Reincarnated Dragon Goes to the Academy!

Chapter 191 : The Prelude to War (4)

Lucas, who had arrived at the elf village first, spread his search magic wide and began to look for survivors.

If there were any survivors, he had to protect them until the very end.

'One... two... only eight?'

It was an absurdly small number. The only silver lining was the fact that there were survivors.

Lucas slowly walked towards the place where they were gathered.

A place where the aura of those who had luckily survived in the completely burned forest was felt.

Lucas, who was standing in front of what looked like a large tomb, broke down one wall with his mana.

The dry pile of dirt collapsed helplessly.

"You were lucky."

As the wall collapsed and Lucas appeared, they were startled and hugged each other.

"W-who are you..."

They were huddled together in a space made of dirt that was barely big enough for about three adults to lie down.

The aura felt was that of earth and water spirits. He felt like he knew how they had survived here.

"Are all the others dead?"

"..."

No one said anything.

There were a total of eight elves gathered. Four of them were children.

'To protect them...'

The elves must have fought with all their might when the monsters had attacked the village.

And here, there were young kinsmen and the old or sick.

And they must have locked up one warrior who was skilled in spirit magic.

To protect them.

"Let's go. This place is no longer safe."

"W-what about my mom?"

The child's clear blue eyes turned to Lucas.

"I'm sorry."

A warrior blocked the child's way.

"I know who you are. I will protect my kinsmen."

"Right. But not here. I will provide a safer place. So will you trust me once?"

Perfect hostility. Lucas also did not have the confidence to deal with that hostility right away.

"..."

Lucas held out his arm.

"Can I really trust you?"

The warrior's golden pupils turned to Lucas.

"Please do."

As he nodded his head, the warrior first cautiously placed his hand on Lucas's arm.

And as the others linked their hands and held them, Lucas immediately cast a teleport.

Because he hoped that the remaining ones would not see the tragic scenery behind him.

***

Following the first elf village, the other elf villages were also in a similar situation.

All the survivors had been able to survive because of the sacrifice of their kinsmen.

The situation in the pixie village was relatively better. Thanks to their small bodies, it was easy to hide, and thanks to that, most of the pixies had been able to survive.

But since the pixie village had also been turned into a mess, he couldn't just leave them there.

"Uh...? Benefactor-nim?"

As Lucas appeared, Alin, who had recognized him, approached him first.

"Alin. Are you okay?"

As Lucas called his name, Alin, who had flown over in a hurry, clung to his neck and began to pour out his sorrow.

"Hwaaaang! Benefactor-nim! We were all almost burned to death!"

At that, the other pixies who had been hiding also began to appear one by one.

"Right, right. I know everything."

"Hoeeeng! If it weren't for the alarm magic you cast for us then, we would have all died!"

Alin cried and cried, but he also spat out words like a machine gun.

"Yes. Is everyone safe?"

"We are all fine. Of course, there are a few missing kinsmen, but... how is the situation over there? Are the dragon-nims all safe?"

The chieftain asked cautiously.

"I see. That's a relief. The dragons... about half of them are dead."

"...Is that really true?"

The pixies, who had heard Lucas's words, all had surprised expressions and began to whisper.

Among the words he heard, he often heard things like 'shouldn't we have sided with the demons?'.

In fact, Lucas could not oppose their words. Because he had also thought that it might have been better to side with Taras.

"Yes."

"M-my goodness... to think that half of the dragon-nims have been defeated..."

The chieftain collapsed on a burned tree stump with a look of lost hope.

"Then what do we do? Benefactor-nim. Are we all going to die too? No, right? There's a way, right? Right?"

At Alin's question, all the pixies' gazes turned to Lucas's mouth.

Lucas, who had taken a small breath, opened his mouth to them.

"Whether there is a way or not, that is not important. The dragons will protect the pixies, no, all the other races. We will try our best to prevent any more sacrifices and will do our best."

At that, the pixies' expressions became solemn.

"So please trust the dragons one last time."

Lucas said sincerely. Because now, their trust and help were desperately needed.

"I believe you, benefactor-nim! And I'll fight too! You know how fast I am, right? I'll, huh? Hide and then cast a curse, papapak!"

Alin flapped his wings vigorously and flapped his small limbs.

"I-I'll help too. I'm not fast, but... I'm confident in curses."

Another pixie added.

"I'll help too! I'm also confident in curses!"

The pixies' intentions began to gather one by one.

"Right. Let's all help! Even if it's not a big help!"

"Right. Isn't it a little better to have a pixie's hand than nothing at all?"

He was grateful. Although there had been countless years when he had not been able to protect them, the pixies had not only shown their trust once more, but were also stepping up, saying they would fight.

"Thank you."

Something warm rose in his chest.

"Benefactor-nim! Don't worry about benefactor-nim. Because I'll protect you! I'll papat! Papapat! Huh? Just! You know, right?"

"Right. Thank you."

Lucas, who had smiled at Alin, gathered them.

Now it was time to leave the forest.

***

After that, Lucas also went to find the other fox tribes, including the winter fox tribe.

But they were in a more tragic state than the elves.

There were far fewer survivors, and their distrust of the dragons pierced the sky.

That was why Lucas had almost begged them and had moved them to a safe zone.

Because he had to prevent their extinction.

They were not the only pitiful races.

The Toto tribes, who had a habit of digging and living in burrows, had also suffered great damage.

The burned land had burned the Toto tribes who were hiding in the burrows and had made them suffocate.

The few Toto tribes who had survived were the ones who had been outside the village.

Lucas went around all the villages, gathered the surviving races, and moved them to a safe zone.

It was the same for the dwarves who had remained in Ignos.

Although he was relieved because most of the dwarves were in the Siren's territory, the dwarves who had remained in Ignos had also been damaged.

"Is it all over now..."

Lucas, who had visited Ignos for the last time, was gathering the remaining dwarves and preparing to go to the Siren's territory.

'Since there are over ten, it might be a little difficult with magic.'

Since the Siren's territory was located deep in the sea, preparation was essential.

"Are we also going there today?"

A dwarf asked.

"It would be better to wait in another safe zone today. Since they will also need time to prepare."

Since most of the dwarves were there, there might not be any stock of the necklaces Giestio had prepared.

"I understand. Are they all safe?"

"They are safe."

He had contacted Giestio before coming here, and he had already confirmed that they were all safe.

"That's a relief."

"Let's go now."

-Paaat!

All the dwarves were also moved to a safe zone.

***

Lucas, who was left alone, arrived at his favorite place, Mare Lake.

This place had also been swept through by monsters and had been turned into a mess.

There were traces of burning here and there, and the corpses of the monsters who had not been able to escape the disaster were floating on the calm lake.

"Hah..."

It would have been nice if he had come here and had found some peace of mind, but even that was not easy.

He didn't even want a calm heart. He had just hoped it would be of some help in the situation he would face in the future.

Lucas, who had been looking at the small heart engraved on his arm for a moment, opened his mouth.

"L-love's..."

He couldn't bring himself to say it.

"Hah..."

He hated having to chant such a spell in a situation like this.

"Love..."

It was when he was trying to gather his heart again and chant the spell.

-Doo-doong! Doong!

A magnificent drum sound began to echo from the sky.

A pure white light shot straight down to the ground.

-Doong! Doo-doong!

In the place where the halo of light was coming down, angels with pure white wings opened the way first.

-Doong! Doo-doo-doong!

A brilliant golden light shone behind them.

[Darling!!!]

Although his appearance was not visible, hidden by the pure white light, he could recognize his existence just by his voice.

'I have to endure it.'

Although he desperately needed his help, he felt like he wanted to withdraw his request for help as soon as he heard his voice.

[Sorry! I'm a little late~!]

Amore, who had landed on the ground, threw his brilliant blond hair back and came running.

"It's been a while."

[Oh my, you missed me too?]

Amore, who had clung to Lucas's side, said, fiddling with his arm.

"..."

[I wanted to come sooner, you know? But I also had a little~ situation.]

As Amore winked one eye, goosebumps rose on Lucas's arm.

'I can never get used to it, no matter how many times I see it.'

The angels standing on both sides maintained their dignified expressions well, as if they were used to Amore's appearance.

"I need your help. As you already know."

[Oh my, of course. I know, I know~]

"How is the celestial world now?"

At Lucas's question, Amore let out a small sigh.

[Anyway, it's a mess because of that. The celestial world has also been turned into a mess.]

He had expected it. Otherwise, it didn't make sense that none of the gods had moved when all the other races were on the verge of extinction.

[All the lower gods who didn't side with Taras have been annihilated.]

"...Is that really true?"

[Oh my, darling! Do you think I would lie? Our love would be cracked then!]

Even in a serious situation, Amore's fuss did not stop.

"..."

[And the intermediate gods, well, the situation is not good. Ah, by now, the priests might know?]

It seemed there was something more serious.

[Herdone has been annihilated.]

"What kind of nonsense...!"

To think that Herdone, the goddess of joy, had been annihilated?

Herdone was a god who could be seen as the strongest among the upper gods.

She had the most believers, and her history was also the longest. But annihilation?

[So we also suffered a great loss. Herdone was annihilated, and well... Astal also sided with Taras.]

It was the worst. To think that Astal, the god of war, had turned his back.

Then this war had to be seen as lost.

[Didn't you expect it? Otherwise, why would the dragons have been defeated so helplessly?]

He was on the verge of his legs giving out.

[But don't worry too much. I, Amore, am still here!]

Amore, the god of love. He was also a strong god, but he was no match for the power Taras had now.

[And the spirit world has also been turned upside down.]

"Ah..."

[But the spirit world will recover soon. It was not a good choice to touch them. To dare to touch nature. Tsk!]

Should he say it was good news?

Then he thought that the spirit kings might be able to help the dragons.

[Oh my, darling. I have to go now. In fact, I'm in the middle of a war right now.]

Amore clicked his tongue as if in regret and let go of Lucas's arm, which he had been fiddling with.

[But I'll come anytime you call. And there's one thing I want to tell you...]

Amore slowly rose into the sky.

[That spell is actually a lie. From now on, you can just call my name.]

"X."

[End of Chapter]