Chapter 120

“Schwarz. Please finish it off.”

That was the only thing I had been waiting to hear.

The moment Leopard granted permission.

Without hesitation, the Duke folded his wings and dove straight down.

“Wait a minute…!”

The new form of the Black Dragon crashed down over Aerial’s head.

Bang.

A deafening roar echoed as the road shattered, sending dirt and debris scattering.

As explosions erupted behind, and buildings collapsed around, Leopard remained motionless with his back turned.

“Le, Leo! Help me!”

“…”

No matter how desperate Aerial’s voice grew from behind, he thoroughly ignored it.

He had sacrificed countless lives under the pretense of doing it for justice.

If he helped Aerial here and betrayed justice, then all of his actions so far would become hypocrisy.

If he couldn’t bring himself to directly subdue Aerial with his own hands, at the very least, it was the duty of a hero to not interfere.

“Leo!!!”

“Grrooooar!”

Aerial’s hoarse voice was quickly drowned out by the dragon’s roar.

Black claws swooped in and tore into Aerial’s shoulder.

In an instant, Aerial lost her arm from the shoulder down, and the shock propelled her body through the wall.

“Hahaha… Well, this is something.”

Before he could even mutter some ominous words about finishing it off,

From within the hole in the wall came a chilling laughter and the sound of elegant footsteps.

Amidst the thick dust cloud,

From the silhouette of a woman who had no arms emerging from the wall, arms began to sprout.

By the time Aerial fully revealed herself from the mist, she looked perfectly fine as if her arms had never been severed.

Except for the thick bloodstain on her shoulder.

“Kuh…”

The Duke’s expression twisted.

To be facing an immortal Holy Maiden.

There might not be a more troublesome opponent than this.

“You can’t stop me with your power. You know that very well, don’t you?”

“Grroooaar…”

“Length and shortness must be tested to be understood… How foolish. But you really have no reason to block me, do you?”

“GRROOOOAAAR!”

“Give me back my Julia… Is it again about that woman Julia? I am Julia, so what in the world is everyone talking about?”

Aerial frowned deeply, showing her discomfort.

It was ridiculous.

I haven’t forcibly taken someone else’s body; I’ve merely reclaimed the body that was taken from me.

Yet both Leopard and the Black Dragon all seem to speak as if I were tormenting some sad victim, and it was incredibly upsetting.

“It’s my body! I can do whatever I want with my body, what concern is it of yours?!”

“GRROOOAR! GRROOO!”

“Hah. The only Holy Maiden I know is Julia… I have no interest in the dead, so leave me alone…”

Aerial’s fist began to tremble with rage.

It was, after all, impossible to have a proper conversation with such a foolish dragon.

Who the original owner of the body was, or whatever memories might be, were of no interest to the Duke.

To the Duke, Aerial was merely a stranger who had ruthlessly trampled over Julia and stolen her body.

It was troubling that the one to atone and seek forgiveness had vanished so swiftly.

No matter what, he would revive Julia’s personality.

With that single-minded determination, the Duke was prepared to continue fighting an unwinnable battle.

“Grrooooar!”

“Haha! It’s useless, you know?”

Bang. Crash.

With every roar of the dragon, sharp claws and wings descended.

Each time, Aerial’s black dress was ripped apart, and pieces of flesh scattered everywhere.

But at some point, Aerial’s rate of regeneration began to exceed the rate of destruction, reaching a point where she seemed unscathed.

There was no solution in sight.

Determined, the Duke soared into the sky and opened his mouth wide.

He did not want to unleash his breath in the middle of the city, but he had no other option.

“Schwarz! That’s…!”

At the moment the panicked Leopard called out to the Duke, a bright light burst forth from the dragon’s mouth.

A crimson beam shot out, engulfing Aerial.

The beam melted stone walls and burrowed into the debris, instantly creating a massive crater.

As the Duke closed his mouth and the beam ceased,

Where the breath had erupted, not even a trace of white bone remained.

Only a blackened, charred mark was left on the ground.

“Ah…”

Leopard’s legs went limp, and he dropped to his knees.

Aerial had disappeared without a trace.

She had disintegrated into atomic particles.

Thinking such, Leopard turned a resentful gaze toward the Duke.

However, the Duke had returned to the ground, not loosening his tension, and still stared at the pit.

Soon, a black aura began to crawl up from the center of the crater.

“Foolish.”

The black smoke swiftly formed a thick stem and then merged into one.

The shape gradually took on a human form, as red muscles sprouted from it.

Muscles, veins, and organs were formed, all covered by white flesh.

From nothingness, a beautiful woman’s n*ked body was created.

When flowing silver hair scattered as she emerged, and he faced that familiar smile, Leopard was left breathless.

He knew the curse of immortality granted an almost infinite recovery ability.

But witnessing the process of a person burning away without leaving a trace and then regenerating in less than a minute firsthand was nothing short of shocking.

Today, for the first time, Leopard felt he fully understood the curse of immortality.

“If this keeps going, it’ll take all day to reach the Papal Office.”

With a swish,

The black aura wrapped around Julia’s pure white body, and a black dress encompassed her once again.

This time, it was a much grander and larger dress.

Aerial, wearing a slightly displeased expression, looked up at the Duke and spoke.

“Then shall we make a deal here, Mr. Dragon?”

“GRROOO?!”

“Once I achieve my goal, I will pass the initiative to Julia’s personality and will stay quiet. Then you have no reason to block me, do you?”

“…!”

The Duke flinched and trembled.

It was a sweet proposal.

To be honest, it didn’t matter to him if the Holy Maiden destroyed the Papal Office.

He just wanted to get Julia back.

But because of that, he couldn’t respond to Aerial’s suggestion.

Though he found it tempting, that was all it was.

“GRROOOOOO! GRROOOARRR!”

“Excuse me? The one I love is Julia, desperately trying to raise her daughter, even though she is powerless and knows nothing, not a reclusive old woman who has hidden away for fifty years! Even if you give over the initiative, there’s hardly a difference from me just acting as Julia!”

Aerial’s temples throbbed with visible veins.

She could hardly comprehend it.

Julia was an ignorant woman who didn’t even know that the Black Dragon and Duke Dragania were the same person, so what was so great about causing such a fuss for that foolish woman?

It would have been appropriate for her to rejoice even more, having the dignified poise and knowledge of a noble Holy Maiden added to such a foolish woman’s spirit.

“Grandmother…”

More than anything, being referred to as “grandmother” felt humiliating and unjust, stirring her anger.

How could anyone say “grandmother” after seeing this?

As her anger became increasingly difficult to suppress, Aerial decided to stop controlling her power.

Aerial resolved to eliminate the detestable, foolish dragon that now stood in her way without concern for collateral damage to the surrounding homes.

“You’re in the way!”

“GRRYYY?!”

As Aerial stomped her foot, dark energy surged up from the ground, enveloping the Duke.

The Duke swung his wings and claws, attempting to slice through the black tendrils, but resisting the constantly rising evil energy that cloaked him proved impossible.

Before long, the dark energy bound his four limbs and tightly held his wings, preventing him from moving at all.

The Duke, panicking, turned his head to look at Leopard.

But the hero had turned his back on the battle entirely and was thoroughly ignoring him.

Tsking his tongue in irritation, the Duke locked eyes with the approaching Aerial.

She wore a smile as if she had already won.

‘If I can just reach her, there’s still a chance!’

The source of the dark energy flowed from Aerial’s heart.

If he could interfere with that heart, he could win.

However, the condition was that he had to interfere with the heart without ‘killing’ her, as she would regenerate the moment he did.

It shouldn’t be too difficult.

If he could just buy one second, that would be enough.

The Duke decided to look for an opportunity to create that one second.

“I don’t understand. I thought only foolish moths and humans would knowingly leap into failure. Do you know what they have in common?”

At the moment Aerial closed her eyes,

The Duke’s body shrank, slipping free of his restraints in an instant.

Black scales vanished, replaced by smooth human skin where they had been.

Instantly transformed into human form, the Duke wore attire suitable for running.

And the moment he landed on the ground, he unleashed superhuman strength and leapt forward.

If he could just pierce her chest and touch her heart, victory would be his.

“You’re just incorrigible. You too. I thought dragons would be wiser.”

“Gh?!”

The Duke’s outstretched hand stopped right in front of Julia’s chest.

No matter how hard he tried, he could not move forward any longer.

The dark energy that had followed him bound his limbs and muffled his mouth.

Aerial, unable to speak, merely let out a groan as she caressed the Duke’s cheek with satisfaction.

She had been wanting to silence that mouth which spewed nonsense like a grandmother from the start…

As Aerial’s nails dug into the Duke’s cheek, bl**d flowed freely.

“What do you gain from this fight? The pleasure of deceiving Julia, who was raped twice by me as the Black Dragon and Duke Dragania?”

“Ughh!!”

“No? You just want to atone with her, right? Then let me answer as Julia. I’ll make this clear.”

As Aerial opened her eyes, the Duke became greatly shaken.

The once venomous and proud gaze of Aerial had morphed into Julia’s eyes, those of someone who had despaired and then succumbed to the harshness of the world.

What stood before him was undoubtedly Julia.

She began trembling all over and lowered her head.

Tears began to stream down her face as she glared at the Duke with a look of resentment.

But soon that expression shifted to one that was cold and frigid.

“Master. Since when… since when were you deceiving me…?”

“Gh?!”

“Were you enjoying it… watching me struggle? Did it amuse you to see your daughter growing up without a father? Did you take pleasure in making me miserable enough to want to d*e? If so, then I’m glad. I’ll be leaving with Tia now. Please don’t try to find me. It’s filthy.”

“Ughh!!”

The moment he met her gaze, filled with disdain, hatred, and even a hint of betrayal, it felt as if a dagger pierced his heart.

Even if he tried to dismiss it as merely Aerial imitating Julia,

That would not be so easy.

The fact remained that Julia’s memories were alive within Aerial’s body.

Moreover, it sent chills down his spine thinking that when Julia learned the full truth, she would truly react like this.

The Duke felt all the strength draining from his body.

At this point, his will to fight or resist had completely faded away.

As he closed his eyes and reopened them to see Aerial before him again, she gazed at the Duke’s powerless face and parted her lips.

“Now do you understand your place? You’ve been making a meaningless effort all along. You cannot be forgiven by Julia. If you had a conscience, you wouldn’t expect forgiveness after having committed such great sins twice.”

“….”

Aerial extended her delicate hand and began to grip the Duke’s neck, applying pressure.

The same hand that had once saved the dying Duke was now intent on killing him.

This too was karma and the natural order of things, he thought.

As he closed his eyes, he felt that if he was to d*e, it should be by Julia’s hand.

“With this, I shall become the second dragon slayer in history… Huh?”

Suddenly, the restraints binding the Duke vanished all at once.

As he stared in confusion, he saw Leopard behind Aerial, who had just thrust a dagger into her back.

The magical formation of the dagger had activated and perfectly blocked the flow of evil energy coming from her heart.

Aerial turned around and opened her mouth wide in shock.

She would have never dreamed that Leopard would betray her.

She hadn’t even thought to be wary of him, yet it had come to this.

Aerial, with all her strength drained, weakly reached out and touched Leopard’s neck.

“W-why…?”

“Let’s put an end to this. No more tormenting the living, and let the dead rest in peace.”

Leopard had just come to a firm resolution.

The resolution to let Aerial go.

After a long battle, he had finally prepared himself to bid farewell to Aerial.

“Ah, no!”

Realizing the situation quickly, the Duke began to weave intricate magical formations.

It was a sealing spell.

After pouring an immense amount of magic power into it, the matrix was completed and began to take effect deep inside Aerial’s wounded heart.

Fifty years’ worth of memories, memories as Aerial, were sealed away within the sealing magic.

“Ah…”

Aerial let out a final scream and then, as if under anesthesia, her strength drained away and she fell asleep.

The Duke caught Aerial, who was now Julia, as she fell forward, and gazed at Leopard over Julia’s shoulder.

But Leopard was already far away, wiping the bl**d off the dagger.

“Leopard!”

“Isn’t she Julia that you’ve restored with your own hands? You should take responsibility.”

“….”

Leopard paid no mind to the call and simply disappeared into the alley.

The Duke, feeling a sense of despair, laid Julia down on the ground and clicked his tongue in frustration.

For the black energy to dissipate and the dress to vanish together, he covered her n*ked body with a blanket.

“I must leave.”

I was never here.

At least, that had to be accepted regarding Julia.

I had not been circling around to receive gratitude from Julia and Tia, nor had I been providing help for that reason.

I sensed the butler and police from the villa drawing near.

There would be no issue leaving Julia here.

It was at that moment, as the Duke turned away, mulling over his bitterness.

“Where are you going?”

“….?!”

Thud.

A small, delicate finger wrapped around the Duke’s hand.

Caught in the tender resistance, the Duke froze in place.

Julia had barely opened her eyes and was clutching the Duke’s hand.

“I got you. Finally…”

But soon Julia almost helplessly collapsed again.

With a soft thud, her hand lost strength and fell away.

The Duke briefly looked up at the sky, grinding his teeth.

His doubts had come to an end.

Turning around, he carefully lifted Julia wrapped in the blanket and trudged toward the villa.

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