Bloodshot red eyes and the pupils of a gaping snake.
Worst of all, it was a huge creature.
"Dragon——"
An enormous presence and a natural tyrant of mythical proportions, no, apart from that, being 'big' is violence in itself.
As everyone tensed up, the dragon's voice boomed out.
[You insignificant ants invade my territory]
It was a clear statement of hostility but the old gentleman exclaimed, even as he was tormented by the voice speaking directly to his brain.
"Oh no, we only came to storm the gate-─!"
──────!!
A tremendous blast hit the Hunters as the fury of the dragon struck them.
[Dragon Fear is applied]
◆Effect
-All life is thrown into chaos by an absolute supreme being.
– Decreases Magic Resistance by 80%.
-Mass Defense is reduced by 75%.
-Action success rate is reduced by 90%.
""——!!""
One terrible curse after another hit the Hunters as their bodies become rapidly fatigued, and their hands and feet lose their strength.
No matter how many Hunters there are, no matter how prestigious they are, living beings are bound to bow down before beings of higher rank than themselves.
Despite their vast numbers, they were unable to resist the aura emitted by a single dragon.
"C'mon, everyone, wake up!"
Archmage Cornwall raised his staff. The Epic Item Twelve Miracles of the Twelve Circles, also contains anti-curses.
[Triggers the seventh spell of the Twelve Circles]
-Makes all party members resistant to magic of the Mind Interference class.
It was a simple but far-reaching blessing and thanks to him, the Hunters could barely collect themselves.
"Thanks, Cornwall Ong."
"Damn it— even with twelve rounds of antimagic, there's still 50% of the debuff left——"
The magic of the Twelve Circles had allowed him to resist the Dragon Fear, but even with such an Epic item, he couldn't escape the Dragon Fear effects.
Some people with Legendary Anti-Magic items were in better shape, but Cornwall Ong suddenly remembered the Ten Thousand Gods Temple and cast a glance in that direction.
"No?"
Leon, the three Holy Knights, the hundred or so knights from the Flaming Sword Knights and the Naju First Knights were in formation, their demeanors all too normal.
"I'll maintain the terrain in subspace. Prepare to charge at any time."
The dark, deep purple mist created by Queen Beatrice became a materialized scaffolding, upon which the knights on horseback rode.
Each of the Burning Sword Knights exuded a fierce flame of intent, while the others raised their jousting lances, bewildered by the size of the dragon.
'They're not affected by Dragon Fear at all?'
Even he, an archmage, was no more than a mere insect in front of that dragon's vast magical power, so how could he withstand the strength of such a being in a human body?
"Crazy— What is this?"
At that moment, a Hunter looked at the system logs and was horrified.
[Aura of the Lionheart]
◆Effect
-Grants Legion-Hardened Assault Defense.
-Grants Legion-strengthened Fortification.
-Grants Legion-strengthened Battalion Reinforcement.
-Grants Legion-strengthened Valor.
: Legion Upgrade Light Armor.
: Legion Upgrade Tough Skin.
: Legion Upgrade Heavy Strike.
-Grants Legion-strengthened Archaic Empowerment.
: Legion Upgrade Ranged Resistance.
-Grants Legion-strengthened Keen Gaze.
-Grants Legion-strengthened Anti-Infantry Slaughter.
-Grants Legion-strengthened Pollution Resistance.
The Dragon Fear granted numerous curses to the Hunter Alliance, but Leon's presence canceled them all out. Also──
[Holy Knight Vulcanus' Fighting Spirit]
[Holy Knight Yakt Spinner's Cold Steel]
[High Priestess Beatrice's Protection]
The Holy Knights protected all knights under their command, and──
[Protected by the Goddess of the Sea and Waves]
[Protected by the Knight of Light and Justice].
[Protected by the Knight of Sky and Thunder]
[Protected by the Knight of Darkness and Vengeance]
Knights of the highest rank with holy objects and──
The Unquenchable Fury of the Knights of the Flaming Sword
The fury of the Holy Knights, a group of superhumans, burned away their fear.
Each one of them has his or her own Treasures, and the more advanced knights add Treasures to their ranks, the more they multiply inexorably.
[Worms——]
The dragon's gaze turns to Leon, who has been staring at him from earlier, and smirks.
[I know how you smell.]
The dragon's voice rings out. In this subspace, the dragon's voice was almost too loud to hear, and it let out a dismal howl.
[I know what your breath comes from, what blood your flesh is made of.]
The dragon's gaze met his and its fiery ruby eyes locked with Leon's within the blue walls.
They know each other's existence.
[Dragon slayer. Descendant of the tin can that stole my name]
"The Elder Dragon, Dragonia."
Dragonia it's a name that everyone who knows Leon would not fail to recognize.
They've heard it time and time again in the course of Leon's claim to fame, that before he was the Lionheart King, he was the rightful heir to a Grand Duchy.
Grand Duke of Dragonia was Leon's family name, and also the pseudonym under which the first Archduke of Dragonia had slain a great dragon and claimed it as his own.
[Hahahahaha—! I see, I've been waiting a long time to get my revenge on you!]
At that moment a huge flame erupted in subspace, and something leaped up, it was Vulcanus.
"GRARARARARA──!! You talk too much, salamander!!!"
The red-armored knight leaped forward as the flames of Petos propel him.
The Hunters, who hadn't thought of charging the giant dragon, were stunned.
-Quang!
Vulcanus struck the dragon with two flaming holy swords. But— the dragon didn't budge.
"No!?"
Vulcanus was surprised that the dragon was unmoved by his power while Dragonia smiled.
[You have no right to interfere in this realm, neither do you bugs, nor those demons.]
The next moment, Dragonia's wings spread. The dragon's wings, which were already enormous, spread out, their length enough to cover the space.
[I am Dragonia. I am the Mountain King. I am the Dragon King of Drakkara. I am the arch-enemy of your gods. I am the oldest being. I am the myth!]
The unfurled wings folded again as a simple flap of the wings shook subspace and swept away thousands of Hunters.
It was the same for the Lionheart King and his knights.
* * * * *
[Leon! Leon, my knight!]
Leon opened his eyes at the sound of the goddess' voice. He stood up, hearing the voice of the goddess and the other gods concerned for him.
"This is——."
He was in the middle of a city, it was a familiar marketplace floor that brought back memories. Stalls are lined up, hawkers and citizens come and go.
Their eyes were focused on Leon, and for good reason.
A stranger who drops out of the sky attracts attention even when he doesn't want to.
-What is this guy? Didn't he just fall out of the sky?
-A man falls from the sky. I thought it was the Emperor, and got scared.
Leon realized that his gaze was beneath the commoners, and he stood up straight and stared down at them.
They were both intimidated by his inexplicable swagger and curious about this mysterious man who had fallen from the sky.
Leon ignored their stares and searched his surroundings, approaching the shopkeeper who was silently watching him from a corner stall.
"You there. The florist's mistress."
"Me, me?"
The florist's proprietress, designated by a finger, greeted Leon with a flushed face.
"Why don't you start by telling me where this place is? While you're at it, make me some tea."
"Uh, this is a flower shop?"
"Then you can go buy some."
Leon is shamelessly insolent, even though he hasn't entrusted her with any money but a king never bows to a commoner, not even in this other world where he knows nothing.
"All right, goodbye!"
The mistress blushed and stormed out.
Part of her had guessed that Leon's status was a noble one, but there was more to it than that.
After the florist left, Leon was lost in thought.
"The Elder Dragon Dragonia– I never thought it would come and reveal itself now."
[It is but a shadow of itself, having lost its body, only its mighty soul remains.]
"If a presence of that magnitude can only be in the form of a soul—it must have been truly remarkable when it was alive."
Leon had only heard of its existence as a vague legend.
During the founding of the Lionheart Kingdom there were three men who were revered as absolutes in the Lionheart Kingdom.
"I've heard it was defeated by Archduke Erindal Dragonia, along with King Richard the Lionhearted and Duke Renaud, the first High Priest of War and Flame."
One of them, Erindal Dragonia, called the Dragon Slayer, was bathed in the blood of the elder dragon Dragonia and absorbed its heart.
All subsequent Archdukes of Dragonia have inherited the dragon's heart, and that includes Leon, that's why he knew.
"I can't even compare to the dragons I've slain."
[Yes, Leon, the dragons of your time are lizards compared to those of Dragonia]
Arianna, followed by Petos, recalled those days and said.
[Even the fire-breathing dragon was a mere subordinate of Dragonia in his time, and he was so huge that he could stretch out his arm and grasp a volcano]
Now this legendary being has come, and for whatever reason, something has gone wrong with the dragon's heart.
"Gods, do you know where the others fell?"
[We are essentially bodies bound to the pantheon in your heart. In this world, we can only be by your side, except on Earth, where the temple has been rebuilt]
[Wait, light, I can't see ocean.]
[Hmm?]
The gods discussed something among themselves and Arianna spoke for them.
[He must have taken on an incarnation and attached himself to Ha-ri in that brief moment]
"I'm having trouble connecting with God Poma. It's a similar situation to when we entered the East Sea Gate before."
The gods could not directly descend into the material world, but they could intervene through the shell of an incarnation.
In the past, when the gods were more powerful, they would personally appear to give quests to their favorite knights.
However, as long as they were intervening in the human world through their incarnations, their consciousness would be directed there, and they would be absent from the Temple of All Gods.
[I don't see another one]
"Another one?"
[Revenge. I can't see his darkness]
Ventasis, God of Darkness and Vengeance. Leon breathed a sigh of relief, knowing who he had chosen as his Holy Knight.
Dragonia and Ventasis were both connected to the same person.
"Karina—is that child really here——?"
[Your goddess is looking forward to meeting my knight's child]
Karina Dragonia.
His own daughter, a Holy Knight of Darkness and Vengeance, from the lineage of the Grand Duke of Dragonia.
It was now indisputable that the child was alive within this gate.
Leon heard a startling revelation from the proprietress of the florist he sought out for information.
"Karina?"
"Hee hee, don't you dare call on the dignity of Her Majesty the Emperor!"
The mistress freaked out as if she's afraid someone will hear her and Leon's eyes widened in surprise at the insolent honorific.
"Her Imperial Majesty?"
* * * *
"Ugh—!"
Ha-ri forced her tired eyelids open. It was almost an instinctive action, but a blade appeared in front of her eyes.
"Hic—!"
Ha-ri reflexively drew her sword, parrying the blade and backing away. She realized she was surrounded by soldiers.
"The intruder resists!"
"I don't care if you kill her! Subdue her!"
"What?!"
Spears soared from all sides and while dodging them, Ha-ri shouted.
"Oh, you're mistaken, I'm not an intruder!"
"You! Where are you dodging!"
"If I don't dodge, I'll die!"
Ha-ri cried out in frustration, but the man, who appeared to be a soldier, was unrelenting.
"This bastard who broke into the imperial palace has no fear, and she's taunting me with her tongue!"
The imperial palace? This is the imperial palace?
After entering the gate so many times, you're bound to get used to unfamiliar surroundings.
Ha-ri realized that this was the palace of some nation inside the gate and that he was an unwelcome intruder.
'Where did everyone else go? Why did I end up in this place?'
She was an unwitting intruder, but that didn't mean she couldn't be caught. Ha-ri used the physical prowess of an S-class Hunter to outrun the soldiers and escape their pursuit.
"Intruder! You shall receive my aura!"
The soldier threw his spear with a bloodshot gaze.
"Awww, aren't you throwing it too fast for an aura!"
"Shut up, renegade!"
"Renegade, me? I thought you called me an intruder!"
"What's a grown woman walking around with her belly button out if not a traitor!"
"You've got to be kidding me!"
Whatever the case may be, she's an S-class hunter. She's not exactly an easy opponent for ordinary soldiers to chase down.
"Ugh, where are the others──"
She decided to look for the king first, since she's the one who would be the most recognizable.
As she was running away from the soldiers, something landed on Ha-ri's shoulder.
[Ha-ri]
"Poma?!"
A distinctive tortoise form called out to Ha-ri.
"Poma, why are you here?!"
[Ha-ri, I sensed that the coordinates of your fall were different. Shouldn't I be by your side?]
"Lord Poma ——"
A little touched Ha-ri picked up Poma's incarnation and wrapped it around her shoulders to keep it from falling.
"So, you mean– besides me, everyone else fell separately, too, did they– like Lord Jerea?"
[That was back in the days when the High Priest of Death was less skilled with the Gate, not so much now]
"What?"
[The dragon's powerful magic caused the gate to fail, and the dragon was–]
"An intruder in the imperial palace, you have some nerve."
"——!"
Ha-ri was stunned to see a woman appear before her without warning.
She had jet-black hair, but blue eyes like someone Ha-ri knew so she recognized her.
"We, the Northern Army, declare our withdrawal from the Union, effective immediately."
The woman who had declared her separation from her father, but finally returned at the urging of Chun So-yeon for the final battle──
Ha-ri looked at her from the unfulfilled history.
"Ka──"
Before he could finish those words, an unspoken pressure hit Ha-ri, and──
-Quang!
The red-haired girl bounced halfway across the imperial palace.