Chapter 44: The Source

“I’m glad, I made it in time.”

The building had no doors or windows.

Until just a moment ago, Lucius had been searching for the entrance to the mausoleum, completely lost and confused.

Whether the entrance was underground or could only be opened in a special way, he didn’t know.

Just as he was thinking about searching underground, he felt an intense magical power.

There was no time to search for the entrance. Lucius released the dragon flame and forcibly entered the mausoleum, but his spell was somehow repelled by something.

At that moment, he remembered the place where the armor creature had emerged earlier.

He released the dragon flame at that spot, and it seemed that there was a small gap where the heat had penetrated.

Releasing the dragon flame several times, he managed to dissolve the wall and open the entrance.

What he saw immediately caught his eye.

Lauren, terrified, and a strange black armor approaching the girl.

That must be the source.

He had a strong intuition.

Although it resembled the armor creatures overflowing in the town, the creature in front of him seemed even more sinister.

It was a jet-black armor reminiscent of Western armor, three sizes larger than an adult.

The helmet had large horns and four glowing eyes.

Six iron plates were floating around the armor.

They looked like diamonds that had been distorted from their original shape, except for one that was severely damaged.

Furthermore, the armor itself was cracked all over, and rust was visible.

Contrary to its imposing presence, it also seemed incredibly weakened.

“Lauren, I’ve come to help.”

Lauren seemed unable to reply, her mouth agape in fear.

Lucius stepped into the mausoleum.

The magical power was so dense that it felt like diving into the sea.

Intimidation ran through his back.

If he hadn’t faced the evil dragon before, he would have been unable to move here.

He quickly readied his sword, condensing the light.

I have to separate it from Lauren.

He created a black sphere in his left hand and threw it behind the armor creature, away from Lauren.

Immediately, a pressure of pitch blackness was unleashed.

Although Lauren was away, she still clung to the wall to resist the strong wind.

On the contrary, Lucius rode the gust and started running straight ahead.

However, the armor creature showed no signs of being drawn in.

It seems it’s not effective.

He didn’t believe he could defeat a creature with such hidden magical power using his own spells.

He just hoped to draw its attention, nothing more.

At that moment, unexpectedly, the armor creature approached the darkness itself and reached out its hand.

Then it grasped the pitch blackness with one hand, raising its arm.

It intended to meet Lucius, who was rushing towards it.

It wasn’t a distance or speed he could stop.

Lucius swung at the armor with all his might, sweat covering his body.

As the thick arm swung down, the sound of cutting through the air passed near Lucius’s ear.

At the same time as dodging, he slashed at the armor’s shoulder.

It’s tough.

When the black armor’s hand met the blade, it easily deflected it.

Even a slash concentrated to its limits had no effect.

But his goal of separating Lauren had been achieved.

“Come on!”

Lucius immediately summoned the evil dragon without hesitation.

Particles flew out from his left hand.

It was a trump card that could only be used once a day.

There was no other time to use it.

The armor creature seemed to sense the presence of the evil dragon and held its hand out toward the floating iron plates around it, infusing them with magical power.

The iron plates began to change shape.

What is this?

When the armor grabbed them, the iron plates that had been floating in the air turned into a large shield.

The shield had multiple layers of chains wrapped around it.

A shield spell. Surprising.

Most of the white spirits manifested bladed weapons.

As the name suggests, the majority of their spells were blades.

He thought it would have some kind of weapon, but he never expected a shield.

As soon as it appeared, the evil dragon opened its mouth and spread immense magic power.

Through the magic core, the joy of the evil dragon could be heard.

Darkness overflowed, swallowing the surroundings.

Immediately, black lines were shot out rapidly from the evil dragon.

It was a strike that tore through the forest and brushed away the clouds.

The black violence reached the armor creature.

But the result was different from what was expected.

“What…?”

The armor creature received the pitch-black breath with its shield.

The shield and the breath were evenly matched.

The displaced mass of black magic power scattered in all directions.

Thin lines scattered, pierced through the walls of the mausoleum, and carved into the ground and walls.

It had endured the pitch-black breath…

The armor creature, which should have been weakened and cracked all over, had withstood the breath of the evil dragon.

Undoubtedly, it was a high-ranking creature.

Lucius had thought that as long as there was an evil dragon, everything would be fine, but he had been too optimistic.

As soon as the black lines that had extended from the evil dragon’s mouth disappeared, a violent gust of wind blew through the dim room.

The two children were blown against the wall.

Due to being unable to take a defensive position, Lauren took the impact head-on, lost consciousness, and slumped weakly.

“This is bad.”

If the inhuman battle in front of his eyes dragged on, Lauren would be caught up in it.

That wasn’t all.

It would have a tremendous impact on the town as well.

Lucius looked around, trying to find Lauren, who was supposed to be lying on the ground, but she was nowhere to be seen.

Where is she?

Just as the evil dragon began charging its breath again, Lucius spotted Lauren.

She was behind the shield of the armor creature.

She had been fastened to the back of the shield with the chain attached to it.

Why is she behind the shield…?

He couldn’t understand what had happened for the situation to end up like this.

There was no need for a hostage when dealing with a high-ranking creature like this.

All he needed to do was overpower it with force.

Could it be that the armor creature protected Lauren, who had no contract with the creature?

Flames burst forth from the evil dragon’s mouth.

In a hurry, Lucius was about to erase the evil dragon, but his left hand stopped.

If I erase the evil dragon now, I won’t be able to summon it again.

If he erased the evil dragon, Lauren would be safe from being burned by the breath.

But that meant sacrificing the townspeople to the creature.

The armor creature would rampage through the town, and countless people would die.

To save the people, he would have to sacrifice Lauren.

To save Lauren, he would have to abandon the people.

Normally, there was no choice.

By sacrificing one girl, he could save many people.

Naturally, he had to burn it.

If there was an evil dragon, he thought that he would be able to manage somehow, but he had been too optimistic.

He understood that his decision must not be wrong, no matter how much suffering it caused him personally.

That time had come for Lucius.

That’s all it was.

His heart beat faster, and he felt suffocated.

Unpleasant sweat broke out all over his body.

“Armor creature… please defeat it.”

In his hesitation and confusion, he heard the voice of the girl.

Lauren, who had been unconscious until just now, seemed to have awakened due to the heat of the evil dragon.

“Lucius, I… I’m different from my father.”

Her body was trembling, and her face was contorted with fear.

But her azure eyes were staring straight at Lucius.

“When you came to help me, I was really happy.”

The girl smiled with tears in her eyes, accepting her fate.

Her expression of resignation reminded Lucius of Blue Sun’s last moments.

He tightly clenched his left hand.

“It’s different.”

He muttered in a low voice.

“Lucius, please be careful.”

When Lucius hurried from Bark Town to Olivia, Lauren had held his hand and said those words.

When she looked up at the sky, she had an agonized expression and tears in her eyes.

The voice she shouted in the mausoleum, “I don’t want to die, I want to live!”

“It’s different!”

When the flames were about to overflow from the evil dragon’s mouth, Lucius turned it into particles.

The evil dragon, which had been hindered, was absorbed into his left hand while roaring in anger.

There was little magic power left, and the evil dragon could no longer be summoned.

He might be disappointed by everyone and pointed at with fingers of scorn.

But he couldn’t help feeling that this decision was not wrong.

If he didn’t do this, he would eventually become something other than human.

Lucius held his sword ready against the black armor.

“My name is Lucius Norris Dragon, the Baron. I will stop you.”

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