Chapter 571: The Meaning of a Flower

…I must hide it. I must suppress my emotions.

Thinking about this, Finn Eldith laughed from the bottom of her heart for the first time in a long time. It was truly a smile that resembled a beautiful flower. A face befitting the Queen of the elves who lived in harmony with the forest and plants.

But flowers weren’t inherently delicate or ephemeral. The life cycle of a flower was solely focused on how to make other living things serve it.

They attracted insects to carry their pollen and used birds and human hands to disperse their seeds. Even the seemingly beautiful petals and the fragrance that impressed artists were manifestations of a cunning organism.

「…Heh, heh. 」

But to make such a flower-like smile even in the presence of the overwhelmingly isolated Green Dragon was quite absurd. This wasn’t good. Eldith touched her lips, knowing she must suppress it.

Normally, even her cheerful demeanor had to be hidden in front of Lugis. Yet, she couldn’t suppress the emotions welling up inside her heart.

However, the threat to her life was imminent.

The claws of death could tear through Eldith’s skin without even touching her, causing blood to spurt. She would die if even a single claw touched her silky skin. That dragon had the power to rip out Eldith’s insides, along with her organs.

It wasn’t just Vrilligant who possessed such immense power among dragon species. Their very existence as a species was incredibly strong. Their role in dominating the continent, alongside spirits and giants, was no mere luck.

The dragon opened its mouth wide, breathing heavily as if to exhale a hot breath. A direct hit from the dragon’s breath would obliterate Eldith without a trace.

Eldith finally suppressed her smile and turned her gaze to Lugis. For a moment, she stopped the dragon’s movements with a curse.

Now, she decided to deliberately convey her sense of danger. It was time to show that she had noticed it.

「 …It’s fun being with you like this, Lugis. This is what you often go through, isn’t it? 」

She deliberately said such carefree words, causing Lugis to frown.

「You understand that we’re in danger, don’t you? Let’s talk about it later. I’m not exactly in a position to be that relaxed. 」

At the same time as his voice echoed, the dragon’s mouth, which had been on the verge of exhaling, closed. No, it was forced to close. Its upper jaw was slammed against the demonic sword.

Lugis swung the demonic sword effortlessly from above, then flicked his wrist. This time, he drew a black line in a circle from bottom to top. Next, the dragon’s jaw was slashed vertically, causing it to vomit a great deal of blood.

Eldith was certain. Just as she had expected, Lugis’ actions were…no longer those of a human.

He swung the demonic sword, which could be described as a great sword, without any preparatory movement, and ultimately shattered the dragon’s scales, which were harder than steel.

He emitted magical energy from his entire body like heat…and with a technique so superhuman that it would cause a human’s body to break and joints to collapse, he cut down the dragon’s claws and fangs.

Just when she thought he had distanced himself from the dragon, he would lightly kick off the floor and be back in contact with it in less than a second. What was that crazy speed?

Eldith distorted her lips upward, as if to hide them from Lugis.

Yes. Finally, she had become a demon. Today, he had deviated from the species he was born and raised in.

…There’s no turning back now.

No one could call him human anymore…after all, he had absorbed the blood of a giant, accumulated the magical power of a dragon witch, and received the blessing of a great spirit. He was the master of many kinds of demons…of chaos itself.

People would surely call him a demon. A title that would normally be shunned upon. An enemy of humanity.

But Eldith welcomed it. Why? Elves were inherently demonic beings, merely close to humans in appearance. They were fundamentally incapable of forming bonds with humans.

A human lifespan, from an elf’s perspective, was as short as reading a single book. While there may be memorable moments, they inevitably saw an entire experience from beginning to end in mere seconds.

For Eldith, even Lugis had the potential to become like that. She had nightmares of the day when everything would be irreversible, like water slipping through her fingers.

But that too was over now.

How much she had wished for this. How much she had prayed, and how much effort she had put into creating this situation. It was worth defying Filaret’s opposition and stepping here with him.

Eldith’s blue eyes gleamed with happiness.

「……!」

Along with the dragon’s roar that devastated the surroundings, Lugis drew his demonic sword from its highest position. A torrent of blood spurted from the dragon, splattering Zebrililith’s body. Blood grazed from Lugis’ cheeks and torso, but none were fatal. However, those were miraculously minor injuries considering he had fought a dragon.

No, perhaps that was only natural. After all, the demonic sword he wielded had killed the Dragon King. He knew exactly how to kill a dragon.

That’s why the green dragon’s death was a natural consequence.

With a single, silent flash of the demonic sword, the dragon, which was a mass of magical energy, was brutally shattered by an even stronger mass of magical energy.

All that remained were the demon and its master.

Eldith, concealing her true feelings, lowered her head and spoke as if forcing the words out.

「…Lugis. Have I perhaps become a burden to you? 」

She simply needed to maintain a somber expression. She pretended to be shocked and shaken by his transformation into a demon.

「Stop joking. How am I going to kill Zebrililith without you? It’s too much for me alone. 」

「Even so. It’s my fault you became a demon. That much is certain, isn’t it? 」

Her blue eyes, devoid of their demonic color, pierced Lugis’ face. Eldith didn’t miss the moment he hesitated.

He took a step forward. He was no longer human even though he fought for it.

And what Eldith was always doing wasn’t saving humanity but rather supporting a territorial dispute.

「…I want to formally apologize to you, Lugis. If it were just you, you would never have become a demon. It was my fault for letting you choose that path. It’s an unacceptable blunder for a master. It’s disgusting. 」

「Eldith, that’s…」

「…Are you going to say I’m wrong, Lugis? That’s the same as belittling me. Elves and humans alike must take responsibility. Am I wrong? 」

Eldith saw Lugis swallow his words. Eldith already knew his character. She had carefully chosen her words, because she knew everything.

In fact, without Eldith, Lugis would never have chosen to become a demon. His ideal was always to remain human. He wouldn’t abandon his humanity for his own sake.

But surprisingly, he could abandon himself for the sake of those he protected.

…Because he underestimated himself far too much. Because he was the kind of person who could easily throw away his own self-interest for the sake of others.

And he cherished the dignity of other people. He refused rewards, but he couldn’t refuse the words of someone who was self-aware.

Eldith understood this well. In order to bind him, gratitude, affection, and especially contracts, weren’t enough.

He had to be compelled to act voluntarily. And for that, one must bear an indelible burden of guilt towards him.

…Because he could never refuse someone clinging to his feet, begging for forgiveness.

「Let’s go, Lugis. We have to kill Zebrililith. I don’t even deserve to apologize to you. 」

Eldith took Lugis’ hand while suppressing the smile that had been spreading across her face. The feeling of enjoyment still lingered in her heart.

She felt that it would be alright even if this place became her graveyard.

—

The Copper Dragon and the Jewel. The two rulers of the sky faced each other. The Jewel’s eyes welled up with tears of passion, while the Copper Dragon’s eyes remained ruthlessly cold. It was almost too calm, carefully assessing the situation.

They couldn’t bare their fangs now that the Spirit Goddess Zebrililith had awakened. She was literally a god. Even a horde of demons and dragons combined couldn’t oppose her.

To fight on equal footing or even better, they would need to summon the Sky Dragon Vrilligant and the Giant King Flimslat here.

「…A coward, you say? Well, what’s wrong with being a coward? First of all, such a word is absurd. The weak have their own laws, their own way of life. Survival is the absolute purpose of all living things. There’s no room for the word “coward” in that. Everything is a struggle; everything is a war. Those who flee have the right to live. If you ask me, those who cannot choose to live are the fools. 」

For the Copper Dragon Shadraput, survival was a struggle that took precedence over everything else. The one who chose to be put in a desperate situation was the fool. In struggle, deception and being deceived were similar, weren’t they?

「That’s not true! Agathos entrusted her life to me. Even on her deathbed, she told me to live. And saving and helping others is to live! I will absolutely not accept your words! 」

「What you say is noble, and I have no intention of belittling the previous generation’s jewels. It’s just that I don’t want to die. Because if I die, all nobility and dignity will vanish. 」

The now-demon Leu, with tears streaming from her eyes, summoned the jewels. Just as Agathos had once drawn beautiful lines in the air, Leu also steered the jewels as if they were extensions of her own limbs.

Shadraput narrowed her eyes and spread her wings. She knew that both of them could never see eye to eye. Therefore, exchanging words was pointless. This argument would remain at a stalemate.

Shadraput thought she had done something uncharacteristic of herself. She shouldn’t have provoked Leu in the first place. She should have just pretended to cooperate and withdrawn from a safe place.

Shadraput frowned, wondering if perhaps she too had been influenced by Leu, given how she was so insistent on her own argument.

「…Don’t you want it, Agathos’ jewel? 」

Leu said in the lowest voice she could manage. She was probably referring to what Shadraput had offered as a condition for cooperation.

More precisely, what Agathos had sealed within her own jewel. That was the only thing Shadraput desired.

「It’s not worth a life, is it? Even if I take it, it will be meaningless unless you infuse it with your magic. So, I’ll be waiting until the next jewel arrives…」

Leu wasn’t immortal even though she had become a demon. She would eventually have to hand over the Original Text to someone else. So, all Shadraput had to do was survive until then. She would negotiate again from there. For a dragon, that much time was nothing.

However, Leu’s reply was unexpected.

「Then, I’ll destroy it right here. 」

「Huh? 」

Leu, with tears welling up in her eyes, held the jewel in her hand. The beautiful crimson jewel left behind by Agathos reflected such light. For Leu, it was like one of Agathos’ mementos. She didn’t even want to say she would destroy it.

But she understood that this jewel was the only thing that could move this dragon now.

「If you don’t move now, right here, I will destroy this jewel! You will never get your hands on its contents again. 」

「…How dare you!? You coward!! What’s that supposed to mean!? Do you even know what you’re saying!? 」

「Coward!? That’s a ridiculous word!! 」

Shadraput’s expression contorted for the first time today.

The destruction of that jewel would be the worst thing of all. That was the option she wanted to avoid most. But she didn’t want to die either. Shadraput grunted, while her gaze wandered around.

Shadraput didn’t know how to soothe a crying, tantrum-throwing child. What should she do?

She gritted her teeth. She involuntarily lowered her gaze to Zebrililith.

…And then she sensed the presence of a demon. The presence of the demon who killed Vrilligant.

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