Kays Translations

Chapter 83: Ancient Covenant

Lucius had finished his treatment and looked up at Silverwood, which was dyed with the colors of evening, from the bottom of the hole.

It was the central square of the village built in the vertical cave.

The surroundings were bustling, with everyone busy repairing the golems in preparation for the next attack, but Lucius couldn’t help them.

Naturally, all he could do was keep watch to make sure no undead or monsters attacked from above.

―― He’s still not back, Crane-san.

Thinking that even now, at this moment, the undead were probably destroying the wedge that sealed the existence of the demon dragon, Lucius couldn’t stand it.

Many dwarves lay around, having exhausted their magic powers and gasping for breath.

It seemed that not much hair was needed for repairs, as everyone was using their long, stiff hair as makeshift beds.

“Lucius. Do you like the forest? You’ve been looking up at it for a while.”

It was the dwarven elder, Damur, who spoke to him.

“I’m on guard duty. Making sure no monsters come.”

“I appreciate it, but why do you need to go that far?”

“That’s—”

The moment Lucius spoke, a coldness flowed around him.

His back tingled, and he shivered involuntarily as a sense of oppression and chill swept over him.

It was an immense magic power, far beyond what he had felt earlier.

It felt like an unbelievably monstrous creature had appeared just beyond the wall.

―― No way!

Even the dwarves couldn’t contain their agitation.

Those who had collapsed from exhaustion on the ground all jumped up at once.

Without a moment’s delay, many dwarves gathered in the square.

“The demon dragon has finally been resurrected…”

“Damur, what are we going to do!?”

“That human, he really hasn’t come back! We shouldn’t have trusted humans after all!”

The dwarves were bewildered.

And Fagra seemed to be trembling with anger or perhaps tears.

“Anyway, turn on the scrying mirror!”

In response to Damur’s shout, huge copper plates were brought in by the dwarves.

An image was immediately projected.

―― A snow mountain?

No, that’s not it.

The death city of Bulgia was covered in pure white snow.

The blizzard had frozen everything.

―― Something is wrapped around the castle.

It was a pale dragon with wing-like bones.

When Lucius thought that, Damur muttered with a tragic tone in his trembling voice.

“………… The demon dragon.”

Countless ghostly dragon knights were flying around the area.

Their numbers had increased dramatically compared to yesterday.

“There were this many!?”

“They were trapped underground… All the undead… They’ve all been resurrected.”

Right after Lucius shouted, the walls of the cave began to creak.

―― What now!?

The next moment, the wall peeled away, and what came crashing down was a large number of slimes.

While there were no black-silver ones, there were countless slimes of various colors—blue, green, yellow, red, purple, and white.

“Long Beard! The false cores—”

One of the dwarves shouted.

“The dispersed core conservation mechanism has been activated… That means the labyrinth core has shattered. The guardian golems must have searched for them and reached here…”

The countless slimes that came crashing down gathered around the golems scattered throughout the village and stopped moving.

―― Are they dead?

“They’re in a temporary death state. They’re waiting for the guardian golems to recover the constant function of the labyrinth.”

The false cores and the golems might be in some kind of symbiotic relationship.

More accurately, it might be the dwarves who create them and the labyrinths.

“That slime…”

Lucius, moving slowly, pointed to the white false core.

“Slime…? What’s that?”

Damuer confirmed the direction Lucius was pointing.

“A rod in the false core?”

Hurrying over, he pulled out a metal rod that had pierced the slime with trembling hands.

“What’s that?!”

“…It’s the wedge that sealed the demonic dragon.”

Damur stared at the rod covered in scratches for a while, then closed his eyes.

After taking a breath, he turned to the dwarves gathered in the square.

“You all… This labyrinth is doomed. It will sink into the abyss soon.”

Voices rose from the dwarves all at once.

“Long Beard! This labyrinth is still young!”

“…There are plenty of minerals, and it’s easy to live here.”

“That’s right! If Fagra can make the magic steel golems according to plan, we might still have a chance!”

Damur shook his head.

“…Give up. There’s nothing we can do anymore.”

In the somber atmosphere, suddenly, the sound of a bell ringing echoed loudly.

“Long Beard! Hordes of undead are coming from Bulgia!”

Everyone’s faces froze.

“We have wounded here!”

“We don’t have nearly enough golems that can move!”

“Are we supposed to carry all these people!?”

Damur muttered as if disappearing.

“I won’t allow anyone to escape… Curse you, demon dragon.”

Lucius clenched his fist tightly.

The dwarves had been protecting the labyrinth for the sake of the world.

But humans had taken Fagra’s mother’s life. Surely, many lives Lucius didn’t know about were lost too. They probably harbored resentment towards humans.

Even so, they had treated and healed him when he was unconscious and injured. Maybe it was because Crane was there too, but if they truly hated him, they would have left him or killed him.

Crane and Fagra loved each other.

And humans and dwarves had once lived together in old Bulgia.

Was it really impossible for humans and dwarves to walk together?

――A person living in Silverwood?

Lucius started walking towards where he sensed magic power.

“Lucius… What are you planning to do?”

Damur asked.

“I’m going up now.”

“Weren’t you listening? The undead dragon knights are coming—”

“That’s exactly why. Didn’t I say? I am of the family that protects Silverwood.”

Lucius answered as if it were obvious.

“I don’t understand. What are you trying to say?”

“Right now, you all are living in Silverwood.”

“What… do you mean?”

“Right now, at this moment, the dwarves are my subjects.”

“Subjects?”

“A noble is someone who can protect their subjects well.”

Lucius called forth the evil dragon and gathered Chiyou.

Then, amidst the cold sky filled with the demon dragon and countless undead, he flew off alone.

The dwarves were left behind.

Everyone seemed puzzled.

“What was he trying to say?”

“What does ‘subjects’ mean?”

As the dwarves looked around in confusion, Damur also began to walk, calling out to Fagra nearby.

“Fagra.”

“What?”

“Take your clan and go into the forest. Live in another labyrinth.”

Damur headed towards the furnace set up beside the square.

“Long beard, what are you doing…”

“The undead will be pouring in soon!”

Damur took out a knife and cut off his long red hair.

Dwarves nearby crowded around him.

“This hair… was grown by all of us, all the members of the dwarven clan, for Fagra to make magic steel golems… Why do you think we repaired the golems with magic without using hair as much as possible?”

“Because of the ancient covenant… Besides, it seems Lucius defeated the magic steel golem. If it can’t beat that opponent, it’s impossible from the start.”

Other dwarves chimed in.

“That man doesn’t care about covenants!”

“He might not know. But it doesn’t matter. We dwarves keep our promises.”

Damur looked at the rusty, cracked rod in his hand.

“There’s no other way. Humans protect us from threats, and we provide tools to them. We just follow that covenant.”

Dwarves are not a strong race in battle. What they can do in any era is only one thing: create.

Near the labyrinth, where magic gathers, there is always a habitat for monsters. For dwarves to continue protecting the labyrinth, there had always been something that would protect them by their side.

Until 400 years ago.

In front of the furnace where Damur crouched, there was a lump of magic steel that he had taken out.

And beside the furnace, there were magic crystals piled up.

Purified magic crystals, used as materials for Crystal Golems, brought about more firepower than firewood could ever provide.

Without these magic crystals, magic steel cannot be refined.

When the crystal was thrown into the furnace, flames erupted.

“Long Beard… Don’t tell me you’re using that too? It’s a high-purity magic steel that comes out only once every hundred years! It’s the material for magic steel golems!”

“That’s right. But I’ll use it. Four hundred years ago, the warriors of the Republic responded to the ancient covenant and fought for us. The traces of their long-standing sealing of the demon dragon, the highest-grade magic spear… Bone Shadow. I will repair this and deliver it to Lucius.”

“Don’t be ridiculous! That magic spear is already broken!”

“No, I’ll fix it. At any cost. The magic sword Lucius holds is of the lowest grade. With that, he can’t even stand up to that monster.”

The dwarves were confused and shaken.

In the midst of this, there was a shadow approaching the leader.

“If father stays behind… I’ll help too.”

Fagra sat down on the forging stand next to the furnace.

“You idiot! You’re the next leader!”

“Someone else can do that. But only I can wait for that person and give it to him. Also…”

“…I see, do as you wish.”

The flames roaring in the furnace illuminated Damur and Fagra’s faces red.

◆ ◆ ◆

Lucius flew over the forest.

He looked at the undead city of Bulgia with stern eyes.

Countless undead knights, and a pale blue dragon wrapped around the castle.

The dragon spread its wings like white bones.

Its gaze was straight, looking at him.

Was it a threat, or just curiosity?

The demon dragon growled as if smiling ferociously.

“…They’re coming.”

Over two hundred ghostly dragon knights began to attack one after another.

The destination, of course, was the village of the dwarves.

For a moment, he glanced down, but there were hardly any who could evacuate. There was no choice but to stand their ground.

――There’s no choice but to do it.

It seems the undead are attracted to both magic and life.

Where is the place most overflowing with magic and life in this land?

It’s definitely the Silverwood Forest.

Monsters naturally prefer places with dense magic.

After the dwarf village is attacked, there’s a high possibility that the demon dragon and the undead it controls will come to the Silverwood.

If that happens, they’ll eventually reach the Silverheart Village.

There are his father and mother, maid Matilda, the villagers he’s been with since childhood, and Lauren, who Yu vowed to protect.

――I won’t let that happen.

The demon dragon unleashes three breaths toward the approaching undead dragon knights.

The dragon knights quickly disperse.

Still, about thirty of them are caught in the breaths and vanish.

Smoke rises from the undead dragon knights turned to ashes by the flames.

It’s a signal of the start of the battle.

Lucius grips his sword again and charges into the swarm of dragon knights.

In an instant, like ants swarming sugar, the dragon knights cover Chiyou and the evil dragon from all sides.

Spears thrust from all directions, but Lucius remains unfazed.

――Do it.

When the evil dragon harms itself, it sprays blood on the swarming dragon knights.

The dragon knights are engulfed in a whirlpool of blood, disappearing in an instant.

A flock of Blood Wyverns suddenly appears, about two hundred of them.

And at the same time, armored soldiers appear.

They understand.

With the magic-created dragon knights, they cannot defeat the real undead dragon knights.

However, it’s also a fact that it’s the most efficient way to deal with a large number of enemies.

The dragon knights, supposedly absorbed by blood, revive within the whirlpool of blood.

Piercing with spears wielding newborn Wyverns, they break through from within.

Everyone revives once more.

Those defeated by the breath of the demon dragon and those absorbed by blood from their vessels are all regenerated.

They rearrange their formation, lining up the undead.

And the dragon knights created by magic, centered around Lucius, are the same.

“Go!”

The countless pseudo-dragons in the sky clash all at once.

It’s a melee.

Sounds of sword fights echo from everywhere.

Breaths of fire, water, lightning, wind, and poison spew from all over.

It’s like throwing randomly grabbed fireworks into the flames.

In the chaos, magic dwells in the mouth of the pale blue dragon wrapped around the castle.

――What is it!?

It’s something he’s felt many times before. Similar to the breath of the evil dragon.

What’s released is a pure white breath.

The undead swarm Lucius and his companions, trying to pin them down so they can’t avoid it.

“You’re in the way!”

With Light Blades and the evil dragon’s claws, they cut through, but their numbers are too many.

The evil dragon forcibly pulls the swarming pseudo-dragons away from the line of fire.

Immediately after, the white breath passes through.

With the emitted cold, everything seems frozen.

In an instant, the ground and large rocks around turn pure white.

And the forest through which the white breath passed as well.

Part of the green forest is unnaturally stained white, as if someone splattered white paint on it.

――A breath of cold air!?

The area where the melee had just taken place was frozen.

Both the magically created dragon knights and the undead dragon knights are dyed snowy white.

And like ice thrown into the air, the ice thrown upward begins to fall.

When it hits the ground, the ice shatters into pieces.

After a moment, the frozen trees and rocks begin to collapse with a loud noise.

White mist spills out from the shattered surfaces.

“Both sets of dragon knights, with one blow…”

Feeling another faint chill, the demon dragon gathers magic in its mouth again.

Immediately, another breath is released.

Ahead lies the hole where the dwarves are.

It seems the demon dragon aimed for the dwarves rather than Lucius.

“This is bad!!”

Lucius jumps down from the evil dragon and, holding up his shield, dives into the vortex of cold air.

――It’s hot!

Although it should be extremely cold, the first sensation he feels is not cold but rather a scorching heat.

Next, he feels the coldness of his frozen flesh.

“My fingers…”

He can’t feel the fingers that should be gripping the shield.

The same goes for his toes.

Parts of his body far from his heart are so cold that not only can he not move them, but he can’t even feel them.

The snow-covered ground is blown by the wind, and his field of vision opens up.

It’s like the dead of winter.

Everything around him is frozen, with the moisture in the soil turning into ice, covering everything in snow.

“Damn it. I can’t… move.”

His senses don’t return, and his body won’t move as he wishes.

Before his eyes, ice particles rise from the cold, gradually forming shapes.

The undead dragon knights, erased by the demon dragon, reappear before Lucius.

The dragon knights launch a simultaneous attack.

“I can’t afford to lose!”

With his numb body, Lucius forcibly swings his sword.

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