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Jin, Murakan, Mary, and Tuben all turned their heads simultaneously and looked at Ozdock. Murakan, in particular, blinked his large eyes as if he were awestruck.
[What? Seriously, are you still spouting nonsense, so that you can extend your pitiful life somehow? Hey, hey! Are you not in your right mind?]
[Aigoo, please just listen to me once!]
Seeing this, Jin remembered someone.
'Is he the demonic creature version of Jet...?'
Ozdock's gestures and actions were uncannily reminiscent of Jet.
Up until just before Tuben appeared, the legendary demonic creature who had shown his might was nowhere to be seen.
Aigoo, Aigoo!
Tears even rolled down Ozdock's eyes, like little drops of chicken dung, as he let out a sigh of despair.
Perhaps someone not immune to such despondency might involuntarily turn away due to his appearance and forgive him.
However, this was not applied to the mighty Black Dragon and the Swordmasters of Runcandel.
"Speak. I'll at least try to listen for now."
Among them, Jin was the one with a sympathetic tone. Ozdock could only feel his voice as a lifeline of salvation.
[Kid, there's no need to hear more. A demonic creature like him will die once he loses his core.]
"If I determine that what he's saying is nonsense, there's no need to ask me. Just kill him right away."
It was a precarious lifeline that could be severed at any moment.
[Thank you!]
Ozdock cautiously observed the reactions of the four and began his explanation.
[This is truly a secret... Actually, I have more than one core.]
The concept of a demonic creature having more than one core had not yet been revealed to the world.
So, Murakan immediately raised his foot to crush him.
[C, calm down. If I were a demonic creature with only one core, could I have survived back then, after causing so much destruction?]
Both Murakan and the heroes from a thousand years ago who had faced the formidable Ozdock at the peak of his power.
They had found his immense strength somewhat odd. It is common to form a subjugation party to deal with dragons even if their combat prowess is on average level, but Ozdock was different.
However, people simply considered Ozdock to be an extraordinary demonic creature. Just as occasionally among humans and dragons, exceptional individuals of surpassing common sense emerged.
Yet, the source of Ozdock's power lay in his two cores.
Unlike other demonic creatures, Ozdock, who had taken on the very essence of "human greed," desired more even though the conditions for becoming a demonic creature with core were already met, and as a result...
Unbeknownst to anyone, he ended up with two cores.
[Fine, let's say you have two cores. They should be inside you, right? Take them out right now.]
[The other one isn't inside my body, it's somewhere else.]
Snap!
Tuben lightly hit Ozdock's chin with his elbow, causing him to stumble before quickly standing straight.
"When the guardian dragon of Runcandel asked, you won't just tell us the location, but you have to bring it here and show us."
[Y-yes…]
Originally, Ozdock had planned to lie, saying that his other core was buried far away from here. He had intended to exploit that to escape whenever there was an opening.
But he once again realized that the situation was not in his favor. Helplessly, he spat out his second core and allowed himself to be captured by Tuben. It was the only future left for Ozdock.
Swallowing a deep sigh, Ozdock took a step back to where he had first awakened.
How did I end up with this situation... and why do I have to hand it over like this?
As he retrieved the core buried at that spot, such thoughts crossed his mind. However, Ozdock was not just after gold and power; he was a demonic creature with an insatiable greed for survival, like all living beings.
After a while of digging, Ozdock emerged from underground holding the buried core.
[Huh, you really have two?]
The core looked like a golden apple, emitting a vivid radiance that set it clearly apart from ordinary gold, even to an average person's eyes.
[It seems your second core is even better than the one inside you. Why did you hide it? Was it some sort of insurance?]
Murakan instantly recognized the immense energy contained within the core. If Ozdock had contained this core within himself, then he wouldn't have fallen so easily into Tuben's hands.
[Right now, my body lacks the nutrients to contain it.]
[I see. So you were planning to recover, use the second core, and then return to full power? After causing quite a commotion outside, I presume?]
[Yes.]
[Give it to me. Not to me, the kid. No, not that kid, this kid!]
Ozdock, who had been directed towards Mary, extended the core to Jin. His trembling hand seemed reluctant to let go, as if he didn't want it to be taken away.
[If you had recovered and used this second core, you might have reached around 60 to 70 percent of your prime. I wonder how much chaos you would've caused. It's quite a spectacle to imagine.]
As Jin held the core, Ozdock managed to shake off his reluctance and said:
[Please... use it for something good.]
The words from a demonic creature like him seemed ironic. However, instead of laughing, Jin simply nodded his head. It wasn't too difficult to show such kindness.
[And you must not forget this Ozdock. Someday, I hope that I will be able to serve you...!]
Indeed, Ozdock was a calculating demonic creature. He realized that it was important to make a favorable impression on Jin, not Murakan, in order to hold onto a flicker of hope for the future.
'You must not forget.' By emphasizing this, he meant that he hoped Jin would rescue him from Tuben in the future.
'Would my father and the former Black Knights spare Ozdock?'
It was only natural that Tuben would attempt to capture Ozdock alive. He was unique enough to be reported to Chiron.
Furthermore, Ozdock possessed memories from a thousand years ago.
'Based on Murakan's reaction, he might not know every detail of that era, but if we dig a bit deeper, there might be information useful to Runcandel or my father.'
Ozdock looked at Tuben with a sullen expression. It was a look that begged to be taken away.
It was because he thought that the situation would become more troublesome if that human called Mary attacked again by saying Ozdock is her prey.
"Lord Murakan, may I withdraw now?"
Murakan readily nodded his head.
In fact, he had rather taken a liking to Tuben since a while back. Tuben's way of treating him without excessive arrogance, as a former Black Knight, was quite commendable in his eyes.
[Yeah, go ahead.]
Tuben offered a gesture of respect. After a while, he made eye contact with Mary.
"You've become stronger, Seventh Flagbearer. Impressive. However... you've changed too."
"I've changed?"
"The former Seventh Flagbearer didn't resort to lies to achieve her goals."
"What are you talking about, uncle?"
"The moment I said I would take the demonic creature back with me, you would have drawn your sword. If you were the girl I remember, that's for sure."
Lies to achieve the goal.
Not only Jin, but Tuben was also well aware of Mary's bluff to help the youngest.
"If you want, we can fight for real right now. Until one of us dies or cripples."
Tuben chuckled as if he was facing an adorable niece.
"I didn't mean it in a negative way when I said that."
"You've aged quite a bit too, uncle. Well, it's been quite a while since you officially retired."
"If the flagbearers had done better, I might have been able to retire for real."
Tuben slung his massive scimitar over his back.
While his words held truth, Mary didn't show any signs of irritation. Actually, she believed that what he was saying was accurate.
"Twelfth Flagbearer."
"Yes, Sir Tuben."
"I sense that you're curious about something."
Of course, he was.
He hadn't managed to find an opportunity to ask a question, so it was a relief that Tuben had brought up a topic first.
'He's probably going to ask about Lady Luna. Since Lady Luna holds the Twelfth Flagbearer in high regard. Or maybe he'll ask about the mission in the Black Sea.'
Since Chiron had brought Luna on this mission to the Black Sea, Tuben had naturally had numerous conversations with her.
Apart from mission-related discussions, Luna had mostly talked about her youngest brother. This was quite an unfamiliar sight to Tuben, who had observed her for a long time.
Additionally, he recalled how another former Black Knights, Vanessa Olson, had mentioned Jin several times.
"Since when have you been on the battlefield?"
Jin posed a question that was completely different from what Tuben had anticipated.
"Until you revealed yourself, I couldn't sense any presence at all. I'm skilled at reading aura, I felt completely overpowered."
"Overpowered?"
"If you had intended to kill me, it wouldn't have been difficult at all. To conceal your presence to such an extent, I'm curious about what kind of enlightenment is necessary for that."
Tuben's eyes deepened within the black hood.
"Did I ask something foolish?"
"... No. It's just that it's a completely unexpected question. Honestly, I thought the Twelfth Flagbearer might ask about the mission in the Black Sea or about Lady Luna's well-being."
"As for the Black Sea, I will naturally find out once my father deems it necessary for me to know. And while I'm curious about elder sister Luna's well-being, I think there must be a reason why she hasn't told me anything yet."
For a few seconds, Tuben didn't answer and simply stared at Jin. Then, he responded:
"Twelfth Flagbearer, you're quite impressive."
"You flatter me."
"I could hide my presence not because I have a natural talent like Lady Yona, or some kind of advanced stealth ability like the King of Nameless. It's something as simple as this."
Tuben lightly waved his hand in the air.
In that instant, Jin could sense a invisible energy spreading through the air, strangely distorting along his touch.
'Huh?'
The sensation transmitted through the air that Tuben had dispersed felt peculiar. As if the path was blocked, he couldn't sense anything from that direction, even if he concentrated his attention.
It felt like not even the wind was passing through.
"It was a slight deception. Using Aura, I created a sort of barrier in the air. But both the Seventh and Twelfth Flagbearer were so focused on the battle that neither of you realized. You weren't able to sense the hidden, unusual space."
Calling it a "slight deception" hardly justified it. It was something that demanded an extraordinary level of skill.
'He can twist the sense of space in such a small area using Aura. However, even that would cause a significant amount of fatigue.'
Yet, Tuben had filled most of the battlefield with the aura of this deception. And even with that, the fact that he could handle Ozdock as if dealing with back-alley thugs was astonishing.
"It seems like you're intrigued."
"Yes, Sir Tuben."
"I will report to my lord that the Twelfth Flagbearer was the first who discovered this demonic creature. If my lord deems the demonic creature valuable, you will receive a reward accordingly."