Chapter 248: Chaos (14)
The Heart of a Dragon.
In ancient myths and forgotten legends, it had appeared often enough, yet it had always been regarded as something so precious and sacred that even attempting to measure its worth was meaningless.
No—wasn’t even trying to add further explanation itself a pointless act?
To mages and alchemists, it was literally a dream material whose value could not be quantified—something worth whatever price one dared to name.
Even among ordinary people, wasn’t it said that merely tasting a single piece of its flesh would grant immortality? Countless humans had wandered the world chasing such wild rumors.
In fact, even Professor Windy May, who had slain two Dragons in the past and earned the title of Dragon Slayer, later recalled that the vile desires and greed that poured in afterward had been far more troublesome and exhausting than the battles themselves.
And now, something like that—half of a Dragon’s Heart’s very essence—had completely seeped into Behad’s crushed heart.
……In truth, Menoruka’s action had been something close to desperation.
If one forcibly shoved a lion’s heart into a rabbit, would it ever beat properly?
No. Of course not.
Even if, by some miracle, the heart began beating again, one could assert with certainty that a rabbit would never be able to fully endure or wield the power of a lion.
That was why her action had been, in truth, a rebellion against Urkubar and a declaration of her will. At the same time, it had been her final, frantic struggle to save Behad—grasping at even a straw.
Urkubar had interpreted her action in much the same way.
……Yes, surely that had been the case.
Thump.
The first beat produced by the new heart quietly—yet heavily—filled the space around us.
It was not merely the sound of a heart beating.
It resonated grandly and overwhelmingly, like a colossal bell being struck.
The sound shook the surrounding air, and the reverberation was felt by every being nearby.
“…….”
At that moment, Behad, who had been cradled in Menoruka’s arms, slowly raised his body.
From his entire being surged a tremendous aura unlike anything before—something that could not possibly be believed to belong to a human. It roared like a storm.
Behad.
He had come back to life.
……No, it was not merely that his breath had returned.
If that were all, Urkubar would not have been so utterly shocked.
“Th-that’s im—”
……possible.
Before he could finish his words, Urkubar was struck by something incomprehensible and sent tumbling.
‘……Huh?’
What was that? What just happened?
I was hit.
I was struck?
……By whom?
“W-What is……!”
As Urkubar quickly forced himself upright, what filled his eyes was not pain, but shock.
Even for an Ancient Dragon who had lived through countless ages, what was unfolding before him—what he himself was experiencing—was utterly beyond comprehension.
“……This is absurd.”
He muttered blankly.
As he said, something absurd had occurred.
Before his heart had been crushed, Behad had certainly been strong—for a human, unquestionably among the powerful—but only to that extent.
But now……
“Guh—!”
Once again, Urkubar coughed up blood and was sent flying.
Behad had already closed the distance and delivered a full-force kick.
‘……How can this be.’
How could a mere human send an Ancient Dragon like himself flying with nothing but a kick?
Behad’s heart had fused with Menoruka’s heart and completely reborn him into an entirely new existence.
There was no other explanation.
By Urkubar’s understanding of the world, it was something he could neither explain nor comprehend.
Yet it was an undeniable reality unfolding before him.
“…….”
Without a word, Behad strode toward Urkubar.
His eyes were empty, yet the killing intent dwelling within them was clearer than ever.
Like a starving beast fixated solely on its prey, his gaze reflected nothing but Urkubar.
“Tch… you insolent—!”
Urkubar spat a curse and hurriedly tried to rise.
But Behad moved a step faster.
“What?!”
Behad charged once more.
There was none of his former grace or technique in his movements.
Only raw instinct and destructive force surged within him.
Thud!
In an instant, he had closed the gap and mercilessly drove his fist toward Urkubar’s face.
Crunch!
With a dull cracking sound, Urkubar’s nasal bone shattered.
Without even managing a scream, he was hurled backward once again.
“Ghk……!”
Rolling across the ground with a groan of pain, Urkubar trembled—not from the shattered bone, but from a humiliation he had never felt in all his life.
“Y-you…!”
And still, Urkubar could do nothing but be beaten down helplessly.
He tried to retaliate by swinging his claws or spewing flames, yet astonishingly, Behad endured everything with his bare body and did not cease his assault.
No—if anything, his attacks only grew fiercer and more ferocious.
The pride of an Ancient Dragon, the dignity accumulated over countless years—none of it held any meaning in this moment.
“RAAAAAAAH!!!”
In the end, Urkubar chose to flee.
Drawing upon the last of his strength, he barely forced himself upright and kicked off the ground, escaping the scene in a powerful leap.
“……Going somewhere?”
Behad tried to pursue him, but he could not.
Suddenly his body staggered, and he collapsed to one knee.
He had not yet fully adapted to the immense power dwelling within him.
Amid that, a voice called out from behind him, forcing him to halt.
“Lord Behad……!”
It was Menoruka.
She had somehow regained consciousness and was staggering as she struggled to rise from her place.
At her call, Behad hesitated for a brief moment, then gave up on pursuing and turned toward her instead.
Partly, it was because he had not yet fully adapted to his condition—but more than that, he could not leave her and Junongren behind.
“……Are you all right?”
Behad asked.
His voice was as gentle as before, yet there was an unfamiliar resonance mixed within it.
“Yes.”
Menoruka nodded.
Tears had gathered in her eyes, yet her gaze was firmer and more resolute than ever.
“I am unharmed. However… Grandfather… that person must not be allowed to leave like this.”
“…….”
“Everything has returned to me.”
She continued in a trembling voice.
“Grandfather is the kind of person who would offer even the children of our Lineage as sacrifices for Human Sacrifice…… and who would embed an Iron Needle into my body to seal my memories. He is not one to care for methods.”
Lightly biting her lip, Menoruka let out a quiet sigh.
“For someone like him to come all the way to the Academy in this situation… it cannot be solely because of me. Surely… he must have other schemes. Therefore, we must stop him.”
Clinging to Behad as though hanging from him, she pleaded.
Embracing her, listening to the sound of his newly transformed heart, Behad answered quietly.
“……Yes. I think the same.”
There was no time to wait until his body fully adapted.
Just as he was about to gently separate Menoruka from himself to move immediately—
“It’s okay, Luka.”
Junongren, who had collapsed from exhaustion, spoke with difficulty.
“……Sister.”
Her voice trembled from fatigue and pain, yet the will contained within it was unmistakable.
“Before I came here… I already contacted your parents. They should arrive soon, so it won’t be too late to move together with them.”
It was then.
As if proving her words, the heavy and powerful sound of wings beating echoed from afar.
“……Ah, speak of a Dragon and it appears. It seems they’ve already arrived.”
Junongren muttered with a sigh of relief.
“They must have been in quite a hurry……”
As she lifted her gaze to the sky, her words abruptly stopped.
Her eyes began to widen in disbelief.
Countless Dragons—so many that they could only be described as a swarm—were filling the entire sky.
“……Huh.”
After a moment, she murmured hesitantly.
“……I didn’t call that many?”
Urkubar staggered forward toward the Room of Memories.
Fortunately, within the Academy, there was no one skilled enough to detect him while he concealed himself with magic. Thus, he was able to make his way to the Room of Memories without difficulty.
As he hurried his steps without pause, he ground his teeth and spat out curses.
‘How dare… how dare a mere human…!’
If he had not been struck earlier by Windy May—that filthy half-breed—he would never have suffered such humiliation.
Striking the ground in misplaced fury, he continued forward.
At the same time, he glared irritably at the Iron Needle embedded in his body.
‘This damned Iron Needle……!’
When the Man without a Head had first proposed this contract, he had spoken at length, dressing it up as a fair agreement.
Urkubar had listened, judged, and accepted of his own will.
But he had never imagined it would be to this extent.
The speed at which it drained his power was absurd.
In his brief clash with Behad just moments ago, far more power had been siphoned away in an instant than he had absorbed over the past several years.
Because of that, he had not even been able to properly resist a young human whose blood had barely dried, and had been beaten down one-sidedly.
All of this was because of those mongrels and vermin-like Demons.
His pain, his humiliation—every bit of it.
Yes, surely that was the truth.
But……
‘……It doesn’t matter.’
He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth as he thought.
A faint smile lingered there.
‘If only this matter is concluded… even if I have to let myself be beaten by goblin whelps, what of it?’
He had already been told the method.
Thus, without hesitation, he reached out—and without resistance or deviation, he located the Room of Memories and opened its door.
The first thing that caught his eye was a fish tank… no, should it be called a water tank?
In any case, they were enormous containers filled with a Strange Liquid.
There were five in total.
Among them, two containers held faintly shimmering liquid that changed color from moment to moment.
“Is this……?”
Urkubar muttered quietly.
The sight was similar to what he had heard about—yet different.
Of the five, only two were intact.
The remaining three containers were shattered to pieces, and the liquid that had once filled them had spilled out, soaking the floor.
Not only that, of the three doors arranged in sequence deeper inside, two had also been smashed apart.
“What in the world is this……?”
Just as he muttered in confusion—
Click.
The only door that remained intact.
Its handle began to turn with a quiet sound.