Chapter 84

However, the palace barrier, having taken multiple dragon attacks, could no longer hold and raised a sharp sound. Unlike the chilling sound, countless colors spread beautifully around the palace like a rainbow appearing in the sky.

Unnecessarily pretty.

Sian frowned as she watched the barrier that had protected the imperial palace for over a millennium crumble. Though she couldn’t summon the black dragon, she didn’t hesitate to draw upon its power.

Sian extended her hand. Black magic rose like a heat haze in the air, materializing as a sword. Carl watched with complicated emotions as Sian gripped the sword.

A clear cutting sound rang through the air like a massive bird slicing through the sky. Brita’s Dragon’s Breath once again embroidered the sky.

Carl unconsciously licked his increasingly dry lips. The palace barrier was completely shattered. The next powerful magic scattered by the dragon’s main body would have to be blocked solely by his own power.

“I’ll help you.”

Until Idelin’s main body could reach the palace, they had to hold out somehow. Beside Carl, tense with anticipation, Sian spoke while holding her sword lowered. Her firm voice was as solid as any man’s.

The very next moment, arrows shot skyward from the soldiers. Brita was gliding lower, having noticed the barrier’s destruction.

Almost simultaneously, Dragon’s Breath poured down. Against the catastrophic masses falling toward the ground while raising spectacular brown flames, black and silver hazes took the form of wings to block the sky.

—BOOM!

The explosion from the collision of pure dragon magic without the barrier’s help was unprecedentedly powerful and violent. Carl and Sian almost simultaneously lowered their stances at the ear-splitting blast.

The ground shook as if in an earthquake, and the palace swayed with a tremendous noise as if it might collapse.

“AHHH!”

Before they could gather their wits, screams erupted as the formation of soldiers lined up in the maze garden broke apart. A storm-like violent wind whipped their hair.

Extending her arm to block the wind, Sian saw Brita, who had lowered her altitude nearly to the ground while they were blocking Dragon’s Breath, sweeping soldiers aside with her massive wings.

Human weapons were completely useless before the attack of an overwhelming being with superior size and ability.

The archers had no chance to draw their bowstrings, and the soldiers had no time to gather their shields. The heavily armed soldiers were subdued instantly, like dolls unable to mount even proper defense.

Sian’s expression turned grim. On the dragon’s back, which had descended to directly attack the soldiers as soon as the barrier broke, sat a woman with red hair.

“It’s Reva!”

Before she could assess the situation, Sian shouted toward Carl, her mind filled with questions.

How?

Revenant was a dragon hunter, not a dragon’s master. With Brita’s master Antonio detained in the underground prison, how she was controlling Brita was incomprehensible.

The woman on Brita’s back twisted her lips upon seeing Sian pointing her out. The smile spreading across her face was an utterly chilling kind, full of murderous intent.

That crazy woman.

Though she couldn’t understand how it had been done, Sian inwardly cursed at the situation unfolding before her eyes. After wanting so desperately to become a dragon’s master, she had apparently fulfilled her wish somehow.

Before Sian could take any stance, Reva quickly drew her bow, taking an arrow from the quiver on her back and nocking it. The time between drawing the bowstring, taking precise aim at Sian, and releasing the arrow was truly just an instant.

Carl had also been watching Reva on Brita’s back, but it happened so quickly he couldn’t properly see all her movements.

The arrow shot toward Sian was blocked by black magic, stopping in mid-air without reaching her. Though the powerless arrow rolled on the ground, Sian staggered, taking a deep breath as if she’d been properly struck by the weapon that had attacked her.

Despite clearly blocking the arrow, intense pain wrapped around her entire body as if she’d been pierced. Suppressing the urge to scream, Sian barely managed to stay standing on her two legs. Her vision went black and her mind went white.

Sian quickly realized the arrow that had attacked her was no ordinary arrow.

“Sister!”

Carl, who had been relieved seeing the arrow blocked, cried out in shock upon seeing Sian staggering, his face turning pale. Just as he tried to run toward her, murderous air surged and wavered.

“Carl, look out!”

Without time to manipulate magic, Carl rolled. When he righted himself, an arrow identical to the one Sian had blocked with dragon magic was embedded in the floor where he had been standing.

So this is why she’s called the greatest dragon hunter of the era. Carl clicked his tongue at the chilling feeling belatedly gripping his nape.

“Living dragon bones… The arrowheads are made from them.”

It was a familiar sensation. The pain that chilled her spine and constricted her breathing. Sian shook her head violently with her eyes tightly shut, trying to clear her mind. Unlike Antonio’s dagger that could be handled without harm when kept in a box, this unexpected attack was different. Sweating from the head-splitting ringing in her ears, Sian explained to Carl.

Carl unconsciously grimaced sharply. Now he understood why she had staggered as if mortally wounded despite blocking the arrow.

While Sian and Carl were confused by Reva’s attack, Brita, having knocked down the soldiers, flapped her wings to generate wind.

Is she trying to escape? Carl’s eyes narrowed.

‘Not so fast.’

As Brita rose halfway into the air while creating a downdraft toward the ground, Idelin’s voice filled the sky. Brilliant silver approached rapidly, cutting through the sky beyond the high castle walls.

—SCREECH.

Unlike at Ivarid where he had deliberately shown himself, Idelin flew at tremendous speed while fiercely roaring. Behind the dragon’s body, where silver scales sparkled beautifully, magic left traces like a long tail.

Sian’s face brightened as if discovering reliable reinforcements. Carl summoned a sword in the air with magic just as Sian had, gripping it in his hand. Beyond him, Revenant, who had somehow dismounted from Brita’s back, stood watching Sian and Carl with a chilling smile.

She didn’t even look back, as if Idelin’s roars echoing from the sky behind her were of no concern.

The feelings of joy and relief at Idelin’s presence were brief; Sian unconsciously shuddered at the ominous feeling pulling at her nape.

“…No.”

It’s a trap.

“Carl, call Idelin back! Don’t let him come this way!”

“…What?”

Carl, gripping his sword, turned his head in apparent confusion at Sian’s cry. Idelin had already crossed the outer castle wall, reaching the edge of the maze garden.

“Reva is targeting Idelin!”

Sian shouted as loudly as she could while adjusting her grip on her sword and charging toward Revenant. However, despite sprinting forward at high speed, Sian couldn’t even get near her.

Revenant, after briefly meeting Sian’s eyes, stepped onto Brita’s wing, which hadn’t fully risen, and leaped up as if fleeing.

“Reva!”