Chapter 69

“Gal… What on earth is this?”

In a space filled only with the heavy breathing of a wounded giant beast, I barely managed to speak.

As the dragon, which had settled down in its nest and was exhaling rough breaths, opened its eyes, I could feel exhaustion and pain within them.

However, when Gal looked at me with such eyes, he merely steadied his breath, seemingly lacking the leisure to explain.

As I found it hard to expect an immediate answer, I instinctively began to observe Gal’s condition.

Deep within Gal’s body, I could not determine the exact length, but enormous, blade-like protrusions seemed to penetrate his scales, akin to the armor that had formed over years, resembling trees grown over a long time.

“A giant…”

The only race that comes to mind that wields and swings such weapons are the Titans.

“But how?”

I examined below Gal, who was still trying to catch his harsh breath.

From the ground, sticky crimson blood bubbled up like heat waves.

It wasn’t merely hot blood spilling to produce steam; it was dense mana contained within the blood dispersing into the air, causing a refraction phenomenon.

This meant that the power of this omnipotent dragon was still intact.

Above all, what was unexpected was Gal’s wound.

Didn’t he, having fought for himself, know that injuries meant little to this dragon?

With a single word of draconic magic, he could recover from countless wounds in an instant.

For a moment, I thought it was merely smoke to toy with myself, but as I felt Gal’s agonized breaths, I swiftly denied that possibility.

Upon examining Gal’s neck in detail, the core there also exhibited signs of energetic chaos, but it did not seem too problematic.

“…A sword.”

I gazed at the swords embedded deep, with dull blades like oxidized lead.

If he couldn’t even think of recovery despite being so gravely injured, then the cause of that injury must be the problem.

I reached out to one of the swords lodged in Gal’s back, nearly twenty in number.

The swords were originally of giant’s make, so as a being smaller than a human, physically detaching the sword was not feasible.

The energy extending from my body gently enveloped one massive sword.

‘…A bit stiff.’

It might be due to the weight befitting its enormous size, or perhaps the sword was enchanted in some way.

It took some time to properly control the sword.

“…Huff.”

But eventually, the giant’s sword was extracted along with Gal’s groan.

Even amidst pain, he appeared surprised as the sword that had been embedded in him was removed.

‘…For something like this, he should have been unable to handle it alone.’

“Are you coming to your senses, Gal? What has happened that led to this state?”

While managing my energy to extract another sword, I continued to question until Gal regained his wits.

As more than ten swords were pulled out, reducing the number stuck in Gal by half, he slowly opened his mouth.

“…I was ambushed.”

“An ambush? By Titans?”

“…There was a large monkey as well.”

The only being that could be described as a large monkey is the Elder Roa Terato, who created the giant race Titans.

I had expected as much inwardly.

Even considering that greater beings than the giants he had seen existed, there was no way Gal could have succumbed.

“I can’t say for sure, but… thinking about it, I’ve had a grudge lately.”

The sudden increase in the number of giants in the north occurred because Gal, awakened from his slumber, ambushed Terato out of dissatisfaction with the Titans recently created by Terato.

The giants that suddenly emerged were entities born from the blood Terato had spilled at that time.

It was an absurd tale, but the Elders known as Roa were not beings bound by ordinary rules.

“Still, I didn’t expect someone like you to come back this beaten.”

“Things that originate from him, my power does not affect.”

“…Draconic magic?”

Is it truly possible for a giant to possess such abilities? At that moment, something came to mind.

“Now that I think about it, you always finished off giants with your claws.”

Not only when ambushing his two disciples, but all the corpses of giants that Gal defeated had distinct signs of being struck down by beastly claws, not by any transcendent force.

Now that I ponder, Gal isn’t he the one who has an aversion bordering on pathological towards anything perceived as messy and ugly?

Choosing to dim his own hands with blood was indeed peculiar.

“Then this sword embedded in your body?”

“…Yes.”

Despite rejecting that notion strongly, Gal’s vast mana and powers were forcibly accepting my energy.

Even as I scrutinized the pulled-out sword, it felt dark and stifling, yet I detected no transcendent laws within it.

‘With this…’

I glanced at Gal, who had regained a bit of energy as about half the swords had been extracted.

Even though he had sustained critical wounds throughout his body and yet managed to survive was astonishing, the fact that he showed some semblance of ease after removing half those swords was remarkable as well.

Even without the power of Draconic magic, the dragon before me was such a formidable and resilient creature.

And as long as this dragon remained alive, binding me, I would have to await an uncertain future.

Before such a being, given weapons that could injure him so profoundly, feelings surged within my chest.

The ten massive, dark swords that had been pulled out lay motionless.

Even in his injured state, Gal, who possessed mana control and sensitivity beyond my own, would not be oblivious to that fact.

“…I see. You are something I forcibly acquired with strength. If I lose my power, I would naturally seek to break free from it. Having never been weak at any moment in my life, I never considered it.”

Initially startled, his eyes shifted to a look of acceptance, returning to indifference.

“In any case, if I’ve sustained such injuries, the large monkey will not miss this opportunity to finish me off. It wouldn’t be too bad to die by your hands rather than those of that greedy, lackwit who can’t even comprehend his place.”

The omnipotent and beautiful golden dragon casually spoke of its own death.

“You said that you sometimes use the corpses of beasts to create tools or garments. While I don’t feel comfortable about my body being disgraced after my death, it’s certainly better than being used by the large monkey. However, if possible, I hope you wouldn’t be the one to create items from my body. It would likely turn into a horrific abomination.”

Despite the pain, the dragon chuckled, then stopped laughing and lay flat against the ground, slowly extending its neck.

Then, he turned his enormous eye to gaze at me.

As if urging me to end it.

Should Terato use the sword he had tampered with to strike Gal’s neck, he would be liberated.

The laws separating the outside spread from this place would vanish upon Gal’s death.

Even if it did not disappear, once his upper dantian recovered, there wouldn’t be any issue in breaking free.

As I pondered such things, I reached out toward the massive swords.

“…What are you thinking?”

“I am a warrior, and I am Araya, the High Elf.”

“I do not understand. Does that explain your actions now?”

Gal looked at the swords all pulled out from his body, regarding my gestures.

“If I were to speak of the heart of the warrior Araya, I would say that I do not wish for the one who defeated me to conclude this in such a hollow manner.”

“Truly foolish reasoning.”

“…That is the essence of being a warrior. If my brothers were to see this situation, they might pound their chests and tell me not to be ridiculous.”

“So what does the heart of the High Elf Araya hold?”

“…We value balance. Gal, you are a powerful being. A single species, a singular entity, but that is more than enough in itself.”

“Accurate. I am a complete being.”

Even though all the swords had been pulled out, and he appeared disheveled unlike his usual self without recovering, Gal’s demeanor remained proud and firm, leaving me only to smirk.

“There exists a force capable of killing such a being. If you were to die, elves and humans would have to confront powerful beings with unknown purposes. Considering your nature, it might be mere coincidence, but like it or not, you have been the giants’…”

“It’s the meaning of compulsion.”

“…Precisely.”

Gal slowly raised his face to me.

“…Is that all of the reason?”

“…What else could there be besides that?”

“…Hmph.”

Then, a healing spell enveloped Gal’s body.

After a brief moment, the blood that had soaked the ground and the terrifying injuries on the enormous dragon disappeared, leaving behind only an elf.

The elf wore golden garments matching the color of their hair from the treasure trove.

“Will you not regret not killing me?”

“…Honestly, I feel a bit of regret now. So what do you intend to do?”

“Well…”

Gal’s expression became complex.

Given his arrogant nature, he would likely have flown off immediately to seek revenge, should it have not been for the current state.

However, he was arrogant but not foolish.

While his physical form appeared to have healed, it was evident that his spirit had sustained damage, just like the upper dantian injuries.

With such injuries sustained during an ambush, it would be miraculous to survive against an opponent who had inflicted such grave wounds; thus, he wouldn’t have a high probability of winning even if he tried again.

“Do you think Terato will be able to find this place?”

“While I cannot guess the principle, it seems there is a method to disregard my power, so he will likely find it someday.”

The nest was a space where the laws were twisted by Gal’s magic.

Originally, it was a place where no one could approach unless Gal permitted it, but now it wasn’t guaranteed safety from Terato, who had some means.

“Then I must leave.”

“I never thought I would suffer such humiliation at the hands of a large monkey.”

“Then, how about following me?”

“…What?”

“There is a being equivalent to you, my mother, on this side, and I have arranged something for the humans as well. If you were to join us, even Terato would be reluctant to make reckless moves. Besides, it has been a while since I lost contact with the outside, and I should let them know I am safe.”

“……”

“Surely you aren’t still clinging to the ridiculous notion that I’m yours amidst all this?”

Even if I could not brazenly voice it, watching Gal’s dissatisfied expression as he turned his head, I sighed.

However, without uttering the words of refusal, he merely turned his gaze away from me.

“So, will you follow?”

After making a face that expressed his wounded pride, Gal nodded very slightly.

Seeing that, I couldn’t help but smile.

Suddenly finding freedom seemed just as sudden as experiencing defeat.

Thanks to this expected troublemaker accompanying me, I would finally be able to return to Pohelrn as promised to Alia at the end of this long imprisonment.