*** MC's POV ***
"I should go."
I left the hero's remains behind, forcing my tired body to move.
It would be nice if I could give the hero a proper burial, but… for now, there's something important I have to do.
'Bianca.'
At least her.
'If I could at least save my teacher, then…'
As I moved forward, I forced myself to instill some hope in my heavy heart.
I kept doing that until, finally, I saw a light at the end of the tunnel.
'That must be the exit.'
As I raised my sense of caution to prepare for any situation that might happen, I stepped toward the surface.
Then, I widened my eyes at the absurd sight that greeted me.
'What is that?'
High above the sky.
In a place where only one sun should exist.
A second sun was there.
A huge, white sun that illuminated the world with white.
'A white sun?!'
Unlike the real sun, which looked fiery and radiated heat so intense that it burned anyone who approached it, this white sun seemed to radiate holiness instead.
'How should I put it…'
It was like a sun that only burns impurities from the face of this world.
I was so confused that I couldn't help but use my vision skills to check the white sun.
But when I read the information that appeared, I couldn't help but exclaim out loud.
"A gift?!"
Something that only humans and demons should have.
'At least that was how the people of this world understood it.'
However, I know you don't have to be a human or a demon to possess a gift.
Because it was literally a 'gift' that was given to you.
All humans and demons had received their gift when they were still in the womb before they were born into this world.
All that's left is to wait or force the gift to awaken.
The process for receiving and awakening gifts for other species was a bit different, but it's true that they can also receive a gift of their own.
The kind of gift you received would be different depending on who gave it to you.
For example, only 'those above' could give a gift from the light series. And only 'those below' could give a gift from the dark series.
'Of course, there are many overlaps between the two, but…'
If I only look at Bianca's gift, I could say with 100% certainty that it was given from above.
'But why did she receive a gift?'
For what reason? And since when?
'No, it's probably useless for me to think about this.'
Why? Because they could give it to you for any reason at any time.
However, the most common reason for them to give you a gift was because they liked you.
'So it was not impossible for dragons or even monsters to possess a gift, although it was indeed very unusual.'
But was Bianca someone who had received a gift already at this point?
'I don't know.'
Why? Because Raon Eva had never met Bianca again until the day she died.
So, Raon and I could have only limited information about Bianca, which was limited to rumors and gossip and maybe some accounts from others who had actually met her.
'Like from the Black Dragon who claimed that he had killed her.'
I looked at the white sun with worries.
For Bianca, who was one of the strongest existence at this point, to be forced to use her gift.
Does that mean the Black Dragon was pushing her back?
'Teacher…'
Just what in the world is happening over there?
*** Nicht's POV ***
"Damn it! Why isn't it working?!"
I had been trying to use black magic, curses, and necromancy since a while ago.
But what is this?
Why is everything not working?!
Even the black barrier that took me months to make had melted away since that sun came up.
That's right.
Everything was messed up since that white sun came up.
"It's useless, Nicht."
I glared at the culprit behind all this.
"No impurities can exist here."
Her sword reflects the irritatingly white light from the damn sun.
"So take out your sword, Nicht."
She thrusts her sword in my direction.
"Let's do this like the old times."
And remind me of memories I would rather forget.
Honestly, I didn't expect Bianca's gift to have this effect.
'It's different from what those shady bastards said.'
Truth Society.
A secret organization that claimed they know everything about the world and are actively making use of it.
They had come to me to spew nonsense about working together and whatnot.
I was also dubious at first, so I tested their usefulness in my own way. But when they revealed secrets that only I should know, I decided to trust them just once.
'But the result of that trust was this?!'
The information they gave me was only a small piece of the truth.
Bianca had indeed received a gift of the light series, but they told me that she only used it as a power source of sorts, not something that could seal other people's powers.
'Truth Society bastards! The next time we meet, I will definitely burn you to ashes!'
At that time, I didn't know that I shouldn't have followed that promise because there was an even more annoying enemy, a young boy, who would be helped tremendously by that action of mine.
"Bianca."
I glared at the woman in front of me.
"I will say this just once, I am no longer the me you used to know."
The me from before, who was the weakest of all dragons and dreamt of becoming the strongest, had long died.
At that time, I was so foolish that I got mesmerized by the Dragon Lord's sword art, to the point that I only swung the sword day and night, practicing and even developing a few techniques for the power strike.
Now, I had realized the foolishness of my way.
Why? Because I'm a dragon.
I was born with the blessing of mana.
So why should I waste my time moving my body when magic is where my talent lies all along?
Rather than swordsmanship, there are better things for me to pursue if I want tremendous power.
'Forbidden magic.'
All kinds of magic that was so powerful that they broke the rule that governed this world.
'Raising the dead. Manipulating fate. And even direct control of living beings.'
It was truly a fascinating subject of study.
It infuriates me to think that I wasted years doing something so useless, like swinging the sword, when I could have just focused on magic from the beginning.
"I know."
Bianca said, her eyes shining bright.
"You have changed, Nicht."
"That's right, the me now are incomparably stronger than before."
"No, it's the other way around."
My face must have stiffened at that.
"You have become weak, Nicht."
Me?
Become weak?
"Haha…"
What is this bitch talking about?
If only she saw the army of undead I raised.
If only she saw the scale of the destruction I did.
Ah, really. To say things like that without even learning properly.
"What do you know about me?!"
My mana exploded in anger.
"You want me to use my sword? Fine! Let's do it your way!"
This damn bitch.
Who is she to judge me with those eyes?
Does she even know what it felt like to be looked down upon by your own kind?
"I know, Nicht."
She continued as if she had read my thoughts.
"Because I wasn't born strong either."
"Ha! What bullshit."
"It's not a lie."
She shook her head, looking conflicted.
"For example, have you ever seen me using a [Breath]?"
"…"
Now that I think about it, had she ever done that?
"What about holy magic? Have I ever used that?"
I haven't seen her do that, either.
"No, right? The reason is simple. Because I can't."
A dragon who was not capable of using [Breath] and their own family's specialty?
What kind of joke is this?
"In exchange, I was somewhat talented in learning things. So my parents used to shove all kinds of knowledge and skills down my throat."
It could be seen as bragging, but knowing the scale of said knowledge and how much Bianca detested doing homework as a child, I know that it was a good memory for her.
"So I know what it felt to be weak, Nicht. Because I was like that too."
"…"
It was shocking to know we were so similar in the past.
If anything, isn't my starting line better?
She was weaker than me and became stronger.
I was stronger than her and became weaker.
We were so similar before, so why did we become so different now?
'I don't like it.'
The more I compare myself to her, the more I see her as someone I could be like if only I tried harder.
"Enough."
I don't want to hear anymore.
I don't want to see you anymore.
If swordsmanship is the only thing I could use to take you down, then–
"Let's fight."
I'm going to use it to prove you wrong and show you how strong I've become!
We stared at each other in silence for a moment.
And then–
We moved at the same time with blurring speed and swung our swords at each other's throats.
------------------