My Slain Dragon Bride

Chapter 98: Chapter 98

Chapter 98 - Curved Demon

"Tower Master Erika."

"Regent Valdrova."

"Are your internal injuries severe?"

Ferda did not look at her.

It was to preserve her dignity as the Tower Master.

Erika steadied herself and hardened her gaze.

"They aren’t serious enough to hold me back."

"I understand."

Ferda gave a short nod as he assessed the enemy’s strength.

There were Wyverns flapping their wings, a large-built man, and a comparatively smaller man.

The smaller man stared at Ferda and spoke.

"So, you are Ferda Rosnova. It is a pleasure to meet you."

Ferda immediately corrected him.

"Valdrova."

"So, even though you were raised by House Rosnova, you’re struggling desperately to deny your own roots? How pitiful."

The man sneered.

However, Ferda was no amateur who could be swayed by such provocation.

"Wolf Monsters are pouring into Hestia Village, and Wyvern Monsters are here... Seeing you unleash Monsters wherever you please, I suppose you’re also the mastermind behind what happened in Halim?"

"Indeed. Shouldn’t you be thanking me?"

"And why should I thank you?"

"Didn’t you accomplish a remarkable feat in Halim and even obtain a branch of the World Tree struck by the Reverse Heaven Lightning?"

The man casually revealed something that Ferda had never told anyone.

Without being shaken, Ferda answered with a taunt.

"Sounds like the self-consolation of a defeated dog."

"Haha! Now that you put it that way, you’re right. I did underestimate both you and those around you. I intended only to kill Headmaster Bernard, yet even that I failed to accomplish."

"Are you planning to target him again?"

"Unfortunately, there’s no need. What I wished to destroy seems to have already fallen into your hands. So rest easy."

"And why should I believe a word you say?"

"Why? Because I’m already standing above you. I have no reason to lie. For example..."

He swept his mana-infused finger across the ground.

A violent gust erupted, sweeping the fallen leaves from the forest floor high into the air.

"Even though I noticed such a shallow trick, I simply pretended not to."

The ground was cleared, revealing what had been hidden beneath.

A shadow extending from beneath Ferda’s feet was silently chanting an Incantation.

"What a truly laughable little trick."

Snap!

The man snapped his fingers.

At that very instant, an explosion erupted where the Shadow Hand had been.

Boom!

The Shadow Hand shattered into countless fragments.

"Urgh!"

From the outside, the attack did not appear particularly devastating.

In reality, however, it was a different story.

Had it struck a real hand, it would have torn through mana barriers and armor as though they were nothing but paper.

"Oh?"

The man’s interest was piqued.

"I’ve heard that Barbatos’s Shadow Arts allow one to manipulate shadows as if they were one’s own limbs. However, because the senses are perfectly shared, the pain is said to be exactly the same as losing a real arm or leg... Yet your reaction resembles someone pulling a hand away after being burned, rather than someone whose hand has been severed."

The man analyzed Ferda.

Ferda neither responded nor reacted.

Instead, he tried to decipher the man’s magic, just as the man had analyzed him.

’What kind of magic was that just now?’

Ferda replayed what had happened moments earlier.

The explosion triggered by the snap of the fingers.

No...

It had not been an explosion.

At first glance it looked like one.

But it wasn’t.

’That was...’

Ferda concentrated on that single moment.

He slowed time in his mind, examining it frame by frame until every movement became crystal clear.

’It’s magic that distorts a point instead of causing an explosion.’

For a fleeting instant, space had warped inward toward a single point before snapping back into place.

’A spell that destroys objects by distorting space itself.’

Now that he understood the principle, he also recognized its identity.

Only one being in history had ever wielded such magic.

A name long erased from the pages of history.

"You’re the Curved Demon."

The Curved Demon.

At the mention of that name, the man let out an impressed sigh.

"Oh? You discerned my identity from that alone?"

Erika was just as shocked.

She had naturally assumed he was one of the Noblesse-class members of the Demon Race, but she had never identified exactly who he was.

That was only natural.

The Curved Demon should not even exist.

"If you’re the Curved Demon, then you should have been the very first Noblesse-class Demon Race member killed by the Hero."

The man admitted it without hesitation.

"That’s correct. Back then, the Demon Race had no sense of caution toward humanity. That is why I died such a meaningless death at the Hero’s hands."

"Then how are you still alive?"

"It’s simple. At that time, there was only an overzealous Hero. Neither you nor Erdes existed."

In other words, the Hero lacked the caution and meticulousness possessed by Mages.

He had left open the possibility of resurrection.

"So... the Demon Race had been preparing for the future all this time."

"Indeed. To be honest, I had no desire to reveal myself. But circumstances left me with little choice."

The Curved Demon’s eyes settled on Ferda.

"Because something has become rather... irritating."

Irritating.

That should have been something unpleasant.

Yet instead, the corners of the Curved Demon’s lips curled upward.

"Does becoming part of the Demon Race twist your emotions as well? You don’t seem to know when laughter is appropriate."

"The Demon Race feels joy as well. It’s simply not the same kind of pitiful emotion that your people cling to."

"So returning everything to nothingness is your idea of greatness?"

At Erika’s question, he nodded as though it were obvious.

"It is His magnificent will. That alone is my greatest joy."

"Then hurry up and disappear so you can greet the ones who went ahead of you."

Crackle!

A streak of lightning shot toward the Curved Demon.

However, it bounced harmlessly off his mana barrier.

It was the Lightning Bolt released from Ferda’s hand.

"Did you truly think something like that could kill me?"

"No. The moment I saw your mana barrier withstand the Tower Master’s magic, I already knew it wouldn’t work."

At those words, Erika realized something and turned toward Ferda.

"...Were you watching me the entire time?"

Her expression carried a trace of resentment.

Why hadn’t he come to help sooner?

But Ferda had his reasons.

"When someone intends to blow away an entire area, how could I not first observe the situation?"

"W-Well... that’s true..."

"Were you really planning to destroy part of the Grand Duchess’s territory? Were you out of your mind?"

Luri grumbled, causing Erika to fall silent.

Her severe internal injuries had made her emotions get the better of her.

"I see you’ve grown rather confident after assessing my strength. However..."

A faint smile spread across his face.

"I have no desire to fight you. Why don’t we simply part ways peacefully?"

"This is the Grand Duchess’s territory. You think you can cause all this destruction and simply walk away?"

"Hmm. In that case..."

He casually swept a finger through the air.

"Then try stopping this."

Another tear opened in space.

Its contents spilled out.

It was a familiar sight to Ferda.

However, the number was entirely different from Halim.

Five separate spatial rifts opened simultaneously, each vomiting forth what lay within.

Some charged toward Ferda and his companions.

The others turned toward Hestia Village.

At the same time, the Curved Demon and the large man leaped toward the rift.

In their current condition, stopping their escape was nearly impossible.

Unless...

Perhaps Luri could.

She was the child of a Silver Dragon, the fastest of all dragons.

But if Luri pursued them, the countless Monsters would descend upon Hestia Village.

There was no guarantee the villagers could survive such an assault.

"Lord Ferda."

Luri looked up at him.

Her eyes, hidden awkwardly behind a mask of composure, had nowhere to turn.

"Go. Protect what your master wishes to protect."

"But what about your safety, Lord Ferda?"

"Don’t worry."

"I’m here."

Although seriously injured, the rings of water surrounding Erika remained perfectly steady.

"Understood."

Luri gripped her axe and spread her wings.

Boom!

A fierce gale surged forward, crashing into the Monsters heading toward Hestia Village.

A silver flash darted between the trees.

Wherever that silver light passed, only horribly butchered corpses remained.

"How many should I deal with?"

"I can handle the rest by myself."

"Then I’ll simply watch your back."

Their opponents had completely lost their reason.

Only instinct remained.

Each attack was powerful.

But every attack was simple.

And the simpler an attack was, the easier it became to predict.

Erika’s water droplets effortlessly found every vital point and pierced them.

’So this is the magic of House Iorga.’

Its appearance was as gentle as water itself.

Yet once released, it became harder and deadlier than any metal.

It did not merely pierce.

The rotational force within each droplet twisted apart everything inside the body as it passed through vital organs.

Even while facing numerous enemies, not a single movement was wasted.

Every strike was fatal.

’Even someone like her was driven into such a desperate struggle by the Curved Demon...’

Thinking about it calmly...

It wasn’t that they had let the Curved Demon escape.

Rather...

He had deliberately let them go.

Eventually, the final Monster charging toward them was slain.

Erika once more extended her senses, confirming that no living enemies remained nearby.

"Phew..."

Then she collapsed to the ground.

There was no trace of relief on her face.

"Are you all right?"

"My life isn’t in danger... but I’ll need several days of concentrated mana recovery."

"Can you stand?"

Ferda extended his hand.

"Thank you."

Erika accepted it.

His palm was rough with calluses, unlike those of an ordinary Mage.

She had touched this man’s hand once before.

And then—

At that exact moment...

Something flowed through their joined hands into hers.

Erika knew exactly what it was.

It was that mana.

The very mana that had humiliated her before.

"Eek!"

Erika shrieked in alarm.

She immediately let go of Ferda’s hand and collapsed back onto the ground.

"...What’s wrong?"

Her face turned bright red.

What’s wrong?! The moment I grabbed your hand, you tried to pour your mana into me again! You shameless pervert! Were you trying to do something indecent to me again?!

She wanted to scream those words.

But she couldn’t.

Ferda genuinely looked as though he had absolutely no idea what had happened.

If she accused him now...

She would only end up looking like the fool.

"A-Ahem! It’s nothing. I think it’d be better if I began cultivating my mana right away. Please keep watch over the surroundings."

"I understand."

Erika crossed her legs into a meditative posture and slowly closed her eyes.

The circuits within her body began to turn, accumulating mana in rhythm with the beating of her heart.

Within the darkness behind her closed eyelids, the battle she had fought only dozens of minutes earlier replayed vividly.

’To think that man was actually the Curved Demon, one of the Demon King’s Seven Calamities.’

The Seven Calamities.

The commanders of the Demon King’s legions, ranked among the very strongest of the Noblesse class, second only to the Emperor class.

Even after exchanging several blows and sensing his mana, she had never guessed his identity.

She had only realized that he belonged to the Noblesse class.

There had been no helping it.

She had been driven entirely onto the defensive.

She had needed to devote every ounce of her concentration to surviving the battle.

She simply hadn’t had the luxury to identify who he really was.

Yet even those excuses brought her no comfort.

She had once been known as the Wisdom of the Twelve Heroes.

She had already fought the other six members of the Seven Calamities and had even managed to find ways to overcome them.

’And Regent Ferda recognized him after seeing just a single attack.’

He had identified the Curved Demon after witnessing only one move.

That was an undeniable fact.

’And I was completely outmatched in terms of mana, too.’

She had not entered the battle fully prepared.

Still, it was difficult to argue about who would have won.

If Ferda and Luri had never appeared...

Would she really have defeated that man?

’Damn it.’

She silently chewed on her frustration.

Although the battle had ended before its true conclusion, Erika could not ignore the overwhelming sense of helplessness she had felt.

And then...

’This is so unbelievably embarrassing.’

The fact that she had panicked and screamed all by herself hurt even more than the pain twisting through her internal organs.

She bit her lip and repeatedly smacked her own thigh with her fist.

’Ugh, you idiot. You complete idiot! You should just die already!’

Watching her silently endure her suffering, Ferda came to a conclusion.

’Her internal injuries must be extremely serious.’

A short while later, someone flew back toward them.

It was Luri, carrying the vicious-looking axe she had taken with her.

"I’ve eliminated all the Monsters heading toward Hestia Village. They said the situation in the village has also been brought under control without needing additional assistance."

"Good work."

"It’s not over yet. We still have to clean up all these Monster corpses."

"Vernel will be pleased."

The forest was littered with the bodies of Monsters.

Their green blood and purple flesh created an unnatural and ominous stain upon nature.

"I’ll take care of cleaning up this entire area."

The one who spoke was Erika, still seated in meditation.

"There’s no need for you to trouble yourself."

"There are too many of them, and if they’re not cleaned up thoroughly, some areas will become contaminated. This is exactly the sort of work that requires magic. Once I’ve cultivated my mana a little longer, I’ll have enough to clean everything up."

"Very well. Then I’ll leave it to Lady Erika."

It seemed as though everything had finally settled down.

But it hadn’t.

BOOM—!

A tremendous roar echoed through the air.

Its source...

Was none other than Hestia Village.