Chapter 66

Nero fell to the ground.

The impact caused the earth to shake.

"Stay alert!"

"Get ready! He might get up!"

The adventurers readied their weapons, pointing them at the fallen Nero. However, Nero did not move at all.

It was only natural.

Nero had been caught in Delphai's explosive flames, pierced to the core by Choro's electric shocks, and had his magic stone destroyed by Gurai's iron fist. The battle was already over.

I dismounted from Entia's back and headed towards the motionless Nero. Iksa was standing nearby.

"Good work, Mako."

"Yeah, it's over."

I turned around and called out to everyone.

"Everyone, thank you! Thanks to all of you, we were able to protect the capital!"

In response to my voice, everyone cheered.

"Amazing! We defeated a dragon!"

"No casualties or injuries! Hardly any damage!"

"That was the person who led us, right? The rumors were true!"

The citizens looked at me and shouted in unison.

"Great job, Mako!"

"Wow, that's A-rank... no, S-rank level work!"

The adventurers were also getting excited.

Amidst the cheers, Iksa and I met each other's gaze and smiled quietly.

Then, suddenly,

"...It's not... over..."

I immediately turned around at the sound of the groan. At the same time, Nero was getting up, his massive body battered and bruised.

"Still moving...?"

No, his body, with the magic stone destroyed, was gradually shrinking. Iron stakes were embedded in various parts, black smoke rising, and his chest was caved in—despite the severe damage, Nero was getting up.

"...I'll... kill... at least... him..."

He flapped his wings, which were almost torn at the roots. It happened in an instant.

The adventurers and my companions couldn't react in time. Nero, using the last of his strength, flew straight up into the sky.

"Wait—"

I was holding one of the "chains" extending from his body. I had intended to use the power of "Alchemy Lv.2" to make the "iron stakes" and "chains" disappear, now that the battle was over.

As a result, I was pulled up into the air by Nero's ascending body.

"Mako!"

Iksa had also grabbed the "chain" at the last moment. As a result, the two of us were quickly lifted into the sky with Nero.

"Stop it, Nero! Your body must be at its limit!"

At a height where we could see the entire city, Iksa shouted.

"The 'iron stakes' and 'chains' can be eliminated quickly! Your body is returning to its original form without the magic stone! Come down quickly!"

I also shouted, but Nero probably didn't hear me. What he was focusing on was the castle.

The center of the capital, the highest place, the castle of the king, standing proudly.

"Even if I die, I'll... kill... you..."

Nero's body arched back. I could feel the immense heat building up inside him, being close to him. He was really going to attack the castle with all his might.

"Destroy... it!"

A pillar of flame, accompanied by a roar of resentment, was spewed from Nero's throat. Several times more powerful than the heat wave he had directed at the ground earlier. It was a truly all-out flame, heading straight for the castle.

"Vanish..."

Just before the flame reached the castle, it was deflected and scattered in mid-air.

"...What?"

I, too, was momentarily stunned. Disappeared? Deflected? Neutralized?

The massive pillar of flame had vanished like mist.

"Indeed, he was there."

At my feet, Iksa, who was also hanging onto the "chain," whispered.

"...Raidelark"

"Do you understand what just happened, Iksa?"

"Yes. It was defended by a powerful magic."

Iksa continued.

"Raidelark Diabros Grouga, the second prince, a current S-rank adventurer and the strongest mage in the country, was in the castle."

This is bad... Iksa muttered.

"Bad...?"

"The next attack is coming."

As if to prove Iksa's words, a change occurred immediately.

Nero, who had used his last strength to attack, was stunned in mid-air. Above his head,

"...What..."

For a moment, it seemed as if the sun had doubled. A massive light body had appeared in the sky over the capital, several dozen, several hundred times larger than the flame Nero had spewed. A ball of heat.

"Raidelark is a mage who has mastered both fire and water attributes! Mako, we have to run! If we stay here, we'll be vaporized!"

"But how can we run—"

While we were talking, the scorching ball of heat created by magic was falling towards us.

"Ah—"

First, Nero was engulfed. Before he could even let out a final scream, his entire body was burned away in the light. If he had been hit by that, there would have been no chance of survival. Iksa and I immediately let go of the "chain," but the heat ball's attack was faster than our fall. My skin was being scorched, and it was too late—

"...In this situation—"

At that moment, an idea popped into my head.

But, can it work? Can we withstand it?

No, there's no time to hesitate.

"Iksa!"

In mid-air, I grabbed Iksa's hand. At the same time, I released magic power from my entire body and activated "Alchemy," imagining the creation of "something."

"Mako!"

Eventually, Iksa and I were also engulfed in the scorching mass—

---

"What the hell was that!"

On the ground, everyone was in an uproar.

Nero, who had risen from the ground, attacked the castle. However, the flame breath he released was instantly neutralized, and the next moment, a massive ball of flame appeared in the sky over the capital. Nero's body was engulfed by the flame.

"Mako!"

"Gurai! Mako and Iksa!"

"..."

On the ground, Mawr and Meala cried out in anguish, and Gurai glared at the sky with a twisted expression. Suddenly,

"Hey! Something's falling!"

One of the adventurers shouted. In response, everyone immediately ran for cover. A massive object fell to the ground where they had been standing.

"What..."

"What is this..."

"A ship?"

It looked like a massive chunk of metal.

The oval-shaped object fell to the ground, still hot, melting the ground as it landed. The edge of the chunk—where the door was—opened with a loud bang.

"Mako!"

Everyone present was amazed at the sight of me and Iksa emerging from inside.

"You're alive!"

"Yeah, just before we were engulfed by that heat ball, I created this and we took refuge inside."

"What is this...?"

"A 'disaster shelter.'"

I pointed to the massive chunk of metal behind me, which was still too hot to touch. It was a shelter that could accommodate several people and float on water like a boat during typhoons or tsunamis. It's a product you can find at a home center. It's pretty expensive, though. I probably used a lot of MP for this.

"Mako... I'm glad you're safe."

Mawr ran over, tears of relief streaming down his face. Meala also looked like she was about to cry. Sorry, sorry, I caused you worry.

"Iksa, what about Nero?"

"..."

Iksa looked up at the sky. The scorching ball of heat was no longer there. And Nero, who had been engulfed by it, was probably...

"No, Prince Nero is alive."

At that moment, the elderly supervisor appeared before us, holding Nero, who had already returned to his human form.

"Thanks to the massive dragon body, he managed to reduce the damage. He managed to survive, though he is exhausted. I caught him as he was falling."

Who is this person...?

Well, I knew he wasn't just anyone. Putting that aside, Iksa and I looked at Nero. He was alive, but his body was burned and in a state that couldn't be called unharmed.

"Nero..."

"...Always..."

When Iksa called his name, Nero spoke in a hoarse voice.

"Always... I felt sick... from the moment I was born... I only felt discomfort."

He looked up at the sky with hollow eyes and whispered.

"...The nurse, the servants, the other royal children, the nobles, the commoners... I couldn't see any difference... I couldn't love anyone... I couldn't feel affection... I only thought of using them and making them useful..."

Nero spoke as if in delirium.

"Because... I'm... really a dragon... different from humans... a dragon's heart in a human body... my body and heart were mismatched... I always felt sick..."

His heart and body were not in sync.

This mismatch may have been what made him restless, angry, and perhaps fueled his destructive desires.

"...Why was I born in this body... Why did they give me this body... I want to destroy... I want to kill... the one who made me this way... the one who brought me into this world..."

Iksa—

At that moment, Nero looked at Iksa and called his name.

"I... always... didn't like you... Why can you... look so calm? ...You're supposed to be... 'the same as me'—"

"...?"

I looked at Iksa. Iksa, who had just fainted, was just silently staring at Nero.

---

"..."

This was the top of the castle, a place from which one could overlook the capital and the horizon beyond. Two figures stood there.

"...Nero?"

One of them, sitting on a throne, asked.

The other, who quietly nodded in response to the question, turned his gaze back to the outside.

"...Did you find something that caught your attention?"

"...Yes."

The person on the throne said.

"Nero's feet... Iksa was there."

"...Yes."

"The other woman... She seems to have survived your magic using some means."

"...Yes."

"It's rare for you to take such an interest in someone else."

The person on the throne spoke, but the other said nothing. He just continued to stare at the sky over the capital.