Chapter 79

Snowfall in all directions bleached the previously dull landscape white, and the approaching lightning had vanished into thin air.

A stupefied expression on his face, Jae looked around like a fool, wondering just what was going on. Then, as his mind gradually came to understand the situation, he understood.

In this Outer Layer―a blistering and withered wasteland harsher than any real-world environment―there was the impossible sight of snow.

It could only mean one thing.

[...It seems Sister has finally decided to show up.]

Astrantia’s voice sounded unusually tense, and Jae could easily guess why. Before he could ask why she was only speaking now, however, the surroundings slowly warped.

“Hup...!”

Feeling like he might throw up, he covered his mouth and closed his eyes until the dizziness went away.

Huh...? This is...

Upon opening his eyes, he found that the location had changed. Somehow, instead of the barren Outer Layer or a mysterious snowfield, Jae stood atop a grassy hill―it was a place he knew like the back of his hand.

We’re back... at the Inner Zone...

Beside him lay the incapacitated body of the Grey Dragon, and behind him, he could see the worried looks of everyone as they, despite being disorientated from the sudden teleportation, gradually made their way to him.

Finally, Jae turned and stared with unbelieving eyes at what was ahead of him, muttering with a tremble under his breath.

“......Aphy...?”

At that moment, she faced him, wearing a complicated expression. A phenomenal beauty possessing silk-like platinum hair and magical eyes like opals that reflected his bewildered face.

Beneath her feet sat a decapitated Dragon’s head. The scales were a strange, sulphur-like yellow that he didn’t seem to recall, but judging by the fresh blood that flowed freely from the cleanly severed neck wound, it hasn’t been long at all since it perished―most likely at her hands.

If he were to guess, this Dragon was the culprit behind the previous ‘Andromeda’ attack... In fact, now that he thought about it, he still couldn’t believe he was unharmed. Until the very last moment, Jae was convinced of his death, yet uncertain as to whether his resurrection capabilities covered him to that extent.

“...It has been a while.”

Her look changing to one of nostalgia, Aphy spoke. As a reaction to her voice like silver, which hadn’t blessed his ears in years, Jae’s lips quivered at a loss for words.

Before he even had a chance to think of what to respond with, however, Astrantia interrupted with incomprehensible words.

[Yae. Enlil. T’hai gol pe dralng’kna sh. Okh su?]

Jae, heavily confused for a moment, of course assumed she was talking to him, but when he saw Aphy’s face distort greatly, he immediately knew that wasn’t the case.

Could she talk to others through her connection with him? Or was it only Aphy, being the other Dungeon Boss and all? Either way, he instinctively felt that this wasn’t a good situation.

Still, despite feeling like it may lead to something bad happening, there wasn’t much he could do.

“Ba... Ba maku. Jarnu lo’valq pe. Lok’idt syfa? Ihj nel’uyd man pa.”, Aphy replied with a voice containing clear wrath.

Perhaps, if he didn’t understand what the two were saying, Jae might have been frightened by this, but thanks to the skill「Draconic Language Comprehension」that he has not yet been able to make use of, he was fully aware of what they were saying, whether they knew it or not.

In short, Astrantia confronted Aphy about ‘it indeed being a long time since they last talked’. Aphy then got angry after realising that Astrantia had established a link with me and threatened her to say what she was planning.

[Enlil. Va, hora’jo? Ba iyd ghao sha.]

→Sister. Have you been well? Come, let’s talk on equal grounds for the first time.

“Buk shin da ler fuche. Jarnu ghao sha? Ihj nel’uyd. Man pa ti nal pa.”

→Talk on equal grounds with a monster? Don’t spout bullshit. Tell me why you’re with him. You have one chance remaining.

[Fah! Kiil ghe? Beok-la, po gashouhe...? Ja-klae, enlil? Ba, jaano?]

→Who, me? Hah! Who was the one to abandon a precious disciple again...? Just what were you thinking, sister? Did you go insane?

Tension creeping throughout his body and settling deep within, Jae let out an uneasy breath.

This isn’t going anywhere...

Before the conflict between the two escalated irreversibly, he looked towards Aphy with a pleading gaze and asked as if begging.

“Aphy, please... Can we talk? I’ll explain everything then.”

Faced with such a look, she felt no choice but to calm down and hear what he had to say.

“...Alright, then. The cabin is just there, so come.”

Relieved, Jae sighed again. He thought for a moment about why she didn’t just use teleportation like before as she gestured to a place approximately a five minutes walk away, and as if reading his mind, she answered, giving a single fleeting glance towards the companions behind him.

“Those not used to it will likely experience adverse effects upon successive transfers. Like motion sickness.”

Ah... I forgot, but she was able to read my mind back then, right? Is it still the same now?

As Aphy began walking off in the direction of the cabin, nostalgia welled up once again. He took a furtive look back at everyone else who quickened their pace, thinking that he’d have to explain everything to them once more, too.

He noticed that Rena, Bailey and Kaitlyn were the main ones supporting Amelia, Ryan, and Nicolas respectively. Was it perhaps because the former had experienced teleportation before, so they had adapted quicker?

Well, technically everyone has experienced it from the time of the summoning, but that felt a bit different, didn’t it... Actually, now that I think about it, what’s the difference between the two?

Summoning and Teleportation Magic were two distinct yet very similar types of magic; the former being one Jae has personally never used.

The one time I remember Summon Magic, other than in Seronia’s Royal Palace, was in the Empire. When we were acting as adventurers, there was this one time a famous guy entered the Guild―an S-rank, right? He was known as a Summoner, wasn’t he?

It was a fair few months ago at this point, but Jae recalled the event as such. Despite never even interacting with the person and not even knowing his face, he knew of his great reputation, which had increased greatly in the past year. Though, he had forgotten his name.

In any case, that was the only other time he could remember Summoning Magic being mentioned―barely anything was known about it. Teleportation Magic, on the other hand, was widely researched and is known for having limitless potential.

Now, what was the difference between the two? For starters, it seemed like Summoning Magic didn’t make someone feel sick when used, though he only had his own summoning and Amelia’s story to attest to that.

Then, other than that, was it simply the case that a Summoning was one-way, whilst a Teleportation can go two-ways?

...No, that’s not right either. A more correct analogy would be, ‘A Summoning is bringing something to inside a magic circle, whereas a Teleportation is bringing something inside a magic circle to elsewhere’.

If he thought about it that way, then not only did it make more sense, but it also matched what he had experienced so far.

For example:

During the Summoning in Seronia, the class was brought to the magic circle engraved on the ceiling from somewhere different, outside the circle.

During the Teleportation in Leila’s castle, they stood within a magic circle and were whisked away to the desired location from inside the circle.

In essence, they were the same magic; just performed through opposite methods.

Well, it’s just a theory, but it seems pretty solid, right?

So, in summary, both magics required the coordinates of a place outside the circle, but for opposite reasons―Summoning Magic to take something from those coordinates, and Teleportation Magic to bring something to those coordinates.

Then, taking it a step further, what would happen if two Summoning or two Teleportation Magic circles were linked together? Would they have a perfect transition, would it not work, or would something else happen entirely?

If such a thing happened like it reinforcing the magic and enhancing it even further, which seemed quite likely, then would it even be possible to travel to other dimensions?

Now that he had realised just how little he knew, Jae’s interest was piqued at the thought.

Of course, I can’t know for sure without testing, but with Ryan’s help, who has actually conducted a summoning before, it shouldn’t be that hard to get started.

Belatedly noticing the smirk arising, he quickly covered his mouth.

No, I should calm down. First things first, we’ve got all this to sort out. Once we get out of here and return to the castle, then I can think about these things.

Like that, he briskly cleared his thoughts, and with a refreshed mind, was about to follow Aphy when he suddenly stopped. Going back, he quickly cut off its head, ensuring its death, and dumped it into the inventory before continuing onwards, ripping a chunk of flesh from the Yellow Dragon on the way, chucking it into his mouth like popcorn and taking its head too.

Skill「Gluttony」has activated

What a harvest!

Two fresh Dragon heads, and not only that, but he got to eat both of them. It resulted in a total of 10 additional Magic stats, an increase in the level of the skill「Decay Resistance」to [Lv.4], and an acquisition of the「Lightning Breath」skill. Furthermore...

Ah, right, I never actually did that, did I?

Remembering something he had yet to do, Jae reached into the Inventory and pulled from within a small block of meat. Hesitating for a second at the meal that was so fresh it was raw, he closed his eyes and put it in his mouth.

Skill「Gluttony」has activated Skill「Greater HP Regeneration」has been acquired Target’s highest essence value: Magic Devouring essence Magic increased by 5 Skill「Gluttony」rare activation Doubling effects Skill「Physical Resistance (ALL)」has been acquired Skill「Physical Resistance (ALL)」has levelled up [Lv.4]→[Lv.5] Endurance increased by 5

Ooh!

Title「Dragon Consumer」has been acquired

--Huh?

Due to the effect of the Title「Dragon Consumer」, Mana Points (MP) receives a permanent significant increase Due to the effect of the Title「Dragon Consumer」, Natural Mana Regeneration receives a permanent significant increase Due to the effect of the Title「Dragon Consumer」, Natural Mana Consumption Efficiency receives a permanent significant increase Skill「Draconic Eyes」has levelled up [Lv.1]→[Lv.2] Skill「Greater HP Regeneration」has levelled up [Lv.1]→[Lv.2] Skill「Greater HP Regeneration」has levelled up [Lv.2]→[Lv.3]

Jae paused. That was unexpected.

Double activation and another Title? Already? Wasn’t that too fast?

Including Salamander, he had now eaten four Dragons―Ash, Sulphur, and Jade. If you consider that「Dragon Eater」was acquired after eating the first, Salamander, then it only took 3 to acquire the new ‘consumer’ variant―an exceptionally fast rate.

Now that I think about it, it was strange to acquire the「Dragon Eater」Title in the first place. Is it because Dragons are simply a rarer species or something? The effect was much more potent than most others, too, so that would make sense...

In any case, it was a rather delightful surprise. There was no reason to argue about acquiring such legendary Titles so easily.

Aside from the plus ten in stats, the skills are both good, too. I didn’t even have「Greater HP Regeneration」before, so I’m sure it could come in handy unexpectedly.「Physical Resistance (ALL)」is also very useful for general defensiveness, and considering its level hasn’t risen in a long while, [Lv.5] must be a good power spike. Well, hopefully anyway.

Examining his Status, it appeared the「Dragon Consumer」Title seemed to have strengthened the benefits its predecessor had previously provided.

Mana Points (MP) : 799,974 / 799,974 (+555%)

From +300% to +555%... 255. It’s certainly not as big as the initial 300, but that’s still over four million MP. Ha. All this mana, and for what...

Not even impressed anymore by the sheer amount of mana he wielded, Jae was disappointed by the fact that that was pretty much it―he had no use for such large quantities of mana, after all, despite that it only increased more and more every day, and so, he sighed internally.

Well, it’s not like I gained nothing from it;「Draconic Eyes」levelled up as well. Is that all...?

「Greater HP Regeneration」wasn’t even worth noting, either, to be honest―although it had risen by two levels in one go, which was nice, Jae didn’t expect much from the skill since he could already use Healing Magic to a more-than-satisfactory degree.

Haa~ All I can hope for is that it will somehow become useful in the future, I guess...

That and the exorbitant MP were situational gains, but they were also mostly useless―the only cases in which Jae can imagine him needing them are abnormal, undesirable circumstances such as being unable to use magic like he usually does.

The fact that he kept getting enhancements in areas related to ‘staying alive’ or ‘mana’ recently was a bad omen―a herald indicating that Jae would soon wind up finding himself in one such ‘undesirable circumstance’.

In face of that, all he could do was laugh and not think about it.

I’ll just have to be a bit more careful to ensure that doesn’t happen.

Arriving at their old cabin, that was in the exact condition he had left it, Jae felt an unusual sensation for the first time in years, knowing that Aphy was just inside, having followed her.

〔I’m back.〕

〔Oh, welcome. How was it?〕

That kind of exhausted, heartwarming feeling you get when returning home after a trip.

Greeting your family and having them welcome you back in such a scenario could quite possibly be one of the most relieving things for a person.

“Puahh...”

Thanks to this, Jae was able to let go of all the tension he was feeling. Loosening his shoulders, he massaged his neck briefly and walked inside with a determined expression.

Entering the main room, he noticed the furniture layout had changed so that there were the two sofas facing each other, with a coffee table between them, and then an armchair on each side of the coffee table, creating something like a circle.

In the middle of one of the sofas was where Aphy had taken a seat, waiting.

“Take a seat.”, she gestured with a hand towards the sofa opposite her, whereupon Jae accepted and politely sat down.

Hm...

It felt strange to sit in these same seats, in this same room, with the same person after all this time; causing a slight smile to form on his lips. It was a very different atmosphere, not nearly as comfortable as it once was, but Jae had missed it nonetheless.

Without waiting for the rest of the group to arrive, Jae immediately explained the situation whilst looking at Aphy straight-on.

“―So, pretty much since I re-entered the Dungeon, Astrantia was watching me. Then, after a while, it was getting annoying, so I asked if she could show her face.”

In response, Aphy no more than nodded.

“I see.”

She didn’t need any second thoughts or more questions as she knew Jae was telling the truth. Additionally, from that part of the story, it was easy for her to visualise what happened following.

“Also.”, she continued with an earnest tone, “I apologise for not being able to provide the sweetest of reunions. I have much to say now, but I didn’t even do that much to welcome you or anything...”

Not expecting a sudden apology, he let out a quiet exclamation.

“Ah... No, it’s alright, really.”

He had even prepared himself for a case where she did not want to talk peacefully with him, so even just having that was more than enough. He couldn’t deny that it was rather lacklustre, however.

Anyhow, he had finally reunited with Aphy, his most precious person since coming to this other world, after so many years.

“...”

He had thought of what to say all this time, but now that the time itself had at long last come, not a syllable could find its way out of his mouth.

“......”

“......”

Feeling awkward tensions rise, Jae closed his eyes to calm himself down and think properly about what he wanted to say, when suddenly, he felt an impact on his chest. Immediately widening his eyes, the place Aphy was previously sitting, was now empty.

Instead, as he glanced to the left ever-so-slightly, he saw the side of a person’s head, placed beside his own as close as could be.

Around his chest, too, he felt an odd sensation―taking a closer look, he found a pair of porcelain-like white arms wrapping him tightly, like a python.

Strangely, however, it didn’t hurt. On the contrary, something was evoked within Jae.

―His mind blanked, eyes quivering with an unknown emotion, and unbeknownst to him, water began to silently puddle at the edges, occasionally spilling over and trailing down his face.

Unconsciously, his arms moved from their previous, almost state, paralytic with stiffness.

He wasn’t even aware of the situation in the slightest, but his body was moving by itself.

Slowly, his two arms moved synchronously; up, and inwards. Eventually, he felt something warm, and soft. Within his arms, Jae was holding something precious.

Unable to remain speechless for any longer, he was about to speak up but stopped when the person’s head besides his abruptly turned slightly to face him. Then, a captivating voice flowed out.

“Shh. You don’t need to say anything.”

The whispers tickled his ears due to the proximity, causing him to almost flinch.

It was the same voice he was used to all those years ago―the very same voice he was talking with just a couple of moments ago, and yet, how could it be so different?

But, it wasn’t done yet.

“It must’ve been awful. I’m sorry for causing you pain. I promise, it won’t happen again. Everything’s alright now, so you can let it all out freely. I’m right here, okay?”

That was the breaking point.

“...Hic...!”

Like a dam, Jae’s floodgates burst, allowing all the stress and suppressed emotions contained within to be expunged in the form of endless tears.

“It’s okay. I’m here now.”

Stroking his head like a kid in an attempt to calm him down, Aphy continued the encouraging remarks with a warm smile on her face as he gripped her tighter than ever before, like a comfort doll.

Their position continued as so for a while, and the longer it went on, the more tears streamed like a waterfall from Jae’s eyes. It was simply uncontrollable.

When was the last time he cried? He couldn’t even remember such a simple thing.

―After a long, exhausting while, tears eventually stopped flowing.

Was it because he had simply dried them all up, or was it that he had calmed down? Well, who knows, because as soon as he ceased crying, Aphy likewise stopped stroking his head and began to break away.

“...?”

When she did, though, Jae’s arms tightened a little around her, seemingly not wanting to let her go. She couldn’t see the expression he was making as he faced down, buried in her arms and chest, but noticing the beet red flush shrouding his cheeks, she chuckled blissfully.

Like so, Aphy resumed peacefully stroking his head and they stayed holding each other.

Whilst doing so, she thought to herself.

...A Dragon having such feelings, and a Ruler at that. Who in the world would believe it?

It was almost self-ridicule, and as she silently contemplated this, an intruder to her thoughts spoke.

[Is that even a question? Of course, it’s incomprehensible that such a thing could happen.]

...Astrantia. What do you think you are doing?

[Don’t worry, the boy’s fallen asleep.]

Huh?

When she checked, it turned out to be true. Jae really had fallen asleep like that.

......Hm~

She smiled triumphantly before being interrupted once again.

[Anyway, don’t forget that you’re a Ruler of Pride too―that makes it even more impossible. Honestly, even I’m appalled.]

It’s none of your business, is it? Monster... Out of anyone, you should know how I despise the Ruler of Pride title more than anything.

[So rude. Why are you still hung up about it? It will get taken away from us soon anyway and given to him, so you might as well cherish it while you have it.]

Why do you say that? And, no matter what, I refuse to accept it.

[Of course... Anyway, what do you mean, ‘why’? You haven’t seen him fight or something? He’s more of a monster than me...]

Aphy tilted her head slightly in confusion.

How? He’s extremely talented, sure, but it hasn’t been long since I taught him. At most, only a few years have passed in the human realm, so he can’t be so strong for you to call him that. Unless...

[Right. It’s that God’s power, I’m sure. At first, I thought he was easy prey. There are a million and one ways to deal with even infinite resurrections, after all, but my plans completely fell through when I witnessed him take down one Dragon after another. Oh, what was that name he mentioned again...?]

What...? That shouldn’t be possible unless...

Aphy came to a sudden realisation, whereupon her gaze drifted down to Jae’s unruffled sleeping face, still sticky with dried tears, which she had laid down on her lap.

[Ah, I remember!]

Her expression was one of deep concern; disquietude.

[The name was 'Reius', right?]

―That’s when something completely unexpected happened.

*Craaa--aa--aa-a--ackk-kk-k!*

Without warning, a tremendous sound like a lake of ice cracking reverberated powerfully throughout the whole Inner Zone――No, the entirety of the Pride Dungeon itself.

There was an abnormal surge of mana everywhere, and outside, countless magical phenomena were occurring.

Both Aphy and Astrantia could feel it.

This vivid sensation, like the surface of a cold blade rubbing gently across the skin.

It felt disgusting, but was only due to the influence of the Ruler of Pride title. More precisely, it was an indication that something fundamentally wrong was happening.

*Craa-a--aa--aa-a---aack-kk--k!*

More ear-splitting noises erupted across the atmosphere, sounding like a devil approaching.

*BAM!*

Then, the front door of the cabin slammed open, and the rest of the party rushed in with petrified and bewildered looks on their faces, some even struggling to restrain their screams.

“What the fuck is going on!?”

“Daddy...!”

“Jae!?”

They looked towards Aphy with glares, despite witnessing her saving Jae’s life. They had yet to find out she was the one he was looking for, after all, and now they came in and saw him unconscious on top of her lap, so it was an understandable thought that she might be at fault.

“Wait!”, Aphy yelled in response.

Nevertheless.

*Craaaa--aaa--a-acckk-k--kk!*

A third crack, as if signifying the beginning of the end, resounded.

The Rulers of Pride were not to blame for this occurrence.

Aphy, gritting her teeth with unrivalled fury, safely laid Jae down on the sofa to ensure he was okay whilst sleeping. He had just undergone a severe emotional moment, so experiencing a super stressing event like this right off the bat would be bad for his mental health.

Making sure he was going to be fine in the meanwhile, Aphy led the others outside, to which numerous gasps could be heard. And rightfully so. After all, when they looked up at the sky...

“Do not resist, mortals beneath the Forbidden One.”

―Something that can only be described as ‘divine’ was staring back.

“Ye shall aby thine sins.”