Chapter 80

# Chapter 80: <Flustered>

A massive tidal wave engulfed the land.

The blue waters that controlled fire swallowed the flames and everything in the area.

“Lord Kale!”

“Master!”

The water also swallowed Kale.

Choi Han quickly resumed his steps. Rosalind used an acceleration spell and rushed forward ahead of him.

Kale was nowhere to be seen.

The massive wave had swallowed everything, regardless of friend or foe.

Sssss-

An enormous amount of steam rose from Sector 1. The steam was so thick that nothing could be seen.

This meant one thing.

The fire was extinguished.

Instead of black smoke, white steam rose into the sky above the rain. The wolf boy, Rak, stared blankly, his teeth clenched. He bowed his head as his feet grew cold.

Swoosh-

The rain fell. They looked at their territory under the rain.

Sssss-

Swoosh-

Amid the sounds of steam and rain, another sound was heard.

Whoosh-

It was the sound of the wind.

It was like the wind of spring. A gentle breeze passed by Ten and Ritana. The wind also reached Choi Han and Rosalind, and only then did they stop running.

“Oh, right.”

Ha. Rosalind let out a sigh-like laugh. She had been momentarily flustered and had forgotten to think rationally.

When she wiped the steam from her eyes with her hands, a new scene appeared.

“Lord Kale.”

Choi Han could see the silver light through the steam as the gentle wind created a path. He recognized that light.

A faint wind created a small path through the massive steam, revealing the landscape within.

The blackened earth. The traces of what had been burned by the fire were visible.

A figure stood on those traces.

A man with red hair, similar to the fire that was now invisible.

A massive silver wing and shield enveloped the man. Ritana couldn't take her eyes off the scene, even though Ten had stopped.

Whoosh.

The silver wings spread wide and disappeared along with the shield. Only Kale remained standing there, slightly swaying.

Ritana's eyes widened, and the black leopard, Ten, moved. Choi Han and Rosalind crossed the boundary and approached Kale. Kale was holding his head, frowning.

In his mind, the voice of the black dragon, Laon, echoed.

-You were admiring the water and forgot about the shield! That's why I was a bit late! Sorry, human!

It was mutual. Kale had been so captivated by the wave he created that he forgot about the unbreakable shield.

-Oh right, the shield!

Then, Laon's shout and the shield he cast brought Kale back to his senses. That's why he had to grab his head, which was ringing from the water bomb.

‘Used too much power unnecessarily.’

What was going on? He was drenched and shivering with cold.

-Really sorry! I, I wasn't great!

Kale, holding his dizzy head, whispered softly at the voice filled with the intensity of a four-year-old.

“Still, I'm alive thanks to you.”

-What a weak human! I'm a fool!

Kale wanted to stop Laon but couldn't. Choi Han and Rosalind, as well as Ritana and Ten, were approaching.

“Are you alright?”

“Are you okay?”

Rosalind immediately used a body temperature maintenance spell on the drenched Kale.

“I won't get hurt. You know that, Rosalind.”

At his calm voice, Choi Han and Rosalind looked at each other. Laon was by Kale's side, and Kale had the unbreakable shield. They remembered this fact now.

At that moment, a rather indifferent voice reached them.

“Why are you shouting my name so loudly? That's why I had to come quickly.”

The grumbling Kale straightened his wet hair and disheveled clothes. He looked incredibly composed. But the ground he stood on was completely charred.

‘Doesn’t water suit him?’

Kale, who had also been drenched when he first met Witira, didn't like being wet. The damp clothes sticking to his body were quite bothersome.

Kale stood up straight, separating himself from Choi Han. He was fine, and his condition was good thanks to the vitality of his heart.

“Let's go.”

He took a step, and Choi Han and Rosalind followed. They were smiling, but Kale, not particularly paying attention, approached Ritana, who had stopped a little distance away. She had dismounted from Ten.

“Ms. Ritana.”

At his gentle voice, Ritana could look at Kale directly.

After confirming that Kale was fine, she couldn't help but look at the other things.

The green forest beyond the Wiper Kingdom. The jungle, famous enough to be written in books for its beauty, was now pitch black.

The sight took her breath away.

“Grrrr.”

Ritana turned her gaze to Ten's cry.

The black leopard, Ten, rubbed his head against the blackened earth and the remnants of nature. Ritana bit her lip.

At that moment, Kale's voice reached her again.

“You should go see them.”

“...What?”

Looking at Kale, she could see what he was pointing at.

“Oh.”

She saw her subordinates and the jungle people and animals. She realized where she should be looking. Not at the black forest, but at them. Kale's voice reached her ear.

“I think I have nothing left to do here.”

She met his gaze again. A gentle yet strong and composed figure. She saw what he had done. The steam still rising. The water he created to extinguish the embers.

She had been mistaken. He wasn't weak. He was strong.

“...How much power did you use?”

He said it was limited. Ritana was curious about how much power was left.

“I have enough left.”

Kale felt good using it but regretted using too much power. A bitter smile appeared on his lips. He was disappointed.

“...I understand.”

Hiding her bitterness, Ritana looked at her subordinates who couldn't cross the boundary and the jungle people approaching from the safe zone.

“Mr. Kale, would you like to come with us?”

The hero of this place was him. He deserved praise and applause for what he had done. But Ritana's thoughts and Kale's reaction were different.

“Your Majesty.”

“Ritana.”

She corrected her form of address.

“No, what's needed now is you, Your Majesty, Ritana.”

Kale turned his head toward the safe zone. Ritana followed his gaze. The jungle people, who were crying and laughing in the rain, embraced each other, even though the blackened earth was visible as the steam dissipated.

Swoosh-

The rain filled the silence for a moment. Then, after a short while.

Wow!

The cheers of the people filled the space where the fire had been extinguished. The water path Kale created continued to flow from the starting point of Sector 1 to the coastline, extinguishing the remaining embers.

-You'll catch a cold, human! Go rest quickly!

Kale ignored Laon's nagging and was escorted by Ritana's subordinates. They led him to a quiet, relatively clean, and good tent that had been hastily prepared for him.

“Please let us know if you need anything.”

“I don't need anything else. I just want to rest quietly. And if possible, I want to leave tomorrow.”

The subordinate who had come with Kale to the jungle from the forest couldn't believe it but still gave a positive response.

“Yes. I'll prepare everything as well as possible.”

Kale looked around the tent after the subordinates left. Choi Han and the others were led to different tents. But someone had followed Kale.

“Laon.”

At his call, the black dragon, who had been invisible, revealed himself.

Tsk. Kale clicked his tongue. He picked up a towel and roughly dried the drenched black dragon. Laon, who had been so captivated by the waves that he forgot to shield himself, grumbled.

“Dry yourself, human! You'll catch a cold!”

Ha. Kale chuckled at the four-year-old's behavior, roughly drying his face, while Laon purred and dried himself gently.

Kale threw the towel aside and roughly dried his hair with another towel, then took out a bead he had received from Villous and threw it.

“Connect.”

“Got it, human.”

Laon, smiling slightly, connected the bead, the magical communication device, without a word. Kale sat on a wooden chair. The magical communication device flew to him and landed, connecting the video call.

-What is it? Why do you look like that?

It was Crown Prince Albert.

-You look like a wet mouse.

Seeing Kale's smile, Albert snorted at his raised eyebrow.

-Don't smile like that.

It didn't work. Kale immediately resumed his usual smile and leaned back in the wooden chair. His relaxed and lazy appearance was familiar to Albert.

“Your Highness, the star of Rowen Kingdom, how is the House of Sten?”

Three weeks. The time it took to reach Hoik Village, where the 'impassable path' forest was located. During this time, Kale had been involved in various activities. One of them was this.

-What do you mean, 'how is it'? The owner is changing. Why are you curious about this?

At that moment, a voice other than the video call, the voice of the black dragon Laon, echoed in Kale's mind.

-Finally, the time for revenge has come!

The House of Sten and Benyon, and what they had done to the black dragon Laon.

For Laon to fully escape the past abuse, revenge on the people involved with the House of Sten was necessary. Kale had to listen to Laon's revenge plan like a lullaby every time they were alone.

Dragons never forgot what they had endured. They sought compensation for the damaged time and crushed self-esteem. This was the nature of dragons, known as ruthless rulers.

Albert looked at Kale with a probing gaze.

-I'm telling you this because I received something. I can't figure it out.

“To do something Your Highness would like.”

Albert snorted at Kale, who spoke without a hint of lying.

But Kale was sincere.

“It's true.”

It was also beneficial for Albert. Although Albert found Kale's expression unsettling, he had something to discuss with him. So he said,

-Come to the castle quickly.

“Yes.”

Kale agreed to go to the castle, though he planned to finish his business and rest before returning.

After a few more conversations with the Crown Prince, he ended the video call and fell into a deep sleep after dinner. Of course, he had to listen to Laon's revenge plan like a lullaby.

And the next day.

“Ms. Ritana, I want to go.”

Kale told Ritana he wanted to leave for the coastline. There was no reason to stay any longer.