Now it’s your turn (1)
A red maple leaf falling slowly.
The maple leaf finally landed on the sword stuck on the rock.
A noble, shining silver sword.
The sword that everyone seemed to covet was still attracting Vlad’s attention.
“……”
But Vlad could feel it.
The silver sword standing resolutely on the rock is sharpening its blade towards him.
A protective sword that protected someone and a bloody sword that slaughtered countless enemies.
And the dragon slayer sword that pierced the heart of the most perfect dragon.
The sword was now glaring at Vlad.
With a bright blue day ahead.
Don’t come any closer. I’m a child who hasn’t even opened my eyes yet.
Before I cut you down.
※※※※
“Huh!”
Blue eyes wide open, cutting through the dark night.
Vlad, who had just woken up from a nightmare, was constantly shaking.
“…Keuung.”
Vlad unconsciously tried to wipe his sweaty forehead, but a sharp pain came from the bandages wrapped around both hands.
The wound from yesterday, when he was stabbed backwards, was still bothering Vlad.
‘The dream spot is wild.’
Vlad clicked his tongue, recalling the vivid nightmare he had just had.
The sight of yesterday comes to mind just by closing your eyes.
Contrary to its noble appearance, I definitely felt something uneasy about the silver sword I saw yesterday.
So much so that it seems like a nightmare now.
“Why didn’t you sleep more?”
“…You’re here.”
Vlad turned his head towards the direction where the voice was coming from.
A slightly open window.
Auguste stood with his arms crossed at the window where soft moonlight streamed in.
“how is it. “Have you inspected all the tea fields?”
While Vlad was helping the World Tree bloom, Auguste was investigating tea leaves called thujon in the elf realm.
However, the two people I met now were in trouble even though they had found their own clues.
“The fields were divided.”
“yes?”
“…The story is that they separated the tea leaves they would sell to humans and the tea leaves they would drink.”
Two tea fields, one for humans and one for elves.
It may have been simply separated for smooth sales, but Auguste, who got close to the field, could tell.
The two tea leaf varieties are subtly different.
“The story is that it was full of malice from the beginning.”
“…….”
The elves’ car. Absilon.
In a way, the green malice that started from the east can be said to be the original sin of the empire.
Because the elves’ obsession with humans was entirely initiated by the empire.
The one who burned the World Tree was the most perfect dragon, but the one who pushed them out of the forest was none other than the Empire.
“There are enemies everywhere.”
The blood and tears of countless people are buried beneath the brilliantly shining empire.
The empire was like another dragon trampling on their world.
And now the empire must harvest the seeds of original sin it has sowed.
Whether you want it or not.
In the distance, there was a tree that was still shining on its own under the night sky.
The old knight’s eyes could not help but be filled with confusion as he looked at the newly blooming world tree, in contrast to the gradually fading empire.
※※※※
“Then why did you hold the sword upside down?”
“…….”
It’s early morning, the sun has finally risen.
The girl was grunting as she unwrapped the mess of bandages.
He didn’t seem to like the look of the bandage, which didn’t come off easily even though he had wrapped it.
“If I had known things would turn out that way, I would have taken it with my sword.”
“People who make excuses are not trustworthy.”
A knight wounded by his own sword.
If the wound was caused by holding the sword upside down, no one would hear good things about it.
“So, why didn’t you tell me in advance?”
“It was my first time too. “It was the first flower flower ceremony I’ve ever had in my life.”
I thought all I had to do was show the amber stone.
However, since the two world trees used their world as a conduit to go back and forth between memories and reality, Vlad had no choice but to grit his teeth and hold on.
If I had known at all that it would go like this, I would never have raised my sword like that.
‘Who can I blame?’
If we had to be honest, it was the girl’s fault for not giving any warning, but it was probably Vlad’s fault as well.
As the girl said just now, nothing seemed as shabby as a knight’s excuse, so Vlad decided to keep his mouth shut for now.
“done.”
The girl, who had finally taken off all the bandages, smiled brightly and opened the wooden box she had brought.
A container containing colorful powders and liquids.
The girl’s wooden box was so full of bright colors that it seemed as if it contained cosmetics.
“wait. “I said I could use this and this.”
“I guess you’ve never actually tried it.”
“It’s okay, I’ve seen you around a lot.”
Vlad wished for a skilled hand if possible, but the girl ignored his wishes and just picked up the vials.
“Hands on.”
“…….”
Faced with the girl’s reckless attitude, Vlad had no choice but to spread his hands out in front of him.
Vlad’s palm was deeply cut.
Looking at the knight’s palm, where dark red blood was still gushing out, the girl pursed her lips without realizing it.
“It must have hurt.”
“Not really.”
Although he was answering casually, he knew that Vlad was injured due to his lack of ability.
However, since it was the girl’s first time seeing the World Tree bloom, someone had to take care of their mistakes behind the scenes.
Vlad’s wounds were such traces.
“The elders gave you a lot of things to use. “It will work well.”
No matter how much the elves ostracized humans, they were the ones who helped with the precious enlightenment ceremony, so they planned to treat Vlad with no regrets.
Moreover, he said he had lost the family heirloom he brought with him, so he couldn’t send it back empty-handed.
The current medicine was a small piece of the reward to come.
“But the sword that was there back then…”
“Yes. “Swordmaster’s sword.”
The girl answered lightly, but the people listening ended up flinching loudly.
Not only Auguste, but also Goth, who was helping next to him.
The word sword master had a special meaning to the people of the empire.
“Why him?”
“…I was wondering why it was stuck there.”
I thought it would be an unusual sword, but I had no idea it would be the Sword Master’s sword.
From retired knights to stablekeepers.
All three humans in the room unconsciously craned their necks and began waiting for the girl’s answer.
“I heard the Sword Master gave it to me.”
“That sword… did the Sword Master give it to you? directly?”
“huh.”
The golden eyes of the girl who met Vlad were sparkling.
It was a look in his eyes that didn’t contain a single lie.
“The Empire was bad, but the Sword Master was good. That’s why I gave him a sword.”
“…What is that?”
Even Auguste lost his composure and asked back at the girl’s answer that seemed to come out of nowhere, but all he got back was the cold eyes of the escort elves.
There was only one person who could talk to the girl in this place, Vlad.
“The sword over there is a dragon slayer sword. “A talisman that protects the World Tree.”
The girl’s eyes pointed to the young world tree outside the window.
The World Tree of Aushurin is still shining and blooming little by little.
Auguste and Goth might not have been able to see it, but Vlad, who had absorbed the remnants of the voice, could see it, albeit faintly.
Tiny spirits running around on the world tree.
“…What do you protect the World Tree from?”
We must see the true meaning hidden in the phenomenon.
Josef always said that to the inexperienced boy.
Why did the Sword Master leave his sword behind?
Why did they do that to protect the World Tree?
The only person who could tell that was the girl in front of me.
“The Sword Master’s sword is the most perfect dragon slayer sword.”
A noble silver sword.
The most perfect dragon slayer sword.
“So all the dragons in this world are afraid of that sword.”
The sword I saw yesterday was talking to Vlad.
Hurry up and get out of front of me.
Before I cut you down.
“……okay.”
It was only then that Vlad realized.
The strange sensation I felt yesterday wasn’t just an illusion.
That was a sharp warning sent by the Sword Master’s sword to Vlad.
Exciting-!
‘……?’
Vlad, who was thinking about yesterday’s sword through the girl’s words, suddenly felt his heart beating.
An unexpected pounding of the heart that I haven’t felt recently.
Every time his heart beat, an uncontrollable feeling of anxiety began to well up inside Vlad.
It was a completely different sound than before.
“Mistress.”
While Vlad was panicking at the sudden seizure, the door to the room burst open and the elves who were escorting the girl began to enter.
With hurried steps, like no one else.
“You need to leave now.”
“I will take you there.”
A girl who heard the situation in a whisper from the escort elves.
The girl’s eyes as she looked at Vlad began to tremble little by little.
※※※※
Somewhere in the Forest of Aushurin.
In a dark forest a little far from the city of elves, a group of elves were looking nervously beyond.
“Kwaaaak!”
However, no matter how careful you are, there is a sharpness that cannot be avoided.
Thorns flying from all directions.
Another elf has just been knocked down by the sharp malice shooting out like an arrow.
“Get into formation!”
“The protective gear is useless!”
Varadis’ eyes did not waver despite the screams coming from everywhere.
‘Just a little more…’
The darkness lurking in the forest was glaring at the elves.
In those dark eyes, there was a sneer and a burning hunger.
‘Do you really want to leave it like that?’
All dragons in this world are greedy.
Because they were always things that wanted to be perfect.
These guys would not hesitate to throw anything into their damned mouth in order to perfect themselves.
“Come out of the forest!”
“Hold your shield! “Protect the wizards and archers!”
There was acrid smoke everywhere.
The elves did not hesitate to set fire to the forest to bring out the sharpest dragons.
The screams heard from everywhere probably weren’t only from elves.
‘Come out.’
Varadis pulling a string with one eye closed.
A small magic circle was emerging from the tip of the arrowhead aimed by the best elf ranger.
Filled with his anger.
With a bright red look.
Kaaaaaa-!
At the end of the thorns that shoot out, there is a young poison hanging.
The roar contains uncontrollable anger.
However, even in the face of this terrible being, not a single person turned around and ran away.
“Here you bastard!”
“Like a damned dragon!”
Now the elves had no place to retreat anymore.
Because the young tree behind them was the last world tree in this world.
“Nidhogg…”
The darkness of the forest approached the elves who had strengthened their resolve to fight.
A sleek body covered in sharp spines.
Although it is crawling on the ground now, the thin skin on its front legs shows that this dragon once dreamed of the sky.
“It’s bigger than expected!”
“We must stop first!”
Magic circles floating around everywhere.
It will take time for them to have time to fix their coordinates.
Time for that dragon to stand still.
“Stop it!”
The elves who knew this began to rush towards Nidhogg without the slightest hesitation.
OMG!
He’s changing direction!
Protect the wizards!
As Varadis heard the screams of his colleagues, one of his eyes began to become bloodshot.
Instead of poison, the dark red blood of the elves was now dripping from the tip of its sharp thorns.
“Varadi—s!Now!”
With a noose thrown by someone.
With a snout shaped like someone’s shield.
And the advance was barely blocked by the corpse of someone who had just screamed.
Ahhh!
And so the sharpest dragon finally stopped.
Through the hazy dust, the cursed dragon’s eyes widened fiercely.
“……now!”
The colorful magic circles that finally captured the coordinates began to fly towards Nidhogg without mercy.
With an arrow fired by Varadis.
A red arrowhead carries the wind and flies through a ray of wind.
Carrying newly born young flowers on his back.
Behind someone’s blood spilling out, the branches of a young world tree were shaking in the distance.
