Chapter 179
“Don’t even think about going alone.”
As expected, Lisa reacted first.
The moment she heard Suiroti’s words, she immediately came over and grabbed my hand.
“Don’t say nonsense like you’ll go alone to buy time. I’m not letting you go alone, ever.”
“But Noona, right now it’s correct for me to go alone and face Suiroti.”
“Are you sure that’s really correct?”
Kafka, who stood beside Lisa, asked me instead.
“I don’t know the details about that dragon, but a dragon is still a dragon. In the Empire’s entire history, no one has ever slain a dragon alone. I don’t know why Suiroti has any grudge against you, but going alone to fight him sounds like suicide, don’t you think?”
“If Suiroti were a typical dragon, that would definitely be true. But Suiroti… it’s hard to call him a typical dragon.”
I paused briefly, then continued.
“Suiroti isn’t a dragon strong purely in physical might. She fought using all sorts of irregular tactics with different spells… and more importantly, do you remember what I said earlier?”
“Exactly which part?”
“That Suiroti controlled people’s minds.”
“Ah, right. You said she had that kind of ability.”
“Yes. If we go as a group, it’ll actually be better for Suiroti. She’d have more humans to use as chess pieces.”
Kafka nodded at my words.
Then she soon raised another question.
“Then it’s fine for you to go alone and fight? If you fall under Suiroti’s mind control, it’s over, isn’t it?”
“That mind control spell doesn’t work on me.”
“…Really?”
“Yes. I only mentioned the key points earlier, but I already confirmed that Suiroti’s magic doesn’t affect me. I don’t know the exact reason, but when that clash happened with Suiroti… yes. I was the only one who didn’t fall under the mind control.”
Kafka silently fell into thought.
She seemed to be trying to figure out whether there was any better method.
But since nothing came to mind for her either, she soon let out a small sigh.
“Like you said, if I went with you, I’d probably just be a burden. But Gideon, my son-in-law. Are you confident you can win against that dragon alone?”
“I’m not.”
“…Excuse me?”
Kafka looked at me in disbelief at how firm my answer was.
But this was an unavoidable truth.
I had also sensed it to some extent.
“At best, dragging out time will be the best I can do.”
Objectively speaking, for a dragon in this world, Suiroti was extremely weak.
SHe made up for that weakness with various Dragon Tongue Magic, but right now Suiroti was maintaining countless spells to support Rage.
Because of that, she couldn’t even exert half of her original strength properly…
‘But a dragon is still a dragon. Her entire class was different from mine.’
My extremely defensive swordsmanship.
Using that, I felt confident that I could stall for some time.
But if things went to the end, I would eventually lose.
‘That’s why they need to make the most out of the time I buy.’
After finishing my thoughts, I first turned to Roy.
Roy had been sitting quietly since earlier, as if feeling awkward in the office.
When I looked at him, Roy flinched in surprise.
“Lord Roy, you analyzed that Dragon Tongue Magic with Lady Kara earlier, right? Do you have those materials?”
“U-yeah. I have them. Teacher Kara copied them for me too.”
“Then please continue analyzing that magic. And when Teacher Kara returns later, work together and make sure to find a way to dispel that magic.”
Even discovering a method to break the mind-control spell would give us a massive advantage.
That was because the soldiers currently attacking the Imperial Palace—
Most likely those soldiers weren’t under Suiroti’s magic.
They were sane, just moving under the orders of their commanding officers.
And those commanding officers were definitely the ones under the Dragon Tongue Magic.
‘If we break the spell on the commanding officers, they’ll definitely stop the assault.’
So finding a way to break the Dragon Tongue Magic was more important than anything else.
Once we found that method, Rage’s numerical advantage would collapse in an instant.
“Lady Kafka, I’d appreciate it if you could hold back the advance of those troops as much as possible. And the nomads may arrive here soon, so please prepare for that as well.”
“Hold them back? I’ll crush as many enemies as I can. Look forward to it.”
“Yes, then I’ll look forward to it.”
Smiling faintly at Kafka, I next looked toward Andrew.
“Lord Andrew. The nomads will appear either inside Lysquare or somewhere on its outskirts. There will definitely be traces or the presence of magic at the spot where they’ll appear. Please find that with the Hawkbat Family members and set traps at the place where the nomads will materialize.”
“That’s a reasonable plan. And when the nomads show up, I’ll slow their advance as much as possible with my family. If we keep hit-and-run tactics going, they’ll get pretty annoyed.”
“Then I’ll leave that to you.”
“Understood. By the way, Gideon, why does it feel so natural for you to issue instructions to all of us?”
“Ah, well… if it sounded rude, I’m sorry. I just thought that in the current situation, the best course of action was—”
I looked at Andrew in fluster, but unlike his words, he was smiling.
A faintly mischievous smile appeared on his face.
“I was just messing around a bit. And Gideon.”
“Yes.”
“Your plan to break the treaty with the Other Races and request their help… The reason I doubted it wasn’t because I doubted you. It was because I wasn’t fully convinced about the Other Races themselves. In other words, I trust you. I think I finally understand that you truly care for the Empire.”
Andrew placed a hand on my shoulder and continued speaking.
“Given the situation, forget about status and everything else for now. Show us, in your own way, the best you can do.”
“…Understood.”
After answering Andrew, I let out a breath.
Then I pulled myself together and turned toward Nazar.
“Your Majesty, as I said earlier… If we want to decisively turn the tide, we’ll absolutely need the help of the Other Races.”
“…Gideon, like Andrew just said, I trust you. But there’s a reason the early emperors of the Empire oppressed the Other Races. They were… undeniably a threat to our Empire and to humans.”
“Then, Your Majesty. As I said earlier… please trust me.”
“…Trust you?”
“Yes. Not the Other Races—trust me, the one who believes in them.”
At my words, the Emperor looked at me for a moment, then soon returned to a troubled expression.
The die had been cast.
From here on… it was out of my hands.
“Gideon Kyrgram! Come out while I’m still giving you the chance! If you don’t, I’ll burn this entire palace to the ground!”
Meanwhile, Suiroti continued shouting from the skies above the Imperial Palace.
I sighed and turned to Jason.
“Lord Jason—no. Jason. Do you know the path to the highest rooftop of the Imperial Palace?”
“Khahahahaha!”
The highest spire constructed in the Imperial Palace.
When I appeared at the top of that spire, the black dragon immediately flew toward me.
“You finally came out, Swordsman of Water!”
“You searched so desperately for me, so of course I should come greet you. But did you really want to see me that badly?”
“Yes, I did. I wanted to see you. I wanted to kill you with my own hands—so desperately that it drove me mad!”
“If you obsess that much, it makes me very uncomfortable, you know.”
I smirked and drew Mistcatcher.
Then I slowly looked at Suiroti’s forehead.
“By the way, your forehead looks awfully empty now. When that huge jewel disappears, well… in many ways—”
“Silence!”
Suiroti truly seemed enraged, flames leaking from the corners of her mouth as she shouted.
“Because of you, Lord Bedir was disappointed in me! He told me himself that he was disappointed! All because of you! Because you destroyed that precious jewel he bestowed upon me!”
“Oh dear, that’s unfortunate. But I don’t think that was my fault? You were weak enough to lose to humans, and on top of that, you ran away so pathetically—grk?”
Before I could finish speaking, Suiroti breathed fire at me.
I quickly used the Water Rune to block the incoming flames.
“To think you’d dare say such a thing. I was planning to kill you quickly because I had a plan to execute, but I changed my mind. I’ll kill you slowly—painfully.”
“Can you really kill me?”
“Of course. Someone like you? And I must. If I kill you and offer your corpse to Lord Bedir, he will trust me completely once more.”
I could feel unwavering determination in Suiroti’s eyes.
I let out a faint laugh.
“So he commanded you to kill me?”
“No. I said first that I would kill you and return. He seemed unable to trust me anymore because of his disappointment, but he promised that if I bring your corpse back… he will entrust me with far more than before.”
“You sound desperate.”
“Yes. I am desperate—desperate to kill you! Therefore…”
A red mark suddenly flashed before my eyes.
I tried to dodge on instinct, but Suiroti was much faster.
“Ghk?”
“I’ll disgrace you thoroughly as I kill you.”
Before I could react, Suiroti grabbed me with her massive forepaw—far too fast for me to respond.
Then she began flying somewhere with me in his grasp.
Past the Imperial Palace… above the massive arena in Lysquare.
The Benetic Stadium, where the recent Tournament had taken place.
Upon arriving at the stadium, Suiroti threw me down onto the arena floor.
“Tch.”
I quickly drew out the Power of Peregrie.
Using that power, I stirred up wind to slow my fall.
Thanks to that, I landed safely on the arena floor.
“I heard you beat Eisen here. They said you created an enormous downpour to do it?”
“Yes, well, something like that.”
I raised Mistcatcher and quickly took my stance.
The black dragon let out a quiet laugh.
“A human who directly received a fragment of Lord Bedir… and you defeated him with such a trick. Swordsman of Water, what kind of trick will you show me?”
“That… I’ll have to think about while fighting.”
“Kukuku, you truly amuse me. Just like your ancestor from centuries ago.”
As she finished speaking, countless magic circles appeared behind Suiroti.
All of them strange patterns never seen in human magic.
“Now, let us decide this fight, descendant of the Pure-White Mainac.”
“…Yes. Let’s settle this.”
I summoned aura around me.
Winning didn’t matter.
Dragging out time.
That was the most important thing.
“I’ll end the bloodline that gave me an unforgettable wound… today.”