novelraw Chapter 143
Chapter 143
Ch.143 Damn It! You Wretched Scum!
Broad daylight.
Giovanni had arrived at his destination.
He scanned the villagers from the entrance of the town—
women working and children running about.
Giovanni let out a small sigh of relief.
This village hadn’t yet been touched by the army of the dead.
‘Good. We can quickly bring them to the capital.’
As they entered, the villagers stared in surprise and fear.
After all, it wasn’t common for knights to appear in such a remote place.
“Where’s the village chief?”
At Giovanni’s question, one villager stepped forward.
“I-I’ll go get him!”
The villager hurried off.
Children’s eyes sparkled at the sight of knights—
after all, knights were the heroes of every child’s dreams.
Moments later, an elderly man who looked well past sixty appeared before the strike force.
“W-what brings you here?”
“Are you this village’s representative?”
“Yes. I’m Abel.”
Giovanni nodded.
“You must know that the army of the dead has been attacking villages near the Imperial Capital. We’ve come to rescue you. Prepare to leave for the capital immediately.”
The villagers gasped in shock.
“What? But…”
—We have to leave? What about our property?
—Eiden, go get your father back from the fields!
—F-food! What about our food?
As chaos spread, Abel hesitated before speaking.
“The journey to the capital takes a long time… And we have women and children—how can we possibly evade the undead and reach the capital safely?”
“We’re accompanied by a dragon. With teleportation magic, we can take you all there in an instant. Don’t worry about that. Quickly gather all the men working in the fields. This is by the Emperor’s direct order.”
At the mention of the Emperor, Abel bowed deeply.
“I’ll prepare at once. Everyone, call back those in the fields and pack anything valuable—food, essentials, everything!”
Peaceful moments vanished. The village sprang into frantic motion—
children ran to fetch their fathers, women hurriedly stuffed belongings into bundles.
‘Looks like they’ll be safe for now.’
Giovanni glanced sideways at Eltakantara.
Just one teleportation spell, and we’re done.
Had he let his guard down at the last moment?
“Hehe… Well met, O Dragon.”
“Kuhh!”
At that chilling voice, Giovanni jolted in alarm.
“Lord Eltakantara!”
The black-haired handsome man—
a sword blade protruded violently from his chest.
Giovanni drew his sword and charged at the King of the Dead,
but the King instantly leapt back, creating distance.
“Khrr… Roy… you bastard!”
“Hehe… You let your guard down, didn’t you? It must be hard to wield such power in a frail human body, isn’t it?”
Eltakantara’s pupils stretched vertically.
“I’ll devour you whole—alive!”
His body began swelling, scales erupting from his skin.
“Hehe… Trying to transform into a dragon, are you?”
The King swung his sword and cleaved Eltakantara’s neck.
Blood splattered the ground.
“No… Nooo!”
The severed head—caught between human and dragon form—rolled to the dirt.
Eltakantara collapsed lifelessly.
“Krahaaaha!”
The King roared with laughter.
Roy plunged his sword into Eltakantara’s corpse and declared:
“O divine power bestowed upon me by the Lord! Breathe life into this fallen body and bind it to my will as my retainer!”
The King’s sword darkened, and Eltakantara’s flesh turned black.
“Rise, O Dragon!”
His detached head rolled back to rejoin his body.
As Eltakantara’s form began shifting into a dragon, Roy stepped back cautiously.
“Haha!”
Watching the dragon’s body rapidly expand, he broke into a wicked grin.
“With this! With this, the Imperial Capital falls! Hahahah!”
Seeing the King laugh like a madman, Giovanni shouted desperately to his strike force:
“Fall back! Everyone, retreat!”
At his command, villagers and knights scattered in all directions, fleeing the village.
The King watched them run, eyes filled with contempt.
“Hehe… Vermin. Well… I’ll grant you another day’s grace.”
Eltakantara had already grown to a monstrous size.
—Kraaaaah!
The undead dragon let out a deafening roar.
“Hahaha! Auros will love this—he’ll get to face his resurrected kin!”
Meanwhile, at that very moment—
Auros sensed a fellow dragon’s magic dissipating.
“Eltakantara…”
Though much younger than Auros, Eltakantara had always held a special place among dragons—
especially to Auros himself, having followed him devotedly since youth.
“I’ll avenge you… Eltakantara.”
Auros immediately relayed the news of Eltakantara’s death to Icira.
***
I was stunned by Icira’s words.
“What? The dragon accompanying Giovanni is dead?!”
“Yes. The Dragon Lord sent word—he’s asking what you intend to do.”
Shock. Disbelief.
We’d gone to such lengths to prevent the King of the Dead from stealing a dragon’s overwhelming power…
“Wait… When exactly did he die?”
“The message just arrived—so very recently.”
“And… Giovanni?!”
Giovanni—my childhood friend, practically a younger brother—
his life mattered most, so I asked first.
But Icira only shook her head helplessly.
“I don’t know. The Lord only confirmed the death of his kin…”
Then…
In a situation dire enough to kill a dragon…
could Giovanni have survived?
He was the weakest among us.
Even excluding the Hero Party, he wasn’t as powerful as Icira, nowhere near Nekhuf’s strength, and barely comparable to Nephert—a mere Sand Elf who wielded basic spirit magic.
Had I sent him to his death?
Was this my fault?
Should I have gone myself?
If Icira and I had gone together… maybe this wouldn’t have ended so helplessly…
Of course, that hadn’t been a simple choice.
Icira was assisting Edward with experiments, and I needed to stay near her in case the King of the Dead appeared.
Sending anyone else risked disaster—if the King attacked the Seal Stones while we were away,
even one missing ally could be turned into his retainer.
Giovanni was the only one available…
I never imagined it would end like this.
Damn it… Roy… I swear I’ll make you pay!
Rage boiled in my skull, my chest tight with fury.
How… how could I possibly vent this anguish?
Without thinking, I slammed my fist onto the desk.
—Thud!
I didn’t know why I did it—
but right now… I just wanted to surrender to my emotions.
“You son of a bitch! I won’t let you get away with this!”
I stood up and stormed toward the door—
but Icira grabbed my wrist.
“Where are you going?”
I didn’t even know.
I just… just…
The moment I arrived here, I’d learned my longtime friend might already be dead.
My chest ached with unbearable pressure.
“You don’t even know where the King of the Dead is.”
“This isn’t about charging straight at him.”
I had no idea where he was hiding.
If I did, I would’ve hunted him down long ago.
Icira fixed me with a calm, steady gaze.
“Calm down. Anger won’t help anyone.”
“Calm down?! Could you stay calm if Aria died?!”
I’d come to this world and sought out Giovanni as soon as I’d settled—
our friendship ran that deep.
The thought that he might be gone…
it tore my heart apart.
“If Aria were killed by them… I might lose my reason too. But as her mother—and as a dragon—I can afford that loss without causing greater harm.”
I understood what she was trying to say.
“So what? You’re telling me I can’t even rage or grieve?!”
If Roy stood before me now, I’d tear him apart with my bare hands, I was so furious.
But Icira’s icy expression remained.
“You haven’t forgotten that countless lives depend on you, have you? The King of the Dead could appear at any moment.”
“Ah…”
Her words cooled my head slightly.
If I were the King of the Dead, now that I had a dragon, I’d go straight for the capital.
After all, the fall of the Imperial Capital was one of the game-over conditions.
I didn’t know why—but for now…
“We need to head to the capital. Tell everyone to prepare. If my guess is right… he’ll appear there.”
***
Roy revealed himself in the skies above the Imperial Capital, riding the undead dragon.
“Hear me, mortals! Dragons! All living beings!”
The King of the Dead, flanked by a colossal black undead dragon, sent the entire city into panic.
—D-dragon?!
—The King of Death has come with a dragon!
—Kyaaaah!
—It’s the end! The gods have abandoned us!
As chaos erupted among the capital’s residents, Roy declared:
“Fear not the death I bring! The Lord commands me to liberate all life from slavery! My death is not an end—but a new beginning! It is the path to eternal life! The pain lasts but a moment—eternal bliss shall never fade!”
From the city walls, a Holy Knight shouted:
—Shut your blasphemous mouth, fiend!
—The scriptures say you’ll destroy us and enslave us all!
—Do you dare mock and deceive us?!
Roy merely smiled serenely at their outrage.
“Still clinging to your false gods, pitiful knight? How powerful are your so-called gods, if they let you fall into such ruin? Haha! How pathetic… how wretched!”
—Silence!
—Die!
—The Church of Death, begone!
Scanning the panicked crowd, the King muttered:
‘It’s about time Auros showed himself…’
But no matter how he searched, Auros was nowhere to be found—perhaps hidden in the throng.
“No matter. O Dragon! Show them your power!”
At his command, the undead dragon opened its massive maw.
A black orb began forming at its mouth.
“Aim for the Papal Palace! I shall shatter the Ark of the Covenant and sever the gods’ interference here! Haha! Farewell, foolish mortals!”
Just as the dragon prepared to unleash its breath—
—Bang!
A thunderous gunshot echoed across the capital…
The dragon lost balance and began spiraling toward the ground.
“Khrrr… Adversary…!”
Hans and his companions appeared atop the city walls, eyes burning with fury.
“You’re already dead!”
—Bang!
—Bang!
Hans fired shot after shot.
“Tch! Lucky shot!”
As the King dodged, he reached into his spatial bag for his staff—
“Kuhh!”
Scarlet’s dagger pierced his wrist, forcing him to drop the bag.
“Have you no fear showing your face here?”
Seeing the Hero relentlessly hurling daggers, Hans dove off the wall to retrieve the bag.
“Damn it! You wretched scum!”
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