Chapter 120

Asad said nothing. He just stared down at the face drawn in the portrait as if frozen.

What broke the cold silence was a voice filled with anger.

"That human, he deceived us all?"

Igni's eyes had grown even redder than before, now looking as if blood might flow from them.

"I'll kill him!"

Igni turned as if about to leave Solem immediately, declaring she would go to the human realm and cut off the vile human's head.

That's when a cold voice was heard.

"Who do you think you're going to touch?"

Boom!

An invisible force instantly slammed Igni against the wall. Shocked by the unexpected situation, everyone looked at Asad in astonishment.

Only Asad remained expressionless, as if nothing had happened. His face seemed almost indifferent, as if not even angered by the human's betrayal.

But everyone knew. Despite his indifferent appearance, a chilling aura was emanating from Asad that made their skin crawl. The strong energy was so oppressive it was difficult to breathe.

Only Igni, blinded by anger, was different. She raised her head from where she had fallen to the floor. Though the sturdy horned tribe member wasn't injured by this level of force, her face flushed red and blue as if outraged by Asad's actions.

"Lord Asad! That one has insulted Solem and harmed the horned tribe! If I don't make him pay, I have no right to be a leader!"

"Don't touch him."

Asad muttered ominously.

"Because I will be the one to kill or save him."

Igni immediately protested.

"Revenge is my right! My kin was cruelly murdered by that human!"

"Is that so?"

The gaze that had been fixed on the portrait turned toward Igni.

Only then did Igni flinch.

'His eyes.'

Black stains had appeared in the golden eyes that had shone like the sun. The black area was gradually expanding, looking like a sunspot devouring the sun.

"Then you can follow your kin."

Asad reached out his hand. Without any hesitation.

Igni couldn't resist. By the gods' will, even great spirits couldn't attack a dragon. Igni sensed death approaching.

At that moment, with a cracking sound, the air that had been taut like a stretched thread fractured.

Asad slowly turned his head.

He was looking at Shinsurial.

"You..."

The words didn't continue. Asad's body collapsed like a scarecrow.

"Poor Lord Asad."

Shinsurial slowly embraced Asad's tilting body and laid his head on his lap. Beside him lay a broken brass bracelet. A tool that could subdue a dragon - it was no ordinary object.

While everyone was too shocked by the sudden turn of events to speak, Fei, recognizing the pattern engraved on the bracelet, asked in a voice like a groan.

"Shinsurial, is that a magical tool made by Lady Maira?"

Maira enjoyed creating objects imbued with magic, the most notable being the jar that sealed magical beasts used in the first test. Objects she made had distinctive patterns that were not difficult to recognize.

"Yes, it's one of the gifts I received from Lady Maira long ago... I brought it because I had a bad feeling, and it proved useful."

Only Kor, who was carefully observing him, noticed the strange expression that crossed Shinsurial's face when mentioning Maira.

Shinsurial was the longest-lived spirit, so he had deep connections with previous dragons. It wasn't strange that he had received gifts from Maira, but... Kor felt an inexplicable uneasiness.

Meanwhile, having grasped the situation, Igni couldn't hide her shock.

"What have you done! Lord Asad won't forgive you when he wakes up!"

"Igni, did you see Lord Asad's eyes?"

Shinsurial carefully turned Asad's head to the side. Then the black scales that had formed on the back of his neck became visible.

"This is..."

"Demonization was progressing. If this continued, you would have lost your life, and Lord Asad would have become a magical beast again. Then not only your life, but the lives of everyone here couldn't have been guaranteed."

"B-but still."

"This was the best I could do since I can't use my purification ability now. Fortunately, things worked out well thanks to Lord Asad not being wary of me at all."

Shinsurial looked around at the leaders with calm eyes.

Finally, his gaze fixed on Igni.

"Igni, your desire for revenge is justified. Lord Asad couldn't make proper judgments due to demonization. So please don't hate him."

"I..."

"I'm not asking you to choose one side or the other. Just make a choice you won't regret."

Igni remained silent as if thinking about something. Shinsurial lowered his eyes and spoke quietly.

"I will keep Lord Asad asleep. However, since I can't do it for long... please shorten the third test and quickly select and bring the one who will become Lord Asad's bride."

"Then."

It was Kor who spoke.

"Will that one become the dragon's mate?"

"That would be necessary."

"What will you do if things don't go as planned? If Lord Asad refuses the bride?"

"Lord Asad will make the right choice. Because..."

Shinsurial's hand stroking the disheveled silver hair was as careful as if handling a treasure.

"I will help him to do so."

* * *

In a forest where morning dew sparkled.

Tiron, a man who had entered to gather medicinal herbs, had been under attack from a bird for some time. The small bird, about the size of an adult's fist, seemed fearless, returning to pull at his hair no matter how many times he chased it away.

"Ouch! My hair! Is this bird crazy or what!"

Chirp! Chirp!

"I'm really going to get you!"

Finally, Tiron even threw down the basket on his back and chased the bird. It was so quick that it seemed about to be caught but never was. It didn't flee far away either, but would fly back to pull at his hair when Tiron stopped, making his anger rise to the top of his head.

Being so focused on the bird, he had moved far from where he had left his basket.

"Huff, huff. Got you...!"

He threw his whole body toward the bird hovering right in front of him, but once again the bird gracefully escaped his hands.

"Ugh! This is driving me crazy!"

Tiron grumbled that he had only dirtied his clothes as he got up. At that moment, something entered his field of vision.

"Ahhh!"

Tiron screamed and fell backward.

"Huh, a, a person? Isn't this a person?"

Someone was lying collapsed on the undergrowth.

"Hey! Wake up!"

There was no answer when he called. Tiron clutched his pounding heart and cautiously examined the fallen person.

The black-haired young man was a rare beauty. However, his skin was bloodlessly pale, and though his clothes were luxurious, they were so stained with blood that it was difficult to tell their original color.

"Is, is he dead?"

It seemed he had fallen victim to a magical beast. Though unfortunate, it wasn't such a rare occurrence these days, and Tiron's face sank into gloom.

Peck!

Just then, the bird flew over and pecked at the back of the corpse's hand.

"Ugh..."

The corpse's fingers twitched slightly.

My goodness, he's alive! Tiron hurriedly carried the young man on his back and left the forest.

When he returned home, his only young daughter greeted him but then looked surprised.

"Dad! Who is that person?"

"Jane, go get the hemostatic herbs. And the blood-replenishing ones too!"

"Yes!"

The clever Jane didn't ask further and ran to the storehouse. Tiron immediately laid the young man on the bed and cut off his clothes to remove them.

"What is this..."

Tiron's expression darkened as he saw the scars covering the entire body. Though he appeared to be just a pretty young man, his exposed body seemed to testify to the harsh years he had lived through.

But now wasn't the time to worry about the young man's past. Tiron examined the wound on his shoulder. It was a wound that had been pierced through at once. The blood that had soaked his clothes had flowed from here.

"Here they are!"

Just then, Jane came running with the herbs. Tiron skillfully mixed the herb powder with water so the young man could swallow it.

"Dad, I think the bird followed us in."

"Hmm? Oh, it's that bird."

Only then did Tiron notice the familiar bird and slightly furrowed his brow. It was the crazy bird from the forest. Unlike earlier when it couldn't stay still, it was now perched quietly at the young man's bedside, as if it had never pulled at Tiron's hair.

"Don't tell me you called me to save this person?"

Chirp chirp. The bird sang as if answering. Tiron gave a hollow laugh.

"Well, you're a clever one. I could call you a spirit beast. Whether you knew what you were doing or not, you chose well. As it happens, I'm a doctor."

Shrugging his shoulders, Tiron took out surgical tools from under the bed. The wound was deep and needed stitching.

Jane, who was assisting Tiron with practiced ease, glanced at the young man.

"Dad, will this person survive?"

"Well, he's lost too much blood. I'll do my best, but the outcome will depend on luck."

But for some reason, he felt this young man would survive. The scars on his body showed how often he had crossed the threshold between life and death. Though they were just traces of the past now, each one must have been a fatal wound at the time.

Having even one or two such scars would be considered lucky. Especially the scar on the left chest area was so severe it seemed strange he hadn't died.

If his luck hadn't run out, he might save his life this time too. Thinking this, Tiron began stitching the shoulder.