Chapter 120 : Chapter 120

Chapter 120 : For Tayon (6)

After the Dome swallowed Tayon, its crack was filled.

But the scar remained clear.

I staggered toward the Dome.

On the way, my strength gave out and I couldn't help but collapse a few times.

But I eventually got back up.

Even though I knew the situation had already unfolded, I couldn't stop walking.

After I barely made it to the Dome, I squeezed my Dragon Heart, which was almost empty of Mana.

I gathered all the remaining Mana and clenched my fist.

Crack!

I threw my fist at the place where the remaining crack on the Dome had healed.

But nothing happened.

Crack! Crack!

I didn't stop punching.

The Dome still didn't change.

It was a crack that Zenburga had broken with his fists for over a week.

I knew it wouldn't break so easily from just a few of my punches.

But I couldn't stop punching.

I swung my fists, thinking that since the Dome had cracked once, maybe I could break it again.

Even if the Dome opened, could I save Tayon?

I erased that thought. I just had to do what I could. Just like I always had.

I repeatedly fall and get back up.

Everchen, Keldric and my other comrades and the Crows gathered around me.

But they didn't stop me.

They must have been sad too, but I couldn't read their reactions.

I was just pouring out what little strength I had left to break the Dome that surrounded Myeolji right in front of my eyes.

When I finally collapsed, someone placed a hand on my shoulder.

“Get up, Polarin.”

It was Hike.

It was the first time I'd seen her in a while, but the place and the situation were not good for a reunion.

Agamben, who had sent me to Myeolji, was also by her side.

“What happened to Tayon is not your fault. You did everything you could.”

Hike said as she helped me to my feet.

She was trying to console me, but that wasn't what I really wanted to hear.

I wished Hike would quickly tear through the Dome and save Tayon.

But instead of the words I wanted, she only offered an apology.

“I’m sorry I’m late.”

I felt blood dripping from my fists and looked at the Dome.

Hike seemed to understand what I wanted just by the way my gaze fell on the Dome.

“It's already too late. The energy I feel from the Dome is unyielding. I will, without fail, find out whether Tayon is alive or dead, no matter when.”

“When you say you'll find out if he's alive or dead…”

“Agamben thinks there’s a 30% chance Tayon is still alive.”

I looked at Agamben's face.

His expression was also stiff, but he nodded as if it were true.

Hike then looked not just at me, but at everyone, and said.

“Everyone, I'm sorry. I was just in the High Dragon’s Nest, unaware of what was happening in the world.”

Hike consoled the Crows who had lost their commander in an instant and the reinforcements who had rushed to Myeolji despite their own circumstances.

While Hike apologized to the people, Agamben tended to the injured and expressed his gratitude to each and every one of them.

They were two people trying their best to mend the people's wounded bodies and hearts, but on their faces was a grief much greater than anyone else's.

I heard they also had a long history with Tayon.

Perhaps that's why Hike focused on consoling the people here rather than her own feelings.

“When that Dome opens one day, I will be there. I will bring about the conclusion I failed to achieve when I went to Adjak and Myeolji before.”

Hike's voice wasn't very loud, but it reached the ears of everyone gathered in front of Myeolji with perfect clarity.

“However, when Myeolji opens again, the protagonists will not be me, who is merely a ghost of the past, but all of you. Overcome your sorrow for that day.”

Hike urged them one last time.

“Swing your weapons while thinking of Tayon. Pray that Tayon can stay alive until that day. For Tayon, do everything you can.”

At Hike's words, the Crows adjusted their crow masks and raised their weapons.

The reinforcements and the party that came with me did the same.

“For Tayon, prepare the world he will return to.”

Everyone who heard Hike's words shouted in a loud voice as if they had made a promise.

“For Tayon!”

Drip, drop, then one or two drops of rain began to fall in front of Myeolji.

The raindrops beaded on the raised weapons and fell off.

***

In front of Myeolji, the Crows' Field Command.

Agamben, Hike, and I were gathered together.

Naturally, the atmosphere was heavy.

This was because the inside of the command post was full of Tayon's traces.

I saw a list of the Crows and a list of the reinforcements, which he seemed to have written himself.

There was also a handwritten note about what would happen if the Dome opened and how to deal with it.

In front of the Crows, Tayon commanded with a firm demeanor, but he was also human.

It seemed that when he was alone, he had countless worries and was afraid of the situation that unfolded.

As everyone's gloom deepened, Agamben was the first to speak.

“I’m sorry, Polarin.”

“Huh?”

“Even though I knew there was a high chance you would die if you came here, I hid that fact and asked you to come. I apologize for that.”

It seemed Agamben thought I didn't know that fact.

But I had already heard it from Tayon.

I reacted calmly.

“No, Tayon told me about it.”

“Tayon told you? Then why are you here…”

“Tayon also told me to leave, but I chose to stay. So you don’t have to feel sorry, Agamben.”

“…”

Agamben lowered his head.

Even after hearing me say it was okay, the guilt still seemed to remain.

“I also heard that you considered Tayon very important. So I hope you don't feel guilty anymore. Now, what we do next will be even more important.”

“Thank you for saying that. By any chance, did Tayon leave any other messages…”

“I heard that you valued Tayon very highly.”

“…That's right.”

“And Tayon said to tell you to value me just as much as you valued him.”

Agamben's eyes widened.

Then he nodded as if he understood.

“What is the probability that I can help stop the world's destruction?”

Agamben let out a grunt and dropped his gaze from me.

“I don't intend to calculate such important futures anymore. All I can see is just probabilities. I wasn't able to see the future, yet I was too overconfident in myself.”

Deep regret was in Agamben's words.

But I wasn't asking for his regrets.

“Didn't you survive and return, even though the probability of you surviving in Myeolji was extremely low? I realized once again that how people act within those probabilities is far more important than the probabilities I can calculate.”

“No, you must calculate even more fiercely from now on, Agamben. Don't just calculate things you can control; open up all possibilities and somehow find the probabilities with the highest success rate.”

“…Understood.”

“If it's difficult to persuade someone when you need to, please tell me anytime. Even if my strength is small, I will always add to it.”

Agamben nodded more vigorously than before and he looked me straight in the eye and said.

“Just as Tayon said, I will assist you from now on.”

“I look forward to it.”

At that moment, Hike, who had been quietly listening to the conversation between Agamben and me, also spoke.

“Baden has returned after finishing his mourning for the Former Lord. Prepare to receive your second Engraving.”

So I'm finally getting my second Heart Engraving.

I knew well that my life was saved from Zenburga’s attack because the Former Dragon Lord's heart had acted as a border and a shield.

So it was a very happy piece of news, but there was something I had to do first.

“Before I receive the second stage of the Engraving, would it be okay if I did one thing first?”

“Is there something you want to do?”

“I need to give a speech.”

Hike reacted with a look of surprise at my words.

But for me, it was something absolutely necessary.

“I must, without fail, overturn Myeolji and those Demons. I must tell the Empire that this is not the time to prepare for war. If we don't join forces…”

I gritted my teeth.

As I spoke, my anger slowly surged.

The reason Tayon received little help while he was single-handedly blocking the 4th-ranked of the New Demon Army was due to the movements of the Empire.

The Empire's supplies and troops were moving in preparation for war, and other forces couldn't move because they were keeping them in check.

That’s why Tayon ended up fulfilling his duty as a Crow with little support and was dragged into Myeolji.

“Even if the Empire insists on going to war in the end, I will stop their ambition.”

Agamben and Hike must have felt my anger in its entirety.

But they didn't scold me, calling my words childish.

“Marquis Rodos La Roche is opposed to the war and said he would sponsor me so that I can give an anti-war speech.”

I looked at Agamben and continued speaking.

“Agamben, it seems you also know many people here and there. Could you give me some help?”

“I will. I will mobilize everyone who has a connection with me. No, I will somehow persuade even those who have no connection to me to help give your speech weight.”

After agreeing, Rodos immediately activated his [Abacus of Fate].

An abacus that only he could see seemed to appear, as he was waving his hand in the air.

As I requested earlier, Rodos would calculate even more fiercely for me than before.

Hike, who had stayed in the High Dragon’s Nest for a long time, asked me about the current situation on the continent.

It was a fact I learned for the first time, but it seemed there was a rule among the Dragon race that at least one dragon had to guard the High Dragon’s Nest.

But currently, the only dragons left on the continent were just Baden and Hike.

After Baden went into mourning, Hike, who was alone guarding the High Dragon's Nest, was completely unaware of the continent's situation.

Apparently, Hike had called Baden back to protect Tayon and me.

“So that's what happened.”

Hike also learned of the Empire’s ambitions.

I could hardly read her expression.

After Tayon was dragged into Myeolji, Hike's inability to hide her sadness was actually the exception.

The dragon, who had lived for a long time, asked me.

“Will the speech take place in the Empire’s capital?”

“Yes, it will.”

“I will go with you to that place. Let’s see what the Empire does.”

Hike’s pupils sharpened.

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