Chapter 141: The end of the trip [2]

The sun rose from the east, casting an orange light on the rocky terrain.

Crunch...!

The silence that took over the surroundings was broken by the single sound of a step.

"We're close."

Captain Reijnder stopped and turned around. Behind him, several dozen knights neatly lined up. Their golden armor gleamed beneath the sun's glare, making them look all the more imposing.

Standing in formation, they protected the magicians who stood at the back.

"Captain, here is the report."

Receiving a paper from one of the knight members, the captain read the contents before frowning.

".....We need to hurry."

Handing the paper back, he beckoned the members with his hand.

"The fight has already started. Let's hurry."

Indeed, just as the report stated. The moment they arrived at the destination, pulses of mana swept the surroundings as the heavy sound of metal clashing reverberated through the air.

Clank, clank, clank--

Members of the advanced squad were already fully engaged with the Hellhounds who attacked fiercely.

Awooo--!

Their howls pierced the air.

"Foolish...!"

Standing close to them, the Captain signaled with his hand and the knights behind him charged forward.

The same was true for the members of the Magic Tower who cast all sorts of spells toward the Hellhounds.

Awooo--! Awooo--!

Their unexpected interference took the Hellhounds by surprise as they howled in the sky.

But it was too late.

Pfft--!

Blood spilled into the air.

It was a brutal scene. Even the Terror Ranked Hellhound wasn't spared from the massacre. With over a dozen Tier 5 knights attacking together, its resistance was futile.

In a matter of minutes, its body cleaved in half.

Thump!

"We are done."

"....All Hellhounds have been cleared."

Once all was said and done, the Knights and Magicians went on to report to the Captain who stood before a large boulder.

His expression was grim.

"This is a lot more difficult than I anticipated."

Why am I shaking? The captain wondered, staring at his trembling hand. Supposedly, he shouldn't be scared considering the squad he was with. Even so, the innate fear that the Dragon brought wasn't something he could brush off.

"....It makes one wonder how a single squad from such a small town was able to reduce it to such a state."

In all honesty, the answer was obvious.

The Rock Dragon had most likely still been in its infant stages back then. The Mirror Crack must've just formed, and the Dragon was still not fully acclimated to the new environment.

Typically, the best time to deal with monsters coming from the Mirror Crack was during their first appearance.

The environment within the Mirror Dimension and the outside world was quite different.

It took time for the creatures to get used to the new environment, making such a situation the most ideal for humans.

"It's a pity we only found it now."

With thirty years having passed, although it had been sealed, its body was now most likely accustomed to the environment and it had reached full maturity.

It was for that reason that the pressure felt overpowering.

"Get the preparations done quickly!"

There was not much time to waste.

The only reason he had been standing still and waiting was because he alone had no chance of killing the Rock Dragon.

It wasn't its strength that was terrifying, no.

What was truly terrifying about the creature was its large and almost impenetrable outer layer.

.....He couldn't defeat the Rock Dragon.

It wasn't his job to defeat it.

He was only here to block it if anything were to happen.

The same was true for the knights. Their job was to protect the magicians who were getting ready to cast a large spell.

They were currently the only ones that were capable of subduing the Rock Dragon.

"How lon--!!"

The captain's words fell short.

Staring ahead, he caught sight of his own reflection.

At that moment, his entire body shuddered and he brought his hand toward his broadsword.

"Get ready...!"

Rumble! Rumble!

His words were accompanied by a rumbling.

The boulder shook, and so did the surroundings.

"Akh...!"

"Ah!"

Fully focused on the large spell they were preparing to cast, many of the mages were caught off-guard, losing their footing in the process.

"Protect the mages...!"

The knights stood in formation.

"It's awakening! Raise your shields!"

Captain Reijnder held his broadsword forward. A tremendous wave of mana poured out of his body.

Rumble--!

The ground continued to shake.

In the chaos, rocks fell down the large boulder as something protruded out from its back.

Swoosh, Swoosh--!

Two distinctive shadows cast over the knights.

The atmosphere surrounding the terrain changed.

"Don't panic! Stay in formation...! Protect the magicians!"

Captain Reijnder continued to bark orders.

In the meantime, the color around them started to fade.

The world turned gray.

And the captain felt his heart squeeze.

The same was true for the knights who silently swallowed their saliva as they cranked their necks to look up.

Swoosh, swoosh--!

Lifting from the ground, a strong gale poured down on the knights.

At that moment, the Captain looked up.

His eyes locked onto the Dragon's.

And then...

Roooooooar--!

The Dragon roared.

After thirty years.

It had finally awakened.

***

----Moments prior.

Ellnor.

I stood amidst several graveyards, enveloped by greenery. With a light heart, I sank to the ground.

"You've finally decided to visit us...?"

"Hur. Hur. Took you long enough to visit us."

"It was getting quite annoying staying with these three. Good thing you've come."

I could still hear the voices of Daphne, Gork, and Liam in the distance.

Couldn't help it considering that I was standing before their graves. They were well polished, and flowers filled the space beneath.

There were many of them, and I could even see a few letters scattered.

I was tempted to open them, but I held myself back.

It was none of my business.

Instead, I focused on their graves.

"It's not bad."

Their graves.

They were quite beautiful.

"What do you think? Mine has more flowers than that big bastard."

".... It's not a competition."

"Stop."

It was odd, but the three just wouldn't stop talking. The funniest part was that they were just fruits of my own imagination.

Not that it mattered.

To me, they were alive.

Within me.

"Haaa..."

I leaned back to stare at the sky. The sun hung brightly, casting its light on the graveyard beneath.

Hundreds of graves encircled the space, each one belonging to a member of the subjugation squads. I knew the names of each and every one of them.

In a way, it was because I knew everyone that I felt a little overwhelmed.

"Why aren't you saying anything?"

".....You going to keep ignoring us?"

Drowning out the noise from the three, I leaned back and basked in the rare warmth coming from the sun.

'....Can't say this was a bad trip.'

I started to reminisce about my time here.

In particular, I thought about my gains.

While my tier may not have risen by much, my overall strength was far stronger than it had been in the past.

Not only was I able to upgrade [Hands of Malady] to [Grip of Pestilence] but I was also able to gain a lot of memories.

Gork's, Daphne's, Liam's, Aurelia's and so on...

I had lost count of the number of memories I had looked at.

It had to be noted that every member of the subjugation squad had been amongst the strongest warriors within the town.

In essence, I had over several dozen memories from them.

That meant that I had a lot of untapped knowledge that could be useful further down the line.

I still hadn't gone through them and sorted them out, but if I were to, then I was confident I'd be able to further improve my strength.

It didn't end just there.

While many memories were of no use to me, such as those that belonged to knights, they weren't technically unusable.

Well, to me they were.

But that didn't mean they were useless for others.

What if I were to teach them to others? ...Or what if I could sell them?

Would I even be able to do that...?

Would it be disrespectful to them?

"....."

I pondered for a moment before shaking my head.

They were dead.

What point was there to think about such a thing?

Either way, teaching others the techniques I knew wasn't exactly easy considering that I only had superficial knowledge about the techniques.

But at the very least, it helped me understand how others fought.

If I encountered someone with similar fighting styles, I'd know more about how they fought, making things easier for me.

"Haa..."

Letting out a long breath, I closed my eyes.

Only for me to open them up again as I turned to look in the "....Terrifying."

Sensing the energy coming off from the distance, I shuddered.

distance.

"It has begun."

The fight with the Rock Dragon.

I could tell from a glance that it wasn't a fight that I could've ever hoped to be able to participate in.

Perhaps one day, but not the current me.

"It's a bit of a pity."

I was thinking about the Dragon bone.

It would've certainly helped me out a lot.

Unfortunately, I had no way of killing the Dragon.

The same was true for the Hellhounds.

Still, I was satisfied with my gains.

I only had four more bones that I could integrate within me.

I needed to be careful with what I needed to add.

Especially since I couldn't remove a bone after integrating with it. Once I integrated with a bone, that was it. There were no takebacks.

Swoosh—!

Feeling the breeze, I ruffled my hair and stood up.

It was time for me to return.

Standing up, I looked towards the distance. There I could see Daphne and the others waving at me.

"You're leaving already?"

This time, I nodded.

"What?! You only just came!"

"You didn't even talk to us!"

The three glared at me and I laughed to myself.

".....Next time."

"Tsk, whatever."

"Don't break your promise though. It gets quite lonely in here."

"Sure."

I smiled and in the next moment, they vanished from my sight.

That was except for a single figure who stood in the distance.

With short blonde hair and blue eyes, she sat on top of a black tombstone. She looked young. About 14 years of age.

With her legs dangling over the tombstone, she looked up.

Meeting my gaze, she raised her hand and waved.

In the next moment, she too disappeared.

"....."

Just like that, I found myself standing in the graveyard by myself.

I took in the sight before me and closed my eyes.

Without looking back, I headed back into the town.

This journey.

.....It had also come to an end for me.