TMLOH 65

Chapter : 65

Northern Fortress.

The last line of defense for humanity, made up of nine walls and thirteen fortresses.

And today, even here at the Northern Fortress, soldiers stared at the direct communication line from Halbern, utterly at a loss.

Beep—!

“Hey, what do we do about that?”

“But the Saren Knights are away right now…”

“It’s been in emergency status for days. Don’t you think something big happened?”

The 47th Division, garrisoned at the fortress, worried endlessly that trouble might spill over onto them.

They considered answering the call and passing it along.

“Don’t even think about it. It’s Halbern. If you don’t want your life ruined, don’t get involved.”

And so they held back.

Halbern’s infamy was so well-known that no soldier dared touch the line, and they chose to pretend it wasn’t there.

“I hope the Saren Knights return soon.”

“But where on earth did the Saren Knights even go?”

“No idea.”

At that, one soldier—who had at least some connection to the knights—spoke up casually.

“They said they were going to see a dragon.”

“…What?”

Jaren Verg Muisvic.

The second son of the Duke of Muisvic. He could not inherit the duchy, but he was more than satisfied with the marquisate, vast lands, and immense wealth passed down to him.

If he wanted, he could have spent his life in the capital, living in endless luxury and parties.

But Jaren had chosen the path of a knight.

For one simple reason.

“I want to see a dragon.”

Jaren’s dream was modest.

Dragons—those mythical creatures said to have existed since time immemorial, even now reigning as the apex of all life, despite the gods’ fall and the loss of divinity.

He longed for a pilgrimage.

“How magnificent must the mountains be where dragons dwell? How sacred must they be to behold, these legendary beings in the flesh?”

Even if their divinity had faded, to stand before the mightiest of all creatures, rulers of creation itself… How beautiful would they be?

Jaren’s wish was pure, and his will burned brightly.

The only problem was that, to others, his purity looked like madness.

“Are you trying to kill yourself?”

“If you want to die, do it quietly, and alone!”

The dragons’ domain was forbidden to humankind.

Even the most reckless black-ranked adventurers shook their heads at such folly.

“Why! I just said I wanted to see one!”

Even if he burned to ash in a single breath—he still wanted to see one!

But going alone was impossible. His dream seemed doomed to end in disappointment.

Until one man, out of sheer amusement, indulged his outrageous wish.

Archduke Halbern—Valer.

“Dragons? Sounds fun.”

And so, Jaren had joined the Saren Knights.

He hadn’t much liked them at first, but he endured—because one day, with them, he would see a dragon.

And then it happened.

It should have been a dream come true.

“Wait—you said we were going to see a dragon!”

“You saw one, didn’t you?”

The archduke looked at him as though nothing was wrong. Jaren pounded his chest in despair.

“That didn’t mean we were going to kill it!”

Yes, he had seen a dragon.

He had witnessed it soaring through the skies, spewing its legendary breath.

But…

“This isn’t what I wanted at all!”

Beside his anguish, the Saren Knights set off fireworks in celebration.

“Congratulations, you’re a Dragon Slayer now.”

“Congrats, Jaren! You’re a hero of history!”

“I’m not happy at all!”

Clutching his head, he wailed.

“Wow, a Dragon Slayer!”

“Amazing!”

“To the birth of a great Dragon Slayer!”

The poor dragon…

“All I wanted was to see one! To behold it! To pay my respects!”

Not to butcher one!

But when he came to his senses, the deed was already done.

“Sob… I should at least make it a grave.”

By the colossal corpse, larger than a fortress, Jaren raised a shovel.

The sight was strange enough that, for once, the knights paid attention.

“What are you doing?”

“Digging a grave.”

“A grave? Why? We’re using every piece of it.”

“…”

Dragon remains were priceless. Nothing went to waste.

And when Jaren turned around, the once-magnificent body was already being hacked apart, dismantled.

Poor dragon!

Watching its remains reduced to spoils, Jaren swore he would never again wish to see a dragon.

“I’ll found the Dragon Protection Society! Dragons must be saved from these barbarians!”

“Yeah… you’re the barbarian.”

“I am not!”

“Yes, you are.”

The entire knight order mocked him in unison.

“I said I’m not!”

It had never been his will. The dragon had attacked first, he fought only to survive, and when he came to… it was dead.

Jaren slumped in despair.

My dragon… what became of you?

“Why did dragons lose their reason, anyway?”

“They didn’t lose it. They just decided never to speak to humans again.”

“Then why won’t they talk to us?”

“Guess they want to be hunted.”

“…”

Jaren felt his heart break.

“Savages.”

How had he ended up among such people? Meanwhile, the knights rejoiced.

“Are we eating dragon meat tonight?!”

“Humans can’t eat it, it’s poisonous.”

“Aw, I wanted to try dragon steak.”

“Savages!”

Jaren turned away, weeping, from the desecrated corpse.

The only one who gave it no attention was Archduke Halbern himself.

His dark violet eyes lifted toward the strange, filthy skies of the Abyss.

“But, Your Grace,” Jaren asked, “why did you want to come all the way into the Abyss just to see a dragon?”

He knew better than anyone how impossible a wish it was.

He had joined the order on that promise, but he’d understood from the start—it might never happen in his lifetime.

The Abyss, monster territory, had a survival rate of only 0.7%. That was why even the Northern Fortress only defended against waves, never advanced.

But he came here. Into the Abyss. To see a dragon.

Valer, who had committed a feat mad enough to be remembered for centuries, gazed at the sky with the same calm as always.

“Who knows.”

“…?”

“A souvenir, maybe?”

Jaren gave up trying to talk to the barbarian king.

“Who could ever understand what’s going on in his head?”

“Just enjoy it.”

Ah, right. Among this band of eccentrics, all gathered for their own bizarre reasons, the most dangerous and incomprehensible of all was still their lord, Archduke Halbern.

Of course. A man who talks about his daughter one moment and decides to hunt dragons the next couldn’t possibly be normal.

Jaren abandoned the thought of understanding him.

To do so would be to give up something essential about being human.

Beep, beep.

“Huh?”

Jaren blinked at the flashing light on his personal communicator.

“From… Mehen? What’s going on?”

Though the strange mana of the Abyss cut signals often, a buildup like this meant it was urgent.

“Looks like we’d better hurry back to the fortress.”

The dragon’s body was nearly stripped clean by the expert monster hunters.

“Getting all this loot back is going to be a job.”

“But are we really not eating dragon meat?”

As the knights kept rambling, Jaren glanced around for one man.

“Your Grace?”

He had been here just a moment ago.

“Has anyone seen our lord?”

At his words, the knights froze and looked around.

“Huh? He was right there.”

“Yeah, I saw him too.”

And then, gradually, all eyes gathered in one place.

“…”

“…”

An uneasy silence fell.

Meanwhile, Mehen still stared at the communicator that would not connect, cursing inwardly.

That damned bastard.

If not for old bonds, he would have thrown it all away and retired long ago.

From the moment the tea party was arranged, his communications to the Northern Fortress had continued without pause until the very day—yet not a single one had gone through.

At this point, it could only be deliberate.

“Easy, easy, Sir Mehen.”

Today it was not Dylan, but Rena, who tried to soothe him.

“Haa…”

“You can take your revenge anytime.”

Her tiny fists clenched in determination, while Mehen only sighed again, long and deep.

“It’s our turn. We have to go see the young lady now.”

Revenge could wait.

He forced down his fury, forced a smile.

Because there was someone waiting inside.

“Guests of Halbern, please enter.”