Book 1 Chapter 695

695.

With a bitter sigh, Dweno moved slightly to the side and firmly pressed Driana's back with his hand.

Thud-!

"Calm down, Driana."

"How can I calm down right now?!"

Driana gritted her teeth, putting strength into her words.

"With your young strength, struggling is useless."

"I know! I know, but! How can I just stand by!"

Driana raised her voice.

"Do you even know how unlike yourself you are right now, Lord Dweno?!"

Driana yelled.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you. But this is who I am. How much do you know me to say such things?"

"Yes! I don't know Lord Dweno! I only encountered Lord Dweno through stories passed down through the ages! The last time I met you in person, in the hero's world, was the first! It's ridiculous to say I know Lord Dweno based on just that! But still!"

Driana teared up.

"This isn't right! You're completely strange right now, Lord Dweno! You're wrong!"

"Calm down."

"You're the one who needs to calm down, Lord Dweno! Don't you see?!"

Driana shouted.

"The people of Ivaldi whom Lord Dweno should be protecting are instead in danger!"

"What did you say?"

"You said you wanted to take them to the future, even if just a little! You said you had to protect them! But those people are now fighting for their lives on the front lines! They need Lord Dweno right now!"

"That's… if you destroy the Records… we will cease to exist…"

"Yes! But it's useless if everyone dies!"

Driana didn't understand Dweno's feelings.

But she knew that Dweno was neglecting the people of Ivaldi right now.

Creak- Grind-

An ominous sound came from Driana's body.

"Stop it. You'll die like that."

"Ughhh!"

Press-!

Dweno suppressed Driana, who was trying to shake off his grasp at all costs.

'What… what exactly do I want to do?'

His mind was tangled.

'I just want to show the people of Ivaldi… Enniha… a future. Is that such a great wish?'

Was it such a great sin to give a future to his people who had their future taken away without even seeing hope?

'I'm stopping these children… because these children are trying to take away Ivaldi's future.'

His head became confused.

'Yes. It's a selfish thought. But isn't it okay to be selfish?'

Gooooh-

Golden flames flared in Dweno's eyes.

'My choice will lead the people of Ivaldi to death? I just… just… want to show them the sun. I just wanted them to enjoy… even a little of what you enjoyed.'

Whoosh-

The golden flames suddenly began to turn black.

"I… I wasn't wrong. The peace you enjoy… even a little… even a little…!"

Squeeze-!

"Gah!"

Dweno's hand tightened even more.

An immense force pressed down on Driana.

Suddenly, Driana coughed up blood.

But she soon gritted her teeth and used all her strength to push Dweno's arm away.

Whoosh!

The black flames burned even more fiercely.

At that moment.

Boom-!

A Wind Wyvern rammed into Dweno.

"Lord Dweno's condition is abnormal!"

"I can see that too! But he's not budging!"

Eliza unleashed her spiritual power, drawing out the Wind Wyvern's strength to its maximum.

"I…! I…!"

The black flames emanating from his eyes had now begun to burn all over his body.

"Kyaak?!"

"Eliza!"

Screech-!

The black flames instantly transferred, engulfing the Wind Wyvern.

The Wind Wyvern, its summoning immediately dispelled, vanished.

As the black flames swept over, Carl instinctively pulled Eliza into his arms and leaped away.

Eliza fainted from the shock of the summoning's dismissal.

Then.

'What should I do…!'

As Carl's face turned pale.

"Co… come to your senses…"

In Carl's vision, he saw the unconscious Artian behind Dweno slowly getting up.

"Ah, Professor Artian! We have to save Driana…!"

Suddenly, Carl noticed that Artian's awakened eyes were black.

"Snap out of it! You perverted dwarf!"

Kwagagagagang-!

Artian's fist struck Dweno.

Dweno was sent flying and lay sprawled on the floor.

Carl's mouth hung open blankly.

That person right now was not Artian.

Of course, it was common for Artian to entrust his body to spirits, but a spirit who would use such a name for the God of Blacksmiths.

And with black magic…

"…Lis… Linas-nim?"

Carl called that name blankly.

Thud-!

But Artian fainted again.

Seeing that, Carl came to his senses.

"Driana! Are you okay?"

"I'm… okay… I…"

Gulp!

Driana coughed up blood and got to her feet.

Carl hastily pulled a potion from his pocket.

Just then…

Dweno got up.

"Are you… are you denying my choice!"

Dweno yelled at the unconscious Artian as if screaming.

"Kyle! Kyle understood me! But why don't you understand me! Weren't we comrades!"

The black flames burning on Dweno's body flared up even more fiercely.

Watching Dweno, Carl felt goosebumps all over his body.

'Lord Dweno isn't in his right mind right now.'

He had lost his reason.

The Dweno who Leo said was the strongest mentally among the Great Heroes and the pillar of the Great Heroes was not there now.

'Those black flames.'

Instead of the original golden flames, the flames of disaster were burning on Dweno's body.

'Why on earth?'

A thought flashed through Carl's mind as he wore an astonished expression.

'The original owner of this world must have been Lord Dweno.'

He became the Legion's Record, but originally, the owner of this Record was Dweno.

That record was overwritten with Gias's record by Erebus's power.

'What if that influence… reached Lord Dweno?'

Dweno not being in his right mind.

The black flames burning right now. It all made sense.

"Why can't you understand me! Was what I wished for such a great desire! Answer me! Lisinas!"

As the black flames burned even more ferociously,

"Dweno."

A voice came from behind.

Dweno turned his head towards the source of the voice.

"Enniha."

"…I came to pick you up."

At Enniha's words, the black flames subsided.

"No, there's no need for that."

Dweno smiled gently and shook his head.

"Just trust me. I will take the people of Ivaldi… and you to the future."

"…If we can't defeat Gias, there's no future or anything, is there?"

"Don't worry about that! Kyle is here! Kyle is a friend who will defeat even Erebus in the distant future! He can definitely defeat someone like Gias!"

Dweno smiled brightly.

"So don't worry about the Giant King's Legion. You said you wanted to paint the sun, didn't you? I will show you the sky where the sun rises again…"

"Dweno."

"Hm?"

"It seems we really are a burden to you."

Dweno's face contorted.

"What do you take me for! Do you think I'd think such a thing! Come to your senses, Enniha!"

"Oh, really?"

Enniha smiled faintly.

Then she pulled her arm back.

Smack-!

Enniha's fist, swung with all her might in an instant, struck Dweno's face.

Dweno's head snapped back.

"Aghhhhh!"

Enniha grabbed the hand that struck Dweno's face and rolled on the floor.

"You're really incredibly tough!"

The twisted finger joints, bent in an unnatural direction, were clearly shattered beyond repair to anyone who saw them.

"E-Enniha! Your hand!"

Dweno, knowing that Enniha, an artist, cherished his hands, rushed towards Enniha in a flurry.

Enniha, who was rolling on the floor, kicked Dweno.

Crack-!

Dweno was sent flying, and an ominous sound also came from Enniha's shin.

"That really hurts!"

Enniha gritted his teeth and got up.

With his shin bone also shattered, he limped uncontrollably towards Dweno, who had fallen in a daze.

"You're the one who needs to snap out of it, you damn dwarf."

"What did you say?"

"You're treating us as nothing more and nothing less than baggage right now!"

"No, I'm not. I…"

"You'll take us to the future? Without even asking us, doing as you please? If that's not treating us like baggage, what is it?"

"What's wrong with taking you to the future? You fully deserve to enjoy the future."

"Yes. You probably do."

Enniha said coldly.

"But if that means putting that future in crisis for a fleeting moment, none of the people of Ivaldi would welcome it. Except for you."

"…"

"Dweno. Our time ended long ago. And my time ended even much, much earlier than yours."

Dweno bit his lip tightly.

"The people of Ivaldi… everyone knew what kind of end they would meet. So they gave up on going to the future a long time ago. They gave up, but… everyone thought you were different."

Enniha smiled.

"When you were freed from the burden of us. They believed you could go much further into the future than we could. So in the end…"

Enniha knelt and met Dweno's eyes.

"They believed you would restore peace to this world. That's why we didn't break."

"You… are not a burden."

"Yes. We're not a burden. We're your comrades. You merely carried the hopes we entrusted to you."

They had given up on life, but they hadn't given up on hope.

They just hadn't found it.

Looking at the reliable back that protected them.

They believed that one day, that back would become a shield for others who dreamed of hope.

That was the wish of the people of Ivaldi, and Dweno ultimately fulfilled that wish.

Looking at it now, it might not seem like a grand wish.

But back then, it was the greatest hope the people of Ivaldi could dream of.

"Just as we are your comrades. Don't you have other comrades?"

"…"

"You said we weren't a burden? But are you going to become a burden?"

Dweno closed his eyes.

"Just as we believed in you."

Whoosh-

The burning black flames slowly transformed into brilliant golden light.

"Comrades who believe in you are waiting."

Dweno clenched his fist.

"The hopes we entrusted to you were ultimately passed from you to him, weren't they?"

"That's right."

"If so, Leo must have carried far more than we can imagine. So…"

Enniha said firmly.

"Don't pass it on anymore."

At those words, Dweno turned around.

Thump- Thump- Thump-

"Ugh…"

"Lord Dweno?"

"How…?"

The hero candidates one by one began to come to their senses.

Leaving the hero candidates behind, Dweno entered the workshop, and a moment later emerged carrying a huge box.

Thud-!

Dweno placed the box in front of the hero candidates.

"It's a gift."

Dweno said nonchalantly, then slung Brave on his back and approached Driana.

"I'm sorry to have disappointed you."

"Oh, no! I wasn't disappointed at all."

"Alright."

Dweno patted Driana's head and said with a deep breath.

"I made a spectacle of myself. I don't know if I have the right to say this, but you all should head to the center of the Legion's world."

"You have the right to say such things more than anyone else."

Artian, who had somehow regained consciousness, said in a solemn voice.

Dweno looked at Artian and opened his mouth.

"Thank you."

Dweno, who had conveyed his gratitude even to someone unreachable, started walking.

Thump- Thump-

Step by step.

As Dweno, who was moving forward, reached Enniha's side, he stopped.

"Enniha. I have one request."

"What is it?"

"If you defeat Gias. Be my model."

"That's easy enough."

"Look forward to it. You will fall into despair when you see my work, who is far superior an artist than yourself."

"You damn dwarf!"

Enniha, who had flared up, soon sighed deeply.

"Alright. I'll be your model or whatever, so hurry up and deal with that damn Giant King and come back."

At those words, Dweno burst into laughter.

Whoosh-!

The flames burning on Dweno's body turned completely golden.

And at that moment, the world changed.

"Huh?"

Carl's eyes widened.

[The subjugation objective has changed.]

[Subjugation Objective: Keep Dweno alive.]

[Subjugation Objective (Hidden): Save Ivaldi.]

[Subjugation Objective (Hidden): Subdue the Giant King Gias.]