A checkpoint near the border of Greyberg Kingdom. A grassland as far as the eye can see, it was the first gateway for those visiting. The kingdom had a vast territory dotted by numerous villages and its castle town that was surrounded by walls.
In order to enter, you must undergo a check at the border, when entering the castle town a similar check is performed at the main gate. It would be nearly impossible for someone to invade this country without being seen.
But there were the dragon heart’s Sieg, Alford, and Eliza. A few days after parting with Masamune, the three of them passed through the grasslands to reach Greyberg. Each of them wore a hooded robe, with the hoods up to hide their faces.
“You there! Stop!”
In front of the three the guards were alert, spears in hand. They came to a stop like they were told.
“Eliza do it.”
Sieg’s voice was heard and Eliza lifted her hand towards the guards. After which they soon fell over unconscious.
“Just like you said, there doesn’t appear to be a problem.”
“Only merchants and travelers come through here, they don’t expect anyone to be invading from this side so the numbers are thinner here.”
“Even so having only two people here is a bit too lax.”
“They probably have their hands full with the demons. Security seems weaker than when I was last here.”
The three of them passed through without issue, but maintained a sense of unease at how easy it was.
“Wait, someone’s coming.”
At the sound of Siegs voice the other two stopped.
The sound of a horse rang out as an old man appeared in front of them along with three other soldiers. The soldiers dismounted swords in hand as they glared at Sieg.
“Ho Ho Ho, you men aren’t fit to be their opponents. Fall back I’ll take care of this.”
The old man had a long white beard with matching hair. {T/N: Santa?}
As the soldiers opened a path for him, he moved forward and dismounted. A large brown robe hung from his shoulders to down around his feet.
” Ho Ho Ho it’s been a long time Alford.”
The old man inclined his head.
“Seems you’ve gone senile, Grandpa.”
“So, you’re not only alive but you’re involved with people like this. His majesty will be saddened.”
“Sad? Just as spiteful as ever. I have nothing to say to you, it’s a waste of time.”
“Well under the circumstances it doesn’t seem like you’re planning to come back. Why have you come today?”
“This is the first time we’ve met. My name is Sieg.”
“…..I assumed as much. Well then Sieg why have you come here? This country has nothing to do with people like you.”
“Well that depends on how you answer this question. There’s a rumor going around that Greyberg performed a hero summoning. It’s forbidden magic that costs a large amount of lives to complete. There is no reason why it should be done.”
“Hmm…. I see. So what was it you wanted to ask? Whether we performed the magic or if it was successful?”
“I don’t intend to bandy words with you. Stop wasting my time.”
“Ho Ho Ho, the answer isn’t going anywhere young man. Aren’t you in too much of a hurry? It’s not like it’s going to run away.”
“Those summoned are not at fault. However, the ones who performed the summoning are a different story. The use of this magic will start a war. The traces of the magic power used in the summoning isn’t dispersed so easily. If the information we have is correct then it’s only a matter of time before word gets out. We plan to handle this before a war can start. If you performed a summoning then there was a large number of people involved. We would have those people die. ”
” Ho ho ho, you certainly speak your mind. ”
With an unwavering smile and an amiable laugh the old man pulled a staff as large as himself from an inside pocket in his clothes.
” Whether or not there was a summoning, maybe you should confirm that yourself. ”
” We will kill all those who get in our way. Albert Morroe, this is where you die.”
“Ho Ho Ho, you impudent fucking child! It seems you knew who I was from the very beginning.”
The smile from before sudden disappeared, in its place was a small old man, a murderous glint in his eyes. However, Sieg pulled out a large sword, his gaze calm and unchanged.
” Be careful Sieg! Grandpa here is a Sage, no matter how he looks now! ”
” I have no intention of going easy on the great mage known as the forest magician. You two fall back, I’ll take care of this.”
“Are you telling me Dragon’s Heart is a band of idiots? Don’t you have a better chance of winning if the three of you attack together?”
“I intend to win, don’t worry.”
“Ho ho ho, as I thought, you’re still young.”
“[Dragon Force]! ”
Steam rose from Sieg’s body, and it appeared as if a red flashing bolt of lightning became visible as well.
“I’ll hold them here! You return to the castle and inform the princess.”
“But!”
“Go, you’re in the way.”
After ordering the soldiers to retreat a white magic circle appeared around Albert’s feet. The atmosphere changed as he turned a sharp gaze on Sieg. The energy produced by both parties collided with each other, creating a terrible gust of wind throughout the grassland. Sieg remained calm holding his large sword and Albert as he held his staff, smiled.
“It’s been awhile since I’ve used this staff.”
At his words the sound of single combat began to ring out around the grassland.
〇
Albert, all his limbs severed, layed on a patch of desolate earth. The surroundings had changed from the grassland so that now they were surrounded by large trees.
“Gohon Gohon, it seems that somehow I’ve lost.”
Blood splattered the surrounding trees, the smell carried by the wind, smelled of iron.
“You’re not human…… Dragon race? I remember seeing such a race as a child.”
“I don’t have any relatives.”
His gaze was as calm as ever as he slid his sword back into his scabbard.
“Ho Ho Ho! You won’t tell a dying old man?”
Albert’s expression was cool, although his body was severely damaged and a lot of blood had already flown from his wounds.
“I’ll ask again. Did you people perform a hero summoning?”
“You already know don’t you? Where there’s smoke there’s fire. Go and take a look with those young eyes of yours.”
Eliza turned her eyes away from Albert at his answer.
“There’s no evidence. Even you probably won’t be able to find any. The summoning was already a month ago, all traces of the magic are gone.”
“That’s unrelated.”
“What did you say?”
“Just now you admitted there was a summoning, that’s enough for us.”
“How can you call that justice? No, you’re young. You guys are far too young and you’re in far too big of a hurry. You intend to serve justice but you’re just going to massacre everyone, you’re just murderers.”
“Justice?”
“Sieg, we should go before reinforcements come.”
Eliza was wary.
“We aren’t here to carry out justice. This isn’t some matter of good and evil. It’s about whether or not we can believe it, that’s all.”
The three passed by Albert as he laid dying.
“Alford, is this your wish? Do you feel nothing when you see this? Where did the kind and gentle Alford go?”
“It’s no use appealing to this old man. I have no feelings for you. Apart from that, I’m no longer upset about Johannes or Aries. I didn’t think you were so stupid. It’s not enough to get tired of the reckless war with the demons, we even summoned heroes … this country is finished. ”
” It’s no secret this country is dying. If it is destroyed then it was destroyed by Alford. This is a choice we made to live. Ho ho ho, Alford is also young. ”
” Thinking like that maybe you’re happy to die. You’ve lived for too long. Forever deceive yourself with that laugh. We’re done talking. Hurry up and die. ”
” Ho Ho Ho, telling an old man to hurry up and die. ”
Albert, who is still on his back, stared at the sky as it gradually became hazy. He smiled until the end.
A checkpoint near the border of Greyberg Kingdom. A grassland as far as the eye can see, it was the first gateway for those visiting. The kingdom had a vast territory dotted by numerous villages and its castle town that was surrounded by walls.
In order to enter, you must undergo a check at the border, when entering the castle town a similar check is performed at the main gate. It would be nearly impossible for someone to invade this country without being seen.
But there were the dragon heart’s Sieg, Alford, and Eliza. A few days after parting with Masamune, the three of them passed through the grasslands to reach Greyberg. Each of them wore a hooded robe, with the hoods up to hide their faces.
“You there! Stop!”
In front of the three the guards were alert, spears in hand. They came to a stop like they were told.
“Eliza do it.”
Sieg’s voice was heard and Eliza lifted her hand towards the guards. After which they soon fell over unconscious.
“Just like you said, there doesn’t appear to be a problem.”
“Only merchants and travelers come through here, they don’t expect anyone to be invading from this side so the numbers are thinner here.”
“Even so having only two people here is a bit too lax.”
“They probably have their hands full with the demons. Security seems weaker than when I was last here.”
The three of them passed through without issue, but maintained a sense of unease at how easy it was.
“Wait, someone’s coming.”
At the sound of Siegs voice the other two stopped.
The sound of a horse rang out as an old man appeared in front of them along with three other soldiers. The soldiers dismounted swords in hand as they glared at Sieg.
“Ho Ho Ho, you men aren’t fit to be their opponents. Fall back I’ll take care of this.”
The old man had a long white beard with matching hair. {T/N: Santa?}
As the soldiers opened a path for him, he moved forward and dismounted. A large brown robe hung from his shoulders to down around his feet.
” Ho Ho Ho it’s been a long time Alford.”
The old man inclined his head.
“Seems you’ve gone senile, Grandpa.”
“So, you’re not only alive but you’re involved with people like this. His majesty will be saddened.”
“Sad? Just as spiteful as ever. I have nothing to say to you, it’s a waste of time.”
“Well under the circumstances it doesn’t seem like you’re planning to come back. Why have you come today?”
“This is the first time we’ve met. My name is Sieg.”
“…..I assumed as much. Well then Sieg why have you come here? This country has nothing to do with people like you.”
“Well that depends on how you answer this question. There’s a rumor going around that Greyberg performed a hero summoning. It’s forbidden magic that costs a large amount of lives to complete. There is no reason why it should be done.”
“Hmm…. I see. So what was it you wanted to ask? Whether we performed the magic or if it was successful?”
“I don’t intend to bandy words with you. Stop wasting my time.”
“Ho Ho Ho, the answer isn’t going anywhere young man. Aren’t you in too much of a hurry? It’s not like it’s going to run away.”
“Those summoned are not at fault. However, the ones who performed the summoning are a different story. The use of this magic will start a war. The traces of the magic power used in the summoning isn’t dispersed so easily. If the information we have is correct then it’s only a matter of time before word gets out. We plan to handle this before a war can start. If you performed a summoning then there was a large number of people involved. We would have those people die. ”
” Ho ho ho, you certainly speak your mind. ”
With an unwavering smile and an amiable laugh the old man pulled a staff as large as himself from an inside pocket in his clothes.
” Whether or not there was a summoning, maybe you should confirm that yourself. ”
” We will kill all those who get in our way. Albert Morroe, this is where you die.”
“Ho Ho Ho, you impudent fucking child! It seems you knew who I was from the very beginning.”
The smile from before sudden disappeared, in its place was a small old man, a murderous glint in his eyes. However, Sieg pulled out a large sword, his gaze calm and unchanged.
” Be careful Sieg! Grandpa here is a Sage, no matter how he looks now! ”
” I have no intention of going easy on the great mage known as the forest magician. You two fall back, I’ll take care of this.”
“Are you telling me Dragon’s Heart is a band of idiots? Don’t you have a better chance of winning if the three of you attack together?”
“I intend to win, don’t worry.”
“Ho ho ho, as I thought, you’re still young.”
“[Dragon Force]! ”
Steam rose from Sieg’s body, and it appeared as if a red flashing bolt of lightning became visible as well.
“I’ll hold them here! You return to the castle and inform the princess.”
“But!”
“Go, you’re in the way.”
After ordering the soldiers to retreat a white magic circle appeared around Albert’s feet. The atmosphere changed as he turned a sharp gaze on Sieg. The energy produced by both parties collided with each other, creating a terrible gust of wind throughout the grassland. Sieg remained calm holding his large sword and Albert as he held his staff, smiled.
“It’s been awhile since I’ve used this staff.”
At his words the sound of single combat began to ring out around the grassland.
〇
Albert, all his limbs severed, layed on a patch of desolate earth. The surroundings had changed from the grassland so that now they were surrounded by large trees.
“Gohon Gohon, it seems that somehow I’ve lost.”
Blood splattered the surrounding trees, the smell carried by the wind, smelled of iron.
“You’re not human…… Dragon race? I remember seeing such a race as a child.”
“I don’t have any relatives.”
His gaze was as calm as ever as he slid his sword back into his scabbard.
“Ho Ho Ho! You won’t tell a dying old man?”
Albert’s expression was cool, although his body was severely damaged and a lot of blood had already flown from his wounds.
“I’ll ask again. Did you people perform a hero summoning?”
“You already know don’t you? Where there’s smoke there’s fire. Go and take a look with those young eyes of yours.”
Eliza turned her eyes away from Albert at his answer.
“There’s no evidence. Even you probably won’t be able to find any. The summoning was already a month ago, all traces of the magic are gone.”
“That’s unrelated.”
“What did you say?”
“Just now you admitted there was a summoning, that’s enough for us.”
“How can you call that justice? No, you’re young. You guys are far too young and you’re in far too big of a hurry. You intend to serve justice but you’re just going to massacre everyone, you’re just murderers.”
“Justice?”
“Sieg, we should go before reinforcements come.”
Eliza was wary.
“We aren’t here to carry out justice. This isn’t some matter of good and evil. It’s about whether or not we can believe it, that’s all.”
The three passed by Albert as he laid dying.
“Alford, is this your wish? Do you feel nothing when you see this? Where did the kind and gentle Alford go?”
“It’s no use appealing to this old man. I have no feelings for you. Apart from that, I’m no longer upset about Johannes or Aries. I didn’t think you were so stupid. It’s not enough to get tired of the reckless war with the demons, we even summoned heroes … this country is finished. ”
” It’s no secret this country is dying. If it is destroyed then it was destroyed by Alford. This is a choice we made to live. Ho ho ho, Alford is also young. ”
” Thinking like that maybe you’re happy to die. You’ve lived for too long. Forever deceive yourself with that laugh. We’re done talking. Hurry up and die. ”
” Ho Ho Ho, telling an old man to hurry up and die. ”
Albert, who is still on his back, stared at the sky as it gradually became hazy. He smiled until the end.
