Chapter 91: Evolution

Having unraveled the mystery of Sanjō Kokaji Munechika and inherited the feelings she had entrusted to them, the three wasted no time. They returned at once to the castle town, resolved to carry out the final stage of their work.

Using the rented house Ryoma had prepared as their base, they divided their roles with quiet efficiency. Esther shut herself away to advance the research on the memory-retention elixir, while Ryu and Ryoma ran tirelessly through town and countryside, gathering every material required—rare herbs, alchemical reagents, dragon-related catalysts, and tools that could withstand immense magical strain.

This was not research begun from nothing. They were continuing the work Munechika had left behind, following the path she had already carved. Because of that, it took less than a month. Acquiring her belongings—her pharmacological texts, her carefully maintained distillation apparatus, her meticulously annotated notes—was a great boon. But the true key lay elsewhere: Esther herself had been pursuing similar research for years. What had once been parallel lines now converged into a single, inevitable conclusion.

───One day, at the height of noon.

“NUAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!! IT’S DONEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!”

Esther burst out of the research room, holding aloft in both hands a vial of medicine that shimmered in iridescent rainbow hues, its light refracting like a fragment of a fallen star.

Her white coat was splattered with stains of every imaginable color. Deep shadows pooled beneath her eyes. Her hair was in disarray, and yet her expression blazed brighter than the potion she held.

Before celebrating the medicine’s completion, they should thank her. That much was obvious.

“So it’s finally done… Thanks, Esther.”

“We cannot thank you enough, truly.”

“—Hmph! I need no thanks, you fools! Just drink it already!”

Esther’s ears flushed red as she shoved the memory-retention elixir into their hands, as if embarrassed by the sincerity directed her way.

“Is it safe to drink it now?” Ryu asked.

“Mm. The effect lasts a lifetime. Best to swallow it before someone steals it from under your nose.”

“I see. Then, Ryoma—no, test subject—go first.”

“Eh…?”

“I’m joking. Let’s drink it together.”

They removed the caps from the vials.

“To Esther’s wisdom…”

“And to Munechika’s feelings.”

With that, they tilted their heads back and gulped it down.

“…………”

“…………”

“Well?” Esther demanded.

“I don’t feel any change in my body.”

“This is something we won’t know until actual evolution occurs,” Ryoma said gravely.

“Then I’ll try evolving,” Ryu said casually.

““!?””

“The meeting with Itagaki Taisuke is the day after tomorrow. After that, I’ll have to devote myself to my duties as Imperial Ambassador. If I were to evolve in the middle of work by accident, it’d be a disaster. Better to get it over with tonight and face everything ahead with a clear mind.”

“That may be so, but…”

“It is far too sudden,” Ryoma muttered.

Ryu’s expression grew firm, resolute.

“To be honest… I want to sever this debt called ‘fate’ right here and now.”

“R-Ryu…”

“Ryu…”

“Gyau…”

(…Lord Ryu…)

He gave a crooked grin.

“Well, if I fail, it’ll be a final farewell forever. Kukuku…”

“Do not say such ominous nonsense, you utter fool!”

“Even the spirits of words are wincing at that one…”

If he failed, he would follow his instincts and fly to the Floating Island, abandoning his humanity forever.

In the end, Ryu did not bend. The evolution would take place tonight.

＊

Late that night.

Tosa lay silent beneath a sky dominated by a full, luminous moon.

Esther slept like the dead, clutching Homura in her arms. Axel slumbered peacefully in the stable.

In the garden of the rented house stood two samurai.

“Ryu… are you truly going?” Ryoma asked.

“Yes. Tonight, I obtain the wings of freedom.”

“…I see.”

(There are no more words to give him.)

“…May fortune in battle be yours.”

“We’ll meet again tomorrow morning.”

In an instant, Ryu vanished.

When Ryoma lifted his gaze to the distant heavens, he saw a blue dragon swimming through the clouds. Upon its back rode Ryu.

“…………”

(You must prevail… against the laws of this world itself…!)

＊

Far, far from Hinomaru, in the middle of an endless sea, lay a solitary island.

Untouched by human hands. Untrodden by civilization.

At the summit of the mountain that towered above that island stood Ryu.

“…It’s been a long road.”

He looked back, if only in memory.

Driven with his family into their former estate, only to be parasitized by that Dragon King. Years later, he assassinated his own father, crushed the neighboring noble, and used the spoils to purchase an elixir. That was when he met Esther. After curing his mother, he began the port-town project with Marquis Grace at the Empress’s request—only to be swept inexplicably into war.

In that war, he defeated three heroes. He even succeeded in forcing the Dragon King onto another. By rescuing Homura from a hero’s clutches, he gained a precious companion. Rena passed her examinations. He was elevated in rank, obtained a mansion.

Then he was sent to Hinomaru as Imperial Ambassador.

And now—through some twist of fate—he had befriended yet another dragon and stood on the verge of accomplishing the world’s first feat: retaining memory through dragonization.

(There’s still so much to do. For my family’s sake, I must succeed.)

From here on lay true unknown territory.

(But—there is no more hesitation.)

The people he carried on his back. The feelings entrusted to him.

They pushed him forward.

Ryu released the magic power he had suppressed until now.

It surged outward—an energy of dragonkind surpassing even the Dragon King.

If one were to borrow the words of the Fire Dragon… a Dragon God.

That power erupted into the world.

He was like a small star.

Gales roared across the island. The sky blackened. The sea churned in fury. Lightning tore down from the heavens.

＊

On the Floating Island—

“D-Dragon King!!!”

“Be still. The brat is fighting the truth of the world itself.”

“Brat…?”

Bahamut curled his lips in amusement.

(If you come to the Floating Island, you lose. If you do not, you win. Either way… it matters little to me. Do try your best.)

＊

Ryu was not evolving into an ordinary dragon.

He was attempting to become something new—something beyond the Dragon King.

(Good. Memory retention succeeded. But now… the will of dragonkind—no, the will of the world itself—is trying to swallow me.)

The curse of dragon evolution that none had ever resisted.

This world would not yield to a single potion so easily.

He had suspected as much.

That was why he came here, to this distant, empty place.

Blinding light enveloped him.

His body burned, swelling larger and larger.

Scales spread across his skin. Two wings burst forth.

He transformed—into a dragon, into something more than a dragon.

His mind churned chaotically.

“Damn it…!!!”

A dark, monstrous instinct tried to awaken within him—but he crushed it again and again.

He repelled the voice of the world.

So as not to lose himself.

So as not to lose his family and friends.

Desperately. Desperately—

(I will… never lose.)

＊

───The world fell silent.

“………………”

At the summit of the lonely island stood a single dragon.

Moonlight reflected off white-silver scales, casting a radiant, ethereal glow.

Larger even than the Dragon King, magnificent and solemn—

A beautiful silver dragon.

And within its eyes—

───shone the light of humanity.

“…Success. Too bad, world. This is our victory.”

His name was Ryu Ardren.

Stubborn. Reckless. Gritty—

And the most unyielding man in the world.