* * *

Mountains of Silence.

In a dark cavern, a turbid flame blended with the darkness. The flame’s owner was Kunra, sitting upright, flames of indescribable color rising from his body.

Kunra’s eyes were closed, his expression calm, but the flames that surrounded him were not. The flames rose and fell, widening and narrowing. Sparse scarlet scales sprouted from his shirtless, sleek upper body.

Since the outbreak of the Demon War, he had focused his energy on protecting the mountain range. With the power he’d shared with Cadel, it took a little more effort to maintain the barrier, and he wondered if that was why he was getting tired.

‘……This headache is getting worse.’

As the days went by, the headaches became more frequent and more intense. In all his years of life, he had often experienced mild headaches from overexertion. But this was the first time he’d ever had a headache that was so debilitating.

‘It’s also unpleasant that I can’t guess the exact cause. ……Is this a trick of the system after all??

Perhaps it was part of the price of meddling in Cadel’s fate. An annoying pain, but one he could live with.

And so it was that Kunra tried to ignore the pounding headache and gather his strength. Beneath his closed eyelids, unintelligible scenes flashed through his mind.

“……?”

Panicked, Kunra reflexively tried to open his eyes, but it was impossible. His eyelids were glued shut, and the scenes blurred together, confusing his mind.

The humans were faceless. In each passing scene, half a dozen humans appeared, battling demons, chatting with each other, or forming friendships.

As the scene changed, so did the faces of the humans. But there was always the same total number of individuals. And only one. Unlike the other faces, which changed from scene to scene, there was one man who remained the same in every scene. Kunra’s puzzlement was revealed when he recognized the man’s face.

“Cadel Lytos……?”

It was definitely Cadel. With his brown hair, gentle expression, and deep bronze eyes. Different scenes gave off different vibes from Cadel, but his appearance was unmistakably the same.

And just as Kunra felt himself questioning Cadel’s presence in the swirl of random scenes.

“What the……!”

Another flurry of scenes hit him like a typhoon. The sequence of scenes revealed one thing: Cadel’s death. The man who was unmistakably Cadel Lytos died in dozens of ways in dozens of scenes.

He had been torn apart, pierced, crushed, and squeezed by monster attacks, betrayed by humans, tumbled off cliffs, or met a horrific end when he was unable to overcome a mana overload.

Kunra’s lips curled into a small smile. There was an undeniable realism to the scenes before him. This was no illusion. No one in this world would dare to show him an illusion.

This was not a cruel illusion or a sad revelation. The moment he realized it, his tightly closed eyelids opened.

* * *

The Dunkelhai Kingdom, which was the first to find the Stone of Peace, and the Osma Empire, which could only do a cursory search. Except for these two, the allies had been plagued by constant interference and invasion by demons.

Among them, there was one country that was currently facing the greatest crisis: the Mainue Kingdom. On the twentieth day of the search for the Stone of Peace, the Mainue Kingdom sent out a series of requests for magician support to neighboring countries, including allies.

“Due to a large increase in the number of summoning circles…….”

Cadel’s expression was grave as he read the telegram. The Emperor had ordered the Scarlet Scales Knight Order to assist in the search for the Mainue Kingdom. He was not displeased with the immediate dispatch. The problem was the telegram’s description of the current situation in Mainue.

As he placed the document on the table, Lumen’s face appeared across from him. He turned to his side and began to work on his sword. Feeling Cadel’s gaze on him, he spoke without moving his head.

“Things look pretty serious, don’t they?”

“Yes. It was 10 days ago that they discovered a large-scale summoning circle. They set about disarming them as soon as they were discovered, but no matter how many times they were destroyed, they regenerated the next day. The magicians’ mana is limited, so they can’t disarm all of them every day, and the ones left behind are multiplying.”

“It must be a mess.”

“The kingdom is still safe. They say the summoning circles started outside the borders, and there’s an archmage there.”

“……Is it Mamil? If so, it’ll be a long time since we’ve seen each other.”

The corners of his mouth curved upward in a pleasing smile, the anticipation and pleasure of a welcome connection. Cadel stared at Lumen for a moment, then fiddled with the paper on the table and asked.

“Is that all?”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s the Mainue Kingdom, your home. I thought you’d be a little more…… anxious.”

“Are you disappointed that I seem fine?”

“Not really.”

If Lumen didn’t care, he shouldn’t care either. However, Cadel wondered if Lumen was worried about the safety of his home and couldn’t show it. He was worried.

Lumen sheathed his neatly sharpened sword and turned to face Cadel with a sigh.

“My home is meaningless to me. There is nothing left for me to protect, nothing left for me to regret.”

“…….”

“It’s all here now.”

A tender glance landed, unbidden. The blunt man’s sincerity was so affecting that sometimes Cadel didn’t know how to react. Cadel rubbed his brow, involuntarily averting Lumen’s gaze. He felt himself heat up unnecessarily.

“That’s fine, then. We’ll just have to figure out how to fight and not think about anything else.”

“Are you blushing because you’re thinking about how to fight?”

“Isn’t it a little hot in ……?”

“Perhaps.”

With a low chuckle, Lumen rose from his seat.

“Magicians seem to be the key to this operation, so I’ll go get the rest of them. Please wait here.”

It wasn’t until he heard the door open and close that Cadel relaxed his tense shoulders, which felt oddly stiff even though he had no reason to be.

“You can’t just casually say how you feel…….”

Cadel muttered under his breath as he fiddled with the paper. The pendant glowed after a long moment of silence.

“……Kunra?”

Cadel, who had closed his eyes at the sudden flash, called Kunra’s name. Slowly, he lifted one eyelid, and the first thing he saw was long, red hair. Cadel’s gaze followed the hair to his face, and he hesitated.

The Scarlet Dragon’s eyes exuded an indescribable aura of pressure; he looked both angry and empty as if he had lost all emotion.

It had been a long time since they had seen each other, but Cadel didn’t speak. Kunra stared at him in silence, then broke the dangerously rigid expression.

“What are you staring at, a newfound fascination with the superior beauty of this one?”

“……Nonsense.”

Cadel relaxed at the smirk on Kunra’s face, which was almost arrogant.

“What’s the matter all of a sudden? You’re not here because you’re bored, are you? Is it because of the soul separation work?

“Yes. Other than that, there is no other reason for me to come looking for you halfling. Head to bed.”

Kunra walked briskly over and sat down on the bed, and Cadel followed suit. He looked at Kunra for a moment, then licked his lips briefly and climbed onto the bed. He felt a strange sensation, but couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

Could it be that Kunra was overexerting herself to keep the barrier together? Cadel wondered but he couldn’t bring himself to ask, remembering what he’d been told about not worrying too much.

“There’s no need to rush, as long as the souls are separated before the war is over.”

Cadel stammered out the words to take it easy if Kunra was tired, but there was no reply. Cadel blinked as he felt hot hands skimming over his bare skin.

Kunra was usually quiet during the soul separation, so it wasn’t surprising that he didn’t say anything.

“How are the mountains these days? Demons are running rampant up here, so I’m reinforcing the gateway barrier several times a day.”

Still, Cadel tried to make small talk.

“Of course, you, the great Scarlet Dragon, can take care of it. But I’ve been using your power quite a bit lately, and I wonder if it’s having an effect on you.”

“…….”

“Or not. …… I’m not really worried, I’m just curious.”

Still no answer. It wasn’t that Cadel felt uncomfortable that Kunra was ignoring him. It was just that the sense of foreignness he’d felt since Kunra first appeared was growing. Something was off.

Cadel felt a current of energy coursing through him, at first glance it seemed to have the same warmth and intensity as usual, but it was subtly different than before. Unlike the previous energy, which had been a gentle spreading sensation, this one was accompanied by a stabbing pain, like an annoying thorn. It was so faint that he couldn’t tell if it was just his own physical condition or Kunra’s inability to control his power.

“Excuse me, I’m sorry to keep talking to you while you’re trying to concentrate…….”

But just as Cadel was about to address this ambiguity.

“Ugh……!”

With a short groan from Kunra, a powerful surge of energy shot through Cadel’s head. Cadel’s body jerked back in excruciating pain, unable to scream.

He fell backward onto the bed, clutching his exploding head, and curled up in a grimace. The agonizing sensation spread like dozens of fireballs in his head. The pain started at the top of his head and radiated downward until it reached his chest, where he felt an excruciating muscle ache that felt like his entire body was being squeezed.

It was the same pain he’d felt when he’d first taken in Kunra’s energy but with an even stranger sensation. In his distorted vision, he caught a glimpse of Kunra’s form. The image of Kunra filled his eyes, and Cadel managed to stammer through his confusion.

“Kun, ra……!”

Kunra was in agony as if he was suffering the same thing. His head was wrapped in his hands, and he gasped with a mixture of confusion and shock. Cadel had never seen Kunra in such anguish before.

He reached out with a trembling hand, but he couldn’t reach Kunra. Cadel, crouching down, managed to close the distance between them, his hand grazing Kunra’s thigh. Only then did Kunra’s gaze shift to Cadel.

Face to face, the emotion in Kunra’s eyes was undeniable: fear. Faced with it, Cadel felt a dull shock that dulled even the pain.

This was the Scarlet Dragon. A being so special that even the system couldn’t interfere with it. And yet he felt pain and was afraid of something. It was ridiculous.

Before he had a chance to resolve the question, Kunra’s form vanished. The brief glow of the pendant faded to darkness, and Cadel drew in a ragged breath, cutting off the pain that was slowly diminishing.

‘What the hell happened?’

Had Kunra failed to control his powers, was this the aftereffect of fatigue? If so, it would explain why, but Kunra had fled, leaving him with no explanation.

“That hurts like hell…….”

Rubbing his still throbbing head nervously, Cadel pushed himself up off the bed and channeled his mana into the pendant. Kunra’s energy was unmistakable. But he did not speak in Cadel’s mind, nor did he reappear.

Cadel released the pendant only when the subordinates Lumen had assembled knocked on the door. The pain was gone from his body, but he felt a strange sense of foreignness. But without Kunra, Cadel had no way of knowing what it was.