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Chapter 245
Their blue eyes met.
I could not take my eyes off those strangely gleaming irises.
The moment I faced him from such a close distance, I instinctively realized it.
The being before me was not human.
His vertically slit pupils stared at me as though they were trying to peer straight into the depths of my soul.
For a moment, I did not even realize that I was holding my breath. I could do nothing but stare at the being before me.
After slowly examining me, he suddenly tilted his head.
“How peculiar…… The soul is definitely that of the Saintess who used to accompany Amur.”
His low, subdued voice brushed against my ears.
Only then did I finally come to my senses and properly observe the being before me.
His vividly blue hair, the same color as his eyes, flowed all the way down past his waist.
The silky strands of hair drifted slowly in the breeze.
Beneath his dark, sharply defined eyebrows were distinct features that gave him a cold, aloof air.
And above all, what caught my attention was—
‘……Horns?’
Two blue horns, branching like coral, extended from either side of his forehead.
Only then did I begin to realize who the being before me was. I carefully opened my mouth.
“Lord Seirun……?”
“That is correct. I am Seirun.”
He slowly lowered his eyes.
“You are Amur’s Saintess, are you not?”
Seirun, the Dragon God.
The dragon that had displayed the majesty of a towering mountain only moments ago had now taken on a human form and was looking down at me.
Yet even in human form, his overwhelming presence had not diminished in the slightest. If anything, facing him from such a close distance made it even harder to breathe.
I swallowed nervously and answered his question.
“Yes…… If you mean the Saintess who serves the God Amur, then that would be me.”
Why did he know Amur?
And why had he acted as though he already knew me from the very beginning?
Countless questions flashed through my mind, but I did not even have the composure to sort through them right now.
The pressure radiating from the being before me alone was enough to make my head spin.
After hearing my answer, Seirun stared down at me for a while, seemingly lost in thought.
Then, he slowly opened his mouth.
“……Hmm. No, that’s not it.”
His slit pupils narrowed.
“You are not the Saintess of Amur whom I know.”
“Pardon?”
I was definitely the Saintess, so what on earth did he mean?
I blinked at Seirun in confusion.
Looking down at me, Seirun muttered quietly.
“You are the child I know. And yet, at the same time, you are not.”
“……?”
I had absolutely no idea what he meant.
Seirun lowered his eyes as if deep in thought for a moment.
Then, as though he had suddenly realized something, he looked at me.
“This is…… yes.”
He slowly opened his mouth.
“You have crossed through time, haven’t you?”
I did not even have time to be surprised by his words.
BOOM—!
Suddenly, a sharp blade aura came flying from somewhere in the distance.
Seirun did not even blink. He merely waved his hand lightly.
A blue barrier instantly spread out, and the blade aura struck it before scattering into countless fragments.
“Tsk…… What an utterly rude human.”
With an irritated voice, Seirun slowly turned his gaze.
At the end of his line of sight stood the Grand Duke, sword raised toward him.
“Release her.”
The Grand Duke spoke in a low, warning voice.
Seirun’s eyes narrowed.
“How insolent. Do you truly wish to be reduced to ashes?”
But despite Seirun’s threat, the Grand Duke did not retreat even an inch.
Instead, calmly meeting his icy gaze head-on, he replied,
“I am not idle enough to show respect to a god who is nothing more than an illusion.”
The moment those words fell, Seirun’s eyes slowly narrowed.
His glowing blue slit pupils stared straight through the Grand Duke.
A brief silence followed.
Then the Grand Duke asked in an indifferent voice, as though it were nothing important,
“You had already noticed, hadn’t you?”
“……Hmm.”
Seirun closed his eyes for a moment before opening them again and murmuring,
“I see…… I knew something felt strange. So this place truly isn’t reality.”
Seirun’s gaze slowly shifted toward the Guide.
The Guide scratched the back of his head awkwardly and let out a hollow laugh.
“Well…… I suppose we have to admit that divine nature cannot be ignored. I never thought you would notice.”
As the Guide spoke casually with a shrug, I swallowed nervously inwardly.
‘This is a virtual space created for the Grand Duke’s trial……’
Did the Dragon God realize that?
Other than me, the Grand Duke, and the Guide, everything that existed in this world—including the Dragon God standing before me—should have been a virtual existence.
And yet, someone within that world had realized for himself that his own world was an illusion.
It was astonishing.
‘……Huh?’
A sudden question flashed through my mind, making me blink.
Wasn’t this supposed to be a virtual space created for the trial?
If so, even if we found the crystal orb, could we really return to reality?
If everything that existed here was fake, then wouldn’t the holy relic itself merely be an illusion imitating the appearance of the real thing?
If only its appearance had been copied, then surely the power contained within it would be fake as well.
Just as my doubts continued to grow, I heard voices beside me.
“Are you saying that you created me? That you created this world?”
A low voice emerged from deep within Seirun’s throat.
There was a beastlike menace in it, as though he could bare his fangs at any moment.
The Guide waved his hands awkwardly.
“Oh, of course not, Lord Seirun. This place isn’t reality, but that doesn’t mean it’s completely fictional, either.”
Then, with a calm smile, he continued,
“It exists, but it simply will not be recorded in history.”
It was a mysterious explanation, but Seirun seemed to understand. He gave a low scoff.
“……Hmph. Someone has meddled with things again. Was it the Hero King’s arrangement, or perhaps……”
Seirun muttered under his breath as though chewing over something, then let his words trail off.
His gaze slowly shifted.
Those piercingly blue eyes eventually came to rest on me.
“I see. So that is why you……”
“……Lord Seirun?”
He had muttered something, but I could not hear it clearly.
When his words failed to continue, I cautiously called his name.
Seirun stared down at me silently for a long while.
Then, instead of answering, he tightened his arm around me.
Whoosh—
In an instant, my body was pulled deeper into his embrace.
SHING—!
Another blade aura came flying from the distance.
It was probably another attack from the Grand Duke.
But Seirun merely raised a hand and casually twitched his fingers.
Before the blade aura could touch his body, it struck the blue barrier and scattered.
Without even looking at the attack, he blocked it and looked down at me.
“Child, I owe you a debt.”
He spoke as though he had known me for a very long time.
At a loss for words, I shifted my eyes awkwardly before finally asking honestly,
“Do you know me?”
“Of course I do. I know you.”
Then his hand came to rest on my head.
“You may not know me, but I know your soul.”
“……”
I still did not understand what he was talking about.
But the touch of his hand stroking my hair was surprisingly gentle, and it suddenly brought a memory from the past to mind.
‘When I fainted because of Amita in Belnoir……’
Someone had definitely stroked my hair like this.
Who was it?
I could not remember.
While I was lost in thought, he stroked my hair once more before continuing.
“What a child far too good for him. Yes, since fate has brought us together again like this, what is it that you desire?”
“What I desire……?”
“Is there nothing you want from me?”
Unexpectedly, Seirun seemed to have taken a liking to me.
If an omnipotent god were to ask me such a question, there was naturally only one thing I wanted.
“Could you lend me the holy relic you possess, Lord Seirun?”
“The holy relic I possess?”
“Yes. I was told that I would be able to find it if I came here……”
As I said that, I glanced toward the Guide.
He immediately nodded along.
“Lord Seirun, you should have the crystal orb. The Saintess needs it to return to the place she originally came from.”
“The crystal orb I possess? Hmm…… I know what you mean.”
Seirun slowly shifted his gaze for a moment.
Then, a smile appeared at the corner of his lips.
With a playful grin, he suddenly leaned his face close to mine.
“It would be a shame to simply let you go like this. Child, why don’t you become mine?”
“……Pardon?”
His sudden words left me completely frozen.
I was still blinking in confusion when—
Whoosh.
Suddenly, a powerful force grabbed my arm from behind and pulled me away.
By now, I felt like I could identify who it was without even turning around.
The owner of that arm was the Grand Duke.
He glared coldly at Seirun.
“Are gods naturally this selfish? Stop this. Before I cut down even your existence.”
At those words, Seirun’s eyebrow twitched.
“Such an inferior creation, yet you continue to provoke me without end.”
Seirun refused to let me go, while the Grand Duke continued trying to pull me toward himself.
An invisible battle of nerves unfolded between the two.
‘P-Please, just do this without me…….’
Caught between two enormous whales, I could only swallow back my tears, feeling like nothing more than a tiny shrimp.
