She was Finley Korti. Her family had served the Kularus clan for generations. A dragon-kind, she controlled water and illusions, and was Tio's handmaiden and wet nurse (second mother).
For the past few months, she has prayed for Tio's safety every day here - the place where Tio started her journey.
Something unprecedented is about to happen──
Tio said this, and despite everyone's objections, she volunteered to go out and investigate. Fenli didn't doubt her words at all.
Out of a maid's respect for her master and a mother's trust in her daughter, she firmly believed in Theo.
However, because of this, the inner uneasiness has not been able to be calmed down.
At this time──
"Master Fenli! Master Cartus has sensed the princess's magical power! Please go this way—"
Compatriots came to report the news, but Finley couldn't wait to hear the end.
Subconsciously, she transformed into a dragon and flew into the sky.
Finley flew southward. Her scales, a glazed blue that seemed to blend with the sea, shimmered in the sunlight. She stared wide-eyed, scanning the sky for any dark spots.
In this way, she flew for an unknown period of time, searching all the time until she was nearly a hundred kilometers away from the isolated island.
At this moment, she remembered that Cartus, whose duty was to be a "watcher," had an extremely wide range of perception, and she could not help but regret her impulsive behavior. However—
"What!? Princess!?"
Finally, she saw it. The princess's blackness, magic, and aura were unmistakable.
The reason for her panic was that what she saw was not a black spot.
It was a tornado. It was flying horizontally, its base sharp as a needle, a pitch-black tornado.
Although there was still a distance of several kilometers, the tornado suddenly shortened the distance and approached.
Finley had followed Tio longer than anyone else, so she could tell that Tio's speed was incredibly fast compared to when she first left the village. Even the fastest dragonman in the village, the Storm Dragon, who possessed powerful wind attributes, could not match Tio's current speed.
"Hmm, is that Fenli?"
"Uh, yes! Princess! Seeing you return safely, I'm really... eh?"
After only a few months of separation, Fenli already missed the sound so much that tears welled up in her eyes. However, as soon as the tornado dissipated, her tears immediately retreated.
"Princess, why do you look like this..."
"Don't worry, I just changed my form a little bit, so that I can move faster."
This answer left Fenli dumbfounded. The dragon-men's form after transformation should be fixed from birth. While their size might change with age and training, their appearance itself couldn't change.
However, the truth was clear. After transforming into a dragon, the princess' figure became even slimmer and more sleek, with countless graceful, flowing lines on each of her dragon scales.
"Let's talk later. Fenli, I'm sorry, but I'd like to ask you to spare me some of your magic power. I've been trying to improve my form-changing proficiency while flying, and I've consumed more magic power than I expected..."
Hearing this, Fenli came back to her senses. Noticing the fatigue that was hard to conceal in Tio's tone, she quickly activated the magic of transferring magic power.
"I'm saved, Fenri. Come, undo your dragon transformation and ride on my back."
"What did you say?! I can't possibly ride on the princess's back!"
"That's enough. I don't have time to explain now. Come up quickly. This is an order!"
"Wow, how can a servant ride on his master... How am I going to explain this to my ancestors?"
"Huh, quite the opposite. Being ridden on is a reward for me."
"Eh? Princess, what did you just say...? Hmm? What's wrong with you? Why is your breathing so rapid?"
Fenli, filled with trepidation, released her dragon form and rode on Tio's back. She noticed something was amiss with the princess and tilted her head in confusion.
However, before she could get any answer, the wind barrier surrounded Fenli.
"Let's go! The pleasure of being stepped on by Fenli will now become the driving force for me to fly!"
“Princess!? Did you just say something weird—Ahh, too fast, too fast!?”
The pitch-black tornado swirled up again. Tio flew so fast, so fast that she nearly left the wind barrier behind. Fenli, too busy to immerse herself in the joy of reunion, screamed in surprise throughout the journey.
About ten minutes later.
"Tio-sama, you're back!"
"I'm so lucky you're safe!"
"Princess, what was your form just now...?"
"Hey, get out of the way! Princess needs to get some rest!"
The dragon people from the entire village gathered on the shore of the isolated island, and greeted Tio one after another, their voices filled with joy but also confusion. Tio, who had released her "dragon transformation", stood in the center of the crowd.
"Well, thank you for welcoming me! Everyone, I'm back!"
Tio said. Although her attitude seemed happy, she looked obviously exhausted. Fenli went forward to support her and carefully cared for her.
"Princess, I will have a bedroom prepared for you immediately. Please return to your mansion and rest."
Finley led Tio forward with great respect, but Tio shook his head and rejected her suggestion.
"No, that's not necessary. I have something urgent to report to everyone immediately. Fenli, where's Grandpa?"
"I'm here."
A burly man with crimson hair approached, pushing through the crowd and the noise. He was Tio's grandfather and the leader of the Dragon Clan—Edel Kularus.
Even though he had lost his country, he was still undoubtedly the king to the dragon people. Therefore, as soon as he opened his mouth, all other sounds immediately fell silent, including those who were happy for Tio's return and those who were worried about her exhaustion.
Although Theo was too tired to stand, she still left Fenli and refused her support. She straightened her back and faced Edel.
Seeing the light in her eyes, Edel couldn't help but gasp.
"Grandfather, no, clan leader."
"Tio..."
The grandfather and grandson faced each other, gazing at each other. A solemn atmosphere hung between them, causing some confusion among the dragons present, yet they listened intently, breathless.
All she could hear was the sound of the waves and the rustling of the grass in the breeze. With just one sentence, filled with a complex mix of emotions, Tio told her what she wanted to report.
“—‘The time has come.’”
“──!”
Edel's eyes widened. Even though they knew it was disrespectful, everyone still couldn't help but burst into laughter.
Edel took a deep breath, then stared at Tio with his eyes wide open.
Not as a grandfather, but as the clan leader who shouldered the fate of the dragon people, he carefully examined Tio.
In his field of vision, the pair of eyes that were staring straight at him were indeed much stronger and more heroic than he remembered. They were sharp eyes that had been honed through years of practice.
I originally thought her changes were the result of the negative influence of "God's minions"... but it seems I was wrong. This should be considered "growth."
The corners of Edel's mouth naturally curled up.
"Everyone heard this, right? Gather in the square and listen to Tio's report. This concerns our future."
The sharp tone brought all the dragons who were talking back to their senses.
Then, understanding the clan leader's words, their expressions changed, as if they were suppressing some overflowing emotion within. At the same time, they gradually moved towards the square.
"Tio, go eat something first. This is definitely not something you can report when your mind is not fully focused, right?"
"You're right. I have so much to report."
At this time, the two finally returned to the expressions of grandfather and granddaughter.
Edel walked towards Tio and placed a hand on her shoulder with a loving expression.
"It seems you've met a good match. You now resemble your mother (Orna)."
"Hmm... Grandpa is still as sharp as ever."
"Princess? No way, could it be that you..."
Tio's cheeks flushed, and she shyly raised her sleeves to cover her face. Edel laughed, while Fenri's expression was frozen and twitching.
At this time, neither of them thought that although it was not the "minions of God" that influenced her, the good fate that Tio encountered also had many negative effects on her. It would be more appropriate to say that it was "awakening" rather than "growth".
After that, only fifteen minutes passed.
During this time, Tio ate a simple meal. Meanwhile, the entire village's dragon tribe—about three hundred people in total, regardless of gender, age, or status—gathered in the central square.
Everyone seemed restless upon hearing that the princess, who had been investigating the mainland, had returned with important news to report.
Since many investigations had been conducted in the past, but never such a serious meeting, everyone was even more uneasy.
"Everyone, please listen carefully to what I have to say."
The Kabuki stage beneath the blue sky was a place where various events were held during festivals and holidays. Now, Tio stepped onto the stage. Edel and Fenri followed her, keeping a slight distance from her as they sat down on the ground.
"The end of the world is coming."
Upon hearing this, the dragons understood that God was once again manipulating history, repeating destruction and creation... Each of them was filled with indignation. This incident was precisely the reason the dragons had lurked on this island. The same thing had happened about three hundred years ago.
However, compared with what has happened before, the impact this time is extraordinary.
"This time, it's not just history that will be ended by God. Humanity faces an existential crisis. God intends to completely erase the existence of this world and extend his claws to another world!"
Suddenly, the crowd panicked.
"No words can fully describe this crisis. I'm sure you're all confused. Therefore, I will recreate the life-and-death battles I and my companions experienced together! I'll present it through the magic of the Age of Gods, so watch carefully!"
Finley was speechless with astonishment, and Edel's expression grew even more serious. Tio pulled out a white card from her bosom, which looked like a different-colored status board. She held it high above her head, and then—
“What… is this…”
Edel's eyes widened. The others reacted in the same way.
Everyone was watching the scene projected in the air intently, mesmerized.
The image begins in the realm of the Shuuni Snowfield. As Hajime and the others return to retrieve the buried artifact, they activate "Past Regeneration" to recreate past images and record them within the artifact. What they witness is the overwhelming force of five hundred apostles and their ilk.
Watching the video, one couldn't help but feel as if the entire sky above the square was filled with apostles. At the same time, even through the video, the enemy's strength was evident, and the dragons swallowed nervously.
"Those were monsters I'd fought and lost before. I never imagined there would be so many."
"In that battle where everyone thought Grandpa had died, the opponent was indeed this guy."
That's right. In the past, Edel had fought against the apostles.
The outside world believed that Edel died in that battle, but in fact he escaped by faking his own death and built a secret village where the entire dragon race could hide.
"Tio...who is this young man?"
"His name is Nagumo Hajime. He's one of the humans summoned from another world."
"So, he's the 'Hero'...?" the dragons murmured. Then, Elder Kaltus, the oldest dragon sitting in the front row, shook his head.
"He's not a hero. I never thought... he's actually a 'Alchemist'..."
"What!? Elder Kaltus, are you kidding me!?"
The blue-haired young dragon man, Listas, could not help but exclaim loudly. The other dragon men seemed to have the same idea.
It was no wonder. Facing a hopeless battle force, he didn't flinch. This white-haired, eye-patch-wearing man didn't even have a combat vocation. No one could believe this.
"Indeed, the master is not a hero, merely an alchemist. However, he is undoubtedly a hero. Even after falling to the bottom of an abyss deeper than Orcus, he managed to climb back to the surface single-handedly. He even defeated an apostle in a one-on-one, direct confrontation. His existence is truly a rarity."
"Defeat the apostles alone... I see. No wonder they sent so many forces. Haha..."
Edel laughed dryly without realizing it.
He was now half understanding and half in disbelief. The others were the same, too busy to care about what Tio had just said to the person in the video.
Fenli was the only one who was there. She immediately turned her head towards Tio, gazing at her princess, whose profile was stern and resolute. "Eh? Just now, the princess called that young man 'Master'...? Did I hear wrong?" Fenli's expression seemed to ask.
"Beside him is Queen Eletia, the former strongest vampire... but now she calls herself 'Moon'."
"So she's still alive..."
"Yes. She was originally sealed at the bottom of the abyss, but it was the master who rescued her."
"I see... Hmm? Tio, just now you—"
"That's right! Lady Edel! The princess did call that person a strange name! Come, please question the princess!" Miss Fenli clenched her fists and shouted to Edel in her heart with anticipation.
"And Shia Hauria of the Bunnyman tribe is another anomaly. As far as I know, she's the only demihuman of this era with magical powers. The brown-haired young man behind is actually a 'hero,' but in my opinion, Shia is more worthy of the title of hero than him."
“I-I see…”
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