[It’s been a long time since humans set foot on this land. And it was…… so noisy.]

A strange voice pierced through his head, sharp as a knife. It was similar to Lydon’s [Phantasm Speech], but this one had a nauseating aftertaste that made you feel sick just hearing it.

Cadel reflexively jerked his head up and looked straight ahead. The descending Scarlet Dragon was fairly close to the boulder where Cadel and Van were. If the Scarlet Dragon lowered its head, it could swallow them whole.

“Commander. Let’s back off a bit.”

Van whispered to Cadel, his eyes glowing as he gripped the handle of the greatsword strapped to his back. He, too, stood on edge, nervous at the sheer magnitude of the threat he faced for the first time in his life.

Cadel backpedaled with Van, who stood in front of him and backed away a little. His heart raced at the sudden appearance of the Scarlet Dragon and the strange sense of déjà vu he’d felt a moment ago.

[I don’t remember inviting you, so you must be unwelcome guests. This one doesn’t like humans very much. I wouldn’t mind killing you right now, but it’s not appealing.]

To kill or not to kill. Cadel’s mind raced, trying to calculate the possibilities of a ‘conversation’ with the Scarlet Dragon. If he could keep it interesting and distracting, as long as he didn’t offend the creature, who seemed intent on crushing everyone right now.

But the Scarlet Dragon seemed to come with a clear purpose from the start.

[I will take this human. I’ll spare the rest.]

The Scarlet Dragon slowly lowered its head. The slow movement was accompanied by a heavy rumble that cracked the ground and crushed the trees around it.

The Scarlet Dragon’s clear gaze was fixed on a man. Cadel. It glanced at Van, who was blocking Cadel, and snorted as if it were about to laugh. It was only a small breath, but it sent a gust of wind through their bodies, strong enough to shake them.

[On the count of three, if you abandon this human and run away in the meantime, I will not chase you.]

One. Two.

The voice continued, and the nausea grew stronger. Cadel pushed Van aside, feeling like he was going to throw up at any moment.

“Run away.”

Cadel didn’t expect to be able to spit it out in one go, but he said it anyway. Even though his liver was shriveled by the unimaginable reality, the Scarlet Dragon in Cadel’s memories was still not a monster that would grab and kill anything at random.

Van’s puzzled gaze reached him. He frowned as if telling Cadel not to say nonsense, but the moment the Scarlet Dragon’s voice chanted ‘three’. The images of Van and the Scarlet Dragon instantly became distant like afterimages.

“Damn, I knew this was going to happen.”

After blinking a couple of times, Cadel realized that Lumen had snatched him up and was running away. Panicking, he reflexively grabbed Lumen’s shoulder and shifted his gaze.

“Hey, if we run away like this, the other will…….”

“I’m sure they’ll survive on their own. Right now, Leader is—”

Lumen’s voice, which was trying to tell Cadel to worry about himself, suddenly cut off.  At the same time, a gust of wind, heavy as lead, swept over them. It was a stifling gust of wind that bent trees, exposing their roots. Lumen turned his back on Cadel, cradling him in his arms as their bodies floated away.

“Cough……!”

As they were being pushed by wind pressure they didn’t have the strength to resist, a massive wooden beam stood between them. Lumen gritted his teeth as it slammed into him hard enough to hear the cracking sound.

“Lumen!”

Alarmed, Cadel called out to Lumen, but there was no answer. The Scarlet Dragon that flew in once again covered the sky where they were standing.

[What ignorant human beings.]

Looking down at them, the Scarlet Dragon’s jaws parted, creating a small gap. Cadel spotted the crimson flames filling the gap and hastily drew a barrier around them.

The mouth filled with flames opened wide, and heat so hot that it seemed like there was nothing it could not melt poured down like torrential rain. The temperature was closer to that of lava rather than flame, and the range was vast enough to burn down the entire forest where they stood.

But just before the breath pierced Cadel’s barrier.

“Don’t stop, run, Cadel!”

A barrier of ice accompanied by extreme cold blocked the attack. Cadel looked at the breath spreading out in two directions around the ice barrier and then turned his gaze to the front of the barrier.

Lydon. He was blocking the Scarlet Dragon by hastily reinforcing the helplessly melting ice barrier. Lydon, who had raised more than half of his mana in an instant, shouted with an urgent face Cadel had never seen before.

“Hurry!”

Cadel thought he shouldn’t be running from this, but his subordinates disagreed, and they rushed to his defense before he could say anything.

“Commander! Come here!”

“I really should have been careful of what I wished for. Seeing it come true like this is uncomfortable.”

Van grabbed Cadel’s wrists as he pulled back the barrier, and Garuel placed his hands on Lumen’s chest. Demonic energy radiated from his fingertips, seeping into Lumen’s body, restoring cracked bones and stiffened muscles to their original state.

Cadel shook his head, alone in the crowd of subordinates trying to drag him away.

“This whole mountain range is its nest. There’s no getting away from him! Just let me go before you hurt yourself more.”

“Are you crazy, Leader? Don’t take your futile self-sacrifice this far.”

After recovering from the shock, Lumen retreated to the other side, pushing the backs of the rest of his comrades. His cold gaze swept over Van and Garuel on either side of Cadel.

“I’ll buy you some time, so hide him somehow.”

Van nodded wordlessly, and Garuel pulled down his eye patch with a grimace.

“Just don’t die. If you’re still breathing, I’ll save you somehow.”

Cadel watched in bewilderment as his subordinates paced in unison, his opinions completely ignored, but the incessant dragon’s breath and the explosive boiling of Lydon’s mana against it were making things serious.

‘I don’t think it’ll listen to me even if I get caught and try to talk……?’

Cadel kept looking back, even as he was being dragged along by Van’s hand. He had faith in Lydon and Lumen’s abilities, but this was the Scarlet Dragon. If Lumen stalled for time, he might get seriously hurt.

He had an uneasy feeling. He decided that if he had to, he would run away from his subordinates and go find the Scarlet Dragon.

‘I think I know why the Scarlet Dragon wants me.’

Cadel’s eyes turned meaningful as he raced off.