Erina failed to protect her master.
She could only watch as he fell.
Anger surged within her.
She did her best with the sole intention of never losing her master again.
Until now, Erina had never left Seo-Hyun’s side.
Even when he was in the forest, when he ate, when he bathed, and even when he slept.
She never took her eyes off Seo-Hyun. She watched over him entirely.
But just a moment ago, she made an irreversible mistake.
Distracted by the approaching monsters, she didn’t anticipate the ground collapsing.
By the time she realized the situation, it was too late.
She reached out too late and couldn’t touch him.
Before she could jump herself, a massive rock blocked her path.
“Master…”
Left with only futile mutterings, she was now left alone.
Perhaps her master would be unharmed.
In the falling moment, the dragon embraced her master, casting a levitation spell.
At least, if she had been hostile, she might have tried to save her own life.
She would not have helped him.
‘I need to go down and protect him.’
Erina raised her sword to break the rock.
But before swinging the sword, she was met with countless glares.
“Krrr…”
Behind her, dozens of monster cries started echoing.
In unison, they stared at Erina with bizarre screams.
Now she understood the situation she was in.
Even if she broke the rock and descended, the monsters would chase her.
If she went down, she could put her master in danger.
“Haha…”
Erina chuckled, gripping her sword.
It was truly a desperate situation.
Since the day she destroyed the heavenly realm, she vowed never to lose reason again.
She always wanted to show only her bright side in front of her master.
If he saw her true form, he would undoubtedly be disappointed.
That’s why she could never reveal her truth.
Rather, she decided to live her whole life as a liar.
To always show what her master liked.
To avoid showing the monster she had become.
“But.”
Why were they blocking her?
Were they trampling her wish to be with her master?
Erina slowly surveyed the monsters in front of her.
There were quite a few, but none were significant opponents.
“Just you guys…”
Splitting her from her master.
In hindsight, it was such a fragile thought.
Acting with the naive idea of just wanting to show a beautiful side to her master.
As a result, Erina failed to protect her Seo-Hyun.
And now, her master was no longer here.
In other words, there was no need to pretend anymore.
Erina stretched her sword out.
She drew the dagger she kept on her leg and held it in reverse.
‘At least, while master is not here.’
For a brief moment, she decided to return to being a monster.
***
“Erina!”
No matter how long I waited, there was no response.
The nameless dragon and I had fallen, but Erina was still above.
At first, I thought she would come down too.
But no matter how much time passed, her figure didn’t appear.
Perhaps she was battling the horde of monsters that blocked our way.
‘No matter how strong Erina is, it’s dangerous for her to be alone.’
Suddenly, impatience surged within me.
Certainly, Erina was much stronger than me.
But was she strong enough to face the entire Demon King’s army?
I couldn’t know for sure.
Moreover, the nameless dragon was dying.
She struggled to hold onto her breath, not knowing when it would extinguish.
‘What should I do?’
At this moment, there were two options.
One, wait for Erina to come down.
Two, find a way forward with the nameless dragon.
Waiting for Erina was the safer choice.
However, I couldn’t predict when she would descend.
I didn’t want to think about it, but there was a possibility that she might not withstand onslaught.
Or, if monsters came from the other side, she could be trapped.
Should I look for an exit then?
It wasn’t an entirely impossible option.
Although the cave was dark, there was a faint light in the distance.
It meant there was an exit leading outside.
However, I couldn’t blindly move forward.
I could probably find the exit if I somehow moved, but I didn’t know how far I could go with an injured companion.
And even if we went outside, there were other problems.
We were far from the capital, and there was a possibility of being attacked by monsters.
Also, the fact that the nameless dragon was a dragon posed a dilemma.
I recalled the setting from the game where dragons were persecuted by humans.
Although it was something I had heard casually, I couldn’t ignore it.
‘Should I wait for Erina or go outside with the nameless dragon? Emergency treatment alone won’t be enough.’
While pondering, a voice calling me reached my ears.
“Hey…”
The nameless dragon barely raised its head and reached out to me.
Her condition was so pitiful that even looking at it was excruciating.
Talking must have been painful for it.
Yet, she was calling me.
Hastily, I approached and brought my ear close to her.
She whispered with a voice full of resignation.
“Please leave me and run away…”
I immediately shook my head. I couldn’t let her go so easily.
“I will never leave you.”
“Why…”
“Because you saved me.”
Surviving the fall from the cliff was solely thanks to her.
If I were alone, I would have undoubtedly died or at least suffered severe injuries.
I already owed my life to the nameless dragon.
I couldn’t just ignore the favor.
No matter what, I wanted to save her.
“You really…”
She looked at me with a forlorn expression, as if she might shed tears any moment.
Her appearance, ready to give up on life at any moment, made me uneasy.
Although the situation was desperate, it wasn’t too late.
I wanted to do whatever it took to save her.
“I haven’t given up yet. Please believe me.”
I cautiously held her hand, hoping my sincerity would be conveyed.
Fortunately, after hearing my words, she smiled faintly.
“Thank you…”
The nameless dragon no longer showed hostility towards me.
Top of Form
From the beginning, there was no one else I could rely on in this situation.
Injured to the point of being unable to move, she solely trusted me.
A sense of responsibility weighed heavily on my shoulders. I needed to stay focused now more than ever.
“Can you get up for now?”
I carefully supported her body against the wall and covered her with a cloak.
“I’ll look around the area.”
I grabbed my sword and shield and stood up from where I was sitting.
For now, I decided to explore the surroundings, hoping to find water or anything that could help.
“What…”
A strange voice echoed from somewhere.
It was a voice of an unfamiliar man I had never heard before.
Unconsciously, my footsteps came to a halt.
When I looked up, someone was flying through the air with a fierce gust of wind.
“Who are you? Where did you suddenly pop out from?”
Simultaneously, a sound of wind cutting through the air reached my ears.
“Kuk…?!”
I instinctively raised my shield. Something hit the shield and bounced off.
The projectile was not visible. A deep gash was left on the shield I was holding along with the sharp sound of the wind.
‘Wind Cutter!’
Wind-type attack magic. Among them, Wind Cutter was just a low-level skill.
However, this time, it felt different.
Even though I blocked it precisely with the shield, my arm throbbed for a moment.
There was no time to stand still. The sound of fierce wind swept through my ears.
Quickly, I rolled my body to evade.
Along with the fierce wind sound, a counterwind blew inside the cave.
There was a risk of being swept away by the wind.
With strength in my legs and a lowered center of gravity, I looked up at the opponent.
And as I confirmed the opponent, a curse slipped out.
“Sh*t…”
“You don’t seem that strong. Are you just an ordinary adventurer?”
Blond hair came into view along with a lazy voice.
He was twirling a dagger in his hand in a carefree posture.
I desperately hoped it wasn’t him.
Ever since the nameless dragon appeared, I had prayed that this guy wouldn’t show up.
Unfortunately, my luck reminded me of its worst aspect.
“Alfred…”
“Huh? Do you know me?”
There was no way I wouldn’t recognize the man in front of me.
The worst possible opponent among the bosses that could be encountered in the game had appeared.
“Yeah. You’re somewhat famous.”
The opponent in front of me was Alfred.
He was one of the Demon King’s Four Heavenly Kings and the original owner of the nameless dragon.
