Chapter 150: Each Their Own Stance (1)
In that instant, someone gasped.
Who could it have been?
Was it Professor Shagas, staring at his disciple who had transformed into something no different from a demon?
Or was it Lian, who knew she struggled to control the dragon’s blood but never imagined she would turn into something like that?
Or perhaps it was Yuran herself, who, having transformed into a grotesque form, had her most shameful moment exposed to the two of them?
It was then.
Professor Shagas suddenly grabbed Lian’s arm with great force.
“Guh…!”
Lian was yanked backward in an instant and found himself standing behind him.
At the same time, the professor adjusted his grip on his staff and leapt toward Yuran.
It was an agile movement, unbelievable for someone old and lame.
“Yuran! Snap out of it!”
Despite his cry, Yuran did not respond.
Instead of replying, she lightly swung her arm into the air.
No incantation. No hand signs.
She simply swung her arm lightly.
Immediately after, with a chillingly sharp sound of air being torn, something sliced through space and flew toward them.
“Gasp!”
Professor Shagas let out a short grunt and struck it down with a sweep of his arm.
A dull yet sharp clash rang out, like a hard shield being cleaved by a razor-sharp blade.
Clack.
With a dry sound, something fell limply to the floor.
It was his staff.
More precisely, the object that had been serving as both staff and scabbard.
“……”
At some point, a thin, razor-sharp sword had appeared in Professor Shagas’s hand.
The blade, tinged with a subtle blue sheen, shimmered with a chilling presence even under the dim light of the basement.
Lian could tell at a glance that, contrary to its simple appearance, it was a magnificent sword.
“Hmph.”
Yuran made a sound as if swallowing her breath.
Immediately after, more invisible blade-like projectiles fired consecutively toward Professor Shagas and Lian.
Shagas braced himself to shield Lian, but Lian dashed forward ahead of him.
“Wait—!”
Ignoring Shagas’s attempt to stop him, Lian had already drawn his sword.
It was a sword he hadn’t yet wielded enough to be familiar with, but his ingrained instincts were still alive.
More than anything, he instinctively felt the grip fit comfortably in his hand, and his eyes lit up without him realizing.
“Hup!”
Lian focused all his nerves and struck down the unknown projectiles flying at him with the blade.
A vicious sound rang out, followed by a distinct sensation through the sword.
If he lost focus even once, he’d end up like the ‘something’ lying on the ground—horrifically mangled.
But Lian didn’t falter at all.
‘…What is this?’
It felt as though he could clearly see the trajectory of those attacks.
Could it be the power of the sword Airos gave him?
No, that wasn’t it.
‘This feels more like…’
It was a faint and hazy sensation, as if he had dreamt something similar before.
Unable to describe the feeling clearly, Lian surrendered to it and swung his sword like mad.
“……”
“…My word.”
After a moment, Professor Shagas muttered in awe.
Lian had blocked all the formless strikes pouring in without receiving a single scratch—on his own.
His eyes, fixed on Lian, held both surprise and faint relief.
Lian was far stronger than he had expected.
Thanks to that, there was now hope they could resolve this situation quickly.
“Hrghhh…”
Yuran was just as shocked.
Though she had lost half her reason and judgment, seeing Lian block her attacks without a scratch made her falter and adjust her stance.
“…What on earth is going on?”
Lian asked, panting.
From the look of it, Professor Shagas seemed to understand the situation to some extent.
First, he needed to grasp what was happening.
“We can talk later.”
Professor Shagas’s voice was low and calm.
He muttered quietly, as if suppressing his anxiety.
“We’ll subdue the girl first. We won’t be too late to talk afterward.”
As he finished, he pointed his sword at Yuran.
Unlike earlier, he wasn’t standing in front of Lian to protect him—he now stood shoulder to shoulder with him.
“If we try to subdue her half-heartedly, we’ll be the ones who get hurt. We might need to steel ourselves.”
His gaze briefly flicked to Yuran’s wrists and ankles.
Re-gripping his sword, he whispered to Lian.
“…Let’s sever the tendons in her arms and legs. I’ll take the right side—can you take the left?”
His voice, though squeezed out with effort, was utterly cold.
At his question, Lian frowned slightly, then nodded grimly.
“Hell, let’s give it a try.”
But before they could move, Yuran acted a step faster.
“Graaagh!”
With a shriek, she suddenly kicked the ‘something’ lying at her feet.
It flew like a projectile straight toward the two of them.
“Ugh!?”
Caught off guard, Professor Shagas and Lian flinched for a moment.
Yuran did not miss that opening.
BOOM!
A thunderous crash rang out.
She launched herself upward and smashed through the ceiling of the basement.
And without looking back, she ran away.
“……!”
It happened in the blink of an eye.
The two stood blankly, staring at the hole in the ceiling.
Yuran’s presence had already vanished far into the distance.
“…Haa.”
Professor Shagas let out a deep sigh.
Gripped by helplessness, he bit his lip slightly.
“Even if we chase her now, it’s too late. We lost her.”
He muttered with a bitter expression.
“Still… judging by her actions, it seems she hasn’t completely lost her mind. The fact that she fled and tried to hide her appearance… it might be a small mercy. She’ll likely stay hidden outside, so at least there won’t be a public commotion. Yes… that’s a relief. We should still be able to handle this without too much trouble…”
Mumbling incoherently, he sighed again and turned to Lian.
“For now, let’s head upstairs. This isn’t the best place to continue talking.”
With that, he casually slung the ‘something’ that had flown at them over his shoulder.
The stench was revolting, but he didn’t flinch.
And so, the two of them climbed the stairs to the ground level.
As soon as they emerged, Professor Shagas laid the ‘something’ on the floor.
Only then could Lian examine its identity closely.
“…A demon?”
Lian murmured softly.
“Yes, it’s a demon…”
Professor Shagas nodded with a grim look.
“This isn’t something ordinary.”
“…Professor, please explain now.”
Lian’s mind was in utter turmoil.
Demon. A demon’s corpse.
It was probably a member of the Merchant Group currently staying in the capital.
Normally, it wouldn’t be strange for demons to be in the capital.
But…
Nothing else was explained.
Why was a demon with Yuran, and in the basement of an abandoned orphanage, no less?
Why did Yuran kill such a demon so brutally?
And most of all, why had she lost her reason and become like that?
…First, he needed to hear the full story.
“Why did Yuran end up like that?”
“……”
Professor Shagas fell silent for a moment.
After a pause, he chewed his dry lips and quietly opened his mouth.
“…Have you ever heard of Dragon’s Blood?”
He began to explain quietly.
“Yes, before that, there's something else I need to say first. It might be a bit boring and long, but bear with me.”
“……”
“In the past… the Empire was initially victorious in its war against Garusol.”
Professor Shagas continued, as if making a confession.
“But as time went on, we began to struggle. The reason was the ones who inherited the power known as ‘Dragon’s Blood.’”
“…This Dragon’s Blood—does it really mean they’re mixed-blood with a dragon?”
“That’s not it.”
Professor Shagas shook his head.
Lian flinched slightly but held his tongue.
“They call it Dragon’s Blood, but it’s more of a metaphor. It refers to inheriting the immense power and spirit of the ancient dragon worshiped by the people of Garusol. Perhaps because of that, those with ‘Dragon’s Blood’ could only manifest their power within the territory of Garusol.”
“……”
Lian swallowed hard.
‘Damn.’
He’d assumed Dragon’s Blood was literal.
But it was metaphorical.
Then what of the actual Dragon’s Blood he received from Airos? Did it mean nothing?
Lian felt a moment of dizziness, but then he noticed something strange in Professor Shagas’s explanation.
“…Professor. Then this doesn’t make sense, does it? This isn’t Garusol, it’s the Empire.”
“That’s right.”
Professor Shagas acknowledged bitterly.
“Yuran is… a peculiar child in many ways. It may sound cruel, but you could call her a kind of mutant.”
“……”
“She can use that power even outside Garusol’s lands. And…”
After hesitating briefly, he finally muttered, as if forcing the words out.
“To her, the phrase ‘Dragon’s Blood’… isn’t a metaphor. Truly, literally, her bloodline carries a dragon’s blood. As for the details… I can’t tell you right now.”
Professor Shagas closed his mouth, as if unwilling to explain further.
Seeing his expression, Lian sensed there was a deep story behind it and held back his questions for now.
More precisely, he felt a kind of relief.
‘Ha.’
So she was a real hybrid.
He’d almost had it all wrong from the start.
While he let out a quiet sigh of relief, Professor Shagas resumed his explanation in a detached voice.
“After the war ended and an unstable alliance was formed… I decided to help Yuran properly control that power. She was just a child who had to live with such dangerous and unstable strength—it was pitiful. And above all…”
Professor Shagas pressed his lips together.
Then he stood and muttered.
“I’ve spoken too long.”
Sigh, he exhaled, unable to hide his fatigue.
“In any case, we must find Yuran. Leaving her like that is dangerous. For her, and also…”
He sighed again.
“Anyway, we need to find her quickly.”
But the problem was how to find her.
Lian looked at him and asked.
“How many tracking charms do we have left?”
“Charms won’t work anymore. She must have figured out how we tracked her, so she’s surely using a spell to avoid detection.”
Professor Shagas frowned, clearly troubled.
The situation was utterly hopeless.
If someone of Yuran’s level truly intended to hide, it would take ages to find her.
More importantly, neither of them was particularly skilled in that area.
“……”
“Um…”
Then, Lian cautiously opened his mouth.
“I think there might be one way…”
They headed straight to the massive building where they had last parted with Windy May.
Fortunately, she was still there.
Buried under a mountain of documents, Windy May silently listened to their story without saying a word.
A brief moment of silence.
Then she let out a single word.
“Ha.”
It was a cold scoff.
“…So you want me to find that lunatic, is that it?”
“Ahaha…”
Lian gave an awkward smile at her indifferent yet sharp response.
Standing beside him, Professor Shagas bowed his head quietly and said,
“…Please, Professor Maddown.”
“……”
“The situation is truly urgent. This isn’t just a personal favor—”
“…Hey, Shagas.”
Snap.
Professor Windy May suddenly cut in coldly, like something had snapped.
She looked down at him, still with his head bowed, and spoke.
“You know exactly what I’m working on right now, don’t you?”
“……”
“And yet you come here asking me like this?”
Her sharp gaze shifted briefly to Lian.
“Using your own student as a human shield, no less?”
“Um, Master. Actually, I was the one who—”
“Silence.”
At her chilling tone, Lian shut his mouth.
It was the first time he’d seen such cold fury from her, and he was clearly taken aback.
“…Please.”
Professor Shagas still had his head lowered as he spoke.
Watching him for a moment, Windy May gave a small nod, as if giving in.
“…Fine. There is one method.”
At her words, a faint glimmer of relief appeared on Lian’s face.
But it was short-lived.
“It’s simple, really.”
Windy May gave a slight grin.
Then, without hesitation, she said,
“Just kill her. That’s all, isn’t it?”