“I thought you were having fun playing with the human kid these days?”
“What do you mean fun?! I am just messing around!!”
When Mero screamed in rage and made an excuse, his friend Gen, laughed.
“Little kid. Your body is big, but you cannot hide your expression.”
“W-Why am I a kid? I am a full-fledged Ran warrior.”
“This is proof that you are a kid, kiddie Mero. Go ask your father whether or not you are a kid. What is a guy who cannot hide his emotions called?”
“Huh! Anyway, I’m just messing with her.”
“Let’s say so.”
Gen smiled at Mero, who was consistently denying it.
Still, seeing that the young guy had taken the position of a warrior in this group meant he was doing his role right.
Indeed, among the young ones, he was talented.
If the mental part of him becomes mature, he will become a much stronger fighter.
“But you see.”
“Um?”
“The brat never smiled.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. I have never seen her smile.”
“Isn’t that because you bothered her too much?”
“W-What did I even…. I said I was teasing her.”
“AHHH~ right.”
“I am being serious! Anyway, it seems like there is a story behind it.”
Mero didn’t know what happened to Sarah.
It wasn’t like Gen knew the full story, but he knew a bit more than Mero.
She was a child that was different from normal humans, but he wasn’t going to tell Mero that.
“Everybody has a story. In particular, humans are a race that is much more sensitive to emotions. The same goes for that kid.”
“Do you know something?”
“I have some information, but I can’t say it to you because you aren’t allowed to know it.”
“Eh. Then you shouldn’t have said anything!”
“Don’t yell at me!”
When Gen frowned and tried to hit him, Mero distanced himself and smiled.
“I-I am not yelling.”
“If you can just talk and stop yelling. Anyway, since she has a bit of a troubled story, take care of her. Isis looks after the child, but you are the same age as her, so at least try talking to her.”
“Again, I am just teasing her.”
“Did I say anything about that?”
“Well.”
It was a confidential story.
Mero recalled Sarah’s cold expressions for no reason, and his stupid self couldn’t even figure out why.
He wanted to see her smile. He had to try making a funnier prank next time.
“Stop.”
Gen stopped in his place and blocked Mero with his hand, so Mero also slowed down. The flow of mana changed.
It was a natural thing to happen in the Rotomo Strait, but this one felt different. This flow would only occur when someone was manipulating the mana.
Gen raised his voice and shouted,
“Who are you?”
Crackle.
Sparks flew in the air.
Gen and Maro immediately pulled out their swords without asking any more questions, and Gen whispered,
“Mero. Get ready to fire the flare.”
Psssh.
A huge magic circle was cast over the entire space, and countless beings were being summoned from beneath it.
Knights that radiated terrifying power with golden flames around them appeared, and all of them drew their swords.
“Fire it now!”
Along with Gen’s cry, Mero fired the flare. And the knights of the Sun, chosen by the Sun God, began to run towards the two.
All eyes turned to the direction where the flare was fired.
Hasyath immediately ordered his men.
“Carl, Ideya, Isis, and Sarah Welton, stay here and be on alert. The rest, come with me.”
“Yes!”
“Isis, you are in charge here when I’m gone.”
“Be careful.”
Hearing the worry in the voice of his daughter, Hasyath nodded, and along with his men, he hurried to where the flare exploded.
Their bodies moved so fast as if they teleported.
Sarah couldn’t even follow their movements.
‘So quick.’
As if the journey she took to come to this place wasn’t special anymore, when they started running, she realized they were on a whole different level.
“Everyone, protect this place in a triangle formation.”
At Isis’s command, the warriors, Carl and Ideya, nodded and settled down at a distance of ten meters.
“You will watch out for the return of the two warriors who went down there. We will be maintaining this formation.”
“Ah, I get it.”
“Be prepared to draw your swords.”
“Yes.”
Sarah nodded her head. Isis lightly patted her on the shoulder and then went to her position.
Three Ran warriors were positioned in the shape of a triangle with their backs against the cliff.
With that alone, most enemies couldn’t enter.
Right. Enemies.
“I thought the Ran warriors were ignorant, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.”
A blue magic circle opened in the sky. All four of them heard the sudden voice.
“There is a saying that the first to win gets the sure win.”
Five forms appeared from the blue circle.
They were engulfed in golden flames, drawing weapons that looked like flames.
“I will gain the upper hand by striking you.”
The one in the middle, who seemed to be the leader, spoke with holy power.
At that mighty feeling, Isis smiled as she injected aura into her greatsword. The jewel in her head shone a pale light.
“I have heard that a group of worms is coveting our place.”
The power of a Grand Master shone.
An energy close to a volcano had awoken, and the ground they stood on began to shake.
“Were you looking for a place to die?”
“So insolent!”
Albert, the leader of the Sun, frowned.
“I will get rid of those eyes first, you filthy worm.”
Bang!!!
The air he stepped on began to explode as he moved closer to Isis.
Albert swung his long sword in the shape of a cross, and Isis swung her greatsword. There was a devastating aftermath.
Sarah had to endure the strong wind from the collision, and she was shocked at how long it lasted.
The problem was that this didn’t just happen in one place.
Bang! Kwang!!!
The same things were happening around them. The wind kept blowing in from all directions.
‘I-I might fly away!’
The wind was blowing upwards.
Sarah stabbed her sword into the ground, but it didn’t seem to be enough, so her body began to rise.
She used aura to increase her body’s weight, but the aftermath was too much for her.
“N-No!”
Eventually, her sword was pulled out of the ground, and her body floated high. At that moment, a paladin who had been waiting for this chance, ran for Sarah.
The Ran warriors couldn’t react to this, and a flaming sword was aimed at Sarah.
“Tch.”
Isis hurriedly used Aegis to protect Sarah.
“How dare you do that?”
The Sun God’s flame invaded her aura.
A part of Aegis was burned. That was how much the shield to protect Sarah had been reduced.
“I do not like killing kids, but I cannot let them live if they are siding with the Demon King.”
The paladin stepped forward.
Sarah bit her lip at the dagger flying at her.
“Kuak!!!”
She couldn’t stop the dagger with her level, and the flames engulfed her.
Sarah opened her eyes to the heat that could melt her skin. But the paladin seemed quite comfortable with this heat.
She would die without even realizing that she had died.
“Sarah!”
Isis pushed Albert away and ran for Sarah.
“How dare you!”
Albert was engulfed in flames and attacked Isis from all sides with Flame Beasts.
“Isis of the Frontier. Did you kill the Dragon God on your own? Show me your skills then!”
“You are so annoying….!”
Isis slashed the Flame Beasts and used Aegis.
The blue shield moved to cut down the fire, which covered the entire ground.
Soon, it managed to cut down the flame, and, shaking Albert off, Isis ran for Sarah.
“Too late.”
The paladin cut Sarah’s throat.
“… What!”
But his eyes went wide.
No.
The figure of the girl, who should have been beheaded, disappeared without a trace.
At that moment.
Flinch.
Tremendous energy soared to the point that he felt a chill run down his spine.
‘From where?’
Was this from Isis, who came from behind?
No.
Isis couldn’t have possibly gotten close since he was there.
Then…
Wheeing!
A magic circle was drawn in front of the paladin.
Unaware of the magic, he wasn’t sure what this meant, but the magician’s cry made him aware of it.
“Avoid it, Sir Fennec!! It is a space-piercing magic circle!!”
Space piercing?
It meant that something was coming out this way from this circle. It was at that moment that he felt a huge amount of mana.
As a knight of the Sun, he had never felt danger before in his life.
It was because the Sun God had protected them, and they were now holy beings.
Even the Demon King would not be able to scare them.
But this….
“…”
The magic circle was clearly strong and impossible to avoid.
The paladin named Fennec did his best to wrap the flames around him like armor.
It didn’t stop there. He began to gather the energy at the tip of his sword.
[Breath.]
At the same time.
Kwaaang!!
Beams of blue light came from within the magic circle and engulfed Fennec.
All eyes focused on this, and Isis mumbled with her eyes wide,
“… Dragon?!”
It was clear that this unique power was Breath, the power of the Dragons.
However, most of the Dragons died in the war that happened three years ago, and they are now almost on the verge of extinction.
Except for the Blue Clan, the surviving Dragons were under the Demon King.
So a Dragon could not have possibly come to this place.
It was then….
-I will handle this one.
Came a familiar voice that Isis hadn’t heard in such a long time.
Isis stopped running, summoned Aegis back to her side, and began to use it as her armor.
Then she pointed her sword at Albert.
“Let’s have a nice fight.”
“… what did you do?”
Albert asked, glancing at Isis and his fallen colleague.
“Just.”
Isis widened her smile.
“I am a little excited about meeting an old friend.”
Mayatrey.
The owner of this voice.
She didn’t know why she was here.
“Now. I’ll show you hell.”
But Isis was ready to run amok.
