Chapter 560

Book 1 Chapter 560

560

Swoosh—!

A barren breeze swept through.

Lysinas balled his hand into a silent fist, staring ahead at the sprawling devastation.

Arion squeezed his eyelids tight, averting his gaze from the terrible tragedy before them.

Dragonia.

Since ancient times, this realm had served as the sanctuary and ancestral territory of the dragons.

When the Age of Calamity first dawned, the dragons were forced out of their homeland due to the onslaught of Erebus and Tartarus.

As generations passed, they managed to drive Tartarus back, finally reclaiming the right to walk upon Dragonia once more.

Yet, the sacred ground they had struggled so fiercely to take back was completely laid to waste by the demonic clans.

Thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of years of dragon heritage were meant to rest within this soil, but nothing remained save for desolate ash.

Even back during the Age of Gods, dragons stood as the ultimate powerhouse among races.

As the chosen emissaries of the deities, they functioned fundamentally as protectors of the world.

Erebus harbored a deep malice toward the world.

Naturally, he existed as the absolute opposite to the gods who oversaw the mortal plane.

Consequently, the malicious fiends spawned from Erebus loathed the dragons—the divine representatives—above any other species alive.

This was precisely why the dark legions of Tartarus, upon conquering Dragonia, systematically razed it to the ground, taking the dragons captive to endure horrific torment and slaughter.

Near the gateway, the mangled remains of slaughtered dragons lay strewn across the earth.

A trickle of crimson seeped from Lysinas’s tightly clenched teeth.

His trembling fist shook with suppressed rage.

Dweyno turned toward Lysinas and spoke softly,

“Lysinas, I know the pain you are feeling right now, but… our immediate task must be gathering our fallen kin.”

“Understood.”

Nodding with profound difficulty at Dweyno’s counsel, Lysinas began the grim task of collecting the remains of his people.

Before the mounting pile of draconic bodies, Luna dropped to her knees and pressed her palms together.

“O noble emissaries of the heavens, may your spirits dissolve back into the earth and find eternal rest.”

Whosh—

The traditional funeral rite of the dragons required consuming the bodies in flame to return their essence to nature.

This duty inherently belonged to Lysinas, but Luna stepped forward to conduct the ceremony, recognizing that Lysinas was entirely emotionally spent simply from gathering the endless bodies of his slaughtered people.

Having been raised with the high education reserved for a prospective successor to the Elf King, Luna possessed deep knowledge regarding the sacred rites for dragons, the divine stewards.

Under ordinary circumstances, Luna paid little mind to rigid formalities, yet in this moment, she offered her tributes to the fallen dragons with absolute gravity.

Kyle, Dweyno, and Arion stood silently behind Luna, lowering their heads in quiet reverence as the fire blazed.

Lysinas remained seated nearby, staring blankly at the crackling pyre.

Eventually, the sun dipped below the horizon, and as the rest of the camp drifted off to sleep, night took over.

Lysinas sat motionless in the heart of the wreckage.

Cradled in Lysinas’s hands was a modest container.

“What have you got there?”

“Ah…”

Startled by the unexpected sound behind him, Lysinas snapped his head around.

“Kyle? Why aren’t you resting?”

“I could ask you the same thing. What pulled you away from the tents?”

Several hollow gourds were slung between Kyle’s fingers as he questioned him casually.

“What are those for?”

“Some liquor I managed to scavenge from the rubble.”

Kyle used his teeth to yank the cork plug from the opening of one gourd.

Pop—!

With a sharp snap, the rich fragrance of spirits wafted through the night air.

Kyle took a heavy swig directly from the container, wiped his lips, and extended the vessel toward Lysinas.

“…”

Lysinas, who strictly avoided spirits during active campaigns, accepted the offered vessel from Kyle without a word tonight.

Gulp, gulp—

“Hah.”

Kyle let out a brief, amused breath as he watched him down it.

“What is it?”

Kyle replied, looking at Lysinas, who was currently wiping his wet lips against his shoulder while questioning him.

“You drink exactly the same way Luna does. I was just wondering if that was your usual habit too.”

“I merely wanted to drink until my mind emptied out. Though this vintage is far too precious to waste on mindless drinking.”

Lysinas passed the container back to Kyle as he spoke.

“No surprise there, it’s bound to be top-tier stuff if the dragons brewed it themselves.”

Kyle tipped the vessel back to finish off the remaining liquid.

Then, unsealing the next container, he inquired further.

“So, what was this specific spot?”

“The homestead where I spent my childhood years.”

“Got it.”

Kyle reached down to lift a singed piece of leather covering from the dirt.

As it stood, the area was so thoroughly ruined that one could only speculate it had once been a dwelling.

The scattered remains of what might have been furniture were warped beyond recognition.

Yet, the architectural footprint felt strangely familiar.

“Was this a library or something?”

“To be exact, it was my personal chamber.”

Even though its physical structure was obliterated, this specific layout brought to mind the study Lysinas kept elsewhere.

Kyle continued to drink in quiet contemplation.

Lysinas possessed an intense, unyielding devotion to his ancestral home of Dragonia.

This trait wasn’t unique to him, however.

It was an defining characteristic shared by all dragonkind.

That was precisely why Lysinas had designed his current study to mirror his childhood home in the sacred land.

It was his way of easing the ache of his homesickness, if only a fraction.

Most individuals born prior to the onset of the Age of Calamity had seen their birthplaces destroyed.

However, because Kyle and Luna grew up as orphans, they felt no particular attachment to the lands of their birth.

Dweyno, meanwhile, always kept his gaze fixed on exploring the vast horizons of the world.

While the ruin of his old home brought him sorrow and regret, he didn’t harbor any deep yearning for it either.

He had no intentions of retracing his steps, even after saving civilization.

But Lysinas operated on a completely different frequency.

He was constantly speaking of the day he would return to reconstruct his homeland from the ground up.

He radiated genuine joy whenever the topic of Dragonia arose.

Because of that, the sheer weight of this devastation must have dealt a staggering blow to his spirit.

Sitting on the ruined ground, Lysinas drew his knees tightly against his torso.

“Deep down, I knew. I knew it would look like this.”

Lysinas buried his face down against his knees.

“But standing right here and witnessing it… I can’t seem to control what I’m feeling.”

Dragonia had been an extraordinarily magnificent realm.

The sight of his beautiful homeland reduced to absolute nothingness was enough to completely shatter Lysinas, who had always maintained a strict mask of absolute composure as the commander of their expeditionary force.

“How much more will be stripped away from us before this journey concludes?”

“…”

“Is there even an ending to look forward to?”

Lysinas’s words shook with vulnerability.

“What if… what if we ultimately fall short?”

Kyle offered a steady, grounded response to the despair dripping from those words.

“Do not let yourself break.”

Lysinas’s shoulders gave a slight jerk.

“You are the leader who marched countless souls to this very spot, rallying them with promises of a hope they couldn’t see.”

“…”

“If you begin to falter, who are those people supposed to lean on?”

“…”

Lysinas pressed his teeth together hard.

The statement was undeniable.

‘Kyle speaks the truth. I cannot afford to lose my resolve like this.’

Countless individuals had already seen their homes turned to dust.

They had grown intimately acquainted with hopelessness.

If he were to rally them by projecting a vision of a better tomorrow, only to display his own fractured resolve, it would be the ultimate act of betrayal.

Lysinas raised his gaze and pushed himself to his feet.

“Forgive me, I allowed myself to display such pathetic weakness…”

“Listen.”

“…”

“I didn’t witness any weakness from you tonight.”

Kyle pressed the container back to his mouth before continuing.

“I won’t breathe a word of this to Arion, Luna, or Dweyno. Not ever.”

Gulp, gulp—

The fluid drained steadily down Kyle’s throat.

“Whether they openly admit it or not, Luna and Arion look up to you immensely. If they caught sight of you in this state, they wouldn’t feel permitted to share the heavy burdens weighing on their own hearts anymore.”

Kyle wiped his lips clean using the back of his hand.

“Dweyno, that stubborn old man, operates differently than those two, but he would immediately try to take your struggles onto his own shoulders.”

Lysinas could only stare blankly at Kyle.

“If that occurs, the unity of this group will start to fracture. You must carry the heaviest load if our fellowship is to stay intact; there is simply no alternative path.”

Kyle locked his eyes firmly onto Lysinas.

“So, for this single night, let the weakness out. I’ll drink this down and ensure it’s entirely forgotten.”

“…Kyle.”

Lysinas gazed back at Kyle, his eyes shimmering with emotion.

Then, he squeezed the small container resting in his arms a bit tighter.

“Would you mind shifting over here for a second?”

Lysinas gestured to the empty patch of ground right beside him.

Once Kyle settled himself down adjacent to him, Lysinas rested his head against Kyle’s shoulder and spoke softly.

“While I’m resting here, may I ask a single promise of you?”

“If it falls within my capabilities.”

“It is entirely within your power. Do you recall your past words? You promised we would make our home in Dragonia once this conflict is finally resolved.”

“I had to memorize complex dragon protocols until they were burned into my brain because of that promise, how could I possibly forget?”

As Kyle grumbled with a deep knit in his brow, Lysinas let out a sudden burst of genuine laughter.

“When the dust settles on all of this, will you lend your strength to restore Dragonia?”

“Rebuilding an empire of this magnitude feels like a task that would consume an entire lifetime and still remain unfinished, don’t you think?”

“You explicitly stated I could lean on you for tonight, didn’t you? And didn’t you mention you’d have nothing left to occupy your time once peace returns to the world?”

“Fine, fine. I yield.”

Chuckling at Kyle’s reluctant surrender, Lysinas unlatched the container he was holding.

Click—!

Tucked inside the box was a fragment of material roughly the scale of a person’s palm.

Kyle tilted his gaze sideways, inspecting the dark, glass-like shard that bore a striking resemblance to obsidian.

“What exactly is that?”

“The very shell I broke through when I came into the world.”

“Ah.”

An expression of mild fascination crossed Kyle’s features.

Catching Kyle’s look, Lysinas narrowed his eyelids slightly.

“You just entertained an incredibly disrespectful thought, didn’t you?”

“It just struck me all over again that underneath it all, you really are just a giant reptile.”

In response to the jab, Lysinas drove his elbow sharply into Kyle’s temple.

While Kyle rubbed the sore spot with a heavy scowl, Lysinas thrust the ancient shell piece directly into Kyle’s hands.

“Inscribe your name onto the surface.”

“Why on earth should I write my name?”

“It is an old draconic custom. A binding agreement utilized whenever a solemn vow is made.”

Lysinas let a faintly mischievous smirk touch his lips.

“You gave your word that you would assist in resurrecting Dragonia, did you not?”

“We’re actually drawing up a formal contract for this?”

“Oh? Is it not your own undoing for exposing a vulnerability to someone who plays tricks?”

“Tsk.”

Hearing Lysinas’s retort, Kyle clicked his tongue in mock annoyance and began carving his signature into the material.

Lysinas reclaimed the object, carefully settling the egg fragment back into its protective container before speaking again.

“From this moment on, your services belong to me.”

“So I’m being reduced to nothing more than forced construction labor, I see.”

“Perhaps.”

Lysinas, wearing a slightly playful grin with the tip of his tongue showing just a bit, swept his gaze across the ruined horizon.

“With you standing by my side, Dragonia is bound to reclaim its ancient magnificence, wouldn’t you agree?”

“Naturally.”

Hearing Kyle’s definitive confirmation, a brilliant smile illuminated Lysinas’s face.

“…”

Leo stood in absolute silence, anchoring his gaze upon the great threshold of Dragonia looming before him.

Chelsea remained positioned at Leo’s side, her features twisted into a look of sheer bewilderment.

“What has caught your attention so deeply?”

“Nothing much, just a sudden wave of old memories washing over me.”

Leo gave a soft chuckle, giving a slight shake of his head.

This journey did not mark his initial arrival at Dragonia within his current lifespan.

However, it did mark the very first time he could genuinely take in the expansive vistas of the realm.

During his initial venture here, his path had led him straight to Melina via the restricted vaults, completely bypassing the external landscape.

His subsequent trip had been solely to cross-reference the grand topography he had observed within Rhodia’s domain.

Aside from those brief instances, his entire knowledge of the place stemmed from descriptions preserved in ancient scrolls.

Because of that, standing before Dragonia once more in this manner felt entirely novel.

Following those ancient days, neither Lysinas nor his own past self had managed to step foot back in Dragonia.

‘It appears the generations of dragons who followed carried the weight of Lysinas’s dreams and poured their souls into restoring this place.’

The current state of Dragonia’s great entrance aligned remarkably well with the vivid descriptions Lysinas used to share.

‘Come to think of it, I wonder if the small container holding the shell fragment where I carved my name remains interred beneath this very soil.’

It was precisely as Leo was reminiscing about that specific piece of the egg Lysinas hatched from—the one bearing his own carved signature—that a voice cut through the air.

“Look who made it here ahead of us! It’s the Black Rabbit!”

Leo spun around as the highly familiar call reached his ears from the rear.

Standing a short distance away was Ar, her arms firmly locked across her chest as her tail swayed back and forth.

Positioned directly beside Ar was a powerfully built student hailing from Azonia.

“It has been quite a while, Leo.”

“Indeed it has, Dorveman Calian.”

Dorveman, who held the position of student council president at Azonia, reached out to offer Leo a firm handshake.

Leo gripped his hand in return, speaking smoothly.

“You’ve managed to deliver some highly intriguing developments. An inter-academy tournament, from what I understand.”

The corners of Dorveman’s mouth curved upward into a sharp grin.

“What course of action did Azonia ultimately resolve to take?”

“The pupils of Azonia respect absolute power above all else. They certainly won’t turn down an arena where they can openly validate their martial prowess. Naturally, though…”

Dorveman’s gaze sharpened with an intense glint.

“That is entirely contingent on the arena being grand enough to properly herald our grand entrance.”

“You can cast those anxieties aside.”

Leo let out a quiet, knowing chuckle.

“Because the arena I intend to construct will be one perfectly earned by legendary figures.”

Leo’s crimson eyes flashed with a dangerous, unsettling light.

In that exact heartbeat, both Ar and Chelsea caught sight of his expression and felt an involuntary shudder ripple down their spines.

‘This particular human! What kind of chaotic plot is he piecing together this time!’