Chapter 184: The Dragon's Fiancé

Like any other dragon, Iorga was infamous for being so ruthless that she was often called cold-blooded.

Erika Iorga, the master of the Blue Eye Magic Tower and a Dragon Spawn, possessed that same disposition. However, among the Dragon Spawn, she was known as the most understanding, resolving conflicts with wisdom and earning widespread respect.

Because of that, very few people had ever witnessed her magic firsthand.

The elves were experiencing that rare sight now.

Five torrents of water surged through the battlefield like rivers swollen by a midsummer downpour, sweeping the elves away.

"Everyone, take cover!"

"Rune of Protection!"

"Break the spell's form with the Rune of Disruption!"

Although hundreds of elite warriors had gathered, there wasn't a single elf present capable of stopping Erika Iorga, who had cast aside the restraints of reason.

Even with their sophisticated command structure, linked together through their shared consciousness, they couldn't find an opening to attack.

If they moved carelessly, they would be crushed like pebbles on a riverbank.

In that situation, defense was their only option.

"Amazing..."

Rizera looked up at Erika with eyes filled with awe.

"So this is the true power of the one who was called the wisdom of the expedition that defeated the Demon King..."

Ferda followed her gaze and looked up at Erika as well.

"Oh-ho-ho! What happened to all that courage from a moment ago? Now you're hiding like little rats!?"

"Try blocking this too!!"

"You all look absolutely wonderful! More! More! Struggle harder!! It won't be any fun if you collapse already, will it!?"

...Wisdom?

No matter how he looked at her, she resembled a witch far more than a wise strategist, and everything she was doing was pure savagery.

At least she hasn't completely lost her reason.

Ferda knew the destructive force that had pierced straight through a monster's head.

Even though Erika was capable of producing those murderous streams of water, she was carefully adjusting their power so that her opponents were merely knocked unconscious instead of killed.

"We should move."

"Y-Yes?"

"While she's causing that chaos, we need to escape."

"R-Right!"

The only reason she had finally stopped holding back was to create an opportunity for them to flee.

Gripping the strap of her bag tightly, Rizera took the lead and ran.

"Stop the escaped prisoners!"

"That human tried to assassinate the High Chieftain!"

Compared to Erika, Ferda was clearly the higher priority.

The fact that he was Valdrova's fiancé no longer mattered.

The killing intent directed at him was overwhelming.

Ferda answered in kind.

"Lightning Bolt."

Water and lightning were, by nature, an excellent combination.

Even if the spell didn't strike directly, its effects spread through the rain-soaked ground.

"Gaaahhh!"

"Urghhh!"

He sent a light current through the ground, electrocuting the archers and preventing them from moving.

However, even Ferda couldn't stop every agile elf in his current state.

Rather than fighting them head-on, I should focus on protecting myself.

Changing tactics, he chanted another spell.

"Static Force."

A lightning-element defensive spell.

Ferda's hair floated upward toward the sky.

A sphere of static electricity formed in his hand.

It automatically shot down and deflected every incoming arrow.

It was a defensive spell that repelled everything in all directions, but it consumed an enormous amount of Mana.

"Call for reinforcements!"

As soldiers continued to fall, and as time dragged on, even more soldiers poured into the interior of the World Tree.

Just as defending himself was becoming increasingly difficult, they finally reached the staircase where the Sky Carriage was waiting.

"This way!"

When Rizera placed her hand against the entrance, a corridor leading outside the World Tree appeared.

"Your Excellency Regent!"

Erika, who was still rampaging, called out.

"Those pointy-eared pests are crawling in from behind like cockroaches!"

"I see."

"I'll hold them off! You should leave first!"

"...Understood."

It sounded less like she intended to stop them and more like she planned to enjoy herself a little longer.

Ferda decided to pretend he hadn't noticed.

Rizera led the way as they sprinted into the corridor.

Everything seemed to be going smoothly.

"Once we get through this corridor and outsi—ugh...!"

But nothing was ever that simple.

Standing in their path was a single elf.

"...Elder."

The High Elf elder who had been directing the battle had anticipated Rizera's escape route and was waiting alone.

His face was twisted with fury.

"So... you truly chose the path of a fool..."

His trembling finger pointed at Rizera.

"I should have known from the moment the High Chieftain refused to cast you out... In the end, you became the calamity of our people, you rootless wretch!"

Rizera bit her lip at his harsh words.

"Do you even realize what you've done? You've betrayed your own people! Betrayed your mother, betrayed your race, betrayed every other tribe that depends on us! What you've done is no different from a Dark Elf!"

"I-It's not betrayal."

"You think blindly obeying the High Chieftain is righteousness? If he ordered you to die, would you obey!?"

"I..."

Rizera couldn't answer.

Seeing that, the elder let out a scornful snort.

"That's exactly why you'll never truly become one of us."

After saying that, he turned toward Ferda.

"So you're Regent Ferda?"

"I don't recall introducing myself to you."

"Hmph. Fine. Valdrova's fiancé. I would prefer not to let today's incident escalate any further."

He gestured toward Rizera.

"Hand over that girl—and the item. If you do, no one will be held accountable for today's events, and you'll be allowed to leave."

"Y-Your Excellency..."

Rizera slowly closed her eyes.

Her expression seemed to say she wouldn't resent him, no matter what choice he made.

Looking down at her, Ferda spoke.

"Very well."

Rizera's eyes widened.

She had never imagined he would actually hand her over.

Betrayal filled her face.

"I'll hand her over."

Ferda grabbed her shoulder.

"Catch."

He raised his free hand.

The blackened hand gradually returned to its original color.

A Magic Circle formed.

***

High Elf Elder Cypress hated humans.

The mysterious power known as magic was not something humans should wield.

In his eyes, it belonged only to the long-lived races like the elves.

By that logic, the man named Ferda was the human he found most offensive.

A human mage.

And not just any mage—

The fiancé of a dragon.

A short-lived creature incapable of accumulating merit over countless centuries held a status completely beneath his station.

Now that same man had caused chaos within elven territory and was attempting to flee.

Worse still—

What Cypress saw in Ferda's eyes was hostility.

A challenge to authority.

Something that should never be directed at a High Elf elder.

Yet instead of making him reckless, everything about Ferda only made him calmer.

Every movement Ferda made looked utterly laughable to him.

Compared to his own, the Mana flowing through Ferda's body was insignificant.

If Ferda attacked, Cypress could simply reflect the spell and demonstrate the vast difference between them.

And the man before him acted exactly as Cypress expected.

Pretending to hand over Rizera, he cast a pathetic human spell.

"Lightning Spear."

Crackle!

Light flickered in Ferda's hand.

Pathetic.

The elder calmly drew the Rune of Protection.

Judging by the amount of Mana involved, his rune would easily repel the attack.

That was what he believed.

Then—

The Magic Circle in Ferda's right hand vanished.

A mistake?

The sort of careless blunder only an insignificant short-lived race would make.

Yet...

Something felt wrong.

Even though the spell had disappeared, Ferda showed not the slightest hint of panic.

His eyes remained fixed firmly on his target.

They were like an unfathomably deep lake.

Eyes that seemed capable of seeing through everything.

A feint.

The moment he realized it, Ferda revealed the move he had been hiding.

The hand that had pulled Rizera backward swung forward.

Now it held a staff Cypress had never seen before.

Light gathered around it.

A Magic Circle condensed before manifesting as magic.

Even if another Magic Circle appeared, it shouldn't matter.

No matter how powerful a magical artifact might be, if its wielder was weak, the spell itself would have limits.

The Rune of Protection would be enough.

Indeed, Cypress's calculations were perfectly accurate.

But the moment Ferda raised that staff...

The Magic Circle changed.

Even though he wasn't familiar with human magic, Cypress recognized it immediately.

It wasn't merely a geometric arrangement of lines and dots.

It contained actual runic characters.

Among them were several runes that even Cypress himself recognized.

The Mana gathering within that Magic Circle... isn't the human's.

There was no way Mana of such depth could have originated from something inside Ferda himself.

Then that means...

The instant he understood, Cypress frowned.

"The High Chieftain's Mana..."

Inside Mother's Heart, countless threads floated through the air.

Ferda had stolen one of those threads and waited for this exact moment.

But solving one mystery only created another.

Even with exceptional Mana, who could possibly cast magic of such a high order?

It was as impossible as expecting a fish to live on land.

Even an elf couldn't accomplish such a feat.

I can't let my guard down.

Without relaxing for even an instant, Cypress layered Rune upon Rune of Protection.

He concentrated every defensive measure into a single point.

The golden barrier thickened.

Then it solidified into a dense amber shell.

He was completely confident it could block anything emerging from that Magic Circle.

But once again...

His calculations were wrong.

Bzzzt.

The sound of air being sucked inward.

A faint crackle.

As light began to flicker, the elder's eyes widened in horror.

"That...?!"

It wasn't the blue lightning he had just witnessed.

It was a deep crimson.

He had seen that color before.

There was only one person capable of wielding crimson lightning.

A traitor.

One who had broken the oath of pure blood, fallen in love with a human, and taught that human magic.

Several months after the elves had executed that traitor...

A woman appeared before the World Tree.

She wore black mourning clothes.

Though she possessed the body of a young girl, the black makeup smeared by her tears made her resemble a vengeful ghost.

Filled with hatred, she spoke.

"We swore to remain together until the heavens themselves tore us apart... Yet the heavens have shown so little mercy to a woman."

Consumed by hatred and rage, she raised her hand toward the sky.

"Since the heavens refuse to punish you... I shall punish you myself."

It was crimson lightning that defied the natural order.

The lightning shot into the heavens...and shattered the World Tree.

"Fury of Storm."

This time, that crimson lightning flew straight toward the elder's chest.

The elder's relaxed expression vanished as he violently twisted his body aside.

Crash!

The dense barrier formed by countless Runes of Protection shattered like fragile glass.

A defense strong enough to block even a Sixth-Tier offensive spell was destroyed completely.

"Urgh...?!"

The elder barely survived.

His body suddenly felt strangely light.

At the same time, agonizing pain spread through him.

Looking down—

His twisted left arm was gone.

All that remained was an empty hole where it had once been.

The pain of losing an arm.

But even more painful...was the humiliation of being defeated.

"Y-You...!"

Before he could finish shouting—

Ferda's shadow bound the elder's body without leaving even the slightest opening.

Ferda completely prevented him from casting magic.

Against an ordinary human mage, sealing their mouth and restraining their hands would have been enough.

But elves were different.

Ferda knew exactly how to subdue them.

"Frenzy."

He injected a mental spell directly into the elder's mind.

"Ughhh!"

Boiling Bloodlust and violent impulses engulfed the elder.

Ordinary people could relieve themselves by venting those emotions.

But High Elves couldn't.

Their minds were all connected.

If one mind became corrupted...that corruption could spread to everyone.

In that regard, elven society was merciless.

Even an elder was no exception.

So Cypress immediately sat down and concentrated.

Since he couldn't create a spell capable of removing the berserk state himself, he instead focused with all his strength on suppressing his emotions to avoid contaminating the collective consciousness.

Cold sweat streamed down his face as he glared at Ferda.

How does this brat... know something like this?

The weakness of their shared consciousness was something no human had ever discovered.

Ferda had lived for only nineteen years.

Many humans who had challenged the authority of the World Tree had devoted lives far longer than his to researching it.

Yet not a single one had ever cornered him with a single exchange.

Looking down at Cypress, Ferda asked,

"So, Elder... how does it feel to be defeated by a foolish short-lived race?"

The elder answered through gritted teeth.

"Just because I was defeated doesn't make you any less of a fool."

"It seems even elves can waste the years they've lived."

"You idiot...! Do you even realize that becoming a dragon's fiancé is the same as willingly climbing into its mouth?! And yet you dare spout such nonsense!"

Ferda let out a dismissive snort.

"I already know Valdrova once had a fiancé."

"I'm not talking about the Red Dragon!"

The hand Ferda had been about to wave dismissively froze.

"...Are you saying someone besides Valdrova was going to marry?"

It made no sense.

Marriage existed to compensate for what each partner lacked.

But immortals were complete beings.

They had no need for mates.

They simply ruled above all others.

"Of course you humans wouldn't know. Long, long ago... even the High Elves once had a dragon's fiancé."

He jerked his chin toward the corridor behind them.