RGS Vol 7 Part 15

“Fog. It seems His Majesty is indeed receiving help from the forest.”

When Abel nodded, Ashler mumbled vacantly.

“…Fog.”

“Yes, fog.”

“Can’t you see the fog?”

When Ashler raised his hand and pointed inside the palace, Abel turned his head in surprise.

Fog?

“What? I can’t see it. There’s fog now?”

Ashler took a step back and muttered softly.

“The fog is spreading now. It’s flowing out from inside the palace.”

He bit his lower lip as he glared at the inside part of the palace obscured by the fog.

“If His Majesty is using his power, then something must be happening. Lord Abel, I apologize, but could you please take my hand and lead me to His Majesty? … Lord Abel?”

Ashler quickly made his request, only then realizing that Abel was as dazed as he had been a moment ago. However, Abel was looking in a different direction from his own. He was staring, frozen, at the area outside the palace where they had come from.

What could he be seeing?

Ashler turned his head, and like Abel, he stood still like a statue.

The fog was slowly approaching them. The urgency to find out what had happened to Karas disappeared. The sky, darkening, had already turned red, and the ground was transforming along with it. The blackened land was no longer there.

As if to reveal what had turned everything to ashes, the black crust was peeling away, exposing a bright red lava. A river of fire flowed silently along the path of the blackened land. It was moving toward the palace with a terrifying speed far greater than before.

⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖ ⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖

“Shall I tell you something interesting?”

Karas’ voice reached Truyde, who was trapped in the fog, unable to see even his own body. The languid voice came from above his head, but the internal shivers Truyde felt from seeing those yellow eyes earlier made him cower even more.

The image of a powerful figure who once sat at the pinnacle, doing whatever he wanted and issuing commands, had completely disappeared, leaving only a coward. The burn on his shoulder had now spread to his chest and arms, causing even more intense pain, but he could only tremble like a cornered rat. His mind had completely shattered and could hardly comprehend the words, but Karas didn’t care.

“When I completely made the power, I gained from the forest my own, I discovered something.”

It was the first time he had entered the Dragon Forest after coming to the palace. While trying to do something in the land that seemed to hold only black ashes, he accidentally discovered it. Karas couldn’t hide his enjoyment, twisting his lips in the same way he did back then.

“There exists another power in the Dragon Forest besides the one I have.”

⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖ ⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖

Kin’s group encountered a terrifying sight just as they neared the palace gates. One of the soldiers raised in a voice that was almost a scream.

“Ah! Commander Kin! L-look there!”

The soldier was shouting as he looked back, so everyone stopped walking and turned their heads in the same direction. Thanks to the darkening sky, they could see the fiery mass more clearly. It was a river of fire, rapidly engulfing everything in its path.

Not a single person could move, and they even held their breath, unable to believe their eyes.

Why on earth is something like that flowing inside the palace?

First, they said the blackened ground was devouring the people, and now…

This is insane.

The frozen group was jolted back to reality by Kin’s shouts.

“Hey, you idiots! What are you doing?! Go and evacuate the people now!”

⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖ ⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖

Sniffle, sniffle.

As the terrified Nani couldn’t stop crying, the butler, who was also shedding tears, held his hand. The fiery masses flowing on both sides of the library seemed ready to engulf the building at any moment.

“With Abel around, His Majesty will somehow k-keep this place safe.”

Melmond tried to reassure them while trembling, but Nani’s words made him lower his head.

“What if even His Majesty can’t handle the situation? Besides, Lord Abel went to His Majesty just now. Waaaah— Butler, I haven’t even gotten married yet! Boohoo.”

“Sob, sob, I’m still a virgin.”

Even the butler’s shocking confession, which would earn him a hundred years of teasing, couldn’t bring laughter at this moment. Melmond sighed as he looked at the two crying and hugging each other, then glanced up at the sky.

What on earth is happening?

The forest, once shrouded in mystical fog and the king’s playground, why has it suddenly turned into a spreading sea of fire?

Why has the forest, once shrouded in mystical fog and the king’s playground, suddenly turned into a spreading sea of fire?

⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖ ⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖

Thump, thump, thump.

Each time his heartbeat echoed loudly in his ears, his legs trembled along with it. He heard Ashler calling him several times from the front, but Abel couldn’t tear his eyes away from the red ground. The dream he had before he died kept resurfacing in his mind. His master had also dreamed of a world turning into a sea of fire.

“Lord Abel!”

It was only when the urgent cry rang out once more that Abel finally turned his eyes. Ashler, now completely engulfed in the fog, was reaching out, groping the air with his arms outstretched.

“Lord Abel, are you there?”

Yes, at the strained reply that came, Ashler sighed in relief.

“I’m trapped in the fog right now and can’t see anything. Lord Abel, I’m sorry, but could you lead me inside the palace…”

Ashler trailed off, turning his gaze. The moment he felt something in his hand, his vision suddenly cleared up. It was just like the time in the Dragon Forest when he held Abel’s hand and could see everything. However, Abel wasn’t just holding Ashler’s hand. In his other hand, he held a round wooden pendant.

“Please give me a moment. Before meeting His Majesty, I need to know why the forest is behaving this way.”

Understand?

How could he possibly know?

As the question arose, the surroundings were filled with fog once again. Ashler’s face was once more colored with confusion, but there was no time for explanation. Abel took a few steps away from him and raised the wooden pendant.

The crack in the wooden pendant was larger than he had thought. If seeing the past came at the cost of this, then witnessing it this time might cause it to shatter completely. However, that wasn’t important right now. He needed to know. The very beginning, what had the dragon done in the first place. Unlike his initial reverent tone, Abel’s voice now carried urgency and anger as he called out the name.

“The untamable dog, Chaban, the untamable dog, Chaban.”

As his body floated into the air, Abel stated his purpose and the now familiar wind swept him through the air.

⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖ ⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖

A clear blue sky without a cloud in sight and a refreshing breeze. Lying on the grass, he closed his eyes and then opened them again, confirming this was indeed reality. The joy of peace was something he could never fully enjoy enough. For him, it was merely an extension of his usual life, running through the forest, but the memories of a past where he might not have been able to enjoy in this life could not be easily forgotten.

It had only been a few months since the dragon, an absolute being beyond human power, had tried to destroy everything. That made everything to him feel precious—the grass that had grown back, the cool breeze, and the sky showing its blue expanse.

However, the people were not like him.

They only showed their dissatisfaction and greed, not remembering what had happened just a few months ago. As the noisy sounds approached from afar, he knew bothersome visitors had come so and reluctantly stood up. Then, a familiar voice suddenly echoed in his mind.

「What did I say?」

People’s greed would never end.

The arrogant tone of his voice reminded him that his previous words had been right and was filled with annoyance. Thus, he couldn’t get angry. If it weren’t for him, the dragon wouldn’t have been caught up in such annoying situations, no matter how ill-tempered the dragon’s personality was.

Sorry.

The knight who saved the country apologized, knowing it wouldn’t be heard, and looked at the approaching figures. The lords and the knights who ruled the country. Every time they came, their demands grew larger. They asked for a kingdom to be established in the name of the dragon, and he had obliged.

However, the one who appeared before the people was not the ugly knight but a handsome substitute. It didn’t matter. Neither the knight nor the dragon had any intention of doing anything anyway. But those who had claimed they only needed to borrow their names to bestow dignity were now demanding the dragon’s power as well.

“To protect the country, we need the power of the dragon. Please, just a little, share that power with us. Let the future generations know that this country was born under the power of the dragon.”

Once again, they bowed their heads and repeated the same plea they always made. They even brought their children this time.

“Please, bestow your blessing upon this child!”

They asked again in unison as if they had rehearsed it. It was called a blessing, but it was merely a request to place their child on the throne. Of course, there was a justification. They claimed that with the dragon’s power, they could continue to protect and strengthen the country. However, the knight could see their true intentions.

The overwhelming desire and greed to possess the dragon’s god-like power. Although he didn’t regret persuading the dragon to save the world, the reality often made him regret it gradually. The knight turned his head away from the people who were staring intently at him. Behind him, leaning against a large rock with his eyes closed, was a man.

Though the man with short black hair appeared to be an ordinary human, he was, in reality, a dragon many times larger. Since he didn’t open his eyes until the end, the people shifted their gaze to the knight they had not even paid attention to in the first place.

You speak to him.

You are the dragon’s friend.

He always listens to your requests.

The silent pressure in their gaze stung his skin. However, the people were mistaken. The dragon didn’t grant all his requests, nor did he consider him a friend. He was annoying to have around, but not so much that he wanted to kill him. That was all.

‘You hardly feel human at all.’

Perhaps growing up in the mountains, the dragon liked this aspect about the knight. So, he asked back:

Then what do I feel like?

‘A talking wild boar.’

That’s right. To the dragon, the knight was just an amusing human akin to a wild boar that could speak. Therefore, the knight still couldn’t understand how the dragon had sided and fought against the other dragon that wanted to kill all humans.

Did he really side with humans?

Perhaps the dragon was just annoyed.

Annoyed by the noisy world caused by the other dragons who had run wild. Thus, the knight thought there was no way the dragon would grant the humans’ request to share his power. Just as he was about to tell them to leave and go back, someone stepped forward and spoke hesitantly.

“We heard that you plan to leave some of your power in this forest, Dragon. We are aware that you already control the access of the people with the dense morning fog. Please give us a chance. We will protect the sacred forest you will leave behind for generations. So, please, if you could just share a bit of that power with one person, the one who will become our king, making him a symbol of the forest.”

Hearing this, the knight looked at the dragon with a sorrowful expression. People seemed almost relieved that the dragon would leave his power behind and disappear. The existence of a being capable of destroying the world made them uneasy and fearful, despite his intentions to help rather than harm them.

The knight, however, disliked the idea of losing his only friend. Just as the people had said, he noticed that a thick fog began to form around the forest at some point.

Strangely, the fog was invisible to the knight’s eyes, but because of it, people couldn’t enter the forest. Therefore, the knight could enter the forest with ease, but he only recently learned that this was the dragon’s preparation as he was about to leave.

He would disappear forever.