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Chapter 29: Question and Answer

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“Ergh,”

Dizzy.

Serious dizziness, it was as if he was hit by a Tulmusk. That rampaging huge mammoth really was a nightmare, destroying walls upon walls as if they were paper walls of Eastern Culture.

…

His stomach rumbled, as if rebelling.

He had the urge to throw up, yet he took a deep breath.

Such urge were suppressed.

He felt his head, seemed a bit bigger than usual.

He felt around. Rocks everywhere, he had the feeling it was quite a limited space, as if he was stuck in a closed cave. Opening his eyes, he observed around.

Dark.

It was really dark.

Yet it was nothing to him, his sight only need a little mana to function, even in complete darkness like this. He channeled a little into it.

His view in green, his surrounding was a rounded space, as if carved by something. As he turned, his hand landed on something soft.

Well-rounded, tender, pleasant.

Bouncy.

Sending him fine-grade electrical signal.

‘What in the slime’s name?’

Turning to his left, his sight fell on a body, laying down beside him.

A girl, head to his side, hair all messed up.

Clothes all torn, tender body in full view.

Ample mountains, nice terrain.

…

…

Hanged.

His mind restarting.

…

…

Soon, he felt his spine standing up.

‘Crap!’

He almost jumped.

‘Did I cross the line? Did I commit a crime? Shurran will beat me up! No, wait, Ju will kill me before that. Thank God.’

He tried to calm down.

The corner of his eyes stole a view. Scales filled half her body, yet her upper was not. After making full review, passing it off as five stars, grading an A+, he took out his tunic, covering her.

The tunic’s back was shredded, so it did not cover all.

…

Well, at least he did not touch her.

He wondered what the hell happened, his clouded memory could not process it fast enough.

Sitting in a lotus position, he tried to sort his thoughts.

‘Where are we? In the first place, who is this girl?’

…

“Right, there’s that operation, high horizon, amazing view… Eh no time, man in white, yeah, Lesser Throne?”

He was silent.

“The apprentice knights test, and,”

Turning to look at Julia, he had an expression of shock.

That innocent-looking girl, half-covered…

“A knight beast.”

A surging sense of crisis, he filled his hand with mana.

Looking at the weakened girl, he knew.

One strike, was all he need.

That’s right, your enemy! Kill her!

His hand was close to her, in a grasping pattern.

In battle, he had to make immediate judgement, that was logical. Had he been even a little slower, he would have died many times. Especially so when facing a knight beast, no hesitation!

His grip moved downward, onto her neck.

At the time;

‘Calm down. To judge, be calm.’

Shurran’s advice echoed.

His hand a mere skin away from her neck, in a choking fashion.

…

‘What am I doing?’

For awhile, he felt as if he was someone else.

As if someone had whispered close, influencing him.

Weird.

…

‘…Whatever. I need to be careful, next time,’

He checked her pulse.

Slow, but not erratic.

Weak, but nothing critical.

‘…Right, we were sucked into that sphere. So we’re safe,’

She seemed beaten up though, all soft.

He checked her limbs.

Her hands, up down, alright.

Her legs, in and out, yep, nothing wrong.

Her mounts, err, nothing to see here.

He looked around him again, coming to a conclusion.

They were within the hill, blasted by the sphere. It seemed as soon as they were sucked in, the sphere exploded. Sending them down into the rocky hill, rocks covered them.

They were trapped.

‘Well, we survive that thing, there’s that,’

“Then again, I need to take out her core.”

His eyes scanned her body, landing its sight on her back.

Ample rounds, no, before that. Near her tail bone, the core was there. All he needed to do was cut it open, took it out, and mend it back with mana.

Hopefully, there would be no complication.

He did not want to harm her, yet at the same time, he could not let the beast be.

The beast, must be removed.

Do it, she’s a huge risk, and you’re not killing her anyway.

‘I need to think,’

There’s nothing wrong, you’re just removing the beast.

‘…Yeah, that’s right,’

He had no knife right now, but that could not stop him.

Channeling mana into his hand, he only needed to stab her back, taking it out, then mend it with his mana. With his infamous, white mana.

Of course, he intended to do it carefully.

He turned her body sideway, her back fully exposed.

Scales were on her bottom, covering her butt and legs.

And barely covering her back, where her pelvic bone was.

‘It’s the right thing to do,’

He placed his mana-coated hand on her back, digging in.

Her scales were hindering him, but she was unconscious. The scales were not reinforced by mana, it could not withstand his hand.

She jolted in pain as Krone clipped the scales, one by one.

“Ugh,”

‘It’s for the better good, Krone,’

Her pain disturbed him, yet he steeled himself.

Soon, he removed them enough.

“It’s time,”

His eyes in full operation, his hand went toward her tender skin.

Piercing it, he cut open her back. Careful, as not to cut anything sensitive. As he stretched the flesh, he could see the tip of her spine.

A purple core could be seen in plain view. Similar to a fennel seed, its texture was akin to shard of ice. Finger-sized, latched in her pelvic bone, linked to the tail bone.

He only needed to remove the bone a bit. Then, extract it out. Any bone damage, he would just mend with his mana.

He was an amateur in this, but he had no choice.

His hand moved, ready to open the bones and separate it.

He halted, his ears picked up a noise.

A cry.

The girl he was touching, was crying.

Eyes still closed, as if she had a nightmare.

‘Who, Julia?’

His eyes examined her.

Her mana organ was silent, yet her core was channeling mana onto her brain.

He knew, it was her.

The beast, the young dragon.

‘Why are you acting all pitiful, you’re just a beast.’

He wanted to shout that, his hands moved to remove the core.

Severing the core from the host, the beast’s soul would perish, no doubt.

Pitiful?

It was just a beast, so why should he care? Moreover, if he let her be, she would be used as a weapon, killing many others. It would lead to Kharlussia’s eventual defeat, robbing hundreds of millions of their freedom.

So why should he not do it?

It was the right thing to do.

Yes, remove it, that’s all you need to do!

He was about to proceed.

Yet his heart stopped him.

“…Again?”

He grew wary.

Something did not feel right, he had this feeling that he’s heading in a wrong direction.

As if he was led astray, away from his original path.

…

“Library!”

Library of Kharlussian Discovery. Search?

He summoned the library, worried if he missed anything again.

“Search for all info on Knight Beasts. Headline on ‘Ways to save host’,”

31 records found. Two headlined.

“Show headlined first.”

File: Theory on saving hosts.

File: Core extraction on a living Knight Beast’s host.

He read the theories as fast as possible, recalling what he had read before. Soon, he read over the core extraction. It was quite long, but since he had read it, he only had to glimpse important parts to recall the details. He read through the procedure, result, and analysis.

As soon as he reached the end, he had concern.

The host survived, yet stayed in a coma. Update: Fifth years on, still in coma. Body had weakened considerably.

“…I’ve been had,”

He knew something was wrong. Should he proceed, Julia would turn into vegetable, for an indefinite period. He thought his mind was quite sorted already, so why did he forget such an important detail?

This irritated him.

Plus,

“This cry,”

Her cry kept bothering him.

He kept telling himself it was a vicious beast.

Such beast, devastating the citizens, destroying military columns. A beast which could blend in among human, among military officers.

A top-priority beast, he marked for elimination.

The cry turned into sniffles.

Hearing this, he snapped.

“Don’t try to win sympathy, you damn beast.”

…

====

Outside.

One could see a large hole by the hill. Pieces of rocks, trees and earth were concentrated within it, most crushed into small pieces.

Kent and the knights were outside.

When the wind passed, they surveyed the area.

Nothing.

There was no dragon, no footprint. What was left, was the trace of destruction. The mana residue there was a clear sign, that it belonged to the dragon race.

‘Did it go away after? What is it doing here?’

Looking at the rubble, he believed he ought to scan the whole place over.

They could not sense the two candidates anywhere, they grew concerned. The rocks could not be removed, not without knowing the whole place in and out. If there was anyone trapped, their meddling could make things worse.

Had he forced through, the whole place might collapse.

“Sir Kent,”

“Sir,”

From one of his rings, Medron’s voice resounded.

It was his communication ring, given to only leading knight. The ring was still rare at this time, so only leaders with priority had one.

“Situation report,”

“Sir. No sign of the perpetrator, mana sign suggests a dragon. The place of origin is all messed up, there’s a large hole in the rocky hill. There’s a probability of someone, or something trapped in the rubble. We could not proceed due to the lack of details.”

“What about the candidates?”

“We’ve recovered three, two stay uncounted, Julia and Krone.”

“…I see. I’m coming over with Illious and his team. ETA five minutes, keep searching, and be careful.”

“Yes Sir.”

He had to search the whole place over. This place was all messed up. Yet he could not use active sensing well, the place was filled with messed up mana residue, trapped within rocks.

Thinking about sensing, their best sensor did not come yet.

It was beyond slow.

“Where’s Natalia?”

He turned to the knights, they shook their head, no clue.

She still did not arrive. He grew concerned, imagining the worst. When he recalled her background, the most probably answer came to him.

‘Her trauma,’

He turned to one of the knight, the older one among them.

“…Sir Gaine, could I trouble you to carry her over? She should still be by the red flag.”

“Carry? Lady Natalia?”

“If she couldn’t move, then carry her here. You mind?”

“Gaine Argas, glad to oblige.”

“Thanks, be quick.”

“On it.”

The knight slid through the air, heading toward the coast.

Looking over the rubble all over the gaping hole, Kent murmured;

“Stay safe, young ones,”

====

Sniffles.

A cry with little sniffles filled the enclosed space.

“Enough, you’re just, just a beast,”

Krone said it for the second time, stressing.

His hand was about to break open the core, yet the cry kept holding him back.

‘Come on, Krone. She’s just a beast!’

Indeed, she was.

Yet no matter how much he tried to hate her, he could not. Hatred could not enter his heart so easily, as if blocked.

‘Come on, come on.’

The suppressed cry still reached his ear.

He tried to persuade himself, remembering the kind of destruction a knight beast was capable of. It was just a sheer away from a Grand Beast.

Attacking from within, they were deadly.

Fortunately, they were few.

‘If I left her be, she could make similar destruction. If this happened in a crowded area,’

He shuddered.

Knowing how powerful a knight beast was, leaving her be in Julia’s body, would be a grave error. However, his mind also considered upon one more fact.

‘Julia will,’

Technically, he would not cause her death.

However, upon separating the core from her, she would fall into a coma. She would stay unconscious, even after five years. The separation of the two interlinked consciousness, caused serious damage.

At least, that was the research findings suggest.

‘What’s the difference between that and death, then?’

Conflicted, he hesitated.

He had decided on this before. Upon confirmation, he would proceed with the extraction, even if he had to kidnap her. Even if that sounds cruel, it was for the better good.

Considering the situation, this was a perfect chance.

A rare chance, he did not have to make other preparation or work.

How weak, you! Just do it, she would kill many in the future! You know it’s the right thing to do!

‘Yeah, that’s right,’

“I’ll do it,”

He raised his hand, determined.

Technically, he did not have to, but raising his hand made him seemed more determined.

Palm opened, fingers as if opened claws.

He placed them in.

His fingers already on the core, touching it in between the bones, his mana slipped in.

Her blood sullied his hand, his arm was about to pull out.

Why did you fight, Valiant Warrior?

It crossed his mind. As if the voice echoed within his head. A familiar voice.

He paused, petrified.

‘The question,’

Yes, it was the question. The one the man in white asked him, the one he answered all too clear.

He remembered his answer.

‘Black becomes white, white becomes black. God no longer exists, and neighbours be damned…’

He sat there, silent. His following answer, he could relate it.

‘…They will be made to kill others like us, and believe it to be right doing so.’

“Others like us,”

Her sniff caught his attention.

He saw her expression, the beast in Julia’s body.

Others like us.

A revelation.

He could see it, when just about now, he could not. As if light descended upon a dark room, he could see.

His mind, opened.

‘This beast, this child, is just…’

“A victim,”

His fingers shivered.

He was close, so close to do it.

He told himself, she was merely a beast.

He told himself, she deserved no pity.

That she was better killed, for the better good.

She, someone who, was merely a victim.

“What kind of thinking, did I… Was that really, me?”

Should he did it, what would he be?

What would it be the difference, between him and those Union of Lords?

The Lords, who attacked Kharlussia, for their own greed.

The Lords, who saw their subjects, as mere pawns.

Plunging so many people, into so long a war.

A terrible war.

Another part of his answer, crossed his mind.

‘They would be thinking…’

“It’s the right thing to do.”

He did not move.

For a while, time seemed stopped. Soon, something fell onto his arm.

Flowing, running lively down along his arm.

Reaching his fingers.

Reaching her core.

“God, what have I done?”

He noticed it, tears.

Tears, running on his cheeks.

Silent tears.

He retracted his fingers, closing her flesh.

With his white mana, he mended it, closing the wound. His hand stayed on her back, his mind was elsewhere.

Reaching such a revelation, he felt like punching his old self.

Saying something like, Hey me, how foolish can you be?

Something so simple, he only needed to think carefully a little bit.

Along with it, some compassion.

However, he knew not to be naïve.

He should not leave her be. Yet at this time, he was pretty much at a loss.

What other option was there?

Should he risk it, and tell the knights?

And let the Union knew his existence? What would happen then?

“What, should I do?”

He closed his eyes.

At a time like this, he remembered the high horizon he saw back then. The view, it was beautiful, tranquil.

Much like a garden, well-maintained.

The man in white, his calm demeanor, flashed through his mind.

What did he say?

‘By the Possessor of the Glorious Throne, you are fully supported.’

He did say that.

A thought came into mind.

“…O’ Possessor of the Glorious Throne,”

He said the title, for the first time.

“I, Krone Kozak, asked for your support.”

He paused.

“…You’ve promised, and I know you never broke your promise.”

Still kneeling, he stayed silent.

His sensitive ears picked up a commotion outside.

Yet he was in no mood to care, he kept his eyes closed.

…

Hm, barely.

Slowly, he opened his eyes.

Something was floating, right beside him.

You have passed The Test.

“…Huh?”

==== Chapter 29 End ====