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Chapter 5: The Dragon of the Imperial Palace (2)
Because Bell hadn’t used her power properly, she must have been able to survive until now without being caught by ‘them.’ [If the protector uses their power, those guys will notice.] [Even so, the connection of the stars won’t be severed.] The spirit said in a confident tone. [This child is the single seed that will defeat the disaster. That is why the child’s parents sacrificed themselves to protect her.] The dragon’s pupils trembled finely. Argares, the oldest living dragon in existence. He knew what the spirit’s words meant. […… There is no protector to help her awaken. If the lineage of the stars did not awaken, they could not fully use their power. Furthermore, even their lives could be put in jeopardy. Normally, an adult of the clan would have helped, but the lineage of the stars had vanished after the disaster. …… They had probably been wiped out. As beings who achieved the balance of the world, he could feel it. [This child needs you.] The spirit’s words were right. As a dragon, he could provide the help necessary for Bell’s growth in place of her parents. In fact, Argares possessed knowledge regarding the awakening of spirits. “Dra-gon…….” Bell tightly hugged the dragon’s claw with her small hands. A faint whitish light began to leak from their touching small hands. “No-pain. Don’t.” A child so young she couldn’t even speak complete sentences was trying desperately to hold onto him. Asking him not to die. Asking him not to hurt. The child’s pure heart, made of simple words, flowed into the dragon. Without even knowing him well, Bell was genuinely worried about the dragon. [Guardian of the stars.] The dragon, squeezing his eyes shut, let out a low sigh. [In the end, you really do hold onto me.] How could he find rest alone, leaving this tiny thing behind? How could he abandon the last hope remaining in the world? [If your life is dull and you desire rest, please live from now on for this child left alone.] The spirit placed its hand on the crown of Bell’s head. It was attempting to use Bell’s power to assist for the very first time. Once the power is used, Bell would undergo her first awakening. [Risking my life, I shall devote myself to the protector.] The moment the dragon made a firm promise. Bang—! The door shattered, and a mass of green ether flew in. It was an extremely sharp, rough, and aggressive ether. And the owner of that ether was—”Bell,” Ethan Ice.
Pederion Rex Caelus, the Emperor of the Oriana Empire, massaged his throbbing forehead with his hand. “I found the site of the temple that the lineage of the stars was said to have managed.” “How was it?” “It was already burned to cinders without a trace. They say it was a gruesome sight, as if they wanted to erase its very existence.” A gloomy reply came back. (Were they really wiped out?) Ethan fell into deep thought. Three years ago, a massive disaster swept across the entire continent. The name given to that incident was. The stars in the sky vanished one and by one, and the seas churned. Ships lost their way and wandered, torrential rain poured down like madness, and beasts ran wild. People trembled in fear, looking up at the morning sun that would not return and the light of the night sky that had disappeared. Everyone lost their way. And, as if to accelerate their anxiety, dragons—the most noble of creatures—went berserk all at once and attacked civilian homes. Dragons were one of the entities that balanced ether, the element that makes up the world. For such sacred beings to go berserk. It was as if the world was collapsing.
“Hold them off!”
People who had completely lost hope said this world would perish. Some even took their own lives, unable to withstand that fear.
“Arm yourselves. From now on, we subjugate the dragons that have invaded the city.”
Someone had to volunteer to be a hero. Ethan’s biological father, the previous Duke of Ice, was the one who volunteered to be that hero. However, the lives of humans standing before a gigantic disaster evaporated vainly.
“Father!”
The previous Duke of Ice was no different. Ethan brandished his sword for revenge.
“The Young Duke killed the dragon!” “The dragon subjugation was a success!”
And so, he ended up cutting off the dragon’s breath. At the very moment he drove his sword into the gap of the dragon’s reverse scale and unleashed his ether with all his might. As if by a miracle, the stars of the sky returned. The disaster had receded.
“The Young Duke of Ice defeated the disaster!”
He ended up becoming a hero born from the shadow of his father.
“The ship boarded by His Majesty the Emperor has sunk.”
And the era changed. Those left behind had to inherit a new era and live once again. They realized the necessity of preparing so that past disasters would not crowd in, and they chased the traces of the disaster. The mastermind behind the disaster was a group calling themselves “Those Who Live in the Dark Night.” Having barely found a single clue like that—”It’s a dead end this time, too.” “Hoping that the dragon in the basement regains its sanity might be more realistic after all.” “How are the priests’ purification studies going?” The Emperor sighed and shook his head. “No progress.” “……” It was only natural. Purifying contaminated ether was something only a very special existence, the lineage of the stars, could do. However, those lineages of the stars seemed to have been utterly wiped out on the day of the disaster. If the ether remained contaminated, the world would slowly sicken and die. “Then, perhaps seek cooperation from other spirit tribes…….” “Aaaah!” Suddenly, a loud, echoing scream rang out through the hallway. Irritated by Aspe’s scream, Ethan ground his teeth together. “Your grace!” “That crazy bastard. Today of all days, I really need to either rip that mouth wide open or tie it shut.” Seeing him grab the decorative sword standing by the wall, the emperor got up from his seat along with him. “Hey, hey. You bear with it.” Ethan stepped out into the hallway with long strides to deal with his noisy woodpecker of an aide. However, his anger did not last long. “What in the……?” The situation in the hallway was simply a spectacle. Aspe, who had been screaming his lungs out looking for him, was flailing with his soles stuck fast to the hallway floor, and the guards were struggling while hugging each other’s shoulders in a friendly manner. “Do you want to die as a group?” Unable to grasp how to interpret this situation, Ethan violently crumpled his face. “Does it look like I’m playing around right now?” Aspe shouted back without losing. “It’s a big deal! The kid went flying off somewhere!” “You’re that old and you can’t even watch a single kid properly?” “Just go chase after her quickly!” Ignoring Ethan’s criticism, Aspe quickly stated the core point. “I think the kid knows how to use magic!” As soon as his words ended, Ethan’s body moved. Finding Bell’s whereabouts was not all that difficult. Like pieces of bread scattered by Hansel and Gretel, guards and knights were scattered here and there across the hallway. The direction they were heading was clear. The basement. The basement where the cursed dragon was imprisoned. Ethan’s gaze grew cold. “If anything happens to the kid.” He would make them beg to be executed instead. Force went into the grip holding his dull sword. (What if I’m already too late?) Dark green ether gathered bit by bit, wrapping around the sword. (What if the damn dragon has already harmed the kid?) The door leading to the basement came into view. His anxiety had already reached its peak. A sharply honed aura flew forward and shattered the basement door like a sheet of paper. His pupils, contracted from agitation and anger, first sought out the child’s figure. “Bell.” Fortunately, it didn’t look like he was too late. Bell was standing right in front of the dragon’s snout. With her cute little hands placed on the ivory claws of the dragon, while blinking innocent eyes that knew nothing. “It’s dangerous, so come over here.” “Ah!” Bell said, pointing at the dragon. (It hurts?) Misunderstanding the meaning, Ethan scanned Bell’s condition with a hawk’s eye. To the naked eye, she didn’t look injured. “Ah!” Bell said again. (It’s hurting.) However, Ethan was a novice dad who couldn’t understand a single bit of what Bell was saying. “As expected, it’s safer to kill it to leave no loose ends.” “Ah. Help.” To Bell’s passionate speech —‘The dragon is hurting. I want to help it.’—Ethan responded with his formidable temper. “Right. From now on, I’m going to execute that dragon, so the child comes over here.” He muttered chillingly.
