Chapter 38 – Getaway

Getaway

That marks the third time today. Losing blood once a day is enough, but more than that, it makes my mind foggy, making it difficult to carry on with everyday life. Like not being able to see clearly, among other things. Anyone who has bled like this would deeply empathize with the sensation.

The pressure on my chest is intense, due to the heavy weight of the lizard in contrast with my frail body.

Valkvogel looked up at me without saying a word. Her body was riddled with holes. Perhaps her face was the only place somewhat intact, while her torso was embedded with skewers.

“Hey, move. I’m a patient.”

I didn’t expect an answer. Talking to Valkvogel was like talking to a pet that never talks back.

“…Nerati.”

So when she responded, I was a bit surprised.

“Huh?”

“Nerati is…”

Valkvogel’s head shook, unable to stop the blood flowing from her pierced wounds.

Would she die if I left her like this?

I wanted to wrap her wounds, but I had nothing left. I had used up all the bandages to stop the bleeding from my own right hand.

Hmm, something useful…

After some thought, a syringe shimmering with a dark blue liquid caught my eye.

Aeon’s magic pouch. Dragons are highly susceptible to magic. So, administering a pure and strong magic might help, right? Or it could end in a gruesome death due to the magic’s reaction.

Still, I had no other option. It was either watch her bleed to death or take a gamble with this.

I laid Valkvogel down, who had been slumped over me, and with one hand, I grabbed her jaw to open her mouth. Injecting the magic directly into the bloodstream would be more effective, but if there were any side effects, she would die without a chance to intervene. Considering the potential for stability, oral administration was the safest.

With one hand pressing down on her jaw and pulling out her tongue, I aimed the syringe at her uvula with the other, ready to slowly release Aeon’s magic. If only my right hand hadn’t been shattered, I surely could have done it.
Regrettably, my right hand was so damaged that it couldn’t perform any of the functions of a primate’s ‘hand’. I had sprinkled Aeon on the bandage, numbing the pain but also the sensation. I couldn’t control the dangling fingers at all.

With no other choice, I pushed my face up close to Valkvogel’s. Then, using my chin to press down on her jaw, I opened her mouth and with my teeth, I hooked onto her tongue and pulled it out. The strong taste of preservatives filled my mouth.

With my left hand, I held the syringe and brought it close to the uvula. Perhaps because of the awkward position, my hand trembled uncontrollably.

I could feel her saliva climbing over my front teeth. It was a sticky and unpleasant sensation. Even if I just scattered the liquid in her mouth, it would eventually make its way down the esophagus. Ignoring the trembling of my hand, I slowly dripped the liquid in.

Despite being unconscious, she suckled on the syringe.
Maybe providing mana was the right answer after all.
As I continued to pour the liquid, she even began to suck on my lips, so I chose the right moment to pull my face away.

The effect was quicker than I thought.
The blood that had been oozing out everywhere began to slow down, and before long, it stopped altogether.

I’ll just leave her lying here until she regains consciousness.

About half of the syringe’s contents were gone.
By my estimate, it would take about an hour to fully replenish. I’ll have to be careful not to use it all up.

Seeing her face relax for the first time after only showing a fearsome expression felt strange.

But that’s that, and I have my own things to do.
Nerati, Nerati.
After mentioning Nerati, Valkvogel collapsed.

From the context, it seems that Nerati is the one Valkvogel fought with. Was that old wizard up there Nerati? Did Valkvogel fight her with most of her power sealed?

So, a dragon is still a dragon, huh?
No, it’s probably more accurate to say that without the Demon King, she can’t fully exert her power. Valkvogel currently can’t even use a fraction of her strength.

Could I, with my current physical state, fight and defeat Nerati? If we meet again, I’ve already declared I’ll kill her without hesitation.

My right arm is worse than useless. The holy sword, my trump card, is out of power. Thanks to Aeon, my mana is full, but I have no spells or skills to use it. The second trump card I have left can’t be used outside of the demon realm.
After all, I only knew the identity of Aeon, not the exact conditions for its use; it was a bluff I could pull off. In front of Nerati, it’s impossible.

“Hey, wake up. I can’t win this without you.”

“…”

Of course, there’s no way she would just get up.
Looks like I’ll have to deal with the aftermath alone again.

I shook the syringe filled with Aeon vigorously. With not much liquid left, it sloshed up and down, hitting the sides. Even after I stopped shaking it, the liquid continued to swirl for a while.

I guess I’ll take some comfort in this. It would have been nice if I could talk to Aeon. That’s a regret.

Well, time to go up.

I still have a last resort if things get really bad.
I won’t die, at least.

I grasped the ladder with one hand. Fortunately, thanks to Valkvogel smashing the door, there was no need to use my right hand.

-Clink.

I leaned my body and barely managed to escape from the basement.

The sound I just heard was…

Ah, the pendant.
It was the pendant I received before entering the Tower of Magic. I’m sure they said that if I breathed magic back into it, I would be able to return. Thankfully, that’s one more escape route available to me.

This is reassuring. If things get dangerous while engaging with Nerati, I can flee.
Valkvogel, well, she’ll be able to teleport on her own, I suppose. That’s what I choose to believe.

Looking around, the scenery had changed a lot from when I first saw it. Skewers and holes everywhere I looked. Traces of what I presumed to be Valkvogel’s claws and corroded furniture as well.

It was nothing short of a disaster.

Now, where is Nerati?
She must have seen Valkvogel fleeing, so it wouldn’t be surprising if she launched a surprise attack at any moment.

As I looked towards the entrance, there was Nerati. Sitting arrogantly on the sofa in her white robe. Ready to pounce at any moment….

“By any chance, are you the one who turned the Tower of Magic of New Moon into this state?”

A deep voice. A low rumble that dominated the surroundings.

That’s Nerati… or,
No. The atmosphere is completely different. At least, it’s not something the Nerati I know could even imitate. An air of experience that’s absolutely inimitable. With that kind of energy, even if I set my expectations low, it’s at least that of a typical Tower of Magic master.

The white robe and the brown ponytail. If that person is indeed who I think it is, then the situation is far worse than I thought.

Sitting comfortably on the broken sofa, the man in the white robe, known for his eccentric deeds, is the Sorcerer King.

“Hmm. But by any chance, what is your name?”

An old and decrepit figure, but still one of the few who can be counted on one hand. The ruler of the Country of Magic, leading the Country of Magic. That’s the nickname of the old man who has now approached me.

“I come from the Empire…, my name is Nicola.”

I’m sorry, Nicola.
Let’s call it even with this parting gift.

That was all I could manage to say at the moment. Perhaps if I face the Emperor again, the reaction won’t be much different from now. But at least we know each other, so maybe it won’t be as frightening.

Regardless, I can’t beat a master of a Tower of Magic here, even if it’s home turg. Even if I were fully prepared.

“Nicola? Of the Emperor’s…”

“No, no, it’s a namesake from the same house. It’s often confusing. Even His Majesty the Emperor gets it mixed up sometimes.”

Of course, words alone can’t be trusted. So I took out the dagger from my pocket and showed him the emblem. By sheer luck, the imperial crest had remained undamaged through successive battles, firmly holding its place.
In addition to that, I had proof from the Empire.
The evidence was conclusive.

“…I haven’t heard of anyone coming from the Empire.”

“I had to come without notice because I have something to deliver to a member of the former hero party, New Moon Tower Mage, Aeon…”

“Well, that’s that. But did you also smash this place up? It’s the construction site of the Tower of Magic, quite a lot of money went into it…”

The Sorcerer King trailed off. As if on cue, a man in a mask appeared beside the Sorcerer King. This man must also be someone on par with the Tower of Magic master.

“It would be wise to answer carefully.”

The man in the mask held a staff. Was he ready to fire an attack depending on my answer? Couldn’t they at least send me to prison?
Well, it would be difficult to arrest someone who destroyed this place to such an extent.

How does one even tear through walls?

“At least I don’t have a weapon with such power. Nor the strength. And why would an imperial courier damage the assets of the Country of Magic?”

“Well, it sounds plausible, but what do you think?”

He turned his head to the man in the mask. The masked man seemed to ponder for a moment before speaking.

“Unless we find another individual, this one seems unrelated. The aura is foreign, but weak.”

“Is that so. Then we should probably hold off for now. Look here, Nicola, you’ve delivered the item, right? Then tell me Aeon’s location. After that, you can go on your way. I’ll discuss the details with that damned dragon hunter.”

Am I off the hook?

My legs are shaking a little. Facing such a figure without any preparation is quite a burden for someone like me.

I was about to say that Aeon is in the basement, but then I remembered that Valkvogel was there and instead I was going to say she’s on the top floor. Then I’d take her from the basement with the pendant and escape.
It was a perfect escape plan, but I didn’t even get to execute it.

“Ugh… Phelion…”

Because of Valkvogel crawling out.

“…A dragon?”

Ah, shit.

Valkvogel had somehow recovered and was crawling up from the basement. Even worse, she had taken off the hood that she had carefully used to cover her horns and wings.

If I had been here alone, I might have been suspicious but let it slide. However, with a dragon present, the story changes. A confrontation is inevitable.
Especially since the Country of Magic, already not on good terms with dragons, has a clear course of action when they see one.

The man in the mask charged towards Valkvogel.
At the same time, the Sorcerer King drew his staff.

“That is─”

And as the Sorcerer King was about to move his arm, I infused the pendant with magic.

Instantly, everything before my eyes turned white.

I thought I saw Nerati’s face before my vision completely blurred.
But that must have been my imagination.

When I opened my eyes, I was at the border checkpoint. Fortunately, it seemed the Sorcerer King hadn’t taken any particular action against us during the move. I could infer this because I was in the same place as when I had moved.

Valkvogel was once again lying face down.
Luckily, the pendant seemed to have a structure that allowed simultaneous movement regardless of distance. Now it was broken, though. It seems like the item expires after a round trip.

If Valkvogel hadn’t drawn attention, I might have been prevented from using the pendant. Perhaps it was a stroke of luck that she crawled up from the basement.

There’s no time to waste. I must leave this place immediately. There’s no other choice but to hide my body at least until I reach Derios, now that I’m being pursued by both the Empire and the Country of Magic.

To do that, I need to wake Valkvogel quickly, but there’s no sign of her getting up.

Kicking her a few times, grabbing and shaking her shoulders, the bastard doesn’t seem to have any intention of waking up.
At this rate, I’ll have to carry her.

I grabbed her tattered wings and carelessly threw them over my back.
Her body was small, but those damn wings and horns. And now the tail that was starting to recover. The weight was considerable. Over 50kg, no, it felt like 100kg due to the imbalance.

“Damn… reptile… I’ll make sure… you pay it back… several times over….”

“Uuuuuuugh….”

Ah, is she waking up? That’s a relief at least. I’m already drained of strength. If I had to carry her around, it would complicate the escape.

Valkvogel seemed to be trying to say something. After mumbling a few words and falling silent again and again, she finally…

Vomited all over my shoulder.

The smell of raw animal hide, the revolting smell of vomit. I felt the noxious and dizzying presence of preservatives. And not just once, but twice in a row.

Ah, life.
It really makes you not want to live.

At the same time, blood flowed from both nostrils.
Drip, drip, the blood stained the white floor.

It’s truly a rotten world to live in.