Walter Ragnar was deeply bewildered.
Who could have imagined that he would join a subjugation and suddenly become a Dragon Slayer?
‘No, more importantly, they actually believe me?’
To kill a dragon, one had to be at least a 7-Star Sword Master.
But Walter had only just reached 5-Star and become an Intermediate Sword Expert.
Anyone could see that he wasn’t capable of killing a dragon, yet the knights believed his lie.
‘Well, I did exactly as I was told and claimed it had been sick.’
The explanation that he had luckily finished off a weakened dragon had worked.
‘They’ll never know. The one who killed the dragon was Young Master Kain, and he’s actually a Sword Master hiding his strength.’
Several days had passed since the dragon died.
Even so, the scene kept resurfacing in Walter’s mind.
The madman who stabbed the defenseless dragon through the neck, killed it, ripped out its heart, and ate it.
‘Crazy bastard....’
Just thinking about it made him nauseous, but he couldn’t tell anyone.
If he ran his mouth carelessly, a Sword Master’s blade might take his head off.
‘I still don’t understand. Why did he tell me to claim I killed the dragon?’
The title of Dragon Slayer was incredibly valuable.
Once someone earned it, they would never have to worry about making a living for the rest of their life.
‘His rise to success would be guaranteed, so why go out of his way to hide his strength...?’
Walter couldn’t understand it, but he didn’t particularly care.
It had nothing to do with him anyway.
‘I just want to get out of this shitty kingdom.’
Although he had been saddled with the stigma of being a royal murderer, he had at least kept his life.
Walter had recently been thrown out of the palace with nothing but the clothes on his back.
He was annoyed that they had expelled him without so much as a single gold coin, but he didn’t feel hopeless.
Someone of his skill would be treated well wherever he went.
‘If I apply to the Bellion Kingdom’s knight order, they’ll definitely take me. They’re hostile to the Kingdom of Asel. And the title of Dragon Slayer will count in my favor too.’
Walter still had his crippled younger brother, Servan, but he couldn’t care less.
He was busy enough looking after himself. Why should he care what happened to his brother?
In the first place, the reason things had turned out like this was because Servan had run his mouth.
If that bastard had simply kept his mouth shut in front of royalty?
His arms wouldn’t have been broken.
Their father wouldn’t have sent an assassin either.
‘This is all Servan’s fault.’
Without sparing another thought for his younger brother, Walter continued walking in search of a way to survive.
Completely unaware that the shadow of death had attached itself to his back.
***
At the same time Walter was being thrown out of the palace—
An assassin wasn’t the only one watching him.
Bernatus, transformed into a spirit, was there as well.
‘He wants me to follow that stupid human around and protect him. What exactly is the Prophet planning?’
He would tail Walter as Kain had ordered, but it was rather beneath a dragon’s dignity.
Humans were nothing more than prey to snack on when bored.
And now he had to follow one around like this....
‘Still, the Prophet ordered me to do it. I should just do what he says.’
Wasn’t all of this supposedly part of a plan to prevent the destruction of dragonkind?
Though Bernatus hadn’t expected that he would personally end up killing that Blue Dragon.
‘Well... he said Aolios would interfere with the plan.’
If it meant preventing the end, Bernatus didn’t care about the life of a dragon from another clan.
To be perfectly honest, he wouldn’t care if every other dragon died as long as he survived.
Camaraderie between dragons?
Dragons had never possessed such an emotion in the first place.
As long as he lived well, that was enough.
‘Then why... do his eyes keep coming back to me?’
Whatever.
All Bernatus had to do was continue following Walter as instructed.
‘The Prophet said someone else would be following him too....’
Bernatus looked around, but for the moment, he couldn’t identify anyone.
After several days of tailing Walter, however, he noticed a man who kept strangely circling around him.
‘That guy. I saw him before, and now he’s here again?’
As befitted a dragon that never forgot, Bernatus had memorized the appearance of every human around him.
And if the same human had loitered around Walter more than three times?
That meant someone else was tailing him too.
Exactly as Kain had predicted.
Bernatus returned and reported what he had found.
“So he’s only been following him for several days... He must be waiting for the right moment.”
[The right moment?]
“That’s right. If he wants a perfect assassination, he’ll try to do it somewhere with as few people around as possible. And he’ll obviously wait until Walter is asleep.”
Judging by Walter’s route, the best opportunity for the assassin would be when he stayed somewhere on the outskirts.
After reaching that conclusion, Kain told his mother that he wanted to get some fresh air outside the palace for a few days, then left.
He also didn’t forget to leave Bernatus an instruction.
“Go cast some magic on Walter. Something sturdy.”
***
Inside a secret room.
Alton Drake spoke toward a crystal orb.
“Have you confirmed his location?”
―I have. My son identified his location and began following him immediately.
“What level has your son reached?”
―Advanced Sword Expert.
Alton’s eyes trembled faintly.
“...He’s progressing quickly.”
―Haha, thank you. I believe he may soon be able to set his sights on becoming a Sword Master.
“He must be killed without fail.”
―Do not worry. I instructed my son to make certain of it while the target is asleep! Even if he manages to react, a mere 5-Star will be no match for him!
“A mere 5-Star....”
A bitter expression briefly crossed Alton’s face.
―Did you say something?
“Nothing. Tell him one thing before he kills the man. Make it clear that this is a message from Lord Camiloas. He should at least know whose will has condemned him before he dies.”
―I shall tell him.
Once the communication ended, the light of the crystal orb faded.
As darkness filled the empty space, Alton’s lips parted.
“What an unfair god....”
***
Dario Antonio had once belonged to a knight order.
He had awakened Aura at a young age and became a 6-Star Knight, an Advanced Sword Expert, while still in his thirties.
One more step and he would become a Sword Master.
‘And here I am, sneaking after someone like a thieving cat....’
After killing a fellow knight in a fit of rage and being expelled from the knight order, Dario had trained alone for five years.
Yet he had still been unable to break through the wall of 7-Star.
No knight order would accept him either.
The person who opened a path out of that quagmire was his father, who had joined hands with the faction that worshipped dragons.
‘More importantly, they say the prestigious Drake Family of the Empire belongs to that faction....’
If Dario could earn their favor, his rise to success would practically be guaranteed.
‘Which means I need to handle this mission perfectly.’
He had received the instruction through a crystal orb moments ago.
Before killing the target, he was to say that it was a message from Camiloas.
‘I killed a knight and ruined my life, and now, five years later, the first thing I’m doing after returning is assassinating another knight....’
Finding the situation deeply ironic, Dario continued secretly following his target.
‘I was told to handle it as quietly and cleanly as possible.’
There were far too many eyes around to assassinate him at an inn.
‘If possible, somewhere far from the center of the kingdom would be best.’
If Walter intended to leave the kingdom, he would inevitably have to pass through the outskirts.
Fortunately, the target packed his belongings and departed the following day.
For a brief moment, Dario felt a sense of kinship with him because of their similar circumstances.
But only for a moment.
In the end, Walter was nothing more than a stepping stone for Dario’s future success.
And finally—
‘This is my chance.’
When Walter stopped at a shabby inn on the outskirts, Dario decided to act that night.
Of course, he couldn’t afford to let his guard down.
Walter might only be 5-Star, but he was still a man who had slain a dragon.
Whether it had been luck or not, some minimum level of caution was necessary.
‘Still, there shouldn’t be any problem if I stab him while he’s asleep.’
Night fell, and once the surroundings grew quiet, Dario moved.
He slipped through an open window of the inn.
Then walked carefully down the long corridor.
‘The room at the very end.’
He had already confirmed the location of the target’s room.
Standing before the door, Dario used the tip of his dagger to lift the latch.
CREEAK—
He worried that the old hinge might wake Walter, but when he saw the target sleeping soundly, he realized his concern had been unnecessary.
SHING—
Dario carefully approached and raised his dagger.
To finish him in a single strike, he even coated the blade with Sword Energy.
‘The message... I can just tell his corpse after I kill him.’
Wouldn’t he be an idiot if he woke Walter up to deliver the message and got counterattacked?
‘Killing him comes first.’
Dario’s blade flashed toward Walter’s throat like lightning.
But then—
TING!
The unexpected sound made Dario’s body stiffen.
‘What? A barrier?’
There was magic protecting him.
High-level magic powerful enough to repel even 6-Star Aura.
‘Damn it!’
In his urgency, Dario stabbed again.
But—
TING! TING! TING!
The magical barrier refused to allow his blade through.
It was an unexpected variable.
Both his failure to kill the target in one strike—
And the target waking up.
“Gasp! W-who the hell are you?”
Walter shot upright and stared at the moonlit intruder in shock.
Dario ignored him and continued hammering at the barrier.
CLANG! CLANG—!
‘It’s weakening!’
He could feel the wall of mana shaking.
Unfortunately, he didn’t have time to continue.
Walter had begun circulating his Aura and fighting back.
“Who the hell are you?! What are you doing, bastard?!”
And because Dario had taken too long, he could hear people stirring in the hallway.
‘Damn it! I wanted to handle this as quietly as possible....’
For now, he had to leave.
CRASH—!
Dario shattered the window and jumped outside.
Fortunately, there was a forest near the inn, making it easy to disappear.
“You bastard! Stop right there!”
Walter shouted from the window as he watched Dario flee, but that was all.
He didn’t pursue him.
‘Damn. To think I failed like this....’
Once inside the forest, Dario bitterly chewed on his lip.
Who could have guessed that the target would be protected by such powerful magic?
‘Who the hell cast that spell...?’
The question went no further.
Because a man had suddenly appeared in the path ahead, blocking his way.
Kain Asel.
The true Dragon Slayer who had killed the dragon was standing there.