“Would I be able to act as usual if I met Tilly again-?”
Far from being overshadowed by such worries, Khan’s emotions were incredibly calm. So much so that even he was surprised.
“Tilly.”
Khan repeated her name once more.
Seeing Tilly’s bewildered expression in response was quite unfamiliar to Khan. She had always been so composed. But that bewilderment didn’t last long. She smiled with her usual expression, as if putting on a mask.
“Khan.”
“… Do they know each other?”
“It seems so.”
As Aries and Leo expressed their confusion upon seeing Khan and the woman, who appeared to be a dark figure, call each other’s names intimately, the two reunited from past ties spoke to each other as if the surrounding conversation didn’t matter.
“You’ve joined hands with the Followers of Truth.”
“Ah.”
When Khan brought up the clue he had discovered by obtaining Draupnir from Wagner earlier, a bright smile appeared on Tilly’s face. It was the reaction after she discovered the presence-exuding magic sword from Khan’s waist.
“Fate is quite mysterious. I didn’t give that meaningless shell to them because it had great significance. But… seeing it in your hands, I can’t help but feel the pull of fate.”
“A dreamer of defying the heavens talks about fate—how amusing.”
“… You’ve realized that much?”
“It was a guess until just now; now I’m certain. About your true identity.”
Tilly smiled quietly, as if waiting for Khan’s response. Khan had an inkling about her true identity on “that night”. The night all the comrades he had first befriended were killed by Tilly. The moment he saw the vertically slit golden dragon eyes, dormant knowledge in his mind struck like lightning.
The number of dragons that survived to the present era could be counted on one hand, and according to the game story, there were exactly two dragons that appeared.
One was the hidden guardian dragon Akadnil, who was practically the center of Midland. He would later sacrifice his life to open the path to the Cradle of the Void, a noble sacrifice. He appeared in Act 8 as a named character who aided the protagonist when the Imperial Capital collapsed.
And the other one…
“The ultimate boss mob who appears in Act 8, burning and tearing apart the Imperial Capital.”
The being that completely shattered this common sense was the final boss of Act 8, who burned and tore apart the Imperial Capital.
Initially born as a lesser dragon, a mere remnant of a true dragon, it defied the laws decreed by the heavens and transformed into a true dragon, the Heaven-Defying Dragon. However, for some unknown reason, it became subjugated to chaos, falling into the role of a harbinger that brought ruin to the world-.
“A monster closer to a true dragon than any other Lesser dragons.”
Drake.
That was the true identity of Tilly Ashanumos.
**
“… Correct.”
“Drake…”
Leo, born of an illustrious noble family, was stunned. It meant that the hidden identity of the beautiful woman before him was indeed surprising. Only Aries and Maya, who didn’t have wide knowledge, tilted their heads in puzzlement.
“Among the countless Lesser dragon species, Drake is one of the rarest to appear. But…”
The reason Leo hesitated was that he had never heard rumors of a Drake transforming into a human. Moreover, such a beautiful woman? Her appearance would be top-ranked even if the Imperial Capital were overturned.
Additionally, the appearance of Drake was precisely described in literature.
“It can easily scale walls in height. Its length from head to tail equals the height of an adult ogre laid down. Covered in dark scales, it has sharp, blade-like carapace on its back that’s hard enough to not be cut by a swordmaster’s skill. Its quad-pedal feet end with three claws sharp enough to pierce any shield.”
Leo remembered the Drake’s description from his family’s library.
“But what about humans—”
“Drake wields magic. The kind that even the Tower’s mages wouldn’t dare consider.”
“That wasn’t in the books!”
“It wouldn’t be. But it’s undoubtedly possible. It’s just not known.”
Everyone present understood the horrific implication hidden in the seemingly kind explanation.
“’Silencing Witnesses’…”
“It’s a lady’s secret.”
Leo stared at the woman’s beautiful face with a stunned expression. She looked no different from a human. But behind that face, a giant monster was hidden? Even though she admitted it, it was hard to accept.
But if he accepted that as the truth, the current situation was far from favorable for them.
“Warrior! Prepare for battle…!”
Such a secret was thoroughly controlled. Would that monster really leave the humans who discovered it alone? Naturally, it meant she intended to eliminate everyone here. Leo took a determined stance, ready to unleash a merciless attack the moment the monster revealed its true form.
However, Leo’s actions were halted by a thick hand placed on his shoulder.
“Warrior?”
“There’s no need for that.”
“What? Why…”
Khan, who had grabbed Leo’s shoulder and pulled him back, walked confidently towards Tilly. His unguarded approach made Maya twitch on her toes, ready to spring at any moment. However, Aries, who was watching the situation with a peculiar look, held back the impatient subordinates.
Receiving the group’s intense gazes on his back, Khan casually walked towards the unconscious Black Winged Lord.
“Did you kill him?”
“I just put him to sleep temporarily. Should I kill him right now if necessary?”
“Let him live. There’s something I need from him.”
“Got it.”
What was going on?
Maya and Leo were dumbfounded by the smooth exchange between the two. The atmosphere had been tense enough to suspect a fight would break out during their first encounter. Now, they were conversing without any hostility, almost naturally. The two subordinates couldn’t help but be confused by such a turn of events.
‘No way. Were they in collusion from the beginning…?’
No, that couldn’t be. Leo quickly dismissed the idea that crossed his mind.
‘The Goddess of Justice wouldn’t have made a mistake.’
Believing that the Goddess of Justice wouldn’t have blessed Khan if he were a traitor, Leo cleared his last bit of doubt. Instead, he recognized that the relationship between the two was extremely complicated. Aries was right to stop their intervention.
“You have some decent companions. I never imagined you’d keep anyone by your side.”
Khan’s fingertips twitched. Hearing her speak of his companions, the one who had killed his first comrades and friends, made him instinctively react. But the trembling of his hand lasted only briefly, and Khan soon regained his composure.
However, the golden dragon eyes didn’t miss that subtle change.
“Don’t misunderstand. I have no intention of taking action like that time.”
“Of course not. You still wish for me to move forward. You wouldn’t want to provoke me unnecessarily and divert my journey off its path.”
Tilly had erased Khan’s comrades from the world for his sake, who was stuck in the past. And she had even offered her own life, which was his biggest regret.
Though Khan couldn’t kill her back then, if he had truly wished, she would have gladly accepted her death. It was a twisted sense of benevolence that couldn’t be understood or should be understood.
But because of that, there were two certain facts.
“You won’t harm us. Because the revival of the Golden Dragon is already beyond intervention. If there had been any chance that my companions or I could be variables, you would have taken action.”
“Yes, that’s correct. The revival of the Golden Dragon is already a foregone conclusion, only a slight delay has been granted. From the moment it crafted its own heart. The King will be able to reclaim his successor as you wished.”
“Of course, it won’t be in the way that the King desired.”
Khan murmured, trying to push away memories of the past, glancing at the pulsating dragon shape, then turned back to Tilly.
“Even if I ask you to die now, you’ll refuse, right?”
“At least, for now. But maybe later… I would gladly do so.”
Of course, he knew the answer. Even later, she would never willingly give up her life.
Part of the reason Khan was driven forward was due to “the regret of not killing her back then,” pushing himself to grow so that he could eventually subdue her.
Still, there was one reason he asked the obvious question. It was to get an answer to the question that always messed up his mind whenever he thought of Tilly.
“Why me? Out of all the people, why did you approach me?”
Tilly’s true purpose was unknown.
Based on future knowledge, she likely wanted to evolve into a true dragon. But her action principle was clear. She demonstrated twisted benevolence by killing Khan’s companions who had tied him to the past.
Maybe it was related to her ‘evolution’. But-
There was no reason it had to be Khan. Back then, Khan was just a fairly strong barbarian warrior, nothing more, nothing less. Yet, Tilly approached him first and devoted quite a bit of time as a party member. Even though nobody asked for it.
“Answer me, Tilly.”
“Will anything change if I do?”
It was a statement rich with meaning.
-It was also a reminder that their relationship had reached a point of no return. Khan knew this fact all too well. Yet, he asked again.
Why was it him?
In response, Tilly, with a familiar smile, answered, “I felt fate. From the very first moment I saw you. No, in a more fundamental sense, I felt a kinship…”
Khan’s eyes widened.
Tilly’s voice, which had been seeping into his ears, was suddenly drowned out by the strange phenomenon emitted by the ‘Dragon’s Form’ that was nearing its complete shape. Although she continued to move her lips as if unaware that her voice was no longer being conveyed, Khan could not hear her words to the very end.
────────!
The Golden Dragon, having completed the reconstruction of its body based on the transcendent essence extracted from the Crown Prince, roared. It was as if announcing its resurrection to the entire world.
TL’s Corner:
What? Tilly is a dragon?