My Slain Dragon Bride

Chapter 243. What Happened to It?

The Heinkel Kingdom had fallen and been reduced to ruins.

A woman was watching the place from afar.

Linne.

A Dark Elf and a researcher of the Demon Race.

She had pulled her robe over her head to conceal her pointed ears and dark skin as she looked down upon the ruins.

Even after using that magic known as a utopia, it ended up like this...

But she could understand why.

The King of Heinkel had become a Seventh-Circle Mage, but he was pathetic as a mage.

His opponent had strategically focused on weakening everything.

Defeat had already been inevitable, and that was why, when the outer castle fell, Linne had first prepared to escape.

What about Curved Demon?

She secretly hoped he had been crushed to death beneath those ruins.

But her thoughts soon proved wrong.

A rift had opened before her.

It was undoubtedly a rift created by Curved Demon, and he appeared through it.

As usual, Linne tried to bow her head and greet him.

But then her eyes widened.

"Are you alright...?"

Blood was flowing from the body of the man who had always been overflowing with composure.

Red blood, at that.

At first, she wondered if it belonged to someone else, but as it slowly trickled down, there was no doubt that it was his blood.

It was fascinating.

She had never imagined that the day would come when this man would bleed.

Curved Demon looked Linne up and down before speaking.

"You managed to escape unscathed."

What did he mean by that?

Was he asking why she hadn’t fought alongside him?

What if he found that offensive and intended to punish her?

Seeing him weakened like this, Linne instinctively thought:

Could I win now?

If she attacked the wounded beast at the back of its neck, it might be possible.

It was at that moment that she was about to make her judgment.

His eyes turned toward Linne.

Gasp!

Linne’s body froze.

After turning into a Dark Elf, Linne had seen the descendants of Godwin as well as the Demon Kings.

Curved Demon was a man who had once been called one of the Seven Calamities, yet he had been the one to disappear in the most anticlimactic manner.

But that did not mean he was weak.

Linne was certain.

Even if all the other Calamities were brought here, they would not be able to compare with this man.

Linne quickly erased the thought from her mind.

She must not let him discover what she was thinking.

"I secretly escaped because I needed to make sure I could bring the samples with me this time."

"...."

"Last time, I escaped with nothing and the research was delayed. We couldn’t allow something like that to happen again, could we?"

That was, in fact, the main reason.

Linne’s entire value lay in her research.

There was no doubt that participating in the battle would have been of no help.

"I wasn’t trying to reprimand you. In fact, thanks to you, the plan proceeded smoothly."

"Did everything go according to plan?"

"To say that everything was intentional... would be a little inaccurate."

Curved Demon wrapped his hand around his right arm.

"I never expected Sierra’s Wolf to be there..."

Sierra’s Wolf.

It was already known that Sierra was the Goddess of the Moon.

Most places that worshipped the sun, as well as most religious orders, were associated with light. Naturally, Sierra, who represented darkness, was looked down upon and persecuted.

The Sierra Order had never sought to make allies.

Their primary work was killing high-ranking officials, and many nobles had died because of them.

Surprisingly, their targets also included members of the Demon Race, and Linne herself had once been pursued by the Sierra Order.

But for some reason, the pursuit had stopped, allowing her to devote herself entirely to her research.

That was, until Ferda appeared.

"Is that Wolf really that impressive?"

"Of course. With each generation, she accumulates more experience. We had trouble dealing with her even in the previous generation... but something about this generation is unusual."

"By unusual, you mean...."

"The Wolf possessed an ability I had never seen before."

Curved Demon recalled the memories from that time.

Black hair.

Tattered clothing.

And blue eyes and a dark sword.

Everything matched the characteristics of Sierra’s Wolf that he remembered.

However, cutting through space and interfering with magic could not possibly be considered abilities possessed by Sierra’s Wolf.

"That would mean it is that woman’s true essence. And if that’s the case...."

He muttered to himself before stopping.

"Is something bothering you?"

"Nothing."

Curved Demon changed the subject and looked at Linne.

"Is there anything this time that might interfere with your research?"

His tone was somewhat aggressive.

Linne felt tense as she answered.

"I recovered the manufacturing formula for the improved Trauma model and the black blood needed to create Knight-Class members of the Demon Race. Once we establish ourselves somewhere new, we can begin mass production."

"What about the records?"

"The situation was too urgent, so for now, I memorized everything. There’s no need to worry. I’ve memorized them perfectly."

Although she said the situation had been urgent, her intention was clear.

If you want to continue your research, you’d better keep me alive.

Curved Demon chuckled at such a shallow ploy and turned his head.

"Is there anything else?"

"And... ah."

Something important had caught in Linne’s mind.

"Research Director?"

"...No. That’s everything."

Linne desperately concealed her true thoughts.

Linne had dealt with and experimented on countless things, but before she became a Dark Elf, she had been an explorer of knowledge.

An explorer had to cast aside conscience and ethics in order to satisfy their curiosity.

Only then could one achieve dazzling progress.

Indeed, by doing so, she had been able to create a unified mind for Gamigin’s Legion.

By achieving the unique Elven mental-binding formula through Trauma’s mental collapse, the Legion had become complete.

Then, she suddenly became curious.

What would happen if I forcibly opened a Circle in a young child and implanted the Elves’ method of mana manipulation?

What would happen if human children whose minds were connected to one another became capable of using Elven magic?

The result... I’ll never know now.

Linne looked toward the ruined Heinkel Kingdom.

The specimens she had created out of curiosity were probably buried beneath that pile of rubble.

***

Far Eastern Army Camp, Ferda’s tent.

After filling his stomach to some extent, Ferda asked what had happened with Luri.

"I faced Curved Demon together with Sir Alberdo."

"He was a human who had been pursuing members of the Demon Race, so that’s not surprising."

"What was more surprising was that he wasn’t affected even when I was attacked by Trauma."

"He wasn’t affected by Trauma..."

It certainly was an astonishing story.

Both Ferda and Luri were in a state where they were instinctively overcome by fear whenever they encountered that creature.

Come to think of it, the Armored Knight wasn’t affected by Trauma either.

Could there be some kind of spell that completely blocked it by covering the body from head to toe?

The Armored Knight never spoke, so there would be no way to ask him.

It would probably be better to ask Alberdo.

"How did the battle go?"

"......"

"If it’s difficult, you don’t have to talk about it."

"It was hopeless. I may have been weakened, but magic itself seems meaningless against sheer physical force."

Alberdo, the embodiment of strength, and Luri, the embodiment of agility.

The two of them not only effortlessly blocked his attacks but even toyed with them.

Having been influenced by the Legion, he might have been even stronger than his original self, but Ferda did not jump to conclusions.

It was possible that even this was weaker than his true form.

"But the situation changed in the latter half."

"How?"

"Someone intruded. She was a mysterious individual whose origins were unclear, someone I had never seen among either the Imperial Army or the Allied Forces. Curved Demon called him ’Sierra’s Wolf’."

Wolf.

Ferda knew that word.

The woman who had pulled him out when he had been buried deep within his consciousness.

That woman had described herself to him like this.

"Sierra’s Chain...."

"How do you know about that, Lord Ferda?"

"I heard the voice of that person called the Chain in the throne room. She was the one who saved me."

"But... that man called Hudret, who brought Lord Ferda here, never mentioned her..."

There was a suspicion that Hudret might be connected to Sierra.

Even though his right hand had returned to normal, his nerves were still on edge.

"He probably didn’t know either. Even when I sensed her, she was exceedingly strange."

She was light, yet not light.

Swift, yet dull.

Dull, yet swift.

She existed, yet felt as though she didn’t exist—a woman impossible to comprehend.

We’ll meet again soon. When that day comes, let’s formally introduce ourselves.

Her name was Angrem, wasn’t it?

She had definitely said so.

Sierra’s Saintess saying that she would greet Ferda could only mean one thing, no matter how he thought about it.

I’m someone connected to Sierra.

He tried to deny it, but evidence kept lining up one piece at a time inside Ferda’s mind.

At that moment, Ferda remembered something his father, Erembalt Rosnova, had once told him.

Your mother is a member of the Sierra Order.

At the time, his anger toward his father had been too great for him to think much about it.

But he should have seriously considered it from that moment onward.

The voice he had heard inside Ferda had taken the form of his mother.

It could have been an illusion.

It could have been rationalization caused by the emotional excess commonly experienced by users of the Red Circle.

Knowing that appearing in Valdrova’s form would seem unnatural, perhaps she had manifested in the form of his mother in order to shake Ferda.

But I resisted until the very end.

If the rationalization had stopped there, that should have been the case.

But it directly touched the Shadow Circle and dragged Ferda into the depths of darkness.

It wasn’t Ferda’s delusion.

It had undoubtedly been something capable of thinking independently, regardless of Ferda’s will.

What happened?

Ferda had no idea what had happened after that.

Ever since he awakened, his Red Circle had remained exactly as it was, and the same was true of his Shadow Circle.

That was why he felt as though he was going mad.

A sense of anxiety washed over him.

What if I eventually reach the point where I can’t even tell what was a dream and what was reality?

"My Regent, are you there?"

A woman’s voice came from beyond the tent.

It was Olivia.

Ferda gestured for her to enter, and Luri guided her inside.

She looked like a Saintess without a trace of makeup.

Her white clothes had turned yellowish, and blood stained various parts of her garments.

It was clear that this was not merely for appearances; she truly understood her duty as a Saintess.

Olivia quietly tilted her head in greeting and sat down in front of Ferda.

For some reason, she seemed extremely nervous.

It was unlike Olivia.

"What is the situation with the Imperial Army?"

"Utterly miserable."

Of course it was.

Ureas was dead.

The Second Prince of the Empire had died.

Naturally, the Empire would be thrown into a state of emergency.

"Not only did he die, but he disappeared without leaving a trace."

"Without a trace?"

"Yes. The bodies of members of the Imperial Family are placed under powerful tracking magic so that they can be recovered. Since he escaped that tracking magic, it is correct to say that he disappeared without a trace. How could something like that happen...."

Olivia spoke as though the matter were giving her a headache, but Ferda didn’t feel the same way.

"That’s rather fortunate."

"Why?"

"Ureas became a demon."

"A demon? His personality was already demonic to begin with, but...."

"That’s not what I mean."

Ferda told her what he had seen.

He briefly described the form he had witnessed with his own eyes.

"Ureas..... transformed into the form of Amon?"

"Yes."

"Is that common in the world of Black Magic?"

Ferda shook his head.

"Even among Demon Followers, it is rare for someone to take on a form resembling a Great Demon. The King of Heinkel also transformed into a form resembling Gamigin, but that was only possible because Gamigin possessed him."

"Ureas...."

"There was no trace of possession. There wasn’t even the characteristic smell of sulfur that clings to those who cross over from Hell."

Those who wield Black Magic usually carried the smell of sulfur with them.

Ferda’s magic was fundamentally based on secrecy, so it was natural that he did not carry such a scent.

Olivia thought carefully before presenting her opinion.

"Could it be a scheme by the Demon Race? They have already succeeded in realizing Gamigin’s Utopia, after all."

"For now, I think so too."

If that wasn’t the case, the situation would be even more serious.

It would mean that Ureas was a child of a demon to begin with, and that the blood of demons flowed through the Imperial Family.

"Even if that’s true, it wouldn’t be easy to use it for propaganda."

"I suppose not."

"My own safety is also a concern, but... more than anything, it’s simply too enormous a matter. Even if a log burns well, it won’t burn unless the fire you put beneath it is sufficiently large."

Ferda thought that made sense and nodded.

Olivia tucked her hair behind her ear and quietly changed the subject.

"Let’s talk about this later. Are you alright, Regent?"

She spoke cautiously.

"I heard that your right arm was badly injured...."

"Ah, about that."

Ferda showed her his right arm.

Olivia’s anxious eyes widened.

"I heard it had definitely been severed. How...!?"

"Well, as for how that happened...."

Ferda did not tell her that the Gold Dragon had visited him.

Instead, he merely told her that he had possessed a scale of the Gold Dragon and had used that miracle to restore his right hand.

"Ah... that’s a relief. You got your hand back...."

Olivia couldn’t hide her overwhelming emotions.

Eventually, tears even welled up in her eyes.

Under normal circumstances, Ferda might have simply assumed that she was reacting that way because someone she cared about had been injured.

But now, he felt an inexplicable sense of suffocation.

Why?

Olivia had been generously supporting Hestia and the Grand Duchy of Valdrova.

She was undoubtedly an excellent partner.

Why the hell are you smiling while looking at that lowly handkerchief of yours?!

Ureas’s shout echoed in Ferda’s ears.

A handkerchief.

Human hatred often originated from something insignificant.

Ureas had been driven mad by greed, and because of that, his judgment had become clouded and he had been easily deceived by lies.

Therefore, it could simply be dismissed as something that had already passed.

There was no need to bring it up.

He could simply let it go quietly.

But could smoke rise from a chimney if there were no fire?

The truth Ureas had confronted undoubtedly existed.

Ferda simply wanted to know how deep that truth went.

"Olivia."

Ferda called her by her name.

"Y-yes?"

Olivia could not hide her flustered expression.

Ferda had never once called her simply by her name.

"What happened to the handkerchief I gave you?"

Olivia was deeply shaken.

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