Chapter 187 : Chapter 187
Chapter 187 - Steel Poison Pouch
A disciple the size of a mountain and a teacher the size of a mouse in comparison sat facing each other.
The dragon sat down as if lying down, pressing its belly to the floor to match their eye level somehow.
Its vertically slit black pupils in its vermilion irises looked at its one-day teacher.
-Speak freely of what you know. I will do the thinking.
“Yes, yes. So….”
Josephine organized her memories in her head before explaining.
Although they had parted as enemies, Paras was still family to her.
During her childhood, when she suffered from the unnecessary attention of the direct line as an illegitimate daughter, he had been a great comfort to her.
He had filled her scholarly curiosity, which had longed to learn anything, and he had also filled her hungry stomach.
What she was about to talk about corresponded to the former.
“Paras oppa was permitted to learn polymorph magic, and after his first day of class, he said this.”
Kairos did not even blink his large eyes, opening his ears so as not to miss a single breath.
Josephine, who had been resting her chin on her hand while reminiscing, slowly and clearly continued.
“I feel like my ego is disappearing.”
-…The feeling of one’s ego disappearing.
“Yes. Usually, when humans are taught magic, they learn the attitude towards that magic on the first day.”
-Are they following what the dragons do?
That could be the case, but the thought that it wasn't came first.
“Our family, they have a lot more pride than you'd think. They might beg to learn because the dragons' magic is superior, but they wouldn't change their attitude towards learning.”
-I understand. Then for now, I too will follow the mindset of a human.
Josephine knew she had heard correctly, but she still doubted her ears.
For a dragon to readily say it would follow a human's mindset. And without any resistance at that.
Josephine was confident that she had just heard something that not even the past Family Heads of Wisdom had ever heard.
“N-next is the polymorph magic circle.”
She opened her spatial artifact and took out a notebook and a pen.
“First, I'll try to draw it from memory.”
-Take your time.
Josephine's memorization skills, which had made even the direct descendants feel uncomfortable, were displayed without reservation.
A magic circle she had seen more than 10 years ago was quickly copied into a palm-sized notebook.
She checked it once, checked it twice, and confirmed that nothing was missing.
“This is a magic circle that has been modified from the dragons' polymorph magic so that humans can use it.”
She turned the notebook around and showed it to Kairos. Just in case he couldn't see well, she brought the notebook close to his vermilion eyes.
Kairos's eyes narrowed as he stared at the notebook.
“C-can you see it well?”
-I have no problem seeing it. However, there are many parts that are bothersome here and there.
“That's what dragons usually think when they see human magic. Humans have to go through formulas several times for something a dragon can do with simple mental arithmetic.”
-Could it not be because I am not well-versed in magic circles or runes?
Josephine, who had never let go of learning and studying her whole life as a Wisdom blood relative, smiled faintly.
“If you didn't know well, you would have felt helpless and frustrated, not bothered.”
-Is that so.
Kairos, who neither denied nor affirmed, continued.
-I understand that this is the basic. Then what more must be added here to transform into a specific appearance?
“That's the flower and the wall of polymorph magic. I was stuck here.”
Even Paras, who was learning polymorph magic directly, was stuck at this wall for 5 years.
This was because it demanded the most difficult thing from Wisdom.
“Imagination without limits. The tolerance to believe that anything is possible. A true belief that a human can become a bird and fly.”
Josephine repeated in front of the dragon the words Paras had said after overcoming the wall.
“‘When you activate the magic circle and open your eyes, you will have become a bluebird.’ There must not be a single point of doubt, even in the depths of your subconscious.”
-Hmm.
“I'd like to elaborate, but that's exactly what I heard. I couldn't get any further than this.”
Kairos snorted once and continued to ponder. The time for contemplation was not long.
Although it was magic that had come down from dragons to humans, he was the dragon who thought most like a human.
He was the only dragon who knew the positions of both and understood their views. That was why he realized it.
-I think I understand, a little.
“R-really?”
-Yes.
Kairos turned his gaze from the notebook to the empty space.
At the same time, the same magic circle as in the notebook was drawn in the air.
A magic circle of a difficulty that would make humans rack their brains for days was completed with just a thought.
Kairos discovered a piece of the answer in this very process.
-Thus, we dragons can draw magic circles with just a thought. This is not in the realm of belief that we can do so, but a natural result given at birth.
To the eyes of such a dragon, the magic circles of humans were a blank canvas.
Furthermore, the thought of wanting to become a bird and being able to do so was the paint to be dabbed on the canvas.
The problem was that the picture had to be drawn with one's eyes closed, and one had to be sure that a perfect bluebird would be on the canvas when they opened their eyes.
But dragons didn't need to do that.
-We are already sufficiently practiced. Because we think that whatever we do, it will naturally be accomplished.
The answer was arrogance.
Dragons had never been wrong, and even if they were, they would smash it with their ridiculously large paws and cover it up.
Having never failed since birth, polymorph, which required certainty of the result, was all too easy.
Shwaaaaaaaaaaaah─
The magic circle that Kairos had floated in the air scattered a blue light.
A halo of light that made it hard to open one's eyes for a moment filled the basement, and a voice was heard from within.
“I express my gratitude. Josephine.”
It was a voice that pierced the eardrums directly, not the mind.
“Thanks to you, a great worry has been lifted.”
A handsome man with long, blood-red hair that fell to the back of his neck walked out of the blue light.
His vermilion irises and vertically slit pupils were still the same.
Even if he had taken on a human form, the one before them was a dragon. A race that embraced its innate arrogance as its strength.
“C-congratulations. You've completely mastered polymorph. Though it's a given.”
“I haven't completely mastered it. There are still faint scales left here and there on my body.”
He showed his forearm. Unlike the smooth skin of a human, rough scales could be seen.
“You'll be able to conquer that someday too.”
“I hope so.”
“And this….”
Josephine turned her head and quietly handed him a robe she had taken out from her spatial artifact.
“Why the robe?”
“I-in human society, it's normal to wear clothes.”
“Ah. I see.”
Only then did Kairos realize that he was naked.
“Thank you again.”
“I-it's nothing.”
Only after covering his body with the robe did he take in the basement.
“This place was quite large. I thought it was a cramped place where it would be scary to even lift my head.”
“It is for a dragon, but for a human, it's a space so vast it feels empty.”
“Every time I flew over this land of humans, I wanted to see it from the ground. Could you guide me?”
“Of course. Follow me. Dante seems to be busy, so I'll serve you until then.”
Kairos smiled silently.
“Serve me? I'm the one living here, so I should be the one following you well.”
“D-don't say that!”
“Haha.”
A human with clear magic. An equally clean temperament.
It seems there are many interesting humans around my master, Kairos thought.
***
I was busy enduring the dokdan being created in my body.
The Head Maid was busy creating that dokdan.
The only one at ease in this room was Enad, and he clicked his tongue again today.
[This guy will suffer his whole life because he brings it on himself.]
The magic sword, which had long since concluded that, was not even surprised by this situation.
He endured today's pain to advance even half a step with one step.
It was my way of survival, and Enad was always caught up in it.
Today, he was lucky enough to be in the position of a spectator, but he didn't know when he would be dragged in. Since a war was about to break out, it wouldn't be a distant matter.
[Alright. Get stronger while you have the time. And don't bother me.]
Muttering to himself, he watched the work.
A structure the size of half a fist was being built next to the heart.
It was being made by pouring magic that flowed heavily like molten iron next to the heart. And very slowly at that.
The Head Maid was the one moving the magic, and I was the one enduring it.
It was a work that made even the viewer feel pain.
It was fortunate that I had the Dark Elixir; it was the same as pouring molten iron into one's body and letting it cool.
[…I'll help you a little.]
I, who was barely staying conscious, could not be bothered with Enad's control.
But it wasn't about taking control of the body. The moment that happened, all that pain would come to him, so he couldn't do that.
He created a control area only up to the construction site and sent Bloodflame along that path.
What was he going to do by sending Bloodflame to the already hot, molten iron-like magic?
Normally, he would think that, but there was one fact that Enad didn't want to admit.
[Because of you, my head has been opened.]
Whether it should be called opened or widened. He learned how to think outside the box because of this guy.
Normally, he would say it was thanks to him, but he would never want to use that word for this bastard.
Seureureureureuk─
Bloodflame formed a stem and wrapped around the construction site where only the frame had been erected.
It was a protective barrier that blocked the internal injuries caused by the creation of the dokdan.
Thanks to that safety device, the Head Maid, who had nothing to hold her back, worked even faster.
.
.
.
The work, which was expected to take half a day, was coming to an end in three or four hours.
[He's got a chunk of iron embedded in his body.]
When magic is squeezed very densely, it hardens into granules, and the granules are connected to form a dokdan.
The Head Maid herself poured a huge amount of magic, enough to lead to exhaustion, into the thickness and density of the dokdan.
[Even if this guy's corpse is burned, the dokdan will remain.]
A dokdan that naturally elicited such an evaluation was completed in my body.
“…Good work. Head Maid.”
Though sweat poured down like rain, my voice only trembled faintly and did not break.
It was partly because my basic stamina had skyrocketed from breaking through the 10km boundary line, but Enad's help was also great.
“What's with the cute act, Enad.”
When I spoke to my forearm, the magic sword snorted and then continued.
[You were trembling in pain, so I felt sorry for you and helped you once. Happy?]
“Yeah. I'll have to hope you feel sorry for me in the future too.”
I smiled faintly and looked back at the Head Maid, whose eyes were half-closed with fatigue.
“Are you alright?”
“…2nd process, Dark Elixir. Its performance, is very good.”
She, who was panting more than I was, barely managed to catch her breath.
It was no wonder. She had poured her magic into someone else's body several times without holding back.
“How is the dokdan?”
That was the most important question.
Since it was the most important, I checked it first as soon as I came to my senses, and I was sure.
“It's the hardest one I've ever seen.”
“I want to ask how many dokdans you've seen, but this time, I'll admit it too.”
The body of a Millesdusk direct blood relative. A former Grade 1 agent of the family intelligence department. And a magic sword.
The dokdan created by the three of them working together was worthy of being passed down to future generations.
I put my hand into my spatial artifact. A five-colored bottle came out into the world.
“…Young Master. Not now.”
“Strike while the iron is hot, as they say.”
Dalkak─
I opened the Elixir bottle.
For a potent poison that was said to be among the top three in the world, the smell was too fragrant.
The freshness of a flower garden and the coolness of a forest were felt at once.
“Enad. Let's suffer one more time.”
[You son of a bi─]
Before the curse could even finish, I drank it.
Gulp.