Dark Fantasy: Magical Eye Knight – Chapter 41

Chapter 41: The Dragon’s Legacy

TL: Potato-tan

Proofreader: Asianpotato

Every jaw dropped, be it human or monster. A large, beautiful figure ascended into the night sky. Golden scales shimmered crimson in the pale blue moonlight. There was a dragon. The monsters howled with primal instinct.

Big or small, fiend or beast, biped or quadruped, they wailed at the sky. The dragon responded with a roar of its own.

From the battlements, Frederick, the Lord of the Castle, watched the pandemonium with a blank expression, clad in full armor of plate and mail.

“Is that a dragon?”

“. . .Yes.  It appears so.”

Even Albert, the elven wizard, looked on in awe. Even for an elf who had lived for ages, it was the first time seeing a dragon.

Elenora, who was swinging a mace and healing soldiers with her holy power while slaying monsters, looked up at the night sky. More specifically, she gazed upon the two figures perched atop the dragon’s back.

“It’s Her Highness and Russell.”

“What? Where?”

“On the dragon’s back, towards the tail.”

As the Lord and Albert looked in the direction her finger pointed, they indeed saw the two figures there.

When the elven wizard waved his staff, moisture condensed and transformed into a magnifying glass. Within it, they could see Princess Julia and Russell clinging to the back.

“. . .I don’t know what to make of this.”

“My guess is that it’s the same dragon that Her Highness’s ancestor fought. It must have been slumbering beneath Calisden.”

“That thing was sleeping under my bed. . . .?”

As the Lord muttered in disbelief, a voice of pure magic pierced Albert’s ears.

━This is Russell. Can you hear me?

Albert, wide-eyed, quickly responded with his own voice.

━ can. What on earth is going on down there?

━I’ll explain later. Right now, use any magic or whatever you have to bring down that dragon.

━If that’s a real dragon, our spells won’t work. Dragons are the origins of magic. How can a pupil overturn the teachings of an ancient master?

━Right now, that dragon is nothing more than a wingless lizard that can’t cast a single spell. Don’t worry about it; just do it.

━Understood.

Albert didn’t try any more for some reason. He was a discerning enough elf to know the order of things.

Albert immediately rallied the wizards on the battlements. It didn’t matter if they were city-affiliated wizards or mercenaries.

“Do any wizards here know gravity-type spells? Damn it, I’m the only one. Then what about telekinesis? Surely none of you don’t know the Wind Bind spell? Alright, let’s get this started!”

All  The wizards, some holding staffs and others forming hand seals, began to chant. Dozens of wizards cast simultaneously, creating a surge of magical energy that startled the monsters.

The magic happened in an instant.

“Gravity Enhancement!”

“Will becomes strength!”

“Wings that bind freedom!”

The altered gravity, the invisible force, and the wind pulling at its wings suddenly dragged the dragon, which had been soaring through the sky enjoying its freedom, to the ground. Several giant hooks seemed to catch it and drag it down.

Kaaaaaa!

The dragon fell from the sky. It struggled to stay afloat, flapping its limbs and wings, but it was of no use. At that moment, two dots leaped from the falling dragon. The dots quickly grew into the figure of Russell carrying Julia in his arms.

Kwaaaang!

As Russell and Julia landed on the battlement gallery, the dragon crashed into the plain with a deafening roar. The impact shook the ground and knocked over the monsters. A huge cloud of dust rose.

The people on the battlements couldn’t help but be shocked, and many fell on their buttocks or stumbled. Only the wizards floating in the air with their spells, the princess’ knights, and a single dark elf swordsman managed to keep their balance.

“Lucy!”

“It’s Russell.”

Russell replied as he lowered Julia to the ground. Lexi, seeing him again, let out a hollow laugh.

“Your Highness!”

“Princess!”

The princess’s knights, who had been fighting separately, rushed forward and knelt before Julia. Julia let out an inner sigh as it seemed like ages since she had last heard such a formal address. ‘How long would it take for others to call me by name again?’

Julia turned her gaze from the knights and nodded to the Lord and Albert, who approached her.

“Lord.”

“I don’t know if your appearance is a blessing or a curse. Please tell me it’s a blessing.”

“I’ll take care of the dragon. You and your soldiers just keep the monsters at bay.”

“No, how? You don’t even have a weapon right now.”

Russell pulled out a large, single-edged axe from inside his coat. The Lord blinked at the axe, which exuded a cold chill even when it was still, and Albert’s jaw dropped at the subspace pocket in the coat.

“What is that axe?”

Albert cut off the Lord’s question.

“T, That coat. Is there a subspace inside? Where did you get it? Did you raid the dragon’s lair before you came here?”

“Ludwig gave it to me.”

“The ancestor Her Highness was looking for? He was alive.”

“Ask Her Highness later. I’m going to kill that dragon.”

“W, What about support?!”

“It’ll only get in the way.”

The Lord and Albert could only watch.

“Russell!”

Evelyn ran up to him anxiously, but he was already far away. She cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted loudly.

“Leave me a scale!”

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

Russell chuckled as he walked. ‘A scale, huh?’ He would do it if he could.

Kaaaaaa!

Kwak!

The monsters, who saw Russell approaching them, began to charge.

The dragon, having recovered from the shock, shook its head and regained its senses. The dragon tried to spread its wings again, but it couldn’t. Its wings were completely broken. The wing membranes were rife with holes, making them incapable of withstanding the air resistance.

“Kuaaa━!”

The enraged dragon roared. And then it spotted Russell walking towards it from afar. Even though its intelligence had fallen to the level of a beast, the dragon still had a powerful means of attack. All dragons acquire this breath as they mature.

A crimson light flashed through the scales on its chest, and soon a huge flame blazed from the dragon’s mouth.

The monsters charged forward on two or four legs, and the long stream of flames shot out at the same time. The flames burned the monsters without discrimination, and they turned into ash as they ran.

Russell stopped in front of the huge flames engulfing him head-on. He didn’t retreat. There was nowhere to run.

He simply planted his axe on the ground and raised both hands, as if he were trying to block the raging waves with human strength. It was reckless of him to think that he could completely block flames like water or wind. Can a human block a dragon’s breath?

Russell did just that.

The flames parted in two. It was a similar scene to when he had blocked the troll’s flames on a day that now felt like a distant memory.

Everywhere in his field of vision, there were crimson flames. To be sure, the dragon’s breath was incomparable to the troll’s. It was filled with such dense magical energy that he couldn’t scatter it like before, but only let it flow past him.

However, its weakness stemmed from its prolonged sealing and the numerous curses and debuffs it carried. Russell couldn’t be sure if he could withstand a proper dragon’s breath.

His palms felt like they were burning. No, they were actually burned. Blisters rose on the skin of his palms, and they became distorted from the burns. The dragon’s fire spread from his hands to his wrists and elbows. It seemed like it would soon burn his entire upper body.

His eyes flashed. A brighter light than ever before began to flow out of his pupils.

People often refer to eyes as windows into one’s soul. Russell’s eyes have now revealed an alien world. The space was filled with endless darkness and emptiness, boiling bubbles, and countless immature worlds that were birthing and dying within it.

The flames gradually receded. Russell’s arms, charred black like charcoal, regenerated their original muscles and skin as if in sync.

He completely pushed the flames away and stopped them just in front of his palms, ending the seemingly endless stream of flames at the same moment as his regeneration was complete. The dragon’s breath was exhausted.

The ground burned black in a Y-shape between the dragon and Russell, and between the flames that Russell had split in two. The remaining embers burned the damp grass, creating black smoke and swirling wisps.

Russell kicked off the ground and leaped high into the air, sniffling the burning smell. The breath split the monsters in two, and the dragon, holding its breath, simultaneously looked up. The dragon’s lizard eyes widened at the sight of Russell, who had not turned into charcoal.

Russell, who had reached the apex of his jump, drew upon the magical energy within his body. The raging magical energy coursed through his veins, creating endless strength and exhilaration. It felt like he was bursting with adrenaline.

The white axe in both hands absorbed Russell’s magical energy. Russell emitted an enormous amount of cold air that was visible to the naked eye.

The coat that had been fluttering in the wind also emitted a faint light, and the breastplate it had had when he first wore it covered Russell. There was a clattering sound, as if dozens of iron beads were falling.

“Hup!”

With a short battle cry, the black-armored knight swung his axe down.

Kwaaaang━!

The earth turned upside down in a circular shape, centering on him, as the axe struck the ground. The axe’s frost storm swept across the ground, freezing everything it touched.

In an instant, all the monsters within range turned into ice statues. The cold’s aftermath chilled even the nearby dragon.

White frost covered the dragon, just like the other monsters, but it only covered a small portion of its upper body. It roared as soon as it drew heat from its entire body and shook off the cold that had bound it.

“Kuaaaah━!”

Russell charged straight at the dragon, steam rising from its entire body.

The dragon swung its left foreleg at the fearless human running toward it. Russell dodged by jumping low and climbing up the leg that was right below it.

The dragon shook its body, seeing him getting closer by climbing on its own, but Russell didn’t fall off with his cat-like balance.

The dragon’s head was now within reach, so he swung his axe and cut the dragon’s mouth.

“Kwak!”

The wound from the frost axe quickly froze, increasing in size and preventing regeneration.

However, even a dragon that couldn’t cast spells had a strong body. The cold, which had been spreading over a wide area, subsided, and the wound, so tenaciously carved, healed. It was a regenerative ability that surpassed even that of trolls.

“Krrr. . . .”

Russell chuckled at the sight of the dragon’s bared teeth and eyes inches from his nose.

“What are you going to do about this, lizard?”

Boom!

The shockwave exploded at close range, throwing the dragon’s head sideways. However, the foreleg swung and rolled on the ground, striking Russell as well.

“Cough, cough.”

He took off his helmet and spat. The slight amount of blood mixed in suggested that something had shaken his insides.

On the other side, the dragon seemed to have suffered a concussion as well, as it staggered and lost its balance.

The two glared at each other. The indigo eyes sparkled with magic, and the dragon’s yellow reptilian pupils narrowed.

While the sky remained black, a blue hue gradually emerged from the distant east, resembling the smearing of blue paint. It was a faint sign that the long, long night was coming to an end. The crescent moon and stars still twinkled, as if they couldn’t miss the spectacle on the ground.

However, everyone present here wasn’t thinking about or looking at such things. Of course, it was because a knight and a dragon were fighting below them.

The words “go down and fight with them” nearly reached their throat, but they were unable to utter them.

No one could blame them for that. The dragon’s massive form, which had appeared before humans for the first time in hundreds of years, had the power to crush such courage and determination.

The knight and the dragon charged at each other again.

Once again, the dragon inhaled to breathe fire, but Russell didn’t just stand there and watch.

The axe Russell threw from his hand drew a circle of light and lodged itself in the roof of the dragon’s mouth, just before the flames loaded into its mouth and shot out. The axe embedded in the roof of its mouth immediately emitted cold air, and the dragon turned into a huge ice cube in the storm of frost that froze magical energy.

When a dark greatsword emerged from the inside of Russell’s coat, the dragon clawed at its mouth with its forelegs in panic, unable to close or open it completely.

Under the night sky that was turning into dawn, Nahilnir was hard to see. At first glance, the white blade shining in its center gave the impression that he was holding a thin, white iron skewer.

However, the dragon knew how terrifying that sword was. In the fragmented memories, another self had stabbed itself with that sword to cast a seal and a curse on itself. That memory was a torment she wouldn’t forget until she died.

Unable to scream or roar because of the ice that had frozen its snout, the dragon took a step back.

Russell could see the dragon’s fear in its eyes. He smiled, and the ground he stepped on erupted as if struck by a shell. For a moment, the dragon missed her movement, and by the time it realized it, Russell’s sword had already reached its heart.

━Kyaaaaahhhhhh-!

A spine-chilling scream erupted from the dragon’s throat. It sounded more like the scream of an evil demon than a dragon.

The dragon rolled on the ground, with the sword and Russell embedded in its chest. The sight of the massive body rolling on the ground, over 20 meters long from head to tail, was truly surreal.

As people watched with their mouths agape, Russell, hanging on to the dragon’s body, held on to the sword hilt with all his might. The protection of his armor didn’t flatten him, but the immense weight was making his body scream.

“D, Damn it. Are you some kind of seven-year-old brat?!”

Russell, who had shouted, kicked hard the moment his feet touched the ground during the rotation. Then the sword hilt slid in and completely pierced the heart.

━. . . . . .!

The dragon stopped rolling. The surroundings became quiet.

Russell tightened his muscles and thrust the greatsword into the dragon’s flesh until his forearm disappeared. The dragon’s scales rattled and made a sound like pine cones shaking.

At that moment, the distant east sky became completely bright. The dawn of the night was receding, and the sun, which had been relentlessly continuing its orbit, showed its face to half the world.

The bright sunlight passed through the forest, casting long shadows and illuminating Russell, who was standing with the great sword thrust into the dragon.

The dragon’s scales regained their color. a dazzling golden color. Russell could sense the heartbeat gradually slowing down as it passed through the sword hilt.

Suddenly, the dragon lowered its head and looked at him. Russell realized that there was no more ferocity in the yellow eyes that met his own.

The moment the dragon’s eyes and Russell’s eyes met, the two of them were in a completely different space. Both the sky and the ground were white.

He found a woman with a large, curved horn on her head instead of the huge dragon’s body.

“Ismenios.”

“Yes, warrior. You’ve done well to kill me, as you can see.”

Russell chuckled at her, praising himself for killing her.

“Yes, I did just plunge a sword through your heart. The axe is still embedded in the roof of your mouth.”

“Hmm, hmm. Well done. There is something I must leave you with. Will you hear it?”

“Go on.”

“At the end of the corridor I was sealed in, there is a small room. Go there, and you will find what I have left you.”

“You could just tell me now.”

“Life’s pleasures come from the unexpected. That is what Ludwig taught me. So I wish to give you the same.”

‘I see.’ Russell nodded to the dragon, who had become infected with human romanticism.

“I shall find it.”

“Very well.”

Ismenios smiled brightly. It was not the faint or shallow smile she had worn up until now. And then the space began to fade.

Russell thought he caught a glimpse of Ludwig in the gap in the white space as it folded in on itself. As the space closed completely, he was holding Ismenios close.

When Russell opened his eyes in reality, he was met with an unexpected sight. The dragon’s body was gradually crumbling away. It started in the parts where the sunlight touched it.

The broken and torn wings turned to ash and crumbled. As the amount of sunlight increased, the hard scales followed. The tail crumbled, then the torso, then the legs, and finally the head.

Russell drew Nahilnir and summoned the Frost Axe in his other hand. A cluster of light reappeared in his left hand, revealing the axe embedded in the dragon’s mouth.

Creeeaaaak. . .

The block of ice shattered, sending shards flying. The transparent shards of ice that fell from high up reflected the sunlight, creating a beautiful rainbow.

And so, as the rainbow fluttered and fell through the air like flower petals, the dragon that had suffered for so long finally crumbled to dust. Not a single scale remained.

Russell stood there, covered in ash and ice dust, as the sunlight shone from the east.

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

Russell.

“. . . . . .Damn.”

The end of the chasm where Ismenios had been sealed, a small chamber.

In the hands of Russell, who was standing in the room, was a single, heavy, and large egg.

Wiggle.

And the egg shook.

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