Chapter 24

Long ago, there was a boy who admired dragons.

Then an unbelievable miracle happened to that boy.

He truly met a dragon.

And it was a young dragon that, like him, was curious about humans.

The two became close quickly.

They asked each other questions, shared answers, and became inseparable friends.

One day, the boy asked the young dragon to make him like a dragon.

The young dragon refused, saying it was taboo and dangerous, but the boy persisted stubbornly.

The young dragon was shaken by the request from his first friend.

Although he had called it taboo, the young dragon did not actually know why it was forbidden or how dangerous it was.

In the end, the dragon granted the boy’s request.

It shared its blood with him.

The boy rejoiced and accepted the dragon’s blood.

Soon after, the boy felt excruciating pain and regretted his action.

After a few days and nights passed.

The boy barely survived with the help of the young dragon.

But the boy was no longer something that could be called human or dragon.

He became a being welcomed by neither dragons nor people.

Only the young dragon pitied him and cared for him.

However, the boy could not bear the loneliness, depression, and the nightly pains.

It did not take long for the boy to fall into dark thoughts.

One night, the young dragon found the boy dying, having tried to kill himself in a cave, and was wracked with guilt.

There was only one way to save the boy.

To give his own heart.

The young dragon willingly gave his heart to the boy.

The boy lived.

He returned to human form and gained the dragon power he had so desired.

But he felt not the slightest joy.

Because he knew the price was his friend’s life.

The boy regretted his foolishness and spent his life helping the weak as atonement.

That was the fairy tale, “The Boy Who Bore the Dragon’s Power.”

“……”

It wasn’t clear, but a faint trail had formed.

Dragon’s blood.

The dragon’s heart.

A taboo.

Hamel gathered the words that rose in his mind and opened the old notebook that had been with the fairy tale.

The notebook’s opening pages listed words and information in a very passionate hand.

In the middle, it became neater and more composed, as if writing mathematical formulas.

By the end, it turned into the ranting dialect of a madman and was hard to decipher.

Hamel found a seal stamped at the end of the old notebook.

A seal with a poppy anemone emblem.

‘This is…’

It was his father’s record.

Hamel swallowed dryly for a moment and turned back to the first page to inspect the contents.

It wasn’t easy, but he read the records carefully.

And how much time passed.

Rustle

Turning the final page, Hamel quietly closed the notebook.

“……”

Hamel was confused.

What was written in the notebook was a kind of record.

And the fairy tale’s content and the notebook’s records matched astonishingly.

Those who accepted dragon’s blood mostly died, but a very small fraction survived.

They were called Dragonian—neither human nor dragon.

They suffered side effects from dragon’s blood and died young; there was only one cure.

It was said to be consuming a dragon’s heart.

Otherwise, the pain would worsen until death, though most ended their lives before that.

Just like the boy in the fairy tale.

It was a hard story to believe.

Eat a dragon’s heart and be cured? Who hunted and ate a dragon?

If that had happened, neither Hamel nor anyone else would be unaware of a Dragonian’s existence.

As he slowly turned over these unbelievable facts, one question lingered in his mind.

The records noted that some Dragonian suffered a side effect of being unable to use magic power.

‘…Like me.’

After drinking dragon’s blood, for some reason he had come to feel mana.

But that side effect matched his symptoms until recently.

‘Am I a Dragonian now, or…’

Wasn’t he a Dragonian from the start?

Perhaps his father knew of his condition.

No—he must have known.

He wouldn’t have done this research otherwise.

The notebook listed various ways to treat Dragonian besides consuming a dragon’s heart.

However, only one had been proven factual.

That was to additionally ingest dragon byproducts, including dragon’s blood.

This method wouldn’t cure like a dragon’s heart, but by becoming more dragon-like, pain could be eased and lifespan extended.

The problem was that the act incited a violent madness.

Hamel knew exactly what that symptom was.

When he ingested the dragon’s blood David had given him, Hamel had almost been consumed by that madness.

What suppressed it was the Divine power and the demonic mana absorbed from the talisman.

‘I don’t know why, but…’

All those clues pointed to one conclusion.

He had been a Dragonian from the beginning.

Even before he drank the dragon’s blood David had given him.

That explained why he couldn’t use mana and Divine power, why he survived drinking dragon’s blood, and why his father had gathered such research.

When.

No—why.

Was he supposed to drink dragon’s blood and become a Dragonian?

Was David, who had brazenly drunk dragon’s blood, a Dragonian as well?

As one question was answered, another followed.

But no answer to that was written anywhere.

Night fell.

Three people sat around the fireplace as sparks crackled.

Antonio and Daniel each held a warm cup of tea.

Hamel spoke in a low voice about the information he had found that day.

When the long account ended.

“…So that’s what was written.”

Daniel nodded with a somewhat stiff expression.

He might have been bothered by the implication that Hamel had little time left.

After a moment he ruffled his memory and spoke.

“If it’s a dragon, then is it that one? The one sealed beneath the royal underground…”

“Nilkaras, the flame dragon that swallowed a god. The only real dragon in existence.”

Hamel agreed and nodded.

Nilkaras, famed as a malignant dragon, is a creature from mythic ages passed down in legend.

One of the beasts written in the order’s scripture as bringing the world’s end.

Obtaining its heart was practically impossible.

As a heavier silence fell, as if everyone thought the same.

“…Why, aren’t there other dragons?”

Antonio, his eyes covered with a cloth, spread three fingers and said.

Hamel snorted and replied.

“You mean the earth dragon Deoriasia, the storm dragon Diabolos, and the sea-king dragon Rekarishika?”

“Oh? You knew of them?”

When Antonio asked, puzzled, Hamel explained calmly.

“They aren’t true dragons. They’re offshoots with mixed blood, half-breed dragons.”

Of course, even they are each classified as super-class or higher.

In other words, they are seen as demons to be slain for humanity’s sake.

Since olden times the order has regarded a dragon’s resilience and alien power as symbols of drama, but these were exceptions.

Unlike the dragons of record, these half-breeds were closer to brutal beasts.

They could speak and had intelligence, but they saw humans as little more than prey.

They were beings that could never coexist with humanity.

However,

‘Even if we slay them and eat their hearts, whether it would be effective is doubtful…’

And to begin with, that would never be as easy as it sounded.

After all, they too were mythic beings that had ruled for ages.

So Hamel set his course as follows.

“Real dragons will be hard to find, but dragon byproducts still remain here and there. I’ll go gather them.”

“…That’s at least realistic.”

In fact, Hamel’s meaning was simple.

If a cure was impossible, he would choose to prolong his life.

Also, the overwhelming power shown when his other self rampaged.

This meant Hamel could grow stronger the closer he became to a dragon.

Though Hamel didn’t state it, everyone here knew that his choice was for revenge.

Daniel seemed displeased with Hamel’s conclusion, but he agreed.

Because there was no other option.

“We’ll try to suppress the resulting madness with the stroke of demons. I don’t know why this is possible, though.”

Hamel himself wasn’t confident about this part.

Why the mana from the talisman had an effect on the madness.

Antonio, mulling this over for a moment, suddenly spoke.

“According to records left in the scripture, dragons eat demons.”

“…There was such a passage?”

Hamel had never heard that before.

Antonio nodded and continued.

“Yes. Therefore, relics imbued with a dragon’s power retain a Passa energy.”

Now that he thought about it, many of the holy items used to vanquish demons were related to dragons.

Hamel was roughly convinced.

He wasn’t sure, but if Hamel the Dragonian was considered dragon-like, then demons might be little more than snacks.

Having eased his doubts a little, Hamel solidified his goals.

First and foremost remained avenging the demon who killed his mother.

That, at least, hadn’t changed.

But unlike before, another goal had arisen.

To hunt down David, who fled, and make him pay.

Furthermore, to retrieve the key he stole and open the door in the basement.

He had a gut feeling those things would lead to the demon he sought.

All of these incidents would be linked to the family’s tragedy.

‘And…’

He found one more wish.

Hamel opened his mouth with difficulty.

“I have a favor to ask of you.”

“Alright, tell me.”

“I’m ready as well, Hamel.”

In the grave mood, Antonio and Daniel straightened up and replied.

After hesitating for a long while, Hamel spoke.

“…For now, I won’t be returning to the order.”

“Right, a demon-hunting mission would be impractical if you’re gathering dragon byproducts.”

He would probably live like a mercenary, drifting to find information on byproducts.

It meant he would become a wandering priest, a clergy unattached to the order.

Hamel nodded and continued.

“Yes, that’s right. I also need strength.”

On this demon-hunting trip, Hamel had once again realized his weakness.

He would never have come this far by his own strength alone.

He needed people to help him.

In short.

“Will you help me? Not necessarily right away. When I need you in the future, if circumstances allow, please help.”

He needed companions.

“……”

Antonio and Daniel fell silent for a moment.

Then, as if on cue, the two burst into laughter simultaneously.

Daniel stopped laughing first and spoke.

“My promise still stands. I’ll help as far as I can.”

“I can’t accompany you on your journey right this second, but it won’t take long. No matter how long it takes, I’ll be your strength, Hamel.”

Hamel was momentarily unable to respond to those words.

This time he had failed to protect them.

Yet they entrusted their backs to him again.

This time, he would protect them.

Resolved, Hamel nodded deeply.

“Thank you.”

His voice trembled, something rare.