Viktor had already left the royal capital for three days. During these three days, the capital seemed to have fallen into a deep sleep, utterly quiet.
A knight whipped the reins, repeatedly striking the horse's back.
The horse, galloping at high speed, cried out in pain and could only run with all its might.
Dust billowed beneath the hooves. Like a shooting star, the figure raced through the city, finally breaking the silence that had hung over the royal capital for days.
Upon reaching the palace, the knight leapt off his horse. Without even having time to settle the mount, he rushed up several layers of steps, gasping for breath.
He staggered into the grand hall, his swaying body nearly failing to stop in time.
Quickly steadying himself in a half-fallen, half-standing posture, he appeared utterly panicked in front of the many ministers.
"Your Majesty, urgent news has arrived from the extreme north!"
The ministers were startled by the sudden arrival of the knight and looked at him with confusion and concern.
After the knight finally caught his breath, swallowing hard, the anxiety on the ministers' faces deepened. The emperor, seated on the throne, waved his hand at him.
The knight hurriedly dropped to one knee and quickly explained, "While investigating demons in the extreme north, the army led by the Second Prince was completely wiped out!"
"The Second Prince is seriously injured and is currently recuperating in the territory of the Delin family."
"What!?"
As soon as those words were spoken, all the ministers present sucked in a sharp breath.
Especially the nobles who had originally supported the Second Prince's faction, they instantly erupted, the hall falling into chaos.
They spoke over one another, discussing in panic.
"Could it be… that they encountered a demon!?"
Hearing the ministers' speculation, the emperor frowned slightly, the wrinkles on his face seeming to deepen.
"What was the cause?"
The knight swallowed instinctively, hardly daring to breathe, and continued, "According to information from the Pale Mage Association…"
"They encountered a monster."
———
Vladimir stood upon the snowfield, holding an ice-frost giant axe that radiated biting cold, beneath a gloomy sky.
His gaze was fixed firmly on the overwhelming long worm hidden among the rolling clouds.
Behind him stood over a thousand members of the Pale Mage Association who were still capable of fighting.
However, they were all badly wounded. Many could only raise broken staves and damaged magical devices.
The remaining mages had all been dismissed.
They were escorting the civilians who could not fight, leading them away.
At this moment, the monster's figure slowly swayed within the clouds.
Layers of hard black scales wrapped around its snake-like, elongated body.
Heavy dark clouds rolled endlessly across the sky, and massive hurricanes tore across the land.
It was like an inverted gray ocean, ready to drown all living beings in the next instant.
Terrifying pressure, combined with immense air pressure, crushed down upon everyone present.
Vladimir was drenched in blood, not a single part of his body unscathed.
Even his vision had become blurred and unfocused, forcing him to keep one eye closed.
Even so, he still stood firmly before the dragon, stubbornly staring at that restless, colossal body, like a statue holding up the heavens and earth.
The dragon writhing in the sky finally moved.
Powerful and piercing air currents surged up from the ground, pouring into the gloomy clouds.
The swirling airflow expanded, forming a massive vortex that slowly pressed downward.
The dragon's pitch-black body gradually flickered with white light, like a layer of flowing pale scales.
Its body slowly transformed into a streaking meteor.
The vortex grew larger and larger. The endlessly spinning air seemed to carry a force capable of shredding everything, gradually drawing forth a pale and heavy hurricane that rotated between heaven and earth.
The ground began to peel apart continuously, and the suffocating pressure filling the space grew even heavier.
The rolling dark clouds looked as if they could completely crush the entire world in the next moment.
Vladimir merely raised his head and tightened his grip on his weapon.
Facing that meteor-like massive body, he spread his arms wide.
Like a hero who feared death not at all.
———
Listening to the knight's account, the nobles and ministers trembled nonstop, as if they had personally experienced that horrifying and despair-filled scene.
Vladimir, this legendary general of the empire, was a name known to many across the land.
He was powerful, the strongest ice-element mage the empire was aware of.
Yet even a powerhouse like him had been crushed into this state when facing that overwhelming demonic creature.
Was this… really possible?
The knight continued, "B… but the Pale Mage Association suffered no casualties."
Hearing this, they were shocked once again, voices erupting in discussion.
"How is that possible?"
"Such a monster didn't injure anyone?"
"N… not exactly."
The knight stammered, unable to get the words out for quite some time.
One noble grew impatient and shouted from the back, "Just say it already!"
The knight shut his eyes, as if mustering his courage, then shouted loudly, "General Vladimir detected the monster's arrival in advance and evacuated everyone in the territory, taking them to the Delin family to seek protection."
"In the end, the general himself stayed behind… to buy time."
When his words fell, the entire hall sank into a long silence, followed only by waves of sighs.
General Vladimir was already among the most powerful individuals in the empire.
Within the empire, there were very few who held the title of "general."
Even Angus, the former head of the Delin family who guarded the north, had never received such an honor.
Like His Majesty, he was also a "strong figure of the previous era."
He had already reached retirement age, yet for the people of the extreme north, he was willing to sacrifice himself.
Hero.
That single word rose in everyone's hearts.
"I understand."
The emperor's voice sounded as if it carried no emotion at all.
Yet within his chest, it was as though a furious fire capable of devouring everything was burning.
A powerful aura instantly filled the entire hall, as if it could ignite everything in the next second.
Suddenly, everyone saw it.
A red male lion appeared faintly behind Aubrey.
It bared massive fangs, ferocity slowly spilling from its eyes.
The lion's powerful body gradually rose behind the throne, gazing toward the northern sky.
"Vladimir's sacrifice will not be meaningless."
This terrifying aura made the knight struggle to breathe.
He barely managed to raise his head and hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, please… please allow me to speak frankly… things are not as you think."
"To be precise, aside from the investigation force brought by the Second Prince… there were no other casualties."
"The general… also survived."
The moment this news was revealed, the entire hall erupted into an uproar.
The emperor's clenched fist suddenly relaxed. He let out a breath, and the overwhelming pressure dissipated with it.
Lowering his head, he slowly looked at the knight with an extremely cold gaze.
"Say everything you know, all at once."
"Yes!"
The knight jumped in fright, his legs trembling as he poured out the story, "At the time, the situation was already on the brink of collapse, but at the very end…"
"The Duke Levi's daughter, Erica du Croy, stepped forward."
———
Amid the endless raging winds, the divine dragon seemed as if it would break through the clouds and charge toward the land in the next second.
Vladimir spread his arms and closed his eyes.
He had already prepared himself to die.
But suddenly…
The violent winds gradually calmed.
The overwhelming sense of despair slowly faded away.
Vladimir didn't even feel the pain. In a daze, he thought he had already reached heaven.
He cautiously opened his eyes.
The surrounding destruction was still utterly devastating, no different from before.
The mages around him were still injured.
But without exception, all of them had their eyes wide open, slowly raising their heads, looking ahead.
They weren't looking at him. Vladimir knew that clearly.
Curious, he followed their line of sight.
A golden-haired figure stood at the edge of a snowy cliff.
The wind seemed to have fully gathered around her, blowing her white mage robe so that it swayed endlessly within the whirlwinds.
Before her, people finally saw the true appearance of the giant dragon.
Its massive body coiled through the sky, covered in a layer of hard, obsidian-like scales that trembled ceaselessly within the hurricane, producing a low rumbling sound like rocks grinding together.
Streams of light flickered across its scales from time to time, spreading across its entire body through the gaps between them.
Its pupils were enormous, so terrifying that just a single eye was as large as a human.
No one understood how such a monster could fly.
It clearly had no wings, yet the wind seemed to cling to its body, supporting it as it floated.
But facing this monster, Erica showed no fear at all. Instead, she stubbornly stared straight at it.
"I know you're looking for me."
"It's already… enough, isn't it?"
The overwhelming dragon hovered in the air, its eyes filled with majesty, staring intently at Erica.
There was no terrifying sense of danger. Compared to before, it had become incredibly calm.
No one understood why that ferocious long worm had suddenly become so docile.
Just because of Erica? Because she was here?
Vladimir widened his eyes and spoke softly from the side.
Afraid that his voice might provoke the enormous monster into action again.
"Amelia."
"Didn't I tell you to take her away…"
A woman walked over to Vladimir's side and removed the hood from her head.
"She insisted on coming back."
She still wore an eyepatch, a lollipop held in her mouth, clearly revealing her identity.
"Then you listened to her and brought her back!?"
Vladimir's voice was low, suppressing the anger in his heart.
If anything really happened to that child, how would he ever face his old friend?
"Hey, old man."
"I don't want to hear your lecturing."
Amelia glanced at him, completely unimpressed.
"But if she runs into dan..."
Before Vladimir could finish, Amelia cut him off, "I only look at results."
"Right now, you're alive. She saved you."
"That's the result."
She calmly looked forward, gazing at Erica, and spoke.
That golden-haired child said only one sentence.
"Please… don't hurt them."
The dragon's eyes seemed to carry a hint of intelligence, strands of light flowing within their depths.
Suddenly, it raised its head and let out a long roar toward the heavy sky.
In an instant, the chaotic storm erupted, snow swirling wildly as it swept across the land.
As if it were about to swallow everything around it whole.
Within the wind and snow, everyone had to raise their hands to shield their eyes.
At last, the storm that had burst forth so suddenly gradually subsided.
The heavy black clouds in the sky also slowly dispersed.
The moment their vision cleared, everyone anxiously looked ahead.
Including Vladimir.
At the edge of the snowy cliff, that terrifying monster, together with the boundless dark clouds, had vanished.
And along with them, the golden-haired girl was gone as well.
They stared in disbelief, eyes wide.
Only Amelia remained.
She tucked her hands into her pockets, her expression calm, closed her eyes, and felt the surroundings, the cold wind that had returned to calmness, yet still drifted faintly.
"How amazing."
"Amazing wind, and…"
"Amazing people."