Turning Point

Six months had passed since we left the Millis Holy Kingdom, and we arrived at the place marked on the map as Red Dragon's Jaw.

Red Dragon's Jaw.

It was the only gorge that ran straight through.

It was not as straight as Holy Sword Road, but that did not change the fact that this road had no forks.

Once we made it through here, we would be in the Asura Kingdom.

Apparently, it snowed here year-round, so we had prepared before coming.

"Rudeus! Look overhead! Dragons!"

Eris pointed above our heads. Up in the sky was a flock of red dragons flying back and forth.

A single red dragon apparently was not that frightening, but with this many of them, even if I was confident in my magic, I might still die here.

"Eris, shh. Keep your voice down."

"Rudeus, should we hunt them?"

Eris whispered, and it was Aisha who answered her in a murmur.

"Sister Eris, I'd like to live a few more years."

"There are too many of them. One or two would be fine, but that's a whole flock of red dragons."

After hearing what we siblings said, Eris reined in her excitement.

In the fairy tales of this world, heroes were dragon slayers. Eris must have admired that sort of thing a great deal too.

Unfortunately, these were red dragons that lived in groups. I had no way to grant Eris's wish.

As we walked along that one-way path, I saw two figures.

Silver hair, golden eyes. He wore no real armor, only a sturdy white coat made from some kind of hide I could not identify. He was not riding a horse, nor was he in a carriage. He was simply walking on foot, just like us.

Beside him was a black-haired girl walking with a mask on. Black hair was something I had almost never seen in this world...

No... wait... now was not the time to think about that...

I could clearly feel it: killing intent.

It absolutely was not the sort of killing intent casually released to intimidate others. He truly wanted to kill me.

Someone I had never met before was aiming killing intent at me. That was definitely not a good thing.

I glanced at Eris and Aisha. Both of them seemed so frightened they could not move.

I raised my head again, and at that moment, I realized my gaze had met his.

Out of instinct, I shouted.

"Eris! Take Aisha and run!"

The moment I finished shouting, I raised the Arrogant Water Dragon King and cast a spell, freezing that man completely solid.

That should have been the end of it.

But my heart was still pounding nonstop.

He was absolutely not the kind of being that could be dealt with by a spell like that!

"Eris! Hurry!"

Eris's thoughts finally seemed to return. She picked up Aisha and ran back down the road we had come from.

Just as I let out a breath of relief, I looked up and discovered that the man I had frozen a moment ago had completely vanished.

I turned my head left and right, trying to find any trace of him.

But several seconds passed, and I still did not see that man.

Deep breaths. Relax...

"Here!"

I turned and locked onto that man.

But the instant I saw him, his knife-hand strike was already before my eyes.

I was certain that in one more second, I would die.

Die?

Was I going to die again?

No, this was not the time to think about that. What I needed to think about now was what kind of magic I could release in one second.

One second.

Think carefully.

What magic could protect Aisha and Eris even after I died?

Or was this man only trying to kill me?

If that was the case, then all the better...

After that second ended, I hadn't released any magic. One second was still too short.

But I wasn't dead. After standing there in a daze for several seconds, I heard Eris scream.

My heart stopped for several seconds, and I ran in the direction Eris and the others had fled.

When I saw them, that man had thrust his hand into Aisha's chest, piercing straight through her. Beside them, Eris lay unconscious on the ground.

"Ah... ah... aaaaaah!!!"

I roared and raised the Arrogant Water Dragon King, unleashing magic at that man. I didn't know what magic I had cast, but I was certain it was the most mana I had ever used in my life.

I gathered all my mana into a single point, spun it at high speed, and fired it at that man.

He looked at me coldly and spoke calmly.

"A move you've already used once will not work again. Former Dragon Gate."

Magic poured down on him without end, but when the smoke dispersed, that man stood before me completely unharmed.

Not even the hem of his clothes had been stained with dust. At the same time, he flung Aisha toward me. I dove forward and caught her. Looking at Aisha's wound, I didn't know what to do. I still had plenty of mana left, so I used the strongest healing magic I could, my own healing magic that only reached advanced level.

He looked down at me from above, looking at me with pity.

"What? Your healing magic only reaches advanced level?"

I ignored that man and just kept desperately thinking of a way in my head.

A wound like this definitely couldn't be healed with my healing magic. All I could do was briefly keep Aisha alive.

As I thought that, I used healing magic again and again.

Calm down, calm down... What is healing magic supposed to be like? Think carefully.

But my mind was a mess. No matter what, I couldn't calm down.

"Damn it... damn it..."

Tears began to flow. I regretted not properly studying healing magic back then. If only I had spent more time researching healing magic...

Just when I didn't know what to do, that man spoke.

"Rudeus Greyrat. Last time, I did not notice the look in your eyes. This time, through testing, I have confirmed one thing. You are someone who has died once."

I ignored that person's muttering.

The mana I kept pouring in maintained Aisha's life.

I didn't know what to do. My mana would run out sooner or later.

Cold sweat kept breaking out on my face, and my tears continued to flow.

By myself... there was no way I could save Aisha.

She would die because of my incompetence.

I turned to look at the man who had just tried to kill us.

He was strong, and the magic he used was something I had never even heard of.

Even if the possibility was almost nonexistent, someone like him... surely... surely...

The moment that thought appeared, I was already kneeling before him, pressing my head to the ground as I shouted.

"Please!! I don't know why you attacked my little sister, but I'm begging you! As long as you spare my sister, I'll do anything you ask!!"

That man didn't answer me. Instead, after waiting several seconds, he said, "Perhaps I was wrong last time. If someone like you is willing to kneel to me... Very well. I will spare your sister."

I froze for several seconds, unable to believe what he had said was true.

"You mean... really?"

"Yes."

As he spoke, he released some unknown healing magic and healed Aisha completely.

I pressed my ear to Aisha's chest and listened as her heartbeat gradually returned to normal.

After Aisha recovered, I said, "As long as you don't lay a hand on my family, whatever it is, I'll help you accomplish it..."

"Rest assured, Rudeus Greyrat. I am not an unreasonable man. After your sister wakes, put this bracelet on her. The next time we meet, I will explain why I did what I did this time. I am the Dragon God, Orsted."

After saying that, he turned and left. The masked girl followed him.

Watching their backs, I let out a deep breath. My exhausted body couldn't hold on any longer, and I collapsed right where I was.

Aisha's Perspective:

When I saw that man, my body began to tremble uncontrollably. Every pore on my body, every cell, was telling me to run.

But my legs wouldn't move because of fear. Big Sister Eris and my brother were motionless too.

After that man took a few steps closer, I realized he was staring at me, as if he would kill me in the very next instant...

"Eris! Take Aisha and run!"

The first to react was my brother. He raised his staff and cast magic at that terrifying man.

After the man was frozen, my brother shouted again.

"Eris! Hurry!"

Sister Eris seemed to finally snap back to her senses. She picked me up and started running.

I desperately wanted to break free, to go help my brother, but fear left me unable even to speak.

Just then, the words the Human-God had said suddenly came back to me.

[When the time comes, your brother will probably take you through the Red Dragon's Jaw. If he decides to do that, you must stop him. Otherwise, your brother will die, and you will die too. This world will be destroyed, you know.]

Could... could this be the reason?

I began to regret it. I regretted not listening to the Human-God's advice back then.

I was afraid my brother really would die because of it, and I was afraid I would die because of it too.

If... if I hadn't been so arrogant and had properly listened to the Human-God's advice...

If... if I had been stronger, strong enough to help my brother fight that man...

Thoughts like that kept surging through my mind, and when I came back to myself, Sister Eris had already been knocked to the ground.

"Ah... ah... no..."

"Apostle of the Human-God."

That man glared at me in fury. I wanted so badly to overcome my fear and tell him that I wasn't a believer of the Human-God.

I opened my mouth and stammered out a few words.

"No... I'm not..."

Before I could get the words out, that man had already pierced my chest with his hand.

It hurt so much... I wanted to scream so badly...

My mouth was open, but no sound came out...

"Ah... ah... aaaaaah!!!"

I saw my brother. Roaring, he cast magic at that man.

I wanted so badly to tell my brother to run, but I couldn't make a sound.

My eyelids... were so heavy...

Somehow, I felt myself being thrown into someone's arms.

Into a very familiar embrace...

I couldn't open my eyes, but I heard my brother chanting a healing spell, and I heard him crying.

Was I going to die? Was my brother crying because I was going to die?

I was so sorry... I'd known there would be a disaster like this...

It could have... been avoided...

Little by little, my consciousness faded away.