Episode 103. Dipel (5)

As if the water just before boiling appears to be calm, but there are waves on the surface.

The research complex with barriers was quietly but clearly predicting the bloodshed that would happen tonight.

When the sky, which had only been presumptuously blue, gradually began to turn red, Lewen, who had returned from scouting the forest surrounding the caldera nest, entered the cabin and reported.

“The knights who were concentrated near the hotel were moving their camp to the outskirts of the research complex. In order to guard against intruders from the outside, the troops must be dispersed and deployed… . Only one garrison has been identified so far.”

The behavior the knights saw was no different from civilians gathering in a safe area to avoid the commotion.

Mel muttered as he watched the sun slowly sinking into the floor with anxious eyes.

“Maybe Princess Seryl’s order to remain ignorant no matter what happens inside this place has fallen.”

I also agreed with his reasoning.

All of our means of contacting the outside world have been blocked, but Kegar, the developer of the barrier, should be able to secure contact with Seryl.

It was clear that he was now isolating us from Seryl’s volunteers.

‘You’re creating a situation like a closed room.’

Members of the imperial family, who do not know anything about this situation, will keep their mouths shut, thinking that Seril has brought a different race into the imperial family’s political fight.

Even if the commotion gets a little bigger, they think they can easily manipulate the whole situation if they just match their words.

“But, Professor.”

Mel, who had heard that far, asked me.

“What about the professors from Kiruna?”

“After he kills us all, he’ll probably kill the other professors too. The only ones they will send out here are the royal family officials under Seryl and the Eclipse members who can be cracked down.”

“then… .”

In order not to break the morale of the allies, Mel spared his words.

The ten members of the death squad and the seven vampire wardens, who were moving under Mel, were calming themselves by memorizing the details of the operation and servicing their weapons.

I asked Lewen, who was taking care of the platoon without taking a breath even though it was right after I went on reconnaissance.

“By any chance, didn’t Esca-sama’s blessing weaken within this barrier?”

“Nope. I’ll have to wait and see, but I haven’t gotten that feeling yet.”

“Then two things become clear.”

“… ?”

First, Kegar is still unable to block guardian spirits within a wide space.

“If that were possible, Kegar would have cut off the Guardian God’s hand from the whole area without hesitation. Then the vampires would have been incapacitated before even fighting.”

“exactly… .”

When I recalled the contents of the original work, it did not happen that Kegar’s territory covered the world until a year later.

That said, Kegar’s domain is actually a very difficult skill to expand its scope. It also means that there is a high possibility that there are hidden problems that we have not identified.

certainly… . There will still be gaps left to dig.

“It’s not like there’s no hope at all.”

The second thing that is certain is that even Kegar and Cheryl have no choice but to stop their offensive on the day the presentation attendees arrive.

“When the sun starts to set, trying to fight against a vampire. It’s probably because they know that they don’t have much time given to them. The significance of this event is by no means light even to Princess Seryl. So, we have to finish the situation before the observers flock in so we can somehow manage the situation afterwards.”

“That means, if you hold out for two days, Eclipse won’t be able to target us so blatantly.”

“… Yes. Perhaps, Kegar’s barrier will also break at that time.”

“Because we can’t receive observers while maintaining this kind of barrier.”

“Even if Kegar doesn’t break the barriers spread across the realm, there is a key that will open these barriers between the observers who will soon arrive.”

Recalling Mina’s face, I said to everyone in the room.

Mina’s unique magic is the power of transformation that interferes with the existing order and transforms and recreates the world.

If you hold out until the observers arrive, Mina’s unique magic will break Kegar’s barrier… . The secrets of this underground laboratory will reach Esca Castle and quickly spread among other races.

“That is the moment we will seize the win.”

I looked around at the stiff members and smiled.

“Everyone, let’s be a little more courageous.”

So, everyone started to prepare for the attack with hope.

* * *

Even though the sky hadn’t completely darkened yet, the stars were already dimly appearing.

Under the stars in the purple sky… . Dana was climbing the white rock wall with sweat on her brow.

“Caldera! hey! I know you’re listening, so hurry up and open your nest… !”

“… .”

“If you don’t want to talk face to face, say something!”

Her cry echoing through the forest must have reached even inside the nest… . Caldera was still silent.

‘No, maybe… .’

The wind starting to blow in an unexpected direction and strength from earlier, and the situation where only the stone she held on to broke off… . Strangely, it got on her nerves.

‘Come to think of it, I’ve heard that all the humans who tried to rob the dragon’s nest were killed in an accident.’

Caldera seemed to consider her equal to the thieves.

“yes… . Let’s go up to the top of the mountain and see you! Do you think I can’t?”

“… .”

Dana, who had to completely hide her appearance and presence from Kegar’s eyes this time, looked up at the top of the high-yellow stone mountain with poisonous eyes.

“If I get up there, I will pour lava over your head. I’ll turn your nest into an active volcano, so be prepared!”

Dana didn’t want to be so cruel to a family she hadn’t seen yet, but the current situation was so urgent that she had no time to worry about saving face.

‘Your junior said that you would only have to endure for two days, but that’s something you can say because you don’t know Kegar’s identity… !’

Ian and the rest of the party could do a good job against the Dipelins.

There was no way Kegar would just watch as his test subject was defeated.

‘The moment Kegar enters the war in earnest, it’s impossible to reverse with the current strength.’

She couldn’t escape with Ian’s party in the current situation where the barriers were put on all sides.

We had to enlist the help of Caldera, which must have overlooked the research complex 30 years ago.

“Can you see the barrier around you? Now a mad dragon is trying to cut off the Guardian God’s blessing from the world. If that happens, do you think we’ll be fine? I’m not kidding, the real world is going to end… !”

at that time… .

Sweet-!

A shadow fell on Dana’s face as she crawled through the flowing rubble and reached the upper level of the nest.

“… bird?”

Soon after, a hawk landed on her hand that was holding on to a crack in the rock and said with a twinkle in her eyes.

“Warning. If you climb the nest any further than this, I will use force.”

“He was also a familiar.”

Magic that allows a part of one’s soul to dwell in an animal’s body.

Familiars were used by dragons when they needed to observe the outside of their nests or communicate with other beings in unavoidable circumstances.

“I warn you once again. Dragons can subdue unauthorized intruders in their nests according to the rules of preservation of observed objects. If the intruder who gave the face-to-face warning does not obey the exit order-”

“Noisy, Protium.”

In front of the Familiar, who bluntly recited a warning phrase like a golem, Dana partially canceled the polymorph.

As her white wings glowed, whitening everything around her, the Familiar, dyed the same color as the nest, narrowed her eyes.

“… Was it a clan?”

“Then what did you think of me?”

“I thought it was a human entity suffering from mental illness.”

“… .”

Caldera opened her mouth to Dana, who was looking at the familiar with a puzzled expression.

“It’s been a while since I’ve had my expectations go wrong. Yeah, what’s going on?”

* * *

The name ‘Caldera’ is just a nickname given to him by humans for convenience.

There are very few situations where you have to name yourself, so most dragons don’t name themselves.

When there is a need to call or point out individual objects among dragons… . Instead, they used their opponent’s rank as their title.

“That high-performance polymorph… . Is it ferum?”

“that’s right.”

Ferrum.

It means the 48th in the theory of magic language, and it was a nickname given to Dana because she was the second youngest individual among the 49 existing dragons.

And, the meaning of the nickname Protium is the first.

It was a word referring to the strongest individual among the dragons, who were destined to die shortly after fulfilling the permitted lifespan of a thousand years.

“If it were you, you would be able to stop such absurd things. Are there really people of your own who want to completely separate the guardian spirit and the world? It’s a guy named Kegar, but he’s also high in rank.”

“… .”

“If you look at the barriers around here, you wouldn’t have noticed that the situation was unusual… ! Why are you still watching this? Discipline to maintain objectivity and neutrality is good, but in an emergency like now-”

“Ferrum. In my eyes, you and the Kegar clan look no different.”

“… What?”

Caldera, who had been quietly listening to Dana, asked back.

“Is it right to subdue evil with evil?”

To the speechless Dana, the old dragon who was about to die continued to speak slowly.

“It is not right to use our mighty powers for private purposes other than the search for truth. Being in an emergency is also relative. Rather, breaking the rules with such ambiguous standards could bring even greater chaos to the world.”

“Yeah, so-”

“Do you think that intervening in the world on your own to stop the criminals from committing crimes is in line with your mission as an observer of the world?”

Dana’s eyes grew darker, like a night sky with clouds obscuring the stars.

“Of course, it’s unfortunate that there are some fallen people among my own people. Even if they forgot their essence as dragons, we shouldn’t blur it together. Even if you and I intervene and stop the corrupt clan, the world whose fate has been twisted because of us will face trouble again.”

“… Then, are you saying that we should just watch as the god of truth leaves the world at the hands of those children and the world is completely ruined?”

“Destruction is also a form of order, and it is our mission to record it.”

“It’s bullshit, really.”

Dana forcefully grabbed the hawk by the neck.

“What are you doing to my familiar!”

“You sound so carefree because you just looked down at everything from above. Hey, if you have eyes, look straight ahead.”

She somehow managed to stuff a struggling falcon into her research uniform, and quickly descended the nest, ignoring Caldera’s screeching words.

“It wouldn’t be too late… ?”

In the forest that became one with the darkness, red dots began to sway.