“Make sure you teach that when artamian is burned, it must absolutely be done in a furnace with a chimney, and it should be stored in a place with good circulation.”
“I will keep that in mind.”
“Do not forget that used up fuel should be buried in a deep hole far from the castle.”
“Understood, my liege.”
“Did the wheat I wanted sent to Orakk Castle get there?”
“The last transport was sent yesterday and should be arriving around tomorrow.”
It was the morning of my departure to the Temir temple. I called Derval and left instructions on important matters.
“Even during my absence, be sure to handle everything according to plan.”
“You can leave without worries, sir.”
I also wanted to see the knights before I left, but monsters were popping up everywhere, driven by hunger, so there was no time. The territory was still far from stability and relentlessly demanded hard work from my people.
‘Why do I feel so lonely today, of all days?’
As if I wouldn’t be able to return for a long time, my eyes lingered fondly on everything around me.
“But my liege…” began Derval carefully.
“Hm? Do you have something to say?”
“Do you have something troubling you? These last few days, you have not eaten well and your expression has been dark. Is there a problem I am unaware of…?”
As someone who knew me better than anyone else, Derval had noticed my abnormal behavior.
“It is nothing. Instead of worrying about me, Sir Derval should watch his own health. Every time I see your increasingly thin body, I think it is all my fault as your foolish lord.”
“I-I apologize.”
Not many words were necessary between the two of us, who supported and trusted each other.
“Take care of the territory for me.”
“Please have a safe trip. The lives of hundreds of thousands of Nerman’s residents are in your hands, my liege.”
My trip was already decided, so Derval did not try to stop me. Instead, he flashed me a bright grin.
And in response, I thumped Derval’s shoulders twice before turning around.
‘Oh man! Why can’t someone just stop me!’ My footsteps were as heavy as a pig’s when getting led to the slaughterhouse. Feeling pained, I resolutely opened the office door. ‘Derval, won’t you stop me just this once?’
Opening the door, I turned to look at Derval one last time.
Nod.
He nodded slightly, his eyes full of trust.
Creaaak.
Kerchunk.
The door closed behind me, leaving only the Temir temple ahead.
‘My godddd!!’ With that, I had no choice but to leave, heading off to stop the awakening of Lokoroïa, someone who could—if things went awry—become the ruler of the entire continent.
* * *
Swooooosh.
‘What’s with all this snow flying around!’
The 300 Blessed Spears we seized from the Havis Kingdom Skyknights were loaded onto Bebeto’s back and strung on his feet as if he were a wyvern packmule. As we flew, the heavens poured tons of snow on our heads, completely oblivious to my anxious heart. It was like slapping someone already on the verge of tears. The snow whirling down and covering the mountains sounded truly mournful to my ears.
Thump thump thump thump thump thump.
Before I knew it, we were at the village of the Aishwen Tribe, where drumbeats rang out upon my appearance.
Swoooooosh.
Knowing that the people here had no intent to attack, Bebeto landed in the village clearing without any direction from me. Normally, I would want to praise him for being so smart, but today, I felt like cursing him instead.
‘Did they come to escort me?’
Three wyverns that didn’t belong to the Aishwen Tribe were already in the clearing.
“Lord Kyre!”
He wasn’t even my subordinate, but calling me a lord came naturally to Kantahar now. As soon as I landed, he greeted me with a bright smile.
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“What are you doing, quickly get on.”
“Yes, sir!”
There was no time to dilly dally—the kiddo’s coming-of-age ceremony was supposed to begin this evening. Kantahar, the representative of the Aishwen Tribe, clambered up one of Bebeto’s outstretched wings, climbing into the back seat with a big leather bag.
“What’s that?”
“It’s not much, just a few trifling gifts our tribe prepared for the Mother’s coming-of-age ceremony.”
“Is it gold?”
“No… It’s only a few jewels.”
‘A few? Bro, do you think my eyes are there for show?’
A single glance revealed that there was easily over 1 million Gold worth of jewels packed in the leather bag.
‘Wait, then just how many frickin’ gems is she going to get today?’
During the birthday celebration of the Bajran Empire’s ruler, an incredible barrage of gifts had streamed in. If the Aishwen Tribe, the smallest of the 50 or so tribes, was bringing this much, then you could imagine just how many gems the other tribes would be offering.
‘Dammit, one of us is holding back tears as they fly into a den of evil, while the other is chilling and throwing a frickin’ jewel party.’
That being said, if I really wanted to, I could wheedle the dwarves and operate a gemstone mine. While drinking, Cassiars had boasted that they had more large gem mines than you could count with your fingers and toes combined. However, that was one thing. I was still super jealous that someone else was getting jewels by the truckful.
“Hold on tight!”
After Kantahar got on board, the waiting Temir Skyknights went aloft.
Swooooosh.
Bebeto surged into the air, turning towards the temple of the Temir. He didn’t have Google Maps on him, but he was a smart little bird who always remembered the path to a place he’d been before.
Bam!
Guaaaaaaaaaa!
Despite flying very well, I gave Bebeto’s body an irritated kick.
“Oi! Fly properly, will you! The snow is hitting me!”
How could Bebeto possibly block the falling snow? Bebeto, the poor, blameless target of my anger, shut his maw and put more strength into his wings.
Swooooooosh.
As the clock ticked, we drew steadily nearer to the devil’s den, a Bowser’s lair without a pretty Princess Peach for me to save.
* * *
‘A-Are these all Temir wyverns?’
The information we had about the Temir was oh so very wrong.
The wide clearing of the temple was crawling with hundreds of Temir wyverns, wyverns that seemingly emerged from nowhere.
A chill ran down my spine. If the Temir took all of the wyverns here and attacked Nerman, I wouldn’t be able to fight them all off.
When Bebeto, a wyvern clearly different from the others, appeared in the sky above the temple, Guardian Warriors rushed out to meet us, clearly having anticipated our arrival.
“Confirm the quantity!”
Then, without asking for permission, they attempted to remove the leather pouches filled with spears strung on Bebeto’s body.
Guoooooo!
Ba-bam!
“Gah!”
Of course, the temperamental Bebeto didn’t stand for that. He sent two of the approaching Guardian Warriors flying with his wings of steel.
“Look here, fellas, the trade hasn’t yet been completed. Until then, don’t touch my stuff.”
Stroking Bebeto, this little rascal who took after his fearless owner, I jumped to the ground.
‘Jesus, just how many people came here?’
The massive clearing in front of the temple was also full of people, not just wyverns. By my rough estimate, there were nearly 10,000 people. Most of them were well-built warriors with weapons at their hips.
“Follow me. The Mother of All ordered us to specially escort you.”
Looking at Bebeto with a white face, one of the Guardian Warriors who had followed us from the Aishwen Tribe’s village took the lead. I guessed that the skin on his bottom must be ripped raw from following Bebeto’s breakneck pace.
‘You should have treated me like a VIP earlier, jeez.’
“Bebeto, if someone approaches without my permission, bite them to pieces! Give ‘em what they deserve.”
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After giving Bebeto a ruthless command, I followed the Guardian Warrior at a leisurely pace.
‘It’s finally time.’
If we were destined to butt heads anyway, it was better to get it over with sooner than later. As we walked into the temple, I even greeted the staring Temir warriors with my eyes. On the way here, I had kicked all fear to a different dimension.
Men should be brave!
Today’s rallying motto was bravery!
* * *
After entering the temple, I was “imprisoned” in a small, bare room with a single desk in it. Even if I wanted to go out, five Guardian Warriors were standing guard outside.
‘Is it starting?’
At first, the temple was hushed. Despite the presence of ten thousand warriors attending what appeared to be a religious ritual, I couldn’t hear them. But then, with a great thump of a drum, it seemed the little dragonia’s coming-of-age was getting started. A strange instrument trilled bright and loud over the resonant thumps of the drum.
‘Just how frickin’ long are they gonna keep me cooped up in here?’
Lacking even a single window and boasting only stark, sturdy stone walls on all sides, the room really seemed like a prison to me, so much so that I had the urge to start digging an escape route with a metal spoon, Shawshank Redemption-style.
“Come out. You are the first foreigner ever, to be granted the honor of witnessing the coming-of-age ceremony of the Mother of All People. If you dare to step even a little out of line…”
It was the same Guardian Warrior who had escorted me from my very first visit to the temple. A huge scar snaking over his bare forehead, the warrior fixed me with a fierce look.
“Haha. No need for your concern. I’ll watch quietly from the side like air.”
I had to stop the kid before she awakened into a black mage. In the worst-case-scenario, I would have to wage a 1 vs. 10,000 slugfest. Concealing my dagger behind my smile, I followed the warriors outside.
“Losiarce… itavaihan…”
While walking, I heard someone intoning the sacred chant of the Temir. As the voice grew louder, it felt more and more like some kind of dark energy would pop out of the walls.
‘Geh!’
Following the warriors, we reached the central hall of the pyramid where I had met Lokoroïa one week ago. There, I saw 1,000 cream-of-the-crop warriors lining the floor of the hall, their heads bowed. The guardian warriors instructed me at spear-point to a seat in the corner, where I quietly sat down.
A warrior with a bare upper body hammered away at a drum made of a large demon beast hide. Every time the man moved to beat the drum, his muscles contracting powerfully, around ten women wearing black leather clothes blew on a flute-like instrument, the trills weaving under the drumbeats.
Fwoooooooosh.
A mysterious red flame blazed nonstop in the brazier carved into a golden dragon taking flight.
Swiiiish.
And then, the girl appeared without a sound.
‘Holy…’
As soon as I spotted her, I squeezed my eyes shut. The sight of her shattered my completely tense nerves.
‘Ahh, jeez! If it’s gonna be rated R, you’ve gotta tell me that beforehand!’
To my utter shock, her upper body was completely bare, and only a single scrap of leather was covering her lower body.
“Ashwemadia!!!!!!!”
At the girl’s appearance, every warrior in the room lifted both hands into their air, intoning a word in the Temir tongue.
‘Damn…’
I wasn’t the only one looking, so I opened my eyes a bit and looked at her more closely. Black mesh fabric was wrapped around her waist like a snake, and budding breasts the size of eggs lay bare on her chest. Far from arousing the lust of the opposite gender, I had to suppress an amused snort—Lokoroïa still had a long way to go before she could be called a woman.
‘Wow! Are those all gems?!!!!’
While looking at Lokoroïa, my eyes went wide at the gems piled tall in front of her. To be honest, the sparkling, colorful gems made my heart thump harder than Lokoroïa’s unexpected rated R appearance.
‘That’s gotta be millions of Gold!’
It wasn’t like I wasn’t poor, but the more the better, right? If I could just fill one sack, my descendants would never, ever starve—that’s how glorious the pile of gems was.
“Loaahdima shwelahadia firkedia…”
Fwoooooosh.
Her chest still had a lot of growing to do, but her bare, lithe waist and back were charming as she raised both hands to the sky, solemnly chanting sacred words atop the altar. I couldn’t understand the words, but they were filled with a strange power that somehow filled the listener with awe.
The flame burned bright and uninterrupted in the enormous brazier.
‘Is that all?’
The coming-of-age ceremony was slightly unique, but no matter how I looked at it, it didn’t feel like the awakening of a dragon’s descendant.
Ruuuuuuuuumble.
Just as I was thinking that, I heard something rumbling open, and I unconsciously looked up to the ceiling.
‘!!!’ My mouth dropped wide open. ‘T-The moon!!!’
It was the last night of the lunar moon, so the moon shouldn’t be visible in the sky, but a crescent moon was clearly shining in the sky. I thought the moon adorning the top of the pyramid was just a sculpture, but the golden crescent moon was radiating a brilliant light that rivaled the real moon, and various parts of the pyramid began to crack.
‘Magic array!!!!!’
It wasn’t actually cracking; rather, a magic array slumbering deep within the pyramid was activated. Mana began to mix as the array exuded an enormous quantity of mana.
“Kerofaidaa!!!!”
The golden moonlight poured down onto the girl’s bare body, and she raised her arms high into the air.
“Ashwemadia!!!!!”
The kneeling warrior-turned-cult-fanatics all kowtowed, pressing their foreheads to the ground.
‘Illusion magic!’
The warriors were bowing their heads, but I didn’t need to, so I was able to watch everything unfolding. My mind was startled wide awake at the appearance of magic I was all too familiar with.
As I watched, the girl on the altar with her arms raised under the moonlight slowly began to sink into the ground. It seemed a special device was taking her underground.
‘Oi! W-Who are those guys?’
I was watching as the kid disappeared underground when three people wearing black robes suddenly appeared from behind the altar. Taking advantage of all the warriors bowing their heads in worship, they began to disappear underground with Lokoroïa.
‘Shiiiit!’
I really, really wanted everything to end quietly, but the gods cast my simple wish aside. Every hair on my body stood on end, and in that moment, I knew that I couldn’t let Lokoroïa be alone with those shady robed guys.
Lokoroïa and the three robed men continued to descend—only their heads could be seen now. The stupid warriors had no idea what was happening on the altar and were simply bowing their heads with tears running down their faces.
Flash!
Stepping on top of the bowing warriors, I raced towards the altar, cutting the distance within moments.
Flash!
Sad violet-colored eyes turned to stare at me.
Fwip fwip fwiiip.
Three black magic arrows shot towards me. Taking the magic arrows with my body, I arrived at the altar.
‘…!!!!!’
The moment I reached out to grab the disappearing girl, I only saw a black hole before me. I could see nothing. Lokoroïa and the three people who were definitely black mages were nowhere to be found, leaving only a black hole that was slowly growing smaller.
“Udapan!!!!”
Behind me came the enraged shouts of the warriors.
‘Ah jeeeeez, fuck it!’
I wasn’t hankering for a 1 vs. 10,000 showdown, so I had no other choice. I flung myself straight into the shrinking jaws of darkness. Like Natasha Romanoff hurling herself off the cliff in Vormir, I did a hero’s leap into the hole.
‘Just you wait, if I make it back alive, I’m gonna collect all the compensation I’m owed!!!!’
Even while my body was getting sucked into the unknown darkness, my eyes lingered on the mountain of gems.
I squeezed my eyes shut, once again remembering my motto for today, bravery!
* * *
“Ah!”
Inside the temporary temple of Neran, the Goddess of Mercy, inside Weyn Covert, the Saintess Aramis opened her eyes wide while quietly praying to God.
“Ky-Kyre-nim!!”
While she was praying, she saw a vision.
Every day at this time, she prayed to the Goddess of Mercy for Kyre, but this time, she saw a flash of a vision—Kyre was jumping into a darkness as ominous as the sleeve of the Evil God.
Neran was trying to tell her something. Aramis looked at the sacred artifact of Neran with alarmed eyes.
“…”
However, the sacred artifact of Neran gave her no response.
“In the name of God…” intoned Aramis with a low voice, closing her eyes again. She fell deep into quiet prayer.
She prayed desperately that Kyre, the man she loved who was always so busy, would be protected by the Goddess of Mercy, no matter where he might be…