pay the price for such a precious item.”
“……To think that’s what you were worried about.”
Airos muttered in a similarly sour tone upon hearing my response.
He stared at me with interest and added—
“More importantly, are you really alright?”
“Why do you ask?”
Airos tilted his head, arms crossed.
“It’s just that I’ve never seen someone swallow the Philosopher’s Stone and come out fine.”
Genuine curiosity laced his voice.
“Most people melt alive. Unless they have a specific vessel to contain it…… Even then, they usually die in agony, coughing up blood day and night for ten days straight. Yet you……”
Airos looked me up and down.
There was a rare expression of astonishment in his eyes.
“You’re surprisingly unscathed.”
“……”
At that, I fell silent.
I didn’t know how to respond.
Sensing my discomfort, Airos nodded slowly.
“……Now that I think about it, I forgot to say this first.”
With that, Airos turned to me and lowered his head deeply—calmly yet respectfully.
“My apologies.”
Caught off guard by his unexpected action, I could only blink.
“Even if it was a misunderstanding, I did intend to take your and your companions’ lives. For that, I sincerely apologize here and now.”
“Uh……”
“Also, I thank you for dealing with the intruders in my stead.”
For a moment, I stood there blankly, then recalled something I’d once heard: no race was as courteous as dragons.
“……I accept your apology, Airos.”
“Thank you for accepting it.”
He raised his head with a composed air.
“I shall formally express my apology to you all again in the near future.”
“As you wish.”
I let out a sigh, trying to hide my fatigue.
In truth, I had pushed my body beyond its limits—overusing both the Brand and Divine Power—so collapsing on the spot wouldn’t be surprising.
“Still, I’m glad we could talk like this. I only hope we can do so again in the future.”
“……Once again, I’m truly sorry.”
Airos hesitated for a moment, then gave a slight nod.
“I once told you—though it was rare, dragons have fought to the death among ourselves. Do you remember?”
“Yes.”
“One of those rare cases was me.”
Airos murmured quietly.
“I fell victim to Tobrida’s scheme. And by the time I regained my senses……”
My one and only sister was already lying cold and still.
Though his voice remained calm, a pain he couldn’t quite hide seeped through.
“……That’s why I must’ve overreacted. I definitely sensed his presence.”
“……”
I said nothing.
Airos gave a slow nod.
“I digressed.”
He glanced around the area one last time.
The sky, once ablaze with the pillar of fire, was now gradually returning to darkness.
Flick.
With a snap of his fingers, Yul Runberg and Lyslin rose into the air.
Airos looked at them with an unreadable gaze.
“I’ll take care of the cleanup. You all must be exhausted.”
I looked at Airos.
Noticing my gaze, he gestured toward them with his chin.
“Do you still have business with them? If so, I’ll gladly hand them over. You have that right.”
“That’s not it.”
I let out a small sigh.
Though they were already dead, it was clear the intruders of the mausoleum still had a price to pay.
After all, Headmaster Yeriel was said to be most adept in the field of necromancy.
“I just have a small favor to ask.”
“A favor.”
Airos nodded.
“Speak.”
“……Would you be able to take us with you?”
I said this as I pointed to the half-collapsed Allen and Kyren.
Even I, the least injured among the three, was in such a dire state that collapsing any second wouldn’t be strange.
“As you can see… we’re a bit worn out.”
“You certainly look it.”
Airos nodded.
“If that’s the case, don’t worry. Your master will be arriving here shortly.”
“My master?”
“Yes. It won’t take long.”
He looked at me and asked again.
“Still, if you truly wish, I can send you myself. What will it be?”
Without hesitation, I answered.
“In that case, I’ll wait for my master.”
“As you wish. ……Then I’ll take my leave.”
With those final words, Airos turned around.
A fierce wind swept through, and just like that, his figure—along with Yul Runberg and Lyslin—vanished without a trace.
“……”
“……”
“……”
Left behind, the rest of us were silent for a while.
Was it because the tension had finally released? Or perhaps it was the fatigue?
Leaning against a tree stump, Kyren let out a deep sigh and muttered,
“So… is it over now?”
I quietly nodded.
“Probably.”
Now, all that remained was to wait for my master, Windy May.
The crimson sky that had been ablaze had already returned to its original darkness.
But the bright moonlight above still shone down upon us.
“It really does feel like it’s over.”
Muttering that, I let out another sigh.
I figured I might as well sit and rest while I waited.
But just then, I mumbled as if I’d suddenly remembered something.
“Oh, right.”
The sword.
The one I’d borrowed from Cecilia.
I should make sure I return that properly.
I stood up and moved to retrieve the discarded scabbard on the ground.
And just as I was about to sheathe the sword I held—
Thunk.
With a hollow sound, the blade slipped right out and struck the ground.
“Huh…?”
Staring blankly at the sword now reduced to just a hilt, I muttered in disbelief.
“……Guess it really is over.”