Reincarnated Dragon Goes to the Academy!

Chapter 185 : The Prelude to War (2)

The place where the alarm magic had gone off was the forest of the pixies.

The forest was quiet, as if no one was there.

"Tene? What are you doing here?"

The woman standing in the middle of the village was staring into the air with unfocused eyes.

The reason the forest was quiet was because of the Red Dragon, Tene Helbert, who was standing there.

They must have been scared by the sudden appearance of a dragon and had all run home.

"Tene?"

Hasel called Tene's name once more.

'What's wrong with her?'

There was no answer even when he called.

"Tene. Why aren't you answering?"

"Wait."

Lucas stopped Hasel, who was about to approach Tene.

"Her aura is strange."

The aura felt from Tene was strange. No, it wasn't that the aura was strange.

'Her soul...'

It was empty.

"...!?"

Only then did Hasel, who seemed to have noticed something strange, freeze up.

"T-that is..."

Aman had also noticed.

"Damn it!!!"

The demon bastards had finally done it.

"What should we do?"

Hasel asked in a dazed voice.

"We have to get out of here first."

It could explode at any moment. He couldn't let all the pixies die.

"Tene..."

Hasel slowly approached Tene.

-Kuo-oh-oh-oh!

As Tene raised one hand, flames began to swirl in an instant.

"Block it!"

A protective barrier unfolded around Tene.

"If this happens...!"

The flames trapped inside the barrier would engulf Tene.

-Kwaaaang!

"Aman, withdraw the magic."

The flames swirled.

"No!"

As Hasel withdrew the protective barrier, and Aman followed suit, Lucas, who was blocking it alone, shouted.

"We have to seal her! We can't let Tene die like this!"

"Then is it okay if this whole village burns down?!"

"..."

Lucas said, struggling to hold on.

-Kuo-oh-oh-oh!!!

Tene, who was standing in the fire, summoned another fireball in the sky.

"Keuk..."

Tene's magic, who had lost herself, was relentless. She didn't even care about her own body getting hurt.

Inside the barrier, flames were swirling, trying to break the barrier somehow, and from the sky, fireballs were falling towards the barrier.

Tene's thoughts went only that far. To break the protective barrier.

"Hasel!!!"

Lucas shouted Hasel's name.

-Kwaaaang!

Hasel spread his protection magic wide and protected the entire village.

"Aman!"

-Kwaaaang! Kwang! Kwa-kwang!

Another protective barrier was layered on top of it.

"Lord! Tene might die at this rate!"

"..."

Hasel shouted desperately.

"Get a grip, Hasel."

Lucas said, struggling to block Tene's magic.

"That child is not Tene right now."

"Lord!"

"Aman. Block it."

It seemed that Hasel would not listen to his words.

Aman, who had heard Lucas's words, glanced at Hasel and then cast a protection spell.

"Hold on."

Lucas kicked off the ground in an instant and then threw himself into the protective barrier filled with flames.

"L-Lord!!!"

Leaving Aman's voice behind, as he entered the barrier, a hot flame engulfed him.

-Thwaaaak!

No matter how much he wrapped himself in a protection spell, the hot heat was transmitted as it was.

'I'm going to melt at this rate.'

Tene's appearance, who was already standing in it, was in tatters. No matter how high her fire resistance was, it would be difficult to be fine in such a flame.

And since she was constantly using magic to break through the protection magic, it was a natural result.

Tene's unfocused pupils turned to Lucas.

'Tene...'

He remembered this child's childhood.

He took a step with difficulty.

'Get a grip...'

He prayed, even though he knew her soul was already gone.

He reached out his hand.

-Kwa-kwang! Kwa-kwa-kwang! Kwang!

He struggled to hold on and took a step, even with the magic being shot at Lucas without mercy.

-Kwa-kwang! Kwaaaang!

The fragments of the magic that had been blocked by the protective barrier turned back to Tene.

'Tene...!'

Lucas's hand finally reached Tene.

"Keuk!"

As soon as he touched Tene, his hand was blackened, and a groan escaped him.

-Paaat!

Lucas, who had teleported with Tene, looked around without even looking at his hand.

An empty lot with nothing. No one would get hurt here.

"Lord!"

Fortunately, he heard the voice of Hasel, who had followed him right away.

-Kuo-oh-oh-oh-oh!

"Tene!!!"

The magic that was cast immediately was aimed at Lucas.

-Kwaaaang!

It was blocked by the protection magic and died down.

-Kuaaaang!

It was shot again.

-Kwa-kwang!

It died down again.

How many times had he repeated that? Tears were welling up in Hasel and Aman's eyes.

"Keuk..."

Hasel finally swallowed his tears.

"Do you understand now?"

Lucas had waited. For them to accept that there was no way.

"Even if we seal her..."

Lucas slowly shook his head.

"She has no soul."

"T-then Tene is..."

Tene's soul had been annihilated.

Even if the main god's seat was not vacant, it was difficult to find an annihilated soul.

Because it wasn't lost, but had disappeared forever.

"I'm sorry."

"Keuk..."

Lucas's heart also felt as if it were being torn apart, and it was painful and numb.

He had never thought they would dare to touch a dragon.

'I was arrogant.'

He should have thought. Even though he had seen them take the souls of wyverns and control them, and control werewolves and other monsters, he had been complacent.

He had forgotten the fact that they were also nothing more than mere monsters.

'Damn it.'

The magic that had been shooting like crazy subsided, and as Tene's body was engulfed in light, Lucas had a premonition.

That he should not let her return to her original form.

-Paaat!

The ice spear held in the hand of Lucas, who had teleported in an instant.

"Lord!!!"

Hasel and Aman, who were shouting as they looked at him.

'No.'

The enhancement magic wrapped around the ice spear and the debuff poured on Tene slightly delayed her transformation into her original form.

A time of less than a second.

-Kwa-jik!

The ice spear that Lucas had thrust pierced Tene's chest.

-Kwa-ji-jik-!

The frost that bloomed white around the ice spear stuck in her chest was so cold.

"I'm sorry."

Tene's pupils turned to Lucas, who had thrust an ice spear into her chest.

Even if she had lost her soul, a dragon was a dragon.

That was why Lucas had thrust the ice spear into the dragon heart at once. Because if he was counterattacked, he could not guarantee what would happen next.

But no matter how much he had cast a debuff, it was difficult to pierce it in one go, so he had cast an enhancement magic again while it was stuck in and had increased the size of the spear inside.

"I'm sorry... Tene."

-Kwa-jik...!

One more time.

-Pssssst...

Tene's body was scattering into a white light.

A dragon whose dragon heart was destroyed would meet its death.

It was the most dishonorable and shameful death for a dragon.

Lucas's hand, which was holding the spear he had thrust in with force, trembled and dropped.

"I'm sorry, Tene..."

It was painful.

But there was no better choice than this. The moment Tene returned to her original form and ran wild, he would not have been able to kill her so easily.

Since she was skilled in attack, Hasel would have had to face her with all his might.

'Why of all people...'

A bad thought flashed through Lucas's mind.

'There are many old dragons who have received their death sentences, so why...'

He was so sad that something like this had happened to Tene, who had not even lived for a long time.

-Ssssss...

As the halo of light scattered and disappeared into the sky, Tene was no longer there.

***

The impact of Tene's death was enormous.

Hasel didn't even know what to say to the dragon elders and was still holed up in his lair, holding his head.

But he couldn't just let it go.

Everyone had to know. Because another dragon who would be ridiculously defeated like Tene should not appear.

"This is no different from a warning sent to us."

Lucas broke the silence and opened his mouth.

"We were arrogant. We acted arrogantly even though the enemies had come right under our noses."

Hasel clenched his fist.

"Tene was defeated. That child was a smart child. Such a child was defeated."

That story meant that other dragons could also be defeated.

"That's why I'm saying we were arrogant. We didn't even defend ourselves, trusting in our own strength. The others will be the same. So Hasel. You go and tell the elders and the other dragons this fact right now."

"..."

"That Tene was defeated. And that we will prepare for war from now on. We will kill and strike down the enemies, using all means and methods."

"Yes. I understand."

"And tell them that I have returned."

At that, Aman and Hasel's eyes widened at the same time.

To tell them that Lucas had returned? To everyone?

"Yes."

Lucas nodded his head. In fact, he didn't want to tell them.

But Tene had been defeated like that, and he had killed Tene with his own hands.

But if he didn't announce that he had returned, all the arrows of blame that would come back would be met by Hasel and Aman.

'Since it was my doing...'

He had to take responsibility. He had to let them know that this choice was the best.

"And Aman. You also go and tell the other dragons all of this."

"Yes. Lord."

"And convene a meeting of the elders. I will meet them and tell them again with my own mouth."

The time had come.

It was wrong from the start to have left the demons, who had come right under their noses, alone.

'They say the best defense is a good offense.'

He had forgotten. He had spent time persuading the gods and bringing the spirit kings to his side, saying he would set up a defense.

He shouldn't have done that. He should have found their homes and destroyed them, and moved one step faster to block all the passages they were coming through.

"The war has begun. We will win, as always."

"Yes. Lord."

Hasel teleported and disappeared first, and Aman also bowed his head to Lucas and then teleported and disappeared.

Lucas, who was left alone in the large lair, hung his head low.

The last gaze of Tene he had faced kept flickering in his mind.

Although they were cloudy pupils, Lucas could tell.

That she was sad.

Lucas's heart also hurt as if it were being torn apart. He had taken countless lives with his own hands, but this was the first time he had killed a dragon.

Although he comforted and soothed himself, saying it was an unavoidable choice, another thought kept circling in his mind.

'Was that really the best way?'

Could he not have sealed Tene and found another way, as Hasel had said?

But there was not enough time to get what was needed to seal a dragon.

He needed at least three dragons, but there were only two dragons in that place.

'But...'

No matter how many times he thought about it, that was the best way, but he couldn't stop the repeated regrets.

Lucas leaned back on the sofa and stared blankly into the air.

"Life is bitter."

He had just wanted to live a normal life, but it just didn't go his way.

A feeling of nausea welled up inside him. He wanted to cut off the heads of all the bastard things that were interfering with his smooth life.

"I'll kill them all."

The war had begun.

[End of Chapter]