Book 1 Chapter 560

Hoo-ooooo-!

A dry wind blew.

Lisinus clenched his fists tightly, staring at the ruins spread out before him, and remained silent.

Arion squeezed his eyes shut and turned his gaze away from the horrific sight.

Draconia.

From time immemorial, this place had been the territory and sacred ground of dragons.

The Age of Calamity began.

Dragonkind was driven from its homeland by the invasion of Erebus and Tartarus.

And then time passed, and they managed to drive out Tartarus and set foot in Draconia once more.

However, the Draconia they had so painstakingly reclaimed was thoroughly destroyed by the demons.

All that remained on the land where thousands, no, perhaps tens of thousands of years of dragon history lay dormant, was ash.

Even in the Age of Gods, dragons were the most powerful race.

In particular, dragons, as the proxies of the gods, were also the guardians of the land.

Erebus hated the world.

Naturally, he was the opposite of the gods who governed the world.

And the demons, born from Erebus, cursed the dragons, the proxies of the gods, more than any other race on earth.

That's why the demons of Tartarus, after conquering Draconia, utterly destroyed it, captured the dragons, and cruelly tortured and killed them.

The corpses of dragons brutally murdered at the entrance were scattered everywhere.

Lisinus's lips bled as he bit them tightly.

His clenched fists trembled violently.

Dwenow said to Lisinus, "Lisinus, I understand your feelings, but… for now, it's more important to collect the bodies of our kin."

"Yes."

Lisinus nodded his head with difficulty at Dwenow's words and began collecting the bodies of his kin.

Before the piled-up dragon corpses, Luna knelt and clasped her hands together.

"Great proxies of the gods, may you return to nature and rest in peace."

*Hwa-reuk-*

Dragon funerals involved cremating all the bodies and returning them to nature.

This was originally Lisinus's duty, but as Lisinus was mentally exhausted from simply collecting the bodies of countless kin, Luna took over the funeral rites.

As an elf king candidate, Luna, who had been educated by the High Elves, was well-versed in the funeral rites for dragons, the proxies of the gods.

Though Luna was usually far from ceremonial, she now mourned the dragons with solemnity.

Kail, Dwenow, and Arion stood behind Luna and bowed their heads in silent tribute to the flames.

Lisinus sat there in a daze, watching them.

Later, as the sun set and everyone slept, Lisinus sat alone in the middle of the ruins.

In his hand was a small box.

"What is that?"

"Ah…"

Startled by the voice from behind, Lisinus turned his head.

"Kail? Why aren't you sleeping?"

"What about you? What were *you* doing, wandering away from the campsite?"

Kail asked indifferently, a few gourds of alcohol tucked between his fingers.

"What are those?"

"Alcohol. I found it in the ruins."

Kail bit and pulled out the cork stopper from the opening of the gourd.

*Pong-!*

With a pop, the aroma spread out in all directions.

Kail drank directly from the bottle, gulping it down, wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, and offered the bottle to Lisinus.

"……"

Lisinus, who did not drink alcohol during expeditions, took the bottle of alcohol offered by Kail this time.

*Kkolk-kkolk-*

"Huh."

Kail let out a hollow laugh, watching him.

"Why?"

As he watched Lisinus, who was wiping his mouth with his shoulder, Kail said, "You drank it just like Luna. I was wondering if you drank alcohol like that too."

"I just wanted to drink without thinking. It's too expensive a drink to drink without thinking," Lisinus said, handing the bottle back to Kail. "I guess it's good alcohol, being dragon-made."

Kail emptied the remaining alcohol into his mouth.

Then, opening another gourd, he asked, "So, where is this?"

"My childhood home."

"I see."

Kail picked up a burnt leather cover lying on the ground.

The place was so devastated that one could only vaguely discern that it was once a house.

The things that looked like furniture were unrecognizable.

But the layout was strangely familiar.

"Was it a study?"

"More precisely, my room."

Though the form was gone, this place reminded Kail of Lisinus's study.

Kail drank his alcohol in silence.

Lisinus had a strong attachment to his homeland, Draconia.

This was true not only for Lisinus but for all dragons.

That's why Lisinus had made his study similar to his home in his homeland.

To alleviate his longing even a little.

Most people born before the Age of Calamity had lost their homes.

But Kail and Luna were orphans, so they had no particular attachment beyond where they were born.

Dwenow always wanted to see more of the world.

While the destruction of his homeland was regrettable and heartbreaking, he felt no stronger emotion.

Even if the world were saved, he had no intention of returning.

But Lisinus was different.

He always talked about returning and rebuilding his homeland.

He seemed genuinely happy when talking about Draconia.

That's why the shock of this carnage must have been so great.

Lisinus, sitting, drew his knees to his chest.

"I knew it. I knew it would end up like this."

Lisinus buried his face in his knees.

"But seeing it in person, I can't control my emotions."

Draconia was a beautiful place.

The sight of his beautiful homeland destroyed without a trace was enough to shake Lisinus, who had been exaggerating his composure as the leader of the expeditionary force.

"How much more do we have to lose for it to end?"

"……"

"Is there even an end?"

Lisinus's voice trembled.

"What if… what if we fail?"

Kail said coldly to his anxious voice, "Don't show weakness."

Lisinus's shoulders twitched.

"You're the one who led so many people here by shouting about hope that can't even be seen."

"……"

"If you show weakness, who will those people rely on?"

"……"

Lisinus bit his lip tightly.

He was not wrong.

'It's as Kail said. I can't be weakened by this much.'

Many people had lost their homes.

They had become accustomed to despair.

If he showed them wavering by trying to comfort them with hope,

There could be nothing more irresponsible.

Lisinus, raising his head, stood up.

"I'm sorry, I showed weakness…"

"That's why."

"……?"

"I didn't see you showing weakness today."

Kail said, bringing the gourd to his lips.

"I won't tell Arion, Luna, or Dwenow. I won't tell them at all."

*Bolk-bolk-*

The alcohol flowed continuously down Kail's throat.

"Luna and Arion, unknowingly, rely on you a lot. If they saw you like that, they wouldn't be able to pass on the burden they carry."

Kail wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Dwenow, that old man is different from the other two, but he will try to shoulder your burden."

Lisinus stared blankly at Kail.

"If that happens, our party will falter. You have to bear the most burden for our party to survive."

Kail looked intently at Lisinus.

"So, just for one day, show your weakness. I'll drink and forget everything."

"…Kail."

Lisinus looked at Kail with trembling eyes.

Then he tightly gripped the box he held in his arms.

"Come here for a moment?"

Lisinus tapped the spot next to him.

When Kail sat next to him, Lisinus rested his head on Kail's shoulder and said, "While I'm leaning on you, can I ask for just one thing?"

"If it's something I can do."

"It's something you can do. Remember what you said? That you'd live with me in Draconia when everything is over?"

"That's why I learned dragon etiquette until it became second nature. I wouldn't forget it."

Kail grumbled with a frown, and Lisinus burst into laughter.

"When everything is over, won't you help rebuild Draconia?"

"To rebuild this entire city would take more than a lifetime, wouldn't it?"

"You said you'd lean on me today? And you said you'd have nothing to do after the world regains peace?"

"Alright, I get it."

Lisinus, laughing at Kail's resigned tone, opened the box he was holding.

*Ttak-!*

Inside the box was a piece of something about the size of his palm.

Seeing the fragment, which resembled obsidian, Kail tilted his head.

"What is that?"

"The eggshell I hatched from."

"Oh, ho."

Kail looked surprised.

Seeing Kail like that, Lisinus narrowed his eyes.

"Did you just have a rude thought?"

"I just realized again that you're a lizard."

At that, Lisinus jabbed Kail's temple with his elbow.

To Kail, who was rubbing his temple and frowning, Lisinus offered him his eggshell.

"Write your name on it."

"Why my name?"

"It's a dragon custom. It's a type of contract made when making an important promise."

Lisinus smiled a slightly wicked smile.

"You said you'd help rebuild Draconia, didn't you?"

"Are you saying we have to sign a contract for that?"

"Hmm? Isn't it your fault for showing an opening to a scammer?"

"Tsk."

At Lisinus's words, Kail clicked his tongue and inscribed his name.

Lisinus took it back, put the egg fragment back into the box, and said, "Now you're mine."

"It feels like you're treating me as labor."

"Well."

With a somewhat mischievous smile, Lisinus stuck out his tongue slightly and looked around.

"If I have you with me, Draconia will surely regain its former glory, won't it?"

"Yes."

Lisinus smiled brightly at Kail's reply.

***

"……"

Leo stared silently at the entrance to Draconia before him.

Chelsea, beside Leo, looked puzzled.

"What are you looking at so intently?"

"It suddenly reminded me of the old days."

Leo chuckled and shook his head.

This was not Leo's first time in Draconia in this life.

However, it was the first time he had properly seen the landscape of Draconia.

During his first visit, he had met Melina through the forbidden library and hadn't seen the outside landscape at all.

His second visit was the overall landscape he had seen in Rhodia's world.

Other than that, he had only seen it as described in documents.

Thus, visiting Draconia again was a new experience.

After that, neither Lisinus nor he had been able to return to Draconia.

'It seems the dragons of later generations inherited Lisinus's will and diligently rebuilt it.'

The appearance of the entrance to Draconia was not much different from what Lisinus had described.

'Speaking of which, would the box where I wrote my name then be buried here now?'

It was when Leo was recalling the egg fragment on which Lisinus had written his name, the fragment of Lisinus's birth egg.

"You're already here! Black Rabbit!"

Leo turned his head at the familiar voice from behind.

Arga stood there, arms crossed and tail wagging.

Beside Arga stood a burly Azonia student.

"It's been a while, Leo."

"It has been a while, Dorveman Kalian."

Dorveman, the student council president of Azonia, extended his hand to Leo.

Leo took his hand and said, "You brought some interesting news. A school competition?"

Dorveman curled the corners of his mouth.

"What did Azonia decide?"

"The students of Azonia revere strength. They would not refuse a stage where they can prove their strength. Of course," Dorveman's eyes gleamed. "Under the condition that it's a suitable stage to announce our presence."

"You don't need to worry about that."

Leo grinned.

"We're preparing a stage befitting heroes."

Leo's red eyes shone eerily.

For a moment, Arga and Chelsea, who saw his expression, shuddered involuntarily.

'This human! What scheme is he plotting now!'