Monsters Wag Their Tails Only at Me

By dropping their weapons in an instant with telekinetic force, Varen became extremely triumphant. As if to say, See?, he even glanced at me with proud eyes.

At that sight, a laugh escaped me. Come to think of it, when Varen had been captured by the dragon hunters, it had been before he awakened the power of a Dravergh.

Back then, even though he possessed overflowing mana, he had not known how to handle it properly. Forget telekinetic force; even using his power for a moment had left him bedridden with a raging fever.

"Haah... I underestimated my dragon way too much. I'm sorry."

"Hmph. So you did underestimate me."

At my words, Varen pouted his lips. Even so, his eyes sparkled as if he was pleased inside.

The dragon hunters, having grasped Varen's full strength from only one attack, did not move easily. It seemed they had realized that the weapons they possessed would not work.

It would be nice if they gave up and withdrew like this. I swallowed dryly and looked toward the forest.

And, as always, a man appeared, shattering my expectations. The man who came rustling out between the trees was an old man with white hair.

However, unlike his wrinkled face, his vivid eyes seemed untouched by time.

"Hehehe, heh... A dragon... a dragon, hehe..."

The somehow sinister laughter felt both familiar and unfamiliar. Narrowing my eyes, I examined him.

The old man was Horace Quinsley, the owner of the underground laboratory. He was a man I had definitely seen in Ceryl's memories.

But why was it? The memories related to Horace were broken into fragments. If Ceryl's past was one film, then the scenes where that old man appeared felt more like snapshots.

"Ceryl, get behind me."

Just then, Varen whispered in a low voice. His imposing attitude was gone, and his face had hardened with tension.

If Horace was skilled enough to research death magic, he was no ordinary mage. I obediently nodded and stepped back behind Varen.

As I glared at him, fully on guard, Horace stretched both arms toward Varen. Then he clenched and opened his hands, bouncing on his heels.

"I really... really like dragons. I want one, ngh, a dragon..."

Judging by only his words and actions, he seemed like a child coveting a toy, but the gaze filled with greed was clearly dangerous.

Varen made no attempt to hide his displeasure and furrowed his brow fiercely. Unbothered by his reaction, Horace clapped his hands and burst into laughter.

"Ahh, pretty. So pretty, dragon. So very pretty. If only I could split that belly open, ahh..."

Oh, fuck. Why are all the bastards who covet Varen such perverted fuckers?

Anger surged up in me. But what irritated me even more was the fact that I had no ability to protect Varen from that perverted bastard.

Horace, who had been clapping alone like a madman under the moonlight, suddenly came to a stop. Then, rolling his murky eyes, he turned both palms toward the ground.

Woooong. The earth trembled with a heavy sound. The vibration that began where Horace stood spread out in an instant.

"Ugh, be care..."

Because the ground was shaking, I could not finish telling them to be careful. When I staggered, Margon grabbed the back of my neck and supported me.

Milo was sniffling with his face gone deathly pale. As if this was the only thing he could trust, he clung to Margon's waist with pitiful hands.

Varen remained silent, still standing with his arms crossed. Instead, his lowered blue eyes stared sharply at Horace.

Soon, from the vibration that had begun in the mage's hands, the ground began to emit a pale light. It formed distinct lines in an irregular shape.

A moment later, the light rising from the ground spread wide and completed one picture.

A huge circle large enough to completely enclose the buildings of the Aylos family, several straight lines connecting it, and even densely packed characters whose meaning I could not interpret.

"We fell right into the trap..."

I barely forced out the words caught in my throat. I had thought we were only surrounded by dragon hunters, but we were standing right in the center of a perfectly drawn magic circle.

I could not even tell what kind of magic it was. Not knowing what sort of attack would come, I could only bite my lip, and then Horace clenched the palm he had stretched out wide.

At that, the light of the magic circle grew even brighter. Woooong. The resonating vibration gradually intensified.

"Ugh, uugh..."

At the same time, I felt the strength drain straight out of my body. I barely held myself up before I could collapse and hurriedly checked the other two.

"Lord Ceryl! Lord Ceryl, what's wrong!"

Margon and Milo were looking at me with bewildered eyes, as if the magic had no effect on them at all. The thought that it was at least fortunate flashed through my head.

But because strength was draining from me in real time, my back bent on its own. I braced both hands on my knees and struggled desperately not to fall.

It was probably a magic circle that absorbed mana. It had no effect on ordinary humans with no mana, but for me, who did not know how to use defensive magic, it was fatal.

The closer the light of the magic circle was to Horace, the brighter it shone. I could feel all the mana being stolen from me heading toward him.

As cold sweat poured down me, Varen glared at Horace and reached a hand toward me. His long arm wrapped around my shoulders and pulled me into his embrace.

"Haa... haah..."

The moment I was held in Varen's arms, I could breathe. The mana that had been leaking out like a breached dam no longer drained away.

I gasped for breath and looked up at Varen. Above all, the most important thing was the dragon's safety.

"This is truly... absurd."

But Varen showed a reaction different from what I had expected. He should have been having his mana stolen just like me, yet he seemed completely unaffected.

Far from being affected, Varen furrowed his brows and tilted his head. The expression on his face as he looked at Horace went beyond irritation and was almost dumbfounded.

"What exactly do you think a dragon is?"

A cold, fierce gleam flashed in Varen's eyes, and the hand wrapped around my shoulder tightened sharply.

I flinched. It was because I felt Varen pour out his mana.

I looked at him in confusion, unable to understand why he was doing this. Varen merely gave a cynical smile.

"Fine. If you can receive it in a human body, then try."

With those words, Varen released his power in earnest.

The dragon's overwhelming aura flowed down beneath our feet. As if showing off, he poured power into the magic circle that was absorbing mana.

Then the magic circle, which had been emitting a faint light, began to blaze madly. It looked as if the light itself was heaving.

A fierce wind surged up from the ground. When I turned my head from the dust and closed my eyes, Varen pulled me against his chest.

It was an aura that held no hostility toward me at all, and yet the pressure was difficult to endure. I simply clenched my teeth and withstood the storm-like mana.

"...Kgh, kkhh..."

And before long, I heard a sound like phlegm boiling in someone's throat. Narrowing my eyes and looking toward the sound, I saw Horace kneeling.

He coughed endlessly, his aged body heaving. Each time he hacked, blood trickled from his mouth.

At the vivid red trail of blood, Varen lowered his chin and focused harder. Then Horace let out an even more agonized groan.

"Kuhk, kgh... ngh..."

Now blood was flowing not only from Horace's mouth, but also from his nose and eyes. Even while surrounded by bright light, his face, flushed crimson, looked as if it might burst at any moment.

Against the mage who was absorbing mana, Varen poured power into him in reverse. It was impossible for a human body to accept all the mana of a dragon, and a Dravergh at that.

A tiny vessel could not hold a waterfall. The water it could not contain overflowed, cracks formed in the vessel, and at last it began to break.

With his bloodshot eyes bulging, Horace made his final struggle.

"Kgh, shoot... shoot!"

At his single word, the dragon hunters surrounding us moved all at once. They fired the weapons they had already loaded at the same time.

Seizing the gap while Varen was focused on Horace, dozens of crossbow bolts flew toward us.

Varen furrowed his brow fiercely without lifting a finger. Then the dragon mana he had been sending beneath our feet changed its flow.

"Uuugh...!"

As if a bomb had gone off, mana exploded outward with Varen at its center. The crossbow bolts cutting through the air crumbled into dust and fell.

At the same time, my feet floated briefly into the air before slowly landing. Every cell in my body tingled.

"Hoo... Sorry, Ceryl."

Varen spoke with a low sigh. His large hand gently stroked my trembling shoulder.

Even standing still made my heart pound and my breath tighten. Held limply in Varen's arms, I lifted my shaking eyes.

Then Varen, who had briefly taken his gaze off Horace, looked down at me. Seeing my pale face, he clicked his tongue shortly.

"Tch, it is still difficult to control my power finely."

"..."

"I was trying to stop the attack, and it just..."

As I stared blankly at Varen's face, the truth in my heart slipped out without me realizing it.

"You're fucking cool."

"...Am I?"

"You're seriously cool. I fell for you, Varen."

Varen's stiffly hardened eyes softened. A faint blush crept over his white skin, glittering in the moonlight.

Varen turned his gaze aside and moved his lips.

"So this kind of appearance... is what makes you fall for me."

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