Vol 6 Chapter 6

[ Where... are... you... going... now? ]

"Are you asking me?"

The Dark Knight turned back with a slightly bewildered expression, hesitated to answer while pondering, and then smiled bitterly with a resigned face.

"I don't know if you're aware, but a human calling himself the Knight of the Demon God has proposed that if we offer his body as a sacrifice, they will consider us defeated without destroying the remaining human refugee fortress or engaging in further battles. It's nonsense. But as long as there's someone worrying about such a thing, what can I do?"

[ You... intend... to... go. It's... a... reckless... act. The... black... dragon... and... the... human... who... accepted... the... black... dragon's... emotions... are... there. ]

Despite the emotionless tone, the voice somehow seemed to convey concern. The Dark Knight seemed to notice this and, despite his pale complexion, his eyes curved gently. It was the first big smile from the Dark Knight that Kapros had seen while watching these memories.

"That recklessness will turn my vow into pride."

[ I... cannot... understand. ]

"You don't need to understand. This is my choice, my life, and it stems entirely from my own emotions. I don't want others to try to understand it. Because it's mine."

The straight shoulders and back of the Dark Knight who finished speaking showed the image of a man living with pride. As Kapros was about to be lost in thoughts of his own past while watching this, Superior's voice was heard softly.

[ Foolish boy... ]

The dragon, seemingly displeased even after hearing the Dark Knight's words, stared down at him intently. Just as the Dark Knight was about to leave, thinking it was over, the dragon threw out one last statement.

[ Still... you... have... a... debt... for... saving... my... life, so... I... am... not... comfortable... watching... you... go... to... your... death... like... this. After... you... achieve... your... goal... with... that... blood, come... back... here. I... will... place... a... barrier... made... from... dragon's... blood... that... will... save... you... once. Moreover... you... must... already... know... that... their... stronghold... is... in... the... cold... northern... mountains. I... will... only... send... you... that... far. ]

"I don't want to receive such a great reward."

[ A... dragon's... life... is... not... so... cheap. I... won't... listen... to... any... more... words, so... leave. ]

The Dark Knight looked at the dragon's enormous body for a moment but ultimately said nothing more. As he turned around and walked away, the weight of the heavy resolve on his face was vividly conveyed even to those watching.

That was as far as the memory we could see went. Once again, Kapros's vision brightened and when he returned, the dragon's mental manifestation that had been frozen and the ice chunks had all disappeared. Between the dragon who didn't speak first and Superior who said nothing, Kapros should have maintained silence as well, but unfortunately, he couldn't.

"Ugh...!"

As Kapros fell to his knees on the ground due to a sudden dizziness, Superior's surprised voice was heard.

[ What's wrong with you? ]

"I'm not... sure either..."

It felt as if all the strength in his body had been poured out and drained away, leaving him without even the power to speak. As he shook his dizzy head and tried to get up, supporting himself with his weak arms on the ground, he suddenly thought that this situation felt strangely familiar.

This... although he wasn't sure when, it felt like something he had experienced often in the past...

'...Could it be?'

"Open status window!"

As soon as he saw the semi-transparent status window that appeared before his eyes, a groan escaped involuntarily. While there was no particular problem with his health, his mana was completely depleted. It wasn't a life-threatening state, but it meant he had no energy to support his body.

It made sense that this situation felt familiar. In the past, when his level and magic training were low, his mana was also low, so if he overused magic even a little, his mana would be almost completely depleted, resulting in this state. He had stopped experiencing this situation when his mana started to increase significantly after mastering the 5th circle...

'But I didn't overuse my mana that much this time...?'

He had used a large amount of mana to create the ice bridge earlier, but there should have been about 1/3 left. While he was wondering why he was suddenly so dizzy, a scene flashed through his mind.

The unknown high-circle magic that Superior had used with Kapros's hand. All the mana needed to sustain that had been drained from him!

Fortunately, right after that, they hadn't exchanged many words and had gone back to viewing memories, so he hadn't experienced dizziness immediately, but now it was absolutely miserable. As he struggled with the delayed after-effects of the magic that seemed to have drained not only all his mana but also his health, Superior, who seemed to have finally realized the cause, carefully spoke up.

[ Um, is it because... of me? ]

"...I'm thinking of splitting this stick in half and throwing one part east and the other west as soon as we get out of here. What do you think?"

Superior was not one to miss the extreme anger hidden in that calm muttering.

[ ...I won't use it again. I'm sorry. I didn't know you were this weak. ]

As Kapros, whose anger had risen even further due to that last remark, barely managed to stand up by grabbing Kor's scales with that strength, the dragon's voice, which sounded emotionless yet strangely sympathetic, was heard.

『 Humans... are... too... weak. I... didn't... know... because... I... had... only... seen... humans... like... that... mage... who... surpassed... such... limits... until... now. 』

"..."

Kapros wondered how they expected him to take this. After a moment, Superior, having gathered himself, spoke first using Kapros's mouth.

"...Thank you for showing us the memories, Kor."

That tone was not the carefree and cheerful Superior that Kapros had heard countless times, but rather like the one from the past memories when he had a serious expression.

『 I... get... to... hear... that... twice... too. 』

The dragon's voice, which responded as if nothing was wrong, no longer felt completely emotionless. Kapros could tell, without looking, that his lips were curving up into a smile.