87 – Identity

Dragon, or rather, a Dragon.

A race of truth, masterful in all magic.

Their power, enough to topple mountains,

is formidable and merciless,

and there is no magic they do not know

in this world.

It is said they are the only race

able to converse with mana,

and that even the words they utter

are imbued with magic,

becoming a phenomenon in themselves.

Even the places they have passed through

can become tourist attractions,

and within their lairs, called lairs,

jewels and gold coins from all over the world are said to abound.

However, they never, to humans…

They are not friendly towards other races.

More supremacist than even the Elves, they are.

Arrogant, haughty, and peculiar.

Furthermore, that singular temper of theirs…

It’s no small factor.

Since they care for nothing

but themselves,

the number of people and villages

vanished as their mere amusements is far from few.

And among them,

a dragon who has taken many lives in particular

is granted a title, an epithet.

To a dragon capable of

obliterating an entire nation alone, *Xiong* (Calamity).

To a dragon who slays innocent lives

for no reason, *E* (Evil).

And, to the dragon receiving

the most resentment and blame from the people, *Mo* (Fiend).

The name encompassing all of those

who bring disaster wherever they go, was *Mie* (Annihilation).

*

The feeling of every hair on my body standing on end.

Even the nerves that had been dead are revived, warning me.

Run.

If I stay like this, I’ll die.

My whole body screams at me

to get away from that presence immediately.

Her small foot takes a step,

towards me,

and at the same moment, my knees buckle.

As if this were only natural.

Moreover, the countless energies

that I hadn’t felt until just now.

A dreadful and unsettling aura

blankets her completely.

As if it were one with her.

It wasn’t that she was wielding it,

but that it was emanating from her.

“What, you didn’t even faint?

Perhaps you have a little more grit than you look?”

“Hah… hah… haah…”

“Doesn’t seem all that strong…”

“….”

“Hmm… Not exactly to my liking, but…

I suppose it’ll do, to some extent.”

Before I knew it, she was by my side.

Her hand rested upon my head,

and as if by a lie, my body felt whole again.

As if nothing had ever happened.

Her long, slender pupils had become short and blunt once more,

and her ash-grey hair, which had flown about haphazardly,

simply cascaded down her back.

The tension instantly drained from me,

and ragged breaths escaped my lips involuntarily.

She stood unmoving, looking down at me.

“Whew… whew…”

“Do you feel a bit of awe towards me now?

How does it feel, realizing my true nature?”

“..Not particularly plea… ghk.”

“Don’t move around so carelessly,

your physical state is more precarious than you think.”

“I’m aware of th… khk…”

“No, not the body you see here,

I’m talking about your body in reality.”

Her finger touched my forehead.

And in that instant, all strength left my arms,

leaving them to hang limply.

“Wha… what’s─”

“Entering the mindscape implies one of two things.”

“….”

“Either you possess the mental fortitude and strength

to force open the gates to this place.”

The finger that indicated herself

now pointed unwaveringly at me.

“Or, your body is nearing death,

or the pain is so unbearable that your consciousness cannot endure it,

and you arrive here by chance, unconsciously.”

“….”

“To be honest, even I was surprised,

“Seeing the latter, it’s been centuries, you know.”

Her voice, I realized, wasn’t ahead of me, but behind.

She lifted my limp arms,

flailing them this way and that.

“Well, I took some measures, to a degree.

But at best, they’re only temporary.”

“….”

“Before too long,

you won’t even be able to handle your own body.”

My arms, flung back and forth,

twisted this way and that.

Like weaving a single rope.

The sound of bones breaking punctuated the air,

yet strangely, there was no pain.

No, I felt absolutely nothing at all.

It was as if sensation itself had vanished from my arms.

Where her fingers touched,

no pressure registered, and

my joints, contorted this way and that,

did not scream.

Instead, an odd feeling of

comfort even began to bloom.

“..Well, this much should suffice.

Endure the rest on your own.”

“…?”

“Here.”

“Kkh…aaargh!!!”

Not long after, the grip

she had on my arms slowly loosened, and

the moment her hand fell away,

a severe pain surged forth.

The pain of broken bones

wasn’t as great as I expected,

but another pain, even worse, interrupted .

The feeling of countless needles

tearing through my skin from the inside out.

A chilling, agonizing, terrifying pain

crawled up both my arms.

“Kua-ha…ah..”

“Endure it. I’m piecing your shattered nerves back together.”

“….”

“Don’t understand what I’m saying?

You pushed your body this far and expected to be fine?”

“….”

“Do you even know what condition your body was in when I first saw you?”

Internal bleeding in almost every part of your body.

The capillaries in both your eyes had burst,

and the bones in your limbs, forced to move, were all twisted.

Decay had begun in several affected areas here and there, and so on.

She reels off a litany of my bodily woes.

“You were practically half-dead,

that’s the only way to describe it.”

“Urgh… eueugh…”

“Anyway, so I’m forcing your nerves to regenerate and reconnect, so just endure it, is what I’m saying.”

“….”

“Stare like that all you want, there’s nothing you can do.

If I’d left you as you were, you’d definitely be crippled.”

“….”

“Yes, just accept it gratefully.

It’s partly for my sake too, anyway.”

“…?”

“Hm? What do I mean?

It’s obviously for my sake.”

She approaches me as I sit slumped on the floor, barely able to lift my head.

And kneels down in front of me,

meeting my gaze,

extending one small, slender finger,

pointing alternately to herself and then to me.

“Your body could become my body now, you see.”

“…?”

She says this with a grin, something that’s absolutely no joke to me.

*

“Greetings, Fairest Flower of the Elves.

I am Azar, serving as the Empire’s Minister of Foreign Affairs.”

“…Greetings. May the Great Forest’s blessing be upon you.

As you know, I am the Elven Princess.”

While Jennison lingered deep within his inner world,

outside, the restoration was still in full swing.

Treatment of the wounded was far from over,

and the reconstruction of the ravaged forest and village demanded attention.

Filling in the earth gouged deep by the impact,

hauling away logs ripped out by their roots,

and extricating boulders that had flown who knows where.

The work itself wasn’t inherently difficult.

Nay, it was almost… straightforward.

Smaller tasks, all could be managed with magic,

and when the labor became too taxing, the spirits stepped forth to lend their aid.

“Hmm… the situation appears more dire than anticipated.”

“Aye, seeing as the Imperials you lot sent

weren’t worth a damn, really.”

However, she who now greeted these very Imperials,

Sylvia, was in a foul mood indeed.

Throughout the ceaseless toil of restoring the Great Forest,

she hadn’t allowed herself a single moment of rest.

She refused to show weakness before those who followed her,

and she couldn’t bring herself to rest while others, less powerful, worked tirelessly.

“..Ahem, Princess, with all due respect,

you appear greatly fatigued. Perhaps we are intruding..”

“Intruding *is* impolite, as is bursting in and demanding to assess the situation, so don’t trouble yourselves over it.”

“..Haha, we certainly do offer our sincere apologies

regarding that indiscretion.”

But that didn’t imply that she

suddenly had time to spare.

At least not time for coddling Imperials

who thought to drop in without so much as a raven’s feather of warning.

“Speak plainly, and quickly.

What brings you all the way here?”

“..Haha, naturally, to discuss the relationship between ourselves and the Great Forest─”

“It would serve you well to avoid falsehoods,

lest my patience wear utterly thin.”

Thus, Sylvia minced no words.

Every moment was precious; she needed to return to aiding her kin.

Before her, a pink-tinged beard was stroked nervously as

There was no time to spend talking with an old man hiding his true intentions.

He seemed to realize she spoke the truth,

clearing his throat once more, his expression hardening.

“Princess, could you dismiss the others for a moment?”

“..Very well.”

“P-Princess?!”

“How can the Princess be alone with a human…!”

One look in her eyes brooked no argument, and

the elves guarding her, and the knights around the man,

slowly began to leave the tent,

until finally all were gone, and within the tent remained

only Sylvia, and the man, Azahr.

“Since you desire only the essential,

I shall explain it to you directly.”

“..Very well, let’s hear it then.”

No matter how earnest the man’s expression,

she could muster little interest.

She wished only to leave this place swiftly,

and aid in the reconstruction of the Great Forest.

“I have some idea of who

attacked the Great Forest this time.”

“…!”

“N-Now, wait a moment, calm—”

But that thought was immediately pushed aside.

For words had sprung from his mouth she could not ignore.

When she came to, she was already

pressing a shard of ice against his throat, and

roots had sprung from the earth, binding him, and

at the same time sealing the tent’s only exit.

“..Speak. Plainly.”

“..Ah, I understand your agitation, but…

Perhaps a modicum of composure is in order…”

“….”

The ice vanished, and the roots

that bound him retreated into the earth.

Though the tent’s entrance remained blocked,

no one seemed to notice.

“..I recommend you do not lie.”

“Why would I tell you a falsehood at this juncture?”

Hardly something to worry about,