The lodging of the Tail Warriors wasn’t a very livable place, as was true for most civilian houses in the Tail Sector.
In fact, compared to ordinary civilian houses, it was even more desolate and pitiful.
This was understandable since the watchtower had been built before the Tail Sector became a slum. It had simply been repurposed and repaired for use by the warriors.
The scattered warriors of the Tail Warriors inside the wooden watchtower, vulnerable to fire, only served to amplify its sorry state.
Their lamentable condition—lying down anywhere due to injuries or exhaustion—was truly pitiable.
Even worse, their numbers were few, making the spacious interior of the watchtower feel desolate.
As Aslan stepped into the watchtower, he could guess the reason.
Many warriors had died caught up in the battle between the Dragon King and Aslan, and now the Tail Warriors were trying to fill those vacancies by exhausting themselves.
Since Harrod’s presence was essential to all these activities, his absence also made sense.
Aslan sat down in the lodging under the wary gaze of the remaining warriors. Suddenly, one warrior sat opposite him and offered two cups of water.
The cups, carved from wood, looked like they had twigs floating in them. Aslan carefully sipped it but immediately grimaced at the musty smell lingering in his mouth.
“So, you’re looking for us?”
Fortunately, no one reprimanded him for his appearance. Instead, the warrior who brought the water stared silently at Aslan and Angie before speaking.
The warrior was missing an eye, with a burn scar where the other should have been.
Seeing this, Aslan recalled something Harrod had mentioned casually about his adjutant.
“The One-Eyed Blade.” Harrod’s adjutant and the only external mercenary in the Tail Warriors.
Harrod had said that his adjutant lost an eye due to internal conflicts within the Tail Sector. Recalling this, Aslan glanced at Angie and noticed the tension on her face, deducing the situation.
It was likely that Angie’s father, Gael, had taken out the adjutant’s eye. For some reason, Gael had been wary of the man who returned after working as a mercenary outside and acted on that wariness.
Aslan discreetly examined the man’s scar, recognizing it as a mark left by a red-hot coal.
Understanding the situation clarified other things: the faint guilt and awkwardness in Angie’s expression.
So, Aslan reached out and patted Angie’s back. When she turned to look at him, he smiled gently.
Angie sighed upon seeing that smile.
“Yeah… I came because of Gael.”
At the mention of Gael’s name, the One-Eyed Blade’s expression crumpled, prompting Angie to quickly continue.
“Did you know Gael tried to attack the warriors? I interfered, so he just went back.”
“What?”
The frown on the man’s face distorted his scarred features as he shook his head.
“That can’t be true. The Tail Warriors are a force approved by the elders, led by Master Harrod. Attacking us is the same as attacking Belus Alphen.”
So, that can’t be true. Perhaps you’ve misunderstood something? This implication caused Angie to close her mouth and think.
After deep contemplation, visible even to Aslan watching from the side, Angie finally spoke.
“I’m Gael’s daughter. You know that.”
“Yes.”
“And here’s Aslan… The city got wrecked while Aslan fought the Dragon King. Even if Gael doesn’t know the reasons or background, he knows the lizards don’t have time to spare for the Tail Sector.”
As their eyes met, Angie’s golden irises gleamed.
“You know. Nothing that happens inside the Tail Sector ever leaks out. And dragons never care if their path is soaked in mud or blood; they move forward regardless.”
The man named Blade wore an uncomfortable expression at these words. He leaned back against the chair without hiding his expression, as if regretting not being able to retreat further.
“I know Gael.”
When their eyes met again, Angie frowned as if delivering a prophecy.
“Gael will definitely either sabotage the warriors and steal your equipment to take over your position or, worse, eliminate you to maintain his influence in the Tail Sector.”
It made sense. Blade touched the scar on his left eye socket, recalling the past. Just because someone returned from being a mercenary elsewhere, Gael took away his eye. Gael had always been like that. He’d gotten rid of “Old Bug” for similar reasons and burned Blade’s eye for the same. There was no reason for him to change now, so he would do it again. Blade acknowledged this and looked at Angie.
“Are you here to warn us?”
Angie shook her head in response.
“I’m here to help.”
Upon hearing this, Blade looked at Aslan.
Aslan, Harrod’s acquaintance and a strong-looking man. A warrior who demonstrated precise dagger throwing. The man who defeated the Dragon King and became the first human noble, receiving the Castle Flamefang as a reward.
Though Blade didn’t know the details, Aslan seemed powerful enough.
“So, you’ve brought Harrod’s friend? Should we…?”
“No.”
Angie shook her head again. Between the fluttering strands of her crimson hair, a hint of embarrassment shone gold.
“Aslan… I’d prefer if he just watches over me. But it’s also a precaution in case I mess things up. Since I’m kind of stupid, I might completely ruin everything. That’s why I brought him along.”
Blade hummed thoughtfully at this.
He seriously considered the matter. While the decision-making power of the Tail Warriors belonged to Cloin Harrod, Blade, as adjutant, had the authority to make decisions in place of the commander.
However, he couldn’t make arbitrary decisions. After all, if he decided, it would be his responsibility. So he remained silent for a long while in deep thought.
Before Blade could finish pondering, the outside grew noisy. Everyone indoors turned their heads toward the door in response to the spreading shouts and cries.
A soldier suddenly rushed down from the rotating staircase of the watchtower.
The soldier responsible for the perimeter patrol shouted while leaning on the railing.
“Captain! There are a bunch of kids outside!”
“What?”
As Blade stood up and strapped his sword to his waist, the soldier added,
“There are a lot of dragon people too. What should we do?”
Dragon people too? Blade turned his eyes, sensing something unusual. He believed this incident must somehow be related to these people.
Fortunately, there was no need for persuasion. Aslan and Angie had already risen and were heading out the door.
Following behind them, Blade stepped outside, and the situation finally came into view.
There really were dragon people present.
Six of them. Not an overwhelming number, but around them were quite a few armed civilians, seemingly almost the entire population of the Tail Sector. Blade frowned at the sight.
“There! That dirty priestess allied with the Evil Deity!”
Amidst the commotion, someone in the crowd of civilians shouted. Recognizing the voice, Blade frowned further as the crowd parted to reveal Gael.
Gael pointed a finger at Angie.
“That girl…”
“Hmm.”
“It doesn’t seem like it.”
“But you can’t be sure.”
The dragon people slightly lowered their weapons toward Angie upon hearing Gael’s words, wary as if guarding against something. Angie frowned at the weapons aimed at her, and the civilians responded with subtle fear, extending their weapons or shouting.
Most of the voices amid the noise were meaningless, mostly yelling things like “filthy priest!”
While observing them quietly to assess the situation, Aslan noticed Angie stepping forward.
She felt the need to calm everyone down, but also believed that such weapons couldn’t genuinely harm her.
After all, the skin torn by her father’s strike had healed instantly.
“Wait, everyone, listen to me! I…”
“Damn priest, priest! Of Belus Alphen!”
“Burn her! Fire and Iron will burn you!”
But contrary to Angie’s thoughts, the crowd only grew more excited. Some subtly attempted to stab her with their weapons as she approached. When Angie grabbed and disarmed one of them, the man shouted, “That’s the strength of a priest!” Consequently, the situation worsened instead of improving.
“No, this power isn’t from a priest…”
“It’s a priest! Definitely a priest!”
“Lord Fire and Iron… protect us…”
“Damn woman!”
The vulgar insults and the crowd’s disregard for Angie’s words filled her with dizziness as she took a deep breath to shake off the vertigo.
As the dizziness faded, irritation filled the void.
“I’m telling you, brats!”
KWAANG!
And so, Angie unleashed her anger.
The kick, filled with fury, sent stone fragments flying from the ground as it raced across the floor. Its force caused cracks wherever it passed, shaking everyone standing on it.
As those armed and ready to attack swayed or fell, both the dragon people and the civilians fell silent.
In this brief silence, Angie immediately spoke, her face contorted with irritation.
“Brats who’ve never seen a priest, shut your mouths. From now on, anyone who opens theirs will have their tongue pulled out and hung!”
At this threat, the crowd fell silent, and Gael seized the opportunity to shout boldly.
“Look at that! If that’s not a priest, then what is it? That power beyond humans, that cruelty! That’s definitely a priest!”
As this cry spread through the crowd, murmurs of “isn’t that right?” began to ripple, causing Angie to glare at her father with distaste.
Seeing the revolting smile on his face, Angie irritably said,
“It’s true that priests have powers like mine, but most priests abandon their human forms and become monsters! A priest’s identity is obvious at a glance! Though you probably don’t know because you’ve never seen one…”
“Lies!”
Gael interrupted his daughter’s words and shouted to the crowd, displaying excellent skills as an agitator.
“Who doesn’t know that he’s trying to deceive us by calling us ignorant fools! Trying to trick us with claims we can’t verify! Don’t you know?”
“Yeah, yeah! We ain’t easy targets! Do you think we’re fools?!”
“Burn that bitch! Let’s burn her to prove it!”
“Yeah, prove it! Or die if you can’t!”
The sharp remarks continued.
Angie smirked slightly at these words and turned her gaze toward Aslan. Aslan, who had been contemplating the situation, nodded slightly upon meeting her bright golden eyes and stepped forward.
As the eyes of the dragon people mixed among the crowd met Aslan’s, they were filled with surprise amidst their puzzled expressions.
“Aslan Flamefang…!”
While the commoners failed to recognize the name, the dragon people bowed deeply in desperation.
“To Aslan, greetings from Gomul Clo and five others!”
They bowed respectfully, showing deference. The commoners blinked at this sight, alternating their gazes between Aslan and the dragon people.
Dragon people never bow to humans. That was common knowledge in Belus Alphen. Yet now, this norm was broken, and the dragon people bowed.
Even the commoners understood that the man before them was a lord higher than the dragon people.
Seizing this moment, someone cried out in astonishment.
“The Veteran of Combat…!”
These were the words of Blade, the captain of the Tail Warriors and a former mercenary. Realizing something familiar in the name “Aslan,” Blade’s shock rippled through the crowd of commoners.
Although the commoners were slow to receive news from outside, even they knew of the Veteran. Those more informed among them could recall other titles associated with Aslan.
Priest Slayer.
Given the presence of a person known for killing several priests nearby, some commoners began to consider the possibility that Angie’s words might hold truth.
Gael, reading the confusion, shouted with an unpleasant expression.
“Then what about that power! Bring proof that it’s not from a priest! Otherwise, we won’t believe you!”
Aslan was about to dismiss the request for proof when Angie’s snicker stopped him.
“Proof? Proof sounds good. My very existence is the proof!”
At this unexpected statement, attention turned to Angie, who placed her hand on her chest and declared,
“I am the Word of the Ancient Deity!”
To those lacking such knowledge, this statement was incomprehensible.
Thus, the crowd looked perplexed at Angie’s declaration. Thinking that this alone would convince them, Angie muttered, “Uh, this isn’t working…”
Amidst the ensuing confusion between the frozen Angie and the bewildered commoners, Aslan stepped forward with a slight smile, understanding that this was the best Angie could do.
“You’ve done well. I’ll take it from here.”
As Aslan tapped Angie’s head lightly and moved forward, the chaos momentarily subsided, and the crowd’s attention shifted to him.
Though Aslan wasn’t particularly eloquent, persuasion wasn’t necessary.
Aslan gripped the hilt of his sword and drew it.
At the sudden appearance of the stone sword, the commoners flinched, while the dragon people observed it with deep interest. No one could utter a word in response to this abrupt action, merely staring at the sword.
Aslan offered a faint smile and murmured softly.
“Purity.”
Subsequently, white flames erupted.
