TDAA Ch 24

The streets were completely covered in snow. Seeing the snow piled up to his knees, Siol gave up on going out bare-skinned. If Ryufen had seen him, he would have clutched his chest, saying that this kind of weather was perfect for playing outside. But Siol couldn’t understand why anyone would enjoy this snow, which was nothing short of a disaster. In this kind of weather, one should stay snugly at home, and if circumstances prevented that, one should utilize tools.

Siol gathered a pot, a vase, a small cigarette case, and a glass from the first floor of the lodging and, standing before them, slapped his palms on the floor, activating his alchemy. The deliveryman, while collecting the small items to take away, eyed the scales of Eorzen in Siol’s pocket. But Siol firmly offered a small gold button as an offering instead. The deliveryman accepted the gold button with a somewhat haughty attitude and, as if teasing, tapped the top of Siol’s pocket.

“Wait a minute…. Ah, no…!”

Then, truly startling Siol, he vigorously rubbed Siol’s cheeks and, leaving the small brooch Siol had wished for, disappeared.

“…What was that, really…?”

Siol mumbled, touching his reddened cheeks. He seemed to hear the deliveryman’s laughter, even though it wasn’t audible. It was the first time the deliveryman had touched Siol so actively. The deliveryman didn’t seem to have body temperature or a sense of touch, but Siol felt a strange breeze.

After receiving the flower petals last time, he felt like he had gotten a little closer to him. The dragon scale he had pilfered must have been quite to his liking.

It was a joyous thing to have taken another step forward as an alchemist, but now wasn’t the time to be lost in emotion.

Siol hurriedly attached the brooch to his clothes under his robe and ran back out into the street. Siol’s body ran lightly over the snow without sinking or leaving footprints. It was a tool he devised, thinking that since he didn’t have the strength or stamina to trudge through the snow, he might as well run on top of it, and it certainly seemed effective.

Running over the snow towards the tower, Siol soon discovered a strange procession. At first, he seemed to see one or two people, but the closer he got to the tower, the greater their numbers became. They walked like corpses, showing no reaction even when Siol approached. They walked slowly, their limbs swaying unsteadily.

Siol hardened his face as he observed these unresponsive individuals, even when he grasped their arms.

“…It must be because of the necklaces.”

The beastmen all appeared unconscious, simply walking toward the tower as if possessed.

The necklaces Siol couldn’t remove had finally come to this. Was taking control of the wearer’s consciousness and manipulating their body the full extent of the necklace’s function? If that were all, he could have removed them long ago….

Perhaps he was overthinking things. But Nathaniel was a cruel child. When he’d tried to remove a necklace, the thought that it might explode had prevented him from taking drastic action. That’s why he had sought the safest method, researching and studying the sample… and finding a way to prevent the electric shock.

But now, regret was the only emotion occupying Siol’s mind. If only he had prioritized removing the necklaces over preventing the electrical shock. If he had risked the sample burning up and peeled away the layered leather to check the inner spell circle. Perhaps, if he had, the beastmen now staggering through the streets might all be free.

The world always forced him to make choices, and those choices led to unforeseen consequences. Perhaps this was the price he paid for dabbling in the study of alchemy.

Siol decided to steel his resolve. Now that things had come to this, regretting not acting more boldly wouldn’t solve anything. More than anything, even if he could go back, Siol knew he would make the same choices. Choosing the safe option that would, even slightly, provide more comfort for everyone, rather than a risky decision with equal chances of success and failure. That had always been Siol’s way of choosing.

Even so, Siol had grown somewhat compared to the past. He had taken his own measures in preparation for a time like this.

“Where are Ryufen and Asios…? The knights…?”

Unaware that Eorzen had ordered Ryufen to protect the city, and that Ryufen had run to the gate to obey that order, Siol looked around as he ran toward the tower. He could clearly picture the beastmen finding him suspicious and questioning his identity if they saw him now. The talkative beastmen would surely cause a commotion, interrogating him without giving him a chance to explain, and calling for Ryufen.

Siol cautiously hid in the shadowy alleys as he made his way to the tower.

However, that didn’t last long. As he drew nearer to the tower, the number of beastmen walking like corpses steadily increased. The snow on the ground had been trampled, making it impossible to walk on top of it or to avoid them. Eventually, Siol had no choice but to walk shoulder-to-shoulder with them. His shoulders instinctively hunched as he found himself in a situation where he could be grabbed at any moment if the beastmen walking beside him reached out. Being among the beastmen with their vacant eyes, he even felt a chill, as if this place he stood was the path to the underworld.

As a disheartened Siol rolled his eyes and anxiously focused on the tower visible beyond the back of the person in front of him, he heard a voice.

“Damn it…! How long are they going to keep swarming in…!”

Asios? Siol stood on tiptoe and looked in the direction of the voice, but amongst the inherently tall beastmen, Siol was nothing more than a dwarf, with no way to see over them. Even in his adult form, this was the case.

“Captain, I don’t think I can do this alone…! You should have stationed a knight who’s better at fighting than me….”

It was a voice on the verge of tears. To hear the knight, who was always dependable even in difficult situations, whimpering with such a weak voice, it seemed the situation must be dire.

Being discovered would be troublesome, but as an adult, he couldn’t ignore a young boy whimpering.

Pushing through the beastmen, whom he had found so chilling just moments before that he’d been reluctant to even touch them, he jumped into a narrow alleyway he saw nearby. There was no one inside.

“I can… climb.”

What Siol then looked at was a two-story building’s roof. For a beastman, this height was truly nothing. Two stories, just two stories. For a human, it would be like jumping up three or four steps at once. Siol, too, was currently in the form of a beastman, so he could do this much. …Probably.

The reason he hadn’t done it so far was likely due to his fixed human mindset.

I’ve transformed into a wolf, two stories shouldn’t be a problem.

Siol clenched his fists and jumped with all his might. And as his body soared about twenty meters, he felt a moment of panic, and then his eyes met those of Asios, who was guarding the tower and knocking down the approaching beastmen. Asios, startled, stared wide-eyed at Siol, who had suddenly popped up, then let one beastman pass before running over in a panic and knocking him unconscious with a chop to the neck.

The bodies of collapsed beastmen lay scattered around them. It seemed Asios had defeated them all.

Siol, landing safely on the roof, realized then that he was wearing the brooch that made his body lighter. Having lived a life making only everyday items or weapons of war, he knew how to make things like this but was somewhat clumsy at using them. He hadn’t thought that a lighter body would allow him to jump higher. If he had thought of it, he wouldn’t have jumped with such tension.

Suppressing his feelings of frustration, Siol first looked around. From his high vantage point, he could see beastmen converging on the tower from all over the city. Asios was the only one guarding the tower. When they came one or two at a time, he could manage to knock them unconscious and drag them away from the tower, but as their numbers increased, he began to miss some. Those who were missed placed their hands on the tower wall and convulsed as if electrocuted before collapsing. They had their magical power drained by the spell circle engraved on the tower. As this repeated, Asios must have been increasingly driven to panic.

It was certainly a situation that warranted it. If Siol had been even a little later, Asios might have been buried under the wave of beastmen.

Running across the rooftops towards the tower, Siol shouted.

“Asios! Take out the control key!”

“Wh-what, now…? Could it be, Master Sizool?”

Perhaps because few knew about the control key, Asios immediately recognized Siol. His eyes darted nervously, full of suspicion, but even just uttering the name “Sizool” was admirable.

“The control key!”

“Ah, yes! Yes, yes…!”

Shouting again, Asios hurriedly pulled the control key from his clothes. But he fumbled with the key, unsure of what to do.

Meanwhile, beastmen continued to bypass Asios and touch the tower.

“The top! Pull out the ring attached to the top!”

“The… ring on top…!”

Just as Asios fumbled, grabbed the small ring, and yanked it out—

A strange silence enveloped the city. The city had already been quiet, with only the shuffling of feet and the rustling of clothes, but when all those sounds ceased at once, an eerie silence, beyond description, filled the space. An abnormal stillness and quiet. As Asios scanned the beastmen, rolling his eyes left and right, as if that were a signal, all the beastmen collapsed to the ground. Afterward, only their faint breaths and twitching remained.

This was an alchemist. Asios, with dazed eyes, looked up at Siol, who had single-handedly felled the wave of beastmen he himself had been completely unable to stop just moments before. Standing on the roof looking down, he was still small, but he no longer seemed so.

Asios hesitated for a moment, then jumped onto the roof where Siol stood and asked the man, whose body was hidden by a hood and robe,

“You… are Master Sizool… right?”

Siol was dumbfounded that he had been discovered as soon as he decided to hide his identity, to act a part.

“…I said I would repay your kindness, right? Please pretend you don’t know me.”

“Excuse me? What, what are you talking about?”

“I’m not Sizool. No, if possible, it would be great if you could pretend you didn’t see me at all….”

“…Excuse me?”

Looking at Asios staring at him with a dumbfounded expression, Siol groaned and crouched down.

That’s impossible. How could he hide after causing such a big incident?

As Asios stared in bewilderment at Siol, tormented between self-loathing and the thought that he couldn’t help but intervene, he bowed and said,

“Master Sizool, thank you so much for helping me just now. Are alchemists usually this powerful?”

“…Alchemists become powerful with sufficient preparation.”

“Then, did you prepare this as well… when you made the key rings?”

“Yes. They were using electricity to torment the wearers, so I thought that if I used that, I could knock them all unconscious at once with an electric shock in a pinch….”

Siol, who had been explaining in a listless tone, suddenly closed his mouth. Then, looking up at Asios with a complex expression, he asked,

“Aren’t you upset?”

“Did… you do something upsetting?”

“I suspected the residents from the start and hid a way to do something like this with the key rings.”

“But it couldn’t be helped. What you were truly suspicious of ended up happening.”

“If it hadn’t happened, you would have been upset, right?”

His worried voice was clearly despondent. Asios realized anew that the man before him, despite being taller than before, was still the small Sizool.

“If it really bothers you, just keep it a secret normally.”

“…But….”

“And tell only the Captain or the Vice-Captain. I’m fine with it too. Things like that feel heavier when they’re kept secret.”

It was a firm assurance that Eorzen, Ryufen, and Asios himself wouldn’t be offended if they heard such a thing. Honestly, he couldn’t quite believe it, but Siol felt his heart lighten a little.

An alchemist’s preparations had a dark side. The more they suspected everything around them and prepared for unexpected situations, the more powerful their traps became. Perhaps a confrontation between alchemists was a competition to see who could harbor the most sinister suspicions.

“Well, whatever. There’s no point in worrying about it now.”

Seeing Siol getting up, a bit lighter than before, though still grumbling, Asios asked what he had been curious about.

“By the way, why are you here? The Captain said he hid you in a closet.”

“…….”

Why did Eorzen tell everything? He didn’t tell him everything that happened in the room, did he? Siol clenched his teeth, his cheeks flushing as he thought of Eorzen’s seductive whispers.

“…Take me to the top of the tower, Asios.”

Although he looked at Siol quizzically as he avoided answering and changed the subject, he readily carried the great alchemist who had just helped him to the top of the tower.

Upon reaching the top of the tower, the two beastmen were stunned into silence by the sight that greeted them, something unseen from below. The entrance to the tower was completely mangled and in ruins. Not only was the door nowhere to be seen, but the area around the entrance was crumpled and folded inwards. It was undoubtedly Eorzen’s doing, but the violent result was unlike anything he could have imagined him capable of.

“It seems he’s quite angry.”

“Indeed….”

Siol replied, dumbfounded. Dragons were magical creatures, so how could he do something like this while half of his power was sealed? Perhaps dragons were more powerful beings than he had thought.

It was written in the books. Dragons are descendants of gods and harmonizers of the world. But there was a vast difference between reading something in words and seeing and feeling it firsthand.

“What will you do, Asios?”

At that question, Asios opened his mouth to speak but then shook his head.

“The Captain told me to guard this place. I will carry out my duty.”

“What duty?”

“To defend against any attacks coming from outside the tower. He said Nathaniel might have another trick up his sleeve.”

“You’ve already stopped that. If you want to go, let’s go down together.”

Despite Siol’s invitation, Asios just smiled and shook his head. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to go down there with him. Nathaniel and Eorzen were down there. And perhaps his father was there too. A surge of ambition rose within him, a desire to jump into the fray, protect his father directly, and defeat Nathaniel himself.

However, his duty now was to guard the tower – and prepare for a possible succession.

“Master Sizool, I have a role to play here. There’s no guarantee that Nathaniel has only planned one thing here, and there’s no guarantee the residents won’t wake up again. And just in case, I think I need to take care of the residents lying in the snow.”

“Oh. Right. They’ll all catch colds.”

Only then did Siol realize that beastmen were scattered below the tower, gradually being buried by the heavy snowfall. At Siol’s words, Asios’ eyes widened, and then he smiled gently.

“Unlike you, Master Sizool, most beastmen are healthy and don’t catch colds…. But if I leave them like this, someone might slip on them, so I plan to move them.”

“They… don’t catch colds…?”

Feeling embarrassed for having said something seemingly nonsensical, Siol quickly changed the subject.

“Just in case, I’ll explain that thing again. First, put the ring back in…. It controls the release of the electricity the ring has gathered, knocking out anyone wearing a necklace. It’s used up all the electricity now, so it needs to recharge, and I’ve set it to start working only when the ring is put back in. It will take another thirty minutes from now.”

“Yes. Thank you, Master Sizool.”

Asios’s gaze was serious. He could tell it wasn’t just gratitude for the explanation of the control key, but for many things. Siol patted the young knight’s shoulder firmly.

“Don’t worry. Everything will be alright. I’ll make sure of it.”

“…Yes.”

Leaving Asios behind, Siol jumped down into the wide-open doorway of the tower. His light body fluttered as he fell.

Siol felt as if he were endlessly falling into a deep darkness where nothing seemed to exist. Falling slowly into a place filled with only darkness, without sound or smell, reminded him of lying in a meadow, gazing up at the Milky Way with its falling stars. He felt a profound loneliness, like he was swimming alone in the universe.

But now, the feeling was entirely different.

The Siol of that time had nothing, but the Siol of now had a dragon he loved.

Although it was a dragon who had killed him, cursed him, and kidnapped him – it was also the blue dragon who had saved him.

Once, he had been ridiculed for seeking a special and eternal love. Hearing the criticism that such a thing couldn’t exist, Siol had gradually become numb. He gave up, thinking what he longed for was a unicorn-like fantasy, something he could never find.

Was the feeling in his chest now special? Could it be eternal?

He couldn’t be sure of anything, but one thing was certain. He couldn’t help but love the dragon who had taken control of his life, which had been filled with nothing but grief and pain, and taught him a life beyond suffering. It didn’t matter if it wasn’t special or eternal. Siol simply wanted to save him now, to make him happy.

He would return what the blue dragon had done for him.

This love, this happy time.

When Siol finished his thoughts and landed on the floor, Nathaniel was leaning on the table, chuckling. Popping a cookie into his mouth, he winked at Siol.

“You know, Blue Dragon? It was me who gave you the information.”

“…What?”

“The information about the castle where the Alchemist of Death was staying. You received the tip in Nariendal, right? I was the one who left that information. I originally planned to handle it myself, but I knew the Blue Dragon was desperately searching for the Alchemist of Death, so I gave it to you as a gift.”

“What… what are you…?”

“Did you like my gift?”

Siol realized the question was directed at him. What a vicious question. After spreading false rumors, turning someone into a terrible warmonger, and using those rumors to manipulate the dragon into killing him, he now asked if he liked it?

When Eorzen didn’t respond, Nathaniel shrugged.

“Well, does it matter? He was just an insignificant mortal anyway. A fool who couldn’t foresee the future.”

“You speak as if you’re not a mortal.”

The blunt accusation carried a strong rebuke. Siol saw Nathaniel’s resentful gaze flicker towards him before returning, and he felt as if Nathaniel, who had felt like a stranger for a while, suddenly became his disciple again. Soft. He knew he was soft, but seeing Nathaniel in person, the painful realization that Nathaniel was still Nathaniel struck him hard.

The fact that he was Nathaniel, the disciple he had raised for over ten years since he was a child.

“Not yet.”

“Stop it, Nathaniel. Leave the city immediately, or you’ll die here. Choose.”

“Why don’t you invite a new guest instead? I’m sure they’ll be happy to attend.”

Siol felt his stomach churn with tension, but he didn’t show it. Standing tall and staring down Nathaniel. That was what he had to do now. He didn’t want to show Nathaniel any weakness.

“Right? Master.”

Perhaps this was all a show. For Nathaniel, who had created this stage, and for Siol, who wanted to avoid revealing his identity as much as possible. And to win this show, he had to be bold.

Having prepared himself mentally, Siol didn’t flinch and stepped forward when Eorzen finally turned around. Trying to ignore Eorzen’s intense gaze, Siol managed to speak in a composed voice.

“That’s strange, Nathaniel. If you had any sense, you wouldn’t call me Master anymore.”

“I can’t abandon the Master I once served just because you’ve become a pathetic sight.”

His bright smile was spotless. How much had Nathaniel deceived him with that face?

“You’re the one who made me into this pathetic sight, Nathaniel! Why did you do it? Deceiving me, using my alchemical tools to kill beastmen, spreading that ridiculous rumor that I… that I hated beastmen and wanted war…!”

“Oh dear… Were you distressed?”

“Don’t ask the obvious! I… I… I treated you like my own son…!”

“I know, Master.”

There was a trace of the old Nathaniel in the way he nodded. The small Nathaniel, thin and frail, whom Siol had diligently fed, sheltered, and raised. Nathaniel closed his eyes delicately and whispered,

“Master always cherished me. You stayed by my side all night when I had nightmares, took care of me when I was sick, and even taught me alchemy step by step, even though I lacked talent.”

“Yes! You were my only… precious disciple….”

“That’s why I did it.”

“…What?”

“I wanted to bring down Master, who always spoke so nobly.”

And that desire had been fulfilled. Siol had been branded the Alchemist of Death without his knowledge, and his tarnished reputation was now beyond repair.

Siol couldn’t help but feel a surge of emotion.

“You thought of me that way…?!”

“I thought you were a naive alchemist, raised delicately, unable to suspect anything, unaware of what the bottom was like. But… you weren’t, were you? To think you’d come back alive like this. What trick did you use? Since when have you been living with a fake body?”

“…What are you even…?”

Nathaniel grinned at his bewildered master.

“Anyway… I really like Master, who has died and come back to life. Won’t you join me in taking over the world?”

“Nathaniel, you’re truly out of your mind!”

Siol, striding forward as if to grab Nathaniel by the collar, was suddenly spun around as his arm was seized. When he came to his senses, he was already in Eorzen’s embrace. Eorzen’s arm was wrapped around his waist, their lower bodies pressed tightly together. With one hand captured, the two of them were in a position as if they had stopped mid-dance. Startled by the sudden contact, Siol pushed against Eorzen’s chest, trying to pull away, but the next moment, the hand tightening around his waist forced him to lean in even deeper than before.

Eorzen’s eyes, having perpetrated such an act out of the blue, scanned Siol intently. After kneading Siol’s hand a few times, Eorzen’s hand moved towards Siol’s hood. Siol quickly pulled his hand back, blocking Eorzen’s hand.

Then Eorzen brought his face close to Siol’s. Siol hurriedly blocked his face as well.

What is he doing?

Unfazed by Siol’s bewilderment at his actions, which were completely out of sync with the atmosphere, Eorzen winked and kissed the fingers in front of his face.

Siol barely managed to suppress his usual urge to yell Eorzen’s name and quickly withdrew both hands. Eorzen’s grip on Siol’s waist tightened. If he moved even slightly, a rather unfortunate area would be stimulated.

Just a moment ago, he was in a heated argument with Nathaniel, and now this? He had never once thought Eorzen was a dragon who couldn’t distinguish time and place, yet now he couldn’t help but think it. No, wasn’t he failing to distinguish not only time and place, but also the person he was with?

“The Alchemist of Death, was it? So….”

The blue dragon muttered in a slow voice, grinding his teeth.

It was a voice tinged with regret for wasted time and anger at the absurd things he had done in the past.

However, Siol, unaware of Eorzen’s thoughts, the moment he heard that voice thick with anger, couldn’t help but recall the terrible pain he had felt after hearing such a voice in the past. The time he was trampled under the blue dragon’s feet.

Instinctively, Siol pushed Eorzen away with all his might. His face was pale, his hands trembling so much that he had little strength, but perhaps because of that, the blue dragon yielded. Siol, gasping, stumbled backward, unable to tear his wary gaze away from Eorzen, who was watching him.

He could feel Eorzen staring at him with a dumbfounded expression.

But he couldn’t help it. The moment he heard that voice, his heart pounded, and he couldn’t stop himself from flinching.

Everything had been fine while they were together, so why suddenly now?

Only then did Siol realize that since that day, the voices Eorzen had whispered to him had been nothing but gentle, warm, and kind. Not once since that day had he heard a voice filled with such anger.

As he recalled that gentleness, his racing heart began to calm down.

“It… it’s not like that….”

Seeing Eorzen’s clearly hurt expression, Siol stammered, trying to offer an explanation, then closed his mouth. He couldn’t gauge what he could say and what he should hide.

Even though Asios had discovered his identity, Siol had no intention of confessing to Eorzen, “I am the Alchemist of Death, and at the same time, your little Sizool.” He could imagine how Eorzen would react if he found out that the little Sizool he had carefully raised and cared for was actually a grown adult, and the Alchemist of Death, no less.

Honestly, wouldn’t it be natural for him to be disgusted if he found out a grown adult had been pretending to be a child by his side?

Wanting to postpone the revelation as long as possible, Siol tried to deduce how the Alchemist of Death, Siol, would act when meeting the blue dragon who had killed him. Offering an explanation in this situation would be an absurd reaction.

It was true that the Alchemist of Death had been trampled to death by the blue dragon, so wasn’t it natural for him to be afraid? Shouldn’t the blue dragon be angry, rather than hurt, at being pushed away?

“…Don’t touch me! Don’t even come near me!”

Siol snapped irritably at Eorzen, concealing his true feelings.

“If you have any conscience, you haven’t forgotten what you did to me?! You didn’t even give me a chance to explain….”

“I was wrong.”

“…What?”

“I was wrong.”

The blue dragon looked at Siol with an expression of sorrow and then lowered his head. Siol, staring blankly at his hair falling down, took another step back in bewilderment. He saw Eorzen’s shoulders tremble.

“What can I do to be forgiven?”

Eorzen whispered in a trembling voice, raising his head. His face was so pitiful, as if he were about to burst into tears. Siol stared blankly at him, unable to tear his gaze away from Eorzen’s pleading eyes.

The Alchemist of Death made weapons of war. Even if it wasn’t his intention, and even if their use was twisted, Siol, as their creator, knew he couldn’t escape responsibility. He had expected Eorzen to condemn him for his brazen words, but instead, he received an apology.

“That’s… not what I meant…”

Once again, he almost blurted out an excuse, but he managed to swallow it back. Siol couldn’t understand why the blue dragon was acting so contrite.

Finally, after several attempts to choose his words, what came out of Siol’s mouth was the single grain of truth he had been holding onto.

“I’ve never hated beastmen….”

“I know.”

“The alchemical tools I made were meant to kill monsters….”

“I know.”

“I don’t want to be called by a title like… the Alchemist of Death….”

“I won’t… I won’t ever call you that again.”

Siol finally released the breath he had been holding.

Countless thoughts flashed through his mind, but now he felt it was enough. How could this short conversation resolve all his feelings of injustice and resentment? But still, his heart softened, just a little.

Siol and Eorzen’s gazes intertwined, fixed on each other.

“You two… seem closer than I expected?”

It was Nathaniel, standing nearby, who broke the strange atmosphere. He looked back and forth between them, tilting his head, then continued,

“As far as I know, you two shouldn’t be on such terms?”

“Close, my foot! The blue dragon trampled me to death, why would I be close to him?”

Siol snapped irritably, turning to Nathaniel.

There were only two others present, and he didn’t want either of them to discover his true feelings. One was his damned disciple, who would mock and exploit him if he knew his feelings, and the other was the object of those feelings. Moreover, he was the object of an unrequited love, with no chance of reciprocation.

“It’s heartwarming to see the two of you, who will soon be joining me, getting along so well.”

“I said we’re not close! And why would I join you-,”

“Speaking of which, Master, I heard an interesting story.”

The moment Siol thought Nathaniel’s smile was ominous, he grinned and said,

“I heard you took on an assistant without my knowledge? Was his name… Sizool?”

“…….”

“He’s called an assistant, but if he learned from you, isn’t he actually a disciple? He’s practically my grand-disciple.”

“…….”

“I’d like to meet him…. What do you think?”

Even though he knew Nathaniel was deliberately teasing him to gauge his reaction, he couldn’t help but pale as his deepest secret was toyed with. He wasn’t surprised that Nathaniel knew his identity. Since he had called him “Master” immediately upon seeing him, he had already suspected that Nathaniel knew he was Sizool.

Siol clenched his teeth and glanced at Eorzen.

Eorzen, who had been silently watching Siol, met his gaze and, as if waiting for this moment, stepped forward and pulled Siol’s hand.

“I have a favor to ask… will you grant it?”

“What? What favor, all of a sudden?”

Siol asked back, flustered, this time glancing at Nathaniel. Nathaniel was a madman, an authoritarian, and a control freak. This kind of action from Eorzen was sure to displease Nathaniel, who took pleasure in manipulating situations to his whim.

And that displeasure might lead him to expose his secret.

Eorzen looked down at the anxious Siol and tapped his fingers near his neck.

“Here, I’d like you to bite me, just once.”

“…What?”

“There’s something I’m not sure about. If you bite me here, just once, I think I’ll be certain.”

Siol looked back and forth between Eorzen’s trapezius muscle and his face, bewildered by the outrageous request. He couldn’t comprehend the meaning of this absurd demand. Bite him all of a sudden? Certain of what?

“Hmm? Come on.”

Siol felt a throbbing headache.

Being with two people, one a control freak and the other oblivious to his surroundings, the resulting situation was predictable. As far as Siol knew, the blue dragon wasn’t this capricious. He couldn’t understand why the cautious and serious dragon was acting like this.

Nathaniel, who had been watching the scene quietly, clicked his tongue and slammed his staff on the floor in irritation.

“…This isn’t very entertaining. It seems I should stop playing around.”

Seeing ripples spread across the floor, Siol gestured to Eorzen to look, but he didn’t budge. He seemed determined to do nothing until his request was fulfilled.

Siol rolled his eyes helplessly, then with an exasperated sigh, bit hard into Eorzen’s trapezius muscle.

He bit down hard, intending to bring him to his senses, leaving deep canine marks. Blood welled up from the bite marks and trickled down. When he had bitten him before, even chewing roughly hadn’t left a mark! Siol, who hadn’t considered how much longer and sharper his adult canines were compared to when he was a child, was startled and glanced at Eorzen cautiously. However, Eorzen simply stared blankly at the bite for a moment before breaking into a satisfied smile.

That smile seemed so inappropriately pleased with the situation that Siol found himself entranced.

Eorzen rested his forehead on Siol’s shoulder and whispered, a deep remorse in his voice.

“So, it was you. It was all you.”

What was? Oblivious to Siol’s internal cry of disbelief at his cryptic words, Eorzen kissed Siol’s neck and pulled him closer, just as he would with Sizool.

Seeing this, Siol breathed a sigh of relief. Since Eorzen wasn’t disgusted or angry, it seemed he hadn’t realized he was Sizool. But then why was he acting like this with “Siol”?

Siol’s head spun.

Meanwhile, following the ripples Nathaniel had created, the floor began to melt away. The thin, magically constructed plate dissolved into light and scattered into the water below. Following that, the chair and table next to Nathaniel sank into the deep water. Teacups and pastries followed, sinking like dancers.

As Siol stumbled backward at the sight, Eorzen pulled him close, spun around, and started running.

Carried in Eorzen’s arms, Siol could see Nathaniel’s dumbfounded face behind them. That stunned, open-mouthed expression quickly transformed into fierce anger.

“Are you ignoring me now?!”

Every time Nathaniel slammed his staff down, pillars of water erupted from the floor. Water splashed everywhere, and debris, seemingly remnants of furniture, flew around. Eorzen deftly dodged everything as he ran. Water sprayed from all directions.

What is he thinking? Siol, holding his hood down so it wouldn’t fall off, asked Eorzen,

“Wait, where are we going?”

“Outside.”

“What? Why outside now?”

Why would they go outside in this situation?

Eorzen glanced at Siol and said seriously,

“To hide you somewhere safe.”

Even without him saying it, Siol knew that place would be a closet. Why was Eorzen so fixated on closets and wardrobes?

Siol suppressed his urge to ask. If he were to ask, he wanted to do so as Sizool, not Siol. If he asked about the closet as Siol, the conversation would inevitably lead to the story of being locked in there together and spending the night. He hadn’t disliked that night, but it was a bit embarrassing.

Really, why a closet of all places?

Crash! A pillar of water erupting from right behind them drenched Siol and Eorzen. Jolted awake by the sudden downpour, Siol brushed the hair clinging to his face and pounded on Eorzen’s back.

“Stop, wait. What are you going to do after hiding me? Stop, I said stop!”

Eorzen ignored him, weaving between the constantly erupting water pillars.

“We can’t just run away! Who knows what Nathaniel will do to this city? You know Nathaniel drew a huge spell circle targeting you, right? I came here to help you. So let’s stop him together!”

“No.”

“Why? Why not?”

“You can’t stay here. It’s dangerous.”

Eorzen said flatly, stopping in front of a wall. The wings, which had been folded inconspicuously on his back, spread open, and he began to climb, using the hook-like parts at the tips of his wings to grip the wall.

He had overcome the fear and hesitation of being discovered and come all this way, only to have all his efforts rendered meaningless! Siol pondered why this bizarre situation had arisen, but he could only conclude that it had just happened. He felt a sense of futility, wondering what the point of all his worrying outside had been.

All his worries had gone down the drain. Eorzen was climbing the wall, intending to take him out of the tower, and Nathaniel was furiously swinging his staff below, sending pillars of water erupting.

If Eorzen were in his right mind, he wouldn’t be acting like this.

Yes, it’s Nathaniel’s doing. Nathaniel must have given Eorzen some suspicious potion.

“Eorzen, you’re… not yourself right now.”

There was no other explanation for the blue dragon acting so cowardly.

The blue dragon was a strong, beautiful, and righteous being. That was why he had hunted down and killed him, the so-called Alchemist of Death, and why he had taken in little Sizool, healing and caring for him. But for that blue dragon to suddenly flee from such an important situation for the trivial reason of protecting him? Who knows what Nathaniel might do in the meantime? The Eorzen Siol knew wasn’t a dragon who didn’t understand priorities.

He was acting like a peasant who had stumbled upon a gold nugget, desperate to hide it, but wasn’t that just a lie he made up to escape from here? Thinking that way, everything made sense.

Siol gently stroked Eorzen’s hair as he focused on climbing the wall, dodging the water pillars.

Yes, if this man left the tower, Siol felt he could fight Nathaniel without worry. Nathaniel had been preparing in this land for quite some time, and it was true that Siol was severely short on time in comparison. However, Siol had the confidence that he could somehow manage with his skill.

More than anything, since Nathaniel’s target was Eorzen, removing the target seemed like the most effective way to disrupt Nathaniel’s plans.

“Alright, you go out and hide. Leave this to me. I’ll protect you.”

Siol pushed Eorzen’s chest hard and jumped down. Siol’s body floated down slowly.

“What? No, I’m going to-! Siol!”

Ignoring the voice behind him, Siol brought his hands together, twisting them as he slowly spread them apart. Small magic circles appeared between his palms.

“Siol! Wait, come back to me!”

Siol instinctively clenched his teeth. It was a reflexive action in anticipation of the pain he had experienced a few times recently, but the heart-wrenching agony didn’t come. That’s right. The dragon’s curse was gone, so there was no reason to blindly obey the dragon’s commands.

When he had been freed from the dragon, he had felt a sense of emptiness and anxiety, but now he was grateful for it. Otherwise, he would have been forced to obey even the commands of a dragon who had become a coward due to Nathaniel’s tricks.

Small green leaves sprung from Siol’s magic circles, landing on the water’s surface and growing larger. Large leaves filled the surface of the water like stepping stones. Siol stepped onto one and looked at Nathaniel.

Now fifteen dragon scales remained. He had to deal with Nathaniel before he used them all.

Nathaniel, who had been growling and swinging his staff until just a moment ago, looked back at Siol with a petulant smile, as if his anger had been a lie.

“Have you decided to accept my proposal?”

“No, what would I do with something like the world?”

“There’s plenty to do. First, I’ll dedicate this world to my mother. She’s always wanted it.”

Just as Siol was about to retort with something about Nathaniel being a mama’s boy, Eorzen landed roughly on the leaf next to him. The force of his weight caused water to splash everywhere and the surface to ripple. Siol was also drenched.

“Eorzen, what are you… doing…? Eorzen?”

Siol, turning to yell at him, saw Eorzen gasping and cowering. His wings and horns were growing larger with a creaking sound. Siol had seen this before.

“Ah. It seems to be taking effect now. As expected of a dragon, it takes a while.”

Nathaniel clapped his hands and chuckled. Siol looked back and forth between him and Eorzen, dumbfounded.

“What’s… going on…?”

“Hmm. What to do…. Well, since you asked, Master, I’ll tell you. The secret lies in this water.”

Siol looked down at the water filling the floor.

“It’s all Last Breath.”

All this water filling the tower… is Last Breath?

Last Breath was the name of the potion Nathaniel had given him the recipe for long ago, the one he had scolded him for, telling him never to look at it again. The potion Ephania’s rabbits had consumed, losing their minds, rampaging, and ultimately coughing up blood and dying.

“Of course, since it’s for a dragon, I’ve made some powerful improvements. Still, he won’t die. I can’t let the dragon who will become mine die.”

“You… the reason you kept making those water pillars… wasn’t because you were angry…?”

“Are you finally understanding?”

Nathaniel grinned and shrugged.

“Of course, it was to drench him thoroughly with Last Breath.”

“You… truly…!”

Siol couldn’t take his eyes off Eorzen, who was starting to go berserk from the potion. He had to do something, anything. He could stop Eorzen’s rampage with Guiding, so if he poured out a lot of Guiding pheromones now, he might be able to stop it.

However, the moment Siol tried to step onto the leaf where Eorzen stood, Nathaniel lightly waved his hand. With that movement, the leaf Siol was standing on was pushed all the way to the wall.