"MASTER!!!"
Just as I emerged from the portal, two soft airbags suddenly smothered my face. The warmth coming from it was very nostalgic, as if I hadn't felt it for an extremely long time.
"Mmmmhmmm... Mmmhmmmhmmmm... (Ember... I can't breathe...)"
"Master! You're alive!"
Ember was crying buckets as her embrace got tighter than before. I, who was on the receiving end of her embrace, was slowly losing breath.
"Ember, stop! Will is having difficulty breathing already!"
Thankfully, before I fully lost my breath, Fina's voice resounded. Pulling Ember away, I was finally able to take a deep breath. I forced myself to inhale, recovering from the lightheaded feeling of getting smothered by Ember.
"Phew..."
I whistled lightly, finally catching my breath.
"You... Come here quickly!"
Just as I was finally starting to relax, a not-so-familiar face shouted, pulling me into her embrace in an instant.
"G-Goddess Blanc?!"
It had a different softness compared to Ember's; however, it was not uncomfortable. Wait, rather, what's going on with this situation?!
"You... What did you fight other than the Dragon King?"
She asked with a serious expression.
"Your arms and legs are completely beyond recovery. Even using Zeshion's Void healing powers, it's doubtful if they can even help."
Pushing me slightly away from her embrace, she stared at my face with a serious expression. As if confirming her previous thoughts, she parted her pink lips with a faint frown.
"Your limbs are no longer a part of your [Soul]..."
"W... What...?"
Do you mean the Grim Reaper's claim that I would never be able to move them again was true? No, that can't be real!
"W-What about the System's Halo? Can that not fix my limbs?!"
Panicking slightly, I asked for Goddess Blanc's opinion. Her face quickly turned from a light frown into a worried expression.
"Honestly, I have no idea... I think there's about a 50-50 chance that it can heal you, but you better prepare yourself in case it doesn't."
"... I see… Uhp!"
As if in a repeat of Ember's case, I was once again smothered by two soft peaks. Her lips got close to my ears as she whispered in a soft voice.
"... About your note, I'm hoping you could explain it to me later."
The heavenly feeling of her twin peaks lasted for but a short moment. She gently placed me on a nearby chair and took her distance.
"As you are now, you wouldn't even be able to move. Ember, Igni, and Fina will take care of Will for now."
Goddess Blanc gave commands as if the previous tight hug hadn't even happened. Ember and the others quickly did as she asked them to, moving to my side with worried expressions.
"As for you..."
She then turned to Fang, who was extremely weakened and lying against a wall of the room.
"... It's just exhaustion of the soul. A little rest should do the trick, but let me relieve your physical fatigue first."
With just a wave of her hand, Fang was covered in a translucent golden light. Seeing that her pale face had regained its pink hue, Goddess Blanc let out a soft sigh.
"Then, I'll be leaving first. I believe some chaos will soon approach this kingdom, so try to rest for as long as you can before then."
As if running away, she turned around and walked away at a brisk pace. Well, as one of the few God Tamers, it was no wonder she was busy. Rather, it was more of a mystery how she was able to stay in this room with Ember and the others for such a long time.
After closing the door behind her, leaving our team all alone in the room, the girls started talking with renewed fervor.
"Master, leaving alone is definitely not a good choice. This should be the last time you go into a dangerous place with low numbers!"
"Right! My Lord is taking too big a risk! You should take everyone along next time!"
"Although I'm the weakest in the group, I agree with Ember and Igni's words. If you're going into battle, take everyone along, Will!"
The three of them chided me with a powerful tone. It was a mix of worry and anger, but the worry in their voices won by a large margin. Since I ran out of energy, it was completely impossible to move my body anymore, so I couldn't pat their heads in appreciation.
"I made you all worry... Sorry. It won't happen again, I swear."
I quickly apologized, bowing my head slightly.
After seeing that I was reflecting on my actions, the three of them couldn't say anything more and could only frown with flushed faces. They probably weren't expecting me to apologize that easily, catching them completely off guard.
"Hmm..."
As the three were lost for words, Fang suddenly moved and opened her eyes slowly. As if arranged beforehand, Ember quickly came to her side and checked her state.
As Goddess Blanc explained earlier, Fang was not injured but rather just tired. However, it wasn't only her body that was tired, but also her soul. That affected her movements, turning them sluggish.
"Leader..."
Fang's voice echoed; her tone was as if she were in a fever dream. Slowly, her eyes regained their sharpness as her face turned from a neutral expression to a mix of fear and panic.
"Leader! Are you alright?!"
Fang tried to stand up but quickly stumbled. Ember moved to catch her, stopping her from falling to the floor. As their bodies bumped together, certain things started jiggling uncontrollably.
"*gulp*"
It was a stunning sight, but for some reason, my little guy was not reacting at all. Did it get affected by the Grim Reaper's attack? I hope not... I'm too young to become an eunuch!
"Ugh..."
Suddenly, my vision spun. I almost fell sideways from the chair, but Fina quickly caught me by the shoulder.
"S-Sorry, everyone... But it seems that I was more tired than I expected... Let me... Sleep... For a bit..."
As if my fatigue caught up to me, both mental and physical, at once, my consciousness faded. Just like a taut string that suddenly got cut off.
---
While Will was getting scolded by the others, a problem arose at the Cleaver Kingdom. It wasn't noticed at first instance it happened, though, and was only given attention when the King checked the location after the castle's barrier faded.
"T-The Dragon King..."
When the King entered the Sanctuary, his face turned pale. The few guards he was bringing with him were similarly shocked, agitated, and shouting in both shock and disbelief.
"The Guardian Dragon is dead?!"
They were completely doubting their eyes. As if praying that the scene before them wasn't reality and was just an illusion, the King paced forward, touching the scales of the gigantic dragon.
The surface still had traces of warmth, as if it had been alive until a few moments ago. However, not even the slightest pulse or movements from breathing were detected.
*RUMBLE!* *RUMBLE!*
"W-What is happening...!"
Suddenly, the entire sanctuary shook, as if an earthquake were occurring. The walls surrounding the sanctuary and even the ceiling suddenly had thick cracks running through them. The ones inside the sanctuary, the three men, opened their eyes wide at this scene.
"N-No... No! This can't be true!"
As if it were the end of the world, the fat King fell to his knees. His eyes were watery from looking at the despairing scene before him. The pillar that supported their kingdom, literally, was now gone.
"My Liege! We need to get out of here!"
One of the two guards suggested, looking at the falling debris that was larger than they were. However, the King was unresponsive, only staring at the dead body of their Guardian with a wide open mouth, silent sobs escaping his throat.
Having no other choice, the two guards dragged their king out of the sanctuary, heading up the stairs and back to the castle. As they vanished, a figure suddenly appeared beside the corpse of the Dragon King, a smile covering his face while strands of shadow swirled around his feet.
"... Just as I saw it."
The figure, Agor, muttered with excitement hidden in his voice.
He stood before the dragon and raised his hand. As he did, hundreds of black tentacles moved, drilling a hole in the monster's chest. It didn't take long before the heart, the most important organ, was visible and exposed to the open air.
"..."
Agor's smile vanished as he concentrated. The heart he extracted was carried in the air using dozens of shadow whips. Its size was unbelievable—even larger than a house—but comparing it with the dragon's gigantic frame, it was considerably smaller.
Out of nowhere, Agor then pulled out a small box that was decorated with random-looking scribbles and was pretty old-looking. When he raised it in the air, the heart that was floating before him started releasing a bright flash of light before reducing in size. As the size was finally enough that it could fit in one's palm, Agor picked it up and examined it closely.
"... With this, I can..."
As if in a daze, a creepy smile appeared on his face. Without any hesitation, he took a bite of it, blood splattering all across his face.
It was an inexplicably eerie scene, seeing someone eat a bloody heart, staining their face and clothes a deep red. After the last bite, he closed his eyes as if savoring the aftertaste.
Energy swirled in the air, gathering around him. The density was greater than what a God tamer could even wield. And this energy entered Agor's body as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
At that moment, the fifth god tamer returned, but thanks to the sanctuary's still-functioning barrier, nobody was able to realize what had happened at all.
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