HPV 82

Suddenly, Tilly grabbed my hand.

Maybe she had read the resolve on my face — she pulled me toward the castle wall with surprising strength.

I braced my legs to follow her, and in exchange — though it wasn’t much — I kept my mouth moving.

“If it gets even a little dangerous, I’m running for it.”

“Yeah. You should.”

“If I get hurt, it’ll mess up the oracle.”

I had made a promise — to come back safely, no matter what.

Halfway up the wall’s stairs, I caught sight of the scene outside through the wide-open gate: the furious beak of a griffin lunging to tear into an archer’s head.

Thunk!

The archer squeezed his eyes shut. A moment later, realizing he wasn’t dead, he blinked them open in a daze.

In the midst of the desolate north, the thick green energy of the only trees spirit wielder — me — in this place, surged up.

Through my outstretched fingertips, a fierce wind softened into a gentle breeze, like it was brushing through grass.

My breath came out in short, quick bursts.

I wasn’t injured— and yet.

Standing in the middle of a battlefield was far more overwhelming than I had imagined. I had thought only of the game — how naive I had been.

Every minute, every second, someone stood on the brink of death.

My pounding heart refused to calm down.

I went around healing any injured soldier I could spot.

Tilly stayed close behind me, shielding me, so no griffin could get close.

Before my party left the castle, Yurichen had said something to me.

— I’ve warned the commanders. If anything happens to you, they’ll be held responsible.

It seemed Yurichen had already expected I would jump into the fray — maybe because of what happened in the Duchy of Mubesa

— I don’t mean your body alone. Your heart must remain intact too.

A griffin’s beak dove for a soldier’s head. Kreeeek! The screech drowned out the human screams.

Crash! The beak smashed into a barely maintained shield barrier and bounced off, blood splattering from the griffin’s beak.

If I hadn’t just intervened, that soldier would have died.

I was now involved in whether someone lived or died.

— Even if you save a hundred lives, you’ll still be hated for the one you couldn’t.

Defenders and healers are alike in that way.

And thus, spirit users and priests, too, are alike.

When Yurichen had first tried to teach me this, I had been bewildered.

That Yurichen — teaching a healing mindset to someone like me, who served “weeds.”

At one point, I had even thought he simply looked down on spirit users.

But not anymore.

— High Priest. Until now, I thought I was imagining it… but have you really decided to treat this burden of a person with kindness?

The moment I realized the look in Yurichen’s eyes was genuine worry, I let out a small laugh.

— Even if there are fifty soldiers, I might only be able to save half of them. That means I would have failed the other half. But the half I save — I save. I will save whoever I can.

When I said that, Yurichen let me go.

Now, the top of the wall was so stained red that it was hard to look at.

I gripped Tilly’s hand tightly and endured the choking scent of blood.

I remembered a different scent — one I had once smelled instead of blood and sweat: a subtle, ticklish scent, gentle and faint.

The swarm of griffins, once as thick as a cloud of flies, had started to thin.

For the first time, a sense of relief began filling my chest — along with a feeling of accomplishment.

It was just then. Without any warning, a voice echoed within me.

For the first time in months. As if it had never been silent, not even once.

[You have found it. That which seeks you.]

Rumble…

Suddenly, the ground shook violently. An overwhelming, crushing force pierced through my lungs.

It wasn’t just me who felt it.

Tilly groaned beside me, clutching me for support. Soldiers staggered around.

I could feel Tilly drawing in her strength, trying to hear the voice of the earth.

“What’s happening?!”

Soldiers ran about in panic.

The commander rushed up the central tower to assess the situation.

Below the walls, soldiers struggled to calm the foaming, thrashing horses — warhorses that normally didn’t even flinch at the sight of monsters twice their size.

Tilly’s eyes snapped open.

A sharp voice escaped her dry lips.

“The black dragon has awakened.”

Dragons are said to be highly solitary creatures, interacting with no others outside their breeding season.

In theory, they are the most powerful beings in this world.

Even so, when dragons moved, they did so in silence — simply abandoning their nests to the humans without a trace.

They hadn’t appeared in the Demon War, nor during the Demon King’s subjugation.

They merely existed — taking no sides.

But one being shattered all these rules. The black dragon Takianthis, corrupted by a demon, driven to madness and ferocity.

The moment I realized the black dragon had awakened, I could hardly breathe.

Even though air moved in and out of my lungs, it hurt.

Experiencing it firsthand, fear crashed over me.

How are they supposed to kill that?

Even from this far away, the force of its presence is enough to drive me mad. I can barely stay standing.

Tilly sprinted off to one side.

She and the other earth spirit wielders who had come to support us quickly formed a formation.

Each took their assigned position according to the defensive layout, and all at once, they released their spiritual power.

“The twisted shall not tread upon the land where pure life dwells!”

Tilly declared loudly, stomping her foot.

In perfect rhythm, the spirit wielders stomped after her — thump, thump, thump — a booming pulse spreading like a wave.

It was a magnificent sight.

Unlike when I tried to do things alone, the dozen or so spirit wielders, moving as one, raised a flawless protective barrier that extended over the castle walls.

Their healing abilities might have been modest, but when it came to defense, they were as strong and unyielding as dwarves — true earth spirit wielders.

Yet, the soldiers already tainted by demonic influence convulsed under the ceiling of earth energy.

“Arghhh—!”

They must have been those with weaker minds.

Corrupted by the demon’s presence, their irises had momentarily turned red.

Gripping their spears, they tried to stab the comrades they’d been fighting alongside just moments ago.

Chaos broke out.

Normally, dragons don’t have such mind-controlling powers.

This was the handiwork of the demon that had seized the dragon — its vile trickery.

“They’re possessed by the demon!”

“Snap out of it!”

Several unaffected soldiers shouted.

The ones rampaging weren’t true demon hosts yet — they were merely influenced, not completely taken over, meaning they could still return to normal.

Kingdom law also did not punish those affected in such cases.

The earth spirit wielders trapped each berserk soldier in small, ball-shaped barriers.

It was an effective method — unable to harm anyone inside, the soldiers just raged against the barrier until they collapsed from exhaustion.

I could help too — at least a few.

Amid the brownish shields, my own transparent blue spheres stood out.

I was helping, but inside, my heart was a raging storm.

Just now, the demon spoke to me again.

After months of silence since escaping the temple…

Is it my fault? Is it really because of my existence that the black dragon’s power is reaching even the castle walls, unlike in the original story?

[Are you wondering, child?]

“Don’t talk to me…! Don’t you dare call me that!”

Tilly stared at me, wide-eyed.

I barely managed to stop myself from screaming like a madman.

Right then —The ground beneath us split open.

It wasn’t my first time experiencing it. A bizarre dizziness swept over me, and I was dragged away, disappearing somewhere else.

The hero’s party was just then maneuvering through the mass of monsters, trying to reach the black dragon —saving their strength as much as possible, never panicking even when the situation seemed dire.

And there — I dropped right into the middle of them.

That massive back I hadn’t seen for a few hours turned around to look at me.

His face, struck with shock as if unsure whether this was dream or reality, gradually pieced together the situation.

And then he exploded.

“Why?!”

He didn’t ask how I got here. He asked why.

Don’t be so mad.

I know I’ve done something to deserve it. But I’m the one who’s the most confused right now.

For a moment, all I could do was stare blankly at his face — until I snapped back to myself.

If I didn’t show confidence, Banwes would only become more shaken.

If I exposed my fear and uncertainty, he would panic too — desperate to send me back, insisting on dragging me away from here.

If that happened, there would be no choice but to bluff.

I steadied my breathing and opened my eyes wide and clear — enough for everyone here to see me, not just Banwes.

“I think there’s something I can do in the black dragon’s subjugation.”