At those words, Ordin slowly withdrew his hand. Even after the King of Dravergh stopped his magic, the sounds of the world were still sharp at my ears.
My heart pounded like it had gone mad. The organs reverberating inside my body were so loud it made the back of my head ache.
When I focused on steadying my breathing, I could feel the muscles of my lungs expanding and contracting—and even the breath sliding up my throat.
I just blinked in silence at the unbelievable situation. I was afraid to move this changed body carelessly.
"How is it? Your power."
“This is... what power could I possibly....”
"I can’t tell what power you have. I only cleared a path that was blocked."
At his words, I opened my palm and looked down. I slowly rotated my wrist, checking myself here and there.
I already knew Ceryl Aylos’s senses were unusually sharp.
I realized it for certain back in the forest, when we were attacked by hunters.
Even while sprinting as hard as I could, I’d been able to make out their faces. Everything had looked like it was moving in slow motion.
And it wasn’t just that—I could hear things no human should have been able to. The hunters’ muffled footsteps, even the sound of them swallowing hard under tension.
But I’d assumed that was just survival instinct, flaring up when my life was in danger.
“Ha... it’s too, too loud....”
"You don’t need to hear everything. You have to learn how to distinguish what you truly need to hear."
I did as Ordin advised. I clamped both hands over my ears and closed my eyes again.
Then I ignored the chaos outside and focused on the sounds inside my own body.
A heartbeat that gradually calmed, breathing that repeated in a stable rhythm.
I was slowly growing used to the flood of sensation that had struck through me like lightning. It was settling into place as if this had been normal from the beginning.
Sweat that had run down my forehead slid along my jaw. Before the drop could hit the ground, I wiped it away lightly.
With my mind finally quieter, I turned my attention outside the cavern.
"Gah—don’t press against the wall! Don’t stop!!"
Varen’s urgency fully jolted awake what was left of my senses.
When I rose slowly to my feet, Ordin looked up at me with eyes full of expectation.
Without a trace of hesitation, I started walking out. Even now, dragons struck by poison-coated crossbows were crawling into the main force.
“Ceryl! Where are you going! It’s dangerous!”
Kallen shouted frantically from behind me.
But the voices close at hand felt less distinct than the soldiers’ voices ringing out far away.
I walked to the cavern mouth, grabbed the stone wall, and looked out.
In the pitch-black darkness before sunrise, the flames the dragons spewed lit the gorge. Hundreds of dragons flew swiftly, dodging bolts and breathing fire in wild bursts.
Even from this distance, sweat poured down my face. With bombs bursting sporadically and dragon flame flaring, my vision kept flashing white.
And even among all that, I recognized the golden dragon cutting through the chaos faster than anything else.
“KRAAAAAH!!!”
Varen breathed fire down toward the lower gorge. Several crossbows flying toward Dravergh blew apart in midair—pop-pop-pop—like fireworks.
Even so, one dragon that couldn’t fully evade a poisoned bolt started to fall.
Varen wheeled hard and flew toward the falling comrade.
A dragon’s fall wasn’t slow—its weight made it instantaneous—but Varen’s flight speed was faster still. Just before the unconscious dragon could hit the ground, Varen hooked their hind leg with a sharp claw and shot straight upward.
"Nngh—damn it! Wake up, Karahon!"
Carrying the dragon clad in black plated scales unsteadily, the golden dragon flew toward us.
That was when a clear noise snapped into my ears—the heavy rotation of wagon wheels, and the sound of rope pulling taut.
“Varen, watch out! They’re going to fire from below!!”
At my near-scream, Varen reacted instantly.
He twisted his wings wide to change his angle, and even with a dragon hanging from him, he dodged the crossbow with agile precision.
When Varen reached the entrance safely and dropped the black dragon with a heavy thud, dragons in human form who’d been standing by rushed over.
They hurriedly forced Karahon into Humanization and dragged them deeper into the cavern.
And Varen, landing lightly, stared down at me with shocked eyes.
"Ceryl, why are you even here!"
Varen was shouting in fury, and I let out a stupid laugh.
I lost myself and reached a hand toward that golden body—but Varen wiggled his massive hips and backed away first.
"My body is too hot for you right now. Don’t touch me."
In the past, that cute bulk would have excited me. Now, for some reason, I just ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) felt... stung.
I smacked my not-quite-sane head with my fist and refocused on sound.
No matter how fiercely Varen dominated the field, it meant nothing if we couldn’t find the human army’s position. I had to tell him where they were to end this slaughter.
When I closed my eyes, I heard men’s voices squawking. The coarse profanity made my brow pinch, but I forced myself to endure it to pinpoint their location.
Once I had the positions and opened my eyes, I met Varen’s blue gaze—colored with suspicion.
“The human army is split into four locations. We have to hit the place with the most weapons first. See that cliff top?”
I pointed with my index finger. Then, thinking I’d given too little explanation, I looked back at Varen.
“Varen, you won’t believe it, but....”
"No. I believe you."
Varen answered me before I could finish. Even so, his eyes blazing with killing intent stayed locked on the direction I indicated.
The fact he said he trusted me without even hearing the explanation made the corner of my mouth lift.
This is wartime. I decided that once it was over, I’d tell him about what had changed in me.
I narrowed my eyes and focused more precisely.
Then, through the bright red blaze of dragon flame, I could see wavering silhouettes.
Not clear human shapes—more like something that could only be guessed at. Concealment magic wasn’t enough to hide a large group; the veil was shaking as a whole.
“There. About a hundred humans, more than thirty crossbows. They’ve put up fireproofing magic. Even for you, burning them won’t be easy.”
At my calm assessment, Varen rumbled low.
"Burning isn’t the only way to kill humans."
Even his voice sounded like it was boiling with heat. I let out a short laugh and fixed my eyes on the target again.
“Varen, you have to attack from a distance. Even a graze is a critical injury.”
"I know."
Answering bluntly, Varen readied to take off without taking his eyes off the position I’d indicated. He spread both dazzling wings wide and lifted his heavy body.
But the golden dragon—who I thought would launch immediately—hesitated, unable to rise.
Did something happen? He looked fine. Was he poisoned?
When I looked up with worry, drooping blue eyes stared down at me.
“What is it, Varen? Is there a problem?”
"Because I don’t think I spoke to you gently."
“...Huh?”
Did I hear that right?
In a situation this urgent—gently?
"Ceryl, I’ll be back, so get somewhere safe—"
“I’m not sulking over that!”
At my dumbfounded reaction, Varen turned his head, looking awkward.
"...Then I’m going."
Leaving behind that last farewell dripping with gentleness, the golden dragon flew off.
I stared after him in disbelief.
I couldn’t believe that was the same Dravergh prince who’d been tearing across the battlefield just moments ago.
How did he decide I’d sulk over a short, blunt answer? Does he get hurt by my tone?
I didn’t even have time to reflect on how I’d spoken to Varen before another huge explosion went off nearby.
“Ugh... damn it, these bastards—seriously!”
Flattened against the ground, I weathered the storm, then crawled forward and glared down toward the lower gorge.
There, too, I saw a pile of rocks whose outline wavered unnaturally. And I could hear humans’ voices clearly.
Somehow, they’d found our main force—only a small number had dug in below, aiming for dragons.
Grinding my teeth, I thought about how I was going to crush those bastards.
"There you are."
Then Varen’s voice, packed with irritation, rang out. I snapped my head up and tracked his rapidly flying form.
If he got close to their position, it would already be hard enough to dodge the bolts being fired in dense waves—so what was he planning?
My worry turned out to be pointless. The golden dragon moved through the air as if it belonged to him, making minute twists of his sail-wide wings to avoid every incoming weapon.
And whenever he intercepted a crossbow headed toward his kin, he breathed short, forceful bursts of flame, detonating it in midair.
Watching Varen blow apart human weapons with perfect accuracy made my clenched fist tighten harder.
“Good... good. My fool....”
Muttering to myself, I couldn’t take my eyes off Varen.
