The Crown Prince of the Corpora Empire rode his horse leisurely. It was the fastest route to the Capitis Kingdom. He considered it a war not worth tensing over, as the kingdom was already falling apart.
The absence of even the slightest sign of magical beasts made his mood exceptionally pleasant. It felt as if the path had been cleared just for him. Behind him, a squadron of knights in shining golden armor followed in a long line. Glimpsing the dark royal palace beginning to appear in the distance, the Crown Prince let out a chuckle.
“This is almost too easy to conquer.”
From the shabby-looking walls to the absence of gatekeepers, the prince felt almost disappointed. The knights breached the gate and slowly rode through the open path, scoffing at the disorganized knights of the Capitis Kingdom.
“What a mess.”
Despite being the royal palace, the security was lax, and the streets were devoid of people. The prince sneered after a cursory glance at the disarray.
“What is the king doing? The country is in this state.”
Compared to the Corpora Empire, there was no contest. It was laughable to even call this a kingdom. Upon reaching the palace, Count Lansmorris hurriedly approached, thinking the prince had accepted his terms.
“Your Highness, if only I had been informed earlier, I would have prepared a luncheon.”
The prince’s expression hardened in disgust at the count’s greasy face and bulging belly.
“Count. You seem to be under some misunderstanding… I have come to conquer, not to dine. We might as well trample everything underfoot and consume it all.”
No sooner had the prince finished speaking than his knights drew their swords. Count Lansmorris, realizing things were not going as he expected, rolled his eyes in confusion.
“Ha! It seems Your Highness enjoys jesting. I, too, have a knack for humor.”
Just as the prince was about to respond to the clueless count, the ground shook violently. As everything trembled, a section of the royal palace began to crumble.
“What!”
While the prince calmed his horse, a black entity soared from the ruins of the palace. It was a creature he had never seen before, not a magical beast nor any predictable entity.
The black being, with its imposing presence, flew high into the air with powerful wingbeats.
Unable to take his eyes off the disappearing black creature, the prince muttered to himself.
“Black Dragon…”
After uttering the name, he shivered with realization and quickly commanded his horse.
“Follow that creature!”
The crumbling, dilapidated palace was of no further concern. To become the one who captured the dragon would elevate his name to greater heights, spreading it far and wide for ages to come.
***
As Felix and Sylvia dealt with Tenebris, the magical beasts began to scatter quickly. But Felix did not let this opportunity slip. He unleashed a vast magic, starting to annihilate the beasts completely.
People watched from the ground as Felix and Sylvia flew through the air, slaughtering the beasts. Their level of magic was beyond comprehension for the onlookers, who couldn’t move or take their eyes off the spectacle.
After eliminating all visible beasts, Felix grabbed Sylvia’s hand and pulled her into his embrace, unable to stop a smile from spreading across his face at her presence.
“Siri.”
With the King of Beasts defeated, all that was left was to return to the kingdom. Felix planned to propose to her once they arrived at the royal palace.
To ask her to spend her lifetime with him.
The possibility of her refusal flashed through his mind, causing Felix to frown slightly. He couldn’t predict what he might do if that happened.
But he didn’t want to see Sylvia sad. Lost in his thoughts, his expression changed rapidly, amusing Sylvia.
“Why are you laughing?”
Felix asked, delighted by her laughter, wanting to know the reason to possibly replicate it later.
“Just.”
Despite her simple answer, Felix briefly felt disheartened but soon joined her in laughter. Seeing her smile was enough for him. As they shared this moment, they suddenly stiffened, feeling a bizarre sensation, followed by a shock like lightning.
“Ugh!”
“Ah!”
The people, who watched their feats, rushed towards them as they saw Sylvia and Felix collapse in agony and fall to the ground.
Then, a strange sound echoed from the sky. Startled, Hubert looked up. Even from afar, an odd creature was quickly approaching their location.
“What on earth…”
Hubert, followed by Denis, Henry, Ethan, Carl, and Thibault, froze in place.
“Aaah!”
Sylvia, feeling as if her insides were being torn and flipped inside out, grabbed her hair and violently shook her head.
It felt as if each cell was expanding and contracting, her blood boiling hot. Indescribable pain brought physiological tears streaming down her face.
“Uhuk, ah.”
Rolling on the ground did nothing to alleviate the pain, which only seemed to increase. In her disjointed state of mind, Sylvia realized this torment was similar to a scene she had read in a novel.
It was a magic overload caused by suddenly inheriting the Black Dragon’s power upon its death. Tears and saliva mixed as her face became a mess, her hands frantically scratching the dirt in a pitiful display.
Felix struggled to stay conscious as he felt a sensation of wanting to burst his entire body with one hand. However, seeing his partner screaming in pain beside him made him even more enraged.
“Dare!”
How dare anyone cause you pain. Just by looking, you’re so lovable, how could they…
Even if it meant losing consciousness, Felix racked his brain. The vast magical power of the Black Dragon tried hard to enter his body all at once. Being the one who inherited the most potent bloodline, the magical power sought him out.
Sylvia was also connected to the Black Dragon, hence she was in pain too. Probably, the Duke of Sabelisa was the same.
Yet, the most tormented was undoubtedly Felix.
But he widened the shared sensation in his heart and pulled the magic towards him. If he could lessen her pain, he didn’t care about his own.
“Argh!”
Lucino, watching from afar, was startled and spurred his horse to rush over. Sylvia seemed to have fainted all of a sudden. Not just her, but Prince Capitis had also fallen. Could it mean she was in danger?
His heart throbbed violently. Just when he had finally found her, the thought of losing her surged within him. It was then Lucino recognized his vague feelings.
What a fool.
He cursed himself and urged his horse on.
“Sylvia!”
Lucino approached, his colorful hair fluttering. His appearance made Carl widen his eyes in surprise. Then, he started running towards Sylvia, who was still screaming, putting aside the giant creature beginning to cover the sky for now.
[Felix!]
[Sylvia!]
Three fairies tried to fly over from a distance but couldn’t approach due to the unstable magical power. Eryngium tried with all its might to flap its small wings to reach Sylvia.
[Sylviaaaa!]
Eryngium desperately called out to her, lying on the ground, unable to get up. Sylvia barely lifted her eyelids, feeling her brain boil with pain.
She felt less pain than before and groped the ground with her palm. Trying hard to stand up with her trembling arms, she fell forward again.
Someone caught her as she fell. Sylvia naturally thought it was Felix.
She wanted to say she had experienced something strange, that she still felt pain. But the voice that followed was unfamiliar, yet recognizable.
“Sylvia!”
Seeing Lucino, who lifted her upper body with his large hands, Sylvia’s eyes widened. Carl approached from behind him.
“Benefactor! Are you alright?”
Sylvia looked at them with a dazed expression for a moment before turning her head sharply.
“Where’s Felix?”
Why hadn’t he come? He was always the first to rush to her. She hastily turned her head as the sky darkened. It felt like dark clouds were hovering just above her.
Slowly lifting her head, she saw the Black Dragon filling her view, her eyelids trembling.
If it was as described in the novel, the Black Dragon’s magical outburst must mean it was nearing the end of its lifespan… Or had the dragon already died? She felt confused as if the original sequence of events had been altered.
Sylvia then saw Felix, a short distance away, prostrate on the ground, supporting himself with his palms.
“Felix!”
Something looked wrong. His arm, previously attacked by Tenebris, was twisted in an unnatural way. No, something black was wriggling and covering his arm.
“No…”
Sylvia shook off Lucino’s hand on her shoulder. She tried to crawl towards Felix with her uncooperative legs but was caught again by Lucino.
“Where do you think you’re going!”
Lucino, seeing the dragon circling in the sky, sweated coldly. That made him even more reluctant to let her go.
“You can’t go now. Stay back.”
Lucino drew a sword made of magic from a gem. Carl also gripped his sword, staring up.
“Benefactor, I will surely repay you.”
With the intention to protect her, Carl tried to create snowflakes with magic. Sylvia tore off Lucino’s grip again and yelled.
“Let me go! I can’t!”
She wiped away the tears obstructing her view with the back of her hand. Felix’s body was becoming grotesquely distorted.
“No, nooo…”
She remembered a line Felix had said in pain in the novel.
“I am like a monster.”
Touching his strangely transformed arm and the wings that had sprouted behind his back, Felix had said those words.
At that moment, a black armor burst forth from his back. Sylvia’s pupils shook violently.
Boom!
Bella, who had been circling in the sky, spotted Felix and descended to the ground. Her landing stirred up a fierce wind around them.
[You were alive?]
Bella asked in a puzzled tone, seeing Felix writhing in agony. Then, as if remembering something, she added,
[Oh, you have an immortal body, right? You didn’t die even after ingesting poison. Yes, that’s right.]
Sylvia glared at Bella, whose jaws were merely flapping. It seemed like her words were only audible to Sylvia. Or perhaps Felix could hear them too.
[You are not Lord Aethernum!]
[Know your place! Do you think a human can handle the power of a Black Dragon?]
Poppy and Asta shouted from a distance.
[What are you?]
Bella asked in surprise upon discovering the fairies, then murmured to herself.
[Strange… I can feel Aethernum’s power in you too.]
Sylvia hated Bella for speaking so calmly in this situation.
“Shut up! How dare you take the form of a dragon!”
This scene was definitely not in the novel. Sylvia tried to recall the original work but froze. There was only one reason it wasn’t following the novel: because she, herself, had interfered.