Chapter 43 - Look, the Dragon Gives Chase (1)

"Owww..."

Vlad pushed himself up, letting out a groan like a sick old man.

"... I almost died."

["Without the blessing of the snake, you truly would have died."]

Listening to the voice, Vlad looked down at his armor.

He never expected the blessing of the snake that embraced him that day to manifest in this way.

"It's pretty useful."

["So let's go there one more time later."]

Ignoring the voice's words, Vlad recalled his purpose for coming here.

The rift in the ground that was gradually drawing closer.

Rutiger and the knights chasing after it.

And down below, he could see the priests and knights, panicking so much that they hadn't even noticed he had tumbled down.

"Huh?"

["... Oh no."]

And among them, a very familiar figure caught his eye.

RUUUMBLE!

Even as the boy stood bewildered, the rift tearing through the grassland was stretching outward without hesitation.

Rutiger and the knights were trying their hardest to catch up, but just as the voice had said, the speed of the Death Worm moving underground was agile enough to overtake a herd of wild horses.

"Damn it!"

And the grassland's rift, extending at a fearsome speed, was heading straight ahead.

Exactly, straight, and without a hint of hesitation toward the group of pilgrims.

"Quickly, escort the priests!"

"Those who are ready, leave first!"

NEIGHHH!

The shouts of the knights and the cries of the horses.

And the malicious rift drawing closer, swallowing all those sounds.

An irresistible, massive violence was charging at them.

"No way..."

In that urgent situation, Vlad recognized a certain priest hurriedly climbing onto a cart.

He was the only priest the boy knew, and someone he must never forget.

The sight of him pierced the boy's eyes painfully and reached deep into his chest.

"Damn it!"

Coincidence sometimes appears in the guise of destiny, forcing a choice.

In that cruelly approaching moment, most people would lower their heads and take the easy path, but the boy was different from them.

The boy was someone who had always struggled with all his might.

"..."

Gritting his teeth and solidifying his resolve, Vlad ran down toward Rutiger with all his might.

He was already losing his breath due to his endlessly pounding heartbeat, but the boy did not stop.

There were two things the boy still kept carefully in his embrace to this day.

One was Alicia's handkerchief.

And the other was the boy's identification plaque guaranteed by Andreas.

"Priest!"

The person who had first vouched for his worthless self.

The person who had allowed the boy to extend his first roots into the world was down there.

Forgetting the shock and pain of having just tumbled down the hill, the boy dashed toward the approaching rift.

The boy was throwing himself toward a massive violence that anyone else would want to flee from.

* * *

"Over here! I'm over here!"

Vlad waved his hands, trying somehow to reveal his presence.

"..."

And the black-haired man confirmed that sight from atop his galloping horse.

However, there was a massive gap between the two that was too difficult to cross, and following that gap was the young Death Worm about to pounce on the pilgrims' party.

The timing had worked out somehow, but the space did not.

"No..."

Watching the rift brush past him without the slightest pause, Vlad muttered blankly.

"No!"

Vlad let out a furious shout at the Death Worm passing by, ignoring him.

He could not just stand by helplessly once again in the face of this unmanageable, massive world.

["Vlad!"]

The voice, realizing what Vlad was about to do, tried to stop him with an urgent tone, but the boy had already made his decision.

Now was the time to act.

If he had to do it, he would not hesitate.

Ignoring the voice's shout, Vlad tossed the crumpled inscription high into the air.

The white paper fluttered beneath the sky.

"Over here, you bastard!"

The resolute trajectory drawn by the unadorned sword depicted the boy's determination.

The paper tore, and at the same time, dense patterns filled the unadorned sword.

The sword began to vibrate along with the inscription glowing in black.

Along with the boy's anger toward the Death Worm.

["... It's not enough. Call forth your world as well."]

It wanted to stop him as much as possible, but the voice, which understood Vlad better than anyone, gave the boy advice.

If he was going to attempt it anyway, there should be no regrets.

["You must amplify the vibration!"]

Dorothea's inscription art was excellent, but it was insufficient to draw the attention of the Death Worm, which already had its prey in sight.

Therefore, he had to lend strength to her inscription.

"Hup!"

Following the voice's advice, Vlad stabbed his sword into the ground.

And then he closed his left eye.

To bring out his own world, still clumsy and residing within his soul.

In this situation, even if Jager were here, he would not criticize the boy's actions.

Because this alone was the best option.

"... Come out."

The day he declared his name before God for the first time.

The boy remembered the sunlight of that day, which passed through the brilliantly colored stained glass and settled on his shoulders.

It was warm and cozy, and above all, the priest's smile as he looked at him was a pleasant sight.

"Come out!"

With the boy's shout, faint lights began to leak from the crying unadorned sword.

White, green, and blue.

The boy's world, which had not yet found its own color, was filled with the colors of the knights surrounding him.

They were faint, but beautiful colors.

VWOOM-VWOOOM-VWOOM

Dorothea's inscription meshed with the boy's world and began to summon a massive vibration.

There was no trembling, but it made the air ripple, and there was no sound, but every being present could hear it.

It was like the boy's shout, declaring that he was here.

"..."

The young Death Worm, rushing toward the pilgrims with bloody foam bubbling at its mouth.

It, too, could hear the boy's soundless shout.

It was a more resonant voice than anything else, even more than the sound shouting from its forehead to move forward.

Therefore, it turned its head.

GRRRRRR.

The rift stopped.

The massive world recognized the boy's world.

The Death Worm's heart beat wildly as it felt the boy.

"..."

"..."

And everyone here looked at the shining boy.

VWOOM-VWOOOM-VWOOM

It was only for a brief moment, but the boy's presence dominated everything here.

I am here.

"... Run away!"

"Vlad! Throw your sword to me!"

The moment the Death Worm's head, which seemed like it would stay stopped forever, twitched slightly, Rutiger's shout rang out.

The presence the boy created paused the time of the grassland for a brief moment, but it could not dominate it.

To do that, the boy's world was still nothing more than a faint possibility.

However, it was a struggle that sufficiently met his goal.

ROAAAR!

Resetting its target, the Death Worm burst from the ground and lunged at the boy.

With a movement far faster than the voice had expected.

As if it had been waiting for this moment.

["Dodge!"]

"Nnngh..."

Even at the voice's urgent shout, Vlad could not easily open his closed eyes.

A faint world that had not yet taken root.

Because the boy's accomplishments were lacking to open and close that world quickly.

A pitch-black shadow was cast over the faltering Vlad's head.

It originated from a massive gesture intending to scatter despair.

"No!"

Everyone predicted the next situation and tightly shut their eyes.

Rutiger alone ran to somehow save the boy, but the space between them was as impossible to close as the flow of time.

["Put aura in your armor...!"]

A massive presence that swallowed even the voice's shout.

The moment the boy subconsciously tried to thrust his unadorned sword forward in the face of the massive world bearing down on him.

"..."

Something pitch-black, darker than the shadow of despair cast by the Death Worm.

Something as fine and dark as the color of a moonless night covered the boy's eyes.

CRAAASH!

Before the massive world could crush the boy.

* * *

"..."

The sound of wind brushing past his ears.

The sound of a massive heart beating, felt through the boy's hands.

The movement of muscles pulsating with blood so warm it was hot was transmitted to the boy's fingertips.

"..."

A thick cloud of dust rushed in behind Vlad.

However, before the filthy dust could even embrace the boy, Vlad had already escaped its radius.

Because those fluttering particles could not catch up to the speed at which the boy was running.

Somewhere between deep emotion and surprise.

Feeling himself mounted on the back of a horse in the blink of an eye, Vlad opened his closed eyes.

["Haaaaa..."]

"... It's a horse."

Without even hearing the voice's groan of relief, Vlad straightened his back.

Along with the sound of the wind, everything around him was quickly rushing by.

The boy swore he had never felt a sense of speed like this in his entire life.

"..."

Vlad spread his palms to meet the oncoming wind.

The heavy flow of air was slipping fiercely through his fingers.

"Ha! Hahaha!"

Just a moment ago, Vlad had been suffering under the threat of death, but for now, he was laughing out loud.

Because the scenery he had dreamed of was unfolding before his eyes.

ROAAAR!

"..."

Behind the boy, who had forgotten reality for just a brief moment, the roar of the Death Worm rang out.

His intention had succeeded, but it was not over yet.

"Vlad! Vlad! Are you alright!"

Along with the Death Worm's roar, the black-haired knight approached the running boy on horseback.

"I think I'm fine!"

"... Good!"

Rutiger and the knights, who were rushing over to intercept the Death Worm, noticed that the boy had imprinted the inscription onto his own sword.

The attitude of knowing how to sacrifice oneself for others.

That was also related to the second discipline of a Sword Master.

Even though the boy was merely a squire, he carried out his duty more excellently than any knight present here.

"It was a brilliant and brave decision. Although, of course, it wasn't an action to be praised for."

"..."

Pointing out Vlad's reckless action without preparing for the aftermath, Rutiger rode alongside the boy and looked at the rift approaching them.

"Can you handle that one?"

"Pardon?"

It was a harsh demand for a boy who had only just succeeded in getting on a horse, but Rutiger believed he could do it.

Because the intelligent gleam in the pitch-black horse's eyes gave him such certainty.

"Only by cutting down that suspicious creature can the pilgrims be safe. We must wager our victory here."

'But that's a Death Worm...'

"I can do it."

At that moment, Vlad could see.

The remnants of a blazing flame roaring in Rutiger's two eyes.

"You have Dorothea's inscription and you are also riding a fine horse. So you should be able to lure it."

Vlad could tell what Rutiger was trying to do.

He intended to use Vlad as bait to cut down the Death Worm in a single strike.

"Can you do it?"

"..."

Instead of answering, Vlad stroked the pitch-black fellow's neck.

The look in its eyes as it slightly turned its head to look at him was strangely reliable.

'I see.'

'You are also here to save someone.'

"I can do it."

"Good."

As soon as he heard Vlad's confident answer, Rutiger quickly raised a finger to explain the direction of their advance.

"... Circle around like this and come to me."

Vlad was nodding earnestly, but in truth, Rutiger was focusing his gaze on the horse the boy was riding rather than the boy himself.

It seemed as if the pitch-black horse nodded its head while looking at his finger.

"Be careful."

Seeing the boy and the horse nod, Rutiger and the knights broke away.

ROAAAR!

Instead, the Death Worm, having lost its shining prey, dug into the ground again and was chasing the boy.

"Let's go!"

On the saddleless horse, the boy tightened his thighs and grabbed the pitch-black fellow's mane.

NEIGHHH!

A different cry from before.

It was not a desperate cry for its dying herd, but a sound carrying the resolve to land a decisive blow.

With that determination, the pitch-black fellow rapidly began to accelerate.

"Whoa!"

A completely different sense of speed from earlier.

At a speed that now inspired even terror, Vlad hugged the horse's neck and ended up shutting his eyes.

After all, the boy was a novice who knew nothing about horsemanship.

["Lower your sword. To definitively lure that bastard, you must broadcast your presence through the vibrations."]

However, the boy was someone tasked with a mission.

And out of his own free will, at that.

"..."

The fiercely whipping wind made it overwhelming even to open his eyes, but Vlad looked far ahead at Rutiger, who had dismounted and drawn his sword to wait for him.

He had to do it.

Because he promised he would.

"Haaah!"

A sense of speed he was tasting for the first time in his life.

The dizzying spurring of the ground felt from the horse.

Although everything was a first for him, Vlad dangled his sword toward the ground to do his best.

"One... more time!"

Considerate of the boy's posture leaning almost sideways, the pitch-black fellow balanced itself for him.

Glancing at the rift chasing from behind, Vlad brought the unadorned sword to the ground.

CLANG— CLANG-CLANG-CLANG—!

Loud sparks burst from the unadorned sword due to the frictional heat created by the earth and iron violently scraping together.

"Look! I am here!"

Along with those sparks, the boy's world faintly leaked out.

Dorothea's inscription, laden with aura, began to spread vibrations underground through the unadorned sword.

Deep, deep down.

So brilliantly that it was absolutely unbearable not to take a bite out of it.

ROAAAR!

The ground split open from the rift.

The massive Death Worm revealed its form from below.

The massive world that had emerged chasing the vibrations was lunging at the boy once again.

"That's right, over here!"

But the boy was not alone now.

A single star shining above a moonless night.

The shadow of a fallen dragon racing after that star.

Toward this unreasonable and massive world, the boy shouted at the top of his lungs.

That he was here.

ROAAAR!

"Uwaaaaah-!"

The remnant of the dragon roared loudly as if to tear the grassland to shreds.

Against that presence, the boy also let out a loud battle cry.

Two worlds yielding not a single inch.

Every world inherently held value in existing, but if they were fated to clash, only the more brilliant world would survive.

Look, boy. The dragon gives chase.

Toward the shining you.