Chapter 103: Magic Knight (3)
If it had been merely a beast's roar, I wouldn't have been so shaken.
However, the moment I heard that sound, I felt my body freeze instinctively, as though hearing the cry of an apex predator—a force capable of making any living creature submit without question.
'Pull yourself together!'
I regained control of my mind, forcing my body to resist the overwhelming urge to collapse to the ground. With great effort, I managed to stand upright despite the primal fear surging through me.
The Hydra, however, was not so fortunate. Despite its superior physical abilities compared to mine, it submitted completely, lowering itself to the ground. Its jaws gaped open as it stared at something behind me.
At the moment the Hydra submitted, a ray of light pierced through my chest from behind.
'This...'
The beam of light, far from being ordinary sunlight, radiated overwhelming mana, instantly replenishing the mana reserves I had depleted.
Yet this light wasn't merely restorative.
Crack!!
The beam struck the Hydra's upper body, leaving a massive hole. The intense heat didn't just scorch the wound like my mana saber—it carbonized the flesh, turning it pitch black.
The strike was far more powerful than any of my desperate blows fueled by mana. I could only feel the overwhelming presence behind me, unable to muster the courage to turn around.
Half of the Hydra's body had been obliterated, yet the light also restored my depleted mana reserves.
In this kingdom, there was only one being capable of wielding such magic.
The one who carried the blood of a Gold Dragon.
The half-dragon who had protected the kingdom since its founding and even during the Demon King's invasion.
"The kingdom's guardian dragon, Seyra."
Even as my heart pounded and my legs trembled, I forced my body to resist the overwhelming presence, focusing on the Hydra, which was still a threat.
Screeeeech!
As the Hydra opened its jaws to unleash a final Frost Breath, I delivered the prepared finishing blow, slicing through its head.
Slash!
There was no need to cauterize the wound.
My mana had been restored beyond its usual capacity, and with the limiter removed, the mana saber's blade had grown large enough to not only sever the Hydra's head but also cook the neck entirely.
The final frost escaping from the severed head served only to cool my searing right hand, acting as a temporary coolant.
Of course, my entire body began freezing over simultaneously, but the warm sunlight behind me quickly thawed the frost.
Like eternal snow melting under the sun's rays, the white frost that had covered the area disappeared, leaving only the warm sunlight and a bubbling swamp behind.
"Well done."
Warm light bathed my back.
The overwhelming presence that had earlier subdued all life in the area—Dragon Fear—had come from the same source as the radiant mana behind me.
"Support... it was you?"
The guardian dragon, glowing like a miniature sun, was the reinforcement summoned by the bell's chime.
---
When everything was over, I returned to the village, battered and exhausted.
"Did you meet the Elder?"
Hayang, who had come to greet me in advance, asked as though she already knew everything that had transpired.
'The Elder... So the Elder that Hayang and the other reptilian races speak of really is her?'
The kingdom's guardian dragon, who had defended the kingdom for over 500 years, certainly deserved the title of Elder.
"I met her... but..."
My body was glowing faintly with golden light from the mana I had absorbed—nearly twice as much as I could normally generate. It would dissipate over time, so I didn't pay it much attention.
What caught my attention, however, was my right hand. Initially, I had expected to request its amputation and reconstruction once I returned to the capital (injuries sustained during missions were covered by the state), as it had fused to my melted gauntlet.
Yet, thanks to some kind of emergency treatment, it had healed to the point of being just a mild burn.
What truly troubled me, though, was the thought that haunted me during my return.
'If I had just rung the bell and called the guardian dragon from the start, I wouldn't have had to go through all this. The Hydra would have been dealt with easily.'
This bitter realization left a sour taste in my mouth.
Not to mention, had the guardian dragon intervened earlier, the Lizardmen wouldn't have been frozen and devoured—they might have all survived.
"I know what you're thinking."
My conflicted emotions must have been evident on my face.
"But the Elder cannot move so easily. From the kingdom's perspective, even if dozens or hundreds of Lamias or Lizardmen die, it doesn't concern them. They would never permit the Elder, the guardian dragon, to leave her post over such matters."
"Ah..."
Seyra, the kingdom's guardian dragon, was essentially a last-resort secret weapon to be used only when the kingdom was on the brink of collapse.
Naturally, the royal family kept her existence tightly under wraps. On rare occasions, they would showcase her at noble gatherings to boast, "Our kingdom has a guardian dragon," as a display of strength to both nobles and neighboring nations.
It wasn't as though the guardian dragon could casually come here to deal with the Hydra at her leisure.
'So giving me this bell was a way to provide the bare minimum justification, wasn't it?'
The idea was simple: A knight of the kingdom happened to request reinforcements, so the guardian dragon just happened to come. A pretense thinly veiled in diplomacy.
Understanding this, I realized why my senior knight hadn't explained the bell's true purpose to me, and why the dragon hadn't come when I tested it before.
"Damn politicians..."
It would be understandable if the guardian dragon was preoccupied defending the kingdom, but instead, they kept her hidden away like a secret weapon, unused.
"The Elder takes care of us and guides us, but there are still contracts and obligations in place," Hayang said.
"But the Lizardmen…" I began.
"Ha! We are not a weak race that depends solely on the Elder. Those who sacrificed themselves to save us showed their worth—they stood as great warriors, halting the Hydra's advance with only thirty of their kind and securing our escape," Hayang replied firmly.
Despite Hayang's and Lora's words, I couldn't fully accept it in my heart, though I forced myself to acknowledge the reality.
"Do you think things will return to normal... eventually?"
At my question, Hayang shook her head.
"That seems unlikely. The entire continent is warming. Perhaps not today or tomorrow, but one day, the cold here will disappear—even without creatures like the Frost Hydra—and this place will no longer be habitable for us to reproduce."
Hayang glanced toward Lora, who responded resolutely.
"That doesn't matter. If we are the last, we will seek a fitting end for our kind."
"That's their stance. As for us," Hayang added, "we plan to struggle on a bit longer, even if it's not pretty..."
She gently touched her lower abdomen and glanced at Kamang, who was resting nearby.
'I hope more men like me come to this place in the future...'
While it wasn't realistic to expect pregnancy from a single night, they seemed quietly hopeful.
However, hybrid offspring between different species were extremely rare, so I doubted I had fulfilled their expectations.
'If someone were to stay here and try every day, perhaps it might eventually happen...'
But that wasn't my responsibility. It would be up to other men who might one day accept and live among them.
If they could continue inviting people, breaking down barriers as they had done with me, perhaps one day humans and Lamias could coexist in harmony.
"I wish you all the best for the future."
"And I wish you peace on your journey ahead, Knight."
Thus, the perilous mission in the northern swamp came to an end.
---
After the knight departed, the Lamia village held a small festival.
The Lizardmen, now reduced to just seven survivors, decided to live with the Lamias. The festival welcomed these new residents into the community.
And another celebration followed—a festival to mark the conception of eggs by the village priestess and her guardian.
While the knight had assumed that a single night together wouldn't lead to pregnancy, Lamias didn't require prolonged mating rituals without reason. With most cases, a single act was enough to conceive offspring.
The priestess, who had received the first seed, began laying her eggs in a deep pit prepared by the villagers and the Lizardmen.
Though some Lizardmen seemed disgruntled, they didn't criticize the Lamias' methods of reproduction, as the Lamias were now part of their family.
The first laying took a long time, but with help from other Lamias, the white priestess successfully laid nine eggs.
Following her, the black guardian took her turn. Laying slightly more, she deposited twelve eggs into the same pit, handling them with care.
The Lamias of the village worked together to cover the eggs with soil using their own hands. This pit would now be the foundation of their future, a place all Lamias would protect with their lives.
The priestess and guardian held hands as they gazed at the pit containing their eggs. They made a simple wish, asking for nothing else.
They didn't care whether the offspring were male or female. Even if all 21 turned out to be girls, they wouldn't blame or lament.
All they hoped for was one thing:
"May our children be born healthy."