I Married the Dragon I Killed

“Lady Erika, Tower Master.”

“Regent Valdrova.”

“Are your internal injuries severe?”

Perda did not direct his gaze toward her.

It was to preserve her dignity as the Tower Master.

Erika hardened her gaze and straightened her posture.

“They are not severe enough to make me a burden.”

“Understood.”

Perda gave a brief nod as he assessed the enemy forces.

He saw the wyverns beating their wings, the gigantic man, and the comparatively smaller man.

The smaller man stared directly at Perda and spoke.

“So you are Perda Rosnova. It is a pleasure to meet you.”

Perda corrected him.

“Valdrova.”

“Raised by the Rosnova family and still struggling to escape your roots? How pathetic.”

The man mocked him.

But Perda was no longer a brat who could be provoked by something like that.

“Demonic wolves overflowing into Hestia Village and demonic wyverns here watching you release monsters everywhere, I suppose you were also responsible for the Hallim incident.”

“That is correct. Shouldn’t you be thanking me?”

“And why would I thank you?”

“Did you not obtain the branch of the World Tree struck by the Reverse Heaven Lightning thanks to your enormous merits in Hallim?”

The man calmly recited a fact that nobody knew.

Perda did not let himself be shaken and replied provocatively.

“That sounds like the consolation of a defeated dog.”

“Haha! I suppose you are right. It is true that I underestimated both you and those around you too much. Even when my goal was only to kill Rector Bernard, I failed.”

“Do you intend to target him again?”

“Unfortunately, there is no longer any need. What I wished to destroy seems to have ended up in your hands. So you may rest easy.”

“And why do you think I am going to trust your words?”

“Because I am already above you. I have no need to lie. For example…”

With a finger infused with mana, he traced a broad motion across the ground.

A gust of wind rose, and the dry leaves on the ground were swept into the sky.

“Even noticing such a superficial trick and pretending not to know.”

The ground was cleared, and what had been hidden underneath appeared.

From the shadow beneath Perda’s feet, a Shadow Hand was reciting a spell.

“A truly ridiculous trick.”

Snap!

The man snapped his fingers.

At the same time, an explosion occurred where the Shadow Hand was.

Boom!

The Shadow Hand shattered into pieces and dispersed.

“Ugh!”

At first glance, it did not seem like a lethal attack, but the reality was different.

If it had been a real hand, it would have torn through magical barriers and armor as if they were paper.

“Oh.”

The man showed interest.

“I heard that Barbatos’ shadow arts can be handled as if they were arms and legs, but that they also transmit pain as though they were truly limbs however, you reacted as if you had pulled your hand away after being burned, not as though your hand had been torn off.”

The man was analyzing Perda.

But Perda neither responded nor reacted to his words.

Instead, he tried to understand the enemy’s magic, just as the other man had done with him.

‘What kind of magic was that?’

Perda recalled what had happened moments earlier.

The explosion caused by the snap.

No, that had not been an explosion.

At first glance it looked like an explosion, but it was not.

‘That was…….’

Perda focused on that scene.

He slowed time within his mind, breaking it down frame by frame to vividly recall the movement.

‘It is magic that distorts a point, not an explosion.’

For an instant, space warped as though being sucked toward a point in the void and then released again.

‘A magic that destroys objects by distorting a point in space.’

Once he clearly understood the phenomenon, he also discovered the identity of the one capable of using it.

There was only one person capable of wielding that magic.

A name lost in a single line of history.

“You are Curved Demon.”

Curved Demon.

Upon hearing that name, the man showed admiration.

“Oh. You discovered my identity from just that?”

The only surprised one was not him, but Erika as well.

She knew he was a Noblesse-class demon, but she had not figured out who he was.

And naturally so.

Because Curved Demon should not exist.

“If you are Curved Demon, then you should have been the first Noblesse killed by the Hero.”

The man admitted it without issue.

“That is correct. The demons of that era had no sense of caution toward humans. That is why he died so absurdly at the hands of the Hero.”

“Then how are you still alive?”

“Simple. Back then there existed only a Hero full of passion. Neither you nor Erdes existed.”

In other words, the caution and precision of mages did not exist.

There had been room for resurrection.

“I never imagined demons would wait for the future in this way.”

“That is correct. I also did not wish to reveal myself. But I had no other choice.”

Curved Demon’s eyes turned toward Perda.

“Because there was something troublesome.”

Troublesome.

Normally, that should have sounded unpleasant.

But Curved Demon’s lips curved upward.

“Does becoming a demon also distort emotions? It seems you do not know when you should smile.”

“Demons also feel joy. We simply do not cling to insignificant emotions like you humans do.”

“Then is returning everything to the void something grand?”

At Erika’s question, he nodded as though it were obvious.

“It is His great will. And for me, that is immense happiness.”

“Then disappear quickly and go join those who died before you.”

Crackle!

A bolt of lightning shot toward Curved Demon.

But it failed to pierce his magical barrier and bounced off.

It was a Lightning Bolt cast by Perda.

“Did you intend to kill me with something like that?”

“No. From the moment the Tower Master’s magic failed, I already knew that would not work either.”

Hearing that, Erika turned her head toward Perda as if she had realized something.

“……Were you observing me?”

There was reproach in her gaze.

As if asking why he had not come earlier to help her.

But Perda also had his reasons.

“You were planning to destroy the entire area. How could I not observe the situation first?”

“T-that is true, but…….”

“Did you truly intend to blow away an entire section of the Duchy as if you had lost your mind?”

When Ruri complained, Erika shut her mouth.

Her emotions were overflowing too much due to her severe internal injuries.

“It is admirable how confident you are after analyzing our strength. However……”

With a faint smile, Curved Demon said,

“I have no desire to fight you. What do you say we part ways peacefully?”

“This is Duchy territory. You think you can make a mess here and then run away?”

“Hmm, in that case.”

He waved his fingers through the air.

“Try to stop this.”

Another space tore open and expelled what was inside.

It was a familiar scene for Perda.

But the number was different from Hallim.

Five rifts appeared simultaneously in different locations, releasing their contents.

Some of the creatures headed toward Perda and the others.

But others changed direction toward Hestia Village.

At the same time, Curved Demon and the giant man attempted to leap into the rifts.

In the current situation, they could not even move easily to stop them.

No perhaps Ruri could do it.

She was a descendant of the Silver Dragon, famous for supreme speed.

But if Ruri intervened, all those monsters would head directly toward Hestia.

And it was doubtful the people of the village could withstand them.

“Lord Perda.”

Ruri looked at Perda.

Her eyes looked like those of someone wearing a poorly fitted mask, unable to decide what to do.

“Go. Protect what your lady wishes to protect.”

“And Lord Perda’s safety?”

“Do not worry. I am here.”

Although Erika had suffered severe internal injuries, the ring of water around her body remained firm.

“Understood.”

Ruri grabbed the axe and spread her wings.

Boom!

A fierce gust burst forth and crashed down upon the monsters heading toward Hestia.

A silver flash crossed through the forest, and wherever that light passed, only brutally torn corpses remained.

“How many should I face?”

“I alone will be enough.”

“Then I will watch your back.”

The opponents were monsters that had lost their reason and were filled only with instinct.

Every attack was dangerous, but their movements were simple.

And the simpler they were, the easier they became to predict.

Erika’s water droplets easily found and pierced their vital points.

‘So this is Lorga’s magic?’

On the outside it appeared soft and harmless, but once released from her hands, it was harder and deadlier than any metal.

And it did not merely pierce.

The rotational force contained within twisted and exploded the insides of the body every time it pierced a vital point.

Even while facing many enemies at once, she did not waste a single movement and finished each one in a single strike.

‘And yet, someone capable of cornering even a person like her is that Curved Demon……?’

Thinking about it calmly, it was not that they had let those demons escape.

Rather, it was as though they themselves had been spared by those demons.

Finally, even the last monster that had charged at them was eliminated.

Erika once again detected signs of life nearby and confirmed that it was safe.

“Huu…….”

Then she collapsed onto the ground.

She no longer had the strength to pretend to remain calm.

“Are you alright?”

“It is not something that threatens my life, but I will need to concentrate for a few days to recover my mana.”

“Can you stand?”

Perda extended his hand toward her.

“Thank you.”

Erika took that hand.

A hand filled with calluses inappropriate for a mage.

Erika had touched that man’s hand before.

Then it happened.

At the same time, something began to flow into Erika’s hand.

She knew perfectly well what it was.

It was that mana that had embarrassed her earlier.

“Eek!”

Erika startled violently.

She released Perda’s hand and dropped back onto the ground.

“……What is wrong?”

Her face had turned bright red.

What do you mean what is wrong?! The moment you grabbed my hand, you tried to pass mana into me again! Pervert! You were trying to do strange things to me again!

She wanted to scream that.

But she could not.

Perda genuinely looked like he did not understand anything at all.

And she was certain only she would end up looking like an idiot.

“C-cough. It is nothing. I think it would be best for me to recover my mana right here. I will leave the surroundings to you.”

“Understood.”

Erika crossed her legs and closed her eyes.

The circuits within her body began to rotate as they accumulated mana in rhythm with the beating of her heart.

In the darkness behind her eyelids, the battle from only a few dozen minutes earlier resurfaced.

‘I never imagined that man would be Curved Demon, one of the Seven Evil Stars of the Demon King.’

The Seven Evil Stars.

The strongest among the Noblesse, only one level beneath the Emperors, and legion commanders.

Even after exchanging several moves and sensing his mana, she had failed to discover his identity.

She had only known he was a Noblesse.

And it was inevitable.

She had been on the defensive and needed to focus entirely on combat.

She had no room to uncover his true identity.

But not even that excuse could comfort her.

She had once been called “The Wisdom of the 12 Heroes.”

She had already fought against the other six Evil Stars before and had even discovered methods to counter them.

‘And Regent Perda discovered it from a single move.’

He had uncovered his identity after receiving only one attack.

That was a fact impossible to deny.

‘And I was also surpassed in mana.’

Even though she had not arrived fully prepared, it was difficult to argue against the result of that battle.

If Perda and Ruri had not appeared and she had continued facing that man alone, would she have won?

‘Damn it.’

She inwardly chewed on that frustration.

Even without seeing the final outcome, it was impossible for her to ignore the helplessness she had felt.

And besides.

‘How embarrassing.’

The fact that she had screamed and caused such a scene by herself hurt even more than her internal injuries.

She bit her lips and repeatedly punched her thigh with her fist.

‘Ah, idiot. Idiot. You should just die.’

Perda watched as she suppressed her suffering and thought,

‘Her internal injuries must be quite severe.’

Soon after, someone flew over to them.

Ruri, who had left with that brutal axe, had returned.

“I already eliminated all those heading toward Hestia Village. I was also informed that the situation there is stabilizing without the need for further assistance.”

“Good work.”

“It is not over yet. We still have to deal with the monsters’ corpses.”

“Vernell will like that.”

The forest was filled with monstrous corpses.

The green blood and purple flesh gave an unnatural and sinister feeling amidst nature.

“I will take care of cleaning this area.”

The one who said that was Erika, still seated in meditation posture.

“There is no need for you to do that.”

“There are too many, and if they are not cleaned properly, some areas will end up contaminated. Magical assistance is necessary for that. If I recover a bit more mana, I will have enough to clean everything.”

“Understood. Then I will leave it to Lady Erika.”

It seemed the situation had finally calmed down.

But it had not.

Booooom—!

A massive explosion resounded.

And the origin of that sound came from none other than Hestia Village itself.