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Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Epilogue

2013-11-07T13:47:25Z

213.144.240.241: /* Part 4 */

==Epilogue==
===Part 1===
"Haa…Haa…”

Anya had run out from Beowolf before Eco had totally crushed it. She then hid in the secret passage underneath Fontaine City.

Although Dr Hoffman and the rest of the crew managed to escape, they were spotted by the guards and were captured.

Anya was the only person who managed to hide in the underground secret passage by relying on her whip to knock out the guards. Still she had received a great mental shock.

It was about Milgauss’s intentions.

Even when Beowolf had been crushed, Milgauss still cannot be seen.

Even though they had pre set up many different types of communication methods in case of any emergency, Milgauss didn’t even try to contact her. ''Could it be that Milgauss was facing some kind of trouble?''

''Or- Am I just a something that has lost its value and was tossed off?''

''“*Sob*…*Hick*…”''

When she thought about the worst possible situation, she cried. Right now, Anya wanted to cry while shouting out loud.

At that moment, there were explosions of bright lights in front of her and Anya couldn’t see anything.

“…Urgh!”

When Anya realized they were flash bangs that were modified from the bright dragon crystal lamps-

“The rats of the Empire! We are the foreign force of the Knight’s Country! We will spare your lives if you choose to surrender! We will guarantee you the treatment of a prisoner of war according to the contents of the international agreement!”

A strict voice was echoing in the passage. She felt as if she had heard the voice somewhere before.

“That voice… Could it be!”

Anya while covering her face from shone by the lights, stared at the direction in front of her.

Just as Anya had expected, the girl was riding a Basilisk.

The pressure emitted by the girl was strong even though she looked like a child.

There were numerous strong guys that were beside her.

''If I am right, isn’t that girl the person who occupied the church and faked her name as ‘Avdocha the Convicted’ and wasn’t she arrested?''

''Why would someone who was guilty be leading the foreign force and guarding the Capital?''

''So the official announcement was a hoax?''

''No, right now, that is not important at all''- Anya shook her head.

She must try to escape.

“Either I try… or I die.”

Anya held the whip on her right arm and leaped with the intention to die.

===Part 2===
“Huu… Just as I thought, I must do everything my own.”

Avdocha who was riding on the Basilisk was mumbling in dissatisfaction.

The girl’s skill was unexpectedly good and three of her subordinates had already been knocked out.

However, Avdocha was leading altogether eight subordinates and she herself was a veteran who was well known all over the world.

Thus, the winning side of this fight had already been decided right from the start.

“Back to the topic, how dare the Empire’s military to use my people as their subordinates… Tsk.”

After Avdocha alighted from Kuu-chan the Basilisk, she walked towards the girl who was lying down on the ground.

The girl had lost consciousness and was not moving at all.

Avdocha used the bright dragon crystal lamp to have a closer look on the girl’s face.

No matter how she looked at, her appearance, her tribal wear and her whip that she had chosen as her choice of weapon, all of them were the style of a Tantalos. Anyhow, Avdocha was born in the mountain areas and she knew them well.

“Huh! This muffler…?”

Avdocha was attracted to the girl's muffler.

“The patterns on this muffler…Could it be!”

Avdocha immediately had the muffler removed from the girl’s neck.

She was inspecting the muffler.

After a while, she saw some Tantalos words that had been sewn on the muffler.

''-Shamara Kiltzkaya.''

“Is this girl my…!”

Avdocha was looking at the girl’s face carefully.

The girl right in front of her- She has some of the features of her long lost sister.

===Part 3===
The next morning.

Today was the scheduled day for the continental congress-‘Elysium’, but it had been canceled due to the incident.

The organizer Raquel IV had officially announced the cancellation of the continental congress.

Apart from that, Paladin Oswald had been ordered to investigate the previous night’s incident. Then she left with sacredship Esperanza.

Many people were amazed by her leadership even though she is just nine year old.

Right after Esperanza had left the Knight’s, the rest of the people had started to return to their own country. Only Klaus Viderhausen whose Beowolf had been destroyed returned to the borders in a horse carriage.

What will be the next action taken by Zepharos Empire?

Also how are they going to deal with Eco who is the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor family’s Princess- It seemed that the Knight’s Country government’s days of headaches will still continue.

===Part 4===
Ash and Eco were still staying in Fontaine Palace’s guest room.

“It huuurts!”

Although he was just discharged by the hospital a few days ago, now he was again forced to recover while lying on his bed.

Strictly speaking, Ash didn’t suffer any serious injuries and the ‘Seikoku’ that was spread all over his entire body had turned back to normal.

According to the palace’s doctor the only sentence he said was- Ash was suffering from muscle fatigue.

That’s right, Eco’s first original Ark was an armour that bears a strong side effect. Those mimics that Ash wore couldn’t even be compared with this.

“…”

Eco was sitting beside the bed and was worrying about Ash who was sleeping.

It was probably caused by the incident that Eco who always acted high and mighty was sitting elegantly.

Looking at Eco’s expression, Ash’s heart was beating faster.

As long as she kept quiet, she will be one of the most beautiful girls.

Eco while showing a worrisome expression doesn’t only look like a graceful white lilium but also looked more mature.

“Hey… Are you really alright?”

Eco was asking while worrying.

Although Ash’s body was still hurting, he managed to squeeze out a smile.

“This is the third time you ask this question, don’t you realize?

“But… You are… Like I thought, it was all my fault-”

Ash immediately interrupted Eco.

“The doctor said it was just muscle fatigue and it has nothing to do with you. It was because that I don’t have enough training. When we return to Ansarivan, I will train my body more… Also… I should be the one apologizing to you.”

Ash made up his mind and sat up straight. Although the pain was unbearable from his waist to his back, he still held on to it.

“Hold on, you shouldn't be getting up, right!?”

As if to keep Eco quiet, Ash touched Eco’s horn.

“…!”

Eco’s body was responding to it but she had no intention of running away. She allowed Ash to touch her.

Ash kept on touching to surface of her horn.

“Sorry… It was my fault.”

The blow from holy sword Excalibur had caused some after effect even to Eco who had turned back into a girl.

There was now a dent in one of her horns.

While Ash was touching her horn, Eco while being worried said:

“T-That’s nothing… It is just a small dent. I am sure that will immediately grow back.”

“Really?

“Don’t you look down on a dragon's recovering strength!”

“I see… That’s great.”

Ash could finally forget about his worries.

''I know it, only round and shiny horns fits Eco best.''

When he was thinking about that, Ash suddenly felt that Eco was cute.

Without a single warning, he hugged Eco.

“Hold…!”

Eco was blushing, but she didn’t resist, on the other hand, she embraced Ash. Her smell was nice and Ash could clearly hear the sounds of the heart beat of a child.

Eco who was hugged by Ash with both hands had her body heated up. Her face looked as if smoke was coming out from it.

Seeing her embarrassed looks, Ash hugged Eco harder.

“I am your knight. No matter what happened, this fact will never change. That is why from today onwards-”

“…I hate that. I can never bring myself to like that!”

Ash was stunned by the unexpected answer.

“I am happy that…I am your Pal… And you are my knight… But…”

Eco was embarrassed and stuttered.

“B-But… I hate this. I cannot be satisfied with just this! Even though I am not sure why, I know that I just can’t accept this!”

Eco was trying her best to explain to Ash.

“…I have searched the dragweiss regarding this feeling and I still don’t know anything… Do you know what is it?”

“T-That’s…!”

Her watery scarlet eyes was passionately looking at Ash

There were also her pearl white teeth and her shining pink lips.

Unknown to him, Ash was attracted to those lips.

“Eco…”

Ash was speaking as if he was moaning and focused his sight on Eco’s face.

Eco probably knew what Ash was thinking and closed her eyes.

Ash too had closed his eyes and slowly, slowly moved his face closer.

Suddenly- ''‘Bang!’'' and the door swung open.

“Hey! Even when you are still a patient… How shameless can you be!”
[[Image:SnRK V04 259.jpg|thumb]]

Silvia was shouting at the top of her voice upon entering. Seeing that Ash and Eco were hugging each other, she stood still on her ground. Another person besides the angry Silvia was Lukka.

She had prevented herself from the danger of being blown off from the strong winds. This is what would one expect from the genius from the Eckbald.

Lukka remained silent. She was looking at Ash with her purple crystal like eyes.

“…Beast!”

However, obscene words came from the delicate and pretty face.

“W-What did you say!”

Ash felt that his face were on fire and let go of Eco.

“What, tsk…!”

Eco who was also red in the face and crawled down from the bed.

“B-Before that… why are you here?”

Ash asked politely but Silvia remained angry.

“Of course we heard that you were hurt and was sleeping so I personally took my time to visit you! How dare you say… Why am I here!”

“Waaa! Sorry…!”

Silvia was pressuring Ash. However, Ash indeed had said something unnecessarily and must reflect on it.

“O-One more thing… Prince Julius…”

When he saw Silvia, Ash remembered about Julius. Anyway, since they are siblings, their looks are a little similar.

Julius had personally piloted Silvanus to allow Ash to ride on Eco. In the end, Ash remembered that Silvanus crashed and there was an explosion.

Just by thinking about Julius’s death, Ash felt that he had trouble breathing. To Silvia, she can finally meet her brother after ten years, but…

“-Why are you talking about me?”

At that moment, a man appeared from the semi closed door. Ash was shocked.

“Prince Julius…!?”

At that instant, Ash thought that he had seen a ghost.

However, the person who walked into the room was Julius himself. But, he continued to wear his mask which is probably because it was inappropriate for him to move around and show his face.

“You are alright! But how did you escape…?”

Upon hearing Ash’s question, Julius replied with a wry smile.

“When Silvanus lost control, I jumped out with a parachute. I was just moments away from dying.”

“I see… That’s great.”

Even though Ash was no longer worrying, Julius in turn showed a worrisome look.

“Now is not a time to be celebrating. I clearly felt that Mordred’s spirit was escaping towards to east…”

“…what you are trying to say is?”

“He is probably in Chevron Kingdom now. Don’t you think that he has been destroyed. The war between Avalon and Nehalennia is still far from over.

“How is that…”

After listening to Julius’s explanation, Ash felt that he had received a blow.

The blow that Ash did was not to kill Mordred but to take back Eco’s body from him.

“Ash…?”

She probably saw that Ash was worrying and stared at his face and said his name.

“Nothing. Even if Mordred appears again, I will protect you- I swear.”

As if to not let Eco remain frightened, Ash smiled.

Eco immediately blushed and lowered her head.

Ash while patting her head looked at the scenery outside.

Even though a shocking incident had happened yesterday, today’s sky was unusually clear.

…The problems waiting to be solved were like mountains.

''Mordred who escaped to Chevron Kingdom.''

''Zepharos Empire who declared that their huge airship was destroyed by the Knight Countriy’s huge dragon.''

''And also the long history of the war between Avalon and Nehalennia…''

Ash nearly fainted just from thinking about all these problems.

''In short, I would like took take a good rest in Ansarivan- the rest of the problem can be solved later''. Ash made a wish.

"The Knight of ECO IV" is closed.
<noinclude>

==References and Translation Notes==
<references />

{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Chapter 8|Chapter 8]]
| Return to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi:Volume 5 Novel Illustrations|Volume 5 Novel Illustrations]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Epilogue

2013-11-07T13:38:10Z

213.144.240.241: /* Part 3 */

==Epilogue==
===Part 1===
"Haa…Haa…”

Anya had run out from Beowolf before Eco had totally crushed it. She then hid in the secret passage underneath Fontaine City.

Although Dr Hoffman and the rest of the crew managed to escape, they were spotted by the guards and were captured.

Anya was the only person who managed to hide in the underground secret passage by relying on her whip to knock out the guards. Still she had received a great mental shock.

It was about Milgauss’s intentions.

Even when Beowolf had been crushed, Milgauss still cannot be seen.

Even though they had pre set up many different types of communication methods in case of any emergency, Milgauss didn’t even try to contact her. ''Could it be that Milgauss was facing some kind of trouble?''

''Or- Am I just a something that has lost its value and was tossed off?''

''“*Sob*…*Hick*…”''

When she thought about the worst possible situation, she cried. Right now, Anya wanted to cry while shouting out loud.

At that moment, there were explosions of bright lights in front of her and Anya couldn’t see anything.

“…Urgh!”

When Anya realized they were flash bangs that were modified from the bright dragon crystal lamps-

“The rats of the Empire! We are the foreign force of the Knight’s Country! We will spare your lives if you choose to surrender! We will guarantee you the treatment of a prisoner of war according to the contents of the international agreement!”

A strict voice was echoing in the passage. She felt as if she had heard the voice somewhere before.

“That voice… Could it be!”

Anya while covering her face from shone by the lights, stared at the direction in front of her.

Just as Anya had expected, the girl was riding a Basilisk.

The pressure emitted by the girl was strong even though she looked like a child.

There were numerous strong guys that were beside her.

''If I am right, isn’t that girl the person who occupied the church and faked her name as ‘Avdocha the Convicted’ and wasn’t she arrested?''

''Why would someone who was guilty be leading the foreign force and guarding the Capital?''

''So the official announcement was a hoax?''

''No, right now, that is not important at all''- Anya shook her head.

She must try to escape.

“Either I try… or I die.”

Anya held the whip on her right arm and leaped with the intention to die.

===Part 2===
“Huu… Just as I thought, I must do everything my own.”

Avdocha who was riding on the Basilisk was mumbling in dissatisfaction.

The girl’s skill was unexpectedly good and three of her subordinates had already been knocked out.

However, Avdocha was leading altogether eight subordinates and she herself was a veteran who was well known all over the world.

Thus, the winning side of this fight had already been decided right from the start.

“Back to the topic, how dare the Empire’s military to use my people as their subordinates… Tsk.”

After Avdocha alighted from Kuu-chan the Basilisk, she walked towards the girl who was lying down on the ground.

The girl had lost consciousness and was not moving at all.

Avdocha used the bright dragon crystal lamp to have a closer look on the girl’s face.

No matter how she looked at, her appearance, her tribal wear and her whip that she had chosen as her choice of weapon, all of them were the style of a Tantalos. Anyhow, Avdocha was born in the mountain areas and she knew them well.

“Huh! This muffler…?”

Avdocha was attracted to the girl's muffler.

“The patterns on this muffler…Could it be!”

Avdocha immediately had the muffler removed from the girl’s neck.

She was inspecting the muffler.

After a while, she saw some Tantalos words that had been sewn on the muffler.

''-Shamara Kiltzkaya.''

“Is this girl my…!”

Avdocha was looking at the girl’s face carefully.

The girl right in front of her- She has some of the features of her long lost sister.

===Part 3===
The next morning.

Today was the scheduled day for the continental congress-‘Elysium’, but it had been canceled due to the incident.

The organizer Raquel IV had officially announced the cancellation of the continental congress.

Apart from that, Paladin Oswald had been ordered to investigate the previous night’s incident. Then she left with sacredship Esperanza.

Many people were amazed by her leadership even though she is just nine year old.

Right after Esperanza had left the Knight’s, the rest of the people had started to return to their own country. Only Klaus Viderhausen whose Beowolf had been destroyed returned to the borders in a horse carriage.

What will be the next action taken by Zepharos Empire?

Also how are they going to deal with Eco who is the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor family’s Princess- It seemed that the Knight’s Country government’s days of headaches will still continue.

===Part 4===
Ash and Eco were still staying in Fontaine Palace’s guest room.

“It huuurts!”

Although he was just discharged by the hospital a few days ago, now he was again forced to recover while lying on his bed.

Strictly speaking, Ash didn’t suffer any serious injury and the ‘Seikoku’ that was spread all over his entire body had turned back to normal.

According to the palace’s doctor the only sentence he said was- Ash was suffering from muscle fatigue.

That’s right, Eco’s first original Ark was an armour that bears a strong side effect. Those mimics that Ash wore couldn’t even be able to be compared with this.

“…”

Eco was sitting beside the bed and was worrying about Ash who was sleeping.

It was probably caused by the incident that Eco who always acted high and mighty was sitting elegantly.

Looking at Eco’s expression, Ash’s heart was beating faster.

As long as she kept quiet, she will be one of the most beautiful girls.

Eco while showing a worrisome expression doesn’t only look like a graceful white lilium but also looked more mature.

“Hey… Are you really alright?”

Eco was asking while worrying.

Although Ash’s body was still hurting, he managed to squeeze out a smile.

“This is the third time you ask this question, don’t you realize?

“But… You are… Like I thought, it was all my fault-”

Ash immediately interrupted Eco.

“The doctor had said it was just muscle fatigue and it had nothing to do with you. It was because that I don’t have enough training. When we
return to Ansarivan, I will train my body more… Also… I should be the one apologizing to you.”

Ash made up his mind and sat up straight. Although the pain was unbearable from his waist to his back, he still held on to it.

“Hold on, you shouldn't be getting up, right!?”

As if to keep Eco quiet, Ash touched Eco’s horn.

“…!”

Eco’s body was responding to it but she had no intention of running away. She allowed Ash to touch her.

Ash kept on touching to surface of her horn.

“Sorry… It was my fault.”

The blow from holy sword Excalibur had caused some after effect even to Eco who had turned back into a girl.

There was now a dent in one of her horns.

While Ash was touching her horn, Eco while being worried said:

“T-That’s nothing… It is just a small dent. I am sure that will immediately grow back.”

“Really?

“Don’t you look down on a dragon's recovering strength!”

“I see… That’s great.”

Ash could finally forget about his worries.

''I know it, only round and shiny horns fits Eco best.''

When he was thinking about that, Ash suddenly felt that Eco was cute.

Without a single warning, he hugged Eco.

“Hold…!”

Eco was blushing, but she didn’t resist, on the other hand, she embraced Ash. Her smell was nice and Ash could clearly hear the sounds of a
heart beat of a child.

Eco who was hugged by Ash with both hand had her body heated up. Her face looked as if smoke was coming out from it.

Seeing her embarrassed looks, Ash hugged Eco harder.

“I am your knight. No matter what happened, this fact will never change. That is why from today onwards-”

“…I hate that. I can never bring myself to like that!”

Ash was stunned by the unexpected answer.

“I am happy that…I am your Pal… And you are my knight… But…”

Eco was embarrassed and stuttered.

“B-But… I hate this. I cannot be satisfied with just this! Even though I am not sure why, I know that I just couldn’t accept this!”

Eco was trying her best to explain to Ash.

“…I had searched the dragweiss regarding this feeling and I still don’t know anything… Do you know what is it?”

“T-That’s…!”

Her watery scarlet eyes was passionately looking at Ash

There were also her pearl white teeth and her shining pink lips.

Unknown to him, Ash was attracted by those lips.

“Eco…”

Ash was speaking as if he was moaning and focused his sight on Eco’s face.

Eco probably knew what Ash was thinking and closed her eyes.

Ash too had closed his eyes and slowly, slowly moved his face closer.

Suddenly- ''‘Bang!’'' and the door swung open.

“Hey! Even when you are still a patient… How shameless could you be!”
[[Image:SnRK V04 259.jpg|thumb]]

Silvia was shouting at the top of her voice upon entering. Seeing that Ash and Eco were hugging each other, she stood still on her ground.
Another person besides the angry Silvia was Lukka.

She had prevented herself from the danger of being blown off from the strong winds. This is what would one expect from the genius from the
Eckbald.

Lukka remained silent. She was looking at Ash with her purple crystal like eyes.

“…Beast!”

However, obscene words came from the delicate and pretty face.

“W-What did you say!”

Ash felt that his face were on fire and let go of Eco.

“What, tsk…!”

Eco who was also red in the face and crawled down from the bed.

“B-Before that… why are you here?”

Ash asked politely but Silvia remained angry.

“Of course we heard that you are hurt and was sleeping so I personally took my time to visit you! How dare you say… Why am I here!”

“Waaa! Sorry…!”

Silvia was pressuring Ash. However, Ash indeed had said something unnecessarily and must reflect on it.

“O-One more thing… Prince Julius…”

When he saw Silvia, Ash remembered about Julius. Anyway, since they are siblings, their looks are a little similar.

Julius had personally piloted Silvanus to allow Ash to ride on Eco. In the end, Ash remembered that Silvanus crashed and there was an
explosion.

Just by thinking about Julius’s death, Ash felt that he had trouble breathing. To Silvia, she can finally meet her brother after ten years,
but…

“-Why are you talking about me?”

At that moment, a man appeared from the semi closed door. Ash was shocked.

“Prince Julius…!?”

At that instant, Ash though that he had seen a ghost.

However, the person who walked into the room was Julius himself. But, he continued to wear his mask which is probably it was inappropriate
for him to move around and show his face.

“You are alright! But how did you escape…?”

Upon hearing Ash’s question, Julius replied with a wry smile.

“When Silvanus had lost control, I jumped out with a parachute. I was just moments away from dying.”

“I see… That’s great.”

Even though Ash was no longer worrying, Julius in turn showed a worrisome look.

“Now is not a time to be celebrating. I clearly felt that Mordred’s spirit was escaping towards to east…”

“…what you are trying to say is?”

“He probably was now in Chevron Kingdom. Don’t you think that he had been destroyed. The war between Avalon and Nehalennia is still far from
over.

“How is that…”

After listening to Julius’s explanation, Ash felt that he had received a blow.

The blow that Ash did was not to kill Mordred but to take back Eco’s body from him.

“Ash…?”

She probably saw that Ash was worrying and stared at his face and said his name.

“Nothing. Even if Mordred appeared again, I will protect you- I swear.”

As if to not let Eco remain frightened, Ash smiled.

Eco immediately blushed and lowered her head.

Ash while patting her head looked at the scenery outside.

Even though a shocking incident had happened yesterday, today’s sky was unusually clear.

…The problems waiting to be solved were like mountains.

''Mordred who escaped to Chevron Kingdom.''

''Zepharos Empire who declared that their huge airship was destroyed by the Knight Countriy’s huge dragon.''

''And also the long history of the war between Avalon and Nehalennia…''

Ash nearly fainted just from thinking all these problems.

''In short, I would like took take a good rest in Ansarivan- the rest of the problem can be solved later''. Ash made a wish.

"The Knight of ECO IV" is closed.
<noinclude>

==References and Translation Notes==
<references />

{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Chapter 8|Chapter 8]]
| Return to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi:Volume 5 Novel Illustrations|Volume 5 Novel Illustrations]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Epilogue

2013-11-07T13:37:07Z

213.144.240.241: /* Part 2 */

==Epilogue==
===Part 1===
"Haa…Haa…”

Anya had run out from Beowolf before Eco had totally crushed it. She then hid in the secret passage underneath Fontaine City.

Although Dr Hoffman and the rest of the crew managed to escape, they were spotted by the guards and were captured.

Anya was the only person who managed to hide in the underground secret passage by relying on her whip to knock out the guards. Still she had received a great mental shock.

It was about Milgauss’s intentions.

Even when Beowolf had been crushed, Milgauss still cannot be seen.

Even though they had pre set up many different types of communication methods in case of any emergency, Milgauss didn’t even try to contact her. ''Could it be that Milgauss was facing some kind of trouble?''

''Or- Am I just a something that has lost its value and was tossed off?''

''“*Sob*…*Hick*…”''

When she thought about the worst possible situation, she cried. Right now, Anya wanted to cry while shouting out loud.

At that moment, there were explosions of bright lights in front of her and Anya couldn’t see anything.

“…Urgh!”

When Anya realized they were flash bangs that were modified from the bright dragon crystal lamps-

“The rats of the Empire! We are the foreign force of the Knight’s Country! We will spare your lives if you choose to surrender! We will guarantee you the treatment of a prisoner of war according to the contents of the international agreement!”

A strict voice was echoing in the passage. She felt as if she had heard the voice somewhere before.

“That voice… Could it be!”

Anya while covering her face from shone by the lights, stared at the direction in front of her.

Just as Anya had expected, the girl was riding a Basilisk.

The pressure emitted by the girl was strong even though she looked like a child.

There were numerous strong guys that were beside her.

''If I am right, isn’t that girl the person who occupied the church and faked her name as ‘Avdocha the Convicted’ and wasn’t she arrested?''

''Why would someone who was guilty be leading the foreign force and guarding the Capital?''

''So the official announcement was a hoax?''

''No, right now, that is not important at all''- Anya shook her head.

She must try to escape.

“Either I try… or I die.”

Anya held the whip on her right arm and leaped with the intention to die.

===Part 2===
“Huu… Just as I thought, I must do everything my own.”

Avdocha who was riding on the Basilisk was mumbling in dissatisfaction.

The girl’s skill was unexpectedly good and three of her subordinates had already been knocked out.

However, Avdocha was leading altogether eight subordinates and she herself was a veteran who was well known all over the world.

Thus, the winning side of this fight had already been decided right from the start.

“Back to the topic, how dare the Empire’s military to use my people as their subordinates… Tsk.”

After Avdocha alighted from Kuu-chan the Basilisk, she walked towards the girl who was lying down on the ground.

The girl had lost consciousness and was not moving at all.

Avdocha used the bright dragon crystal lamp to have a closer look on the girl’s face.

No matter how she looked at, her appearance, her tribal wear and her whip that she had chosen as her choice of weapon, all of them were the style of a Tantalos. Anyhow, Avdocha was born in the mountain areas and she knew them well.

“Huh! This muffler…?”

Avdocha was attracted to the girl's muffler.

“The patterns on this muffler…Could it be!”

Avdocha immediately had the muffler removed from the girl’s neck.

She was inspecting the muffler.

After a while, she saw some Tantalos words that had been sewn on the muffler.

''-Shamara Kiltzkaya.''

“Is this girl my…!”

Avdocha was looking at the girl’s face carefully.

The girl right in front of her- She has some of the features of her long lost sister.

===Part 3===
The next morning.

Today was the scheduled day for the continental congress-‘Elysium’, but it had been canceled due to the incident.

The organizer Raquel IV had officially announced the cancellation of the continental congress.

Apart from that, Paladin Oswald had been ordered to investigate the previous night’s incident. Then she left with sacredship Esperanza.

Many people were amazed by her leadership even though she is just nine year old.

Right after Esperanza had left the Knight’s, the rest of the people had started to return to their own country. Only Klaus Viderhausen whose
Beowolf had been destroyed returned to the borders on a horse carriage.

What will be the next action taken by Zepharos Empire?

Also how are they going to deal with Eco who is the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor family’s Princess- It seemed that the Knight’s Country
government’s days of headache will still continue.

===Part 4===
Ash and Eco were still staying in Fontaine Palace’s guest room.

“It huuurts!”

Although he was just discharged by the hospital a few days ago, now he was again forced to recover while lying on his bed.

Strictly speaking, Ash didn’t suffer any serious injury and the ‘Seikoku’ that was spread all over his entire body had turned back to normal.

According to the palace’s doctor the only sentence he said was- Ash was suffering from muscle fatigue.

That’s right, Eco’s first original Ark was an armour that bears a strong side effect. Those mimics that Ash wore couldn’t even be able to be compared with this.

“…”

Eco was sitting beside the bed and was worrying about Ash who was sleeping.

It was probably caused by the incident that Eco who always acted high and mighty was sitting elegantly.

Looking at Eco’s expression, Ash’s heart was beating faster.

As long as she kept quiet, she will be one of the most beautiful girls.

Eco while showing a worrisome expression doesn’t only look like a graceful white lilium but also looked more mature.

“Hey… Are you really alright?”

Eco was asking while worrying.

Although Ash’s body was still hurting, he managed to squeeze out a smile.

“This is the third time you ask this question, don’t you realize?

“But… You are… Like I thought, it was all my fault-”

Ash immediately interrupted Eco.

“The doctor had said it was just muscle fatigue and it had nothing to do with you. It was because that I don’t have enough training. When we
return to Ansarivan, I will train my body more… Also… I should be the one apologizing to you.”

Ash made up his mind and sat up straight. Although the pain was unbearable from his waist to his back, he still held on to it.

“Hold on, you shouldn't be getting up, right!?”

As if to keep Eco quiet, Ash touched Eco’s horn.

“…!”

Eco’s body was responding to it but she had no intention of running away. She allowed Ash to touch her.

Ash kept on touching to surface of her horn.

“Sorry… It was my fault.”

The blow from holy sword Excalibur had caused some after effect even to Eco who had turned back into a girl.

There was now a dent in one of her horns.

While Ash was touching her horn, Eco while being worried said:

“T-That’s nothing… It is just a small dent. I am sure that will immediately grow back.”

“Really?

“Don’t you look down on a dragon's recovering strength!”

“I see… That’s great.”

Ash could finally forget about his worries.

''I know it, only round and shiny horns fits Eco best.''

When he was thinking about that, Ash suddenly felt that Eco was cute.

Without a single warning, he hugged Eco.

“Hold…!”

Eco was blushing, but she didn’t resist, on the other hand, she embraced Ash. Her smell was nice and Ash could clearly hear the sounds of a
heart beat of a child.

Eco who was hugged by Ash with both hand had her body heated up. Her face looked as if smoke was coming out from it.

Seeing her embarrassed looks, Ash hugged Eco harder.

“I am your knight. No matter what happened, this fact will never change. That is why from today onwards-”

“…I hate that. I can never bring myself to like that!”

Ash was stunned by the unexpected answer.

“I am happy that…I am your Pal… And you are my knight… But…”

Eco was embarrassed and stuttered.

“B-But… I hate this. I cannot be satisfied with just this! Even though I am not sure why, I know that I just couldn’t accept this!”

Eco was trying her best to explain to Ash.

“…I had searched the dragweiss regarding this feeling and I still don’t know anything… Do you know what is it?”

“T-That’s…!”

Her watery scarlet eyes was passionately looking at Ash

There were also her pearl white teeth and her shining pink lips.

Unknown to him, Ash was attracted by those lips.

“Eco…”

Ash was speaking as if he was moaning and focused his sight on Eco’s face.

Eco probably knew what Ash was thinking and closed her eyes.

Ash too had closed his eyes and slowly, slowly moved his face closer.

Suddenly- ''‘Bang!’'' and the door swung open.

“Hey! Even when you are still a patient… How shameless could you be!”
[[Image:SnRK V04 259.jpg|thumb]]

Silvia was shouting at the top of her voice upon entering. Seeing that Ash and Eco were hugging each other, she stood still on her ground.
Another person besides the angry Silvia was Lukka.

She had prevented herself from the danger of being blown off from the strong winds. This is what would one expect from the genius from the
Eckbald.

Lukka remained silent. She was looking at Ash with her purple crystal like eyes.

“…Beast!”

However, obscene words came from the delicate and pretty face.

“W-What did you say!”

Ash felt that his face were on fire and let go of Eco.

“What, tsk…!”

Eco who was also red in the face and crawled down from the bed.

“B-Before that… why are you here?”

Ash asked politely but Silvia remained angry.

“Of course we heard that you are hurt and was sleeping so I personally took my time to visit you! How dare you say… Why am I here!”

“Waaa! Sorry…!”

Silvia was pressuring Ash. However, Ash indeed had said something unnecessarily and must reflect on it.

“O-One more thing… Prince Julius…”

When he saw Silvia, Ash remembered about Julius. Anyway, since they are siblings, their looks are a little similar.

Julius had personally piloted Silvanus to allow Ash to ride on Eco. In the end, Ash remembered that Silvanus crashed and there was an
explosion.

Just by thinking about Julius’s death, Ash felt that he had trouble breathing. To Silvia, she can finally meet her brother after ten years,
but…

“-Why are you talking about me?”

At that moment, a man appeared from the semi closed door. Ash was shocked.

“Prince Julius…!?”

At that instant, Ash though that he had seen a ghost.

However, the person who walked into the room was Julius himself. But, he continued to wear his mask which is probably it was inappropriate
for him to move around and show his face.

“You are alright! But how did you escape…?”

Upon hearing Ash’s question, Julius replied with a wry smile.

“When Silvanus had lost control, I jumped out with a parachute. I was just moments away from dying.”

“I see… That’s great.”

Even though Ash was no longer worrying, Julius in turn showed a worrisome look.

“Now is not a time to be celebrating. I clearly felt that Mordred’s spirit was escaping towards to east…”

“…what you are trying to say is?”

“He probably was now in Chevron Kingdom. Don’t you think that he had been destroyed. The war between Avalon and Nehalennia is still far from
over.

“How is that…”

After listening to Julius’s explanation, Ash felt that he had received a blow.

The blow that Ash did was not to kill Mordred but to take back Eco’s body from him.

“Ash…?”

She probably saw that Ash was worrying and stared at his face and said his name.

“Nothing. Even if Mordred appeared again, I will protect you- I swear.”

As if to not let Eco remain frightened, Ash smiled.

Eco immediately blushed and lowered her head.

Ash while patting her head looked at the scenery outside.

Even though a shocking incident had happened yesterday, today’s sky was unusually clear.

…The problems waiting to be solved were like mountains.

''Mordred who escaped to Chevron Kingdom.''

''Zepharos Empire who declared that their huge airship was destroyed by the Knight Countriy’s huge dragon.''

''And also the long history of the war between Avalon and Nehalennia…''

Ash nearly fainted just from thinking all these problems.

''In short, I would like took take a good rest in Ansarivan- the rest of the problem can be solved later''. Ash made a wish.

"The Knight of ECO IV" is closed.
<noinclude>

==References and Translation Notes==
<references />

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| Back to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Chapter 8|Chapter 8]]
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| Forward to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi:Volume 5 Novel Illustrations|Volume 5 Novel Illustrations]]
|-
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</noinclude>

Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Epilogue

2013-11-07T13:35:48Z

213.144.240.241: /* Part 1 */

==Epilogue==
===Part 1===
"Haa…Haa…”

Anya had run out from Beowolf before Eco had totally crushed it. She then hid in the secret passage underneath Fontaine City.

Although Dr Hoffman and the rest of the crew managed to escape, they were spotted by the guards and were captured.

Anya was the only person who managed to hide in the underground secret passage by relying on her whip to knock out the guards. Still she had received a great mental shock.

It was about Milgauss’s intentions.

Even when Beowolf had been crushed, Milgauss still cannot be seen.

Even though they had pre set up many different types of communication methods in case of any emergency, Milgauss didn’t even try to contact her. ''Could it be that Milgauss was facing some kind of trouble?''

''Or- Am I just a something that has lost its value and was tossed off?''

''“*Sob*…*Hick*…”''

When she thought about the worst possible situation, she cried. Right now, Anya wanted to cry while shouting out loud.

At that moment, there were explosions of bright lights in front of her and Anya couldn’t see anything.

“…Urgh!”

When Anya realized they were flash bangs that were modified from the bright dragon crystal lamps-

“The rats of the Empire! We are the foreign force of the Knight’s Country! We will spare your lives if you choose to surrender! We will guarantee you the treatment of a prisoner of war according to the contents of the international agreement!”

A strict voice was echoing in the passage. She felt as if she had heard the voice somewhere before.

“That voice… Could it be!”

Anya while covering her face from shone by the lights, stared at the direction in front of her.

Just as Anya had expected, the girl was riding a Basilisk.

The pressure emitted by the girl was strong even though she looked like a child.

There were numerous strong guys that were beside her.

''If I am right, isn’t that girl the person who occupied the church and faked her name as ‘Avdocha the Convicted’ and wasn’t she arrested?''

''Why would someone who was guilty be leading the foreign force and guarding the Capital?''

''So the official announcement was a hoax?''

''No, right now, that is not important at all''- Anya shook her head.

She must try to escape.

“Either I try… or I die.”

Anya held the whip on her right arm and leaped with the intention to die.

===Part 2===
“Huu… Just as I thought, I must do everything my own.”

Avdocha who was riding on the Basilisk was mumbling in dissatisfaction.

The girl’s skill was unexpectedly good and three of her subordinates had already been knocked out.

However, Avdocha was leading altogether eight subordinates and she herself was a veteran that was well known all over the world.

Thus, the winning side of this fight had already been decided right from the start.

“Back to the topic, how dare the Empire’s military to use my people as their subordinates… Tsk.”

After Avdocha alighted from Kuu-chan the Basilisk, she walked towards the girl who was lying down on the ground.

The girl had lost consciousness and was not moving at all.

Avdocha used the bright dragon crystal lamp to have a closer look on the girl’s face.

No matter how she looked at, her appearance, her tribal wear and her whip that she had chosen as her choice of weapon, all of them were the
style of a Tantalos. Anyhow, Avdocha was born in the mountain areas and she knew them well.

“Huh! This muffler…?”

Avdocha was attracted to the girl's muffler.

“The patterns on this muffler…Could it be!”

Avdocha immediately had the muffler removed from the girl’s neck.

She was inspecting the muffler.

After a while, she saw some Tantalos words that had been sewn on the muffler.

''-Shamara Kiltzkaya.''

“Is this girl my…!”

Avdocha was looking at the girl’s face carefully.

The girl right in front of her- She have some of the features of her long lost sister.

===Part 3===
The next morning.

Today was the scheduled day for the continental congress-‘Elysium’, but it had been canceled due to the incident.

The organizer Raquel IV had officially announced the cancellation of the continental congress.

Apart from that, Paladin Oswald had been ordered to investigate the previous night’s incident. Then she left with sacredship Esperanza.

Many people were amazed by her leadership even though she is just nine year old.

Right after Esperanza had left the Knight’s, the rest of the people had started to return to their own country. Only Klaus Viderhausen whose
Beowolf had been destroyed returned to the borders on a horse carriage.

What will be the next action taken by Zepharos Empire?

Also how are they going to deal with Eco who is the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor family’s Princess- It seemed that the Knight’s Country
government’s days of headache will still continue.

===Part 4===
Ash and Eco were still staying in Fontaine Palace’s guest room.

“It huuurts!”

Although he was just discharged by the hospital a few days ago, now he was again forced to recover while lying on his bed.

Strictly speaking, Ash didn’t suffer any serious injury and the ‘Seikoku’ that was spread all over his entire body had turned back to normal.

According to the palace’s doctor the only sentence he said was- Ash was suffering from muscle fatigue.

That’s right, Eco’s first original Ark was an armour that bears a strong side effect. Those mimics that Ash wore couldn’t even be able to be compared with this.

“…”

Eco was sitting beside the bed and was worrying about Ash who was sleeping.

It was probably caused by the incident that Eco who always acted high and mighty was sitting elegantly.

Looking at Eco’s expression, Ash’s heart was beating faster.

As long as she kept quiet, she will be one of the most beautiful girls.

Eco while showing a worrisome expression doesn’t only look like a graceful white lilium but also looked more mature.

“Hey… Are you really alright?”

Eco was asking while worrying.

Although Ash’s body was still hurting, he managed to squeeze out a smile.

“This is the third time you ask this question, don’t you realize?

“But… You are… Like I thought, it was all my fault-”

Ash immediately interrupted Eco.

“The doctor had said it was just muscle fatigue and it had nothing to do with you. It was because that I don’t have enough training. When we
return to Ansarivan, I will train my body more… Also… I should be the one apologizing to you.”

Ash made up his mind and sat up straight. Although the pain was unbearable from his waist to his back, he still held on to it.

“Hold on, you shouldn't be getting up, right!?”

As if to keep Eco quiet, Ash touched Eco’s horn.

“…!”

Eco’s body was responding to it but she had no intention of running away. She allowed Ash to touch her.

Ash kept on touching to surface of her horn.

“Sorry… It was my fault.”

The blow from holy sword Excalibur had caused some after effect even to Eco who had turned back into a girl.

There was now a dent in one of her horns.

While Ash was touching her horn, Eco while being worried said:

“T-That’s nothing… It is just a small dent. I am sure that will immediately grow back.”

“Really?

“Don’t you look down on a dragon's recovering strength!”

“I see… That’s great.”

Ash could finally forget about his worries.

''I know it, only round and shiny horns fits Eco best.''

When he was thinking about that, Ash suddenly felt that Eco was cute.

Without a single warning, he hugged Eco.

“Hold…!”

Eco was blushing, but she didn’t resist, on the other hand, she embraced Ash. Her smell was nice and Ash could clearly hear the sounds of a
heart beat of a child.

Eco who was hugged by Ash with both hand had her body heated up. Her face looked as if smoke was coming out from it.

Seeing her embarrassed looks, Ash hugged Eco harder.

“I am your knight. No matter what happened, this fact will never change. That is why from today onwards-”

“…I hate that. I can never bring myself to like that!”

Ash was stunned by the unexpected answer.

“I am happy that…I am your Pal… And you are my knight… But…”

Eco was embarrassed and stuttered.

“B-But… I hate this. I cannot be satisfied with just this! Even though I am not sure why, I know that I just couldn’t accept this!”

Eco was trying her best to explain to Ash.

“…I had searched the dragweiss regarding this feeling and I still don’t know anything… Do you know what is it?”

“T-That’s…!”

Her watery scarlet eyes was passionately looking at Ash

There were also her pearl white teeth and her shining pink lips.

Unknown to him, Ash was attracted by those lips.

“Eco…”

Ash was speaking as if he was moaning and focused his sight on Eco’s face.

Eco probably knew what Ash was thinking and closed her eyes.

Ash too had closed his eyes and slowly, slowly moved his face closer.

Suddenly- ''‘Bang!’'' and the door swung open.

“Hey! Even when you are still a patient… How shameless could you be!”
[[Image:SnRK V04 259.jpg|thumb]]

Silvia was shouting at the top of her voice upon entering. Seeing that Ash and Eco were hugging each other, she stood still on her ground.
Another person besides the angry Silvia was Lukka.

She had prevented herself from the danger of being blown off from the strong winds. This is what would one expect from the genius from the
Eckbald.

Lukka remained silent. She was looking at Ash with her purple crystal like eyes.

“…Beast!”

However, obscene words came from the delicate and pretty face.

“W-What did you say!”

Ash felt that his face were on fire and let go of Eco.

“What, tsk…!”

Eco who was also red in the face and crawled down from the bed.

“B-Before that… why are you here?”

Ash asked politely but Silvia remained angry.

“Of course we heard that you are hurt and was sleeping so I personally took my time to visit you! How dare you say… Why am I here!”

“Waaa! Sorry…!”

Silvia was pressuring Ash. However, Ash indeed had said something unnecessarily and must reflect on it.

“O-One more thing… Prince Julius…”

When he saw Silvia, Ash remembered about Julius. Anyway, since they are siblings, their looks are a little similar.

Julius had personally piloted Silvanus to allow Ash to ride on Eco. In the end, Ash remembered that Silvanus crashed and there was an
explosion.

Just by thinking about Julius’s death, Ash felt that he had trouble breathing. To Silvia, she can finally meet her brother after ten years,
but…

“-Why are you talking about me?”

At that moment, a man appeared from the semi closed door. Ash was shocked.

“Prince Julius…!?”

At that instant, Ash though that he had seen a ghost.

However, the person who walked into the room was Julius himself. But, he continued to wear his mask which is probably it was inappropriate
for him to move around and show his face.

“You are alright! But how did you escape…?”

Upon hearing Ash’s question, Julius replied with a wry smile.

“When Silvanus had lost control, I jumped out with a parachute. I was just moments away from dying.”

“I see… That’s great.”

Even though Ash was no longer worrying, Julius in turn showed a worrisome look.

“Now is not a time to be celebrating. I clearly felt that Mordred’s spirit was escaping towards to east…”

“…what you are trying to say is?”

“He probably was now in Chevron Kingdom. Don’t you think that he had been destroyed. The war between Avalon and Nehalennia is still far from
over.

“How is that…”

After listening to Julius’s explanation, Ash felt that he had received a blow.

The blow that Ash did was not to kill Mordred but to take back Eco’s body from him.

“Ash…?”

She probably saw that Ash was worrying and stared at his face and said his name.

“Nothing. Even if Mordred appeared again, I will protect you- I swear.”

As if to not let Eco remain frightened, Ash smiled.

Eco immediately blushed and lowered her head.

Ash while patting her head looked at the scenery outside.

Even though a shocking incident had happened yesterday, today’s sky was unusually clear.

…The problems waiting to be solved were like mountains.

''Mordred who escaped to Chevron Kingdom.''

''Zepharos Empire who declared that their huge airship was destroyed by the Knight Countriy’s huge dragon.''

''And also the long history of the war between Avalon and Nehalennia…''

Ash nearly fainted just from thinking all these problems.

''In short, I would like took take a good rest in Ansarivan- the rest of the problem can be solved later''. Ash made a wish.

"The Knight of ECO IV" is closed.
<noinclude>

==References and Translation Notes==
<references />

{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Chapter 8|Chapter 8]]
| Return to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi:Volume 5 Novel Illustrations|Volume 5 Novel Illustrations]]
|-
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</noinclude>

Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Chapter 8

2013-11-07T13:33:04Z

213.144.240.241: /* Part 20 */

==Chapter 8 - Avalon's Imperial Princess==
===Part 1===
In the mothership Beowolf- In the armory, under Dr Hoffman’s command the battle is in full swing.

Eco who was naked was floating in magic guided device. ‘Yggdrasill’s’ capsule. There were groups of technician working around her. This was out of Anya’s area of understanding. She could only stand by and wall and watch silently.

But, she understood well the pain that Eco was feeling.

The cold voice was followed by its echo when it was reflected on the metal body.

“The cartridge has been filled. Prepare for launching.”

“The countdown starts now. Ten, nine, eight… Three, two, one-.”

“Launch the compressed magic!”

A red bean was shot out followed by a loud gun shooting sound. Anya felt that even the ship was vibrating.

“…!”

Then, there were air bubbles coming from Eco’s mouth. If not because of she was in the liquid, her scream could definitely be heard.

Anya couldn’t bear to see Eco suffering and looked away.

Eco’s body had already taken at least ten shots of the compressed magic.

Eco regained her consciousness after the start of the experiment. At the beginning, she was struggling in the water, but ‘Yggdrasill’s’ capsule was not at all affected.

But after receiving a continuous dozens of compressed magic, she lost her strength.

Right now, she was just like a living dead. Her blank eyes were now lifeless and it was terrible. It was pure torture. Even so, the group of researchers led by Dr Hoffman were not at all shaken and continued silently.

“There is no significant change on the appearance of α. There are no abnormalities on her respiratory system. No magic fluctuation can be seen.”
Without realizing, the group of researchers started to refer Eco as α.

Eco is a human, a young dragon and also a living being- But this group of human had taken everything from her. To them, Eco was just experimental material α.
Who knows if they want to remove their feeling of guilt by calling her with symbols…Anya secretly thought so.

At this moment, Dr Hoffman’s voice is heard by Anya.

“Still no changes… It seems like we don’t have any more choices. Activate all the Millennium.”

Anya turned pale when she heard that.

This means that they had decided to use full power on ‘Yggdrasil’.

===Part 2===
“*Sob*… It was all… My fault. *Sob*…”

In the maid’s bedroom in the ground floor of the palace.

Prim was lying on the bed with her pillow wet with tears.

There was only Ash and Silvia beside her bed. Cosette was standing outside the room by the door.

Prim cried while she told the whole incident.

Prim arrived at the ancient palace when she was chasing Eco who was running amok.

She had met a few suspicious people there.

Seeing the enemy suddenly attacked, Eco appeared and became the bait to let Prim escape.

When Prim regained conscious, Eco was no longer there.

After hearing, Ash felt something suspicious.

“Why did you go to the ancient palace?”

“That’s because… It was my entire fault! It was my bad to say such things!”

“Prim, please stay calm. Compared to you, Ash was the person who suffered the most.”

After being advised by Silvia, Prim rubbed of her tears.

“You are right. Sorry…”

“Prim-san, please tell me everything before Eco was kidnapped!”

Prim nodded.

“I had no ill intention, it was just that… Ash-sama is a human and Eco is a dragon… So I thought that Eco would feel lonely after Ash-sama married with a human girl. The moment I told her that, Eco rushed out of the room.”

“What…!”

Who would have thought of this, Ash was speechless.

“Idiot! You… Why do you have to tell her this!”

Silvia was mad.

“If I am Eco… I will definitely feel hurt if someone told that to me! Even when Eco is a dragon, her thoughts are still those of a girl’s. She should know very well that her situation is special. Why was she born as a human? Why was she not born as a dragon… If I am Eco, I can never feel secure.”

“Princess-sama…”

Ash looked at Silvia who was telling Eco's thoughts in surprise.

“Recently, she had gotten used to the school life. She was also being loved by everyone as the student council’s mascot. Even so, to Eco, the only person she could trust in… Is no other than Ash.”

“And I… Have said something terrible…”

“Strictly speaking, Eco is still a young dragon who is not even a year old. Can’t you be a little more indirect in your-”

“Forget it, Princess-sama. Right now, we could never solve the problem even after lecturing Prim-san. What’s more, if they had this planned, no matter what Prim-san said, Eco would still have been kidnapped.”

“…You are right. But how are we going to rescue Eco?”

Silvia nodded in agreement with Ash.

“Prim-san… Could you describe those people who attacked?”

Ash was praying while asking. His only clue is Prim being the witness.

“Err…They pretended to be the palace servants. But, they didn’t look like citizens of the Knight Country. For their skin colour, it looked like they are the Tantalos…. Also, the person who attacked me is a short girl.”

“A Tantalos girl…!”

Ash was feeling Déjà vu. It was like he had found the last piece of puzzle in his memory.

“It was the girl who followed Milgauss!”

Ash’s fists were shaking. The world he was seeing was dyed in red. Even though he had a feeling that Milgauss was the culprit, still, after making sure, he was still in rage.

“Since we know who the criminal is-”

Silvia immediately stopped Ash who intended to rush out from the room.

“Hold on, Ash! Where do you think you are going to?”

“The ballroom, of course! I want to settle thing with Milgauss!”

“Keep your calm! Do you think that Milgauss will admit it even after you find him?”

“…Maybe not.”

Ash turned speechless.

Silvia was right, no matter how emotional he became, Eco still wouldn’t be able to return safely.”

Just as if she was trying to have Ash cooled down, Silvia made a suggestion in a calm voice:

“Don’t you think that this is a good time to save Eco when Milgauss is busy with the masquerade?”

“What do you meant?”

“Milgauss couldn’t even be bothered by an activity with long history such as this continental congress and will do anything just to capture Eco. Even when I don’t know what his intentions are, but capturing Eco alive is their priority. I am sure that their lackeys won’t do anything to harm Eco when the mastermind is absent.”

After listening to Silvia’s analysis, Ash gave a breath of relieve.

“The problem remains is, where is Eco’s location. Since Ash’s ‘Seikoku’ is not reacting, it means that Eco was being hidden in an enclosed place. For example something that could be a barrier to cut off magic… Anyway, it must be done with the proper equipment. It just can’t be a rally point that they have just constructed.”

“An enclosed place with proper equipments? That’s it, Milgauss has Klaus backing him up…”

Last evening, an airship flew past the evening sky…

The black ship that was waving the Empire’s flag proudly…

Ash remembered.

Ash and Silvia exchanged glances and shouted at the same time:

“Beowolf!”

===Part 3===
-W-Will…I die just like this…

Eco thought so.

The liquid in the capsule kept on rotating and Eco’s body was being swept by it.

Every time her shoulders or waist touches the glass, her body will move slowly in the opposite direction.

It seems like the liquid was made of special materials. Luckily, it doesn’t affect her breathing. But after suffering a few shots from the magic device, her body turned numb.

This feeling is like an empty mind floating in mid air.

-If I could just… Continue sleeping… Then I won’t feel any pain…

Just when Eco thought so, a power that surpassed those previous ones was released at her.

“Noooooooooo…!”

Even though she thought that she shouted in pain, in truth they were just air bubbles coming out from her mouth.

A bright light flashes and the water turns rapid. Just like being swallowed by a tsunami, her body kept on rotating and kept on hitting the glass around her.

-W….Why do I have to suffer this kind of pain.

It had passed the limit of her brain to just think of what they are going to do to her. She could only feel that her body had been injected with a vast amount of magic.

The pain she felt is just like her body being ripped open.

It felt like her organs were being messed up by someone.

-Urgh… It hurts…. It hurts…. I beg you all, please stop.

It is pointless no matter how she shouted in her mind, the magic was still flowing into the body. Eco’s body was jerking nonstop and she was struggling.

You might as well do me a favour by killing me-Eco gave up.

“…!”

At the next moment- The Necromancia’s slimy tentacles attacking her from all directions.

Eco couldn’t understand. Where did those tentacles appear from in this enclosed environment?

The tentacles which were wriggling like a snake slowly snatched her freedom.

Her arms, waist, legs… was entangled by those tentacles. -Stop! This must be an illusion! It is this device that was making me hallucinate…!

Eco tried to stay conscious and opened her eyes widely.

At that moment, the tentacles disappeared.

The feelings of being entangled by those tentacles also disappeared.

However, not long after that, she lost focus and the tentacles appeared again and had her waist surrounded.

In a blink of an eye, she was lifted by those tentacles.

-Stop!

[[Image:SnRK V04 183.jpg|thumb]]

An abnormally thick tentacle was approaching Eco’s face.

Eco kept her teeth closed with her might. If she was to be careless, the tentacle will surely wriggle into her mouth. Eco had Goosebumps just by think about it.

Eco initially wanted to ask for Ash’s help. She hoped that he could save him from this hell.

However, from the point she woke up in this device, she couldn’t even summon Ash.

Her Astral Flow with Ash had also been cut off.

The lost of her communication had put her in fear.

Eco was shocked that the lost of her connection with Ash would put her in such great fear.

-I am really an idiot. I only knew what is precious to me after I had lost it.

This experience had made her wanted to treasure Ash much more.

That’s right, without Ash, I can’t do anything… I am really a good for nothing.

-Don…

At that instant, there was something moving in her body.

===Part 4===
“Something is wrong! The magic indicator is showing an abnormal value!”

“We found an unknown magic source! Its power is increasing!”

“We have lost control of ‘Yggdrasill’! It ignored the emergency stop signal!”

The continuous bad news had made Dr Hoffman turn pale.

The laboratory was as if in a fire and a tense atmosphere was spreading.

Everyone was with a panicked look and were busy dealing with the buttons under their hands.

“What happened…?”

Anya who was looking from aside wondered.

Basically, there was nothing abnormal with Eco who was in the capsule.

Even though she was shot by the high power compressed magic and had struggle like she was having a nightmare, yet nothing dramatic had happened.

But the indicator was still indicating an abnormal value. Also, they were losing control of ‘Yggdrasill’.

The situation had suddenly become tense.

Even the emergency trigger had been triggered and the bell was ringing loudly.

-Dong!

At that instant, Anya heard something from the ground.

“What is that… Sound?”

As if to prove that it was not an illusion, ‘Yggdrasill’ magic indication exploded.

“Uwaa!”

Some groaned and all the surrounding deviced started to explode with red flames. All the technician were running away in fear.

“Don’t panic! Keep calm!”

Dr Hoffman shouted but not even a single soul was listening.

Because in everyone’s sights was Eco who was caged in the capsule.

Eco’s body was glowing with a dim light.

Even Anya was captivated by the sight in front.

“Dr Hoffman! Let’s escape!”

A young researcher advised Dr Hoffman. The rest of the researchers were agreeing with him and looked at Dr Hoffman.

Anya left the wall and walk towards Dr Hoffman’s back.

“Dr Hoffman, I also think that it would be wise if we escape now.”

“No!”

Anya was stunned by Dr Hoffman’s aura. She had thought of him as a kind old man and was forced to act cruel as a researcher. Who would know that he would have such a stubborn side.

“What are you thinking! Even an outsider like me knew that this is dangerous! Isn’t there Millennium attached to that device too?”

What Anya was worried about is the existence of the Millenniums. Just in case the Millenniums explode… Anya was thinking. Let alone Beowolf, it is not even surprising if the capital disappeared from the maps forever.

However, Dr Hoffman shook his head slowly.

“…I won’t. That will not happen. The energy in the Millenniums has run dry.”

“What?”

“All the magic energy… Was fully absorbed by experimental material α.”

“-!”

Anya looked at Eco dumbstruck.

The intensity of Eco’s light was getting stronger until the extend where one couldn’t look at her directly. Those‘Dong’sounds had become clearer.

Even though there were no dangers of the Millennium exploding, it doesn’t mean that they were free from danger. Eco right now was seen as the bomb.

Later, there was the loud sound of something breaking.

Different from the normal explosions, that explosion sounds like it was originated from something being applied pressure on.

“α….α is escaping!”

A researcher shouted.

The capsule containing eco was now in ruins and the liquid was flowing out like waterfall.

Eco can be seen floating with her eyes closed- in a short moment, she disappeared. What’s left is only stardust like magic particles floating in the air.

“She… Disappeared…?”

Anya dumbstruck, murmured alone.

===Part 5===
“Hey… Something’s wrong with Beowolf!?”

When Maestro Lancelot reached the landing space at a height of twenty meters, Silvia shouted:

“That is…!”

Ash who was riding on Lancelot behind Silvia widened his eyes.

The sacred airship Esperanza, airship Crown Solas and air ship Silvanus was lined up together.

On the other hand, the huge airship Beowolf was parked quite some distance away from the trio.

The suspicious thing was the black smoke emerging from Beowolf.

Could it be a fire?

If Eco is inside… Ash was too scared to think about it.

“Urgh…!”

At this moment, Ash felt a burning sensation from his left hand.

Although he nearly screamed in pain, he managed to tolerate with it.

It felt like suddenly putting his hand into a furnace.

“Is everything alright, Ash!?”

Silvia was worried about him and turned around and asked, but Ash couldn’t even reply because of the pain.

The ‘Seikoku’ engraved on his left arm was slowly moaning.

A while later, there was a glaring light coming out from his left arm and his sleeve up to his shoulders was burned off. Even the bandage was burned into pieces.

In a blink of an eye, Ash’s ‘Seikoku’ on his left arm was exposed.

“Wha…!”

The ‘Seikoku’ on his hand was glowing with different light intensity from time to time.

Ash was panicking.

It will be alright if it was just glowing but the heat and the pain sensation had no intention of stopping.

It felt that his left arm is going to explode anytime.

“Hey… What is actually happening?”

Silvia was in shock while holding the reins which was probably caused by the fright she experience from seeing Ash’s ‘Seikoku’s’ reaction.

“I don’t know… But I am now sure that I am again connected to Eco!”

Just like responding to Ash’s left arm, there was an object glowing in the sky.

“Ash! Look upwards!”

Silvia who noticed the abnormality was pointing at the sky. Ash too had noticed.

There was something glowing on the sky above the landing area.

“That is…”

The mysterious light was floating in the sky as if it was decorating it.

On the other hand, the full moon didn’t look as charming as before.

By taking a closer look, it was an egg with beautiful flow lines.

There was a big emblem that was carved on the pearl like egg. At a first glance, it looked like a royal emblem.

To be more specific, that emblem looked like Ash’s ‘Seikoku’.

-Don…Don…Don…

There was a frightening beating sound from the egg.

The confusing part is, it moved with the same rhythm as the glow on Ash’s ‘Seikoku’.

Ash immediately understood.

“I couldn’t be more wrong… Eco is in that egg!”

“How is that possible? What are you talking about…?”

“Princess-sama, I beg you. Please take me there!”

“…Alright. I believe in you. Fly Lancelot! Fly higher!”

But Lancelot ignored her orders. It stayed at the twenty meters height and looked at the egg with its head up.

“Hei… Lancelot? Anything wrong? Fly immediately!”

Even though Silvia shouted strictly, Lancelot still ignored her orders. On the other hand, it did an emergency landing at a corner of the landing space.

“What are you doing? Are you disobeying my orders, Lancelot!”

“…It is useless, Princess-sama. It seems that Lancelot has its own reason.”

“What did you say?!”

Silvia looked at Ash with an imposing manner.

“Do you know what Lancelot was thinking?”

“…I am not sure. It was probably affected by the ‘Seikoku’. I don’t know why, but I could somehow understand what Lancelot was thinking.”

After Ash and Silvia was forced to alight Lancelot unwillingly, Lancelot again spread its wings and shoot up into the sky.

Looking at Lancelot’s direction, Ash found out something important.

“Princess-sama! There are more and more… Maestros gathering together!”

Groups of Maestro were gathering from all direction. It had become an amazing night view created by the light from the Maestro’s magic.

One by one the Maestro appeared and gathered at the corner of the sky.

For Maestro’s whose numbers were already little to begin with to gather together, it was unheard of even in the old times-

===Part 6===
“What is actually happening…?”

Lancelot left its master and flew off on its own.

Although this had given Silvia a great blow, still the view of the night sky gave her a deep impression.

Silvia could clearly hear the ‘Pssshh’ sounds of the beating of the wings.

When she had personally seen the dream like view, all her attention had been captured by it.

That egg even had wings growing out of it and feathers with silver lights were falling off. It was like snows that beautify the night sky.

Then- there was a crack from the egg shell.

The winged egg split into two-

“Uoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!”

A roar as if it was a horn announcing the end to the world could be heard all over.

Silvia who couldn’t look straight into the glaring light closed her eyes. When she reopened her eyes, the winged egg was no longer there. It was replaced by something that was out of this world.

To describe this thing with a word will be either – GOD or DEVIL.

However what Silvia said was insulting.

“What a scary monster…!”

[[Image:SnRK V04 193.jpg|thumb]]

“Stop! You are not allowed to say that!”

Ash shouted and brought Silvia back o her sense.

“That must be...Eco. I can feel it... I can feel it!”

“Sorry, Ash...”

Although Silvia was annoyed by her gaffe, she still couldn’t believe that it was Eco.

Later, Eco landed slowly while being surrounded by numerous Maestros.

Although the pink fur and the red eyes is similar to Eco, but her horns looked sharp and fierce and doesn’t at all looked like Eco’s round stubs.

Also, there was a third horn in between the two horns. It was like a unicorn’s horn and was up straight.

Her wings which were spread widely were different from a normal Maestro’s. It made one think of an angel’s wings.

Followed by a loud bang, Eco landed.

Eco lifted up her gigantic hind leg up high- And The large airship that had been the pride of the Empire was squashed in a few seconds.

With the conning tower being right at the middle, Beowolf had been squashed into a V shape and immediately exploded.

Yet, Eco was not at all affected.

Eco probably lost interest in Beowolf and tried to wriggle her long neck. She slowly lowered her center of gravity.

The target of her scarlet eyes was the window of the tall Fontaine Palace.

===Part 7===
-An unidentified flying object appeared above the capital and all the Maestros in the country disobeyed their masters’ orders and gathered together.

Veronica who received the emergency report brought Glenn the captain of the escorts alone with her to the ballroom at the highest floor of the palace.

Anyway, there were important guests in the ballroom that gathered from all over the continent. No matter what happened, she must protect their safety in the name of the pride of the Knight’s country.

At the same time, she must bring back her father Oswald with her. He had most probably change his appearance and was drinking while mingling in the crowd.

While running on the long corridor, Veronica questioned Glenn:

“Did you too lose contact with your pal?”

“It totally ignored my summons and ignored my request to present me my Ark. From the looks of the current situation where all the Maestros are gathering in the capital’s sky, it probably has something to do with the unidentified flying object.”

“Then, our pride, the Holy Dragners of Lautreamont can be considered no more. If the Empire attacked us at this moment, without the protection of the Maestros, this country will fall in just a single night.”

“...I don’t have an excuse to offer.” <ref>面目次第も有りません have also the meaning of ‘It is a shame I don’t have the power to…’</ref>

Glenn lowered his head somberly.

===Part 8===
When Veronica and Glenn arrived at the ballroom, the palace music and the party atmosphere of the nobles had disappeared.

Most of the guests were by the glass window and were looking downwards in shock. From there they can see the landing area for the airships.

“That’s…!”

Veronica was also looking downwards through the glass window.

“It is dangerous to stand beside the window, Princess-sama!”

Glenn warned her but Veronica ignored him.

There was a change in the landing area.

A living object that was glowing with silver light suddenly landed there.

''-Uoooooooooooooooooo…!''

It was immediately followed by a loud roar that will made one feel like covering his ears.

It was stated in the previous report that ‘an unidentified flying object that looked like a huge egg’, but it seemed that the huge egg had hatched when Veronica was on her way.

The unbelievable thing is, that huge monster easily split the Empire’s huge airship Beowolf into two with just a stomp.

Right at this moment, there was a man from the crowd was making a fuss.

“Ooh, what is happening! How can a dragon of the Knight’s… Destroy the most advance airship which is our country’s pride! I don’t think that this is some simple matter!”

The man's words caused an uproar in the ballroom.

Until a moment ago, everyone had just found out that this monster is a dragon.

Talking about a dragon, everyone will think about Lautreamont Knight Country.

“Is that person…Klaus Viderhausen! He is obviously trying to cause a stir!”

Veronica angrily scolded and glared at the Empire’s young noble.

However, there was a man who stupidly tried to argue with Klaus.

“Nonsense! That monster had nothing to do with our country!”

Although the man was wearing a lion shaped mask, judging from his plum body, Veronica immediately knew who he is.

He is her father, Oswald.

“Klaus-dono! This is the truth! That monster has nothing to do with us! Please believe in me!”

“Hu… What you said was not at all convincing. Anyway, everyone here is a witness.”

Klaus was not even bothered by Oswald.

It was because what Klaus said is true. A huge dragon that appeared with no warning had destroyed the Empire’s airship right in front of everyone.

Nothing could be worst than this.

For Chevron Kingdom and Zepharos Empire who had never see each other eye to eye was originally going to discuss about the peace in between them in tomorrow’s continental congress ‘Elysium’.

To Chevron Kingdom and its ally Lautreamont Knight Country this should be a historical event.

“Stop… Let alone the Emperor, not even a royal from the Empire attends. It is a total joke. The Empire has never wanted peace-”

Just as Veronica finished her sentence, there were people screaming from everywhere.

Everyone was in a panic.

All the guests who were wearing their mask, including the musicians and the waiters, everyone were trying to escape.

Apart from Oswald who was crying, Klaus who had previously put the blame on the Knight Country was also fleeing.

“What…!”

Veronica who immediately turned around was also sweating tremendously.

There was a pair of scarlet eyes looking into one of the many palace windows.

She spent a few seconds to figure out that the dragon had stretched its neck and was looking into Fontaine Palace.

“Glenn, if I try to slash the pair of eyes with my huge sword… Do you think I have any chance of winning?”

“Please forgive my rudeness… Even if Princess-sama, you are no match for it.”

Glenn told the truth directly.

"Why must you be this honest?"

Veronica was sulking while she confronted the dragon eyes.

The round eyes.

''It looked like a baby’s pairs of eyes. Although it looked naïve, if this monster just rubbed its nose with the palace walls, Fontaine Palace will turn into dust in seconds. Furthermore, it will be a hill full of bricks and corpses…''

Even though she was thinking of such scenario, Veronica could still manage a smile.

“Kuku… So this is of feeling of my life being controlled by others. I praise you, my child!”

Seeing that Veronica had no intention of escaping, Captain Glenn advised her in panic:

“Princess-sama, please retreat!”

“I mustn’t. Some of the guests are still here.”

Veronica looked around the empty ballroom.

There was a man with a mask standing at the middle of the dance floor.

The man was wearing a elegant suit. However his hair colour was like a cloth stained with blood.

He is obviously the guy in the reports- Milgauss.

Veronica looked at him in admiration.

“Hmm… You indeed look a little like Julius. Remove your mask!”

To her surprise, he actually did it. He could be seen silently removing his mask and threw it to a side as if he doesn’t need it anymore.

“-!”

Veronica’s eyes widened.

The handsome face beneath the mask was undoubtably Julius of ten years later who had became a seinen.<ref>青年, man with age range between 20-
30.</ref>

He no longer had the rebellious feel with him in his teenage years and was replaced by a feeling of a weapon that had been well polished.

“So you are Julius…!”

As if to sweep away her worries, Julius walked to the side of the window. At the same time, the dragon’s face disappeared as if it had lost interest with the empty ballroom.

Julius was standing by the window looking at the huge dragon.

“Kukuku… I have been waiting for this moment for a long time!”

That sinful voice and the devil like smile made Veronica feel uneasy.

Glenn took a step forward as if trying to ask on behalf of Veronica.

He unsheathed his sword that was on his waist.

“You can’t be Julius, no? My friend would never show such a malicious smile."

“Oh, Glenn McGuire! I remembered you are one of the guys that appeared in Julius’s memories. It should be suitable to use ‘it has been a long time’ in this situation, don’t you think so?”

“What do you mean!”

“You still don’t get it? This body is indeed Julius’s. However, I am not Julius. But I can peek into Julius’s memories anytime."

“What is happening…?”

Veronica was curious but it was not bothered by the man.

“Kneel! Quick! Look carefully! You are witnessing a historical moment!”

The man was acting like a holy man in the religious painting. He spread his arms widely and declared his name.

“I am Mordred! The descendant of the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family.”

Vreonica couldn’t believe what she had just heard.

The Maestro that Julius sacrificed his life to kill is named Mordred. It is also Julius’s Pal.

''Is it possible that Mordred has taken over Julius’s body?''

In regards of Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family- Veronica had only recently heard about this name.

The ‘Old Testament of the Stella Biblia’ that Dr Angela Cornwell found in Willingham Mausoleum.

Basically, Veronica had read through the copy of the book.

She recalled a part of the book.

“…After the wise dragon Inbroke, two major bloodlines were formed. They are the Avalon’s holy dragons emperor family and the Nehalennia’s dark dragons king family. An endless war started between these two families. After the members of the two families reincarnated, they will encounter each other, hate each other and kill each other.”

The person in front had introduced himself as the descendant of the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family.

Then, who is the person who should be representing the descendant of the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family-?

At this moment, Veronica stopped thinking because of Glenn’s shout.

“So I see… You are the root of evil! I knew that Julius didn’t turn crazy! He will always be loyal to his beliefs and tried to have you removed even when he had to commit a crime in the Knight Country!... Return Julius to us!”

Followed by a shout, Glenn reduced their distance and there was a silver flash.

However, Mordred easily parried Glenn’s slash.

“Urgh!”

Glenn growled.

Morderd had stopped the high speed slash with only his index and middle finger.

Glenn could be seen standing still while holding his sword. No, that’s not the case, Veronica understands well.

It was not that Glenn was not moving, it was because that he was unable to move.

Mordred had overpowered Glenn with just two fingers.

“Hmph… I will let you experience the punishment for being disobedient to ''god''."

After Mordred gave a cold smile, there was a flash.

“Gwaaa!”

Glenn was knocked up into the air while unable to even resist. He knocked into the wall hard and became unconscious.

Veronica didn’t even have the time to care about Glenn and stared at Mordred.

“…I don’t understand. As far as I know, you should have a good relationship with Julius. Didn’t you even present him with an ark?”

“Hmph, the one who has a good relationship with Julius is another me. That me who acknowledged Julius as its master and associated with him quite well."

“Another me? What are you talking about?”

“Let me generously explain it to you as your last gift before you die. There were two personalities in Mordred. If it was to be a human, it would be called a split personality.”

“What happened to the other personality?”

“It has disappeared together with the body. Ironically, it was it and Julius who had planned to kill me. For me, to prevent myself from dying, I sacrificed my body and changed into this spiritual form and inhabited Julius’s body.”

Upon saying that, Mordred looked out of the window.

Right beside the palace, the dragon was standing on its hind legs and was looking around curiously. It seemed to be troubled because it couldn’t understand what was happening.

Mordred declared to that dragon:

“Descendant of the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family, I will take that body of yours!”

“Now I understand, so this is what you planned…!”

At this stage. Veronica finally found out what Mordred is aiming for.

Mordred had once lost his body in the past when it was killed by Julius.

However, if it could take over the body of the descendant of the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family, it can once again be born as the strongest dragon…!

“That will never happen, Mordred!”

Veronica unsheathed the huge sword on her waist.

Even though she knew that he was not an opponent that she could win in a direct confrontation, she still couldn’t bear to watch idly from the side.

''I will kill Mordred together with Julius’s body before he can manage to take over Avalon’s body-'' Veronica rushed forward while thinking so.

Even when it is her brother’s body that we are talking about, she had no intention of showing any mercy.

But, before Veronica could land a hit on Mordred, suddenly, there was darkness emerging from his body and spread all over the ballroom.

“Urgh… What is this dark mist… My conscious…!”

The moment she was surrounded by the darkness, Veronica felt a strong feeling of vomiting and fainting.

===Part 9===
After struggling in the darkness without knowing what was happening for some time- The darkness had finally disappeared.

“Are you alright, Veronica?”

There was a guy who held out his hand to Veronica who was struggling to stand up.
[[Image:SnRK V04 207.jpg|thumb]]
“You…!”

There was killing intent in Veronica’s eyes.

To her surprise, Mordred who should be busy with taking over Avalon’s decendent’s body had tried to help her.

However, there was no longer evilness on his face.

“You… Could you be Julius?”

“Ahh, that is me. You are still the same old you for not calling me ‘Anii-ue’.”

It seemed that because Mordred was gone, Julius was able to take back his body.

“Of course… You F.O.O.L”

Upon hearing, Julius smile but he immediately returned back to his serious expression.

“Sorry, but now is not the time for us siblings to be arguing. Mordred's spirit has already inhibited Eco’s body. We have the obligation to defeat Mordred and protect this city.”

At that instant, Veronica felt a pain from her head as if she had just been struck.

“Hold on! Did you just say Eco? That huge dragon… is actually Eco?”

“I will explain the details to you later. Can you stand up?”

“Hmph… Whom do you think you are talking to!”

Using the huge sword as a walking stick, Veronica put all her effort into standing up. But, it was probably the side effect of inhaling in the darkness, in the end, she fell down again.

“Princess-sama!”

The person who reached Veronica first was Glenn. Although he was badly injured, he had regained consciousness.

Glenn held on to Veronica and glared at Julius.

“Julius… I have numerous things that I want to tell you, but please allow me to tell you this first.”

“I can guess what you want to say but be my guest.”

While facing the calm Julius, Glenn with mixed feelings shouted to Julius:

“You… Damn you!”

===Part 10===

Seeing that the Empire’s airship was easily crushed, the sacredship Esperanza and magicship Crown Solas flew off immediately.

Only magicship Silvanus remained at its location overlooking the whole incident.

Although Silvanus had yet to attack Eco, Ash was still worried stance the captain is Veronica.

Even so, seeing that Silvanus still hasn’t made its decision, Veronica was probably not aboard the ship. They were most probably waiting for Veronica’s orders.

On the other hand, if Veronica had boarded the ship, there is a high chance that she will issue an attack on Eco. To protect the capital, Veronica will make this decision without any hesitation. Anyway, Silvanus' fire power is not something that can be ignored.

“I…I will protect Eco!”

Ash made up his mind and rushed forward.

“Hold on, Ash. Do you want to be crushed!”

Silvia blocked Ash with her arms spread.

“Please move aside, Princess-sama! Who will protect Eco if I don’t!”

“Please keep your calm! Even so, what can you do!? How are you going to ride Eco who has turned into that? What’s more, what are you going to do to ride on Eco?”

“I…”

Silvia was right. During the time when the Necromancia attacked Ansarivan, he received help from Silvia and Lancelot.

But luck was not on his side. Lancelot who he could place his hope on had not yet returned after it gathered with the rest of the Maestro. The group of Maestros were still circling above in the sky while waiting for something to happen.

To his relieve, after Eco crushed Beowolf, she had not made any frightening actions. Although Ash was sweating tremendously during the time she looked into Fontaine Palace through the window, he was lucky that she left immediately.

Right now, Eco was only looking around and sniffing the building around her as if to figure out what was happening. In regards to what had happened to her body, she probably hasn’t figured it out yet.

“In conclusion, we must keep her as far from the town as possible. In case that she entered the town…"

Upon listening to Silvia’s assumption, Ash was shaking in fear.

Fontaine City has a population of around a million.

In another words, a million lives were now in Eco’s hands.

The severity of the current situation was no longer only involved Ash and Eco.

“Guooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo…!”

At that moment, Eco was roaring in pain and started to struggle. There was a change in her appearance that was originally surrounded by a silver light.

Just like a white cloth that came in contact with ink, there black colour was slowly taking over the white.

“…Eco? What’s happening!”

Ash could only look at Eco transform without doing anything.

The change in her skin was only the start.

Her angle like feathers had transformed into a crow like wings.

The previous middle horn of the three horns had disappeared and her pair of horns had turned into spiral shape.

Also, her four limbs were growing at a fast speed. It will be better to describe her as a giant like body rather than a huge beast. That huge body gave a evil feeling.

Last of all, there were nine eyes on its face and were glowing with red lights.

“Nine eyes…!”

Ash remembered something.

Eco once had a nightmare.

In her dream, was Eco attacked by the nine eyed dragon…?

-Don!

At that moment, Eco who had turned into that black dragon gave a dragon breath.

The flame emitted pierced the sky and scattered the dark clouds.

If this flame was aimed at Fontaine Palace or the town… Ash had Goosebumps just by thinking.

“Silvia, so you are here!”

At this moment, there was a fierce voice coming from behind.

It was Veronica and Glenn when they turned around.

Glenn was badly injured and looked like a rag.

Apart from that- There was another man that was following Veronica.

It was already surprising if a person was allowed to walk side by side with Veronica, yet it was far more surprising when they noticed the man’s hair colour.

“Milgauss! Why are you here!”

Ash felt that he was having Goosebumps all over his body. At the same time, he felt that Milgauss looked familiar. He remembered that he had seen that face in a portrait.

“Are you… Anii-ue?!”

Silvia shouted before Ash.

“Yeah. Although it is a little hard to believe, I am Julius. But I don’t have the time to give you any explanations right now. Firstly, we need to get rid of Mordred’s spirit from Eco’s body- Ash.”

When his name was suddenly called by Julius, Ash became nervous.

The person in front of him really felt like Prince Julius Lautreamont.

Julius stepped forward and placed his hand on Ash’s shoulder.

“Only you as the master can save Eco. Understood?”

“Yes. I thought of that too myself.”

Julius smiled.

“Good answer. I will take the responsibility to bring you to Eco.”

“But… How are you going to do it?”

“Don’t worry. We have that.”

After he finished his sentence, Julius was pointing at- Magicship Silvanus that was actually resting at the far end of the landing area.

===Part 11===
“Ara. I don’t remembered inviting you here…Dark Dragon King Mordred.”

In the dragon workshop, Navi and Mordred were having a confrontation. She was sitting on her favourite chair with her legs crossed.

“Kuku. This is your last time to be able to be this relaxed.”

Mordred’s spirit still maintained Julius’s voice. It was probably because it had inhabited Julius’s body for more than ten years…Navi thought so.

“I have taken over sixty percent of Eco’s body. It is only a matter of time before I can fully take control of her body. Avalon is losing.”

“…”

“Next, if I can fuse together with you, I can be fully awakened as the Dark Dragon King. Follow me. Even though you are called Navi, but I clearly know that you are not a normal navigator. You are the incarnation of the Dragweiss.”

“Ara. Just what I thought of the Dark Dragon King. You have made quite some investigations on your own.”

“Fuse with me quickly. Give me the supreme knowledge. Strictly speaking, Avalon and Nehalennia have the same roots… I should also be qualified to fuse with you.”

“I don’t disagree with this.”

Upon hearing Navi’s answer, Mordred smiled.

“So you agree?”

“No I don’t. It is because I don’t like Nehalennia.”

“…What do you say?”

“I am rooting for Avalon's Imperial Princess and her knight. Especially her knight… Ash Blake, he is far manlier than you.”

“Hmph…what a fox you are. Since it has came to this, I will use force-”

Suddenly, there were numerous tentacles coming from under Mordred’s legs. They were like snakes that had found their prey and attacked Navi.

===Part 12===
“I am sorry. Could everyone apart from Ash and I leave this ship?”

Upon stepping into Silvanus’s wheelhouse, Julius spoke coldly.

The crew responsible for the control of the wheel and control communications turned around and looked Julius in confusion. Then they are all frightened as is they had seen a ghost.

They shouldn’t be blamed since the prince that should have been executed years ago was standing in front of them and had asked them to do something unreasonable.

“Hold on… Prince Julius! What do you plan to do?”

Seeing that Ash was requesting an explanation, at the same time Julius answered, he turned around and looked at Veronica who was preparing to sit on the captain’s seat.

“I just don’t want the rest of the people to die with us. Veronica, I hoped that you could also help me by giving out the orders.”

“Do you think that I would even listen to that joke?”

“If the sister is stubborn, the elder brother will have to face some trouble.”

The next instant, Julius seized Veronica from behind with lightning speed. He was holding a hidden gun. It was a mechanic gun that the military of the Empire used.

Julius even chose to place the tip at Veronica’s temple.

“There is not much time. You should try to listen to your brother sometimes, Veronica.”

“Are you kidding! Silvanus is my magicship. Don’t even think of always doing what you wanted to, Julius.”

“As I have said before, I am your brother. Maybe you are a perfect princess in front of our people, but I knew your achilles heel. If you still disobey me, I will expose it in front of everyone.”

“What achilles heel?”

“I know that you love Silvia. There are Silvia portraits in your room. The clothes that Silva wore, Silvia’s growth record, the poem that you wrote from missing Silvia and also Silvia’s human sized doll-”

“I-I promise! Keep quite immediately!”

Ash was in a shock. He had never expected Veronica to surrender easily.

“Everyone, leave the ship immediately! This is an order from Veronica Lautreamont! No one is allowed to disobey!”

All the crew members rushed out from the wheelhouse.

===Part 13===
When everyone had left the magicship, Julius flied Silvanus while sitting on the pilot’s seat.

With the sudden shake of the magicship, Ash held on tightly to the seat of the communication officer to avoid falling. Looking through the round window, the magicship was getting further and further away from the ground.

It was a totally different experience from sitting on a dragon. When this lump of metal was flying with passengers- At the same time Ash was amazed, he also started to worry about crashing.

As for Julius, he was piloting Silvanus while telling Ash the whole story.

===Part 14===
Although what Julius said was hard to believe, basically, the dragons were seperated into the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family and the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family. The two families had incarnated since the ancient times and were still fighting each other right until today.

Also, Eco is Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family’s descendant.

In another words, Eco is the Imperial Princess of the dragons.

“…Even after I had heard of such things, it is still hard for me to believe this. Eco who has been living with me was obviously a girl who sleeps late, a glutton and a hot headed girl...”

“I know how you feel. When I found out that my pal is the descendant for the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family, I was also astounded. In the beginning, I was also troubled by why was I chosen.”

Julius said.

“Back to the topic, Avalon’s Imperial Princess’s body is really huge. Even though she is still a young dragon, she had this unbelievably huge size… It is totally unbelievable.”

After Julius pressed a few buttons on the dashboard, Eco’s body was shown on the huge screen in front.

Silvanus was three hundred meters above the land and was looking at Fontaine city from the sky above.

From the screen, they can see Eco's back that had turned black because of being taken over by Mordred.

With its frightening spiral horns and nine eyes… It is exactly the image of the dark dragon king.

Eco who was originally standing on two legs was now standing on all four because of the pain caused by Mordred’s take over.

The worrying part is, Eco was not moving at all and yet she doesn’t look as if she was sleeping…

“Could it be that Eco is fighting Mordred?”

Julius shook his head in disagreement.

“It is impossible. Judging from the huge change of her body, I am afraid that… Eco doesn’t even have the strength to fight back.”

“Is it…”

“But not all hope is lost. In my opinion, Navi is fighting against Mordred.”

“Navi?”

Why would he mention Navi’s name at such a time?

Before that, how would Julius know about Navi?

“Navi is the incarnation of the Dragweiss. If Navi could keep on fighting back, even after Mordred has fully taken over Eco’s body, he still couldn’t be fully awaken.”

“What do you mean?”

“Regardless of the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor or the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king, both of them must fuse with the Dragweiss to obtain the supreme knowledge, only then can they receive their true power. I believe that Mordred right now is trying his best to make Navi his.”

“How come… you know so much about him?”

“That was because I shared the same body with Mordred. Just like what he did to blend into the human society… I could also look into his memories.”

After hearing what Julius had said, Ash was still confused. However, there exists thing that could be easily understood without the need for good brains.

“In another words, this is a great time for a counter attack when Mordred was busy dealing with Navi, right?”

“That’s right. This is our only chance for victory. If you can ride on Eco and chase of Mordred’s spirit, then you can save Eco and the capital together.”

Ash nodded in agreement to what Julius had said.

“I am willing to give it a try. No matter if it is Avalon or Nehalennia… I don’t think I even know what they mean. I only know that Eco is my pal.”

When Ash turned around and prepared to walk back to the deck, Julius spoke from behind:

“Although I don’t know why you were chosen… But I am glad that you are Eco’s knight.”

===Part 15===
“Urgh…”

Ash arrived at the deck and the winds were cold. Such temperatures were unheard of during the summer.

Ash was carrying a parachute- This is a decision made by Julius and him beforehand.

When Silvanus had come close to Eco, Ash will jump off from the deck with the help of the parachute.

After landing, it is all up to Ash.

Basically, Ash had gone through the landing practices in the academy.

Ash had never intended to become a soldier and had always thought that the academy was wrong to force them to go through the practices.

Anyway, the academy is not a military school- But who would expect that those practices must be applied right now.

“…Right there.”

Ash was looking down towards the ground from the bow and had located Eco’s back.

Although her fur had turned black but since the enormous amount of magic surrounding her was giving off strong rays of light, he won’t have to worry about missing his target.

He must make use of the time that Navi was fighting against Mordred to land on Eco’s head.

Julius voice emerged from the magic communication device:

“Ash, you may jump anytime.”

“Roger that.”

Ash looked downwards for one more time.

For such a huge beast, her only blind spot will be her head.

Ash tried to imagine himself riding on Eco’s head.

To his surprise, it was not at all scary.

The ‘Seikoku’ on his left arm was getting warm and was flickering with dim light.

It felt as if his ‘Seikoku’ was urging him to move quickly.

Suddenly- Eco lifted her neck and shot a dragon breath towards Silvanus.

“…Urgh!”

A bright light pierced through the night sky. Ash surrendered against the shaking deck and fell down. Although Julius had barely avoided a direct hit by giving the ship an emergency turn, the strong breath had burned the side of the ship into ashes.

There were smokes and fire emerging from the ship itself and it had lost balance.

“Tsk…! If you kill me, Eco will die too! If that happens, you also couldn’t get your hands on Eco’s body that you desired that much...! How could someone be this stupid?”

When Ash was groaning, Julius voice could be heard once again through the communication machine:

“Ash, are you alright!”

“Yes, I am!”

“Silvanus is going to do an emergency landing! Jump quickly!”

“I also intend to do so!”

Ash clenched his teeth and jumped off from the deck.

The moment his feet left the deck, Mordred gave a second dragon breath.

Looking backwards, he saw Silvanus’s deck suffered a direct hit from the dragon breath.

Ash shuddered. He was lucky that he had jumped of earlier or else he would be turned into dust.

Although Julius had said there are going to do an emergency ‘landing’, judging from the speed Silvanus was moving downwards, it looked like it was crashing.

Finally, the unbalance ship disappeared at the other end of the palace walls- Then a fire pillar could be seen followed by a loud explosion.

“Prince Julius…!”

Ash was sad but there was nothing he can do.

Julius had risked his life to fly him into the night sky.

The only thing he can do right now is to complete his mission in return.

Ash's body was moving downwards because of the gravity pull.

His face and ears felt like being crushed by the air pressure.

“Now is the time!”

Ash had got the timing right and spread open the parachute.

The amazing braking force had caused the parachute to slow down.

If another dragon breath was shot, Ash would certainly be hit but Ash prayed that he will not have such bad luck.

“Wait for me, Eco. I will protect you… I swear!”

===Part 16===
“Damn! Where am I?”

Eco found out that she was in a cage when she woke up. When she was looking at her body, she found out that she was wearing a dress with low standards.

This style is obviously not of Eco’s preference.

Any dress in Fontaine Palace’s changing room looked better that this. It is even as heavy as lead and it felt more like a binding item rather than an evening dress.

On the other side of the cage was a wide white space. The walls, the floor and the ceiling were white. Not even a speck of dust that could be found.

“How dare anyone to cage a dragon like me in this cage… What were they even thinking!?”

Eco was definitely confused. Yet she still vaguely remembered that she was awakened as a dragon. She even remembered that she had become huge and was looking at the whole Fontaine palace.

But her memories stopped there.

“Tsk…It seems that you are alright since you are this energetic even in such a situation.”

It was a familiar voice.

“Navi? You…!”

Navi was standing outside of the cage. Even though Eco disliked Navi, but in such a situation, Eco was grateful that Navi was here and felt that Navi was like an angel.

The Eco’s Angel was now looking like a ragdoll.

Navi who was always acting calm and give out a noble like feeling was now with a messed up hair and even her evening dress was in rags. All over her body were marks of being bound.

“What happened? This doesn’t look like you at all…”

Eco was taking a closer look at Navi.

“Hmm…I am only accompanying Mordred in his game. It was just that, his tentacle fetish has given me some trouble!”

“Mordred? Who is that?”

“Please lend me your hand.”

Eco stretched her hand through the gaps in between the bars of the cage. After Navi held her hand, a mass amount of knowledge flowed into her brain.

In a blink of an eye, Eco knew everything that had happened. Only until now that she had realized that she was in her spiritual from.

“To make it simple… That person called Mordred is trying to take over my body, right?”

“That’s right. Anyway, during the time I was running around, he had done nothing bad. But if it is to destroy this capital, it will be an easy task for him.”

“Hmm… So I am such a great dragon.”

According to Navi’s information, Eco is Avalon’s Imperial Princess.

“Huhu. Now Ash is going to look at me differently.”

Seeing that Eco was feeling proud, Navi sighed.

“As long as he can survive. He seems to be doing something foolhardy again.”

Navi held Eco’s hand again and Eco closed her eyes.

That current situation was sent into Eco’s brain as projections.

“What…!”

Eco was speechless.

Under the night sky- Ash leaned out from Silvanus’s deck.

The next instant, Mordred gave a dragon breath from the ground.

Silvanus was hit and was gliding in the sky as if it was a paper plane.

On the other hand, Ash jumped into the air and was falling with his head pointing downwards.

“Hold on… Is he crazy!?”

At that moment, Eco clearly heard Ash’s mumble.

"Wait for me, Eco. I will protect you… I swear!”

In a short moment, tears started to flow from her eyes. Even though she was a spirit, her tears still kept on flowing. Even the Dragweiss couldn’t give an explanation. A warm feeling was haunting her heart… What was that feeling?

“Why…Why? Why would he… try to do so many things for me? Even when I… Have caused many, many troubles for him?”

Navi stretched her hand into the cage and patted her head.

“Do you even have to ask? It is because you are his pal.”

Eco rubbed off her tears and lifted her head.

“Navi, please tell me what can I do for him.”

“Teehee. That’s more like it.”

Navi smiled and waved her hand lightly. With a flash, the cage disappeared. At the same time, the black dress that limits Eco’s movement was broken into particles and a pure white evening dress was raveled from beneath.

In a short time, Navi removed Mordred’s seal.

“I must say that… You are very good.”

Eco was looking at her dress. Its design compromised of the elements of elegance and purity. It is as if it was made to be worn by the Avalon’s Imperial Princess.

“No matter how great I am, I can't help you with the upcoming step. Understood?”

Eco nodded in reply.

“Then, what should I do?”

After Navi smiled, she cheekily said:

“Of course you are to present him your originally made Ark and the Avalon’s Imperial Princess.”

The next instant, Eco became confused.

“What? Are you serious?”

As if it was natural to do so, Navi nodded without any hesitation.

“All the mimics that you have created for emergency in the past… are useless against Mordred.”

“But, how am I to do this impossible task!?”

An original Ark could not be completed easily.

It was because of Eco had seen her ancestor’s blueprint; she understands how hard it can be. An Ark is not only a strong magic weapon, at the same time, it is also a perfect art masterpiece.

Not to mention that Eco was still a young dragon that was not even a year old without any experience. Navi’s suggestion was like asking a baby to build a palace.

“Anyway, it would not be called difficult if the blueprint could be easily created.”

Eco gave up before she even started but Navi ignored it.

“Rest assured, you must believe in your own ability. You are an Imperial Princess who is the blood descendant of Avalon.”

“But… what we must think about is not only the armour itself, there is also the Ark-weapon…”

“Listen carefully, the shape itself doesn’t matters. It was the mental power of the creator that decide the strength of the Ark. Even if you don’t know the shape, as long as you focus, the shape of the Ark will be formed.”

“Really…?”

“Yeah. Also, you don’t have to worry about the Ark-weapon. Avalon has a treasured sword that has been passed down through the generations. Just use it.”

After a moment of silent, Eco mumbled:

“…I had always disliked you since the first time I met you. Regardless of your relaxed attitude or your looks that was similar to mine or your overly large breast…I hate them and hate them very much! However… It is funny that I felt that you are trustable.”

Eco lifted her head and smile.

Navi also returned a smile.

At the same moment, Eco felt that a light had pierced through that darkness that had been blocking her eyes.

She didn't want to look for trouble anymore.

And she definitely doesn’t want to give up before taking up the challenge.

While the evening dress was swaying, Eco spoke with confidence:

“Just wait and see. I will definitely complete my original Ark!”

===Part 17===
“Damn… What kind of joke is this!”

Although Ash had finally landed on Eco, still the landing spot was her back and not her head. It was exactly beside the joints between the body and the wings.

That pair of wings was like the wings of a new born bird. It was still wet and was unable to fly right away.

Maybe this is my only life saver…Ash secretly thought.

Black fur was growing from her uneven skin. It felt like a Necromancia. He must get rid of Mordred’s spirit and return Eco to her original appearance as soon as possible.

To achieve this, he must try to ride her gigantic body. However… Ash was looking at Eco’s head from afar.

Connected to her back that was as huge as prairie was a long neck that looked as if it was a stairway to heaven. And her head with spiral horns was at the other end of the neck.

His current aim was to ride on her head and try to control her using his will as a dragner. However… The distance between them was huge. It was like trying to climb the dangerous Xenoglavia Mountains without any climbing tools.

“Stop… This is not the time to give up.”

Ash threw aside the parachute and moved forward while pushing aside the fur that was taller than his height.

“Now I really looked like a louse…”

In reality, Mordred treated Ash as nothing but a louse. That is why he was not bothered by Ash at all.

“Just wait and see. Your overconfidence will be the cause of your death, Mordred…”

Although Ash kept on talking to himself to boost his confidence, but every time he looked towards her head, he felt like falling apart.

Suddenly, there was a change in the night sky.

Those Maestros who were originally circling in the sky started to make their movements.

Those Maestros could be seen gliding towards Mordred and had him surrounded.

“Grrrrrrrrrrrrr…”

Mordred lifted his neck and gave a threatening growl. However, before he even managed to attack, the Maestros activated their magic at the same time.

With a flash, chains that were made from magic appeared. Numerous chains had tied down the huge dragon’s neck, front legs, hind legs, tail…

“Guuuoooooooooooooooooooo…!”

Mordred was struggling with all his might but the chains wouldn’t even budge.

“They…!”

It can’t be wrong. These Maestros were trying to seal Mordred’s movement. Who knows if they were thinking that the dragon worthy to take to top is not Mordred but Eco.

At that moment, a Maestro landed right in front of Ash. Its pair of horns that looked like a dear’s looked familiar to Ash. Then a clear voice could be heard coming from behind the dragon.

“Ash… Hurry up!”

“Lukka!? Why are you here?”

That is. The Maestro that suddenly appeared from above was Gawain and Lukka was riding on its back. Ash felt nostalgic.

Lukka while feeling worried gave Ash a short explanation.

“Err… The Maestros in the seven dragon house were escaping together. I risked my life to cling on Gawain… In the end, I found out that I was already here.”

“Did Rebecca and Max come together?”

Lukka shook her head. It was probably Ash's mistake that he felt that Lukka’s ears were slightly drooping.

“Only I noticed that something was going on with the Maestros…”

“Is that so…”

As if to interrupt Ash’s and Lukka’s conversation, Gawain roared with its jaws opened.

It was as if trying to tell Ash to ride on it quickly. Ash naturally didn’t reject this offer.

“Thank you!”

Just as Ash sat on Gawain’s back, Gawain flapped its wings.

After piercing through the night sky, Gawain’s altitude was increasing following the direction of Mordred’s neck. Lukka’s riding skills were as good as ever and could only be described as perfect.

Ash was clinging tightly to Lukka’s thin waist to avoid from dropping off.

However, Mordred would not stay silent. Although he was being tied down, it was still struggling and roaring loudly.

Suddenly, magic cannons continued to appear in the sky and were firing at Gawain.

Ash was trembling when he saw those cannons.

It was because those cannons looked like the weapon that Ash used during his fight with Milgauss in Willingham Mausoleum. The only difference is, each cannon was around Gawain’s size.

“Magic shield Aegis…!”

“Need not worry… It will be alright as long as we are not hit.”

Lukka was not at all shaken.

As if she had fused with Gawain, she was controlling Gawain by moving left and right and dangerously avoided the crossing light rays.

It even used its dragon breath and those magic canons were destroyed one by one.

When Gawain had successfully passed Mordred’s head, all the magic cannons had disappeared.

“Ash, now’s the time…!”

Just when Lukka shouted, Gawain did a summersault.

At the point where the sky was upside down, Ash jumped down.

He drew a big locus in the night sky and successfully land in between the two horns. Looking from a close distance, the horns looked more like an altar than a horn.

When his feet landed on that spot, he felt satisfied. It was probably his dragner’s intuition that told him this is the best riding spot.

“Listen carefully Eco!”

Ash was shouting with all his might at his ‘Seikoku’ that was connected to Eco:

“Right now, I am going to ride you! I swear I will be successful in riding you! Whether you are an Imperial Princess or not it has nothing to do with me! So what if you are an imperial princess? You are always bad tempered, try to solve anything with force, a sleepy head, only have crepes in your eyes and feel like wanting to bite greedily whenever you see meat. Are these what an Imperial Princess should do! Even if you really are an Imperial Princess, I will never approve it!... I only know that- I am your knight, and you are my pal. Things are just as simple as this!”

The next instant, there was a change in his left arm that was dense with ‘Seikoku’.

The ‘Seikoku’ can be seen emitting rays of light that were able to light up the entire night sky. Then patterns started to crawl just like some living things.

No, the patterns were growing.

“W-What had happened…?”

Just when Ash was feeling confused, his ‘Seikoku’ started to spread outwards towards Ash entire body with his left arm as the starting point.

Ash found out that his connection with Eco had become stronger.

Although he couldn’t communicate with Eco verbally, yet, he was sure that he was connected to Eco…!

But, what Ash was thinking only lasted for a short moment.

“Guuuuuuuoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo…!”

Mordred was back on the move. He had broken one of the chains and was standing on two legs.

“Auuu…!”

Lukka groaned. The wind created when Mordred stood up had affected Gawain. Although it was not blown away by the wind, it was obvious that it could not remain its balance. However, Lukka shouted:

“Don’t worry about me… I am alright! Ash, just focus on saving Eco…!”

Then, Lukka and Gawain finally fall and disappear from Ash’s line of sight.

“Lukka…!”

Ash stretched his arm but he could only grab the air.

The Maestros that scattered in the sky tried to make another chain to tie down Mordred’s upper body.

But before Mordred could be sealed, it forcefully shook its neck.

“Uwaaaaaaaaa!”

Ash lost his balance and was thrown up into Fontaine Palace like a cannonball.

-This is a lie… It must be…?

He was approaching the tower in the middle of Fontaine Palace.

If he was to hit into such stone wall…he will definitely die.

-Is this the end…? Is Eco and I… Going to end right here?

Right at this moment.

Almete, Gorjal, Peto…

The voice of the spell was coming from his ‘Seikoku’ that had spread all over his body.

Espaldar, Brafoneras, Faldaje…

It was definitely Eco’s voice.

Escarcelas,Bufetas, Hombreras, Brazales…

Compare to the previous times, every single word that Eco said was followed by a deep tone.

Codales, Antebrazos, Manoplas…

Without any reason, Ash felt courage from within.

Quijotes, Guardas, Grebas… Escarpes…

Lastly, Eco was left with the last word.

-Espolón!

Ash who was going to crash into Fontaine Palace was surrounded by holy lights.

It felt as if he was surrounded by angel’s wings.

Even though Ash had an illusion of he was ascending to heaven, Eco’s voice had disrupted this peaceful feeling.

“You absolutely must accept my feelings!”

===Part 18===
As he opened his eyes, Ash was standing at the highest point of Fontaine Palace.

“I-I am saved?”

He saw Mordred was standing ferociously with only two legs while being bound by the chains of the Maestros.

All of the nine eyes were burning with the flames of rage and looked like scarlet stars. Even though he was trying his best to break free from those chains, those Maestros kept on creating new chains.

“This… What is this feeling?”

Ash was looking at his own body.

His entire body was emitting heat and was overflowing with magic.

It have to be the Ark that Eco presented to me- Yet to Ash’s dismay, what he was wearing right now was still his cloths that looked like rags.

There was not even an Ark that could be seen.

Even so, Ash still continued to feel safe as if he was protected by the Ark. Furthermore, the ‘Seikoku’ that was on his entire body was alive.

What is happening?

Hey, why are you daydreaming! Quickly use the Ark-weapon!

Eco’s voice was once again could be heard in his mind

“Eco…? What is happening?”

T-that is…?

Without any reason, Eco became silent. It felt as if she was embarrassed because of a certain something.

As if to speak on Eco’s behalf, another voice appeared in his mind.

Huhu. That is an original Ark that Eco has created on her own. However, it is still incomplete and even the shape has not been decided on yet.

“This voice… Are you Navi!”

The Ark represents proof of the oath of a dragon that swears to hand over their body and feelings to their knight. At the same time, it was a proof that it was connected to the Master’s heart. Right now, you are recognized as Avalon’s knight.

I-I only wanted to get back my own body!... It was never meant to be given to you!

Ara, who is the person who was crying because she was worried about Ash? I wonder.

S-Shut up!

Eco and Navi seemed to have started an argument.

Ash made a wry smile because they could still have the mood to quarrel even in such a dangerous situation.

All the negative emotions like insecurity and fear had disappeared.

However- Right after that, Ash had a bad premonition as if a pair of cold hands held on to his spirit. When he raised his head, Mordred’s eyes were filled with sparks and were marking him.

It had obviously begun to take notice of Ash who was previously being regarded as a louse.

“Guuuuuoooooooooooooooooooooo…!”

Although Mordred was still bound by those magic chains, he still managed to open his jaws after putting in some effort.

There was a ball of light that could be seen appearing in front of his nose and it was slowly expanding-

Ash felt a large amount of energy from it. It was thanks to the Ark that his senses had sharpened.

Navi warned Ash in his mind.

That’s bad. Even though Mordred has not fused with me, he is still very strong…!

“Rest assured. I will personally deal with it.”

Ash immediately started to search for information regarding his Ark-weapon. Thanks to his experience in equipping those mimics, his was able to complete his search in a short time.

Ash smiled from within his heart.

The Ark-weapon formed in his mind was undoubtably the strongest sword that had ever existed.

Ash readied his posture and started to chant the spell.

“An iron that could slash through anything…”

For every word he said, his ‘Seikoku’ that was all over his body was emitting heat and reacted strongly to it.

"A holy sword meant for a knight of all knights-”

At the same time, Ash felt that his palm was overflowing with an unlimited amount of magic.

The one and only treasured sword that had been passed down generations by generations in the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family had its shape formed in Ash’s palm.

“Appear- Excalibur!”

It was not only a huge brave and beautiful sword but also an Ark-weapon.

On its silvery white hilt were many scarlet coloured Milinniums and they were shining brightly.

After he held the holy sword with both hand tightly, Ash leaped.

At the same time, Mordred was giving out the dragon breath.

That was a ball of light with overwhelming powers that could destroy the entire capital to ground level in a blink of an eye. Followed by some purple electric around Mordred’s head, the ball of light was released at Ash’s direction.

To make things worse, Ash couldn’t avoid it because the entire Fontaine Palace and City were right behind him.

No- In reality, I won’t even need to avoid it.

“Uooooooooooooooooooooooooo!”

Ash as if he had forgotten about his fear rushed towards the ball of light.

In respond to Ash’s verve, the Millenniums at the hilt of the holy sword were giving out a bright light.

In response to Ash’s verve, the shapeless Ark was releasing all its magic.

“Kirisakeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!” <ref>斬り裂け. Means to get split and break apart.</ref>

Just before being swallowed by that attack, Ash swung the most powerful strike.

-Cut!!! <ref>斬. Ii was a word that was usually shouted when someone wanted to cut/slash/chop/kill off something.</ref>

At the same time the lump of energy was split into two, Ash was in mid-air. His vision was full of white and he could see nothing at all.

If not because of the protection he received from the Ark, all the cells in his body would have been reduced to nothing. Ash was indeed slashing through such high amount of temperature.

In the end, his vision finally widened.

The dragon breath that was sliced into two had its trajectory changed and each had landed at the Fontainia plains on both sides of the capital and had exploded.

Although it was a huge explosion, apart from the strong wind, Fontaine City remained intact.

Ash lifted again Excalibur and pointed it at Mordred’s head.

At that moment, there was a creepy voice coming from Ash’s mind.

…Hold on! If you harm this body, the daughter of Avalon will also be-

The nine eyes kept on blinking as if it still had something to say.

“Haa! Now you start to beg from me… Know your place, Mordred!”

Ash remained determined and continued to land at the head.

Of course Ash knew that this body originally belonged to Eco.

He never had the intention to simply slash around with this sword.

However, to get rid of Mordred’s spirit, he needs Eco to bear with it for a few more moments.

What Ash intended to do was not to kill Eco but to make her lose her strength.

Where is the best place to land my attack?

There is not enough time to think of such complicated problems.

It is because apart from Eco’s and his life, Ash was burdened with the lives of millions of residents of the capital. Ash decided to wager everything he had in the only possibility he could think of.

“Eat this, Mordred!”
[[Image:SnRK V04 243.jpg|thumb]]

Ash was landing at full speed.

''What are you trying to do…? Do you want to follow the Julius's footsteps and become a ‘dragon slayer’? I can’t understand this, I just can’t understand this…!''

Ash didn’t reply and had no intention of doing so.

“Whether you are a god or a devil-”

Ash’s sword and Mordred’s horn clashed with each other.

“All the dragons will have to listen to my command, not to mention-”

After he had pinpointed the crucial point to release Eco, Ash swung Excalibur-

“If it is my '''P.A.L'''!”

Followed by a sound of a metal clashing with rocks, the night sky was swallowed by a white light.

The thing that was chopped off by Ash and was flying in mid-air was the left horn.

“Guuuuooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo…!”

Mordred’s roar was echoing in the night.

===Part 19===

“Huhu. Mordred must be running away with his tail rolled up<ref>A proverb</ref> even though a spirit shouldn't have any tails.”

Mordred’s spirit was running under the night sky towards the east while he was seen by Navi.

On the eastern side of the country is Chevron Kingdom’s land.

“So in the end he has escaped to Chevron Kingdom… I must wait until he rises again before I can have him captured. Right now, I should give praise to Avalon’s Knight."

Navi gave herself a cheer and smiled.

Eco’s spirit was no longer beside her.

===Part 20===

Ash’s final blow had chopped off Eco’s left horn.

Last month during the time Ash was in the infirmary, he had bitten Eco’s horn. Furthermore, her left horn that was chopped off had made her recalled that feeling.

It was that ‘happy’ feeling that dragged Eco’s spirit out.

Her heart's memories and her body memories.

When both of them were thinking the same thing, Eco’s spirit managed to take back its own body and get rid of Mordred’s spirit.

Not only is this method impractical, its succession rate too is just as low.

However, Eco’s clearly remembered the feeling that Ash gave her.

-Navi had seen it all.

The body of the huge dragon had undergone some changes inside the glaring light.

The skin colour that was originally black had turned back to its original silvery white colour.

As for those nine creepy eyes, they had returned into two clear scarlet eyes.

Then-

The body that was bigger than Fontaine Palace was shrinking slowly and finally turned back into a young teenage girl with pink hair.

Ash gently hugged the angel like naked body in mid-air.

Although Eco was blushing, she still placed her hand on Ash’s back and hugged her knight.

"Princess of Avalon ~A.S.B.1365.7~" is closed.
<noinclude>

==References and Translation Notes==
<references />

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| Back to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Chapter 7|Chapter 7]]
| Return to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Epilogue|Epilogue]]
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</noinclude>

Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Chapter 8

2013-11-07T13:24:20Z

213.144.240.241: /* Part 19 */

==Chapter 8 - Avalon's Imperial Princess==
===Part 1===
In the mothership Beowolf- In the armory, under Dr Hoffman’s command the battle is in full swing.

Eco who was naked was floating in magic guided device. ‘Yggdrasill’s’ capsule. There were groups of technician working around her. This was out of Anya’s area of understanding. She could only stand by and wall and watch silently.

But, she understood well the pain that Eco was feeling.

The cold voice was followed by its echo when it was reflected on the metal body.

“The cartridge has been filled. Prepare for launching.”

“The countdown starts now. Ten, nine, eight… Three, two, one-.”

“Launch the compressed magic!”

A red bean was shot out followed by a loud gun shooting sound. Anya felt that even the ship was vibrating.

“…!”

Then, there were air bubbles coming from Eco’s mouth. If not because of she was in the liquid, her scream could definitely be heard.

Anya couldn’t bear to see Eco suffering and looked away.

Eco’s body had already taken at least ten shots of the compressed magic.

Eco regained her consciousness after the start of the experiment. At the beginning, she was struggling in the water, but ‘Yggdrasill’s’ capsule was not at all affected.

But after receiving a continuous dozens of compressed magic, she lost her strength.

Right now, she was just like a living dead. Her blank eyes were now lifeless and it was terrible. It was pure torture. Even so, the group of researchers led by Dr Hoffman were not at all shaken and continued silently.

“There is no significant change on the appearance of α. There are no abnormalities on her respiratory system. No magic fluctuation can be seen.”
Without realizing, the group of researchers started to refer Eco as α.

Eco is a human, a young dragon and also a living being- But this group of human had taken everything from her. To them, Eco was just experimental material α.
Who knows if they want to remove their feeling of guilt by calling her with symbols…Anya secretly thought so.

At this moment, Dr Hoffman’s voice is heard by Anya.

“Still no changes… It seems like we don’t have any more choices. Activate all the Millennium.”

Anya turned pale when she heard that.

This means that they had decided to use full power on ‘Yggdrasil’.

===Part 2===
“*Sob*… It was all… My fault. *Sob*…”

In the maid’s bedroom in the ground floor of the palace.

Prim was lying on the bed with her pillow wet with tears.

There was only Ash and Silvia beside her bed. Cosette was standing outside the room by the door.

Prim cried while she told the whole incident.

Prim arrived at the ancient palace when she was chasing Eco who was running amok.

She had met a few suspicious people there.

Seeing the enemy suddenly attacked, Eco appeared and became the bait to let Prim escape.

When Prim regained conscious, Eco was no longer there.

After hearing, Ash felt something suspicious.

“Why did you go to the ancient palace?”

“That’s because… It was my entire fault! It was my bad to say such things!”

“Prim, please stay calm. Compared to you, Ash was the person who suffered the most.”

After being advised by Silvia, Prim rubbed of her tears.

“You are right. Sorry…”

“Prim-san, please tell me everything before Eco was kidnapped!”

Prim nodded.

“I had no ill intention, it was just that… Ash-sama is a human and Eco is a dragon… So I thought that Eco would feel lonely after Ash-sama married with a human girl. The moment I told her that, Eco rushed out of the room.”

“What…!”

Who would have thought of this, Ash was speechless.

“Idiot! You… Why do you have to tell her this!”

Silvia was mad.

“If I am Eco… I will definitely feel hurt if someone told that to me! Even when Eco is a dragon, her thoughts are still those of a girl’s. She should know very well that her situation is special. Why was she born as a human? Why was she not born as a dragon… If I am Eco, I can never feel secure.”

“Princess-sama…”

Ash looked at Silvia who was telling Eco's thoughts in surprise.

“Recently, she had gotten used to the school life. She was also being loved by everyone as the student council’s mascot. Even so, to Eco, the only person she could trust in… Is no other than Ash.”

“And I… Have said something terrible…”

“Strictly speaking, Eco is still a young dragon who is not even a year old. Can’t you be a little more indirect in your-”

“Forget it, Princess-sama. Right now, we could never solve the problem even after lecturing Prim-san. What’s more, if they had this planned, no matter what Prim-san said, Eco would still have been kidnapped.”

“…You are right. But how are we going to rescue Eco?”

Silvia nodded in agreement with Ash.

“Prim-san… Could you describe those people who attacked?”

Ash was praying while asking. His only clue is Prim being the witness.

“Err…They pretended to be the palace servants. But, they didn’t look like citizens of the Knight Country. For their skin colour, it looked like they are the Tantalos…. Also, the person who attacked me is a short girl.”

“A Tantalos girl…!”

Ash was feeling Déjà vu. It was like he had found the last piece of puzzle in his memory.

“It was the girl who followed Milgauss!”

Ash’s fists were shaking. The world he was seeing was dyed in red. Even though he had a feeling that Milgauss was the culprit, still, after making sure, he was still in rage.

“Since we know who the criminal is-”

Silvia immediately stopped Ash who intended to rush out from the room.

“Hold on, Ash! Where do you think you are going to?”

“The ballroom, of course! I want to settle thing with Milgauss!”

“Keep your calm! Do you think that Milgauss will admit it even after you find him?”

“…Maybe not.”

Ash turned speechless.

Silvia was right, no matter how emotional he became, Eco still wouldn’t be able to return safely.”

Just as if she was trying to have Ash cooled down, Silvia made a suggestion in a calm voice:

“Don’t you think that this is a good time to save Eco when Milgauss is busy with the masquerade?”

“What do you meant?”

“Milgauss couldn’t even be bothered by an activity with long history such as this continental congress and will do anything just to capture Eco. Even when I don’t know what his intentions are, but capturing Eco alive is their priority. I am sure that their lackeys won’t do anything to harm Eco when the mastermind is absent.”

After listening to Silvia’s analysis, Ash gave a breath of relieve.

“The problem remains is, where is Eco’s location. Since Ash’s ‘Seikoku’ is not reacting, it means that Eco was being hidden in an enclosed place. For example something that could be a barrier to cut off magic… Anyway, it must be done with the proper equipment. It just can’t be a rally point that they have just constructed.”

“An enclosed place with proper equipments? That’s it, Milgauss has Klaus backing him up…”

Last evening, an airship flew past the evening sky…

The black ship that was waving the Empire’s flag proudly…

Ash remembered.

Ash and Silvia exchanged glances and shouted at the same time:

“Beowolf!”

===Part 3===
-W-Will…I die just like this…

Eco thought so.

The liquid in the capsule kept on rotating and Eco’s body was being swept by it.

Every time her shoulders or waist touches the glass, her body will move slowly in the opposite direction.

It seems like the liquid was made of special materials. Luckily, it doesn’t affect her breathing. But after suffering a few shots from the magic device, her body turned numb.

This feeling is like an empty mind floating in mid air.

-If I could just… Continue sleeping… Then I won’t feel any pain…

Just when Eco thought so, a power that surpassed those previous ones was released at her.

“Noooooooooo…!”

Even though she thought that she shouted in pain, in truth they were just air bubbles coming out from her mouth.

A bright light flashes and the water turns rapid. Just like being swallowed by a tsunami, her body kept on rotating and kept on hitting the glass around her.

-W….Why do I have to suffer this kind of pain.

It had passed the limit of her brain to just think of what they are going to do to her. She could only feel that her body had been injected with a vast amount of magic.

The pain she felt is just like her body being ripped open.

It felt like her organs were being messed up by someone.

-Urgh… It hurts…. It hurts…. I beg you all, please stop.

It is pointless no matter how she shouted in her mind, the magic was still flowing into the body. Eco’s body was jerking nonstop and she was struggling.

You might as well do me a favour by killing me-Eco gave up.

“…!”

At the next moment- The Necromancia’s slimy tentacles attacking her from all directions.

Eco couldn’t understand. Where did those tentacles appear from in this enclosed environment?

The tentacles which were wriggling like a snake slowly snatched her freedom.

Her arms, waist, legs… was entangled by those tentacles. -Stop! This must be an illusion! It is this device that was making me hallucinate…!

Eco tried to stay conscious and opened her eyes widely.

At that moment, the tentacles disappeared.

The feelings of being entangled by those tentacles also disappeared.

However, not long after that, she lost focus and the tentacles appeared again and had her waist surrounded.

In a blink of an eye, she was lifted by those tentacles.

-Stop!

[[Image:SnRK V04 183.jpg|thumb]]

An abnormally thick tentacle was approaching Eco’s face.

Eco kept her teeth closed with her might. If she was to be careless, the tentacle will surely wriggle into her mouth. Eco had Goosebumps just by think about it.

Eco initially wanted to ask for Ash’s help. She hoped that he could save him from this hell.

However, from the point she woke up in this device, she couldn’t even summon Ash.

Her Astral Flow with Ash had also been cut off.

The lost of her communication had put her in fear.

Eco was shocked that the lost of her connection with Ash would put her in such great fear.

-I am really an idiot. I only knew what is precious to me after I had lost it.

This experience had made her wanted to treasure Ash much more.

That’s right, without Ash, I can’t do anything… I am really a good for nothing.

-Don…

At that instant, there was something moving in her body.

===Part 4===
“Something is wrong! The magic indicator is showing an abnormal value!”

“We found an unknown magic source! Its power is increasing!”

“We have lost control of ‘Yggdrasill’! It ignored the emergency stop signal!”

The continuous bad news had made Dr Hoffman turn pale.

The laboratory was as if in a fire and a tense atmosphere was spreading.

Everyone was with a panicked look and were busy dealing with the buttons under their hands.

“What happened…?”

Anya who was looking from aside wondered.

Basically, there was nothing abnormal with Eco who was in the capsule.

Even though she was shot by the high power compressed magic and had struggle like she was having a nightmare, yet nothing dramatic had happened.

But the indicator was still indicating an abnormal value. Also, they were losing control of ‘Yggdrasill’.

The situation had suddenly become tense.

Even the emergency trigger had been triggered and the bell was ringing loudly.

-Dong!

At that instant, Anya heard something from the ground.

“What is that… Sound?”

As if to prove that it was not an illusion, ‘Yggdrasill’ magic indication exploded.

“Uwaa!”

Some groaned and all the surrounding deviced started to explode with red flames. All the technician were running away in fear.

“Don’t panic! Keep calm!”

Dr Hoffman shouted but not even a single soul was listening.

Because in everyone’s sights was Eco who was caged in the capsule.

Eco’s body was glowing with a dim light.

Even Anya was captivated by the sight in front.

“Dr Hoffman! Let’s escape!”

A young researcher advised Dr Hoffman. The rest of the researchers were agreeing with him and looked at Dr Hoffman.

Anya left the wall and walk towards Dr Hoffman’s back.

“Dr Hoffman, I also think that it would be wise if we escape now.”

“No!”

Anya was stunned by Dr Hoffman’s aura. She had thought of him as a kind old man and was forced to act cruel as a researcher. Who would know that he would have such a stubborn side.

“What are you thinking! Even an outsider like me knew that this is dangerous! Isn’t there Millennium attached to that device too?”

What Anya was worried about is the existence of the Millenniums. Just in case the Millenniums explode… Anya was thinking. Let alone Beowolf, it is not even surprising if the capital disappeared from the maps forever.

However, Dr Hoffman shook his head slowly.

“…I won’t. That will not happen. The energy in the Millenniums has run dry.”

“What?”

“All the magic energy… Was fully absorbed by experimental material α.”

“-!”

Anya looked at Eco dumbstruck.

The intensity of Eco’s light was getting stronger until the extend where one couldn’t look at her directly. Those‘Dong’sounds had become clearer.

Even though there were no dangers of the Millennium exploding, it doesn’t mean that they were free from danger. Eco right now was seen as the bomb.

Later, there was the loud sound of something breaking.

Different from the normal explosions, that explosion sounds like it was originated from something being applied pressure on.

“α….α is escaping!”

A researcher shouted.

The capsule containing eco was now in ruins and the liquid was flowing out like waterfall.

Eco can be seen floating with her eyes closed- in a short moment, she disappeared. What’s left is only stardust like magic particles floating in the air.

“She… Disappeared…?”

Anya dumbstruck, murmured alone.

===Part 5===
“Hey… Something’s wrong with Beowolf!?”

When Maestro Lancelot reached the landing space at a height of twenty meters, Silvia shouted:

“That is…!”

Ash who was riding on Lancelot behind Silvia widened his eyes.

The sacred airship Esperanza, airship Crown Solas and air ship Silvanus was lined up together.

On the other hand, the huge airship Beowolf was parked quite some distance away from the trio.

The suspicious thing was the black smoke emerging from Beowolf.

Could it be a fire?

If Eco is inside… Ash was too scared to think about it.

“Urgh…!”

At this moment, Ash felt a burning sensation from his left hand.

Although he nearly screamed in pain, he managed to tolerate with it.

It felt like suddenly putting his hand into a furnace.

“Is everything alright, Ash!?”

Silvia was worried about him and turned around and asked, but Ash couldn’t even reply because of the pain.

The ‘Seikoku’ engraved on his left arm was slowly moaning.

A while later, there was a glaring light coming out from his left arm and his sleeve up to his shoulders was burned off. Even the bandage was burned into pieces.

In a blink of an eye, Ash’s ‘Seikoku’ on his left arm was exposed.

“Wha…!”

The ‘Seikoku’ on his hand was glowing with different light intensity from time to time.

Ash was panicking.

It will be alright if it was just glowing but the heat and the pain sensation had no intention of stopping.

It felt that his left arm is going to explode anytime.

“Hey… What is actually happening?”

Silvia was in shock while holding the reins which was probably caused by the fright she experience from seeing Ash’s ‘Seikoku’s’ reaction.

“I don’t know… But I am now sure that I am again connected to Eco!”

Just like responding to Ash’s left arm, there was an object glowing in the sky.

“Ash! Look upwards!”

Silvia who noticed the abnormality was pointing at the sky. Ash too had noticed.

There was something glowing on the sky above the landing area.

“That is…”

The mysterious light was floating in the sky as if it was decorating it.

On the other hand, the full moon didn’t look as charming as before.

By taking a closer look, it was an egg with beautiful flow lines.

There was a big emblem that was carved on the pearl like egg. At a first glance, it looked like a royal emblem.

To be more specific, that emblem looked like Ash’s ‘Seikoku’.

-Don…Don…Don…

There was a frightening beating sound from the egg.

The confusing part is, it moved with the same rhythm as the glow on Ash’s ‘Seikoku’.

Ash immediately understood.

“I couldn’t be more wrong… Eco is in that egg!”

“How is that possible? What are you talking about…?”

“Princess-sama, I beg you. Please take me there!”

“…Alright. I believe in you. Fly Lancelot! Fly higher!”

But Lancelot ignored her orders. It stayed at the twenty meters height and looked at the egg with its head up.

“Hei… Lancelot? Anything wrong? Fly immediately!”

Even though Silvia shouted strictly, Lancelot still ignored her orders. On the other hand, it did an emergency landing at a corner of the landing space.

“What are you doing? Are you disobeying my orders, Lancelot!”

“…It is useless, Princess-sama. It seems that Lancelot has its own reason.”

“What did you say?!”

Silvia looked at Ash with an imposing manner.

“Do you know what Lancelot was thinking?”

“…I am not sure. It was probably affected by the ‘Seikoku’. I don’t know why, but I could somehow understand what Lancelot was thinking.”

After Ash and Silvia was forced to alight Lancelot unwillingly, Lancelot again spread its wings and shoot up into the sky.

Looking at Lancelot’s direction, Ash found out something important.

“Princess-sama! There are more and more… Maestros gathering together!”

Groups of Maestro were gathering from all direction. It had become an amazing night view created by the light from the Maestro’s magic.

One by one the Maestro appeared and gathered at the corner of the sky.

For Maestro’s whose numbers were already little to begin with to gather together, it was unheard of even in the old times-

===Part 6===
“What is actually happening…?”

Lancelot left its master and flew off on its own.

Although this had given Silvia a great blow, still the view of the night sky gave her a deep impression.

Silvia could clearly hear the ‘Pssshh’ sounds of the beating of the wings.

When she had personally seen the dream like view, all her attention had been captured by it.

That egg even had wings growing out of it and feathers with silver lights were falling off. It was like snows that beautify the night sky.

Then- there was a crack from the egg shell.

The winged egg split into two-

“Uoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!”

A roar as if it was a horn announcing the end to the world could be heard all over.

Silvia who couldn’t look straight into the glaring light closed her eyes. When she reopened her eyes, the winged egg was no longer there. It was replaced by something that was out of this world.

To describe this thing with a word will be either – GOD or DEVIL.

However what Silvia said was insulting.

“What a scary monster…!”

[[Image:SnRK V04 193.jpg|thumb]]

“Stop! You are not allowed to say that!”

Ash shouted and brought Silvia back o her sense.

“That must be...Eco. I can feel it... I can feel it!”

“Sorry, Ash...”

Although Silvia was annoyed by her gaffe, she still couldn’t believe that it was Eco.

Later, Eco landed slowly while being surrounded by numerous Maestros.

Although the pink fur and the red eyes is similar to Eco, but her horns looked sharp and fierce and doesn’t at all looked like Eco’s round stubs.

Also, there was a third horn in between the two horns. It was like a unicorn’s horn and was up straight.

Her wings which were spread widely were different from a normal Maestro’s. It made one think of an angel’s wings.

Followed by a loud bang, Eco landed.

Eco lifted up her gigantic hind leg up high- And The large airship that had been the pride of the Empire was squashed in a few seconds.

With the conning tower being right at the middle, Beowolf had been squashed into a V shape and immediately exploded.

Yet, Eco was not at all affected.

Eco probably lost interest in Beowolf and tried to wriggle her long neck. She slowly lowered her center of gravity.

The target of her scarlet eyes was the window of the tall Fontaine Palace.

===Part 7===
-An unidentified flying object appeared above the capital and all the Maestros in the country disobeyed their masters’ orders and gathered together.

Veronica who received the emergency report brought Glenn the captain of the escorts alone with her to the ballroom at the highest floor of the palace.

Anyway, there were important guests in the ballroom that gathered from all over the continent. No matter what happened, she must protect their safety in the name of the pride of the Knight’s country.

At the same time, she must bring back her father Oswald with her. He had most probably change his appearance and was drinking while mingling in the crowd.

While running on the long corridor, Veronica questioned Glenn:

“Did you too lose contact with your pal?”

“It totally ignored my summons and ignored my request to present me my Ark. From the looks of the current situation where all the Maestros are gathering in the capital’s sky, it probably has something to do with the unidentified flying object.”

“Then, our pride, the Holy Dragners of Lautreamont can be considered no more. If the Empire attacked us at this moment, without the protection of the Maestros, this country will fall in just a single night.”

“...I don’t have an excuse to offer.” <ref>面目次第も有りません have also the meaning of ‘It is a shame I don’t have the power to…’</ref>

Glenn lowered his head somberly.

===Part 8===
When Veronica and Glenn arrived at the ballroom, the palace music and the party atmosphere of the nobles had disappeared.

Most of the guests were by the glass window and were looking downwards in shock. From there they can see the landing area for the airships.

“That’s…!”

Veronica was also looking downwards through the glass window.

“It is dangerous to stand beside the window, Princess-sama!”

Glenn warned her but Veronica ignored him.

There was a change in the landing area.

A living object that was glowing with silver light suddenly landed there.

''-Uoooooooooooooooooo…!''

It was immediately followed by a loud roar that will made one feel like covering his ears.

It was stated in the previous report that ‘an unidentified flying object that looked like a huge egg’, but it seemed that the huge egg had hatched when Veronica was on her way.

The unbelievable thing is, that huge monster easily split the Empire’s huge airship Beowolf into two with just a stomp.

Right at this moment, there was a man from the crowd was making a fuss.

“Ooh, what is happening! How can a dragon of the Knight’s… Destroy the most advance airship which is our country’s pride! I don’t think that this is some simple matter!”

The man's words caused an uproar in the ballroom.

Until a moment ago, everyone had just found out that this monster is a dragon.

Talking about a dragon, everyone will think about Lautreamont Knight Country.

“Is that person…Klaus Viderhausen! He is obviously trying to cause a stir!”

Veronica angrily scolded and glared at the Empire’s young noble.

However, there was a man who stupidly tried to argue with Klaus.

“Nonsense! That monster had nothing to do with our country!”

Although the man was wearing a lion shaped mask, judging from his plum body, Veronica immediately knew who he is.

He is her father, Oswald.

“Klaus-dono! This is the truth! That monster has nothing to do with us! Please believe in me!”

“Hu… What you said was not at all convincing. Anyway, everyone here is a witness.”

Klaus was not even bothered by Oswald.

It was because what Klaus said is true. A huge dragon that appeared with no warning had destroyed the Empire’s airship right in front of everyone.

Nothing could be worst than this.

For Chevron Kingdom and Zepharos Empire who had never see each other eye to eye was originally going to discuss about the peace in between them in tomorrow’s continental congress ‘Elysium’.

To Chevron Kingdom and its ally Lautreamont Knight Country this should be a historical event.

“Stop… Let alone the Emperor, not even a royal from the Empire attends. It is a total joke. The Empire has never wanted peace-”

Just as Veronica finished her sentence, there were people screaming from everywhere.

Everyone was in a panic.

All the guests who were wearing their mask, including the musicians and the waiters, everyone were trying to escape.

Apart from Oswald who was crying, Klaus who had previously put the blame on the Knight Country was also fleeing.

“What…!”

Veronica who immediately turned around was also sweating tremendously.

There was a pair of scarlet eyes looking into one of the many palace windows.

She spent a few seconds to figure out that the dragon had stretched its neck and was looking into Fontaine Palace.

“Glenn, if I try to slash the pair of eyes with my huge sword… Do you think I have any chance of winning?”

“Please forgive my rudeness… Even if Princess-sama, you are no match for it.”

Glenn told the truth directly.

"Why must you be this honest?"

Veronica was sulking while she confronted the dragon eyes.

The round eyes.

''It looked like a baby’s pairs of eyes. Although it looked naïve, if this monster just rubbed its nose with the palace walls, Fontaine Palace will turn into dust in seconds. Furthermore, it will be a hill full of bricks and corpses…''

Even though she was thinking of such scenario, Veronica could still manage a smile.

“Kuku… So this is of feeling of my life being controlled by others. I praise you, my child!”

Seeing that Veronica had no intention of escaping, Captain Glenn advised her in panic:

“Princess-sama, please retreat!”

“I mustn’t. Some of the guests are still here.”

Veronica looked around the empty ballroom.

There was a man with a mask standing at the middle of the dance floor.

The man was wearing a elegant suit. However his hair colour was like a cloth stained with blood.

He is obviously the guy in the reports- Milgauss.

Veronica looked at him in admiration.

“Hmm… You indeed look a little like Julius. Remove your mask!”

To her surprise, he actually did it. He could be seen silently removing his mask and threw it to a side as if he doesn’t need it anymore.

“-!”

Veronica’s eyes widened.

The handsome face beneath the mask was undoubtably Julius of ten years later who had became a seinen.<ref>青年, man with age range between 20-
30.</ref>

He no longer had the rebellious feel with him in his teenage years and was replaced by a feeling of a weapon that had been well polished.

“So you are Julius…!”

As if to sweep away her worries, Julius walked to the side of the window. At the same time, the dragon’s face disappeared as if it had lost interest with the empty ballroom.

Julius was standing by the window looking at the huge dragon.

“Kukuku… I have been waiting for this moment for a long time!”

That sinful voice and the devil like smile made Veronica feel uneasy.

Glenn took a step forward as if trying to ask on behalf of Veronica.

He unsheathed his sword that was on his waist.

“You can’t be Julius, no? My friend would never show such a malicious smile."

“Oh, Glenn McGuire! I remembered you are one of the guys that appeared in Julius’s memories. It should be suitable to use ‘it has been a long time’ in this situation, don’t you think so?”

“What do you mean!”

“You still don’t get it? This body is indeed Julius’s. However, I am not Julius. But I can peek into Julius’s memories anytime."

“What is happening…?”

Veronica was curious but it was not bothered by the man.

“Kneel! Quick! Look carefully! You are witnessing a historical moment!”

The man was acting like a holy man in the religious painting. He spread his arms widely and declared his name.

“I am Mordred! The descendant of the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family.”

Vreonica couldn’t believe what she had just heard.

The Maestro that Julius sacrificed his life to kill is named Mordred. It is also Julius’s Pal.

''Is it possible that Mordred has taken over Julius’s body?''

In regards of Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family- Veronica had only recently heard about this name.

The ‘Old Testament of the Stella Biblia’ that Dr Angela Cornwell found in Willingham Mausoleum.

Basically, Veronica had read through the copy of the book.

She recalled a part of the book.

“…After the wise dragon Inbroke, two major bloodlines were formed. They are the Avalon’s holy dragons emperor family and the Nehalennia’s dark dragons king family. An endless war started between these two families. After the members of the two families reincarnated, they will encounter each other, hate each other and kill each other.”

The person in front had introduced himself as the descendant of the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family.

Then, who is the person who should be representing the descendant of the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family-?

At this moment, Veronica stopped thinking because of Glenn’s shout.

“So I see… You are the root of evil! I knew that Julius didn’t turn crazy! He will always be loyal to his beliefs and tried to have you removed even when he had to commit a crime in the Knight Country!... Return Julius to us!”

Followed by a shout, Glenn reduced their distance and there was a silver flash.

However, Mordred easily parried Glenn’s slash.

“Urgh!”

Glenn growled.

Morderd had stopped the high speed slash with only his index and middle finger.

Glenn could be seen standing still while holding his sword. No, that’s not the case, Veronica understands well.

It was not that Glenn was not moving, it was because that he was unable to move.

Mordred had overpowered Glenn with just two fingers.

“Hmph… I will let you experience the punishment for being disobedient to ''god''."

After Mordred gave a cold smile, there was a flash.

“Gwaaa!”

Glenn was knocked up into the air while unable to even resist. He knocked into the wall hard and became unconscious.

Veronica didn’t even have the time to care about Glenn and stared at Mordred.

“…I don’t understand. As far as I know, you should have a good relationship with Julius. Didn’t you even present him with an ark?”

“Hmph, the one who has a good relationship with Julius is another me. That me who acknowledged Julius as its master and associated with him quite well."

“Another me? What are you talking about?”

“Let me generously explain it to you as your last gift before you die. There were two personalities in Mordred. If it was to be a human, it would be called a split personality.”

“What happened to the other personality?”

“It has disappeared together with the body. Ironically, it was it and Julius who had planned to kill me. For me, to prevent myself from dying, I sacrificed my body and changed into this spiritual form and inhabited Julius’s body.”

Upon saying that, Mordred looked out of the window.

Right beside the palace, the dragon was standing on its hind legs and was looking around curiously. It seemed to be troubled because it couldn’t understand what was happening.

Mordred declared to that dragon:

“Descendant of the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family, I will take that body of yours!”

“Now I understand, so this is what you planned…!”

At this stage. Veronica finally found out what Mordred is aiming for.

Mordred had once lost his body in the past when it was killed by Julius.

However, if it could take over the body of the descendant of the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family, it can once again be born as the strongest dragon…!

“That will never happen, Mordred!”

Veronica unsheathed the huge sword on her waist.

Even though she knew that he was not an opponent that she could win in a direct confrontation, she still couldn’t bear to watch idly from the side.

''I will kill Mordred together with Julius’s body before he can manage to take over Avalon’s body-'' Veronica rushed forward while thinking so.

Even when it is her brother’s body that we are talking about, she had no intention of showing any mercy.

But, before Veronica could land a hit on Mordred, suddenly, there was darkness emerging from his body and spread all over the ballroom.

“Urgh… What is this dark mist… My conscious…!”

The moment she was surrounded by the darkness, Veronica felt a strong feeling of vomiting and fainting.

===Part 9===
After struggling in the darkness without knowing what was happening for some time- The darkness had finally disappeared.

“Are you alright, Veronica?”

There was a guy who held out his hand to Veronica who was struggling to stand up.
[[Image:SnRK V04 207.jpg|thumb]]
“You…!”

There was killing intent in Veronica’s eyes.

To her surprise, Mordred who should be busy with taking over Avalon’s decendent’s body had tried to help her.

However, there was no longer evilness on his face.

“You… Could you be Julius?”

“Ahh, that is me. You are still the same old you for not calling me ‘Anii-ue’.”

It seemed that because Mordred was gone, Julius was able to take back his body.

“Of course… You F.O.O.L”

Upon hearing, Julius smile but he immediately returned back to his serious expression.

“Sorry, but now is not the time for us siblings to be arguing. Mordred's spirit has already inhibited Eco’s body. We have the obligation to defeat Mordred and protect this city.”

At that instant, Veronica felt a pain from her head as if she had just been struck.

“Hold on! Did you just say Eco? That huge dragon… is actually Eco?”

“I will explain the details to you later. Can you stand up?”

“Hmph… Whom do you think you are talking to!”

Using the huge sword as a walking stick, Veronica put all her effort into standing up. But, it was probably the side effect of inhaling in the darkness, in the end, she fell down again.

“Princess-sama!”

The person who reached Veronica first was Glenn. Although he was badly injured, he had regained consciousness.

Glenn held on to Veronica and glared at Julius.

“Julius… I have numerous things that I want to tell you, but please allow me to tell you this first.”

“I can guess what you want to say but be my guest.”

While facing the calm Julius, Glenn with mixed feelings shouted to Julius:

“You… Damn you!”

===Part 10===

Seeing that the Empire’s airship was easily crushed, the sacredship Esperanza and magicship Crown Solas flew off immediately.

Only magicship Silvanus remained at its location overlooking the whole incident.

Although Silvanus had yet to attack Eco, Ash was still worried stance the captain is Veronica.

Even so, seeing that Silvanus still hasn’t made its decision, Veronica was probably not aboard the ship. They were most probably waiting for Veronica’s orders.

On the other hand, if Veronica had boarded the ship, there is a high chance that she will issue an attack on Eco. To protect the capital, Veronica will make this decision without any hesitation. Anyway, Silvanus' fire power is not something that can be ignored.

“I…I will protect Eco!”

Ash made up his mind and rushed forward.

“Hold on, Ash. Do you want to be crushed!”

Silvia blocked Ash with her arms spread.

“Please move aside, Princess-sama! Who will protect Eco if I don’t!”

“Please keep your calm! Even so, what can you do!? How are you going to ride Eco who has turned into that? What’s more, what are you going to do to ride on Eco?”

“I…”

Silvia was right. During the time when the Necromancia attacked Ansarivan, he received help from Silvia and Lancelot.

But luck was not on his side. Lancelot who he could place his hope on had not yet returned after it gathered with the rest of the Maestro. The group of Maestros were still circling above in the sky while waiting for something to happen.

To his relieve, after Eco crushed Beowolf, she had not made any frightening actions. Although Ash was sweating tremendously during the time she looked into Fontaine Palace through the window, he was lucky that she left immediately.

Right now, Eco was only looking around and sniffing the building around her as if to figure out what was happening. In regards to what had happened to her body, she probably hasn’t figured it out yet.

“In conclusion, we must keep her as far from the town as possible. In case that she entered the town…"

Upon listening to Silvia’s assumption, Ash was shaking in fear.

Fontaine City has a population of around a million.

In another words, a million lives were now in Eco’s hands.

The severity of the current situation was no longer only involved Ash and Eco.

“Guooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo…!”

At that moment, Eco was roaring in pain and started to struggle. There was a change in her appearance that was originally surrounded by a silver light.

Just like a white cloth that came in contact with ink, there black colour was slowly taking over the white.

“…Eco? What’s happening!”

Ash could only look at Eco transform without doing anything.

The change in her skin was only the start.

Her angle like feathers had transformed into a crow like wings.

The previous middle horn of the three horns had disappeared and her pair of horns had turned into spiral shape.

Also, her four limbs were growing at a fast speed. It will be better to describe her as a giant like body rather than a huge beast. That huge body gave a evil feeling.

Last of all, there were nine eyes on its face and were glowing with red lights.

“Nine eyes…!”

Ash remembered something.

Eco once had a nightmare.

In her dream, was Eco attacked by the nine eyed dragon…?

-Don!

At that moment, Eco who had turned into that black dragon gave a dragon breath.

The flame emitted pierced the sky and scattered the dark clouds.

If this flame was aimed at Fontaine Palace or the town… Ash had Goosebumps just by thinking.

“Silvia, so you are here!”

At this moment, there was a fierce voice coming from behind.

It was Veronica and Glenn when they turned around.

Glenn was badly injured and looked like a rag.

Apart from that- There was another man that was following Veronica.

It was already surprising if a person was allowed to walk side by side with Veronica, yet it was far more surprising when they noticed the man’s hair colour.

“Milgauss! Why are you here!”

Ash felt that he was having Goosebumps all over his body. At the same time, he felt that Milgauss looked familiar. He remembered that he had seen that face in a portrait.

“Are you… Anii-ue?!”

Silvia shouted before Ash.

“Yeah. Although it is a little hard to believe, I am Julius. But I don’t have the time to give you any explanations right now. Firstly, we need to get rid of Mordred’s spirit from Eco’s body- Ash.”

When his name was suddenly called by Julius, Ash became nervous.

The person in front of him really felt like Prince Julius Lautreamont.

Julius stepped forward and placed his hand on Ash’s shoulder.

“Only you as the master can save Eco. Understood?”

“Yes. I thought of that too myself.”

Julius smiled.

“Good answer. I will take the responsibility to bring you to Eco.”

“But… How are you going to do it?”

“Don’t worry. We have that.”

After he finished his sentence, Julius was pointing at- Magicship Silvanus that was actually resting at the far end of the landing area.

===Part 11===
“Ara. I don’t remembered inviting you here…Dark Dragon King Mordred.”

In the dragon workshop, Navi and Mordred were having a confrontation. She was sitting on her favourite chair with her legs crossed.

“Kuku. This is your last time to be able to be this relaxed.”

Mordred’s spirit still maintained Julius’s voice. It was probably because it had inhabited Julius’s body for more than ten years…Navi thought so.

“I have taken over sixty percent of Eco’s body. It is only a matter of time before I can fully take control of her body. Avalon is losing.”

“…”

“Next, if I can fuse together with you, I can be fully awakened as the Dark Dragon King. Follow me. Even though you are called Navi, but I clearly know that you are not a normal navigator. You are the incarnation of the Dragweiss.”

“Ara. Just what I thought of the Dark Dragon King. You have made quite some investigations on your own.”

“Fuse with me quickly. Give me the supreme knowledge. Strictly speaking, Avalon and Nehalennia have the same roots… I should also be qualified to fuse with you.”

“I don’t disagree with this.”

Upon hearing Navi’s answer, Mordred smiled.

“So you agree?”

“No I don’t. It is because I don’t like Nehalennia.”

“…What do you say?”

“I am rooting for Avalon's Imperial Princess and her knight. Especially her knight… Ash Blake, he is far manlier than you.”

“Hmph…what a fox you are. Since it has came to this, I will use force-”

Suddenly, there were numerous tentacles coming from under Mordred’s legs. They were like snakes that had found their prey and attacked Navi.

===Part 12===
“I am sorry. Could everyone apart from Ash and I leave this ship?”

Upon stepping into Silvanus’s wheelhouse, Julius spoke coldly.

The crew responsible for the control of the wheel and control communications turned around and looked Julius in confusion. Then they are all frightened as is they had seen a ghost.

They shouldn’t be blamed since the prince that should have been executed years ago was standing in front of them and had asked them to do something unreasonable.

“Hold on… Prince Julius! What do you plan to do?”

Seeing that Ash was requesting an explanation, at the same time Julius answered, he turned around and looked at Veronica who was preparing to sit on the captain’s seat.

“I just don’t want the rest of the people to die with us. Veronica, I hoped that you could also help me by giving out the orders.”

“Do you think that I would even listen to that joke?”

“If the sister is stubborn, the elder brother will have to face some trouble.”

The next instant, Julius seized Veronica from behind with lightning speed. He was holding a hidden gun. It was a mechanic gun that the military of the Empire used.

Julius even chose to place the tip at Veronica’s temple.

“There is not much time. You should try to listen to your brother sometimes, Veronica.”

“Are you kidding! Silvanus is my magicship. Don’t even think of always doing what you wanted to, Julius.”

“As I have said before, I am your brother. Maybe you are a perfect princess in front of our people, but I knew your achilles heel. If you still disobey me, I will expose it in front of everyone.”

“What achilles heel?”

“I know that you love Silvia. There are Silvia portraits in your room. The clothes that Silva wore, Silvia’s growth record, the poem that you wrote from missing Silvia and also Silvia’s human sized doll-”

“I-I promise! Keep quite immediately!”

Ash was in a shock. He had never expected Veronica to surrender easily.

“Everyone, leave the ship immediately! This is an order from Veronica Lautreamont! No one is allowed to disobey!”

All the crew members rushed out from the wheelhouse.

===Part 13===
When everyone had left the magicship, Julius flied Silvanus while sitting on the pilot’s seat.

With the sudden shake of the magicship, Ash held on tightly to the seat of the communication officer to avoid falling. Looking through the round window, the magicship was getting further and further away from the ground.

It was a totally different experience from sitting on a dragon. When this lump of metal was flying with passengers- At the same time Ash was amazed, he also started to worry about crashing.

As for Julius, he was piloting Silvanus while telling Ash the whole story.

===Part 14===
Although what Julius said was hard to believe, basically, the dragons were seperated into the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family and the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family. The two families had incarnated since the ancient times and were still fighting each other right until today.

Also, Eco is Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family’s descendant.

In another words, Eco is the Imperial Princess of the dragons.

“…Even after I had heard of such things, it is still hard for me to believe this. Eco who has been living with me was obviously a girl who sleeps late, a glutton and a hot headed girl...”

“I know how you feel. When I found out that my pal is the descendant for the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family, I was also astounded. In the beginning, I was also troubled by why was I chosen.”

Julius said.

“Back to the topic, Avalon’s Imperial Princess’s body is really huge. Even though she is still a young dragon, she had this unbelievably huge size… It is totally unbelievable.”

After Julius pressed a few buttons on the dashboard, Eco’s body was shown on the huge screen in front.

Silvanus was three hundred meters above the land and was looking at Fontaine city from the sky above.

From the screen, they can see Eco's back that had turned black because of being taken over by Mordred.

With its frightening spiral horns and nine eyes… It is exactly the image of the dark dragon king.

Eco who was originally standing on two legs was now standing on all four because of the pain caused by Mordred’s take over.

The worrying part is, Eco was not moving at all and yet she doesn’t look as if she was sleeping…

“Could it be that Eco is fighting Mordred?”

Julius shook his head in disagreement.

“It is impossible. Judging from the huge change of her body, I am afraid that… Eco doesn’t even have the strength to fight back.”

“Is it…”

“But not all hope is lost. In my opinion, Navi is fighting against Mordred.”

“Navi?”

Why would he mention Navi’s name at such a time?

Before that, how would Julius know about Navi?

“Navi is the incarnation of the Dragweiss. If Navi could keep on fighting back, even after Mordred has fully taken over Eco’s body, he still couldn’t be fully awaken.”

“What do you mean?”

“Regardless of the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor or the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king, both of them must fuse with the Dragweiss to obtain the supreme knowledge, only then can they receive their true power. I believe that Mordred right now is trying his best to make Navi his.”

“How come… you know so much about him?”

“That was because I shared the same body with Mordred. Just like what he did to blend into the human society… I could also look into his memories.”

After hearing what Julius had said, Ash was still confused. However, there exists thing that could be easily understood without the need for good brains.

“In another words, this is a great time for a counter attack when Mordred was busy dealing with Navi, right?”

“That’s right. This is our only chance for victory. If you can ride on Eco and chase of Mordred’s spirit, then you can save Eco and the capital together.”

Ash nodded in agreement to what Julius had said.

“I am willing to give it a try. No matter if it is Avalon or Nehalennia… I don’t think I even know what they mean. I only know that Eco is my pal.”

When Ash turned around and prepared to walk back to the deck, Julius spoke from behind:

“Although I don’t know why you were chosen… But I am glad that you are Eco’s knight.”

===Part 15===
“Urgh…”

Ash arrived at the deck and the winds were cold. Such temperatures were unheard of during the summer.

Ash was carrying a parachute- This is a decision made by Julius and him beforehand.

When Silvanus had come close to Eco, Ash will jump off from the deck with the help of the parachute.

After landing, it is all up to Ash.

Basically, Ash had gone through the landing practices in the academy.

Ash had never intended to become a soldier and had always thought that the academy was wrong to force them to go through the practices.

Anyway, the academy is not a military school- But who would expect that those practices must be applied right now.

“…Right there.”

Ash was looking down towards the ground from the bow and had located Eco’s back.

Although her fur had turned black but since the enormous amount of magic surrounding her was giving off strong rays of light, he won’t have to worry about missing his target.

He must make use of the time that Navi was fighting against Mordred to land on Eco’s head.

Julius voice emerged from the magic communication device:

“Ash, you may jump anytime.”

“Roger that.”

Ash looked downwards for one more time.

For such a huge beast, her only blind spot will be her head.

Ash tried to imagine himself riding on Eco’s head.

To his surprise, it was not at all scary.

The ‘Seikoku’ on his left arm was getting warm and was flickering with dim light.

It felt as if his ‘Seikoku’ was urging him to move quickly.

Suddenly- Eco lifted her neck and shot a dragon breath towards Silvanus.

“…Urgh!”

A bright light pierced through the night sky. Ash surrendered against the shaking deck and fell down. Although Julius had barely avoided a direct hit by giving the ship an emergency turn, the strong breath had burned the side of the ship into ashes.

There were smokes and fire emerging from the ship itself and it had lost balance.

“Tsk…! If you kill me, Eco will die too! If that happens, you also couldn’t get your hands on Eco’s body that you desired that much...! How could someone be this stupid?”

When Ash was groaning, Julius voice could be heard once again through the communication machine:

“Ash, are you alright!”

“Yes, I am!”

“Silvanus is going to do an emergency landing! Jump quickly!”

“I also intend to do so!”

Ash clenched his teeth and jumped off from the deck.

The moment his feet left the deck, Mordred gave a second dragon breath.

Looking backwards, he saw Silvanus’s deck suffered a direct hit from the dragon breath.

Ash shuddered. He was lucky that he had jumped of earlier or else he would be turned into dust.

Although Julius had said there are going to do an emergency ‘landing’, judging from the speed Silvanus was moving downwards, it looked like it was crashing.

Finally, the unbalance ship disappeared at the other end of the palace walls- Then a fire pillar could be seen followed by a loud explosion.

“Prince Julius…!”

Ash was sad but there was nothing he can do.

Julius had risked his life to fly him into the night sky.

The only thing he can do right now is to complete his mission in return.

Ash's body was moving downwards because of the gravity pull.

His face and ears felt like being crushed by the air pressure.

“Now is the time!”

Ash had got the timing right and spread open the parachute.

The amazing braking force had caused the parachute to slow down.

If another dragon breath was shot, Ash would certainly be hit but Ash prayed that he will not have such bad luck.

“Wait for me, Eco. I will protect you… I swear!”

===Part 16===
“Damn! Where am I?”

Eco found out that she was in a cage when she woke up. When she was looking at her body, she found out that she was wearing a dress with low standards.

This style is obviously not of Eco’s preference.

Any dress in Fontaine Palace’s changing room looked better that this. It is even as heavy as lead and it felt more like a binding item rather than an evening dress.

On the other side of the cage was a wide white space. The walls, the floor and the ceiling were white. Not even a speck of dust that could be found.

“How dare anyone to cage a dragon like me in this cage… What were they even thinking!?”

Eco was definitely confused. Yet she still vaguely remembered that she was awakened as a dragon. She even remembered that she had become huge and was looking at the whole Fontaine palace.

But her memories stopped there.

“Tsk…It seems that you are alright since you are this energetic even in such a situation.”

It was a familiar voice.

“Navi? You…!”

Navi was standing outside of the cage. Even though Eco disliked Navi, but in such a situation, Eco was grateful that Navi was here and felt that Navi was like an angel.

The Eco’s Angel was now looking like a ragdoll.

Navi who was always acting calm and give out a noble like feeling was now with a messed up hair and even her evening dress was in rags. All over her body were marks of being bound.

“What happened? This doesn’t look like you at all…”

Eco was taking a closer look at Navi.

“Hmm…I am only accompanying Mordred in his game. It was just that, his tentacle fetish has given me some trouble!”

“Mordred? Who is that?”

“Please lend me your hand.”

Eco stretched her hand through the gaps in between the bars of the cage. After Navi held her hand, a mass amount of knowledge flowed into her brain.

In a blink of an eye, Eco knew everything that had happened. Only until now that she had realized that she was in her spiritual from.

“To make it simple… That person called Mordred is trying to take over my body, right?”

“That’s right. Anyway, during the time I was running around, he had done nothing bad. But if it is to destroy this capital, it will be an easy task for him.”

“Hmm… So I am such a great dragon.”

According to Navi’s information, Eco is Avalon’s Imperial Princess.

“Huhu. Now Ash is going to look at me differently.”

Seeing that Eco was feeling proud, Navi sighed.

“As long as he can survive. He seems to be doing something foolhardy again.”

Navi held Eco’s hand again and Eco closed her eyes.

That current situation was sent into Eco’s brain as projections.

“What…!”

Eco was speechless.

Under the night sky- Ash leaned out from Silvanus’s deck.

The next instant, Mordred gave a dragon breath from the ground.

Silvanus was hit and was gliding in the sky as if it was a paper plane.

On the other hand, Ash jumped into the air and was falling with his head pointing downwards.

“Hold on… Is he crazy!?”

At that moment, Eco clearly heard Ash’s mumble.

"Wait for me, Eco. I will protect you… I swear!”

In a short moment, tears started to flow from her eyes. Even though she was a spirit, her tears still kept on flowing. Even the Dragweiss couldn’t give an explanation. A warm feeling was haunting her heart… What was that feeling?

“Why…Why? Why would he… try to do so many things for me? Even when I… Have caused many, many troubles for him?”

Navi stretched her hand into the cage and patted her head.

“Do you even have to ask? It is because you are his pal.”

Eco rubbed off her tears and lifted her head.

“Navi, please tell me what can I do for him.”

“Teehee. That’s more like it.”

Navi smiled and waved her hand lightly. With a flash, the cage disappeared. At the same time, the black dress that limits Eco’s movement was broken into particles and a pure white evening dress was raveled from beneath.

In a short time, Navi removed Mordred’s seal.

“I must say that… You are very good.”

Eco was looking at her dress. Its design compromised of the elements of elegance and purity. It is as if it was made to be worn by the Avalon’s Imperial Princess.

“No matter how great I am, I can't help you with the upcoming step. Understood?”

Eco nodded in reply.

“Then, what should I do?”

After Navi smiled, she cheekily said:

“Of course you are to present him your originally made Ark and the Avalon’s Imperial Princess.”

The next instant, Eco became confused.

“What? Are you serious?”

As if it was natural to do so, Navi nodded without any hesitation.

“All the mimics that you have created for emergency in the past… are useless against Mordred.”

“But, how am I to do this impossible task!?”

An original Ark could not be completed easily.

It was because of Eco had seen her ancestor’s blueprint; she understands how hard it can be. An Ark is not only a strong magic weapon, at the same time, it is also a perfect art masterpiece.

Not to mention that Eco was still a young dragon that was not even a year old without any experience. Navi’s suggestion was like asking a baby to build a palace.

“Anyway, it would not be called difficult if the blueprint could be easily created.”

Eco gave up before she even started but Navi ignored it.

“Rest assured, you must believe in your own ability. You are an Imperial Princess who is the blood descendant of Avalon.”

“But… what we must think about is not only the armour itself, there is also the Ark-weapon…”

“Listen carefully, the shape itself doesn’t matters. It was the mental power of the creator that decide the strength of the Ark. Even if you don’t know the shape, as long as you focus, the shape of the Ark will be formed.”

“Really…?”

“Yeah. Also, you don’t have to worry about the Ark-weapon. Avalon has a treasured sword that has been passed down through the generations. Just use it.”

After a moment of silent, Eco mumbled:

“…I had always disliked you since the first time I met you. Regardless of your relaxed attitude or your looks that was similar to mine or your overly large breast…I hate them and hate them very much! However… It is funny that I felt that you are trustable.”

Eco lifted her head and smile.

Navi also returned a smile.

At the same moment, Eco felt that a light had pierced through that darkness that had been blocking her eyes.

She didn't want to look for trouble anymore.

And she definitely doesn’t want to give up before taking up the challenge.

While the evening dress was swaying, Eco spoke with confidence:

“Just wait and see. I will definitely complete my original Ark!”

===Part 17===
“Damn… What kind of joke is this!”

Although Ash had finally landed on Eco, still the landing spot was her back and not her head. It was exactly beside the joints between the body and the wings.

That pair of wings was like the wings of a new born bird. It was still wet and was unable to fly right away.

Maybe this is my only life saver…Ash secretly thought.

Black fur was growing from her uneven skin. It felt like a Necromancia. He must get rid of Mordred’s spirit and return Eco to her original appearance as soon as possible.

To achieve this, he must try to ride her gigantic body. However… Ash was looking at Eco’s head from afar.

Connected to her back that was as huge as prairie was a long neck that looked as if it was a stairway to heaven. And her head with spiral horns was at the other end of the neck.

His current aim was to ride on her head and try to control her using his will as a dragner. However… The distance between them was huge. It was like trying to climb the dangerous Xenoglavia Mountains without any climbing tools.

“Stop… This is not the time to give up.”

Ash threw aside the parachute and moved forward while pushing aside the fur that was taller than his height.

“Now I really looked like a louse…”

In reality, Mordred treated Ash as nothing but a louse. That is why he was not bothered by Ash at all.

“Just wait and see. Your overconfidence will be the cause of your death, Mordred…”

Although Ash kept on talking to himself to boost his confidence, but every time he looked towards her head, he felt like falling apart.

Suddenly, there was a change in the night sky.

Those Maestros who were originally circling in the sky started to make their movements.

Those Maestros could be seen gliding towards Mordred and had him surrounded.

“Grrrrrrrrrrrrr…”

Mordred lifted his neck and gave a threatening growl. However, before he even managed to attack, the Maestros activated their magic at the same time.

With a flash, chains that were made from magic appeared. Numerous chains had tied down the huge dragon’s neck, front legs, hind legs, tail…

“Guuuoooooooooooooooooooo…!”

Mordred was struggling with all his might but the chains wouldn’t even budge.

“They…!”

It can’t be wrong. These Maestros were trying to seal Mordred’s movement. Who knows if they were thinking that the dragon worthy to take to top is not Mordred but Eco.

At that moment, a Maestro landed right in front of Ash. Its pair of horns that looked like a dear’s looked familiar to Ash. Then a clear voice could be heard coming from behind the dragon.

“Ash… Hurry up!”

“Lukka!? Why are you here?”

That is. The Maestro that suddenly appeared from above was Gawain and Lukka was riding on its back. Ash felt nostalgic.

Lukka while feeling worried gave Ash a short explanation.

“Err… The Maestros in the seven dragon house were escaping together. I risked my life to cling on Gawain… In the end, I found out that I was already here.”

“Did Rebecca and Max come together?”

Lukka shook her head. It was probably Ash's mistake that he felt that Lukka’s ears were slightly drooping.

“Only I noticed that something was going on with the Maestros…”

“Is that so…”

As if to interrupt Ash’s and Lukka’s conversation, Gawain roared with its jaws opened.

It was as if trying to tell Ash to ride on it quickly. Ash naturally didn’t reject this offer.

“Thank you!”

Just as Ash sat on Gawain’s back, Gawain flapped its wings.

After piercing through the night sky, Gawain’s altitude was increasing following the direction of Mordred’s neck. Lukka’s riding skills were as good as ever and could only be described as perfect.

Ash was clinging tightly to Lukka’s thin waist to avoid from dropping off.

However, Mordred would not stay silent. Although he was being tied down, it was still struggling and roaring loudly.

Suddenly, magic cannons continued to appear in the sky and were firing at Gawain.

Ash was trembling when he saw those cannons.

It was because those cannons looked like the weapon that Ash used during his fight with Milgauss in Willingham Mausoleum. The only difference is, each cannon was around Gawain’s size.

“Magic shield Aegis…!”

“Need not worry… It will be alright as long as we are not hit.”

Lukka was not at all shaken.

As if she had fused with Gawain, she was controlling Gawain by moving left and right and dangerously avoided the crossing light rays.

It even used its dragon breath and those magic canons were destroyed one by one.

When Gawain had successfully passed Mordred’s head, all the magic cannons had disappeared.

“Ash, now’s the time…!”

Just when Lukka shouted, Gawain did a summersault.

At the point where the sky was upside down, Ash jumped down.

He drew a big locus in the night sky and successfully land in between the two horns. Looking from a close distance, the horns looked more like an altar than a horn.

When his feet landed on that spot, he felt satisfied. It was probably his dragner’s intuition that told him this is the best riding spot.

“Listen carefully Eco!”

Ash was shouting with all his might at his ‘Seikoku’ that was connected to Eco:

“Right now, I am going to ride you! I swear I will be successful in riding you! Whether you are an Imperial Princess or not it has nothing to do with me! So what if you are an imperial princess? You are always bad tempered, try to solve anything with force, a sleepy head, only have crepes in your eyes and feel like wanting to bite greedily whenever you see meat. Are these what an Imperial Princess should do! Even if you really are an Imperial Princess, I will never approve it!... I only know that- I am your knight, and you are my pal. Things are just as simple as this!”

The next instant, there was a change in his left arm that was dense with ‘Seikoku’.

The ‘Seikoku’ can be seen emitting rays of light that were able to light up the entire night sky. Then patterns started to crawl just like some living things.

No, the patterns were growing.

“W-What had happened…?”

Just when Ash was feeling confused, his ‘Seikoku’ started to spread outwards towards Ash entire body with his left arm as the starting point.

Ash found out that his connection with Eco had become stronger.

Although he couldn’t communicate with Eco verbally, yet, he was sure that he was connected to Eco…!

But, what Ash was thinking only lasted for a short moment.

“Guuuuuuuoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo…!”

Mordred was back on the move. He had broken one of the chains and was standing on two legs.

“Auuu…!”

Lukka groaned. The wind created when Mordred stood up had affected Gawain. Although it was not blown away by the wind, it was obvious that it could not remain its balance. However, Lukka shouted:

“Don’t worry about me… I am alright! Ash, just focus on saving Eco…!”

Then, Lukka and Gawain finally fall and disappear from Ash’s line of sight.

“Lukka…!”

Ash stretched his arm but he could only grab the air.

The Maestros that scattered in the sky tried to make another chain to tie down Mordred’s upper body.

But before Mordred could be sealed, it forcefully shook its neck.

“Uwaaaaaaaaa!”

Ash lost his balance and was thrown up into Fontaine Palace like a cannonball.

-This is a lie… It must be…?

He was approaching the tower in the middle of Fontaine Palace.

If he was to hit into such stone wall…he will definitely die.

-Is this the end…? Is Eco and I… Going to end right here?

Right at this moment.

Almete, Gorjal, Peto…

The voice of the spell was coming from his ‘Seikoku’ that had spread all over his body.

Espaldar, Brafoneras, Faldaje…

It was definitely Eco’s voice.

Escarcelas,Bufetas, Hombreras, Brazales…

Compare to the previous times, every single word that Eco said was followed by a deep tone.

Codales, Antebrazos, Manoplas…

Without any reason, Ash felt courage from within.

Quijotes, Guardas, Grebas… Escarpes…

Lastly, Eco was left with the last word.

-Espolón!

Ash who was going to crash into Fontaine Palace was surrounded by holy lights.

It felt as if he was surrounded by angel’s wings.

Even though Ash had an illusion of he was ascending to heaven, Eco’s voice had disrupted this peaceful feeling.

“You absolutely must accept my feelings!”

===Part 18===
As he opened his eyes, Ash was standing at the highest point of Fontaine Palace.

“I-I am saved?”

He saw Mordred was standing ferociously with only two legs while being bound by the chains of the Maestros.

All of the nine eyes were burning with the flames of rage and looked like scarlet stars. Even though he was trying his best to break free from those chains, those Maestros kept on creating new chains.

“This… What is this feeling?”

Ash was looking at his own body.

His entire body was emitting heat and was overflowing with magic.

It have to be the Ark that Eco presented to me- Yet to Ash’s dismay, what he was wearing right now was still his cloths that looked like rags.

There was not even an Ark that could be seen.

Even so, Ash still continued to feel safe as if he was protected by the Ark. Furthermore, the ‘Seikoku’ that was on his entire body was alive.

What is happening?

Hey, why are you daydreaming! Quickly use the Ark-weapon!

Eco’s voice was once again could be heard in his mind

“Eco…? What is happening?”

T-that is…?

Without any reason, Eco became silent. It felt as if she was embarrassed because of a certain something.

As if to speak on Eco’s behalf, another voice appeared in his mind.

Huhu. That is an original Ark that Eco has created on her own. However, it is still incomplete and even the shape has not been decided on yet.

“This voice… Are you Navi!”

The Ark represents proof of the oath of a dragon that swears to hand over their body and feelings to their knight. At the same time, it was a proof that it was connected to the Master’s heart. Right now, you are recognized as Avalon’s knight.

I-I only wanted to get back my own body!... It was never meant to be given to you!

Ara, who is the person who was crying because she was worried about Ash? I wonder.

S-Shut up!

Eco and Navi seemed to have started an argument.

Ash made a wry smile because they could still have the mood to quarrel even in such a dangerous situation.

All the negative emotions like insecurity and fear had disappeared.

However- Right after that, Ash had a bad premonition as if a pair of cold hands held on to his spirit. When he raised his head, Mordred’s eyes were filled with sparks and were marking him.

It had obviously begun to take notice of Ash who was previously being regarded as a louse.

“Guuuuuoooooooooooooooooooooo…!”

Although Mordred was still bound by those magic chains, he still managed to open his jaws after putting in some effort.

There was a ball of light that could be seen appearing in front of his nose and it was slowly expanding-

Ash felt a large amount of energy from it. It was thanks to the Ark that his senses had sharpened.

Navi warned Ash in his mind.

That’s bad. Even though Mordred has not fused with me, he is still very strong…!

“Rest assured. I will personally deal with it.”

Ash immediately started to search for information regarding his Ark-weapon. Thanks to his experience in equipping those mimics, his was able to complete his search in a short time.

Ash smiled from within his heart.

The Ark-weapon formed in his mind was undoubtably the strongest sword that had ever existed.

Ash readied his posture and started to chant the spell.

“An iron that could slash through anything…”

For every word he said, his ‘Seikoku’ that was all over his body was emitting heat and reacted strongly to it.

"A holy sword meant for a knight of all knights-”

At the same time, Ash felt that his palm was overflowing with an unlimited amount of magic.

The one and only treasured sword that had been passed down generations by generations in the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family had its shape formed in Ash’s palm.

“Appear- Excalibur!”

It was not only a huge brave and beautiful sword but also an Ark-weapon.

On its silvery white hilt were many scarlet coloured Milinniums and they were shining brightly.

After he held the holy sword with both hand tightly, Ash leaped.

At the same time, Mordred was giving out the dragon breath.

That was a ball of light with overwhelming powers that could destroy the entire capital to ground level in a blink of an eye. Followed by some purple electric around Mordred’s head, the ball of light was released at Ash’s direction.

To make things worse, Ash couldn’t avoid it because the entire Fontaine Palace and City were right behind him.

No- In reality, I won’t even need to avoid it.

“Uooooooooooooooooooooooooo!”

Ash as if he had forgotten about his fear rushed towards the ball of light.

In respond to Ash’s verve, the Millenniums at the hilt of the holy sword were giving out a bright light.

In response to Ash’s verve, the shapeless Ark was releasing all its magic.

“Kirisakeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!” <ref>斬り裂け. Means to get split and break apart.</ref>

Just before being swallowed by that attack, Ash swung the most powerful strike.

-Cut!!! <ref>斬. Ii was a word that was usually shouted when someone wanted to cut/slash/chop/kill off something.</ref>

At the same time the lump of energy was split into two, Ash was in mid-air. His vision was full of white and he could see nothing at all.

If not because of the protection he received from the Ark, all the cells in his body would have been reduced to nothing. Ash was indeed slashing through such high amount of temperature.

In the end, his vision finally widened.

The dragon breath that was sliced into two had its trajectory changed and each had landed at the Fontainia plains on both sides of the capital and had exploded.

Although it was a huge explosion, apart from the strong wind, Fontaine City remained intact.

Ash lifted again Excalibur and pointed it at Mordred’s head.

At that moment, there was a creepy voice coming from Ash’s mind.

…Hold on! If you harm this body, the daughter of Avalon will also be-

The nine eyes kept on blinking as if it still had something to say.

“Haa! Now you start to beg from me… Know your place, Mordred!”

Ash remained determined and continued to land at the head.

Of course Ash knew that this body originally belonged to Eco.

He never had the intention to simply slash around with this sword.

However, to get rid of Mordred’s spirit, he needs Eco to bear with it for a few more moments.

What Ash intended to do was not to kill Eco but to make her lose her strength.

Where is the best place to land my attack?

There is not enough time to think of such complicated problems.

It is because apart from Eco’s and his life, Ash was burdened with the lives of millions of residents of the capital. Ash decided to wager everything he had in the only possibility he could think of.

“Eat this, Mordred!”
[[Image:SnRK V04 243.jpg|thumb]]

Ash was landing at full speed.

''What are you trying to do…? Do you want to follow the Julius's footsteps and become a ‘dragon slayer’? I can’t understand this, I just can’t understand this…!''

Ash didn’t reply and had no intention of doing so.

“Whether you are a god or a devil-”

Ash’s sword and Mordred’s horn clashed with each other.

“All the dragons will have to listen to my command, not to mention-”

After he had pinpointed the crucial point to release Eco, Ash swung Excalibur-

“If it is my '''P.A.L'''!”

Followed by a sound of a metal clashing with rocks, the night sky was swallowed by a white light.

The thing that was chopped off by Ash and was flying in mid-air was the left horn.

“Guuuuooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo…!”

Mordred’s roar was echoing in the night.

===Part 19===

“Huhu. Mordred must be running away with his tail rolled up<ref>A proverb</ref> even though a spirit shouldn't have any tails.”

Mordred’s spirit was running under the night sky towards the east while he was seen by Navi.

On the eastern side of the country is Chevron Kingdom’s land.

“So in the end he has escaped to Chevron Kingdom… I must wait until he rises again before I can have him captured. Right now, I should give praise to Avalon’s Knight."

Navi gave herself a cheer and smiled.

Eco’s spirit was no longer beside her.

===Part 20===

Ash’s final blow had chopped off Eco’s left horn.

Last month during the time Ash was in the infirmary, he had bitten Eco’s horn. Furthermore, her left horn that was chopped off had made her recalled that feeling.

It was that ‘happy’ feeling that dragged Eco’s spirit out.

Her hearts memories and her body memories.

When both of them are thinking the same thing, Eco’s spirit managed to take back its own body and get rid of Mordred’s spirit.

Not only this method is impractical, its succession rate too is just as low.

However, Eco’s clearly remembered the feeling that Ash gave her.

-Navi had seen it all.

The body of the huge dragon had undergone some changes inside the glaring light.

The skin colour that was originally black had turned back to its original silvery white colour.

As for those nine creepy eyes, they had returned into two clear scarlet eyes.

Then-

The body that was bigger than Fontaine Palace was shrinking slowly and finally turned back into a young teenage girl with pink hair.

Ash gently hugged the angel like naked body in mid-air.

Although Eco was blushing, she still placed her hand on Ash’s back and hugged her knight.

"Princess of Avalon ~A.S.B.1365.7~" is closed.
<noinclude>

==References and Translation Notes==
<references />

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|-
| Back to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Chapter 7|Chapter 7]]
| Return to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Epilogue|Epilogue]]
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</noinclude>

Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Chapter 8

2013-11-07T13:23:03Z

213.144.240.241: /* Part 18 */

==Chapter 8 - Avalon's Imperial Princess==
===Part 1===
In the mothership Beowolf- In the armory, under Dr Hoffman’s command the battle is in full swing.

Eco who was naked was floating in magic guided device. ‘Yggdrasill’s’ capsule. There were groups of technician working around her. This was out of Anya’s area of understanding. She could only stand by and wall and watch silently.

But, she understood well the pain that Eco was feeling.

The cold voice was followed by its echo when it was reflected on the metal body.

“The cartridge has been filled. Prepare for launching.”

“The countdown starts now. Ten, nine, eight… Three, two, one-.”

“Launch the compressed magic!”

A red bean was shot out followed by a loud gun shooting sound. Anya felt that even the ship was vibrating.

“…!”

Then, there were air bubbles coming from Eco’s mouth. If not because of she was in the liquid, her scream could definitely be heard.

Anya couldn’t bear to see Eco suffering and looked away.

Eco’s body had already taken at least ten shots of the compressed magic.

Eco regained her consciousness after the start of the experiment. At the beginning, she was struggling in the water, but ‘Yggdrasill’s’ capsule was not at all affected.

But after receiving a continuous dozens of compressed magic, she lost her strength.

Right now, she was just like a living dead. Her blank eyes were now lifeless and it was terrible. It was pure torture. Even so, the group of researchers led by Dr Hoffman were not at all shaken and continued silently.

“There is no significant change on the appearance of α. There are no abnormalities on her respiratory system. No magic fluctuation can be seen.”
Without realizing, the group of researchers started to refer Eco as α.

Eco is a human, a young dragon and also a living being- But this group of human had taken everything from her. To them, Eco was just experimental material α.
Who knows if they want to remove their feeling of guilt by calling her with symbols…Anya secretly thought so.

At this moment, Dr Hoffman’s voice is heard by Anya.

“Still no changes… It seems like we don’t have any more choices. Activate all the Millennium.”

Anya turned pale when she heard that.

This means that they had decided to use full power on ‘Yggdrasil’.

===Part 2===
“*Sob*… It was all… My fault. *Sob*…”

In the maid’s bedroom in the ground floor of the palace.

Prim was lying on the bed with her pillow wet with tears.

There was only Ash and Silvia beside her bed. Cosette was standing outside the room by the door.

Prim cried while she told the whole incident.

Prim arrived at the ancient palace when she was chasing Eco who was running amok.

She had met a few suspicious people there.

Seeing the enemy suddenly attacked, Eco appeared and became the bait to let Prim escape.

When Prim regained conscious, Eco was no longer there.

After hearing, Ash felt something suspicious.

“Why did you go to the ancient palace?”

“That’s because… It was my entire fault! It was my bad to say such things!”

“Prim, please stay calm. Compared to you, Ash was the person who suffered the most.”

After being advised by Silvia, Prim rubbed of her tears.

“You are right. Sorry…”

“Prim-san, please tell me everything before Eco was kidnapped!”

Prim nodded.

“I had no ill intention, it was just that… Ash-sama is a human and Eco is a dragon… So I thought that Eco would feel lonely after Ash-sama married with a human girl. The moment I told her that, Eco rushed out of the room.”

“What…!”

Who would have thought of this, Ash was speechless.

“Idiot! You… Why do you have to tell her this!”

Silvia was mad.

“If I am Eco… I will definitely feel hurt if someone told that to me! Even when Eco is a dragon, her thoughts are still those of a girl’s. She should know very well that her situation is special. Why was she born as a human? Why was she not born as a dragon… If I am Eco, I can never feel secure.”

“Princess-sama…”

Ash looked at Silvia who was telling Eco's thoughts in surprise.

“Recently, she had gotten used to the school life. She was also being loved by everyone as the student council’s mascot. Even so, to Eco, the only person she could trust in… Is no other than Ash.”

“And I… Have said something terrible…”

“Strictly speaking, Eco is still a young dragon who is not even a year old. Can’t you be a little more indirect in your-”

“Forget it, Princess-sama. Right now, we could never solve the problem even after lecturing Prim-san. What’s more, if they had this planned, no matter what Prim-san said, Eco would still have been kidnapped.”

“…You are right. But how are we going to rescue Eco?”

Silvia nodded in agreement with Ash.

“Prim-san… Could you describe those people who attacked?”

Ash was praying while asking. His only clue is Prim being the witness.

“Err…They pretended to be the palace servants. But, they didn’t look like citizens of the Knight Country. For their skin colour, it looked like they are the Tantalos…. Also, the person who attacked me is a short girl.”

“A Tantalos girl…!”

Ash was feeling Déjà vu. It was like he had found the last piece of puzzle in his memory.

“It was the girl who followed Milgauss!”

Ash’s fists were shaking. The world he was seeing was dyed in red. Even though he had a feeling that Milgauss was the culprit, still, after making sure, he was still in rage.

“Since we know who the criminal is-”

Silvia immediately stopped Ash who intended to rush out from the room.

“Hold on, Ash! Where do you think you are going to?”

“The ballroom, of course! I want to settle thing with Milgauss!”

“Keep your calm! Do you think that Milgauss will admit it even after you find him?”

“…Maybe not.”

Ash turned speechless.

Silvia was right, no matter how emotional he became, Eco still wouldn’t be able to return safely.”

Just as if she was trying to have Ash cooled down, Silvia made a suggestion in a calm voice:

“Don’t you think that this is a good time to save Eco when Milgauss is busy with the masquerade?”

“What do you meant?”

“Milgauss couldn’t even be bothered by an activity with long history such as this continental congress and will do anything just to capture Eco. Even when I don’t know what his intentions are, but capturing Eco alive is their priority. I am sure that their lackeys won’t do anything to harm Eco when the mastermind is absent.”

After listening to Silvia’s analysis, Ash gave a breath of relieve.

“The problem remains is, where is Eco’s location. Since Ash’s ‘Seikoku’ is not reacting, it means that Eco was being hidden in an enclosed place. For example something that could be a barrier to cut off magic… Anyway, it must be done with the proper equipment. It just can’t be a rally point that they have just constructed.”

“An enclosed place with proper equipments? That’s it, Milgauss has Klaus backing him up…”

Last evening, an airship flew past the evening sky…

The black ship that was waving the Empire’s flag proudly…

Ash remembered.

Ash and Silvia exchanged glances and shouted at the same time:

“Beowolf!”

===Part 3===
-W-Will…I die just like this…

Eco thought so.

The liquid in the capsule kept on rotating and Eco’s body was being swept by it.

Every time her shoulders or waist touches the glass, her body will move slowly in the opposite direction.

It seems like the liquid was made of special materials. Luckily, it doesn’t affect her breathing. But after suffering a few shots from the magic device, her body turned numb.

This feeling is like an empty mind floating in mid air.

-If I could just… Continue sleeping… Then I won’t feel any pain…

Just when Eco thought so, a power that surpassed those previous ones was released at her.

“Noooooooooo…!”

Even though she thought that she shouted in pain, in truth they were just air bubbles coming out from her mouth.

A bright light flashes and the water turns rapid. Just like being swallowed by a tsunami, her body kept on rotating and kept on hitting the glass around her.

-W….Why do I have to suffer this kind of pain.

It had passed the limit of her brain to just think of what they are going to do to her. She could only feel that her body had been injected with a vast amount of magic.

The pain she felt is just like her body being ripped open.

It felt like her organs were being messed up by someone.

-Urgh… It hurts…. It hurts…. I beg you all, please stop.

It is pointless no matter how she shouted in her mind, the magic was still flowing into the body. Eco’s body was jerking nonstop and she was struggling.

You might as well do me a favour by killing me-Eco gave up.

“…!”

At the next moment- The Necromancia’s slimy tentacles attacking her from all directions.

Eco couldn’t understand. Where did those tentacles appear from in this enclosed environment?

The tentacles which were wriggling like a snake slowly snatched her freedom.

Her arms, waist, legs… was entangled by those tentacles. -Stop! This must be an illusion! It is this device that was making me hallucinate…!

Eco tried to stay conscious and opened her eyes widely.

At that moment, the tentacles disappeared.

The feelings of being entangled by those tentacles also disappeared.

However, not long after that, she lost focus and the tentacles appeared again and had her waist surrounded.

In a blink of an eye, she was lifted by those tentacles.

-Stop!

[[Image:SnRK V04 183.jpg|thumb]]

An abnormally thick tentacle was approaching Eco’s face.

Eco kept her teeth closed with her might. If she was to be careless, the tentacle will surely wriggle into her mouth. Eco had Goosebumps just by think about it.

Eco initially wanted to ask for Ash’s help. She hoped that he could save him from this hell.

However, from the point she woke up in this device, she couldn’t even summon Ash.

Her Astral Flow with Ash had also been cut off.

The lost of her communication had put her in fear.

Eco was shocked that the lost of her connection with Ash would put her in such great fear.

-I am really an idiot. I only knew what is precious to me after I had lost it.

This experience had made her wanted to treasure Ash much more.

That’s right, without Ash, I can’t do anything… I am really a good for nothing.

-Don…

At that instant, there was something moving in her body.

===Part 4===
“Something is wrong! The magic indicator is showing an abnormal value!”

“We found an unknown magic source! Its power is increasing!”

“We have lost control of ‘Yggdrasill’! It ignored the emergency stop signal!”

The continuous bad news had made Dr Hoffman turn pale.

The laboratory was as if in a fire and a tense atmosphere was spreading.

Everyone was with a panicked look and were busy dealing with the buttons under their hands.

“What happened…?”

Anya who was looking from aside wondered.

Basically, there was nothing abnormal with Eco who was in the capsule.

Even though she was shot by the high power compressed magic and had struggle like she was having a nightmare, yet nothing dramatic had happened.

But the indicator was still indicating an abnormal value. Also, they were losing control of ‘Yggdrasill’.

The situation had suddenly become tense.

Even the emergency trigger had been triggered and the bell was ringing loudly.

-Dong!

At that instant, Anya heard something from the ground.

“What is that… Sound?”

As if to prove that it was not an illusion, ‘Yggdrasill’ magic indication exploded.

“Uwaa!”

Some groaned and all the surrounding deviced started to explode with red flames. All the technician were running away in fear.

“Don’t panic! Keep calm!”

Dr Hoffman shouted but not even a single soul was listening.

Because in everyone’s sights was Eco who was caged in the capsule.

Eco’s body was glowing with a dim light.

Even Anya was captivated by the sight in front.

“Dr Hoffman! Let’s escape!”

A young researcher advised Dr Hoffman. The rest of the researchers were agreeing with him and looked at Dr Hoffman.

Anya left the wall and walk towards Dr Hoffman’s back.

“Dr Hoffman, I also think that it would be wise if we escape now.”

“No!”

Anya was stunned by Dr Hoffman’s aura. She had thought of him as a kind old man and was forced to act cruel as a researcher. Who would know that he would have such a stubborn side.

“What are you thinking! Even an outsider like me knew that this is dangerous! Isn’t there Millennium attached to that device too?”

What Anya was worried about is the existence of the Millenniums. Just in case the Millenniums explode… Anya was thinking. Let alone Beowolf, it is not even surprising if the capital disappeared from the maps forever.

However, Dr Hoffman shook his head slowly.

“…I won’t. That will not happen. The energy in the Millenniums has run dry.”

“What?”

“All the magic energy… Was fully absorbed by experimental material α.”

“-!”

Anya looked at Eco dumbstruck.

The intensity of Eco’s light was getting stronger until the extend where one couldn’t look at her directly. Those‘Dong’sounds had become clearer.

Even though there were no dangers of the Millennium exploding, it doesn’t mean that they were free from danger. Eco right now was seen as the bomb.

Later, there was the loud sound of something breaking.

Different from the normal explosions, that explosion sounds like it was originated from something being applied pressure on.

“α….α is escaping!”

A researcher shouted.

The capsule containing eco was now in ruins and the liquid was flowing out like waterfall.

Eco can be seen floating with her eyes closed- in a short moment, she disappeared. What’s left is only stardust like magic particles floating in the air.

“She… Disappeared…?”

Anya dumbstruck, murmured alone.

===Part 5===
“Hey… Something’s wrong with Beowolf!?”

When Maestro Lancelot reached the landing space at a height of twenty meters, Silvia shouted:

“That is…!”

Ash who was riding on Lancelot behind Silvia widened his eyes.

The sacred airship Esperanza, airship Crown Solas and air ship Silvanus was lined up together.

On the other hand, the huge airship Beowolf was parked quite some distance away from the trio.

The suspicious thing was the black smoke emerging from Beowolf.

Could it be a fire?

If Eco is inside… Ash was too scared to think about it.

“Urgh…!”

At this moment, Ash felt a burning sensation from his left hand.

Although he nearly screamed in pain, he managed to tolerate with it.

It felt like suddenly putting his hand into a furnace.

“Is everything alright, Ash!?”

Silvia was worried about him and turned around and asked, but Ash couldn’t even reply because of the pain.

The ‘Seikoku’ engraved on his left arm was slowly moaning.

A while later, there was a glaring light coming out from his left arm and his sleeve up to his shoulders was burned off. Even the bandage was burned into pieces.

In a blink of an eye, Ash’s ‘Seikoku’ on his left arm was exposed.

“Wha…!”

The ‘Seikoku’ on his hand was glowing with different light intensity from time to time.

Ash was panicking.

It will be alright if it was just glowing but the heat and the pain sensation had no intention of stopping.

It felt that his left arm is going to explode anytime.

“Hey… What is actually happening?”

Silvia was in shock while holding the reins which was probably caused by the fright she experience from seeing Ash’s ‘Seikoku’s’ reaction.

“I don’t know… But I am now sure that I am again connected to Eco!”

Just like responding to Ash’s left arm, there was an object glowing in the sky.

“Ash! Look upwards!”

Silvia who noticed the abnormality was pointing at the sky. Ash too had noticed.

There was something glowing on the sky above the landing area.

“That is…”

The mysterious light was floating in the sky as if it was decorating it.

On the other hand, the full moon didn’t look as charming as before.

By taking a closer look, it was an egg with beautiful flow lines.

There was a big emblem that was carved on the pearl like egg. At a first glance, it looked like a royal emblem.

To be more specific, that emblem looked like Ash’s ‘Seikoku’.

-Don…Don…Don…

There was a frightening beating sound from the egg.

The confusing part is, it moved with the same rhythm as the glow on Ash’s ‘Seikoku’.

Ash immediately understood.

“I couldn’t be more wrong… Eco is in that egg!”

“How is that possible? What are you talking about…?”

“Princess-sama, I beg you. Please take me there!”

“…Alright. I believe in you. Fly Lancelot! Fly higher!”

But Lancelot ignored her orders. It stayed at the twenty meters height and looked at the egg with its head up.

“Hei… Lancelot? Anything wrong? Fly immediately!”

Even though Silvia shouted strictly, Lancelot still ignored her orders. On the other hand, it did an emergency landing at a corner of the landing space.

“What are you doing? Are you disobeying my orders, Lancelot!”

“…It is useless, Princess-sama. It seems that Lancelot has its own reason.”

“What did you say?!”

Silvia looked at Ash with an imposing manner.

“Do you know what Lancelot was thinking?”

“…I am not sure. It was probably affected by the ‘Seikoku’. I don’t know why, but I could somehow understand what Lancelot was thinking.”

After Ash and Silvia was forced to alight Lancelot unwillingly, Lancelot again spread its wings and shoot up into the sky.

Looking at Lancelot’s direction, Ash found out something important.

“Princess-sama! There are more and more… Maestros gathering together!”

Groups of Maestro were gathering from all direction. It had become an amazing night view created by the light from the Maestro’s magic.

One by one the Maestro appeared and gathered at the corner of the sky.

For Maestro’s whose numbers were already little to begin with to gather together, it was unheard of even in the old times-

===Part 6===
“What is actually happening…?”

Lancelot left its master and flew off on its own.

Although this had given Silvia a great blow, still the view of the night sky gave her a deep impression.

Silvia could clearly hear the ‘Pssshh’ sounds of the beating of the wings.

When she had personally seen the dream like view, all her attention had been captured by it.

That egg even had wings growing out of it and feathers with silver lights were falling off. It was like snows that beautify the night sky.

Then- there was a crack from the egg shell.

The winged egg split into two-

“Uoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!”

A roar as if it was a horn announcing the end to the world could be heard all over.

Silvia who couldn’t look straight into the glaring light closed her eyes. When she reopened her eyes, the winged egg was no longer there. It was replaced by something that was out of this world.

To describe this thing with a word will be either – GOD or DEVIL.

However what Silvia said was insulting.

“What a scary monster…!”

[[Image:SnRK V04 193.jpg|thumb]]

“Stop! You are not allowed to say that!”

Ash shouted and brought Silvia back o her sense.

“That must be...Eco. I can feel it... I can feel it!”

“Sorry, Ash...”

Although Silvia was annoyed by her gaffe, she still couldn’t believe that it was Eco.

Later, Eco landed slowly while being surrounded by numerous Maestros.

Although the pink fur and the red eyes is similar to Eco, but her horns looked sharp and fierce and doesn’t at all looked like Eco’s round stubs.

Also, there was a third horn in between the two horns. It was like a unicorn’s horn and was up straight.

Her wings which were spread widely were different from a normal Maestro’s. It made one think of an angel’s wings.

Followed by a loud bang, Eco landed.

Eco lifted up her gigantic hind leg up high- And The large airship that had been the pride of the Empire was squashed in a few seconds.

With the conning tower being right at the middle, Beowolf had been squashed into a V shape and immediately exploded.

Yet, Eco was not at all affected.

Eco probably lost interest in Beowolf and tried to wriggle her long neck. She slowly lowered her center of gravity.

The target of her scarlet eyes was the window of the tall Fontaine Palace.

===Part 7===
-An unidentified flying object appeared above the capital and all the Maestros in the country disobeyed their masters’ orders and gathered together.

Veronica who received the emergency report brought Glenn the captain of the escorts alone with her to the ballroom at the highest floor of the palace.

Anyway, there were important guests in the ballroom that gathered from all over the continent. No matter what happened, she must protect their safety in the name of the pride of the Knight’s country.

At the same time, she must bring back her father Oswald with her. He had most probably change his appearance and was drinking while mingling in the crowd.

While running on the long corridor, Veronica questioned Glenn:

“Did you too lose contact with your pal?”

“It totally ignored my summons and ignored my request to present me my Ark. From the looks of the current situation where all the Maestros are gathering in the capital’s sky, it probably has something to do with the unidentified flying object.”

“Then, our pride, the Holy Dragners of Lautreamont can be considered no more. If the Empire attacked us at this moment, without the protection of the Maestros, this country will fall in just a single night.”

“...I don’t have an excuse to offer.” <ref>面目次第も有りません have also the meaning of ‘It is a shame I don’t have the power to…’</ref>

Glenn lowered his head somberly.

===Part 8===
When Veronica and Glenn arrived at the ballroom, the palace music and the party atmosphere of the nobles had disappeared.

Most of the guests were by the glass window and were looking downwards in shock. From there they can see the landing area for the airships.

“That’s…!”

Veronica was also looking downwards through the glass window.

“It is dangerous to stand beside the window, Princess-sama!”

Glenn warned her but Veronica ignored him.

There was a change in the landing area.

A living object that was glowing with silver light suddenly landed there.

''-Uoooooooooooooooooo…!''

It was immediately followed by a loud roar that will made one feel like covering his ears.

It was stated in the previous report that ‘an unidentified flying object that looked like a huge egg’, but it seemed that the huge egg had hatched when Veronica was on her way.

The unbelievable thing is, that huge monster easily split the Empire’s huge airship Beowolf into two with just a stomp.

Right at this moment, there was a man from the crowd was making a fuss.

“Ooh, what is happening! How can a dragon of the Knight’s… Destroy the most advance airship which is our country’s pride! I don’t think that this is some simple matter!”

The man's words caused an uproar in the ballroom.

Until a moment ago, everyone had just found out that this monster is a dragon.

Talking about a dragon, everyone will think about Lautreamont Knight Country.

“Is that person…Klaus Viderhausen! He is obviously trying to cause a stir!”

Veronica angrily scolded and glared at the Empire’s young noble.

However, there was a man who stupidly tried to argue with Klaus.

“Nonsense! That monster had nothing to do with our country!”

Although the man was wearing a lion shaped mask, judging from his plum body, Veronica immediately knew who he is.

He is her father, Oswald.

“Klaus-dono! This is the truth! That monster has nothing to do with us! Please believe in me!”

“Hu… What you said was not at all convincing. Anyway, everyone here is a witness.”

Klaus was not even bothered by Oswald.

It was because what Klaus said is true. A huge dragon that appeared with no warning had destroyed the Empire’s airship right in front of everyone.

Nothing could be worst than this.

For Chevron Kingdom and Zepharos Empire who had never see each other eye to eye was originally going to discuss about the peace in between them in tomorrow’s continental congress ‘Elysium’.

To Chevron Kingdom and its ally Lautreamont Knight Country this should be a historical event.

“Stop… Let alone the Emperor, not even a royal from the Empire attends. It is a total joke. The Empire has never wanted peace-”

Just as Veronica finished her sentence, there were people screaming from everywhere.

Everyone was in a panic.

All the guests who were wearing their mask, including the musicians and the waiters, everyone were trying to escape.

Apart from Oswald who was crying, Klaus who had previously put the blame on the Knight Country was also fleeing.

“What…!”

Veronica who immediately turned around was also sweating tremendously.

There was a pair of scarlet eyes looking into one of the many palace windows.

She spent a few seconds to figure out that the dragon had stretched its neck and was looking into Fontaine Palace.

“Glenn, if I try to slash the pair of eyes with my huge sword… Do you think I have any chance of winning?”

“Please forgive my rudeness… Even if Princess-sama, you are no match for it.”

Glenn told the truth directly.

"Why must you be this honest?"

Veronica was sulking while she confronted the dragon eyes.

The round eyes.

''It looked like a baby’s pairs of eyes. Although it looked naïve, if this monster just rubbed its nose with the palace walls, Fontaine Palace will turn into dust in seconds. Furthermore, it will be a hill full of bricks and corpses…''

Even though she was thinking of such scenario, Veronica could still manage a smile.

“Kuku… So this is of feeling of my life being controlled by others. I praise you, my child!”

Seeing that Veronica had no intention of escaping, Captain Glenn advised her in panic:

“Princess-sama, please retreat!”

“I mustn’t. Some of the guests are still here.”

Veronica looked around the empty ballroom.

There was a man with a mask standing at the middle of the dance floor.

The man was wearing a elegant suit. However his hair colour was like a cloth stained with blood.

He is obviously the guy in the reports- Milgauss.

Veronica looked at him in admiration.

“Hmm… You indeed look a little like Julius. Remove your mask!”

To her surprise, he actually did it. He could be seen silently removing his mask and threw it to a side as if he doesn’t need it anymore.

“-!”

Veronica’s eyes widened.

The handsome face beneath the mask was undoubtably Julius of ten years later who had became a seinen.<ref>青年, man with age range between 20-
30.</ref>

He no longer had the rebellious feel with him in his teenage years and was replaced by a feeling of a weapon that had been well polished.

“So you are Julius…!”

As if to sweep away her worries, Julius walked to the side of the window. At the same time, the dragon’s face disappeared as if it had lost interest with the empty ballroom.

Julius was standing by the window looking at the huge dragon.

“Kukuku… I have been waiting for this moment for a long time!”

That sinful voice and the devil like smile made Veronica feel uneasy.

Glenn took a step forward as if trying to ask on behalf of Veronica.

He unsheathed his sword that was on his waist.

“You can’t be Julius, no? My friend would never show such a malicious smile."

“Oh, Glenn McGuire! I remembered you are one of the guys that appeared in Julius’s memories. It should be suitable to use ‘it has been a long time’ in this situation, don’t you think so?”

“What do you mean!”

“You still don’t get it? This body is indeed Julius’s. However, I am not Julius. But I can peek into Julius’s memories anytime."

“What is happening…?”

Veronica was curious but it was not bothered by the man.

“Kneel! Quick! Look carefully! You are witnessing a historical moment!”

The man was acting like a holy man in the religious painting. He spread his arms widely and declared his name.

“I am Mordred! The descendant of the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family.”

Vreonica couldn’t believe what she had just heard.

The Maestro that Julius sacrificed his life to kill is named Mordred. It is also Julius’s Pal.

''Is it possible that Mordred has taken over Julius’s body?''

In regards of Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family- Veronica had only recently heard about this name.

The ‘Old Testament of the Stella Biblia’ that Dr Angela Cornwell found in Willingham Mausoleum.

Basically, Veronica had read through the copy of the book.

She recalled a part of the book.

“…After the wise dragon Inbroke, two major bloodlines were formed. They are the Avalon’s holy dragons emperor family and the Nehalennia’s dark dragons king family. An endless war started between these two families. After the members of the two families reincarnated, they will encounter each other, hate each other and kill each other.”

The person in front had introduced himself as the descendant of the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family.

Then, who is the person who should be representing the descendant of the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family-?

At this moment, Veronica stopped thinking because of Glenn’s shout.

“So I see… You are the root of evil! I knew that Julius didn’t turn crazy! He will always be loyal to his beliefs and tried to have you removed even when he had to commit a crime in the Knight Country!... Return Julius to us!”

Followed by a shout, Glenn reduced their distance and there was a silver flash.

However, Mordred easily parried Glenn’s slash.

“Urgh!”

Glenn growled.

Morderd had stopped the high speed slash with only his index and middle finger.

Glenn could be seen standing still while holding his sword. No, that’s not the case, Veronica understands well.

It was not that Glenn was not moving, it was because that he was unable to move.

Mordred had overpowered Glenn with just two fingers.

“Hmph… I will let you experience the punishment for being disobedient to ''god''."

After Mordred gave a cold smile, there was a flash.

“Gwaaa!”

Glenn was knocked up into the air while unable to even resist. He knocked into the wall hard and became unconscious.

Veronica didn’t even have the time to care about Glenn and stared at Mordred.

“…I don’t understand. As far as I know, you should have a good relationship with Julius. Didn’t you even present him with an ark?”

“Hmph, the one who has a good relationship with Julius is another me. That me who acknowledged Julius as its master and associated with him quite well."

“Another me? What are you talking about?”

“Let me generously explain it to you as your last gift before you die. There were two personalities in Mordred. If it was to be a human, it would be called a split personality.”

“What happened to the other personality?”

“It has disappeared together with the body. Ironically, it was it and Julius who had planned to kill me. For me, to prevent myself from dying, I sacrificed my body and changed into this spiritual form and inhabited Julius’s body.”

Upon saying that, Mordred looked out of the window.

Right beside the palace, the dragon was standing on its hind legs and was looking around curiously. It seemed to be troubled because it couldn’t understand what was happening.

Mordred declared to that dragon:

“Descendant of the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family, I will take that body of yours!”

“Now I understand, so this is what you planned…!”

At this stage. Veronica finally found out what Mordred is aiming for.

Mordred had once lost his body in the past when it was killed by Julius.

However, if it could take over the body of the descendant of the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family, it can once again be born as the strongest dragon…!

“That will never happen, Mordred!”

Veronica unsheathed the huge sword on her waist.

Even though she knew that he was not an opponent that she could win in a direct confrontation, she still couldn’t bear to watch idly from the side.

''I will kill Mordred together with Julius’s body before he can manage to take over Avalon’s body-'' Veronica rushed forward while thinking so.

Even when it is her brother’s body that we are talking about, she had no intention of showing any mercy.

But, before Veronica could land a hit on Mordred, suddenly, there was darkness emerging from his body and spread all over the ballroom.

“Urgh… What is this dark mist… My conscious…!”

The moment she was surrounded by the darkness, Veronica felt a strong feeling of vomiting and fainting.

===Part 9===
After struggling in the darkness without knowing what was happening for some time- The darkness had finally disappeared.

“Are you alright, Veronica?”

There was a guy who held out his hand to Veronica who was struggling to stand up.
[[Image:SnRK V04 207.jpg|thumb]]
“You…!”

There was killing intent in Veronica’s eyes.

To her surprise, Mordred who should be busy with taking over Avalon’s decendent’s body had tried to help her.

However, there was no longer evilness on his face.

“You… Could you be Julius?”

“Ahh, that is me. You are still the same old you for not calling me ‘Anii-ue’.”

It seemed that because Mordred was gone, Julius was able to take back his body.

“Of course… You F.O.O.L”

Upon hearing, Julius smile but he immediately returned back to his serious expression.

“Sorry, but now is not the time for us siblings to be arguing. Mordred's spirit has already inhibited Eco’s body. We have the obligation to defeat Mordred and protect this city.”

At that instant, Veronica felt a pain from her head as if she had just been struck.

“Hold on! Did you just say Eco? That huge dragon… is actually Eco?”

“I will explain the details to you later. Can you stand up?”

“Hmph… Whom do you think you are talking to!”

Using the huge sword as a walking stick, Veronica put all her effort into standing up. But, it was probably the side effect of inhaling in the darkness, in the end, she fell down again.

“Princess-sama!”

The person who reached Veronica first was Glenn. Although he was badly injured, he had regained consciousness.

Glenn held on to Veronica and glared at Julius.

“Julius… I have numerous things that I want to tell you, but please allow me to tell you this first.”

“I can guess what you want to say but be my guest.”

While facing the calm Julius, Glenn with mixed feelings shouted to Julius:

“You… Damn you!”

===Part 10===

Seeing that the Empire’s airship was easily crushed, the sacredship Esperanza and magicship Crown Solas flew off immediately.

Only magicship Silvanus remained at its location overlooking the whole incident.

Although Silvanus had yet to attack Eco, Ash was still worried stance the captain is Veronica.

Even so, seeing that Silvanus still hasn’t made its decision, Veronica was probably not aboard the ship. They were most probably waiting for Veronica’s orders.

On the other hand, if Veronica had boarded the ship, there is a high chance that she will issue an attack on Eco. To protect the capital, Veronica will make this decision without any hesitation. Anyway, Silvanus' fire power is not something that can be ignored.

“I…I will protect Eco!”

Ash made up his mind and rushed forward.

“Hold on, Ash. Do you want to be crushed!”

Silvia blocked Ash with her arms spread.

“Please move aside, Princess-sama! Who will protect Eco if I don’t!”

“Please keep your calm! Even so, what can you do!? How are you going to ride Eco who has turned into that? What’s more, what are you going to do to ride on Eco?”

“I…”

Silvia was right. During the time when the Necromancia attacked Ansarivan, he received help from Silvia and Lancelot.

But luck was not on his side. Lancelot who he could place his hope on had not yet returned after it gathered with the rest of the Maestro. The group of Maestros were still circling above in the sky while waiting for something to happen.

To his relieve, after Eco crushed Beowolf, she had not made any frightening actions. Although Ash was sweating tremendously during the time she looked into Fontaine Palace through the window, he was lucky that she left immediately.

Right now, Eco was only looking around and sniffing the building around her as if to figure out what was happening. In regards to what had happened to her body, she probably hasn’t figured it out yet.

“In conclusion, we must keep her as far from the town as possible. In case that she entered the town…"

Upon listening to Silvia’s assumption, Ash was shaking in fear.

Fontaine City has a population of around a million.

In another words, a million lives were now in Eco’s hands.

The severity of the current situation was no longer only involved Ash and Eco.

“Guooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo…!”

At that moment, Eco was roaring in pain and started to struggle. There was a change in her appearance that was originally surrounded by a silver light.

Just like a white cloth that came in contact with ink, there black colour was slowly taking over the white.

“…Eco? What’s happening!”

Ash could only look at Eco transform without doing anything.

The change in her skin was only the start.

Her angle like feathers had transformed into a crow like wings.

The previous middle horn of the three horns had disappeared and her pair of horns had turned into spiral shape.

Also, her four limbs were growing at a fast speed. It will be better to describe her as a giant like body rather than a huge beast. That huge body gave a evil feeling.

Last of all, there were nine eyes on its face and were glowing with red lights.

“Nine eyes…!”

Ash remembered something.

Eco once had a nightmare.

In her dream, was Eco attacked by the nine eyed dragon…?

-Don!

At that moment, Eco who had turned into that black dragon gave a dragon breath.

The flame emitted pierced the sky and scattered the dark clouds.

If this flame was aimed at Fontaine Palace or the town… Ash had Goosebumps just by thinking.

“Silvia, so you are here!”

At this moment, there was a fierce voice coming from behind.

It was Veronica and Glenn when they turned around.

Glenn was badly injured and looked like a rag.

Apart from that- There was another man that was following Veronica.

It was already surprising if a person was allowed to walk side by side with Veronica, yet it was far more surprising when they noticed the man’s hair colour.

“Milgauss! Why are you here!”

Ash felt that he was having Goosebumps all over his body. At the same time, he felt that Milgauss looked familiar. He remembered that he had seen that face in a portrait.

“Are you… Anii-ue?!”

Silvia shouted before Ash.

“Yeah. Although it is a little hard to believe, I am Julius. But I don’t have the time to give you any explanations right now. Firstly, we need to get rid of Mordred’s spirit from Eco’s body- Ash.”

When his name was suddenly called by Julius, Ash became nervous.

The person in front of him really felt like Prince Julius Lautreamont.

Julius stepped forward and placed his hand on Ash’s shoulder.

“Only you as the master can save Eco. Understood?”

“Yes. I thought of that too myself.”

Julius smiled.

“Good answer. I will take the responsibility to bring you to Eco.”

“But… How are you going to do it?”

“Don’t worry. We have that.”

After he finished his sentence, Julius was pointing at- Magicship Silvanus that was actually resting at the far end of the landing area.

===Part 11===
“Ara. I don’t remembered inviting you here…Dark Dragon King Mordred.”

In the dragon workshop, Navi and Mordred were having a confrontation. She was sitting on her favourite chair with her legs crossed.

“Kuku. This is your last time to be able to be this relaxed.”

Mordred’s spirit still maintained Julius’s voice. It was probably because it had inhabited Julius’s body for more than ten years…Navi thought so.

“I have taken over sixty percent of Eco’s body. It is only a matter of time before I can fully take control of her body. Avalon is losing.”

“…”

“Next, if I can fuse together with you, I can be fully awakened as the Dark Dragon King. Follow me. Even though you are called Navi, but I clearly know that you are not a normal navigator. You are the incarnation of the Dragweiss.”

“Ara. Just what I thought of the Dark Dragon King. You have made quite some investigations on your own.”

“Fuse with me quickly. Give me the supreme knowledge. Strictly speaking, Avalon and Nehalennia have the same roots… I should also be qualified to fuse with you.”

“I don’t disagree with this.”

Upon hearing Navi’s answer, Mordred smiled.

“So you agree?”

“No I don’t. It is because I don’t like Nehalennia.”

“…What do you say?”

“I am rooting for Avalon's Imperial Princess and her knight. Especially her knight… Ash Blake, he is far manlier than you.”

“Hmph…what a fox you are. Since it has came to this, I will use force-”

Suddenly, there were numerous tentacles coming from under Mordred’s legs. They were like snakes that had found their prey and attacked Navi.

===Part 12===
“I am sorry. Could everyone apart from Ash and I leave this ship?”

Upon stepping into Silvanus’s wheelhouse, Julius spoke coldly.

The crew responsible for the control of the wheel and control communications turned around and looked Julius in confusion. Then they are all frightened as is they had seen a ghost.

They shouldn’t be blamed since the prince that should have been executed years ago was standing in front of them and had asked them to do something unreasonable.

“Hold on… Prince Julius! What do you plan to do?”

Seeing that Ash was requesting an explanation, at the same time Julius answered, he turned around and looked at Veronica who was preparing to sit on the captain’s seat.

“I just don’t want the rest of the people to die with us. Veronica, I hoped that you could also help me by giving out the orders.”

“Do you think that I would even listen to that joke?”

“If the sister is stubborn, the elder brother will have to face some trouble.”

The next instant, Julius seized Veronica from behind with lightning speed. He was holding a hidden gun. It was a mechanic gun that the military of the Empire used.

Julius even chose to place the tip at Veronica’s temple.

“There is not much time. You should try to listen to your brother sometimes, Veronica.”

“Are you kidding! Silvanus is my magicship. Don’t even think of always doing what you wanted to, Julius.”

“As I have said before, I am your brother. Maybe you are a perfect princess in front of our people, but I knew your achilles heel. If you still disobey me, I will expose it in front of everyone.”

“What achilles heel?”

“I know that you love Silvia. There are Silvia portraits in your room. The clothes that Silva wore, Silvia’s growth record, the poem that you wrote from missing Silvia and also Silvia’s human sized doll-”

“I-I promise! Keep quite immediately!”

Ash was in a shock. He had never expected Veronica to surrender easily.

“Everyone, leave the ship immediately! This is an order from Veronica Lautreamont! No one is allowed to disobey!”

All the crew members rushed out from the wheelhouse.

===Part 13===
When everyone had left the magicship, Julius flied Silvanus while sitting on the pilot’s seat.

With the sudden shake of the magicship, Ash held on tightly to the seat of the communication officer to avoid falling. Looking through the round window, the magicship was getting further and further away from the ground.

It was a totally different experience from sitting on a dragon. When this lump of metal was flying with passengers- At the same time Ash was amazed, he also started to worry about crashing.

As for Julius, he was piloting Silvanus while telling Ash the whole story.

===Part 14===
Although what Julius said was hard to believe, basically, the dragons were seperated into the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family and the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family. The two families had incarnated since the ancient times and were still fighting each other right until today.

Also, Eco is Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family’s descendant.

In another words, Eco is the Imperial Princess of the dragons.

“…Even after I had heard of such things, it is still hard for me to believe this. Eco who has been living with me was obviously a girl who sleeps late, a glutton and a hot headed girl...”

“I know how you feel. When I found out that my pal is the descendant for the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family, I was also astounded. In the beginning, I was also troubled by why was I chosen.”

Julius said.

“Back to the topic, Avalon’s Imperial Princess’s body is really huge. Even though she is still a young dragon, she had this unbelievably huge size… It is totally unbelievable.”

After Julius pressed a few buttons on the dashboard, Eco’s body was shown on the huge screen in front.

Silvanus was three hundred meters above the land and was looking at Fontaine city from the sky above.

From the screen, they can see Eco's back that had turned black because of being taken over by Mordred.

With its frightening spiral horns and nine eyes… It is exactly the image of the dark dragon king.

Eco who was originally standing on two legs was now standing on all four because of the pain caused by Mordred’s take over.

The worrying part is, Eco was not moving at all and yet she doesn’t look as if she was sleeping…

“Could it be that Eco is fighting Mordred?”

Julius shook his head in disagreement.

“It is impossible. Judging from the huge change of her body, I am afraid that… Eco doesn’t even have the strength to fight back.”

“Is it…”

“But not all hope is lost. In my opinion, Navi is fighting against Mordred.”

“Navi?”

Why would he mention Navi’s name at such a time?

Before that, how would Julius know about Navi?

“Navi is the incarnation of the Dragweiss. If Navi could keep on fighting back, even after Mordred has fully taken over Eco’s body, he still couldn’t be fully awaken.”

“What do you mean?”

“Regardless of the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor or the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king, both of them must fuse with the Dragweiss to obtain the supreme knowledge, only then can they receive their true power. I believe that Mordred right now is trying his best to make Navi his.”

“How come… you know so much about him?”

“That was because I shared the same body with Mordred. Just like what he did to blend into the human society… I could also look into his memories.”

After hearing what Julius had said, Ash was still confused. However, there exists thing that could be easily understood without the need for good brains.

“In another words, this is a great time for a counter attack when Mordred was busy dealing with Navi, right?”

“That’s right. This is our only chance for victory. If you can ride on Eco and chase of Mordred’s spirit, then you can save Eco and the capital together.”

Ash nodded in agreement to what Julius had said.

“I am willing to give it a try. No matter if it is Avalon or Nehalennia… I don’t think I even know what they mean. I only know that Eco is my pal.”

When Ash turned around and prepared to walk back to the deck, Julius spoke from behind:

“Although I don’t know why you were chosen… But I am glad that you are Eco’s knight.”

===Part 15===
“Urgh…”

Ash arrived at the deck and the winds were cold. Such temperatures were unheard of during the summer.

Ash was carrying a parachute- This is a decision made by Julius and him beforehand.

When Silvanus had come close to Eco, Ash will jump off from the deck with the help of the parachute.

After landing, it is all up to Ash.

Basically, Ash had gone through the landing practices in the academy.

Ash had never intended to become a soldier and had always thought that the academy was wrong to force them to go through the practices.

Anyway, the academy is not a military school- But who would expect that those practices must be applied right now.

“…Right there.”

Ash was looking down towards the ground from the bow and had located Eco’s back.

Although her fur had turned black but since the enormous amount of magic surrounding her was giving off strong rays of light, he won’t have to worry about missing his target.

He must make use of the time that Navi was fighting against Mordred to land on Eco’s head.

Julius voice emerged from the magic communication device:

“Ash, you may jump anytime.”

“Roger that.”

Ash looked downwards for one more time.

For such a huge beast, her only blind spot will be her head.

Ash tried to imagine himself riding on Eco’s head.

To his surprise, it was not at all scary.

The ‘Seikoku’ on his left arm was getting warm and was flickering with dim light.

It felt as if his ‘Seikoku’ was urging him to move quickly.

Suddenly- Eco lifted her neck and shot a dragon breath towards Silvanus.

“…Urgh!”

A bright light pierced through the night sky. Ash surrendered against the shaking deck and fell down. Although Julius had barely avoided a direct hit by giving the ship an emergency turn, the strong breath had burned the side of the ship into ashes.

There were smokes and fire emerging from the ship itself and it had lost balance.

“Tsk…! If you kill me, Eco will die too! If that happens, you also couldn’t get your hands on Eco’s body that you desired that much...! How could someone be this stupid?”

When Ash was groaning, Julius voice could be heard once again through the communication machine:

“Ash, are you alright!”

“Yes, I am!”

“Silvanus is going to do an emergency landing! Jump quickly!”

“I also intend to do so!”

Ash clenched his teeth and jumped off from the deck.

The moment his feet left the deck, Mordred gave a second dragon breath.

Looking backwards, he saw Silvanus’s deck suffered a direct hit from the dragon breath.

Ash shuddered. He was lucky that he had jumped of earlier or else he would be turned into dust.

Although Julius had said there are going to do an emergency ‘landing’, judging from the speed Silvanus was moving downwards, it looked like it was crashing.

Finally, the unbalance ship disappeared at the other end of the palace walls- Then a fire pillar could be seen followed by a loud explosion.

“Prince Julius…!”

Ash was sad but there was nothing he can do.

Julius had risked his life to fly him into the night sky.

The only thing he can do right now is to complete his mission in return.

Ash's body was moving downwards because of the gravity pull.

His face and ears felt like being crushed by the air pressure.

“Now is the time!”

Ash had got the timing right and spread open the parachute.

The amazing braking force had caused the parachute to slow down.

If another dragon breath was shot, Ash would certainly be hit but Ash prayed that he will not have such bad luck.

“Wait for me, Eco. I will protect you… I swear!”

===Part 16===
“Damn! Where am I?”

Eco found out that she was in a cage when she woke up. When she was looking at her body, she found out that she was wearing a dress with low standards.

This style is obviously not of Eco’s preference.

Any dress in Fontaine Palace’s changing room looked better that this. It is even as heavy as lead and it felt more like a binding item rather than an evening dress.

On the other side of the cage was a wide white space. The walls, the floor and the ceiling were white. Not even a speck of dust that could be found.

“How dare anyone to cage a dragon like me in this cage… What were they even thinking!?”

Eco was definitely confused. Yet she still vaguely remembered that she was awakened as a dragon. She even remembered that she had become huge and was looking at the whole Fontaine palace.

But her memories stopped there.

“Tsk…It seems that you are alright since you are this energetic even in such a situation.”

It was a familiar voice.

“Navi? You…!”

Navi was standing outside of the cage. Even though Eco disliked Navi, but in such a situation, Eco was grateful that Navi was here and felt that Navi was like an angel.

The Eco’s Angel was now looking like a ragdoll.

Navi who was always acting calm and give out a noble like feeling was now with a messed up hair and even her evening dress was in rags. All over her body were marks of being bound.

“What happened? This doesn’t look like you at all…”

Eco was taking a closer look at Navi.

“Hmm…I am only accompanying Mordred in his game. It was just that, his tentacle fetish has given me some trouble!”

“Mordred? Who is that?”

“Please lend me your hand.”

Eco stretched her hand through the gaps in between the bars of the cage. After Navi held her hand, a mass amount of knowledge flowed into her brain.

In a blink of an eye, Eco knew everything that had happened. Only until now that she had realized that she was in her spiritual from.

“To make it simple… That person called Mordred is trying to take over my body, right?”

“That’s right. Anyway, during the time I was running around, he had done nothing bad. But if it is to destroy this capital, it will be an easy task for him.”

“Hmm… So I am such a great dragon.”

According to Navi’s information, Eco is Avalon’s Imperial Princess.

“Huhu. Now Ash is going to look at me differently.”

Seeing that Eco was feeling proud, Navi sighed.

“As long as he can survive. He seems to be doing something foolhardy again.”

Navi held Eco’s hand again and Eco closed her eyes.

That current situation was sent into Eco’s brain as projections.

“What…!”

Eco was speechless.

Under the night sky- Ash leaned out from Silvanus’s deck.

The next instant, Mordred gave a dragon breath from the ground.

Silvanus was hit and was gliding in the sky as if it was a paper plane.

On the other hand, Ash jumped into the air and was falling with his head pointing downwards.

“Hold on… Is he crazy!?”

At that moment, Eco clearly heard Ash’s mumble.

"Wait for me, Eco. I will protect you… I swear!”

In a short moment, tears started to flow from her eyes. Even though she was a spirit, her tears still kept on flowing. Even the Dragweiss couldn’t give an explanation. A warm feeling was haunting her heart… What was that feeling?

“Why…Why? Why would he… try to do so many things for me? Even when I… Have caused many, many troubles for him?”

Navi stretched her hand into the cage and patted her head.

“Do you even have to ask? It is because you are his pal.”

Eco rubbed off her tears and lifted her head.

“Navi, please tell me what can I do for him.”

“Teehee. That’s more like it.”

Navi smiled and waved her hand lightly. With a flash, the cage disappeared. At the same time, the black dress that limits Eco’s movement was broken into particles and a pure white evening dress was raveled from beneath.

In a short time, Navi removed Mordred’s seal.

“I must say that… You are very good.”

Eco was looking at her dress. Its design compromised of the elements of elegance and purity. It is as if it was made to be worn by the Avalon’s Imperial Princess.

“No matter how great I am, I can't help you with the upcoming step. Understood?”

Eco nodded in reply.

“Then, what should I do?”

After Navi smiled, she cheekily said:

“Of course you are to present him your originally made Ark and the Avalon’s Imperial Princess.”

The next instant, Eco became confused.

“What? Are you serious?”

As if it was natural to do so, Navi nodded without any hesitation.

“All the mimics that you have created for emergency in the past… are useless against Mordred.”

“But, how am I to do this impossible task!?”

An original Ark could not be completed easily.

It was because of Eco had seen her ancestor’s blueprint; she understands how hard it can be. An Ark is not only a strong magic weapon, at the same time, it is also a perfect art masterpiece.

Not to mention that Eco was still a young dragon that was not even a year old without any experience. Navi’s suggestion was like asking a baby to build a palace.

“Anyway, it would not be called difficult if the blueprint could be easily created.”

Eco gave up before she even started but Navi ignored it.

“Rest assured, you must believe in your own ability. You are an Imperial Princess who is the blood descendant of Avalon.”

“But… what we must think about is not only the armour itself, there is also the Ark-weapon…”

“Listen carefully, the shape itself doesn’t matters. It was the mental power of the creator that decide the strength of the Ark. Even if you don’t know the shape, as long as you focus, the shape of the Ark will be formed.”

“Really…?”

“Yeah. Also, you don’t have to worry about the Ark-weapon. Avalon has a treasured sword that has been passed down through the generations. Just use it.”

After a moment of silent, Eco mumbled:

“…I had always disliked you since the first time I met you. Regardless of your relaxed attitude or your looks that was similar to mine or your overly large breast…I hate them and hate them very much! However… It is funny that I felt that you are trustable.”

Eco lifted her head and smile.

Navi also returned a smile.

At the same moment, Eco felt that a light had pierced through that darkness that had been blocking her eyes.

She didn't want to look for trouble anymore.

And she definitely doesn’t want to give up before taking up the challenge.

While the evening dress was swaying, Eco spoke with confidence:

“Just wait and see. I will definitely complete my original Ark!”

===Part 17===
“Damn… What kind of joke is this!”

Although Ash had finally landed on Eco, still the landing spot was her back and not her head. It was exactly beside the joints between the body and the wings.

That pair of wings was like the wings of a new born bird. It was still wet and was unable to fly right away.

Maybe this is my only life saver…Ash secretly thought.

Black fur was growing from her uneven skin. It felt like a Necromancia. He must get rid of Mordred’s spirit and return Eco to her original appearance as soon as possible.

To achieve this, he must try to ride her gigantic body. However… Ash was looking at Eco’s head from afar.

Connected to her back that was as huge as prairie was a long neck that looked as if it was a stairway to heaven. And her head with spiral horns was at the other end of the neck.

His current aim was to ride on her head and try to control her using his will as a dragner. However… The distance between them was huge. It was like trying to climb the dangerous Xenoglavia Mountains without any climbing tools.

“Stop… This is not the time to give up.”

Ash threw aside the parachute and moved forward while pushing aside the fur that was taller than his height.

“Now I really looked like a louse…”

In reality, Mordred treated Ash as nothing but a louse. That is why he was not bothered by Ash at all.

“Just wait and see. Your overconfidence will be the cause of your death, Mordred…”

Although Ash kept on talking to himself to boost his confidence, but every time he looked towards her head, he felt like falling apart.

Suddenly, there was a change in the night sky.

Those Maestros who were originally circling in the sky started to make their movements.

Those Maestros could be seen gliding towards Mordred and had him surrounded.

“Grrrrrrrrrrrrr…”

Mordred lifted his neck and gave a threatening growl. However, before he even managed to attack, the Maestros activated their magic at the same time.

With a flash, chains that were made from magic appeared. Numerous chains had tied down the huge dragon’s neck, front legs, hind legs, tail…

“Guuuoooooooooooooooooooo…!”

Mordred was struggling with all his might but the chains wouldn’t even budge.

“They…!”

It can’t be wrong. These Maestros were trying to seal Mordred’s movement. Who knows if they were thinking that the dragon worthy to take to top is not Mordred but Eco.

At that moment, a Maestro landed right in front of Ash. Its pair of horns that looked like a dear’s looked familiar to Ash. Then a clear voice could be heard coming from behind the dragon.

“Ash… Hurry up!”

“Lukka!? Why are you here?”

That is. The Maestro that suddenly appeared from above was Gawain and Lukka was riding on its back. Ash felt nostalgic.

Lukka while feeling worried gave Ash a short explanation.

“Err… The Maestros in the seven dragon house were escaping together. I risked my life to cling on Gawain… In the end, I found out that I was already here.”

“Did Rebecca and Max come together?”

Lukka shook her head. It was probably Ash's mistake that he felt that Lukka’s ears were slightly drooping.

“Only I noticed that something was going on with the Maestros…”

“Is that so…”

As if to interrupt Ash’s and Lukka’s conversation, Gawain roared with its jaws opened.

It was as if trying to tell Ash to ride on it quickly. Ash naturally didn’t reject this offer.

“Thank you!”

Just as Ash sat on Gawain’s back, Gawain flapped its wings.

After piercing through the night sky, Gawain’s altitude was increasing following the direction of Mordred’s neck. Lukka’s riding skills were as good as ever and could only be described as perfect.

Ash was clinging tightly to Lukka’s thin waist to avoid from dropping off.

However, Mordred would not stay silent. Although he was being tied down, it was still struggling and roaring loudly.

Suddenly, magic cannons continued to appear in the sky and were firing at Gawain.

Ash was trembling when he saw those cannons.

It was because those cannons looked like the weapon that Ash used during his fight with Milgauss in Willingham Mausoleum. The only difference is, each cannon was around Gawain’s size.

“Magic shield Aegis…!”

“Need not worry… It will be alright as long as we are not hit.”

Lukka was not at all shaken.

As if she had fused with Gawain, she was controlling Gawain by moving left and right and dangerously avoided the crossing light rays.

It even used its dragon breath and those magic canons were destroyed one by one.

When Gawain had successfully passed Mordred’s head, all the magic cannons had disappeared.

“Ash, now’s the time…!”

Just when Lukka shouted, Gawain did a summersault.

At the point where the sky was upside down, Ash jumped down.

He drew a big locus in the night sky and successfully land in between the two horns. Looking from a close distance, the horns looked more like an altar than a horn.

When his feet landed on that spot, he felt satisfied. It was probably his dragner’s intuition that told him this is the best riding spot.

“Listen carefully Eco!”

Ash was shouting with all his might at his ‘Seikoku’ that was connected to Eco:

“Right now, I am going to ride you! I swear I will be successful in riding you! Whether you are an Imperial Princess or not it has nothing to do with me! So what if you are an imperial princess? You are always bad tempered, try to solve anything with force, a sleepy head, only have crepes in your eyes and feel like wanting to bite greedily whenever you see meat. Are these what an Imperial Princess should do! Even if you really are an Imperial Princess, I will never approve it!... I only know that- I am your knight, and you are my pal. Things are just as simple as this!”

The next instant, there was a change in his left arm that was dense with ‘Seikoku’.

The ‘Seikoku’ can be seen emitting rays of light that were able to light up the entire night sky. Then patterns started to crawl just like some living things.

No, the patterns were growing.

“W-What had happened…?”

Just when Ash was feeling confused, his ‘Seikoku’ started to spread outwards towards Ash entire body with his left arm as the starting point.

Ash found out that his connection with Eco had become stronger.

Although he couldn’t communicate with Eco verbally, yet, he was sure that he was connected to Eco…!

But, what Ash was thinking only lasted for a short moment.

“Guuuuuuuoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo…!”

Mordred was back on the move. He had broken one of the chains and was standing on two legs.

“Auuu…!”

Lukka groaned. The wind created when Mordred stood up had affected Gawain. Although it was not blown away by the wind, it was obvious that it could not remain its balance. However, Lukka shouted:

“Don’t worry about me… I am alright! Ash, just focus on saving Eco…!”

Then, Lukka and Gawain finally fall and disappear from Ash’s line of sight.

“Lukka…!”

Ash stretched his arm but he could only grab the air.

The Maestros that scattered in the sky tried to make another chain to tie down Mordred’s upper body.

But before Mordred could be sealed, it forcefully shook its neck.

“Uwaaaaaaaaa!”

Ash lost his balance and was thrown up into Fontaine Palace like a cannonball.

-This is a lie… It must be…?

He was approaching the tower in the middle of Fontaine Palace.

If he was to hit into such stone wall…he will definitely die.

-Is this the end…? Is Eco and I… Going to end right here?

Right at this moment.

Almete, Gorjal, Peto…

The voice of the spell was coming from his ‘Seikoku’ that had spread all over his body.

Espaldar, Brafoneras, Faldaje…

It was definitely Eco’s voice.

Escarcelas,Bufetas, Hombreras, Brazales…

Compare to the previous times, every single word that Eco said was followed by a deep tone.

Codales, Antebrazos, Manoplas…

Without any reason, Ash felt courage from within.

Quijotes, Guardas, Grebas… Escarpes…

Lastly, Eco was left with the last word.

-Espolón!

Ash who was going to crash into Fontaine Palace was surrounded by holy lights.

It felt as if he was surrounded by angel’s wings.

Even though Ash had an illusion of he was ascending to heaven, Eco’s voice had disrupted this peaceful feeling.

“You absolutely must accept my feelings!”

===Part 18===
As he opened his eyes, Ash was standing at the highest point of Fontaine Palace.

“I-I am saved?”

He saw Mordred was standing ferociously with only two legs while being bound by the chains of the Maestros.

All of the nine eyes were burning with the flames of rage and looked like scarlet stars. Even though he was trying his best to break free from those chains, those Maestros kept on creating new chains.

“This… What is this feeling?”

Ash was looking at his own body.

His entire body was emitting heat and was overflowing with magic.

It have to be the Ark that Eco presented to me- Yet to Ash’s dismay, what he was wearing right now was still his cloths that looked like rags.

There was not even an Ark that could be seen.

Even so, Ash still continued to feel safe as if he was protected by the Ark. Furthermore, the ‘Seikoku’ that was on his entire body was alive.

What is happening?

Hey, why are you daydreaming! Quickly use the Ark-weapon!

Eco’s voice was once again could be heard in his mind

“Eco…? What is happening?”

T-that is…?

Without any reason, Eco became silent. It felt as if she was embarrassed because of a certain something.

As if to speak on Eco’s behalf, another voice appeared in his mind.

Huhu. That is an original Ark that Eco has created on her own. However, it is still incomplete and even the shape has not been decided on yet.

“This voice… Are you Navi!”

The Ark represents proof of the oath of a dragon that swears to hand over their body and feelings to their knight. At the same time, it was a proof that it was connected to the Master’s heart. Right now, you are recognized as Avalon’s knight.

I-I only wanted to get back my own body!... It was never meant to be given to you!

Ara, who is the person who was crying because she was worried about Ash? I wonder.

S-Shut up!

Eco and Navi seemed to have started an argument.

Ash made a wry smile because they could still have the mood to quarrel even in such a dangerous situation.

All the negative emotions like insecurity and fear had disappeared.

However- Right after that, Ash had a bad premonition as if a pair of cold hands held on to his spirit. When he raised his head, Mordred’s eyes were filled with sparks and were marking him.

It had obviously begun to take notice of Ash who was previously being regarded as a louse.

“Guuuuuoooooooooooooooooooooo…!”

Although Mordred was still bound by those magic chains, he still managed to open his jaws after putting in some effort.

There was a ball of light that could be seen appearing in front of his nose and it was slowly expanding-

Ash felt a large amount of energy from it. It was thanks to the Ark that his senses had sharpened.

Navi warned Ash in his mind.

That’s bad. Even though Mordred has not fused with me, he is still very strong…!

“Rest assured. I will personally deal with it.”

Ash immediately started to search for information regarding his Ark-weapon. Thanks to his experience in equipping those mimics, his was able to complete his search in a short time.

Ash smiled from within his heart.

The Ark-weapon formed in his mind was undoubtably the strongest sword that had ever existed.

Ash readied his posture and started to chant the spell.

“An iron that could slash through anything…”

For every word he said, his ‘Seikoku’ that was all over his body was emitting heat and reacted strongly to it.

"A holy sword meant for a knight of all knights-”

At the same time, Ash felt that his palm was overflowing with an unlimited amount of magic.

The one and only treasured sword that had been passed down generations by generations in the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family had its shape formed in Ash’s palm.

“Appear- Excalibur!”

It was not only a huge brave and beautiful sword but also an Ark-weapon.

On its silvery white hilt were many scarlet coloured Milinniums and they were shining brightly.

After he held the holy sword with both hand tightly, Ash leaped.

At the same time, Mordred was giving out the dragon breath.

That was a ball of light with overwhelming powers that could destroy the entire capital to ground level in a blink of an eye. Followed by some purple electric around Mordred’s head, the ball of light was released at Ash’s direction.

To make things worse, Ash couldn’t avoid it because the entire Fontaine Palace and City were right behind him.

No- In reality, I won’t even need to avoid it.

“Uooooooooooooooooooooooooo!”

Ash as if he had forgotten about his fear rushed towards the ball of light.

In respond to Ash’s verve, the Millenniums at the hilt of the holy sword were giving out a bright light.

In response to Ash’s verve, the shapeless Ark was releasing all its magic.

“Kirisakeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!” <ref>斬り裂け. Means to get split and break apart.</ref>

Just before being swallowed by that attack, Ash swung the most powerful strike.

-Cut!!! <ref>斬. Ii was a word that was usually shouted when someone wanted to cut/slash/chop/kill off something.</ref>

At the same time the lump of energy was split into two, Ash was in mid-air. His vision was full of white and he could see nothing at all.

If not because of the protection he received from the Ark, all the cells in his body would have been reduced to nothing. Ash was indeed slashing through such high amount of temperature.

In the end, his vision finally widened.

The dragon breath that was sliced into two had its trajectory changed and each had landed at the Fontainia plains on both sides of the capital and had exploded.

Although it was a huge explosion, apart from the strong wind, Fontaine City remained intact.

Ash lifted again Excalibur and pointed it at Mordred’s head.

At that moment, there was a creepy voice coming from Ash’s mind.

…Hold on! If you harm this body, the daughter of Avalon will also be-

The nine eyes kept on blinking as if it still had something to say.

“Haa! Now you start to beg from me… Know your place, Mordred!”

Ash remained determined and continued to land at the head.

Of course Ash knew that this body originally belonged to Eco.

He never had the intention to simply slash around with this sword.

However, to get rid of Mordred’s spirit, he needs Eco to bear with it for a few more moments.

What Ash intended to do was not to kill Eco but to make her lose her strength.

Where is the best place to land my attack?

There is not enough time to think of such complicated problems.

It is because apart from Eco’s and his life, Ash was burdened with the lives of millions of residents of the capital. Ash decided to wager everything he had in the only possibility he could think of.

“Eat this, Mordred!”
[[Image:SnRK V04 243.jpg|thumb]]

Ash was landing at full speed.

''What are you trying to do…? Do you want to follow the Julius's footsteps and become a ‘dragon slayer’? I can’t understand this, I just can’t understand this…!''

Ash didn’t reply and had no intention of doing so.

“Whether you are a god or a devil-”

Ash’s sword and Mordred’s horn clashed with each other.

“All the dragons will have to listen to my command, not to mention-”

After he had pinpointed the crucial point to release Eco, Ash swung Excalibur-

“If it is my '''P.A.L'''!”

Followed by a sound of a metal clashing with rocks, the night sky was swallowed by a white light.

The thing that was chopped off by Ash and was flying in mid-air was the left horn.

“Guuuuooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo…!”

Mordred’s roar was echoing in the night.

===Part 19===

“Huhu. Mordred must be running away with his tail rolled up<ref>A proverb</ref> even though a spirit shouldn't have any tails.”

Mordred’s spirit was running under the night sky towards the east while he was being seen by Navi.

On the eastern side of the country is Chevron Kingdom’s land.

“So in the end he had escaped to Chevron Kingdom… I must wait until he rises up again before I could have him captured. Right now, I should give praise to Avalon’s Knight."

Navi gave herself a cheer and smiled.

Eco’s spirit was no longer beside her.

===Part 20===

Ash’s final blow had chopped off Eco’s left horn.

Last month during the time Ash was in the infirmary, he had bitten Eco’s horn. Furthermore, her left horn that was chopped off had made her recalled that feeling.

It was that ‘happy’ feeling that dragged Eco’s spirit out.

Her hearts memories and her body memories.

When both of them are thinking the same thing, Eco’s spirit managed to take back its own body and get rid of Mordred’s spirit.

Not only this method is impractical, its succession rate too is just as low.

However, Eco’s clearly remembered the feeling that Ash gave her.

-Navi had seen it all.

The body of the huge dragon had undergone some changes inside the glaring light.

The skin colour that was originally black had turned back to its original silvery white colour.

As for those nine creepy eyes, they had returned into two clear scarlet eyes.

Then-

The body that was bigger than Fontaine Palace was shrinking slowly and finally turned back into a young teenage girl with pink hair.

Ash gently hugged the angel like naked body in mid-air.

Although Eco was blushing, she still placed her hand on Ash’s back and hugged her knight.

"Princess of Avalon ~A.S.B.1365.7~" is closed.
<noinclude>

==References and Translation Notes==
<references />

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| Back to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Chapter 7|Chapter 7]]
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| Forward to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Epilogue|Epilogue]]
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</noinclude>

Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Chapter 8

2013-11-07T13:13:34Z

213.144.240.241: /* Part 17 */

==Chapter 8 - Avalon's Imperial Princess==
===Part 1===
In the mothership Beowolf- In the armory, under Dr Hoffman’s command the battle is in full swing.

Eco who was naked was floating in magic guided device. ‘Yggdrasill’s’ capsule. There were groups of technician working around her. This was out of Anya’s area of understanding. She could only stand by and wall and watch silently.

But, she understood well the pain that Eco was feeling.

The cold voice was followed by its echo when it was reflected on the metal body.

“The cartridge has been filled. Prepare for launching.”

“The countdown starts now. Ten, nine, eight… Three, two, one-.”

“Launch the compressed magic!”

A red bean was shot out followed by a loud gun shooting sound. Anya felt that even the ship was vibrating.

“…!”

Then, there were air bubbles coming from Eco’s mouth. If not because of she was in the liquid, her scream could definitely be heard.

Anya couldn’t bear to see Eco suffering and looked away.

Eco’s body had already taken at least ten shots of the compressed magic.

Eco regained her consciousness after the start of the experiment. At the beginning, she was struggling in the water, but ‘Yggdrasill’s’ capsule was not at all affected.

But after receiving a continuous dozens of compressed magic, she lost her strength.

Right now, she was just like a living dead. Her blank eyes were now lifeless and it was terrible. It was pure torture. Even so, the group of researchers led by Dr Hoffman were not at all shaken and continued silently.

“There is no significant change on the appearance of α. There are no abnormalities on her respiratory system. No magic fluctuation can be seen.”
Without realizing, the group of researchers started to refer Eco as α.

Eco is a human, a young dragon and also a living being- But this group of human had taken everything from her. To them, Eco was just experimental material α.
Who knows if they want to remove their feeling of guilt by calling her with symbols…Anya secretly thought so.

At this moment, Dr Hoffman’s voice is heard by Anya.

“Still no changes… It seems like we don’t have any more choices. Activate all the Millennium.”

Anya turned pale when she heard that.

This means that they had decided to use full power on ‘Yggdrasil’.

===Part 2===
“*Sob*… It was all… My fault. *Sob*…”

In the maid’s bedroom in the ground floor of the palace.

Prim was lying on the bed with her pillow wet with tears.

There was only Ash and Silvia beside her bed. Cosette was standing outside the room by the door.

Prim cried while she told the whole incident.

Prim arrived at the ancient palace when she was chasing Eco who was running amok.

She had met a few suspicious people there.

Seeing the enemy suddenly attacked, Eco appeared and became the bait to let Prim escape.

When Prim regained conscious, Eco was no longer there.

After hearing, Ash felt something suspicious.

“Why did you go to the ancient palace?”

“That’s because… It was my entire fault! It was my bad to say such things!”

“Prim, please stay calm. Compared to you, Ash was the person who suffered the most.”

After being advised by Silvia, Prim rubbed of her tears.

“You are right. Sorry…”

“Prim-san, please tell me everything before Eco was kidnapped!”

Prim nodded.

“I had no ill intention, it was just that… Ash-sama is a human and Eco is a dragon… So I thought that Eco would feel lonely after Ash-sama married with a human girl. The moment I told her that, Eco rushed out of the room.”

“What…!”

Who would have thought of this, Ash was speechless.

“Idiot! You… Why do you have to tell her this!”

Silvia was mad.

“If I am Eco… I will definitely feel hurt if someone told that to me! Even when Eco is a dragon, her thoughts are still those of a girl’s. She should know very well that her situation is special. Why was she born as a human? Why was she not born as a dragon… If I am Eco, I can never feel secure.”

“Princess-sama…”

Ash looked at Silvia who was telling Eco's thoughts in surprise.

“Recently, she had gotten used to the school life. She was also being loved by everyone as the student council’s mascot. Even so, to Eco, the only person she could trust in… Is no other than Ash.”

“And I… Have said something terrible…”

“Strictly speaking, Eco is still a young dragon who is not even a year old. Can’t you be a little more indirect in your-”

“Forget it, Princess-sama. Right now, we could never solve the problem even after lecturing Prim-san. What’s more, if they had this planned, no matter what Prim-san said, Eco would still have been kidnapped.”

“…You are right. But how are we going to rescue Eco?”

Silvia nodded in agreement with Ash.

“Prim-san… Could you describe those people who attacked?”

Ash was praying while asking. His only clue is Prim being the witness.

“Err…They pretended to be the palace servants. But, they didn’t look like citizens of the Knight Country. For their skin colour, it looked like they are the Tantalos…. Also, the person who attacked me is a short girl.”

“A Tantalos girl…!”

Ash was feeling Déjà vu. It was like he had found the last piece of puzzle in his memory.

“It was the girl who followed Milgauss!”

Ash’s fists were shaking. The world he was seeing was dyed in red. Even though he had a feeling that Milgauss was the culprit, still, after making sure, he was still in rage.

“Since we know who the criminal is-”

Silvia immediately stopped Ash who intended to rush out from the room.

“Hold on, Ash! Where do you think you are going to?”

“The ballroom, of course! I want to settle thing with Milgauss!”

“Keep your calm! Do you think that Milgauss will admit it even after you find him?”

“…Maybe not.”

Ash turned speechless.

Silvia was right, no matter how emotional he became, Eco still wouldn’t be able to return safely.”

Just as if she was trying to have Ash cooled down, Silvia made a suggestion in a calm voice:

“Don’t you think that this is a good time to save Eco when Milgauss is busy with the masquerade?”

“What do you meant?”

“Milgauss couldn’t even be bothered by an activity with long history such as this continental congress and will do anything just to capture Eco. Even when I don’t know what his intentions are, but capturing Eco alive is their priority. I am sure that their lackeys won’t do anything to harm Eco when the mastermind is absent.”

After listening to Silvia’s analysis, Ash gave a breath of relieve.

“The problem remains is, where is Eco’s location. Since Ash’s ‘Seikoku’ is not reacting, it means that Eco was being hidden in an enclosed place. For example something that could be a barrier to cut off magic… Anyway, it must be done with the proper equipment. It just can’t be a rally point that they have just constructed.”

“An enclosed place with proper equipments? That’s it, Milgauss has Klaus backing him up…”

Last evening, an airship flew past the evening sky…

The black ship that was waving the Empire’s flag proudly…

Ash remembered.

Ash and Silvia exchanged glances and shouted at the same time:

“Beowolf!”

===Part 3===
-W-Will…I die just like this…

Eco thought so.

The liquid in the capsule kept on rotating and Eco’s body was being swept by it.

Every time her shoulders or waist touches the glass, her body will move slowly in the opposite direction.

It seems like the liquid was made of special materials. Luckily, it doesn’t affect her breathing. But after suffering a few shots from the magic device, her body turned numb.

This feeling is like an empty mind floating in mid air.

-If I could just… Continue sleeping… Then I won’t feel any pain…

Just when Eco thought so, a power that surpassed those previous ones was released at her.

“Noooooooooo…!”

Even though she thought that she shouted in pain, in truth they were just air bubbles coming out from her mouth.

A bright light flashes and the water turns rapid. Just like being swallowed by a tsunami, her body kept on rotating and kept on hitting the glass around her.

-W….Why do I have to suffer this kind of pain.

It had passed the limit of her brain to just think of what they are going to do to her. She could only feel that her body had been injected with a vast amount of magic.

The pain she felt is just like her body being ripped open.

It felt like her organs were being messed up by someone.

-Urgh… It hurts…. It hurts…. I beg you all, please stop.

It is pointless no matter how she shouted in her mind, the magic was still flowing into the body. Eco’s body was jerking nonstop and she was struggling.

You might as well do me a favour by killing me-Eco gave up.

“…!”

At the next moment- The Necromancia’s slimy tentacles attacking her from all directions.

Eco couldn’t understand. Where did those tentacles appear from in this enclosed environment?

The tentacles which were wriggling like a snake slowly snatched her freedom.

Her arms, waist, legs… was entangled by those tentacles. -Stop! This must be an illusion! It is this device that was making me hallucinate…!

Eco tried to stay conscious and opened her eyes widely.

At that moment, the tentacles disappeared.

The feelings of being entangled by those tentacles also disappeared.

However, not long after that, she lost focus and the tentacles appeared again and had her waist surrounded.

In a blink of an eye, she was lifted by those tentacles.

-Stop!

[[Image:SnRK V04 183.jpg|thumb]]

An abnormally thick tentacle was approaching Eco’s face.

Eco kept her teeth closed with her might. If she was to be careless, the tentacle will surely wriggle into her mouth. Eco had Goosebumps just by think about it.

Eco initially wanted to ask for Ash’s help. She hoped that he could save him from this hell.

However, from the point she woke up in this device, she couldn’t even summon Ash.

Her Astral Flow with Ash had also been cut off.

The lost of her communication had put her in fear.

Eco was shocked that the lost of her connection with Ash would put her in such great fear.

-I am really an idiot. I only knew what is precious to me after I had lost it.

This experience had made her wanted to treasure Ash much more.

That’s right, without Ash, I can’t do anything… I am really a good for nothing.

-Don…

At that instant, there was something moving in her body.

===Part 4===
“Something is wrong! The magic indicator is showing an abnormal value!”

“We found an unknown magic source! Its power is increasing!”

“We have lost control of ‘Yggdrasill’! It ignored the emergency stop signal!”

The continuous bad news had made Dr Hoffman turn pale.

The laboratory was as if in a fire and a tense atmosphere was spreading.

Everyone was with a panicked look and were busy dealing with the buttons under their hands.

“What happened…?”

Anya who was looking from aside wondered.

Basically, there was nothing abnormal with Eco who was in the capsule.

Even though she was shot by the high power compressed magic and had struggle like she was having a nightmare, yet nothing dramatic had happened.

But the indicator was still indicating an abnormal value. Also, they were losing control of ‘Yggdrasill’.

The situation had suddenly become tense.

Even the emergency trigger had been triggered and the bell was ringing loudly.

-Dong!

At that instant, Anya heard something from the ground.

“What is that… Sound?”

As if to prove that it was not an illusion, ‘Yggdrasill’ magic indication exploded.

“Uwaa!”

Some groaned and all the surrounding deviced started to explode with red flames. All the technician were running away in fear.

“Don’t panic! Keep calm!”

Dr Hoffman shouted but not even a single soul was listening.

Because in everyone’s sights was Eco who was caged in the capsule.

Eco’s body was glowing with a dim light.

Even Anya was captivated by the sight in front.

“Dr Hoffman! Let’s escape!”

A young researcher advised Dr Hoffman. The rest of the researchers were agreeing with him and looked at Dr Hoffman.

Anya left the wall and walk towards Dr Hoffman’s back.

“Dr Hoffman, I also think that it would be wise if we escape now.”

“No!”

Anya was stunned by Dr Hoffman’s aura. She had thought of him as a kind old man and was forced to act cruel as a researcher. Who would know that he would have such a stubborn side.

“What are you thinking! Even an outsider like me knew that this is dangerous! Isn’t there Millennium attached to that device too?”

What Anya was worried about is the existence of the Millenniums. Just in case the Millenniums explode… Anya was thinking. Let alone Beowolf, it is not even surprising if the capital disappeared from the maps forever.

However, Dr Hoffman shook his head slowly.

“…I won’t. That will not happen. The energy in the Millenniums has run dry.”

“What?”

“All the magic energy… Was fully absorbed by experimental material α.”

“-!”

Anya looked at Eco dumbstruck.

The intensity of Eco’s light was getting stronger until the extend where one couldn’t look at her directly. Those‘Dong’sounds had become clearer.

Even though there were no dangers of the Millennium exploding, it doesn’t mean that they were free from danger. Eco right now was seen as the bomb.

Later, there was the loud sound of something breaking.

Different from the normal explosions, that explosion sounds like it was originated from something being applied pressure on.

“α….α is escaping!”

A researcher shouted.

The capsule containing eco was now in ruins and the liquid was flowing out like waterfall.

Eco can be seen floating with her eyes closed- in a short moment, she disappeared. What’s left is only stardust like magic particles floating in the air.

“She… Disappeared…?”

Anya dumbstruck, murmured alone.

===Part 5===
“Hey… Something’s wrong with Beowolf!?”

When Maestro Lancelot reached the landing space at a height of twenty meters, Silvia shouted:

“That is…!”

Ash who was riding on Lancelot behind Silvia widened his eyes.

The sacred airship Esperanza, airship Crown Solas and air ship Silvanus was lined up together.

On the other hand, the huge airship Beowolf was parked quite some distance away from the trio.

The suspicious thing was the black smoke emerging from Beowolf.

Could it be a fire?

If Eco is inside… Ash was too scared to think about it.

“Urgh…!”

At this moment, Ash felt a burning sensation from his left hand.

Although he nearly screamed in pain, he managed to tolerate with it.

It felt like suddenly putting his hand into a furnace.

“Is everything alright, Ash!?”

Silvia was worried about him and turned around and asked, but Ash couldn’t even reply because of the pain.

The ‘Seikoku’ engraved on his left arm was slowly moaning.

A while later, there was a glaring light coming out from his left arm and his sleeve up to his shoulders was burned off. Even the bandage was burned into pieces.

In a blink of an eye, Ash’s ‘Seikoku’ on his left arm was exposed.

“Wha…!”

The ‘Seikoku’ on his hand was glowing with different light intensity from time to time.

Ash was panicking.

It will be alright if it was just glowing but the heat and the pain sensation had no intention of stopping.

It felt that his left arm is going to explode anytime.

“Hey… What is actually happening?”

Silvia was in shock while holding the reins which was probably caused by the fright she experience from seeing Ash’s ‘Seikoku’s’ reaction.

“I don’t know… But I am now sure that I am again connected to Eco!”

Just like responding to Ash’s left arm, there was an object glowing in the sky.

“Ash! Look upwards!”

Silvia who noticed the abnormality was pointing at the sky. Ash too had noticed.

There was something glowing on the sky above the landing area.

“That is…”

The mysterious light was floating in the sky as if it was decorating it.

On the other hand, the full moon didn’t look as charming as before.

By taking a closer look, it was an egg with beautiful flow lines.

There was a big emblem that was carved on the pearl like egg. At a first glance, it looked like a royal emblem.

To be more specific, that emblem looked like Ash’s ‘Seikoku’.

-Don…Don…Don…

There was a frightening beating sound from the egg.

The confusing part is, it moved with the same rhythm as the glow on Ash’s ‘Seikoku’.

Ash immediately understood.

“I couldn’t be more wrong… Eco is in that egg!”

“How is that possible? What are you talking about…?”

“Princess-sama, I beg you. Please take me there!”

“…Alright. I believe in you. Fly Lancelot! Fly higher!”

But Lancelot ignored her orders. It stayed at the twenty meters height and looked at the egg with its head up.

“Hei… Lancelot? Anything wrong? Fly immediately!”

Even though Silvia shouted strictly, Lancelot still ignored her orders. On the other hand, it did an emergency landing at a corner of the landing space.

“What are you doing? Are you disobeying my orders, Lancelot!”

“…It is useless, Princess-sama. It seems that Lancelot has its own reason.”

“What did you say?!”

Silvia looked at Ash with an imposing manner.

“Do you know what Lancelot was thinking?”

“…I am not sure. It was probably affected by the ‘Seikoku’. I don’t know why, but I could somehow understand what Lancelot was thinking.”

After Ash and Silvia was forced to alight Lancelot unwillingly, Lancelot again spread its wings and shoot up into the sky.

Looking at Lancelot’s direction, Ash found out something important.

“Princess-sama! There are more and more… Maestros gathering together!”

Groups of Maestro were gathering from all direction. It had become an amazing night view created by the light from the Maestro’s magic.

One by one the Maestro appeared and gathered at the corner of the sky.

For Maestro’s whose numbers were already little to begin with to gather together, it was unheard of even in the old times-

===Part 6===
“What is actually happening…?”

Lancelot left its master and flew off on its own.

Although this had given Silvia a great blow, still the view of the night sky gave her a deep impression.

Silvia could clearly hear the ‘Pssshh’ sounds of the beating of the wings.

When she had personally seen the dream like view, all her attention had been captured by it.

That egg even had wings growing out of it and feathers with silver lights were falling off. It was like snows that beautify the night sky.

Then- there was a crack from the egg shell.

The winged egg split into two-

“Uoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!”

A roar as if it was a horn announcing the end to the world could be heard all over.

Silvia who couldn’t look straight into the glaring light closed her eyes. When she reopened her eyes, the winged egg was no longer there. It was replaced by something that was out of this world.

To describe this thing with a word will be either – GOD or DEVIL.

However what Silvia said was insulting.

“What a scary monster…!”

[[Image:SnRK V04 193.jpg|thumb]]

“Stop! You are not allowed to say that!”

Ash shouted and brought Silvia back o her sense.

“That must be...Eco. I can feel it... I can feel it!”

“Sorry, Ash...”

Although Silvia was annoyed by her gaffe, she still couldn’t believe that it was Eco.

Later, Eco landed slowly while being surrounded by numerous Maestros.

Although the pink fur and the red eyes is similar to Eco, but her horns looked sharp and fierce and doesn’t at all looked like Eco’s round stubs.

Also, there was a third horn in between the two horns. It was like a unicorn’s horn and was up straight.

Her wings which were spread widely were different from a normal Maestro’s. It made one think of an angel’s wings.

Followed by a loud bang, Eco landed.

Eco lifted up her gigantic hind leg up high- And The large airship that had been the pride of the Empire was squashed in a few seconds.

With the conning tower being right at the middle, Beowolf had been squashed into a V shape and immediately exploded.

Yet, Eco was not at all affected.

Eco probably lost interest in Beowolf and tried to wriggle her long neck. She slowly lowered her center of gravity.

The target of her scarlet eyes was the window of the tall Fontaine Palace.

===Part 7===
-An unidentified flying object appeared above the capital and all the Maestros in the country disobeyed their masters’ orders and gathered together.

Veronica who received the emergency report brought Glenn the captain of the escorts alone with her to the ballroom at the highest floor of the palace.

Anyway, there were important guests in the ballroom that gathered from all over the continent. No matter what happened, she must protect their safety in the name of the pride of the Knight’s country.

At the same time, she must bring back her father Oswald with her. He had most probably change his appearance and was drinking while mingling in the crowd.

While running on the long corridor, Veronica questioned Glenn:

“Did you too lose contact with your pal?”

“It totally ignored my summons and ignored my request to present me my Ark. From the looks of the current situation where all the Maestros are gathering in the capital’s sky, it probably has something to do with the unidentified flying object.”

“Then, our pride, the Holy Dragners of Lautreamont can be considered no more. If the Empire attacked us at this moment, without the protection of the Maestros, this country will fall in just a single night.”

“...I don’t have an excuse to offer.” <ref>面目次第も有りません have also the meaning of ‘It is a shame I don’t have the power to…’</ref>

Glenn lowered his head somberly.

===Part 8===
When Veronica and Glenn arrived at the ballroom, the palace music and the party atmosphere of the nobles had disappeared.

Most of the guests were by the glass window and were looking downwards in shock. From there they can see the landing area for the airships.

“That’s…!”

Veronica was also looking downwards through the glass window.

“It is dangerous to stand beside the window, Princess-sama!”

Glenn warned her but Veronica ignored him.

There was a change in the landing area.

A living object that was glowing with silver light suddenly landed there.

''-Uoooooooooooooooooo…!''

It was immediately followed by a loud roar that will made one feel like covering his ears.

It was stated in the previous report that ‘an unidentified flying object that looked like a huge egg’, but it seemed that the huge egg had hatched when Veronica was on her way.

The unbelievable thing is, that huge monster easily split the Empire’s huge airship Beowolf into two with just a stomp.

Right at this moment, there was a man from the crowd was making a fuss.

“Ooh, what is happening! How can a dragon of the Knight’s… Destroy the most advance airship which is our country’s pride! I don’t think that this is some simple matter!”

The man's words caused an uproar in the ballroom.

Until a moment ago, everyone had just found out that this monster is a dragon.

Talking about a dragon, everyone will think about Lautreamont Knight Country.

“Is that person…Klaus Viderhausen! He is obviously trying to cause a stir!”

Veronica angrily scolded and glared at the Empire’s young noble.

However, there was a man who stupidly tried to argue with Klaus.

“Nonsense! That monster had nothing to do with our country!”

Although the man was wearing a lion shaped mask, judging from his plum body, Veronica immediately knew who he is.

He is her father, Oswald.

“Klaus-dono! This is the truth! That monster has nothing to do with us! Please believe in me!”

“Hu… What you said was not at all convincing. Anyway, everyone here is a witness.”

Klaus was not even bothered by Oswald.

It was because what Klaus said is true. A huge dragon that appeared with no warning had destroyed the Empire’s airship right in front of everyone.

Nothing could be worst than this.

For Chevron Kingdom and Zepharos Empire who had never see each other eye to eye was originally going to discuss about the peace in between them in tomorrow’s continental congress ‘Elysium’.

To Chevron Kingdom and its ally Lautreamont Knight Country this should be a historical event.

“Stop… Let alone the Emperor, not even a royal from the Empire attends. It is a total joke. The Empire has never wanted peace-”

Just as Veronica finished her sentence, there were people screaming from everywhere.

Everyone was in a panic.

All the guests who were wearing their mask, including the musicians and the waiters, everyone were trying to escape.

Apart from Oswald who was crying, Klaus who had previously put the blame on the Knight Country was also fleeing.

“What…!”

Veronica who immediately turned around was also sweating tremendously.

There was a pair of scarlet eyes looking into one of the many palace windows.

She spent a few seconds to figure out that the dragon had stretched its neck and was looking into Fontaine Palace.

“Glenn, if I try to slash the pair of eyes with my huge sword… Do you think I have any chance of winning?”

“Please forgive my rudeness… Even if Princess-sama, you are no match for it.”

Glenn told the truth directly.

"Why must you be this honest?"

Veronica was sulking while she confronted the dragon eyes.

The round eyes.

''It looked like a baby’s pairs of eyes. Although it looked naïve, if this monster just rubbed its nose with the palace walls, Fontaine Palace will turn into dust in seconds. Furthermore, it will be a hill full of bricks and corpses…''

Even though she was thinking of such scenario, Veronica could still manage a smile.

“Kuku… So this is of feeling of my life being controlled by others. I praise you, my child!”

Seeing that Veronica had no intention of escaping, Captain Glenn advised her in panic:

“Princess-sama, please retreat!”

“I mustn’t. Some of the guests are still here.”

Veronica looked around the empty ballroom.

There was a man with a mask standing at the middle of the dance floor.

The man was wearing a elegant suit. However his hair colour was like a cloth stained with blood.

He is obviously the guy in the reports- Milgauss.

Veronica looked at him in admiration.

“Hmm… You indeed look a little like Julius. Remove your mask!”

To her surprise, he actually did it. He could be seen silently removing his mask and threw it to a side as if he doesn’t need it anymore.

“-!”

Veronica’s eyes widened.

The handsome face beneath the mask was undoubtably Julius of ten years later who had became a seinen.<ref>青年, man with age range between 20-
30.</ref>

He no longer had the rebellious feel with him in his teenage years and was replaced by a feeling of a weapon that had been well polished.

“So you are Julius…!”

As if to sweep away her worries, Julius walked to the side of the window. At the same time, the dragon’s face disappeared as if it had lost interest with the empty ballroom.

Julius was standing by the window looking at the huge dragon.

“Kukuku… I have been waiting for this moment for a long time!”

That sinful voice and the devil like smile made Veronica feel uneasy.

Glenn took a step forward as if trying to ask on behalf of Veronica.

He unsheathed his sword that was on his waist.

“You can’t be Julius, no? My friend would never show such a malicious smile."

“Oh, Glenn McGuire! I remembered you are one of the guys that appeared in Julius’s memories. It should be suitable to use ‘it has been a long time’ in this situation, don’t you think so?”

“What do you mean!”

“You still don’t get it? This body is indeed Julius’s. However, I am not Julius. But I can peek into Julius’s memories anytime."

“What is happening…?”

Veronica was curious but it was not bothered by the man.

“Kneel! Quick! Look carefully! You are witnessing a historical moment!”

The man was acting like a holy man in the religious painting. He spread his arms widely and declared his name.

“I am Mordred! The descendant of the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family.”

Vreonica couldn’t believe what she had just heard.

The Maestro that Julius sacrificed his life to kill is named Mordred. It is also Julius’s Pal.

''Is it possible that Mordred has taken over Julius’s body?''

In regards of Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family- Veronica had only recently heard about this name.

The ‘Old Testament of the Stella Biblia’ that Dr Angela Cornwell found in Willingham Mausoleum.

Basically, Veronica had read through the copy of the book.

She recalled a part of the book.

“…After the wise dragon Inbroke, two major bloodlines were formed. They are the Avalon’s holy dragons emperor family and the Nehalennia’s dark dragons king family. An endless war started between these two families. After the members of the two families reincarnated, they will encounter each other, hate each other and kill each other.”

The person in front had introduced himself as the descendant of the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family.

Then, who is the person who should be representing the descendant of the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family-?

At this moment, Veronica stopped thinking because of Glenn’s shout.

“So I see… You are the root of evil! I knew that Julius didn’t turn crazy! He will always be loyal to his beliefs and tried to have you removed even when he had to commit a crime in the Knight Country!... Return Julius to us!”

Followed by a shout, Glenn reduced their distance and there was a silver flash.

However, Mordred easily parried Glenn’s slash.

“Urgh!”

Glenn growled.

Morderd had stopped the high speed slash with only his index and middle finger.

Glenn could be seen standing still while holding his sword. No, that’s not the case, Veronica understands well.

It was not that Glenn was not moving, it was because that he was unable to move.

Mordred had overpowered Glenn with just two fingers.

“Hmph… I will let you experience the punishment for being disobedient to ''god''."

After Mordred gave a cold smile, there was a flash.

“Gwaaa!”

Glenn was knocked up into the air while unable to even resist. He knocked into the wall hard and became unconscious.

Veronica didn’t even have the time to care about Glenn and stared at Mordred.

“…I don’t understand. As far as I know, you should have a good relationship with Julius. Didn’t you even present him with an ark?”

“Hmph, the one who has a good relationship with Julius is another me. That me who acknowledged Julius as its master and associated with him quite well."

“Another me? What are you talking about?”

“Let me generously explain it to you as your last gift before you die. There were two personalities in Mordred. If it was to be a human, it would be called a split personality.”

“What happened to the other personality?”

“It has disappeared together with the body. Ironically, it was it and Julius who had planned to kill me. For me, to prevent myself from dying, I sacrificed my body and changed into this spiritual form and inhabited Julius’s body.”

Upon saying that, Mordred looked out of the window.

Right beside the palace, the dragon was standing on its hind legs and was looking around curiously. It seemed to be troubled because it couldn’t understand what was happening.

Mordred declared to that dragon:

“Descendant of the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family, I will take that body of yours!”

“Now I understand, so this is what you planned…!”

At this stage. Veronica finally found out what Mordred is aiming for.

Mordred had once lost his body in the past when it was killed by Julius.

However, if it could take over the body of the descendant of the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family, it can once again be born as the strongest dragon…!

“That will never happen, Mordred!”

Veronica unsheathed the huge sword on her waist.

Even though she knew that he was not an opponent that she could win in a direct confrontation, she still couldn’t bear to watch idly from the side.

''I will kill Mordred together with Julius’s body before he can manage to take over Avalon’s body-'' Veronica rushed forward while thinking so.

Even when it is her brother’s body that we are talking about, she had no intention of showing any mercy.

But, before Veronica could land a hit on Mordred, suddenly, there was darkness emerging from his body and spread all over the ballroom.

“Urgh… What is this dark mist… My conscious…!”

The moment she was surrounded by the darkness, Veronica felt a strong feeling of vomiting and fainting.

===Part 9===
After struggling in the darkness without knowing what was happening for some time- The darkness had finally disappeared.

“Are you alright, Veronica?”

There was a guy who held out his hand to Veronica who was struggling to stand up.
[[Image:SnRK V04 207.jpg|thumb]]
“You…!”

There was killing intent in Veronica’s eyes.

To her surprise, Mordred who should be busy with taking over Avalon’s decendent’s body had tried to help her.

However, there was no longer evilness on his face.

“You… Could you be Julius?”

“Ahh, that is me. You are still the same old you for not calling me ‘Anii-ue’.”

It seemed that because Mordred was gone, Julius was able to take back his body.

“Of course… You F.O.O.L”

Upon hearing, Julius smile but he immediately returned back to his serious expression.

“Sorry, but now is not the time for us siblings to be arguing. Mordred's spirit has already inhibited Eco’s body. We have the obligation to defeat Mordred and protect this city.”

At that instant, Veronica felt a pain from her head as if she had just been struck.

“Hold on! Did you just say Eco? That huge dragon… is actually Eco?”

“I will explain the details to you later. Can you stand up?”

“Hmph… Whom do you think you are talking to!”

Using the huge sword as a walking stick, Veronica put all her effort into standing up. But, it was probably the side effect of inhaling in the darkness, in the end, she fell down again.

“Princess-sama!”

The person who reached Veronica first was Glenn. Although he was badly injured, he had regained consciousness.

Glenn held on to Veronica and glared at Julius.

“Julius… I have numerous things that I want to tell you, but please allow me to tell you this first.”

“I can guess what you want to say but be my guest.”

While facing the calm Julius, Glenn with mixed feelings shouted to Julius:

“You… Damn you!”

===Part 10===

Seeing that the Empire’s airship was easily crushed, the sacredship Esperanza and magicship Crown Solas flew off immediately.

Only magicship Silvanus remained at its location overlooking the whole incident.

Although Silvanus had yet to attack Eco, Ash was still worried stance the captain is Veronica.

Even so, seeing that Silvanus still hasn’t made its decision, Veronica was probably not aboard the ship. They were most probably waiting for Veronica’s orders.

On the other hand, if Veronica had boarded the ship, there is a high chance that she will issue an attack on Eco. To protect the capital, Veronica will make this decision without any hesitation. Anyway, Silvanus' fire power is not something that can be ignored.

“I…I will protect Eco!”

Ash made up his mind and rushed forward.

“Hold on, Ash. Do you want to be crushed!”

Silvia blocked Ash with her arms spread.

“Please move aside, Princess-sama! Who will protect Eco if I don’t!”

“Please keep your calm! Even so, what can you do!? How are you going to ride Eco who has turned into that? What’s more, what are you going to do to ride on Eco?”

“I…”

Silvia was right. During the time when the Necromancia attacked Ansarivan, he received help from Silvia and Lancelot.

But luck was not on his side. Lancelot who he could place his hope on had not yet returned after it gathered with the rest of the Maestro. The group of Maestros were still circling above in the sky while waiting for something to happen.

To his relieve, after Eco crushed Beowolf, she had not made any frightening actions. Although Ash was sweating tremendously during the time she looked into Fontaine Palace through the window, he was lucky that she left immediately.

Right now, Eco was only looking around and sniffing the building around her as if to figure out what was happening. In regards to what had happened to her body, she probably hasn’t figured it out yet.

“In conclusion, we must keep her as far from the town as possible. In case that she entered the town…"

Upon listening to Silvia’s assumption, Ash was shaking in fear.

Fontaine City has a population of around a million.

In another words, a million lives were now in Eco’s hands.

The severity of the current situation was no longer only involved Ash and Eco.

“Guooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo…!”

At that moment, Eco was roaring in pain and started to struggle. There was a change in her appearance that was originally surrounded by a silver light.

Just like a white cloth that came in contact with ink, there black colour was slowly taking over the white.

“…Eco? What’s happening!”

Ash could only look at Eco transform without doing anything.

The change in her skin was only the start.

Her angle like feathers had transformed into a crow like wings.

The previous middle horn of the three horns had disappeared and her pair of horns had turned into spiral shape.

Also, her four limbs were growing at a fast speed. It will be better to describe her as a giant like body rather than a huge beast. That huge body gave a evil feeling.

Last of all, there were nine eyes on its face and were glowing with red lights.

“Nine eyes…!”

Ash remembered something.

Eco once had a nightmare.

In her dream, was Eco attacked by the nine eyed dragon…?

-Don!

At that moment, Eco who had turned into that black dragon gave a dragon breath.

The flame emitted pierced the sky and scattered the dark clouds.

If this flame was aimed at Fontaine Palace or the town… Ash had Goosebumps just by thinking.

“Silvia, so you are here!”

At this moment, there was a fierce voice coming from behind.

It was Veronica and Glenn when they turned around.

Glenn was badly injured and looked like a rag.

Apart from that- There was another man that was following Veronica.

It was already surprising if a person was allowed to walk side by side with Veronica, yet it was far more surprising when they noticed the man’s hair colour.

“Milgauss! Why are you here!”

Ash felt that he was having Goosebumps all over his body. At the same time, he felt that Milgauss looked familiar. He remembered that he had seen that face in a portrait.

“Are you… Anii-ue?!”

Silvia shouted before Ash.

“Yeah. Although it is a little hard to believe, I am Julius. But I don’t have the time to give you any explanations right now. Firstly, we need to get rid of Mordred’s spirit from Eco’s body- Ash.”

When his name was suddenly called by Julius, Ash became nervous.

The person in front of him really felt like Prince Julius Lautreamont.

Julius stepped forward and placed his hand on Ash’s shoulder.

“Only you as the master can save Eco. Understood?”

“Yes. I thought of that too myself.”

Julius smiled.

“Good answer. I will take the responsibility to bring you to Eco.”

“But… How are you going to do it?”

“Don’t worry. We have that.”

After he finished his sentence, Julius was pointing at- Magicship Silvanus that was actually resting at the far end of the landing area.

===Part 11===
“Ara. I don’t remembered inviting you here…Dark Dragon King Mordred.”

In the dragon workshop, Navi and Mordred were having a confrontation. She was sitting on her favourite chair with her legs crossed.

“Kuku. This is your last time to be able to be this relaxed.”

Mordred’s spirit still maintained Julius’s voice. It was probably because it had inhabited Julius’s body for more than ten years…Navi thought so.

“I have taken over sixty percent of Eco’s body. It is only a matter of time before I can fully take control of her body. Avalon is losing.”

“…”

“Next, if I can fuse together with you, I can be fully awakened as the Dark Dragon King. Follow me. Even though you are called Navi, but I clearly know that you are not a normal navigator. You are the incarnation of the Dragweiss.”

“Ara. Just what I thought of the Dark Dragon King. You have made quite some investigations on your own.”

“Fuse with me quickly. Give me the supreme knowledge. Strictly speaking, Avalon and Nehalennia have the same roots… I should also be qualified to fuse with you.”

“I don’t disagree with this.”

Upon hearing Navi’s answer, Mordred smiled.

“So you agree?”

“No I don’t. It is because I don’t like Nehalennia.”

“…What do you say?”

“I am rooting for Avalon's Imperial Princess and her knight. Especially her knight… Ash Blake, he is far manlier than you.”

“Hmph…what a fox you are. Since it has came to this, I will use force-”

Suddenly, there were numerous tentacles coming from under Mordred’s legs. They were like snakes that had found their prey and attacked Navi.

===Part 12===
“I am sorry. Could everyone apart from Ash and I leave this ship?”

Upon stepping into Silvanus’s wheelhouse, Julius spoke coldly.

The crew responsible for the control of the wheel and control communications turned around and looked Julius in confusion. Then they are all frightened as is they had seen a ghost.

They shouldn’t be blamed since the prince that should have been executed years ago was standing in front of them and had asked them to do something unreasonable.

“Hold on… Prince Julius! What do you plan to do?”

Seeing that Ash was requesting an explanation, at the same time Julius answered, he turned around and looked at Veronica who was preparing to sit on the captain’s seat.

“I just don’t want the rest of the people to die with us. Veronica, I hoped that you could also help me by giving out the orders.”

“Do you think that I would even listen to that joke?”

“If the sister is stubborn, the elder brother will have to face some trouble.”

The next instant, Julius seized Veronica from behind with lightning speed. He was holding a hidden gun. It was a mechanic gun that the military of the Empire used.

Julius even chose to place the tip at Veronica’s temple.

“There is not much time. You should try to listen to your brother sometimes, Veronica.”

“Are you kidding! Silvanus is my magicship. Don’t even think of always doing what you wanted to, Julius.”

“As I have said before, I am your brother. Maybe you are a perfect princess in front of our people, but I knew your achilles heel. If you still disobey me, I will expose it in front of everyone.”

“What achilles heel?”

“I know that you love Silvia. There are Silvia portraits in your room. The clothes that Silva wore, Silvia’s growth record, the poem that you wrote from missing Silvia and also Silvia’s human sized doll-”

“I-I promise! Keep quite immediately!”

Ash was in a shock. He had never expected Veronica to surrender easily.

“Everyone, leave the ship immediately! This is an order from Veronica Lautreamont! No one is allowed to disobey!”

All the crew members rushed out from the wheelhouse.

===Part 13===
When everyone had left the magicship, Julius flied Silvanus while sitting on the pilot’s seat.

With the sudden shake of the magicship, Ash held on tightly to the seat of the communication officer to avoid falling. Looking through the round window, the magicship was getting further and further away from the ground.

It was a totally different experience from sitting on a dragon. When this lump of metal was flying with passengers- At the same time Ash was amazed, he also started to worry about crashing.

As for Julius, he was piloting Silvanus while telling Ash the whole story.

===Part 14===
Although what Julius said was hard to believe, basically, the dragons were seperated into the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family and the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family. The two families had incarnated since the ancient times and were still fighting each other right until today.

Also, Eco is Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family’s descendant.

In another words, Eco is the Imperial Princess of the dragons.

“…Even after I had heard of such things, it is still hard for me to believe this. Eco who has been living with me was obviously a girl who sleeps late, a glutton and a hot headed girl...”

“I know how you feel. When I found out that my pal is the descendant for the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family, I was also astounded. In the beginning, I was also troubled by why was I chosen.”

Julius said.

“Back to the topic, Avalon’s Imperial Princess’s body is really huge. Even though she is still a young dragon, she had this unbelievably huge size… It is totally unbelievable.”

After Julius pressed a few buttons on the dashboard, Eco’s body was shown on the huge screen in front.

Silvanus was three hundred meters above the land and was looking at Fontaine city from the sky above.

From the screen, they can see Eco's back that had turned black because of being taken over by Mordred.

With its frightening spiral horns and nine eyes… It is exactly the image of the dark dragon king.

Eco who was originally standing on two legs was now standing on all four because of the pain caused by Mordred’s take over.

The worrying part is, Eco was not moving at all and yet she doesn’t look as if she was sleeping…

“Could it be that Eco is fighting Mordred?”

Julius shook his head in disagreement.

“It is impossible. Judging from the huge change of her body, I am afraid that… Eco doesn’t even have the strength to fight back.”

“Is it…”

“But not all hope is lost. In my opinion, Navi is fighting against Mordred.”

“Navi?”

Why would he mention Navi’s name at such a time?

Before that, how would Julius know about Navi?

“Navi is the incarnation of the Dragweiss. If Navi could keep on fighting back, even after Mordred has fully taken over Eco’s body, he still couldn’t be fully awaken.”

“What do you mean?”

“Regardless of the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor or the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king, both of them must fuse with the Dragweiss to obtain the supreme knowledge, only then can they receive their true power. I believe that Mordred right now is trying his best to make Navi his.”

“How come… you know so much about him?”

“That was because I shared the same body with Mordred. Just like what he did to blend into the human society… I could also look into his memories.”

After hearing what Julius had said, Ash was still confused. However, there exists thing that could be easily understood without the need for good brains.

“In another words, this is a great time for a counter attack when Mordred was busy dealing with Navi, right?”

“That’s right. This is our only chance for victory. If you can ride on Eco and chase of Mordred’s spirit, then you can save Eco and the capital together.”

Ash nodded in agreement to what Julius had said.

“I am willing to give it a try. No matter if it is Avalon or Nehalennia… I don’t think I even know what they mean. I only know that Eco is my pal.”

When Ash turned around and prepared to walk back to the deck, Julius spoke from behind:

“Although I don’t know why you were chosen… But I am glad that you are Eco’s knight.”

===Part 15===
“Urgh…”

Ash arrived at the deck and the winds were cold. Such temperatures were unheard of during the summer.

Ash was carrying a parachute- This is a decision made by Julius and him beforehand.

When Silvanus had come close to Eco, Ash will jump off from the deck with the help of the parachute.

After landing, it is all up to Ash.

Basically, Ash had gone through the landing practices in the academy.

Ash had never intended to become a soldier and had always thought that the academy was wrong to force them to go through the practices.

Anyway, the academy is not a military school- But who would expect that those practices must be applied right now.

“…Right there.”

Ash was looking down towards the ground from the bow and had located Eco’s back.

Although her fur had turned black but since the enormous amount of magic surrounding her was giving off strong rays of light, he won’t have to worry about missing his target.

He must make use of the time that Navi was fighting against Mordred to land on Eco’s head.

Julius voice emerged from the magic communication device:

“Ash, you may jump anytime.”

“Roger that.”

Ash looked downwards for one more time.

For such a huge beast, her only blind spot will be her head.

Ash tried to imagine himself riding on Eco’s head.

To his surprise, it was not at all scary.

The ‘Seikoku’ on his left arm was getting warm and was flickering with dim light.

It felt as if his ‘Seikoku’ was urging him to move quickly.

Suddenly- Eco lifted her neck and shot a dragon breath towards Silvanus.

“…Urgh!”

A bright light pierced through the night sky. Ash surrendered against the shaking deck and fell down. Although Julius had barely avoided a direct hit by giving the ship an emergency turn, the strong breath had burned the side of the ship into ashes.

There were smokes and fire emerging from the ship itself and it had lost balance.

“Tsk…! If you kill me, Eco will die too! If that happens, you also couldn’t get your hands on Eco’s body that you desired that much...! How could someone be this stupid?”

When Ash was groaning, Julius voice could be heard once again through the communication machine:

“Ash, are you alright!”

“Yes, I am!”

“Silvanus is going to do an emergency landing! Jump quickly!”

“I also intend to do so!”

Ash clenched his teeth and jumped off from the deck.

The moment his feet left the deck, Mordred gave a second dragon breath.

Looking backwards, he saw Silvanus’s deck suffered a direct hit from the dragon breath.

Ash shuddered. He was lucky that he had jumped of earlier or else he would be turned into dust.

Although Julius had said there are going to do an emergency ‘landing’, judging from the speed Silvanus was moving downwards, it looked like it was crashing.

Finally, the unbalance ship disappeared at the other end of the palace walls- Then a fire pillar could be seen followed by a loud explosion.

“Prince Julius…!”

Ash was sad but there was nothing he can do.

Julius had risked his life to fly him into the night sky.

The only thing he can do right now is to complete his mission in return.

Ash's body was moving downwards because of the gravity pull.

His face and ears felt like being crushed by the air pressure.

“Now is the time!”

Ash had got the timing right and spread open the parachute.

The amazing braking force had caused the parachute to slow down.

If another dragon breath was shot, Ash would certainly be hit but Ash prayed that he will not have such bad luck.

“Wait for me, Eco. I will protect you… I swear!”

===Part 16===
“Damn! Where am I?”

Eco found out that she was in a cage when she woke up. When she was looking at her body, she found out that she was wearing a dress with low standards.

This style is obviously not of Eco’s preference.

Any dress in Fontaine Palace’s changing room looked better that this. It is even as heavy as lead and it felt more like a binding item rather than an evening dress.

On the other side of the cage was a wide white space. The walls, the floor and the ceiling were white. Not even a speck of dust that could be found.

“How dare anyone to cage a dragon like me in this cage… What were they even thinking!?”

Eco was definitely confused. Yet she still vaguely remembered that she was awakened as a dragon. She even remembered that she had become huge and was looking at the whole Fontaine palace.

But her memories stopped there.

“Tsk…It seems that you are alright since you are this energetic even in such a situation.”

It was a familiar voice.

“Navi? You…!”

Navi was standing outside of the cage. Even though Eco disliked Navi, but in such a situation, Eco was grateful that Navi was here and felt that Navi was like an angel.

The Eco’s Angel was now looking like a ragdoll.

Navi who was always acting calm and give out a noble like feeling was now with a messed up hair and even her evening dress was in rags. All over her body were marks of being bound.

“What happened? This doesn’t look like you at all…”

Eco was taking a closer look at Navi.

“Hmm…I am only accompanying Mordred in his game. It was just that, his tentacle fetish has given me some trouble!”

“Mordred? Who is that?”

“Please lend me your hand.”

Eco stretched her hand through the gaps in between the bars of the cage. After Navi held her hand, a mass amount of knowledge flowed into her brain.

In a blink of an eye, Eco knew everything that had happened. Only until now that she had realized that she was in her spiritual from.

“To make it simple… That person called Mordred is trying to take over my body, right?”

“That’s right. Anyway, during the time I was running around, he had done nothing bad. But if it is to destroy this capital, it will be an easy task for him.”

“Hmm… So I am such a great dragon.”

According to Navi’s information, Eco is Avalon’s Imperial Princess.

“Huhu. Now Ash is going to look at me differently.”

Seeing that Eco was feeling proud, Navi sighed.

“As long as he can survive. He seems to be doing something foolhardy again.”

Navi held Eco’s hand again and Eco closed her eyes.

That current situation was sent into Eco’s brain as projections.

“What…!”

Eco was speechless.

Under the night sky- Ash leaned out from Silvanus’s deck.

The next instant, Mordred gave a dragon breath from the ground.

Silvanus was hit and was gliding in the sky as if it was a paper plane.

On the other hand, Ash jumped into the air and was falling with his head pointing downwards.

“Hold on… Is he crazy!?”

At that moment, Eco clearly heard Ash’s mumble.

"Wait for me, Eco. I will protect you… I swear!”

In a short moment, tears started to flow from her eyes. Even though she was a spirit, her tears still kept on flowing. Even the Dragweiss couldn’t give an explanation. A warm feeling was haunting her heart… What was that feeling?

“Why…Why? Why would he… try to do so many things for me? Even when I… Have caused many, many troubles for him?”

Navi stretched her hand into the cage and patted her head.

“Do you even have to ask? It is because you are his pal.”

Eco rubbed off her tears and lifted her head.

“Navi, please tell me what can I do for him.”

“Teehee. That’s more like it.”

Navi smiled and waved her hand lightly. With a flash, the cage disappeared. At the same time, the black dress that limits Eco’s movement was broken into particles and a pure white evening dress was raveled from beneath.

In a short time, Navi removed Mordred’s seal.

“I must say that… You are very good.”

Eco was looking at her dress. Its design compromised of the elements of elegance and purity. It is as if it was made to be worn by the Avalon’s Imperial Princess.

“No matter how great I am, I can't help you with the upcoming step. Understood?”

Eco nodded in reply.

“Then, what should I do?”

After Navi smiled, she cheekily said:

“Of course you are to present him your originally made Ark and the Avalon’s Imperial Princess.”

The next instant, Eco became confused.

“What? Are you serious?”

As if it was natural to do so, Navi nodded without any hesitation.

“All the mimics that you have created for emergency in the past… are useless against Mordred.”

“But, how am I to do this impossible task!?”

An original Ark could not be completed easily.

It was because of Eco had seen her ancestor’s blueprint; she understands how hard it can be. An Ark is not only a strong magic weapon, at the same time, it is also a perfect art masterpiece.

Not to mention that Eco was still a young dragon that was not even a year old without any experience. Navi’s suggestion was like asking a baby to build a palace.

“Anyway, it would not be called difficult if the blueprint could be easily created.”

Eco gave up before she even started but Navi ignored it.

“Rest assured, you must believe in your own ability. You are an Imperial Princess who is the blood descendant of Avalon.”

“But… what we must think about is not only the armour itself, there is also the Ark-weapon…”

“Listen carefully, the shape itself doesn’t matters. It was the mental power of the creator that decide the strength of the Ark. Even if you don’t know the shape, as long as you focus, the shape of the Ark will be formed.”

“Really…?”

“Yeah. Also, you don’t have to worry about the Ark-weapon. Avalon has a treasured sword that has been passed down through the generations. Just use it.”

After a moment of silent, Eco mumbled:

“…I had always disliked you since the first time I met you. Regardless of your relaxed attitude or your looks that was similar to mine or your overly large breast…I hate them and hate them very much! However… It is funny that I felt that you are trustable.”

Eco lifted her head and smile.

Navi also returned a smile.

At the same moment, Eco felt that a light had pierced through that darkness that had been blocking her eyes.

She didn't want to look for trouble anymore.

And she definitely doesn’t want to give up before taking up the challenge.

While the evening dress was swaying, Eco spoke with confidence:

“Just wait and see. I will definitely complete my original Ark!”

===Part 17===
“Damn… What kind of joke is this!”

Although Ash had finally landed on Eco, still the landing spot was her back and not her head. It was exactly beside the joints between the body and the wings.

That pair of wings was like the wings of a new born bird. It was still wet and was unable to fly right away.

Maybe this is my only life saver…Ash secretly thought.

Black fur was growing from her uneven skin. It felt like a Necromancia. He must get rid of Mordred’s spirit and return Eco to her original appearance as soon as possible.

To achieve this, he must try to ride her gigantic body. However… Ash was looking at Eco’s head from afar.

Connected to her back that was as huge as prairie was a long neck that looked as if it was a stairway to heaven. And her head with spiral horns was at the other end of the neck.

His current aim was to ride on her head and try to control her using his will as a dragner. However… The distance between them was huge. It was like trying to climb the dangerous Xenoglavia Mountains without any climbing tools.

“Stop… This is not the time to give up.”

Ash threw aside the parachute and moved forward while pushing aside the fur that was taller than his height.

“Now I really looked like a louse…”

In reality, Mordred treated Ash as nothing but a louse. That is why he was not bothered by Ash at all.

“Just wait and see. Your overconfidence will be the cause of your death, Mordred…”

Although Ash kept on talking to himself to boost his confidence, but every time he looked towards her head, he felt like falling apart.

Suddenly, there was a change in the night sky.

Those Maestros who were originally circling in the sky started to make their movements.

Those Maestros could be seen gliding towards Mordred and had him surrounded.

“Grrrrrrrrrrrrr…”

Mordred lifted his neck and gave a threatening growl. However, before he even managed to attack, the Maestros activated their magic at the same time.

With a flash, chains that were made from magic appeared. Numerous chains had tied down the huge dragon’s neck, front legs, hind legs, tail…

“Guuuoooooooooooooooooooo…!”

Mordred was struggling with all his might but the chains wouldn’t even budge.

“They…!”

It can’t be wrong. These Maestros were trying to seal Mordred’s movement. Who knows if they were thinking that the dragon worthy to take to top is not Mordred but Eco.

At that moment, a Maestro landed right in front of Ash. Its pair of horns that looked like a dear’s looked familiar to Ash. Then a clear voice could be heard coming from behind the dragon.

“Ash… Hurry up!”

“Lukka!? Why are you here?”

That is. The Maestro that suddenly appeared from above was Gawain and Lukka was riding on its back. Ash felt nostalgic.

Lukka while feeling worried gave Ash a short explanation.

“Err… The Maestros in the seven dragon house were escaping together. I risked my life to cling on Gawain… In the end, I found out that I was already here.”

“Did Rebecca and Max come together?”

Lukka shook her head. It was probably Ash's mistake that he felt that Lukka’s ears were slightly drooping.

“Only I noticed that something was going on with the Maestros…”

“Is that so…”

As if to interrupt Ash’s and Lukka’s conversation, Gawain roared with its jaws opened.

It was as if trying to tell Ash to ride on it quickly. Ash naturally didn’t reject this offer.

“Thank you!”

Just as Ash sat on Gawain’s back, Gawain flapped its wings.

After piercing through the night sky, Gawain’s altitude was increasing following the direction of Mordred’s neck. Lukka’s riding skills were as good as ever and could only be described as perfect.

Ash was clinging tightly to Lukka’s thin waist to avoid from dropping off.

However, Mordred would not stay silent. Although he was being tied down, it was still struggling and roaring loudly.

Suddenly, magic cannons continued to appear in the sky and were firing at Gawain.

Ash was trembling when he saw those cannons.

It was because those cannons looked like the weapon that Ash used during his fight with Milgauss in Willingham Mausoleum. The only difference is, each cannon was around Gawain’s size.

“Magic shield Aegis…!”

“Need not worry… It will be alright as long as we are not hit.”

Lukka was not at all shaken.

As if she had fused with Gawain, she was controlling Gawain by moving left and right and dangerously avoided the crossing light rays.

It even used its dragon breath and those magic canons were destroyed one by one.

When Gawain had successfully passed Mordred’s head, all the magic cannons had disappeared.

“Ash, now’s the time…!”

Just when Lukka shouted, Gawain did a summersault.

At the point where the sky was upside down, Ash jumped down.

He drew a big locus in the night sky and successfully land in between the two horns. Looking from a close distance, the horns looked more like an altar than a horn.

When his feet landed on that spot, he felt satisfied. It was probably his dragner’s intuition that told him this is the best riding spot.

“Listen carefully Eco!”

Ash was shouting with all his might at his ‘Seikoku’ that was connected to Eco:

“Right now, I am going to ride you! I swear I will be successful in riding you! Whether you are an Imperial Princess or not it has nothing to do with me! So what if you are an imperial princess? You are always bad tempered, try to solve anything with force, a sleepy head, only have crepes in your eyes and feel like wanting to bite greedily whenever you see meat. Are these what an Imperial Princess should do! Even if you really are an Imperial Princess, I will never approve it!... I only know that- I am your knight, and you are my pal. Things are just as simple as this!”

The next instant, there was a change in his left arm that was dense with ‘Seikoku’.

The ‘Seikoku’ can be seen emitting rays of light that were able to light up the entire night sky. Then patterns started to crawl just like some living things.

No, the patterns were growing.

“W-What had happened…?”

Just when Ash was feeling confused, his ‘Seikoku’ started to spread outwards towards Ash entire body with his left arm as the starting point.

Ash found out that his connection with Eco had become stronger.

Although he couldn’t communicate with Eco verbally, yet, he was sure that he was connected to Eco…!

But, what Ash was thinking only lasted for a short moment.

“Guuuuuuuoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo…!”

Mordred was back on the move. He had broken one of the chains and was standing on two legs.

“Auuu…!”

Lukka groaned. The wind created when Mordred stood up had affected Gawain. Although it was not blown away by the wind, it was obvious that it could not remain its balance. However, Lukka shouted:

“Don’t worry about me… I am alright! Ash, just focus on saving Eco…!”

Then, Lukka and Gawain finally fall and disappear from Ash’s line of sight.

“Lukka…!”

Ash stretched his arm but he could only grab the air.

The Maestros that scattered in the sky tried to make another chain to tie down Mordred’s upper body.

But before Mordred could be sealed, it forcefully shook its neck.

“Uwaaaaaaaaa!”

Ash lost his balance and was thrown up into Fontaine Palace like a cannonball.

-This is a lie… It must be…?

He was approaching the tower in the middle of Fontaine Palace.

If he was to hit into such stone wall…he will definitely die.

-Is this the end…? Is Eco and I… Going to end right here?

Right at this moment.

Almete, Gorjal, Peto…

The voice of the spell was coming from his ‘Seikoku’ that had spread all over his body.

Espaldar, Brafoneras, Faldaje…

It was definitely Eco’s voice.

Escarcelas,Bufetas, Hombreras, Brazales…

Compare to the previous times, every single word that Eco said was followed by a deep tone.

Codales, Antebrazos, Manoplas…

Without any reason, Ash felt courage from within.

Quijotes, Guardas, Grebas… Escarpes…

Lastly, Eco was left with the last word.

-Espolón!

Ash who was going to crash into Fontaine Palace was surrounded by holy lights.

It felt as if he was surrounded by angel’s wings.

Even though Ash had an illusion of he was ascending to heaven, Eco’s voice had disrupted this peaceful feeling.

“You absolutely must accept my feelings!”

===Part 18===
As he opened his eyes, Ash was standing at the highest point of Fontaine Palace.

“I-I am saved?”

He saw Mordred was standing ferociously with only two legs while being bounded by the chains of the Maestros.

All of the nine eyes were burning with the flames of rage and looked like scarlet stars. Even though he was trying his best to break free from those chains, those Maestros kept on creating new chains.

“This… What is this feeling?”

Ash was looking at his own body.

His entire body was emitting heat and was overflowing with magic.

It have to be the Ark that Eco presented to me- Yet to Ash’s dismay, what he was wearing right now was still his cloths that looked like rags.

There was not even an Ark that could be seen.

Even so, Ash still continued to feel safe as if he was protected by the Ark. Furthermore, the ‘Seikoku’ that was on his entire body was alive.

What is happening?

Hey, why are you daydreaming! Quickly use the Ark-weapon!

Eco’s voice was once again could be heard in his mind

“Eco…? What is happening?”

T-that is…?

Without any reason, Eco became silent. It felt as if she was embarrassed because of a certain something.

As if to speak on Eco’s behalf, another voice appeared in his mind.

Huhu. That is an original Ark that Eco had created on her own. However, it is still incomplete and even that shape had not been decided on yet.

“This voice… Are you Navi!”

The Ark represents proof of the oath of a dragon that swears to hand over their body and feelings to their knight. At the same time, it was a proof that it was connected to the Master’s heart. Right now, you are recognized as the Avalon’s knight.

I-I only wanted to get back my own body!... It was never meant to be given to you!

Ara, who is the person who was crying because she was worried about Ash? I wonder.

S-Shut up!

Eco and Navi seemed to had started an argument.

Ash made a wry smile because they could still have the mood to quarrel even under such dangerous situation.

All the negative emotions like unsecured and frightened had disappeared.

However- Right after that, Ash had a bad premonition as if a pair of cold hands had held on to his spirit. When he raised his head, Mordred’s eyes were filled with sparks and were marking him.

It had obviously begun to take notice of Ash who was previously being regarded as a louse.

“Guuuuuoooooooooooooooooooooo…!”

Although Mordred was still bounded by those magic chains, he still managed to open his jaws after putting in some effort.

There was a ball of light that could be seen appearing in front of his nose and it was slowly expanding-

Ash felt a large amount of energy from it. It was thanks to the Ark that his senses had sharpened.

Navi warned Ash in his mind.

That’s bad. Even though Mordred have not fused with me, he is still very strong…!

“Rest assured. I will personally deal with it.”

Ash immediately started to search for information regarding his Ark-weapon. Thanks to his experience in equipping those mimics, his was able to complete his search in a short time.

Ash smiled from within his heart.

The Ark-weapon formed in his mind was undoubtably the strongest sword that had ever existed.

Ash readied his posture and started to chant the spell.

“An iron that could slash through anything…”

For every word he said, his ‘Seikoku’ that was all over his body was emitting heat and reacted strongly to it.

"A holy sword meant for a knight of all knights-”

At the same time, Ash felt that his palm was overflowing with an unlimited amount of magic.

The one and only treasured sword that had been passed down generations by generations in the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family had its shape formed in Ash’s palm.

“Appear- Excalibur!”

It was not only a huge brave and beautiful sword but also an Ark-weapon.

On its silvery white hilt were many scarlet coloured Milinniums and they were shining brightly.

After he held the holy sword with both hand tightly, Ash leaped.

At the same time, Mordred was giving out the dragon breath.

That was a ball of light with overwhelming powers that could destroy the entire capital to ground level in a blink of an eye. Followed by some purple electric around Mordred’s head, the ball of light was released at Ash’s direction.

To make things worse, Ash couldn’t avoid it because the entire Fontaine Palace and City was right behind him.

No- In reality, I won’t even need to avoid it.

“Uooooooooooooooooooooooooo!”

Ash as if he had forgotten about his fear rushed towards the ball of light.

In respond to Ash’s verve, the Millenniums at the hilt of the holy sword was giving out a bright light.

In respond to Ash’s verve, the shapeless Ark was releasing all its magic.

“Kirisakeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!” <ref>斬り裂け. Means to get split and break apart.</ref>

Just before being swallowed by that attack, Ash had swung the most powerful strike.

-Cut!!! <ref>斬. Ii was a word that was usually shouted when someone wanted to cut/slash/chop/kill off something.</ref>

At the same time the lump of energy was split into two, Ash was in mid-air. His vision was full of white and he could see nothing at all.

If not because of the protection he received from the Ark, all the cells in his body should had been reduced into nothing. Ash was indeed slashing through such high amount of temperature.

In the end, his vision finally widened.

The dragon breath that was sliced into two had its trajectory changed and each had landed at the Fontainia plains on both side of the capital and had exploded.

Although it was a huge explosion, apart from the strong wind, Fontaine City remained intact.

Ash had again lifted Excalibur and had it pointed at Mordred’s head.

At that moment, there was a creepy voice coming from Ash’s mind.

…Hold on! If you harm this body, the daughter of Avalon would also be-

The nine eyes kept on blinking as if it still had something to say.

“Haa! Now you start to beg from me… Know your place, Mordred!”

Ash remained determined and continued to land at the head.

Of course Ash knew that this body originally belonged to Eco.

He never had the intention to simply slash around with this sword.

However, to get rid of Mordred’s spirit, he needs Eco to bear with it for a few more moments.

What Ash had intended to do was not to kill Eco but to make her lost her strength.

Where is the best place to land my attack?

There is not enough time to think of such complicated problems.

It is because apart from Eco’s and his life, Ash was burdened with the lives of millions of residents of the capital. Ash decided to wager everything he had in the only possibility he could think of.

“Eat this, Mordred!”
[[Image:SnRK V04 243.jpg|thumb]]

Ash was landing at full speed.

''What are you trying to do…? Do you want to follow the Julius's footsteps and become a ‘dragon slayer’? I can’t understand this, I just couldn’t understand this…!''

Ash didn’t replied and had no intention of doing so.

“Whether you are a god or a devil-”

Ash’s sword and Mordred’s horn clashed with each other.

“All the dragons will have to listen to my command, not to mention-”

After he had pinpointed the crucial point to release Eco, Ash swung Excalibur-

“If it is my '''P.A.L'''!”

Followed by a sound of a metal clashing with rocks, the night sky was swallowed by a white light.

The thing that was chopped off by Ash and was flying in mid-air was the left horn.

“Guuuuooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo…!”

Mordred’s roar was echoing in the night.

===Part 19===

“Huhu. Mordred must be running away with his tail rolled up<ref>A proverb</ref> even though a spirit shouldn't have any tails.”

Mordred’s spirit was running under the night sky towards the east while he was being seen by Navi.

On the eastern side of the country is Chevron Kingdom’s land.

“So in the end he had escaped to Chevron Kingdom… I must wait until he rises up again before I could have him captured. Right now, I should give praise to Avalon’s Knight."

Navi gave herself a cheer and smiled.

Eco’s spirit was no longer beside her.

===Part 20===

Ash’s final blow had chopped off Eco’s left horn.

Last month during the time Ash was in the infirmary, he had bitten Eco’s horn. Furthermore, her left horn that was chopped off had made her recalled that feeling.

It was that ‘happy’ feeling that dragged Eco’s spirit out.

Her hearts memories and her body memories.

When both of them are thinking the same thing, Eco’s spirit managed to take back its own body and get rid of Mordred’s spirit.

Not only this method is impractical, its succession rate too is just as low.

However, Eco’s clearly remembered the feeling that Ash gave her.

-Navi had seen it all.

The body of the huge dragon had undergone some changes inside the glaring light.

The skin colour that was originally black had turned back to its original silvery white colour.

As for those nine creepy eyes, they had returned into two clear scarlet eyes.

Then-

The body that was bigger than Fontaine Palace was shrinking slowly and finally turned back into a young teenage girl with pink hair.

Ash gently hugged the angel like naked body in mid-air.

Although Eco was blushing, she still placed her hand on Ash’s back and hugged her knight.

"Princess of Avalon ~A.S.B.1365.7~" is closed.
<noinclude>

==References and Translation Notes==
<references />

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|-
| Back to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Chapter 7|Chapter 7]]
| Return to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Epilogue|Epilogue]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Chapter 8

2013-11-07T13:04:29Z

213.144.240.241: /* Part 16 */

==Chapter 8 - Avalon's Imperial Princess==
===Part 1===
In the mothership Beowolf- In the armory, under Dr Hoffman’s command the battle is in full swing.

Eco who was naked was floating in magic guided device. ‘Yggdrasill’s’ capsule. There were groups of technician working around her. This was out of Anya’s area of understanding. She could only stand by and wall and watch silently.

But, she understood well the pain that Eco was feeling.

The cold voice was followed by its echo when it was reflected on the metal body.

“The cartridge has been filled. Prepare for launching.”

“The countdown starts now. Ten, nine, eight… Three, two, one-.”

“Launch the compressed magic!”

A red bean was shot out followed by a loud gun shooting sound. Anya felt that even the ship was vibrating.

“…!”

Then, there were air bubbles coming from Eco’s mouth. If not because of she was in the liquid, her scream could definitely be heard.

Anya couldn’t bear to see Eco suffering and looked away.

Eco’s body had already taken at least ten shots of the compressed magic.

Eco regained her consciousness after the start of the experiment. At the beginning, she was struggling in the water, but ‘Yggdrasill’s’ capsule was not at all affected.

But after receiving a continuous dozens of compressed magic, she lost her strength.

Right now, she was just like a living dead. Her blank eyes were now lifeless and it was terrible. It was pure torture. Even so, the group of researchers led by Dr Hoffman were not at all shaken and continued silently.

“There is no significant change on the appearance of α. There are no abnormalities on her respiratory system. No magic fluctuation can be seen.”
Without realizing, the group of researchers started to refer Eco as α.

Eco is a human, a young dragon and also a living being- But this group of human had taken everything from her. To them, Eco was just experimental material α.
Who knows if they want to remove their feeling of guilt by calling her with symbols…Anya secretly thought so.

At this moment, Dr Hoffman’s voice is heard by Anya.

“Still no changes… It seems like we don’t have any more choices. Activate all the Millennium.”

Anya turned pale when she heard that.

This means that they had decided to use full power on ‘Yggdrasil’.

===Part 2===
“*Sob*… It was all… My fault. *Sob*…”

In the maid’s bedroom in the ground floor of the palace.

Prim was lying on the bed with her pillow wet with tears.

There was only Ash and Silvia beside her bed. Cosette was standing outside the room by the door.

Prim cried while she told the whole incident.

Prim arrived at the ancient palace when she was chasing Eco who was running amok.

She had met a few suspicious people there.

Seeing the enemy suddenly attacked, Eco appeared and became the bait to let Prim escape.

When Prim regained conscious, Eco was no longer there.

After hearing, Ash felt something suspicious.

“Why did you go to the ancient palace?”

“That’s because… It was my entire fault! It was my bad to say such things!”

“Prim, please stay calm. Compared to you, Ash was the person who suffered the most.”

After being advised by Silvia, Prim rubbed of her tears.

“You are right. Sorry…”

“Prim-san, please tell me everything before Eco was kidnapped!”

Prim nodded.

“I had no ill intention, it was just that… Ash-sama is a human and Eco is a dragon… So I thought that Eco would feel lonely after Ash-sama married with a human girl. The moment I told her that, Eco rushed out of the room.”

“What…!”

Who would have thought of this, Ash was speechless.

“Idiot! You… Why do you have to tell her this!”

Silvia was mad.

“If I am Eco… I will definitely feel hurt if someone told that to me! Even when Eco is a dragon, her thoughts are still those of a girl’s. She should know very well that her situation is special. Why was she born as a human? Why was she not born as a dragon… If I am Eco, I can never feel secure.”

“Princess-sama…”

Ash looked at Silvia who was telling Eco's thoughts in surprise.

“Recently, she had gotten used to the school life. She was also being loved by everyone as the student council’s mascot. Even so, to Eco, the only person she could trust in… Is no other than Ash.”

“And I… Have said something terrible…”

“Strictly speaking, Eco is still a young dragon who is not even a year old. Can’t you be a little more indirect in your-”

“Forget it, Princess-sama. Right now, we could never solve the problem even after lecturing Prim-san. What’s more, if they had this planned, no matter what Prim-san said, Eco would still have been kidnapped.”

“…You are right. But how are we going to rescue Eco?”

Silvia nodded in agreement with Ash.

“Prim-san… Could you describe those people who attacked?”

Ash was praying while asking. His only clue is Prim being the witness.

“Err…They pretended to be the palace servants. But, they didn’t look like citizens of the Knight Country. For their skin colour, it looked like they are the Tantalos…. Also, the person who attacked me is a short girl.”

“A Tantalos girl…!”

Ash was feeling Déjà vu. It was like he had found the last piece of puzzle in his memory.

“It was the girl who followed Milgauss!”

Ash’s fists were shaking. The world he was seeing was dyed in red. Even though he had a feeling that Milgauss was the culprit, still, after making sure, he was still in rage.

“Since we know who the criminal is-”

Silvia immediately stopped Ash who intended to rush out from the room.

“Hold on, Ash! Where do you think you are going to?”

“The ballroom, of course! I want to settle thing with Milgauss!”

“Keep your calm! Do you think that Milgauss will admit it even after you find him?”

“…Maybe not.”

Ash turned speechless.

Silvia was right, no matter how emotional he became, Eco still wouldn’t be able to return safely.”

Just as if she was trying to have Ash cooled down, Silvia made a suggestion in a calm voice:

“Don’t you think that this is a good time to save Eco when Milgauss is busy with the masquerade?”

“What do you meant?”

“Milgauss couldn’t even be bothered by an activity with long history such as this continental congress and will do anything just to capture Eco. Even when I don’t know what his intentions are, but capturing Eco alive is their priority. I am sure that their lackeys won’t do anything to harm Eco when the mastermind is absent.”

After listening to Silvia’s analysis, Ash gave a breath of relieve.

“The problem remains is, where is Eco’s location. Since Ash’s ‘Seikoku’ is not reacting, it means that Eco was being hidden in an enclosed place. For example something that could be a barrier to cut off magic… Anyway, it must be done with the proper equipment. It just can’t be a rally point that they have just constructed.”

“An enclosed place with proper equipments? That’s it, Milgauss has Klaus backing him up…”

Last evening, an airship flew past the evening sky…

The black ship that was waving the Empire’s flag proudly…

Ash remembered.

Ash and Silvia exchanged glances and shouted at the same time:

“Beowolf!”

===Part 3===
-W-Will…I die just like this…

Eco thought so.

The liquid in the capsule kept on rotating and Eco’s body was being swept by it.

Every time her shoulders or waist touches the glass, her body will move slowly in the opposite direction.

It seems like the liquid was made of special materials. Luckily, it doesn’t affect her breathing. But after suffering a few shots from the magic device, her body turned numb.

This feeling is like an empty mind floating in mid air.

-If I could just… Continue sleeping… Then I won’t feel any pain…

Just when Eco thought so, a power that surpassed those previous ones was released at her.

“Noooooooooo…!”

Even though she thought that she shouted in pain, in truth they were just air bubbles coming out from her mouth.

A bright light flashes and the water turns rapid. Just like being swallowed by a tsunami, her body kept on rotating and kept on hitting the glass around her.

-W….Why do I have to suffer this kind of pain.

It had passed the limit of her brain to just think of what they are going to do to her. She could only feel that her body had been injected with a vast amount of magic.

The pain she felt is just like her body being ripped open.

It felt like her organs were being messed up by someone.

-Urgh… It hurts…. It hurts…. I beg you all, please stop.

It is pointless no matter how she shouted in her mind, the magic was still flowing into the body. Eco’s body was jerking nonstop and she was struggling.

You might as well do me a favour by killing me-Eco gave up.

“…!”

At the next moment- The Necromancia’s slimy tentacles attacking her from all directions.

Eco couldn’t understand. Where did those tentacles appear from in this enclosed environment?

The tentacles which were wriggling like a snake slowly snatched her freedom.

Her arms, waist, legs… was entangled by those tentacles. -Stop! This must be an illusion! It is this device that was making me hallucinate…!

Eco tried to stay conscious and opened her eyes widely.

At that moment, the tentacles disappeared.

The feelings of being entangled by those tentacles also disappeared.

However, not long after that, she lost focus and the tentacles appeared again and had her waist surrounded.

In a blink of an eye, she was lifted by those tentacles.

-Stop!

[[Image:SnRK V04 183.jpg|thumb]]

An abnormally thick tentacle was approaching Eco’s face.

Eco kept her teeth closed with her might. If she was to be careless, the tentacle will surely wriggle into her mouth. Eco had Goosebumps just by think about it.

Eco initially wanted to ask for Ash’s help. She hoped that he could save him from this hell.

However, from the point she woke up in this device, she couldn’t even summon Ash.

Her Astral Flow with Ash had also been cut off.

The lost of her communication had put her in fear.

Eco was shocked that the lost of her connection with Ash would put her in such great fear.

-I am really an idiot. I only knew what is precious to me after I had lost it.

This experience had made her wanted to treasure Ash much more.

That’s right, without Ash, I can’t do anything… I am really a good for nothing.

-Don…

At that instant, there was something moving in her body.

===Part 4===
“Something is wrong! The magic indicator is showing an abnormal value!”

“We found an unknown magic source! Its power is increasing!”

“We have lost control of ‘Yggdrasill’! It ignored the emergency stop signal!”

The continuous bad news had made Dr Hoffman turn pale.

The laboratory was as if in a fire and a tense atmosphere was spreading.

Everyone was with a panicked look and were busy dealing with the buttons under their hands.

“What happened…?”

Anya who was looking from aside wondered.

Basically, there was nothing abnormal with Eco who was in the capsule.

Even though she was shot by the high power compressed magic and had struggle like she was having a nightmare, yet nothing dramatic had happened.

But the indicator was still indicating an abnormal value. Also, they were losing control of ‘Yggdrasill’.

The situation had suddenly become tense.

Even the emergency trigger had been triggered and the bell was ringing loudly.

-Dong!

At that instant, Anya heard something from the ground.

“What is that… Sound?”

As if to prove that it was not an illusion, ‘Yggdrasill’ magic indication exploded.

“Uwaa!”

Some groaned and all the surrounding deviced started to explode with red flames. All the technician were running away in fear.

“Don’t panic! Keep calm!”

Dr Hoffman shouted but not even a single soul was listening.

Because in everyone’s sights was Eco who was caged in the capsule.

Eco’s body was glowing with a dim light.

Even Anya was captivated by the sight in front.

“Dr Hoffman! Let’s escape!”

A young researcher advised Dr Hoffman. The rest of the researchers were agreeing with him and looked at Dr Hoffman.

Anya left the wall and walk towards Dr Hoffman’s back.

“Dr Hoffman, I also think that it would be wise if we escape now.”

“No!”

Anya was stunned by Dr Hoffman’s aura. She had thought of him as a kind old man and was forced to act cruel as a researcher. Who would know that he would have such a stubborn side.

“What are you thinking! Even an outsider like me knew that this is dangerous! Isn’t there Millennium attached to that device too?”

What Anya was worried about is the existence of the Millenniums. Just in case the Millenniums explode… Anya was thinking. Let alone Beowolf, it is not even surprising if the capital disappeared from the maps forever.

However, Dr Hoffman shook his head slowly.

“…I won’t. That will not happen. The energy in the Millenniums has run dry.”

“What?”

“All the magic energy… Was fully absorbed by experimental material α.”

“-!”

Anya looked at Eco dumbstruck.

The intensity of Eco’s light was getting stronger until the extend where one couldn’t look at her directly. Those‘Dong’sounds had become clearer.

Even though there were no dangers of the Millennium exploding, it doesn’t mean that they were free from danger. Eco right now was seen as the bomb.

Later, there was the loud sound of something breaking.

Different from the normal explosions, that explosion sounds like it was originated from something being applied pressure on.

“α….α is escaping!”

A researcher shouted.

The capsule containing eco was now in ruins and the liquid was flowing out like waterfall.

Eco can be seen floating with her eyes closed- in a short moment, she disappeared. What’s left is only stardust like magic particles floating in the air.

“She… Disappeared…?”

Anya dumbstruck, murmured alone.

===Part 5===
“Hey… Something’s wrong with Beowolf!?”

When Maestro Lancelot reached the landing space at a height of twenty meters, Silvia shouted:

“That is…!”

Ash who was riding on Lancelot behind Silvia widened his eyes.

The sacred airship Esperanza, airship Crown Solas and air ship Silvanus was lined up together.

On the other hand, the huge airship Beowolf was parked quite some distance away from the trio.

The suspicious thing was the black smoke emerging from Beowolf.

Could it be a fire?

If Eco is inside… Ash was too scared to think about it.

“Urgh…!”

At this moment, Ash felt a burning sensation from his left hand.

Although he nearly screamed in pain, he managed to tolerate with it.

It felt like suddenly putting his hand into a furnace.

“Is everything alright, Ash!?”

Silvia was worried about him and turned around and asked, but Ash couldn’t even reply because of the pain.

The ‘Seikoku’ engraved on his left arm was slowly moaning.

A while later, there was a glaring light coming out from his left arm and his sleeve up to his shoulders was burned off. Even the bandage was burned into pieces.

In a blink of an eye, Ash’s ‘Seikoku’ on his left arm was exposed.

“Wha…!”

The ‘Seikoku’ on his hand was glowing with different light intensity from time to time.

Ash was panicking.

It will be alright if it was just glowing but the heat and the pain sensation had no intention of stopping.

It felt that his left arm is going to explode anytime.

“Hey… What is actually happening?”

Silvia was in shock while holding the reins which was probably caused by the fright she experience from seeing Ash’s ‘Seikoku’s’ reaction.

“I don’t know… But I am now sure that I am again connected to Eco!”

Just like responding to Ash’s left arm, there was an object glowing in the sky.

“Ash! Look upwards!”

Silvia who noticed the abnormality was pointing at the sky. Ash too had noticed.

There was something glowing on the sky above the landing area.

“That is…”

The mysterious light was floating in the sky as if it was decorating it.

On the other hand, the full moon didn’t look as charming as before.

By taking a closer look, it was an egg with beautiful flow lines.

There was a big emblem that was carved on the pearl like egg. At a first glance, it looked like a royal emblem.

To be more specific, that emblem looked like Ash’s ‘Seikoku’.

-Don…Don…Don…

There was a frightening beating sound from the egg.

The confusing part is, it moved with the same rhythm as the glow on Ash’s ‘Seikoku’.

Ash immediately understood.

“I couldn’t be more wrong… Eco is in that egg!”

“How is that possible? What are you talking about…?”

“Princess-sama, I beg you. Please take me there!”

“…Alright. I believe in you. Fly Lancelot! Fly higher!”

But Lancelot ignored her orders. It stayed at the twenty meters height and looked at the egg with its head up.

“Hei… Lancelot? Anything wrong? Fly immediately!”

Even though Silvia shouted strictly, Lancelot still ignored her orders. On the other hand, it did an emergency landing at a corner of the landing space.

“What are you doing? Are you disobeying my orders, Lancelot!”

“…It is useless, Princess-sama. It seems that Lancelot has its own reason.”

“What did you say?!”

Silvia looked at Ash with an imposing manner.

“Do you know what Lancelot was thinking?”

“…I am not sure. It was probably affected by the ‘Seikoku’. I don’t know why, but I could somehow understand what Lancelot was thinking.”

After Ash and Silvia was forced to alight Lancelot unwillingly, Lancelot again spread its wings and shoot up into the sky.

Looking at Lancelot’s direction, Ash found out something important.

“Princess-sama! There are more and more… Maestros gathering together!”

Groups of Maestro were gathering from all direction. It had become an amazing night view created by the light from the Maestro’s magic.

One by one the Maestro appeared and gathered at the corner of the sky.

For Maestro’s whose numbers were already little to begin with to gather together, it was unheard of even in the old times-

===Part 6===
“What is actually happening…?”

Lancelot left its master and flew off on its own.

Although this had given Silvia a great blow, still the view of the night sky gave her a deep impression.

Silvia could clearly hear the ‘Pssshh’ sounds of the beating of the wings.

When she had personally seen the dream like view, all her attention had been captured by it.

That egg even had wings growing out of it and feathers with silver lights were falling off. It was like snows that beautify the night sky.

Then- there was a crack from the egg shell.

The winged egg split into two-

“Uoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!”

A roar as if it was a horn announcing the end to the world could be heard all over.

Silvia who couldn’t look straight into the glaring light closed her eyes. When she reopened her eyes, the winged egg was no longer there. It was replaced by something that was out of this world.

To describe this thing with a word will be either – GOD or DEVIL.

However what Silvia said was insulting.

“What a scary monster…!”

[[Image:SnRK V04 193.jpg|thumb]]

“Stop! You are not allowed to say that!”

Ash shouted and brought Silvia back o her sense.

“That must be...Eco. I can feel it... I can feel it!”

“Sorry, Ash...”

Although Silvia was annoyed by her gaffe, she still couldn’t believe that it was Eco.

Later, Eco landed slowly while being surrounded by numerous Maestros.

Although the pink fur and the red eyes is similar to Eco, but her horns looked sharp and fierce and doesn’t at all looked like Eco’s round stubs.

Also, there was a third horn in between the two horns. It was like a unicorn’s horn and was up straight.

Her wings which were spread widely were different from a normal Maestro’s. It made one think of an angel’s wings.

Followed by a loud bang, Eco landed.

Eco lifted up her gigantic hind leg up high- And The large airship that had been the pride of the Empire was squashed in a few seconds.

With the conning tower being right at the middle, Beowolf had been squashed into a V shape and immediately exploded.

Yet, Eco was not at all affected.

Eco probably lost interest in Beowolf and tried to wriggle her long neck. She slowly lowered her center of gravity.

The target of her scarlet eyes was the window of the tall Fontaine Palace.

===Part 7===
-An unidentified flying object appeared above the capital and all the Maestros in the country disobeyed their masters’ orders and gathered together.

Veronica who received the emergency report brought Glenn the captain of the escorts alone with her to the ballroom at the highest floor of the palace.

Anyway, there were important guests in the ballroom that gathered from all over the continent. No matter what happened, she must protect their safety in the name of the pride of the Knight’s country.

At the same time, she must bring back her father Oswald with her. He had most probably change his appearance and was drinking while mingling in the crowd.

While running on the long corridor, Veronica questioned Glenn:

“Did you too lose contact with your pal?”

“It totally ignored my summons and ignored my request to present me my Ark. From the looks of the current situation where all the Maestros are gathering in the capital’s sky, it probably has something to do with the unidentified flying object.”

“Then, our pride, the Holy Dragners of Lautreamont can be considered no more. If the Empire attacked us at this moment, without the protection of the Maestros, this country will fall in just a single night.”

“...I don’t have an excuse to offer.” <ref>面目次第も有りません have also the meaning of ‘It is a shame I don’t have the power to…’</ref>

Glenn lowered his head somberly.

===Part 8===
When Veronica and Glenn arrived at the ballroom, the palace music and the party atmosphere of the nobles had disappeared.

Most of the guests were by the glass window and were looking downwards in shock. From there they can see the landing area for the airships.

“That’s…!”

Veronica was also looking downwards through the glass window.

“It is dangerous to stand beside the window, Princess-sama!”

Glenn warned her but Veronica ignored him.

There was a change in the landing area.

A living object that was glowing with silver light suddenly landed there.

''-Uoooooooooooooooooo…!''

It was immediately followed by a loud roar that will made one feel like covering his ears.

It was stated in the previous report that ‘an unidentified flying object that looked like a huge egg’, but it seemed that the huge egg had hatched when Veronica was on her way.

The unbelievable thing is, that huge monster easily split the Empire’s huge airship Beowolf into two with just a stomp.

Right at this moment, there was a man from the crowd was making a fuss.

“Ooh, what is happening! How can a dragon of the Knight’s… Destroy the most advance airship which is our country’s pride! I don’t think that this is some simple matter!”

The man's words caused an uproar in the ballroom.

Until a moment ago, everyone had just found out that this monster is a dragon.

Talking about a dragon, everyone will think about Lautreamont Knight Country.

“Is that person…Klaus Viderhausen! He is obviously trying to cause a stir!”

Veronica angrily scolded and glared at the Empire’s young noble.

However, there was a man who stupidly tried to argue with Klaus.

“Nonsense! That monster had nothing to do with our country!”

Although the man was wearing a lion shaped mask, judging from his plum body, Veronica immediately knew who he is.

He is her father, Oswald.

“Klaus-dono! This is the truth! That monster has nothing to do with us! Please believe in me!”

“Hu… What you said was not at all convincing. Anyway, everyone here is a witness.”

Klaus was not even bothered by Oswald.

It was because what Klaus said is true. A huge dragon that appeared with no warning had destroyed the Empire’s airship right in front of everyone.

Nothing could be worst than this.

For Chevron Kingdom and Zepharos Empire who had never see each other eye to eye was originally going to discuss about the peace in between them in tomorrow’s continental congress ‘Elysium’.

To Chevron Kingdom and its ally Lautreamont Knight Country this should be a historical event.

“Stop… Let alone the Emperor, not even a royal from the Empire attends. It is a total joke. The Empire has never wanted peace-”

Just as Veronica finished her sentence, there were people screaming from everywhere.

Everyone was in a panic.

All the guests who were wearing their mask, including the musicians and the waiters, everyone were trying to escape.

Apart from Oswald who was crying, Klaus who had previously put the blame on the Knight Country was also fleeing.

“What…!”

Veronica who immediately turned around was also sweating tremendously.

There was a pair of scarlet eyes looking into one of the many palace windows.

She spent a few seconds to figure out that the dragon had stretched its neck and was looking into Fontaine Palace.

“Glenn, if I try to slash the pair of eyes with my huge sword… Do you think I have any chance of winning?”

“Please forgive my rudeness… Even if Princess-sama, you are no match for it.”

Glenn told the truth directly.

"Why must you be this honest?"

Veronica was sulking while she confronted the dragon eyes.

The round eyes.

''It looked like a baby’s pairs of eyes. Although it looked naïve, if this monster just rubbed its nose with the palace walls, Fontaine Palace will turn into dust in seconds. Furthermore, it will be a hill full of bricks and corpses…''

Even though she was thinking of such scenario, Veronica could still manage a smile.

“Kuku… So this is of feeling of my life being controlled by others. I praise you, my child!”

Seeing that Veronica had no intention of escaping, Captain Glenn advised her in panic:

“Princess-sama, please retreat!”

“I mustn’t. Some of the guests are still here.”

Veronica looked around the empty ballroom.

There was a man with a mask standing at the middle of the dance floor.

The man was wearing a elegant suit. However his hair colour was like a cloth stained with blood.

He is obviously the guy in the reports- Milgauss.

Veronica looked at him in admiration.

“Hmm… You indeed look a little like Julius. Remove your mask!”

To her surprise, he actually did it. He could be seen silently removing his mask and threw it to a side as if he doesn’t need it anymore.

“-!”

Veronica’s eyes widened.

The handsome face beneath the mask was undoubtably Julius of ten years later who had became a seinen.<ref>青年, man with age range between 20-
30.</ref>

He no longer had the rebellious feel with him in his teenage years and was replaced by a feeling of a weapon that had been well polished.

“So you are Julius…!”

As if to sweep away her worries, Julius walked to the side of the window. At the same time, the dragon’s face disappeared as if it had lost interest with the empty ballroom.

Julius was standing by the window looking at the huge dragon.

“Kukuku… I have been waiting for this moment for a long time!”

That sinful voice and the devil like smile made Veronica feel uneasy.

Glenn took a step forward as if trying to ask on behalf of Veronica.

He unsheathed his sword that was on his waist.

“You can’t be Julius, no? My friend would never show such a malicious smile."

“Oh, Glenn McGuire! I remembered you are one of the guys that appeared in Julius’s memories. It should be suitable to use ‘it has been a long time’ in this situation, don’t you think so?”

“What do you mean!”

“You still don’t get it? This body is indeed Julius’s. However, I am not Julius. But I can peek into Julius’s memories anytime."

“What is happening…?”

Veronica was curious but it was not bothered by the man.

“Kneel! Quick! Look carefully! You are witnessing a historical moment!”

The man was acting like a holy man in the religious painting. He spread his arms widely and declared his name.

“I am Mordred! The descendant of the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family.”

Vreonica couldn’t believe what she had just heard.

The Maestro that Julius sacrificed his life to kill is named Mordred. It is also Julius’s Pal.

''Is it possible that Mordred has taken over Julius’s body?''

In regards of Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family- Veronica had only recently heard about this name.

The ‘Old Testament of the Stella Biblia’ that Dr Angela Cornwell found in Willingham Mausoleum.

Basically, Veronica had read through the copy of the book.

She recalled a part of the book.

“…After the wise dragon Inbroke, two major bloodlines were formed. They are the Avalon’s holy dragons emperor family and the Nehalennia’s dark dragons king family. An endless war started between these two families. After the members of the two families reincarnated, they will encounter each other, hate each other and kill each other.”

The person in front had introduced himself as the descendant of the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family.

Then, who is the person who should be representing the descendant of the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family-?

At this moment, Veronica stopped thinking because of Glenn’s shout.

“So I see… You are the root of evil! I knew that Julius didn’t turn crazy! He will always be loyal to his beliefs and tried to have you removed even when he had to commit a crime in the Knight Country!... Return Julius to us!”

Followed by a shout, Glenn reduced their distance and there was a silver flash.

However, Mordred easily parried Glenn’s slash.

“Urgh!”

Glenn growled.

Morderd had stopped the high speed slash with only his index and middle finger.

Glenn could be seen standing still while holding his sword. No, that’s not the case, Veronica understands well.

It was not that Glenn was not moving, it was because that he was unable to move.

Mordred had overpowered Glenn with just two fingers.

“Hmph… I will let you experience the punishment for being disobedient to ''god''."

After Mordred gave a cold smile, there was a flash.

“Gwaaa!”

Glenn was knocked up into the air while unable to even resist. He knocked into the wall hard and became unconscious.

Veronica didn’t even have the time to care about Glenn and stared at Mordred.

“…I don’t understand. As far as I know, you should have a good relationship with Julius. Didn’t you even present him with an ark?”

“Hmph, the one who has a good relationship with Julius is another me. That me who acknowledged Julius as its master and associated with him quite well."

“Another me? What are you talking about?”

“Let me generously explain it to you as your last gift before you die. There were two personalities in Mordred. If it was to be a human, it would be called a split personality.”

“What happened to the other personality?”

“It has disappeared together with the body. Ironically, it was it and Julius who had planned to kill me. For me, to prevent myself from dying, I sacrificed my body and changed into this spiritual form and inhabited Julius’s body.”

Upon saying that, Mordred looked out of the window.

Right beside the palace, the dragon was standing on its hind legs and was looking around curiously. It seemed to be troubled because it couldn’t understand what was happening.

Mordred declared to that dragon:

“Descendant of the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family, I will take that body of yours!”

“Now I understand, so this is what you planned…!”

At this stage. Veronica finally found out what Mordred is aiming for.

Mordred had once lost his body in the past when it was killed by Julius.

However, if it could take over the body of the descendant of the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family, it can once again be born as the strongest dragon…!

“That will never happen, Mordred!”

Veronica unsheathed the huge sword on her waist.

Even though she knew that he was not an opponent that she could win in a direct confrontation, she still couldn’t bear to watch idly from the side.

''I will kill Mordred together with Julius’s body before he can manage to take over Avalon’s body-'' Veronica rushed forward while thinking so.

Even when it is her brother’s body that we are talking about, she had no intention of showing any mercy.

But, before Veronica could land a hit on Mordred, suddenly, there was darkness emerging from his body and spread all over the ballroom.

“Urgh… What is this dark mist… My conscious…!”

The moment she was surrounded by the darkness, Veronica felt a strong feeling of vomiting and fainting.

===Part 9===
After struggling in the darkness without knowing what was happening for some time- The darkness had finally disappeared.

“Are you alright, Veronica?”

There was a guy who held out his hand to Veronica who was struggling to stand up.
[[Image:SnRK V04 207.jpg|thumb]]
“You…!”

There was killing intent in Veronica’s eyes.

To her surprise, Mordred who should be busy with taking over Avalon’s decendent’s body had tried to help her.

However, there was no longer evilness on his face.

“You… Could you be Julius?”

“Ahh, that is me. You are still the same old you for not calling me ‘Anii-ue’.”

It seemed that because Mordred was gone, Julius was able to take back his body.

“Of course… You F.O.O.L”

Upon hearing, Julius smile but he immediately returned back to his serious expression.

“Sorry, but now is not the time for us siblings to be arguing. Mordred's spirit has already inhibited Eco’s body. We have the obligation to defeat Mordred and protect this city.”

At that instant, Veronica felt a pain from her head as if she had just been struck.

“Hold on! Did you just say Eco? That huge dragon… is actually Eco?”

“I will explain the details to you later. Can you stand up?”

“Hmph… Whom do you think you are talking to!”

Using the huge sword as a walking stick, Veronica put all her effort into standing up. But, it was probably the side effect of inhaling in the darkness, in the end, she fell down again.

“Princess-sama!”

The person who reached Veronica first was Glenn. Although he was badly injured, he had regained consciousness.

Glenn held on to Veronica and glared at Julius.

“Julius… I have numerous things that I want to tell you, but please allow me to tell you this first.”

“I can guess what you want to say but be my guest.”

While facing the calm Julius, Glenn with mixed feelings shouted to Julius:

“You… Damn you!”

===Part 10===

Seeing that the Empire’s airship was easily crushed, the sacredship Esperanza and magicship Crown Solas flew off immediately.

Only magicship Silvanus remained at its location overlooking the whole incident.

Although Silvanus had yet to attack Eco, Ash was still worried stance the captain is Veronica.

Even so, seeing that Silvanus still hasn’t made its decision, Veronica was probably not aboard the ship. They were most probably waiting for Veronica’s orders.

On the other hand, if Veronica had boarded the ship, there is a high chance that she will issue an attack on Eco. To protect the capital, Veronica will make this decision without any hesitation. Anyway, Silvanus' fire power is not something that can be ignored.

“I…I will protect Eco!”

Ash made up his mind and rushed forward.

“Hold on, Ash. Do you want to be crushed!”

Silvia blocked Ash with her arms spread.

“Please move aside, Princess-sama! Who will protect Eco if I don’t!”

“Please keep your calm! Even so, what can you do!? How are you going to ride Eco who has turned into that? What’s more, what are you going to do to ride on Eco?”

“I…”

Silvia was right. During the time when the Necromancia attacked Ansarivan, he received help from Silvia and Lancelot.

But luck was not on his side. Lancelot who he could place his hope on had not yet returned after it gathered with the rest of the Maestro. The group of Maestros were still circling above in the sky while waiting for something to happen.

To his relieve, after Eco crushed Beowolf, she had not made any frightening actions. Although Ash was sweating tremendously during the time she looked into Fontaine Palace through the window, he was lucky that she left immediately.

Right now, Eco was only looking around and sniffing the building around her as if to figure out what was happening. In regards to what had happened to her body, she probably hasn’t figured it out yet.

“In conclusion, we must keep her as far from the town as possible. In case that she entered the town…"

Upon listening to Silvia’s assumption, Ash was shaking in fear.

Fontaine City has a population of around a million.

In another words, a million lives were now in Eco’s hands.

The severity of the current situation was no longer only involved Ash and Eco.

“Guooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo…!”

At that moment, Eco was roaring in pain and started to struggle. There was a change in her appearance that was originally surrounded by a silver light.

Just like a white cloth that came in contact with ink, there black colour was slowly taking over the white.

“…Eco? What’s happening!”

Ash could only look at Eco transform without doing anything.

The change in her skin was only the start.

Her angle like feathers had transformed into a crow like wings.

The previous middle horn of the three horns had disappeared and her pair of horns had turned into spiral shape.

Also, her four limbs were growing at a fast speed. It will be better to describe her as a giant like body rather than a huge beast. That huge body gave a evil feeling.

Last of all, there were nine eyes on its face and were glowing with red lights.

“Nine eyes…!”

Ash remembered something.

Eco once had a nightmare.

In her dream, was Eco attacked by the nine eyed dragon…?

-Don!

At that moment, Eco who had turned into that black dragon gave a dragon breath.

The flame emitted pierced the sky and scattered the dark clouds.

If this flame was aimed at Fontaine Palace or the town… Ash had Goosebumps just by thinking.

“Silvia, so you are here!”

At this moment, there was a fierce voice coming from behind.

It was Veronica and Glenn when they turned around.

Glenn was badly injured and looked like a rag.

Apart from that- There was another man that was following Veronica.

It was already surprising if a person was allowed to walk side by side with Veronica, yet it was far more surprising when they noticed the man’s hair colour.

“Milgauss! Why are you here!”

Ash felt that he was having Goosebumps all over his body. At the same time, he felt that Milgauss looked familiar. He remembered that he had seen that face in a portrait.

“Are you… Anii-ue?!”

Silvia shouted before Ash.

“Yeah. Although it is a little hard to believe, I am Julius. But I don’t have the time to give you any explanations right now. Firstly, we need to get rid of Mordred’s spirit from Eco’s body- Ash.”

When his name was suddenly called by Julius, Ash became nervous.

The person in front of him really felt like Prince Julius Lautreamont.

Julius stepped forward and placed his hand on Ash’s shoulder.

“Only you as the master can save Eco. Understood?”

“Yes. I thought of that too myself.”

Julius smiled.

“Good answer. I will take the responsibility to bring you to Eco.”

“But… How are you going to do it?”

“Don’t worry. We have that.”

After he finished his sentence, Julius was pointing at- Magicship Silvanus that was actually resting at the far end of the landing area.

===Part 11===
“Ara. I don’t remembered inviting you here…Dark Dragon King Mordred.”

In the dragon workshop, Navi and Mordred were having a confrontation. She was sitting on her favourite chair with her legs crossed.

“Kuku. This is your last time to be able to be this relaxed.”

Mordred’s spirit still maintained Julius’s voice. It was probably because it had inhabited Julius’s body for more than ten years…Navi thought so.

“I have taken over sixty percent of Eco’s body. It is only a matter of time before I can fully take control of her body. Avalon is losing.”

“…”

“Next, if I can fuse together with you, I can be fully awakened as the Dark Dragon King. Follow me. Even though you are called Navi, but I clearly know that you are not a normal navigator. You are the incarnation of the Dragweiss.”

“Ara. Just what I thought of the Dark Dragon King. You have made quite some investigations on your own.”

“Fuse with me quickly. Give me the supreme knowledge. Strictly speaking, Avalon and Nehalennia have the same roots… I should also be qualified to fuse with you.”

“I don’t disagree with this.”

Upon hearing Navi’s answer, Mordred smiled.

“So you agree?”

“No I don’t. It is because I don’t like Nehalennia.”

“…What do you say?”

“I am rooting for Avalon's Imperial Princess and her knight. Especially her knight… Ash Blake, he is far manlier than you.”

“Hmph…what a fox you are. Since it has came to this, I will use force-”

Suddenly, there were numerous tentacles coming from under Mordred’s legs. They were like snakes that had found their prey and attacked Navi.

===Part 12===
“I am sorry. Could everyone apart from Ash and I leave this ship?”

Upon stepping into Silvanus’s wheelhouse, Julius spoke coldly.

The crew responsible for the control of the wheel and control communications turned around and looked Julius in confusion. Then they are all frightened as is they had seen a ghost.

They shouldn’t be blamed since the prince that should have been executed years ago was standing in front of them and had asked them to do something unreasonable.

“Hold on… Prince Julius! What do you plan to do?”

Seeing that Ash was requesting an explanation, at the same time Julius answered, he turned around and looked at Veronica who was preparing to sit on the captain’s seat.

“I just don’t want the rest of the people to die with us. Veronica, I hoped that you could also help me by giving out the orders.”

“Do you think that I would even listen to that joke?”

“If the sister is stubborn, the elder brother will have to face some trouble.”

The next instant, Julius seized Veronica from behind with lightning speed. He was holding a hidden gun. It was a mechanic gun that the military of the Empire used.

Julius even chose to place the tip at Veronica’s temple.

“There is not much time. You should try to listen to your brother sometimes, Veronica.”

“Are you kidding! Silvanus is my magicship. Don’t even think of always doing what you wanted to, Julius.”

“As I have said before, I am your brother. Maybe you are a perfect princess in front of our people, but I knew your achilles heel. If you still disobey me, I will expose it in front of everyone.”

“What achilles heel?”

“I know that you love Silvia. There are Silvia portraits in your room. The clothes that Silva wore, Silvia’s growth record, the poem that you wrote from missing Silvia and also Silvia’s human sized doll-”

“I-I promise! Keep quite immediately!”

Ash was in a shock. He had never expected Veronica to surrender easily.

“Everyone, leave the ship immediately! This is an order from Veronica Lautreamont! No one is allowed to disobey!”

All the crew members rushed out from the wheelhouse.

===Part 13===
When everyone had left the magicship, Julius flied Silvanus while sitting on the pilot’s seat.

With the sudden shake of the magicship, Ash held on tightly to the seat of the communication officer to avoid falling. Looking through the round window, the magicship was getting further and further away from the ground.

It was a totally different experience from sitting on a dragon. When this lump of metal was flying with passengers- At the same time Ash was amazed, he also started to worry about crashing.

As for Julius, he was piloting Silvanus while telling Ash the whole story.

===Part 14===
Although what Julius said was hard to believe, basically, the dragons were seperated into the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family and the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family. The two families had incarnated since the ancient times and were still fighting each other right until today.

Also, Eco is Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family’s descendant.

In another words, Eco is the Imperial Princess of the dragons.

“…Even after I had heard of such things, it is still hard for me to believe this. Eco who has been living with me was obviously a girl who sleeps late, a glutton and a hot headed girl...”

“I know how you feel. When I found out that my pal is the descendant for the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family, I was also astounded. In the beginning, I was also troubled by why was I chosen.”

Julius said.

“Back to the topic, Avalon’s Imperial Princess’s body is really huge. Even though she is still a young dragon, she had this unbelievably huge size… It is totally unbelievable.”

After Julius pressed a few buttons on the dashboard, Eco’s body was shown on the huge screen in front.

Silvanus was three hundred meters above the land and was looking at Fontaine city from the sky above.

From the screen, they can see Eco's back that had turned black because of being taken over by Mordred.

With its frightening spiral horns and nine eyes… It is exactly the image of the dark dragon king.

Eco who was originally standing on two legs was now standing on all four because of the pain caused by Mordred’s take over.

The worrying part is, Eco was not moving at all and yet she doesn’t look as if she was sleeping…

“Could it be that Eco is fighting Mordred?”

Julius shook his head in disagreement.

“It is impossible. Judging from the huge change of her body, I am afraid that… Eco doesn’t even have the strength to fight back.”

“Is it…”

“But not all hope is lost. In my opinion, Navi is fighting against Mordred.”

“Navi?”

Why would he mention Navi’s name at such a time?

Before that, how would Julius know about Navi?

“Navi is the incarnation of the Dragweiss. If Navi could keep on fighting back, even after Mordred has fully taken over Eco’s body, he still couldn’t be fully awaken.”

“What do you mean?”

“Regardless of the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor or the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king, both of them must fuse with the Dragweiss to obtain the supreme knowledge, only then can they receive their true power. I believe that Mordred right now is trying his best to make Navi his.”

“How come… you know so much about him?”

“That was because I shared the same body with Mordred. Just like what he did to blend into the human society… I could also look into his memories.”

After hearing what Julius had said, Ash was still confused. However, there exists thing that could be easily understood without the need for good brains.

“In another words, this is a great time for a counter attack when Mordred was busy dealing with Navi, right?”

“That’s right. This is our only chance for victory. If you can ride on Eco and chase of Mordred’s spirit, then you can save Eco and the capital together.”

Ash nodded in agreement to what Julius had said.

“I am willing to give it a try. No matter if it is Avalon or Nehalennia… I don’t think I even know what they mean. I only know that Eco is my pal.”

When Ash turned around and prepared to walk back to the deck, Julius spoke from behind:

“Although I don’t know why you were chosen… But I am glad that you are Eco’s knight.”

===Part 15===
“Urgh…”

Ash arrived at the deck and the winds were cold. Such temperatures were unheard of during the summer.

Ash was carrying a parachute- This is a decision made by Julius and him beforehand.

When Silvanus had come close to Eco, Ash will jump off from the deck with the help of the parachute.

After landing, it is all up to Ash.

Basically, Ash had gone through the landing practices in the academy.

Ash had never intended to become a soldier and had always thought that the academy was wrong to force them to go through the practices.

Anyway, the academy is not a military school- But who would expect that those practices must be applied right now.

“…Right there.”

Ash was looking down towards the ground from the bow and had located Eco’s back.

Although her fur had turned black but since the enormous amount of magic surrounding her was giving off strong rays of light, he won’t have to worry about missing his target.

He must make use of the time that Navi was fighting against Mordred to land on Eco’s head.

Julius voice emerged from the magic communication device:

“Ash, you may jump anytime.”

“Roger that.”

Ash looked downwards for one more time.

For such a huge beast, her only blind spot will be her head.

Ash tried to imagine himself riding on Eco’s head.

To his surprise, it was not at all scary.

The ‘Seikoku’ on his left arm was getting warm and was flickering with dim light.

It felt as if his ‘Seikoku’ was urging him to move quickly.

Suddenly- Eco lifted her neck and shot a dragon breath towards Silvanus.

“…Urgh!”

A bright light pierced through the night sky. Ash surrendered against the shaking deck and fell down. Although Julius had barely avoided a direct hit by giving the ship an emergency turn, the strong breath had burned the side of the ship into ashes.

There were smokes and fire emerging from the ship itself and it had lost balance.

“Tsk…! If you kill me, Eco will die too! If that happens, you also couldn’t get your hands on Eco’s body that you desired that much...! How could someone be this stupid?”

When Ash was groaning, Julius voice could be heard once again through the communication machine:

“Ash, are you alright!”

“Yes, I am!”

“Silvanus is going to do an emergency landing! Jump quickly!”

“I also intend to do so!”

Ash clenched his teeth and jumped off from the deck.

The moment his feet left the deck, Mordred gave a second dragon breath.

Looking backwards, he saw Silvanus’s deck suffered a direct hit from the dragon breath.

Ash shuddered. He was lucky that he had jumped of earlier or else he would be turned into dust.

Although Julius had said there are going to do an emergency ‘landing’, judging from the speed Silvanus was moving downwards, it looked like it was crashing.

Finally, the unbalance ship disappeared at the other end of the palace walls- Then a fire pillar could be seen followed by a loud explosion.

“Prince Julius…!”

Ash was sad but there was nothing he can do.

Julius had risked his life to fly him into the night sky.

The only thing he can do right now is to complete his mission in return.

Ash's body was moving downwards because of the gravity pull.

His face and ears felt like being crushed by the air pressure.

“Now is the time!”

Ash had got the timing right and spread open the parachute.

The amazing braking force had caused the parachute to slow down.

If another dragon breath was shot, Ash would certainly be hit but Ash prayed that he will not have such bad luck.

“Wait for me, Eco. I will protect you… I swear!”

===Part 16===
“Damn! Where am I?”

Eco found out that she was in a cage when she woke up. When she was looking at her body, she found out that she was wearing a dress with low standards.

This style is obviously not of Eco’s preference.

Any dress in Fontaine Palace’s changing room looked better that this. It is even as heavy as lead and it felt more like a binding item rather than an evening dress.

On the other side of the cage was a wide white space. The walls, the floor and the ceiling were white. Not even a speck of dust that could be found.

“How dare anyone to cage a dragon like me in this cage… What were they even thinking!?”

Eco was definitely confused. Yet she still vaguely remembered that she was awakened as a dragon. She even remembered that she had become huge and was looking at the whole Fontaine palace.

But her memories stopped there.

“Tsk…It seems that you are alright since you are this energetic even in such a situation.”

It was a familiar voice.

“Navi? You…!”

Navi was standing outside of the cage. Even though Eco disliked Navi, but in such a situation, Eco was grateful that Navi was here and felt that Navi was like an angel.

The Eco’s Angel was now looking like a ragdoll.

Navi who was always acting calm and give out a noble like feeling was now with a messed up hair and even her evening dress was in rags. All over her body were marks of being bound.

“What happened? This doesn’t look like you at all…”

Eco was taking a closer look at Navi.

“Hmm…I am only accompanying Mordred in his game. It was just that, his tentacle fetish has given me some trouble!”

“Mordred? Who is that?”

“Please lend me your hand.”

Eco stretched her hand through the gaps in between the bars of the cage. After Navi held her hand, a mass amount of knowledge flowed into her brain.

In a blink of an eye, Eco knew everything that had happened. Only until now that she had realized that she was in her spiritual from.

“To make it simple… That person called Mordred is trying to take over my body, right?”

“That’s right. Anyway, during the time I was running around, he had done nothing bad. But if it is to destroy this capital, it will be an easy task for him.”

“Hmm… So I am such a great dragon.”

According to Navi’s information, Eco is Avalon’s Imperial Princess.

“Huhu. Now Ash is going to look at me differently.”

Seeing that Eco was feeling proud, Navi sighed.

“As long as he can survive. He seems to be doing something foolhardy again.”

Navi held Eco’s hand again and Eco closed her eyes.

That current situation was sent into Eco’s brain as projections.

“What…!”

Eco was speechless.

Under the night sky- Ash leaned out from Silvanus’s deck.

The next instant, Mordred gave a dragon breath from the ground.

Silvanus was hit and was gliding in the sky as if it was a paper plane.

On the other hand, Ash jumped into the air and was falling with his head pointing downwards.

“Hold on… Is he crazy!?”

At that moment, Eco clearly heard Ash’s mumble.

"Wait for me, Eco. I will protect you… I swear!”

In a short moment, tears started to flow from her eyes. Even though she was a spirit, her tears still kept on flowing. Even the Dragweiss couldn’t give an explanation. A warm feeling was haunting her heart… What was that feeling?

“Why…Why? Why would he… try to do so many things for me? Even when I… Have caused many, many troubles for him?”

Navi stretched her hand into the cage and patted her head.

“Do you even have to ask? It is because you are his pal.”

Eco rubbed off her tears and lifted her head.

“Navi, please tell me what can I do for him.”

“Teehee. That’s more like it.”

Navi smiled and waved her hand lightly. With a flash, the cage disappeared. At the same time, the black dress that limits Eco’s movement was broken into particles and a pure white evening dress was raveled from beneath.

In a short time, Navi removed Mordred’s seal.

“I must say that… You are very good.”

Eco was looking at her dress. Its design compromised of the elements of elegance and purity. It is as if it was made to be worn by the Avalon’s Imperial Princess.

“No matter how great I am, I can't help you with the upcoming step. Understood?”

Eco nodded in reply.

“Then, what should I do?”

After Navi smiled, she cheekily said:

“Of course you are to present him your originally made Ark and the Avalon’s Imperial Princess.”

The next instant, Eco became confused.

“What? Are you serious?”

As if it was natural to do so, Navi nodded without any hesitation.

“All the mimics that you have created for emergency in the past… are useless against Mordred.”

“But, how am I to do this impossible task!?”

An original Ark could not be completed easily.

It was because of Eco had seen her ancestor’s blueprint; she understands how hard it can be. An Ark is not only a strong magic weapon, at the same time, it is also a perfect art masterpiece.

Not to mention that Eco was still a young dragon that was not even a year old without any experience. Navi’s suggestion was like asking a baby to build a palace.

“Anyway, it would not be called difficult if the blueprint could be easily created.”

Eco gave up before she even started but Navi ignored it.

“Rest assured, you must believe in your own ability. You are an Imperial Princess who is the blood descendant of Avalon.”

“But… what we must think about is not only the armour itself, there is also the Ark-weapon…”

“Listen carefully, the shape itself doesn’t matters. It was the mental power of the creator that decide the strength of the Ark. Even if you don’t know the shape, as long as you focus, the shape of the Ark will be formed.”

“Really…?”

“Yeah. Also, you don’t have to worry about the Ark-weapon. Avalon has a treasured sword that has been passed down through the generations. Just use it.”

After a moment of silent, Eco mumbled:

“…I had always disliked you since the first time I met you. Regardless of your relaxed attitude or your looks that was similar to mine or your overly large breast…I hate them and hate them very much! However… It is funny that I felt that you are trustable.”

Eco lifted her head and smile.

Navi also returned a smile.

At the same moment, Eco felt that a light had pierced through that darkness that had been blocking her eyes.

She didn't want to look for trouble anymore.

And she definitely doesn’t want to give up before taking up the challenge.

While the evening dress was swaying, Eco spoke with confidence:

“Just wait and see. I will definitely complete my original Ark!”

===Part 17===
“Damn… What kind of joke is this!”

Although Ash had finally landed on Eco, still the landing spot was her back and not her head. It was exactly beside the joints between the body and the wings.

That pair of wings was like the wings of a new born bird. It was still wet and was unable to fly right away.

Maybe this is my only life saver…Ash secretly thought.

Black furs were grown from her uneven skin. It felt like a Necromancia. He must get rid of Mordred’s spirit and return Eco to her original appearance as soon as
possible.

To achieve this, he must try to ride her gigantic body. However… Ash was looking at Eco’s head from afar.

Connected to her back that was as huge as prairie was a long neck that looked as if it was a stairway to heaven. And her head with spiral horns was at the other end of the neck.

His current aim was to ride on her head and try to control her using his will as a dragner. However… The distance between them was huge. It was like trying to climb the dangerous Xenoglavia Mountains without any climbing tools.

“Stop… This is not the time to give up.”

Ash threw aside the parachute and move forward while pushing aside those furs that were taller than his height.

“Now I really looked like a louse…”

In reality, Mordred treat Ash as nothing but a louse. That is why he was not bothered by Ash at all.

“Just wait and see. Your overconfidence will be the cause of your death, Mordred…”

Although Ash kept on talking to himself to boost his confidence, but every time he looked towards her head, he felt like falling apart.

Suddenly, there was a change in the night sky.

Those Maestros who were originally circling in the sky started to make their movements.

Those Maestros could be seen gliding towards Mordred and had him surrounded.

“Grrrrrrrrrrrrr…”

Mordred lifted his neck and gave a threatening growl. However, before he even managed to attack, the Maestros activated their magic at the same time.

With a flash, chains that were made from magic appeared. Numerous chains had tied down the huge dragon’s neck, front legs, hind legs, tail…

“Guuuoooooooooooooooooooo…!”

Mordred was struggling with all his might but the chains wouldn’t even budge.

“They…!”

It can’t be wrong. These Maestros were trying to seal Mordred’s movement. Who know if they were thinking that the dragon worthy to take to top is not Mordred but Eco.

At that moment, a Maestro landed right in front of Ash. Its pair of horns that looked like a dear’s looked familiar to Ash. Then a clear voice could be heard coming from behind the dragon.

“Ash… Hurry up!”

“Lukka!? Why are you here?”

That is. The Maestro that suddenly appeared from above was Gawain and Lukka was riding on its back. Ash felt nostalgic.

Lukka while feeling worried gave Ash a short explanation.

“Err… The Maestros in the seven dragon house was escaping together. I risked my life to cling on Gawain… In the end, I found out that I was already here.”

“Did Rebecca and Max come together?”

Lukka shook her head. It was probably Ash's mistake that he felt that Lukka’s ears were slightly drooping.

“Only I noticed that something was going on with the Maestros…”

“Is that so…”

As if to interrupt Ash’s and Lukka’s conversation, Gawain roared with its jaws opened.

It was as if trying to tell Ash to ride on it quickly. Ash naturally didn’t reject this offer.

“Thank you!”

Just as Ash sat on Gawain’s back, Gawain flapped its wings.

After piercing through the night sky, Gawain’s altitude was increasing following the direction of Mordred’s neck. Lukka’s riding skills was as good as ever and could only be described by perfect.

Ash was clinging tightly to Lukka’s thin waist to avoid from dropping off.

However, Mordred will not stay silent. Although he was being tied down, it was still struggling and roaring loudly.

Suddenly, magic cannons continued to appear in the sky and was firing at Gawain.

Ash was trembling when he saw those cannons.

It was because those cannons looked like the weapon that Ash used during his fight with Milgauss in Willingham Mausoleum. The only difference is, each cannon was around Gawain’s size.

“Magic shield Aegis…!”

“Need not worry… It will be alright as long as we are not hit.”

Lukka was not at all shaken.

As if she had fused with Gawain, she was controlling Gawain by moving left and right and dangerously avoided the crossing light rays.

It even used its dragon breath and those magic canons were destroyed one by one.

When Gawain had successfully passed Mordred’s head, all the magic cannons had disappeared.

“Ash, now’s the time…!”

Just when Lukka shouted, Gawain did a summersault.

At the point where the sky was upside down, Ash jumped down.

He drew a big locus in the night sky and successfully land in between the two horns. Looking from a close distance, the horns looked more like an altar than a horn.

When his feet landed on that spot, he felt satisfied. It was probably his dragner’s intuition that told him this is the best riding spot.

“Listen carefully Eco!”

Ash was shouting with all his might at his ‘Seikoku’ that was connected to Eco:

“Right now, I am going to ride you! I swear I will be successful in riding you! Whether you are a Imperial Princess or not it has nothing to do with me! So what if you are a imperial princess? You are always bad tempered, try to solve anything with force, a sleepy head, only have crepes in your eyes and felt like wanting to bite greedily whenever you saw meat. Are these what an Imperial Princess should do! Even if you really are an Imperial Princess, I will never approve it!... I only knew that- I am your knight, and you are my pal. Things are just as simple as this!”

The next instant, there was a change in his left arm that was dense with ‘Seikoku’.

The ‘Seikoku’ can be seen emitting rays of light that were able to light up the entire night sky. Then patterns started to crawl just like some living things.

No, the patterns were growing.

“W-What had happened…?”

Just when Ash was feeling confused, his ‘Seikoku’ started to spread outwards towards Ash entire body with his left arm as the starting point.

Ash found out that his connection with Eco had become stronger.

Although he couldn’t communicate with Eco verbally, yet, he was sure that he was connected to Eco…!

But, what Ash was thinking only lasted for a short moment.

“Guuuuuuuoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo…!”

Mordred was back on the move. He had broken one of the chains and was standing on two legs.

“Auuu…!”

Lukka groaned. The wind created when Mordred stood up had affected Gawain. Although it was not blown away by the wind, it was obvious that it could not remain
its balance. However, Lukka shouted:

“Don’t worry about me… I am alright! Ash, just focus on saving Eco…!”

Then, Lukka and Gawain finally fall and disappear from Ash’s line of sight.

“Lukka…!”

Ash stretched his arm but he could only grab the air.

The Maestros that scattered in the sky tried to make another chain to tie down Mordred’s upper body.

But before Mordred could be sealed, it forcefully shook its neck.

“Uwaaaaaaaaa!”

Ash lost his balance and was thrown up into Fontaine Palace like a cannonball.

-This is a lie… It must be…?

He was approaching the tower in the middle of Fontaine Palace.

If he was to hit into such stone wall…he will definitely die.

-Is this the end…? Is Eco and I… Going to end right here?

Right at this moment.

Almete, Gorjal, Peto…

The voice of the spell was coming from his ‘Seikoku’ that had spread all over his body.

Espaldar, Brafoneras, Faldaje…

It was definitely Eco’s voice.

Escarcelas,Bufetas, Hombreras, Brazales…

Compare to the previous times, every single word that Eco said was followed by a deep tone.

Codales, Antebrazos, Manoplas…

Without any reason, Ash felt courage from within.

Quijotes, Guardas, Grebas… Escarpes…

Lastly, Eco was left with the last word.

-Espolón!

Ash who was going to crash into Fontaine Palace was surrounded by holy lights.

It felt as if he was surrounded by angel’s wings.

Even though Ash had an illusion of he was ascending to heaven, Eco’s voice had disrupted this peaceful feeling.

“You absolutely must accept my feelings!”

===Part 18===
As he opened his eyes, Ash was standing at the highest point of Fontaine Palace.

“I-I am saved?”

He saw Mordred was standing ferociously with only two legs while being bounded by the chains of the Maestros.

All of the nine eyes were burning with the flames of rage and looked like scarlet stars. Even though he was trying his best to break free from those chains, those Maestros kept on creating new chains.

“This… What is this feeling?”

Ash was looking at his own body.

His entire body was emitting heat and was overflowing with magic.

It have to be the Ark that Eco presented to me- Yet to Ash’s dismay, what he was wearing right now was still his cloths that looked like rags.

There was not even an Ark that could be seen.

Even so, Ash still continued to feel safe as if he was protected by the Ark. Furthermore, the ‘Seikoku’ that was on his entire body was alive.

What is happening?

Hey, why are you daydreaming! Quickly use the Ark-weapon!

Eco’s voice was once again could be heard in his mind

“Eco…? What is happening?”

T-that is…?

Without any reason, Eco became silent. It felt as if she was embarrassed because of a certain something.

As if to speak on Eco’s behalf, another voice appeared in his mind.

Huhu. That is an original Ark that Eco had created on her own. However, it is still incomplete and even that shape had not been decided on yet.

“This voice… Are you Navi!”

The Ark represents proof of the oath of a dragon that swears to hand over their body and feelings to their knight. At the same time, it was a proof that it was connected to the Master’s heart. Right now, you are recognized as the Avalon’s knight.

I-I only wanted to get back my own body!... It was never meant to be given to you!

Ara, who is the person who was crying because she was worried about Ash? I wonder.

S-Shut up!

Eco and Navi seemed to had started an argument.

Ash made a wry smile because they could still have the mood to quarrel even under such dangerous situation.

All the negative emotions like unsecured and frightened had disappeared.

However- Right after that, Ash had a bad premonition as if a pair of cold hands had held on to his spirit. When he raised his head, Mordred’s eyes were filled with sparks and were marking him.

It had obviously begun to take notice of Ash who was previously being regarded as a louse.

“Guuuuuoooooooooooooooooooooo…!”

Although Mordred was still bounded by those magic chains, he still managed to open his jaws after putting in some effort.

There was a ball of light that could be seen appearing in front of his nose and it was slowly expanding-

Ash felt a large amount of energy from it. It was thanks to the Ark that his senses had sharpened.

Navi warned Ash in his mind.

That’s bad. Even though Mordred have not fused with me, he is still very strong…!

“Rest assured. I will personally deal with it.”

Ash immediately started to search for information regarding his Ark-weapon. Thanks to his experience in equipping those mimics, his was able to complete his search in a short time.

Ash smiled from within his heart.

The Ark-weapon formed in his mind was undoubtably the strongest sword that had ever existed.

Ash readied his posture and started to chant the spell.

“An iron that could slash through anything…”

For every word he said, his ‘Seikoku’ that was all over his body was emitting heat and reacted strongly to it.

"A holy sword meant for a knight of all knights-”

At the same time, Ash felt that his palm was overflowing with an unlimited amount of magic.

The one and only treasured sword that had been passed down generations by generations in the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family had its shape formed in Ash’s palm.

“Appear- Excalibur!”

It was not only a huge brave and beautiful sword but also an Ark-weapon.

On its silvery white hilt were many scarlet coloured Milinniums and they were shining brightly.

After he held the holy sword with both hand tightly, Ash leaped.

At the same time, Mordred was giving out the dragon breath.

That was a ball of light with overwhelming powers that could destroy the entire capital to ground level in a blink of an eye. Followed by some purple electric around Mordred’s head, the ball of light was released at Ash’s direction.

To make things worse, Ash couldn’t avoid it because the entire Fontaine Palace and City was right behind him.

No- In reality, I won’t even need to avoid it.

“Uooooooooooooooooooooooooo!”

Ash as if he had forgotten about his fear rushed towards the ball of light.

In respond to Ash’s verve, the Millenniums at the hilt of the holy sword was giving out a bright light.

In respond to Ash’s verve, the shapeless Ark was releasing all its magic.

“Kirisakeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!” <ref>斬り裂け. Means to get split and break apart.</ref>

Just before being swallowed by that attack, Ash had swung the most powerful strike.

-Cut!!! <ref>斬. Ii was a word that was usually shouted when someone wanted to cut/slash/chop/kill off something.</ref>

At the same time the lump of energy was split into two, Ash was in mid-air. His vision was full of white and he could see nothing at all.

If not because of the protection he received from the Ark, all the cells in his body should had been reduced into nothing. Ash was indeed slashing through such high amount of temperature.

In the end, his vision finally widened.

The dragon breath that was sliced into two had its trajectory changed and each had landed at the Fontainia plains on both side of the capital and had exploded.

Although it was a huge explosion, apart from the strong wind, Fontaine City remained intact.

Ash had again lifted Excalibur and had it pointed at Mordred’s head.

At that moment, there was a creepy voice coming from Ash’s mind.

…Hold on! If you harm this body, the daughter of Avalon would also be-

The nine eyes kept on blinking as if it still had something to say.

“Haa! Now you start to beg from me… Know your place, Mordred!”

Ash remained determined and continued to land at the head.

Of course Ash knew that this body originally belonged to Eco.

He never had the intention to simply slash around with this sword.

However, to get rid of Mordred’s spirit, he needs Eco to bear with it for a few more moments.

What Ash had intended to do was not to kill Eco but to make her lost her strength.

Where is the best place to land my attack?

There is not enough time to think of such complicated problems.

It is because apart from Eco’s and his life, Ash was burdened with the lives of millions of residents of the capital. Ash decided to wager everything he had in the only possibility he could think of.

“Eat this, Mordred!”
[[Image:SnRK V04 243.jpg|thumb]]

Ash was landing at full speed.

''What are you trying to do…? Do you want to follow the Julius's footsteps and become a ‘dragon slayer’? I can’t understand this, I just couldn’t understand this…!''

Ash didn’t replied and had no intention of doing so.

“Whether you are a god or a devil-”

Ash’s sword and Mordred’s horn clashed with each other.

“All the dragons will have to listen to my command, not to mention-”

After he had pinpointed the crucial point to release Eco, Ash swung Excalibur-

“If it is my '''P.A.L'''!”

Followed by a sound of a metal clashing with rocks, the night sky was swallowed by a white light.

The thing that was chopped off by Ash and was flying in mid-air was the left horn.

“Guuuuooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo…!”

Mordred’s roar was echoing in the night.

===Part 19===

“Huhu. Mordred must be running away with his tail rolled up<ref>A proverb</ref> even though a spirit shouldn't have any tails.”

Mordred’s spirit was running under the night sky towards the east while he was being seen by Navi.

On the eastern side of the country is Chevron Kingdom’s land.

“So in the end he had escaped to Chevron Kingdom… I must wait until he rises up again before I could have him captured. Right now, I should give praise to Avalon’s Knight."

Navi gave herself a cheer and smiled.

Eco’s spirit was no longer beside her.

===Part 20===

Ash’s final blow had chopped off Eco’s left horn.

Last month during the time Ash was in the infirmary, he had bitten Eco’s horn. Furthermore, her left horn that was chopped off had made her recalled that feeling.

It was that ‘happy’ feeling that dragged Eco’s spirit out.

Her hearts memories and her body memories.

When both of them are thinking the same thing, Eco’s spirit managed to take back its own body and get rid of Mordred’s spirit.

Not only this method is impractical, its succession rate too is just as low.

However, Eco’s clearly remembered the feeling that Ash gave her.

-Navi had seen it all.

The body of the huge dragon had undergone some changes inside the glaring light.

The skin colour that was originally black had turned back to its original silvery white colour.

As for those nine creepy eyes, they had returned into two clear scarlet eyes.

Then-

The body that was bigger than Fontaine Palace was shrinking slowly and finally turned back into a young teenage girl with pink hair.

Ash gently hugged the angel like naked body in mid-air.

Although Eco was blushing, she still placed her hand on Ash’s back and hugged her knight.

"Princess of Avalon ~A.S.B.1365.7~" is closed.
<noinclude>

==References and Translation Notes==
<references />

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| Back to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Chapter 7|Chapter 7]]
| Return to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Epilogue|Epilogue]]
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</noinclude>

Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Chapter 8

2013-11-07T11:42:29Z

213.144.240.241: /* Part 14 */

==Chapter 8 - Avalon's Imperial Princess==
===Part 1===
In the mothership Beowolf- In the armory, under Dr Hoffman’s command the battle is in full swing.

Eco who was naked was floating in magic guided device. ‘Yggdrasill’s’ capsule. There were groups of technician working around her. This was out of Anya’s area of understanding. She could only stand by and wall and watch silently.

But, she understood well the pain that Eco was feeling.

The cold voice was followed by its echo when it was reflected on the metal body.

“The cartridge has been filled. Prepare for launching.”

“The countdown starts now. Ten, nine, eight… Three, two, one-.”

“Launch the compressed magic!”

A red bean was shot out followed by a loud gun shooting sound. Anya felt that even the ship was vibrating.

“…!”

Then, there were air bubbles coming from Eco’s mouth. If not because of she was in the liquid, her scream could definitely be heard.

Anya couldn’t bear to see Eco suffering and looked away.

Eco’s body had already taken at least ten shots of the compressed magic.

Eco regained her consciousness after the start of the experiment. At the beginning, she was struggling in the water, but ‘Yggdrasill’s’ capsule was not at all affected.

But after receiving a continuous dozens of compressed magic, she lost her strength.

Right now, she was just like a living dead. Her blank eyes were now lifeless and it was terrible. It was pure torture. Even so, the group of researchers led by Dr Hoffman were not at all shaken and continued silently.

“There is no significant change on the appearance of α. There are no abnormalities on her respiratory system. No magic fluctuation can be seen.”
Without realizing, the group of researchers started to refer Eco as α.

Eco is a human, a young dragon and also a living being- But this group of human had taken everything from her. To them, Eco was just experimental material α.
Who knows if they want to remove their feeling of guilt by calling her with symbols…Anya secretly thought so.

At this moment, Dr Hoffman’s voice is heard by Anya.

“Still no changes… It seems like we don’t have any more choices. Activate all the Millennium.”

Anya turned pale when she heard that.

This means that they had decided to use full power on ‘Yggdrasil’.

===Part 2===
“*Sob*… It was all… My fault. *Sob*…”

In the maid’s bedroom in the ground floor of the palace.

Prim was lying on the bed with her pillow wet with tears.

There was only Ash and Silvia beside her bed. Cosette was standing outside the room by the door.

Prim cried while she told the whole incident.

Prim arrived at the ancient palace when she was chasing Eco who was running amok.

She had met a few suspicious people there.

Seeing the enemy suddenly attacked, Eco appeared and became the bait to let Prim escape.

When Prim regained conscious, Eco was no longer there.

After hearing, Ash felt something suspicious.

“Why did you go to the ancient palace?”

“That’s because… It was my entire fault! It was my bad to say such things!”

“Prim, please stay calm. Compared to you, Ash was the person who suffered the most.”

After being advised by Silvia, Prim rubbed of her tears.

“You are right. Sorry…”

“Prim-san, please tell me everything before Eco was kidnapped!”

Prim nodded.

“I had no ill intention, it was just that… Ash-sama is a human and Eco is a dragon… So I thought that Eco would feel lonely after Ash-sama married with a human girl. The moment I told her that, Eco rushed out of the room.”

“What…!”

Who would have thought of this, Ash was speechless.

“Idiot! You… Why do you have to tell her this!”

Silvia was mad.

“If I am Eco… I will definitely feel hurt if someone told that to me! Even when Eco is a dragon, her thoughts are still those of a girl’s. She should know very well that her situation is special. Why was she born as a human? Why was she not born as a dragon… If I am Eco, I can never feel secure.”

“Princess-sama…”

Ash looked at Silvia who was telling Eco's thoughts in surprise.

“Recently, she had gotten used to the school life. She was also being loved by everyone as the student council’s mascot. Even so, to Eco, the only person she could trust in… Is no other than Ash.”

“And I… Have said something terrible…”

“Strictly speaking, Eco is still a young dragon who is not even a year old. Can’t you be a little more indirect in your-”

“Forget it, Princess-sama. Right now, we could never solve the problem even after lecturing Prim-san. What’s more, if they had this planned, no matter what Prim-san said, Eco would still have been kidnapped.”

“…You are right. But how are we going to rescue Eco?”

Silvia nodded in agreement with Ash.

“Prim-san… Could you describe those people who attacked?”

Ash was praying while asking. His only clue is Prim being the witness.

“Err…They pretended to be the palace servants. But, they didn’t look like citizens of the Knight Country. For their skin colour, it looked like they are the Tantalos…. Also, the person who attacked me is a short girl.”

“A Tantalos girl…!”

Ash was feeling Déjà vu. It was like he had found the last piece of puzzle in his memory.

“It was the girl who followed Milgauss!”

Ash’s fists were shaking. The world he was seeing was dyed in red. Even though he had a feeling that Milgauss was the culprit, still, after making sure, he was still in rage.

“Since we know who the criminal is-”

Silvia immediately stopped Ash who intended to rush out from the room.

“Hold on, Ash! Where do you think you are going to?”

“The ballroom, of course! I want to settle thing with Milgauss!”

“Keep your calm! Do you think that Milgauss will admit it even after you find him?”

“…Maybe not.”

Ash turned speechless.

Silvia was right, no matter how emotional he became, Eco still wouldn’t be able to return safely.”

Just as if she was trying to have Ash cooled down, Silvia made a suggestion in a calm voice:

“Don’t you think that this is a good time to save Eco when Milgauss is busy with the masquerade?”

“What do you meant?”

“Milgauss couldn’t even be bothered by an activity with long history such as this continental congress and will do anything just to capture Eco. Even when I don’t know what his intentions are, but capturing Eco alive is their priority. I am sure that their lackeys won’t do anything to harm Eco when the mastermind is absent.”

After listening to Silvia’s analysis, Ash gave a breath of relieve.

“The problem remains is, where is Eco’s location. Since Ash’s ‘Seikoku’ is not reacting, it means that Eco was being hidden in an enclosed place. For example something that could be a barrier to cut off magic… Anyway, it must be done with the proper equipment. It just can’t be a rally point that they have just constructed.”

“An enclosed place with proper equipments? That’s it, Milgauss has Klaus backing him up…”

Last evening, an airship flew past the evening sky…

The black ship that was waving the Empire’s flag proudly…

Ash remembered.

Ash and Silvia exchanged glances and shouted at the same time:

“Beowolf!”

===Part 3===
-W-Will…I die just like this…

Eco thought so.

The liquid in the capsule kept on rotating and Eco’s body was being swept by it.

Every time her shoulders or waist touches the glass, her body will move slowly in the opposite direction.

It seems like the liquid was made of special materials. Luckily, it doesn’t affect her breathing. But after suffering a few shots from the magic device, her body turned numb.

This feeling is like an empty mind floating in mid air.

-If I could just… Continue sleeping… Then I won’t feel any pain…

Just when Eco thought so, a power that surpassed those previous ones was released at her.

“Noooooooooo…!”

Even though she thought that she shouted in pain, in truth they were just air bubbles coming out from her mouth.

A bright light flashes and the water turns rapid. Just like being swallowed by a tsunami, her body kept on rotating and kept on hitting the glass around her.

-W….Why do I have to suffer this kind of pain.

It had passed the limit of her brain to just think of what they are going to do to her. She could only feel that her body had been injected with a vast amount of magic.

The pain she felt is just like her body being ripped open.

It felt like her organs were being messed up by someone.

-Urgh… It hurts…. It hurts…. I beg you all, please stop.

It is pointless no matter how she shouted in her mind, the magic was still flowing into the body. Eco’s body was jerking nonstop and she was struggling.

You might as well do me a favour by killing me-Eco gave up.

“…!”

At the next moment- The Necromancia’s slimy tentacles attacking her from all directions.

Eco couldn’t understand. Where did those tentacles appear from in this enclosed environment?

The tentacles which were wriggling like a snake slowly snatched her freedom.

Her arms, waist, legs… was entangled by those tentacles. -Stop! This must be an illusion! It is this device that was making me hallucinate…!

Eco tried to stay conscious and opened her eyes widely.

At that moment, the tentacles disappeared.

The feelings of being entangled by those tentacles also disappeared.

However, not long after that, she lost focus and the tentacles appeared again and had her waist surrounded.

In a blink of an eye, she was lifted by those tentacles.

-Stop!

[[Image:SnRK V04 183.jpg|thumb]]

An abnormally thick tentacle was approaching Eco’s face.

Eco kept her teeth closed with her might. If she was to be careless, the tentacle will surely wriggle into her mouth. Eco had Goosebumps just by think about it.

Eco initially wanted to ask for Ash’s help. She hoped that he could save him from this hell.

However, from the point she woke up in this device, she couldn’t even summon Ash.

Her Astral Flow with Ash had also been cut off.

The lost of her communication had put her in fear.

Eco was shocked that the lost of her connection with Ash would put her in such great fear.

-I am really an idiot. I only knew what is precious to me after I had lost it.

This experience had made her wanted to treasure Ash much more.

That’s right, without Ash, I can’t do anything… I am really a good for nothing.

-Don…

At that instant, there was something moving in her body.

===Part 4===
“Something is wrong! The magic indicator is showing an abnormal value!”

“We found an unknown magic source! Its power is increasing!”

“We have lost control of ‘Yggdrasill’! It ignored the emergency stop signal!”

The continuous bad news had made Dr Hoffman turn pale.

The laboratory was as if in a fire and a tense atmosphere was spreading.

Everyone was with a panicked look and were busy dealing with the buttons under their hands.

“What happened…?”

Anya who was looking from aside wondered.

Basically, there was nothing abnormal with Eco who was in the capsule.

Even though she was shot by the high power compressed magic and had struggle like she was having a nightmare, yet nothing dramatic had happened.

But the indicator was still indicating an abnormal value. Also, they were losing control of ‘Yggdrasill’.

The situation had suddenly become tense.

Even the emergency trigger had been triggered and the bell was ringing loudly.

-Dong!

At that instant, Anya heard something from the ground.

“What is that… Sound?”

As if to prove that it was not an illusion, ‘Yggdrasill’ magic indication exploded.

“Uwaa!”

Some groaned and all the surrounding deviced started to explode with red flames. All the technician were running away in fear.

“Don’t panic! Keep calm!”

Dr Hoffman shouted but not even a single soul was listening.

Because in everyone’s sights was Eco who was caged in the capsule.

Eco’s body was glowing with a dim light.

Even Anya was captivated by the sight in front.

“Dr Hoffman! Let’s escape!”

A young researcher advised Dr Hoffman. The rest of the researchers were agreeing with him and looked at Dr Hoffman.

Anya left the wall and walk towards Dr Hoffman’s back.

“Dr Hoffman, I also think that it would be wise if we escape now.”

“No!”

Anya was stunned by Dr Hoffman’s aura. She had thought of him as a kind old man and was forced to act cruel as a researcher. Who would know that he would have such a stubborn side.

“What are you thinking! Even an outsider like me knew that this is dangerous! Isn’t there Millennium attached to that device too?”

What Anya was worried about is the existence of the Millenniums. Just in case the Millenniums explode… Anya was thinking. Let alone Beowolf, it is not even surprising if the capital disappeared from the maps forever.

However, Dr Hoffman shook his head slowly.

“…I won’t. That will not happen. The energy in the Millenniums has run dry.”

“What?”

“All the magic energy… Was fully absorbed by experimental material α.”

“-!”

Anya looked at Eco dumbstruck.

The intensity of Eco’s light was getting stronger until the extend where one couldn’t look at her directly. Those‘Dong’sounds had become clearer.

Even though there were no dangers of the Millennium exploding, it doesn’t mean that they were free from danger. Eco right now was seen as the bomb.

Later, there was the loud sound of something breaking.

Different from the normal explosions, that explosion sounds like it was originated from something being applied pressure on.

“α….α is escaping!”

A researcher shouted.

The capsule containing eco was now in ruins and the liquid was flowing out like waterfall.

Eco can be seen floating with her eyes closed- in a short moment, she disappeared. What’s left is only stardust like magic particles floating in the air.

“She… Disappeared…?”

Anya dumbstruck, murmured alone.

===Part 5===
“Hey… Something’s wrong with Beowolf!?”

When Maestro Lancelot reached the landing space at a height of twenty meters, Silvia shouted:

“That is…!”

Ash who was riding on Lancelot behind Silvia widened his eyes.

The sacred airship Esperanza, airship Crown Solas and air ship Silvanus was lined up together.

On the other hand, the huge airship Beowolf was parked quite some distance away from the trio.

The suspicious thing was the black smoke emerging from Beowolf.

Could it be a fire?

If Eco is inside… Ash was too scared to think about it.

“Urgh…!”

At this moment, Ash felt a burning sensation from his left hand.

Although he nearly screamed in pain, he managed to tolerate with it.

It felt like suddenly putting his hand into a furnace.

“Is everything alright, Ash!?”

Silvia was worried about him and turned around and asked, but Ash couldn’t even reply because of the pain.

The ‘Seikoku’ engraved on his left arm was slowly moaning.

A while later, there was a glaring light coming out from his left arm and his sleeve up to his shoulders was burned off. Even the bandage was burned into pieces.

In a blink of an eye, Ash’s ‘Seikoku’ on his left arm was exposed.

“Wha…!”

The ‘Seikoku’ on his hand was glowing with different light intensity from time to time.

Ash was panicking.

It will be alright if it was just glowing but the heat and the pain sensation had no intention of stopping.

It felt that his left arm is going to explode anytime.

“Hey… What is actually happening?”

Silvia was in shock while holding the reins which was probably caused by the fright she experience from seeing Ash’s ‘Seikoku’s’ reaction.

“I don’t know… But I am now sure that I am again connected to Eco!”

Just like responding to Ash’s left arm, there was an object glowing in the sky.

“Ash! Look upwards!”

Silvia who noticed the abnormality was pointing at the sky. Ash too had noticed.

There was something glowing on the sky above the landing area.

“That is…”

The mysterious light was floating in the sky as if it was decorating it.

On the other hand, the full moon didn’t look as charming as before.

By taking a closer look, it was an egg with beautiful flow lines.

There was a big emblem that was carved on the pearl like egg. At a first glance, it looked like a royal emblem.

To be more specific, that emblem looked like Ash’s ‘Seikoku’.

-Don…Don…Don…

There was a frightening beating sound from the egg.

The confusing part is, it moved with the same rhythm as the glow on Ash’s ‘Seikoku’.

Ash immediately understood.

“I couldn’t be more wrong… Eco is in that egg!”

“How is that possible? What are you talking about…?”

“Princess-sama, I beg you. Please take me there!”

“…Alright. I believe in you. Fly Lancelot! Fly higher!”

But Lancelot ignored her orders. It stayed at the twenty meters height and looked at the egg with its head up.

“Hei… Lancelot? Anything wrong? Fly immediately!”

Even though Silvia shouted strictly, Lancelot still ignored her orders. On the other hand, it did an emergency landing at a corner of the landing space.

“What are you doing? Are you disobeying my orders, Lancelot!”

“…It is useless, Princess-sama. It seems that Lancelot has its own reason.”

“What did you say?!”

Silvia looked at Ash with an imposing manner.

“Do you know what Lancelot was thinking?”

“…I am not sure. It was probably affected by the ‘Seikoku’. I don’t know why, but I could somehow understand what Lancelot was thinking.”

After Ash and Silvia was forced to alight Lancelot unwillingly, Lancelot again spread its wings and shoot up into the sky.

Looking at Lancelot’s direction, Ash found out something important.

“Princess-sama! There are more and more… Maestros gathering together!”

Groups of Maestro were gathering from all direction. It had become an amazing night view created by the light from the Maestro’s magic.

One by one the Maestro appeared and gathered at the corner of the sky.

For Maestro’s whose numbers were already little to begin with to gather together, it was unheard of even in the old times-

===Part 6===
“What is actually happening…?”

Lancelot left its master and flew off on its own.

Although this had given Silvia a great blow, still the view of the night sky gave her a deep impression.

Silvia could clearly hear the ‘Pssshh’ sounds of the beating of the wings.

When she had personally seen the dream like view, all her attention had been captured by it.

That egg even had wings growing out of it and feathers with silver lights were falling off. It was like snows that beautify the night sky.

Then- there was a crack from the egg shell.

The winged egg split into two-

“Uoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!”

A roar as if it was a horn announcing the end to the world could be heard all over.

Silvia who couldn’t look straight into the glaring light closed her eyes. When she reopened her eyes, the winged egg was no longer there. It was replaced by something that was out of this world.

To describe this thing with a word will be either – GOD or DEVIL.

However what Silvia said was insulting.

“What a scary monster…!”

[[Image:SnRK V04 193.jpg|thumb]]

“Stop! You are not allowed to say that!”

Ash shouted and brought Silvia back o her sense.

“That must be...Eco. I can feel it... I can feel it!”

“Sorry, Ash...”

Although Silvia was annoyed by her gaffe, she still couldn’t believe that it was Eco.

Later, Eco landed slowly while being surrounded by numerous Maestros.

Although the pink fur and the red eyes is similar to Eco, but her horns looked sharp and fierce and doesn’t at all looked like Eco’s round stubs.

Also, there was a third horn in between the two horns. It was like a unicorn’s horn and was up straight.

Her wings which were spread widely were different from a normal Maestro’s. It made one think of an angel’s wings.

Followed by a loud bang, Eco landed.

Eco lifted up her gigantic hind leg up high- And The large airship that had been the pride of the Empire was squashed in a few seconds.

With the conning tower being right at the middle, Beowolf had been squashed into a V shape and immediately exploded.

Yet, Eco was not at all affected.

Eco probably lost interest in Beowolf and tried to wriggle her long neck. She slowly lowered her center of gravity.

The target of her scarlet eyes was the window of the tall Fontaine Palace.

===Part 7===
-An unidentified flying object appeared above the capital and all the Maestros in the country disobeyed their masters’ orders and gathered together.

Veronica who received the emergency report brought Glenn the captain of the escorts alone with her to the ballroom at the highest floor of the palace.

Anyway, there were important guests in the ballroom that gathered from all over the continent. No matter what happened, she must protect their safety in the name of the pride of the Knight’s country.

At the same time, she must bring back her father Oswald with her. He had most probably change his appearance and was drinking while mingling in the crowd.

While running on the long corridor, Veronica questioned Glenn:

“Did you too lose contact with your pal?”

“It totally ignored my summons and ignored my request to present me my Ark. From the looks of the current situation where all the Maestros are gathering in the capital’s sky, it probably has something to do with the unidentified flying object.”

“Then, our pride, the Holy Dragners of Lautreamont can be considered no more. If the Empire attacked us at this moment, without the protection of the Maestros, this country will fall in just a single night.”

“...I don’t have an excuse to offer.” <ref>面目次第も有りません have also the meaning of ‘It is a shame I don’t have the power to…’</ref>

Glenn lowered his head somberly.

===Part 8===
When Veronica and Glenn arrived at the ballroom, the palace music and the party atmosphere of the nobles had disappeared.

Most of the guests were by the glass window and were looking downwards in shock. From there they can see the landing area for the airships.

“That’s…!”

Veronica was also looking downwards through the glass window.

“It is dangerous to stand beside the window, Princess-sama!”

Glenn warned her but Veronica ignored him.

There was a change in the landing area.

A living object that was glowing with silver light suddenly landed there.

''-Uoooooooooooooooooo…!''

It was immediately followed by a loud roar that will made one feel like covering his ears.

It was stated in the previous report that ‘an unidentified flying object that looked like a huge egg’, but it seemed that the huge egg had hatched when Veronica was on her way.

The unbelievable thing is, that huge monster easily split the Empire’s huge airship Beowolf into two with just a stomp.

Right at this moment, there was a man from the crowd was making a fuss.

“Ooh, what is happening! How can a dragon of the Knight’s… Destroy the most advance airship which is our country’s pride! I don’t think that this is some simple matter!”

The man's words caused an uproar in the ballroom.

Until a moment ago, everyone had just found out that this monster is a dragon.

Talking about a dragon, everyone will think about Lautreamont Knight Country.

“Is that person…Klaus Viderhausen! He is obviously trying to cause a stir!”

Veronica angrily scolded and glared at the Empire’s young noble.

However, there was a man who stupidly tried to argue with Klaus.

“Nonsense! That monster had nothing to do with our country!”

Although the man was wearing a lion shaped mask, judging from his plum body, Veronica immediately knew who he is.

He is her father, Oswald.

“Klaus-dono! This is the truth! That monster has nothing to do with us! Please believe in me!”

“Hu… What you said was not at all convincing. Anyway, everyone here is a witness.”

Klaus was not even bothered by Oswald.

It was because what Klaus said is true. A huge dragon that appeared with no warning had destroyed the Empire’s airship right in front of everyone.

Nothing could be worst than this.

For Chevron Kingdom and Zepharos Empire who had never see each other eye to eye was originally going to discuss about the peace in between them in tomorrow’s continental congress ‘Elysium’.

To Chevron Kingdom and its ally Lautreamont Knight Country this should be a historical event.

“Stop… Let alone the Emperor, not even a royal from the Empire attends. It is a total joke. The Empire has never wanted peace-”

Just as Veronica finished her sentence, there were people screaming from everywhere.

Everyone was in a panic.

All the guests who were wearing their mask, including the musicians and the waiters, everyone were trying to escape.

Apart from Oswald who was crying, Klaus who had previously put the blame on the Knight Country was also fleeing.

“What…!”

Veronica who immediately turned around was also sweating tremendously.

There was a pair of scarlet eyes looking into one of the many palace windows.

She spent a few seconds to figure out that the dragon had stretched its neck and was looking into Fontaine Palace.

“Glenn, if I try to slash the pair of eyes with my huge sword… Do you think I have any chance of winning?”

“Please forgive my rudeness… Even if Princess-sama, you are no match for it.”

Glenn told the truth directly.

"Why must you be this honest?"

Veronica was sulking while she confronted the dragon eyes.

The round eyes.

''It looked like a baby’s pairs of eyes. Although it looked naïve, if this monster just rubbed its nose with the palace walls, Fontaine Palace will turn into dust in seconds. Furthermore, it will be a hill full of bricks and corpses…''

Even though she was thinking of such scenario, Veronica could still manage a smile.

“Kuku… So this is of feeling of my life being controlled by others. I praise you, my child!”

Seeing that Veronica had no intention of escaping, Captain Glenn advised her in panic:

“Princess-sama, please retreat!”

“I mustn’t. Some of the guests are still here.”

Veronica looked around the empty ballroom.

There was a man with a mask standing at the middle of the dance floor.

The man was wearing a elegant suit. However his hair colour was like a cloth stained with blood.

He is obviously the guy in the reports- Milgauss.

Veronica looked at him in admiration.

“Hmm… You indeed look a little like Julius. Remove your mask!”

To her surprise, he actually did it. He could be seen silently removing his mask and threw it to a side as if he doesn’t need it anymore.

“-!”

Veronica’s eyes widened.

The handsome face beneath the mask was undoubtably Julius of ten years later who had became a seinen.<ref>青年, man with age range between 20-
30.</ref>

He no longer had the rebellious feel with him in his teenage years and was replaced by a feeling of a weapon that had been well polished.

“So you are Julius…!”

As if to sweep away her worries, Julius walked to the side of the window. At the same time, the dragon’s face disappeared as if it had lost interest with the empty ballroom.

Julius was standing by the window looking at the huge dragon.

“Kukuku… I have been waiting for this moment for a long time!”

That sinful voice and the devil like smile made Veronica feel uneasy.

Glenn took a step forward as if trying to ask on behalf of Veronica.

He unsheathed his sword that was on his waist.

“You can’t be Julius, no? My friend would never show such a malicious smile."

“Oh, Glenn McGuire! I remembered you are one of the guys that appeared in Julius’s memories. It should be suitable to use ‘it has been a long time’ in this situation, don’t you think so?”

“What do you mean!”

“You still don’t get it? This body is indeed Julius’s. However, I am not Julius. But I can peek into Julius’s memories anytime."

“What is happening…?”

Veronica was curious but it was not bothered by the man.

“Kneel! Quick! Look carefully! You are witnessing a historical moment!”

The man was acting like a holy man in the religious painting. He spread his arms widely and declared his name.

“I am Mordred! The descendant of the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family.”

Vreonica couldn’t believe what she had just heard.

The Maestro that Julius sacrificed his life to kill is named Mordred. It is also Julius’s Pal.

''Is it possible that Mordred has taken over Julius’s body?''

In regards of Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family- Veronica had only recently heard about this name.

The ‘Old Testament of the Stella Biblia’ that Dr Angela Cornwell found in Willingham Mausoleum.

Basically, Veronica had read through the copy of the book.

She recalled a part of the book.

“…After the wise dragon Inbroke, two major bloodlines were formed. They are the Avalon’s holy dragons emperor family and the Nehalennia’s dark dragons king family. An endless war started between these two families. After the members of the two families reincarnated, they will encounter each other, hate each other and kill each other.”

The person in front had introduced himself as the descendant of the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family.

Then, who is the person who should be representing the descendant of the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family-?

At this moment, Veronica stopped thinking because of Glenn’s shout.

“So I see… You are the root of evil! I knew that Julius didn’t turn crazy! He will always be loyal to his beliefs and tried to have you removed even when he had to commit a crime in the Knight Country!... Return Julius to us!”

Followed by a shout, Glenn reduced their distance and there was a silver flash.

However, Mordred easily parried Glenn’s slash.

“Urgh!”

Glenn growled.

Morderd had stopped the high speed slash with only his index and middle finger.

Glenn could be seen standing still while holding his sword. No, that’s not the case, Veronica understands well.

It was not that Glenn was not moving, it was because that he was unable to move.

Mordred had overpowered Glenn with just two fingers.

“Hmph… I will let you experience the punishment for being disobedient to ''god''."

After Mordred gave a cold smile, there was a flash.

“Gwaaa!”

Glenn was knocked up into the air while unable to even resist. He knocked into the wall hard and became unconscious.

Veronica didn’t even have the time to care about Glenn and stared at Mordred.

“…I don’t understand. As far as I know, you should have a good relationship with Julius. Didn’t you even present him with an ark?”

“Hmph, the one who has a good relationship with Julius is another me. That me who acknowledged Julius as its master and associated with him quite well."

“Another me? What are you talking about?”

“Let me generously explain it to you as your last gift before you die. There were two personalities in Mordred. If it was to be a human, it would be called a split personality.”

“What happened to the other personality?”

“It has disappeared together with the body. Ironically, it was it and Julius who had planned to kill me. For me, to prevent myself from dying, I sacrificed my body and changed into this spiritual form and inhabited Julius’s body.”

Upon saying that, Mordred looked out of the window.

Right beside the palace, the dragon was standing on its hind legs and was looking around curiously. It seemed to be troubled because it couldn’t understand what was happening.

Mordred declared to that dragon:

“Descendant of the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family, I will take that body of yours!”

“Now I understand, so this is what you planned…!”

At this stage. Veronica finally found out what Mordred is aiming for.

Mordred had once lost his body in the past when it was killed by Julius.

However, if it could take over the body of the descendant of the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family, it can once again be born as the strongest dragon…!

“That will never happen, Mordred!”

Veronica unsheathed the huge sword on her waist.

Even though she knew that he was not an opponent that she could win in a direct confrontation, she still couldn’t bear to watch idly from the side.

''I will kill Mordred together with Julius’s body before he can manage to take over Avalon’s body-'' Veronica rushed forward while thinking so.

Even when it is her brother’s body that we are talking about, she had no intention of showing any mercy.

But, before Veronica could land a hit on Mordred, suddenly, there was darkness emerging from his body and spread all over the ballroom.

“Urgh… What is this dark mist… My conscious…!”

The moment she was surrounded by the darkness, Veronica felt a strong feeling of vomiting and fainting.

===Part 9===
After struggling in the darkness without knowing what was happening for some time- The darkness had finally disappeared.

“Are you alright, Veronica?”

There was a guy who held out his hand to Veronica who was struggling to stand up.
[[Image:SnRK V04 207.jpg|thumb]]
“You…!”

There was killing intent in Veronica’s eyes.

To her surprise, Mordred who should be busy with taking over Avalon’s decendent’s body had tried to help her.

However, there was no longer evilness on his face.

“You… Could you be Julius?”

“Ahh, that is me. You are still the same old you for not calling me ‘Anii-ue’.”

It seemed that because Mordred was gone, Julius was able to take back his body.

“Of course… You F.O.O.L”

Upon hearing, Julius smile but he immediately returned back to his serious expression.

“Sorry, but now is not the time for us siblings to be arguing. Mordred's spirit has already inhibited Eco’s body. We have the obligation to defeat Mordred and protect this city.”

At that instant, Veronica felt a pain from her head as if she had just been struck.

“Hold on! Did you just say Eco? That huge dragon… is actually Eco?”

“I will explain the details to you later. Can you stand up?”

“Hmph… Whom do you think you are talking to!”

Using the huge sword as a walking stick, Veronica put all her effort into standing up. But, it was probably the side effect of inhaling in the darkness, in the end, she fell down again.

“Princess-sama!”

The person who reached Veronica first was Glenn. Although he was badly injured, he had regained consciousness.

Glenn held on to Veronica and glared at Julius.

“Julius… I have numerous things that I want to tell you, but please allow me to tell you this first.”

“I can guess what you want to say but be my guest.”

While facing the calm Julius, Glenn with mixed feelings shouted to Julius:

“You… Damn you!”

===Part 10===

Seeing that the Empire’s airship was easily crushed, the sacredship Esperanza and magicship Crown Solas flew off immediately.

Only magicship Silvanus remained at its location overlooking the whole incident.

Although Silvanus had yet to attack Eco, Ash was still worried stance the captain is Veronica.

Even so, seeing that Silvanus still hasn’t made its decision, Veronica was probably not aboard the ship. They were most probably waiting for Veronica’s orders.

On the other hand, if Veronica had boarded the ship, there is a high chance that she will issue an attack on Eco. To protect the capital, Veronica will make this decision without any hesitation. Anyway, Silvanus' fire power is not something that can be ignored.

“I…I will protect Eco!”

Ash made up his mind and rushed forward.

“Hold on, Ash. Do you want to be crushed!”

Silvia blocked Ash with her arms spread.

“Please move aside, Princess-sama! Who will protect Eco if I don’t!”

“Please keep your calm! Even so, what can you do!? How are you going to ride Eco who has turned into that? What’s more, what are you going to do to ride on Eco?”

“I…”

Silvia was right. During the time when the Necromancia attacked Ansarivan, he received help from Silvia and Lancelot.

But luck was not on his side. Lancelot who he could place his hope on had not yet returned after it gathered with the rest of the Maestro. The group of Maestros were still circling above in the sky while waiting for something to happen.

To his relieve, after Eco crushed Beowolf, she had not made any frightening actions. Although Ash was sweating tremendously during the time she looked into Fontaine Palace through the window, he was lucky that she left immediately.

Right now, Eco was only looking around and sniffing the building around her as if to figure out what was happening. In regards to what had happened to her body, she probably hasn’t figured it out yet.

“In conclusion, we must keep her as far from the town as possible. In case that she entered the town…"

Upon listening to Silvia’s assumption, Ash was shaking in fear.

Fontaine City has a population of around a million.

In another words, a million lives were now in Eco’s hands.

The severity of the current situation was no longer only involved Ash and Eco.

“Guooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo…!”

At that moment, Eco was roaring in pain and started to struggle. There was a change in her appearance that was originally surrounded by a silver light.

Just like a white cloth that came in contact with ink, there black colour was slowly taking over the white.

“…Eco? What’s happening!”

Ash could only look at Eco transform without doing anything.

The change in her skin was only the start.

Her angle like feathers had transformed into a crow like wings.

The previous middle horn of the three horns had disappeared and her pair of horns had turned into spiral shape.

Also, her four limbs were growing at a fast speed. It will be better to describe her as a giant like body rather than a huge beast. That huge body gave a evil feeling.

Last of all, there were nine eyes on its face and were glowing with red lights.

“Nine eyes…!”

Ash remembered something.

Eco once had a nightmare.

In her dream, was Eco attacked by the nine eyed dragon…?

-Don!

At that moment, Eco who had turned into that black dragon gave a dragon breath.

The flame emitted pierced the sky and scattered the dark clouds.

If this flame was aimed at Fontaine Palace or the town… Ash had Goosebumps just by thinking.

“Silvia, so you are here!”

At this moment, there was a fierce voice coming from behind.

It was Veronica and Glenn when they turned around.

Glenn was badly injured and looked like a rag.

Apart from that- There was another man that was following Veronica.

It was already surprising if a person was allowed to walk side by side with Veronica, yet it was far more surprising when they noticed the man’s hair colour.

“Milgauss! Why are you here!”

Ash felt that he was having Goosebumps all over his body. At the same time, he felt that Milgauss looked familiar. He remembered that he had seen that face in a portrait.

“Are you… Anii-ue?!”

Silvia shouted before Ash.

“Yeah. Although it is a little hard to believe, I am Julius. But I don’t have the time to give you any explanations right now. Firstly, we need to get rid of Mordred’s spirit from Eco’s body- Ash.”

When his name was suddenly called by Julius, Ash became nervous.

The person in front of him really felt like Prince Julius Lautreamont.

Julius stepped forward and placed his hand on Ash’s shoulder.

“Only you as the master can save Eco. Understood?”

“Yes. I thought of that too myself.”

Julius smiled.

“Good answer. I will take the responsibility to bring you to Eco.”

“But… How are you going to do it?”

“Don’t worry. We have that.”

After he finished his sentence, Julius was pointing at- Magicship Silvanus that was actually resting at the far end of the landing area.

===Part 11===
“Ara. I don’t remembered inviting you here…Dark Dragon King Mordred.”

In the dragon workshop, Navi and Mordred were having a confrontation. She was sitting on her favourite chair with her legs crossed.

“Kuku. This is your last time to be able to be this relaxed.”

Mordred’s spirit still maintained Julius’s voice. It was probably because it had inhabited Julius’s body for more than ten years…Navi thought so.

“I have taken over sixty percent of Eco’s body. It is only a matter of time before I can fully take control of her body. Avalon is losing.”

“…”

“Next, if I can fuse together with you, I can be fully awakened as the Dark Dragon King. Follow me. Even though you are called Navi, but I clearly know that you are not a normal navigator. You are the incarnation of the Dragweiss.”

“Ara. Just what I thought of the Dark Dragon King. You have made quite some investigations on your own.”

“Fuse with me quickly. Give me the supreme knowledge. Strictly speaking, Avalon and Nehalennia have the same roots… I should also be qualified to fuse with you.”

“I don’t disagree with this.”

Upon hearing Navi’s answer, Mordred smiled.

“So you agree?”

“No I don’t. It is because I don’t like Nehalennia.”

“…What do you say?”

“I am rooting for Avalon's Imperial Princess and her knight. Especially her knight… Ash Blake, he is far manlier than you.”

“Hmph…what a fox you are. Since it has came to this, I will use force-”

Suddenly, there were numerous tentacles coming from under Mordred’s legs. They were like snakes that had found their prey and attacked Navi.

===Part 12===
“I am sorry. Could everyone apart from Ash and I leave this ship?”

Upon stepping into Silvanus’s wheelhouse, Julius spoke coldly.

The crew responsible for the control of the wheel and control communications turned around and looked Julius in confusion. Then they are all frightened as is they had seen a ghost.

They shouldn’t be blamed since the prince that should have been executed years ago was standing in front of them and had asked them to do something unreasonable.

“Hold on… Prince Julius! What do you plan to do?”

Seeing that Ash was requesting an explanation, at the same time Julius answered, he turned around and looked at Veronica who was preparing to sit on the captain’s seat.

“I just don’t want the rest of the people to die with us. Veronica, I hoped that you could also help me by giving out the orders.”

“Do you think that I would even listen to that joke?”

“If the sister is stubborn, the elder brother will have to face some trouble.”

The next instant, Julius seized Veronica from behind with lightning speed. He was holding a hidden gun. It was a mechanic gun that the military of the Empire used.

Julius even chose to place the tip at Veronica’s temple.

“There is not much time. You should try to listen to your brother sometimes, Veronica.”

“Are you kidding! Silvanus is my magicship. Don’t even think of always doing what you wanted to, Julius.”

“As I have said before, I am your brother. Maybe you are a perfect princess in front of our people, but I knew your achilles heel. If you still disobey me, I will expose it in front of everyone.”

“What achilles heel?”

“I know that you love Silvia. There are Silvia portraits in your room. The clothes that Silva wore, Silvia’s growth record, the poem that you wrote from missing Silvia and also Silvia’s human sized doll-”

“I-I promise! Keep quite immediately!”

Ash was in a shock. He had never expected Veronica to surrender easily.

“Everyone, leave the ship immediately! This is an order from Veronica Lautreamont! No one is allowed to disobey!”

All the crew members rushed out from the wheelhouse.

===Part 13===
When everyone had left the magicship, Julius flied Silvanus while sitting on the pilot’s seat.

With the sudden shake of the magicship, Ash held on tightly to the seat of the communication officer to avoid falling. Looking through the round window, the magicship was getting further and further away from the ground.

It was a totally different experience from sitting on a dragon. When this lump of metal was flying with passengers- At the same time Ash was amazed, he also started to worry about crashing.

As for Julius, he was piloting Silvanus while telling Ash the whole story.

===Part 14===
Although what Julius said was hard to believe, basically, the dragons were seperated into the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family and the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family. The two families had incarnated since the ancient times and were still fighting each other right until today.

Also, Eco is Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family’s descendant.

In another words, Eco is the Imperial Princess of the dragons.

“…Even after I had heard of such things, it is still hard for me to believe this. Eco who has been living with me was obviously a girl who sleeps late, a glutton and a hot headed girl...”

“I know how you feel. When I found out that my pal is the descendant for the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family, I was also astounded. In the beginning, I was also troubled by why was I chosen.”

Julius said.

“Back to the topic, Avalon’s Imperial Princess’s body is really huge. Even though she is still a young dragon, she had this unbelievably huge size… It is totally unbelievable.”

After Julius pressed a few buttons on the dashboard, Eco’s body was shown on the huge screen in front.

Silvanus was three hundred meters above the land and was looking at Fontaine city from the sky above.

From the screen, they can see Eco's back that had turned black because of being taken over by Mordred.

With its frightening spiral horns and nine eyes… It is exactly the image of the dark dragon king.

Eco who was originally standing on two legs was now standing on all four because of the pain caused by Mordred’s take over.

The worrying part is, Eco was not moving at all and yet she doesn’t look as if she was sleeping…

“Could it be that Eco is fighting Mordred?”

Julius shook his head in disagreement.

“It is impossible. Judging from the huge change of her body, I am afraid that… Eco doesn’t even have the strength to fight back.”

“Is it…”

“But not all hope is lost. In my opinion, Navi is fighting against Mordred.”

“Navi?”

Why would he mention Navi’s name at such a time?

Before that, how would Julius know about Navi?

“Navi is the incarnation of the Dragweiss. If Navi could keep on fighting back, even after Mordred has fully taken over Eco’s body, he still couldn’t be fully awaken.”

“What do you mean?”

“Regardless of the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor or the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king, both of them must fuse with the Dragweiss to obtain the supreme knowledge, only then can they receive their true power. I believe that Mordred right now is trying his best to make Navi his.”

“How come… you know so much about him?”

“That was because I shared the same body with Mordred. Just like what he did to blend into the human society… I could also look into his memories.”

After hearing what Julius had said, Ash was still confused. However, there exists thing that could be easily understood without the need for good brains.

“In another words, this is a great time for a counter attack when Mordred was busy dealing with Navi, right?”

“That’s right. This is our only chance for victory. If you can ride on Eco and chase of Mordred’s spirit, then you can save Eco and the capital together.”

Ash nodded in agreement to what Julius had said.

“I am willing to give it a try. No matter if it is Avalon or Nehalennia… I don’t think I even know what they mean. I only know that Eco is my pal.”

When Ash turned around and prepared to walk back to the deck, Julius spoke from behind:

“Although I don’t know why you were chosen… But I am glad that you are Eco’s knight.”

===Part 15===
“Urgh…”

Ash arrived at the deck and the winds were cold. Such temperatures were unheard of during the summer.

Ash was carrying a parachute- This is a decision made by Julius and him beforehand.

When Silvanus had come close to Eco, Ash will jump off from the deck with the help of the parachute.

After landing, it is all up to Ash.

Basically, Ash had gone through the landing practices in the academy.

Ash had never intended to become a soldier and had always thought that the academy was wrong to force them to go through the practices.

Anyway, the academy is not a military school- But who would expect that those practices must be applied right now.

“…Right there.”

Ash was looking down towards the ground from the bow and had located Eco’s back.

Although her fur had turned black but since the enormous amount of magic surrounding her was giving off strong rays of light, he won’t have to worry about missing his target.

He must make use of the time that Navi was fighting against Mordred to land on Eco’s head.

Julius voice emerged from the magic communication device:

“Ash, you may jump anytime.”

“Roger that.”

Ash looked downwards for one more time.

For such a huge beast, her only blind spot will be her head.

Ash tried to imagine himself riding on Eco’s head.

To his surprise, it was not at all scary.

The ‘Seikoku’ on his left arm was getting warm and was flickering with dim light.

It felt as if his ‘Seikoku’ was urging him to move quickly.

Suddenly- Eco lifted her neck and shot a dragon breath towards Silvanus.

“…Urgh!”

A bright light pierced through the night sky. Ash surrendered against the shaking deck and fell down. Although Julius had barely avoided a direct hit by giving the ship an emergency turn, the strong breath had burned the side of the ship into ashes.

There were smokes and fire emerging from the ship itself and it had lost balance.

“Tsk…! If you kill me, Eco will die too! If that happens, you also couldn’t get your hands on Eco’s body that you desired that much...! How could someone be this stupid?”

When Ash was groaning, Julius voice could be heard once again through the communication machine:

“Ash, are you alright!”

“Yes, I am!”

“Silvanus is going to do an emergency landing! Jump quickly!”

“I also intend to do so!”

Ash clenched his teeth and jumped off from the deck.

The moment his feet left the deck, Mordred gave a second dragon breath.

Looking backwards, he saw Silvanus’s deck suffered a direct hit from the dragon breath.

Ash shuddered. He was lucky that he had jumped of earlier or else he would be turned into dust.

Although Julius had said there are going to do an emergency ‘landing’, judging from the speed Silvanus was moving downwards, it looked like it was crashing.

Finally, the unbalance ship disappeared at the other end of the palace walls- Then a fire pillar could be seen followed by a loud explosion.

“Prince Julius…!”

Ash was sad but there was nothing he can do.

Julius had risked his life to fly him into the night sky.

The only thing he can do right now is to complete his mission in return.

Ash's body was moving downwards because of the gravity pull.

His face and ears felt like being crushed by the air pressure.

“Now is the time!”

Ash had got the timing right and spread open the parachute.

The amazing braking force had caused the parachute to slow down.

If another dragon breath was shot, Ash would certainly be hit but Ash prayed that he will not have such bad luck.

“Wait for me, Eco. I will protect you… I swear!”

===Part 16===
“Damn! Where am I?”

Eco found out that she was in a cage when she woke up. When she was looking at her body, she found out that she was wearing a dress with low standards.

This style is obviously not of Eco’s preference.

Any dress in Fontaine Palace’s changing room looked better that this. It is even as heavy as lead and it felt more like a binding item rather than an evening dress.

On the other side of the cage was a wide white space. The walls, the floor and the ceiling was white. Not even a dust that could be found.

“How dare anyone to cage a dragon like me in this cage… What were they even thinking!?”

Eco was definitely confused. Yet she still vaguely remembered that she was awakened as a dragon. She even remembered that she had become huge and was looking at the whole Fontaine palace.

But her memories stopped there.

“Tsk…It seems that you are alright since you are this energetic even under such situation.”

It was a familiar voice.

“Navi? You…!”

Navi was standing outside of the cage. Even though Eco disliked Navi, but under such situation, Eco was grateful that Navi was here and felt that Navi was like an angel.

The Eco’s Angel was now looking like a ragdoll.

Navi who was always acting calm and give out a noble like feeling was now with a messed up hair and even her evening dress was in rags. All over her body were marks of being bounded.

“What happened? This doesn’t look like you at all…”

Eco was taking a closer look at Navi.

“Hmm…I am only accompanying Mordred in his game. It was just that, his tentacles fetish had given me some trouble!”

“Mordred? Who is that?”

“Please lend me your hand.”

Eco stretched her hand through the gaps in between the bars of the cage. After Navi held her hand, a mass amount of knowledge flowed into her brain.

In a blink of an eye, Eco knew everything that had happened. Only until now that she had realized that she was in her spiritual from.

“To make it simple… That person called Mordred is trying to take over my body, right?”

“That’s right. Anyway, during the time I was running around, he had done nothing bad. But if it is to destroy this capital, it will be an easy task for him.”

“Hmm… So I am such a great dragon.”

According to Navi’s information, Eco is Avalon’s Imperial Princess.

“Huhu. Now Ash is going to look at me differently.”

Seeing that Eco was feeling proud, Navi sighed.

“As long as he can survive. He seems to be doing something foolhardy again.”

Navi held Eco’s hand again and Eco closed her eyes.

That current situation was sent into Eco’s brain as projections.

“What…!”

Eco was speechless.

Under the night sky- Ash leaned out from Silvanus’s deck.

The next instant, Mordred gave a dragon breath from the ground.

Silvanus was hit and was gliding in the sky as if it was a paper plane.

On the other hand, Ash jumped into the air and was falling with his head pointing downwards.

“Hold on… Is he crazy!?”

At that moment, Eco clearly heard Ash’s mumble.

"Wait for me, Eco. I will protect you… I swear!”

In a short moment, tears started to flow from her eyes. Even though she was a spirit, her tears still kept on flowing. Even the Dragweiss couldn’t give an explanation. A warm feeling was haunting her heart… What was that feeling?

“Why…Why? Why would he… try to do so many things for me? Even when I… Had caused many, many troubles for him?”

Navi stretched her hand into the cage and patted her head.

“Do you even have to ask? It is because you are his pal.”

Eco rubbed off her tears and lifted her head.

“Navi, please tell me what can I do for him.”

“Teehee. That’s more like it.”

Navi smiled and waved her hand lightly. With a flash, the cage had disappeared. At the same time, the black dress that limits Eco’s movement had been broken into particles and a pure white evening dress was raveled from beneath.

In a short time, Navi removed Mordred’s seal.

“I must say that… You are very good.”

Eco was looking at her dress. It designs compromised of the elements of elegant and pure. It is as if it was made to be worn by the Avalon’s Imperial Princess.

“No matter how great I am, I can't help you with the upcoming step. Understood?”

Eco nodded in reply.

“Then, what should I do?”

After Navi smiled, she cheekily said:

“Of course you are to present him your originally made Ark and the Avalon’s Imperial Princess.”

The next instant, Eco became confused.

“What? Are you serious?”

As if it was natural to do so, Navi nodded without any hesitation.

“All the mimics that you had created for emergency in the past… is useless against Mordred.”

“But, how am I to do this impossible task!?”

An original Ark could not be completed easily.

It was because of Eco had seen her ancestor’s blueprint; she understands how hard it can be. An Ark is not only a strong magic weapon, at the same time, it is also a perfect art masterpiece.

Not to mention that Eco was still a young dragon that was not even a year old without any experience. Navi’s suggestion was like asking a baby to build a palace.

“Anyway, it will not be called difficult if the blueprint could be easily created.”

Eco gave up before she even started but Navi ignored it.

“Rest assured, you must believe in your own ability. You are an Imperial Princess who is the blood descendant of Avalon.”

“But… what we must think about is not only the armour itself, there is also the Ark-weapon…”

“Listen carefully, the shape itself doesn’t matters. It was the mental power of the creator that decide the strength of the Ark. Even if you don’t know the shape, as long as you focus, the shape of the Ark will be formed.”

“Really…?”

“Yeah. Also, you don’t have to worry about the Ark-weapon. Avalon has a treasured sword that had been passed down through the generations. Just use it.”

After a moment of silent, Eco mumbled:

“…I had always disliked you since the first time I met you. Regardless of your relaxed attitude or your looks that was similar to mine or your overly large breast…I hate them and hate them very much! However… It is funny that I felt that you are trustable.”

Eco lifted her head and smile.

Navi also returned a smile.

At the same moment, Eco felt that a light had pierced through that darkness that had been blocking her eyes.

She didn't want to look for trouble anymore.

And she definitely doesn’t want to give up before taking up the challenge.

While the evening dress was swaying, Eco spoke with confidence:

“Just wait and see. I will definitely complete my original Ark!”

===Part 17===
“Damn… What kind of joke is this!”

Although Ash had finally landed on Eco, still the landing spot was her back and not her head. It was exactly beside the joints between the body and the wings.

That pair of wings was like the wings of a new born bird. It was still wet and was unable to fly right away.

Maybe this is my only life saver…Ash secretly thought.

Black furs were grown from her uneven skin. It felt like a Necromancia. He must get rid of Mordred’s spirit and return Eco to her original appearance as soon as
possible.

To achieve this, he must try to ride her gigantic body. However… Ash was looking at Eco’s head from afar.

Connected to her back that was as huge as prairie was a long neck that looked as if it was a stairway to heaven. And her head with spiral horns was at the other end of the neck.

His current aim was to ride on her head and try to control her using his will as a dragner. However… The distance between them was huge. It was like trying to climb the dangerous Xenoglavia Mountains without any climbing tools.

“Stop… This is not the time to give up.”

Ash threw aside the parachute and move forward while pushing aside those furs that were taller than his height.

“Now I really looked like a louse…”

In reality, Mordred treat Ash as nothing but a louse. That is why he was not bothered by Ash at all.

“Just wait and see. Your overconfidence will be the cause of your death, Mordred…”

Although Ash kept on talking to himself to boost his confidence, but every time he looked towards her head, he felt like falling apart.

Suddenly, there was a change in the night sky.

Those Maestros who were originally circling in the sky started to make their movements.

Those Maestros could be seen gliding towards Mordred and had him surrounded.

“Grrrrrrrrrrrrr…”

Mordred lifted his neck and gave a threatening growl. However, before he even managed to attack, the Maestros activated their magic at the same time.

With a flash, chains that were made from magic appeared. Numerous chains had tied down the huge dragon’s neck, front legs, hind legs, tail…

“Guuuoooooooooooooooooooo…!”

Mordred was struggling with all his might but the chains wouldn’t even budge.

“They…!”

It can’t be wrong. These Maestros were trying to seal Mordred’s movement. Who know if they were thinking that the dragon worthy to take to top is not Mordred but Eco.

At that moment, a Maestro landed right in front of Ash. Its pair of horns that looked like a dear’s looked familiar to Ash. Then a clear voice could be heard coming from behind the dragon.

“Ash… Hurry up!”

“Lukka!? Why are you here?”

That is. The Maestro that suddenly appeared from above was Gawain and Lukka was riding on its back. Ash felt nostalgic.

Lukka while feeling worried gave Ash a short explanation.

“Err… The Maestros in the seven dragon house was escaping together. I risked my life to cling on Gawain… In the end, I found out that I was already here.”

“Did Rebecca and Max come together?”

Lukka shook her head. It was probably Ash's mistake that he felt that Lukka’s ears were slightly drooping.

“Only I noticed that something was going on with the Maestros…”

“Is that so…”

As if to interrupt Ash’s and Lukka’s conversation, Gawain roared with its jaws opened.

It was as if trying to tell Ash to ride on it quickly. Ash naturally didn’t reject this offer.

“Thank you!”

Just as Ash sat on Gawain’s back, Gawain flapped its wings.

After piercing through the night sky, Gawain’s altitude was increasing following the direction of Mordred’s neck. Lukka’s riding skills was as good as ever and could only be described by perfect.

Ash was clinging tightly to Lukka’s thin waist to avoid from dropping off.

However, Mordred will not stay silent. Although he was being tied down, it was still struggling and roaring loudly.

Suddenly, magic cannons continued to appear in the sky and was firing at Gawain.

Ash was trembling when he saw those cannons.

It was because those cannons looked like the weapon that Ash used during his fight with Milgauss in Willingham Mausoleum. The only difference is, each cannon was around Gawain’s size.

“Magic shield Aegis…!”

“Need not worry… It will be alright as long as we are not hit.”

Lukka was not at all shaken.

As if she had fused with Gawain, she was controlling Gawain by moving left and right and dangerously avoided the crossing light rays.

It even used its dragon breath and those magic canons were destroyed one by one.

When Gawain had successfully passed Mordred’s head, all the magic cannons had disappeared.

“Ash, now’s the time…!”

Just when Lukka shouted, Gawain did a summersault.

At the point where the sky was upside down, Ash jumped down.

He drew a big locus in the night sky and successfully land in between the two horns. Looking from a close distance, the horns looked more like an altar than a horn.

When his feet landed on that spot, he felt satisfied. It was probably his dragner’s intuition that told him this is the best riding spot.

“Listen carefully Eco!”

Ash was shouting with all his might at his ‘Seikoku’ that was connected to Eco:

“Right now, I am going to ride you! I swear I will be successful in riding you! Whether you are a Imperial Princess or not it has nothing to do with me! So what if you are a imperial princess? You are always bad tempered, try to solve anything with force, a sleepy head, only have crepes in your eyes and felt like wanting to bite greedily whenever you saw meat. Are these what an Imperial Princess should do! Even if you really are an Imperial Princess, I will never approve it!... I only knew that- I am your knight, and you are my pal. Things are just as simple as this!”

The next instant, there was a change in his left arm that was dense with ‘Seikoku’.

The ‘Seikoku’ can be seen emitting rays of light that were able to light up the entire night sky. Then patterns started to crawl just like some living things.

No, the patterns were growing.

“W-What had happened…?”

Just when Ash was feeling confused, his ‘Seikoku’ started to spread outwards towards Ash entire body with his left arm as the starting point.

Ash found out that his connection with Eco had become stronger.

Although he couldn’t communicate with Eco verbally, yet, he was sure that he was connected to Eco…!

But, what Ash was thinking only lasted for a short moment.

“Guuuuuuuoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo…!”

Mordred was back on the move. He had broken one of the chains and was standing on two legs.

“Auuu…!”

Lukka groaned. The wind created when Mordred stood up had affected Gawain. Although it was not blown away by the wind, it was obvious that it could not remain
its balance. However, Lukka shouted:

“Don’t worry about me… I am alright! Ash, just focus on saving Eco…!”

Then, Lukka and Gawain finally fall and disappear from Ash’s line of sight.

“Lukka…!”

Ash stretched his arm but he could only grab the air.

The Maestros that scattered in the sky tried to make another chain to tie down Mordred’s upper body.

But before Mordred could be sealed, it forcefully shook its neck.

“Uwaaaaaaaaa!”

Ash lost his balance and was thrown up into Fontaine Palace like a cannonball.

-This is a lie… It must be…?

He was approaching the tower in the middle of Fontaine Palace.

If he was to hit into such stone wall…he will definitely die.

-Is this the end…? Is Eco and I… Going to end right here?

Right at this moment.

Almete, Gorjal, Peto…

The voice of the spell was coming from his ‘Seikoku’ that had spread all over his body.

Espaldar, Brafoneras, Faldaje…

It was definitely Eco’s voice.

Escarcelas,Bufetas, Hombreras, Brazales…

Compare to the previous times, every single word that Eco said was followed by a deep tone.

Codales, Antebrazos, Manoplas…

Without any reason, Ash felt courage from within.

Quijotes, Guardas, Grebas… Escarpes…

Lastly, Eco was left with the last word.

-Espolón!

Ash who was going to crash into Fontaine Palace was surrounded by holy lights.

It felt as if he was surrounded by angel’s wings.

Even though Ash had an illusion of he was ascending to heaven, Eco’s voice had disrupted this peaceful feeling.

“You absolutely must accept my feelings!”

===Part 18===
As he opened his eyes, Ash was standing at the highest point of Fontaine Palace.

“I-I am saved?”

He saw Mordred was standing ferociously with only two legs while being bounded by the chains of the Maestros.

All of the nine eyes were burning with the flames of rage and looked like scarlet stars. Even though he was trying his best to break free from those chains, those Maestros kept on creating new chains.

“This… What is this feeling?”

Ash was looking at his own body.

His entire body was emitting heat and was overflowing with magic.

It have to be the Ark that Eco presented to me- Yet to Ash’s dismay, what he was wearing right now was still his cloths that looked like rags.

There was not even an Ark that could be seen.

Even so, Ash still continued to feel safe as if he was protected by the Ark. Furthermore, the ‘Seikoku’ that was on his entire body was alive.

What is happening?

Hey, why are you daydreaming! Quickly use the Ark-weapon!

Eco’s voice was once again could be heard in his mind

“Eco…? What is happening?”

T-that is…?

Without any reason, Eco became silent. It felt as if she was embarrassed because of a certain something.

As if to speak on Eco’s behalf, another voice appeared in his mind.

Huhu. That is an original Ark that Eco had created on her own. However, it is still incomplete and even that shape had not been decided on yet.

“This voice… Are you Navi!”

The Ark represents proof of the oath of a dragon that swears to hand over their body and feelings to their knight. At the same time, it was a proof that it was connected to the Master’s heart. Right now, you are recognized as the Avalon’s knight.

I-I only wanted to get back my own body!... It was never meant to be given to you!

Ara, who is the person who was crying because she was worried about Ash? I wonder.

S-Shut up!

Eco and Navi seemed to had started an argument.

Ash made a wry smile because they could still have the mood to quarrel even under such dangerous situation.

All the negative emotions like unsecured and frightened had disappeared.

However- Right after that, Ash had a bad premonition as if a pair of cold hands had held on to his spirit. When he raised his head, Mordred’s eyes were filled with sparks and were marking him.

It had obviously begun to take notice of Ash who was previously being regarded as a louse.

“Guuuuuoooooooooooooooooooooo…!”

Although Mordred was still bounded by those magic chains, he still managed to open his jaws after putting in some effort.

There was a ball of light that could be seen appearing in front of his nose and it was slowly expanding-

Ash felt a large amount of energy from it. It was thanks to the Ark that his senses had sharpened.

Navi warned Ash in his mind.

That’s bad. Even though Mordred have not fused with me, he is still very strong…!

“Rest assured. I will personally deal with it.”

Ash immediately started to search for information regarding his Ark-weapon. Thanks to his experience in equipping those mimics, his was able to complete his search in a short time.

Ash smiled from within his heart.

The Ark-weapon formed in his mind was undoubtably the strongest sword that had ever existed.

Ash readied his posture and started to chant the spell.

“An iron that could slash through anything…”

For every word he said, his ‘Seikoku’ that was all over his body was emitting heat and reacted strongly to it.

"A holy sword meant for a knight of all knights-”

At the same time, Ash felt that his palm was overflowing with an unlimited amount of magic.

The one and only treasured sword that had been passed down generations by generations in the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family had its shape formed in Ash’s palm.

“Appear- Excalibur!”

It was not only a huge brave and beautiful sword but also an Ark-weapon.

On its silvery white hilt were many scarlet coloured Milinniums and they were shining brightly.

After he held the holy sword with both hand tightly, Ash leaped.

At the same time, Mordred was giving out the dragon breath.

That was a ball of light with overwhelming powers that could destroy the entire capital to ground level in a blink of an eye. Followed by some purple electric around Mordred’s head, the ball of light was released at Ash’s direction.

To make things worse, Ash couldn’t avoid it because the entire Fontaine Palace and City was right behind him.

No- In reality, I won’t even need to avoid it.

“Uooooooooooooooooooooooooo!”

Ash as if he had forgotten about his fear rushed towards the ball of light.

In respond to Ash’s verve, the Millenniums at the hilt of the holy sword was giving out a bright light.

In respond to Ash’s verve, the shapeless Ark was releasing all its magic.

“Kirisakeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!” <ref>斬り裂け. Means to get split and break apart.</ref>

Just before being swallowed by that attack, Ash had swung the most powerful strike.

-Cut!!! <ref>斬. Ii was a word that was usually shouted when someone wanted to cut/slash/chop/kill off something.</ref>

At the same time the lump of energy was split into two, Ash was in mid-air. His vision was full of white and he could see nothing at all.

If not because of the protection he received from the Ark, all the cells in his body should had been reduced into nothing. Ash was indeed slashing through such high amount of temperature.

In the end, his vision finally widened.

The dragon breath that was sliced into two had its trajectory changed and each had landed at the Fontainia plains on both side of the capital and had exploded.

Although it was a huge explosion, apart from the strong wind, Fontaine City remained intact.

Ash had again lifted Excalibur and had it pointed at Mordred’s head.

At that moment, there was a creepy voice coming from Ash’s mind.

…Hold on! If you harm this body, the daughter of Avalon would also be-

The nine eyes kept on blinking as if it still had something to say.

“Haa! Now you start to beg from me… Know your place, Mordred!”

Ash remained determined and continued to land at the head.

Of course Ash knew that this body originally belonged to Eco.

He never had the intention to simply slash around with this sword.

However, to get rid of Mordred’s spirit, he needs Eco to bear with it for a few more moments.

What Ash had intended to do was not to kill Eco but to make her lost her strength.

Where is the best place to land my attack?

There is not enough time to think of such complicated problems.

It is because apart from Eco’s and his life, Ash was burdened with the lives of millions of residents of the capital. Ash decided to wager everything he had in the only possibility he could think of.

“Eat this, Mordred!”
[[Image:SnRK V04 243.jpg|thumb]]

Ash was landing at full speed.

''What are you trying to do…? Do you want to follow the Julius's footsteps and become a ‘dragon slayer’? I can’t understand this, I just couldn’t understand this…!''

Ash didn’t replied and had no intention of doing so.

“Whether you are a god or a devil-”

Ash’s sword and Mordred’s horn clashed with each other.

“All the dragons will have to listen to my command, not to mention-”

After he had pinpointed the crucial point to release Eco, Ash swung Excalibur-

“If it is my '''P.A.L'''!”

Followed by a sound of a metal clashing with rocks, the night sky was swallowed by a white light.

The thing that was chopped off by Ash and was flying in mid-air was the left horn.

“Guuuuooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo…!”

Mordred’s roar was echoing in the night.

===Part 19===

“Huhu. Mordred must be running away with his tail rolled up<ref>A proverb</ref> even though a spirit shouldn't have any tails.”

Mordred’s spirit was running under the night sky towards the east while he was being seen by Navi.

On the eastern side of the country is Chevron Kingdom’s land.

“So in the end he had escaped to Chevron Kingdom… I must wait until he rises up again before I could have him captured. Right now, I should give praise to Avalon’s Knight."

Navi gave herself a cheer and smiled.

Eco’s spirit was no longer beside her.

===Part 20===

Ash’s final blow had chopped off Eco’s left horn.

Last month during the time Ash was in the infirmary, he had bitten Eco’s horn. Furthermore, her left horn that was chopped off had made her recalled that feeling.

It was that ‘happy’ feeling that dragged Eco’s spirit out.

Her hearts memories and her body memories.

When both of them are thinking the same thing, Eco’s spirit managed to take back its own body and get rid of Mordred’s spirit.

Not only this method is impractical, its succession rate too is just as low.

However, Eco’s clearly remembered the feeling that Ash gave her.

-Navi had seen it all.

The body of the huge dragon had undergone some changes inside the glaring light.

The skin colour that was originally black had turned back to its original silvery white colour.

As for those nine creepy eyes, they had returned into two clear scarlet eyes.

Then-

The body that was bigger than Fontaine Palace was shrinking slowly and finally turned back into a young teenage girl with pink hair.

Ash gently hugged the angel like naked body in mid-air.

Although Eco was blushing, she still placed her hand on Ash’s back and hugged her knight.

"Princess of Avalon ~A.S.B.1365.7~" is closed.
<noinclude>

==References and Translation Notes==
<references />

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| Back to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Chapter 7|Chapter 7]]
| Return to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Epilogue|Epilogue]]
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</noinclude>

Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Chapter 8

2013-11-07T11:32:02Z

213.144.240.241: /* Part 12 */

==Chapter 8 - Avalon's Imperial Princess==
===Part 1===
In the mothership Beowolf- In the armory, under Dr Hoffman’s command the battle is in full swing.

Eco who was naked was floating in magic guided device. ‘Yggdrasill’s’ capsule. There were groups of technician working around her. This was out of Anya’s area of understanding. She could only stand by and wall and watch silently.

But, she understood well the pain that Eco was feeling.

The cold voice was followed by its echo when it was reflected on the metal body.

“The cartridge has been filled. Prepare for launching.”

“The countdown starts now. Ten, nine, eight… Three, two, one-.”

“Launch the compressed magic!”

A red bean was shot out followed by a loud gun shooting sound. Anya felt that even the ship was vibrating.

“…!”

Then, there were air bubbles coming from Eco’s mouth. If not because of she was in the liquid, her scream could definitely be heard.

Anya couldn’t bear to see Eco suffering and looked away.

Eco’s body had already taken at least ten shots of the compressed magic.

Eco regained her consciousness after the start of the experiment. At the beginning, she was struggling in the water, but ‘Yggdrasill’s’ capsule was not at all affected.

But after receiving a continuous dozens of compressed magic, she lost her strength.

Right now, she was just like a living dead. Her blank eyes were now lifeless and it was terrible. It was pure torture. Even so, the group of researchers led by Dr Hoffman were not at all shaken and continued silently.

“There is no significant change on the appearance of α. There are no abnormalities on her respiratory system. No magic fluctuation can be seen.”
Without realizing, the group of researchers started to refer Eco as α.

Eco is a human, a young dragon and also a living being- But this group of human had taken everything from her. To them, Eco was just experimental material α.
Who knows if they want to remove their feeling of guilt by calling her with symbols…Anya secretly thought so.

At this moment, Dr Hoffman’s voice is heard by Anya.

“Still no changes… It seems like we don’t have any more choices. Activate all the Millennium.”

Anya turned pale when she heard that.

This means that they had decided to use full power on ‘Yggdrasil’.

===Part 2===
“*Sob*… It was all… My fault. *Sob*…”

In the maid’s bedroom in the ground floor of the palace.

Prim was lying on the bed with her pillow wet with tears.

There was only Ash and Silvia beside her bed. Cosette was standing outside the room by the door.

Prim cried while she told the whole incident.

Prim arrived at the ancient palace when she was chasing Eco who was running amok.

She had met a few suspicious people there.

Seeing the enemy suddenly attacked, Eco appeared and became the bait to let Prim escape.

When Prim regained conscious, Eco was no longer there.

After hearing, Ash felt something suspicious.

“Why did you go to the ancient palace?”

“That’s because… It was my entire fault! It was my bad to say such things!”

“Prim, please stay calm. Compared to you, Ash was the person who suffered the most.”

After being advised by Silvia, Prim rubbed of her tears.

“You are right. Sorry…”

“Prim-san, please tell me everything before Eco was kidnapped!”

Prim nodded.

“I had no ill intention, it was just that… Ash-sama is a human and Eco is a dragon… So I thought that Eco would feel lonely after Ash-sama married with a human girl. The moment I told her that, Eco rushed out of the room.”

“What…!”

Who would have thought of this, Ash was speechless.

“Idiot! You… Why do you have to tell her this!”

Silvia was mad.

“If I am Eco… I will definitely feel hurt if someone told that to me! Even when Eco is a dragon, her thoughts are still those of a girl’s. She should know very well that her situation is special. Why was she born as a human? Why was she not born as a dragon… If I am Eco, I can never feel secure.”

“Princess-sama…”

Ash looked at Silvia who was telling Eco's thoughts in surprise.

“Recently, she had gotten used to the school life. She was also being loved by everyone as the student council’s mascot. Even so, to Eco, the only person she could trust in… Is no other than Ash.”

“And I… Have said something terrible…”

“Strictly speaking, Eco is still a young dragon who is not even a year old. Can’t you be a little more indirect in your-”

“Forget it, Princess-sama. Right now, we could never solve the problem even after lecturing Prim-san. What’s more, if they had this planned, no matter what Prim-san said, Eco would still have been kidnapped.”

“…You are right. But how are we going to rescue Eco?”

Silvia nodded in agreement with Ash.

“Prim-san… Could you describe those people who attacked?”

Ash was praying while asking. His only clue is Prim being the witness.

“Err…They pretended to be the palace servants. But, they didn’t look like citizens of the Knight Country. For their skin colour, it looked like they are the Tantalos…. Also, the person who attacked me is a short girl.”

“A Tantalos girl…!”

Ash was feeling Déjà vu. It was like he had found the last piece of puzzle in his memory.

“It was the girl who followed Milgauss!”

Ash’s fists were shaking. The world he was seeing was dyed in red. Even though he had a feeling that Milgauss was the culprit, still, after making sure, he was still in rage.

“Since we know who the criminal is-”

Silvia immediately stopped Ash who intended to rush out from the room.

“Hold on, Ash! Where do you think you are going to?”

“The ballroom, of course! I want to settle thing with Milgauss!”

“Keep your calm! Do you think that Milgauss will admit it even after you find him?”

“…Maybe not.”

Ash turned speechless.

Silvia was right, no matter how emotional he became, Eco still wouldn’t be able to return safely.”

Just as if she was trying to have Ash cooled down, Silvia made a suggestion in a calm voice:

“Don’t you think that this is a good time to save Eco when Milgauss is busy with the masquerade?”

“What do you meant?”

“Milgauss couldn’t even be bothered by an activity with long history such as this continental congress and will do anything just to capture Eco. Even when I don’t know what his intentions are, but capturing Eco alive is their priority. I am sure that their lackeys won’t do anything to harm Eco when the mastermind is absent.”

After listening to Silvia’s analysis, Ash gave a breath of relieve.

“The problem remains is, where is Eco’s location. Since Ash’s ‘Seikoku’ is not reacting, it means that Eco was being hidden in an enclosed place. For example something that could be a barrier to cut off magic… Anyway, it must be done with the proper equipment. It just can’t be a rally point that they have just constructed.”

“An enclosed place with proper equipments? That’s it, Milgauss has Klaus backing him up…”

Last evening, an airship flew past the evening sky…

The black ship that was waving the Empire’s flag proudly…

Ash remembered.

Ash and Silvia exchanged glances and shouted at the same time:

“Beowolf!”

===Part 3===
-W-Will…I die just like this…

Eco thought so.

The liquid in the capsule kept on rotating and Eco’s body was being swept by it.

Every time her shoulders or waist touches the glass, her body will move slowly in the opposite direction.

It seems like the liquid was made of special materials. Luckily, it doesn’t affect her breathing. But after suffering a few shots from the magic device, her body turned numb.

This feeling is like an empty mind floating in mid air.

-If I could just… Continue sleeping… Then I won’t feel any pain…

Just when Eco thought so, a power that surpassed those previous ones was released at her.

“Noooooooooo…!”

Even though she thought that she shouted in pain, in truth they were just air bubbles coming out from her mouth.

A bright light flashes and the water turns rapid. Just like being swallowed by a tsunami, her body kept on rotating and kept on hitting the glass around her.

-W….Why do I have to suffer this kind of pain.

It had passed the limit of her brain to just think of what they are going to do to her. She could only feel that her body had been injected with a vast amount of magic.

The pain she felt is just like her body being ripped open.

It felt like her organs were being messed up by someone.

-Urgh… It hurts…. It hurts…. I beg you all, please stop.

It is pointless no matter how she shouted in her mind, the magic was still flowing into the body. Eco’s body was jerking nonstop and she was struggling.

You might as well do me a favour by killing me-Eco gave up.

“…!”

At the next moment- The Necromancia’s slimy tentacles attacking her from all directions.

Eco couldn’t understand. Where did those tentacles appear from in this enclosed environment?

The tentacles which were wriggling like a snake slowly snatched her freedom.

Her arms, waist, legs… was entangled by those tentacles. -Stop! This must be an illusion! It is this device that was making me hallucinate…!

Eco tried to stay conscious and opened her eyes widely.

At that moment, the tentacles disappeared.

The feelings of being entangled by those tentacles also disappeared.

However, not long after that, she lost focus and the tentacles appeared again and had her waist surrounded.

In a blink of an eye, she was lifted by those tentacles.

-Stop!

[[Image:SnRK V04 183.jpg|thumb]]

An abnormally thick tentacle was approaching Eco’s face.

Eco kept her teeth closed with her might. If she was to be careless, the tentacle will surely wriggle into her mouth. Eco had Goosebumps just by think about it.

Eco initially wanted to ask for Ash’s help. She hoped that he could save him from this hell.

However, from the point she woke up in this device, she couldn’t even summon Ash.

Her Astral Flow with Ash had also been cut off.

The lost of her communication had put her in fear.

Eco was shocked that the lost of her connection with Ash would put her in such great fear.

-I am really an idiot. I only knew what is precious to me after I had lost it.

This experience had made her wanted to treasure Ash much more.

That’s right, without Ash, I can’t do anything… I am really a good for nothing.

-Don…

At that instant, there was something moving in her body.

===Part 4===
“Something is wrong! The magic indicator is showing an abnormal value!”

“We found an unknown magic source! Its power is increasing!”

“We have lost control of ‘Yggdrasill’! It ignored the emergency stop signal!”

The continuous bad news had made Dr Hoffman turn pale.

The laboratory was as if in a fire and a tense atmosphere was spreading.

Everyone was with a panicked look and were busy dealing with the buttons under their hands.

“What happened…?”

Anya who was looking from aside wondered.

Basically, there was nothing abnormal with Eco who was in the capsule.

Even though she was shot by the high power compressed magic and had struggle like she was having a nightmare, yet nothing dramatic had happened.

But the indicator was still indicating an abnormal value. Also, they were losing control of ‘Yggdrasill’.

The situation had suddenly become tense.

Even the emergency trigger had been triggered and the bell was ringing loudly.

-Dong!

At that instant, Anya heard something from the ground.

“What is that… Sound?”

As if to prove that it was not an illusion, ‘Yggdrasill’ magic indication exploded.

“Uwaa!”

Some groaned and all the surrounding deviced started to explode with red flames. All the technician were running away in fear.

“Don’t panic! Keep calm!”

Dr Hoffman shouted but not even a single soul was listening.

Because in everyone’s sights was Eco who was caged in the capsule.

Eco’s body was glowing with a dim light.

Even Anya was captivated by the sight in front.

“Dr Hoffman! Let’s escape!”

A young researcher advised Dr Hoffman. The rest of the researchers were agreeing with him and looked at Dr Hoffman.

Anya left the wall and walk towards Dr Hoffman’s back.

“Dr Hoffman, I also think that it would be wise if we escape now.”

“No!”

Anya was stunned by Dr Hoffman’s aura. She had thought of him as a kind old man and was forced to act cruel as a researcher. Who would know that he would have such a stubborn side.

“What are you thinking! Even an outsider like me knew that this is dangerous! Isn’t there Millennium attached to that device too?”

What Anya was worried about is the existence of the Millenniums. Just in case the Millenniums explode… Anya was thinking. Let alone Beowolf, it is not even surprising if the capital disappeared from the maps forever.

However, Dr Hoffman shook his head slowly.

“…I won’t. That will not happen. The energy in the Millenniums has run dry.”

“What?”

“All the magic energy… Was fully absorbed by experimental material α.”

“-!”

Anya looked at Eco dumbstruck.

The intensity of Eco’s light was getting stronger until the extend where one couldn’t look at her directly. Those‘Dong’sounds had become clearer.

Even though there were no dangers of the Millennium exploding, it doesn’t mean that they were free from danger. Eco right now was seen as the bomb.

Later, there was the loud sound of something breaking.

Different from the normal explosions, that explosion sounds like it was originated from something being applied pressure on.

“α….α is escaping!”

A researcher shouted.

The capsule containing eco was now in ruins and the liquid was flowing out like waterfall.

Eco can be seen floating with her eyes closed- in a short moment, she disappeared. What’s left is only stardust like magic particles floating in the air.

“She… Disappeared…?”

Anya dumbstruck, murmured alone.

===Part 5===
“Hey… Something’s wrong with Beowolf!?”

When Maestro Lancelot reached the landing space at a height of twenty meters, Silvia shouted:

“That is…!”

Ash who was riding on Lancelot behind Silvia widened his eyes.

The sacred airship Esperanza, airship Crown Solas and air ship Silvanus was lined up together.

On the other hand, the huge airship Beowolf was parked quite some distance away from the trio.

The suspicious thing was the black smoke emerging from Beowolf.

Could it be a fire?

If Eco is inside… Ash was too scared to think about it.

“Urgh…!”

At this moment, Ash felt a burning sensation from his left hand.

Although he nearly screamed in pain, he managed to tolerate with it.

It felt like suddenly putting his hand into a furnace.

“Is everything alright, Ash!?”

Silvia was worried about him and turned around and asked, but Ash couldn’t even reply because of the pain.

The ‘Seikoku’ engraved on his left arm was slowly moaning.

A while later, there was a glaring light coming out from his left arm and his sleeve up to his shoulders was burned off. Even the bandage was burned into pieces.

In a blink of an eye, Ash’s ‘Seikoku’ on his left arm was exposed.

“Wha…!”

The ‘Seikoku’ on his hand was glowing with different light intensity from time to time.

Ash was panicking.

It will be alright if it was just glowing but the heat and the pain sensation had no intention of stopping.

It felt that his left arm is going to explode anytime.

“Hey… What is actually happening?”

Silvia was in shock while holding the reins which was probably caused by the fright she experience from seeing Ash’s ‘Seikoku’s’ reaction.

“I don’t know… But I am now sure that I am again connected to Eco!”

Just like responding to Ash’s left arm, there was an object glowing in the sky.

“Ash! Look upwards!”

Silvia who noticed the abnormality was pointing at the sky. Ash too had noticed.

There was something glowing on the sky above the landing area.

“That is…”

The mysterious light was floating in the sky as if it was decorating it.

On the other hand, the full moon didn’t look as charming as before.

By taking a closer look, it was an egg with beautiful flow lines.

There was a big emblem that was carved on the pearl like egg. At a first glance, it looked like a royal emblem.

To be more specific, that emblem looked like Ash’s ‘Seikoku’.

-Don…Don…Don…

There was a frightening beating sound from the egg.

The confusing part is, it moved with the same rhythm as the glow on Ash’s ‘Seikoku’.

Ash immediately understood.

“I couldn’t be more wrong… Eco is in that egg!”

“How is that possible? What are you talking about…?”

“Princess-sama, I beg you. Please take me there!”

“…Alright. I believe in you. Fly Lancelot! Fly higher!”

But Lancelot ignored her orders. It stayed at the twenty meters height and looked at the egg with its head up.

“Hei… Lancelot? Anything wrong? Fly immediately!”

Even though Silvia shouted strictly, Lancelot still ignored her orders. On the other hand, it did an emergency landing at a corner of the landing space.

“What are you doing? Are you disobeying my orders, Lancelot!”

“…It is useless, Princess-sama. It seems that Lancelot has its own reason.”

“What did you say?!”

Silvia looked at Ash with an imposing manner.

“Do you know what Lancelot was thinking?”

“…I am not sure. It was probably affected by the ‘Seikoku’. I don’t know why, but I could somehow understand what Lancelot was thinking.”

After Ash and Silvia was forced to alight Lancelot unwillingly, Lancelot again spread its wings and shoot up into the sky.

Looking at Lancelot’s direction, Ash found out something important.

“Princess-sama! There are more and more… Maestros gathering together!”

Groups of Maestro were gathering from all direction. It had become an amazing night view created by the light from the Maestro’s magic.

One by one the Maestro appeared and gathered at the corner of the sky.

For Maestro’s whose numbers were already little to begin with to gather together, it was unheard of even in the old times-

===Part 6===
“What is actually happening…?”

Lancelot left its master and flew off on its own.

Although this had given Silvia a great blow, still the view of the night sky gave her a deep impression.

Silvia could clearly hear the ‘Pssshh’ sounds of the beating of the wings.

When she had personally seen the dream like view, all her attention had been captured by it.

That egg even had wings growing out of it and feathers with silver lights were falling off. It was like snows that beautify the night sky.

Then- there was a crack from the egg shell.

The winged egg split into two-

“Uoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!”

A roar as if it was a horn announcing the end to the world could be heard all over.

Silvia who couldn’t look straight into the glaring light closed her eyes. When she reopened her eyes, the winged egg was no longer there. It was replaced by something that was out of this world.

To describe this thing with a word will be either – GOD or DEVIL.

However what Silvia said was insulting.

“What a scary monster…!”

[[Image:SnRK V04 193.jpg|thumb]]

“Stop! You are not allowed to say that!”

Ash shouted and brought Silvia back o her sense.

“That must be...Eco. I can feel it... I can feel it!”

“Sorry, Ash...”

Although Silvia was annoyed by her gaffe, she still couldn’t believe that it was Eco.

Later, Eco landed slowly while being surrounded by numerous Maestros.

Although the pink fur and the red eyes is similar to Eco, but her horns looked sharp and fierce and doesn’t at all looked like Eco’s round stubs.

Also, there was a third horn in between the two horns. It was like a unicorn’s horn and was up straight.

Her wings which were spread widely were different from a normal Maestro’s. It made one think of an angel’s wings.

Followed by a loud bang, Eco landed.

Eco lifted up her gigantic hind leg up high- And The large airship that had been the pride of the Empire was squashed in a few seconds.

With the conning tower being right at the middle, Beowolf had been squashed into a V shape and immediately exploded.

Yet, Eco was not at all affected.

Eco probably lost interest in Beowolf and tried to wriggle her long neck. She slowly lowered her center of gravity.

The target of her scarlet eyes was the window of the tall Fontaine Palace.

===Part 7===
-An unidentified flying object appeared above the capital and all the Maestros in the country disobeyed their masters’ orders and gathered together.

Veronica who received the emergency report brought Glenn the captain of the escorts alone with her to the ballroom at the highest floor of the palace.

Anyway, there were important guests in the ballroom that gathered from all over the continent. No matter what happened, she must protect their safety in the name of the pride of the Knight’s country.

At the same time, she must bring back her father Oswald with her. He had most probably change his appearance and was drinking while mingling in the crowd.

While running on the long corridor, Veronica questioned Glenn:

“Did you too lose contact with your pal?”

“It totally ignored my summons and ignored my request to present me my Ark. From the looks of the current situation where all the Maestros are gathering in the capital’s sky, it probably has something to do with the unidentified flying object.”

“Then, our pride, the Holy Dragners of Lautreamont can be considered no more. If the Empire attacked us at this moment, without the protection of the Maestros, this country will fall in just a single night.”

“...I don’t have an excuse to offer.” <ref>面目次第も有りません have also the meaning of ‘It is a shame I don’t have the power to…’</ref>

Glenn lowered his head somberly.

===Part 8===
When Veronica and Glenn arrived at the ballroom, the palace music and the party atmosphere of the nobles had disappeared.

Most of the guests were by the glass window and were looking downwards in shock. From there they can see the landing area for the airships.

“That’s…!”

Veronica was also looking downwards through the glass window.

“It is dangerous to stand beside the window, Princess-sama!”

Glenn warned her but Veronica ignored him.

There was a change in the landing area.

A living object that was glowing with silver light suddenly landed there.

''-Uoooooooooooooooooo…!''

It was immediately followed by a loud roar that will made one feel like covering his ears.

It was stated in the previous report that ‘an unidentified flying object that looked like a huge egg’, but it seemed that the huge egg had hatched when Veronica was on her way.

The unbelievable thing is, that huge monster easily split the Empire’s huge airship Beowolf into two with just a stomp.

Right at this moment, there was a man from the crowd was making a fuss.

“Ooh, what is happening! How can a dragon of the Knight’s… Destroy the most advance airship which is our country’s pride! I don’t think that this is some simple matter!”

The man's words caused an uproar in the ballroom.

Until a moment ago, everyone had just found out that this monster is a dragon.

Talking about a dragon, everyone will think about Lautreamont Knight Country.

“Is that person…Klaus Viderhausen! He is obviously trying to cause a stir!”

Veronica angrily scolded and glared at the Empire’s young noble.

However, there was a man who stupidly tried to argue with Klaus.

“Nonsense! That monster had nothing to do with our country!”

Although the man was wearing a lion shaped mask, judging from his plum body, Veronica immediately knew who he is.

He is her father, Oswald.

“Klaus-dono! This is the truth! That monster has nothing to do with us! Please believe in me!”

“Hu… What you said was not at all convincing. Anyway, everyone here is a witness.”

Klaus was not even bothered by Oswald.

It was because what Klaus said is true. A huge dragon that appeared with no warning had destroyed the Empire’s airship right in front of everyone.

Nothing could be worst than this.

For Chevron Kingdom and Zepharos Empire who had never see each other eye to eye was originally going to discuss about the peace in between them in tomorrow’s continental congress ‘Elysium’.

To Chevron Kingdom and its ally Lautreamont Knight Country this should be a historical event.

“Stop… Let alone the Emperor, not even a royal from the Empire attends. It is a total joke. The Empire has never wanted peace-”

Just as Veronica finished her sentence, there were people screaming from everywhere.

Everyone was in a panic.

All the guests who were wearing their mask, including the musicians and the waiters, everyone were trying to escape.

Apart from Oswald who was crying, Klaus who had previously put the blame on the Knight Country was also fleeing.

“What…!”

Veronica who immediately turned around was also sweating tremendously.

There was a pair of scarlet eyes looking into one of the many palace windows.

She spent a few seconds to figure out that the dragon had stretched its neck and was looking into Fontaine Palace.

“Glenn, if I try to slash the pair of eyes with my huge sword… Do you think I have any chance of winning?”

“Please forgive my rudeness… Even if Princess-sama, you are no match for it.”

Glenn told the truth directly.

"Why must you be this honest?"

Veronica was sulking while she confronted the dragon eyes.

The round eyes.

''It looked like a baby’s pairs of eyes. Although it looked naïve, if this monster just rubbed its nose with the palace walls, Fontaine Palace will turn into dust in seconds. Furthermore, it will be a hill full of bricks and corpses…''

Even though she was thinking of such scenario, Veronica could still manage a smile.

“Kuku… So this is of feeling of my life being controlled by others. I praise you, my child!”

Seeing that Veronica had no intention of escaping, Captain Glenn advised her in panic:

“Princess-sama, please retreat!”

“I mustn’t. Some of the guests are still here.”

Veronica looked around the empty ballroom.

There was a man with a mask standing at the middle of the dance floor.

The man was wearing a elegant suit. However his hair colour was like a cloth stained with blood.

He is obviously the guy in the reports- Milgauss.

Veronica looked at him in admiration.

“Hmm… You indeed look a little like Julius. Remove your mask!”

To her surprise, he actually did it. He could be seen silently removing his mask and threw it to a side as if he doesn’t need it anymore.

“-!”

Veronica’s eyes widened.

The handsome face beneath the mask was undoubtably Julius of ten years later who had became a seinen.<ref>青年, man with age range between 20-
30.</ref>

He no longer had the rebellious feel with him in his teenage years and was replaced by a feeling of a weapon that had been well polished.

“So you are Julius…!”

As if to sweep away her worries, Julius walked to the side of the window. At the same time, the dragon’s face disappeared as if it had lost interest with the empty ballroom.

Julius was standing by the window looking at the huge dragon.

“Kukuku… I have been waiting for this moment for a long time!”

That sinful voice and the devil like smile made Veronica feel uneasy.

Glenn took a step forward as if trying to ask on behalf of Veronica.

He unsheathed his sword that was on his waist.

“You can’t be Julius, no? My friend would never show such a malicious smile."

“Oh, Glenn McGuire! I remembered you are one of the guys that appeared in Julius’s memories. It should be suitable to use ‘it has been a long time’ in this situation, don’t you think so?”

“What do you mean!”

“You still don’t get it? This body is indeed Julius’s. However, I am not Julius. But I can peek into Julius’s memories anytime."

“What is happening…?”

Veronica was curious but it was not bothered by the man.

“Kneel! Quick! Look carefully! You are witnessing a historical moment!”

The man was acting like a holy man in the religious painting. He spread his arms widely and declared his name.

“I am Mordred! The descendant of the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family.”

Vreonica couldn’t believe what she had just heard.

The Maestro that Julius sacrificed his life to kill is named Mordred. It is also Julius’s Pal.

''Is it possible that Mordred has taken over Julius’s body?''

In regards of Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family- Veronica had only recently heard about this name.

The ‘Old Testament of the Stella Biblia’ that Dr Angela Cornwell found in Willingham Mausoleum.

Basically, Veronica had read through the copy of the book.

She recalled a part of the book.

“…After the wise dragon Inbroke, two major bloodlines were formed. They are the Avalon’s holy dragons emperor family and the Nehalennia’s dark dragons king family. An endless war started between these two families. After the members of the two families reincarnated, they will encounter each other, hate each other and kill each other.”

The person in front had introduced himself as the descendant of the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family.

Then, who is the person who should be representing the descendant of the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family-?

At this moment, Veronica stopped thinking because of Glenn’s shout.

“So I see… You are the root of evil! I knew that Julius didn’t turn crazy! He will always be loyal to his beliefs and tried to have you removed even when he had to commit a crime in the Knight Country!... Return Julius to us!”

Followed by a shout, Glenn reduced their distance and there was a silver flash.

However, Mordred easily parried Glenn’s slash.

“Urgh!”

Glenn growled.

Morderd had stopped the high speed slash with only his index and middle finger.

Glenn could be seen standing still while holding his sword. No, that’s not the case, Veronica understands well.

It was not that Glenn was not moving, it was because that he was unable to move.

Mordred had overpowered Glenn with just two fingers.

“Hmph… I will let you experience the punishment for being disobedient to ''god''."

After Mordred gave a cold smile, there was a flash.

“Gwaaa!”

Glenn was knocked up into the air while unable to even resist. He knocked into the wall hard and became unconscious.

Veronica didn’t even have the time to care about Glenn and stared at Mordred.

“…I don’t understand. As far as I know, you should have a good relationship with Julius. Didn’t you even present him with an ark?”

“Hmph, the one who has a good relationship with Julius is another me. That me who acknowledged Julius as its master and associated with him quite well."

“Another me? What are you talking about?”

“Let me generously explain it to you as your last gift before you die. There were two personalities in Mordred. If it was to be a human, it would be called a split personality.”

“What happened to the other personality?”

“It has disappeared together with the body. Ironically, it was it and Julius who had planned to kill me. For me, to prevent myself from dying, I sacrificed my body and changed into this spiritual form and inhabited Julius’s body.”

Upon saying that, Mordred looked out of the window.

Right beside the palace, the dragon was standing on its hind legs and was looking around curiously. It seemed to be troubled because it couldn’t understand what was happening.

Mordred declared to that dragon:

“Descendant of the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family, I will take that body of yours!”

“Now I understand, so this is what you planned…!”

At this stage. Veronica finally found out what Mordred is aiming for.

Mordred had once lost his body in the past when it was killed by Julius.

However, if it could take over the body of the descendant of the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family, it can once again be born as the strongest dragon…!

“That will never happen, Mordred!”

Veronica unsheathed the huge sword on her waist.

Even though she knew that he was not an opponent that she could win in a direct confrontation, she still couldn’t bear to watch idly from the side.

''I will kill Mordred together with Julius’s body before he can manage to take over Avalon’s body-'' Veronica rushed forward while thinking so.

Even when it is her brother’s body that we are talking about, she had no intention of showing any mercy.

But, before Veronica could land a hit on Mordred, suddenly, there was darkness emerging from his body and spread all over the ballroom.

“Urgh… What is this dark mist… My conscious…!”

The moment she was surrounded by the darkness, Veronica felt a strong feeling of vomiting and fainting.

===Part 9===
After struggling in the darkness without knowing what was happening for some time- The darkness had finally disappeared.

“Are you alright, Veronica?”

There was a guy who held out his hand to Veronica who was struggling to stand up.
[[Image:SnRK V04 207.jpg|thumb]]
“You…!”

There was killing intent in Veronica’s eyes.

To her surprise, Mordred who should be busy with taking over Avalon’s decendent’s body had tried to help her.

However, there was no longer evilness on his face.

“You… Could you be Julius?”

“Ahh, that is me. You are still the same old you for not calling me ‘Anii-ue’.”

It seemed that because Mordred was gone, Julius was able to take back his body.

“Of course… You F.O.O.L”

Upon hearing, Julius smile but he immediately returned back to his serious expression.

“Sorry, but now is not the time for us siblings to be arguing. Mordred's spirit has already inhibited Eco’s body. We have the obligation to defeat Mordred and protect this city.”

At that instant, Veronica felt a pain from her head as if she had just been struck.

“Hold on! Did you just say Eco? That huge dragon… is actually Eco?”

“I will explain the details to you later. Can you stand up?”

“Hmph… Whom do you think you are talking to!”

Using the huge sword as a walking stick, Veronica put all her effort into standing up. But, it was probably the side effect of inhaling in the darkness, in the end, she fell down again.

“Princess-sama!”

The person who reached Veronica first was Glenn. Although he was badly injured, he had regained consciousness.

Glenn held on to Veronica and glared at Julius.

“Julius… I have numerous things that I want to tell you, but please allow me to tell you this first.”

“I can guess what you want to say but be my guest.”

While facing the calm Julius, Glenn with mixed feelings shouted to Julius:

“You… Damn you!”

===Part 10===

Seeing that the Empire’s airship was easily crushed, the sacredship Esperanza and magicship Crown Solas flew off immediately.

Only magicship Silvanus remained at its location overlooking the whole incident.

Although Silvanus had yet to attack Eco, Ash was still worried stance the captain is Veronica.

Even so, seeing that Silvanus still hasn’t made its decision, Veronica was probably not aboard the ship. They were most probably waiting for Veronica’s orders.

On the other hand, if Veronica had boarded the ship, there is a high chance that she will issue an attack on Eco. To protect the capital, Veronica will make this decision without any hesitation. Anyway, Silvanus' fire power is not something that can be ignored.

“I…I will protect Eco!”

Ash made up his mind and rushed forward.

“Hold on, Ash. Do you want to be crushed!”

Silvia blocked Ash with her arms spread.

“Please move aside, Princess-sama! Who will protect Eco if I don’t!”

“Please keep your calm! Even so, what can you do!? How are you going to ride Eco who has turned into that? What’s more, what are you going to do to ride on Eco?”

“I…”

Silvia was right. During the time when the Necromancia attacked Ansarivan, he received help from Silvia and Lancelot.

But luck was not on his side. Lancelot who he could place his hope on had not yet returned after it gathered with the rest of the Maestro. The group of Maestros were still circling above in the sky while waiting for something to happen.

To his relieve, after Eco crushed Beowolf, she had not made any frightening actions. Although Ash was sweating tremendously during the time she looked into Fontaine Palace through the window, he was lucky that she left immediately.

Right now, Eco was only looking around and sniffing the building around her as if to figure out what was happening. In regards to what had happened to her body, she probably hasn’t figured it out yet.

“In conclusion, we must keep her as far from the town as possible. In case that she entered the town…"

Upon listening to Silvia’s assumption, Ash was shaking in fear.

Fontaine City has a population of around a million.

In another words, a million lives were now in Eco’s hands.

The severity of the current situation was no longer only involved Ash and Eco.

“Guooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo…!”

At that moment, Eco was roaring in pain and started to struggle. There was a change in her appearance that was originally surrounded by a silver light.

Just like a white cloth that came in contact with ink, there black colour was slowly taking over the white.

“…Eco? What’s happening!”

Ash could only look at Eco transform without doing anything.

The change in her skin was only the start.

Her angle like feathers had transformed into a crow like wings.

The previous middle horn of the three horns had disappeared and her pair of horns had turned into spiral shape.

Also, her four limbs were growing at a fast speed. It will be better to describe her as a giant like body rather than a huge beast. That huge body gave a evil feeling.

Last of all, there were nine eyes on its face and were glowing with red lights.

“Nine eyes…!”

Ash remembered something.

Eco once had a nightmare.

In her dream, was Eco attacked by the nine eyed dragon…?

-Don!

At that moment, Eco who had turned into that black dragon gave a dragon breath.

The flame emitted pierced the sky and scattered the dark clouds.

If this flame was aimed at Fontaine Palace or the town… Ash had Goosebumps just by thinking.

“Silvia, so you are here!”

At this moment, there was a fierce voice coming from behind.

It was Veronica and Glenn when they turned around.

Glenn was badly injured and looked like a rag.

Apart from that- There was another man that was following Veronica.

It was already surprising if a person was allowed to walk side by side with Veronica, yet it was far more surprising when they noticed the man’s hair colour.

“Milgauss! Why are you here!”

Ash felt that he was having Goosebumps all over his body. At the same time, he felt that Milgauss looked familiar. He remembered that he had seen that face in a portrait.

“Are you… Anii-ue?!”

Silvia shouted before Ash.

“Yeah. Although it is a little hard to believe, I am Julius. But I don’t have the time to give you any explanations right now. Firstly, we need to get rid of Mordred’s spirit from Eco’s body- Ash.”

When his name was suddenly called by Julius, Ash became nervous.

The person in front of him really felt like Prince Julius Lautreamont.

Julius stepped forward and placed his hand on Ash’s shoulder.

“Only you as the master can save Eco. Understood?”

“Yes. I thought of that too myself.”

Julius smiled.

“Good answer. I will take the responsibility to bring you to Eco.”

“But… How are you going to do it?”

“Don’t worry. We have that.”

After he finished his sentence, Julius was pointing at- Magicship Silvanus that was actually resting at the far end of the landing area.

===Part 11===
“Ara. I don’t remembered inviting you here…Dark Dragon King Mordred.”

In the dragon workshop, Navi and Mordred were having a confrontation. She was sitting on her favourite chair with her legs crossed.

“Kuku. This is your last time to be able to be this relaxed.”

Mordred’s spirit still maintained Julius’s voice. It was probably because it had inhabited Julius’s body for more than ten years…Navi thought so.

“I have taken over sixty percent of Eco’s body. It is only a matter of time before I can fully take control of her body. Avalon is losing.”

“…”

“Next, if I can fuse together with you, I can be fully awakened as the Dark Dragon King. Follow me. Even though you are called Navi, but I clearly know that you are not a normal navigator. You are the incarnation of the Dragweiss.”

“Ara. Just what I thought of the Dark Dragon King. You have made quite some investigations on your own.”

“Fuse with me quickly. Give me the supreme knowledge. Strictly speaking, Avalon and Nehalennia have the same roots… I should also be qualified to fuse with you.”

“I don’t disagree with this.”

Upon hearing Navi’s answer, Mordred smiled.

“So you agree?”

“No I don’t. It is because I don’t like Nehalennia.”

“…What do you say?”

“I am rooting for Avalon's Imperial Princess and her knight. Especially her knight… Ash Blake, he is far manlier than you.”

“Hmph…what a fox you are. Since it has came to this, I will use force-”

Suddenly, there were numerous tentacles coming from under Mordred’s legs. They were like snakes that had found their prey and attacked Navi.

===Part 12===
“I am sorry. Could everyone apart from Ash and I leave this ship?”

Upon stepping into Silvanus’s wheelhouse, Julius spoke coldly.

The crew responsible for the control of the wheel and control communications turned around and looked Julius in confusion. Then they are all frightened as is they had seen a ghost.

They shouldn’t be blamed since the prince that should have been executed years ago was standing in front of them and had asked them to do something unreasonable.

“Hold on… Prince Julius! What do you plan to do?”

Seeing that Ash was requesting an explanation, at the same time Julius answered, he turned around and looked at Veronica who was preparing to sit on the captain’s seat.

“I just don’t want the rest of the people to die with us. Veronica, I hoped that you could also help me by giving out the orders.”

“Do you think that I would even listen to that joke?”

“If the sister is stubborn, the elder brother will have to face some trouble.”

The next instant, Julius seized Veronica from behind with lightning speed. He was holding a hidden gun. It was a mechanic gun that the military of the Empire used.

Julius even chose to place the tip at Veronica’s temple.

“There is not much time. You should try to listen to your brother sometimes, Veronica.”

“Are you kidding! Silvanus is my magicship. Don’t even think of always doing what you wanted to, Julius.”

“As I have said before, I am your brother. Maybe you are a perfect princess in front of our people, but I knew your achilles heel. If you still disobey me, I will expose it in front of everyone.”

“What achilles heel?”

“I know that you love Silvia. There are Silvia portraits in your room. The clothes that Silva wore, Silvia’s growth record, the poem that you wrote from missing Silvia and also Silvia’s human sized doll-”

“I-I promise! Keep quite immediately!”

Ash was in a shock. He had never expected Veronica to surrender easily.

“Everyone, leave the ship immediately! This is an order from Veronica Lautreamont! No one is allowed to disobey!”

All the crew members rushed out from the wheelhouse.

===Part 13===
When everyone had left the magicship, Julius flied Silvanus while sitting on the pilot’s seat.

With the sudden shake of the magicship, Ash held on tightly to the seat of the communication officer to avoid falling. Looking through the round window, the magicship was getting further and further away from the ground.

It was a totally different experience from sitting on a dragon. When this lump of metal was flying with passengers- At the same time Ash was amazed, he also started to worry about crashing.

As for Julius, he was piloting Silvanus while telling Ash the whole story.

===Part 14===
Although what Julius said was hard to believe, basically, the dragons were seperated into the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family and the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family. The two families had incarnated since the ancient times and were still fighting each other right until today.

Also, Eco is Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family’s descendant.

In another words, Eco is the Imperial Princess of the dragon.

“…Even after I had heard of such things, it is still hard for me to believe this. Eco who had been living with me was obviously a girl who sleeps late, a glutton and a hot headed girl...”

“I know how you feel. When I found out that my pal is the descendant for the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family, I was also astounded. In the beginning, I was also troubled by why was I chosen.”

Julius said.

“Back to the topic, Avalon’s Imperial Princess’s body is really huge. Even though she is still a young dragon, she had this unbelievable huge size… It is totally unbelievable.”

After Julius pressed a few buttons on the dashboard, Eco’s body was shown on the huge screen in front.

Silvanus was three hundred meters above the land and was looking at Fontaine city from the sky above.

From the screen, they can see Eco's back that had turned black because of being taken over by Mordred.

With its frightening spiral horns and nine eyes… It is exactly the image of the dark dragon king.

Eco who was originally standing on two legs was now standing on all four because of the pain caused by Mordred’s take over.

The worrying part is, Eco was not moving at all and yet she doesn’t look as if she was sleeping…

“Could it be that Eco was fighting Mordred?”

Julius shook his head in disagreement.

“It is impossible. Judging from the huge change of her body, I am afraid that… Eco don’t even have the strength to fight back.”

“Is it…”

“But not all hope is lost. In my opinion, Navi was fighting against Mordred.”

“Navi?”

Why would he mention Navi’s name at such a time?

Before that, how would Julius know about Navi?

“Navi is the incarnation of the Dragweiss. If Navi could keep on fighting back, even after Mordred could fully take over Eco’s body, he still couldn’t be fully awaken.”

“What do you meant?”

“Regardless of the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor or the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king, both of them must fuse with the Dragweiss to obtain the supreme knowledge, only then they could receive their true power. I believe that Mordred right now is trying his best to make Navi his.”

“How come… you knew so many about him?”

“That was because it shared the same body with Mordred. Just like what he did to blend into the human society… I could also look into his memories.”

After hearing what Julius had said, Ash was still confused. However, there exists thing that could be easily understood without the need of good brains.

“In another words, this is a great time for a counter attack when Mordred was busy dealing with Navi, right?”

“That’s right. This is our only chance for victory. If you can ride on Eco and chase of Mordred’s spirit, then you can save Eco and the capital together.”

Ash nodded in agreement to what Julius had said.

“I am willing to give it a try. No matter it is Avalon or Nehalennia… I don’t think I even know what they mean. I only know that Eco is my pal.”

When Ash turned around and prepared to walk back to the deck, Julius spoke from behind:

“Although I don’t know why you are chosen… But I am glad that you are Eco’s knight.”

===Part 15===
“Urgh…”

Ash arrived at the deck and the winds were cold. Such temperatures were unheard of during the summer.

Ash was carrying a parachute- This is a decision made by Julius and him beforehand.

When Silvanus had come close to Eco, Ash will jump off from the deck with the help of the parachute.

After landing, it is all up to Ash.

Basically, Ash had gone through the landing practices in the academy.

Ash had never intended to become a soldier and had always thought that the academy was wrong to force them to go through the practices.

Anyway, the academy is not a military school- But who would expect that those practices must be applied right now.

“…Right there.”

Ash was looking down towards the ground from the bow and had located Eco’s back.

Although her fur had turned black but since the enormous amount of magic surrounding her was giving off strong rays of light, he won’t have to worry about missing his target.

He must make use of the time that Navi was fighting against Mordred to land on Eco’s head.

Julius voice emerged from the magic communication device:

“Ash, you may jump anytime.”

“Roger that.”

Ash looked downwards for one more time.

For such a huge beast, her only blind spot will be her head.

Ash tried to imagine himself riding on Eco’s head.

To his surprise, it was not at all scary.

The ‘Seikoku’ on his left arm was getting warm and was flickering with dim light.

It felt as if his ‘Seikoku’ was urging him to move quickly.

Suddenly- Eco lifted her neck and shot a dragon breath towards Silvanus.

“…Urgh!”

A bright light pierced through the night sky. Ash surrendered against the shaking deck and fell down. Although Julius had barely avoided a direct hit by giving the ship an emergency turn, the strong breath had burned the side of the ship into ashes.

There were smokes and fire emerging from the ship itself and it had lost balance.

“Tsk…! If you kill me, Eco will die too! If that happens, you also couldn’t get your hands on Eco’s body that you desired that much...! How could someone be this stupid?”

When Ash was groaning, Julius voice could be heard once again through the communication machine:

“Ash, are you alright!”

“Yes, I am!”

“Silvanus is going to do an emergency landing! Jump quickly!”

“I also intend to do so!”

Ash clenched his teeth and jumped off from the deck.

The moment his feet left the deck, Mordred gave a second dragon breath.

Looking backwards, he saw Silvanus’s deck suffered a direct hit from the dragon breath.

Ash shuddered. He was lucky that he had jumped of earlier or else he would be turned into dust.

Although Julius had said there are going to do an emergency ‘landing’, judging from the speed Silvanus was moving downwards, it looked like it was crashing.

Finally, the unbalance ship disappeared at the other end of the palace walls- Then a fire pillar could be seen followed by a loud explosion.

“Prince Julius…!”

Ash was sad but there was nothing he can do.

Julius had risked his life to fly him into the night sky.

The only thing he can do right now is to complete his mission in return.

Ash's body was moving downwards because of the gravity pull.

His face and ears felt like being crushed by the air pressure.

“Now is the time!”

Ash had got the timing right and spread open the parachute.

The amazing braking force had caused the parachute to slow down.

If another dragon breath was shot, Ash would certainly be hit but Ash prayed that he will not have such bad luck.

“Wait for me, Eco. I will protect you… I swear!”

===Part 16===
“Damn! Where am I?”

Eco found out that she was in a cage when she woke up. When she was looking at her body, she found out that she was wearing a dress with low standards.

This style is obviously not of Eco’s preference.

Any dress in Fontaine Palace’s changing room looked better that this. It is even as heavy as lead and it felt more like a binding item rather than an evening dress.

On the other side of the cage was a wide white space. The walls, the floor and the ceiling was white. Not even a dust that could be found.

“How dare anyone to cage a dragon like me in this cage… What were they even thinking!?”

Eco was definitely confused. Yet she still vaguely remembered that she was awakened as a dragon. She even remembered that she had become huge and was looking at the whole Fontaine palace.

But her memories stopped there.

“Tsk…It seems that you are alright since you are this energetic even under such situation.”

It was a familiar voice.

“Navi? You…!”

Navi was standing outside of the cage. Even though Eco disliked Navi, but under such situation, Eco was grateful that Navi was here and felt that Navi was like an angel.

The Eco’s Angel was now looking like a ragdoll.

Navi who was always acting calm and give out a noble like feeling was now with a messed up hair and even her evening dress was in rags. All over her body were marks of being bounded.

“What happened? This doesn’t look like you at all…”

Eco was taking a closer look at Navi.

“Hmm…I am only accompanying Mordred in his game. It was just that, his tentacles fetish had given me some trouble!”

“Mordred? Who is that?”

“Please lend me your hand.”

Eco stretched her hand through the gaps in between the bars of the cage. After Navi held her hand, a mass amount of knowledge flowed into her brain.

In a blink of an eye, Eco knew everything that had happened. Only until now that she had realized that she was in her spiritual from.

“To make it simple… That person called Mordred is trying to take over my body, right?”

“That’s right. Anyway, during the time I was running around, he had done nothing bad. But if it is to destroy this capital, it will be an easy task for him.”

“Hmm… So I am such a great dragon.”

According to Navi’s information, Eco is Avalon’s Imperial Princess.

“Huhu. Now Ash is going to look at me differently.”

Seeing that Eco was feeling proud, Navi sighed.

“As long as he can survive. He seems to be doing something foolhardy again.”

Navi held Eco’s hand again and Eco closed her eyes.

That current situation was sent into Eco’s brain as projections.

“What…!”

Eco was speechless.

Under the night sky- Ash leaned out from Silvanus’s deck.

The next instant, Mordred gave a dragon breath from the ground.

Silvanus was hit and was gliding in the sky as if it was a paper plane.

On the other hand, Ash jumped into the air and was falling with his head pointing downwards.

“Hold on… Is he crazy!?”

At that moment, Eco clearly heard Ash’s mumble.

"Wait for me, Eco. I will protect you… I swear!”

In a short moment, tears started to flow from her eyes. Even though she was a spirit, her tears still kept on flowing. Even the Dragweiss couldn’t give an explanation. A warm feeling was haunting her heart… What was that feeling?

“Why…Why? Why would he… try to do so many things for me? Even when I… Had caused many, many troubles for him?”

Navi stretched her hand into the cage and patted her head.

“Do you even have to ask? It is because you are his pal.”

Eco rubbed off her tears and lifted her head.

“Navi, please tell me what can I do for him.”

“Teehee. That’s more like it.”

Navi smiled and waved her hand lightly. With a flash, the cage had disappeared. At the same time, the black dress that limits Eco’s movement had been broken into particles and a pure white evening dress was raveled from beneath.

In a short time, Navi removed Mordred’s seal.

“I must say that… You are very good.”

Eco was looking at her dress. It designs compromised of the elements of elegant and pure. It is as if it was made to be worn by the Avalon’s Imperial Princess.

“No matter how great I am, I can't help you with the upcoming step. Understood?”

Eco nodded in reply.

“Then, what should I do?”

After Navi smiled, she cheekily said:

“Of course you are to present him your originally made Ark and the Avalon’s Imperial Princess.”

The next instant, Eco became confused.

“What? Are you serious?”

As if it was natural to do so, Navi nodded without any hesitation.

“All the mimics that you had created for emergency in the past… is useless against Mordred.”

“But, how am I to do this impossible task!?”

An original Ark could not be completed easily.

It was because of Eco had seen her ancestor’s blueprint; she understands how hard it can be. An Ark is not only a strong magic weapon, at the same time, it is also a perfect art masterpiece.

Not to mention that Eco was still a young dragon that was not even a year old without any experience. Navi’s suggestion was like asking a baby to build a palace.

“Anyway, it will not be called difficult if the blueprint could be easily created.”

Eco gave up before she even started but Navi ignored it.

“Rest assured, you must believe in your own ability. You are an Imperial Princess who is the blood descendant of Avalon.”

“But… what we must think about is not only the armour itself, there is also the Ark-weapon…”

“Listen carefully, the shape itself doesn’t matters. It was the mental power of the creator that decide the strength of the Ark. Even if you don’t know the shape, as long as you focus, the shape of the Ark will be formed.”

“Really…?”

“Yeah. Also, you don’t have to worry about the Ark-weapon. Avalon has a treasured sword that had been passed down through the generations. Just use it.”

After a moment of silent, Eco mumbled:

“…I had always disliked you since the first time I met you. Regardless of your relaxed attitude or your looks that was similar to mine or your overly large breast…I hate them and hate them very much! However… It is funny that I felt that you are trustable.”

Eco lifted her head and smile.

Navi also returned a smile.

At the same moment, Eco felt that a light had pierced through that darkness that had been blocking her eyes.

She didn't want to look for trouble anymore.

And she definitely doesn’t want to give up before taking up the challenge.

While the evening dress was swaying, Eco spoke with confidence:

“Just wait and see. I will definitely complete my original Ark!”

===Part 17===
“Damn… What kind of joke is this!”

Although Ash had finally landed on Eco, still the landing spot was her back and not her head. It was exactly beside the joints between the body and the wings.

That pair of wings was like the wings of a new born bird. It was still wet and was unable to fly right away.

Maybe this is my only life saver…Ash secretly thought.

Black furs were grown from her uneven skin. It felt like a Necromancia. He must get rid of Mordred’s spirit and return Eco to her original appearance as soon as
possible.

To achieve this, he must try to ride her gigantic body. However… Ash was looking at Eco’s head from afar.

Connected to her back that was as huge as prairie was a long neck that looked as if it was a stairway to heaven. And her head with spiral horns was at the other end of the neck.

His current aim was to ride on her head and try to control her using his will as a dragner. However… The distance between them was huge. It was like trying to climb the dangerous Xenoglavia Mountains without any climbing tools.

“Stop… This is not the time to give up.”

Ash threw aside the parachute and move forward while pushing aside those furs that were taller than his height.

“Now I really looked like a louse…”

In reality, Mordred treat Ash as nothing but a louse. That is why he was not bothered by Ash at all.

“Just wait and see. Your overconfidence will be the cause of your death, Mordred…”

Although Ash kept on talking to himself to boost his confidence, but every time he looked towards her head, he felt like falling apart.

Suddenly, there was a change in the night sky.

Those Maestros who were originally circling in the sky started to make their movements.

Those Maestros could be seen gliding towards Mordred and had him surrounded.

“Grrrrrrrrrrrrr…”

Mordred lifted his neck and gave a threatening growl. However, before he even managed to attack, the Maestros activated their magic at the same time.

With a flash, chains that were made from magic appeared. Numerous chains had tied down the huge dragon’s neck, front legs, hind legs, tail…

“Guuuoooooooooooooooooooo…!”

Mordred was struggling with all his might but the chains wouldn’t even budge.

“They…!”

It can’t be wrong. These Maestros were trying to seal Mordred’s movement. Who know if they were thinking that the dragon worthy to take to top is not Mordred but Eco.

At that moment, a Maestro landed right in front of Ash. Its pair of horns that looked like a dear’s looked familiar to Ash. Then a clear voice could be heard coming from behind the dragon.

“Ash… Hurry up!”

“Lukka!? Why are you here?”

That is. The Maestro that suddenly appeared from above was Gawain and Lukka was riding on its back. Ash felt nostalgic.

Lukka while feeling worried gave Ash a short explanation.

“Err… The Maestros in the seven dragon house was escaping together. I risked my life to cling on Gawain… In the end, I found out that I was already here.”

“Did Rebecca and Max come together?”

Lukka shook her head. It was probably Ash's mistake that he felt that Lukka’s ears were slightly drooping.

“Only I noticed that something was going on with the Maestros…”

“Is that so…”

As if to interrupt Ash’s and Lukka’s conversation, Gawain roared with its jaws opened.

It was as if trying to tell Ash to ride on it quickly. Ash naturally didn’t reject this offer.

“Thank you!”

Just as Ash sat on Gawain’s back, Gawain flapped its wings.

After piercing through the night sky, Gawain’s altitude was increasing following the direction of Mordred’s neck. Lukka’s riding skills was as good as ever and could only be described by perfect.

Ash was clinging tightly to Lukka’s thin waist to avoid from dropping off.

However, Mordred will not stay silent. Although he was being tied down, it was still struggling and roaring loudly.

Suddenly, magic cannons continued to appear in the sky and was firing at Gawain.

Ash was trembling when he saw those cannons.

It was because those cannons looked like the weapon that Ash used during his fight with Milgauss in Willingham Mausoleum. The only difference is, each cannon was around Gawain’s size.

“Magic shield Aegis…!”

“Need not worry… It will be alright as long as we are not hit.”

Lukka was not at all shaken.

As if she had fused with Gawain, she was controlling Gawain by moving left and right and dangerously avoided the crossing light rays.

It even used its dragon breath and those magic canons were destroyed one by one.

When Gawain had successfully passed Mordred’s head, all the magic cannons had disappeared.

“Ash, now’s the time…!”

Just when Lukka shouted, Gawain did a summersault.

At the point where the sky was upside down, Ash jumped down.

He drew a big locus in the night sky and successfully land in between the two horns. Looking from a close distance, the horns looked more like an altar than a horn.

When his feet landed on that spot, he felt satisfied. It was probably his dragner’s intuition that told him this is the best riding spot.

“Listen carefully Eco!”

Ash was shouting with all his might at his ‘Seikoku’ that was connected to Eco:

“Right now, I am going to ride you! I swear I will be successful in riding you! Whether you are a Imperial Princess or not it has nothing to do with me! So what if you are a imperial princess? You are always bad tempered, try to solve anything with force, a sleepy head, only have crepes in your eyes and felt like wanting to bite greedily whenever you saw meat. Are these what an Imperial Princess should do! Even if you really are an Imperial Princess, I will never approve it!... I only knew that- I am your knight, and you are my pal. Things are just as simple as this!”

The next instant, there was a change in his left arm that was dense with ‘Seikoku’.

The ‘Seikoku’ can be seen emitting rays of light that were able to light up the entire night sky. Then patterns started to crawl just like some living things.

No, the patterns were growing.

“W-What had happened…?”

Just when Ash was feeling confused, his ‘Seikoku’ started to spread outwards towards Ash entire body with his left arm as the starting point.

Ash found out that his connection with Eco had become stronger.

Although he couldn’t communicate with Eco verbally, yet, he was sure that he was connected to Eco…!

But, what Ash was thinking only lasted for a short moment.

“Guuuuuuuoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo…!”

Mordred was back on the move. He had broken one of the chains and was standing on two legs.

“Auuu…!”

Lukka groaned. The wind created when Mordred stood up had affected Gawain. Although it was not blown away by the wind, it was obvious that it could not remain
its balance. However, Lukka shouted:

“Don’t worry about me… I am alright! Ash, just focus on saving Eco…!”

Then, Lukka and Gawain finally fall and disappear from Ash’s line of sight.

“Lukka…!”

Ash stretched his arm but he could only grab the air.

The Maestros that scattered in the sky tried to make another chain to tie down Mordred’s upper body.

But before Mordred could be sealed, it forcefully shook its neck.

“Uwaaaaaaaaa!”

Ash lost his balance and was thrown up into Fontaine Palace like a cannonball.

-This is a lie… It must be…?

He was approaching the tower in the middle of Fontaine Palace.

If he was to hit into such stone wall…he will definitely die.

-Is this the end…? Is Eco and I… Going to end right here?

Right at this moment.

Almete, Gorjal, Peto…

The voice of the spell was coming from his ‘Seikoku’ that had spread all over his body.

Espaldar, Brafoneras, Faldaje…

It was definitely Eco’s voice.

Escarcelas,Bufetas, Hombreras, Brazales…

Compare to the previous times, every single word that Eco said was followed by a deep tone.

Codales, Antebrazos, Manoplas…

Without any reason, Ash felt courage from within.

Quijotes, Guardas, Grebas… Escarpes…

Lastly, Eco was left with the last word.

-Espolón!

Ash who was going to crash into Fontaine Palace was surrounded by holy lights.

It felt as if he was surrounded by angel’s wings.

Even though Ash had an illusion of he was ascending to heaven, Eco’s voice had disrupted this peaceful feeling.

“You absolutely must accept my feelings!”

===Part 18===
As he opened his eyes, Ash was standing at the highest point of Fontaine Palace.

“I-I am saved?”

He saw Mordred was standing ferociously with only two legs while being bounded by the chains of the Maestros.

All of the nine eyes were burning with the flames of rage and looked like scarlet stars. Even though he was trying his best to break free from those chains, those Maestros kept on creating new chains.

“This… What is this feeling?”

Ash was looking at his own body.

His entire body was emitting heat and was overflowing with magic.

It have to be the Ark that Eco presented to me- Yet to Ash’s dismay, what he was wearing right now was still his cloths that looked like rags.

There was not even an Ark that could be seen.

Even so, Ash still continued to feel safe as if he was protected by the Ark. Furthermore, the ‘Seikoku’ that was on his entire body was alive.

What is happening?

Hey, why are you daydreaming! Quickly use the Ark-weapon!

Eco’s voice was once again could be heard in his mind

“Eco…? What is happening?”

T-that is…?

Without any reason, Eco became silent. It felt as if she was embarrassed because of a certain something.

As if to speak on Eco’s behalf, another voice appeared in his mind.

Huhu. That is an original Ark that Eco had created on her own. However, it is still incomplete and even that shape had not been decided on yet.

“This voice… Are you Navi!”

The Ark represents proof of the oath of a dragon that swears to hand over their body and feelings to their knight. At the same time, it was a proof that it was connected to the Master’s heart. Right now, you are recognized as the Avalon’s knight.

I-I only wanted to get back my own body!... It was never meant to be given to you!

Ara, who is the person who was crying because she was worried about Ash? I wonder.

S-Shut up!

Eco and Navi seemed to had started an argument.

Ash made a wry smile because they could still have the mood to quarrel even under such dangerous situation.

All the negative emotions like unsecured and frightened had disappeared.

However- Right after that, Ash had a bad premonition as if a pair of cold hands had held on to his spirit. When he raised his head, Mordred’s eyes were filled with sparks and were marking him.

It had obviously begun to take notice of Ash who was previously being regarded as a louse.

“Guuuuuoooooooooooooooooooooo…!”

Although Mordred was still bounded by those magic chains, he still managed to open his jaws after putting in some effort.

There was a ball of light that could be seen appearing in front of his nose and it was slowly expanding-

Ash felt a large amount of energy from it. It was thanks to the Ark that his senses had sharpened.

Navi warned Ash in his mind.

That’s bad. Even though Mordred have not fused with me, he is still very strong…!

“Rest assured. I will personally deal with it.”

Ash immediately started to search for information regarding his Ark-weapon. Thanks to his experience in equipping those mimics, his was able to complete his search in a short time.

Ash smiled from within his heart.

The Ark-weapon formed in his mind was undoubtably the strongest sword that had ever existed.

Ash readied his posture and started to chant the spell.

“An iron that could slash through anything…”

For every word he said, his ‘Seikoku’ that was all over his body was emitting heat and reacted strongly to it.

"A holy sword meant for a knight of all knights-”

At the same time, Ash felt that his palm was overflowing with an unlimited amount of magic.

The one and only treasured sword that had been passed down generations by generations in the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family had its shape formed in Ash’s palm.

“Appear- Excalibur!”

It was not only a huge brave and beautiful sword but also an Ark-weapon.

On its silvery white hilt were many scarlet coloured Milinniums and they were shining brightly.

After he held the holy sword with both hand tightly, Ash leaped.

At the same time, Mordred was giving out the dragon breath.

That was a ball of light with overwhelming powers that could destroy the entire capital to ground level in a blink of an eye. Followed by some purple electric around Mordred’s head, the ball of light was released at Ash’s direction.

To make things worse, Ash couldn’t avoid it because the entire Fontaine Palace and City was right behind him.

No- In reality, I won’t even need to avoid it.

“Uooooooooooooooooooooooooo!”

Ash as if he had forgotten about his fear rushed towards the ball of light.

In respond to Ash’s verve, the Millenniums at the hilt of the holy sword was giving out a bright light.

In respond to Ash’s verve, the shapeless Ark was releasing all its magic.

“Kirisakeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!” <ref>斬り裂け. Means to get split and break apart.</ref>

Just before being swallowed by that attack, Ash had swung the most powerful strike.

-Cut!!! <ref>斬. Ii was a word that was usually shouted when someone wanted to cut/slash/chop/kill off something.</ref>

At the same time the lump of energy was split into two, Ash was in mid-air. His vision was full of white and he could see nothing at all.

If not because of the protection he received from the Ark, all the cells in his body should had been reduced into nothing. Ash was indeed slashing through such high amount of temperature.

In the end, his vision finally widened.

The dragon breath that was sliced into two had its trajectory changed and each had landed at the Fontainia plains on both side of the capital and had exploded.

Although it was a huge explosion, apart from the strong wind, Fontaine City remained intact.

Ash had again lifted Excalibur and had it pointed at Mordred’s head.

At that moment, there was a creepy voice coming from Ash’s mind.

…Hold on! If you harm this body, the daughter of Avalon would also be-

The nine eyes kept on blinking as if it still had something to say.

“Haa! Now you start to beg from me… Know your place, Mordred!”

Ash remained determined and continued to land at the head.

Of course Ash knew that this body originally belonged to Eco.

He never had the intention to simply slash around with this sword.

However, to get rid of Mordred’s spirit, he needs Eco to bear with it for a few more moments.

What Ash had intended to do was not to kill Eco but to make her lost her strength.

Where is the best place to land my attack?

There is not enough time to think of such complicated problems.

It is because apart from Eco’s and his life, Ash was burdened with the lives of millions of residents of the capital. Ash decided to wager everything he had in the only possibility he could think of.

“Eat this, Mordred!”
[[Image:SnRK V04 243.jpg|thumb]]

Ash was landing at full speed.

''What are you trying to do…? Do you want to follow the Julius's footsteps and become a ‘dragon slayer’? I can’t understand this, I just couldn’t understand this…!''

Ash didn’t replied and had no intention of doing so.

“Whether you are a god or a devil-”

Ash’s sword and Mordred’s horn clashed with each other.

“All the dragons will have to listen to my command, not to mention-”

After he had pinpointed the crucial point to release Eco, Ash swung Excalibur-

“If it is my '''P.A.L'''!”

Followed by a sound of a metal clashing with rocks, the night sky was swallowed by a white light.

The thing that was chopped off by Ash and was flying in mid-air was the left horn.

“Guuuuooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo…!”

Mordred’s roar was echoing in the night.

===Part 19===

“Huhu. Mordred must be running away with his tail rolled up<ref>A proverb</ref> even though a spirit shouldn't have any tails.”

Mordred’s spirit was running under the night sky towards the east while he was being seen by Navi.

On the eastern side of the country is Chevron Kingdom’s land.

“So in the end he had escaped to Chevron Kingdom… I must wait until he rises up again before I could have him captured. Right now, I should give praise to Avalon’s Knight."

Navi gave herself a cheer and smiled.

Eco’s spirit was no longer beside her.

===Part 20===

Ash’s final blow had chopped off Eco’s left horn.

Last month during the time Ash was in the infirmary, he had bitten Eco’s horn. Furthermore, her left horn that was chopped off had made her recalled that feeling.

It was that ‘happy’ feeling that dragged Eco’s spirit out.

Her hearts memories and her body memories.

When both of them are thinking the same thing, Eco’s spirit managed to take back its own body and get rid of Mordred’s spirit.

Not only this method is impractical, its succession rate too is just as low.

However, Eco’s clearly remembered the feeling that Ash gave her.

-Navi had seen it all.

The body of the huge dragon had undergone some changes inside the glaring light.

The skin colour that was originally black had turned back to its original silvery white colour.

As for those nine creepy eyes, they had returned into two clear scarlet eyes.

Then-

The body that was bigger than Fontaine Palace was shrinking slowly and finally turned back into a young teenage girl with pink hair.

Ash gently hugged the angel like naked body in mid-air.

Although Eco was blushing, she still placed her hand on Ash’s back and hugged her knight.

"Princess of Avalon ~A.S.B.1365.7~" is closed.
<noinclude>

==References and Translation Notes==
<references />

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|-
| Back to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Chapter 7|Chapter 7]]
| Return to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Epilogue|Epilogue]]
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</noinclude>

Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Chapter 8

2013-11-07T11:28:51Z

213.144.240.241: /* Part 11 */

==Chapter 8 - Avalon's Imperial Princess==
===Part 1===
In the mothership Beowolf- In the armory, under Dr Hoffman’s command the battle is in full swing.

Eco who was naked was floating in magic guided device. ‘Yggdrasill’s’ capsule. There were groups of technician working around her. This was out of Anya’s area of understanding. She could only stand by and wall and watch silently.

But, she understood well the pain that Eco was feeling.

The cold voice was followed by its echo when it was reflected on the metal body.

“The cartridge has been filled. Prepare for launching.”

“The countdown starts now. Ten, nine, eight… Three, two, one-.”

“Launch the compressed magic!”

A red bean was shot out followed by a loud gun shooting sound. Anya felt that even the ship was vibrating.

“…!”

Then, there were air bubbles coming from Eco’s mouth. If not because of she was in the liquid, her scream could definitely be heard.

Anya couldn’t bear to see Eco suffering and looked away.

Eco’s body had already taken at least ten shots of the compressed magic.

Eco regained her consciousness after the start of the experiment. At the beginning, she was struggling in the water, but ‘Yggdrasill’s’ capsule was not at all affected.

But after receiving a continuous dozens of compressed magic, she lost her strength.

Right now, she was just like a living dead. Her blank eyes were now lifeless and it was terrible. It was pure torture. Even so, the group of researchers led by Dr Hoffman were not at all shaken and continued silently.

“There is no significant change on the appearance of α. There are no abnormalities on her respiratory system. No magic fluctuation can be seen.”
Without realizing, the group of researchers started to refer Eco as α.

Eco is a human, a young dragon and also a living being- But this group of human had taken everything from her. To them, Eco was just experimental material α.
Who knows if they want to remove their feeling of guilt by calling her with symbols…Anya secretly thought so.

At this moment, Dr Hoffman’s voice is heard by Anya.

“Still no changes… It seems like we don’t have any more choices. Activate all the Millennium.”

Anya turned pale when she heard that.

This means that they had decided to use full power on ‘Yggdrasil’.

===Part 2===
“*Sob*… It was all… My fault. *Sob*…”

In the maid’s bedroom in the ground floor of the palace.

Prim was lying on the bed with her pillow wet with tears.

There was only Ash and Silvia beside her bed. Cosette was standing outside the room by the door.

Prim cried while she told the whole incident.

Prim arrived at the ancient palace when she was chasing Eco who was running amok.

She had met a few suspicious people there.

Seeing the enemy suddenly attacked, Eco appeared and became the bait to let Prim escape.

When Prim regained conscious, Eco was no longer there.

After hearing, Ash felt something suspicious.

“Why did you go to the ancient palace?”

“That’s because… It was my entire fault! It was my bad to say such things!”

“Prim, please stay calm. Compared to you, Ash was the person who suffered the most.”

After being advised by Silvia, Prim rubbed of her tears.

“You are right. Sorry…”

“Prim-san, please tell me everything before Eco was kidnapped!”

Prim nodded.

“I had no ill intention, it was just that… Ash-sama is a human and Eco is a dragon… So I thought that Eco would feel lonely after Ash-sama married with a human girl. The moment I told her that, Eco rushed out of the room.”

“What…!”

Who would have thought of this, Ash was speechless.

“Idiot! You… Why do you have to tell her this!”

Silvia was mad.

“If I am Eco… I will definitely feel hurt if someone told that to me! Even when Eco is a dragon, her thoughts are still those of a girl’s. She should know very well that her situation is special. Why was she born as a human? Why was she not born as a dragon… If I am Eco, I can never feel secure.”

“Princess-sama…”

Ash looked at Silvia who was telling Eco's thoughts in surprise.

“Recently, she had gotten used to the school life. She was also being loved by everyone as the student council’s mascot. Even so, to Eco, the only person she could trust in… Is no other than Ash.”

“And I… Have said something terrible…”

“Strictly speaking, Eco is still a young dragon who is not even a year old. Can’t you be a little more indirect in your-”

“Forget it, Princess-sama. Right now, we could never solve the problem even after lecturing Prim-san. What’s more, if they had this planned, no matter what Prim-san said, Eco would still have been kidnapped.”

“…You are right. But how are we going to rescue Eco?”

Silvia nodded in agreement with Ash.

“Prim-san… Could you describe those people who attacked?”

Ash was praying while asking. His only clue is Prim being the witness.

“Err…They pretended to be the palace servants. But, they didn’t look like citizens of the Knight Country. For their skin colour, it looked like they are the Tantalos…. Also, the person who attacked me is a short girl.”

“A Tantalos girl…!”

Ash was feeling Déjà vu. It was like he had found the last piece of puzzle in his memory.

“It was the girl who followed Milgauss!”

Ash’s fists were shaking. The world he was seeing was dyed in red. Even though he had a feeling that Milgauss was the culprit, still, after making sure, he was still in rage.

“Since we know who the criminal is-”

Silvia immediately stopped Ash who intended to rush out from the room.

“Hold on, Ash! Where do you think you are going to?”

“The ballroom, of course! I want to settle thing with Milgauss!”

“Keep your calm! Do you think that Milgauss will admit it even after you find him?”

“…Maybe not.”

Ash turned speechless.

Silvia was right, no matter how emotional he became, Eco still wouldn’t be able to return safely.”

Just as if she was trying to have Ash cooled down, Silvia made a suggestion in a calm voice:

“Don’t you think that this is a good time to save Eco when Milgauss is busy with the masquerade?”

“What do you meant?”

“Milgauss couldn’t even be bothered by an activity with long history such as this continental congress and will do anything just to capture Eco. Even when I don’t know what his intentions are, but capturing Eco alive is their priority. I am sure that their lackeys won’t do anything to harm Eco when the mastermind is absent.”

After listening to Silvia’s analysis, Ash gave a breath of relieve.

“The problem remains is, where is Eco’s location. Since Ash’s ‘Seikoku’ is not reacting, it means that Eco was being hidden in an enclosed place. For example something that could be a barrier to cut off magic… Anyway, it must be done with the proper equipment. It just can’t be a rally point that they have just constructed.”

“An enclosed place with proper equipments? That’s it, Milgauss has Klaus backing him up…”

Last evening, an airship flew past the evening sky…

The black ship that was waving the Empire’s flag proudly…

Ash remembered.

Ash and Silvia exchanged glances and shouted at the same time:

“Beowolf!”

===Part 3===
-W-Will…I die just like this…

Eco thought so.

The liquid in the capsule kept on rotating and Eco’s body was being swept by it.

Every time her shoulders or waist touches the glass, her body will move slowly in the opposite direction.

It seems like the liquid was made of special materials. Luckily, it doesn’t affect her breathing. But after suffering a few shots from the magic device, her body turned numb.

This feeling is like an empty mind floating in mid air.

-If I could just… Continue sleeping… Then I won’t feel any pain…

Just when Eco thought so, a power that surpassed those previous ones was released at her.

“Noooooooooo…!”

Even though she thought that she shouted in pain, in truth they were just air bubbles coming out from her mouth.

A bright light flashes and the water turns rapid. Just like being swallowed by a tsunami, her body kept on rotating and kept on hitting the glass around her.

-W….Why do I have to suffer this kind of pain.

It had passed the limit of her brain to just think of what they are going to do to her. She could only feel that her body had been injected with a vast amount of magic.

The pain she felt is just like her body being ripped open.

It felt like her organs were being messed up by someone.

-Urgh… It hurts…. It hurts…. I beg you all, please stop.

It is pointless no matter how she shouted in her mind, the magic was still flowing into the body. Eco’s body was jerking nonstop and she was struggling.

You might as well do me a favour by killing me-Eco gave up.

“…!”

At the next moment- The Necromancia’s slimy tentacles attacking her from all directions.

Eco couldn’t understand. Where did those tentacles appear from in this enclosed environment?

The tentacles which were wriggling like a snake slowly snatched her freedom.

Her arms, waist, legs… was entangled by those tentacles. -Stop! This must be an illusion! It is this device that was making me hallucinate…!

Eco tried to stay conscious and opened her eyes widely.

At that moment, the tentacles disappeared.

The feelings of being entangled by those tentacles also disappeared.

However, not long after that, she lost focus and the tentacles appeared again and had her waist surrounded.

In a blink of an eye, she was lifted by those tentacles.

-Stop!

[[Image:SnRK V04 183.jpg|thumb]]

An abnormally thick tentacle was approaching Eco’s face.

Eco kept her teeth closed with her might. If she was to be careless, the tentacle will surely wriggle into her mouth. Eco had Goosebumps just by think about it.

Eco initially wanted to ask for Ash’s help. She hoped that he could save him from this hell.

However, from the point she woke up in this device, she couldn’t even summon Ash.

Her Astral Flow with Ash had also been cut off.

The lost of her communication had put her in fear.

Eco was shocked that the lost of her connection with Ash would put her in such great fear.

-I am really an idiot. I only knew what is precious to me after I had lost it.

This experience had made her wanted to treasure Ash much more.

That’s right, without Ash, I can’t do anything… I am really a good for nothing.

-Don…

At that instant, there was something moving in her body.

===Part 4===
“Something is wrong! The magic indicator is showing an abnormal value!”

“We found an unknown magic source! Its power is increasing!”

“We have lost control of ‘Yggdrasill’! It ignored the emergency stop signal!”

The continuous bad news had made Dr Hoffman turn pale.

The laboratory was as if in a fire and a tense atmosphere was spreading.

Everyone was with a panicked look and were busy dealing with the buttons under their hands.

“What happened…?”

Anya who was looking from aside wondered.

Basically, there was nothing abnormal with Eco who was in the capsule.

Even though she was shot by the high power compressed magic and had struggle like she was having a nightmare, yet nothing dramatic had happened.

But the indicator was still indicating an abnormal value. Also, they were losing control of ‘Yggdrasill’.

The situation had suddenly become tense.

Even the emergency trigger had been triggered and the bell was ringing loudly.

-Dong!

At that instant, Anya heard something from the ground.

“What is that… Sound?”

As if to prove that it was not an illusion, ‘Yggdrasill’ magic indication exploded.

“Uwaa!”

Some groaned and all the surrounding deviced started to explode with red flames. All the technician were running away in fear.

“Don’t panic! Keep calm!”

Dr Hoffman shouted but not even a single soul was listening.

Because in everyone’s sights was Eco who was caged in the capsule.

Eco’s body was glowing with a dim light.

Even Anya was captivated by the sight in front.

“Dr Hoffman! Let’s escape!”

A young researcher advised Dr Hoffman. The rest of the researchers were agreeing with him and looked at Dr Hoffman.

Anya left the wall and walk towards Dr Hoffman’s back.

“Dr Hoffman, I also think that it would be wise if we escape now.”

“No!”

Anya was stunned by Dr Hoffman’s aura. She had thought of him as a kind old man and was forced to act cruel as a researcher. Who would know that he would have such a stubborn side.

“What are you thinking! Even an outsider like me knew that this is dangerous! Isn’t there Millennium attached to that device too?”

What Anya was worried about is the existence of the Millenniums. Just in case the Millenniums explode… Anya was thinking. Let alone Beowolf, it is not even surprising if the capital disappeared from the maps forever.

However, Dr Hoffman shook his head slowly.

“…I won’t. That will not happen. The energy in the Millenniums has run dry.”

“What?”

“All the magic energy… Was fully absorbed by experimental material α.”

“-!”

Anya looked at Eco dumbstruck.

The intensity of Eco’s light was getting stronger until the extend where one couldn’t look at her directly. Those‘Dong’sounds had become clearer.

Even though there were no dangers of the Millennium exploding, it doesn’t mean that they were free from danger. Eco right now was seen as the bomb.

Later, there was the loud sound of something breaking.

Different from the normal explosions, that explosion sounds like it was originated from something being applied pressure on.

“α….α is escaping!”

A researcher shouted.

The capsule containing eco was now in ruins and the liquid was flowing out like waterfall.

Eco can be seen floating with her eyes closed- in a short moment, she disappeared. What’s left is only stardust like magic particles floating in the air.

“She… Disappeared…?”

Anya dumbstruck, murmured alone.

===Part 5===
“Hey… Something’s wrong with Beowolf!?”

When Maestro Lancelot reached the landing space at a height of twenty meters, Silvia shouted:

“That is…!”

Ash who was riding on Lancelot behind Silvia widened his eyes.

The sacred airship Esperanza, airship Crown Solas and air ship Silvanus was lined up together.

On the other hand, the huge airship Beowolf was parked quite some distance away from the trio.

The suspicious thing was the black smoke emerging from Beowolf.

Could it be a fire?

If Eco is inside… Ash was too scared to think about it.

“Urgh…!”

At this moment, Ash felt a burning sensation from his left hand.

Although he nearly screamed in pain, he managed to tolerate with it.

It felt like suddenly putting his hand into a furnace.

“Is everything alright, Ash!?”

Silvia was worried about him and turned around and asked, but Ash couldn’t even reply because of the pain.

The ‘Seikoku’ engraved on his left arm was slowly moaning.

A while later, there was a glaring light coming out from his left arm and his sleeve up to his shoulders was burned off. Even the bandage was burned into pieces.

In a blink of an eye, Ash’s ‘Seikoku’ on his left arm was exposed.

“Wha…!”

The ‘Seikoku’ on his hand was glowing with different light intensity from time to time.

Ash was panicking.

It will be alright if it was just glowing but the heat and the pain sensation had no intention of stopping.

It felt that his left arm is going to explode anytime.

“Hey… What is actually happening?”

Silvia was in shock while holding the reins which was probably caused by the fright she experience from seeing Ash’s ‘Seikoku’s’ reaction.

“I don’t know… But I am now sure that I am again connected to Eco!”

Just like responding to Ash’s left arm, there was an object glowing in the sky.

“Ash! Look upwards!”

Silvia who noticed the abnormality was pointing at the sky. Ash too had noticed.

There was something glowing on the sky above the landing area.

“That is…”

The mysterious light was floating in the sky as if it was decorating it.

On the other hand, the full moon didn’t look as charming as before.

By taking a closer look, it was an egg with beautiful flow lines.

There was a big emblem that was carved on the pearl like egg. At a first glance, it looked like a royal emblem.

To be more specific, that emblem looked like Ash’s ‘Seikoku’.

-Don…Don…Don…

There was a frightening beating sound from the egg.

The confusing part is, it moved with the same rhythm as the glow on Ash’s ‘Seikoku’.

Ash immediately understood.

“I couldn’t be more wrong… Eco is in that egg!”

“How is that possible? What are you talking about…?”

“Princess-sama, I beg you. Please take me there!”

“…Alright. I believe in you. Fly Lancelot! Fly higher!”

But Lancelot ignored her orders. It stayed at the twenty meters height and looked at the egg with its head up.

“Hei… Lancelot? Anything wrong? Fly immediately!”

Even though Silvia shouted strictly, Lancelot still ignored her orders. On the other hand, it did an emergency landing at a corner of the landing space.

“What are you doing? Are you disobeying my orders, Lancelot!”

“…It is useless, Princess-sama. It seems that Lancelot has its own reason.”

“What did you say?!”

Silvia looked at Ash with an imposing manner.

“Do you know what Lancelot was thinking?”

“…I am not sure. It was probably affected by the ‘Seikoku’. I don’t know why, but I could somehow understand what Lancelot was thinking.”

After Ash and Silvia was forced to alight Lancelot unwillingly, Lancelot again spread its wings and shoot up into the sky.

Looking at Lancelot’s direction, Ash found out something important.

“Princess-sama! There are more and more… Maestros gathering together!”

Groups of Maestro were gathering from all direction. It had become an amazing night view created by the light from the Maestro’s magic.

One by one the Maestro appeared and gathered at the corner of the sky.

For Maestro’s whose numbers were already little to begin with to gather together, it was unheard of even in the old times-

===Part 6===
“What is actually happening…?”

Lancelot left its master and flew off on its own.

Although this had given Silvia a great blow, still the view of the night sky gave her a deep impression.

Silvia could clearly hear the ‘Pssshh’ sounds of the beating of the wings.

When she had personally seen the dream like view, all her attention had been captured by it.

That egg even had wings growing out of it and feathers with silver lights were falling off. It was like snows that beautify the night sky.

Then- there was a crack from the egg shell.

The winged egg split into two-

“Uoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!”

A roar as if it was a horn announcing the end to the world could be heard all over.

Silvia who couldn’t look straight into the glaring light closed her eyes. When she reopened her eyes, the winged egg was no longer there. It was replaced by something that was out of this world.

To describe this thing with a word will be either – GOD or DEVIL.

However what Silvia said was insulting.

“What a scary monster…!”

[[Image:SnRK V04 193.jpg|thumb]]

“Stop! You are not allowed to say that!”

Ash shouted and brought Silvia back o her sense.

“That must be...Eco. I can feel it... I can feel it!”

“Sorry, Ash...”

Although Silvia was annoyed by her gaffe, she still couldn’t believe that it was Eco.

Later, Eco landed slowly while being surrounded by numerous Maestros.

Although the pink fur and the red eyes is similar to Eco, but her horns looked sharp and fierce and doesn’t at all looked like Eco’s round stubs.

Also, there was a third horn in between the two horns. It was like a unicorn’s horn and was up straight.

Her wings which were spread widely were different from a normal Maestro’s. It made one think of an angel’s wings.

Followed by a loud bang, Eco landed.

Eco lifted up her gigantic hind leg up high- And The large airship that had been the pride of the Empire was squashed in a few seconds.

With the conning tower being right at the middle, Beowolf had been squashed into a V shape and immediately exploded.

Yet, Eco was not at all affected.

Eco probably lost interest in Beowolf and tried to wriggle her long neck. She slowly lowered her center of gravity.

The target of her scarlet eyes was the window of the tall Fontaine Palace.

===Part 7===
-An unidentified flying object appeared above the capital and all the Maestros in the country disobeyed their masters’ orders and gathered together.

Veronica who received the emergency report brought Glenn the captain of the escorts alone with her to the ballroom at the highest floor of the palace.

Anyway, there were important guests in the ballroom that gathered from all over the continent. No matter what happened, she must protect their safety in the name of the pride of the Knight’s country.

At the same time, she must bring back her father Oswald with her. He had most probably change his appearance and was drinking while mingling in the crowd.

While running on the long corridor, Veronica questioned Glenn:

“Did you too lose contact with your pal?”

“It totally ignored my summons and ignored my request to present me my Ark. From the looks of the current situation where all the Maestros are gathering in the capital’s sky, it probably has something to do with the unidentified flying object.”

“Then, our pride, the Holy Dragners of Lautreamont can be considered no more. If the Empire attacked us at this moment, without the protection of the Maestros, this country will fall in just a single night.”

“...I don’t have an excuse to offer.” <ref>面目次第も有りません have also the meaning of ‘It is a shame I don’t have the power to…’</ref>

Glenn lowered his head somberly.

===Part 8===
When Veronica and Glenn arrived at the ballroom, the palace music and the party atmosphere of the nobles had disappeared.

Most of the guests were by the glass window and were looking downwards in shock. From there they can see the landing area for the airships.

“That’s…!”

Veronica was also looking downwards through the glass window.

“It is dangerous to stand beside the window, Princess-sama!”

Glenn warned her but Veronica ignored him.

There was a change in the landing area.

A living object that was glowing with silver light suddenly landed there.

''-Uoooooooooooooooooo…!''

It was immediately followed by a loud roar that will made one feel like covering his ears.

It was stated in the previous report that ‘an unidentified flying object that looked like a huge egg’, but it seemed that the huge egg had hatched when Veronica was on her way.

The unbelievable thing is, that huge monster easily split the Empire’s huge airship Beowolf into two with just a stomp.

Right at this moment, there was a man from the crowd was making a fuss.

“Ooh, what is happening! How can a dragon of the Knight’s… Destroy the most advance airship which is our country’s pride! I don’t think that this is some simple matter!”

The man's words caused an uproar in the ballroom.

Until a moment ago, everyone had just found out that this monster is a dragon.

Talking about a dragon, everyone will think about Lautreamont Knight Country.

“Is that person…Klaus Viderhausen! He is obviously trying to cause a stir!”

Veronica angrily scolded and glared at the Empire’s young noble.

However, there was a man who stupidly tried to argue with Klaus.

“Nonsense! That monster had nothing to do with our country!”

Although the man was wearing a lion shaped mask, judging from his plum body, Veronica immediately knew who he is.

He is her father, Oswald.

“Klaus-dono! This is the truth! That monster has nothing to do with us! Please believe in me!”

“Hu… What you said was not at all convincing. Anyway, everyone here is a witness.”

Klaus was not even bothered by Oswald.

It was because what Klaus said is true. A huge dragon that appeared with no warning had destroyed the Empire’s airship right in front of everyone.

Nothing could be worst than this.

For Chevron Kingdom and Zepharos Empire who had never see each other eye to eye was originally going to discuss about the peace in between them in tomorrow’s continental congress ‘Elysium’.

To Chevron Kingdom and its ally Lautreamont Knight Country this should be a historical event.

“Stop… Let alone the Emperor, not even a royal from the Empire attends. It is a total joke. The Empire has never wanted peace-”

Just as Veronica finished her sentence, there were people screaming from everywhere.

Everyone was in a panic.

All the guests who were wearing their mask, including the musicians and the waiters, everyone were trying to escape.

Apart from Oswald who was crying, Klaus who had previously put the blame on the Knight Country was also fleeing.

“What…!”

Veronica who immediately turned around was also sweating tremendously.

There was a pair of scarlet eyes looking into one of the many palace windows.

She spent a few seconds to figure out that the dragon had stretched its neck and was looking into Fontaine Palace.

“Glenn, if I try to slash the pair of eyes with my huge sword… Do you think I have any chance of winning?”

“Please forgive my rudeness… Even if Princess-sama, you are no match for it.”

Glenn told the truth directly.

"Why must you be this honest?"

Veronica was sulking while she confronted the dragon eyes.

The round eyes.

''It looked like a baby’s pairs of eyes. Although it looked naïve, if this monster just rubbed its nose with the palace walls, Fontaine Palace will turn into dust in seconds. Furthermore, it will be a hill full of bricks and corpses…''

Even though she was thinking of such scenario, Veronica could still manage a smile.

“Kuku… So this is of feeling of my life being controlled by others. I praise you, my child!”

Seeing that Veronica had no intention of escaping, Captain Glenn advised her in panic:

“Princess-sama, please retreat!”

“I mustn’t. Some of the guests are still here.”

Veronica looked around the empty ballroom.

There was a man with a mask standing at the middle of the dance floor.

The man was wearing a elegant suit. However his hair colour was like a cloth stained with blood.

He is obviously the guy in the reports- Milgauss.

Veronica looked at him in admiration.

“Hmm… You indeed look a little like Julius. Remove your mask!”

To her surprise, he actually did it. He could be seen silently removing his mask and threw it to a side as if he doesn’t need it anymore.

“-!”

Veronica’s eyes widened.

The handsome face beneath the mask was undoubtably Julius of ten years later who had became a seinen.<ref>青年, man with age range between 20-
30.</ref>

He no longer had the rebellious feel with him in his teenage years and was replaced by a feeling of a weapon that had been well polished.

“So you are Julius…!”

As if to sweep away her worries, Julius walked to the side of the window. At the same time, the dragon’s face disappeared as if it had lost interest with the empty ballroom.

Julius was standing by the window looking at the huge dragon.

“Kukuku… I have been waiting for this moment for a long time!”

That sinful voice and the devil like smile made Veronica feel uneasy.

Glenn took a step forward as if trying to ask on behalf of Veronica.

He unsheathed his sword that was on his waist.

“You can’t be Julius, no? My friend would never show such a malicious smile."

“Oh, Glenn McGuire! I remembered you are one of the guys that appeared in Julius’s memories. It should be suitable to use ‘it has been a long time’ in this situation, don’t you think so?”

“What do you mean!”

“You still don’t get it? This body is indeed Julius’s. However, I am not Julius. But I can peek into Julius’s memories anytime."

“What is happening…?”

Veronica was curious but it was not bothered by the man.

“Kneel! Quick! Look carefully! You are witnessing a historical moment!”

The man was acting like a holy man in the religious painting. He spread his arms widely and declared his name.

“I am Mordred! The descendant of the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family.”

Vreonica couldn’t believe what she had just heard.

The Maestro that Julius sacrificed his life to kill is named Mordred. It is also Julius’s Pal.

''Is it possible that Mordred has taken over Julius’s body?''

In regards of Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family- Veronica had only recently heard about this name.

The ‘Old Testament of the Stella Biblia’ that Dr Angela Cornwell found in Willingham Mausoleum.

Basically, Veronica had read through the copy of the book.

She recalled a part of the book.

“…After the wise dragon Inbroke, two major bloodlines were formed. They are the Avalon’s holy dragons emperor family and the Nehalennia’s dark dragons king family. An endless war started between these two families. After the members of the two families reincarnated, they will encounter each other, hate each other and kill each other.”

The person in front had introduced himself as the descendant of the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family.

Then, who is the person who should be representing the descendant of the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family-?

At this moment, Veronica stopped thinking because of Glenn’s shout.

“So I see… You are the root of evil! I knew that Julius didn’t turn crazy! He will always be loyal to his beliefs and tried to have you removed even when he had to commit a crime in the Knight Country!... Return Julius to us!”

Followed by a shout, Glenn reduced their distance and there was a silver flash.

However, Mordred easily parried Glenn’s slash.

“Urgh!”

Glenn growled.

Morderd had stopped the high speed slash with only his index and middle finger.

Glenn could be seen standing still while holding his sword. No, that’s not the case, Veronica understands well.

It was not that Glenn was not moving, it was because that he was unable to move.

Mordred had overpowered Glenn with just two fingers.

“Hmph… I will let you experience the punishment for being disobedient to ''god''."

After Mordred gave a cold smile, there was a flash.

“Gwaaa!”

Glenn was knocked up into the air while unable to even resist. He knocked into the wall hard and became unconscious.

Veronica didn’t even have the time to care about Glenn and stared at Mordred.

“…I don’t understand. As far as I know, you should have a good relationship with Julius. Didn’t you even present him with an ark?”

“Hmph, the one who has a good relationship with Julius is another me. That me who acknowledged Julius as its master and associated with him quite well."

“Another me? What are you talking about?”

“Let me generously explain it to you as your last gift before you die. There were two personalities in Mordred. If it was to be a human, it would be called a split personality.”

“What happened to the other personality?”

“It has disappeared together with the body. Ironically, it was it and Julius who had planned to kill me. For me, to prevent myself from dying, I sacrificed my body and changed into this spiritual form and inhabited Julius’s body.”

Upon saying that, Mordred looked out of the window.

Right beside the palace, the dragon was standing on its hind legs and was looking around curiously. It seemed to be troubled because it couldn’t understand what was happening.

Mordred declared to that dragon:

“Descendant of the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family, I will take that body of yours!”

“Now I understand, so this is what you planned…!”

At this stage. Veronica finally found out what Mordred is aiming for.

Mordred had once lost his body in the past when it was killed by Julius.

However, if it could take over the body of the descendant of the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family, it can once again be born as the strongest dragon…!

“That will never happen, Mordred!”

Veronica unsheathed the huge sword on her waist.

Even though she knew that he was not an opponent that she could win in a direct confrontation, she still couldn’t bear to watch idly from the side.

''I will kill Mordred together with Julius’s body before he can manage to take over Avalon’s body-'' Veronica rushed forward while thinking so.

Even when it is her brother’s body that we are talking about, she had no intention of showing any mercy.

But, before Veronica could land a hit on Mordred, suddenly, there was darkness emerging from his body and spread all over the ballroom.

“Urgh… What is this dark mist… My conscious…!”

The moment she was surrounded by the darkness, Veronica felt a strong feeling of vomiting and fainting.

===Part 9===
After struggling in the darkness without knowing what was happening for some time- The darkness had finally disappeared.

“Are you alright, Veronica?”

There was a guy who held out his hand to Veronica who was struggling to stand up.
[[Image:SnRK V04 207.jpg|thumb]]
“You…!”

There was killing intent in Veronica’s eyes.

To her surprise, Mordred who should be busy with taking over Avalon’s decendent’s body had tried to help her.

However, there was no longer evilness on his face.

“You… Could you be Julius?”

“Ahh, that is me. You are still the same old you for not calling me ‘Anii-ue’.”

It seemed that because Mordred was gone, Julius was able to take back his body.

“Of course… You F.O.O.L”

Upon hearing, Julius smile but he immediately returned back to his serious expression.

“Sorry, but now is not the time for us siblings to be arguing. Mordred's spirit has already inhibited Eco’s body. We have the obligation to defeat Mordred and protect this city.”

At that instant, Veronica felt a pain from her head as if she had just been struck.

“Hold on! Did you just say Eco? That huge dragon… is actually Eco?”

“I will explain the details to you later. Can you stand up?”

“Hmph… Whom do you think you are talking to!”

Using the huge sword as a walking stick, Veronica put all her effort into standing up. But, it was probably the side effect of inhaling in the darkness, in the end, she fell down again.

“Princess-sama!”

The person who reached Veronica first was Glenn. Although he was badly injured, he had regained consciousness.

Glenn held on to Veronica and glared at Julius.

“Julius… I have numerous things that I want to tell you, but please allow me to tell you this first.”

“I can guess what you want to say but be my guest.”

While facing the calm Julius, Glenn with mixed feelings shouted to Julius:

“You… Damn you!”

===Part 10===

Seeing that the Empire’s airship was easily crushed, the sacredship Esperanza and magicship Crown Solas flew off immediately.

Only magicship Silvanus remained at its location overlooking the whole incident.

Although Silvanus had yet to attack Eco, Ash was still worried stance the captain is Veronica.

Even so, seeing that Silvanus still hasn’t made its decision, Veronica was probably not aboard the ship. They were most probably waiting for Veronica’s orders.

On the other hand, if Veronica had boarded the ship, there is a high chance that she will issue an attack on Eco. To protect the capital, Veronica will make this decision without any hesitation. Anyway, Silvanus' fire power is not something that can be ignored.

“I…I will protect Eco!”

Ash made up his mind and rushed forward.

“Hold on, Ash. Do you want to be crushed!”

Silvia blocked Ash with her arms spread.

“Please move aside, Princess-sama! Who will protect Eco if I don’t!”

“Please keep your calm! Even so, what can you do!? How are you going to ride Eco who has turned into that? What’s more, what are you going to do to ride on Eco?”

“I…”

Silvia was right. During the time when the Necromancia attacked Ansarivan, he received help from Silvia and Lancelot.

But luck was not on his side. Lancelot who he could place his hope on had not yet returned after it gathered with the rest of the Maestro. The group of Maestros were still circling above in the sky while waiting for something to happen.

To his relieve, after Eco crushed Beowolf, she had not made any frightening actions. Although Ash was sweating tremendously during the time she looked into Fontaine Palace through the window, he was lucky that she left immediately.

Right now, Eco was only looking around and sniffing the building around her as if to figure out what was happening. In regards to what had happened to her body, she probably hasn’t figured it out yet.

“In conclusion, we must keep her as far from the town as possible. In case that she entered the town…"

Upon listening to Silvia’s assumption, Ash was shaking in fear.

Fontaine City has a population of around a million.

In another words, a million lives were now in Eco’s hands.

The severity of the current situation was no longer only involved Ash and Eco.

“Guooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo…!”

At that moment, Eco was roaring in pain and started to struggle. There was a change in her appearance that was originally surrounded by a silver light.

Just like a white cloth that came in contact with ink, there black colour was slowly taking over the white.

“…Eco? What’s happening!”

Ash could only look at Eco transform without doing anything.

The change in her skin was only the start.

Her angle like feathers had transformed into a crow like wings.

The previous middle horn of the three horns had disappeared and her pair of horns had turned into spiral shape.

Also, her four limbs were growing at a fast speed. It will be better to describe her as a giant like body rather than a huge beast. That huge body gave a evil feeling.

Last of all, there were nine eyes on its face and were glowing with red lights.

“Nine eyes…!”

Ash remembered something.

Eco once had a nightmare.

In her dream, was Eco attacked by the nine eyed dragon…?

-Don!

At that moment, Eco who had turned into that black dragon gave a dragon breath.

The flame emitted pierced the sky and scattered the dark clouds.

If this flame was aimed at Fontaine Palace or the town… Ash had Goosebumps just by thinking.

“Silvia, so you are here!”

At this moment, there was a fierce voice coming from behind.

It was Veronica and Glenn when they turned around.

Glenn was badly injured and looked like a rag.

Apart from that- There was another man that was following Veronica.

It was already surprising if a person was allowed to walk side by side with Veronica, yet it was far more surprising when they noticed the man’s hair colour.

“Milgauss! Why are you here!”

Ash felt that he was having Goosebumps all over his body. At the same time, he felt that Milgauss looked familiar. He remembered that he had seen that face in a portrait.

“Are you… Anii-ue?!”

Silvia shouted before Ash.

“Yeah. Although it is a little hard to believe, I am Julius. But I don’t have the time to give you any explanations right now. Firstly, we need to get rid of Mordred’s spirit from Eco’s body- Ash.”

When his name was suddenly called by Julius, Ash became nervous.

The person in front of him really felt like Prince Julius Lautreamont.

Julius stepped forward and placed his hand on Ash’s shoulder.

“Only you as the master can save Eco. Understood?”

“Yes. I thought of that too myself.”

Julius smiled.

“Good answer. I will take the responsibility to bring you to Eco.”

“But… How are you going to do it?”

“Don’t worry. We have that.”

After he finished his sentence, Julius was pointing at- Magicship Silvanus that was actually resting at the far end of the landing area.

===Part 11===
“Ara. I don’t remembered inviting you here…Dark Dragon King Mordred.”

In the dragon workshop, Navi and Mordred were having a confrontation. She was sitting on her favourite chair with her legs crossed.

“Kuku. This is your last time to be able to be this relaxed.”

Mordred’s spirit still maintained Julius’s voice. It was probably because it had inhabited Julius’s body for more than ten years…Navi thought so.

“I have taken over sixty percent of Eco’s body. It is only a matter of time before I can fully take control of her body. Avalon is losing.”

“…”

“Next, if I can fuse together with you, I can be fully awakened as the Dark Dragon King. Follow me. Even though you are called Navi, but I clearly know that you are not a normal navigator. You are the incarnation of the Dragweiss.”

“Ara. Just what I thought of the Dark Dragon King. You have made quite some investigations on your own.”

“Fuse with me quickly. Give me the supreme knowledge. Strictly speaking, Avalon and Nehalennia have the same roots… I should also be qualified to fuse with you.”

“I don’t disagree with this.”

Upon hearing Navi’s answer, Mordred smiled.

“So you agree?”

“No I don’t. It is because I don’t like Nehalennia.”

“…What do you say?”

“I am rooting for Avalon's Imperial Princess and her knight. Especially her knight… Ash Blake, he is far manlier than you.”

“Hmph…what a fox you are. Since it has came to this, I will use force-”

Suddenly, there were numerous tentacles coming from under Mordred’s legs. They were like snakes that had found their prey and attacked Navi.

===Part 12===
“I am sorry. Could everyone apart from Ash and I leave this ship?”

Upon stepping into Silvanus’s wheelhouse, Julius spoke coldly.

The crew responsible for the control of the wheel and control communications turned around and looked Julius in confusion. Then they are all frightened as is they had seen a ghost.

They shouldn’t be blamed since the prince that should have been executed years ago was standing in front of them and had asked them to do something unreasonable.

“Hold on… Prince Julius! What do you planned to do?”

Seeing that Ash was requesting for an explanation, at the same time Julius answered, he turned around and looked at Veronica who was preparing to sit on the captain’s seat.

“I just don’t want the rest of the people to die with us. Veronica, I hoped that you could also help me by giving out the orders.”

“Do you think that I would even listen to that joke?”

“If the sister is stubborn, the elder brother will have to face some trouble.”

The next instant, Julius seize Veronica from behind with lightning speed. He was holding a hidden gun. It was a mechanic gun that the military of the Empire used.

Julius even chose to place the tip at Veronica’s temple.

“There is not much time. You should try to listen to your brother sometimes, Veronica.”

“Are you kidding! Silvanus is my magicship. Don’t even think of always doing what you wanted to, Julius.”

“As I had said before, I am your brother. Maybe you are a perfect princess in front of our people, but I knew your achilles heel. If you still disobey me, I will expose it in front of everyone.”

“What achilles heel?”

“I knew that you love Silvia. There are Silva portraits in your room. The clothes that Silva wore, Silva’s growth record, the poem that you wrote from missing Silvia and also Silvia’s human size doll-”

“I-I promise! Keep quite immediately!”

Ash was in a shock. He had never expected Veronica to surrender easily.

“Everyone, leave the ship immediately! This is an order from Veronica Lautreamont! No one is allowed to disobey!”

All the crew members rushed out from the wheelhouse.

===Part 13===
When everyone had left the magicship, Julius flied Silvanus while sitting on the pilot’s seat.

With the sudden shake of the magicship, Ash held on tightly to the seat of the communication officer to avoid falling. Looking through the round window, the magicship was getting further and further away from the ground.

It was a totally different experience from sitting on a dragon. When this lump of metal was flying with passengers- At the same time Ash was amazed, he also started to worry about crashing.

As for Julius, he was piloting Silvanus while telling Ash the whole story.

===Part 14===
Although what Julius said was hard to believe, basically, the dragons were seperated into the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family and the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family. The two families had incarnated since the ancient times and were still fighting each other right until today.

Also, Eco is Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family’s descendant.

In another words, Eco is the Imperial Princess of the dragon.

“…Even after I had heard of such things, it is still hard for me to believe this. Eco who had been living with me was obviously a girl who sleeps late, a glutton and a hot headed girl...”

“I know how you feel. When I found out that my pal is the descendant for the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family, I was also astounded. In the beginning, I was also troubled by why was I chosen.”

Julius said.

“Back to the topic, Avalon’s Imperial Princess’s body is really huge. Even though she is still a young dragon, she had this unbelievable huge size… It is totally unbelievable.”

After Julius pressed a few buttons on the dashboard, Eco’s body was shown on the huge screen in front.

Silvanus was three hundred meters above the land and was looking at Fontaine city from the sky above.

From the screen, they can see Eco's back that had turned black because of being taken over by Mordred.

With its frightening spiral horns and nine eyes… It is exactly the image of the dark dragon king.

Eco who was originally standing on two legs was now standing on all four because of the pain caused by Mordred’s take over.

The worrying part is, Eco was not moving at all and yet she doesn’t look as if she was sleeping…

“Could it be that Eco was fighting Mordred?”

Julius shook his head in disagreement.

“It is impossible. Judging from the huge change of her body, I am afraid that… Eco don’t even have the strength to fight back.”

“Is it…”

“But not all hope is lost. In my opinion, Navi was fighting against Mordred.”

“Navi?”

Why would he mention Navi’s name at such a time?

Before that, how would Julius know about Navi?

“Navi is the incarnation of the Dragweiss. If Navi could keep on fighting back, even after Mordred could fully take over Eco’s body, he still couldn’t be fully awaken.”

“What do you meant?”

“Regardless of the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor or the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king, both of them must fuse with the Dragweiss to obtain the supreme knowledge, only then they could receive their true power. I believe that Mordred right now is trying his best to make Navi his.”

“How come… you knew so many about him?”

“That was because it shared the same body with Mordred. Just like what he did to blend into the human society… I could also look into his memories.”

After hearing what Julius had said, Ash was still confused. However, there exists thing that could be easily understood without the need of good brains.

“In another words, this is a great time for a counter attack when Mordred was busy dealing with Navi, right?”

“That’s right. This is our only chance for victory. If you can ride on Eco and chase of Mordred’s spirit, then you can save Eco and the capital together.”

Ash nodded in agreement to what Julius had said.

“I am willing to give it a try. No matter it is Avalon or Nehalennia… I don’t think I even know what they mean. I only know that Eco is my pal.”

When Ash turned around and prepared to walk back to the deck, Julius spoke from behind:

“Although I don’t know why you are chosen… But I am glad that you are Eco’s knight.”

===Part 15===
“Urgh…”

Ash arrived at the deck and the winds were cold. Such temperatures were unheard of during the summer.

Ash was carrying a parachute- This is a decision made by Julius and him beforehand.

When Silvanus had come close to Eco, Ash will jump off from the deck with the help of the parachute.

After landing, it is all up to Ash.

Basically, Ash had gone through the landing practices in the academy.

Ash had never intended to become a soldier and had always thought that the academy was wrong to force them to go through the practices.

Anyway, the academy is not a military school- But who would expect that those practices must be applied right now.

“…Right there.”

Ash was looking down towards the ground from the bow and had located Eco’s back.

Although her fur had turned black but since the enormous amount of magic surrounding her was giving off strong rays of light, he won’t have to worry about missing his target.

He must make use of the time that Navi was fighting against Mordred to land on Eco’s head.

Julius voice emerged from the magic communication device:

“Ash, you may jump anytime.”

“Roger that.”

Ash looked downwards for one more time.

For such a huge beast, her only blind spot will be her head.

Ash tried to imagine himself riding on Eco’s head.

To his surprise, it was not at all scary.

The ‘Seikoku’ on his left arm was getting warm and was flickering with dim light.

It felt as if his ‘Seikoku’ was urging him to move quickly.

Suddenly- Eco lifted her neck and shot a dragon breath towards Silvanus.

“…Urgh!”

A bright light pierced through the night sky. Ash surrendered against the shaking deck and fell down. Although Julius had barely avoided a direct hit by giving the ship an emergency turn, the strong breath had burned the side of the ship into ashes.

There were smokes and fire emerging from the ship itself and it had lost balance.

“Tsk…! If you kill me, Eco will die too! If that happens, you also couldn’t get your hands on Eco’s body that you desired that much...! How could someone be this stupid?”

When Ash was groaning, Julius voice could be heard once again through the communication machine:

“Ash, are you alright!”

“Yes, I am!”

“Silvanus is going to do an emergency landing! Jump quickly!”

“I also intend to do so!”

Ash clenched his teeth and jumped off from the deck.

The moment his feet left the deck, Mordred gave a second dragon breath.

Looking backwards, he saw Silvanus’s deck suffered a direct hit from the dragon breath.

Ash shuddered. He was lucky that he had jumped of earlier or else he would be turned into dust.

Although Julius had said there are going to do an emergency ‘landing’, judging from the speed Silvanus was moving downwards, it looked like it was crashing.

Finally, the unbalance ship disappeared at the other end of the palace walls- Then a fire pillar could be seen followed by a loud explosion.

“Prince Julius…!”

Ash was sad but there was nothing he can do.

Julius had risked his life to fly him into the night sky.

The only thing he can do right now is to complete his mission in return.

Ash's body was moving downwards because of the gravity pull.

His face and ears felt like being crushed by the air pressure.

“Now is the time!”

Ash had got the timing right and spread open the parachute.

The amazing braking force had caused the parachute to slow down.

If another dragon breath was shot, Ash would certainly be hit but Ash prayed that he will not have such bad luck.

“Wait for me, Eco. I will protect you… I swear!”

===Part 16===
“Damn! Where am I?”

Eco found out that she was in a cage when she woke up. When she was looking at her body, she found out that she was wearing a dress with low standards.

This style is obviously not of Eco’s preference.

Any dress in Fontaine Palace’s changing room looked better that this. It is even as heavy as lead and it felt more like a binding item rather than an evening dress.

On the other side of the cage was a wide white space. The walls, the floor and the ceiling was white. Not even a dust that could be found.

“How dare anyone to cage a dragon like me in this cage… What were they even thinking!?”

Eco was definitely confused. Yet she still vaguely remembered that she was awakened as a dragon. She even remembered that she had become huge and was looking at the whole Fontaine palace.

But her memories stopped there.

“Tsk…It seems that you are alright since you are this energetic even under such situation.”

It was a familiar voice.

“Navi? You…!”

Navi was standing outside of the cage. Even though Eco disliked Navi, but under such situation, Eco was grateful that Navi was here and felt that Navi was like an angel.

The Eco’s Angel was now looking like a ragdoll.

Navi who was always acting calm and give out a noble like feeling was now with a messed up hair and even her evening dress was in rags. All over her body were marks of being bounded.

“What happened? This doesn’t look like you at all…”

Eco was taking a closer look at Navi.

“Hmm…I am only accompanying Mordred in his game. It was just that, his tentacles fetish had given me some trouble!”

“Mordred? Who is that?”

“Please lend me your hand.”

Eco stretched her hand through the gaps in between the bars of the cage. After Navi held her hand, a mass amount of knowledge flowed into her brain.

In a blink of an eye, Eco knew everything that had happened. Only until now that she had realized that she was in her spiritual from.

“To make it simple… That person called Mordred is trying to take over my body, right?”

“That’s right. Anyway, during the time I was running around, he had done nothing bad. But if it is to destroy this capital, it will be an easy task for him.”

“Hmm… So I am such a great dragon.”

According to Navi’s information, Eco is Avalon’s Imperial Princess.

“Huhu. Now Ash is going to look at me differently.”

Seeing that Eco was feeling proud, Navi sighed.

“As long as he can survive. He seems to be doing something foolhardy again.”

Navi held Eco’s hand again and Eco closed her eyes.

That current situation was sent into Eco’s brain as projections.

“What…!”

Eco was speechless.

Under the night sky- Ash leaned out from Silvanus’s deck.

The next instant, Mordred gave a dragon breath from the ground.

Silvanus was hit and was gliding in the sky as if it was a paper plane.

On the other hand, Ash jumped into the air and was falling with his head pointing downwards.

“Hold on… Is he crazy!?”

At that moment, Eco clearly heard Ash’s mumble.

"Wait for me, Eco. I will protect you… I swear!”

In a short moment, tears started to flow from her eyes. Even though she was a spirit, her tears still kept on flowing. Even the Dragweiss couldn’t give an explanation. A warm feeling was haunting her heart… What was that feeling?

“Why…Why? Why would he… try to do so many things for me? Even when I… Had caused many, many troubles for him?”

Navi stretched her hand into the cage and patted her head.

“Do you even have to ask? It is because you are his pal.”

Eco rubbed off her tears and lifted her head.

“Navi, please tell me what can I do for him.”

“Teehee. That’s more like it.”

Navi smiled and waved her hand lightly. With a flash, the cage had disappeared. At the same time, the black dress that limits Eco’s movement had been broken into particles and a pure white evening dress was raveled from beneath.

In a short time, Navi removed Mordred’s seal.

“I must say that… You are very good.”

Eco was looking at her dress. It designs compromised of the elements of elegant and pure. It is as if it was made to be worn by the Avalon’s Imperial Princess.

“No matter how great I am, I can't help you with the upcoming step. Understood?”

Eco nodded in reply.

“Then, what should I do?”

After Navi smiled, she cheekily said:

“Of course you are to present him your originally made Ark and the Avalon’s Imperial Princess.”

The next instant, Eco became confused.

“What? Are you serious?”

As if it was natural to do so, Navi nodded without any hesitation.

“All the mimics that you had created for emergency in the past… is useless against Mordred.”

“But, how am I to do this impossible task!?”

An original Ark could not be completed easily.

It was because of Eco had seen her ancestor’s blueprint; she understands how hard it can be. An Ark is not only a strong magic weapon, at the same time, it is also a perfect art masterpiece.

Not to mention that Eco was still a young dragon that was not even a year old without any experience. Navi’s suggestion was like asking a baby to build a palace.

“Anyway, it will not be called difficult if the blueprint could be easily created.”

Eco gave up before she even started but Navi ignored it.

“Rest assured, you must believe in your own ability. You are an Imperial Princess who is the blood descendant of Avalon.”

“But… what we must think about is not only the armour itself, there is also the Ark-weapon…”

“Listen carefully, the shape itself doesn’t matters. It was the mental power of the creator that decide the strength of the Ark. Even if you don’t know the shape, as long as you focus, the shape of the Ark will be formed.”

“Really…?”

“Yeah. Also, you don’t have to worry about the Ark-weapon. Avalon has a treasured sword that had been passed down through the generations. Just use it.”

After a moment of silent, Eco mumbled:

“…I had always disliked you since the first time I met you. Regardless of your relaxed attitude or your looks that was similar to mine or your overly large breast…I hate them and hate them very much! However… It is funny that I felt that you are trustable.”

Eco lifted her head and smile.

Navi also returned a smile.

At the same moment, Eco felt that a light had pierced through that darkness that had been blocking her eyes.

She didn't want to look for trouble anymore.

And she definitely doesn’t want to give up before taking up the challenge.

While the evening dress was swaying, Eco spoke with confidence:

“Just wait and see. I will definitely complete my original Ark!”

===Part 17===
“Damn… What kind of joke is this!”

Although Ash had finally landed on Eco, still the landing spot was her back and not her head. It was exactly beside the joints between the body and the wings.

That pair of wings was like the wings of a new born bird. It was still wet and was unable to fly right away.

Maybe this is my only life saver…Ash secretly thought.

Black furs were grown from her uneven skin. It felt like a Necromancia. He must get rid of Mordred’s spirit and return Eco to her original appearance as soon as
possible.

To achieve this, he must try to ride her gigantic body. However… Ash was looking at Eco’s head from afar.

Connected to her back that was as huge as prairie was a long neck that looked as if it was a stairway to heaven. And her head with spiral horns was at the other end of the neck.

His current aim was to ride on her head and try to control her using his will as a dragner. However… The distance between them was huge. It was like trying to climb the dangerous Xenoglavia Mountains without any climbing tools.

“Stop… This is not the time to give up.”

Ash threw aside the parachute and move forward while pushing aside those furs that were taller than his height.

“Now I really looked like a louse…”

In reality, Mordred treat Ash as nothing but a louse. That is why he was not bothered by Ash at all.

“Just wait and see. Your overconfidence will be the cause of your death, Mordred…”

Although Ash kept on talking to himself to boost his confidence, but every time he looked towards her head, he felt like falling apart.

Suddenly, there was a change in the night sky.

Those Maestros who were originally circling in the sky started to make their movements.

Those Maestros could be seen gliding towards Mordred and had him surrounded.

“Grrrrrrrrrrrrr…”

Mordred lifted his neck and gave a threatening growl. However, before he even managed to attack, the Maestros activated their magic at the same time.

With a flash, chains that were made from magic appeared. Numerous chains had tied down the huge dragon’s neck, front legs, hind legs, tail…

“Guuuoooooooooooooooooooo…!”

Mordred was struggling with all his might but the chains wouldn’t even budge.

“They…!”

It can’t be wrong. These Maestros were trying to seal Mordred’s movement. Who know if they were thinking that the dragon worthy to take to top is not Mordred but Eco.

At that moment, a Maestro landed right in front of Ash. Its pair of horns that looked like a dear’s looked familiar to Ash. Then a clear voice could be heard coming from behind the dragon.

“Ash… Hurry up!”

“Lukka!? Why are you here?”

That is. The Maestro that suddenly appeared from above was Gawain and Lukka was riding on its back. Ash felt nostalgic.

Lukka while feeling worried gave Ash a short explanation.

“Err… The Maestros in the seven dragon house was escaping together. I risked my life to cling on Gawain… In the end, I found out that I was already here.”

“Did Rebecca and Max come together?”

Lukka shook her head. It was probably Ash's mistake that he felt that Lukka’s ears were slightly drooping.

“Only I noticed that something was going on with the Maestros…”

“Is that so…”

As if to interrupt Ash’s and Lukka’s conversation, Gawain roared with its jaws opened.

It was as if trying to tell Ash to ride on it quickly. Ash naturally didn’t reject this offer.

“Thank you!”

Just as Ash sat on Gawain’s back, Gawain flapped its wings.

After piercing through the night sky, Gawain’s altitude was increasing following the direction of Mordred’s neck. Lukka’s riding skills was as good as ever and could only be described by perfect.

Ash was clinging tightly to Lukka’s thin waist to avoid from dropping off.

However, Mordred will not stay silent. Although he was being tied down, it was still struggling and roaring loudly.

Suddenly, magic cannons continued to appear in the sky and was firing at Gawain.

Ash was trembling when he saw those cannons.

It was because those cannons looked like the weapon that Ash used during his fight with Milgauss in Willingham Mausoleum. The only difference is, each cannon was around Gawain’s size.

“Magic shield Aegis…!”

“Need not worry… It will be alright as long as we are not hit.”

Lukka was not at all shaken.

As if she had fused with Gawain, she was controlling Gawain by moving left and right and dangerously avoided the crossing light rays.

It even used its dragon breath and those magic canons were destroyed one by one.

When Gawain had successfully passed Mordred’s head, all the magic cannons had disappeared.

“Ash, now’s the time…!”

Just when Lukka shouted, Gawain did a summersault.

At the point where the sky was upside down, Ash jumped down.

He drew a big locus in the night sky and successfully land in between the two horns. Looking from a close distance, the horns looked more like an altar than a horn.

When his feet landed on that spot, he felt satisfied. It was probably his dragner’s intuition that told him this is the best riding spot.

“Listen carefully Eco!”

Ash was shouting with all his might at his ‘Seikoku’ that was connected to Eco:

“Right now, I am going to ride you! I swear I will be successful in riding you! Whether you are a Imperial Princess or not it has nothing to do with me! So what if you are a imperial princess? You are always bad tempered, try to solve anything with force, a sleepy head, only have crepes in your eyes and felt like wanting to bite greedily whenever you saw meat. Are these what an Imperial Princess should do! Even if you really are an Imperial Princess, I will never approve it!... I only knew that- I am your knight, and you are my pal. Things are just as simple as this!”

The next instant, there was a change in his left arm that was dense with ‘Seikoku’.

The ‘Seikoku’ can be seen emitting rays of light that were able to light up the entire night sky. Then patterns started to crawl just like some living things.

No, the patterns were growing.

“W-What had happened…?”

Just when Ash was feeling confused, his ‘Seikoku’ started to spread outwards towards Ash entire body with his left arm as the starting point.

Ash found out that his connection with Eco had become stronger.

Although he couldn’t communicate with Eco verbally, yet, he was sure that he was connected to Eco…!

But, what Ash was thinking only lasted for a short moment.

“Guuuuuuuoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo…!”

Mordred was back on the move. He had broken one of the chains and was standing on two legs.

“Auuu…!”

Lukka groaned. The wind created when Mordred stood up had affected Gawain. Although it was not blown away by the wind, it was obvious that it could not remain
its balance. However, Lukka shouted:

“Don’t worry about me… I am alright! Ash, just focus on saving Eco…!”

Then, Lukka and Gawain finally fall and disappear from Ash’s line of sight.

“Lukka…!”

Ash stretched his arm but he could only grab the air.

The Maestros that scattered in the sky tried to make another chain to tie down Mordred’s upper body.

But before Mordred could be sealed, it forcefully shook its neck.

“Uwaaaaaaaaa!”

Ash lost his balance and was thrown up into Fontaine Palace like a cannonball.

-This is a lie… It must be…?

He was approaching the tower in the middle of Fontaine Palace.

If he was to hit into such stone wall…he will definitely die.

-Is this the end…? Is Eco and I… Going to end right here?

Right at this moment.

Almete, Gorjal, Peto…

The voice of the spell was coming from his ‘Seikoku’ that had spread all over his body.

Espaldar, Brafoneras, Faldaje…

It was definitely Eco’s voice.

Escarcelas,Bufetas, Hombreras, Brazales…

Compare to the previous times, every single word that Eco said was followed by a deep tone.

Codales, Antebrazos, Manoplas…

Without any reason, Ash felt courage from within.

Quijotes, Guardas, Grebas… Escarpes…

Lastly, Eco was left with the last word.

-Espolón!

Ash who was going to crash into Fontaine Palace was surrounded by holy lights.

It felt as if he was surrounded by angel’s wings.

Even though Ash had an illusion of he was ascending to heaven, Eco’s voice had disrupted this peaceful feeling.

“You absolutely must accept my feelings!”

===Part 18===
As he opened his eyes, Ash was standing at the highest point of Fontaine Palace.

“I-I am saved?”

He saw Mordred was standing ferociously with only two legs while being bounded by the chains of the Maestros.

All of the nine eyes were burning with the flames of rage and looked like scarlet stars. Even though he was trying his best to break free from those chains, those Maestros kept on creating new chains.

“This… What is this feeling?”

Ash was looking at his own body.

His entire body was emitting heat and was overflowing with magic.

It have to be the Ark that Eco presented to me- Yet to Ash’s dismay, what he was wearing right now was still his cloths that looked like rags.

There was not even an Ark that could be seen.

Even so, Ash still continued to feel safe as if he was protected by the Ark. Furthermore, the ‘Seikoku’ that was on his entire body was alive.

What is happening?

Hey, why are you daydreaming! Quickly use the Ark-weapon!

Eco’s voice was once again could be heard in his mind

“Eco…? What is happening?”

T-that is…?

Without any reason, Eco became silent. It felt as if she was embarrassed because of a certain something.

As if to speak on Eco’s behalf, another voice appeared in his mind.

Huhu. That is an original Ark that Eco had created on her own. However, it is still incomplete and even that shape had not been decided on yet.

“This voice… Are you Navi!”

The Ark represents proof of the oath of a dragon that swears to hand over their body and feelings to their knight. At the same time, it was a proof that it was connected to the Master’s heart. Right now, you are recognized as the Avalon’s knight.

I-I only wanted to get back my own body!... It was never meant to be given to you!

Ara, who is the person who was crying because she was worried about Ash? I wonder.

S-Shut up!

Eco and Navi seemed to had started an argument.

Ash made a wry smile because they could still have the mood to quarrel even under such dangerous situation.

All the negative emotions like unsecured and frightened had disappeared.

However- Right after that, Ash had a bad premonition as if a pair of cold hands had held on to his spirit. When he raised his head, Mordred’s eyes were filled with sparks and were marking him.

It had obviously begun to take notice of Ash who was previously being regarded as a louse.

“Guuuuuoooooooooooooooooooooo…!”

Although Mordred was still bounded by those magic chains, he still managed to open his jaws after putting in some effort.

There was a ball of light that could be seen appearing in front of his nose and it was slowly expanding-

Ash felt a large amount of energy from it. It was thanks to the Ark that his senses had sharpened.

Navi warned Ash in his mind.

That’s bad. Even though Mordred have not fused with me, he is still very strong…!

“Rest assured. I will personally deal with it.”

Ash immediately started to search for information regarding his Ark-weapon. Thanks to his experience in equipping those mimics, his was able to complete his search in a short time.

Ash smiled from within his heart.

The Ark-weapon formed in his mind was undoubtably the strongest sword that had ever existed.

Ash readied his posture and started to chant the spell.

“An iron that could slash through anything…”

For every word he said, his ‘Seikoku’ that was all over his body was emitting heat and reacted strongly to it.

"A holy sword meant for a knight of all knights-”

At the same time, Ash felt that his palm was overflowing with an unlimited amount of magic.

The one and only treasured sword that had been passed down generations by generations in the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family had its shape formed in Ash’s palm.

“Appear- Excalibur!”

It was not only a huge brave and beautiful sword but also an Ark-weapon.

On its silvery white hilt were many scarlet coloured Milinniums and they were shining brightly.

After he held the holy sword with both hand tightly, Ash leaped.

At the same time, Mordred was giving out the dragon breath.

That was a ball of light with overwhelming powers that could destroy the entire capital to ground level in a blink of an eye. Followed by some purple electric around Mordred’s head, the ball of light was released at Ash’s direction.

To make things worse, Ash couldn’t avoid it because the entire Fontaine Palace and City was right behind him.

No- In reality, I won’t even need to avoid it.

“Uooooooooooooooooooooooooo!”

Ash as if he had forgotten about his fear rushed towards the ball of light.

In respond to Ash’s verve, the Millenniums at the hilt of the holy sword was giving out a bright light.

In respond to Ash’s verve, the shapeless Ark was releasing all its magic.

“Kirisakeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!” <ref>斬り裂け. Means to get split and break apart.</ref>

Just before being swallowed by that attack, Ash had swung the most powerful strike.

-Cut!!! <ref>斬. Ii was a word that was usually shouted when someone wanted to cut/slash/chop/kill off something.</ref>

At the same time the lump of energy was split into two, Ash was in mid-air. His vision was full of white and he could see nothing at all.

If not because of the protection he received from the Ark, all the cells in his body should had been reduced into nothing. Ash was indeed slashing through such high amount of temperature.

In the end, his vision finally widened.

The dragon breath that was sliced into two had its trajectory changed and each had landed at the Fontainia plains on both side of the capital and had exploded.

Although it was a huge explosion, apart from the strong wind, Fontaine City remained intact.

Ash had again lifted Excalibur and had it pointed at Mordred’s head.

At that moment, there was a creepy voice coming from Ash’s mind.

…Hold on! If you harm this body, the daughter of Avalon would also be-

The nine eyes kept on blinking as if it still had something to say.

“Haa! Now you start to beg from me… Know your place, Mordred!”

Ash remained determined and continued to land at the head.

Of course Ash knew that this body originally belonged to Eco.

He never had the intention to simply slash around with this sword.

However, to get rid of Mordred’s spirit, he needs Eco to bear with it for a few more moments.

What Ash had intended to do was not to kill Eco but to make her lost her strength.

Where is the best place to land my attack?

There is not enough time to think of such complicated problems.

It is because apart from Eco’s and his life, Ash was burdened with the lives of millions of residents of the capital. Ash decided to wager everything he had in the only possibility he could think of.

“Eat this, Mordred!”
[[Image:SnRK V04 243.jpg|thumb]]

Ash was landing at full speed.

''What are you trying to do…? Do you want to follow the Julius's footsteps and become a ‘dragon slayer’? I can’t understand this, I just couldn’t understand this…!''

Ash didn’t replied and had no intention of doing so.

“Whether you are a god or a devil-”

Ash’s sword and Mordred’s horn clashed with each other.

“All the dragons will have to listen to my command, not to mention-”

After he had pinpointed the crucial point to release Eco, Ash swung Excalibur-

“If it is my '''P.A.L'''!”

Followed by a sound of a metal clashing with rocks, the night sky was swallowed by a white light.

The thing that was chopped off by Ash and was flying in mid-air was the left horn.

“Guuuuooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo…!”

Mordred’s roar was echoing in the night.

===Part 19===

“Huhu. Mordred must be running away with his tail rolled up<ref>A proverb</ref> even though a spirit shouldn't have any tails.”

Mordred’s spirit was running under the night sky towards the east while he was being seen by Navi.

On the eastern side of the country is Chevron Kingdom’s land.

“So in the end he had escaped to Chevron Kingdom… I must wait until he rises up again before I could have him captured. Right now, I should give praise to Avalon’s Knight."

Navi gave herself a cheer and smiled.

Eco’s spirit was no longer beside her.

===Part 20===

Ash’s final blow had chopped off Eco’s left horn.

Last month during the time Ash was in the infirmary, he had bitten Eco’s horn. Furthermore, her left horn that was chopped off had made her recalled that feeling.

It was that ‘happy’ feeling that dragged Eco’s spirit out.

Her hearts memories and her body memories.

When both of them are thinking the same thing, Eco’s spirit managed to take back its own body and get rid of Mordred’s spirit.

Not only this method is impractical, its succession rate too is just as low.

However, Eco’s clearly remembered the feeling that Ash gave her.

-Navi had seen it all.

The body of the huge dragon had undergone some changes inside the glaring light.

The skin colour that was originally black had turned back to its original silvery white colour.

As for those nine creepy eyes, they had returned into two clear scarlet eyes.

Then-

The body that was bigger than Fontaine Palace was shrinking slowly and finally turned back into a young teenage girl with pink hair.

Ash gently hugged the angel like naked body in mid-air.

Although Eco was blushing, she still placed her hand on Ash’s back and hugged her knight.

"Princess of Avalon ~A.S.B.1365.7~" is closed.
<noinclude>

==References and Translation Notes==
<references />

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| Back to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Chapter 7|Chapter 7]]
| Return to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Epilogue|Epilogue]]
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</noinclude>

Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Chapter 8

2013-11-07T11:24:34Z

213.144.240.241: /* Part 10 */

==Chapter 8 - Avalon's Imperial Princess==
===Part 1===
In the mothership Beowolf- In the armory, under Dr Hoffman’s command the battle is in full swing.

Eco who was naked was floating in magic guided device. ‘Yggdrasill’s’ capsule. There were groups of technician working around her. This was out of Anya’s area of understanding. She could only stand by and wall and watch silently.

But, she understood well the pain that Eco was feeling.

The cold voice was followed by its echo when it was reflected on the metal body.

“The cartridge has been filled. Prepare for launching.”

“The countdown starts now. Ten, nine, eight… Three, two, one-.”

“Launch the compressed magic!”

A red bean was shot out followed by a loud gun shooting sound. Anya felt that even the ship was vibrating.

“…!”

Then, there were air bubbles coming from Eco’s mouth. If not because of she was in the liquid, her scream could definitely be heard.

Anya couldn’t bear to see Eco suffering and looked away.

Eco’s body had already taken at least ten shots of the compressed magic.

Eco regained her consciousness after the start of the experiment. At the beginning, she was struggling in the water, but ‘Yggdrasill’s’ capsule was not at all affected.

But after receiving a continuous dozens of compressed magic, she lost her strength.

Right now, she was just like a living dead. Her blank eyes were now lifeless and it was terrible. It was pure torture. Even so, the group of researchers led by Dr Hoffman were not at all shaken and continued silently.

“There is no significant change on the appearance of α. There are no abnormalities on her respiratory system. No magic fluctuation can be seen.”
Without realizing, the group of researchers started to refer Eco as α.

Eco is a human, a young dragon and also a living being- But this group of human had taken everything from her. To them, Eco was just experimental material α.
Who knows if they want to remove their feeling of guilt by calling her with symbols…Anya secretly thought so.

At this moment, Dr Hoffman’s voice is heard by Anya.

“Still no changes… It seems like we don’t have any more choices. Activate all the Millennium.”

Anya turned pale when she heard that.

This means that they had decided to use full power on ‘Yggdrasil’.

===Part 2===
“*Sob*… It was all… My fault. *Sob*…”

In the maid’s bedroom in the ground floor of the palace.

Prim was lying on the bed with her pillow wet with tears.

There was only Ash and Silvia beside her bed. Cosette was standing outside the room by the door.

Prim cried while she told the whole incident.

Prim arrived at the ancient palace when she was chasing Eco who was running amok.

She had met a few suspicious people there.

Seeing the enemy suddenly attacked, Eco appeared and became the bait to let Prim escape.

When Prim regained conscious, Eco was no longer there.

After hearing, Ash felt something suspicious.

“Why did you go to the ancient palace?”

“That’s because… It was my entire fault! It was my bad to say such things!”

“Prim, please stay calm. Compared to you, Ash was the person who suffered the most.”

After being advised by Silvia, Prim rubbed of her tears.

“You are right. Sorry…”

“Prim-san, please tell me everything before Eco was kidnapped!”

Prim nodded.

“I had no ill intention, it was just that… Ash-sama is a human and Eco is a dragon… So I thought that Eco would feel lonely after Ash-sama married with a human girl. The moment I told her that, Eco rushed out of the room.”

“What…!”

Who would have thought of this, Ash was speechless.

“Idiot! You… Why do you have to tell her this!”

Silvia was mad.

“If I am Eco… I will definitely feel hurt if someone told that to me! Even when Eco is a dragon, her thoughts are still those of a girl’s. She should know very well that her situation is special. Why was she born as a human? Why was she not born as a dragon… If I am Eco, I can never feel secure.”

“Princess-sama…”

Ash looked at Silvia who was telling Eco's thoughts in surprise.

“Recently, she had gotten used to the school life. She was also being loved by everyone as the student council’s mascot. Even so, to Eco, the only person she could trust in… Is no other than Ash.”

“And I… Have said something terrible…”

“Strictly speaking, Eco is still a young dragon who is not even a year old. Can’t you be a little more indirect in your-”

“Forget it, Princess-sama. Right now, we could never solve the problem even after lecturing Prim-san. What’s more, if they had this planned, no matter what Prim-san said, Eco would still have been kidnapped.”

“…You are right. But how are we going to rescue Eco?”

Silvia nodded in agreement with Ash.

“Prim-san… Could you describe those people who attacked?”

Ash was praying while asking. His only clue is Prim being the witness.

“Err…They pretended to be the palace servants. But, they didn’t look like citizens of the Knight Country. For their skin colour, it looked like they are the Tantalos…. Also, the person who attacked me is a short girl.”

“A Tantalos girl…!”

Ash was feeling Déjà vu. It was like he had found the last piece of puzzle in his memory.

“It was the girl who followed Milgauss!”

Ash’s fists were shaking. The world he was seeing was dyed in red. Even though he had a feeling that Milgauss was the culprit, still, after making sure, he was still in rage.

“Since we know who the criminal is-”

Silvia immediately stopped Ash who intended to rush out from the room.

“Hold on, Ash! Where do you think you are going to?”

“The ballroom, of course! I want to settle thing with Milgauss!”

“Keep your calm! Do you think that Milgauss will admit it even after you find him?”

“…Maybe not.”

Ash turned speechless.

Silvia was right, no matter how emotional he became, Eco still wouldn’t be able to return safely.”

Just as if she was trying to have Ash cooled down, Silvia made a suggestion in a calm voice:

“Don’t you think that this is a good time to save Eco when Milgauss is busy with the masquerade?”

“What do you meant?”

“Milgauss couldn’t even be bothered by an activity with long history such as this continental congress and will do anything just to capture Eco. Even when I don’t know what his intentions are, but capturing Eco alive is their priority. I am sure that their lackeys won’t do anything to harm Eco when the mastermind is absent.”

After listening to Silvia’s analysis, Ash gave a breath of relieve.

“The problem remains is, where is Eco’s location. Since Ash’s ‘Seikoku’ is not reacting, it means that Eco was being hidden in an enclosed place. For example something that could be a barrier to cut off magic… Anyway, it must be done with the proper equipment. It just can’t be a rally point that they have just constructed.”

“An enclosed place with proper equipments? That’s it, Milgauss has Klaus backing him up…”

Last evening, an airship flew past the evening sky…

The black ship that was waving the Empire’s flag proudly…

Ash remembered.

Ash and Silvia exchanged glances and shouted at the same time:

“Beowolf!”

===Part 3===
-W-Will…I die just like this…

Eco thought so.

The liquid in the capsule kept on rotating and Eco’s body was being swept by it.

Every time her shoulders or waist touches the glass, her body will move slowly in the opposite direction.

It seems like the liquid was made of special materials. Luckily, it doesn’t affect her breathing. But after suffering a few shots from the magic device, her body turned numb.

This feeling is like an empty mind floating in mid air.

-If I could just… Continue sleeping… Then I won’t feel any pain…

Just when Eco thought so, a power that surpassed those previous ones was released at her.

“Noooooooooo…!”

Even though she thought that she shouted in pain, in truth they were just air bubbles coming out from her mouth.

A bright light flashes and the water turns rapid. Just like being swallowed by a tsunami, her body kept on rotating and kept on hitting the glass around her.

-W….Why do I have to suffer this kind of pain.

It had passed the limit of her brain to just think of what they are going to do to her. She could only feel that her body had been injected with a vast amount of magic.

The pain she felt is just like her body being ripped open.

It felt like her organs were being messed up by someone.

-Urgh… It hurts…. It hurts…. I beg you all, please stop.

It is pointless no matter how she shouted in her mind, the magic was still flowing into the body. Eco’s body was jerking nonstop and she was struggling.

You might as well do me a favour by killing me-Eco gave up.

“…!”

At the next moment- The Necromancia’s slimy tentacles attacking her from all directions.

Eco couldn’t understand. Where did those tentacles appear from in this enclosed environment?

The tentacles which were wriggling like a snake slowly snatched her freedom.

Her arms, waist, legs… was entangled by those tentacles. -Stop! This must be an illusion! It is this device that was making me hallucinate…!

Eco tried to stay conscious and opened her eyes widely.

At that moment, the tentacles disappeared.

The feelings of being entangled by those tentacles also disappeared.

However, not long after that, she lost focus and the tentacles appeared again and had her waist surrounded.

In a blink of an eye, she was lifted by those tentacles.

-Stop!

[[Image:SnRK V04 183.jpg|thumb]]

An abnormally thick tentacle was approaching Eco’s face.

Eco kept her teeth closed with her might. If she was to be careless, the tentacle will surely wriggle into her mouth. Eco had Goosebumps just by think about it.

Eco initially wanted to ask for Ash’s help. She hoped that he could save him from this hell.

However, from the point she woke up in this device, she couldn’t even summon Ash.

Her Astral Flow with Ash had also been cut off.

The lost of her communication had put her in fear.

Eco was shocked that the lost of her connection with Ash would put her in such great fear.

-I am really an idiot. I only knew what is precious to me after I had lost it.

This experience had made her wanted to treasure Ash much more.

That’s right, without Ash, I can’t do anything… I am really a good for nothing.

-Don…

At that instant, there was something moving in her body.

===Part 4===
“Something is wrong! The magic indicator is showing an abnormal value!”

“We found an unknown magic source! Its power is increasing!”

“We have lost control of ‘Yggdrasill’! It ignored the emergency stop signal!”

The continuous bad news had made Dr Hoffman turn pale.

The laboratory was as if in a fire and a tense atmosphere was spreading.

Everyone was with a panicked look and were busy dealing with the buttons under their hands.

“What happened…?”

Anya who was looking from aside wondered.

Basically, there was nothing abnormal with Eco who was in the capsule.

Even though she was shot by the high power compressed magic and had struggle like she was having a nightmare, yet nothing dramatic had happened.

But the indicator was still indicating an abnormal value. Also, they were losing control of ‘Yggdrasill’.

The situation had suddenly become tense.

Even the emergency trigger had been triggered and the bell was ringing loudly.

-Dong!

At that instant, Anya heard something from the ground.

“What is that… Sound?”

As if to prove that it was not an illusion, ‘Yggdrasill’ magic indication exploded.

“Uwaa!”

Some groaned and all the surrounding deviced started to explode with red flames. All the technician were running away in fear.

“Don’t panic! Keep calm!”

Dr Hoffman shouted but not even a single soul was listening.

Because in everyone’s sights was Eco who was caged in the capsule.

Eco’s body was glowing with a dim light.

Even Anya was captivated by the sight in front.

“Dr Hoffman! Let’s escape!”

A young researcher advised Dr Hoffman. The rest of the researchers were agreeing with him and looked at Dr Hoffman.

Anya left the wall and walk towards Dr Hoffman’s back.

“Dr Hoffman, I also think that it would be wise if we escape now.”

“No!”

Anya was stunned by Dr Hoffman’s aura. She had thought of him as a kind old man and was forced to act cruel as a researcher. Who would know that he would have such a stubborn side.

“What are you thinking! Even an outsider like me knew that this is dangerous! Isn’t there Millennium attached to that device too?”

What Anya was worried about is the existence of the Millenniums. Just in case the Millenniums explode… Anya was thinking. Let alone Beowolf, it is not even surprising if the capital disappeared from the maps forever.

However, Dr Hoffman shook his head slowly.

“…I won’t. That will not happen. The energy in the Millenniums has run dry.”

“What?”

“All the magic energy… Was fully absorbed by experimental material α.”

“-!”

Anya looked at Eco dumbstruck.

The intensity of Eco’s light was getting stronger until the extend where one couldn’t look at her directly. Those‘Dong’sounds had become clearer.

Even though there were no dangers of the Millennium exploding, it doesn’t mean that they were free from danger. Eco right now was seen as the bomb.

Later, there was the loud sound of something breaking.

Different from the normal explosions, that explosion sounds like it was originated from something being applied pressure on.

“α….α is escaping!”

A researcher shouted.

The capsule containing eco was now in ruins and the liquid was flowing out like waterfall.

Eco can be seen floating with her eyes closed- in a short moment, she disappeared. What’s left is only stardust like magic particles floating in the air.

“She… Disappeared…?”

Anya dumbstruck, murmured alone.

===Part 5===
“Hey… Something’s wrong with Beowolf!?”

When Maestro Lancelot reached the landing space at a height of twenty meters, Silvia shouted:

“That is…!”

Ash who was riding on Lancelot behind Silvia widened his eyes.

The sacred airship Esperanza, airship Crown Solas and air ship Silvanus was lined up together.

On the other hand, the huge airship Beowolf was parked quite some distance away from the trio.

The suspicious thing was the black smoke emerging from Beowolf.

Could it be a fire?

If Eco is inside… Ash was too scared to think about it.

“Urgh…!”

At this moment, Ash felt a burning sensation from his left hand.

Although he nearly screamed in pain, he managed to tolerate with it.

It felt like suddenly putting his hand into a furnace.

“Is everything alright, Ash!?”

Silvia was worried about him and turned around and asked, but Ash couldn’t even reply because of the pain.

The ‘Seikoku’ engraved on his left arm was slowly moaning.

A while later, there was a glaring light coming out from his left arm and his sleeve up to his shoulders was burned off. Even the bandage was burned into pieces.

In a blink of an eye, Ash’s ‘Seikoku’ on his left arm was exposed.

“Wha…!”

The ‘Seikoku’ on his hand was glowing with different light intensity from time to time.

Ash was panicking.

It will be alright if it was just glowing but the heat and the pain sensation had no intention of stopping.

It felt that his left arm is going to explode anytime.

“Hey… What is actually happening?”

Silvia was in shock while holding the reins which was probably caused by the fright she experience from seeing Ash’s ‘Seikoku’s’ reaction.

“I don’t know… But I am now sure that I am again connected to Eco!”

Just like responding to Ash’s left arm, there was an object glowing in the sky.

“Ash! Look upwards!”

Silvia who noticed the abnormality was pointing at the sky. Ash too had noticed.

There was something glowing on the sky above the landing area.

“That is…”

The mysterious light was floating in the sky as if it was decorating it.

On the other hand, the full moon didn’t look as charming as before.

By taking a closer look, it was an egg with beautiful flow lines.

There was a big emblem that was carved on the pearl like egg. At a first glance, it looked like a royal emblem.

To be more specific, that emblem looked like Ash’s ‘Seikoku’.

-Don…Don…Don…

There was a frightening beating sound from the egg.

The confusing part is, it moved with the same rhythm as the glow on Ash’s ‘Seikoku’.

Ash immediately understood.

“I couldn’t be more wrong… Eco is in that egg!”

“How is that possible? What are you talking about…?”

“Princess-sama, I beg you. Please take me there!”

“…Alright. I believe in you. Fly Lancelot! Fly higher!”

But Lancelot ignored her orders. It stayed at the twenty meters height and looked at the egg with its head up.

“Hei… Lancelot? Anything wrong? Fly immediately!”

Even though Silvia shouted strictly, Lancelot still ignored her orders. On the other hand, it did an emergency landing at a corner of the landing space.

“What are you doing? Are you disobeying my orders, Lancelot!”

“…It is useless, Princess-sama. It seems that Lancelot has its own reason.”

“What did you say?!”

Silvia looked at Ash with an imposing manner.

“Do you know what Lancelot was thinking?”

“…I am not sure. It was probably affected by the ‘Seikoku’. I don’t know why, but I could somehow understand what Lancelot was thinking.”

After Ash and Silvia was forced to alight Lancelot unwillingly, Lancelot again spread its wings and shoot up into the sky.

Looking at Lancelot’s direction, Ash found out something important.

“Princess-sama! There are more and more… Maestros gathering together!”

Groups of Maestro were gathering from all direction. It had become an amazing night view created by the light from the Maestro’s magic.

One by one the Maestro appeared and gathered at the corner of the sky.

For Maestro’s whose numbers were already little to begin with to gather together, it was unheard of even in the old times-

===Part 6===
“What is actually happening…?”

Lancelot left its master and flew off on its own.

Although this had given Silvia a great blow, still the view of the night sky gave her a deep impression.

Silvia could clearly hear the ‘Pssshh’ sounds of the beating of the wings.

When she had personally seen the dream like view, all her attention had been captured by it.

That egg even had wings growing out of it and feathers with silver lights were falling off. It was like snows that beautify the night sky.

Then- there was a crack from the egg shell.

The winged egg split into two-

“Uoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!”

A roar as if it was a horn announcing the end to the world could be heard all over.

Silvia who couldn’t look straight into the glaring light closed her eyes. When she reopened her eyes, the winged egg was no longer there. It was replaced by something that was out of this world.

To describe this thing with a word will be either – GOD or DEVIL.

However what Silvia said was insulting.

“What a scary monster…!”

[[Image:SnRK V04 193.jpg|thumb]]

“Stop! You are not allowed to say that!”

Ash shouted and brought Silvia back o her sense.

“That must be...Eco. I can feel it... I can feel it!”

“Sorry, Ash...”

Although Silvia was annoyed by her gaffe, she still couldn’t believe that it was Eco.

Later, Eco landed slowly while being surrounded by numerous Maestros.

Although the pink fur and the red eyes is similar to Eco, but her horns looked sharp and fierce and doesn’t at all looked like Eco’s round stubs.

Also, there was a third horn in between the two horns. It was like a unicorn’s horn and was up straight.

Her wings which were spread widely were different from a normal Maestro’s. It made one think of an angel’s wings.

Followed by a loud bang, Eco landed.

Eco lifted up her gigantic hind leg up high- And The large airship that had been the pride of the Empire was squashed in a few seconds.

With the conning tower being right at the middle, Beowolf had been squashed into a V shape and immediately exploded.

Yet, Eco was not at all affected.

Eco probably lost interest in Beowolf and tried to wriggle her long neck. She slowly lowered her center of gravity.

The target of her scarlet eyes was the window of the tall Fontaine Palace.

===Part 7===
-An unidentified flying object appeared above the capital and all the Maestros in the country disobeyed their masters’ orders and gathered together.

Veronica who received the emergency report brought Glenn the captain of the escorts alone with her to the ballroom at the highest floor of the palace.

Anyway, there were important guests in the ballroom that gathered from all over the continent. No matter what happened, she must protect their safety in the name of the pride of the Knight’s country.

At the same time, she must bring back her father Oswald with her. He had most probably change his appearance and was drinking while mingling in the crowd.

While running on the long corridor, Veronica questioned Glenn:

“Did you too lose contact with your pal?”

“It totally ignored my summons and ignored my request to present me my Ark. From the looks of the current situation where all the Maestros are gathering in the capital’s sky, it probably has something to do with the unidentified flying object.”

“Then, our pride, the Holy Dragners of Lautreamont can be considered no more. If the Empire attacked us at this moment, without the protection of the Maestros, this country will fall in just a single night.”

“...I don’t have an excuse to offer.” <ref>面目次第も有りません have also the meaning of ‘It is a shame I don’t have the power to…’</ref>

Glenn lowered his head somberly.

===Part 8===
When Veronica and Glenn arrived at the ballroom, the palace music and the party atmosphere of the nobles had disappeared.

Most of the guests were by the glass window and were looking downwards in shock. From there they can see the landing area for the airships.

“That’s…!”

Veronica was also looking downwards through the glass window.

“It is dangerous to stand beside the window, Princess-sama!”

Glenn warned her but Veronica ignored him.

There was a change in the landing area.

A living object that was glowing with silver light suddenly landed there.

''-Uoooooooooooooooooo…!''

It was immediately followed by a loud roar that will made one feel like covering his ears.

It was stated in the previous report that ‘an unidentified flying object that looked like a huge egg’, but it seemed that the huge egg had hatched when Veronica was on her way.

The unbelievable thing is, that huge monster easily split the Empire’s huge airship Beowolf into two with just a stomp.

Right at this moment, there was a man from the crowd was making a fuss.

“Ooh, what is happening! How can a dragon of the Knight’s… Destroy the most advance airship which is our country’s pride! I don’t think that this is some simple matter!”

The man's words caused an uproar in the ballroom.

Until a moment ago, everyone had just found out that this monster is a dragon.

Talking about a dragon, everyone will think about Lautreamont Knight Country.

“Is that person…Klaus Viderhausen! He is obviously trying to cause a stir!”

Veronica angrily scolded and glared at the Empire’s young noble.

However, there was a man who stupidly tried to argue with Klaus.

“Nonsense! That monster had nothing to do with our country!”

Although the man was wearing a lion shaped mask, judging from his plum body, Veronica immediately knew who he is.

He is her father, Oswald.

“Klaus-dono! This is the truth! That monster has nothing to do with us! Please believe in me!”

“Hu… What you said was not at all convincing. Anyway, everyone here is a witness.”

Klaus was not even bothered by Oswald.

It was because what Klaus said is true. A huge dragon that appeared with no warning had destroyed the Empire’s airship right in front of everyone.

Nothing could be worst than this.

For Chevron Kingdom and Zepharos Empire who had never see each other eye to eye was originally going to discuss about the peace in between them in tomorrow’s continental congress ‘Elysium’.

To Chevron Kingdom and its ally Lautreamont Knight Country this should be a historical event.

“Stop… Let alone the Emperor, not even a royal from the Empire attends. It is a total joke. The Empire has never wanted peace-”

Just as Veronica finished her sentence, there were people screaming from everywhere.

Everyone was in a panic.

All the guests who were wearing their mask, including the musicians and the waiters, everyone were trying to escape.

Apart from Oswald who was crying, Klaus who had previously put the blame on the Knight Country was also fleeing.

“What…!”

Veronica who immediately turned around was also sweating tremendously.

There was a pair of scarlet eyes looking into one of the many palace windows.

She spent a few seconds to figure out that the dragon had stretched its neck and was looking into Fontaine Palace.

“Glenn, if I try to slash the pair of eyes with my huge sword… Do you think I have any chance of winning?”

“Please forgive my rudeness… Even if Princess-sama, you are no match for it.”

Glenn told the truth directly.

"Why must you be this honest?"

Veronica was sulking while she confronted the dragon eyes.

The round eyes.

''It looked like a baby’s pairs of eyes. Although it looked naïve, if this monster just rubbed its nose with the palace walls, Fontaine Palace will turn into dust in seconds. Furthermore, it will be a hill full of bricks and corpses…''

Even though she was thinking of such scenario, Veronica could still manage a smile.

“Kuku… So this is of feeling of my life being controlled by others. I praise you, my child!”

Seeing that Veronica had no intention of escaping, Captain Glenn advised her in panic:

“Princess-sama, please retreat!”

“I mustn’t. Some of the guests are still here.”

Veronica looked around the empty ballroom.

There was a man with a mask standing at the middle of the dance floor.

The man was wearing a elegant suit. However his hair colour was like a cloth stained with blood.

He is obviously the guy in the reports- Milgauss.

Veronica looked at him in admiration.

“Hmm… You indeed look a little like Julius. Remove your mask!”

To her surprise, he actually did it. He could be seen silently removing his mask and threw it to a side as if he doesn’t need it anymore.

“-!”

Veronica’s eyes widened.

The handsome face beneath the mask was undoubtably Julius of ten years later who had became a seinen.<ref>青年, man with age range between 20-
30.</ref>

He no longer had the rebellious feel with him in his teenage years and was replaced by a feeling of a weapon that had been well polished.

“So you are Julius…!”

As if to sweep away her worries, Julius walked to the side of the window. At the same time, the dragon’s face disappeared as if it had lost interest with the empty ballroom.

Julius was standing by the window looking at the huge dragon.

“Kukuku… I have been waiting for this moment for a long time!”

That sinful voice and the devil like smile made Veronica feel uneasy.

Glenn took a step forward as if trying to ask on behalf of Veronica.

He unsheathed his sword that was on his waist.

“You can’t be Julius, no? My friend would never show such a malicious smile."

“Oh, Glenn McGuire! I remembered you are one of the guys that appeared in Julius’s memories. It should be suitable to use ‘it has been a long time’ in this situation, don’t you think so?”

“What do you mean!”

“You still don’t get it? This body is indeed Julius’s. However, I am not Julius. But I can peek into Julius’s memories anytime."

“What is happening…?”

Veronica was curious but it was not bothered by the man.

“Kneel! Quick! Look carefully! You are witnessing a historical moment!”

The man was acting like a holy man in the religious painting. He spread his arms widely and declared his name.

“I am Mordred! The descendant of the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family.”

Vreonica couldn’t believe what she had just heard.

The Maestro that Julius sacrificed his life to kill is named Mordred. It is also Julius’s Pal.

''Is it possible that Mordred has taken over Julius’s body?''

In regards of Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family- Veronica had only recently heard about this name.

The ‘Old Testament of the Stella Biblia’ that Dr Angela Cornwell found in Willingham Mausoleum.

Basically, Veronica had read through the copy of the book.

She recalled a part of the book.

“…After the wise dragon Inbroke, two major bloodlines were formed. They are the Avalon’s holy dragons emperor family and the Nehalennia’s dark dragons king family. An endless war started between these two families. After the members of the two families reincarnated, they will encounter each other, hate each other and kill each other.”

The person in front had introduced himself as the descendant of the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family.

Then, who is the person who should be representing the descendant of the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family-?

At this moment, Veronica stopped thinking because of Glenn’s shout.

“So I see… You are the root of evil! I knew that Julius didn’t turn crazy! He will always be loyal to his beliefs and tried to have you removed even when he had to commit a crime in the Knight Country!... Return Julius to us!”

Followed by a shout, Glenn reduced their distance and there was a silver flash.

However, Mordred easily parried Glenn’s slash.

“Urgh!”

Glenn growled.

Morderd had stopped the high speed slash with only his index and middle finger.

Glenn could be seen standing still while holding his sword. No, that’s not the case, Veronica understands well.

It was not that Glenn was not moving, it was because that he was unable to move.

Mordred had overpowered Glenn with just two fingers.

“Hmph… I will let you experience the punishment for being disobedient to ''god''."

After Mordred gave a cold smile, there was a flash.

“Gwaaa!”

Glenn was knocked up into the air while unable to even resist. He knocked into the wall hard and became unconscious.

Veronica didn’t even have the time to care about Glenn and stared at Mordred.

“…I don’t understand. As far as I know, you should have a good relationship with Julius. Didn’t you even present him with an ark?”

“Hmph, the one who has a good relationship with Julius is another me. That me who acknowledged Julius as its master and associated with him quite well."

“Another me? What are you talking about?”

“Let me generously explain it to you as your last gift before you die. There were two personalities in Mordred. If it was to be a human, it would be called a split personality.”

“What happened to the other personality?”

“It has disappeared together with the body. Ironically, it was it and Julius who had planned to kill me. For me, to prevent myself from dying, I sacrificed my body and changed into this spiritual form and inhabited Julius’s body.”

Upon saying that, Mordred looked out of the window.

Right beside the palace, the dragon was standing on its hind legs and was looking around curiously. It seemed to be troubled because it couldn’t understand what was happening.

Mordred declared to that dragon:

“Descendant of the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family, I will take that body of yours!”

“Now I understand, so this is what you planned…!”

At this stage. Veronica finally found out what Mordred is aiming for.

Mordred had once lost his body in the past when it was killed by Julius.

However, if it could take over the body of the descendant of the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family, it can once again be born as the strongest dragon…!

“That will never happen, Mordred!”

Veronica unsheathed the huge sword on her waist.

Even though she knew that he was not an opponent that she could win in a direct confrontation, she still couldn’t bear to watch idly from the side.

''I will kill Mordred together with Julius’s body before he can manage to take over Avalon’s body-'' Veronica rushed forward while thinking so.

Even when it is her brother’s body that we are talking about, she had no intention of showing any mercy.

But, before Veronica could land a hit on Mordred, suddenly, there was darkness emerging from his body and spread all over the ballroom.

“Urgh… What is this dark mist… My conscious…!”

The moment she was surrounded by the darkness, Veronica felt a strong feeling of vomiting and fainting.

===Part 9===
After struggling in the darkness without knowing what was happening for some time- The darkness had finally disappeared.

“Are you alright, Veronica?”

There was a guy who held out his hand to Veronica who was struggling to stand up.
[[Image:SnRK V04 207.jpg|thumb]]
“You…!”

There was killing intent in Veronica’s eyes.

To her surprise, Mordred who should be busy with taking over Avalon’s decendent’s body had tried to help her.

However, there was no longer evilness on his face.

“You… Could you be Julius?”

“Ahh, that is me. You are still the same old you for not calling me ‘Anii-ue’.”

It seemed that because Mordred was gone, Julius was able to take back his body.

“Of course… You F.O.O.L”

Upon hearing, Julius smile but he immediately returned back to his serious expression.

“Sorry, but now is not the time for us siblings to be arguing. Mordred's spirit has already inhibited Eco’s body. We have the obligation to defeat Mordred and protect this city.”

At that instant, Veronica felt a pain from her head as if she had just been struck.

“Hold on! Did you just say Eco? That huge dragon… is actually Eco?”

“I will explain the details to you later. Can you stand up?”

“Hmph… Whom do you think you are talking to!”

Using the huge sword as a walking stick, Veronica put all her effort into standing up. But, it was probably the side effect of inhaling in the darkness, in the end, she fell down again.

“Princess-sama!”

The person who reached Veronica first was Glenn. Although he was badly injured, he had regained consciousness.

Glenn held on to Veronica and glared at Julius.

“Julius… I have numerous things that I want to tell you, but please allow me to tell you this first.”

“I can guess what you want to say but be my guest.”

While facing the calm Julius, Glenn with mixed feelings shouted to Julius:

“You… Damn you!”

===Part 10===

Seeing that the Empire’s airship was easily crushed, the sacredship Esperanza and magicship Crown Solas flew off immediately.

Only magicship Silvanus remained at its location overlooking the whole incident.

Although Silvanus had yet to attack Eco, Ash was still worried stance the captain is Veronica.

Even so, seeing that Silvanus still hasn’t made its decision, Veronica was probably not aboard the ship. They were most probably waiting for Veronica’s orders.

On the other hand, if Veronica had boarded the ship, there is a high chance that she will issue an attack on Eco. To protect the capital, Veronica will make this decision without any hesitation. Anyway, Silvanus' fire power is not something that can be ignored.

“I…I will protect Eco!”

Ash made up his mind and rushed forward.

“Hold on, Ash. Do you want to be crushed!”

Silvia blocked Ash with her arms spread.

“Please move aside, Princess-sama! Who will protect Eco if I don’t!”

“Please keep your calm! Even so, what can you do!? How are you going to ride Eco who has turned into that? What’s more, what are you going to do to ride on Eco?”

“I…”

Silvia was right. During the time when the Necromancia attacked Ansarivan, he received help from Silvia and Lancelot.

But luck was not on his side. Lancelot who he could place his hope on had not yet returned after it gathered with the rest of the Maestro. The group of Maestros were still circling above in the sky while waiting for something to happen.

To his relieve, after Eco crushed Beowolf, she had not made any frightening actions. Although Ash was sweating tremendously during the time she looked into Fontaine Palace through the window, he was lucky that she left immediately.

Right now, Eco was only looking around and sniffing the building around her as if to figure out what was happening. In regards to what had happened to her body, she probably hasn’t figured it out yet.

“In conclusion, we must keep her as far from the town as possible. In case that she entered the town…"

Upon listening to Silvia’s assumption, Ash was shaking in fear.

Fontaine City has a population of around a million.

In another words, a million lives were now in Eco’s hands.

The severity of the current situation was no longer only involved Ash and Eco.

“Guooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo…!”

At that moment, Eco was roaring in pain and started to struggle. There was a change in her appearance that was originally surrounded by a silver light.

Just like a white cloth that came in contact with ink, there black colour was slowly taking over the white.

“…Eco? What’s happening!”

Ash could only look at Eco transform without doing anything.

The change in her skin was only the start.

Her angle like feathers had transformed into a crow like wings.

The previous middle horn of the three horns had disappeared and her pair of horns had turned into spiral shape.

Also, her four limbs were growing at a fast speed. It will be better to describe her as a giant like body rather than a huge beast. That huge body gave a evil feeling.

Last of all, there were nine eyes on its face and were glowing with red lights.

“Nine eyes…!”

Ash remembered something.

Eco once had a nightmare.

In her dream, was Eco attacked by the nine eyed dragon…?

-Don!

At that moment, Eco who had turned into that black dragon gave a dragon breath.

The flame emitted pierced the sky and scattered the dark clouds.

If this flame was aimed at Fontaine Palace or the town… Ash had Goosebumps just by thinking.

“Silvia, so you are here!”

At this moment, there was a fierce voice coming from behind.

It was Veronica and Glenn when they turned around.

Glenn was badly injured and looked like a rag.

Apart from that- There was another man that was following Veronica.

It was already surprising if a person was allowed to walk side by side with Veronica, yet it was far more surprising when they noticed the man’s hair colour.

“Milgauss! Why are you here!”

Ash felt that he was having Goosebumps all over his body. At the same time, he felt that Milgauss looked familiar. He remembered that he had seen that face in a portrait.

“Are you… Anii-ue?!”

Silvia shouted before Ash.

“Yeah. Although it is a little hard to believe, I am Julius. But I don’t have the time to give you any explanations right now. Firstly, we need to get rid of Mordred’s spirit from Eco’s body- Ash.”

When his name was suddenly called by Julius, Ash became nervous.

The person in front of him really felt like Prince Julius Lautreamont.

Julius stepped forward and placed his hand on Ash’s shoulder.

“Only you as the master can save Eco. Understood?”

“Yes. I thought of that too myself.”

Julius smiled.

“Good answer. I will take the responsibility to bring you to Eco.”

“But… How are you going to do it?”

“Don’t worry. We have that.”

After he finished his sentence, Julius was pointing at- Magicship Silvanus that was actually resting at the far end of the landing area.

===Part 11===
“Ara. I don’t remembered inviting you here…Dark Dragon King Mordred.”

In the dragon workshop, Navi and Mordred were having a confrontation. She was sitting on her favourite chair with her legs crossed.

“Kuku. This is your last time to be able to be this relaxed.”

Mordred’s spirit still maintained Julius’s voice. It was probably because it had inhibited in Julius’s body for more than ten years…Navi thought so.

“I had taken over sixty percent of Eco’s body. It is only a matter of time that I can fully take control of her body. Avalon is losing.”

“…”

“Next, if I can fuse together with you, I can be fully awakened as the Dark Dragon King. Follow me. Even though you are called Navi, but I clearly know that you are not a normal navigator. You are the incarnation of the Dragweiss.”

“Ara. Just what I thought of the Dark Dragon King. You had made quite some investigation on your own.”

“Fuse with me quickly. Give me the supreme knowledge. Strictly speaking, Avalon and Nehalennia have the same roots… I should also be qualified to fuse with you.”

“I don’t disagree with this.”

Upon hearing Navi’s answer, Mordred smiled.

“So you agreed?”

“No I don’t. It is because I don’t like Nehalennia.”

“…What do you say?”

“I am rooting for Avalon's Imperial Princess and her knight. Especially her knight… Ash Blake, he is far manlier than you.”

“Hmph…what a fox you are. Since it had came to this, I will use force-”

Suddenly, there were numerous tentacles coming from under Mordred’s legs. They were like snakes that had found their prey and attacked Navi.

===Part 12===
“I am sorry. Could everyone apart from Ash and I leave this ship?”

Upon stepping into Silvanus’s wheelhouse, Julius spoke coldly.

The crew responsible for the control of the wheel and control communications turned around and looked Julius in confusion. Then they are all frightened as is they had seen a ghost.

They shouldn’t be blamed since the prince that should have been executed years ago was standing in front of them and had asked them to do something unreasonable.

“Hold on… Prince Julius! What do you planned to do?”

Seeing that Ash was requesting for an explanation, at the same time Julius answered, he turned around and looked at Veronica who was preparing to sit on the captain’s seat.

“I just don’t want the rest of the people to die with us. Veronica, I hoped that you could also help me by giving out the orders.”

“Do you think that I would even listen to that joke?”

“If the sister is stubborn, the elder brother will have to face some trouble.”

The next instant, Julius seize Veronica from behind with lightning speed. He was holding a hidden gun. It was a mechanic gun that the military of the Empire used.

Julius even chose to place the tip at Veronica’s temple.

“There is not much time. You should try to listen to your brother sometimes, Veronica.”

“Are you kidding! Silvanus is my magicship. Don’t even think of always doing what you wanted to, Julius.”

“As I had said before, I am your brother. Maybe you are a perfect princess in front of our people, but I knew your achilles heel. If you still disobey me, I will expose it in front of everyone.”

“What achilles heel?”

“I knew that you love Silvia. There are Silva portraits in your room. The clothes that Silva wore, Silva’s growth record, the poem that you wrote from missing Silvia and also Silvia’s human size doll-”

“I-I promise! Keep quite immediately!”

Ash was in a shock. He had never expected Veronica to surrender easily.

“Everyone, leave the ship immediately! This is an order from Veronica Lautreamont! No one is allowed to disobey!”

All the crew members rushed out from the wheelhouse.

===Part 13===
When everyone had left the magicship, Julius flied Silvanus while sitting on the pilot’s seat.

With the sudden shake of the magicship, Ash held on tightly to the seat of the communication officer to avoid falling. Looking through the round window, the magicship was getting further and further away from the ground.

It was a totally different experience from sitting on a dragon. When this lump of metal was flying with passengers- At the same time Ash was amazed, he also started to worry about crashing.

As for Julius, he was piloting Silvanus while telling Ash the whole story.

===Part 14===
Although what Julius said was hard to believe, basically, the dragons were seperated into the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family and the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family. The two families had incarnated since the ancient times and were still fighting each other right until today.

Also, Eco is Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family’s descendant.

In another words, Eco is the Imperial Princess of the dragon.

“…Even after I had heard of such things, it is still hard for me to believe this. Eco who had been living with me was obviously a girl who sleeps late, a glutton and a hot headed girl...”

“I know how you feel. When I found out that my pal is the descendant for the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family, I was also astounded. In the beginning, I was also troubled by why was I chosen.”

Julius said.

“Back to the topic, Avalon’s Imperial Princess’s body is really huge. Even though she is still a young dragon, she had this unbelievable huge size… It is totally unbelievable.”

After Julius pressed a few buttons on the dashboard, Eco’s body was shown on the huge screen in front.

Silvanus was three hundred meters above the land and was looking at Fontaine city from the sky above.

From the screen, they can see Eco's back that had turned black because of being taken over by Mordred.

With its frightening spiral horns and nine eyes… It is exactly the image of the dark dragon king.

Eco who was originally standing on two legs was now standing on all four because of the pain caused by Mordred’s take over.

The worrying part is, Eco was not moving at all and yet she doesn’t look as if she was sleeping…

“Could it be that Eco was fighting Mordred?”

Julius shook his head in disagreement.

“It is impossible. Judging from the huge change of her body, I am afraid that… Eco don’t even have the strength to fight back.”

“Is it…”

“But not all hope is lost. In my opinion, Navi was fighting against Mordred.”

“Navi?”

Why would he mention Navi’s name at such a time?

Before that, how would Julius know about Navi?

“Navi is the incarnation of the Dragweiss. If Navi could keep on fighting back, even after Mordred could fully take over Eco’s body, he still couldn’t be fully awaken.”

“What do you meant?”

“Regardless of the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor or the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king, both of them must fuse with the Dragweiss to obtain the supreme knowledge, only then they could receive their true power. I believe that Mordred right now is trying his best to make Navi his.”

“How come… you knew so many about him?”

“That was because it shared the same body with Mordred. Just like what he did to blend into the human society… I could also look into his memories.”

After hearing what Julius had said, Ash was still confused. However, there exists thing that could be easily understood without the need of good brains.

“In another words, this is a great time for a counter attack when Mordred was busy dealing with Navi, right?”

“That’s right. This is our only chance for victory. If you can ride on Eco and chase of Mordred’s spirit, then you can save Eco and the capital together.”

Ash nodded in agreement to what Julius had said.

“I am willing to give it a try. No matter it is Avalon or Nehalennia… I don’t think I even know what they mean. I only know that Eco is my pal.”

When Ash turned around and prepared to walk back to the deck, Julius spoke from behind:

“Although I don’t know why you are chosen… But I am glad that you are Eco’s knight.”

===Part 15===
“Urgh…”

Ash arrived at the deck and the winds were cold. Such temperatures were unheard of during the summer.

Ash was carrying a parachute- This is a decision made by Julius and him beforehand.

When Silvanus had come close to Eco, Ash will jump off from the deck with the help of the parachute.

After landing, it is all up to Ash.

Basically, Ash had gone through the landing practices in the academy.

Ash had never intended to become a soldier and had always thought that the academy was wrong to force them to go through the practices.

Anyway, the academy is not a military school- But who would expect that those practices must be applied right now.

“…Right there.”

Ash was looking down towards the ground from the bow and had located Eco’s back.

Although her fur had turned black but since the enormous amount of magic surrounding her was giving off strong rays of light, he won’t have to worry about missing his target.

He must make use of the time that Navi was fighting against Mordred to land on Eco’s head.

Julius voice emerged from the magic communication device:

“Ash, you may jump anytime.”

“Roger that.”

Ash looked downwards for one more time.

For such a huge beast, her only blind spot will be her head.

Ash tried to imagine himself riding on Eco’s head.

To his surprise, it was not at all scary.

The ‘Seikoku’ on his left arm was getting warm and was flickering with dim light.

It felt as if his ‘Seikoku’ was urging him to move quickly.

Suddenly- Eco lifted her neck and shot a dragon breath towards Silvanus.

“…Urgh!”

A bright light pierced through the night sky. Ash surrendered against the shaking deck and fell down. Although Julius had barely avoided a direct hit by giving the ship an emergency turn, the strong breath had burned the side of the ship into ashes.

There were smokes and fire emerging from the ship itself and it had lost balance.

“Tsk…! If you kill me, Eco will die too! If that happens, you also couldn’t get your hands on Eco’s body that you desired that much...! How could someone be this stupid?”

When Ash was groaning, Julius voice could be heard once again through the communication machine:

“Ash, are you alright!”

“Yes, I am!”

“Silvanus is going to do an emergency landing! Jump quickly!”

“I also intend to do so!”

Ash clenched his teeth and jumped off from the deck.

The moment his feet left the deck, Mordred gave a second dragon breath.

Looking backwards, he saw Silvanus’s deck suffered a direct hit from the dragon breath.

Ash shuddered. He was lucky that he had jumped of earlier or else he would be turned into dust.

Although Julius had said there are going to do an emergency ‘landing’, judging from the speed Silvanus was moving downwards, it looked like it was crashing.

Finally, the unbalance ship disappeared at the other end of the palace walls- Then a fire pillar could be seen followed by a loud explosion.

“Prince Julius…!”

Ash was sad but there was nothing he can do.

Julius had risked his life to fly him into the night sky.

The only thing he can do right now is to complete his mission in return.

Ash's body was moving downwards because of the gravity pull.

His face and ears felt like being crushed by the air pressure.

“Now is the time!”

Ash had got the timing right and spread open the parachute.

The amazing braking force had caused the parachute to slow down.

If another dragon breath was shot, Ash would certainly be hit but Ash prayed that he will not have such bad luck.

“Wait for me, Eco. I will protect you… I swear!”

===Part 16===
“Damn! Where am I?”

Eco found out that she was in a cage when she woke up. When she was looking at her body, she found out that she was wearing a dress with low standards.

This style is obviously not of Eco’s preference.

Any dress in Fontaine Palace’s changing room looked better that this. It is even as heavy as lead and it felt more like a binding item rather than an evening dress.

On the other side of the cage was a wide white space. The walls, the floor and the ceiling was white. Not even a dust that could be found.

“How dare anyone to cage a dragon like me in this cage… What were they even thinking!?”

Eco was definitely confused. Yet she still vaguely remembered that she was awakened as a dragon. She even remembered that she had become huge and was looking at the whole Fontaine palace.

But her memories stopped there.

“Tsk…It seems that you are alright since you are this energetic even under such situation.”

It was a familiar voice.

“Navi? You…!”

Navi was standing outside of the cage. Even though Eco disliked Navi, but under such situation, Eco was grateful that Navi was here and felt that Navi was like an angel.

The Eco’s Angel was now looking like a ragdoll.

Navi who was always acting calm and give out a noble like feeling was now with a messed up hair and even her evening dress was in rags. All over her body were marks of being bounded.

“What happened? This doesn’t look like you at all…”

Eco was taking a closer look at Navi.

“Hmm…I am only accompanying Mordred in his game. It was just that, his tentacles fetish had given me some trouble!”

“Mordred? Who is that?”

“Please lend me your hand.”

Eco stretched her hand through the gaps in between the bars of the cage. After Navi held her hand, a mass amount of knowledge flowed into her brain.

In a blink of an eye, Eco knew everything that had happened. Only until now that she had realized that she was in her spiritual from.

“To make it simple… That person called Mordred is trying to take over my body, right?”

“That’s right. Anyway, during the time I was running around, he had done nothing bad. But if it is to destroy this capital, it will be an easy task for him.”

“Hmm… So I am such a great dragon.”

According to Navi’s information, Eco is Avalon’s Imperial Princess.

“Huhu. Now Ash is going to look at me differently.”

Seeing that Eco was feeling proud, Navi sighed.

“As long as he can survive. He seems to be doing something foolhardy again.”

Navi held Eco’s hand again and Eco closed her eyes.

That current situation was sent into Eco’s brain as projections.

“What…!”

Eco was speechless.

Under the night sky- Ash leaned out from Silvanus’s deck.

The next instant, Mordred gave a dragon breath from the ground.

Silvanus was hit and was gliding in the sky as if it was a paper plane.

On the other hand, Ash jumped into the air and was falling with his head pointing downwards.

“Hold on… Is he crazy!?”

At that moment, Eco clearly heard Ash’s mumble.

"Wait for me, Eco. I will protect you… I swear!”

In a short moment, tears started to flow from her eyes. Even though she was a spirit, her tears still kept on flowing. Even the Dragweiss couldn’t give an explanation. A warm feeling was haunting her heart… What was that feeling?

“Why…Why? Why would he… try to do so many things for me? Even when I… Had caused many, many troubles for him?”

Navi stretched her hand into the cage and patted her head.

“Do you even have to ask? It is because you are his pal.”

Eco rubbed off her tears and lifted her head.

“Navi, please tell me what can I do for him.”

“Teehee. That’s more like it.”

Navi smiled and waved her hand lightly. With a flash, the cage had disappeared. At the same time, the black dress that limits Eco’s movement had been broken into particles and a pure white evening dress was raveled from beneath.

In a short time, Navi removed Mordred’s seal.

“I must say that… You are very good.”

Eco was looking at her dress. It designs compromised of the elements of elegant and pure. It is as if it was made to be worn by the Avalon’s Imperial Princess.

“No matter how great I am, I can't help you with the upcoming step. Understood?”

Eco nodded in reply.

“Then, what should I do?”

After Navi smiled, she cheekily said:

“Of course you are to present him your originally made Ark and the Avalon’s Imperial Princess.”

The next instant, Eco became confused.

“What? Are you serious?”

As if it was natural to do so, Navi nodded without any hesitation.

“All the mimics that you had created for emergency in the past… is useless against Mordred.”

“But, how am I to do this impossible task!?”

An original Ark could not be completed easily.

It was because of Eco had seen her ancestor’s blueprint; she understands how hard it can be. An Ark is not only a strong magic weapon, at the same time, it is also a perfect art masterpiece.

Not to mention that Eco was still a young dragon that was not even a year old without any experience. Navi’s suggestion was like asking a baby to build a palace.

“Anyway, it will not be called difficult if the blueprint could be easily created.”

Eco gave up before she even started but Navi ignored it.

“Rest assured, you must believe in your own ability. You are an Imperial Princess who is the blood descendant of Avalon.”

“But… what we must think about is not only the armour itself, there is also the Ark-weapon…”

“Listen carefully, the shape itself doesn’t matters. It was the mental power of the creator that decide the strength of the Ark. Even if you don’t know the shape, as long as you focus, the shape of the Ark will be formed.”

“Really…?”

“Yeah. Also, you don’t have to worry about the Ark-weapon. Avalon has a treasured sword that had been passed down through the generations. Just use it.”

After a moment of silent, Eco mumbled:

“…I had always disliked you since the first time I met you. Regardless of your relaxed attitude or your looks that was similar to mine or your overly large breast…I hate them and hate them very much! However… It is funny that I felt that you are trustable.”

Eco lifted her head and smile.

Navi also returned a smile.

At the same moment, Eco felt that a light had pierced through that darkness that had been blocking her eyes.

She didn't want to look for trouble anymore.

And she definitely doesn’t want to give up before taking up the challenge.

While the evening dress was swaying, Eco spoke with confidence:

“Just wait and see. I will definitely complete my original Ark!”

===Part 17===
“Damn… What kind of joke is this!”

Although Ash had finally landed on Eco, still the landing spot was her back and not her head. It was exactly beside the joints between the body and the wings.

That pair of wings was like the wings of a new born bird. It was still wet and was unable to fly right away.

Maybe this is my only life saver…Ash secretly thought.

Black furs were grown from her uneven skin. It felt like a Necromancia. He must get rid of Mordred’s spirit and return Eco to her original appearance as soon as
possible.

To achieve this, he must try to ride her gigantic body. However… Ash was looking at Eco’s head from afar.

Connected to her back that was as huge as prairie was a long neck that looked as if it was a stairway to heaven. And her head with spiral horns was at the other end of the neck.

His current aim was to ride on her head and try to control her using his will as a dragner. However… The distance between them was huge. It was like trying to climb the dangerous Xenoglavia Mountains without any climbing tools.

“Stop… This is not the time to give up.”

Ash threw aside the parachute and move forward while pushing aside those furs that were taller than his height.

“Now I really looked like a louse…”

In reality, Mordred treat Ash as nothing but a louse. That is why he was not bothered by Ash at all.

“Just wait and see. Your overconfidence will be the cause of your death, Mordred…”

Although Ash kept on talking to himself to boost his confidence, but every time he looked towards her head, he felt like falling apart.

Suddenly, there was a change in the night sky.

Those Maestros who were originally circling in the sky started to make their movements.

Those Maestros could be seen gliding towards Mordred and had him surrounded.

“Grrrrrrrrrrrrr…”

Mordred lifted his neck and gave a threatening growl. However, before he even managed to attack, the Maestros activated their magic at the same time.

With a flash, chains that were made from magic appeared. Numerous chains had tied down the huge dragon’s neck, front legs, hind legs, tail…

“Guuuoooooooooooooooooooo…!”

Mordred was struggling with all his might but the chains wouldn’t even budge.

“They…!”

It can’t be wrong. These Maestros were trying to seal Mordred’s movement. Who know if they were thinking that the dragon worthy to take to top is not Mordred but Eco.

At that moment, a Maestro landed right in front of Ash. Its pair of horns that looked like a dear’s looked familiar to Ash. Then a clear voice could be heard coming from behind the dragon.

“Ash… Hurry up!”

“Lukka!? Why are you here?”

That is. The Maestro that suddenly appeared from above was Gawain and Lukka was riding on its back. Ash felt nostalgic.

Lukka while feeling worried gave Ash a short explanation.

“Err… The Maestros in the seven dragon house was escaping together. I risked my life to cling on Gawain… In the end, I found out that I was already here.”

“Did Rebecca and Max come together?”

Lukka shook her head. It was probably Ash's mistake that he felt that Lukka’s ears were slightly drooping.

“Only I noticed that something was going on with the Maestros…”

“Is that so…”

As if to interrupt Ash’s and Lukka’s conversation, Gawain roared with its jaws opened.

It was as if trying to tell Ash to ride on it quickly. Ash naturally didn’t reject this offer.

“Thank you!”

Just as Ash sat on Gawain’s back, Gawain flapped its wings.

After piercing through the night sky, Gawain’s altitude was increasing following the direction of Mordred’s neck. Lukka’s riding skills was as good as ever and could only be described by perfect.

Ash was clinging tightly to Lukka’s thin waist to avoid from dropping off.

However, Mordred will not stay silent. Although he was being tied down, it was still struggling and roaring loudly.

Suddenly, magic cannons continued to appear in the sky and was firing at Gawain.

Ash was trembling when he saw those cannons.

It was because those cannons looked like the weapon that Ash used during his fight with Milgauss in Willingham Mausoleum. The only difference is, each cannon was around Gawain’s size.

“Magic shield Aegis…!”

“Need not worry… It will be alright as long as we are not hit.”

Lukka was not at all shaken.

As if she had fused with Gawain, she was controlling Gawain by moving left and right and dangerously avoided the crossing light rays.

It even used its dragon breath and those magic canons were destroyed one by one.

When Gawain had successfully passed Mordred’s head, all the magic cannons had disappeared.

“Ash, now’s the time…!”

Just when Lukka shouted, Gawain did a summersault.

At the point where the sky was upside down, Ash jumped down.

He drew a big locus in the night sky and successfully land in between the two horns. Looking from a close distance, the horns looked more like an altar than a horn.

When his feet landed on that spot, he felt satisfied. It was probably his dragner’s intuition that told him this is the best riding spot.

“Listen carefully Eco!”

Ash was shouting with all his might at his ‘Seikoku’ that was connected to Eco:

“Right now, I am going to ride you! I swear I will be successful in riding you! Whether you are a Imperial Princess or not it has nothing to do with me! So what if you are a imperial princess? You are always bad tempered, try to solve anything with force, a sleepy head, only have crepes in your eyes and felt like wanting to bite greedily whenever you saw meat. Are these what an Imperial Princess should do! Even if you really are an Imperial Princess, I will never approve it!... I only knew that- I am your knight, and you are my pal. Things are just as simple as this!”

The next instant, there was a change in his left arm that was dense with ‘Seikoku’.

The ‘Seikoku’ can be seen emitting rays of light that were able to light up the entire night sky. Then patterns started to crawl just like some living things.

No, the patterns were growing.

“W-What had happened…?”

Just when Ash was feeling confused, his ‘Seikoku’ started to spread outwards towards Ash entire body with his left arm as the starting point.

Ash found out that his connection with Eco had become stronger.

Although he couldn’t communicate with Eco verbally, yet, he was sure that he was connected to Eco…!

But, what Ash was thinking only lasted for a short moment.

“Guuuuuuuoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo…!”

Mordred was back on the move. He had broken one of the chains and was standing on two legs.

“Auuu…!”

Lukka groaned. The wind created when Mordred stood up had affected Gawain. Although it was not blown away by the wind, it was obvious that it could not remain
its balance. However, Lukka shouted:

“Don’t worry about me… I am alright! Ash, just focus on saving Eco…!”

Then, Lukka and Gawain finally fall and disappear from Ash’s line of sight.

“Lukka…!”

Ash stretched his arm but he could only grab the air.

The Maestros that scattered in the sky tried to make another chain to tie down Mordred’s upper body.

But before Mordred could be sealed, it forcefully shook its neck.

“Uwaaaaaaaaa!”

Ash lost his balance and was thrown up into Fontaine Palace like a cannonball.

-This is a lie… It must be…?

He was approaching the tower in the middle of Fontaine Palace.

If he was to hit into such stone wall…he will definitely die.

-Is this the end…? Is Eco and I… Going to end right here?

Right at this moment.

Almete, Gorjal, Peto…

The voice of the spell was coming from his ‘Seikoku’ that had spread all over his body.

Espaldar, Brafoneras, Faldaje…

It was definitely Eco’s voice.

Escarcelas,Bufetas, Hombreras, Brazales…

Compare to the previous times, every single word that Eco said was followed by a deep tone.

Codales, Antebrazos, Manoplas…

Without any reason, Ash felt courage from within.

Quijotes, Guardas, Grebas… Escarpes…

Lastly, Eco was left with the last word.

-Espolón!

Ash who was going to crash into Fontaine Palace was surrounded by holy lights.

It felt as if he was surrounded by angel’s wings.

Even though Ash had an illusion of he was ascending to heaven, Eco’s voice had disrupted this peaceful feeling.

“You absolutely must accept my feelings!”

===Part 18===
As he opened his eyes, Ash was standing at the highest point of Fontaine Palace.

“I-I am saved?”

He saw Mordred was standing ferociously with only two legs while being bounded by the chains of the Maestros.

All of the nine eyes were burning with the flames of rage and looked like scarlet stars. Even though he was trying his best to break free from those chains, those Maestros kept on creating new chains.

“This… What is this feeling?”

Ash was looking at his own body.

His entire body was emitting heat and was overflowing with magic.

It have to be the Ark that Eco presented to me- Yet to Ash’s dismay, what he was wearing right now was still his cloths that looked like rags.

There was not even an Ark that could be seen.

Even so, Ash still continued to feel safe as if he was protected by the Ark. Furthermore, the ‘Seikoku’ that was on his entire body was alive.

What is happening?

Hey, why are you daydreaming! Quickly use the Ark-weapon!

Eco’s voice was once again could be heard in his mind

“Eco…? What is happening?”

T-that is…?

Without any reason, Eco became silent. It felt as if she was embarrassed because of a certain something.

As if to speak on Eco’s behalf, another voice appeared in his mind.

Huhu. That is an original Ark that Eco had created on her own. However, it is still incomplete and even that shape had not been decided on yet.

“This voice… Are you Navi!”

The Ark represents proof of the oath of a dragon that swears to hand over their body and feelings to their knight. At the same time, it was a proof that it was connected to the Master’s heart. Right now, you are recognized as the Avalon’s knight.

I-I only wanted to get back my own body!... It was never meant to be given to you!

Ara, who is the person who was crying because she was worried about Ash? I wonder.

S-Shut up!

Eco and Navi seemed to had started an argument.

Ash made a wry smile because they could still have the mood to quarrel even under such dangerous situation.

All the negative emotions like unsecured and frightened had disappeared.

However- Right after that, Ash had a bad premonition as if a pair of cold hands had held on to his spirit. When he raised his head, Mordred’s eyes were filled with sparks and were marking him.

It had obviously begun to take notice of Ash who was previously being regarded as a louse.

“Guuuuuoooooooooooooooooooooo…!”

Although Mordred was still bounded by those magic chains, he still managed to open his jaws after putting in some effort.

There was a ball of light that could be seen appearing in front of his nose and it was slowly expanding-

Ash felt a large amount of energy from it. It was thanks to the Ark that his senses had sharpened.

Navi warned Ash in his mind.

That’s bad. Even though Mordred have not fused with me, he is still very strong…!

“Rest assured. I will personally deal with it.”

Ash immediately started to search for information regarding his Ark-weapon. Thanks to his experience in equipping those mimics, his was able to complete his search in a short time.

Ash smiled from within his heart.

The Ark-weapon formed in his mind was undoubtably the strongest sword that had ever existed.

Ash readied his posture and started to chant the spell.

“An iron that could slash through anything…”

For every word he said, his ‘Seikoku’ that was all over his body was emitting heat and reacted strongly to it.

"A holy sword meant for a knight of all knights-”

At the same time, Ash felt that his palm was overflowing with an unlimited amount of magic.

The one and only treasured sword that had been passed down generations by generations in the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family had its shape formed in Ash’s palm.

“Appear- Excalibur!”

It was not only a huge brave and beautiful sword but also an Ark-weapon.

On its silvery white hilt were many scarlet coloured Milinniums and they were shining brightly.

After he held the holy sword with both hand tightly, Ash leaped.

At the same time, Mordred was giving out the dragon breath.

That was a ball of light with overwhelming powers that could destroy the entire capital to ground level in a blink of an eye. Followed by some purple electric around Mordred’s head, the ball of light was released at Ash’s direction.

To make things worse, Ash couldn’t avoid it because the entire Fontaine Palace and City was right behind him.

No- In reality, I won’t even need to avoid it.

“Uooooooooooooooooooooooooo!”

Ash as if he had forgotten about his fear rushed towards the ball of light.

In respond to Ash’s verve, the Millenniums at the hilt of the holy sword was giving out a bright light.

In respond to Ash’s verve, the shapeless Ark was releasing all its magic.

“Kirisakeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!” <ref>斬り裂け. Means to get split and break apart.</ref>

Just before being swallowed by that attack, Ash had swung the most powerful strike.

-Cut!!! <ref>斬. Ii was a word that was usually shouted when someone wanted to cut/slash/chop/kill off something.</ref>

At the same time the lump of energy was split into two, Ash was in mid-air. His vision was full of white and he could see nothing at all.

If not because of the protection he received from the Ark, all the cells in his body should had been reduced into nothing. Ash was indeed slashing through such high amount of temperature.

In the end, his vision finally widened.

The dragon breath that was sliced into two had its trajectory changed and each had landed at the Fontainia plains on both side of the capital and had exploded.

Although it was a huge explosion, apart from the strong wind, Fontaine City remained intact.

Ash had again lifted Excalibur and had it pointed at Mordred’s head.

At that moment, there was a creepy voice coming from Ash’s mind.

…Hold on! If you harm this body, the daughter of Avalon would also be-

The nine eyes kept on blinking as if it still had something to say.

“Haa! Now you start to beg from me… Know your place, Mordred!”

Ash remained determined and continued to land at the head.

Of course Ash knew that this body originally belonged to Eco.

He never had the intention to simply slash around with this sword.

However, to get rid of Mordred’s spirit, he needs Eco to bear with it for a few more moments.

What Ash had intended to do was not to kill Eco but to make her lost her strength.

Where is the best place to land my attack?

There is not enough time to think of such complicated problems.

It is because apart from Eco’s and his life, Ash was burdened with the lives of millions of residents of the capital. Ash decided to wager everything he had in the only possibility he could think of.

“Eat this, Mordred!”
[[Image:SnRK V04 243.jpg|thumb]]

Ash was landing at full speed.

''What are you trying to do…? Do you want to follow the Julius's footsteps and become a ‘dragon slayer’? I can’t understand this, I just couldn’t understand this…!''

Ash didn’t replied and had no intention of doing so.

“Whether you are a god or a devil-”

Ash’s sword and Mordred’s horn clashed with each other.

“All the dragons will have to listen to my command, not to mention-”

After he had pinpointed the crucial point to release Eco, Ash swung Excalibur-

“If it is my '''P.A.L'''!”

Followed by a sound of a metal clashing with rocks, the night sky was swallowed by a white light.

The thing that was chopped off by Ash and was flying in mid-air was the left horn.

“Guuuuooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo…!”

Mordred’s roar was echoing in the night.

===Part 19===

“Huhu. Mordred must be running away with his tail rolled up<ref>A proverb</ref> even though a spirit shouldn't have any tails.”

Mordred’s spirit was running under the night sky towards the east while he was being seen by Navi.

On the eastern side of the country is Chevron Kingdom’s land.

“So in the end he had escaped to Chevron Kingdom… I must wait until he rises up again before I could have him captured. Right now, I should give praise to Avalon’s Knight."

Navi gave herself a cheer and smiled.

Eco’s spirit was no longer beside her.

===Part 20===

Ash’s final blow had chopped off Eco’s left horn.

Last month during the time Ash was in the infirmary, he had bitten Eco’s horn. Furthermore, her left horn that was chopped off had made her recalled that feeling.

It was that ‘happy’ feeling that dragged Eco’s spirit out.

Her hearts memories and her body memories.

When both of them are thinking the same thing, Eco’s spirit managed to take back its own body and get rid of Mordred’s spirit.

Not only this method is impractical, its succession rate too is just as low.

However, Eco’s clearly remembered the feeling that Ash gave her.

-Navi had seen it all.

The body of the huge dragon had undergone some changes inside the glaring light.

The skin colour that was originally black had turned back to its original silvery white colour.

As for those nine creepy eyes, they had returned into two clear scarlet eyes.

Then-

The body that was bigger than Fontaine Palace was shrinking slowly and finally turned back into a young teenage girl with pink hair.

Ash gently hugged the angel like naked body in mid-air.

Although Eco was blushing, she still placed her hand on Ash’s back and hugged her knight.

"Princess of Avalon ~A.S.B.1365.7~" is closed.
<noinclude>

==References and Translation Notes==
<references />

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|-
| Back to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Chapter 7|Chapter 7]]
| Return to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Epilogue|Epilogue]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Chapter 8

2013-11-07T11:19:21Z

213.144.240.241: /* Part 9 */

==Chapter 8 - Avalon's Imperial Princess==
===Part 1===
In the mothership Beowolf- In the armory, under Dr Hoffman’s command the battle is in full swing.

Eco who was naked was floating in magic guided device. ‘Yggdrasill’s’ capsule. There were groups of technician working around her. This was out of Anya’s area of understanding. She could only stand by and wall and watch silently.

But, she understood well the pain that Eco was feeling.

The cold voice was followed by its echo when it was reflected on the metal body.

“The cartridge has been filled. Prepare for launching.”

“The countdown starts now. Ten, nine, eight… Three, two, one-.”

“Launch the compressed magic!”

A red bean was shot out followed by a loud gun shooting sound. Anya felt that even the ship was vibrating.

“…!”

Then, there were air bubbles coming from Eco’s mouth. If not because of she was in the liquid, her scream could definitely be heard.

Anya couldn’t bear to see Eco suffering and looked away.

Eco’s body had already taken at least ten shots of the compressed magic.

Eco regained her consciousness after the start of the experiment. At the beginning, she was struggling in the water, but ‘Yggdrasill’s’ capsule was not at all affected.

But after receiving a continuous dozens of compressed magic, she lost her strength.

Right now, she was just like a living dead. Her blank eyes were now lifeless and it was terrible. It was pure torture. Even so, the group of researchers led by Dr Hoffman were not at all shaken and continued silently.

“There is no significant change on the appearance of α. There are no abnormalities on her respiratory system. No magic fluctuation can be seen.”
Without realizing, the group of researchers started to refer Eco as α.

Eco is a human, a young dragon and also a living being- But this group of human had taken everything from her. To them, Eco was just experimental material α.
Who knows if they want to remove their feeling of guilt by calling her with symbols…Anya secretly thought so.

At this moment, Dr Hoffman’s voice is heard by Anya.

“Still no changes… It seems like we don’t have any more choices. Activate all the Millennium.”

Anya turned pale when she heard that.

This means that they had decided to use full power on ‘Yggdrasil’.

===Part 2===
“*Sob*… It was all… My fault. *Sob*…”

In the maid’s bedroom in the ground floor of the palace.

Prim was lying on the bed with her pillow wet with tears.

There was only Ash and Silvia beside her bed. Cosette was standing outside the room by the door.

Prim cried while she told the whole incident.

Prim arrived at the ancient palace when she was chasing Eco who was running amok.

She had met a few suspicious people there.

Seeing the enemy suddenly attacked, Eco appeared and became the bait to let Prim escape.

When Prim regained conscious, Eco was no longer there.

After hearing, Ash felt something suspicious.

“Why did you go to the ancient palace?”

“That’s because… It was my entire fault! It was my bad to say such things!”

“Prim, please stay calm. Compared to you, Ash was the person who suffered the most.”

After being advised by Silvia, Prim rubbed of her tears.

“You are right. Sorry…”

“Prim-san, please tell me everything before Eco was kidnapped!”

Prim nodded.

“I had no ill intention, it was just that… Ash-sama is a human and Eco is a dragon… So I thought that Eco would feel lonely after Ash-sama married with a human girl. The moment I told her that, Eco rushed out of the room.”

“What…!”

Who would have thought of this, Ash was speechless.

“Idiot! You… Why do you have to tell her this!”

Silvia was mad.

“If I am Eco… I will definitely feel hurt if someone told that to me! Even when Eco is a dragon, her thoughts are still those of a girl’s. She should know very well that her situation is special. Why was she born as a human? Why was she not born as a dragon… If I am Eco, I can never feel secure.”

“Princess-sama…”

Ash looked at Silvia who was telling Eco's thoughts in surprise.

“Recently, she had gotten used to the school life. She was also being loved by everyone as the student council’s mascot. Even so, to Eco, the only person she could trust in… Is no other than Ash.”

“And I… Have said something terrible…”

“Strictly speaking, Eco is still a young dragon who is not even a year old. Can’t you be a little more indirect in your-”

“Forget it, Princess-sama. Right now, we could never solve the problem even after lecturing Prim-san. What’s more, if they had this planned, no matter what Prim-san said, Eco would still have been kidnapped.”

“…You are right. But how are we going to rescue Eco?”

Silvia nodded in agreement with Ash.

“Prim-san… Could you describe those people who attacked?”

Ash was praying while asking. His only clue is Prim being the witness.

“Err…They pretended to be the palace servants. But, they didn’t look like citizens of the Knight Country. For their skin colour, it looked like they are the Tantalos…. Also, the person who attacked me is a short girl.”

“A Tantalos girl…!”

Ash was feeling Déjà vu. It was like he had found the last piece of puzzle in his memory.

“It was the girl who followed Milgauss!”

Ash’s fists were shaking. The world he was seeing was dyed in red. Even though he had a feeling that Milgauss was the culprit, still, after making sure, he was still in rage.

“Since we know who the criminal is-”

Silvia immediately stopped Ash who intended to rush out from the room.

“Hold on, Ash! Where do you think you are going to?”

“The ballroom, of course! I want to settle thing with Milgauss!”

“Keep your calm! Do you think that Milgauss will admit it even after you find him?”

“…Maybe not.”

Ash turned speechless.

Silvia was right, no matter how emotional he became, Eco still wouldn’t be able to return safely.”

Just as if she was trying to have Ash cooled down, Silvia made a suggestion in a calm voice:

“Don’t you think that this is a good time to save Eco when Milgauss is busy with the masquerade?”

“What do you meant?”

“Milgauss couldn’t even be bothered by an activity with long history such as this continental congress and will do anything just to capture Eco. Even when I don’t know what his intentions are, but capturing Eco alive is their priority. I am sure that their lackeys won’t do anything to harm Eco when the mastermind is absent.”

After listening to Silvia’s analysis, Ash gave a breath of relieve.

“The problem remains is, where is Eco’s location. Since Ash’s ‘Seikoku’ is not reacting, it means that Eco was being hidden in an enclosed place. For example something that could be a barrier to cut off magic… Anyway, it must be done with the proper equipment. It just can’t be a rally point that they have just constructed.”

“An enclosed place with proper equipments? That’s it, Milgauss has Klaus backing him up…”

Last evening, an airship flew past the evening sky…

The black ship that was waving the Empire’s flag proudly…

Ash remembered.

Ash and Silvia exchanged glances and shouted at the same time:

“Beowolf!”

===Part 3===
-W-Will…I die just like this…

Eco thought so.

The liquid in the capsule kept on rotating and Eco’s body was being swept by it.

Every time her shoulders or waist touches the glass, her body will move slowly in the opposite direction.

It seems like the liquid was made of special materials. Luckily, it doesn’t affect her breathing. But after suffering a few shots from the magic device, her body turned numb.

This feeling is like an empty mind floating in mid air.

-If I could just… Continue sleeping… Then I won’t feel any pain…

Just when Eco thought so, a power that surpassed those previous ones was released at her.

“Noooooooooo…!”

Even though she thought that she shouted in pain, in truth they were just air bubbles coming out from her mouth.

A bright light flashes and the water turns rapid. Just like being swallowed by a tsunami, her body kept on rotating and kept on hitting the glass around her.

-W….Why do I have to suffer this kind of pain.

It had passed the limit of her brain to just think of what they are going to do to her. She could only feel that her body had been injected with a vast amount of magic.

The pain she felt is just like her body being ripped open.

It felt like her organs were being messed up by someone.

-Urgh… It hurts…. It hurts…. I beg you all, please stop.

It is pointless no matter how she shouted in her mind, the magic was still flowing into the body. Eco’s body was jerking nonstop and she was struggling.

You might as well do me a favour by killing me-Eco gave up.

“…!”

At the next moment- The Necromancia’s slimy tentacles attacking her from all directions.

Eco couldn’t understand. Where did those tentacles appear from in this enclosed environment?

The tentacles which were wriggling like a snake slowly snatched her freedom.

Her arms, waist, legs… was entangled by those tentacles. -Stop! This must be an illusion! It is this device that was making me hallucinate…!

Eco tried to stay conscious and opened her eyes widely.

At that moment, the tentacles disappeared.

The feelings of being entangled by those tentacles also disappeared.

However, not long after that, she lost focus and the tentacles appeared again and had her waist surrounded.

In a blink of an eye, she was lifted by those tentacles.

-Stop!

[[Image:SnRK V04 183.jpg|thumb]]

An abnormally thick tentacle was approaching Eco’s face.

Eco kept her teeth closed with her might. If she was to be careless, the tentacle will surely wriggle into her mouth. Eco had Goosebumps just by think about it.

Eco initially wanted to ask for Ash’s help. She hoped that he could save him from this hell.

However, from the point she woke up in this device, she couldn’t even summon Ash.

Her Astral Flow with Ash had also been cut off.

The lost of her communication had put her in fear.

Eco was shocked that the lost of her connection with Ash would put her in such great fear.

-I am really an idiot. I only knew what is precious to me after I had lost it.

This experience had made her wanted to treasure Ash much more.

That’s right, without Ash, I can’t do anything… I am really a good for nothing.

-Don…

At that instant, there was something moving in her body.

===Part 4===
“Something is wrong! The magic indicator is showing an abnormal value!”

“We found an unknown magic source! Its power is increasing!”

“We have lost control of ‘Yggdrasill’! It ignored the emergency stop signal!”

The continuous bad news had made Dr Hoffman turn pale.

The laboratory was as if in a fire and a tense atmosphere was spreading.

Everyone was with a panicked look and were busy dealing with the buttons under their hands.

“What happened…?”

Anya who was looking from aside wondered.

Basically, there was nothing abnormal with Eco who was in the capsule.

Even though she was shot by the high power compressed magic and had struggle like she was having a nightmare, yet nothing dramatic had happened.

But the indicator was still indicating an abnormal value. Also, they were losing control of ‘Yggdrasill’.

The situation had suddenly become tense.

Even the emergency trigger had been triggered and the bell was ringing loudly.

-Dong!

At that instant, Anya heard something from the ground.

“What is that… Sound?”

As if to prove that it was not an illusion, ‘Yggdrasill’ magic indication exploded.

“Uwaa!”

Some groaned and all the surrounding deviced started to explode with red flames. All the technician were running away in fear.

“Don’t panic! Keep calm!”

Dr Hoffman shouted but not even a single soul was listening.

Because in everyone’s sights was Eco who was caged in the capsule.

Eco’s body was glowing with a dim light.

Even Anya was captivated by the sight in front.

“Dr Hoffman! Let’s escape!”

A young researcher advised Dr Hoffman. The rest of the researchers were agreeing with him and looked at Dr Hoffman.

Anya left the wall and walk towards Dr Hoffman’s back.

“Dr Hoffman, I also think that it would be wise if we escape now.”

“No!”

Anya was stunned by Dr Hoffman’s aura. She had thought of him as a kind old man and was forced to act cruel as a researcher. Who would know that he would have such a stubborn side.

“What are you thinking! Even an outsider like me knew that this is dangerous! Isn’t there Millennium attached to that device too?”

What Anya was worried about is the existence of the Millenniums. Just in case the Millenniums explode… Anya was thinking. Let alone Beowolf, it is not even surprising if the capital disappeared from the maps forever.

However, Dr Hoffman shook his head slowly.

“…I won’t. That will not happen. The energy in the Millenniums has run dry.”

“What?”

“All the magic energy… Was fully absorbed by experimental material α.”

“-!”

Anya looked at Eco dumbstruck.

The intensity of Eco’s light was getting stronger until the extend where one couldn’t look at her directly. Those‘Dong’sounds had become clearer.

Even though there were no dangers of the Millennium exploding, it doesn’t mean that they were free from danger. Eco right now was seen as the bomb.

Later, there was the loud sound of something breaking.

Different from the normal explosions, that explosion sounds like it was originated from something being applied pressure on.

“α….α is escaping!”

A researcher shouted.

The capsule containing eco was now in ruins and the liquid was flowing out like waterfall.

Eco can be seen floating with her eyes closed- in a short moment, she disappeared. What’s left is only stardust like magic particles floating in the air.

“She… Disappeared…?”

Anya dumbstruck, murmured alone.

===Part 5===
“Hey… Something’s wrong with Beowolf!?”

When Maestro Lancelot reached the landing space at a height of twenty meters, Silvia shouted:

“That is…!”

Ash who was riding on Lancelot behind Silvia widened his eyes.

The sacred airship Esperanza, airship Crown Solas and air ship Silvanus was lined up together.

On the other hand, the huge airship Beowolf was parked quite some distance away from the trio.

The suspicious thing was the black smoke emerging from Beowolf.

Could it be a fire?

If Eco is inside… Ash was too scared to think about it.

“Urgh…!”

At this moment, Ash felt a burning sensation from his left hand.

Although he nearly screamed in pain, he managed to tolerate with it.

It felt like suddenly putting his hand into a furnace.

“Is everything alright, Ash!?”

Silvia was worried about him and turned around and asked, but Ash couldn’t even reply because of the pain.

The ‘Seikoku’ engraved on his left arm was slowly moaning.

A while later, there was a glaring light coming out from his left arm and his sleeve up to his shoulders was burned off. Even the bandage was burned into pieces.

In a blink of an eye, Ash’s ‘Seikoku’ on his left arm was exposed.

“Wha…!”

The ‘Seikoku’ on his hand was glowing with different light intensity from time to time.

Ash was panicking.

It will be alright if it was just glowing but the heat and the pain sensation had no intention of stopping.

It felt that his left arm is going to explode anytime.

“Hey… What is actually happening?”

Silvia was in shock while holding the reins which was probably caused by the fright she experience from seeing Ash’s ‘Seikoku’s’ reaction.

“I don’t know… But I am now sure that I am again connected to Eco!”

Just like responding to Ash’s left arm, there was an object glowing in the sky.

“Ash! Look upwards!”

Silvia who noticed the abnormality was pointing at the sky. Ash too had noticed.

There was something glowing on the sky above the landing area.

“That is…”

The mysterious light was floating in the sky as if it was decorating it.

On the other hand, the full moon didn’t look as charming as before.

By taking a closer look, it was an egg with beautiful flow lines.

There was a big emblem that was carved on the pearl like egg. At a first glance, it looked like a royal emblem.

To be more specific, that emblem looked like Ash’s ‘Seikoku’.

-Don…Don…Don…

There was a frightening beating sound from the egg.

The confusing part is, it moved with the same rhythm as the glow on Ash’s ‘Seikoku’.

Ash immediately understood.

“I couldn’t be more wrong… Eco is in that egg!”

“How is that possible? What are you talking about…?”

“Princess-sama, I beg you. Please take me there!”

“…Alright. I believe in you. Fly Lancelot! Fly higher!”

But Lancelot ignored her orders. It stayed at the twenty meters height and looked at the egg with its head up.

“Hei… Lancelot? Anything wrong? Fly immediately!”

Even though Silvia shouted strictly, Lancelot still ignored her orders. On the other hand, it did an emergency landing at a corner of the landing space.

“What are you doing? Are you disobeying my orders, Lancelot!”

“…It is useless, Princess-sama. It seems that Lancelot has its own reason.”

“What did you say?!”

Silvia looked at Ash with an imposing manner.

“Do you know what Lancelot was thinking?”

“…I am not sure. It was probably affected by the ‘Seikoku’. I don’t know why, but I could somehow understand what Lancelot was thinking.”

After Ash and Silvia was forced to alight Lancelot unwillingly, Lancelot again spread its wings and shoot up into the sky.

Looking at Lancelot’s direction, Ash found out something important.

“Princess-sama! There are more and more… Maestros gathering together!”

Groups of Maestro were gathering from all direction. It had become an amazing night view created by the light from the Maestro’s magic.

One by one the Maestro appeared and gathered at the corner of the sky.

For Maestro’s whose numbers were already little to begin with to gather together, it was unheard of even in the old times-

===Part 6===
“What is actually happening…?”

Lancelot left its master and flew off on its own.

Although this had given Silvia a great blow, still the view of the night sky gave her a deep impression.

Silvia could clearly hear the ‘Pssshh’ sounds of the beating of the wings.

When she had personally seen the dream like view, all her attention had been captured by it.

That egg even had wings growing out of it and feathers with silver lights were falling off. It was like snows that beautify the night sky.

Then- there was a crack from the egg shell.

The winged egg split into two-

“Uoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!”

A roar as if it was a horn announcing the end to the world could be heard all over.

Silvia who couldn’t look straight into the glaring light closed her eyes. When she reopened her eyes, the winged egg was no longer there. It was replaced by something that was out of this world.

To describe this thing with a word will be either – GOD or DEVIL.

However what Silvia said was insulting.

“What a scary monster…!”

[[Image:SnRK V04 193.jpg|thumb]]

“Stop! You are not allowed to say that!”

Ash shouted and brought Silvia back o her sense.

“That must be...Eco. I can feel it... I can feel it!”

“Sorry, Ash...”

Although Silvia was annoyed by her gaffe, she still couldn’t believe that it was Eco.

Later, Eco landed slowly while being surrounded by numerous Maestros.

Although the pink fur and the red eyes is similar to Eco, but her horns looked sharp and fierce and doesn’t at all looked like Eco’s round stubs.

Also, there was a third horn in between the two horns. It was like a unicorn’s horn and was up straight.

Her wings which were spread widely were different from a normal Maestro’s. It made one think of an angel’s wings.

Followed by a loud bang, Eco landed.

Eco lifted up her gigantic hind leg up high- And The large airship that had been the pride of the Empire was squashed in a few seconds.

With the conning tower being right at the middle, Beowolf had been squashed into a V shape and immediately exploded.

Yet, Eco was not at all affected.

Eco probably lost interest in Beowolf and tried to wriggle her long neck. She slowly lowered her center of gravity.

The target of her scarlet eyes was the window of the tall Fontaine Palace.

===Part 7===
-An unidentified flying object appeared above the capital and all the Maestros in the country disobeyed their masters’ orders and gathered together.

Veronica who received the emergency report brought Glenn the captain of the escorts alone with her to the ballroom at the highest floor of the palace.

Anyway, there were important guests in the ballroom that gathered from all over the continent. No matter what happened, she must protect their safety in the name of the pride of the Knight’s country.

At the same time, she must bring back her father Oswald with her. He had most probably change his appearance and was drinking while mingling in the crowd.

While running on the long corridor, Veronica questioned Glenn:

“Did you too lose contact with your pal?”

“It totally ignored my summons and ignored my request to present me my Ark. From the looks of the current situation where all the Maestros are gathering in the capital’s sky, it probably has something to do with the unidentified flying object.”

“Then, our pride, the Holy Dragners of Lautreamont can be considered no more. If the Empire attacked us at this moment, without the protection of the Maestros, this country will fall in just a single night.”

“...I don’t have an excuse to offer.” <ref>面目次第も有りません have also the meaning of ‘It is a shame I don’t have the power to…’</ref>

Glenn lowered his head somberly.

===Part 8===
When Veronica and Glenn arrived at the ballroom, the palace music and the party atmosphere of the nobles had disappeared.

Most of the guests were by the glass window and were looking downwards in shock. From there they can see the landing area for the airships.

“That’s…!”

Veronica was also looking downwards through the glass window.

“It is dangerous to stand beside the window, Princess-sama!”

Glenn warned her but Veronica ignored him.

There was a change in the landing area.

A living object that was glowing with silver light suddenly landed there.

''-Uoooooooooooooooooo…!''

It was immediately followed by a loud roar that will made one feel like covering his ears.

It was stated in the previous report that ‘an unidentified flying object that looked like a huge egg’, but it seemed that the huge egg had hatched when Veronica was on her way.

The unbelievable thing is, that huge monster easily split the Empire’s huge airship Beowolf into two with just a stomp.

Right at this moment, there was a man from the crowd was making a fuss.

“Ooh, what is happening! How can a dragon of the Knight’s… Destroy the most advance airship which is our country’s pride! I don’t think that this is some simple matter!”

The man's words caused an uproar in the ballroom.

Until a moment ago, everyone had just found out that this monster is a dragon.

Talking about a dragon, everyone will think about Lautreamont Knight Country.

“Is that person…Klaus Viderhausen! He is obviously trying to cause a stir!”

Veronica angrily scolded and glared at the Empire’s young noble.

However, there was a man who stupidly tried to argue with Klaus.

“Nonsense! That monster had nothing to do with our country!”

Although the man was wearing a lion shaped mask, judging from his plum body, Veronica immediately knew who he is.

He is her father, Oswald.

“Klaus-dono! This is the truth! That monster has nothing to do with us! Please believe in me!”

“Hu… What you said was not at all convincing. Anyway, everyone here is a witness.”

Klaus was not even bothered by Oswald.

It was because what Klaus said is true. A huge dragon that appeared with no warning had destroyed the Empire’s airship right in front of everyone.

Nothing could be worst than this.

For Chevron Kingdom and Zepharos Empire who had never see each other eye to eye was originally going to discuss about the peace in between them in tomorrow’s continental congress ‘Elysium’.

To Chevron Kingdom and its ally Lautreamont Knight Country this should be a historical event.

“Stop… Let alone the Emperor, not even a royal from the Empire attends. It is a total joke. The Empire has never wanted peace-”

Just as Veronica finished her sentence, there were people screaming from everywhere.

Everyone was in a panic.

All the guests who were wearing their mask, including the musicians and the waiters, everyone were trying to escape.

Apart from Oswald who was crying, Klaus who had previously put the blame on the Knight Country was also fleeing.

“What…!”

Veronica who immediately turned around was also sweating tremendously.

There was a pair of scarlet eyes looking into one of the many palace windows.

She spent a few seconds to figure out that the dragon had stretched its neck and was looking into Fontaine Palace.

“Glenn, if I try to slash the pair of eyes with my huge sword… Do you think I have any chance of winning?”

“Please forgive my rudeness… Even if Princess-sama, you are no match for it.”

Glenn told the truth directly.

"Why must you be this honest?"

Veronica was sulking while she confronted the dragon eyes.

The round eyes.

''It looked like a baby’s pairs of eyes. Although it looked naïve, if this monster just rubbed its nose with the palace walls, Fontaine Palace will turn into dust in seconds. Furthermore, it will be a hill full of bricks and corpses…''

Even though she was thinking of such scenario, Veronica could still manage a smile.

“Kuku… So this is of feeling of my life being controlled by others. I praise you, my child!”

Seeing that Veronica had no intention of escaping, Captain Glenn advised her in panic:

“Princess-sama, please retreat!”

“I mustn’t. Some of the guests are still here.”

Veronica looked around the empty ballroom.

There was a man with a mask standing at the middle of the dance floor.

The man was wearing a elegant suit. However his hair colour was like a cloth stained with blood.

He is obviously the guy in the reports- Milgauss.

Veronica looked at him in admiration.

“Hmm… You indeed look a little like Julius. Remove your mask!”

To her surprise, he actually did it. He could be seen silently removing his mask and threw it to a side as if he doesn’t need it anymore.

“-!”

Veronica’s eyes widened.

The handsome face beneath the mask was undoubtably Julius of ten years later who had became a seinen.<ref>青年, man with age range between 20-
30.</ref>

He no longer had the rebellious feel with him in his teenage years and was replaced by a feeling of a weapon that had been well polished.

“So you are Julius…!”

As if to sweep away her worries, Julius walked to the side of the window. At the same time, the dragon’s face disappeared as if it had lost interest with the empty ballroom.

Julius was standing by the window looking at the huge dragon.

“Kukuku… I have been waiting for this moment for a long time!”

That sinful voice and the devil like smile made Veronica feel uneasy.

Glenn took a step forward as if trying to ask on behalf of Veronica.

He unsheathed his sword that was on his waist.

“You can’t be Julius, no? My friend would never show such a malicious smile."

“Oh, Glenn McGuire! I remembered you are one of the guys that appeared in Julius’s memories. It should be suitable to use ‘it has been a long time’ in this situation, don’t you think so?”

“What do you mean!”

“You still don’t get it? This body is indeed Julius’s. However, I am not Julius. But I can peek into Julius’s memories anytime."

“What is happening…?”

Veronica was curious but it was not bothered by the man.

“Kneel! Quick! Look carefully! You are witnessing a historical moment!”

The man was acting like a holy man in the religious painting. He spread his arms widely and declared his name.

“I am Mordred! The descendant of the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family.”

Vreonica couldn’t believe what she had just heard.

The Maestro that Julius sacrificed his life to kill is named Mordred. It is also Julius’s Pal.

''Is it possible that Mordred has taken over Julius’s body?''

In regards of Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family- Veronica had only recently heard about this name.

The ‘Old Testament of the Stella Biblia’ that Dr Angela Cornwell found in Willingham Mausoleum.

Basically, Veronica had read through the copy of the book.

She recalled a part of the book.

“…After the wise dragon Inbroke, two major bloodlines were formed. They are the Avalon’s holy dragons emperor family and the Nehalennia’s dark dragons king family. An endless war started between these two families. After the members of the two families reincarnated, they will encounter each other, hate each other and kill each other.”

The person in front had introduced himself as the descendant of the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family.

Then, who is the person who should be representing the descendant of the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family-?

At this moment, Veronica stopped thinking because of Glenn’s shout.

“So I see… You are the root of evil! I knew that Julius didn’t turn crazy! He will always be loyal to his beliefs and tried to have you removed even when he had to commit a crime in the Knight Country!... Return Julius to us!”

Followed by a shout, Glenn reduced their distance and there was a silver flash.

However, Mordred easily parried Glenn’s slash.

“Urgh!”

Glenn growled.

Morderd had stopped the high speed slash with only his index and middle finger.

Glenn could be seen standing still while holding his sword. No, that’s not the case, Veronica understands well.

It was not that Glenn was not moving, it was because that he was unable to move.

Mordred had overpowered Glenn with just two fingers.

“Hmph… I will let you experience the punishment for being disobedient to ''god''."

After Mordred gave a cold smile, there was a flash.

“Gwaaa!”

Glenn was knocked up into the air while unable to even resist. He knocked into the wall hard and became unconscious.

Veronica didn’t even have the time to care about Glenn and stared at Mordred.

“…I don’t understand. As far as I know, you should have a good relationship with Julius. Didn’t you even present him with an ark?”

“Hmph, the one who has a good relationship with Julius is another me. That me who acknowledged Julius as its master and associated with him quite well."

“Another me? What are you talking about?”

“Let me generously explain it to you as your last gift before you die. There were two personalities in Mordred. If it was to be a human, it would be called a split personality.”

“What happened to the other personality?”

“It has disappeared together with the body. Ironically, it was it and Julius who had planned to kill me. For me, to prevent myself from dying, I sacrificed my body and changed into this spiritual form and inhabited Julius’s body.”

Upon saying that, Mordred looked out of the window.

Right beside the palace, the dragon was standing on its hind legs and was looking around curiously. It seemed to be troubled because it couldn’t understand what was happening.

Mordred declared to that dragon:

“Descendant of the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family, I will take that body of yours!”

“Now I understand, so this is what you planned…!”

At this stage. Veronica finally found out what Mordred is aiming for.

Mordred had once lost his body in the past when it was killed by Julius.

However, if it could take over the body of the descendant of the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family, it can once again be born as the strongest dragon…!

“That will never happen, Mordred!”

Veronica unsheathed the huge sword on her waist.

Even though she knew that he was not an opponent that she could win in a direct confrontation, she still couldn’t bear to watch idly from the side.

''I will kill Mordred together with Julius’s body before he can manage to take over Avalon’s body-'' Veronica rushed forward while thinking so.

Even when it is her brother’s body that we are talking about, she had no intention of showing any mercy.

But, before Veronica could land a hit on Mordred, suddenly, there was darkness emerging from his body and spread all over the ballroom.

“Urgh… What is this dark mist… My conscious…!”

The moment she was surrounded by the darkness, Veronica felt a strong feeling of vomiting and fainting.

===Part 9===
After struggling in the darkness without knowing what was happening for some time- The darkness had finally disappeared.

“Are you alright, Veronica?”

There was a guy who held out his hand to Veronica who was struggling to stand up.
[[Image:SnRK V04 207.jpg|thumb]]
“You…!”

There was killing intent in Veronica’s eyes.

To her surprise, Mordred who should be busy with taking over Avalon’s decendent’s body had tried to help her.

However, there was no longer evilness on his face.

“You… Could you be Julius?”

“Ahh, that is me. You are still the same old you for not calling me ‘Anii-ue’.”

It seemed that because Mordred was gone, Julius was able to take back his body.

“Of course… You F.O.O.L”

Upon hearing, Julius smile but he immediately returned back to his serious expression.

“Sorry, but now is not the time for us siblings to be arguing. Mordred's spirit has already inhibited Eco’s body. We have the obligation to defeat Mordred and protect this city.”

At that instant, Veronica felt a pain from her head as if she had just been struck.

“Hold on! Did you just say Eco? That huge dragon… is actually Eco?”

“I will explain the details to you later. Can you stand up?”

“Hmph… Whom do you think you are talking to!”

Using the huge sword as a walking stick, Veronica put all her effort into standing up. But, it was probably the side effect of inhaling in the darkness, in the end, she fell down again.

“Princess-sama!”

The person who reached Veronica first was Glenn. Although he was badly injured, he had regained consciousness.

Glenn held on to Veronica and glared at Julius.

“Julius… I have numerous things that I want to tell you, but please allow me to tell you this first.”

“I can guess what you want to say but be my guest.”

While facing the calm Julius, Glenn with mixed feelings shouted to Julius:

“You… Damn you!”

===Part 10===

Seeing that the Empire’s airship was easily crushed, the sacredship Esperanza and magicship Crown Solas flew off immediately.

Only magicship Silvanus remained at its location overlooking the whole incident.

Although Silvanus had yet to attack Eco, Ash was still worried stance the captain is Veronica.

Even so, seeing that Silvanus still haven’t make its decision, Veronica probably had not board the ship. They were most probably waiting for Veronica’s orders.

On the other hand, if Veronica had boarded the ship, there is a high chance that she will issue an attack on Eco. To protect the capital, Veronica will make this decision without any hesitation. Anyway, Silvanus fire power is not something that can be ignored.

“I…I will protect Eco!”

Ash made up his mind and rushed forward.

“Hold on, Ash. Do you want to be crushed!”

Silvia blocked Ash with her arms spread.

“Please move aside, Princess-sama! Who will protect Eco if I don’t!”

“Please keep your calm! Even so, what can you do!? How are you going to ride Eco who had turned into that? What’s more, what are you going to do to ride on Eco?”

“I…”

Silvia was right. During the time when the Necromancia attacked Ansarivan, he received help from Silvia and Lancelot.

But luck was not on his side. Lancelot who he could place his hope on had not yet returned after it gathered with the rest of the Maestro. The group of Maestros were still circling above the sky while waiting for something to happen.

To his relieved, after Eco crushed Beowolf, she had not made any frightening actions. Although Ash was sweating tremendously during the time she looked into Fontaine Palace through the window, he was lucky that she leave immediately.

Right now, Eco was only looking around and sniffing the building around her as if to figure out what was happening. In regards to what had happened to her body, she probably hasn’t figured it out yet.

“In conclusion, we must keep her as far from the town as possible. In case that she entered the town…"

Upon listening to Silvia’s assumption, Ash was shaking in fear.

Fontaine City has a population of around a million.

In another words, a million lives were now in Eco’s hands.

The severity of the current situation was no longer only involved Ash and Eco.

“Guooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo…!”

At that moment, Eco was roaring in pain and started to struggle. There was a change in her appearance that was originally surrounded by a silver light.

Just like a white cloth that came in contact with ink, there black colour was slowly taking over the white.

“…Eco? What’s happening!”

Ash could only look at Eco transform without doing anything.

The change in her skin was only the start.

Her angle like feathers had transformed into a crow like wings.

The previous middle horn of the three horns had disappeared and her pair of horns had turned into spiral shape.

Also, her four limbs were growing at a fast speed. It will be better to describe her as a giant like body rather than a huge beast. That huge body gave a evil feeling.

Last of all, there were nine eyes on its face and were glowing with red lights.

“Nine eyes…!”

Ash remembered something.

Eco once had a nightmare.

In her dream, was Eco attacked by the nine eyed dragon…?

-Don!

At that moment, Eco who had turned into that black dragon gave a dragon breath.

The flame emitted pierced the sky and scattered the dark clouds.

If this flame was aimed at Fontaine Palace or the town… Ash had Goosebumps just by thinking.

“Silvia, so you are here!”

At this moment, there was a fierce voice coming from behind.

It was Silvia and Glenn when they turned around.

Glenn was badly injured and looked like a rag.

Apart from that- There was another man that was following Veronica.

It was already surprising if a person was allowed to walk side by side with Veronica, yet it was far more surprising when they noticed the man’s hair colour.

“Milgauss! Why are you here!”

Ash felt that he was having Goosebumps all over his body. At the same time, he felt that Milgauss looked familiar. He remembered that he had seen that face in a portrait.

“Are you… Anii-ue?!”

Silvia shouted before Ash.

“Yeah. Although it is a little hard to believe, I am Julius. But I don’t have the time to give you any explanations right now. Firstly, we need to get rid of Mordred’s spirit from Eco’s body- Ash.”

When his name was suddenly called by Julius, Ash became nervous.

The person in front of him really felt like Prince Julius Lautreamont.

Julius stepped forward and placed his hand on Ash’s shoulder.

“Only you as the master can save Eco. Understood?”

“Yes. I had thought of that too myself.”

Julius smiled.

“Good answer. I will take the responsibility to bring you to Eco.”

“But… How are you going to do it?”

“Don’t worry. We have that.”

After he finished his sentence, Julius was pointing at- Magicship Silvanus that was actually resting at the far end of the landing area.

===Part 11===
“Ara. I don’t remembered inviting you here…Dark Dragon King Mordred.”

In the dragon workshop, Navi and Mordred were having a confrontation. She was sitting on her favourite chair with her legs crossed.

“Kuku. This is your last time to be able to be this relaxed.”

Mordred’s spirit still maintained Julius’s voice. It was probably because it had inhibited in Julius’s body for more than ten years…Navi thought so.

“I had taken over sixty percent of Eco’s body. It is only a matter of time that I can fully take control of her body. Avalon is losing.”

“…”

“Next, if I can fuse together with you, I can be fully awakened as the Dark Dragon King. Follow me. Even though you are called Navi, but I clearly know that you are not a normal navigator. You are the incarnation of the Dragweiss.”

“Ara. Just what I thought of the Dark Dragon King. You had made quite some investigation on your own.”

“Fuse with me quickly. Give me the supreme knowledge. Strictly speaking, Avalon and Nehalennia have the same roots… I should also be qualified to fuse with you.”

“I don’t disagree with this.”

Upon hearing Navi’s answer, Mordred smiled.

“So you agreed?”

“No I don’t. It is because I don’t like Nehalennia.”

“…What do you say?”

“I am rooting for Avalon's Imperial Princess and her knight. Especially her knight… Ash Blake, he is far manlier than you.”

“Hmph…what a fox you are. Since it had came to this, I will use force-”

Suddenly, there were numerous tentacles coming from under Mordred’s legs. They were like snakes that had found their prey and attacked Navi.

===Part 12===
“I am sorry. Could everyone apart from Ash and I leave this ship?”

Upon stepping into Silvanus’s wheelhouse, Julius spoke coldly.

The crew responsible for the control of the wheel and control communications turned around and looked Julius in confusion. Then they are all frightened as is they had seen a ghost.

They shouldn’t be blamed since the prince that should have been executed years ago was standing in front of them and had asked them to do something unreasonable.

“Hold on… Prince Julius! What do you planned to do?”

Seeing that Ash was requesting for an explanation, at the same time Julius answered, he turned around and looked at Veronica who was preparing to sit on the captain’s seat.

“I just don’t want the rest of the people to die with us. Veronica, I hoped that you could also help me by giving out the orders.”

“Do you think that I would even listen to that joke?”

“If the sister is stubborn, the elder brother will have to face some trouble.”

The next instant, Julius seize Veronica from behind with lightning speed. He was holding a hidden gun. It was a mechanic gun that the military of the Empire used.

Julius even chose to place the tip at Veronica’s temple.

“There is not much time. You should try to listen to your brother sometimes, Veronica.”

“Are you kidding! Silvanus is my magicship. Don’t even think of always doing what you wanted to, Julius.”

“As I had said before, I am your brother. Maybe you are a perfect princess in front of our people, but I knew your achilles heel. If you still disobey me, I will expose it in front of everyone.”

“What achilles heel?”

“I knew that you love Silvia. There are Silva portraits in your room. The clothes that Silva wore, Silva’s growth record, the poem that you wrote from missing Silvia and also Silvia’s human size doll-”

“I-I promise! Keep quite immediately!”

Ash was in a shock. He had never expected Veronica to surrender easily.

“Everyone, leave the ship immediately! This is an order from Veronica Lautreamont! No one is allowed to disobey!”

All the crew members rushed out from the wheelhouse.

===Part 13===
When everyone had left the magicship, Julius flied Silvanus while sitting on the pilot’s seat.

With the sudden shake of the magicship, Ash held on tightly to the seat of the communication officer to avoid falling. Looking through the round window, the magicship was getting further and further away from the ground.

It was a totally different experience from sitting on a dragon. When this lump of metal was flying with passengers- At the same time Ash was amazed, he also started to worry about crashing.

As for Julius, he was piloting Silvanus while telling Ash the whole story.

===Part 14===
Although what Julius said was hard to believe, basically, the dragons were seperated into the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family and the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family. The two families had incarnated since the ancient times and were still fighting each other right until today.

Also, Eco is Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family’s descendant.

In another words, Eco is the Imperial Princess of the dragon.

“…Even after I had heard of such things, it is still hard for me to believe this. Eco who had been living with me was obviously a girl who sleeps late, a glutton and a hot headed girl...”

“I know how you feel. When I found out that my pal is the descendant for the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family, I was also astounded. In the beginning, I was also troubled by why was I chosen.”

Julius said.

“Back to the topic, Avalon’s Imperial Princess’s body is really huge. Even though she is still a young dragon, she had this unbelievable huge size… It is totally unbelievable.”

After Julius pressed a few buttons on the dashboard, Eco’s body was shown on the huge screen in front.

Silvanus was three hundred meters above the land and was looking at Fontaine city from the sky above.

From the screen, they can see Eco's back that had turned black because of being taken over by Mordred.

With its frightening spiral horns and nine eyes… It is exactly the image of the dark dragon king.

Eco who was originally standing on two legs was now standing on all four because of the pain caused by Mordred’s take over.

The worrying part is, Eco was not moving at all and yet she doesn’t look as if she was sleeping…

“Could it be that Eco was fighting Mordred?”

Julius shook his head in disagreement.

“It is impossible. Judging from the huge change of her body, I am afraid that… Eco don’t even have the strength to fight back.”

“Is it…”

“But not all hope is lost. In my opinion, Navi was fighting against Mordred.”

“Navi?”

Why would he mention Navi’s name at such a time?

Before that, how would Julius know about Navi?

“Navi is the incarnation of the Dragweiss. If Navi could keep on fighting back, even after Mordred could fully take over Eco’s body, he still couldn’t be fully awaken.”

“What do you meant?”

“Regardless of the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor or the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king, both of them must fuse with the Dragweiss to obtain the supreme knowledge, only then they could receive their true power. I believe that Mordred right now is trying his best to make Navi his.”

“How come… you knew so many about him?”

“That was because it shared the same body with Mordred. Just like what he did to blend into the human society… I could also look into his memories.”

After hearing what Julius had said, Ash was still confused. However, there exists thing that could be easily understood without the need of good brains.

“In another words, this is a great time for a counter attack when Mordred was busy dealing with Navi, right?”

“That’s right. This is our only chance for victory. If you can ride on Eco and chase of Mordred’s spirit, then you can save Eco and the capital together.”

Ash nodded in agreement to what Julius had said.

“I am willing to give it a try. No matter it is Avalon or Nehalennia… I don’t think I even know what they mean. I only know that Eco is my pal.”

When Ash turned around and prepared to walk back to the deck, Julius spoke from behind:

“Although I don’t know why you are chosen… But I am glad that you are Eco’s knight.”

===Part 15===
“Urgh…”

Ash arrived at the deck and the winds were cold. Such temperatures were unheard of during the summer.

Ash was carrying a parachute- This is a decision made by Julius and him beforehand.

When Silvanus had come close to Eco, Ash will jump off from the deck with the help of the parachute.

After landing, it is all up to Ash.

Basically, Ash had gone through the landing practices in the academy.

Ash had never intended to become a soldier and had always thought that the academy was wrong to force them to go through the practices.

Anyway, the academy is not a military school- But who would expect that those practices must be applied right now.

“…Right there.”

Ash was looking down towards the ground from the bow and had located Eco’s back.

Although her fur had turned black but since the enormous amount of magic surrounding her was giving off strong rays of light, he won’t have to worry about missing his target.

He must make use of the time that Navi was fighting against Mordred to land on Eco’s head.

Julius voice emerged from the magic communication device:

“Ash, you may jump anytime.”

“Roger that.”

Ash looked downwards for one more time.

For such a huge beast, her only blind spot will be her head.

Ash tried to imagine himself riding on Eco’s head.

To his surprise, it was not at all scary.

The ‘Seikoku’ on his left arm was getting warm and was flickering with dim light.

It felt as if his ‘Seikoku’ was urging him to move quickly.

Suddenly- Eco lifted her neck and shot a dragon breath towards Silvanus.

“…Urgh!”

A bright light pierced through the night sky. Ash surrendered against the shaking deck and fell down. Although Julius had barely avoided a direct hit by giving the ship an emergency turn, the strong breath had burned the side of the ship into ashes.

There were smokes and fire emerging from the ship itself and it had lost balance.

“Tsk…! If you kill me, Eco will die too! If that happens, you also couldn’t get your hands on Eco’s body that you desired that much...! How could someone be this stupid?”

When Ash was groaning, Julius voice could be heard once again through the communication machine:

“Ash, are you alright!”

“Yes, I am!”

“Silvanus is going to do an emergency landing! Jump quickly!”

“I also intend to do so!”

Ash clenched his teeth and jumped off from the deck.

The moment his feet left the deck, Mordred gave a second dragon breath.

Looking backwards, he saw Silvanus’s deck suffered a direct hit from the dragon breath.

Ash shuddered. He was lucky that he had jumped of earlier or else he would be turned into dust.

Although Julius had said there are going to do an emergency ‘landing’, judging from the speed Silvanus was moving downwards, it looked like it was crashing.

Finally, the unbalance ship disappeared at the other end of the palace walls- Then a fire pillar could be seen followed by a loud explosion.

“Prince Julius…!”

Ash was sad but there was nothing he can do.

Julius had risked his life to fly him into the night sky.

The only thing he can do right now is to complete his mission in return.

Ash's body was moving downwards because of the gravity pull.

His face and ears felt like being crushed by the air pressure.

“Now is the time!”

Ash had got the timing right and spread open the parachute.

The amazing braking force had caused the parachute to slow down.

If another dragon breath was shot, Ash would certainly be hit but Ash prayed that he will not have such bad luck.

“Wait for me, Eco. I will protect you… I swear!”

===Part 16===
“Damn! Where am I?”

Eco found out that she was in a cage when she woke up. When she was looking at her body, she found out that she was wearing a dress with low standards.

This style is obviously not of Eco’s preference.

Any dress in Fontaine Palace’s changing room looked better that this. It is even as heavy as lead and it felt more like a binding item rather than an evening dress.

On the other side of the cage was a wide white space. The walls, the floor and the ceiling was white. Not even a dust that could be found.

“How dare anyone to cage a dragon like me in this cage… What were they even thinking!?”

Eco was definitely confused. Yet she still vaguely remembered that she was awakened as a dragon. She even remembered that she had become huge and was looking at the whole Fontaine palace.

But her memories stopped there.

“Tsk…It seems that you are alright since you are this energetic even under such situation.”

It was a familiar voice.

“Navi? You…!”

Navi was standing outside of the cage. Even though Eco disliked Navi, but under such situation, Eco was grateful that Navi was here and felt that Navi was like an angel.

The Eco’s Angel was now looking like a ragdoll.

Navi who was always acting calm and give out a noble like feeling was now with a messed up hair and even her evening dress was in rags. All over her body were marks of being bounded.

“What happened? This doesn’t look like you at all…”

Eco was taking a closer look at Navi.

“Hmm…I am only accompanying Mordred in his game. It was just that, his tentacles fetish had given me some trouble!”

“Mordred? Who is that?”

“Please lend me your hand.”

Eco stretched her hand through the gaps in between the bars of the cage. After Navi held her hand, a mass amount of knowledge flowed into her brain.

In a blink of an eye, Eco knew everything that had happened. Only until now that she had realized that she was in her spiritual from.

“To make it simple… That person called Mordred is trying to take over my body, right?”

“That’s right. Anyway, during the time I was running around, he had done nothing bad. But if it is to destroy this capital, it will be an easy task for him.”

“Hmm… So I am such a great dragon.”

According to Navi’s information, Eco is Avalon’s Imperial Princess.

“Huhu. Now Ash is going to look at me differently.”

Seeing that Eco was feeling proud, Navi sighed.

“As long as he can survive. He seems to be doing something foolhardy again.”

Navi held Eco’s hand again and Eco closed her eyes.

That current situation was sent into Eco’s brain as projections.

“What…!”

Eco was speechless.

Under the night sky- Ash leaned out from Silvanus’s deck.

The next instant, Mordred gave a dragon breath from the ground.

Silvanus was hit and was gliding in the sky as if it was a paper plane.

On the other hand, Ash jumped into the air and was falling with his head pointing downwards.

“Hold on… Is he crazy!?”

At that moment, Eco clearly heard Ash’s mumble.

"Wait for me, Eco. I will protect you… I swear!”

In a short moment, tears started to flow from her eyes. Even though she was a spirit, her tears still kept on flowing. Even the Dragweiss couldn’t give an explanation. A warm feeling was haunting her heart… What was that feeling?

“Why…Why? Why would he… try to do so many things for me? Even when I… Had caused many, many troubles for him?”

Navi stretched her hand into the cage and patted her head.

“Do you even have to ask? It is because you are his pal.”

Eco rubbed off her tears and lifted her head.

“Navi, please tell me what can I do for him.”

“Teehee. That’s more like it.”

Navi smiled and waved her hand lightly. With a flash, the cage had disappeared. At the same time, the black dress that limits Eco’s movement had been broken into particles and a pure white evening dress was raveled from beneath.

In a short time, Navi removed Mordred’s seal.

“I must say that… You are very good.”

Eco was looking at her dress. It designs compromised of the elements of elegant and pure. It is as if it was made to be worn by the Avalon’s Imperial Princess.

“No matter how great I am, I can't help you with the upcoming step. Understood?”

Eco nodded in reply.

“Then, what should I do?”

After Navi smiled, she cheekily said:

“Of course you are to present him your originally made Ark and the Avalon’s Imperial Princess.”

The next instant, Eco became confused.

“What? Are you serious?”

As if it was natural to do so, Navi nodded without any hesitation.

“All the mimics that you had created for emergency in the past… is useless against Mordred.”

“But, how am I to do this impossible task!?”

An original Ark could not be completed easily.

It was because of Eco had seen her ancestor’s blueprint; she understands how hard it can be. An Ark is not only a strong magic weapon, at the same time, it is also a perfect art masterpiece.

Not to mention that Eco was still a young dragon that was not even a year old without any experience. Navi’s suggestion was like asking a baby to build a palace.

“Anyway, it will not be called difficult if the blueprint could be easily created.”

Eco gave up before she even started but Navi ignored it.

“Rest assured, you must believe in your own ability. You are an Imperial Princess who is the blood descendant of Avalon.”

“But… what we must think about is not only the armour itself, there is also the Ark-weapon…”

“Listen carefully, the shape itself doesn’t matters. It was the mental power of the creator that decide the strength of the Ark. Even if you don’t know the shape, as long as you focus, the shape of the Ark will be formed.”

“Really…?”

“Yeah. Also, you don’t have to worry about the Ark-weapon. Avalon has a treasured sword that had been passed down through the generations. Just use it.”

After a moment of silent, Eco mumbled:

“…I had always disliked you since the first time I met you. Regardless of your relaxed attitude or your looks that was similar to mine or your overly large breast…I hate them and hate them very much! However… It is funny that I felt that you are trustable.”

Eco lifted her head and smile.

Navi also returned a smile.

At the same moment, Eco felt that a light had pierced through that darkness that had been blocking her eyes.

She didn't want to look for trouble anymore.

And she definitely doesn’t want to give up before taking up the challenge.

While the evening dress was swaying, Eco spoke with confidence:

“Just wait and see. I will definitely complete my original Ark!”

===Part 17===
“Damn… What kind of joke is this!”

Although Ash had finally landed on Eco, still the landing spot was her back and not her head. It was exactly beside the joints between the body and the wings.

That pair of wings was like the wings of a new born bird. It was still wet and was unable to fly right away.

Maybe this is my only life saver…Ash secretly thought.

Black furs were grown from her uneven skin. It felt like a Necromancia. He must get rid of Mordred’s spirit and return Eco to her original appearance as soon as
possible.

To achieve this, he must try to ride her gigantic body. However… Ash was looking at Eco’s head from afar.

Connected to her back that was as huge as prairie was a long neck that looked as if it was a stairway to heaven. And her head with spiral horns was at the other end of the neck.

His current aim was to ride on her head and try to control her using his will as a dragner. However… The distance between them was huge. It was like trying to climb the dangerous Xenoglavia Mountains without any climbing tools.

“Stop… This is not the time to give up.”

Ash threw aside the parachute and move forward while pushing aside those furs that were taller than his height.

“Now I really looked like a louse…”

In reality, Mordred treat Ash as nothing but a louse. That is why he was not bothered by Ash at all.

“Just wait and see. Your overconfidence will be the cause of your death, Mordred…”

Although Ash kept on talking to himself to boost his confidence, but every time he looked towards her head, he felt like falling apart.

Suddenly, there was a change in the night sky.

Those Maestros who were originally circling in the sky started to make their movements.

Those Maestros could be seen gliding towards Mordred and had him surrounded.

“Grrrrrrrrrrrrr…”

Mordred lifted his neck and gave a threatening growl. However, before he even managed to attack, the Maestros activated their magic at the same time.

With a flash, chains that were made from magic appeared. Numerous chains had tied down the huge dragon’s neck, front legs, hind legs, tail…

“Guuuoooooooooooooooooooo…!”

Mordred was struggling with all his might but the chains wouldn’t even budge.

“They…!”

It can’t be wrong. These Maestros were trying to seal Mordred’s movement. Who know if they were thinking that the dragon worthy to take to top is not Mordred but Eco.

At that moment, a Maestro landed right in front of Ash. Its pair of horns that looked like a dear’s looked familiar to Ash. Then a clear voice could be heard coming from behind the dragon.

“Ash… Hurry up!”

“Lukka!? Why are you here?”

That is. The Maestro that suddenly appeared from above was Gawain and Lukka was riding on its back. Ash felt nostalgic.

Lukka while feeling worried gave Ash a short explanation.

“Err… The Maestros in the seven dragon house was escaping together. I risked my life to cling on Gawain… In the end, I found out that I was already here.”

“Did Rebecca and Max come together?”

Lukka shook her head. It was probably Ash's mistake that he felt that Lukka’s ears were slightly drooping.

“Only I noticed that something was going on with the Maestros…”

“Is that so…”

As if to interrupt Ash’s and Lukka’s conversation, Gawain roared with its jaws opened.

It was as if trying to tell Ash to ride on it quickly. Ash naturally didn’t reject this offer.

“Thank you!”

Just as Ash sat on Gawain’s back, Gawain flapped its wings.

After piercing through the night sky, Gawain’s altitude was increasing following the direction of Mordred’s neck. Lukka’s riding skills was as good as ever and could only be described by perfect.

Ash was clinging tightly to Lukka’s thin waist to avoid from dropping off.

However, Mordred will not stay silent. Although he was being tied down, it was still struggling and roaring loudly.

Suddenly, magic cannons continued to appear in the sky and was firing at Gawain.

Ash was trembling when he saw those cannons.

It was because those cannons looked like the weapon that Ash used during his fight with Milgauss in Willingham Mausoleum. The only difference is, each cannon was around Gawain’s size.

“Magic shield Aegis…!”

“Need not worry… It will be alright as long as we are not hit.”

Lukka was not at all shaken.

As if she had fused with Gawain, she was controlling Gawain by moving left and right and dangerously avoided the crossing light rays.

It even used its dragon breath and those magic canons were destroyed one by one.

When Gawain had successfully passed Mordred’s head, all the magic cannons had disappeared.

“Ash, now’s the time…!”

Just when Lukka shouted, Gawain did a summersault.

At the point where the sky was upside down, Ash jumped down.

He drew a big locus in the night sky and successfully land in between the two horns. Looking from a close distance, the horns looked more like an altar than a horn.

When his feet landed on that spot, he felt satisfied. It was probably his dragner’s intuition that told him this is the best riding spot.

“Listen carefully Eco!”

Ash was shouting with all his might at his ‘Seikoku’ that was connected to Eco:

“Right now, I am going to ride you! I swear I will be successful in riding you! Whether you are a Imperial Princess or not it has nothing to do with me! So what if you are a imperial princess? You are always bad tempered, try to solve anything with force, a sleepy head, only have crepes in your eyes and felt like wanting to bite greedily whenever you saw meat. Are these what an Imperial Princess should do! Even if you really are an Imperial Princess, I will never approve it!... I only knew that- I am your knight, and you are my pal. Things are just as simple as this!”

The next instant, there was a change in his left arm that was dense with ‘Seikoku’.

The ‘Seikoku’ can be seen emitting rays of light that were able to light up the entire night sky. Then patterns started to crawl just like some living things.

No, the patterns were growing.

“W-What had happened…?”

Just when Ash was feeling confused, his ‘Seikoku’ started to spread outwards towards Ash entire body with his left arm as the starting point.

Ash found out that his connection with Eco had become stronger.

Although he couldn’t communicate with Eco verbally, yet, he was sure that he was connected to Eco…!

But, what Ash was thinking only lasted for a short moment.

“Guuuuuuuoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo…!”

Mordred was back on the move. He had broken one of the chains and was standing on two legs.

“Auuu…!”

Lukka groaned. The wind created when Mordred stood up had affected Gawain. Although it was not blown away by the wind, it was obvious that it could not remain
its balance. However, Lukka shouted:

“Don’t worry about me… I am alright! Ash, just focus on saving Eco…!”

Then, Lukka and Gawain finally fall and disappear from Ash’s line of sight.

“Lukka…!”

Ash stretched his arm but he could only grab the air.

The Maestros that scattered in the sky tried to make another chain to tie down Mordred’s upper body.

But before Mordred could be sealed, it forcefully shook its neck.

“Uwaaaaaaaaa!”

Ash lost his balance and was thrown up into Fontaine Palace like a cannonball.

-This is a lie… It must be…?

He was approaching the tower in the middle of Fontaine Palace.

If he was to hit into such stone wall…he will definitely die.

-Is this the end…? Is Eco and I… Going to end right here?

Right at this moment.

Almete, Gorjal, Peto…

The voice of the spell was coming from his ‘Seikoku’ that had spread all over his body.

Espaldar, Brafoneras, Faldaje…

It was definitely Eco’s voice.

Escarcelas,Bufetas, Hombreras, Brazales…

Compare to the previous times, every single word that Eco said was followed by a deep tone.

Codales, Antebrazos, Manoplas…

Without any reason, Ash felt courage from within.

Quijotes, Guardas, Grebas… Escarpes…

Lastly, Eco was left with the last word.

-Espolón!

Ash who was going to crash into Fontaine Palace was surrounded by holy lights.

It felt as if he was surrounded by angel’s wings.

Even though Ash had an illusion of he was ascending to heaven, Eco’s voice had disrupted this peaceful feeling.

“You absolutely must accept my feelings!”

===Part 18===
As he opened his eyes, Ash was standing at the highest point of Fontaine Palace.

“I-I am saved?”

He saw Mordred was standing ferociously with only two legs while being bounded by the chains of the Maestros.

All of the nine eyes were burning with the flames of rage and looked like scarlet stars. Even though he was trying his best to break free from those chains, those Maestros kept on creating new chains.

“This… What is this feeling?”

Ash was looking at his own body.

His entire body was emitting heat and was overflowing with magic.

It have to be the Ark that Eco presented to me- Yet to Ash’s dismay, what he was wearing right now was still his cloths that looked like rags.

There was not even an Ark that could be seen.

Even so, Ash still continued to feel safe as if he was protected by the Ark. Furthermore, the ‘Seikoku’ that was on his entire body was alive.

What is happening?

Hey, why are you daydreaming! Quickly use the Ark-weapon!

Eco’s voice was once again could be heard in his mind

“Eco…? What is happening?”

T-that is…?

Without any reason, Eco became silent. It felt as if she was embarrassed because of a certain something.

As if to speak on Eco’s behalf, another voice appeared in his mind.

Huhu. That is an original Ark that Eco had created on her own. However, it is still incomplete and even that shape had not been decided on yet.

“This voice… Are you Navi!”

The Ark represents proof of the oath of a dragon that swears to hand over their body and feelings to their knight. At the same time, it was a proof that it was connected to the Master’s heart. Right now, you are recognized as the Avalon’s knight.

I-I only wanted to get back my own body!... It was never meant to be given to you!

Ara, who is the person who was crying because she was worried about Ash? I wonder.

S-Shut up!

Eco and Navi seemed to had started an argument.

Ash made a wry smile because they could still have the mood to quarrel even under such dangerous situation.

All the negative emotions like unsecured and frightened had disappeared.

However- Right after that, Ash had a bad premonition as if a pair of cold hands had held on to his spirit. When he raised his head, Mordred’s eyes were filled with sparks and were marking him.

It had obviously begun to take notice of Ash who was previously being regarded as a louse.

“Guuuuuoooooooooooooooooooooo…!”

Although Mordred was still bounded by those magic chains, he still managed to open his jaws after putting in some effort.

There was a ball of light that could be seen appearing in front of his nose and it was slowly expanding-

Ash felt a large amount of energy from it. It was thanks to the Ark that his senses had sharpened.

Navi warned Ash in his mind.

That’s bad. Even though Mordred have not fused with me, he is still very strong…!

“Rest assured. I will personally deal with it.”

Ash immediately started to search for information regarding his Ark-weapon. Thanks to his experience in equipping those mimics, his was able to complete his search in a short time.

Ash smiled from within his heart.

The Ark-weapon formed in his mind was undoubtably the strongest sword that had ever existed.

Ash readied his posture and started to chant the spell.

“An iron that could slash through anything…”

For every word he said, his ‘Seikoku’ that was all over his body was emitting heat and reacted strongly to it.

"A holy sword meant for a knight of all knights-”

At the same time, Ash felt that his palm was overflowing with an unlimited amount of magic.

The one and only treasured sword that had been passed down generations by generations in the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family had its shape formed in Ash’s palm.

“Appear- Excalibur!”

It was not only a huge brave and beautiful sword but also an Ark-weapon.

On its silvery white hilt were many scarlet coloured Milinniums and they were shining brightly.

After he held the holy sword with both hand tightly, Ash leaped.

At the same time, Mordred was giving out the dragon breath.

That was a ball of light with overwhelming powers that could destroy the entire capital to ground level in a blink of an eye. Followed by some purple electric around Mordred’s head, the ball of light was released at Ash’s direction.

To make things worse, Ash couldn’t avoid it because the entire Fontaine Palace and City was right behind him.

No- In reality, I won’t even need to avoid it.

“Uooooooooooooooooooooooooo!”

Ash as if he had forgotten about his fear rushed towards the ball of light.

In respond to Ash’s verve, the Millenniums at the hilt of the holy sword was giving out a bright light.

In respond to Ash’s verve, the shapeless Ark was releasing all its magic.

“Kirisakeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!” <ref>斬り裂け. Means to get split and break apart.</ref>

Just before being swallowed by that attack, Ash had swung the most powerful strike.

-Cut!!! <ref>斬. Ii was a word that was usually shouted when someone wanted to cut/slash/chop/kill off something.</ref>

At the same time the lump of energy was split into two, Ash was in mid-air. His vision was full of white and he could see nothing at all.

If not because of the protection he received from the Ark, all the cells in his body should had been reduced into nothing. Ash was indeed slashing through such high amount of temperature.

In the end, his vision finally widened.

The dragon breath that was sliced into two had its trajectory changed and each had landed at the Fontainia plains on both side of the capital and had exploded.

Although it was a huge explosion, apart from the strong wind, Fontaine City remained intact.

Ash had again lifted Excalibur and had it pointed at Mordred’s head.

At that moment, there was a creepy voice coming from Ash’s mind.

…Hold on! If you harm this body, the daughter of Avalon would also be-

The nine eyes kept on blinking as if it still had something to say.

“Haa! Now you start to beg from me… Know your place, Mordred!”

Ash remained determined and continued to land at the head.

Of course Ash knew that this body originally belonged to Eco.

He never had the intention to simply slash around with this sword.

However, to get rid of Mordred’s spirit, he needs Eco to bear with it for a few more moments.

What Ash had intended to do was not to kill Eco but to make her lost her strength.

Where is the best place to land my attack?

There is not enough time to think of such complicated problems.

It is because apart from Eco’s and his life, Ash was burdened with the lives of millions of residents of the capital. Ash decided to wager everything he had in the only possibility he could think of.

“Eat this, Mordred!”
[[Image:SnRK V04 243.jpg|thumb]]

Ash was landing at full speed.

''What are you trying to do…? Do you want to follow the Julius's footsteps and become a ‘dragon slayer’? I can’t understand this, I just couldn’t understand this…!''

Ash didn’t replied and had no intention of doing so.

“Whether you are a god or a devil-”

Ash’s sword and Mordred’s horn clashed with each other.

“All the dragons will have to listen to my command, not to mention-”

After he had pinpointed the crucial point to release Eco, Ash swung Excalibur-

“If it is my '''P.A.L'''!”

Followed by a sound of a metal clashing with rocks, the night sky was swallowed by a white light.

The thing that was chopped off by Ash and was flying in mid-air was the left horn.

“Guuuuooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo…!”

Mordred’s roar was echoing in the night.

===Part 19===

“Huhu. Mordred must be running away with his tail rolled up<ref>A proverb</ref> even though a spirit shouldn't have any tails.”

Mordred’s spirit was running under the night sky towards the east while he was being seen by Navi.

On the eastern side of the country is Chevron Kingdom’s land.

“So in the end he had escaped to Chevron Kingdom… I must wait until he rises up again before I could have him captured. Right now, I should give praise to Avalon’s Knight."

Navi gave herself a cheer and smiled.

Eco’s spirit was no longer beside her.

===Part 20===

Ash’s final blow had chopped off Eco’s left horn.

Last month during the time Ash was in the infirmary, he had bitten Eco’s horn. Furthermore, her left horn that was chopped off had made her recalled that feeling.

It was that ‘happy’ feeling that dragged Eco’s spirit out.

Her hearts memories and her body memories.

When both of them are thinking the same thing, Eco’s spirit managed to take back its own body and get rid of Mordred’s spirit.

Not only this method is impractical, its succession rate too is just as low.

However, Eco’s clearly remembered the feeling that Ash gave her.

-Navi had seen it all.

The body of the huge dragon had undergone some changes inside the glaring light.

The skin colour that was originally black had turned back to its original silvery white colour.

As for those nine creepy eyes, they had returned into two clear scarlet eyes.

Then-

The body that was bigger than Fontaine Palace was shrinking slowly and finally turned back into a young teenage girl with pink hair.

Ash gently hugged the angel like naked body in mid-air.

Although Eco was blushing, she still placed her hand on Ash’s back and hugged her knight.

"Princess of Avalon ~A.S.B.1365.7~" is closed.
<noinclude>

==References and Translation Notes==
<references />

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| Back to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Chapter 7|Chapter 7]]
| Return to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Epilogue|Epilogue]]
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</noinclude>

Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Chapter 8

2013-11-07T11:16:19Z

213.144.240.241: /* Part 8 */

==Chapter 8 - Avalon's Imperial Princess==
===Part 1===
In the mothership Beowolf- In the armory, under Dr Hoffman’s command the battle is in full swing.

Eco who was naked was floating in magic guided device. ‘Yggdrasill’s’ capsule. There were groups of technician working around her. This was out of Anya’s area of understanding. She could only stand by and wall and watch silently.

But, she understood well the pain that Eco was feeling.

The cold voice was followed by its echo when it was reflected on the metal body.

“The cartridge has been filled. Prepare for launching.”

“The countdown starts now. Ten, nine, eight… Three, two, one-.”

“Launch the compressed magic!”

A red bean was shot out followed by a loud gun shooting sound. Anya felt that even the ship was vibrating.

“…!”

Then, there were air bubbles coming from Eco’s mouth. If not because of she was in the liquid, her scream could definitely be heard.

Anya couldn’t bear to see Eco suffering and looked away.

Eco’s body had already taken at least ten shots of the compressed magic.

Eco regained her consciousness after the start of the experiment. At the beginning, she was struggling in the water, but ‘Yggdrasill’s’ capsule was not at all affected.

But after receiving a continuous dozens of compressed magic, she lost her strength.

Right now, she was just like a living dead. Her blank eyes were now lifeless and it was terrible. It was pure torture. Even so, the group of researchers led by Dr Hoffman were not at all shaken and continued silently.

“There is no significant change on the appearance of α. There are no abnormalities on her respiratory system. No magic fluctuation can be seen.”
Without realizing, the group of researchers started to refer Eco as α.

Eco is a human, a young dragon and also a living being- But this group of human had taken everything from her. To them, Eco was just experimental material α.
Who knows if they want to remove their feeling of guilt by calling her with symbols…Anya secretly thought so.

At this moment, Dr Hoffman’s voice is heard by Anya.

“Still no changes… It seems like we don’t have any more choices. Activate all the Millennium.”

Anya turned pale when she heard that.

This means that they had decided to use full power on ‘Yggdrasil’.

===Part 2===
“*Sob*… It was all… My fault. *Sob*…”

In the maid’s bedroom in the ground floor of the palace.

Prim was lying on the bed with her pillow wet with tears.

There was only Ash and Silvia beside her bed. Cosette was standing outside the room by the door.

Prim cried while she told the whole incident.

Prim arrived at the ancient palace when she was chasing Eco who was running amok.

She had met a few suspicious people there.

Seeing the enemy suddenly attacked, Eco appeared and became the bait to let Prim escape.

When Prim regained conscious, Eco was no longer there.

After hearing, Ash felt something suspicious.

“Why did you go to the ancient palace?”

“That’s because… It was my entire fault! It was my bad to say such things!”

“Prim, please stay calm. Compared to you, Ash was the person who suffered the most.”

After being advised by Silvia, Prim rubbed of her tears.

“You are right. Sorry…”

“Prim-san, please tell me everything before Eco was kidnapped!”

Prim nodded.

“I had no ill intention, it was just that… Ash-sama is a human and Eco is a dragon… So I thought that Eco would feel lonely after Ash-sama married with a human girl. The moment I told her that, Eco rushed out of the room.”

“What…!”

Who would have thought of this, Ash was speechless.

“Idiot! You… Why do you have to tell her this!”

Silvia was mad.

“If I am Eco… I will definitely feel hurt if someone told that to me! Even when Eco is a dragon, her thoughts are still those of a girl’s. She should know very well that her situation is special. Why was she born as a human? Why was she not born as a dragon… If I am Eco, I can never feel secure.”

“Princess-sama…”

Ash looked at Silvia who was telling Eco's thoughts in surprise.

“Recently, she had gotten used to the school life. She was also being loved by everyone as the student council’s mascot. Even so, to Eco, the only person she could trust in… Is no other than Ash.”

“And I… Have said something terrible…”

“Strictly speaking, Eco is still a young dragon who is not even a year old. Can’t you be a little more indirect in your-”

“Forget it, Princess-sama. Right now, we could never solve the problem even after lecturing Prim-san. What’s more, if they had this planned, no matter what Prim-san said, Eco would still have been kidnapped.”

“…You are right. But how are we going to rescue Eco?”

Silvia nodded in agreement with Ash.

“Prim-san… Could you describe those people who attacked?”

Ash was praying while asking. His only clue is Prim being the witness.

“Err…They pretended to be the palace servants. But, they didn’t look like citizens of the Knight Country. For their skin colour, it looked like they are the Tantalos…. Also, the person who attacked me is a short girl.”

“A Tantalos girl…!”

Ash was feeling Déjà vu. It was like he had found the last piece of puzzle in his memory.

“It was the girl who followed Milgauss!”

Ash’s fists were shaking. The world he was seeing was dyed in red. Even though he had a feeling that Milgauss was the culprit, still, after making sure, he was still in rage.

“Since we know who the criminal is-”

Silvia immediately stopped Ash who intended to rush out from the room.

“Hold on, Ash! Where do you think you are going to?”

“The ballroom, of course! I want to settle thing with Milgauss!”

“Keep your calm! Do you think that Milgauss will admit it even after you find him?”

“…Maybe not.”

Ash turned speechless.

Silvia was right, no matter how emotional he became, Eco still wouldn’t be able to return safely.”

Just as if she was trying to have Ash cooled down, Silvia made a suggestion in a calm voice:

“Don’t you think that this is a good time to save Eco when Milgauss is busy with the masquerade?”

“What do you meant?”

“Milgauss couldn’t even be bothered by an activity with long history such as this continental congress and will do anything just to capture Eco. Even when I don’t know what his intentions are, but capturing Eco alive is their priority. I am sure that their lackeys won’t do anything to harm Eco when the mastermind is absent.”

After listening to Silvia’s analysis, Ash gave a breath of relieve.

“The problem remains is, where is Eco’s location. Since Ash’s ‘Seikoku’ is not reacting, it means that Eco was being hidden in an enclosed place. For example something that could be a barrier to cut off magic… Anyway, it must be done with the proper equipment. It just can’t be a rally point that they have just constructed.”

“An enclosed place with proper equipments? That’s it, Milgauss has Klaus backing him up…”

Last evening, an airship flew past the evening sky…

The black ship that was waving the Empire’s flag proudly…

Ash remembered.

Ash and Silvia exchanged glances and shouted at the same time:

“Beowolf!”

===Part 3===
-W-Will…I die just like this…

Eco thought so.

The liquid in the capsule kept on rotating and Eco’s body was being swept by it.

Every time her shoulders or waist touches the glass, her body will move slowly in the opposite direction.

It seems like the liquid was made of special materials. Luckily, it doesn’t affect her breathing. But after suffering a few shots from the magic device, her body turned numb.

This feeling is like an empty mind floating in mid air.

-If I could just… Continue sleeping… Then I won’t feel any pain…

Just when Eco thought so, a power that surpassed those previous ones was released at her.

“Noooooooooo…!”

Even though she thought that she shouted in pain, in truth they were just air bubbles coming out from her mouth.

A bright light flashes and the water turns rapid. Just like being swallowed by a tsunami, her body kept on rotating and kept on hitting the glass around her.

-W….Why do I have to suffer this kind of pain.

It had passed the limit of her brain to just think of what they are going to do to her. She could only feel that her body had been injected with a vast amount of magic.

The pain she felt is just like her body being ripped open.

It felt like her organs were being messed up by someone.

-Urgh… It hurts…. It hurts…. I beg you all, please stop.

It is pointless no matter how she shouted in her mind, the magic was still flowing into the body. Eco’s body was jerking nonstop and she was struggling.

You might as well do me a favour by killing me-Eco gave up.

“…!”

At the next moment- The Necromancia’s slimy tentacles attacking her from all directions.

Eco couldn’t understand. Where did those tentacles appear from in this enclosed environment?

The tentacles which were wriggling like a snake slowly snatched her freedom.

Her arms, waist, legs… was entangled by those tentacles. -Stop! This must be an illusion! It is this device that was making me hallucinate…!

Eco tried to stay conscious and opened her eyes widely.

At that moment, the tentacles disappeared.

The feelings of being entangled by those tentacles also disappeared.

However, not long after that, she lost focus and the tentacles appeared again and had her waist surrounded.

In a blink of an eye, she was lifted by those tentacles.

-Stop!

[[Image:SnRK V04 183.jpg|thumb]]

An abnormally thick tentacle was approaching Eco’s face.

Eco kept her teeth closed with her might. If she was to be careless, the tentacle will surely wriggle into her mouth. Eco had Goosebumps just by think about it.

Eco initially wanted to ask for Ash’s help. She hoped that he could save him from this hell.

However, from the point she woke up in this device, she couldn’t even summon Ash.

Her Astral Flow with Ash had also been cut off.

The lost of her communication had put her in fear.

Eco was shocked that the lost of her connection with Ash would put her in such great fear.

-I am really an idiot. I only knew what is precious to me after I had lost it.

This experience had made her wanted to treasure Ash much more.

That’s right, without Ash, I can’t do anything… I am really a good for nothing.

-Don…

At that instant, there was something moving in her body.

===Part 4===
“Something is wrong! The magic indicator is showing an abnormal value!”

“We found an unknown magic source! Its power is increasing!”

“We have lost control of ‘Yggdrasill’! It ignored the emergency stop signal!”

The continuous bad news had made Dr Hoffman turn pale.

The laboratory was as if in a fire and a tense atmosphere was spreading.

Everyone was with a panicked look and were busy dealing with the buttons under their hands.

“What happened…?”

Anya who was looking from aside wondered.

Basically, there was nothing abnormal with Eco who was in the capsule.

Even though she was shot by the high power compressed magic and had struggle like she was having a nightmare, yet nothing dramatic had happened.

But the indicator was still indicating an abnormal value. Also, they were losing control of ‘Yggdrasill’.

The situation had suddenly become tense.

Even the emergency trigger had been triggered and the bell was ringing loudly.

-Dong!

At that instant, Anya heard something from the ground.

“What is that… Sound?”

As if to prove that it was not an illusion, ‘Yggdrasill’ magic indication exploded.

“Uwaa!”

Some groaned and all the surrounding deviced started to explode with red flames. All the technician were running away in fear.

“Don’t panic! Keep calm!”

Dr Hoffman shouted but not even a single soul was listening.

Because in everyone’s sights was Eco who was caged in the capsule.

Eco’s body was glowing with a dim light.

Even Anya was captivated by the sight in front.

“Dr Hoffman! Let’s escape!”

A young researcher advised Dr Hoffman. The rest of the researchers were agreeing with him and looked at Dr Hoffman.

Anya left the wall and walk towards Dr Hoffman’s back.

“Dr Hoffman, I also think that it would be wise if we escape now.”

“No!”

Anya was stunned by Dr Hoffman’s aura. She had thought of him as a kind old man and was forced to act cruel as a researcher. Who would know that he would have such a stubborn side.

“What are you thinking! Even an outsider like me knew that this is dangerous! Isn’t there Millennium attached to that device too?”

What Anya was worried about is the existence of the Millenniums. Just in case the Millenniums explode… Anya was thinking. Let alone Beowolf, it is not even surprising if the capital disappeared from the maps forever.

However, Dr Hoffman shook his head slowly.

“…I won’t. That will not happen. The energy in the Millenniums has run dry.”

“What?”

“All the magic energy… Was fully absorbed by experimental material α.”

“-!”

Anya looked at Eco dumbstruck.

The intensity of Eco’s light was getting stronger until the extend where one couldn’t look at her directly. Those‘Dong’sounds had become clearer.

Even though there were no dangers of the Millennium exploding, it doesn’t mean that they were free from danger. Eco right now was seen as the bomb.

Later, there was the loud sound of something breaking.

Different from the normal explosions, that explosion sounds like it was originated from something being applied pressure on.

“α….α is escaping!”

A researcher shouted.

The capsule containing eco was now in ruins and the liquid was flowing out like waterfall.

Eco can be seen floating with her eyes closed- in a short moment, she disappeared. What’s left is only stardust like magic particles floating in the air.

“She… Disappeared…?”

Anya dumbstruck, murmured alone.

===Part 5===
“Hey… Something’s wrong with Beowolf!?”

When Maestro Lancelot reached the landing space at a height of twenty meters, Silvia shouted:

“That is…!”

Ash who was riding on Lancelot behind Silvia widened his eyes.

The sacred airship Esperanza, airship Crown Solas and air ship Silvanus was lined up together.

On the other hand, the huge airship Beowolf was parked quite some distance away from the trio.

The suspicious thing was the black smoke emerging from Beowolf.

Could it be a fire?

If Eco is inside… Ash was too scared to think about it.

“Urgh…!”

At this moment, Ash felt a burning sensation from his left hand.

Although he nearly screamed in pain, he managed to tolerate with it.

It felt like suddenly putting his hand into a furnace.

“Is everything alright, Ash!?”

Silvia was worried about him and turned around and asked, but Ash couldn’t even reply because of the pain.

The ‘Seikoku’ engraved on his left arm was slowly moaning.

A while later, there was a glaring light coming out from his left arm and his sleeve up to his shoulders was burned off. Even the bandage was burned into pieces.

In a blink of an eye, Ash’s ‘Seikoku’ on his left arm was exposed.

“Wha…!”

The ‘Seikoku’ on his hand was glowing with different light intensity from time to time.

Ash was panicking.

It will be alright if it was just glowing but the heat and the pain sensation had no intention of stopping.

It felt that his left arm is going to explode anytime.

“Hey… What is actually happening?”

Silvia was in shock while holding the reins which was probably caused by the fright she experience from seeing Ash’s ‘Seikoku’s’ reaction.

“I don’t know… But I am now sure that I am again connected to Eco!”

Just like responding to Ash’s left arm, there was an object glowing in the sky.

“Ash! Look upwards!”

Silvia who noticed the abnormality was pointing at the sky. Ash too had noticed.

There was something glowing on the sky above the landing area.

“That is…”

The mysterious light was floating in the sky as if it was decorating it.

On the other hand, the full moon didn’t look as charming as before.

By taking a closer look, it was an egg with beautiful flow lines.

There was a big emblem that was carved on the pearl like egg. At a first glance, it looked like a royal emblem.

To be more specific, that emblem looked like Ash’s ‘Seikoku’.

-Don…Don…Don…

There was a frightening beating sound from the egg.

The confusing part is, it moved with the same rhythm as the glow on Ash’s ‘Seikoku’.

Ash immediately understood.

“I couldn’t be more wrong… Eco is in that egg!”

“How is that possible? What are you talking about…?”

“Princess-sama, I beg you. Please take me there!”

“…Alright. I believe in you. Fly Lancelot! Fly higher!”

But Lancelot ignored her orders. It stayed at the twenty meters height and looked at the egg with its head up.

“Hei… Lancelot? Anything wrong? Fly immediately!”

Even though Silvia shouted strictly, Lancelot still ignored her orders. On the other hand, it did an emergency landing at a corner of the landing space.

“What are you doing? Are you disobeying my orders, Lancelot!”

“…It is useless, Princess-sama. It seems that Lancelot has its own reason.”

“What did you say?!”

Silvia looked at Ash with an imposing manner.

“Do you know what Lancelot was thinking?”

“…I am not sure. It was probably affected by the ‘Seikoku’. I don’t know why, but I could somehow understand what Lancelot was thinking.”

After Ash and Silvia was forced to alight Lancelot unwillingly, Lancelot again spread its wings and shoot up into the sky.

Looking at Lancelot’s direction, Ash found out something important.

“Princess-sama! There are more and more… Maestros gathering together!”

Groups of Maestro were gathering from all direction. It had become an amazing night view created by the light from the Maestro’s magic.

One by one the Maestro appeared and gathered at the corner of the sky.

For Maestro’s whose numbers were already little to begin with to gather together, it was unheard of even in the old times-

===Part 6===
“What is actually happening…?”

Lancelot left its master and flew off on its own.

Although this had given Silvia a great blow, still the view of the night sky gave her a deep impression.

Silvia could clearly hear the ‘Pssshh’ sounds of the beating of the wings.

When she had personally seen the dream like view, all her attention had been captured by it.

That egg even had wings growing out of it and feathers with silver lights were falling off. It was like snows that beautify the night sky.

Then- there was a crack from the egg shell.

The winged egg split into two-

“Uoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!”

A roar as if it was a horn announcing the end to the world could be heard all over.

Silvia who couldn’t look straight into the glaring light closed her eyes. When she reopened her eyes, the winged egg was no longer there. It was replaced by something that was out of this world.

To describe this thing with a word will be either – GOD or DEVIL.

However what Silvia said was insulting.

“What a scary monster…!”

[[Image:SnRK V04 193.jpg|thumb]]

“Stop! You are not allowed to say that!”

Ash shouted and brought Silvia back o her sense.

“That must be...Eco. I can feel it... I can feel it!”

“Sorry, Ash...”

Although Silvia was annoyed by her gaffe, she still couldn’t believe that it was Eco.

Later, Eco landed slowly while being surrounded by numerous Maestros.

Although the pink fur and the red eyes is similar to Eco, but her horns looked sharp and fierce and doesn’t at all looked like Eco’s round stubs.

Also, there was a third horn in between the two horns. It was like a unicorn’s horn and was up straight.

Her wings which were spread widely were different from a normal Maestro’s. It made one think of an angel’s wings.

Followed by a loud bang, Eco landed.

Eco lifted up her gigantic hind leg up high- And The large airship that had been the pride of the Empire was squashed in a few seconds.

With the conning tower being right at the middle, Beowolf had been squashed into a V shape and immediately exploded.

Yet, Eco was not at all affected.

Eco probably lost interest in Beowolf and tried to wriggle her long neck. She slowly lowered her center of gravity.

The target of her scarlet eyes was the window of the tall Fontaine Palace.

===Part 7===
-An unidentified flying object appeared above the capital and all the Maestros in the country disobeyed their masters’ orders and gathered together.

Veronica who received the emergency report brought Glenn the captain of the escorts alone with her to the ballroom at the highest floor of the palace.

Anyway, there were important guests in the ballroom that gathered from all over the continent. No matter what happened, she must protect their safety in the name of the pride of the Knight’s country.

At the same time, she must bring back her father Oswald with her. He had most probably change his appearance and was drinking while mingling in the crowd.

While running on the long corridor, Veronica questioned Glenn:

“Did you too lose contact with your pal?”

“It totally ignored my summons and ignored my request to present me my Ark. From the looks of the current situation where all the Maestros are gathering in the capital’s sky, it probably has something to do with the unidentified flying object.”

“Then, our pride, the Holy Dragners of Lautreamont can be considered no more. If the Empire attacked us at this moment, without the protection of the Maestros, this country will fall in just a single night.”

“...I don’t have an excuse to offer.” <ref>面目次第も有りません have also the meaning of ‘It is a shame I don’t have the power to…’</ref>

Glenn lowered his head somberly.

===Part 8===
When Veronica and Glenn arrived at the ballroom, the palace music and the party atmosphere of the nobles had disappeared.

Most of the guests were by the glass window and were looking downwards in shock. From there they can see the landing area for the airships.

“That’s…!”

Veronica was also looking downwards through the glass window.

“It is dangerous to stand beside the window, Princess-sama!”

Glenn warned her but Veronica ignored him.

There was a change in the landing area.

A living object that was glowing with silver light suddenly landed there.

''-Uoooooooooooooooooo…!''

It was immediately followed by a loud roar that will made one feel like covering his ears.

It was stated in the previous report that ‘an unidentified flying object that looked like a huge egg’, but it seemed that the huge egg had hatched when Veronica was on her way.

The unbelievable thing is, that huge monster easily split the Empire’s huge airship Beowolf into two with just a stomp.

Right at this moment, there was a man from the crowd was making a fuss.

“Ooh, what is happening! How can a dragon of the Knight’s… Destroy the most advance airship which is our country’s pride! I don’t think that this is some simple matter!”

The man's words caused an uproar in the ballroom.

Until a moment ago, everyone had just found out that this monster is a dragon.

Talking about a dragon, everyone will think about Lautreamont Knight Country.

“Is that person…Klaus Viderhausen! He is obviously trying to cause a stir!”

Veronica angrily scolded and glared at the Empire’s young noble.

However, there was a man who stupidly tried to argue with Klaus.

“Nonsense! That monster had nothing to do with our country!”

Although the man was wearing a lion shaped mask, judging from his plum body, Veronica immediately knew who he is.

He is her father, Oswald.

“Klaus-dono! This is the truth! That monster has nothing to do with us! Please believe in me!”

“Hu… What you said was not at all convincing. Anyway, everyone here is a witness.”

Klaus was not even bothered by Oswald.

It was because what Klaus said is true. A huge dragon that appeared with no warning had destroyed the Empire’s airship right in front of everyone.

Nothing could be worst than this.

For Chevron Kingdom and Zepharos Empire who had never see each other eye to eye was originally going to discuss about the peace in between them in tomorrow’s continental congress ‘Elysium’.

To Chevron Kingdom and its ally Lautreamont Knight Country this should be a historical event.

“Stop… Let alone the Emperor, not even a royal from the Empire attends. It is a total joke. The Empire has never wanted peace-”

Just as Veronica finished her sentence, there were people screaming from everywhere.

Everyone was in a panic.

All the guests who were wearing their mask, including the musicians and the waiters, everyone were trying to escape.

Apart from Oswald who was crying, Klaus who had previously put the blame on the Knight Country was also fleeing.

“What…!”

Veronica who immediately turned around was also sweating tremendously.

There was a pair of scarlet eyes looking into one of the many palace windows.

She spent a few seconds to figure out that the dragon had stretched its neck and was looking into Fontaine Palace.

“Glenn, if I try to slash the pair of eyes with my huge sword… Do you think I have any chance of winning?”

“Please forgive my rudeness… Even if Princess-sama, you are no match for it.”

Glenn told the truth directly.

"Why must you be this honest?"

Veronica was sulking while she confronted the dragon eyes.

The round eyes.

''It looked like a baby’s pairs of eyes. Although it looked naïve, if this monster just rubbed its nose with the palace walls, Fontaine Palace will turn into dust in seconds. Furthermore, it will be a hill full of bricks and corpses…''

Even though she was thinking of such scenario, Veronica could still manage a smile.

“Kuku… So this is of feeling of my life being controlled by others. I praise you, my child!”

Seeing that Veronica had no intention of escaping, Captain Glenn advised her in panic:

“Princess-sama, please retreat!”

“I mustn’t. Some of the guests are still here.”

Veronica looked around the empty ballroom.

There was a man with a mask standing at the middle of the dance floor.

The man was wearing a elegant suit. However his hair colour was like a cloth stained with blood.

He is obviously the guy in the reports- Milgauss.

Veronica looked at him in admiration.

“Hmm… You indeed look a little like Julius. Remove your mask!”

To her surprise, he actually did it. He could be seen silently removing his mask and threw it to a side as if he doesn’t need it anymore.

“-!”

Veronica’s eyes widened.

The handsome face beneath the mask was undoubtably Julius of ten years later who had became a seinen.<ref>青年, man with age range between 20-
30.</ref>

He no longer had the rebellious feel with him in his teenage years and was replaced by a feeling of a weapon that had been well polished.

“So you are Julius…!”

As if to sweep away her worries, Julius walked to the side of the window. At the same time, the dragon’s face disappeared as if it had lost interest with the empty ballroom.

Julius was standing by the window looking at the huge dragon.

“Kukuku… I have been waiting for this moment for a long time!”

That sinful voice and the devil like smile made Veronica feel uneasy.

Glenn took a step forward as if trying to ask on behalf of Veronica.

He unsheathed his sword that was on his waist.

“You can’t be Julius, no? My friend would never show such a malicious smile."

“Oh, Glenn McGuire! I remembered you are one of the guys that appeared in Julius’s memories. It should be suitable to use ‘it has been a long time’ in this situation, don’t you think so?”

“What do you mean!”

“You still don’t get it? This body is indeed Julius’s. However, I am not Julius. But I can peek into Julius’s memories anytime."

“What is happening…?”

Veronica was curious but it was not bothered by the man.

“Kneel! Quick! Look carefully! You are witnessing a historical moment!”

The man was acting like a holy man in the religious painting. He spread his arms widely and declared his name.

“I am Mordred! The descendant of the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family.”

Vreonica couldn’t believe what she had just heard.

The Maestro that Julius sacrificed his life to kill is named Mordred. It is also Julius’s Pal.

''Is it possible that Mordred has taken over Julius’s body?''

In regards of Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family- Veronica had only recently heard about this name.

The ‘Old Testament of the Stella Biblia’ that Dr Angela Cornwell found in Willingham Mausoleum.

Basically, Veronica had read through the copy of the book.

She recalled a part of the book.

“…After the wise dragon Inbroke, two major bloodlines were formed. They are the Avalon’s holy dragons emperor family and the Nehalennia’s dark dragons king family. An endless war started between these two families. After the members of the two families reincarnated, they will encounter each other, hate each other and kill each other.”

The person in front had introduced himself as the descendant of the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family.

Then, who is the person who should be representing the descendant of the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family-?

At this moment, Veronica stopped thinking because of Glenn’s shout.

“So I see… You are the root of evil! I knew that Julius didn’t turn crazy! He will always be loyal to his beliefs and tried to have you removed even when he had to commit a crime in the Knight Country!... Return Julius to us!”

Followed by a shout, Glenn reduced their distance and there was a silver flash.

However, Mordred easily parried Glenn’s slash.

“Urgh!”

Glenn growled.

Morderd had stopped the high speed slash with only his index and middle finger.

Glenn could be seen standing still while holding his sword. No, that’s not the case, Veronica understands well.

It was not that Glenn was not moving, it was because that he was unable to move.

Mordred had overpowered Glenn with just two fingers.

“Hmph… I will let you experience the punishment for being disobedient to ''god''."

After Mordred gave a cold smile, there was a flash.

“Gwaaa!”

Glenn was knocked up into the air while unable to even resist. He knocked into the wall hard and became unconscious.

Veronica didn’t even have the time to care about Glenn and stared at Mordred.

“…I don’t understand. As far as I know, you should have a good relationship with Julius. Didn’t you even present him with an ark?”

“Hmph, the one who has a good relationship with Julius is another me. That me who acknowledged Julius as its master and associated with him quite well."

“Another me? What are you talking about?”

“Let me generously explain it to you as your last gift before you die. There were two personalities in Mordred. If it was to be a human, it would be called a split personality.”

“What happened to the other personality?”

“It has disappeared together with the body. Ironically, it was it and Julius who had planned to kill me. For me, to prevent myself from dying, I sacrificed my body and changed into this spiritual form and inhabited Julius’s body.”

Upon saying that, Mordred looked out of the window.

Right beside the palace, the dragon was standing on its hind legs and was looking around curiously. It seemed to be troubled because it couldn’t understand what was happening.

Mordred declared to that dragon:

“Descendant of the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family, I will take that body of yours!”

“Now I understand, so this is what you planned…!”

At this stage. Veronica finally found out what Mordred is aiming for.

Mordred had once lost his body in the past when it was killed by Julius.

However, if it could take over the body of the descendant of the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family, it can once again be born as the strongest dragon…!

“That will never happen, Mordred!”

Veronica unsheathed the huge sword on her waist.

Even though she knew that he was not an opponent that she could win in a direct confrontation, she still couldn’t bear to watch idly from the side.

''I will kill Mordred together with Julius’s body before he can manage to take over Avalon’s body-'' Veronica rushed forward while thinking so.

Even when it is her brother’s body that we are talking about, she had no intention of showing any mercy.

But, before Veronica could land a hit on Mordred, suddenly, there was darkness emerging from his body and spread all over the ballroom.

“Urgh… What is this dark mist… My conscious…!”

The moment she was surrounded by the darkness, Veronica felt a strong feeling of vomiting and fainting.

===Part 9===
After struggling in the darkness without knowing what was happening for some time- The darkness had finally disappeared.

“Are you alright, Veronica?”

There was a guy who held out his had to Veronica who was struggling to stand up.
[[Image:SnRK V04 207.jpg|thumb]]
“You…!”

There were killing intends in Veronica’s eyes.

To her surprise, Mordred who should be busy with taking over Avalon’s decedent’s body had tried to help her.

However, there was no longer the evilness on his face.

“You… Could you be Julius?”

“Ahh, that is me. You are still the same old you for not calling me ‘Anii-ue’.”

It seemed that because Mordred was gone, Julius who able to take back his body.

“Of course… You F.O.O.L”

Upon hearing, Julius smile but he immediately returned back to his serious expression.

“Sorry, but now is not the time for us siblings to be arguing. Mordred's spirit had already inhibited on Eco’s body. We have the obligation to defeat Mordred and protect this city.”

At that instant, Veronica felt a pain from her head as if she had just been strike.

“Hold on! Did you just say Eco? That huge dragon… is actually Eco?”

“I will explain the detail to you later. Can you stand up?”

“Hmph… Whom do you think you are talking to!”

Using the huge sword as a walking stick, Veronica put all her effort into standing up. But, it was probably the side effect of inhaling in the darkness, in the end, she fell down again.

“Princess-sama!”

The person who reached Veronica first was Glenn. Although he was badly injured, he had regained conscious.

Glenn held on to Veronica and glared at Julius.

“Julius… I had numerous thing that I want to tell you, but please allow me to tell you this first.”

“I can guess what you want to say but be my guest.”

While facing the calm Julius, Glenn with mix feelings shouted to Julius:

“You… Damn you!”

===Part 10===

Seeing that the Empire’s airship was easily crushed, the sacredship Esperanza and magicship Crown Solas flew off immediately.

Only magicship Silvanus remained at its location overlooking the whole incident.

Although Silvanus had yet to attack Eco, Ash was still worried stance the captain is Veronica.

Even so, seeing that Silvanus still haven’t make its decision, Veronica probably had not board the ship. They were most probably waiting for Veronica’s orders.

On the other hand, if Veronica had boarded the ship, there is a high chance that she will issue an attack on Eco. To protect the capital, Veronica will make this decision without any hesitation. Anyway, Silvanus fire power is not something that can be ignored.

“I…I will protect Eco!”

Ash made up his mind and rushed forward.

“Hold on, Ash. Do you want to be crushed!”

Silvia blocked Ash with her arms spread.

“Please move aside, Princess-sama! Who will protect Eco if I don’t!”

“Please keep your calm! Even so, what can you do!? How are you going to ride Eco who had turned into that? What’s more, what are you going to do to ride on Eco?”

“I…”

Silvia was right. During the time when the Necromancia attacked Ansarivan, he received help from Silvia and Lancelot.

But luck was not on his side. Lancelot who he could place his hope on had not yet returned after it gathered with the rest of the Maestro. The group of Maestros were still circling above the sky while waiting for something to happen.

To his relieved, after Eco crushed Beowolf, she had not made any frightening actions. Although Ash was sweating tremendously during the time she looked into Fontaine Palace through the window, he was lucky that she leave immediately.

Right now, Eco was only looking around and sniffing the building around her as if to figure out what was happening. In regards to what had happened to her body, she probably hasn’t figured it out yet.

“In conclusion, we must keep her as far from the town as possible. In case that she entered the town…"

Upon listening to Silvia’s assumption, Ash was shaking in fear.

Fontaine City has a population of around a million.

In another words, a million lives were now in Eco’s hands.

The severity of the current situation was no longer only involved Ash and Eco.

“Guooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo…!”

At that moment, Eco was roaring in pain and started to struggle. There was a change in her appearance that was originally surrounded by a silver light.

Just like a white cloth that came in contact with ink, there black colour was slowly taking over the white.

“…Eco? What’s happening!”

Ash could only look at Eco transform without doing anything.

The change in her skin was only the start.

Her angle like feathers had transformed into a crow like wings.

The previous middle horn of the three horns had disappeared and her pair of horns had turned into spiral shape.

Also, her four limbs were growing at a fast speed. It will be better to describe her as a giant like body rather than a huge beast. That huge body gave a evil feeling.

Last of all, there were nine eyes on its face and were glowing with red lights.

“Nine eyes…!”

Ash remembered something.

Eco once had a nightmare.

In her dream, was Eco attacked by the nine eyed dragon…?

-Don!

At that moment, Eco who had turned into that black dragon gave a dragon breath.

The flame emitted pierced the sky and scattered the dark clouds.

If this flame was aimed at Fontaine Palace or the town… Ash had Goosebumps just by thinking.

“Silvia, so you are here!”

At this moment, there was a fierce voice coming from behind.

It was Silvia and Glenn when they turned around.

Glenn was badly injured and looked like a rag.

Apart from that- There was another man that was following Veronica.

It was already surprising if a person was allowed to walk side by side with Veronica, yet it was far more surprising when they noticed the man’s hair colour.

“Milgauss! Why are you here!”

Ash felt that he was having Goosebumps all over his body. At the same time, he felt that Milgauss looked familiar. He remembered that he had seen that face in a portrait.

“Are you… Anii-ue?!”

Silvia shouted before Ash.

“Yeah. Although it is a little hard to believe, I am Julius. But I don’t have the time to give you any explanations right now. Firstly, we need to get rid of Mordred’s spirit from Eco’s body- Ash.”

When his name was suddenly called by Julius, Ash became nervous.

The person in front of him really felt like Prince Julius Lautreamont.

Julius stepped forward and placed his hand on Ash’s shoulder.

“Only you as the master can save Eco. Understood?”

“Yes. I had thought of that too myself.”

Julius smiled.

“Good answer. I will take the responsibility to bring you to Eco.”

“But… How are you going to do it?”

“Don’t worry. We have that.”

After he finished his sentence, Julius was pointing at- Magicship Silvanus that was actually resting at the far end of the landing area.

===Part 11===
“Ara. I don’t remembered inviting you here…Dark Dragon King Mordred.”

In the dragon workshop, Navi and Mordred were having a confrontation. She was sitting on her favourite chair with her legs crossed.

“Kuku. This is your last time to be able to be this relaxed.”

Mordred’s spirit still maintained Julius’s voice. It was probably because it had inhibited in Julius’s body for more than ten years…Navi thought so.

“I had taken over sixty percent of Eco’s body. It is only a matter of time that I can fully take control of her body. Avalon is losing.”

“…”

“Next, if I can fuse together with you, I can be fully awakened as the Dark Dragon King. Follow me. Even though you are called Navi, but I clearly know that you are not a normal navigator. You are the incarnation of the Dragweiss.”

“Ara. Just what I thought of the Dark Dragon King. You had made quite some investigation on your own.”

“Fuse with me quickly. Give me the supreme knowledge. Strictly speaking, Avalon and Nehalennia have the same roots… I should also be qualified to fuse with you.”

“I don’t disagree with this.”

Upon hearing Navi’s answer, Mordred smiled.

“So you agreed?”

“No I don’t. It is because I don’t like Nehalennia.”

“…What do you say?”

“I am rooting for Avalon's Imperial Princess and her knight. Especially her knight… Ash Blake, he is far manlier than you.”

“Hmph…what a fox you are. Since it had came to this, I will use force-”

Suddenly, there were numerous tentacles coming from under Mordred’s legs. They were like snakes that had found their prey and attacked Navi.

===Part 12===
“I am sorry. Could everyone apart from Ash and I leave this ship?”

Upon stepping into Silvanus’s wheelhouse, Julius spoke coldly.

The crew responsible for the control of the wheel and control communications turned around and looked Julius in confusion. Then they are all frightened as is they had seen a ghost.

They shouldn’t be blamed since the prince that should have been executed years ago was standing in front of them and had asked them to do something unreasonable.

“Hold on… Prince Julius! What do you planned to do?”

Seeing that Ash was requesting for an explanation, at the same time Julius answered, he turned around and looked at Veronica who was preparing to sit on the captain’s seat.

“I just don’t want the rest of the people to die with us. Veronica, I hoped that you could also help me by giving out the orders.”

“Do you think that I would even listen to that joke?”

“If the sister is stubborn, the elder brother will have to face some trouble.”

The next instant, Julius seize Veronica from behind with lightning speed. He was holding a hidden gun. It was a mechanic gun that the military of the Empire used.

Julius even chose to place the tip at Veronica’s temple.

“There is not much time. You should try to listen to your brother sometimes, Veronica.”

“Are you kidding! Silvanus is my magicship. Don’t even think of always doing what you wanted to, Julius.”

“As I had said before, I am your brother. Maybe you are a perfect princess in front of our people, but I knew your achilles heel. If you still disobey me, I will expose it in front of everyone.”

“What achilles heel?”

“I knew that you love Silvia. There are Silva portraits in your room. The clothes that Silva wore, Silva’s growth record, the poem that you wrote from missing Silvia and also Silvia’s human size doll-”

“I-I promise! Keep quite immediately!”

Ash was in a shock. He had never expected Veronica to surrender easily.

“Everyone, leave the ship immediately! This is an order from Veronica Lautreamont! No one is allowed to disobey!”

All the crew members rushed out from the wheelhouse.

===Part 13===
When everyone had left the magicship, Julius flied Silvanus while sitting on the pilot’s seat.

With the sudden shake of the magicship, Ash held on tightly to the seat of the communication officer to avoid falling. Looking through the round window, the magicship was getting further and further away from the ground.

It was a totally different experience from sitting on a dragon. When this lump of metal was flying with passengers- At the same time Ash was amazed, he also started to worry about crashing.

As for Julius, he was piloting Silvanus while telling Ash the whole story.

===Part 14===
Although what Julius said was hard to believe, basically, the dragons were seperated into the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family and the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family. The two families had incarnated since the ancient times and were still fighting each other right until today.

Also, Eco is Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family’s descendant.

In another words, Eco is the Imperial Princess of the dragon.

“…Even after I had heard of such things, it is still hard for me to believe this. Eco who had been living with me was obviously a girl who sleeps late, a glutton and a hot headed girl...”

“I know how you feel. When I found out that my pal is the descendant for the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family, I was also astounded. In the beginning, I was also troubled by why was I chosen.”

Julius said.

“Back to the topic, Avalon’s Imperial Princess’s body is really huge. Even though she is still a young dragon, she had this unbelievable huge size… It is totally unbelievable.”

After Julius pressed a few buttons on the dashboard, Eco’s body was shown on the huge screen in front.

Silvanus was three hundred meters above the land and was looking at Fontaine city from the sky above.

From the screen, they can see Eco's back that had turned black because of being taken over by Mordred.

With its frightening spiral horns and nine eyes… It is exactly the image of the dark dragon king.

Eco who was originally standing on two legs was now standing on all four because of the pain caused by Mordred’s take over.

The worrying part is, Eco was not moving at all and yet she doesn’t look as if she was sleeping…

“Could it be that Eco was fighting Mordred?”

Julius shook his head in disagreement.

“It is impossible. Judging from the huge change of her body, I am afraid that… Eco don’t even have the strength to fight back.”

“Is it…”

“But not all hope is lost. In my opinion, Navi was fighting against Mordred.”

“Navi?”

Why would he mention Navi’s name at such a time?

Before that, how would Julius know about Navi?

“Navi is the incarnation of the Dragweiss. If Navi could keep on fighting back, even after Mordred could fully take over Eco’s body, he still couldn’t be fully awaken.”

“What do you meant?”

“Regardless of the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor or the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king, both of them must fuse with the Dragweiss to obtain the supreme knowledge, only then they could receive their true power. I believe that Mordred right now is trying his best to make Navi his.”

“How come… you knew so many about him?”

“That was because it shared the same body with Mordred. Just like what he did to blend into the human society… I could also look into his memories.”

After hearing what Julius had said, Ash was still confused. However, there exists thing that could be easily understood without the need of good brains.

“In another words, this is a great time for a counter attack when Mordred was busy dealing with Navi, right?”

“That’s right. This is our only chance for victory. If you can ride on Eco and chase of Mordred’s spirit, then you can save Eco and the capital together.”

Ash nodded in agreement to what Julius had said.

“I am willing to give it a try. No matter it is Avalon or Nehalennia… I don’t think I even know what they mean. I only know that Eco is my pal.”

When Ash turned around and prepared to walk back to the deck, Julius spoke from behind:

“Although I don’t know why you are chosen… But I am glad that you are Eco’s knight.”

===Part 15===
“Urgh…”

Ash arrived at the deck and the winds were cold. Such temperatures were unheard of during the summer.

Ash was carrying a parachute- This is a decision made by Julius and him beforehand.

When Silvanus had come close to Eco, Ash will jump off from the deck with the help of the parachute.

After landing, it is all up to Ash.

Basically, Ash had gone through the landing practices in the academy.

Ash had never intended to become a soldier and had always thought that the academy was wrong to force them to go through the practices.

Anyway, the academy is not a military school- But who would expect that those practices must be applied right now.

“…Right there.”

Ash was looking down towards the ground from the bow and had located Eco’s back.

Although her fur had turned black but since the enormous amount of magic surrounding her was giving off strong rays of light, he won’t have to worry about missing his target.

He must make use of the time that Navi was fighting against Mordred to land on Eco’s head.

Julius voice emerged from the magic communication device:

“Ash, you may jump anytime.”

“Roger that.”

Ash looked downwards for one more time.

For such a huge beast, her only blind spot will be her head.

Ash tried to imagine himself riding on Eco’s head.

To his surprise, it was not at all scary.

The ‘Seikoku’ on his left arm was getting warm and was flickering with dim light.

It felt as if his ‘Seikoku’ was urging him to move quickly.

Suddenly- Eco lifted her neck and shot a dragon breath towards Silvanus.

“…Urgh!”

A bright light pierced through the night sky. Ash surrendered against the shaking deck and fell down. Although Julius had barely avoided a direct hit by giving the ship an emergency turn, the strong breath had burned the side of the ship into ashes.

There were smokes and fire emerging from the ship itself and it had lost balance.

“Tsk…! If you kill me, Eco will die too! If that happens, you also couldn’t get your hands on Eco’s body that you desired that much...! How could someone be this stupid?”

When Ash was groaning, Julius voice could be heard once again through the communication machine:

“Ash, are you alright!”

“Yes, I am!”

“Silvanus is going to do an emergency landing! Jump quickly!”

“I also intend to do so!”

Ash clenched his teeth and jumped off from the deck.

The moment his feet left the deck, Mordred gave a second dragon breath.

Looking backwards, he saw Silvanus’s deck suffered a direct hit from the dragon breath.

Ash shuddered. He was lucky that he had jumped of earlier or else he would be turned into dust.

Although Julius had said there are going to do an emergency ‘landing’, judging from the speed Silvanus was moving downwards, it looked like it was crashing.

Finally, the unbalance ship disappeared at the other end of the palace walls- Then a fire pillar could be seen followed by a loud explosion.

“Prince Julius…!”

Ash was sad but there was nothing he can do.

Julius had risked his life to fly him into the night sky.

The only thing he can do right now is to complete his mission in return.

Ash's body was moving downwards because of the gravity pull.

His face and ears felt like being crushed by the air pressure.

“Now is the time!”

Ash had got the timing right and spread open the parachute.

The amazing braking force had caused the parachute to slow down.

If another dragon breath was shot, Ash would certainly be hit but Ash prayed that he will not have such bad luck.

“Wait for me, Eco. I will protect you… I swear!”

===Part 16===
“Damn! Where am I?”

Eco found out that she was in a cage when she woke up. When she was looking at her body, she found out that she was wearing a dress with low standards.

This style is obviously not of Eco’s preference.

Any dress in Fontaine Palace’s changing room looked better that this. It is even as heavy as lead and it felt more like a binding item rather than an evening dress.

On the other side of the cage was a wide white space. The walls, the floor and the ceiling was white. Not even a dust that could be found.

“How dare anyone to cage a dragon like me in this cage… What were they even thinking!?”

Eco was definitely confused. Yet she still vaguely remembered that she was awakened as a dragon. She even remembered that she had become huge and was looking at the whole Fontaine palace.

But her memories stopped there.

“Tsk…It seems that you are alright since you are this energetic even under such situation.”

It was a familiar voice.

“Navi? You…!”

Navi was standing outside of the cage. Even though Eco disliked Navi, but under such situation, Eco was grateful that Navi was here and felt that Navi was like an angel.

The Eco’s Angel was now looking like a ragdoll.

Navi who was always acting calm and give out a noble like feeling was now with a messed up hair and even her evening dress was in rags. All over her body were marks of being bounded.

“What happened? This doesn’t look like you at all…”

Eco was taking a closer look at Navi.

“Hmm…I am only accompanying Mordred in his game. It was just that, his tentacles fetish had given me some trouble!”

“Mordred? Who is that?”

“Please lend me your hand.”

Eco stretched her hand through the gaps in between the bars of the cage. After Navi held her hand, a mass amount of knowledge flowed into her brain.

In a blink of an eye, Eco knew everything that had happened. Only until now that she had realized that she was in her spiritual from.

“To make it simple… That person called Mordred is trying to take over my body, right?”

“That’s right. Anyway, during the time I was running around, he had done nothing bad. But if it is to destroy this capital, it will be an easy task for him.”

“Hmm… So I am such a great dragon.”

According to Navi’s information, Eco is Avalon’s Imperial Princess.

“Huhu. Now Ash is going to look at me differently.”

Seeing that Eco was feeling proud, Navi sighed.

“As long as he can survive. He seems to be doing something foolhardy again.”

Navi held Eco’s hand again and Eco closed her eyes.

That current situation was sent into Eco’s brain as projections.

“What…!”

Eco was speechless.

Under the night sky- Ash leaned out from Silvanus’s deck.

The next instant, Mordred gave a dragon breath from the ground.

Silvanus was hit and was gliding in the sky as if it was a paper plane.

On the other hand, Ash jumped into the air and was falling with his head pointing downwards.

“Hold on… Is he crazy!?”

At that moment, Eco clearly heard Ash’s mumble.

"Wait for me, Eco. I will protect you… I swear!”

In a short moment, tears started to flow from her eyes. Even though she was a spirit, her tears still kept on flowing. Even the Dragweiss couldn’t give an explanation. A warm feeling was haunting her heart… What was that feeling?

“Why…Why? Why would he… try to do so many things for me? Even when I… Had caused many, many troubles for him?”

Navi stretched her hand into the cage and patted her head.

“Do you even have to ask? It is because you are his pal.”

Eco rubbed off her tears and lifted her head.

“Navi, please tell me what can I do for him.”

“Teehee. That’s more like it.”

Navi smiled and waved her hand lightly. With a flash, the cage had disappeared. At the same time, the black dress that limits Eco’s movement had been broken into particles and a pure white evening dress was raveled from beneath.

In a short time, Navi removed Mordred’s seal.

“I must say that… You are very good.”

Eco was looking at her dress. It designs compromised of the elements of elegant and pure. It is as if it was made to be worn by the Avalon’s Imperial Princess.

“No matter how great I am, I can't help you with the upcoming step. Understood?”

Eco nodded in reply.

“Then, what should I do?”

After Navi smiled, she cheekily said:

“Of course you are to present him your originally made Ark and the Avalon’s Imperial Princess.”

The next instant, Eco became confused.

“What? Are you serious?”

As if it was natural to do so, Navi nodded without any hesitation.

“All the mimics that you had created for emergency in the past… is useless against Mordred.”

“But, how am I to do this impossible task!?”

An original Ark could not be completed easily.

It was because of Eco had seen her ancestor’s blueprint; she understands how hard it can be. An Ark is not only a strong magic weapon, at the same time, it is also a perfect art masterpiece.

Not to mention that Eco was still a young dragon that was not even a year old without any experience. Navi’s suggestion was like asking a baby to build a palace.

“Anyway, it will not be called difficult if the blueprint could be easily created.”

Eco gave up before she even started but Navi ignored it.

“Rest assured, you must believe in your own ability. You are an Imperial Princess who is the blood descendant of Avalon.”

“But… what we must think about is not only the armour itself, there is also the Ark-weapon…”

“Listen carefully, the shape itself doesn’t matters. It was the mental power of the creator that decide the strength of the Ark. Even if you don’t know the shape, as long as you focus, the shape of the Ark will be formed.”

“Really…?”

“Yeah. Also, you don’t have to worry about the Ark-weapon. Avalon has a treasured sword that had been passed down through the generations. Just use it.”

After a moment of silent, Eco mumbled:

“…I had always disliked you since the first time I met you. Regardless of your relaxed attitude or your looks that was similar to mine or your overly large breast…I hate them and hate them very much! However… It is funny that I felt that you are trustable.”

Eco lifted her head and smile.

Navi also returned a smile.

At the same moment, Eco felt that a light had pierced through that darkness that had been blocking her eyes.

She didn't want to look for trouble anymore.

And she definitely doesn’t want to give up before taking up the challenge.

While the evening dress was swaying, Eco spoke with confidence:

“Just wait and see. I will definitely complete my original Ark!”

===Part 17===
“Damn… What kind of joke is this!”

Although Ash had finally landed on Eco, still the landing spot was her back and not her head. It was exactly beside the joints between the body and the wings.

That pair of wings was like the wings of a new born bird. It was still wet and was unable to fly right away.

Maybe this is my only life saver…Ash secretly thought.

Black furs were grown from her uneven skin. It felt like a Necromancia. He must get rid of Mordred’s spirit and return Eco to her original appearance as soon as
possible.

To achieve this, he must try to ride her gigantic body. However… Ash was looking at Eco’s head from afar.

Connected to her back that was as huge as prairie was a long neck that looked as if it was a stairway to heaven. And her head with spiral horns was at the other end of the neck.

His current aim was to ride on her head and try to control her using his will as a dragner. However… The distance between them was huge. It was like trying to climb the dangerous Xenoglavia Mountains without any climbing tools.

“Stop… This is not the time to give up.”

Ash threw aside the parachute and move forward while pushing aside those furs that were taller than his height.

“Now I really looked like a louse…”

In reality, Mordred treat Ash as nothing but a louse. That is why he was not bothered by Ash at all.

“Just wait and see. Your overconfidence will be the cause of your death, Mordred…”

Although Ash kept on talking to himself to boost his confidence, but every time he looked towards her head, he felt like falling apart.

Suddenly, there was a change in the night sky.

Those Maestros who were originally circling in the sky started to make their movements.

Those Maestros could be seen gliding towards Mordred and had him surrounded.

“Grrrrrrrrrrrrr…”

Mordred lifted his neck and gave a threatening growl. However, before he even managed to attack, the Maestros activated their magic at the same time.

With a flash, chains that were made from magic appeared. Numerous chains had tied down the huge dragon’s neck, front legs, hind legs, tail…

“Guuuoooooooooooooooooooo…!”

Mordred was struggling with all his might but the chains wouldn’t even budge.

“They…!”

It can’t be wrong. These Maestros were trying to seal Mordred’s movement. Who know if they were thinking that the dragon worthy to take to top is not Mordred but Eco.

At that moment, a Maestro landed right in front of Ash. Its pair of horns that looked like a dear’s looked familiar to Ash. Then a clear voice could be heard coming from behind the dragon.

“Ash… Hurry up!”

“Lukka!? Why are you here?”

That is. The Maestro that suddenly appeared from above was Gawain and Lukka was riding on its back. Ash felt nostalgic.

Lukka while feeling worried gave Ash a short explanation.

“Err… The Maestros in the seven dragon house was escaping together. I risked my life to cling on Gawain… In the end, I found out that I was already here.”

“Did Rebecca and Max come together?”

Lukka shook her head. It was probably Ash's mistake that he felt that Lukka’s ears were slightly drooping.

“Only I noticed that something was going on with the Maestros…”

“Is that so…”

As if to interrupt Ash’s and Lukka’s conversation, Gawain roared with its jaws opened.

It was as if trying to tell Ash to ride on it quickly. Ash naturally didn’t reject this offer.

“Thank you!”

Just as Ash sat on Gawain’s back, Gawain flapped its wings.

After piercing through the night sky, Gawain’s altitude was increasing following the direction of Mordred’s neck. Lukka’s riding skills was as good as ever and could only be described by perfect.

Ash was clinging tightly to Lukka’s thin waist to avoid from dropping off.

However, Mordred will not stay silent. Although he was being tied down, it was still struggling and roaring loudly.

Suddenly, magic cannons continued to appear in the sky and was firing at Gawain.

Ash was trembling when he saw those cannons.

It was because those cannons looked like the weapon that Ash used during his fight with Milgauss in Willingham Mausoleum. The only difference is, each cannon was around Gawain’s size.

“Magic shield Aegis…!”

“Need not worry… It will be alright as long as we are not hit.”

Lukka was not at all shaken.

As if she had fused with Gawain, she was controlling Gawain by moving left and right and dangerously avoided the crossing light rays.

It even used its dragon breath and those magic canons were destroyed one by one.

When Gawain had successfully passed Mordred’s head, all the magic cannons had disappeared.

“Ash, now’s the time…!”

Just when Lukka shouted, Gawain did a summersault.

At the point where the sky was upside down, Ash jumped down.

He drew a big locus in the night sky and successfully land in between the two horns. Looking from a close distance, the horns looked more like an altar than a horn.

When his feet landed on that spot, he felt satisfied. It was probably his dragner’s intuition that told him this is the best riding spot.

“Listen carefully Eco!”

Ash was shouting with all his might at his ‘Seikoku’ that was connected to Eco:

“Right now, I am going to ride you! I swear I will be successful in riding you! Whether you are a Imperial Princess or not it has nothing to do with me! So what if you are a imperial princess? You are always bad tempered, try to solve anything with force, a sleepy head, only have crepes in your eyes and felt like wanting to bite greedily whenever you saw meat. Are these what an Imperial Princess should do! Even if you really are an Imperial Princess, I will never approve it!... I only knew that- I am your knight, and you are my pal. Things are just as simple as this!”

The next instant, there was a change in his left arm that was dense with ‘Seikoku’.

The ‘Seikoku’ can be seen emitting rays of light that were able to light up the entire night sky. Then patterns started to crawl just like some living things.

No, the patterns were growing.

“W-What had happened…?”

Just when Ash was feeling confused, his ‘Seikoku’ started to spread outwards towards Ash entire body with his left arm as the starting point.

Ash found out that his connection with Eco had become stronger.

Although he couldn’t communicate with Eco verbally, yet, he was sure that he was connected to Eco…!

But, what Ash was thinking only lasted for a short moment.

“Guuuuuuuoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo…!”

Mordred was back on the move. He had broken one of the chains and was standing on two legs.

“Auuu…!”

Lukka groaned. The wind created when Mordred stood up had affected Gawain. Although it was not blown away by the wind, it was obvious that it could not remain
its balance. However, Lukka shouted:

“Don’t worry about me… I am alright! Ash, just focus on saving Eco…!”

Then, Lukka and Gawain finally fall and disappear from Ash’s line of sight.

“Lukka…!”

Ash stretched his arm but he could only grab the air.

The Maestros that scattered in the sky tried to make another chain to tie down Mordred’s upper body.

But before Mordred could be sealed, it forcefully shook its neck.

“Uwaaaaaaaaa!”

Ash lost his balance and was thrown up into Fontaine Palace like a cannonball.

-This is a lie… It must be…?

He was approaching the tower in the middle of Fontaine Palace.

If he was to hit into such stone wall…he will definitely die.

-Is this the end…? Is Eco and I… Going to end right here?

Right at this moment.

Almete, Gorjal, Peto…

The voice of the spell was coming from his ‘Seikoku’ that had spread all over his body.

Espaldar, Brafoneras, Faldaje…

It was definitely Eco’s voice.

Escarcelas,Bufetas, Hombreras, Brazales…

Compare to the previous times, every single word that Eco said was followed by a deep tone.

Codales, Antebrazos, Manoplas…

Without any reason, Ash felt courage from within.

Quijotes, Guardas, Grebas… Escarpes…

Lastly, Eco was left with the last word.

-Espolón!

Ash who was going to crash into Fontaine Palace was surrounded by holy lights.

It felt as if he was surrounded by angel’s wings.

Even though Ash had an illusion of he was ascending to heaven, Eco’s voice had disrupted this peaceful feeling.

“You absolutely must accept my feelings!”

===Part 18===
As he opened his eyes, Ash was standing at the highest point of Fontaine Palace.

“I-I am saved?”

He saw Mordred was standing ferociously with only two legs while being bounded by the chains of the Maestros.

All of the nine eyes were burning with the flames of rage and looked like scarlet stars. Even though he was trying his best to break free from those chains, those Maestros kept on creating new chains.

“This… What is this feeling?”

Ash was looking at his own body.

His entire body was emitting heat and was overflowing with magic.

It have to be the Ark that Eco presented to me- Yet to Ash’s dismay, what he was wearing right now was still his cloths that looked like rags.

There was not even an Ark that could be seen.

Even so, Ash still continued to feel safe as if he was protected by the Ark. Furthermore, the ‘Seikoku’ that was on his entire body was alive.

What is happening?

Hey, why are you daydreaming! Quickly use the Ark-weapon!

Eco’s voice was once again could be heard in his mind

“Eco…? What is happening?”

T-that is…?

Without any reason, Eco became silent. It felt as if she was embarrassed because of a certain something.

As if to speak on Eco’s behalf, another voice appeared in his mind.

Huhu. That is an original Ark that Eco had created on her own. However, it is still incomplete and even that shape had not been decided on yet.

“This voice… Are you Navi!”

The Ark represents proof of the oath of a dragon that swears to hand over their body and feelings to their knight. At the same time, it was a proof that it was connected to the Master’s heart. Right now, you are recognized as the Avalon’s knight.

I-I only wanted to get back my own body!... It was never meant to be given to you!

Ara, who is the person who was crying because she was worried about Ash? I wonder.

S-Shut up!

Eco and Navi seemed to had started an argument.

Ash made a wry smile because they could still have the mood to quarrel even under such dangerous situation.

All the negative emotions like unsecured and frightened had disappeared.

However- Right after that, Ash had a bad premonition as if a pair of cold hands had held on to his spirit. When he raised his head, Mordred’s eyes were filled with sparks and were marking him.

It had obviously begun to take notice of Ash who was previously being regarded as a louse.

“Guuuuuoooooooooooooooooooooo…!”

Although Mordred was still bounded by those magic chains, he still managed to open his jaws after putting in some effort.

There was a ball of light that could be seen appearing in front of his nose and it was slowly expanding-

Ash felt a large amount of energy from it. It was thanks to the Ark that his senses had sharpened.

Navi warned Ash in his mind.

That’s bad. Even though Mordred have not fused with me, he is still very strong…!

“Rest assured. I will personally deal with it.”

Ash immediately started to search for information regarding his Ark-weapon. Thanks to his experience in equipping those mimics, his was able to complete his search in a short time.

Ash smiled from within his heart.

The Ark-weapon formed in his mind was undoubtably the strongest sword that had ever existed.

Ash readied his posture and started to chant the spell.

“An iron that could slash through anything…”

For every word he said, his ‘Seikoku’ that was all over his body was emitting heat and reacted strongly to it.

"A holy sword meant for a knight of all knights-”

At the same time, Ash felt that his palm was overflowing with an unlimited amount of magic.

The one and only treasured sword that had been passed down generations by generations in the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family had its shape formed in Ash’s palm.

“Appear- Excalibur!”

It was not only a huge brave and beautiful sword but also an Ark-weapon.

On its silvery white hilt were many scarlet coloured Milinniums and they were shining brightly.

After he held the holy sword with both hand tightly, Ash leaped.

At the same time, Mordred was giving out the dragon breath.

That was a ball of light with overwhelming powers that could destroy the entire capital to ground level in a blink of an eye. Followed by some purple electric around Mordred’s head, the ball of light was released at Ash’s direction.

To make things worse, Ash couldn’t avoid it because the entire Fontaine Palace and City was right behind him.

No- In reality, I won’t even need to avoid it.

“Uooooooooooooooooooooooooo!”

Ash as if he had forgotten about his fear rushed towards the ball of light.

In respond to Ash’s verve, the Millenniums at the hilt of the holy sword was giving out a bright light.

In respond to Ash’s verve, the shapeless Ark was releasing all its magic.

“Kirisakeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!” <ref>斬り裂け. Means to get split and break apart.</ref>

Just before being swallowed by that attack, Ash had swung the most powerful strike.

-Cut!!! <ref>斬. Ii was a word that was usually shouted when someone wanted to cut/slash/chop/kill off something.</ref>

At the same time the lump of energy was split into two, Ash was in mid-air. His vision was full of white and he could see nothing at all.

If not because of the protection he received from the Ark, all the cells in his body should had been reduced into nothing. Ash was indeed slashing through such high amount of temperature.

In the end, his vision finally widened.

The dragon breath that was sliced into two had its trajectory changed and each had landed at the Fontainia plains on both side of the capital and had exploded.

Although it was a huge explosion, apart from the strong wind, Fontaine City remained intact.

Ash had again lifted Excalibur and had it pointed at Mordred’s head.

At that moment, there was a creepy voice coming from Ash’s mind.

…Hold on! If you harm this body, the daughter of Avalon would also be-

The nine eyes kept on blinking as if it still had something to say.

“Haa! Now you start to beg from me… Know your place, Mordred!”

Ash remained determined and continued to land at the head.

Of course Ash knew that this body originally belonged to Eco.

He never had the intention to simply slash around with this sword.

However, to get rid of Mordred’s spirit, he needs Eco to bear with it for a few more moments.

What Ash had intended to do was not to kill Eco but to make her lost her strength.

Where is the best place to land my attack?

There is not enough time to think of such complicated problems.

It is because apart from Eco’s and his life, Ash was burdened with the lives of millions of residents of the capital. Ash decided to wager everything he had in the only possibility he could think of.

“Eat this, Mordred!”
[[Image:SnRK V04 243.jpg|thumb]]

Ash was landing at full speed.

''What are you trying to do…? Do you want to follow the Julius's footsteps and become a ‘dragon slayer’? I can’t understand this, I just couldn’t understand this…!''

Ash didn’t replied and had no intention of doing so.

“Whether you are a god or a devil-”

Ash’s sword and Mordred’s horn clashed with each other.

“All the dragons will have to listen to my command, not to mention-”

After he had pinpointed the crucial point to release Eco, Ash swung Excalibur-

“If it is my '''P.A.L'''!”

Followed by a sound of a metal clashing with rocks, the night sky was swallowed by a white light.

The thing that was chopped off by Ash and was flying in mid-air was the left horn.

“Guuuuooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo…!”

Mordred’s roar was echoing in the night.

===Part 19===

“Huhu. Mordred must be running away with his tail rolled up<ref>A proverb</ref> even though a spirit shouldn't have any tails.”

Mordred’s spirit was running under the night sky towards the east while he was being seen by Navi.

On the eastern side of the country is Chevron Kingdom’s land.

“So in the end he had escaped to Chevron Kingdom… I must wait until he rises up again before I could have him captured. Right now, I should give praise to Avalon’s Knight."

Navi gave herself a cheer and smiled.

Eco’s spirit was no longer beside her.

===Part 20===

Ash’s final blow had chopped off Eco’s left horn.

Last month during the time Ash was in the infirmary, he had bitten Eco’s horn. Furthermore, her left horn that was chopped off had made her recalled that feeling.

It was that ‘happy’ feeling that dragged Eco’s spirit out.

Her hearts memories and her body memories.

When both of them are thinking the same thing, Eco’s spirit managed to take back its own body and get rid of Mordred’s spirit.

Not only this method is impractical, its succession rate too is just as low.

However, Eco’s clearly remembered the feeling that Ash gave her.

-Navi had seen it all.

The body of the huge dragon had undergone some changes inside the glaring light.

The skin colour that was originally black had turned back to its original silvery white colour.

As for those nine creepy eyes, they had returned into two clear scarlet eyes.

Then-

The body that was bigger than Fontaine Palace was shrinking slowly and finally turned back into a young teenage girl with pink hair.

Ash gently hugged the angel like naked body in mid-air.

Although Eco was blushing, she still placed her hand on Ash’s back and hugged her knight.

"Princess of Avalon ~A.S.B.1365.7~" is closed.
<noinclude>

==References and Translation Notes==
<references />

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|-
| Back to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Chapter 7|Chapter 7]]
| Return to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Epilogue|Epilogue]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Chapter 8

2013-11-07T11:02:08Z

213.144.240.241: /* Part 7 */

==Chapter 8 - Avalon's Imperial Princess==
===Part 1===
In the mothership Beowolf- In the armory, under Dr Hoffman’s command the battle is in full swing.

Eco who was naked was floating in magic guided device. ‘Yggdrasill’s’ capsule. There were groups of technician working around her. This was out of Anya’s area of understanding. She could only stand by and wall and watch silently.

But, she understood well the pain that Eco was feeling.

The cold voice was followed by its echo when it was reflected on the metal body.

“The cartridge has been filled. Prepare for launching.”

“The countdown starts now. Ten, nine, eight… Three, two, one-.”

“Launch the compressed magic!”

A red bean was shot out followed by a loud gun shooting sound. Anya felt that even the ship was vibrating.

“…!”

Then, there were air bubbles coming from Eco’s mouth. If not because of she was in the liquid, her scream could definitely be heard.

Anya couldn’t bear to see Eco suffering and looked away.

Eco’s body had already taken at least ten shots of the compressed magic.

Eco regained her consciousness after the start of the experiment. At the beginning, she was struggling in the water, but ‘Yggdrasill’s’ capsule was not at all affected.

But after receiving a continuous dozens of compressed magic, she lost her strength.

Right now, she was just like a living dead. Her blank eyes were now lifeless and it was terrible. It was pure torture. Even so, the group of researchers led by Dr Hoffman were not at all shaken and continued silently.

“There is no significant change on the appearance of α. There are no abnormalities on her respiratory system. No magic fluctuation can be seen.”
Without realizing, the group of researchers started to refer Eco as α.

Eco is a human, a young dragon and also a living being- But this group of human had taken everything from her. To them, Eco was just experimental material α.
Who knows if they want to remove their feeling of guilt by calling her with symbols…Anya secretly thought so.

At this moment, Dr Hoffman’s voice is heard by Anya.

“Still no changes… It seems like we don’t have any more choices. Activate all the Millennium.”

Anya turned pale when she heard that.

This means that they had decided to use full power on ‘Yggdrasil’.

===Part 2===
“*Sob*… It was all… My fault. *Sob*…”

In the maid’s bedroom in the ground floor of the palace.

Prim was lying on the bed with her pillow wet with tears.

There was only Ash and Silvia beside her bed. Cosette was standing outside the room by the door.

Prim cried while she told the whole incident.

Prim arrived at the ancient palace when she was chasing Eco who was running amok.

She had met a few suspicious people there.

Seeing the enemy suddenly attacked, Eco appeared and became the bait to let Prim escape.

When Prim regained conscious, Eco was no longer there.

After hearing, Ash felt something suspicious.

“Why did you go to the ancient palace?”

“That’s because… It was my entire fault! It was my bad to say such things!”

“Prim, please stay calm. Compared to you, Ash was the person who suffered the most.”

After being advised by Silvia, Prim rubbed of her tears.

“You are right. Sorry…”

“Prim-san, please tell me everything before Eco was kidnapped!”

Prim nodded.

“I had no ill intention, it was just that… Ash-sama is a human and Eco is a dragon… So I thought that Eco would feel lonely after Ash-sama married with a human girl. The moment I told her that, Eco rushed out of the room.”

“What…!”

Who would have thought of this, Ash was speechless.

“Idiot! You… Why do you have to tell her this!”

Silvia was mad.

“If I am Eco… I will definitely feel hurt if someone told that to me! Even when Eco is a dragon, her thoughts are still those of a girl’s. She should know very well that her situation is special. Why was she born as a human? Why was she not born as a dragon… If I am Eco, I can never feel secure.”

“Princess-sama…”

Ash looked at Silvia who was telling Eco's thoughts in surprise.

“Recently, she had gotten used to the school life. She was also being loved by everyone as the student council’s mascot. Even so, to Eco, the only person she could trust in… Is no other than Ash.”

“And I… Have said something terrible…”

“Strictly speaking, Eco is still a young dragon who is not even a year old. Can’t you be a little more indirect in your-”

“Forget it, Princess-sama. Right now, we could never solve the problem even after lecturing Prim-san. What’s more, if they had this planned, no matter what Prim-san said, Eco would still have been kidnapped.”

“…You are right. But how are we going to rescue Eco?”

Silvia nodded in agreement with Ash.

“Prim-san… Could you describe those people who attacked?”

Ash was praying while asking. His only clue is Prim being the witness.

“Err…They pretended to be the palace servants. But, they didn’t look like citizens of the Knight Country. For their skin colour, it looked like they are the Tantalos…. Also, the person who attacked me is a short girl.”

“A Tantalos girl…!”

Ash was feeling Déjà vu. It was like he had found the last piece of puzzle in his memory.

“It was the girl who followed Milgauss!”

Ash’s fists were shaking. The world he was seeing was dyed in red. Even though he had a feeling that Milgauss was the culprit, still, after making sure, he was still in rage.

“Since we know who the criminal is-”

Silvia immediately stopped Ash who intended to rush out from the room.

“Hold on, Ash! Where do you think you are going to?”

“The ballroom, of course! I want to settle thing with Milgauss!”

“Keep your calm! Do you think that Milgauss will admit it even after you find him?”

“…Maybe not.”

Ash turned speechless.

Silvia was right, no matter how emotional he became, Eco still wouldn’t be able to return safely.”

Just as if she was trying to have Ash cooled down, Silvia made a suggestion in a calm voice:

“Don’t you think that this is a good time to save Eco when Milgauss is busy with the masquerade?”

“What do you meant?”

“Milgauss couldn’t even be bothered by an activity with long history such as this continental congress and will do anything just to capture Eco. Even when I don’t know what his intentions are, but capturing Eco alive is their priority. I am sure that their lackeys won’t do anything to harm Eco when the mastermind is absent.”

After listening to Silvia’s analysis, Ash gave a breath of relieve.

“The problem remains is, where is Eco’s location. Since Ash’s ‘Seikoku’ is not reacting, it means that Eco was being hidden in an enclosed place. For example something that could be a barrier to cut off magic… Anyway, it must be done with the proper equipment. It just can’t be a rally point that they have just constructed.”

“An enclosed place with proper equipments? That’s it, Milgauss has Klaus backing him up…”

Last evening, an airship flew past the evening sky…

The black ship that was waving the Empire’s flag proudly…

Ash remembered.

Ash and Silvia exchanged glances and shouted at the same time:

“Beowolf!”

===Part 3===
-W-Will…I die just like this…

Eco thought so.

The liquid in the capsule kept on rotating and Eco’s body was being swept by it.

Every time her shoulders or waist touches the glass, her body will move slowly in the opposite direction.

It seems like the liquid was made of special materials. Luckily, it doesn’t affect her breathing. But after suffering a few shots from the magic device, her body turned numb.

This feeling is like an empty mind floating in mid air.

-If I could just… Continue sleeping… Then I won’t feel any pain…

Just when Eco thought so, a power that surpassed those previous ones was released at her.

“Noooooooooo…!”

Even though she thought that she shouted in pain, in truth they were just air bubbles coming out from her mouth.

A bright light flashes and the water turns rapid. Just like being swallowed by a tsunami, her body kept on rotating and kept on hitting the glass around her.

-W….Why do I have to suffer this kind of pain.

It had passed the limit of her brain to just think of what they are going to do to her. She could only feel that her body had been injected with a vast amount of magic.

The pain she felt is just like her body being ripped open.

It felt like her organs were being messed up by someone.

-Urgh… It hurts…. It hurts…. I beg you all, please stop.

It is pointless no matter how she shouted in her mind, the magic was still flowing into the body. Eco’s body was jerking nonstop and she was struggling.

You might as well do me a favour by killing me-Eco gave up.

“…!”

At the next moment- The Necromancia’s slimy tentacles attacking her from all directions.

Eco couldn’t understand. Where did those tentacles appear from in this enclosed environment?

The tentacles which were wriggling like a snake slowly snatched her freedom.

Her arms, waist, legs… was entangled by those tentacles. -Stop! This must be an illusion! It is this device that was making me hallucinate…!

Eco tried to stay conscious and opened her eyes widely.

At that moment, the tentacles disappeared.

The feelings of being entangled by those tentacles also disappeared.

However, not long after that, she lost focus and the tentacles appeared again and had her waist surrounded.

In a blink of an eye, she was lifted by those tentacles.

-Stop!

[[Image:SnRK V04 183.jpg|thumb]]

An abnormally thick tentacle was approaching Eco’s face.

Eco kept her teeth closed with her might. If she was to be careless, the tentacle will surely wriggle into her mouth. Eco had Goosebumps just by think about it.

Eco initially wanted to ask for Ash’s help. She hoped that he could save him from this hell.

However, from the point she woke up in this device, she couldn’t even summon Ash.

Her Astral Flow with Ash had also been cut off.

The lost of her communication had put her in fear.

Eco was shocked that the lost of her connection with Ash would put her in such great fear.

-I am really an idiot. I only knew what is precious to me after I had lost it.

This experience had made her wanted to treasure Ash much more.

That’s right, without Ash, I can’t do anything… I am really a good for nothing.

-Don…

At that instant, there was something moving in her body.

===Part 4===
“Something is wrong! The magic indicator is showing an abnormal value!”

“We found an unknown magic source! Its power is increasing!”

“We have lost control of ‘Yggdrasill’! It ignored the emergency stop signal!”

The continuous bad news had made Dr Hoffman turn pale.

The laboratory was as if in a fire and a tense atmosphere was spreading.

Everyone was with a panicked look and were busy dealing with the buttons under their hands.

“What happened…?”

Anya who was looking from aside wondered.

Basically, there was nothing abnormal with Eco who was in the capsule.

Even though she was shot by the high power compressed magic and had struggle like she was having a nightmare, yet nothing dramatic had happened.

But the indicator was still indicating an abnormal value. Also, they were losing control of ‘Yggdrasill’.

The situation had suddenly become tense.

Even the emergency trigger had been triggered and the bell was ringing loudly.

-Dong!

At that instant, Anya heard something from the ground.

“What is that… Sound?”

As if to prove that it was not an illusion, ‘Yggdrasill’ magic indication exploded.

“Uwaa!”

Some groaned and all the surrounding deviced started to explode with red flames. All the technician were running away in fear.

“Don’t panic! Keep calm!”

Dr Hoffman shouted but not even a single soul was listening.

Because in everyone’s sights was Eco who was caged in the capsule.

Eco’s body was glowing with a dim light.

Even Anya was captivated by the sight in front.

“Dr Hoffman! Let’s escape!”

A young researcher advised Dr Hoffman. The rest of the researchers were agreeing with him and looked at Dr Hoffman.

Anya left the wall and walk towards Dr Hoffman’s back.

“Dr Hoffman, I also think that it would be wise if we escape now.”

“No!”

Anya was stunned by Dr Hoffman’s aura. She had thought of him as a kind old man and was forced to act cruel as a researcher. Who would know that he would have such a stubborn side.

“What are you thinking! Even an outsider like me knew that this is dangerous! Isn’t there Millennium attached to that device too?”

What Anya was worried about is the existence of the Millenniums. Just in case the Millenniums explode… Anya was thinking. Let alone Beowolf, it is not even surprising if the capital disappeared from the maps forever.

However, Dr Hoffman shook his head slowly.

“…I won’t. That will not happen. The energy in the Millenniums has run dry.”

“What?”

“All the magic energy… Was fully absorbed by experimental material α.”

“-!”

Anya looked at Eco dumbstruck.

The intensity of Eco’s light was getting stronger until the extend where one couldn’t look at her directly. Those‘Dong’sounds had become clearer.

Even though there were no dangers of the Millennium exploding, it doesn’t mean that they were free from danger. Eco right now was seen as the bomb.

Later, there was the loud sound of something breaking.

Different from the normal explosions, that explosion sounds like it was originated from something being applied pressure on.

“α….α is escaping!”

A researcher shouted.

The capsule containing eco was now in ruins and the liquid was flowing out like waterfall.

Eco can be seen floating with her eyes closed- in a short moment, she disappeared. What’s left is only stardust like magic particles floating in the air.

“She… Disappeared…?”

Anya dumbstruck, murmured alone.

===Part 5===
“Hey… Something’s wrong with Beowolf!?”

When Maestro Lancelot reached the landing space at a height of twenty meters, Silvia shouted:

“That is…!”

Ash who was riding on Lancelot behind Silvia widened his eyes.

The sacred airship Esperanza, airship Crown Solas and air ship Silvanus was lined up together.

On the other hand, the huge airship Beowolf was parked quite some distance away from the trio.

The suspicious thing was the black smoke emerging from Beowolf.

Could it be a fire?

If Eco is inside… Ash was too scared to think about it.

“Urgh…!”

At this moment, Ash felt a burning sensation from his left hand.

Although he nearly screamed in pain, he managed to tolerate with it.

It felt like suddenly putting his hand into a furnace.

“Is everything alright, Ash!?”

Silvia was worried about him and turned around and asked, but Ash couldn’t even reply because of the pain.

The ‘Seikoku’ engraved on his left arm was slowly moaning.

A while later, there was a glaring light coming out from his left arm and his sleeve up to his shoulders was burned off. Even the bandage was burned into pieces.

In a blink of an eye, Ash’s ‘Seikoku’ on his left arm was exposed.

“Wha…!”

The ‘Seikoku’ on his hand was glowing with different light intensity from time to time.

Ash was panicking.

It will be alright if it was just glowing but the heat and the pain sensation had no intention of stopping.

It felt that his left arm is going to explode anytime.

“Hey… What is actually happening?”

Silvia was in shock while holding the reins which was probably caused by the fright she experience from seeing Ash’s ‘Seikoku’s’ reaction.

“I don’t know… But I am now sure that I am again connected to Eco!”

Just like responding to Ash’s left arm, there was an object glowing in the sky.

“Ash! Look upwards!”

Silvia who noticed the abnormality was pointing at the sky. Ash too had noticed.

There was something glowing on the sky above the landing area.

“That is…”

The mysterious light was floating in the sky as if it was decorating it.

On the other hand, the full moon didn’t look as charming as before.

By taking a closer look, it was an egg with beautiful flow lines.

There was a big emblem that was carved on the pearl like egg. At a first glance, it looked like a royal emblem.

To be more specific, that emblem looked like Ash’s ‘Seikoku’.

-Don…Don…Don…

There was a frightening beating sound from the egg.

The confusing part is, it moved with the same rhythm as the glow on Ash’s ‘Seikoku’.

Ash immediately understood.

“I couldn’t be more wrong… Eco is in that egg!”

“How is that possible? What are you talking about…?”

“Princess-sama, I beg you. Please take me there!”

“…Alright. I believe in you. Fly Lancelot! Fly higher!”

But Lancelot ignored her orders. It stayed at the twenty meters height and looked at the egg with its head up.

“Hei… Lancelot? Anything wrong? Fly immediately!”

Even though Silvia shouted strictly, Lancelot still ignored her orders. On the other hand, it did an emergency landing at a corner of the landing space.

“What are you doing? Are you disobeying my orders, Lancelot!”

“…It is useless, Princess-sama. It seems that Lancelot has its own reason.”

“What did you say?!”

Silvia looked at Ash with an imposing manner.

“Do you know what Lancelot was thinking?”

“…I am not sure. It was probably affected by the ‘Seikoku’. I don’t know why, but I could somehow understand what Lancelot was thinking.”

After Ash and Silvia was forced to alight Lancelot unwillingly, Lancelot again spread its wings and shoot up into the sky.

Looking at Lancelot’s direction, Ash found out something important.

“Princess-sama! There are more and more… Maestros gathering together!”

Groups of Maestro were gathering from all direction. It had become an amazing night view created by the light from the Maestro’s magic.

One by one the Maestro appeared and gathered at the corner of the sky.

For Maestro’s whose numbers were already little to begin with to gather together, it was unheard of even in the old times-

===Part 6===
“What is actually happening…?”

Lancelot left its master and flew off on its own.

Although this had given Silvia a great blow, still the view of the night sky gave her a deep impression.

Silvia could clearly hear the ‘Pssshh’ sounds of the beating of the wings.

When she had personally seen the dream like view, all her attention had been captured by it.

That egg even had wings growing out of it and feathers with silver lights were falling off. It was like snows that beautify the night sky.

Then- there was a crack from the egg shell.

The winged egg split into two-

“Uoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!”

A roar as if it was a horn announcing the end to the world could be heard all over.

Silvia who couldn’t look straight into the glaring light closed her eyes. When she reopened her eyes, the winged egg was no longer there. It was replaced by something that was out of this world.

To describe this thing with a word will be either – GOD or DEVIL.

However what Silvia said was insulting.

“What a scary monster…!”

[[Image:SnRK V04 193.jpg|thumb]]

“Stop! You are not allowed to say that!”

Ash shouted and brought Silvia back o her sense.

“That must be...Eco. I can feel it... I can feel it!”

“Sorry, Ash...”

Although Silvia was annoyed by her gaffe, she still couldn’t believe that it was Eco.

Later, Eco landed slowly while being surrounded by numerous Maestros.

Although the pink fur and the red eyes is similar to Eco, but her horns looked sharp and fierce and doesn’t at all looked like Eco’s round stubs.

Also, there was a third horn in between the two horns. It was like a unicorn’s horn and was up straight.

Her wings which were spread widely were different from a normal Maestro’s. It made one think of an angel’s wings.

Followed by a loud bang, Eco landed.

Eco lifted up her gigantic hind leg up high- And The large airship that had been the pride of the Empire was squashed in a few seconds.

With the conning tower being right at the middle, Beowolf had been squashed into a V shape and immediately exploded.

Yet, Eco was not at all affected.

Eco probably lost interest in Beowolf and tried to wriggle her long neck. She slowly lowered her center of gravity.

The target of her scarlet eyes was the window of the tall Fontaine Palace.

===Part 7===
-An unidentified flying object appeared above the capital and all the Maestros in the country disobeyed their masters’ orders and gathered together.

Veronica who received the emergency report brought Glenn the captain of the escorts alone with her to the ballroom at the highest floor of the palace.

Anyway, there were important guests in the ballroom that gathered from all over the continent. No matter what happened, she must protect their safety in the name of the pride of the Knight’s country.

At the same time, she must bring back her father Oswald with her. He had most probably change his appearance and was drinking while mingling in the crowd.

While running on the long corridor, Veronica questioned Glenn:

“Did you too lose contact with your pal?”

“It totally ignored my summons and ignored my request to present me my Ark. From the looks of the current situation where all the Maestros are gathering in the capital’s sky, it probably has something to do with the unidentified flying object.”

“Then, our pride, the Holy Dragners of Lautreamont can be considered no more. If the Empire attacked us at this moment, without the protection of the Maestros, this country will fall in just a single night.”

“...I don’t have an excuse to offer.” <ref>面目次第も有りません have also the meaning of ‘It is a shame I don’t have the power to…’</ref>

Glenn lowered his head somberly.

===Part 8===
When Veronica and Glenn arrived at the ballroom, the palace music and the party atmosphere of the nobles had disappeared.

Most of the guests were by the glass window and were looking downwards in shock. From there they can see the landing area for the airships.

“That’s…!”

Veronica was also looking downwards through the glass window.

“It is dangerous to stand beside the window, Princess-sama!”

Glenn warned her but Veronica ignored him.

There was a change in the landing area.

A living object that was glowing with silver light suddenly landed there.

''-Uoooooooooooooooooo…!''

It was immediately followed by a loud roar that will made one feel like covering his ears.

It was stated in the previous report that ‘an unidentified flying object that looked like a huge egg’, but it seemed that the huge egg had
hatched when Veronica was on her way.

The unbelievable thing is, that huge monster easily split the Empire’s huge airship Beowolf into two with just a stomp.

Right at this moment, there was a man from the crowd was making a fuss.

“Ooh, what is happening! How can a dragon of the Knight’s… Destroy the most advance airship which is our country’s pride! I don’t think that
this is some simple matter!”

The man words had caused an uproar in the ballroom.

Until a moment ago, everyone had just found out that this monster is a dragon.

Talking about a dragon, everyone will think about Lautreamont Knight Country.

“Is that person…Klaus Viderhausen! He is obviously trying to cause a stir!”

Veronica angrily scolded and glared at the Empire’s young noble.

However, there was a man who stupidly tried to argue with Klaus.

“Nonsense! That monster had nothing to do with our country!”

Although the man was wearing a lion shaped mask, judging from his plum body, Veronica immediately knew who he is.

He is her father, Oswald.

“Klaus-dono! This is the truth! That monster had nothing to do with us! Please believe in me!”

“Hu… What you said was not at all convincing. Anyway, everyone here is a witness.”

Klaus was not even bothered by Oswald.

It was because what Klaus said is true. A huge dragon that appeared with no warning had destroyed the Empire’s airship right in front of
everyone.

Nothing could be worst than this.

For Chevron Kingdom and Zepharos Empire who had never see each other eye to eye was originally going to discuss about the peace in between
them in tomorrow’s continental congress ‘Elysium’.

To Chevron Kingdom and its ally Lautreamont Knight Country this should be a historical event.

“Stop… Let alone the Emperor, not even a royal from the Empire attends. It is a total joke. The Empire had never wanted peace-”

Just as Veronica finished her sentence, there were people screaming from everywhere.

Everyone was in a panic.

All the guests who were wearing their mask, including the musicians and the waiters, everyone were trying to escape.

Apart from Oswald who was crying, Klaus who had previously put the blame on the Knight Country was also fleeing.

“What…!”

Veronica who immediately turned around was also sweating tremendously.

There was a pair of scarlet eyes looking into one of the many palace windows.

She spent a few seconds to figure out that the dragon had stretched its neck and was looking into Fontaine Palace.

“Glenn, if I try to slash the pair of eyes with my huge sword… Do you think I have any chance of winning?”

“Please forgive my rudeness… Even if Princess-sama, you are no match for it.”

Glenn told the truth directly.

"Why must you be this honest?"

Veronica was sulking while she confronted the dragon eyes.

The round eyes.

''It looked like a baby’s pairs of eyes. Although it looked naïve, if this monster just rubbed its nose with the palace walls, Fontaine Palace will
turned into dust in seconds. Furthermore, it will be a hill full of bricks and corpse…''

Even though she was thinking of such scenario, Veronica could still manage a smile.

“Kuku… So this is of feeling of my life being controlled by others. I praise you, my child!”

Seeing that Veronica had no intention of escaping, Captain Glenn advised her in panic:

“Princess-sama, please retreat!”

“I mustn’t. Some of the guests are still here.”

Veronica looked around the empty ballroom.

There was a man with a mask standing at the middle of the dance floor.

The man was wearing a elegant suit. However his hair colour was like a cloth stain with blood.

He is obviously the guy in the reports- Milgauss.

Veronica looked at him in admiration.

“Hmm… You indeed look a little like Julius. Remove your mask!”

To her surprise, he actually did it. He could be seen silently removing his mask and threw it to a side as if he don’t need it anymore.

“-!”

Veronica’s eyes widen.

The handsome face beneath the mask was undoubtable Julius of ten years later who had became a seinen.<ref>青年, man with age range between 20-
30.</ref>

He had no longer the rebellious feel with him in his teenage years and was replaced by a feeling of a weapon that had been well polished.

“So you are Julius…!”

As if to sweep away her worries, Julius walked to the side of the window. At the same time, the dragon’s face disappeared as if it had lost
interest with the empty ballroom.

Julius was standing by the window looking at the huge dragon.

“Kukuku… I had been waiting for this moment for a long time!”

That sinful voice and the devil like smile made Veronica felt uneasy.

Glenn took a stepped forward as if trying to ask in behalf of Veronica.

He unsheathed his sword that was on his waist.

“You can’t be Julius, no? My friend will never show such malicious smile."

“Oh, Glenn McGuire! I remembered you are one of the guys that appeared in Julius’s memories. It should be suitable to use ‘it had been a long
time’ in this situation, don’t you think so?”

“What do you mean!”

“You still don’t get it? This body is indeed Julius’s. However, I am not Julius. But I can peek into Julius’s memories anytime."

“What is happening…?”

Veronica was curious but it was not bothered by the man.

“Kneel! Quick! Look carefully! You are witnessing a historical moment!”

The man was acting like a holy man in the religious painting. He spread his arms widely and declared his name.

“I am Mordred! The descendant of the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family.”

Vreonica couldn’t believe what she had just heard.

The Maestro that Julius sacrificed his life to kill is named Mordred. It is also Julius’s Pal.

''Is it possible that Mordred had taken over Julius’s body?''

In regards of Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family- Veronica had only recently heard about this name.

The ‘Old Testament of the Stella Biblia’ that Dr Angela Cornwell found in Willingham Mausoleum.

Basically, Veronica had read through the copy of the book.

She recalled a part of the book.

“…After the wise dragon Inbroke, two major bloodlines were formed. They are the Avalon’s holy dragons emperor family and the Nehalennia’s dark dragons king family. An endless war started from these two families. After the members of the two families reincarnated, they will encounter each other, hate each other and kill each other.”

The person in front had introduced himself as the descendant of the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family.

Then, who is the person who should be representing the descendant of the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family-?

At this moment, Veronica stopped thinking because of Glenn’s shout.

“So I see… You are the roots of evil! I knew that Julius didn’t turn crazy! He will always be loyal to his beliefs and tried to have you
removed even when he had to commit a crime in the Knight Country!... Return Julius to us!”

Followed by a shout, Glenn reduced their distance and there was a silver flash.

However, Mordred easily parried Glenn’s slash.

“Urgh!”

Glenn growled.

Morderd had stopped the high speed slash with only his index and middle finger.

Glenn could be seen standing still while holding his sword. No, that’s not the case, Veronica understands well.

It was not that Glenn was not moving, it was because that he was unable to move.

Morderd had over powered Glenn with just two fingers.

“Hmph… I will let you experience the punishment for being disobedient to ''god''."

After Mordred gave a cold smile, there was a flash.

“Gwaaa!”

Glenn was knocked up into the air while unable to even resist. He knocked into the wall hard and became unconscious.

Veronica didn’t even have the time to care about Glenn and stared at Mordred.

“…I don’t understand. As far as I know, you should have a good relationship with Julius. Didn’t you even present him with an ark?”

“Hmph, the one who has a good relationship with Julius is another me. That me who acknowledged Julius as its master and had associate with him
quite well."

“Another me? What are you talking about?”

“Let me generously explain it to you as your last gift before you die. There was two personalities in Mordred. If it was to be a human, it will be call as a split personality.”

“What happened to the other personality?”

“It had disappeared together with the body. Ironically, it was it and Julius who had planned to kill me. For me, to prevent myself from dying,
I had sacrificed my body and change into this spiritual form and had inhabit in Julius’s body.”

Upon saying until there, Mordred looked out of the window.

Right beside the palace, the dragon was standing on its hind legs and was looking around curiously. It seemed to be troubled because it
couldn’t understand what was happening.

Mordred declared to that dragon:

“Descendant of the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family, I will take that body of yours!”

“Now I understand, so this is what you planned…!”

At this stage. Veronica finally found out what is Mordred aiming for.

Morderd had once lost his body in to past when it was killed by Julius.

However, if it could take over the body of the descendant of the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family, it can once again be born as the
strongest dragon…!

“That will never happen, Mordred!”

Veronica unsheathed the huge sword on her waist.

Even though she knew that he was not an opponent that she could win in a direct confrontation, she still couldn’t bear to watch idly from the side.

''I will kill Mordred together with Julius’s body before he can manage to take over Avalon’s body-'' Veronica rushed forward while thinking so.

Even when it is her brother’s body that we are talking about, she had no intention of showing any mercy.

But, before Veronica could land a hit on Mordred, suddenly, there was darkness emerging from his body and spread all over the ballroom.

“Urgh… What is this dark mist… My conscious…!”

The moment she was surrounded by the darkness, Veronica felt a strong feeling of vomiting and fainting.

===Part 9===
After struggling in the darkness without knowing what was happening for some time- The darkness had finally disappeared.

“Are you alright, Veronica?”

There was a guy who held out his had to Veronica who was struggling to stand up.
[[Image:SnRK V04 207.jpg|thumb]]
“You…!”

There were killing intends in Veronica’s eyes.

To her surprise, Mordred who should be busy with taking over Avalon’s decedent’s body had tried to help her.

However, there was no longer the evilness on his face.

“You… Could you be Julius?”

“Ahh, that is me. You are still the same old you for not calling me ‘Anii-ue’.”

It seemed that because Mordred was gone, Julius who able to take back his body.

“Of course… You F.O.O.L”

Upon hearing, Julius smile but he immediately returned back to his serious expression.

“Sorry, but now is not the time for us siblings to be arguing. Mordred's spirit had already inhibited on Eco’s body. We have the obligation to defeat Mordred and protect this city.”

At that instant, Veronica felt a pain from her head as if she had just been strike.

“Hold on! Did you just say Eco? That huge dragon… is actually Eco?”

“I will explain the detail to you later. Can you stand up?”

“Hmph… Whom do you think you are talking to!”

Using the huge sword as a walking stick, Veronica put all her effort into standing up. But, it was probably the side effect of inhaling in the darkness, in the end, she fell down again.

“Princess-sama!”

The person who reached Veronica first was Glenn. Although he was badly injured, he had regained conscious.

Glenn held on to Veronica and glared at Julius.

“Julius… I had numerous thing that I want to tell you, but please allow me to tell you this first.”

“I can guess what you want to say but be my guest.”

While facing the calm Julius, Glenn with mix feelings shouted to Julius:

“You… Damn you!”

===Part 10===

Seeing that the Empire’s airship was easily crushed, the sacredship Esperanza and magicship Crown Solas flew off immediately.

Only magicship Silvanus remained at its location overlooking the whole incident.

Although Silvanus had yet to attack Eco, Ash was still worried stance the captain is Veronica.

Even so, seeing that Silvanus still haven’t make its decision, Veronica probably had not board the ship. They were most probably waiting for Veronica’s orders.

On the other hand, if Veronica had boarded the ship, there is a high chance that she will issue an attack on Eco. To protect the capital, Veronica will make this decision without any hesitation. Anyway, Silvanus fire power is not something that can be ignored.

“I…I will protect Eco!”

Ash made up his mind and rushed forward.

“Hold on, Ash. Do you want to be crushed!”

Silvia blocked Ash with her arms spread.

“Please move aside, Princess-sama! Who will protect Eco if I don’t!”

“Please keep your calm! Even so, what can you do!? How are you going to ride Eco who had turned into that? What’s more, what are you going to do to ride on Eco?”

“I…”

Silvia was right. During the time when the Necromancia attacked Ansarivan, he received help from Silvia and Lancelot.

But luck was not on his side. Lancelot who he could place his hope on had not yet returned after it gathered with the rest of the Maestro. The group of Maestros were still circling above the sky while waiting for something to happen.

To his relieved, after Eco crushed Beowolf, she had not made any frightening actions. Although Ash was sweating tremendously during the time she looked into Fontaine Palace through the window, he was lucky that she leave immediately.

Right now, Eco was only looking around and sniffing the building around her as if to figure out what was happening. In regards to what had happened to her body, she probably hasn’t figured it out yet.

“In conclusion, we must keep her as far from the town as possible. In case that she entered the town…"

Upon listening to Silvia’s assumption, Ash was shaking in fear.

Fontaine City has a population of around a million.

In another words, a million lives were now in Eco’s hands.

The severity of the current situation was no longer only involved Ash and Eco.

“Guooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo…!”

At that moment, Eco was roaring in pain and started to struggle. There was a change in her appearance that was originally surrounded by a silver light.

Just like a white cloth that came in contact with ink, there black colour was slowly taking over the white.

“…Eco? What’s happening!”

Ash could only look at Eco transform without doing anything.

The change in her skin was only the start.

Her angle like feathers had transformed into a crow like wings.

The previous middle horn of the three horns had disappeared and her pair of horns had turned into spiral shape.

Also, her four limbs were growing at a fast speed. It will be better to describe her as a giant like body rather than a huge beast. That huge body gave a evil feeling.

Last of all, there were nine eyes on its face and were glowing with red lights.

“Nine eyes…!”

Ash remembered something.

Eco once had a nightmare.

In her dream, was Eco attacked by the nine eyed dragon…?

-Don!

At that moment, Eco who had turned into that black dragon gave a dragon breath.

The flame emitted pierced the sky and scattered the dark clouds.

If this flame was aimed at Fontaine Palace or the town… Ash had Goosebumps just by thinking.

“Silvia, so you are here!”

At this moment, there was a fierce voice coming from behind.

It was Silvia and Glenn when they turned around.

Glenn was badly injured and looked like a rag.

Apart from that- There was another man that was following Veronica.

It was already surprising if a person was allowed to walk side by side with Veronica, yet it was far more surprising when they noticed the man’s hair colour.

“Milgauss! Why are you here!”

Ash felt that he was having Goosebumps all over his body. At the same time, he felt that Milgauss looked familiar. He remembered that he had seen that face in a portrait.

“Are you… Anii-ue?!”

Silvia shouted before Ash.

“Yeah. Although it is a little hard to believe, I am Julius. But I don’t have the time to give you any explanations right now. Firstly, we need to get rid of Mordred’s spirit from Eco’s body- Ash.”

When his name was suddenly called by Julius, Ash became nervous.

The person in front of him really felt like Prince Julius Lautreamont.

Julius stepped forward and placed his hand on Ash’s shoulder.

“Only you as the master can save Eco. Understood?”

“Yes. I had thought of that too myself.”

Julius smiled.

“Good answer. I will take the responsibility to bring you to Eco.”

“But… How are you going to do it?”

“Don’t worry. We have that.”

After he finished his sentence, Julius was pointing at- Magicship Silvanus that was actually resting at the far end of the landing area.

===Part 11===
“Ara. I don’t remembered inviting you here…Dark Dragon King Mordred.”

In the dragon workshop, Navi and Mordred were having a confrontation. She was sitting on her favourite chair with her legs crossed.

“Kuku. This is your last time to be able to be this relaxed.”

Mordred’s spirit still maintained Julius’s voice. It was probably because it had inhibited in Julius’s body for more than ten years…Navi thought so.

“I had taken over sixty percent of Eco’s body. It is only a matter of time that I can fully take control of her body. Avalon is losing.”

“…”

“Next, if I can fuse together with you, I can be fully awakened as the Dark Dragon King. Follow me. Even though you are called Navi, but I clearly know that you are not a normal navigator. You are the incarnation of the Dragweiss.”

“Ara. Just what I thought of the Dark Dragon King. You had made quite some investigation on your own.”

“Fuse with me quickly. Give me the supreme knowledge. Strictly speaking, Avalon and Nehalennia have the same roots… I should also be qualified to fuse with you.”

“I don’t disagree with this.”

Upon hearing Navi’s answer, Mordred smiled.

“So you agreed?”

“No I don’t. It is because I don’t like Nehalennia.”

“…What do you say?”

“I am rooting for Avalon's Imperial Princess and her knight. Especially her knight… Ash Blake, he is far manlier than you.”

“Hmph…what a fox you are. Since it had came to this, I will use force-”

Suddenly, there were numerous tentacles coming from under Mordred’s legs. They were like snakes that had found their prey and attacked Navi.

===Part 12===
“I am sorry. Could everyone apart from Ash and I leave this ship?”

Upon stepping into Silvanus’s wheelhouse, Julius spoke coldly.

The crew responsible for the control of the wheel and control communications turned around and looked Julius in confusion. Then they are all frightened as is they had seen a ghost.

They shouldn’t be blamed since the prince that should have been executed years ago was standing in front of them and had asked them to do something unreasonable.

“Hold on… Prince Julius! What do you planned to do?”

Seeing that Ash was requesting for an explanation, at the same time Julius answered, he turned around and looked at Veronica who was preparing to sit on the captain’s seat.

“I just don’t want the rest of the people to die with us. Veronica, I hoped that you could also help me by giving out the orders.”

“Do you think that I would even listen to that joke?”

“If the sister is stubborn, the elder brother will have to face some trouble.”

The next instant, Julius seize Veronica from behind with lightning speed. He was holding a hidden gun. It was a mechanic gun that the military of the Empire used.

Julius even chose to place the tip at Veronica’s temple.

“There is not much time. You should try to listen to your brother sometimes, Veronica.”

“Are you kidding! Silvanus is my magicship. Don’t even think of always doing what you wanted to, Julius.”

“As I had said before, I am your brother. Maybe you are a perfect princess in front of our people, but I knew your achilles heel. If you still disobey me, I will expose it in front of everyone.”

“What achilles heel?”

“I knew that you love Silvia. There are Silva portraits in your room. The clothes that Silva wore, Silva’s growth record, the poem that you wrote from missing Silvia and also Silvia’s human size doll-”

“I-I promise! Keep quite immediately!”

Ash was in a shock. He had never expected Veronica to surrender easily.

“Everyone, leave the ship immediately! This is an order from Veronica Lautreamont! No one is allowed to disobey!”

All the crew members rushed out from the wheelhouse.

===Part 13===
When everyone had left the magicship, Julius flied Silvanus while sitting on the pilot’s seat.

With the sudden shake of the magicship, Ash held on tightly to the seat of the communication officer to avoid falling. Looking through the round window, the magicship was getting further and further away from the ground.

It was a totally different experience from sitting on a dragon. When this lump of metal was flying with passengers- At the same time Ash was amazed, he also started to worry about crashing.

As for Julius, he was piloting Silvanus while telling Ash the whole story.

===Part 14===
Although what Julius said was hard to believe, basically, the dragons were seperated into the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family and the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family. The two families had incarnated since the ancient times and were still fighting each other right until today.

Also, Eco is Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family’s descendant.

In another words, Eco is the Imperial Princess of the dragon.

“…Even after I had heard of such things, it is still hard for me to believe this. Eco who had been living with me was obviously a girl who sleeps late, a glutton and a hot headed girl...”

“I know how you feel. When I found out that my pal is the descendant for the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family, I was also astounded. In the beginning, I was also troubled by why was I chosen.”

Julius said.

“Back to the topic, Avalon’s Imperial Princess’s body is really huge. Even though she is still a young dragon, she had this unbelievable huge size… It is totally unbelievable.”

After Julius pressed a few buttons on the dashboard, Eco’s body was shown on the huge screen in front.

Silvanus was three hundred meters above the land and was looking at Fontaine city from the sky above.

From the screen, they can see Eco's back that had turned black because of being taken over by Mordred.

With its frightening spiral horns and nine eyes… It is exactly the image of the dark dragon king.

Eco who was originally standing on two legs was now standing on all four because of the pain caused by Mordred’s take over.

The worrying part is, Eco was not moving at all and yet she doesn’t look as if she was sleeping…

“Could it be that Eco was fighting Mordred?”

Julius shook his head in disagreement.

“It is impossible. Judging from the huge change of her body, I am afraid that… Eco don’t even have the strength to fight back.”

“Is it…”

“But not all hope is lost. In my opinion, Navi was fighting against Mordred.”

“Navi?”

Why would he mention Navi’s name at such a time?

Before that, how would Julius know about Navi?

“Navi is the incarnation of the Dragweiss. If Navi could keep on fighting back, even after Mordred could fully take over Eco’s body, he still couldn’t be fully awaken.”

“What do you meant?”

“Regardless of the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor or the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king, both of them must fuse with the Dragweiss to obtain the supreme knowledge, only then they could receive their true power. I believe that Mordred right now is trying his best to make Navi his.”

“How come… you knew so many about him?”

“That was because it shared the same body with Mordred. Just like what he did to blend into the human society… I could also look into his memories.”

After hearing what Julius had said, Ash was still confused. However, there exists thing that could be easily understood without the need of good brains.

“In another words, this is a great time for a counter attack when Mordred was busy dealing with Navi, right?”

“That’s right. This is our only chance for victory. If you can ride on Eco and chase of Mordred’s spirit, then you can save Eco and the capital together.”

Ash nodded in agreement to what Julius had said.

“I am willing to give it a try. No matter it is Avalon or Nehalennia… I don’t think I even know what they mean. I only know that Eco is my pal.”

When Ash turned around and prepared to walk back to the deck, Julius spoke from behind:

“Although I don’t know why you are chosen… But I am glad that you are Eco’s knight.”

===Part 15===
“Urgh…”

Ash arrived at the deck and the winds were cold. Such temperatures were unheard of during the summer.

Ash was carrying a parachute- This is a decision made by Julius and him beforehand.

When Silvanus had come close to Eco, Ash will jump off from the deck with the help of the parachute.

After landing, it is all up to Ash.

Basically, Ash had gone through the landing practices in the academy.

Ash had never intended to become a soldier and had always thought that the academy was wrong to force them to go through the practices.

Anyway, the academy is not a military school- But who would expect that those practices must be applied right now.

“…Right there.”

Ash was looking down towards the ground from the bow and had located Eco’s back.

Although her fur had turned black but since the enormous amount of magic surrounding her was giving off strong rays of light, he won’t have to worry about missing his target.

He must make use of the time that Navi was fighting against Mordred to land on Eco’s head.

Julius voice emerged from the magic communication device:

“Ash, you may jump anytime.”

“Roger that.”

Ash looked downwards for one more time.

For such a huge beast, her only blind spot will be her head.

Ash tried to imagine himself riding on Eco’s head.

To his surprise, it was not at all scary.

The ‘Seikoku’ on his left arm was getting warm and was flickering with dim light.

It felt as if his ‘Seikoku’ was urging him to move quickly.

Suddenly- Eco lifted her neck and shot a dragon breath towards Silvanus.

“…Urgh!”

A bright light pierced through the night sky. Ash surrendered against the shaking deck and fell down. Although Julius had barely avoided a direct hit by giving the ship an emergency turn, the strong breath had burned the side of the ship into ashes.

There were smokes and fire emerging from the ship itself and it had lost balance.

“Tsk…! If you kill me, Eco will die too! If that happens, you also couldn’t get your hands on Eco’s body that you desired that much...! How could someone be this stupid?”

When Ash was groaning, Julius voice could be heard once again through the communication machine:

“Ash, are you alright!”

“Yes, I am!”

“Silvanus is going to do an emergency landing! Jump quickly!”

“I also intend to do so!”

Ash clenched his teeth and jumped off from the deck.

The moment his feet left the deck, Mordred gave a second dragon breath.

Looking backwards, he saw Silvanus’s deck suffered a direct hit from the dragon breath.

Ash shuddered. He was lucky that he had jumped of earlier or else he would be turned into dust.

Although Julius had said there are going to do an emergency ‘landing’, judging from the speed Silvanus was moving downwards, it looked like it was crashing.

Finally, the unbalance ship disappeared at the other end of the palace walls- Then a fire pillar could be seen followed by a loud explosion.

“Prince Julius…!”

Ash was sad but there was nothing he can do.

Julius had risked his life to fly him into the night sky.

The only thing he can do right now is to complete his mission in return.

Ash's body was moving downwards because of the gravity pull.

His face and ears felt like being crushed by the air pressure.

“Now is the time!”

Ash had got the timing right and spread open the parachute.

The amazing braking force had caused the parachute to slow down.

If another dragon breath was shot, Ash would certainly be hit but Ash prayed that he will not have such bad luck.

“Wait for me, Eco. I will protect you… I swear!”

===Part 16===
“Damn! Where am I?”

Eco found out that she was in a cage when she woke up. When she was looking at her body, she found out that she was wearing a dress with low standards.

This style is obviously not of Eco’s preference.

Any dress in Fontaine Palace’s changing room looked better that this. It is even as heavy as lead and it felt more like a binding item rather than an evening dress.

On the other side of the cage was a wide white space. The walls, the floor and the ceiling was white. Not even a dust that could be found.

“How dare anyone to cage a dragon like me in this cage… What were they even thinking!?”

Eco was definitely confused. Yet she still vaguely remembered that she was awakened as a dragon. She even remembered that she had become huge and was looking at the whole Fontaine palace.

But her memories stopped there.

“Tsk…It seems that you are alright since you are this energetic even under such situation.”

It was a familiar voice.

“Navi? You…!”

Navi was standing outside of the cage. Even though Eco disliked Navi, but under such situation, Eco was grateful that Navi was here and felt that Navi was like an angel.

The Eco’s Angel was now looking like a ragdoll.

Navi who was always acting calm and give out a noble like feeling was now with a messed up hair and even her evening dress was in rags. All over her body were marks of being bounded.

“What happened? This doesn’t look like you at all…”

Eco was taking a closer look at Navi.

“Hmm…I am only accompanying Mordred in his game. It was just that, his tentacles fetish had given me some trouble!”

“Mordred? Who is that?”

“Please lend me your hand.”

Eco stretched her hand through the gaps in between the bars of the cage. After Navi held her hand, a mass amount of knowledge flowed into her brain.

In a blink of an eye, Eco knew everything that had happened. Only until now that she had realized that she was in her spiritual from.

“To make it simple… That person called Mordred is trying to take over my body, right?”

“That’s right. Anyway, during the time I was running around, he had done nothing bad. But if it is to destroy this capital, it will be an easy task for him.”

“Hmm… So I am such a great dragon.”

According to Navi’s information, Eco is Avalon’s Imperial Princess.

“Huhu. Now Ash is going to look at me differently.”

Seeing that Eco was feeling proud, Navi sighed.

“As long as he can survive. He seems to be doing something foolhardy again.”

Navi held Eco’s hand again and Eco closed her eyes.

That current situation was sent into Eco’s brain as projections.

“What…!”

Eco was speechless.

Under the night sky- Ash leaned out from Silvanus’s deck.

The next instant, Mordred gave a dragon breath from the ground.

Silvanus was hit and was gliding in the sky as if it was a paper plane.

On the other hand, Ash jumped into the air and was falling with his head pointing downwards.

“Hold on… Is he crazy!?”

At that moment, Eco clearly heard Ash’s mumble.

"Wait for me, Eco. I will protect you… I swear!”

In a short moment, tears started to flow from her eyes. Even though she was a spirit, her tears still kept on flowing. Even the Dragweiss couldn’t give an explanation. A warm feeling was haunting her heart… What was that feeling?

“Why…Why? Why would he… try to do so many things for me? Even when I… Had caused many, many troubles for him?”

Navi stretched her hand into the cage and patted her head.

“Do you even have to ask? It is because you are his pal.”

Eco rubbed off her tears and lifted her head.

“Navi, please tell me what can I do for him.”

“Teehee. That’s more like it.”

Navi smiled and waved her hand lightly. With a flash, the cage had disappeared. At the same time, the black dress that limits Eco’s movement had been broken into particles and a pure white evening dress was raveled from beneath.

In a short time, Navi removed Mordred’s seal.

“I must say that… You are very good.”

Eco was looking at her dress. It designs compromised of the elements of elegant and pure. It is as if it was made to be worn by the Avalon’s Imperial Princess.

“No matter how great I am, I can't help you with the upcoming step. Understood?”

Eco nodded in reply.

“Then, what should I do?”

After Navi smiled, she cheekily said:

“Of course you are to present him your originally made Ark and the Avalon’s Imperial Princess.”

The next instant, Eco became confused.

“What? Are you serious?”

As if it was natural to do so, Navi nodded without any hesitation.

“All the mimics that you had created for emergency in the past… is useless against Mordred.”

“But, how am I to do this impossible task!?”

An original Ark could not be completed easily.

It was because of Eco had seen her ancestor’s blueprint; she understands how hard it can be. An Ark is not only a strong magic weapon, at the same time, it is also a perfect art masterpiece.

Not to mention that Eco was still a young dragon that was not even a year old without any experience. Navi’s suggestion was like asking a baby to build a palace.

“Anyway, it will not be called difficult if the blueprint could be easily created.”

Eco gave up before she even started but Navi ignored it.

“Rest assured, you must believe in your own ability. You are an Imperial Princess who is the blood descendant of Avalon.”

“But… what we must think about is not only the armour itself, there is also the Ark-weapon…”

“Listen carefully, the shape itself doesn’t matters. It was the mental power of the creator that decide the strength of the Ark. Even if you don’t know the shape, as long as you focus, the shape of the Ark will be formed.”

“Really…?”

“Yeah. Also, you don’t have to worry about the Ark-weapon. Avalon has a treasured sword that had been passed down through the generations. Just use it.”

After a moment of silent, Eco mumbled:

“…I had always disliked you since the first time I met you. Regardless of your relaxed attitude or your looks that was similar to mine or your overly large breast…I hate them and hate them very much! However… It is funny that I felt that you are trustable.”

Eco lifted her head and smile.

Navi also returned a smile.

At the same moment, Eco felt that a light had pierced through that darkness that had been blocking her eyes.

She didn't want to look for trouble anymore.

And she definitely doesn’t want to give up before taking up the challenge.

While the evening dress was swaying, Eco spoke with confidence:

“Just wait and see. I will definitely complete my original Ark!”

===Part 17===
“Damn… What kind of joke is this!”

Although Ash had finally landed on Eco, still the landing spot was her back and not her head. It was exactly beside the joints between the body and the wings.

That pair of wings was like the wings of a new born bird. It was still wet and was unable to fly right away.

Maybe this is my only life saver…Ash secretly thought.

Black furs were grown from her uneven skin. It felt like a Necromancia. He must get rid of Mordred’s spirit and return Eco to her original appearance as soon as
possible.

To achieve this, he must try to ride her gigantic body. However… Ash was looking at Eco’s head from afar.

Connected to her back that was as huge as prairie was a long neck that looked as if it was a stairway to heaven. And her head with spiral horns was at the other end of the neck.

His current aim was to ride on her head and try to control her using his will as a dragner. However… The distance between them was huge. It was like trying to climb the dangerous Xenoglavia Mountains without any climbing tools.

“Stop… This is not the time to give up.”

Ash threw aside the parachute and move forward while pushing aside those furs that were taller than his height.

“Now I really looked like a louse…”

In reality, Mordred treat Ash as nothing but a louse. That is why he was not bothered by Ash at all.

“Just wait and see. Your overconfidence will be the cause of your death, Mordred…”

Although Ash kept on talking to himself to boost his confidence, but every time he looked towards her head, he felt like falling apart.

Suddenly, there was a change in the night sky.

Those Maestros who were originally circling in the sky started to make their movements.

Those Maestros could be seen gliding towards Mordred and had him surrounded.

“Grrrrrrrrrrrrr…”

Mordred lifted his neck and gave a threatening growl. However, before he even managed to attack, the Maestros activated their magic at the same time.

With a flash, chains that were made from magic appeared. Numerous chains had tied down the huge dragon’s neck, front legs, hind legs, tail…

“Guuuoooooooooooooooooooo…!”

Mordred was struggling with all his might but the chains wouldn’t even budge.

“They…!”

It can’t be wrong. These Maestros were trying to seal Mordred’s movement. Who know if they were thinking that the dragon worthy to take to top is not Mordred but Eco.

At that moment, a Maestro landed right in front of Ash. Its pair of horns that looked like a dear’s looked familiar to Ash. Then a clear voice could be heard coming from behind the dragon.

“Ash… Hurry up!”

“Lukka!? Why are you here?”

That is. The Maestro that suddenly appeared from above was Gawain and Lukka was riding on its back. Ash felt nostalgic.

Lukka while feeling worried gave Ash a short explanation.

“Err… The Maestros in the seven dragon house was escaping together. I risked my life to cling on Gawain… In the end, I found out that I was already here.”

“Did Rebecca and Max come together?”

Lukka shook her head. It was probably Ash's mistake that he felt that Lukka’s ears were slightly drooping.

“Only I noticed that something was going on with the Maestros…”

“Is that so…”

As if to interrupt Ash’s and Lukka’s conversation, Gawain roared with its jaws opened.

It was as if trying to tell Ash to ride on it quickly. Ash naturally didn’t reject this offer.

“Thank you!”

Just as Ash sat on Gawain’s back, Gawain flapped its wings.

After piercing through the night sky, Gawain’s altitude was increasing following the direction of Mordred’s neck. Lukka’s riding skills was as good as ever and could only be described by perfect.

Ash was clinging tightly to Lukka’s thin waist to avoid from dropping off.

However, Mordred will not stay silent. Although he was being tied down, it was still struggling and roaring loudly.

Suddenly, magic cannons continued to appear in the sky and was firing at Gawain.

Ash was trembling when he saw those cannons.

It was because those cannons looked like the weapon that Ash used during his fight with Milgauss in Willingham Mausoleum. The only difference is, each cannon was around Gawain’s size.

“Magic shield Aegis…!”

“Need not worry… It will be alright as long as we are not hit.”

Lukka was not at all shaken.

As if she had fused with Gawain, she was controlling Gawain by moving left and right and dangerously avoided the crossing light rays.

It even used its dragon breath and those magic canons were destroyed one by one.

When Gawain had successfully passed Mordred’s head, all the magic cannons had disappeared.

“Ash, now’s the time…!”

Just when Lukka shouted, Gawain did a summersault.

At the point where the sky was upside down, Ash jumped down.

He drew a big locus in the night sky and successfully land in between the two horns. Looking from a close distance, the horns looked more like an altar than a horn.

When his feet landed on that spot, he felt satisfied. It was probably his dragner’s intuition that told him this is the best riding spot.

“Listen carefully Eco!”

Ash was shouting with all his might at his ‘Seikoku’ that was connected to Eco:

“Right now, I am going to ride you! I swear I will be successful in riding you! Whether you are a Imperial Princess or not it has nothing to do with me! So what if you are a imperial princess? You are always bad tempered, try to solve anything with force, a sleepy head, only have crepes in your eyes and felt like wanting to bite greedily whenever you saw meat. Are these what an Imperial Princess should do! Even if you really are an Imperial Princess, I will never approve it!... I only knew that- I am your knight, and you are my pal. Things are just as simple as this!”

The next instant, there was a change in his left arm that was dense with ‘Seikoku’.

The ‘Seikoku’ can be seen emitting rays of light that were able to light up the entire night sky. Then patterns started to crawl just like some living things.

No, the patterns were growing.

“W-What had happened…?”

Just when Ash was feeling confused, his ‘Seikoku’ started to spread outwards towards Ash entire body with his left arm as the starting point.

Ash found out that his connection with Eco had become stronger.

Although he couldn’t communicate with Eco verbally, yet, he was sure that he was connected to Eco…!

But, what Ash was thinking only lasted for a short moment.

“Guuuuuuuoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo…!”

Mordred was back on the move. He had broken one of the chains and was standing on two legs.

“Auuu…!”

Lukka groaned. The wind created when Mordred stood up had affected Gawain. Although it was not blown away by the wind, it was obvious that it could not remain
its balance. However, Lukka shouted:

“Don’t worry about me… I am alright! Ash, just focus on saving Eco…!”

Then, Lukka and Gawain finally fall and disappear from Ash’s line of sight.

“Lukka…!”

Ash stretched his arm but he could only grab the air.

The Maestros that scattered in the sky tried to make another chain to tie down Mordred’s upper body.

But before Mordred could be sealed, it forcefully shook its neck.

“Uwaaaaaaaaa!”

Ash lost his balance and was thrown up into Fontaine Palace like a cannonball.

-This is a lie… It must be…?

He was approaching the tower in the middle of Fontaine Palace.

If he was to hit into such stone wall…he will definitely die.

-Is this the end…? Is Eco and I… Going to end right here?

Right at this moment.

Almete, Gorjal, Peto…

The voice of the spell was coming from his ‘Seikoku’ that had spread all over his body.

Espaldar, Brafoneras, Faldaje…

It was definitely Eco’s voice.

Escarcelas,Bufetas, Hombreras, Brazales…

Compare to the previous times, every single word that Eco said was followed by a deep tone.

Codales, Antebrazos, Manoplas…

Without any reason, Ash felt courage from within.

Quijotes, Guardas, Grebas… Escarpes…

Lastly, Eco was left with the last word.

-Espolón!

Ash who was going to crash into Fontaine Palace was surrounded by holy lights.

It felt as if he was surrounded by angel’s wings.

Even though Ash had an illusion of he was ascending to heaven, Eco’s voice had disrupted this peaceful feeling.

“You absolutely must accept my feelings!”

===Part 18===
As he opened his eyes, Ash was standing at the highest point of Fontaine Palace.

“I-I am saved?”

He saw Mordred was standing ferociously with only two legs while being bounded by the chains of the Maestros.

All of the nine eyes were burning with the flames of rage and looked like scarlet stars. Even though he was trying his best to break free from those chains, those Maestros kept on creating new chains.

“This… What is this feeling?”

Ash was looking at his own body.

His entire body was emitting heat and was overflowing with magic.

It have to be the Ark that Eco presented to me- Yet to Ash’s dismay, what he was wearing right now was still his cloths that looked like rags.

There was not even an Ark that could be seen.

Even so, Ash still continued to feel safe as if he was protected by the Ark. Furthermore, the ‘Seikoku’ that was on his entire body was alive.

What is happening?

Hey, why are you daydreaming! Quickly use the Ark-weapon!

Eco’s voice was once again could be heard in his mind

“Eco…? What is happening?”

T-that is…?

Without any reason, Eco became silent. It felt as if she was embarrassed because of a certain something.

As if to speak on Eco’s behalf, another voice appeared in his mind.

Huhu. That is an original Ark that Eco had created on her own. However, it is still incomplete and even that shape had not been decided on yet.

“This voice… Are you Navi!”

The Ark represents proof of the oath of a dragon that swears to hand over their body and feelings to their knight. At the same time, it was a proof that it was connected to the Master’s heart. Right now, you are recognized as the Avalon’s knight.

I-I only wanted to get back my own body!... It was never meant to be given to you!

Ara, who is the person who was crying because she was worried about Ash? I wonder.

S-Shut up!

Eco and Navi seemed to had started an argument.

Ash made a wry smile because they could still have the mood to quarrel even under such dangerous situation.

All the negative emotions like unsecured and frightened had disappeared.

However- Right after that, Ash had a bad premonition as if a pair of cold hands had held on to his spirit. When he raised his head, Mordred’s eyes were filled with sparks and were marking him.

It had obviously begun to take notice of Ash who was previously being regarded as a louse.

“Guuuuuoooooooooooooooooooooo…!”

Although Mordred was still bounded by those magic chains, he still managed to open his jaws after putting in some effort.

There was a ball of light that could be seen appearing in front of his nose and it was slowly expanding-

Ash felt a large amount of energy from it. It was thanks to the Ark that his senses had sharpened.

Navi warned Ash in his mind.

That’s bad. Even though Mordred have not fused with me, he is still very strong…!

“Rest assured. I will personally deal with it.”

Ash immediately started to search for information regarding his Ark-weapon. Thanks to his experience in equipping those mimics, his was able to complete his search in a short time.

Ash smiled from within his heart.

The Ark-weapon formed in his mind was undoubtably the strongest sword that had ever existed.

Ash readied his posture and started to chant the spell.

“An iron that could slash through anything…”

For every word he said, his ‘Seikoku’ that was all over his body was emitting heat and reacted strongly to it.

"A holy sword meant for a knight of all knights-”

At the same time, Ash felt that his palm was overflowing with an unlimited amount of magic.

The one and only treasured sword that had been passed down generations by generations in the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family had its shape formed in Ash’s palm.

“Appear- Excalibur!”

It was not only a huge brave and beautiful sword but also an Ark-weapon.

On its silvery white hilt were many scarlet coloured Milinniums and they were shining brightly.

After he held the holy sword with both hand tightly, Ash leaped.

At the same time, Mordred was giving out the dragon breath.

That was a ball of light with overwhelming powers that could destroy the entire capital to ground level in a blink of an eye. Followed by some purple electric around Mordred’s head, the ball of light was released at Ash’s direction.

To make things worse, Ash couldn’t avoid it because the entire Fontaine Palace and City was right behind him.

No- In reality, I won’t even need to avoid it.

“Uooooooooooooooooooooooooo!”

Ash as if he had forgotten about his fear rushed towards the ball of light.

In respond to Ash’s verve, the Millenniums at the hilt of the holy sword was giving out a bright light.

In respond to Ash’s verve, the shapeless Ark was releasing all its magic.

“Kirisakeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!” <ref>斬り裂け. Means to get split and break apart.</ref>

Just before being swallowed by that attack, Ash had swung the most powerful strike.

-Cut!!! <ref>斬. Ii was a word that was usually shouted when someone wanted to cut/slash/chop/kill off something.</ref>

At the same time the lump of energy was split into two, Ash was in mid-air. His vision was full of white and he could see nothing at all.

If not because of the protection he received from the Ark, all the cells in his body should had been reduced into nothing. Ash was indeed slashing through such high amount of temperature.

In the end, his vision finally widened.

The dragon breath that was sliced into two had its trajectory changed and each had landed at the Fontainia plains on both side of the capital and had exploded.

Although it was a huge explosion, apart from the strong wind, Fontaine City remained intact.

Ash had again lifted Excalibur and had it pointed at Mordred’s head.

At that moment, there was a creepy voice coming from Ash’s mind.

…Hold on! If you harm this body, the daughter of Avalon would also be-

The nine eyes kept on blinking as if it still had something to say.

“Haa! Now you start to beg from me… Know your place, Mordred!”

Ash remained determined and continued to land at the head.

Of course Ash knew that this body originally belonged to Eco.

He never had the intention to simply slash around with this sword.

However, to get rid of Mordred’s spirit, he needs Eco to bear with it for a few more moments.

What Ash had intended to do was not to kill Eco but to make her lost her strength.

Where is the best place to land my attack?

There is not enough time to think of such complicated problems.

It is because apart from Eco’s and his life, Ash was burdened with the lives of millions of residents of the capital. Ash decided to wager everything he had in the only possibility he could think of.

“Eat this, Mordred!”
[[Image:SnRK V04 243.jpg|thumb]]

Ash was landing at full speed.

''What are you trying to do…? Do you want to follow the Julius's footsteps and become a ‘dragon slayer’? I can’t understand this, I just couldn’t understand this…!''

Ash didn’t replied and had no intention of doing so.

“Whether you are a god or a devil-”

Ash’s sword and Mordred’s horn clashed with each other.

“All the dragons will have to listen to my command, not to mention-”

After he had pinpointed the crucial point to release Eco, Ash swung Excalibur-

“If it is my '''P.A.L'''!”

Followed by a sound of a metal clashing with rocks, the night sky was swallowed by a white light.

The thing that was chopped off by Ash and was flying in mid-air was the left horn.

“Guuuuooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo…!”

Mordred’s roar was echoing in the night.

===Part 19===

“Huhu. Mordred must be running away with his tail rolled up<ref>A proverb</ref> even though a spirit shouldn't have any tails.”

Mordred’s spirit was running under the night sky towards the east while he was being seen by Navi.

On the eastern side of the country is Chevron Kingdom’s land.

“So in the end he had escaped to Chevron Kingdom… I must wait until he rises up again before I could have him captured. Right now, I should give praise to Avalon’s Knight."

Navi gave herself a cheer and smiled.

Eco’s spirit was no longer beside her.

===Part 20===

Ash’s final blow had chopped off Eco’s left horn.

Last month during the time Ash was in the infirmary, he had bitten Eco’s horn. Furthermore, her left horn that was chopped off had made her recalled that feeling.

It was that ‘happy’ feeling that dragged Eco’s spirit out.

Her hearts memories and her body memories.

When both of them are thinking the same thing, Eco’s spirit managed to take back its own body and get rid of Mordred’s spirit.

Not only this method is impractical, its succession rate too is just as low.

However, Eco’s clearly remembered the feeling that Ash gave her.

-Navi had seen it all.

The body of the huge dragon had undergone some changes inside the glaring light.

The skin colour that was originally black had turned back to its original silvery white colour.

As for those nine creepy eyes, they had returned into two clear scarlet eyes.

Then-

The body that was bigger than Fontaine Palace was shrinking slowly and finally turned back into a young teenage girl with pink hair.

Ash gently hugged the angel like naked body in mid-air.

Although Eco was blushing, she still placed her hand on Ash’s back and hugged her knight.

"Princess of Avalon ~A.S.B.1365.7~" is closed.
<noinclude>

==References and Translation Notes==
<references />

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|-
| Back to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Chapter 7|Chapter 7]]
| Return to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Epilogue|Epilogue]]
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</noinclude>

Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Chapter 8

2013-11-07T10:58:54Z

213.144.240.241: /* Part 6 */

==Chapter 8 - Avalon's Imperial Princess==
===Part 1===
In the mothership Beowolf- In the armory, under Dr Hoffman’s command the battle is in full swing.

Eco who was naked was floating in magic guided device. ‘Yggdrasill’s’ capsule. There were groups of technician working around her. This was out of Anya’s area of understanding. She could only stand by and wall and watch silently.

But, she understood well the pain that Eco was feeling.

The cold voice was followed by its echo when it was reflected on the metal body.

“The cartridge has been filled. Prepare for launching.”

“The countdown starts now. Ten, nine, eight… Three, two, one-.”

“Launch the compressed magic!”

A red bean was shot out followed by a loud gun shooting sound. Anya felt that even the ship was vibrating.

“…!”

Then, there were air bubbles coming from Eco’s mouth. If not because of she was in the liquid, her scream could definitely be heard.

Anya couldn’t bear to see Eco suffering and looked away.

Eco’s body had already taken at least ten shots of the compressed magic.

Eco regained her consciousness after the start of the experiment. At the beginning, she was struggling in the water, but ‘Yggdrasill’s’ capsule was not at all affected.

But after receiving a continuous dozens of compressed magic, she lost her strength.

Right now, she was just like a living dead. Her blank eyes were now lifeless and it was terrible. It was pure torture. Even so, the group of researchers led by Dr Hoffman were not at all shaken and continued silently.

“There is no significant change on the appearance of α. There are no abnormalities on her respiratory system. No magic fluctuation can be seen.”
Without realizing, the group of researchers started to refer Eco as α.

Eco is a human, a young dragon and also a living being- But this group of human had taken everything from her. To them, Eco was just experimental material α.
Who knows if they want to remove their feeling of guilt by calling her with symbols…Anya secretly thought so.

At this moment, Dr Hoffman’s voice is heard by Anya.

“Still no changes… It seems like we don’t have any more choices. Activate all the Millennium.”

Anya turned pale when she heard that.

This means that they had decided to use full power on ‘Yggdrasil’.

===Part 2===
“*Sob*… It was all… My fault. *Sob*…”

In the maid’s bedroom in the ground floor of the palace.

Prim was lying on the bed with her pillow wet with tears.

There was only Ash and Silvia beside her bed. Cosette was standing outside the room by the door.

Prim cried while she told the whole incident.

Prim arrived at the ancient palace when she was chasing Eco who was running amok.

She had met a few suspicious people there.

Seeing the enemy suddenly attacked, Eco appeared and became the bait to let Prim escape.

When Prim regained conscious, Eco was no longer there.

After hearing, Ash felt something suspicious.

“Why did you go to the ancient palace?”

“That’s because… It was my entire fault! It was my bad to say such things!”

“Prim, please stay calm. Compared to you, Ash was the person who suffered the most.”

After being advised by Silvia, Prim rubbed of her tears.

“You are right. Sorry…”

“Prim-san, please tell me everything before Eco was kidnapped!”

Prim nodded.

“I had no ill intention, it was just that… Ash-sama is a human and Eco is a dragon… So I thought that Eco would feel lonely after Ash-sama married with a human girl. The moment I told her that, Eco rushed out of the room.”

“What…!”

Who would have thought of this, Ash was speechless.

“Idiot! You… Why do you have to tell her this!”

Silvia was mad.

“If I am Eco… I will definitely feel hurt if someone told that to me! Even when Eco is a dragon, her thoughts are still those of a girl’s. She should know very well that her situation is special. Why was she born as a human? Why was she not born as a dragon… If I am Eco, I can never feel secure.”

“Princess-sama…”

Ash looked at Silvia who was telling Eco's thoughts in surprise.

“Recently, she had gotten used to the school life. She was also being loved by everyone as the student council’s mascot. Even so, to Eco, the only person she could trust in… Is no other than Ash.”

“And I… Have said something terrible…”

“Strictly speaking, Eco is still a young dragon who is not even a year old. Can’t you be a little more indirect in your-”

“Forget it, Princess-sama. Right now, we could never solve the problem even after lecturing Prim-san. What’s more, if they had this planned, no matter what Prim-san said, Eco would still have been kidnapped.”

“…You are right. But how are we going to rescue Eco?”

Silvia nodded in agreement with Ash.

“Prim-san… Could you describe those people who attacked?”

Ash was praying while asking. His only clue is Prim being the witness.

“Err…They pretended to be the palace servants. But, they didn’t look like citizens of the Knight Country. For their skin colour, it looked like they are the Tantalos…. Also, the person who attacked me is a short girl.”

“A Tantalos girl…!”

Ash was feeling Déjà vu. It was like he had found the last piece of puzzle in his memory.

“It was the girl who followed Milgauss!”

Ash’s fists were shaking. The world he was seeing was dyed in red. Even though he had a feeling that Milgauss was the culprit, still, after making sure, he was still in rage.

“Since we know who the criminal is-”

Silvia immediately stopped Ash who intended to rush out from the room.

“Hold on, Ash! Where do you think you are going to?”

“The ballroom, of course! I want to settle thing with Milgauss!”

“Keep your calm! Do you think that Milgauss will admit it even after you find him?”

“…Maybe not.”

Ash turned speechless.

Silvia was right, no matter how emotional he became, Eco still wouldn’t be able to return safely.”

Just as if she was trying to have Ash cooled down, Silvia made a suggestion in a calm voice:

“Don’t you think that this is a good time to save Eco when Milgauss is busy with the masquerade?”

“What do you meant?”

“Milgauss couldn’t even be bothered by an activity with long history such as this continental congress and will do anything just to capture Eco. Even when I don’t know what his intentions are, but capturing Eco alive is their priority. I am sure that their lackeys won’t do anything to harm Eco when the mastermind is absent.”

After listening to Silvia’s analysis, Ash gave a breath of relieve.

“The problem remains is, where is Eco’s location. Since Ash’s ‘Seikoku’ is not reacting, it means that Eco was being hidden in an enclosed place. For example something that could be a barrier to cut off magic… Anyway, it must be done with the proper equipment. It just can’t be a rally point that they have just constructed.”

“An enclosed place with proper equipments? That’s it, Milgauss has Klaus backing him up…”

Last evening, an airship flew past the evening sky…

The black ship that was waving the Empire’s flag proudly…

Ash remembered.

Ash and Silvia exchanged glances and shouted at the same time:

“Beowolf!”

===Part 3===
-W-Will…I die just like this…

Eco thought so.

The liquid in the capsule kept on rotating and Eco’s body was being swept by it.

Every time her shoulders or waist touches the glass, her body will move slowly in the opposite direction.

It seems like the liquid was made of special materials. Luckily, it doesn’t affect her breathing. But after suffering a few shots from the magic device, her body turned numb.

This feeling is like an empty mind floating in mid air.

-If I could just… Continue sleeping… Then I won’t feel any pain…

Just when Eco thought so, a power that surpassed those previous ones was released at her.

“Noooooooooo…!”

Even though she thought that she shouted in pain, in truth they were just air bubbles coming out from her mouth.

A bright light flashes and the water turns rapid. Just like being swallowed by a tsunami, her body kept on rotating and kept on hitting the glass around her.

-W….Why do I have to suffer this kind of pain.

It had passed the limit of her brain to just think of what they are going to do to her. She could only feel that her body had been injected with a vast amount of magic.

The pain she felt is just like her body being ripped open.

It felt like her organs were being messed up by someone.

-Urgh… It hurts…. It hurts…. I beg you all, please stop.

It is pointless no matter how she shouted in her mind, the magic was still flowing into the body. Eco’s body was jerking nonstop and she was struggling.

You might as well do me a favour by killing me-Eco gave up.

“…!”

At the next moment- The Necromancia’s slimy tentacles attacking her from all directions.

Eco couldn’t understand. Where did those tentacles appear from in this enclosed environment?

The tentacles which were wriggling like a snake slowly snatched her freedom.

Her arms, waist, legs… was entangled by those tentacles. -Stop! This must be an illusion! It is this device that was making me hallucinate…!

Eco tried to stay conscious and opened her eyes widely.

At that moment, the tentacles disappeared.

The feelings of being entangled by those tentacles also disappeared.

However, not long after that, she lost focus and the tentacles appeared again and had her waist surrounded.

In a blink of an eye, she was lifted by those tentacles.

-Stop!

[[Image:SnRK V04 183.jpg|thumb]]

An abnormally thick tentacle was approaching Eco’s face.

Eco kept her teeth closed with her might. If she was to be careless, the tentacle will surely wriggle into her mouth. Eco had Goosebumps just by think about it.

Eco initially wanted to ask for Ash’s help. She hoped that he could save him from this hell.

However, from the point she woke up in this device, she couldn’t even summon Ash.

Her Astral Flow with Ash had also been cut off.

The lost of her communication had put her in fear.

Eco was shocked that the lost of her connection with Ash would put her in such great fear.

-I am really an idiot. I only knew what is precious to me after I had lost it.

This experience had made her wanted to treasure Ash much more.

That’s right, without Ash, I can’t do anything… I am really a good for nothing.

-Don…

At that instant, there was something moving in her body.

===Part 4===
“Something is wrong! The magic indicator is showing an abnormal value!”

“We found an unknown magic source! Its power is increasing!”

“We have lost control of ‘Yggdrasill’! It ignored the emergency stop signal!”

The continuous bad news had made Dr Hoffman turn pale.

The laboratory was as if in a fire and a tense atmosphere was spreading.

Everyone was with a panicked look and were busy dealing with the buttons under their hands.

“What happened…?”

Anya who was looking from aside wondered.

Basically, there was nothing abnormal with Eco who was in the capsule.

Even though she was shot by the high power compressed magic and had struggle like she was having a nightmare, yet nothing dramatic had happened.

But the indicator was still indicating an abnormal value. Also, they were losing control of ‘Yggdrasill’.

The situation had suddenly become tense.

Even the emergency trigger had been triggered and the bell was ringing loudly.

-Dong!

At that instant, Anya heard something from the ground.

“What is that… Sound?”

As if to prove that it was not an illusion, ‘Yggdrasill’ magic indication exploded.

“Uwaa!”

Some groaned and all the surrounding deviced started to explode with red flames. All the technician were running away in fear.

“Don’t panic! Keep calm!”

Dr Hoffman shouted but not even a single soul was listening.

Because in everyone’s sights was Eco who was caged in the capsule.

Eco’s body was glowing with a dim light.

Even Anya was captivated by the sight in front.

“Dr Hoffman! Let’s escape!”

A young researcher advised Dr Hoffman. The rest of the researchers were agreeing with him and looked at Dr Hoffman.

Anya left the wall and walk towards Dr Hoffman’s back.

“Dr Hoffman, I also think that it would be wise if we escape now.”

“No!”

Anya was stunned by Dr Hoffman’s aura. She had thought of him as a kind old man and was forced to act cruel as a researcher. Who would know that he would have such a stubborn side.

“What are you thinking! Even an outsider like me knew that this is dangerous! Isn’t there Millennium attached to that device too?”

What Anya was worried about is the existence of the Millenniums. Just in case the Millenniums explode… Anya was thinking. Let alone Beowolf, it is not even surprising if the capital disappeared from the maps forever.

However, Dr Hoffman shook his head slowly.

“…I won’t. That will not happen. The energy in the Millenniums has run dry.”

“What?”

“All the magic energy… Was fully absorbed by experimental material α.”

“-!”

Anya looked at Eco dumbstruck.

The intensity of Eco’s light was getting stronger until the extend where one couldn’t look at her directly. Those‘Dong’sounds had become clearer.

Even though there were no dangers of the Millennium exploding, it doesn’t mean that they were free from danger. Eco right now was seen as the bomb.

Later, there was the loud sound of something breaking.

Different from the normal explosions, that explosion sounds like it was originated from something being applied pressure on.

“α….α is escaping!”

A researcher shouted.

The capsule containing eco was now in ruins and the liquid was flowing out like waterfall.

Eco can be seen floating with her eyes closed- in a short moment, she disappeared. What’s left is only stardust like magic particles floating in the air.

“She… Disappeared…?”

Anya dumbstruck, murmured alone.

===Part 5===
“Hey… Something’s wrong with Beowolf!?”

When Maestro Lancelot reached the landing space at a height of twenty meters, Silvia shouted:

“That is…!”

Ash who was riding on Lancelot behind Silvia widened his eyes.

The sacred airship Esperanza, airship Crown Solas and air ship Silvanus was lined up together.

On the other hand, the huge airship Beowolf was parked quite some distance away from the trio.

The suspicious thing was the black smoke emerging from Beowolf.

Could it be a fire?

If Eco is inside… Ash was too scared to think about it.

“Urgh…!”

At this moment, Ash felt a burning sensation from his left hand.

Although he nearly screamed in pain, he managed to tolerate with it.

It felt like suddenly putting his hand into a furnace.

“Is everything alright, Ash!?”

Silvia was worried about him and turned around and asked, but Ash couldn’t even reply because of the pain.

The ‘Seikoku’ engraved on his left arm was slowly moaning.

A while later, there was a glaring light coming out from his left arm and his sleeve up to his shoulders was burned off. Even the bandage was burned into pieces.

In a blink of an eye, Ash’s ‘Seikoku’ on his left arm was exposed.

“Wha…!”

The ‘Seikoku’ on his hand was glowing with different light intensity from time to time.

Ash was panicking.

It will be alright if it was just glowing but the heat and the pain sensation had no intention of stopping.

It felt that his left arm is going to explode anytime.

“Hey… What is actually happening?”

Silvia was in shock while holding the reins which was probably caused by the fright she experience from seeing Ash’s ‘Seikoku’s’ reaction.

“I don’t know… But I am now sure that I am again connected to Eco!”

Just like responding to Ash’s left arm, there was an object glowing in the sky.

“Ash! Look upwards!”

Silvia who noticed the abnormality was pointing at the sky. Ash too had noticed.

There was something glowing on the sky above the landing area.

“That is…”

The mysterious light was floating in the sky as if it was decorating it.

On the other hand, the full moon didn’t look as charming as before.

By taking a closer look, it was an egg with beautiful flow lines.

There was a big emblem that was carved on the pearl like egg. At a first glance, it looked like a royal emblem.

To be more specific, that emblem looked like Ash’s ‘Seikoku’.

-Don…Don…Don…

There was a frightening beating sound from the egg.

The confusing part is, it moved with the same rhythm as the glow on Ash’s ‘Seikoku’.

Ash immediately understood.

“I couldn’t be more wrong… Eco is in that egg!”

“How is that possible? What are you talking about…?”

“Princess-sama, I beg you. Please take me there!”

“…Alright. I believe in you. Fly Lancelot! Fly higher!”

But Lancelot ignored her orders. It stayed at the twenty meters height and looked at the egg with its head up.

“Hei… Lancelot? Anything wrong? Fly immediately!”

Even though Silvia shouted strictly, Lancelot still ignored her orders. On the other hand, it did an emergency landing at a corner of the landing space.

“What are you doing? Are you disobeying my orders, Lancelot!”

“…It is useless, Princess-sama. It seems that Lancelot has its own reason.”

“What did you say?!”

Silvia looked at Ash with an imposing manner.

“Do you know what Lancelot was thinking?”

“…I am not sure. It was probably affected by the ‘Seikoku’. I don’t know why, but I could somehow understand what Lancelot was thinking.”

After Ash and Silvia was forced to alight Lancelot unwillingly, Lancelot again spread its wings and shoot up into the sky.

Looking at Lancelot’s direction, Ash found out something important.

“Princess-sama! There are more and more… Maestros gathering together!”

Groups of Maestro were gathering from all direction. It had become an amazing night view created by the light from the Maestro’s magic.

One by one the Maestro appeared and gathered at the corner of the sky.

For Maestro’s whose numbers were already little to begin with to gather together, it was unheard of even in the old times-

===Part 6===
“What is actually happening…?”

Lancelot left its master and flew off on its own.

Although this had given Silvia a great blow, still the view of the night sky gave her a deep impression.

Silvia could clearly hear the ‘Pssshh’ sounds of the beating of the wings.

When she had personally seen the dream like view, all her attention had been captured by it.

That egg even had wings growing out of it and feathers with silver lights were falling off. It was like snows that beautify the night sky.

Then- there was a crack from the egg shell.

The winged egg split into two-

“Uoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!”

A roar as if it was a horn announcing the end to the world could be heard all over.

Silvia who couldn’t look straight into the glaring light closed her eyes. When she reopened her eyes, the winged egg was no longer there. It was replaced by something that was out of this world.

To describe this thing with a word will be either – GOD or DEVIL.

However what Silvia said was insulting.

“What a scary monster…!”

[[Image:SnRK V04 193.jpg|thumb]]

“Stop! You are not allowed to say that!”

Ash shouted and brought Silvia back o her sense.

“That must be...Eco. I can feel it... I can feel it!”

“Sorry, Ash...”

Although Silvia was annoyed by her gaffe, she still couldn’t believe that it was Eco.

Later, Eco landed slowly while being surrounded by numerous Maestros.

Although the pink fur and the red eyes is similar to Eco, but her horns looked sharp and fierce and doesn’t at all looked like Eco’s round stubs.

Also, there was a third horn in between the two horns. It was like a unicorn’s horn and was up straight.

Her wings which were spread widely were different from a normal Maestro’s. It made one think of an angel’s wings.

Followed by a loud bang, Eco landed.

Eco lifted up her gigantic hind leg up high- And The large airship that had been the pride of the Empire was squashed in a few seconds.

With the conning tower being right at the middle, Beowolf had been squashed into a V shape and immediately exploded.

Yet, Eco was not at all affected.

Eco probably lost interest in Beowolf and tried to wriggle her long neck. She slowly lowered her center of gravity.

The target of her scarlet eyes was the window of the tall Fontaine Palace.

===Part 7===
-An unidentified flying object appeared above the capital and all the Maestros in the country disobey their masters’ order and gathered together.

Veronica who received the emergency report brought Glenn the captain of the escorts alone with her to the ballroom at the highest floor of the palace.

Anyway, there were important guests in the ballroom that gathered from all over the continent. No matter what happened, she must protect their safety in the name of the pride of the Knight’s country.

At the same time, she must bring back her father Oswald with her. He had most probably change his appearance and was drinking while mingling in the crowd.

While running on the long corridor, Veronica questioned Glenn:

“Did you too have lost contact with your pal?”

“It totally ignored my summons and ignored my request to present me my Ark. From the looks of the current situation where all the Maestros gathered at the capital’s sky, it probably has something to do with the unidentified flying object.”

“Then, our pride, the Holy Dragners of Lautreamont can be considered no more. If the Empire attacked us at this moment, without the protection of the Maestros, this country will fall in just a single night.”

“...I don’t have an excuse to offer.” <ref>面目次第も有りません have also the meaning of ‘It is a shame I don’t have the power to…’</ref>

Glenn lowered his head somberly.

===Part 8===
When Veronica and Glenn arrived at the ballroom, the palace music and the party atmosphere of the nobles had disappeared.

Most of the guests were by the glass window and were looking downwards in shock. From there they can see the landing area for the airships.

“That’s…!”

Veronica was also looking downwards through the glass window.

“It is dangerous to stand beside the window, Princess-sama!”

Glenn warned her but Veronica ignored him.

There was a change in the landing area.

A living object that was glowing with silver light suddenly landed there.

''-Uoooooooooooooooooo…!''

It was immediately followed by a loud roar that will made one feel like covering his ears.

It was stated in the previous report that ‘an unidentified flying object that looked like a huge egg’, but it seemed that the huge egg had
hatched when Veronica was on her way.

The unbelievable thing is, that huge monster easily split the Empire’s huge airship Beowolf into two with just a stomp.

Right at this moment, there was a man from the crowd was making a fuss.

“Ooh, what is happening! How can a dragon of the Knight’s… Destroy the most advance airship which is our country’s pride! I don’t think that
this is some simple matter!”

The man words had caused an uproar in the ballroom.

Until a moment ago, everyone had just found out that this monster is a dragon.

Talking about a dragon, everyone will think about Lautreamont Knight Country.

“Is that person…Klaus Viderhausen! He is obviously trying to cause a stir!”

Veronica angrily scolded and glared at the Empire’s young noble.

However, there was a man who stupidly tried to argue with Klaus.

“Nonsense! That monster had nothing to do with our country!”

Although the man was wearing a lion shaped mask, judging from his plum body, Veronica immediately knew who he is.

He is her father, Oswald.

“Klaus-dono! This is the truth! That monster had nothing to do with us! Please believe in me!”

“Hu… What you said was not at all convincing. Anyway, everyone here is a witness.”

Klaus was not even bothered by Oswald.

It was because what Klaus said is true. A huge dragon that appeared with no warning had destroyed the Empire’s airship right in front of
everyone.

Nothing could be worst than this.

For Chevron Kingdom and Zepharos Empire who had never see each other eye to eye was originally going to discuss about the peace in between
them in tomorrow’s continental congress ‘Elysium’.

To Chevron Kingdom and its ally Lautreamont Knight Country this should be a historical event.

“Stop… Let alone the Emperor, not even a royal from the Empire attends. It is a total joke. The Empire had never wanted peace-”

Just as Veronica finished her sentence, there were people screaming from everywhere.

Everyone was in a panic.

All the guests who were wearing their mask, including the musicians and the waiters, everyone were trying to escape.

Apart from Oswald who was crying, Klaus who had previously put the blame on the Knight Country was also fleeing.

“What…!”

Veronica who immediately turned around was also sweating tremendously.

There was a pair of scarlet eyes looking into one of the many palace windows.

She spent a few seconds to figure out that the dragon had stretched its neck and was looking into Fontaine Palace.

“Glenn, if I try to slash the pair of eyes with my huge sword… Do you think I have any chance of winning?”

“Please forgive my rudeness… Even if Princess-sama, you are no match for it.”

Glenn told the truth directly.

"Why must you be this honest?"

Veronica was sulking while she confronted the dragon eyes.

The round eyes.

''It looked like a baby’s pairs of eyes. Although it looked naïve, if this monster just rubbed its nose with the palace walls, Fontaine Palace will
turned into dust in seconds. Furthermore, it will be a hill full of bricks and corpse…''

Even though she was thinking of such scenario, Veronica could still manage a smile.

“Kuku… So this is of feeling of my life being controlled by others. I praise you, my child!”

Seeing that Veronica had no intention of escaping, Captain Glenn advised her in panic:

“Princess-sama, please retreat!”

“I mustn’t. Some of the guests are still here.”

Veronica looked around the empty ballroom.

There was a man with a mask standing at the middle of the dance floor.

The man was wearing a elegant suit. However his hair colour was like a cloth stain with blood.

He is obviously the guy in the reports- Milgauss.

Veronica looked at him in admiration.

“Hmm… You indeed look a little like Julius. Remove your mask!”

To her surprise, he actually did it. He could be seen silently removing his mask and threw it to a side as if he don’t need it anymore.

“-!”

Veronica’s eyes widen.

The handsome face beneath the mask was undoubtable Julius of ten years later who had became a seinen.<ref>青年, man with age range between 20-
30.</ref>

He had no longer the rebellious feel with him in his teenage years and was replaced by a feeling of a weapon that had been well polished.

“So you are Julius…!”

As if to sweep away her worries, Julius walked to the side of the window. At the same time, the dragon’s face disappeared as if it had lost
interest with the empty ballroom.

Julius was standing by the window looking at the huge dragon.

“Kukuku… I had been waiting for this moment for a long time!”

That sinful voice and the devil like smile made Veronica felt uneasy.

Glenn took a stepped forward as if trying to ask in behalf of Veronica.

He unsheathed his sword that was on his waist.

“You can’t be Julius, no? My friend will never show such malicious smile."

“Oh, Glenn McGuire! I remembered you are one of the guys that appeared in Julius’s memories. It should be suitable to use ‘it had been a long
time’ in this situation, don’t you think so?”

“What do you mean!”

“You still don’t get it? This body is indeed Julius’s. However, I am not Julius. But I can peek into Julius’s memories anytime."

“What is happening…?”

Veronica was curious but it was not bothered by the man.

“Kneel! Quick! Look carefully! You are witnessing a historical moment!”

The man was acting like a holy man in the religious painting. He spread his arms widely and declared his name.

“I am Mordred! The descendant of the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family.”

Vreonica couldn’t believe what she had just heard.

The Maestro that Julius sacrificed his life to kill is named Mordred. It is also Julius’s Pal.

''Is it possible that Mordred had taken over Julius’s body?''

In regards of Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family- Veronica had only recently heard about this name.

The ‘Old Testament of the Stella Biblia’ that Dr Angela Cornwell found in Willingham Mausoleum.

Basically, Veronica had read through the copy of the book.

She recalled a part of the book.

“…After the wise dragon Inbroke, two major bloodlines were formed. They are the Avalon’s holy dragons emperor family and the Nehalennia’s dark dragons king family. An endless war started from these two families. After the members of the two families reincarnated, they will encounter each other, hate each other and kill each other.”

The person in front had introduced himself as the descendant of the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family.

Then, who is the person who should be representing the descendant of the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family-?

At this moment, Veronica stopped thinking because of Glenn’s shout.

“So I see… You are the roots of evil! I knew that Julius didn’t turn crazy! He will always be loyal to his beliefs and tried to have you
removed even when he had to commit a crime in the Knight Country!... Return Julius to us!”

Followed by a shout, Glenn reduced their distance and there was a silver flash.

However, Mordred easily parried Glenn’s slash.

“Urgh!”

Glenn growled.

Morderd had stopped the high speed slash with only his index and middle finger.

Glenn could be seen standing still while holding his sword. No, that’s not the case, Veronica understands well.

It was not that Glenn was not moving, it was because that he was unable to move.

Morderd had over powered Glenn with just two fingers.

“Hmph… I will let you experience the punishment for being disobedient to ''god''."

After Mordred gave a cold smile, there was a flash.

“Gwaaa!”

Glenn was knocked up into the air while unable to even resist. He knocked into the wall hard and became unconscious.

Veronica didn’t even have the time to care about Glenn and stared at Mordred.

“…I don’t understand. As far as I know, you should have a good relationship with Julius. Didn’t you even present him with an ark?”

“Hmph, the one who has a good relationship with Julius is another me. That me who acknowledged Julius as its master and had associate with him
quite well."

“Another me? What are you talking about?”

“Let me generously explain it to you as your last gift before you die. There was two personalities in Mordred. If it was to be a human, it will be call as a split personality.”

“What happened to the other personality?”

“It had disappeared together with the body. Ironically, it was it and Julius who had planned to kill me. For me, to prevent myself from dying,
I had sacrificed my body and change into this spiritual form and had inhabit in Julius’s body.”

Upon saying until there, Mordred looked out of the window.

Right beside the palace, the dragon was standing on its hind legs and was looking around curiously. It seemed to be troubled because it
couldn’t understand what was happening.

Mordred declared to that dragon:

“Descendant of the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family, I will take that body of yours!”

“Now I understand, so this is what you planned…!”

At this stage. Veronica finally found out what is Mordred aiming for.

Morderd had once lost his body in to past when it was killed by Julius.

However, if it could take over the body of the descendant of the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family, it can once again be born as the
strongest dragon…!

“That will never happen, Mordred!”

Veronica unsheathed the huge sword on her waist.

Even though she knew that he was not an opponent that she could win in a direct confrontation, she still couldn’t bear to watch idly from the side.

''I will kill Mordred together with Julius’s body before he can manage to take over Avalon’s body-'' Veronica rushed forward while thinking so.

Even when it is her brother’s body that we are talking about, she had no intention of showing any mercy.

But, before Veronica could land a hit on Mordred, suddenly, there was darkness emerging from his body and spread all over the ballroom.

“Urgh… What is this dark mist… My conscious…!”

The moment she was surrounded by the darkness, Veronica felt a strong feeling of vomiting and fainting.

===Part 9===
After struggling in the darkness without knowing what was happening for some time- The darkness had finally disappeared.

“Are you alright, Veronica?”

There was a guy who held out his had to Veronica who was struggling to stand up.
[[Image:SnRK V04 207.jpg|thumb]]
“You…!”

There were killing intends in Veronica’s eyes.

To her surprise, Mordred who should be busy with taking over Avalon’s decedent’s body had tried to help her.

However, there was no longer the evilness on his face.

“You… Could you be Julius?”

“Ahh, that is me. You are still the same old you for not calling me ‘Anii-ue’.”

It seemed that because Mordred was gone, Julius who able to take back his body.

“Of course… You F.O.O.L”

Upon hearing, Julius smile but he immediately returned back to his serious expression.

“Sorry, but now is not the time for us siblings to be arguing. Mordred's spirit had already inhibited on Eco’s body. We have the obligation to defeat Mordred and protect this city.”

At that instant, Veronica felt a pain from her head as if she had just been strike.

“Hold on! Did you just say Eco? That huge dragon… is actually Eco?”

“I will explain the detail to you later. Can you stand up?”

“Hmph… Whom do you think you are talking to!”

Using the huge sword as a walking stick, Veronica put all her effort into standing up. But, it was probably the side effect of inhaling in the darkness, in the end, she fell down again.

“Princess-sama!”

The person who reached Veronica first was Glenn. Although he was badly injured, he had regained conscious.

Glenn held on to Veronica and glared at Julius.

“Julius… I had numerous thing that I want to tell you, but please allow me to tell you this first.”

“I can guess what you want to say but be my guest.”

While facing the calm Julius, Glenn with mix feelings shouted to Julius:

“You… Damn you!”

===Part 10===

Seeing that the Empire’s airship was easily crushed, the sacredship Esperanza and magicship Crown Solas flew off immediately.

Only magicship Silvanus remained at its location overlooking the whole incident.

Although Silvanus had yet to attack Eco, Ash was still worried stance the captain is Veronica.

Even so, seeing that Silvanus still haven’t make its decision, Veronica probably had not board the ship. They were most probably waiting for Veronica’s orders.

On the other hand, if Veronica had boarded the ship, there is a high chance that she will issue an attack on Eco. To protect the capital, Veronica will make this decision without any hesitation. Anyway, Silvanus fire power is not something that can be ignored.

“I…I will protect Eco!”

Ash made up his mind and rushed forward.

“Hold on, Ash. Do you want to be crushed!”

Silvia blocked Ash with her arms spread.

“Please move aside, Princess-sama! Who will protect Eco if I don’t!”

“Please keep your calm! Even so, what can you do!? How are you going to ride Eco who had turned into that? What’s more, what are you going to do to ride on Eco?”

“I…”

Silvia was right. During the time when the Necromancia attacked Ansarivan, he received help from Silvia and Lancelot.

But luck was not on his side. Lancelot who he could place his hope on had not yet returned after it gathered with the rest of the Maestro. The group of Maestros were still circling above the sky while waiting for something to happen.

To his relieved, after Eco crushed Beowolf, she had not made any frightening actions. Although Ash was sweating tremendously during the time she looked into Fontaine Palace through the window, he was lucky that she leave immediately.

Right now, Eco was only looking around and sniffing the building around her as if to figure out what was happening. In regards to what had happened to her body, she probably hasn’t figured it out yet.

“In conclusion, we must keep her as far from the town as possible. In case that she entered the town…"

Upon listening to Silvia’s assumption, Ash was shaking in fear.

Fontaine City has a population of around a million.

In another words, a million lives were now in Eco’s hands.

The severity of the current situation was no longer only involved Ash and Eco.

“Guooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo…!”

At that moment, Eco was roaring in pain and started to struggle. There was a change in her appearance that was originally surrounded by a silver light.

Just like a white cloth that came in contact with ink, there black colour was slowly taking over the white.

“…Eco? What’s happening!”

Ash could only look at Eco transform without doing anything.

The change in her skin was only the start.

Her angle like feathers had transformed into a crow like wings.

The previous middle horn of the three horns had disappeared and her pair of horns had turned into spiral shape.

Also, her four limbs were growing at a fast speed. It will be better to describe her as a giant like body rather than a huge beast. That huge body gave a evil feeling.

Last of all, there were nine eyes on its face and were glowing with red lights.

“Nine eyes…!”

Ash remembered something.

Eco once had a nightmare.

In her dream, was Eco attacked by the nine eyed dragon…?

-Don!

At that moment, Eco who had turned into that black dragon gave a dragon breath.

The flame emitted pierced the sky and scattered the dark clouds.

If this flame was aimed at Fontaine Palace or the town… Ash had Goosebumps just by thinking.

“Silvia, so you are here!”

At this moment, there was a fierce voice coming from behind.

It was Silvia and Glenn when they turned around.

Glenn was badly injured and looked like a rag.

Apart from that- There was another man that was following Veronica.

It was already surprising if a person was allowed to walk side by side with Veronica, yet it was far more surprising when they noticed the man’s hair colour.

“Milgauss! Why are you here!”

Ash felt that he was having Goosebumps all over his body. At the same time, he felt that Milgauss looked familiar. He remembered that he had seen that face in a portrait.

“Are you… Anii-ue?!”

Silvia shouted before Ash.

“Yeah. Although it is a little hard to believe, I am Julius. But I don’t have the time to give you any explanations right now. Firstly, we need to get rid of Mordred’s spirit from Eco’s body- Ash.”

When his name was suddenly called by Julius, Ash became nervous.

The person in front of him really felt like Prince Julius Lautreamont.

Julius stepped forward and placed his hand on Ash’s shoulder.

“Only you as the master can save Eco. Understood?”

“Yes. I had thought of that too myself.”

Julius smiled.

“Good answer. I will take the responsibility to bring you to Eco.”

“But… How are you going to do it?”

“Don’t worry. We have that.”

After he finished his sentence, Julius was pointing at- Magicship Silvanus that was actually resting at the far end of the landing area.

===Part 11===
“Ara. I don’t remembered inviting you here…Dark Dragon King Mordred.”

In the dragon workshop, Navi and Mordred were having a confrontation. She was sitting on her favourite chair with her legs crossed.

“Kuku. This is your last time to be able to be this relaxed.”

Mordred’s spirit still maintained Julius’s voice. It was probably because it had inhibited in Julius’s body for more than ten years…Navi thought so.

“I had taken over sixty percent of Eco’s body. It is only a matter of time that I can fully take control of her body. Avalon is losing.”

“…”

“Next, if I can fuse together with you, I can be fully awakened as the Dark Dragon King. Follow me. Even though you are called Navi, but I clearly know that you are not a normal navigator. You are the incarnation of the Dragweiss.”

“Ara. Just what I thought of the Dark Dragon King. You had made quite some investigation on your own.”

“Fuse with me quickly. Give me the supreme knowledge. Strictly speaking, Avalon and Nehalennia have the same roots… I should also be qualified to fuse with you.”

“I don’t disagree with this.”

Upon hearing Navi’s answer, Mordred smiled.

“So you agreed?”

“No I don’t. It is because I don’t like Nehalennia.”

“…What do you say?”

“I am rooting for Avalon's Imperial Princess and her knight. Especially her knight… Ash Blake, he is far manlier than you.”

“Hmph…what a fox you are. Since it had came to this, I will use force-”

Suddenly, there were numerous tentacles coming from under Mordred’s legs. They were like snakes that had found their prey and attacked Navi.

===Part 12===
“I am sorry. Could everyone apart from Ash and I leave this ship?”

Upon stepping into Silvanus’s wheelhouse, Julius spoke coldly.

The crew responsible for the control of the wheel and control communications turned around and looked Julius in confusion. Then they are all frightened as is they had seen a ghost.

They shouldn’t be blamed since the prince that should have been executed years ago was standing in front of them and had asked them to do something unreasonable.

“Hold on… Prince Julius! What do you planned to do?”

Seeing that Ash was requesting for an explanation, at the same time Julius answered, he turned around and looked at Veronica who was preparing to sit on the captain’s seat.

“I just don’t want the rest of the people to die with us. Veronica, I hoped that you could also help me by giving out the orders.”

“Do you think that I would even listen to that joke?”

“If the sister is stubborn, the elder brother will have to face some trouble.”

The next instant, Julius seize Veronica from behind with lightning speed. He was holding a hidden gun. It was a mechanic gun that the military of the Empire used.

Julius even chose to place the tip at Veronica’s temple.

“There is not much time. You should try to listen to your brother sometimes, Veronica.”

“Are you kidding! Silvanus is my magicship. Don’t even think of always doing what you wanted to, Julius.”

“As I had said before, I am your brother. Maybe you are a perfect princess in front of our people, but I knew your achilles heel. If you still disobey me, I will expose it in front of everyone.”

“What achilles heel?”

“I knew that you love Silvia. There are Silva portraits in your room. The clothes that Silva wore, Silva’s growth record, the poem that you wrote from missing Silvia and also Silvia’s human size doll-”

“I-I promise! Keep quite immediately!”

Ash was in a shock. He had never expected Veronica to surrender easily.

“Everyone, leave the ship immediately! This is an order from Veronica Lautreamont! No one is allowed to disobey!”

All the crew members rushed out from the wheelhouse.

===Part 13===
When everyone had left the magicship, Julius flied Silvanus while sitting on the pilot’s seat.

With the sudden shake of the magicship, Ash held on tightly to the seat of the communication officer to avoid falling. Looking through the round window, the magicship was getting further and further away from the ground.

It was a totally different experience from sitting on a dragon. When this lump of metal was flying with passengers- At the same time Ash was amazed, he also started to worry about crashing.

As for Julius, he was piloting Silvanus while telling Ash the whole story.

===Part 14===
Although what Julius said was hard to believe, basically, the dragons were seperated into the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family and the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family. The two families had incarnated since the ancient times and were still fighting each other right until today.

Also, Eco is Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family’s descendant.

In another words, Eco is the Imperial Princess of the dragon.

“…Even after I had heard of such things, it is still hard for me to believe this. Eco who had been living with me was obviously a girl who sleeps late, a glutton and a hot headed girl...”

“I know how you feel. When I found out that my pal is the descendant for the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family, I was also astounded. In the beginning, I was also troubled by why was I chosen.”

Julius said.

“Back to the topic, Avalon’s Imperial Princess’s body is really huge. Even though she is still a young dragon, she had this unbelievable huge size… It is totally unbelievable.”

After Julius pressed a few buttons on the dashboard, Eco’s body was shown on the huge screen in front.

Silvanus was three hundred meters above the land and was looking at Fontaine city from the sky above.

From the screen, they can see Eco's back that had turned black because of being taken over by Mordred.

With its frightening spiral horns and nine eyes… It is exactly the image of the dark dragon king.

Eco who was originally standing on two legs was now standing on all four because of the pain caused by Mordred’s take over.

The worrying part is, Eco was not moving at all and yet she doesn’t look as if she was sleeping…

“Could it be that Eco was fighting Mordred?”

Julius shook his head in disagreement.

“It is impossible. Judging from the huge change of her body, I am afraid that… Eco don’t even have the strength to fight back.”

“Is it…”

“But not all hope is lost. In my opinion, Navi was fighting against Mordred.”

“Navi?”

Why would he mention Navi’s name at such a time?

Before that, how would Julius know about Navi?

“Navi is the incarnation of the Dragweiss. If Navi could keep on fighting back, even after Mordred could fully take over Eco’s body, he still couldn’t be fully awaken.”

“What do you meant?”

“Regardless of the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor or the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king, both of them must fuse with the Dragweiss to obtain the supreme knowledge, only then they could receive their true power. I believe that Mordred right now is trying his best to make Navi his.”

“How come… you knew so many about him?”

“That was because it shared the same body with Mordred. Just like what he did to blend into the human society… I could also look into his memories.”

After hearing what Julius had said, Ash was still confused. However, there exists thing that could be easily understood without the need of good brains.

“In another words, this is a great time for a counter attack when Mordred was busy dealing with Navi, right?”

“That’s right. This is our only chance for victory. If you can ride on Eco and chase of Mordred’s spirit, then you can save Eco and the capital together.”

Ash nodded in agreement to what Julius had said.

“I am willing to give it a try. No matter it is Avalon or Nehalennia… I don’t think I even know what they mean. I only know that Eco is my pal.”

When Ash turned around and prepared to walk back to the deck, Julius spoke from behind:

“Although I don’t know why you are chosen… But I am glad that you are Eco’s knight.”

===Part 15===
“Urgh…”

Ash arrived at the deck and the winds were cold. Such temperatures were unheard of during the summer.

Ash was carrying a parachute- This is a decision made by Julius and him beforehand.

When Silvanus had come close to Eco, Ash will jump off from the deck with the help of the parachute.

After landing, it is all up to Ash.

Basically, Ash had gone through the landing practices in the academy.

Ash had never intended to become a soldier and had always thought that the academy was wrong to force them to go through the practices.

Anyway, the academy is not a military school- But who would expect that those practices must be applied right now.

“…Right there.”

Ash was looking down towards the ground from the bow and had located Eco’s back.

Although her fur had turned black but since the enormous amount of magic surrounding her was giving off strong rays of light, he won’t have to worry about missing his target.

He must make use of the time that Navi was fighting against Mordred to land on Eco’s head.

Julius voice emerged from the magic communication device:

“Ash, you may jump anytime.”

“Roger that.”

Ash looked downwards for one more time.

For such a huge beast, her only blind spot will be her head.

Ash tried to imagine himself riding on Eco’s head.

To his surprise, it was not at all scary.

The ‘Seikoku’ on his left arm was getting warm and was flickering with dim light.

It felt as if his ‘Seikoku’ was urging him to move quickly.

Suddenly- Eco lifted her neck and shot a dragon breath towards Silvanus.

“…Urgh!”

A bright light pierced through the night sky. Ash surrendered against the shaking deck and fell down. Although Julius had barely avoided a direct hit by giving the ship an emergency turn, the strong breath had burned the side of the ship into ashes.

There were smokes and fire emerging from the ship itself and it had lost balance.

“Tsk…! If you kill me, Eco will die too! If that happens, you also couldn’t get your hands on Eco’s body that you desired that much...! How could someone be this stupid?”

When Ash was groaning, Julius voice could be heard once again through the communication machine:

“Ash, are you alright!”

“Yes, I am!”

“Silvanus is going to do an emergency landing! Jump quickly!”

“I also intend to do so!”

Ash clenched his teeth and jumped off from the deck.

The moment his feet left the deck, Mordred gave a second dragon breath.

Looking backwards, he saw Silvanus’s deck suffered a direct hit from the dragon breath.

Ash shuddered. He was lucky that he had jumped of earlier or else he would be turned into dust.

Although Julius had said there are going to do an emergency ‘landing’, judging from the speed Silvanus was moving downwards, it looked like it was crashing.

Finally, the unbalance ship disappeared at the other end of the palace walls- Then a fire pillar could be seen followed by a loud explosion.

“Prince Julius…!”

Ash was sad but there was nothing he can do.

Julius had risked his life to fly him into the night sky.

The only thing he can do right now is to complete his mission in return.

Ash's body was moving downwards because of the gravity pull.

His face and ears felt like being crushed by the air pressure.

“Now is the time!”

Ash had got the timing right and spread open the parachute.

The amazing braking force had caused the parachute to slow down.

If another dragon breath was shot, Ash would certainly be hit but Ash prayed that he will not have such bad luck.

“Wait for me, Eco. I will protect you… I swear!”

===Part 16===
“Damn! Where am I?”

Eco found out that she was in a cage when she woke up. When she was looking at her body, she found out that she was wearing a dress with low standards.

This style is obviously not of Eco’s preference.

Any dress in Fontaine Palace’s changing room looked better that this. It is even as heavy as lead and it felt more like a binding item rather than an evening dress.

On the other side of the cage was a wide white space. The walls, the floor and the ceiling was white. Not even a dust that could be found.

“How dare anyone to cage a dragon like me in this cage… What were they even thinking!?”

Eco was definitely confused. Yet she still vaguely remembered that she was awakened as a dragon. She even remembered that she had become huge and was looking at the whole Fontaine palace.

But her memories stopped there.

“Tsk…It seems that you are alright since you are this energetic even under such situation.”

It was a familiar voice.

“Navi? You…!”

Navi was standing outside of the cage. Even though Eco disliked Navi, but under such situation, Eco was grateful that Navi was here and felt that Navi was like an angel.

The Eco’s Angel was now looking like a ragdoll.

Navi who was always acting calm and give out a noble like feeling was now with a messed up hair and even her evening dress was in rags. All over her body were marks of being bounded.

“What happened? This doesn’t look like you at all…”

Eco was taking a closer look at Navi.

“Hmm…I am only accompanying Mordred in his game. It was just that, his tentacles fetish had given me some trouble!”

“Mordred? Who is that?”

“Please lend me your hand.”

Eco stretched her hand through the gaps in between the bars of the cage. After Navi held her hand, a mass amount of knowledge flowed into her brain.

In a blink of an eye, Eco knew everything that had happened. Only until now that she had realized that she was in her spiritual from.

“To make it simple… That person called Mordred is trying to take over my body, right?”

“That’s right. Anyway, during the time I was running around, he had done nothing bad. But if it is to destroy this capital, it will be an easy task for him.”

“Hmm… So I am such a great dragon.”

According to Navi’s information, Eco is Avalon’s Imperial Princess.

“Huhu. Now Ash is going to look at me differently.”

Seeing that Eco was feeling proud, Navi sighed.

“As long as he can survive. He seems to be doing something foolhardy again.”

Navi held Eco’s hand again and Eco closed her eyes.

That current situation was sent into Eco’s brain as projections.

“What…!”

Eco was speechless.

Under the night sky- Ash leaned out from Silvanus’s deck.

The next instant, Mordred gave a dragon breath from the ground.

Silvanus was hit and was gliding in the sky as if it was a paper plane.

On the other hand, Ash jumped into the air and was falling with his head pointing downwards.

“Hold on… Is he crazy!?”

At that moment, Eco clearly heard Ash’s mumble.

"Wait for me, Eco. I will protect you… I swear!”

In a short moment, tears started to flow from her eyes. Even though she was a spirit, her tears still kept on flowing. Even the Dragweiss couldn’t give an explanation. A warm feeling was haunting her heart… What was that feeling?

“Why…Why? Why would he… try to do so many things for me? Even when I… Had caused many, many troubles for him?”

Navi stretched her hand into the cage and patted her head.

“Do you even have to ask? It is because you are his pal.”

Eco rubbed off her tears and lifted her head.

“Navi, please tell me what can I do for him.”

“Teehee. That’s more like it.”

Navi smiled and waved her hand lightly. With a flash, the cage had disappeared. At the same time, the black dress that limits Eco’s movement had been broken into particles and a pure white evening dress was raveled from beneath.

In a short time, Navi removed Mordred’s seal.

“I must say that… You are very good.”

Eco was looking at her dress. It designs compromised of the elements of elegant and pure. It is as if it was made to be worn by the Avalon’s Imperial Princess.

“No matter how great I am, I can't help you with the upcoming step. Understood?”

Eco nodded in reply.

“Then, what should I do?”

After Navi smiled, she cheekily said:

“Of course you are to present him your originally made Ark and the Avalon’s Imperial Princess.”

The next instant, Eco became confused.

“What? Are you serious?”

As if it was natural to do so, Navi nodded without any hesitation.

“All the mimics that you had created for emergency in the past… is useless against Mordred.”

“But, how am I to do this impossible task!?”

An original Ark could not be completed easily.

It was because of Eco had seen her ancestor’s blueprint; she understands how hard it can be. An Ark is not only a strong magic weapon, at the same time, it is also a perfect art masterpiece.

Not to mention that Eco was still a young dragon that was not even a year old without any experience. Navi’s suggestion was like asking a baby to build a palace.

“Anyway, it will not be called difficult if the blueprint could be easily created.”

Eco gave up before she even started but Navi ignored it.

“Rest assured, you must believe in your own ability. You are an Imperial Princess who is the blood descendant of Avalon.”

“But… what we must think about is not only the armour itself, there is also the Ark-weapon…”

“Listen carefully, the shape itself doesn’t matters. It was the mental power of the creator that decide the strength of the Ark. Even if you don’t know the shape, as long as you focus, the shape of the Ark will be formed.”

“Really…?”

“Yeah. Also, you don’t have to worry about the Ark-weapon. Avalon has a treasured sword that had been passed down through the generations. Just use it.”

After a moment of silent, Eco mumbled:

“…I had always disliked you since the first time I met you. Regardless of your relaxed attitude or your looks that was similar to mine or your overly large breast…I hate them and hate them very much! However… It is funny that I felt that you are trustable.”

Eco lifted her head and smile.

Navi also returned a smile.

At the same moment, Eco felt that a light had pierced through that darkness that had been blocking her eyes.

She didn't want to look for trouble anymore.

And she definitely doesn’t want to give up before taking up the challenge.

While the evening dress was swaying, Eco spoke with confidence:

“Just wait and see. I will definitely complete my original Ark!”

===Part 17===
“Damn… What kind of joke is this!”

Although Ash had finally landed on Eco, still the landing spot was her back and not her head. It was exactly beside the joints between the body and the wings.

That pair of wings was like the wings of a new born bird. It was still wet and was unable to fly right away.

Maybe this is my only life saver…Ash secretly thought.

Black furs were grown from her uneven skin. It felt like a Necromancia. He must get rid of Mordred’s spirit and return Eco to her original appearance as soon as
possible.

To achieve this, he must try to ride her gigantic body. However… Ash was looking at Eco’s head from afar.

Connected to her back that was as huge as prairie was a long neck that looked as if it was a stairway to heaven. And her head with spiral horns was at the other end of the neck.

His current aim was to ride on her head and try to control her using his will as a dragner. However… The distance between them was huge. It was like trying to climb the dangerous Xenoglavia Mountains without any climbing tools.

“Stop… This is not the time to give up.”

Ash threw aside the parachute and move forward while pushing aside those furs that were taller than his height.

“Now I really looked like a louse…”

In reality, Mordred treat Ash as nothing but a louse. That is why he was not bothered by Ash at all.

“Just wait and see. Your overconfidence will be the cause of your death, Mordred…”

Although Ash kept on talking to himself to boost his confidence, but every time he looked towards her head, he felt like falling apart.

Suddenly, there was a change in the night sky.

Those Maestros who were originally circling in the sky started to make their movements.

Those Maestros could be seen gliding towards Mordred and had him surrounded.

“Grrrrrrrrrrrrr…”

Mordred lifted his neck and gave a threatening growl. However, before he even managed to attack, the Maestros activated their magic at the same time.

With a flash, chains that were made from magic appeared. Numerous chains had tied down the huge dragon’s neck, front legs, hind legs, tail…

“Guuuoooooooooooooooooooo…!”

Mordred was struggling with all his might but the chains wouldn’t even budge.

“They…!”

It can’t be wrong. These Maestros were trying to seal Mordred’s movement. Who know if they were thinking that the dragon worthy to take to top is not Mordred but Eco.

At that moment, a Maestro landed right in front of Ash. Its pair of horns that looked like a dear’s looked familiar to Ash. Then a clear voice could be heard coming from behind the dragon.

“Ash… Hurry up!”

“Lukka!? Why are you here?”

That is. The Maestro that suddenly appeared from above was Gawain and Lukka was riding on its back. Ash felt nostalgic.

Lukka while feeling worried gave Ash a short explanation.

“Err… The Maestros in the seven dragon house was escaping together. I risked my life to cling on Gawain… In the end, I found out that I was already here.”

“Did Rebecca and Max come together?”

Lukka shook her head. It was probably Ash's mistake that he felt that Lukka’s ears were slightly drooping.

“Only I noticed that something was going on with the Maestros…”

“Is that so…”

As if to interrupt Ash’s and Lukka’s conversation, Gawain roared with its jaws opened.

It was as if trying to tell Ash to ride on it quickly. Ash naturally didn’t reject this offer.

“Thank you!”

Just as Ash sat on Gawain’s back, Gawain flapped its wings.

After piercing through the night sky, Gawain’s altitude was increasing following the direction of Mordred’s neck. Lukka’s riding skills was as good as ever and could only be described by perfect.

Ash was clinging tightly to Lukka’s thin waist to avoid from dropping off.

However, Mordred will not stay silent. Although he was being tied down, it was still struggling and roaring loudly.

Suddenly, magic cannons continued to appear in the sky and was firing at Gawain.

Ash was trembling when he saw those cannons.

It was because those cannons looked like the weapon that Ash used during his fight with Milgauss in Willingham Mausoleum. The only difference is, each cannon was around Gawain’s size.

“Magic shield Aegis…!”

“Need not worry… It will be alright as long as we are not hit.”

Lukka was not at all shaken.

As if she had fused with Gawain, she was controlling Gawain by moving left and right and dangerously avoided the crossing light rays.

It even used its dragon breath and those magic canons were destroyed one by one.

When Gawain had successfully passed Mordred’s head, all the magic cannons had disappeared.

“Ash, now’s the time…!”

Just when Lukka shouted, Gawain did a summersault.

At the point where the sky was upside down, Ash jumped down.

He drew a big locus in the night sky and successfully land in between the two horns. Looking from a close distance, the horns looked more like an altar than a horn.

When his feet landed on that spot, he felt satisfied. It was probably his dragner’s intuition that told him this is the best riding spot.

“Listen carefully Eco!”

Ash was shouting with all his might at his ‘Seikoku’ that was connected to Eco:

“Right now, I am going to ride you! I swear I will be successful in riding you! Whether you are a Imperial Princess or not it has nothing to do with me! So what if you are a imperial princess? You are always bad tempered, try to solve anything with force, a sleepy head, only have crepes in your eyes and felt like wanting to bite greedily whenever you saw meat. Are these what an Imperial Princess should do! Even if you really are an Imperial Princess, I will never approve it!... I only knew that- I am your knight, and you are my pal. Things are just as simple as this!”

The next instant, there was a change in his left arm that was dense with ‘Seikoku’.

The ‘Seikoku’ can be seen emitting rays of light that were able to light up the entire night sky. Then patterns started to crawl just like some living things.

No, the patterns were growing.

“W-What had happened…?”

Just when Ash was feeling confused, his ‘Seikoku’ started to spread outwards towards Ash entire body with his left arm as the starting point.

Ash found out that his connection with Eco had become stronger.

Although he couldn’t communicate with Eco verbally, yet, he was sure that he was connected to Eco…!

But, what Ash was thinking only lasted for a short moment.

“Guuuuuuuoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo…!”

Mordred was back on the move. He had broken one of the chains and was standing on two legs.

“Auuu…!”

Lukka groaned. The wind created when Mordred stood up had affected Gawain. Although it was not blown away by the wind, it was obvious that it could not remain
its balance. However, Lukka shouted:

“Don’t worry about me… I am alright! Ash, just focus on saving Eco…!”

Then, Lukka and Gawain finally fall and disappear from Ash’s line of sight.

“Lukka…!”

Ash stretched his arm but he could only grab the air.

The Maestros that scattered in the sky tried to make another chain to tie down Mordred’s upper body.

But before Mordred could be sealed, it forcefully shook its neck.

“Uwaaaaaaaaa!”

Ash lost his balance and was thrown up into Fontaine Palace like a cannonball.

-This is a lie… It must be…?

He was approaching the tower in the middle of Fontaine Palace.

If he was to hit into such stone wall…he will definitely die.

-Is this the end…? Is Eco and I… Going to end right here?

Right at this moment.

Almete, Gorjal, Peto…

The voice of the spell was coming from his ‘Seikoku’ that had spread all over his body.

Espaldar, Brafoneras, Faldaje…

It was definitely Eco’s voice.

Escarcelas,Bufetas, Hombreras, Brazales…

Compare to the previous times, every single word that Eco said was followed by a deep tone.

Codales, Antebrazos, Manoplas…

Without any reason, Ash felt courage from within.

Quijotes, Guardas, Grebas… Escarpes…

Lastly, Eco was left with the last word.

-Espolón!

Ash who was going to crash into Fontaine Palace was surrounded by holy lights.

It felt as if he was surrounded by angel’s wings.

Even though Ash had an illusion of he was ascending to heaven, Eco’s voice had disrupted this peaceful feeling.

“You absolutely must accept my feelings!”

===Part 18===
As he opened his eyes, Ash was standing at the highest point of Fontaine Palace.

“I-I am saved?”

He saw Mordred was standing ferociously with only two legs while being bounded by the chains of the Maestros.

All of the nine eyes were burning with the flames of rage and looked like scarlet stars. Even though he was trying his best to break free from those chains, those Maestros kept on creating new chains.

“This… What is this feeling?”

Ash was looking at his own body.

His entire body was emitting heat and was overflowing with magic.

It have to be the Ark that Eco presented to me- Yet to Ash’s dismay, what he was wearing right now was still his cloths that looked like rags.

There was not even an Ark that could be seen.

Even so, Ash still continued to feel safe as if he was protected by the Ark. Furthermore, the ‘Seikoku’ that was on his entire body was alive.

What is happening?

Hey, why are you daydreaming! Quickly use the Ark-weapon!

Eco’s voice was once again could be heard in his mind

“Eco…? What is happening?”

T-that is…?

Without any reason, Eco became silent. It felt as if she was embarrassed because of a certain something.

As if to speak on Eco’s behalf, another voice appeared in his mind.

Huhu. That is an original Ark that Eco had created on her own. However, it is still incomplete and even that shape had not been decided on yet.

“This voice… Are you Navi!”

The Ark represents proof of the oath of a dragon that swears to hand over their body and feelings to their knight. At the same time, it was a proof that it was connected to the Master’s heart. Right now, you are recognized as the Avalon’s knight.

I-I only wanted to get back my own body!... It was never meant to be given to you!

Ara, who is the person who was crying because she was worried about Ash? I wonder.

S-Shut up!

Eco and Navi seemed to had started an argument.

Ash made a wry smile because they could still have the mood to quarrel even under such dangerous situation.

All the negative emotions like unsecured and frightened had disappeared.

However- Right after that, Ash had a bad premonition as if a pair of cold hands had held on to his spirit. When he raised his head, Mordred’s eyes were filled with sparks and were marking him.

It had obviously begun to take notice of Ash who was previously being regarded as a louse.

“Guuuuuoooooooooooooooooooooo…!”

Although Mordred was still bounded by those magic chains, he still managed to open his jaws after putting in some effort.

There was a ball of light that could be seen appearing in front of his nose and it was slowly expanding-

Ash felt a large amount of energy from it. It was thanks to the Ark that his senses had sharpened.

Navi warned Ash in his mind.

That’s bad. Even though Mordred have not fused with me, he is still very strong…!

“Rest assured. I will personally deal with it.”

Ash immediately started to search for information regarding his Ark-weapon. Thanks to his experience in equipping those mimics, his was able to complete his search in a short time.

Ash smiled from within his heart.

The Ark-weapon formed in his mind was undoubtably the strongest sword that had ever existed.

Ash readied his posture and started to chant the spell.

“An iron that could slash through anything…”

For every word he said, his ‘Seikoku’ that was all over his body was emitting heat and reacted strongly to it.

"A holy sword meant for a knight of all knights-”

At the same time, Ash felt that his palm was overflowing with an unlimited amount of magic.

The one and only treasured sword that had been passed down generations by generations in the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family had its shape formed in Ash’s palm.

“Appear- Excalibur!”

It was not only a huge brave and beautiful sword but also an Ark-weapon.

On its silvery white hilt were many scarlet coloured Milinniums and they were shining brightly.

After he held the holy sword with both hand tightly, Ash leaped.

At the same time, Mordred was giving out the dragon breath.

That was a ball of light with overwhelming powers that could destroy the entire capital to ground level in a blink of an eye. Followed by some purple electric around Mordred’s head, the ball of light was released at Ash’s direction.

To make things worse, Ash couldn’t avoid it because the entire Fontaine Palace and City was right behind him.

No- In reality, I won’t even need to avoid it.

“Uooooooooooooooooooooooooo!”

Ash as if he had forgotten about his fear rushed towards the ball of light.

In respond to Ash’s verve, the Millenniums at the hilt of the holy sword was giving out a bright light.

In respond to Ash’s verve, the shapeless Ark was releasing all its magic.

“Kirisakeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!” <ref>斬り裂け. Means to get split and break apart.</ref>

Just before being swallowed by that attack, Ash had swung the most powerful strike.

-Cut!!! <ref>斬. Ii was a word that was usually shouted when someone wanted to cut/slash/chop/kill off something.</ref>

At the same time the lump of energy was split into two, Ash was in mid-air. His vision was full of white and he could see nothing at all.

If not because of the protection he received from the Ark, all the cells in his body should had been reduced into nothing. Ash was indeed slashing through such high amount of temperature.

In the end, his vision finally widened.

The dragon breath that was sliced into two had its trajectory changed and each had landed at the Fontainia plains on both side of the capital and had exploded.

Although it was a huge explosion, apart from the strong wind, Fontaine City remained intact.

Ash had again lifted Excalibur and had it pointed at Mordred’s head.

At that moment, there was a creepy voice coming from Ash’s mind.

…Hold on! If you harm this body, the daughter of Avalon would also be-

The nine eyes kept on blinking as if it still had something to say.

“Haa! Now you start to beg from me… Know your place, Mordred!”

Ash remained determined and continued to land at the head.

Of course Ash knew that this body originally belonged to Eco.

He never had the intention to simply slash around with this sword.

However, to get rid of Mordred’s spirit, he needs Eco to bear with it for a few more moments.

What Ash had intended to do was not to kill Eco but to make her lost her strength.

Where is the best place to land my attack?

There is not enough time to think of such complicated problems.

It is because apart from Eco’s and his life, Ash was burdened with the lives of millions of residents of the capital. Ash decided to wager everything he had in the only possibility he could think of.

“Eat this, Mordred!”
[[Image:SnRK V04 243.jpg|thumb]]

Ash was landing at full speed.

''What are you trying to do…? Do you want to follow the Julius's footsteps and become a ‘dragon slayer’? I can’t understand this, I just couldn’t understand this…!''

Ash didn’t replied and had no intention of doing so.

“Whether you are a god or a devil-”

Ash’s sword and Mordred’s horn clashed with each other.

“All the dragons will have to listen to my command, not to mention-”

After he had pinpointed the crucial point to release Eco, Ash swung Excalibur-

“If it is my '''P.A.L'''!”

Followed by a sound of a metal clashing with rocks, the night sky was swallowed by a white light.

The thing that was chopped off by Ash and was flying in mid-air was the left horn.

“Guuuuooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo…!”

Mordred’s roar was echoing in the night.

===Part 19===

“Huhu. Mordred must be running away with his tail rolled up<ref>A proverb</ref> even though a spirit shouldn't have any tails.”

Mordred’s spirit was running under the night sky towards the east while he was being seen by Navi.

On the eastern side of the country is Chevron Kingdom’s land.

“So in the end he had escaped to Chevron Kingdom… I must wait until he rises up again before I could have him captured. Right now, I should give praise to Avalon’s Knight."

Navi gave herself a cheer and smiled.

Eco’s spirit was no longer beside her.

===Part 20===

Ash’s final blow had chopped off Eco’s left horn.

Last month during the time Ash was in the infirmary, he had bitten Eco’s horn. Furthermore, her left horn that was chopped off had made her recalled that feeling.

It was that ‘happy’ feeling that dragged Eco’s spirit out.

Her hearts memories and her body memories.

When both of them are thinking the same thing, Eco’s spirit managed to take back its own body and get rid of Mordred’s spirit.

Not only this method is impractical, its succession rate too is just as low.

However, Eco’s clearly remembered the feeling that Ash gave her.

-Navi had seen it all.

The body of the huge dragon had undergone some changes inside the glaring light.

The skin colour that was originally black had turned back to its original silvery white colour.

As for those nine creepy eyes, they had returned into two clear scarlet eyes.

Then-

The body that was bigger than Fontaine Palace was shrinking slowly and finally turned back into a young teenage girl with pink hair.

Ash gently hugged the angel like naked body in mid-air.

Although Eco was blushing, she still placed her hand on Ash’s back and hugged her knight.

"Princess of Avalon ~A.S.B.1365.7~" is closed.
<noinclude>

==References and Translation Notes==
<references />

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| Back to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Chapter 7|Chapter 7]]
| Return to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Epilogue|Epilogue]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Chapter 8

2013-11-07T10:57:27Z

213.144.240.241: /* Part 5 */

==Chapter 8 - Avalon's Imperial Princess==
===Part 1===
In the mothership Beowolf- In the armory, under Dr Hoffman’s command the battle is in full swing.

Eco who was naked was floating in magic guided device. ‘Yggdrasill’s’ capsule. There were groups of technician working around her. This was out of Anya’s area of understanding. She could only stand by and wall and watch silently.

But, she understood well the pain that Eco was feeling.

The cold voice was followed by its echo when it was reflected on the metal body.

“The cartridge has been filled. Prepare for launching.”

“The countdown starts now. Ten, nine, eight… Three, two, one-.”

“Launch the compressed magic!”

A red bean was shot out followed by a loud gun shooting sound. Anya felt that even the ship was vibrating.

“…!”

Then, there were air bubbles coming from Eco’s mouth. If not because of she was in the liquid, her scream could definitely be heard.

Anya couldn’t bear to see Eco suffering and looked away.

Eco’s body had already taken at least ten shots of the compressed magic.

Eco regained her consciousness after the start of the experiment. At the beginning, she was struggling in the water, but ‘Yggdrasill’s’ capsule was not at all affected.

But after receiving a continuous dozens of compressed magic, she lost her strength.

Right now, she was just like a living dead. Her blank eyes were now lifeless and it was terrible. It was pure torture. Even so, the group of researchers led by Dr Hoffman were not at all shaken and continued silently.

“There is no significant change on the appearance of α. There are no abnormalities on her respiratory system. No magic fluctuation can be seen.”
Without realizing, the group of researchers started to refer Eco as α.

Eco is a human, a young dragon and also a living being- But this group of human had taken everything from her. To them, Eco was just experimental material α.
Who knows if they want to remove their feeling of guilt by calling her with symbols…Anya secretly thought so.

At this moment, Dr Hoffman’s voice is heard by Anya.

“Still no changes… It seems like we don’t have any more choices. Activate all the Millennium.”

Anya turned pale when she heard that.

This means that they had decided to use full power on ‘Yggdrasil’.

===Part 2===
“*Sob*… It was all… My fault. *Sob*…”

In the maid’s bedroom in the ground floor of the palace.

Prim was lying on the bed with her pillow wet with tears.

There was only Ash and Silvia beside her bed. Cosette was standing outside the room by the door.

Prim cried while she told the whole incident.

Prim arrived at the ancient palace when she was chasing Eco who was running amok.

She had met a few suspicious people there.

Seeing the enemy suddenly attacked, Eco appeared and became the bait to let Prim escape.

When Prim regained conscious, Eco was no longer there.

After hearing, Ash felt something suspicious.

“Why did you go to the ancient palace?”

“That’s because… It was my entire fault! It was my bad to say such things!”

“Prim, please stay calm. Compared to you, Ash was the person who suffered the most.”

After being advised by Silvia, Prim rubbed of her tears.

“You are right. Sorry…”

“Prim-san, please tell me everything before Eco was kidnapped!”

Prim nodded.

“I had no ill intention, it was just that… Ash-sama is a human and Eco is a dragon… So I thought that Eco would feel lonely after Ash-sama married with a human girl. The moment I told her that, Eco rushed out of the room.”

“What…!”

Who would have thought of this, Ash was speechless.

“Idiot! You… Why do you have to tell her this!”

Silvia was mad.

“If I am Eco… I will definitely feel hurt if someone told that to me! Even when Eco is a dragon, her thoughts are still those of a girl’s. She should know very well that her situation is special. Why was she born as a human? Why was she not born as a dragon… If I am Eco, I can never feel secure.”

“Princess-sama…”

Ash looked at Silvia who was telling Eco's thoughts in surprise.

“Recently, she had gotten used to the school life. She was also being loved by everyone as the student council’s mascot. Even so, to Eco, the only person she could trust in… Is no other than Ash.”

“And I… Have said something terrible…”

“Strictly speaking, Eco is still a young dragon who is not even a year old. Can’t you be a little more indirect in your-”

“Forget it, Princess-sama. Right now, we could never solve the problem even after lecturing Prim-san. What’s more, if they had this planned, no matter what Prim-san said, Eco would still have been kidnapped.”

“…You are right. But how are we going to rescue Eco?”

Silvia nodded in agreement with Ash.

“Prim-san… Could you describe those people who attacked?”

Ash was praying while asking. His only clue is Prim being the witness.

“Err…They pretended to be the palace servants. But, they didn’t look like citizens of the Knight Country. For their skin colour, it looked like they are the Tantalos…. Also, the person who attacked me is a short girl.”

“A Tantalos girl…!”

Ash was feeling Déjà vu. It was like he had found the last piece of puzzle in his memory.

“It was the girl who followed Milgauss!”

Ash’s fists were shaking. The world he was seeing was dyed in red. Even though he had a feeling that Milgauss was the culprit, still, after making sure, he was still in rage.

“Since we know who the criminal is-”

Silvia immediately stopped Ash who intended to rush out from the room.

“Hold on, Ash! Where do you think you are going to?”

“The ballroom, of course! I want to settle thing with Milgauss!”

“Keep your calm! Do you think that Milgauss will admit it even after you find him?”

“…Maybe not.”

Ash turned speechless.

Silvia was right, no matter how emotional he became, Eco still wouldn’t be able to return safely.”

Just as if she was trying to have Ash cooled down, Silvia made a suggestion in a calm voice:

“Don’t you think that this is a good time to save Eco when Milgauss is busy with the masquerade?”

“What do you meant?”

“Milgauss couldn’t even be bothered by an activity with long history such as this continental congress and will do anything just to capture Eco. Even when I don’t know what his intentions are, but capturing Eco alive is their priority. I am sure that their lackeys won’t do anything to harm Eco when the mastermind is absent.”

After listening to Silvia’s analysis, Ash gave a breath of relieve.

“The problem remains is, where is Eco’s location. Since Ash’s ‘Seikoku’ is not reacting, it means that Eco was being hidden in an enclosed place. For example something that could be a barrier to cut off magic… Anyway, it must be done with the proper equipment. It just can’t be a rally point that they have just constructed.”

“An enclosed place with proper equipments? That’s it, Milgauss has Klaus backing him up…”

Last evening, an airship flew past the evening sky…

The black ship that was waving the Empire’s flag proudly…

Ash remembered.

Ash and Silvia exchanged glances and shouted at the same time:

“Beowolf!”

===Part 3===
-W-Will…I die just like this…

Eco thought so.

The liquid in the capsule kept on rotating and Eco’s body was being swept by it.

Every time her shoulders or waist touches the glass, her body will move slowly in the opposite direction.

It seems like the liquid was made of special materials. Luckily, it doesn’t affect her breathing. But after suffering a few shots from the magic device, her body turned numb.

This feeling is like an empty mind floating in mid air.

-If I could just… Continue sleeping… Then I won’t feel any pain…

Just when Eco thought so, a power that surpassed those previous ones was released at her.

“Noooooooooo…!”

Even though she thought that she shouted in pain, in truth they were just air bubbles coming out from her mouth.

A bright light flashes and the water turns rapid. Just like being swallowed by a tsunami, her body kept on rotating and kept on hitting the glass around her.

-W….Why do I have to suffer this kind of pain.

It had passed the limit of her brain to just think of what they are going to do to her. She could only feel that her body had been injected with a vast amount of magic.

The pain she felt is just like her body being ripped open.

It felt like her organs were being messed up by someone.

-Urgh… It hurts…. It hurts…. I beg you all, please stop.

It is pointless no matter how she shouted in her mind, the magic was still flowing into the body. Eco’s body was jerking nonstop and she was struggling.

You might as well do me a favour by killing me-Eco gave up.

“…!”

At the next moment- The Necromancia’s slimy tentacles attacking her from all directions.

Eco couldn’t understand. Where did those tentacles appear from in this enclosed environment?

The tentacles which were wriggling like a snake slowly snatched her freedom.

Her arms, waist, legs… was entangled by those tentacles. -Stop! This must be an illusion! It is this device that was making me hallucinate…!

Eco tried to stay conscious and opened her eyes widely.

At that moment, the tentacles disappeared.

The feelings of being entangled by those tentacles also disappeared.

However, not long after that, she lost focus and the tentacles appeared again and had her waist surrounded.

In a blink of an eye, she was lifted by those tentacles.

-Stop!

[[Image:SnRK V04 183.jpg|thumb]]

An abnormally thick tentacle was approaching Eco’s face.

Eco kept her teeth closed with her might. If she was to be careless, the tentacle will surely wriggle into her mouth. Eco had Goosebumps just by think about it.

Eco initially wanted to ask for Ash’s help. She hoped that he could save him from this hell.

However, from the point she woke up in this device, she couldn’t even summon Ash.

Her Astral Flow with Ash had also been cut off.

The lost of her communication had put her in fear.

Eco was shocked that the lost of her connection with Ash would put her in such great fear.

-I am really an idiot. I only knew what is precious to me after I had lost it.

This experience had made her wanted to treasure Ash much more.

That’s right, without Ash, I can’t do anything… I am really a good for nothing.

-Don…

At that instant, there was something moving in her body.

===Part 4===
“Something is wrong! The magic indicator is showing an abnormal value!”

“We found an unknown magic source! Its power is increasing!”

“We have lost control of ‘Yggdrasill’! It ignored the emergency stop signal!”

The continuous bad news had made Dr Hoffman turn pale.

The laboratory was as if in a fire and a tense atmosphere was spreading.

Everyone was with a panicked look and were busy dealing with the buttons under their hands.

“What happened…?”

Anya who was looking from aside wondered.

Basically, there was nothing abnormal with Eco who was in the capsule.

Even though she was shot by the high power compressed magic and had struggle like she was having a nightmare, yet nothing dramatic had happened.

But the indicator was still indicating an abnormal value. Also, they were losing control of ‘Yggdrasill’.

The situation had suddenly become tense.

Even the emergency trigger had been triggered and the bell was ringing loudly.

-Dong!

At that instant, Anya heard something from the ground.

“What is that… Sound?”

As if to prove that it was not an illusion, ‘Yggdrasill’ magic indication exploded.

“Uwaa!”

Some groaned and all the surrounding deviced started to explode with red flames. All the technician were running away in fear.

“Don’t panic! Keep calm!”

Dr Hoffman shouted but not even a single soul was listening.

Because in everyone’s sights was Eco who was caged in the capsule.

Eco’s body was glowing with a dim light.

Even Anya was captivated by the sight in front.

“Dr Hoffman! Let’s escape!”

A young researcher advised Dr Hoffman. The rest of the researchers were agreeing with him and looked at Dr Hoffman.

Anya left the wall and walk towards Dr Hoffman’s back.

“Dr Hoffman, I also think that it would be wise if we escape now.”

“No!”

Anya was stunned by Dr Hoffman’s aura. She had thought of him as a kind old man and was forced to act cruel as a researcher. Who would know that he would have such a stubborn side.

“What are you thinking! Even an outsider like me knew that this is dangerous! Isn’t there Millennium attached to that device too?”

What Anya was worried about is the existence of the Millenniums. Just in case the Millenniums explode… Anya was thinking. Let alone Beowolf, it is not even surprising if the capital disappeared from the maps forever.

However, Dr Hoffman shook his head slowly.

“…I won’t. That will not happen. The energy in the Millenniums has run dry.”

“What?”

“All the magic energy… Was fully absorbed by experimental material α.”

“-!”

Anya looked at Eco dumbstruck.

The intensity of Eco’s light was getting stronger until the extend where one couldn’t look at her directly. Those‘Dong’sounds had become clearer.

Even though there were no dangers of the Millennium exploding, it doesn’t mean that they were free from danger. Eco right now was seen as the bomb.

Later, there was the loud sound of something breaking.

Different from the normal explosions, that explosion sounds like it was originated from something being applied pressure on.

“α….α is escaping!”

A researcher shouted.

The capsule containing eco was now in ruins and the liquid was flowing out like waterfall.

Eco can be seen floating with her eyes closed- in a short moment, she disappeared. What’s left is only stardust like magic particles floating in the air.

“She… Disappeared…?”

Anya dumbstruck, murmured alone.

===Part 5===
“Hey… Something’s wrong with Beowolf!?”

When Maestro Lancelot reached the landing space at a height of twenty meters, Silvia shouted:

“That is…!”

Ash who was riding on Lancelot behind Silvia widened his eyes.

The sacred airship Esperanza, airship Crown Solas and air ship Silvanus was lined up together.

On the other hand, the huge airship Beowolf was parked quite some distance away from the trio.

The suspicious thing was the black smoke emerging from Beowolf.

Could it be a fire?

If Eco is inside… Ash was too scared to think about it.

“Urgh…!”

At this moment, Ash felt a burning sensation from his left hand.

Although he nearly screamed in pain, he managed to tolerate with it.

It felt like suddenly putting his hand into a furnace.

“Is everything alright, Ash!?”

Silvia was worried about him and turned around and asked, but Ash couldn’t even reply because of the pain.

The ‘Seikoku’ engraved on his left arm was slowly moaning.

A while later, there was a glaring light coming out from his left arm and his sleeve up to his shoulders was burned off. Even the bandage was burned into pieces.

In a blink of an eye, Ash’s ‘Seikoku’ on his left arm was exposed.

“Wha…!”

The ‘Seikoku’ on his hand was glowing with different light intensity from time to time.

Ash was panicking.

It will be alright if it was just glowing but the heat and the pain sensation had no intention of stopping.

It felt that his left arm is going to explode anytime.

“Hey… What is actually happening?”

Silvia was in shock while holding the reins which was probably caused by the fright she experience from seeing Ash’s ‘Seikoku’s’ reaction.

“I don’t know… But I am now sure that I am again connected to Eco!”

Just like responding to Ash’s left arm, there was an object glowing in the sky.

“Ash! Look upwards!”

Silvia who noticed the abnormality was pointing at the sky. Ash too had noticed.

There was something glowing on the sky above the landing area.

“That is…”

The mysterious light was floating in the sky as if it was decorating it.

On the other hand, the full moon didn’t look as charming as before.

By taking a closer look, it was an egg with beautiful flow lines.

There was a big emblem that was carved on the pearl like egg. At a first glance, it looked like a royal emblem.

To be more specific, that emblem looked like Ash’s ‘Seikoku’.

-Don…Don…Don…

There was a frightening beating sound from the egg.

The confusing part is, it moved with the same rhythm as the glow on Ash’s ‘Seikoku’.

Ash immediately understood.

“I couldn’t be more wrong… Eco is in that egg!”

“How is that possible? What are you talking about…?”

“Princess-sama, I beg you. Please take me there!”

“…Alright. I believe in you. Fly Lancelot! Fly higher!”

But Lancelot ignored her orders. It stayed at the twenty meters height and looked at the egg with its head up.

“Hei… Lancelot? Anything wrong? Fly immediately!”

Even though Silvia shouted strictly, Lancelot still ignored her orders. On the other hand, it did an emergency landing at a corner of the landing space.

“What are you doing? Are you disobeying my orders, Lancelot!”

“…It is useless, Princess-sama. It seems that Lancelot has its own reason.”

“What did you say?!”

Silvia looked at Ash with an imposing manner.

“Do you know what Lancelot was thinking?”

“…I am not sure. It was probably affected by the ‘Seikoku’. I don’t know why, but I could somehow understand what Lancelot was thinking.”

After Ash and Silvia was forced to alight Lancelot unwillingly, Lancelot again spread its wings and shoot up into the sky.

Looking at Lancelot’s direction, Ash found out something important.

“Princess-sama! There are more and more… Maestros gathering together!”

Groups of Maestro were gathering from all direction. It had become an amazing night view created by the light from the Maestro’s magic.

One by one the Maestro appeared and gathered at the corner of the sky.

For Maestro’s whose numbers were already little to begin with to gather together, it was unheard of even in the old times-

===Part 6===
“What is actually happening…?”

Lancelot left its master and flew off on its own.

Although this had given Silvia a great blow, still the view of the night sky had gave her a deep impression.

Silvia could clearly hear the ‘Pssshh’ sounds of the beating of the wings.

When she had personally seen the dream like view, all her attention had been captured by it.

That egg even had wings growing out of it and feathers with silver lights were falling off. It was like snows that beautify the night sky.

Then- there was a crack from the egg shell.

The winged egg split into two-

“Uoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!”

A roar as if it was a horn announcing the end to the world could be heard all over.

Silvia who couldn’t look straight into the glaring light closed her eyes. When she reopened her eyes, the winged egg was no longer there. It was replaced by something that was out of this world.

To describe this thing with a word will be either – GOD or DEVIL.

However what Silvia said was insulting.

“What a scary monster…!”

[[Image:SnRK V04 193.jpg|thumb]]

“Stop! You are not allowed to say that!”

Ash shouted and brought Silvia back o her sense.

“That must be...Eco. I can feel it... I can feel it!”

“Sorry, Ash...”

Although Silvia was annoyed by her gaffe, she still couldn’t believe that it was Eco.

Later, Eco landed slowly while being surrounded by numerous Maestros.

Although the pink fur and the red eyes is similar to Eco, but her horns looked sharp and fierce and doesn’t at all looked like Eco’s round stubs.

Also, there was a third horn in between the two horns. It was like a unicorn’s horn and was up straight.

Her wings which were spread widely were different from a normal Maestro’s. It made one think of an angel’s wings.

Followed by a loud bang, Eco landed.

Eco lifted up her gigantic hind leg up high- And The large airship that had been the pride of the Empire was squashed in a few seconds.

With the conning tower being right at the middle, Beowolf had been squashed into a V shape and immediately exploded.

Yet, Eco was not at all affected.

Eco probably lost interest in Beowolf and tried to wriggle her long neck. She slowly lowered her center of gravity.

The target of her scarlet eyes was the window of the tall Fontaine Palace.

===Part 7===
-An unidentified flying object appeared above the capital and all the Maestros in the country disobey their masters’ order and gathered together.

Veronica who received the emergency report brought Glenn the captain of the escorts alone with her to the ballroom at the highest floor of the palace.

Anyway, there were important guests in the ballroom that gathered from all over the continent. No matter what happened, she must protect their safety in the name of the pride of the Knight’s country.

At the same time, she must bring back her father Oswald with her. He had most probably change his appearance and was drinking while mingling in the crowd.

While running on the long corridor, Veronica questioned Glenn:

“Did you too have lost contact with your pal?”

“It totally ignored my summons and ignored my request to present me my Ark. From the looks of the current situation where all the Maestros gathered at the capital’s sky, it probably has something to do with the unidentified flying object.”

“Then, our pride, the Holy Dragners of Lautreamont can be considered no more. If the Empire attacked us at this moment, without the protection of the Maestros, this country will fall in just a single night.”

“...I don’t have an excuse to offer.” <ref>面目次第も有りません have also the meaning of ‘It is a shame I don’t have the power to…’</ref>

Glenn lowered his head somberly.

===Part 8===
When Veronica and Glenn arrived at the ballroom, the palace music and the party atmosphere of the nobles had disappeared.

Most of the guests were by the glass window and were looking downwards in shock. From there they can see the landing area for the airships.

“That’s…!”

Veronica was also looking downwards through the glass window.

“It is dangerous to stand beside the window, Princess-sama!”

Glenn warned her but Veronica ignored him.

There was a change in the landing area.

A living object that was glowing with silver light suddenly landed there.

''-Uoooooooooooooooooo…!''

It was immediately followed by a loud roar that will made one feel like covering his ears.

It was stated in the previous report that ‘an unidentified flying object that looked like a huge egg’, but it seemed that the huge egg had
hatched when Veronica was on her way.

The unbelievable thing is, that huge monster easily split the Empire’s huge airship Beowolf into two with just a stomp.

Right at this moment, there was a man from the crowd was making a fuss.

“Ooh, what is happening! How can a dragon of the Knight’s… Destroy the most advance airship which is our country’s pride! I don’t think that
this is some simple matter!”

The man words had caused an uproar in the ballroom.

Until a moment ago, everyone had just found out that this monster is a dragon.

Talking about a dragon, everyone will think about Lautreamont Knight Country.

“Is that person…Klaus Viderhausen! He is obviously trying to cause a stir!”

Veronica angrily scolded and glared at the Empire’s young noble.

However, there was a man who stupidly tried to argue with Klaus.

“Nonsense! That monster had nothing to do with our country!”

Although the man was wearing a lion shaped mask, judging from his plum body, Veronica immediately knew who he is.

He is her father, Oswald.

“Klaus-dono! This is the truth! That monster had nothing to do with us! Please believe in me!”

“Hu… What you said was not at all convincing. Anyway, everyone here is a witness.”

Klaus was not even bothered by Oswald.

It was because what Klaus said is true. A huge dragon that appeared with no warning had destroyed the Empire’s airship right in front of
everyone.

Nothing could be worst than this.

For Chevron Kingdom and Zepharos Empire who had never see each other eye to eye was originally going to discuss about the peace in between
them in tomorrow’s continental congress ‘Elysium’.

To Chevron Kingdom and its ally Lautreamont Knight Country this should be a historical event.

“Stop… Let alone the Emperor, not even a royal from the Empire attends. It is a total joke. The Empire had never wanted peace-”

Just as Veronica finished her sentence, there were people screaming from everywhere.

Everyone was in a panic.

All the guests who were wearing their mask, including the musicians and the waiters, everyone were trying to escape.

Apart from Oswald who was crying, Klaus who had previously put the blame on the Knight Country was also fleeing.

“What…!”

Veronica who immediately turned around was also sweating tremendously.

There was a pair of scarlet eyes looking into one of the many palace windows.

She spent a few seconds to figure out that the dragon had stretched its neck and was looking into Fontaine Palace.

“Glenn, if I try to slash the pair of eyes with my huge sword… Do you think I have any chance of winning?”

“Please forgive my rudeness… Even if Princess-sama, you are no match for it.”

Glenn told the truth directly.

"Why must you be this honest?"

Veronica was sulking while she confronted the dragon eyes.

The round eyes.

''It looked like a baby’s pairs of eyes. Although it looked naïve, if this monster just rubbed its nose with the palace walls, Fontaine Palace will
turned into dust in seconds. Furthermore, it will be a hill full of bricks and corpse…''

Even though she was thinking of such scenario, Veronica could still manage a smile.

“Kuku… So this is of feeling of my life being controlled by others. I praise you, my child!”

Seeing that Veronica had no intention of escaping, Captain Glenn advised her in panic:

“Princess-sama, please retreat!”

“I mustn’t. Some of the guests are still here.”

Veronica looked around the empty ballroom.

There was a man with a mask standing at the middle of the dance floor.

The man was wearing a elegant suit. However his hair colour was like a cloth stain with blood.

He is obviously the guy in the reports- Milgauss.

Veronica looked at him in admiration.

“Hmm… You indeed look a little like Julius. Remove your mask!”

To her surprise, he actually did it. He could be seen silently removing his mask and threw it to a side as if he don’t need it anymore.

“-!”

Veronica’s eyes widen.

The handsome face beneath the mask was undoubtable Julius of ten years later who had became a seinen.<ref>青年, man with age range between 20-
30.</ref>

He had no longer the rebellious feel with him in his teenage years and was replaced by a feeling of a weapon that had been well polished.

“So you are Julius…!”

As if to sweep away her worries, Julius walked to the side of the window. At the same time, the dragon’s face disappeared as if it had lost
interest with the empty ballroom.

Julius was standing by the window looking at the huge dragon.

“Kukuku… I had been waiting for this moment for a long time!”

That sinful voice and the devil like smile made Veronica felt uneasy.

Glenn took a stepped forward as if trying to ask in behalf of Veronica.

He unsheathed his sword that was on his waist.

“You can’t be Julius, no? My friend will never show such malicious smile."

“Oh, Glenn McGuire! I remembered you are one of the guys that appeared in Julius’s memories. It should be suitable to use ‘it had been a long
time’ in this situation, don’t you think so?”

“What do you mean!”

“You still don’t get it? This body is indeed Julius’s. However, I am not Julius. But I can peek into Julius’s memories anytime."

“What is happening…?”

Veronica was curious but it was not bothered by the man.

“Kneel! Quick! Look carefully! You are witnessing a historical moment!”

The man was acting like a holy man in the religious painting. He spread his arms widely and declared his name.

“I am Mordred! The descendant of the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family.”

Vreonica couldn’t believe what she had just heard.

The Maestro that Julius sacrificed his life to kill is named Mordred. It is also Julius’s Pal.

''Is it possible that Mordred had taken over Julius’s body?''

In regards of Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family- Veronica had only recently heard about this name.

The ‘Old Testament of the Stella Biblia’ that Dr Angela Cornwell found in Willingham Mausoleum.

Basically, Veronica had read through the copy of the book.

She recalled a part of the book.

“…After the wise dragon Inbroke, two major bloodlines were formed. They are the Avalon’s holy dragons emperor family and the Nehalennia’s dark dragons king family. An endless war started from these two families. After the members of the two families reincarnated, they will encounter each other, hate each other and kill each other.”

The person in front had introduced himself as the descendant of the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family.

Then, who is the person who should be representing the descendant of the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family-?

At this moment, Veronica stopped thinking because of Glenn’s shout.

“So I see… You are the roots of evil! I knew that Julius didn’t turn crazy! He will always be loyal to his beliefs and tried to have you
removed even when he had to commit a crime in the Knight Country!... Return Julius to us!”

Followed by a shout, Glenn reduced their distance and there was a silver flash.

However, Mordred easily parried Glenn’s slash.

“Urgh!”

Glenn growled.

Morderd had stopped the high speed slash with only his index and middle finger.

Glenn could be seen standing still while holding his sword. No, that’s not the case, Veronica understands well.

It was not that Glenn was not moving, it was because that he was unable to move.

Morderd had over powered Glenn with just two fingers.

“Hmph… I will let you experience the punishment for being disobedient to ''god''."

After Mordred gave a cold smile, there was a flash.

“Gwaaa!”

Glenn was knocked up into the air while unable to even resist. He knocked into the wall hard and became unconscious.

Veronica didn’t even have the time to care about Glenn and stared at Mordred.

“…I don’t understand. As far as I know, you should have a good relationship with Julius. Didn’t you even present him with an ark?”

“Hmph, the one who has a good relationship with Julius is another me. That me who acknowledged Julius as its master and had associate with him
quite well."

“Another me? What are you talking about?”

“Let me generously explain it to you as your last gift before you die. There was two personalities in Mordred. If it was to be a human, it will be call as a split personality.”

“What happened to the other personality?”

“It had disappeared together with the body. Ironically, it was it and Julius who had planned to kill me. For me, to prevent myself from dying,
I had sacrificed my body and change into this spiritual form and had inhabit in Julius’s body.”

Upon saying until there, Mordred looked out of the window.

Right beside the palace, the dragon was standing on its hind legs and was looking around curiously. It seemed to be troubled because it
couldn’t understand what was happening.

Mordred declared to that dragon:

“Descendant of the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family, I will take that body of yours!”

“Now I understand, so this is what you planned…!”

At this stage. Veronica finally found out what is Mordred aiming for.

Morderd had once lost his body in to past when it was killed by Julius.

However, if it could take over the body of the descendant of the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family, it can once again be born as the
strongest dragon…!

“That will never happen, Mordred!”

Veronica unsheathed the huge sword on her waist.

Even though she knew that he was not an opponent that she could win in a direct confrontation, she still couldn’t bear to watch idly from the side.

''I will kill Mordred together with Julius’s body before he can manage to take over Avalon’s body-'' Veronica rushed forward while thinking so.

Even when it is her brother’s body that we are talking about, she had no intention of showing any mercy.

But, before Veronica could land a hit on Mordred, suddenly, there was darkness emerging from his body and spread all over the ballroom.

“Urgh… What is this dark mist… My conscious…!”

The moment she was surrounded by the darkness, Veronica felt a strong feeling of vomiting and fainting.

===Part 9===
After struggling in the darkness without knowing what was happening for some time- The darkness had finally disappeared.

“Are you alright, Veronica?”

There was a guy who held out his had to Veronica who was struggling to stand up.
[[Image:SnRK V04 207.jpg|thumb]]
“You…!”

There were killing intends in Veronica’s eyes.

To her surprise, Mordred who should be busy with taking over Avalon’s decedent’s body had tried to help her.

However, there was no longer the evilness on his face.

“You… Could you be Julius?”

“Ahh, that is me. You are still the same old you for not calling me ‘Anii-ue’.”

It seemed that because Mordred was gone, Julius who able to take back his body.

“Of course… You F.O.O.L”

Upon hearing, Julius smile but he immediately returned back to his serious expression.

“Sorry, but now is not the time for us siblings to be arguing. Mordred's spirit had already inhibited on Eco’s body. We have the obligation to defeat Mordred and protect this city.”

At that instant, Veronica felt a pain from her head as if she had just been strike.

“Hold on! Did you just say Eco? That huge dragon… is actually Eco?”

“I will explain the detail to you later. Can you stand up?”

“Hmph… Whom do you think you are talking to!”

Using the huge sword as a walking stick, Veronica put all her effort into standing up. But, it was probably the side effect of inhaling in the darkness, in the end, she fell down again.

“Princess-sama!”

The person who reached Veronica first was Glenn. Although he was badly injured, he had regained conscious.

Glenn held on to Veronica and glared at Julius.

“Julius… I had numerous thing that I want to tell you, but please allow me to tell you this first.”

“I can guess what you want to say but be my guest.”

While facing the calm Julius, Glenn with mix feelings shouted to Julius:

“You… Damn you!”

===Part 10===

Seeing that the Empire’s airship was easily crushed, the sacredship Esperanza and magicship Crown Solas flew off immediately.

Only magicship Silvanus remained at its location overlooking the whole incident.

Although Silvanus had yet to attack Eco, Ash was still worried stance the captain is Veronica.

Even so, seeing that Silvanus still haven’t make its decision, Veronica probably had not board the ship. They were most probably waiting for Veronica’s orders.

On the other hand, if Veronica had boarded the ship, there is a high chance that she will issue an attack on Eco. To protect the capital, Veronica will make this decision without any hesitation. Anyway, Silvanus fire power is not something that can be ignored.

“I…I will protect Eco!”

Ash made up his mind and rushed forward.

“Hold on, Ash. Do you want to be crushed!”

Silvia blocked Ash with her arms spread.

“Please move aside, Princess-sama! Who will protect Eco if I don’t!”

“Please keep your calm! Even so, what can you do!? How are you going to ride Eco who had turned into that? What’s more, what are you going to do to ride on Eco?”

“I…”

Silvia was right. During the time when the Necromancia attacked Ansarivan, he received help from Silvia and Lancelot.

But luck was not on his side. Lancelot who he could place his hope on had not yet returned after it gathered with the rest of the Maestro. The group of Maestros were still circling above the sky while waiting for something to happen.

To his relieved, after Eco crushed Beowolf, she had not made any frightening actions. Although Ash was sweating tremendously during the time she looked into Fontaine Palace through the window, he was lucky that she leave immediately.

Right now, Eco was only looking around and sniffing the building around her as if to figure out what was happening. In regards to what had happened to her body, she probably hasn’t figured it out yet.

“In conclusion, we must keep her as far from the town as possible. In case that she entered the town…"

Upon listening to Silvia’s assumption, Ash was shaking in fear.

Fontaine City has a population of around a million.

In another words, a million lives were now in Eco’s hands.

The severity of the current situation was no longer only involved Ash and Eco.

“Guooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo…!”

At that moment, Eco was roaring in pain and started to struggle. There was a change in her appearance that was originally surrounded by a silver light.

Just like a white cloth that came in contact with ink, there black colour was slowly taking over the white.

“…Eco? What’s happening!”

Ash could only look at Eco transform without doing anything.

The change in her skin was only the start.

Her angle like feathers had transformed into a crow like wings.

The previous middle horn of the three horns had disappeared and her pair of horns had turned into spiral shape.

Also, her four limbs were growing at a fast speed. It will be better to describe her as a giant like body rather than a huge beast. That huge body gave a evil feeling.

Last of all, there were nine eyes on its face and were glowing with red lights.

“Nine eyes…!”

Ash remembered something.

Eco once had a nightmare.

In her dream, was Eco attacked by the nine eyed dragon…?

-Don!

At that moment, Eco who had turned into that black dragon gave a dragon breath.

The flame emitted pierced the sky and scattered the dark clouds.

If this flame was aimed at Fontaine Palace or the town… Ash had Goosebumps just by thinking.

“Silvia, so you are here!”

At this moment, there was a fierce voice coming from behind.

It was Silvia and Glenn when they turned around.

Glenn was badly injured and looked like a rag.

Apart from that- There was another man that was following Veronica.

It was already surprising if a person was allowed to walk side by side with Veronica, yet it was far more surprising when they noticed the man’s hair colour.

“Milgauss! Why are you here!”

Ash felt that he was having Goosebumps all over his body. At the same time, he felt that Milgauss looked familiar. He remembered that he had seen that face in a portrait.

“Are you… Anii-ue?!”

Silvia shouted before Ash.

“Yeah. Although it is a little hard to believe, I am Julius. But I don’t have the time to give you any explanations right now. Firstly, we need to get rid of Mordred’s spirit from Eco’s body- Ash.”

When his name was suddenly called by Julius, Ash became nervous.

The person in front of him really felt like Prince Julius Lautreamont.

Julius stepped forward and placed his hand on Ash’s shoulder.

“Only you as the master can save Eco. Understood?”

“Yes. I had thought of that too myself.”

Julius smiled.

“Good answer. I will take the responsibility to bring you to Eco.”

“But… How are you going to do it?”

“Don’t worry. We have that.”

After he finished his sentence, Julius was pointing at- Magicship Silvanus that was actually resting at the far end of the landing area.

===Part 11===
“Ara. I don’t remembered inviting you here…Dark Dragon King Mordred.”

In the dragon workshop, Navi and Mordred were having a confrontation. She was sitting on her favourite chair with her legs crossed.

“Kuku. This is your last time to be able to be this relaxed.”

Mordred’s spirit still maintained Julius’s voice. It was probably because it had inhibited in Julius’s body for more than ten years…Navi thought so.

“I had taken over sixty percent of Eco’s body. It is only a matter of time that I can fully take control of her body. Avalon is losing.”

“…”

“Next, if I can fuse together with you, I can be fully awakened as the Dark Dragon King. Follow me. Even though you are called Navi, but I clearly know that you are not a normal navigator. You are the incarnation of the Dragweiss.”

“Ara. Just what I thought of the Dark Dragon King. You had made quite some investigation on your own.”

“Fuse with me quickly. Give me the supreme knowledge. Strictly speaking, Avalon and Nehalennia have the same roots… I should also be qualified to fuse with you.”

“I don’t disagree with this.”

Upon hearing Navi’s answer, Mordred smiled.

“So you agreed?”

“No I don’t. It is because I don’t like Nehalennia.”

“…What do you say?”

“I am rooting for Avalon's Imperial Princess and her knight. Especially her knight… Ash Blake, he is far manlier than you.”

“Hmph…what a fox you are. Since it had came to this, I will use force-”

Suddenly, there were numerous tentacles coming from under Mordred’s legs. They were like snakes that had found their prey and attacked Navi.

===Part 12===
“I am sorry. Could everyone apart from Ash and I leave this ship?”

Upon stepping into Silvanus’s wheelhouse, Julius spoke coldly.

The crew responsible for the control of the wheel and control communications turned around and looked Julius in confusion. Then they are all frightened as is they had seen a ghost.

They shouldn’t be blamed since the prince that should have been executed years ago was standing in front of them and had asked them to do something unreasonable.

“Hold on… Prince Julius! What do you planned to do?”

Seeing that Ash was requesting for an explanation, at the same time Julius answered, he turned around and looked at Veronica who was preparing to sit on the captain’s seat.

“I just don’t want the rest of the people to die with us. Veronica, I hoped that you could also help me by giving out the orders.”

“Do you think that I would even listen to that joke?”

“If the sister is stubborn, the elder brother will have to face some trouble.”

The next instant, Julius seize Veronica from behind with lightning speed. He was holding a hidden gun. It was a mechanic gun that the military of the Empire used.

Julius even chose to place the tip at Veronica’s temple.

“There is not much time. You should try to listen to your brother sometimes, Veronica.”

“Are you kidding! Silvanus is my magicship. Don’t even think of always doing what you wanted to, Julius.”

“As I had said before, I am your brother. Maybe you are a perfect princess in front of our people, but I knew your achilles heel. If you still disobey me, I will expose it in front of everyone.”

“What achilles heel?”

“I knew that you love Silvia. There are Silva portraits in your room. The clothes that Silva wore, Silva’s growth record, the poem that you wrote from missing Silvia and also Silvia’s human size doll-”

“I-I promise! Keep quite immediately!”

Ash was in a shock. He had never expected Veronica to surrender easily.

“Everyone, leave the ship immediately! This is an order from Veronica Lautreamont! No one is allowed to disobey!”

All the crew members rushed out from the wheelhouse.

===Part 13===
When everyone had left the magicship, Julius flied Silvanus while sitting on the pilot’s seat.

With the sudden shake of the magicship, Ash held on tightly to the seat of the communication officer to avoid falling. Looking through the round window, the magicship was getting further and further away from the ground.

It was a totally different experience from sitting on a dragon. When this lump of metal was flying with passengers- At the same time Ash was amazed, he also started to worry about crashing.

As for Julius, he was piloting Silvanus while telling Ash the whole story.

===Part 14===
Although what Julius said was hard to believe, basically, the dragons were seperated into the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family and the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family. The two families had incarnated since the ancient times and were still fighting each other right until today.

Also, Eco is Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family’s descendant.

In another words, Eco is the Imperial Princess of the dragon.

“…Even after I had heard of such things, it is still hard for me to believe this. Eco who had been living with me was obviously a girl who sleeps late, a glutton and a hot headed girl...”

“I know how you feel. When I found out that my pal is the descendant for the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family, I was also astounded. In the beginning, I was also troubled by why was I chosen.”

Julius said.

“Back to the topic, Avalon’s Imperial Princess’s body is really huge. Even though she is still a young dragon, she had this unbelievable huge size… It is totally unbelievable.”

After Julius pressed a few buttons on the dashboard, Eco’s body was shown on the huge screen in front.

Silvanus was three hundred meters above the land and was looking at Fontaine city from the sky above.

From the screen, they can see Eco's back that had turned black because of being taken over by Mordred.

With its frightening spiral horns and nine eyes… It is exactly the image of the dark dragon king.

Eco who was originally standing on two legs was now standing on all four because of the pain caused by Mordred’s take over.

The worrying part is, Eco was not moving at all and yet she doesn’t look as if she was sleeping…

“Could it be that Eco was fighting Mordred?”

Julius shook his head in disagreement.

“It is impossible. Judging from the huge change of her body, I am afraid that… Eco don’t even have the strength to fight back.”

“Is it…”

“But not all hope is lost. In my opinion, Navi was fighting against Mordred.”

“Navi?”

Why would he mention Navi’s name at such a time?

Before that, how would Julius know about Navi?

“Navi is the incarnation of the Dragweiss. If Navi could keep on fighting back, even after Mordred could fully take over Eco’s body, he still couldn’t be fully awaken.”

“What do you meant?”

“Regardless of the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor or the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king, both of them must fuse with the Dragweiss to obtain the supreme knowledge, only then they could receive their true power. I believe that Mordred right now is trying his best to make Navi his.”

“How come… you knew so many about him?”

“That was because it shared the same body with Mordred. Just like what he did to blend into the human society… I could also look into his memories.”

After hearing what Julius had said, Ash was still confused. However, there exists thing that could be easily understood without the need of good brains.

“In another words, this is a great time for a counter attack when Mordred was busy dealing with Navi, right?”

“That’s right. This is our only chance for victory. If you can ride on Eco and chase of Mordred’s spirit, then you can save Eco and the capital together.”

Ash nodded in agreement to what Julius had said.

“I am willing to give it a try. No matter it is Avalon or Nehalennia… I don’t think I even know what they mean. I only know that Eco is my pal.”

When Ash turned around and prepared to walk back to the deck, Julius spoke from behind:

“Although I don’t know why you are chosen… But I am glad that you are Eco’s knight.”

===Part 15===
“Urgh…”

Ash arrived at the deck and the winds were cold. Such temperatures were unheard of during the summer.

Ash was carrying a parachute- This is a decision made by Julius and him beforehand.

When Silvanus had come close to Eco, Ash will jump off from the deck with the help of the parachute.

After landing, it is all up to Ash.

Basically, Ash had gone through the landing practices in the academy.

Ash had never intended to become a soldier and had always thought that the academy was wrong to force them to go through the practices.

Anyway, the academy is not a military school- But who would expect that those practices must be applied right now.

“…Right there.”

Ash was looking down towards the ground from the bow and had located Eco’s back.

Although her fur had turned black but since the enormous amount of magic surrounding her was giving off strong rays of light, he won’t have to worry about missing his target.

He must make use of the time that Navi was fighting against Mordred to land on Eco’s head.

Julius voice emerged from the magic communication device:

“Ash, you may jump anytime.”

“Roger that.”

Ash looked downwards for one more time.

For such a huge beast, her only blind spot will be her head.

Ash tried to imagine himself riding on Eco’s head.

To his surprise, it was not at all scary.

The ‘Seikoku’ on his left arm was getting warm and was flickering with dim light.

It felt as if his ‘Seikoku’ was urging him to move quickly.

Suddenly- Eco lifted her neck and shot a dragon breath towards Silvanus.

“…Urgh!”

A bright light pierced through the night sky. Ash surrendered against the shaking deck and fell down. Although Julius had barely avoided a direct hit by giving the ship an emergency turn, the strong breath had burned the side of the ship into ashes.

There were smokes and fire emerging from the ship itself and it had lost balance.

“Tsk…! If you kill me, Eco will die too! If that happens, you also couldn’t get your hands on Eco’s body that you desired that much...! How could someone be this stupid?”

When Ash was groaning, Julius voice could be heard once again through the communication machine:

“Ash, are you alright!”

“Yes, I am!”

“Silvanus is going to do an emergency landing! Jump quickly!”

“I also intend to do so!”

Ash clenched his teeth and jumped off from the deck.

The moment his feet left the deck, Mordred gave a second dragon breath.

Looking backwards, he saw Silvanus’s deck suffered a direct hit from the dragon breath.

Ash shuddered. He was lucky that he had jumped of earlier or else he would be turned into dust.

Although Julius had said there are going to do an emergency ‘landing’, judging from the speed Silvanus was moving downwards, it looked like it was crashing.

Finally, the unbalance ship disappeared at the other end of the palace walls- Then a fire pillar could be seen followed by a loud explosion.

“Prince Julius…!”

Ash was sad but there was nothing he can do.

Julius had risked his life to fly him into the night sky.

The only thing he can do right now is to complete his mission in return.

Ash's body was moving downwards because of the gravity pull.

His face and ears felt like being crushed by the air pressure.

“Now is the time!”

Ash had got the timing right and spread open the parachute.

The amazing braking force had caused the parachute to slow down.

If another dragon breath was shot, Ash would certainly be hit but Ash prayed that he will not have such bad luck.

“Wait for me, Eco. I will protect you… I swear!”

===Part 16===
“Damn! Where am I?”

Eco found out that she was in a cage when she woke up. When she was looking at her body, she found out that she was wearing a dress with low standards.

This style is obviously not of Eco’s preference.

Any dress in Fontaine Palace’s changing room looked better that this. It is even as heavy as lead and it felt more like a binding item rather than an evening dress.

On the other side of the cage was a wide white space. The walls, the floor and the ceiling was white. Not even a dust that could be found.

“How dare anyone to cage a dragon like me in this cage… What were they even thinking!?”

Eco was definitely confused. Yet she still vaguely remembered that she was awakened as a dragon. She even remembered that she had become huge and was looking at the whole Fontaine palace.

But her memories stopped there.

“Tsk…It seems that you are alright since you are this energetic even under such situation.”

It was a familiar voice.

“Navi? You…!”

Navi was standing outside of the cage. Even though Eco disliked Navi, but under such situation, Eco was grateful that Navi was here and felt that Navi was like an angel.

The Eco’s Angel was now looking like a ragdoll.

Navi who was always acting calm and give out a noble like feeling was now with a messed up hair and even her evening dress was in rags. All over her body were marks of being bounded.

“What happened? This doesn’t look like you at all…”

Eco was taking a closer look at Navi.

“Hmm…I am only accompanying Mordred in his game. It was just that, his tentacles fetish had given me some trouble!”

“Mordred? Who is that?”

“Please lend me your hand.”

Eco stretched her hand through the gaps in between the bars of the cage. After Navi held her hand, a mass amount of knowledge flowed into her brain.

In a blink of an eye, Eco knew everything that had happened. Only until now that she had realized that she was in her spiritual from.

“To make it simple… That person called Mordred is trying to take over my body, right?”

“That’s right. Anyway, during the time I was running around, he had done nothing bad. But if it is to destroy this capital, it will be an easy task for him.”

“Hmm… So I am such a great dragon.”

According to Navi’s information, Eco is Avalon’s Imperial Princess.

“Huhu. Now Ash is going to look at me differently.”

Seeing that Eco was feeling proud, Navi sighed.

“As long as he can survive. He seems to be doing something foolhardy again.”

Navi held Eco’s hand again and Eco closed her eyes.

That current situation was sent into Eco’s brain as projections.

“What…!”

Eco was speechless.

Under the night sky- Ash leaned out from Silvanus’s deck.

The next instant, Mordred gave a dragon breath from the ground.

Silvanus was hit and was gliding in the sky as if it was a paper plane.

On the other hand, Ash jumped into the air and was falling with his head pointing downwards.

“Hold on… Is he crazy!?”

At that moment, Eco clearly heard Ash’s mumble.

"Wait for me, Eco. I will protect you… I swear!”

In a short moment, tears started to flow from her eyes. Even though she was a spirit, her tears still kept on flowing. Even the Dragweiss couldn’t give an explanation. A warm feeling was haunting her heart… What was that feeling?

“Why…Why? Why would he… try to do so many things for me? Even when I… Had caused many, many troubles for him?”

Navi stretched her hand into the cage and patted her head.

“Do you even have to ask? It is because you are his pal.”

Eco rubbed off her tears and lifted her head.

“Navi, please tell me what can I do for him.”

“Teehee. That’s more like it.”

Navi smiled and waved her hand lightly. With a flash, the cage had disappeared. At the same time, the black dress that limits Eco’s movement had been broken into particles and a pure white evening dress was raveled from beneath.

In a short time, Navi removed Mordred’s seal.

“I must say that… You are very good.”

Eco was looking at her dress. It designs compromised of the elements of elegant and pure. It is as if it was made to be worn by the Avalon’s Imperial Princess.

“No matter how great I am, I can't help you with the upcoming step. Understood?”

Eco nodded in reply.

“Then, what should I do?”

After Navi smiled, she cheekily said:

“Of course you are to present him your originally made Ark and the Avalon’s Imperial Princess.”

The next instant, Eco became confused.

“What? Are you serious?”

As if it was natural to do so, Navi nodded without any hesitation.

“All the mimics that you had created for emergency in the past… is useless against Mordred.”

“But, how am I to do this impossible task!?”

An original Ark could not be completed easily.

It was because of Eco had seen her ancestor’s blueprint; she understands how hard it can be. An Ark is not only a strong magic weapon, at the same time, it is also a perfect art masterpiece.

Not to mention that Eco was still a young dragon that was not even a year old without any experience. Navi’s suggestion was like asking a baby to build a palace.

“Anyway, it will not be called difficult if the blueprint could be easily created.”

Eco gave up before she even started but Navi ignored it.

“Rest assured, you must believe in your own ability. You are an Imperial Princess who is the blood descendant of Avalon.”

“But… what we must think about is not only the armour itself, there is also the Ark-weapon…”

“Listen carefully, the shape itself doesn’t matters. It was the mental power of the creator that decide the strength of the Ark. Even if you don’t know the shape, as long as you focus, the shape of the Ark will be formed.”

“Really…?”

“Yeah. Also, you don’t have to worry about the Ark-weapon. Avalon has a treasured sword that had been passed down through the generations. Just use it.”

After a moment of silent, Eco mumbled:

“…I had always disliked you since the first time I met you. Regardless of your relaxed attitude or your looks that was similar to mine or your overly large breast…I hate them and hate them very much! However… It is funny that I felt that you are trustable.”

Eco lifted her head and smile.

Navi also returned a smile.

At the same moment, Eco felt that a light had pierced through that darkness that had been blocking her eyes.

She didn't want to look for trouble anymore.

And she definitely doesn’t want to give up before taking up the challenge.

While the evening dress was swaying, Eco spoke with confidence:

“Just wait and see. I will definitely complete my original Ark!”

===Part 17===
“Damn… What kind of joke is this!”

Although Ash had finally landed on Eco, still the landing spot was her back and not her head. It was exactly beside the joints between the body and the wings.

That pair of wings was like the wings of a new born bird. It was still wet and was unable to fly right away.

Maybe this is my only life saver…Ash secretly thought.

Black furs were grown from her uneven skin. It felt like a Necromancia. He must get rid of Mordred’s spirit and return Eco to her original appearance as soon as
possible.

To achieve this, he must try to ride her gigantic body. However… Ash was looking at Eco’s head from afar.

Connected to her back that was as huge as prairie was a long neck that looked as if it was a stairway to heaven. And her head with spiral horns was at the other end of the neck.

His current aim was to ride on her head and try to control her using his will as a dragner. However… The distance between them was huge. It was like trying to climb the dangerous Xenoglavia Mountains without any climbing tools.

“Stop… This is not the time to give up.”

Ash threw aside the parachute and move forward while pushing aside those furs that were taller than his height.

“Now I really looked like a louse…”

In reality, Mordred treat Ash as nothing but a louse. That is why he was not bothered by Ash at all.

“Just wait and see. Your overconfidence will be the cause of your death, Mordred…”

Although Ash kept on talking to himself to boost his confidence, but every time he looked towards her head, he felt like falling apart.

Suddenly, there was a change in the night sky.

Those Maestros who were originally circling in the sky started to make their movements.

Those Maestros could be seen gliding towards Mordred and had him surrounded.

“Grrrrrrrrrrrrr…”

Mordred lifted his neck and gave a threatening growl. However, before he even managed to attack, the Maestros activated their magic at the same time.

With a flash, chains that were made from magic appeared. Numerous chains had tied down the huge dragon’s neck, front legs, hind legs, tail…

“Guuuoooooooooooooooooooo…!”

Mordred was struggling with all his might but the chains wouldn’t even budge.

“They…!”

It can’t be wrong. These Maestros were trying to seal Mordred’s movement. Who know if they were thinking that the dragon worthy to take to top is not Mordred but Eco.

At that moment, a Maestro landed right in front of Ash. Its pair of horns that looked like a dear’s looked familiar to Ash. Then a clear voice could be heard coming from behind the dragon.

“Ash… Hurry up!”

“Lukka!? Why are you here?”

That is. The Maestro that suddenly appeared from above was Gawain and Lukka was riding on its back. Ash felt nostalgic.

Lukka while feeling worried gave Ash a short explanation.

“Err… The Maestros in the seven dragon house was escaping together. I risked my life to cling on Gawain… In the end, I found out that I was already here.”

“Did Rebecca and Max come together?”

Lukka shook her head. It was probably Ash's mistake that he felt that Lukka’s ears were slightly drooping.

“Only I noticed that something was going on with the Maestros…”

“Is that so…”

As if to interrupt Ash’s and Lukka’s conversation, Gawain roared with its jaws opened.

It was as if trying to tell Ash to ride on it quickly. Ash naturally didn’t reject this offer.

“Thank you!”

Just as Ash sat on Gawain’s back, Gawain flapped its wings.

After piercing through the night sky, Gawain’s altitude was increasing following the direction of Mordred’s neck. Lukka’s riding skills was as good as ever and could only be described by perfect.

Ash was clinging tightly to Lukka’s thin waist to avoid from dropping off.

However, Mordred will not stay silent. Although he was being tied down, it was still struggling and roaring loudly.

Suddenly, magic cannons continued to appear in the sky and was firing at Gawain.

Ash was trembling when he saw those cannons.

It was because those cannons looked like the weapon that Ash used during his fight with Milgauss in Willingham Mausoleum. The only difference is, each cannon was around Gawain’s size.

“Magic shield Aegis…!”

“Need not worry… It will be alright as long as we are not hit.”

Lukka was not at all shaken.

As if she had fused with Gawain, she was controlling Gawain by moving left and right and dangerously avoided the crossing light rays.

It even used its dragon breath and those magic canons were destroyed one by one.

When Gawain had successfully passed Mordred’s head, all the magic cannons had disappeared.

“Ash, now’s the time…!”

Just when Lukka shouted, Gawain did a summersault.

At the point where the sky was upside down, Ash jumped down.

He drew a big locus in the night sky and successfully land in between the two horns. Looking from a close distance, the horns looked more like an altar than a horn.

When his feet landed on that spot, he felt satisfied. It was probably his dragner’s intuition that told him this is the best riding spot.

“Listen carefully Eco!”

Ash was shouting with all his might at his ‘Seikoku’ that was connected to Eco:

“Right now, I am going to ride you! I swear I will be successful in riding you! Whether you are a Imperial Princess or not it has nothing to do with me! So what if you are a imperial princess? You are always bad tempered, try to solve anything with force, a sleepy head, only have crepes in your eyes and felt like wanting to bite greedily whenever you saw meat. Are these what an Imperial Princess should do! Even if you really are an Imperial Princess, I will never approve it!... I only knew that- I am your knight, and you are my pal. Things are just as simple as this!”

The next instant, there was a change in his left arm that was dense with ‘Seikoku’.

The ‘Seikoku’ can be seen emitting rays of light that were able to light up the entire night sky. Then patterns started to crawl just like some living things.

No, the patterns were growing.

“W-What had happened…?”

Just when Ash was feeling confused, his ‘Seikoku’ started to spread outwards towards Ash entire body with his left arm as the starting point.

Ash found out that his connection with Eco had become stronger.

Although he couldn’t communicate with Eco verbally, yet, he was sure that he was connected to Eco…!

But, what Ash was thinking only lasted for a short moment.

“Guuuuuuuoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo…!”

Mordred was back on the move. He had broken one of the chains and was standing on two legs.

“Auuu…!”

Lukka groaned. The wind created when Mordred stood up had affected Gawain. Although it was not blown away by the wind, it was obvious that it could not remain
its balance. However, Lukka shouted:

“Don’t worry about me… I am alright! Ash, just focus on saving Eco…!”

Then, Lukka and Gawain finally fall and disappear from Ash’s line of sight.

“Lukka…!”

Ash stretched his arm but he could only grab the air.

The Maestros that scattered in the sky tried to make another chain to tie down Mordred’s upper body.

But before Mordred could be sealed, it forcefully shook its neck.

“Uwaaaaaaaaa!”

Ash lost his balance and was thrown up into Fontaine Palace like a cannonball.

-This is a lie… It must be…?

He was approaching the tower in the middle of Fontaine Palace.

If he was to hit into such stone wall…he will definitely die.

-Is this the end…? Is Eco and I… Going to end right here?

Right at this moment.

Almete, Gorjal, Peto…

The voice of the spell was coming from his ‘Seikoku’ that had spread all over his body.

Espaldar, Brafoneras, Faldaje…

It was definitely Eco’s voice.

Escarcelas,Bufetas, Hombreras, Brazales…

Compare to the previous times, every single word that Eco said was followed by a deep tone.

Codales, Antebrazos, Manoplas…

Without any reason, Ash felt courage from within.

Quijotes, Guardas, Grebas… Escarpes…

Lastly, Eco was left with the last word.

-Espolón!

Ash who was going to crash into Fontaine Palace was surrounded by holy lights.

It felt as if he was surrounded by angel’s wings.

Even though Ash had an illusion of he was ascending to heaven, Eco’s voice had disrupted this peaceful feeling.

“You absolutely must accept my feelings!”

===Part 18===
As he opened his eyes, Ash was standing at the highest point of Fontaine Palace.

“I-I am saved?”

He saw Mordred was standing ferociously with only two legs while being bounded by the chains of the Maestros.

All of the nine eyes were burning with the flames of rage and looked like scarlet stars. Even though he was trying his best to break free from those chains, those Maestros kept on creating new chains.

“This… What is this feeling?”

Ash was looking at his own body.

His entire body was emitting heat and was overflowing with magic.

It have to be the Ark that Eco presented to me- Yet to Ash’s dismay, what he was wearing right now was still his cloths that looked like rags.

There was not even an Ark that could be seen.

Even so, Ash still continued to feel safe as if he was protected by the Ark. Furthermore, the ‘Seikoku’ that was on his entire body was alive.

What is happening?

Hey, why are you daydreaming! Quickly use the Ark-weapon!

Eco’s voice was once again could be heard in his mind

“Eco…? What is happening?”

T-that is…?

Without any reason, Eco became silent. It felt as if she was embarrassed because of a certain something.

As if to speak on Eco’s behalf, another voice appeared in his mind.

Huhu. That is an original Ark that Eco had created on her own. However, it is still incomplete and even that shape had not been decided on yet.

“This voice… Are you Navi!”

The Ark represents proof of the oath of a dragon that swears to hand over their body and feelings to their knight. At the same time, it was a proof that it was connected to the Master’s heart. Right now, you are recognized as the Avalon’s knight.

I-I only wanted to get back my own body!... It was never meant to be given to you!

Ara, who is the person who was crying because she was worried about Ash? I wonder.

S-Shut up!

Eco and Navi seemed to had started an argument.

Ash made a wry smile because they could still have the mood to quarrel even under such dangerous situation.

All the negative emotions like unsecured and frightened had disappeared.

However- Right after that, Ash had a bad premonition as if a pair of cold hands had held on to his spirit. When he raised his head, Mordred’s eyes were filled with sparks and were marking him.

It had obviously begun to take notice of Ash who was previously being regarded as a louse.

“Guuuuuoooooooooooooooooooooo…!”

Although Mordred was still bounded by those magic chains, he still managed to open his jaws after putting in some effort.

There was a ball of light that could be seen appearing in front of his nose and it was slowly expanding-

Ash felt a large amount of energy from it. It was thanks to the Ark that his senses had sharpened.

Navi warned Ash in his mind.

That’s bad. Even though Mordred have not fused with me, he is still very strong…!

“Rest assured. I will personally deal with it.”

Ash immediately started to search for information regarding his Ark-weapon. Thanks to his experience in equipping those mimics, his was able to complete his search in a short time.

Ash smiled from within his heart.

The Ark-weapon formed in his mind was undoubtably the strongest sword that had ever existed.

Ash readied his posture and started to chant the spell.

“An iron that could slash through anything…”

For every word he said, his ‘Seikoku’ that was all over his body was emitting heat and reacted strongly to it.

"A holy sword meant for a knight of all knights-”

At the same time, Ash felt that his palm was overflowing with an unlimited amount of magic.

The one and only treasured sword that had been passed down generations by generations in the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family had its shape formed in Ash’s palm.

“Appear- Excalibur!”

It was not only a huge brave and beautiful sword but also an Ark-weapon.

On its silvery white hilt were many scarlet coloured Milinniums and they were shining brightly.

After he held the holy sword with both hand tightly, Ash leaped.

At the same time, Mordred was giving out the dragon breath.

That was a ball of light with overwhelming powers that could destroy the entire capital to ground level in a blink of an eye. Followed by some purple electric around Mordred’s head, the ball of light was released at Ash’s direction.

To make things worse, Ash couldn’t avoid it because the entire Fontaine Palace and City was right behind him.

No- In reality, I won’t even need to avoid it.

“Uooooooooooooooooooooooooo!”

Ash as if he had forgotten about his fear rushed towards the ball of light.

In respond to Ash’s verve, the Millenniums at the hilt of the holy sword was giving out a bright light.

In respond to Ash’s verve, the shapeless Ark was releasing all its magic.

“Kirisakeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!” <ref>斬り裂け. Means to get split and break apart.</ref>

Just before being swallowed by that attack, Ash had swung the most powerful strike.

-Cut!!! <ref>斬. Ii was a word that was usually shouted when someone wanted to cut/slash/chop/kill off something.</ref>

At the same time the lump of energy was split into two, Ash was in mid-air. His vision was full of white and he could see nothing at all.

If not because of the protection he received from the Ark, all the cells in his body should had been reduced into nothing. Ash was indeed slashing through such high amount of temperature.

In the end, his vision finally widened.

The dragon breath that was sliced into two had its trajectory changed and each had landed at the Fontainia plains on both side of the capital and had exploded.

Although it was a huge explosion, apart from the strong wind, Fontaine City remained intact.

Ash had again lifted Excalibur and had it pointed at Mordred’s head.

At that moment, there was a creepy voice coming from Ash’s mind.

…Hold on! If you harm this body, the daughter of Avalon would also be-

The nine eyes kept on blinking as if it still had something to say.

“Haa! Now you start to beg from me… Know your place, Mordred!”

Ash remained determined and continued to land at the head.

Of course Ash knew that this body originally belonged to Eco.

He never had the intention to simply slash around with this sword.

However, to get rid of Mordred’s spirit, he needs Eco to bear with it for a few more moments.

What Ash had intended to do was not to kill Eco but to make her lost her strength.

Where is the best place to land my attack?

There is not enough time to think of such complicated problems.

It is because apart from Eco’s and his life, Ash was burdened with the lives of millions of residents of the capital. Ash decided to wager everything he had in the only possibility he could think of.

“Eat this, Mordred!”
[[Image:SnRK V04 243.jpg|thumb]]

Ash was landing at full speed.

''What are you trying to do…? Do you want to follow the Julius's footsteps and become a ‘dragon slayer’? I can’t understand this, I just couldn’t understand this…!''

Ash didn’t replied and had no intention of doing so.

“Whether you are a god or a devil-”

Ash’s sword and Mordred’s horn clashed with each other.

“All the dragons will have to listen to my command, not to mention-”

After he had pinpointed the crucial point to release Eco, Ash swung Excalibur-

“If it is my '''P.A.L'''!”

Followed by a sound of a metal clashing with rocks, the night sky was swallowed by a white light.

The thing that was chopped off by Ash and was flying in mid-air was the left horn.

“Guuuuooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo…!”

Mordred’s roar was echoing in the night.

===Part 19===

“Huhu. Mordred must be running away with his tail rolled up<ref>A proverb</ref> even though a spirit shouldn't have any tails.”

Mordred’s spirit was running under the night sky towards the east while he was being seen by Navi.

On the eastern side of the country is Chevron Kingdom’s land.

“So in the end he had escaped to Chevron Kingdom… I must wait until he rises up again before I could have him captured. Right now, I should give praise to Avalon’s Knight."

Navi gave herself a cheer and smiled.

Eco’s spirit was no longer beside her.

===Part 20===

Ash’s final blow had chopped off Eco’s left horn.

Last month during the time Ash was in the infirmary, he had bitten Eco’s horn. Furthermore, her left horn that was chopped off had made her recalled that feeling.

It was that ‘happy’ feeling that dragged Eco’s spirit out.

Her hearts memories and her body memories.

When both of them are thinking the same thing, Eco’s spirit managed to take back its own body and get rid of Mordred’s spirit.

Not only this method is impractical, its succession rate too is just as low.

However, Eco’s clearly remembered the feeling that Ash gave her.

-Navi had seen it all.

The body of the huge dragon had undergone some changes inside the glaring light.

The skin colour that was originally black had turned back to its original silvery white colour.

As for those nine creepy eyes, they had returned into two clear scarlet eyes.

Then-

The body that was bigger than Fontaine Palace was shrinking slowly and finally turned back into a young teenage girl with pink hair.

Ash gently hugged the angel like naked body in mid-air.

Although Eco was blushing, she still placed her hand on Ash’s back and hugged her knight.

"Princess of Avalon ~A.S.B.1365.7~" is closed.
<noinclude>

==References and Translation Notes==
<references />

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|-
| Back to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Chapter 7|Chapter 7]]
| Return to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Epilogue|Epilogue]]
|-
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</noinclude>

Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Chapter 8

2013-11-07T10:55:19Z

213.144.240.241: /* Part 4 */

==Chapter 8 - Avalon's Imperial Princess==
===Part 1===
In the mothership Beowolf- In the armory, under Dr Hoffman’s command the battle is in full swing.

Eco who was naked was floating in magic guided device. ‘Yggdrasill’s’ capsule. There were groups of technician working around her. This was out of Anya’s area of understanding. She could only stand by and wall and watch silently.

But, she understood well the pain that Eco was feeling.

The cold voice was followed by its echo when it was reflected on the metal body.

“The cartridge has been filled. Prepare for launching.”

“The countdown starts now. Ten, nine, eight… Three, two, one-.”

“Launch the compressed magic!”

A red bean was shot out followed by a loud gun shooting sound. Anya felt that even the ship was vibrating.

“…!”

Then, there were air bubbles coming from Eco’s mouth. If not because of she was in the liquid, her scream could definitely be heard.

Anya couldn’t bear to see Eco suffering and looked away.

Eco’s body had already taken at least ten shots of the compressed magic.

Eco regained her consciousness after the start of the experiment. At the beginning, she was struggling in the water, but ‘Yggdrasill’s’ capsule was not at all affected.

But after receiving a continuous dozens of compressed magic, she lost her strength.

Right now, she was just like a living dead. Her blank eyes were now lifeless and it was terrible. It was pure torture. Even so, the group of researchers led by Dr Hoffman were not at all shaken and continued silently.

“There is no significant change on the appearance of α. There are no abnormalities on her respiratory system. No magic fluctuation can be seen.”
Without realizing, the group of researchers started to refer Eco as α.

Eco is a human, a young dragon and also a living being- But this group of human had taken everything from her. To them, Eco was just experimental material α.
Who knows if they want to remove their feeling of guilt by calling her with symbols…Anya secretly thought so.

At this moment, Dr Hoffman’s voice is heard by Anya.

“Still no changes… It seems like we don’t have any more choices. Activate all the Millennium.”

Anya turned pale when she heard that.

This means that they had decided to use full power on ‘Yggdrasil’.

===Part 2===
“*Sob*… It was all… My fault. *Sob*…”

In the maid’s bedroom in the ground floor of the palace.

Prim was lying on the bed with her pillow wet with tears.

There was only Ash and Silvia beside her bed. Cosette was standing outside the room by the door.

Prim cried while she told the whole incident.

Prim arrived at the ancient palace when she was chasing Eco who was running amok.

She had met a few suspicious people there.

Seeing the enemy suddenly attacked, Eco appeared and became the bait to let Prim escape.

When Prim regained conscious, Eco was no longer there.

After hearing, Ash felt something suspicious.

“Why did you go to the ancient palace?”

“That’s because… It was my entire fault! It was my bad to say such things!”

“Prim, please stay calm. Compared to you, Ash was the person who suffered the most.”

After being advised by Silvia, Prim rubbed of her tears.

“You are right. Sorry…”

“Prim-san, please tell me everything before Eco was kidnapped!”

Prim nodded.

“I had no ill intention, it was just that… Ash-sama is a human and Eco is a dragon… So I thought that Eco would feel lonely after Ash-sama married with a human girl. The moment I told her that, Eco rushed out of the room.”

“What…!”

Who would have thought of this, Ash was speechless.

“Idiot! You… Why do you have to tell her this!”

Silvia was mad.

“If I am Eco… I will definitely feel hurt if someone told that to me! Even when Eco is a dragon, her thoughts are still those of a girl’s. She should know very well that her situation is special. Why was she born as a human? Why was she not born as a dragon… If I am Eco, I can never feel secure.”

“Princess-sama…”

Ash looked at Silvia who was telling Eco's thoughts in surprise.

“Recently, she had gotten used to the school life. She was also being loved by everyone as the student council’s mascot. Even so, to Eco, the only person she could trust in… Is no other than Ash.”

“And I… Have said something terrible…”

“Strictly speaking, Eco is still a young dragon who is not even a year old. Can’t you be a little more indirect in your-”

“Forget it, Princess-sama. Right now, we could never solve the problem even after lecturing Prim-san. What’s more, if they had this planned, no matter what Prim-san said, Eco would still have been kidnapped.”

“…You are right. But how are we going to rescue Eco?”

Silvia nodded in agreement with Ash.

“Prim-san… Could you describe those people who attacked?”

Ash was praying while asking. His only clue is Prim being the witness.

“Err…They pretended to be the palace servants. But, they didn’t look like citizens of the Knight Country. For their skin colour, it looked like they are the Tantalos…. Also, the person who attacked me is a short girl.”

“A Tantalos girl…!”

Ash was feeling Déjà vu. It was like he had found the last piece of puzzle in his memory.

“It was the girl who followed Milgauss!”

Ash’s fists were shaking. The world he was seeing was dyed in red. Even though he had a feeling that Milgauss was the culprit, still, after making sure, he was still in rage.

“Since we know who the criminal is-”

Silvia immediately stopped Ash who intended to rush out from the room.

“Hold on, Ash! Where do you think you are going to?”

“The ballroom, of course! I want to settle thing with Milgauss!”

“Keep your calm! Do you think that Milgauss will admit it even after you find him?”

“…Maybe not.”

Ash turned speechless.

Silvia was right, no matter how emotional he became, Eco still wouldn’t be able to return safely.”

Just as if she was trying to have Ash cooled down, Silvia made a suggestion in a calm voice:

“Don’t you think that this is a good time to save Eco when Milgauss is busy with the masquerade?”

“What do you meant?”

“Milgauss couldn’t even be bothered by an activity with long history such as this continental congress and will do anything just to capture Eco. Even when I don’t know what his intentions are, but capturing Eco alive is their priority. I am sure that their lackeys won’t do anything to harm Eco when the mastermind is absent.”

After listening to Silvia’s analysis, Ash gave a breath of relieve.

“The problem remains is, where is Eco’s location. Since Ash’s ‘Seikoku’ is not reacting, it means that Eco was being hidden in an enclosed place. For example something that could be a barrier to cut off magic… Anyway, it must be done with the proper equipment. It just can’t be a rally point that they have just constructed.”

“An enclosed place with proper equipments? That’s it, Milgauss has Klaus backing him up…”

Last evening, an airship flew past the evening sky…

The black ship that was waving the Empire’s flag proudly…

Ash remembered.

Ash and Silvia exchanged glances and shouted at the same time:

“Beowolf!”

===Part 3===
-W-Will…I die just like this…

Eco thought so.

The liquid in the capsule kept on rotating and Eco’s body was being swept by it.

Every time her shoulders or waist touches the glass, her body will move slowly in the opposite direction.

It seems like the liquid was made of special materials. Luckily, it doesn’t affect her breathing. But after suffering a few shots from the magic device, her body turned numb.

This feeling is like an empty mind floating in mid air.

-If I could just… Continue sleeping… Then I won’t feel any pain…

Just when Eco thought so, a power that surpassed those previous ones was released at her.

“Noooooooooo…!”

Even though she thought that she shouted in pain, in truth they were just air bubbles coming out from her mouth.

A bright light flashes and the water turns rapid. Just like being swallowed by a tsunami, her body kept on rotating and kept on hitting the glass around her.

-W….Why do I have to suffer this kind of pain.

It had passed the limit of her brain to just think of what they are going to do to her. She could only feel that her body had been injected with a vast amount of magic.

The pain she felt is just like her body being ripped open.

It felt like her organs were being messed up by someone.

-Urgh… It hurts…. It hurts…. I beg you all, please stop.

It is pointless no matter how she shouted in her mind, the magic was still flowing into the body. Eco’s body was jerking nonstop and she was struggling.

You might as well do me a favour by killing me-Eco gave up.

“…!”

At the next moment- The Necromancia’s slimy tentacles attacking her from all directions.

Eco couldn’t understand. Where did those tentacles appear from in this enclosed environment?

The tentacles which were wriggling like a snake slowly snatched her freedom.

Her arms, waist, legs… was entangled by those tentacles. -Stop! This must be an illusion! It is this device that was making me hallucinate…!

Eco tried to stay conscious and opened her eyes widely.

At that moment, the tentacles disappeared.

The feelings of being entangled by those tentacles also disappeared.

However, not long after that, she lost focus and the tentacles appeared again and had her waist surrounded.

In a blink of an eye, she was lifted by those tentacles.

-Stop!

[[Image:SnRK V04 183.jpg|thumb]]

An abnormally thick tentacle was approaching Eco’s face.

Eco kept her teeth closed with her might. If she was to be careless, the tentacle will surely wriggle into her mouth. Eco had Goosebumps just by think about it.

Eco initially wanted to ask for Ash’s help. She hoped that he could save him from this hell.

However, from the point she woke up in this device, she couldn’t even summon Ash.

Her Astral Flow with Ash had also been cut off.

The lost of her communication had put her in fear.

Eco was shocked that the lost of her connection with Ash would put her in such great fear.

-I am really an idiot. I only knew what is precious to me after I had lost it.

This experience had made her wanted to treasure Ash much more.

That’s right, without Ash, I can’t do anything… I am really a good for nothing.

-Don…

At that instant, there was something moving in her body.

===Part 4===
“Something is wrong! The magic indicator is showing an abnormal value!”

“We found an unknown magic source! Its power is increasing!”

“We have lost control of ‘Yggdrasill’! It ignored the emergency stop signal!”

The continuous bad news had made Dr Hoffman turn pale.

The laboratory was as if in a fire and a tense atmosphere was spreading.

Everyone was with a panicked look and were busy dealing with the buttons under their hands.

“What happened…?”

Anya who was looking from aside wondered.

Basically, there was nothing abnormal with Eco who was in the capsule.

Even though she was shot by the high power compressed magic and had struggle like she was having a nightmare, yet nothing dramatic had happened.

But the indicator was still indicating an abnormal value. Also, they were losing control of ‘Yggdrasill’.

The situation had suddenly become tense.

Even the emergency trigger had been triggered and the bell was ringing loudly.

-Dong!

At that instant, Anya heard something from the ground.

“What is that… Sound?”

As if to prove that it was not an illusion, ‘Yggdrasill’ magic indication exploded.

“Uwaa!”

Some groaned and all the surrounding deviced started to explode with red flames. All the technician were running away in fear.

“Don’t panic! Keep calm!”

Dr Hoffman shouted but not even a single soul was listening.

Because in everyone’s sights was Eco who was caged in the capsule.

Eco’s body was glowing with a dim light.

Even Anya was captivated by the sight in front.

“Dr Hoffman! Let’s escape!”

A young researcher advised Dr Hoffman. The rest of the researchers were agreeing with him and looked at Dr Hoffman.

Anya left the wall and walk towards Dr Hoffman’s back.

“Dr Hoffman, I also think that it would be wise if we escape now.”

“No!”

Anya was stunned by Dr Hoffman’s aura. She had thought of him as a kind old man and was forced to act cruel as a researcher. Who would know that he would have such a stubborn side.

“What are you thinking! Even an outsider like me knew that this is dangerous! Isn’t there Millennium attached to that device too?”

What Anya was worried about is the existence of the Millenniums. Just in case the Millenniums explode… Anya was thinking. Let alone Beowolf, it is not even surprising if the capital disappeared from the maps forever.

However, Dr Hoffman shook his head slowly.

“…I won’t. That will not happen. The energy in the Millenniums has run dry.”

“What?”

“All the magic energy… Was fully absorbed by experimental material α.”

“-!”

Anya looked at Eco dumbstruck.

The intensity of Eco’s light was getting stronger until the extend where one couldn’t look at her directly. Those‘Dong’sounds had become clearer.

Even though there were no dangers of the Millennium exploding, it doesn’t mean that they were free from danger. Eco right now was seen as the bomb.

Later, there was the loud sound of something breaking.

Different from the normal explosions, that explosion sounds like it was originated from something being applied pressure on.

“α….α is escaping!”

A researcher shouted.

The capsule containing eco was now in ruins and the liquid was flowing out like waterfall.

Eco can be seen floating with her eyes closed- in a short moment, she disappeared. What’s left is only stardust like magic particles floating in the air.

“She… Disappeared…?”

Anya dumbstruck, murmured alone.

===Part 5===
“Hey… Something’s wrong with Beowolf!?”

When Maestro Lancelot reached the landing space at a height of twenty meters, Silvia shouted:

“That is…!”

Ash who was riding on Lancelot behind Silvia widened his eyes.

The sacred airship Esperanza, airship Crown Solas and air ship Silvanus was lined up together.

On the other hand, the huge airship Beowolf was parked quite some distance away from the trio.

The suspicious thing was the black smokes emerging from Beowolf.

Could it be a fire?

If Eco is inside… Ash was too scared to think about it.

“Urgh…!”

At this moment, Ash felt a burning sensation from his left hand.

Although he nearly screamed in pain, he managed to tolerate with it.

It felt like suddenly putting his hand into a furnace.

“Is everything alright, Ash!?”

Silvia was worried about him and turned around and asked, but Ash couldn’t even reply because of the pain.

The ‘Seikoku’ engraved on his left arm was slowly moaning.

A while later, there was a glaring light coming out from his left arm and his sleeve up to his shoulders was burned off. Even the bandage was burned into pieces.

In a blink of an eye, Ash’s ‘Seikoku’ on his left arm was exposed.

“Wha…!”

The ‘Seikoku’ on his hand was glowing with different light intensity from time to time.

Ash was panicking.

It will be alright if it was just glowing but the heat and the pain sensation had no intention of stopping.

It felt that his left arm is going to explode anytime.

“Hey… What is actually happening?”

Silvia was in shock while holding the reins which was probably caused by the fright she experience from seeing Ash’s ‘Seikoku’s’ reaction.

“I don’t know… But I am now sure that I am again connected to Eco!”

Just like responding to Ash’s left arm, there was an object glowing in the sky.

“Ash! Look upwards!”

Silvia who noticed the abnormality was pointing at the sky. Ash too had noticed.

There was something glowing on the sky above the landing area.

“That is…”

The mysterious light was floating in the sky as if it was decorating it.

On the other hand, the full moon didn’t look as charming as before.

By taking a closer look, it was an egg with beautiful flow lines.

There was a big emblem that was carved on the pearl like egg. At a first glance, it looked like a royal emblem.

To be more specific, that emblem looked like Ash’s ‘Seikoku’.

-Don…Don…Don…

There was a frightening beating sound from the egg.

The confusing part is, it moved with the same rhythm as the glow on Ash’s ‘Seikoku’.

Ash immediately understood.

“I couldn’t be more wrong… Eco is in that egg!”

“How is that possible? What are you talking about…?”

“Princess-sama, I beg you. Please take me there!”

“…Alright. I believe in you. Fly Lancelot! Fly higher!”

But Lancelot ignored her orders. It stayed at the twenty meters height and looked at the egg with its head up.

“Hei… Lancelot? Anything wrong? Fly immediately!”

Even though Silvia shouted strictly, Lancelot still ignored her orders. On the other hand, it did an emergency landing at a corner of the landing space.

“What are you doing? Are you disobeying my orders, Lancelot!”

“…It is useless, Princess-sama. It seems that Lancelot has its own reason.”

“What did you say?!”

Silvia looked at Ash with an imposing manner.

“Do you know what Lancelot was thinking?”

“…I am not sure. It was probably affected by the ‘Seikoku’. I don’t know why, but I could somehow understand what Lancelot was thinking.”

After Ash and Silvia was forced to alight Lancelot unwillingly, Lancelot again spread its wings and shoot up into the sky.

Looking at Lancelot’s direction, Ash found out something important.

“Princess-sama! There are more and more… Maestros gathering together!”

Groups of Maestro were gathering from all direction. It had become an amazing night view created by the light from the Maestro’s magic.

One by one the Maestro appeared and gathered at the corner of the sky.

For Maestro’s whose numbers were already little to begin with to gather together, it was unheard of even in the old times-

===Part 6===
“What is actually happening…?”

Lancelot left its master and flew off on its own.

Although this had given Silvia a great blow, still the view of the night sky had gave her a deep impression.

Silvia could clearly hear the ‘Pssshh’ sounds of the beating of the wings.

When she had personally seen the dream like view, all her attention had been captured by it.

That egg even had wings growing out of it and feathers with silver lights were falling off. It was like snows that beautify the night sky.

Then- there was a crack from the egg shell.

The winged egg split into two-

“Uoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!”

A roar as if it was a horn announcing the end to the world could be heard all over.

Silvia who couldn’t look straight into the glaring light closed her eyes. When she reopened her eyes, the winged egg was no longer there. It was replaced by something that was out of this world.

To describe this thing with a word will be either – GOD or DEVIL.

However what Silvia said was insulting.

“What a scary monster…!”

[[Image:SnRK V04 193.jpg|thumb]]

“Stop! You are not allowed to say that!”

Ash shouted and brought Silvia back o her sense.

“That must be...Eco. I can feel it... I can feel it!”

“Sorry, Ash...”

Although Silvia was annoyed by her gaffe, she still couldn’t believe that it was Eco.

Later, Eco landed slowly while being surrounded by numerous Maestros.

Although the pink fur and the red eyes is similar to Eco, but her horns looked sharp and fierce and doesn’t at all looked like Eco’s round stubs.

Also, there was a third horn in between the two horns. It was like a unicorn’s horn and was up straight.

Her wings which were spread widely were different from a normal Maestro’s. It made one think of an angel’s wings.

Followed by a loud bang, Eco landed.

Eco lifted up her gigantic hind leg up high- And The large airship that had been the pride of the Empire was squashed in a few seconds.

With the conning tower being right at the middle, Beowolf had been squashed into a V shape and immediately exploded.

Yet, Eco was not at all affected.

Eco probably lost interest in Beowolf and tried to wriggle her long neck. She slowly lowered her center of gravity.

The target of her scarlet eyes was the window of the tall Fontaine Palace.

===Part 7===
-An unidentified flying object appeared above the capital and all the Maestros in the country disobey their masters’ order and gathered together.

Veronica who received the emergency report brought Glenn the captain of the escorts alone with her to the ballroom at the highest floor of the palace.

Anyway, there were important guests in the ballroom that gathered from all over the continent. No matter what happened, she must protect their safety in the name of the pride of the Knight’s country.

At the same time, she must bring back her father Oswald with her. He had most probably change his appearance and was drinking while mingling in the crowd.

While running on the long corridor, Veronica questioned Glenn:

“Did you too have lost contact with your pal?”

“It totally ignored my summons and ignored my request to present me my Ark. From the looks of the current situation where all the Maestros gathered at the capital’s sky, it probably has something to do with the unidentified flying object.”

“Then, our pride, the Holy Dragners of Lautreamont can be considered no more. If the Empire attacked us at this moment, without the protection of the Maestros, this country will fall in just a single night.”

“...I don’t have an excuse to offer.” <ref>面目次第も有りません have also the meaning of ‘It is a shame I don’t have the power to…’</ref>

Glenn lowered his head somberly.

===Part 8===
When Veronica and Glenn arrived at the ballroom, the palace music and the party atmosphere of the nobles had disappeared.

Most of the guests were by the glass window and were looking downwards in shock. From there they can see the landing area for the airships.

“That’s…!”

Veronica was also looking downwards through the glass window.

“It is dangerous to stand beside the window, Princess-sama!”

Glenn warned her but Veronica ignored him.

There was a change in the landing area.

A living object that was glowing with silver light suddenly landed there.

''-Uoooooooooooooooooo…!''

It was immediately followed by a loud roar that will made one feel like covering his ears.

It was stated in the previous report that ‘an unidentified flying object that looked like a huge egg’, but it seemed that the huge egg had
hatched when Veronica was on her way.

The unbelievable thing is, that huge monster easily split the Empire’s huge airship Beowolf into two with just a stomp.

Right at this moment, there was a man from the crowd was making a fuss.

“Ooh, what is happening! How can a dragon of the Knight’s… Destroy the most advance airship which is our country’s pride! I don’t think that
this is some simple matter!”

The man words had caused an uproar in the ballroom.

Until a moment ago, everyone had just found out that this monster is a dragon.

Talking about a dragon, everyone will think about Lautreamont Knight Country.

“Is that person…Klaus Viderhausen! He is obviously trying to cause a stir!”

Veronica angrily scolded and glared at the Empire’s young noble.

However, there was a man who stupidly tried to argue with Klaus.

“Nonsense! That monster had nothing to do with our country!”

Although the man was wearing a lion shaped mask, judging from his plum body, Veronica immediately knew who he is.

He is her father, Oswald.

“Klaus-dono! This is the truth! That monster had nothing to do with us! Please believe in me!”

“Hu… What you said was not at all convincing. Anyway, everyone here is a witness.”

Klaus was not even bothered by Oswald.

It was because what Klaus said is true. A huge dragon that appeared with no warning had destroyed the Empire’s airship right in front of
everyone.

Nothing could be worst than this.

For Chevron Kingdom and Zepharos Empire who had never see each other eye to eye was originally going to discuss about the peace in between
them in tomorrow’s continental congress ‘Elysium’.

To Chevron Kingdom and its ally Lautreamont Knight Country this should be a historical event.

“Stop… Let alone the Emperor, not even a royal from the Empire attends. It is a total joke. The Empire had never wanted peace-”

Just as Veronica finished her sentence, there were people screaming from everywhere.

Everyone was in a panic.

All the guests who were wearing their mask, including the musicians and the waiters, everyone were trying to escape.

Apart from Oswald who was crying, Klaus who had previously put the blame on the Knight Country was also fleeing.

“What…!”

Veronica who immediately turned around was also sweating tremendously.

There was a pair of scarlet eyes looking into one of the many palace windows.

She spent a few seconds to figure out that the dragon had stretched its neck and was looking into Fontaine Palace.

“Glenn, if I try to slash the pair of eyes with my huge sword… Do you think I have any chance of winning?”

“Please forgive my rudeness… Even if Princess-sama, you are no match for it.”

Glenn told the truth directly.

"Why must you be this honest?"

Veronica was sulking while she confronted the dragon eyes.

The round eyes.

''It looked like a baby’s pairs of eyes. Although it looked naïve, if this monster just rubbed its nose with the palace walls, Fontaine Palace will
turned into dust in seconds. Furthermore, it will be a hill full of bricks and corpse…''

Even though she was thinking of such scenario, Veronica could still manage a smile.

“Kuku… So this is of feeling of my life being controlled by others. I praise you, my child!”

Seeing that Veronica had no intention of escaping, Captain Glenn advised her in panic:

“Princess-sama, please retreat!”

“I mustn’t. Some of the guests are still here.”

Veronica looked around the empty ballroom.

There was a man with a mask standing at the middle of the dance floor.

The man was wearing a elegant suit. However his hair colour was like a cloth stain with blood.

He is obviously the guy in the reports- Milgauss.

Veronica looked at him in admiration.

“Hmm… You indeed look a little like Julius. Remove your mask!”

To her surprise, he actually did it. He could be seen silently removing his mask and threw it to a side as if he don’t need it anymore.

“-!”

Veronica’s eyes widen.

The handsome face beneath the mask was undoubtable Julius of ten years later who had became a seinen.<ref>青年, man with age range between 20-
30.</ref>

He had no longer the rebellious feel with him in his teenage years and was replaced by a feeling of a weapon that had been well polished.

“So you are Julius…!”

As if to sweep away her worries, Julius walked to the side of the window. At the same time, the dragon’s face disappeared as if it had lost
interest with the empty ballroom.

Julius was standing by the window looking at the huge dragon.

“Kukuku… I had been waiting for this moment for a long time!”

That sinful voice and the devil like smile made Veronica felt uneasy.

Glenn took a stepped forward as if trying to ask in behalf of Veronica.

He unsheathed his sword that was on his waist.

“You can’t be Julius, no? My friend will never show such malicious smile."

“Oh, Glenn McGuire! I remembered you are one of the guys that appeared in Julius’s memories. It should be suitable to use ‘it had been a long
time’ in this situation, don’t you think so?”

“What do you mean!”

“You still don’t get it? This body is indeed Julius’s. However, I am not Julius. But I can peek into Julius’s memories anytime."

“What is happening…?”

Veronica was curious but it was not bothered by the man.

“Kneel! Quick! Look carefully! You are witnessing a historical moment!”

The man was acting like a holy man in the religious painting. He spread his arms widely and declared his name.

“I am Mordred! The descendant of the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family.”

Vreonica couldn’t believe what she had just heard.

The Maestro that Julius sacrificed his life to kill is named Mordred. It is also Julius’s Pal.

''Is it possible that Mordred had taken over Julius’s body?''

In regards of Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family- Veronica had only recently heard about this name.

The ‘Old Testament of the Stella Biblia’ that Dr Angela Cornwell found in Willingham Mausoleum.

Basically, Veronica had read through the copy of the book.

She recalled a part of the book.

“…After the wise dragon Inbroke, two major bloodlines were formed. They are the Avalon’s holy dragons emperor family and the Nehalennia’s dark dragons king family. An endless war started from these two families. After the members of the two families reincarnated, they will encounter each other, hate each other and kill each other.”

The person in front had introduced himself as the descendant of the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family.

Then, who is the person who should be representing the descendant of the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family-?

At this moment, Veronica stopped thinking because of Glenn’s shout.

“So I see… You are the roots of evil! I knew that Julius didn’t turn crazy! He will always be loyal to his beliefs and tried to have you
removed even when he had to commit a crime in the Knight Country!... Return Julius to us!”

Followed by a shout, Glenn reduced their distance and there was a silver flash.

However, Mordred easily parried Glenn’s slash.

“Urgh!”

Glenn growled.

Morderd had stopped the high speed slash with only his index and middle finger.

Glenn could be seen standing still while holding his sword. No, that’s not the case, Veronica understands well.

It was not that Glenn was not moving, it was because that he was unable to move.

Morderd had over powered Glenn with just two fingers.

“Hmph… I will let you experience the punishment for being disobedient to ''god''."

After Mordred gave a cold smile, there was a flash.

“Gwaaa!”

Glenn was knocked up into the air while unable to even resist. He knocked into the wall hard and became unconscious.

Veronica didn’t even have the time to care about Glenn and stared at Mordred.

“…I don’t understand. As far as I know, you should have a good relationship with Julius. Didn’t you even present him with an ark?”

“Hmph, the one who has a good relationship with Julius is another me. That me who acknowledged Julius as its master and had associate with him
quite well."

“Another me? What are you talking about?”

“Let me generously explain it to you as your last gift before you die. There was two personalities in Mordred. If it was to be a human, it will be call as a split personality.”

“What happened to the other personality?”

“It had disappeared together with the body. Ironically, it was it and Julius who had planned to kill me. For me, to prevent myself from dying,
I had sacrificed my body and change into this spiritual form and had inhabit in Julius’s body.”

Upon saying until there, Mordred looked out of the window.

Right beside the palace, the dragon was standing on its hind legs and was looking around curiously. It seemed to be troubled because it
couldn’t understand what was happening.

Mordred declared to that dragon:

“Descendant of the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family, I will take that body of yours!”

“Now I understand, so this is what you planned…!”

At this stage. Veronica finally found out what is Mordred aiming for.

Morderd had once lost his body in to past when it was killed by Julius.

However, if it could take over the body of the descendant of the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family, it can once again be born as the
strongest dragon…!

“That will never happen, Mordred!”

Veronica unsheathed the huge sword on her waist.

Even though she knew that he was not an opponent that she could win in a direct confrontation, she still couldn’t bear to watch idly from the side.

''I will kill Mordred together with Julius’s body before he can manage to take over Avalon’s body-'' Veronica rushed forward while thinking so.

Even when it is her brother’s body that we are talking about, she had no intention of showing any mercy.

But, before Veronica could land a hit on Mordred, suddenly, there was darkness emerging from his body and spread all over the ballroom.

“Urgh… What is this dark mist… My conscious…!”

The moment she was surrounded by the darkness, Veronica felt a strong feeling of vomiting and fainting.

===Part 9===
After struggling in the darkness without knowing what was happening for some time- The darkness had finally disappeared.

“Are you alright, Veronica?”

There was a guy who held out his had to Veronica who was struggling to stand up.
[[Image:SnRK V04 207.jpg|thumb]]
“You…!”

There were killing intends in Veronica’s eyes.

To her surprise, Mordred who should be busy with taking over Avalon’s decedent’s body had tried to help her.

However, there was no longer the evilness on his face.

“You… Could you be Julius?”

“Ahh, that is me. You are still the same old you for not calling me ‘Anii-ue’.”

It seemed that because Mordred was gone, Julius who able to take back his body.

“Of course… You F.O.O.L”

Upon hearing, Julius smile but he immediately returned back to his serious expression.

“Sorry, but now is not the time for us siblings to be arguing. Mordred's spirit had already inhibited on Eco’s body. We have the obligation to defeat Mordred and protect this city.”

At that instant, Veronica felt a pain from her head as if she had just been strike.

“Hold on! Did you just say Eco? That huge dragon… is actually Eco?”

“I will explain the detail to you later. Can you stand up?”

“Hmph… Whom do you think you are talking to!”

Using the huge sword as a walking stick, Veronica put all her effort into standing up. But, it was probably the side effect of inhaling in the darkness, in the end, she fell down again.

“Princess-sama!”

The person who reached Veronica first was Glenn. Although he was badly injured, he had regained conscious.

Glenn held on to Veronica and glared at Julius.

“Julius… I had numerous thing that I want to tell you, but please allow me to tell you this first.”

“I can guess what you want to say but be my guest.”

While facing the calm Julius, Glenn with mix feelings shouted to Julius:

“You… Damn you!”

===Part 10===

Seeing that the Empire’s airship was easily crushed, the sacredship Esperanza and magicship Crown Solas flew off immediately.

Only magicship Silvanus remained at its location overlooking the whole incident.

Although Silvanus had yet to attack Eco, Ash was still worried stance the captain is Veronica.

Even so, seeing that Silvanus still haven’t make its decision, Veronica probably had not board the ship. They were most probably waiting for Veronica’s orders.

On the other hand, if Veronica had boarded the ship, there is a high chance that she will issue an attack on Eco. To protect the capital, Veronica will make this decision without any hesitation. Anyway, Silvanus fire power is not something that can be ignored.

“I…I will protect Eco!”

Ash made up his mind and rushed forward.

“Hold on, Ash. Do you want to be crushed!”

Silvia blocked Ash with her arms spread.

“Please move aside, Princess-sama! Who will protect Eco if I don’t!”

“Please keep your calm! Even so, what can you do!? How are you going to ride Eco who had turned into that? What’s more, what are you going to do to ride on Eco?”

“I…”

Silvia was right. During the time when the Necromancia attacked Ansarivan, he received help from Silvia and Lancelot.

But luck was not on his side. Lancelot who he could place his hope on had not yet returned after it gathered with the rest of the Maestro. The group of Maestros were still circling above the sky while waiting for something to happen.

To his relieved, after Eco crushed Beowolf, she had not made any frightening actions. Although Ash was sweating tremendously during the time she looked into Fontaine Palace through the window, he was lucky that she leave immediately.

Right now, Eco was only looking around and sniffing the building around her as if to figure out what was happening. In regards to what had happened to her body, she probably hasn’t figured it out yet.

“In conclusion, we must keep her as far from the town as possible. In case that she entered the town…"

Upon listening to Silvia’s assumption, Ash was shaking in fear.

Fontaine City has a population of around a million.

In another words, a million lives were now in Eco’s hands.

The severity of the current situation was no longer only involved Ash and Eco.

“Guooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo…!”

At that moment, Eco was roaring in pain and started to struggle. There was a change in her appearance that was originally surrounded by a silver light.

Just like a white cloth that came in contact with ink, there black colour was slowly taking over the white.

“…Eco? What’s happening!”

Ash could only look at Eco transform without doing anything.

The change in her skin was only the start.

Her angle like feathers had transformed into a crow like wings.

The previous middle horn of the three horns had disappeared and her pair of horns had turned into spiral shape.

Also, her four limbs were growing at a fast speed. It will be better to describe her as a giant like body rather than a huge beast. That huge body gave a evil feeling.

Last of all, there were nine eyes on its face and were glowing with red lights.

“Nine eyes…!”

Ash remembered something.

Eco once had a nightmare.

In her dream, was Eco attacked by the nine eyed dragon…?

-Don!

At that moment, Eco who had turned into that black dragon gave a dragon breath.

The flame emitted pierced the sky and scattered the dark clouds.

If this flame was aimed at Fontaine Palace or the town… Ash had Goosebumps just by thinking.

“Silvia, so you are here!”

At this moment, there was a fierce voice coming from behind.

It was Silvia and Glenn when they turned around.

Glenn was badly injured and looked like a rag.

Apart from that- There was another man that was following Veronica.

It was already surprising if a person was allowed to walk side by side with Veronica, yet it was far more surprising when they noticed the man’s hair colour.

“Milgauss! Why are you here!”

Ash felt that he was having Goosebumps all over his body. At the same time, he felt that Milgauss looked familiar. He remembered that he had seen that face in a portrait.

“Are you… Anii-ue?!”

Silvia shouted before Ash.

“Yeah. Although it is a little hard to believe, I am Julius. But I don’t have the time to give you any explanations right now. Firstly, we need to get rid of Mordred’s spirit from Eco’s body- Ash.”

When his name was suddenly called by Julius, Ash became nervous.

The person in front of him really felt like Prince Julius Lautreamont.

Julius stepped forward and placed his hand on Ash’s shoulder.

“Only you as the master can save Eco. Understood?”

“Yes. I had thought of that too myself.”

Julius smiled.

“Good answer. I will take the responsibility to bring you to Eco.”

“But… How are you going to do it?”

“Don’t worry. We have that.”

After he finished his sentence, Julius was pointing at- Magicship Silvanus that was actually resting at the far end of the landing area.

===Part 11===
“Ara. I don’t remembered inviting you here…Dark Dragon King Mordred.”

In the dragon workshop, Navi and Mordred were having a confrontation. She was sitting on her favourite chair with her legs crossed.

“Kuku. This is your last time to be able to be this relaxed.”

Mordred’s spirit still maintained Julius’s voice. It was probably because it had inhibited in Julius’s body for more than ten years…Navi thought so.

“I had taken over sixty percent of Eco’s body. It is only a matter of time that I can fully take control of her body. Avalon is losing.”

“…”

“Next, if I can fuse together with you, I can be fully awakened as the Dark Dragon King. Follow me. Even though you are called Navi, but I clearly know that you are not a normal navigator. You are the incarnation of the Dragweiss.”

“Ara. Just what I thought of the Dark Dragon King. You had made quite some investigation on your own.”

“Fuse with me quickly. Give me the supreme knowledge. Strictly speaking, Avalon and Nehalennia have the same roots… I should also be qualified to fuse with you.”

“I don’t disagree with this.”

Upon hearing Navi’s answer, Mordred smiled.

“So you agreed?”

“No I don’t. It is because I don’t like Nehalennia.”

“…What do you say?”

“I am rooting for Avalon's Imperial Princess and her knight. Especially her knight… Ash Blake, he is far manlier than you.”

“Hmph…what a fox you are. Since it had came to this, I will use force-”

Suddenly, there were numerous tentacles coming from under Mordred’s legs. They were like snakes that had found their prey and attacked Navi.

===Part 12===
“I am sorry. Could everyone apart from Ash and I leave this ship?”

Upon stepping into Silvanus’s wheelhouse, Julius spoke coldly.

The crew responsible for the control of the wheel and control communications turned around and looked Julius in confusion. Then they are all frightened as is they had seen a ghost.

They shouldn’t be blamed since the prince that should have been executed years ago was standing in front of them and had asked them to do something unreasonable.

“Hold on… Prince Julius! What do you planned to do?”

Seeing that Ash was requesting for an explanation, at the same time Julius answered, he turned around and looked at Veronica who was preparing to sit on the captain’s seat.

“I just don’t want the rest of the people to die with us. Veronica, I hoped that you could also help me by giving out the orders.”

“Do you think that I would even listen to that joke?”

“If the sister is stubborn, the elder brother will have to face some trouble.”

The next instant, Julius seize Veronica from behind with lightning speed. He was holding a hidden gun. It was a mechanic gun that the military of the Empire used.

Julius even chose to place the tip at Veronica’s temple.

“There is not much time. You should try to listen to your brother sometimes, Veronica.”

“Are you kidding! Silvanus is my magicship. Don’t even think of always doing what you wanted to, Julius.”

“As I had said before, I am your brother. Maybe you are a perfect princess in front of our people, but I knew your achilles heel. If you still disobey me, I will expose it in front of everyone.”

“What achilles heel?”

“I knew that you love Silvia. There are Silva portraits in your room. The clothes that Silva wore, Silva’s growth record, the poem that you wrote from missing Silvia and also Silvia’s human size doll-”

“I-I promise! Keep quite immediately!”

Ash was in a shock. He had never expected Veronica to surrender easily.

“Everyone, leave the ship immediately! This is an order from Veronica Lautreamont! No one is allowed to disobey!”

All the crew members rushed out from the wheelhouse.

===Part 13===
When everyone had left the magicship, Julius flied Silvanus while sitting on the pilot’s seat.

With the sudden shake of the magicship, Ash held on tightly to the seat of the communication officer to avoid falling. Looking through the round window, the magicship was getting further and further away from the ground.

It was a totally different experience from sitting on a dragon. When this lump of metal was flying with passengers- At the same time Ash was amazed, he also started to worry about crashing.

As for Julius, he was piloting Silvanus while telling Ash the whole story.

===Part 14===
Although what Julius said was hard to believe, basically, the dragons were seperated into the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family and the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family. The two families had incarnated since the ancient times and were still fighting each other right until today.

Also, Eco is Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family’s descendant.

In another words, Eco is the Imperial Princess of the dragon.

“…Even after I had heard of such things, it is still hard for me to believe this. Eco who had been living with me was obviously a girl who sleeps late, a glutton and a hot headed girl...”

“I know how you feel. When I found out that my pal is the descendant for the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family, I was also astounded. In the beginning, I was also troubled by why was I chosen.”

Julius said.

“Back to the topic, Avalon’s Imperial Princess’s body is really huge. Even though she is still a young dragon, she had this unbelievable huge size… It is totally unbelievable.”

After Julius pressed a few buttons on the dashboard, Eco’s body was shown on the huge screen in front.

Silvanus was three hundred meters above the land and was looking at Fontaine city from the sky above.

From the screen, they can see Eco's back that had turned black because of being taken over by Mordred.

With its frightening spiral horns and nine eyes… It is exactly the image of the dark dragon king.

Eco who was originally standing on two legs was now standing on all four because of the pain caused by Mordred’s take over.

The worrying part is, Eco was not moving at all and yet she doesn’t look as if she was sleeping…

“Could it be that Eco was fighting Mordred?”

Julius shook his head in disagreement.

“It is impossible. Judging from the huge change of her body, I am afraid that… Eco don’t even have the strength to fight back.”

“Is it…”

“But not all hope is lost. In my opinion, Navi was fighting against Mordred.”

“Navi?”

Why would he mention Navi’s name at such a time?

Before that, how would Julius know about Navi?

“Navi is the incarnation of the Dragweiss. If Navi could keep on fighting back, even after Mordred could fully take over Eco’s body, he still couldn’t be fully awaken.”

“What do you meant?”

“Regardless of the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor or the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king, both of them must fuse with the Dragweiss to obtain the supreme knowledge, only then they could receive their true power. I believe that Mordred right now is trying his best to make Navi his.”

“How come… you knew so many about him?”

“That was because it shared the same body with Mordred. Just like what he did to blend into the human society… I could also look into his memories.”

After hearing what Julius had said, Ash was still confused. However, there exists thing that could be easily understood without the need of good brains.

“In another words, this is a great time for a counter attack when Mordred was busy dealing with Navi, right?”

“That’s right. This is our only chance for victory. If you can ride on Eco and chase of Mordred’s spirit, then you can save Eco and the capital together.”

Ash nodded in agreement to what Julius had said.

“I am willing to give it a try. No matter it is Avalon or Nehalennia… I don’t think I even know what they mean. I only know that Eco is my pal.”

When Ash turned around and prepared to walk back to the deck, Julius spoke from behind:

“Although I don’t know why you are chosen… But I am glad that you are Eco’s knight.”

===Part 15===
“Urgh…”

Ash arrived at the deck and the winds were cold. Such temperatures were unheard of during the summer.

Ash was carrying a parachute- This is a decision made by Julius and him beforehand.

When Silvanus had come close to Eco, Ash will jump off from the deck with the help of the parachute.

After landing, it is all up to Ash.

Basically, Ash had gone through the landing practices in the academy.

Ash had never intended to become a soldier and had always thought that the academy was wrong to force them to go through the practices.

Anyway, the academy is not a military school- But who would expect that those practices must be applied right now.

“…Right there.”

Ash was looking down towards the ground from the bow and had located Eco’s back.

Although her fur had turned black but since the enormous amount of magic surrounding her was giving off strong rays of light, he won’t have to worry about missing his target.

He must make use of the time that Navi was fighting against Mordred to land on Eco’s head.

Julius voice emerged from the magic communication device:

“Ash, you may jump anytime.”

“Roger that.”

Ash looked downwards for one more time.

For such a huge beast, her only blind spot will be her head.

Ash tried to imagine himself riding on Eco’s head.

To his surprise, it was not at all scary.

The ‘Seikoku’ on his left arm was getting warm and was flickering with dim light.

It felt as if his ‘Seikoku’ was urging him to move quickly.

Suddenly- Eco lifted her neck and shot a dragon breath towards Silvanus.

“…Urgh!”

A bright light pierced through the night sky. Ash surrendered against the shaking deck and fell down. Although Julius had barely avoided a direct hit by giving the ship an emergency turn, the strong breath had burned the side of the ship into ashes.

There were smokes and fire emerging from the ship itself and it had lost balance.

“Tsk…! If you kill me, Eco will die too! If that happens, you also couldn’t get your hands on Eco’s body that you desired that much...! How could someone be this stupid?”

When Ash was groaning, Julius voice could be heard once again through the communication machine:

“Ash, are you alright!”

“Yes, I am!”

“Silvanus is going to do an emergency landing! Jump quickly!”

“I also intend to do so!”

Ash clenched his teeth and jumped off from the deck.

The moment his feet left the deck, Mordred gave a second dragon breath.

Looking backwards, he saw Silvanus’s deck suffered a direct hit from the dragon breath.

Ash shuddered. He was lucky that he had jumped of earlier or else he would be turned into dust.

Although Julius had said there are going to do an emergency ‘landing’, judging from the speed Silvanus was moving downwards, it looked like it was crashing.

Finally, the unbalance ship disappeared at the other end of the palace walls- Then a fire pillar could be seen followed by a loud explosion.

“Prince Julius…!”

Ash was sad but there was nothing he can do.

Julius had risked his life to fly him into the night sky.

The only thing he can do right now is to complete his mission in return.

Ash's body was moving downwards because of the gravity pull.

His face and ears felt like being crushed by the air pressure.

“Now is the time!”

Ash had got the timing right and spread open the parachute.

The amazing braking force had caused the parachute to slow down.

If another dragon breath was shot, Ash would certainly be hit but Ash prayed that he will not have such bad luck.

“Wait for me, Eco. I will protect you… I swear!”

===Part 16===
“Damn! Where am I?”

Eco found out that she was in a cage when she woke up. When she was looking at her body, she found out that she was wearing a dress with low standards.

This style is obviously not of Eco’s preference.

Any dress in Fontaine Palace’s changing room looked better that this. It is even as heavy as lead and it felt more like a binding item rather than an evening dress.

On the other side of the cage was a wide white space. The walls, the floor and the ceiling was white. Not even a dust that could be found.

“How dare anyone to cage a dragon like me in this cage… What were they even thinking!?”

Eco was definitely confused. Yet she still vaguely remembered that she was awakened as a dragon. She even remembered that she had become huge and was looking at the whole Fontaine palace.

But her memories stopped there.

“Tsk…It seems that you are alright since you are this energetic even under such situation.”

It was a familiar voice.

“Navi? You…!”

Navi was standing outside of the cage. Even though Eco disliked Navi, but under such situation, Eco was grateful that Navi was here and felt that Navi was like an angel.

The Eco’s Angel was now looking like a ragdoll.

Navi who was always acting calm and give out a noble like feeling was now with a messed up hair and even her evening dress was in rags. All over her body were marks of being bounded.

“What happened? This doesn’t look like you at all…”

Eco was taking a closer look at Navi.

“Hmm…I am only accompanying Mordred in his game. It was just that, his tentacles fetish had given me some trouble!”

“Mordred? Who is that?”

“Please lend me your hand.”

Eco stretched her hand through the gaps in between the bars of the cage. After Navi held her hand, a mass amount of knowledge flowed into her brain.

In a blink of an eye, Eco knew everything that had happened. Only until now that she had realized that she was in her spiritual from.

“To make it simple… That person called Mordred is trying to take over my body, right?”

“That’s right. Anyway, during the time I was running around, he had done nothing bad. But if it is to destroy this capital, it will be an easy task for him.”

“Hmm… So I am such a great dragon.”

According to Navi’s information, Eco is Avalon’s Imperial Princess.

“Huhu. Now Ash is going to look at me differently.”

Seeing that Eco was feeling proud, Navi sighed.

“As long as he can survive. He seems to be doing something foolhardy again.”

Navi held Eco’s hand again and Eco closed her eyes.

That current situation was sent into Eco’s brain as projections.

“What…!”

Eco was speechless.

Under the night sky- Ash leaned out from Silvanus’s deck.

The next instant, Mordred gave a dragon breath from the ground.

Silvanus was hit and was gliding in the sky as if it was a paper plane.

On the other hand, Ash jumped into the air and was falling with his head pointing downwards.

“Hold on… Is he crazy!?”

At that moment, Eco clearly heard Ash’s mumble.

"Wait for me, Eco. I will protect you… I swear!”

In a short moment, tears started to flow from her eyes. Even though she was a spirit, her tears still kept on flowing. Even the Dragweiss couldn’t give an explanation. A warm feeling was haunting her heart… What was that feeling?

“Why…Why? Why would he… try to do so many things for me? Even when I… Had caused many, many troubles for him?”

Navi stretched her hand into the cage and patted her head.

“Do you even have to ask? It is because you are his pal.”

Eco rubbed off her tears and lifted her head.

“Navi, please tell me what can I do for him.”

“Teehee. That’s more like it.”

Navi smiled and waved her hand lightly. With a flash, the cage had disappeared. At the same time, the black dress that limits Eco’s movement had been broken into particles and a pure white evening dress was raveled from beneath.

In a short time, Navi removed Mordred’s seal.

“I must say that… You are very good.”

Eco was looking at her dress. It designs compromised of the elements of elegant and pure. It is as if it was made to be worn by the Avalon’s Imperial Princess.

“No matter how great I am, I can't help you with the upcoming step. Understood?”

Eco nodded in reply.

“Then, what should I do?”

After Navi smiled, she cheekily said:

“Of course you are to present him your originally made Ark and the Avalon’s Imperial Princess.”

The next instant, Eco became confused.

“What? Are you serious?”

As if it was natural to do so, Navi nodded without any hesitation.

“All the mimics that you had created for emergency in the past… is useless against Mordred.”

“But, how am I to do this impossible task!?”

An original Ark could not be completed easily.

It was because of Eco had seen her ancestor’s blueprint; she understands how hard it can be. An Ark is not only a strong magic weapon, at the same time, it is also a perfect art masterpiece.

Not to mention that Eco was still a young dragon that was not even a year old without any experience. Navi’s suggestion was like asking a baby to build a palace.

“Anyway, it will not be called difficult if the blueprint could be easily created.”

Eco gave up before she even started but Navi ignored it.

“Rest assured, you must believe in your own ability. You are an Imperial Princess who is the blood descendant of Avalon.”

“But… what we must think about is not only the armour itself, there is also the Ark-weapon…”

“Listen carefully, the shape itself doesn’t matters. It was the mental power of the creator that decide the strength of the Ark. Even if you don’t know the shape, as long as you focus, the shape of the Ark will be formed.”

“Really…?”

“Yeah. Also, you don’t have to worry about the Ark-weapon. Avalon has a treasured sword that had been passed down through the generations. Just use it.”

After a moment of silent, Eco mumbled:

“…I had always disliked you since the first time I met you. Regardless of your relaxed attitude or your looks that was similar to mine or your overly large breast…I hate them and hate them very much! However… It is funny that I felt that you are trustable.”

Eco lifted her head and smile.

Navi also returned a smile.

At the same moment, Eco felt that a light had pierced through that darkness that had been blocking her eyes.

She didn't want to look for trouble anymore.

And she definitely doesn’t want to give up before taking up the challenge.

While the evening dress was swaying, Eco spoke with confidence:

“Just wait and see. I will definitely complete my original Ark!”

===Part 17===
“Damn… What kind of joke is this!”

Although Ash had finally landed on Eco, still the landing spot was her back and not her head. It was exactly beside the joints between the body and the wings.

That pair of wings was like the wings of a new born bird. It was still wet and was unable to fly right away.

Maybe this is my only life saver…Ash secretly thought.

Black furs were grown from her uneven skin. It felt like a Necromancia. He must get rid of Mordred’s spirit and return Eco to her original appearance as soon as
possible.

To achieve this, he must try to ride her gigantic body. However… Ash was looking at Eco’s head from afar.

Connected to her back that was as huge as prairie was a long neck that looked as if it was a stairway to heaven. And her head with spiral horns was at the other end of the neck.

His current aim was to ride on her head and try to control her using his will as a dragner. However… The distance between them was huge. It was like trying to climb the dangerous Xenoglavia Mountains without any climbing tools.

“Stop… This is not the time to give up.”

Ash threw aside the parachute and move forward while pushing aside those furs that were taller than his height.

“Now I really looked like a louse…”

In reality, Mordred treat Ash as nothing but a louse. That is why he was not bothered by Ash at all.

“Just wait and see. Your overconfidence will be the cause of your death, Mordred…”

Although Ash kept on talking to himself to boost his confidence, but every time he looked towards her head, he felt like falling apart.

Suddenly, there was a change in the night sky.

Those Maestros who were originally circling in the sky started to make their movements.

Those Maestros could be seen gliding towards Mordred and had him surrounded.

“Grrrrrrrrrrrrr…”

Mordred lifted his neck and gave a threatening growl. However, before he even managed to attack, the Maestros activated their magic at the same time.

With a flash, chains that were made from magic appeared. Numerous chains had tied down the huge dragon’s neck, front legs, hind legs, tail…

“Guuuoooooooooooooooooooo…!”

Mordred was struggling with all his might but the chains wouldn’t even budge.

“They…!”

It can’t be wrong. These Maestros were trying to seal Mordred’s movement. Who know if they were thinking that the dragon worthy to take to top is not Mordred but Eco.

At that moment, a Maestro landed right in front of Ash. Its pair of horns that looked like a dear’s looked familiar to Ash. Then a clear voice could be heard coming from behind the dragon.

“Ash… Hurry up!”

“Lukka!? Why are you here?”

That is. The Maestro that suddenly appeared from above was Gawain and Lukka was riding on its back. Ash felt nostalgic.

Lukka while feeling worried gave Ash a short explanation.

“Err… The Maestros in the seven dragon house was escaping together. I risked my life to cling on Gawain… In the end, I found out that I was already here.”

“Did Rebecca and Max come together?”

Lukka shook her head. It was probably Ash's mistake that he felt that Lukka’s ears were slightly drooping.

“Only I noticed that something was going on with the Maestros…”

“Is that so…”

As if to interrupt Ash’s and Lukka’s conversation, Gawain roared with its jaws opened.

It was as if trying to tell Ash to ride on it quickly. Ash naturally didn’t reject this offer.

“Thank you!”

Just as Ash sat on Gawain’s back, Gawain flapped its wings.

After piercing through the night sky, Gawain’s altitude was increasing following the direction of Mordred’s neck. Lukka’s riding skills was as good as ever and could only be described by perfect.

Ash was clinging tightly to Lukka’s thin waist to avoid from dropping off.

However, Mordred will not stay silent. Although he was being tied down, it was still struggling and roaring loudly.

Suddenly, magic cannons continued to appear in the sky and was firing at Gawain.

Ash was trembling when he saw those cannons.

It was because those cannons looked like the weapon that Ash used during his fight with Milgauss in Willingham Mausoleum. The only difference is, each cannon was around Gawain’s size.

“Magic shield Aegis…!”

“Need not worry… It will be alright as long as we are not hit.”

Lukka was not at all shaken.

As if she had fused with Gawain, she was controlling Gawain by moving left and right and dangerously avoided the crossing light rays.

It even used its dragon breath and those magic canons were destroyed one by one.

When Gawain had successfully passed Mordred’s head, all the magic cannons had disappeared.

“Ash, now’s the time…!”

Just when Lukka shouted, Gawain did a summersault.

At the point where the sky was upside down, Ash jumped down.

He drew a big locus in the night sky and successfully land in between the two horns. Looking from a close distance, the horns looked more like an altar than a horn.

When his feet landed on that spot, he felt satisfied. It was probably his dragner’s intuition that told him this is the best riding spot.

“Listen carefully Eco!”

Ash was shouting with all his might at his ‘Seikoku’ that was connected to Eco:

“Right now, I am going to ride you! I swear I will be successful in riding you! Whether you are a Imperial Princess or not it has nothing to do with me! So what if you are a imperial princess? You are always bad tempered, try to solve anything with force, a sleepy head, only have crepes in your eyes and felt like wanting to bite greedily whenever you saw meat. Are these what an Imperial Princess should do! Even if you really are an Imperial Princess, I will never approve it!... I only knew that- I am your knight, and you are my pal. Things are just as simple as this!”

The next instant, there was a change in his left arm that was dense with ‘Seikoku’.

The ‘Seikoku’ can be seen emitting rays of light that were able to light up the entire night sky. Then patterns started to crawl just like some living things.

No, the patterns were growing.

“W-What had happened…?”

Just when Ash was feeling confused, his ‘Seikoku’ started to spread outwards towards Ash entire body with his left arm as the starting point.

Ash found out that his connection with Eco had become stronger.

Although he couldn’t communicate with Eco verbally, yet, he was sure that he was connected to Eco…!

But, what Ash was thinking only lasted for a short moment.

“Guuuuuuuoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo…!”

Mordred was back on the move. He had broken one of the chains and was standing on two legs.

“Auuu…!”

Lukka groaned. The wind created when Mordred stood up had affected Gawain. Although it was not blown away by the wind, it was obvious that it could not remain
its balance. However, Lukka shouted:

“Don’t worry about me… I am alright! Ash, just focus on saving Eco…!”

Then, Lukka and Gawain finally fall and disappear from Ash’s line of sight.

“Lukka…!”

Ash stretched his arm but he could only grab the air.

The Maestros that scattered in the sky tried to make another chain to tie down Mordred’s upper body.

But before Mordred could be sealed, it forcefully shook its neck.

“Uwaaaaaaaaa!”

Ash lost his balance and was thrown up into Fontaine Palace like a cannonball.

-This is a lie… It must be…?

He was approaching the tower in the middle of Fontaine Palace.

If he was to hit into such stone wall…he will definitely die.

-Is this the end…? Is Eco and I… Going to end right here?

Right at this moment.

Almete, Gorjal, Peto…

The voice of the spell was coming from his ‘Seikoku’ that had spread all over his body.

Espaldar, Brafoneras, Faldaje…

It was definitely Eco’s voice.

Escarcelas,Bufetas, Hombreras, Brazales…

Compare to the previous times, every single word that Eco said was followed by a deep tone.

Codales, Antebrazos, Manoplas…

Without any reason, Ash felt courage from within.

Quijotes, Guardas, Grebas… Escarpes…

Lastly, Eco was left with the last word.

-Espolón!

Ash who was going to crash into Fontaine Palace was surrounded by holy lights.

It felt as if he was surrounded by angel’s wings.

Even though Ash had an illusion of he was ascending to heaven, Eco’s voice had disrupted this peaceful feeling.

“You absolutely must accept my feelings!”

===Part 18===
As he opened his eyes, Ash was standing at the highest point of Fontaine Palace.

“I-I am saved?”

He saw Mordred was standing ferociously with only two legs while being bounded by the chains of the Maestros.

All of the nine eyes were burning with the flames of rage and looked like scarlet stars. Even though he was trying his best to break free from those chains, those Maestros kept on creating new chains.

“This… What is this feeling?”

Ash was looking at his own body.

His entire body was emitting heat and was overflowing with magic.

It have to be the Ark that Eco presented to me- Yet to Ash’s dismay, what he was wearing right now was still his cloths that looked like rags.

There was not even an Ark that could be seen.

Even so, Ash still continued to feel safe as if he was protected by the Ark. Furthermore, the ‘Seikoku’ that was on his entire body was alive.

What is happening?

Hey, why are you daydreaming! Quickly use the Ark-weapon!

Eco’s voice was once again could be heard in his mind

“Eco…? What is happening?”

T-that is…?

Without any reason, Eco became silent. It felt as if she was embarrassed because of a certain something.

As if to speak on Eco’s behalf, another voice appeared in his mind.

Huhu. That is an original Ark that Eco had created on her own. However, it is still incomplete and even that shape had not been decided on yet.

“This voice… Are you Navi!”

The Ark represents proof of the oath of a dragon that swears to hand over their body and feelings to their knight. At the same time, it was a proof that it was connected to the Master’s heart. Right now, you are recognized as the Avalon’s knight.

I-I only wanted to get back my own body!... It was never meant to be given to you!

Ara, who is the person who was crying because she was worried about Ash? I wonder.

S-Shut up!

Eco and Navi seemed to had started an argument.

Ash made a wry smile because they could still have the mood to quarrel even under such dangerous situation.

All the negative emotions like unsecured and frightened had disappeared.

However- Right after that, Ash had a bad premonition as if a pair of cold hands had held on to his spirit. When he raised his head, Mordred’s eyes were filled with sparks and were marking him.

It had obviously begun to take notice of Ash who was previously being regarded as a louse.

“Guuuuuoooooooooooooooooooooo…!”

Although Mordred was still bounded by those magic chains, he still managed to open his jaws after putting in some effort.

There was a ball of light that could be seen appearing in front of his nose and it was slowly expanding-

Ash felt a large amount of energy from it. It was thanks to the Ark that his senses had sharpened.

Navi warned Ash in his mind.

That’s bad. Even though Mordred have not fused with me, he is still very strong…!

“Rest assured. I will personally deal with it.”

Ash immediately started to search for information regarding his Ark-weapon. Thanks to his experience in equipping those mimics, his was able to complete his search in a short time.

Ash smiled from within his heart.

The Ark-weapon formed in his mind was undoubtably the strongest sword that had ever existed.

Ash readied his posture and started to chant the spell.

“An iron that could slash through anything…”

For every word he said, his ‘Seikoku’ that was all over his body was emitting heat and reacted strongly to it.

"A holy sword meant for a knight of all knights-”

At the same time, Ash felt that his palm was overflowing with an unlimited amount of magic.

The one and only treasured sword that had been passed down generations by generations in the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family had its shape formed in Ash’s palm.

“Appear- Excalibur!”

It was not only a huge brave and beautiful sword but also an Ark-weapon.

On its silvery white hilt were many scarlet coloured Milinniums and they were shining brightly.

After he held the holy sword with both hand tightly, Ash leaped.

At the same time, Mordred was giving out the dragon breath.

That was a ball of light with overwhelming powers that could destroy the entire capital to ground level in a blink of an eye. Followed by some purple electric around Mordred’s head, the ball of light was released at Ash’s direction.

To make things worse, Ash couldn’t avoid it because the entire Fontaine Palace and City was right behind him.

No- In reality, I won’t even need to avoid it.

“Uooooooooooooooooooooooooo!”

Ash as if he had forgotten about his fear rushed towards the ball of light.

In respond to Ash’s verve, the Millenniums at the hilt of the holy sword was giving out a bright light.

In respond to Ash’s verve, the shapeless Ark was releasing all its magic.

“Kirisakeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!” <ref>斬り裂け. Means to get split and break apart.</ref>

Just before being swallowed by that attack, Ash had swung the most powerful strike.

-Cut!!! <ref>斬. Ii was a word that was usually shouted when someone wanted to cut/slash/chop/kill off something.</ref>

At the same time the lump of energy was split into two, Ash was in mid-air. His vision was full of white and he could see nothing at all.

If not because of the protection he received from the Ark, all the cells in his body should had been reduced into nothing. Ash was indeed slashing through such high amount of temperature.

In the end, his vision finally widened.

The dragon breath that was sliced into two had its trajectory changed and each had landed at the Fontainia plains on both side of the capital and had exploded.

Although it was a huge explosion, apart from the strong wind, Fontaine City remained intact.

Ash had again lifted Excalibur and had it pointed at Mordred’s head.

At that moment, there was a creepy voice coming from Ash’s mind.

…Hold on! If you harm this body, the daughter of Avalon would also be-

The nine eyes kept on blinking as if it still had something to say.

“Haa! Now you start to beg from me… Know your place, Mordred!”

Ash remained determined and continued to land at the head.

Of course Ash knew that this body originally belonged to Eco.

He never had the intention to simply slash around with this sword.

However, to get rid of Mordred’s spirit, he needs Eco to bear with it for a few more moments.

What Ash had intended to do was not to kill Eco but to make her lost her strength.

Where is the best place to land my attack?

There is not enough time to think of such complicated problems.

It is because apart from Eco’s and his life, Ash was burdened with the lives of millions of residents of the capital. Ash decided to wager everything he had in the only possibility he could think of.

“Eat this, Mordred!”
[[Image:SnRK V04 243.jpg|thumb]]

Ash was landing at full speed.

''What are you trying to do…? Do you want to follow the Julius's footsteps and become a ‘dragon slayer’? I can’t understand this, I just couldn’t understand this…!''

Ash didn’t replied and had no intention of doing so.

“Whether you are a god or a devil-”

Ash’s sword and Mordred’s horn clashed with each other.

“All the dragons will have to listen to my command, not to mention-”

After he had pinpointed the crucial point to release Eco, Ash swung Excalibur-

“If it is my '''P.A.L'''!”

Followed by a sound of a metal clashing with rocks, the night sky was swallowed by a white light.

The thing that was chopped off by Ash and was flying in mid-air was the left horn.

“Guuuuooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo…!”

Mordred’s roar was echoing in the night.

===Part 19===

“Huhu. Mordred must be running away with his tail rolled up<ref>A proverb</ref> even though a spirit shouldn't have any tails.”

Mordred’s spirit was running under the night sky towards the east while he was being seen by Navi.

On the eastern side of the country is Chevron Kingdom’s land.

“So in the end he had escaped to Chevron Kingdom… I must wait until he rises up again before I could have him captured. Right now, I should give praise to Avalon’s Knight."

Navi gave herself a cheer and smiled.

Eco’s spirit was no longer beside her.

===Part 20===

Ash’s final blow had chopped off Eco’s left horn.

Last month during the time Ash was in the infirmary, he had bitten Eco’s horn. Furthermore, her left horn that was chopped off had made her recalled that feeling.

It was that ‘happy’ feeling that dragged Eco’s spirit out.

Her hearts memories and her body memories.

When both of them are thinking the same thing, Eco’s spirit managed to take back its own body and get rid of Mordred’s spirit.

Not only this method is impractical, its succession rate too is just as low.

However, Eco’s clearly remembered the feeling that Ash gave her.

-Navi had seen it all.

The body of the huge dragon had undergone some changes inside the glaring light.

The skin colour that was originally black had turned back to its original silvery white colour.

As for those nine creepy eyes, they had returned into two clear scarlet eyes.

Then-

The body that was bigger than Fontaine Palace was shrinking slowly and finally turned back into a young teenage girl with pink hair.

Ash gently hugged the angel like naked body in mid-air.

Although Eco was blushing, she still placed her hand on Ash’s back and hugged her knight.

"Princess of Avalon ~A.S.B.1365.7~" is closed.
<noinclude>

==References and Translation Notes==
<references />

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| Back to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Chapter 7|Chapter 7]]
| Return to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Epilogue|Epilogue]]
|-
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</noinclude>

Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Chapter 8

2013-11-07T10:52:14Z

213.144.240.241: /* Part 3 */

==Chapter 8 - Avalon's Imperial Princess==
===Part 1===
In the mothership Beowolf- In the armory, under Dr Hoffman’s command the battle is in full swing.

Eco who was naked was floating in magic guided device. ‘Yggdrasill’s’ capsule. There were groups of technician working around her. This was out of Anya’s area of understanding. She could only stand by and wall and watch silently.

But, she understood well the pain that Eco was feeling.

The cold voice was followed by its echo when it was reflected on the metal body.

“The cartridge has been filled. Prepare for launching.”

“The countdown starts now. Ten, nine, eight… Three, two, one-.”

“Launch the compressed magic!”

A red bean was shot out followed by a loud gun shooting sound. Anya felt that even the ship was vibrating.

“…!”

Then, there were air bubbles coming from Eco’s mouth. If not because of she was in the liquid, her scream could definitely be heard.

Anya couldn’t bear to see Eco suffering and looked away.

Eco’s body had already taken at least ten shots of the compressed magic.

Eco regained her consciousness after the start of the experiment. At the beginning, she was struggling in the water, but ‘Yggdrasill’s’ capsule was not at all affected.

But after receiving a continuous dozens of compressed magic, she lost her strength.

Right now, she was just like a living dead. Her blank eyes were now lifeless and it was terrible. It was pure torture. Even so, the group of researchers led by Dr Hoffman were not at all shaken and continued silently.

“There is no significant change on the appearance of α. There are no abnormalities on her respiratory system. No magic fluctuation can be seen.”
Without realizing, the group of researchers started to refer Eco as α.

Eco is a human, a young dragon and also a living being- But this group of human had taken everything from her. To them, Eco was just experimental material α.
Who knows if they want to remove their feeling of guilt by calling her with symbols…Anya secretly thought so.

At this moment, Dr Hoffman’s voice is heard by Anya.

“Still no changes… It seems like we don’t have any more choices. Activate all the Millennium.”

Anya turned pale when she heard that.

This means that they had decided to use full power on ‘Yggdrasil’.

===Part 2===
“*Sob*… It was all… My fault. *Sob*…”

In the maid’s bedroom in the ground floor of the palace.

Prim was lying on the bed with her pillow wet with tears.

There was only Ash and Silvia beside her bed. Cosette was standing outside the room by the door.

Prim cried while she told the whole incident.

Prim arrived at the ancient palace when she was chasing Eco who was running amok.

She had met a few suspicious people there.

Seeing the enemy suddenly attacked, Eco appeared and became the bait to let Prim escape.

When Prim regained conscious, Eco was no longer there.

After hearing, Ash felt something suspicious.

“Why did you go to the ancient palace?”

“That’s because… It was my entire fault! It was my bad to say such things!”

“Prim, please stay calm. Compared to you, Ash was the person who suffered the most.”

After being advised by Silvia, Prim rubbed of her tears.

“You are right. Sorry…”

“Prim-san, please tell me everything before Eco was kidnapped!”

Prim nodded.

“I had no ill intention, it was just that… Ash-sama is a human and Eco is a dragon… So I thought that Eco would feel lonely after Ash-sama married with a human girl. The moment I told her that, Eco rushed out of the room.”

“What…!”

Who would have thought of this, Ash was speechless.

“Idiot! You… Why do you have to tell her this!”

Silvia was mad.

“If I am Eco… I will definitely feel hurt if someone told that to me! Even when Eco is a dragon, her thoughts are still those of a girl’s. She should know very well that her situation is special. Why was she born as a human? Why was she not born as a dragon… If I am Eco, I can never feel secure.”

“Princess-sama…”

Ash looked at Silvia who was telling Eco's thoughts in surprise.

“Recently, she had gotten used to the school life. She was also being loved by everyone as the student council’s mascot. Even so, to Eco, the only person she could trust in… Is no other than Ash.”

“And I… Have said something terrible…”

“Strictly speaking, Eco is still a young dragon who is not even a year old. Can’t you be a little more indirect in your-”

“Forget it, Princess-sama. Right now, we could never solve the problem even after lecturing Prim-san. What’s more, if they had this planned, no matter what Prim-san said, Eco would still have been kidnapped.”

“…You are right. But how are we going to rescue Eco?”

Silvia nodded in agreement with Ash.

“Prim-san… Could you describe those people who attacked?”

Ash was praying while asking. His only clue is Prim being the witness.

“Err…They pretended to be the palace servants. But, they didn’t look like citizens of the Knight Country. For their skin colour, it looked like they are the Tantalos…. Also, the person who attacked me is a short girl.”

“A Tantalos girl…!”

Ash was feeling Déjà vu. It was like he had found the last piece of puzzle in his memory.

“It was the girl who followed Milgauss!”

Ash’s fists were shaking. The world he was seeing was dyed in red. Even though he had a feeling that Milgauss was the culprit, still, after making sure, he was still in rage.

“Since we know who the criminal is-”

Silvia immediately stopped Ash who intended to rush out from the room.

“Hold on, Ash! Where do you think you are going to?”

“The ballroom, of course! I want to settle thing with Milgauss!”

“Keep your calm! Do you think that Milgauss will admit it even after you find him?”

“…Maybe not.”

Ash turned speechless.

Silvia was right, no matter how emotional he became, Eco still wouldn’t be able to return safely.”

Just as if she was trying to have Ash cooled down, Silvia made a suggestion in a calm voice:

“Don’t you think that this is a good time to save Eco when Milgauss is busy with the masquerade?”

“What do you meant?”

“Milgauss couldn’t even be bothered by an activity with long history such as this continental congress and will do anything just to capture Eco. Even when I don’t know what his intentions are, but capturing Eco alive is their priority. I am sure that their lackeys won’t do anything to harm Eco when the mastermind is absent.”

After listening to Silvia’s analysis, Ash gave a breath of relieve.

“The problem remains is, where is Eco’s location. Since Ash’s ‘Seikoku’ is not reacting, it means that Eco was being hidden in an enclosed place. For example something that could be a barrier to cut off magic… Anyway, it must be done with the proper equipment. It just can’t be a rally point that they have just constructed.”

“An enclosed place with proper equipments? That’s it, Milgauss has Klaus backing him up…”

Last evening, an airship flew past the evening sky…

The black ship that was waving the Empire’s flag proudly…

Ash remembered.

Ash and Silvia exchanged glances and shouted at the same time:

“Beowolf!”

===Part 3===
-W-Will…I die just like this…

Eco thought so.

The liquid in the capsule kept on rotating and Eco’s body was being swept by it.

Every time her shoulders or waist touches the glass, her body will move slowly in the opposite direction.

It seems like the liquid was made of special materials. Luckily, it doesn’t affect her breathing. But after suffering a few shots from the magic device, her body turned numb.

This feeling is like an empty mind floating in mid air.

-If I could just… Continue sleeping… Then I won’t feel any pain…

Just when Eco thought so, a power that surpassed those previous ones was released at her.

“Noooooooooo…!”

Even though she thought that she shouted in pain, in truth they were just air bubbles coming out from her mouth.

A bright light flashes and the water turns rapid. Just like being swallowed by a tsunami, her body kept on rotating and kept on hitting the glass around her.

-W….Why do I have to suffer this kind of pain.

It had passed the limit of her brain to just think of what they are going to do to her. She could only feel that her body had been injected with a vast amount of magic.

The pain she felt is just like her body being ripped open.

It felt like her organs were being messed up by someone.

-Urgh… It hurts…. It hurts…. I beg you all, please stop.

It is pointless no matter how she shouted in her mind, the magic was still flowing into the body. Eco’s body was jerking nonstop and she was struggling.

You might as well do me a favour by killing me-Eco gave up.

“…!”

At the next moment- The Necromancia’s slimy tentacles attacking her from all directions.

Eco couldn’t understand. Where did those tentacles appear from in this enclosed environment?

The tentacles which were wriggling like a snake slowly snatched her freedom.

Her arms, waist, legs… was entangled by those tentacles. -Stop! This must be an illusion! It is this device that was making me hallucinate…!

Eco tried to stay conscious and opened her eyes widely.

At that moment, the tentacles disappeared.

The feelings of being entangled by those tentacles also disappeared.

However, not long after that, she lost focus and the tentacles appeared again and had her waist surrounded.

In a blink of an eye, she was lifted by those tentacles.

-Stop!

[[Image:SnRK V04 183.jpg|thumb]]

An abnormally thick tentacle was approaching Eco’s face.

Eco kept her teeth closed with her might. If she was to be careless, the tentacle will surely wriggle into her mouth. Eco had Goosebumps just by think about it.

Eco initially wanted to ask for Ash’s help. She hoped that he could save him from this hell.

However, from the point she woke up in this device, she couldn’t even summon Ash.

Her Astral Flow with Ash had also been cut off.

The lost of her communication had put her in fear.

Eco was shocked that the lost of her connection with Ash would put her in such great fear.

-I am really an idiot. I only knew what is precious to me after I had lost it.

This experience had made her wanted to treasure Ash much more.

That’s right, without Ash, I can’t do anything… I am really a good for nothing.

-Don…

At that instant, there was something moving in her body.

===Part 4===
“Something is wrong! The magic indicator is showing an abnormal value!”

“We found an unknown magic source! Its power is increasing!”

“We had lost control of ‘Yggdrasill’! It ignored the emergency stop signal!”

The continuous bad news had made Dr Hoffman turn pale.

The laboratory was as if in a fire and tense atmosphere was spreading.

Everyone was with a panic look and were busy dealing with the buttons on their hands.

“What happened…?”

Anya who was looking from aside wondered.

Basically, there was nothing abnormal with Eco who was in the capsule.

Even though she was shot by the high power compressed magic and had struggle like she was having a nightmare, yet nothing dramatic had happened.

But the indicator was still indicating an abnormal value. Also, they were losing control of ‘Yggdrasill’.

The situation had suddenly become tense.

Even the emergency trigger had been triggered and the bell was ringing loudly.

-Dong!

At that instant, Anya heard something from the ground.

“What is that… Sound?”

As if to prove that it was not an illusion, ‘Yggdrasill’ magic indication exploded.

“Uwaa!”

Some groaned and all the surrounding deviced started to explode with red flames. All the technician were running away in fear.

“Don’t panic! Keep calm!”

Dr Hoffman shouted but not even a single soul was listening.

Because in everyone’s sights were Eco who was caged in the capsule.

Eco’s body was glowing with a dim light.

Even Anya was captive by the sight in front.

“Dr Hoffman! Let’s escape!”

A young researcher advised Dr Hoffman. The rest of the researchers were agreeing with him and looked at Dr Hoffman.

Anya left the wall and walk towards Dr Hoffman’s back.

“Dr Hoffman, I also think that it would be wise if we escape now.”

“No!”

Anya was stunned by Dr Hoffman’s aura. She had thought of him as a kind old man and was forced to act cruel as a researcher. Who would know that he would have such a stubborn side.

“What are you thinking! Even an outsider like me knew that this is dangerous! Isn’t there Millennium attached to that device too?”

What Anya was worried about is the existence of the Millenniums. Just in case the Millenniums explode… Anya was thinking. Let alone Beowolf, it is not even surprising if the capital disappear from the maps forever.

However, Dr Hoffman shook his head slowly.

“…I won’t. That will not happen. The energy in the Millenniums had run dry.”

“What?”

“All the magic energy… Was fully absorbed by experimental material α.”

“-!”

Anya looked at Eco dumbstruck.

The intensity of Eco’s light was getting stronger until the extend where one couldn’t look at her directly. Those‘Dong’sounds had become clearer.

Even though there were no dangers of the Millennium exploding, it doesn’t mean that they were free from danger. Eco right now was seen as the bomb.

Later, there was the loud sound of something breaking.

Different from the normal explosions, that explosion sounds like it was originated from something being applied pressure on.

“α….α is escaping!”

A researcher shouted.

The capsule containing eco was now in ruins and the liquid was flowing out like waterfall.

Eco can be seen floating with her eyes closed- in a short moment, she disappeared. What’s left is only stardust like magic particles floating in the air.

“She… Disappeared…?”

Anya dumbstruck, murmured alone.

===Part 5===
“Hey… Something’s wrong with Beowolf!?”

When Maestro Lancelot reached the landing space at a height of twenty meters, Silvia shouted:

“That is…!”

Ash who was riding on Lancelot behind Silvia widened his eyes.

The sacred airship Esperanza, airship Crown Solas and air ship Silvanus was lined up together.

On the other hand, the huge airship Beowolf was parked quite some distance away from the trio.

The suspicious thing was the black smokes emerging from Beowolf.

Could it be a fire?

If Eco is inside… Ash was too scared to think about it.

“Urgh…!”

At this moment, Ash felt a burning sensation from his left hand.

Although he nearly screamed in pain, he managed to tolerate with it.

It felt like suddenly putting his hand into a furnace.

“Is everything alright, Ash!?”

Silvia was worried about him and turned around and asked, but Ash couldn’t even reply because of the pain.

The ‘Seikoku’ engraved on his left arm was slowly moaning.

A while later, there was a glaring light coming out from his left arm and his sleeve up to his shoulders was burned off. Even the bandage was burned into pieces.

In a blink of an eye, Ash’s ‘Seikoku’ on his left arm was exposed.

“Wha…!”

The ‘Seikoku’ on his hand was glowing with different light intensity from time to time.

Ash was panicking.

It will be alright if it was just glowing but the heat and the pain sensation had no intention of stopping.

It felt that his left arm is going to explode anytime.

“Hey… What is actually happening?”

Silvia was in shock while holding the reins which was probably caused by the fright she experience from seeing Ash’s ‘Seikoku’s’ reaction.

“I don’t know… But I am now sure that I am again connected to Eco!”

Just like responding to Ash’s left arm, there was an object glowing in the sky.

“Ash! Look upwards!”

Silvia who noticed the abnormality was pointing at the sky. Ash too had noticed.

There was something glowing on the sky above the landing area.

“That is…”

The mysterious light was floating in the sky as if it was decorating it.

On the other hand, the full moon didn’t look as charming as before.

By taking a closer look, it was an egg with beautiful flow lines.

There was a big emblem that was carved on the pearl like egg. At a first glance, it looked like a royal emblem.

To be more specific, that emblem looked like Ash’s ‘Seikoku’.

-Don…Don…Don…

There was a frightening beating sound from the egg.

The confusing part is, it moved with the same rhythm as the glow on Ash’s ‘Seikoku’.

Ash immediately understood.

“I couldn’t be more wrong… Eco is in that egg!”

“How is that possible? What are you talking about…?”

“Princess-sama, I beg you. Please take me there!”

“…Alright. I believe in you. Fly Lancelot! Fly higher!”

But Lancelot ignored her orders. It stayed at the twenty meters height and looked at the egg with its head up.

“Hei… Lancelot? Anything wrong? Fly immediately!”

Even though Silvia shouted strictly, Lancelot still ignored her orders. On the other hand, it did an emergency landing at a corner of the landing space.

“What are you doing? Are you disobeying my orders, Lancelot!”

“…It is useless, Princess-sama. It seems that Lancelot has its own reason.”

“What did you say?!”

Silvia looked at Ash with an imposing manner.

“Do you know what Lancelot was thinking?”

“…I am not sure. It was probably affected by the ‘Seikoku’. I don’t know why, but I could somehow understand what Lancelot was thinking.”

After Ash and Silvia was forced to alight Lancelot unwillingly, Lancelot again spread its wings and shoot up into the sky.

Looking at Lancelot’s direction, Ash found out something important.

“Princess-sama! There are more and more… Maestros gathering together!”

Groups of Maestro were gathering from all direction. It had become an amazing night view created by the light from the Maestro’s magic.

One by one the Maestro appeared and gathered at the corner of the sky.

For Maestro’s whose numbers were already little to begin with to gather together, it was unheard of even in the old times-

===Part 6===
“What is actually happening…?”

Lancelot left its master and flew off on its own.

Although this had given Silvia a great blow, still the view of the night sky had gave her a deep impression.

Silvia could clearly hear the ‘Pssshh’ sounds of the beating of the wings.

When she had personally seen the dream like view, all her attention had been captured by it.

That egg even had wings growing out of it and feathers with silver lights were falling off. It was like snows that beautify the night sky.

Then- there was a crack from the egg shell.

The winged egg split into two-

“Uoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!”

A roar as if it was a horn announcing the end to the world could be heard all over.

Silvia who couldn’t look straight into the glaring light closed her eyes. When she reopened her eyes, the winged egg was no longer there. It was replaced by something that was out of this world.

To describe this thing with a word will be either – GOD or DEVIL.

However what Silvia said was insulting.

“What a scary monster…!”

[[Image:SnRK V04 193.jpg|thumb]]

“Stop! You are not allowed to say that!”

Ash shouted and brought Silvia back o her sense.

“That must be...Eco. I can feel it... I can feel it!”

“Sorry, Ash...”

Although Silvia was annoyed by her gaffe, she still couldn’t believe that it was Eco.

Later, Eco landed slowly while being surrounded by numerous Maestros.

Although the pink fur and the red eyes is similar to Eco, but her horns looked sharp and fierce and doesn’t at all looked like Eco’s round stubs.

Also, there was a third horn in between the two horns. It was like a unicorn’s horn and was up straight.

Her wings which were spread widely were different from a normal Maestro’s. It made one think of an angel’s wings.

Followed by a loud bang, Eco landed.

Eco lifted up her gigantic hind leg up high- And The large airship that had been the pride of the Empire was squashed in a few seconds.

With the conning tower being right at the middle, Beowolf had been squashed into a V shape and immediately exploded.

Yet, Eco was not at all affected.

Eco probably lost interest in Beowolf and tried to wriggle her long neck. She slowly lowered her center of gravity.

The target of her scarlet eyes was the window of the tall Fontaine Palace.

===Part 7===
-An unidentified flying object appeared above the capital and all the Maestros in the country disobey their masters’ order and gathered together.

Veronica who received the emergency report brought Glenn the captain of the escorts alone with her to the ballroom at the highest floor of the palace.

Anyway, there were important guests in the ballroom that gathered from all over the continent. No matter what happened, she must protect their safety in the name of the pride of the Knight’s country.

At the same time, she must bring back her father Oswald with her. He had most probably change his appearance and was drinking while mingling in the crowd.

While running on the long corridor, Veronica questioned Glenn:

“Did you too have lost contact with your pal?”

“It totally ignored my summons and ignored my request to present me my Ark. From the looks of the current situation where all the Maestros gathered at the capital’s sky, it probably has something to do with the unidentified flying object.”

“Then, our pride, the Holy Dragners of Lautreamont can be considered no more. If the Empire attacked us at this moment, without the protection of the Maestros, this country will fall in just a single night.”

“...I don’t have an excuse to offer.” <ref>面目次第も有りません have also the meaning of ‘It is a shame I don’t have the power to…’</ref>

Glenn lowered his head somberly.

===Part 8===
When Veronica and Glenn arrived at the ballroom, the palace music and the party atmosphere of the nobles had disappeared.

Most of the guests were by the glass window and were looking downwards in shock. From there they can see the landing area for the airships.

“That’s…!”

Veronica was also looking downwards through the glass window.

“It is dangerous to stand beside the window, Princess-sama!”

Glenn warned her but Veronica ignored him.

There was a change in the landing area.

A living object that was glowing with silver light suddenly landed there.

''-Uoooooooooooooooooo…!''

It was immediately followed by a loud roar that will made one feel like covering his ears.

It was stated in the previous report that ‘an unidentified flying object that looked like a huge egg’, but it seemed that the huge egg had
hatched when Veronica was on her way.

The unbelievable thing is, that huge monster easily split the Empire’s huge airship Beowolf into two with just a stomp.

Right at this moment, there was a man from the crowd was making a fuss.

“Ooh, what is happening! How can a dragon of the Knight’s… Destroy the most advance airship which is our country’s pride! I don’t think that
this is some simple matter!”

The man words had caused an uproar in the ballroom.

Until a moment ago, everyone had just found out that this monster is a dragon.

Talking about a dragon, everyone will think about Lautreamont Knight Country.

“Is that person…Klaus Viderhausen! He is obviously trying to cause a stir!”

Veronica angrily scolded and glared at the Empire’s young noble.

However, there was a man who stupidly tried to argue with Klaus.

“Nonsense! That monster had nothing to do with our country!”

Although the man was wearing a lion shaped mask, judging from his plum body, Veronica immediately knew who he is.

He is her father, Oswald.

“Klaus-dono! This is the truth! That monster had nothing to do with us! Please believe in me!”

“Hu… What you said was not at all convincing. Anyway, everyone here is a witness.”

Klaus was not even bothered by Oswald.

It was because what Klaus said is true. A huge dragon that appeared with no warning had destroyed the Empire’s airship right in front of
everyone.

Nothing could be worst than this.

For Chevron Kingdom and Zepharos Empire who had never see each other eye to eye was originally going to discuss about the peace in between
them in tomorrow’s continental congress ‘Elysium’.

To Chevron Kingdom and its ally Lautreamont Knight Country this should be a historical event.

“Stop… Let alone the Emperor, not even a royal from the Empire attends. It is a total joke. The Empire had never wanted peace-”

Just as Veronica finished her sentence, there were people screaming from everywhere.

Everyone was in a panic.

All the guests who were wearing their mask, including the musicians and the waiters, everyone were trying to escape.

Apart from Oswald who was crying, Klaus who had previously put the blame on the Knight Country was also fleeing.

“What…!”

Veronica who immediately turned around was also sweating tremendously.

There was a pair of scarlet eyes looking into one of the many palace windows.

She spent a few seconds to figure out that the dragon had stretched its neck and was looking into Fontaine Palace.

“Glenn, if I try to slash the pair of eyes with my huge sword… Do you think I have any chance of winning?”

“Please forgive my rudeness… Even if Princess-sama, you are no match for it.”

Glenn told the truth directly.

"Why must you be this honest?"

Veronica was sulking while she confronted the dragon eyes.

The round eyes.

''It looked like a baby’s pairs of eyes. Although it looked naïve, if this monster just rubbed its nose with the palace walls, Fontaine Palace will
turned into dust in seconds. Furthermore, it will be a hill full of bricks and corpse…''

Even though she was thinking of such scenario, Veronica could still manage a smile.

“Kuku… So this is of feeling of my life being controlled by others. I praise you, my child!”

Seeing that Veronica had no intention of escaping, Captain Glenn advised her in panic:

“Princess-sama, please retreat!”

“I mustn’t. Some of the guests are still here.”

Veronica looked around the empty ballroom.

There was a man with a mask standing at the middle of the dance floor.

The man was wearing a elegant suit. However his hair colour was like a cloth stain with blood.

He is obviously the guy in the reports- Milgauss.

Veronica looked at him in admiration.

“Hmm… You indeed look a little like Julius. Remove your mask!”

To her surprise, he actually did it. He could be seen silently removing his mask and threw it to a side as if he don’t need it anymore.

“-!”

Veronica’s eyes widen.

The handsome face beneath the mask was undoubtable Julius of ten years later who had became a seinen.<ref>青年, man with age range between 20-
30.</ref>

He had no longer the rebellious feel with him in his teenage years and was replaced by a feeling of a weapon that had been well polished.

“So you are Julius…!”

As if to sweep away her worries, Julius walked to the side of the window. At the same time, the dragon’s face disappeared as if it had lost
interest with the empty ballroom.

Julius was standing by the window looking at the huge dragon.

“Kukuku… I had been waiting for this moment for a long time!”

That sinful voice and the devil like smile made Veronica felt uneasy.

Glenn took a stepped forward as if trying to ask in behalf of Veronica.

He unsheathed his sword that was on his waist.

“You can’t be Julius, no? My friend will never show such malicious smile."

“Oh, Glenn McGuire! I remembered you are one of the guys that appeared in Julius’s memories. It should be suitable to use ‘it had been a long
time’ in this situation, don’t you think so?”

“What do you mean!”

“You still don’t get it? This body is indeed Julius’s. However, I am not Julius. But I can peek into Julius’s memories anytime."

“What is happening…?”

Veronica was curious but it was not bothered by the man.

“Kneel! Quick! Look carefully! You are witnessing a historical moment!”

The man was acting like a holy man in the religious painting. He spread his arms widely and declared his name.

“I am Mordred! The descendant of the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family.”

Vreonica couldn’t believe what she had just heard.

The Maestro that Julius sacrificed his life to kill is named Mordred. It is also Julius’s Pal.

''Is it possible that Mordred had taken over Julius’s body?''

In regards of Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family- Veronica had only recently heard about this name.

The ‘Old Testament of the Stella Biblia’ that Dr Angela Cornwell found in Willingham Mausoleum.

Basically, Veronica had read through the copy of the book.

She recalled a part of the book.

“…After the wise dragon Inbroke, two major bloodlines were formed. They are the Avalon’s holy dragons emperor family and the Nehalennia’s dark dragons king family. An endless war started from these two families. After the members of the two families reincarnated, they will encounter each other, hate each other and kill each other.”

The person in front had introduced himself as the descendant of the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family.

Then, who is the person who should be representing the descendant of the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family-?

At this moment, Veronica stopped thinking because of Glenn’s shout.

“So I see… You are the roots of evil! I knew that Julius didn’t turn crazy! He will always be loyal to his beliefs and tried to have you
removed even when he had to commit a crime in the Knight Country!... Return Julius to us!”

Followed by a shout, Glenn reduced their distance and there was a silver flash.

However, Mordred easily parried Glenn’s slash.

“Urgh!”

Glenn growled.

Morderd had stopped the high speed slash with only his index and middle finger.

Glenn could be seen standing still while holding his sword. No, that’s not the case, Veronica understands well.

It was not that Glenn was not moving, it was because that he was unable to move.

Morderd had over powered Glenn with just two fingers.

“Hmph… I will let you experience the punishment for being disobedient to ''god''."

After Mordred gave a cold smile, there was a flash.

“Gwaaa!”

Glenn was knocked up into the air while unable to even resist. He knocked into the wall hard and became unconscious.

Veronica didn’t even have the time to care about Glenn and stared at Mordred.

“…I don’t understand. As far as I know, you should have a good relationship with Julius. Didn’t you even present him with an ark?”

“Hmph, the one who has a good relationship with Julius is another me. That me who acknowledged Julius as its master and had associate with him
quite well."

“Another me? What are you talking about?”

“Let me generously explain it to you as your last gift before you die. There was two personalities in Mordred. If it was to be a human, it will be call as a split personality.”

“What happened to the other personality?”

“It had disappeared together with the body. Ironically, it was it and Julius who had planned to kill me. For me, to prevent myself from dying,
I had sacrificed my body and change into this spiritual form and had inhabit in Julius’s body.”

Upon saying until there, Mordred looked out of the window.

Right beside the palace, the dragon was standing on its hind legs and was looking around curiously. It seemed to be troubled because it
couldn’t understand what was happening.

Mordred declared to that dragon:

“Descendant of the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family, I will take that body of yours!”

“Now I understand, so this is what you planned…!”

At this stage. Veronica finally found out what is Mordred aiming for.

Morderd had once lost his body in to past when it was killed by Julius.

However, if it could take over the body of the descendant of the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family, it can once again be born as the
strongest dragon…!

“That will never happen, Mordred!”

Veronica unsheathed the huge sword on her waist.

Even though she knew that he was not an opponent that she could win in a direct confrontation, she still couldn’t bear to watch idly from the side.

''I will kill Mordred together with Julius’s body before he can manage to take over Avalon’s body-'' Veronica rushed forward while thinking so.

Even when it is her brother’s body that we are talking about, she had no intention of showing any mercy.

But, before Veronica could land a hit on Mordred, suddenly, there was darkness emerging from his body and spread all over the ballroom.

“Urgh… What is this dark mist… My conscious…!”

The moment she was surrounded by the darkness, Veronica felt a strong feeling of vomiting and fainting.

===Part 9===
After struggling in the darkness without knowing what was happening for some time- The darkness had finally disappeared.

“Are you alright, Veronica?”

There was a guy who held out his had to Veronica who was struggling to stand up.
[[Image:SnRK V04 207.jpg|thumb]]
“You…!”

There were killing intends in Veronica’s eyes.

To her surprise, Mordred who should be busy with taking over Avalon’s decedent’s body had tried to help her.

However, there was no longer the evilness on his face.

“You… Could you be Julius?”

“Ahh, that is me. You are still the same old you for not calling me ‘Anii-ue’.”

It seemed that because Mordred was gone, Julius who able to take back his body.

“Of course… You F.O.O.L”

Upon hearing, Julius smile but he immediately returned back to his serious expression.

“Sorry, but now is not the time for us siblings to be arguing. Mordred's spirit had already inhibited on Eco’s body. We have the obligation to defeat Mordred and protect this city.”

At that instant, Veronica felt a pain from her head as if she had just been strike.

“Hold on! Did you just say Eco? That huge dragon… is actually Eco?”

“I will explain the detail to you later. Can you stand up?”

“Hmph… Whom do you think you are talking to!”

Using the huge sword as a walking stick, Veronica put all her effort into standing up. But, it was probably the side effect of inhaling in the darkness, in the end, she fell down again.

“Princess-sama!”

The person who reached Veronica first was Glenn. Although he was badly injured, he had regained conscious.

Glenn held on to Veronica and glared at Julius.

“Julius… I had numerous thing that I want to tell you, but please allow me to tell you this first.”

“I can guess what you want to say but be my guest.”

While facing the calm Julius, Glenn with mix feelings shouted to Julius:

“You… Damn you!”

===Part 10===

Seeing that the Empire’s airship was easily crushed, the sacredship Esperanza and magicship Crown Solas flew off immediately.

Only magicship Silvanus remained at its location overlooking the whole incident.

Although Silvanus had yet to attack Eco, Ash was still worried stance the captain is Veronica.

Even so, seeing that Silvanus still haven’t make its decision, Veronica probably had not board the ship. They were most probably waiting for Veronica’s orders.

On the other hand, if Veronica had boarded the ship, there is a high chance that she will issue an attack on Eco. To protect the capital, Veronica will make this decision without any hesitation. Anyway, Silvanus fire power is not something that can be ignored.

“I…I will protect Eco!”

Ash made up his mind and rushed forward.

“Hold on, Ash. Do you want to be crushed!”

Silvia blocked Ash with her arms spread.

“Please move aside, Princess-sama! Who will protect Eco if I don’t!”

“Please keep your calm! Even so, what can you do!? How are you going to ride Eco who had turned into that? What’s more, what are you going to do to ride on Eco?”

“I…”

Silvia was right. During the time when the Necromancia attacked Ansarivan, he received help from Silvia and Lancelot.

But luck was not on his side. Lancelot who he could place his hope on had not yet returned after it gathered with the rest of the Maestro. The group of Maestros were still circling above the sky while waiting for something to happen.

To his relieved, after Eco crushed Beowolf, she had not made any frightening actions. Although Ash was sweating tremendously during the time she looked into Fontaine Palace through the window, he was lucky that she leave immediately.

Right now, Eco was only looking around and sniffing the building around her as if to figure out what was happening. In regards to what had happened to her body, she probably hasn’t figured it out yet.

“In conclusion, we must keep her as far from the town as possible. In case that she entered the town…"

Upon listening to Silvia’s assumption, Ash was shaking in fear.

Fontaine City has a population of around a million.

In another words, a million lives were now in Eco’s hands.

The severity of the current situation was no longer only involved Ash and Eco.

“Guooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo…!”

At that moment, Eco was roaring in pain and started to struggle. There was a change in her appearance that was originally surrounded by a silver light.

Just like a white cloth that came in contact with ink, there black colour was slowly taking over the white.

“…Eco? What’s happening!”

Ash could only look at Eco transform without doing anything.

The change in her skin was only the start.

Her angle like feathers had transformed into a crow like wings.

The previous middle horn of the three horns had disappeared and her pair of horns had turned into spiral shape.

Also, her four limbs were growing at a fast speed. It will be better to describe her as a giant like body rather than a huge beast. That huge body gave a evil feeling.

Last of all, there were nine eyes on its face and were glowing with red lights.

“Nine eyes…!”

Ash remembered something.

Eco once had a nightmare.

In her dream, was Eco attacked by the nine eyed dragon…?

-Don!

At that moment, Eco who had turned into that black dragon gave a dragon breath.

The flame emitted pierced the sky and scattered the dark clouds.

If this flame was aimed at Fontaine Palace or the town… Ash had Goosebumps just by thinking.

“Silvia, so you are here!”

At this moment, there was a fierce voice coming from behind.

It was Silvia and Glenn when they turned around.

Glenn was badly injured and looked like a rag.

Apart from that- There was another man that was following Veronica.

It was already surprising if a person was allowed to walk side by side with Veronica, yet it was far more surprising when they noticed the man’s hair colour.

“Milgauss! Why are you here!”

Ash felt that he was having Goosebumps all over his body. At the same time, he felt that Milgauss looked familiar. He remembered that he had seen that face in a portrait.

“Are you… Anii-ue?!”

Silvia shouted before Ash.

“Yeah. Although it is a little hard to believe, I am Julius. But I don’t have the time to give you any explanations right now. Firstly, we need to get rid of Mordred’s spirit from Eco’s body- Ash.”

When his name was suddenly called by Julius, Ash became nervous.

The person in front of him really felt like Prince Julius Lautreamont.

Julius stepped forward and placed his hand on Ash’s shoulder.

“Only you as the master can save Eco. Understood?”

“Yes. I had thought of that too myself.”

Julius smiled.

“Good answer. I will take the responsibility to bring you to Eco.”

“But… How are you going to do it?”

“Don’t worry. We have that.”

After he finished his sentence, Julius was pointing at- Magicship Silvanus that was actually resting at the far end of the landing area.

===Part 11===
“Ara. I don’t remembered inviting you here…Dark Dragon King Mordred.”

In the dragon workshop, Navi and Mordred were having a confrontation. She was sitting on her favourite chair with her legs crossed.

“Kuku. This is your last time to be able to be this relaxed.”

Mordred’s spirit still maintained Julius’s voice. It was probably because it had inhibited in Julius’s body for more than ten years…Navi thought so.

“I had taken over sixty percent of Eco’s body. It is only a matter of time that I can fully take control of her body. Avalon is losing.”

“…”

“Next, if I can fuse together with you, I can be fully awakened as the Dark Dragon King. Follow me. Even though you are called Navi, but I clearly know that you are not a normal navigator. You are the incarnation of the Dragweiss.”

“Ara. Just what I thought of the Dark Dragon King. You had made quite some investigation on your own.”

“Fuse with me quickly. Give me the supreme knowledge. Strictly speaking, Avalon and Nehalennia have the same roots… I should also be qualified to fuse with you.”

“I don’t disagree with this.”

Upon hearing Navi’s answer, Mordred smiled.

“So you agreed?”

“No I don’t. It is because I don’t like Nehalennia.”

“…What do you say?”

“I am rooting for Avalon's Imperial Princess and her knight. Especially her knight… Ash Blake, he is far manlier than you.”

“Hmph…what a fox you are. Since it had came to this, I will use force-”

Suddenly, there were numerous tentacles coming from under Mordred’s legs. They were like snakes that had found their prey and attacked Navi.

===Part 12===
“I am sorry. Could everyone apart from Ash and I leave this ship?”

Upon stepping into Silvanus’s wheelhouse, Julius spoke coldly.

The crew responsible for the control of the wheel and control communications turned around and looked Julius in confusion. Then they are all frightened as is they had seen a ghost.

They shouldn’t be blamed since the prince that should have been executed years ago was standing in front of them and had asked them to do something unreasonable.

“Hold on… Prince Julius! What do you planned to do?”

Seeing that Ash was requesting for an explanation, at the same time Julius answered, he turned around and looked at Veronica who was preparing to sit on the captain’s seat.

“I just don’t want the rest of the people to die with us. Veronica, I hoped that you could also help me by giving out the orders.”

“Do you think that I would even listen to that joke?”

“If the sister is stubborn, the elder brother will have to face some trouble.”

The next instant, Julius seize Veronica from behind with lightning speed. He was holding a hidden gun. It was a mechanic gun that the military of the Empire used.

Julius even chose to place the tip at Veronica’s temple.

“There is not much time. You should try to listen to your brother sometimes, Veronica.”

“Are you kidding! Silvanus is my magicship. Don’t even think of always doing what you wanted to, Julius.”

“As I had said before, I am your brother. Maybe you are a perfect princess in front of our people, but I knew your achilles heel. If you still disobey me, I will expose it in front of everyone.”

“What achilles heel?”

“I knew that you love Silvia. There are Silva portraits in your room. The clothes that Silva wore, Silva’s growth record, the poem that you wrote from missing Silvia and also Silvia’s human size doll-”

“I-I promise! Keep quite immediately!”

Ash was in a shock. He had never expected Veronica to surrender easily.

“Everyone, leave the ship immediately! This is an order from Veronica Lautreamont! No one is allowed to disobey!”

All the crew members rushed out from the wheelhouse.

===Part 13===
When everyone had left the magicship, Julius flied Silvanus while sitting on the pilot’s seat.

With the sudden shake of the magicship, Ash held on tightly to the seat of the communication officer to avoid falling. Looking through the round window, the magicship was getting further and further away from the ground.

It was a totally different experience from sitting on a dragon. When this lump of metal was flying with passengers- At the same time Ash was amazed, he also started to worry about crashing.

As for Julius, he was piloting Silvanus while telling Ash the whole story.

===Part 14===
Although what Julius said was hard to believe, basically, the dragons were seperated into the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family and the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family. The two families had incarnated since the ancient times and were still fighting each other right until today.

Also, Eco is Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family’s descendant.

In another words, Eco is the Imperial Princess of the dragon.

“…Even after I had heard of such things, it is still hard for me to believe this. Eco who had been living with me was obviously a girl who sleeps late, a glutton and a hot headed girl...”

“I know how you feel. When I found out that my pal is the descendant for the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family, I was also astounded. In the beginning, I was also troubled by why was I chosen.”

Julius said.

“Back to the topic, Avalon’s Imperial Princess’s body is really huge. Even though she is still a young dragon, she had this unbelievable huge size… It is totally unbelievable.”

After Julius pressed a few buttons on the dashboard, Eco’s body was shown on the huge screen in front.

Silvanus was three hundred meters above the land and was looking at Fontaine city from the sky above.

From the screen, they can see Eco's back that had turned black because of being taken over by Mordred.

With its frightening spiral horns and nine eyes… It is exactly the image of the dark dragon king.

Eco who was originally standing on two legs was now standing on all four because of the pain caused by Mordred’s take over.

The worrying part is, Eco was not moving at all and yet she doesn’t look as if she was sleeping…

“Could it be that Eco was fighting Mordred?”

Julius shook his head in disagreement.

“It is impossible. Judging from the huge change of her body, I am afraid that… Eco don’t even have the strength to fight back.”

“Is it…”

“But not all hope is lost. In my opinion, Navi was fighting against Mordred.”

“Navi?”

Why would he mention Navi’s name at such a time?

Before that, how would Julius know about Navi?

“Navi is the incarnation of the Dragweiss. If Navi could keep on fighting back, even after Mordred could fully take over Eco’s body, he still couldn’t be fully awaken.”

“What do you meant?”

“Regardless of the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor or the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king, both of them must fuse with the Dragweiss to obtain the supreme knowledge, only then they could receive their true power. I believe that Mordred right now is trying his best to make Navi his.”

“How come… you knew so many about him?”

“That was because it shared the same body with Mordred. Just like what he did to blend into the human society… I could also look into his memories.”

After hearing what Julius had said, Ash was still confused. However, there exists thing that could be easily understood without the need of good brains.

“In another words, this is a great time for a counter attack when Mordred was busy dealing with Navi, right?”

“That’s right. This is our only chance for victory. If you can ride on Eco and chase of Mordred’s spirit, then you can save Eco and the capital together.”

Ash nodded in agreement to what Julius had said.

“I am willing to give it a try. No matter it is Avalon or Nehalennia… I don’t think I even know what they mean. I only know that Eco is my pal.”

When Ash turned around and prepared to walk back to the deck, Julius spoke from behind:

“Although I don’t know why you are chosen… But I am glad that you are Eco’s knight.”

===Part 15===
“Urgh…”

Ash arrived at the deck and the winds were cold. Such temperatures were unheard of during the summer.

Ash was carrying a parachute- This is a decision made by Julius and him beforehand.

When Silvanus had come close to Eco, Ash will jump off from the deck with the help of the parachute.

After landing, it is all up to Ash.

Basically, Ash had gone through the landing practices in the academy.

Ash had never intended to become a soldier and had always thought that the academy was wrong to force them to go through the practices.

Anyway, the academy is not a military school- But who would expect that those practices must be applied right now.

“…Right there.”

Ash was looking down towards the ground from the bow and had located Eco’s back.

Although her fur had turned black but since the enormous amount of magic surrounding her was giving off strong rays of light, he won’t have to worry about missing his target.

He must make use of the time that Navi was fighting against Mordred to land on Eco’s head.

Julius voice emerged from the magic communication device:

“Ash, you may jump anytime.”

“Roger that.”

Ash looked downwards for one more time.

For such a huge beast, her only blind spot will be her head.

Ash tried to imagine himself riding on Eco’s head.

To his surprise, it was not at all scary.

The ‘Seikoku’ on his left arm was getting warm and was flickering with dim light.

It felt as if his ‘Seikoku’ was urging him to move quickly.

Suddenly- Eco lifted her neck and shot a dragon breath towards Silvanus.

“…Urgh!”

A bright light pierced through the night sky. Ash surrendered against the shaking deck and fell down. Although Julius had barely avoided a direct hit by giving the ship an emergency turn, the strong breath had burned the side of the ship into ashes.

There were smokes and fire emerging from the ship itself and it had lost balance.

“Tsk…! If you kill me, Eco will die too! If that happens, you also couldn’t get your hands on Eco’s body that you desired that much...! How could someone be this stupid?”

When Ash was groaning, Julius voice could be heard once again through the communication machine:

“Ash, are you alright!”

“Yes, I am!”

“Silvanus is going to do an emergency landing! Jump quickly!”

“I also intend to do so!”

Ash clenched his teeth and jumped off from the deck.

The moment his feet left the deck, Mordred gave a second dragon breath.

Looking backwards, he saw Silvanus’s deck suffered a direct hit from the dragon breath.

Ash shuddered. He was lucky that he had jumped of earlier or else he would be turned into dust.

Although Julius had said there are going to do an emergency ‘landing’, judging from the speed Silvanus was moving downwards, it looked like it was crashing.

Finally, the unbalance ship disappeared at the other end of the palace walls- Then a fire pillar could be seen followed by a loud explosion.

“Prince Julius…!”

Ash was sad but there was nothing he can do.

Julius had risked his life to fly him into the night sky.

The only thing he can do right now is to complete his mission in return.

Ash's body was moving downwards because of the gravity pull.

His face and ears felt like being crushed by the air pressure.

“Now is the time!”

Ash had got the timing right and spread open the parachute.

The amazing braking force had caused the parachute to slow down.

If another dragon breath was shot, Ash would certainly be hit but Ash prayed that he will not have such bad luck.

“Wait for me, Eco. I will protect you… I swear!”

===Part 16===
“Damn! Where am I?”

Eco found out that she was in a cage when she woke up. When she was looking at her body, she found out that she was wearing a dress with low standards.

This style is obviously not of Eco’s preference.

Any dress in Fontaine Palace’s changing room looked better that this. It is even as heavy as lead and it felt more like a binding item rather than an evening dress.

On the other side of the cage was a wide white space. The walls, the floor and the ceiling was white. Not even a dust that could be found.

“How dare anyone to cage a dragon like me in this cage… What were they even thinking!?”

Eco was definitely confused. Yet she still vaguely remembered that she was awakened as a dragon. She even remembered that she had become huge and was looking at the whole Fontaine palace.

But her memories stopped there.

“Tsk…It seems that you are alright since you are this energetic even under such situation.”

It was a familiar voice.

“Navi? You…!”

Navi was standing outside of the cage. Even though Eco disliked Navi, but under such situation, Eco was grateful that Navi was here and felt that Navi was like an angel.

The Eco’s Angel was now looking like a ragdoll.

Navi who was always acting calm and give out a noble like feeling was now with a messed up hair and even her evening dress was in rags. All over her body were marks of being bounded.

“What happened? This doesn’t look like you at all…”

Eco was taking a closer look at Navi.

“Hmm…I am only accompanying Mordred in his game. It was just that, his tentacles fetish had given me some trouble!”

“Mordred? Who is that?”

“Please lend me your hand.”

Eco stretched her hand through the gaps in between the bars of the cage. After Navi held her hand, a mass amount of knowledge flowed into her brain.

In a blink of an eye, Eco knew everything that had happened. Only until now that she had realized that she was in her spiritual from.

“To make it simple… That person called Mordred is trying to take over my body, right?”

“That’s right. Anyway, during the time I was running around, he had done nothing bad. But if it is to destroy this capital, it will be an easy task for him.”

“Hmm… So I am such a great dragon.”

According to Navi’s information, Eco is Avalon’s Imperial Princess.

“Huhu. Now Ash is going to look at me differently.”

Seeing that Eco was feeling proud, Navi sighed.

“As long as he can survive. He seems to be doing something foolhardy again.”

Navi held Eco’s hand again and Eco closed her eyes.

That current situation was sent into Eco’s brain as projections.

“What…!”

Eco was speechless.

Under the night sky- Ash leaned out from Silvanus’s deck.

The next instant, Mordred gave a dragon breath from the ground.

Silvanus was hit and was gliding in the sky as if it was a paper plane.

On the other hand, Ash jumped into the air and was falling with his head pointing downwards.

“Hold on… Is he crazy!?”

At that moment, Eco clearly heard Ash’s mumble.

"Wait for me, Eco. I will protect you… I swear!”

In a short moment, tears started to flow from her eyes. Even though she was a spirit, her tears still kept on flowing. Even the Dragweiss couldn’t give an explanation. A warm feeling was haunting her heart… What was that feeling?

“Why…Why? Why would he… try to do so many things for me? Even when I… Had caused many, many troubles for him?”

Navi stretched her hand into the cage and patted her head.

“Do you even have to ask? It is because you are his pal.”

Eco rubbed off her tears and lifted her head.

“Navi, please tell me what can I do for him.”

“Teehee. That’s more like it.”

Navi smiled and waved her hand lightly. With a flash, the cage had disappeared. At the same time, the black dress that limits Eco’s movement had been broken into particles and a pure white evening dress was raveled from beneath.

In a short time, Navi removed Mordred’s seal.

“I must say that… You are very good.”

Eco was looking at her dress. It designs compromised of the elements of elegant and pure. It is as if it was made to be worn by the Avalon’s Imperial Princess.

“No matter how great I am, I can't help you with the upcoming step. Understood?”

Eco nodded in reply.

“Then, what should I do?”

After Navi smiled, she cheekily said:

“Of course you are to present him your originally made Ark and the Avalon’s Imperial Princess.”

The next instant, Eco became confused.

“What? Are you serious?”

As if it was natural to do so, Navi nodded without any hesitation.

“All the mimics that you had created for emergency in the past… is useless against Mordred.”

“But, how am I to do this impossible task!?”

An original Ark could not be completed easily.

It was because of Eco had seen her ancestor’s blueprint; she understands how hard it can be. An Ark is not only a strong magic weapon, at the same time, it is also a perfect art masterpiece.

Not to mention that Eco was still a young dragon that was not even a year old without any experience. Navi’s suggestion was like asking a baby to build a palace.

“Anyway, it will not be called difficult if the blueprint could be easily created.”

Eco gave up before she even started but Navi ignored it.

“Rest assured, you must believe in your own ability. You are an Imperial Princess who is the blood descendant of Avalon.”

“But… what we must think about is not only the armour itself, there is also the Ark-weapon…”

“Listen carefully, the shape itself doesn’t matters. It was the mental power of the creator that decide the strength of the Ark. Even if you don’t know the shape, as long as you focus, the shape of the Ark will be formed.”

“Really…?”

“Yeah. Also, you don’t have to worry about the Ark-weapon. Avalon has a treasured sword that had been passed down through the generations. Just use it.”

After a moment of silent, Eco mumbled:

“…I had always disliked you since the first time I met you. Regardless of your relaxed attitude or your looks that was similar to mine or your overly large breast…I hate them and hate them very much! However… It is funny that I felt that you are trustable.”

Eco lifted her head and smile.

Navi also returned a smile.

At the same moment, Eco felt that a light had pierced through that darkness that had been blocking her eyes.

She didn't want to look for trouble anymore.

And she definitely doesn’t want to give up before taking up the challenge.

While the evening dress was swaying, Eco spoke with confidence:

“Just wait and see. I will definitely complete my original Ark!”

===Part 17===
“Damn… What kind of joke is this!”

Although Ash had finally landed on Eco, still the landing spot was her back and not her head. It was exactly beside the joints between the body and the wings.

That pair of wings was like the wings of a new born bird. It was still wet and was unable to fly right away.

Maybe this is my only life saver…Ash secretly thought.

Black furs were grown from her uneven skin. It felt like a Necromancia. He must get rid of Mordred’s spirit and return Eco to her original appearance as soon as
possible.

To achieve this, he must try to ride her gigantic body. However… Ash was looking at Eco’s head from afar.

Connected to her back that was as huge as prairie was a long neck that looked as if it was a stairway to heaven. And her head with spiral horns was at the other end of the neck.

His current aim was to ride on her head and try to control her using his will as a dragner. However… The distance between them was huge. It was like trying to climb the dangerous Xenoglavia Mountains without any climbing tools.

“Stop… This is not the time to give up.”

Ash threw aside the parachute and move forward while pushing aside those furs that were taller than his height.

“Now I really looked like a louse…”

In reality, Mordred treat Ash as nothing but a louse. That is why he was not bothered by Ash at all.

“Just wait and see. Your overconfidence will be the cause of your death, Mordred…”

Although Ash kept on talking to himself to boost his confidence, but every time he looked towards her head, he felt like falling apart.

Suddenly, there was a change in the night sky.

Those Maestros who were originally circling in the sky started to make their movements.

Those Maestros could be seen gliding towards Mordred and had him surrounded.

“Grrrrrrrrrrrrr…”

Mordred lifted his neck and gave a threatening growl. However, before he even managed to attack, the Maestros activated their magic at the same time.

With a flash, chains that were made from magic appeared. Numerous chains had tied down the huge dragon’s neck, front legs, hind legs, tail…

“Guuuoooooooooooooooooooo…!”

Mordred was struggling with all his might but the chains wouldn’t even budge.

“They…!”

It can’t be wrong. These Maestros were trying to seal Mordred’s movement. Who know if they were thinking that the dragon worthy to take to top is not Mordred but Eco.

At that moment, a Maestro landed right in front of Ash. Its pair of horns that looked like a dear’s looked familiar to Ash. Then a clear voice could be heard coming from behind the dragon.

“Ash… Hurry up!”

“Lukka!? Why are you here?”

That is. The Maestro that suddenly appeared from above was Gawain and Lukka was riding on its back. Ash felt nostalgic.

Lukka while feeling worried gave Ash a short explanation.

“Err… The Maestros in the seven dragon house was escaping together. I risked my life to cling on Gawain… In the end, I found out that I was already here.”

“Did Rebecca and Max come together?”

Lukka shook her head. It was probably Ash's mistake that he felt that Lukka’s ears were slightly drooping.

“Only I noticed that something was going on with the Maestros…”

“Is that so…”

As if to interrupt Ash’s and Lukka’s conversation, Gawain roared with its jaws opened.

It was as if trying to tell Ash to ride on it quickly. Ash naturally didn’t reject this offer.

“Thank you!”

Just as Ash sat on Gawain’s back, Gawain flapped its wings.

After piercing through the night sky, Gawain’s altitude was increasing following the direction of Mordred’s neck. Lukka’s riding skills was as good as ever and could only be described by perfect.

Ash was clinging tightly to Lukka’s thin waist to avoid from dropping off.

However, Mordred will not stay silent. Although he was being tied down, it was still struggling and roaring loudly.

Suddenly, magic cannons continued to appear in the sky and was firing at Gawain.

Ash was trembling when he saw those cannons.

It was because those cannons looked like the weapon that Ash used during his fight with Milgauss in Willingham Mausoleum. The only difference is, each cannon was around Gawain’s size.

“Magic shield Aegis…!”

“Need not worry… It will be alright as long as we are not hit.”

Lukka was not at all shaken.

As if she had fused with Gawain, she was controlling Gawain by moving left and right and dangerously avoided the crossing light rays.

It even used its dragon breath and those magic canons were destroyed one by one.

When Gawain had successfully passed Mordred’s head, all the magic cannons had disappeared.

“Ash, now’s the time…!”

Just when Lukka shouted, Gawain did a summersault.

At the point where the sky was upside down, Ash jumped down.

He drew a big locus in the night sky and successfully land in between the two horns. Looking from a close distance, the horns looked more like an altar than a horn.

When his feet landed on that spot, he felt satisfied. It was probably his dragner’s intuition that told him this is the best riding spot.

“Listen carefully Eco!”

Ash was shouting with all his might at his ‘Seikoku’ that was connected to Eco:

“Right now, I am going to ride you! I swear I will be successful in riding you! Whether you are a Imperial Princess or not it has nothing to do with me! So what if you are a imperial princess? You are always bad tempered, try to solve anything with force, a sleepy head, only have crepes in your eyes and felt like wanting to bite greedily whenever you saw meat. Are these what an Imperial Princess should do! Even if you really are an Imperial Princess, I will never approve it!... I only knew that- I am your knight, and you are my pal. Things are just as simple as this!”

The next instant, there was a change in his left arm that was dense with ‘Seikoku’.

The ‘Seikoku’ can be seen emitting rays of light that were able to light up the entire night sky. Then patterns started to crawl just like some living things.

No, the patterns were growing.

“W-What had happened…?”

Just when Ash was feeling confused, his ‘Seikoku’ started to spread outwards towards Ash entire body with his left arm as the starting point.

Ash found out that his connection with Eco had become stronger.

Although he couldn’t communicate with Eco verbally, yet, he was sure that he was connected to Eco…!

But, what Ash was thinking only lasted for a short moment.

“Guuuuuuuoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo…!”

Mordred was back on the move. He had broken one of the chains and was standing on two legs.

“Auuu…!”

Lukka groaned. The wind created when Mordred stood up had affected Gawain. Although it was not blown away by the wind, it was obvious that it could not remain
its balance. However, Lukka shouted:

“Don’t worry about me… I am alright! Ash, just focus on saving Eco…!”

Then, Lukka and Gawain finally fall and disappear from Ash’s line of sight.

“Lukka…!”

Ash stretched his arm but he could only grab the air.

The Maestros that scattered in the sky tried to make another chain to tie down Mordred’s upper body.

But before Mordred could be sealed, it forcefully shook its neck.

“Uwaaaaaaaaa!”

Ash lost his balance and was thrown up into Fontaine Palace like a cannonball.

-This is a lie… It must be…?

He was approaching the tower in the middle of Fontaine Palace.

If he was to hit into such stone wall…he will definitely die.

-Is this the end…? Is Eco and I… Going to end right here?

Right at this moment.

Almete, Gorjal, Peto…

The voice of the spell was coming from his ‘Seikoku’ that had spread all over his body.

Espaldar, Brafoneras, Faldaje…

It was definitely Eco’s voice.

Escarcelas,Bufetas, Hombreras, Brazales…

Compare to the previous times, every single word that Eco said was followed by a deep tone.

Codales, Antebrazos, Manoplas…

Without any reason, Ash felt courage from within.

Quijotes, Guardas, Grebas… Escarpes…

Lastly, Eco was left with the last word.

-Espolón!

Ash who was going to crash into Fontaine Palace was surrounded by holy lights.

It felt as if he was surrounded by angel’s wings.

Even though Ash had an illusion of he was ascending to heaven, Eco’s voice had disrupted this peaceful feeling.

“You absolutely must accept my feelings!”

===Part 18===
As he opened his eyes, Ash was standing at the highest point of Fontaine Palace.

“I-I am saved?”

He saw Mordred was standing ferociously with only two legs while being bounded by the chains of the Maestros.

All of the nine eyes were burning with the flames of rage and looked like scarlet stars. Even though he was trying his best to break free from those chains, those Maestros kept on creating new chains.

“This… What is this feeling?”

Ash was looking at his own body.

His entire body was emitting heat and was overflowing with magic.

It have to be the Ark that Eco presented to me- Yet to Ash’s dismay, what he was wearing right now was still his cloths that looked like rags.

There was not even an Ark that could be seen.

Even so, Ash still continued to feel safe as if he was protected by the Ark. Furthermore, the ‘Seikoku’ that was on his entire body was alive.

What is happening?

Hey, why are you daydreaming! Quickly use the Ark-weapon!

Eco’s voice was once again could be heard in his mind

“Eco…? What is happening?”

T-that is…?

Without any reason, Eco became silent. It felt as if she was embarrassed because of a certain something.

As if to speak on Eco’s behalf, another voice appeared in his mind.

Huhu. That is an original Ark that Eco had created on her own. However, it is still incomplete and even that shape had not been decided on yet.

“This voice… Are you Navi!”

The Ark represents proof of the oath of a dragon that swears to hand over their body and feelings to their knight. At the same time, it was a proof that it was connected to the Master’s heart. Right now, you are recognized as the Avalon’s knight.

I-I only wanted to get back my own body!... It was never meant to be given to you!

Ara, who is the person who was crying because she was worried about Ash? I wonder.

S-Shut up!

Eco and Navi seemed to had started an argument.

Ash made a wry smile because they could still have the mood to quarrel even under such dangerous situation.

All the negative emotions like unsecured and frightened had disappeared.

However- Right after that, Ash had a bad premonition as if a pair of cold hands had held on to his spirit. When he raised his head, Mordred’s eyes were filled with sparks and were marking him.

It had obviously begun to take notice of Ash who was previously being regarded as a louse.

“Guuuuuoooooooooooooooooooooo…!”

Although Mordred was still bounded by those magic chains, he still managed to open his jaws after putting in some effort.

There was a ball of light that could be seen appearing in front of his nose and it was slowly expanding-

Ash felt a large amount of energy from it. It was thanks to the Ark that his senses had sharpened.

Navi warned Ash in his mind.

That’s bad. Even though Mordred have not fused with me, he is still very strong…!

“Rest assured. I will personally deal with it.”

Ash immediately started to search for information regarding his Ark-weapon. Thanks to his experience in equipping those mimics, his was able to complete his search in a short time.

Ash smiled from within his heart.

The Ark-weapon formed in his mind was undoubtably the strongest sword that had ever existed.

Ash readied his posture and started to chant the spell.

“An iron that could slash through anything…”

For every word he said, his ‘Seikoku’ that was all over his body was emitting heat and reacted strongly to it.

"A holy sword meant for a knight of all knights-”

At the same time, Ash felt that his palm was overflowing with an unlimited amount of magic.

The one and only treasured sword that had been passed down generations by generations in the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family had its shape formed in Ash’s palm.

“Appear- Excalibur!”

It was not only a huge brave and beautiful sword but also an Ark-weapon.

On its silvery white hilt were many scarlet coloured Milinniums and they were shining brightly.

After he held the holy sword with both hand tightly, Ash leaped.

At the same time, Mordred was giving out the dragon breath.

That was a ball of light with overwhelming powers that could destroy the entire capital to ground level in a blink of an eye. Followed by some purple electric around Mordred’s head, the ball of light was released at Ash’s direction.

To make things worse, Ash couldn’t avoid it because the entire Fontaine Palace and City was right behind him.

No- In reality, I won’t even need to avoid it.

“Uooooooooooooooooooooooooo!”

Ash as if he had forgotten about his fear rushed towards the ball of light.

In respond to Ash’s verve, the Millenniums at the hilt of the holy sword was giving out a bright light.

In respond to Ash’s verve, the shapeless Ark was releasing all its magic.

“Kirisakeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!” <ref>斬り裂け. Means to get split and break apart.</ref>

Just before being swallowed by that attack, Ash had swung the most powerful strike.

-Cut!!! <ref>斬. Ii was a word that was usually shouted when someone wanted to cut/slash/chop/kill off something.</ref>

At the same time the lump of energy was split into two, Ash was in mid-air. His vision was full of white and he could see nothing at all.

If not because of the protection he received from the Ark, all the cells in his body should had been reduced into nothing. Ash was indeed slashing through such high amount of temperature.

In the end, his vision finally widened.

The dragon breath that was sliced into two had its trajectory changed and each had landed at the Fontainia plains on both side of the capital and had exploded.

Although it was a huge explosion, apart from the strong wind, Fontaine City remained intact.

Ash had again lifted Excalibur and had it pointed at Mordred’s head.

At that moment, there was a creepy voice coming from Ash’s mind.

…Hold on! If you harm this body, the daughter of Avalon would also be-

The nine eyes kept on blinking as if it still had something to say.

“Haa! Now you start to beg from me… Know your place, Mordred!”

Ash remained determined and continued to land at the head.

Of course Ash knew that this body originally belonged to Eco.

He never had the intention to simply slash around with this sword.

However, to get rid of Mordred’s spirit, he needs Eco to bear with it for a few more moments.

What Ash had intended to do was not to kill Eco but to make her lost her strength.

Where is the best place to land my attack?

There is not enough time to think of such complicated problems.

It is because apart from Eco’s and his life, Ash was burdened with the lives of millions of residents of the capital. Ash decided to wager everything he had in the only possibility he could think of.

“Eat this, Mordred!”
[[Image:SnRK V04 243.jpg|thumb]]

Ash was landing at full speed.

''What are you trying to do…? Do you want to follow the Julius's footsteps and become a ‘dragon slayer’? I can’t understand this, I just couldn’t understand this…!''

Ash didn’t replied and had no intention of doing so.

“Whether you are a god or a devil-”

Ash’s sword and Mordred’s horn clashed with each other.

“All the dragons will have to listen to my command, not to mention-”

After he had pinpointed the crucial point to release Eco, Ash swung Excalibur-

“If it is my '''P.A.L'''!”

Followed by a sound of a metal clashing with rocks, the night sky was swallowed by a white light.

The thing that was chopped off by Ash and was flying in mid-air was the left horn.

“Guuuuooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo…!”

Mordred’s roar was echoing in the night.

===Part 19===

“Huhu. Mordred must be running away with his tail rolled up<ref>A proverb</ref> even though a spirit shouldn't have any tails.”

Mordred’s spirit was running under the night sky towards the east while he was being seen by Navi.

On the eastern side of the country is Chevron Kingdom’s land.

“So in the end he had escaped to Chevron Kingdom… I must wait until he rises up again before I could have him captured. Right now, I should give praise to Avalon’s Knight."

Navi gave herself a cheer and smiled.

Eco’s spirit was no longer beside her.

===Part 20===

Ash’s final blow had chopped off Eco’s left horn.

Last month during the time Ash was in the infirmary, he had bitten Eco’s horn. Furthermore, her left horn that was chopped off had made her recalled that feeling.

It was that ‘happy’ feeling that dragged Eco’s spirit out.

Her hearts memories and her body memories.

When both of them are thinking the same thing, Eco’s spirit managed to take back its own body and get rid of Mordred’s spirit.

Not only this method is impractical, its succession rate too is just as low.

However, Eco’s clearly remembered the feeling that Ash gave her.

-Navi had seen it all.

The body of the huge dragon had undergone some changes inside the glaring light.

The skin colour that was originally black had turned back to its original silvery white colour.

As for those nine creepy eyes, they had returned into two clear scarlet eyes.

Then-

The body that was bigger than Fontaine Palace was shrinking slowly and finally turned back into a young teenage girl with pink hair.

Ash gently hugged the angel like naked body in mid-air.

Although Eco was blushing, she still placed her hand on Ash’s back and hugged her knight.

"Princess of Avalon ~A.S.B.1365.7~" is closed.
<noinclude>

==References and Translation Notes==
<references />

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|-
| Back to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Chapter 7|Chapter 7]]
| Return to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Epilogue|Epilogue]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Chapter 8

2013-11-07T10:48:40Z

213.144.240.241: /* Part 2 */

==Chapter 8 - Avalon's Imperial Princess==
===Part 1===
In the mothership Beowolf- In the armory, under Dr Hoffman’s command the battle is in full swing.

Eco who was naked was floating in magic guided device. ‘Yggdrasill’s’ capsule. There were groups of technician working around her. This was out of Anya’s area of understanding. She could only stand by and wall and watch silently.

But, she understood well the pain that Eco was feeling.

The cold voice was followed by its echo when it was reflected on the metal body.

“The cartridge has been filled. Prepare for launching.”

“The countdown starts now. Ten, nine, eight… Three, two, one-.”

“Launch the compressed magic!”

A red bean was shot out followed by a loud gun shooting sound. Anya felt that even the ship was vibrating.

“…!”

Then, there were air bubbles coming from Eco’s mouth. If not because of she was in the liquid, her scream could definitely be heard.

Anya couldn’t bear to see Eco suffering and looked away.

Eco’s body had already taken at least ten shots of the compressed magic.

Eco regained her consciousness after the start of the experiment. At the beginning, she was struggling in the water, but ‘Yggdrasill’s’ capsule was not at all affected.

But after receiving a continuous dozens of compressed magic, she lost her strength.

Right now, she was just like a living dead. Her blank eyes were now lifeless and it was terrible. It was pure torture. Even so, the group of researchers led by Dr Hoffman were not at all shaken and continued silently.

“There is no significant change on the appearance of α. There are no abnormalities on her respiratory system. No magic fluctuation can be seen.”
Without realizing, the group of researchers started to refer Eco as α.

Eco is a human, a young dragon and also a living being- But this group of human had taken everything from her. To them, Eco was just experimental material α.
Who knows if they want to remove their feeling of guilt by calling her with symbols…Anya secretly thought so.

At this moment, Dr Hoffman’s voice is heard by Anya.

“Still no changes… It seems like we don’t have any more choices. Activate all the Millennium.”

Anya turned pale when she heard that.

This means that they had decided to use full power on ‘Yggdrasil’.

===Part 2===
“*Sob*… It was all… My fault. *Sob*…”

In the maid’s bedroom in the ground floor of the palace.

Prim was lying on the bed with her pillow wet with tears.

There was only Ash and Silvia beside her bed. Cosette was standing outside the room by the door.

Prim cried while she told the whole incident.

Prim arrived at the ancient palace when she was chasing Eco who was running amok.

She had met a few suspicious people there.

Seeing the enemy suddenly attacked, Eco appeared and became the bait to let Prim escape.

When Prim regained conscious, Eco was no longer there.

After hearing, Ash felt something suspicious.

“Why did you go to the ancient palace?”

“That’s because… It was my entire fault! It was my bad to say such things!”

“Prim, please stay calm. Compared to you, Ash was the person who suffered the most.”

After being advised by Silvia, Prim rubbed of her tears.

“You are right. Sorry…”

“Prim-san, please tell me everything before Eco was kidnapped!”

Prim nodded.

“I had no ill intention, it was just that… Ash-sama is a human and Eco is a dragon… So I thought that Eco would feel lonely after Ash-sama married with a human girl. The moment I told her that, Eco rushed out of the room.”

“What…!”

Who would have thought of this, Ash was speechless.

“Idiot! You… Why do you have to tell her this!”

Silvia was mad.

“If I am Eco… I will definitely feel hurt if someone told that to me! Even when Eco is a dragon, her thoughts are still those of a girl’s. She should know very well that her situation is special. Why was she born as a human? Why was she not born as a dragon… If I am Eco, I can never feel secure.”

“Princess-sama…”

Ash looked at Silvia who was telling Eco's thoughts in surprise.

“Recently, she had gotten used to the school life. She was also being loved by everyone as the student council’s mascot. Even so, to Eco, the only person she could trust in… Is no other than Ash.”

“And I… Have said something terrible…”

“Strictly speaking, Eco is still a young dragon who is not even a year old. Can’t you be a little more indirect in your-”

“Forget it, Princess-sama. Right now, we could never solve the problem even after lecturing Prim-san. What’s more, if they had this planned, no matter what Prim-san said, Eco would still have been kidnapped.”

“…You are right. But how are we going to rescue Eco?”

Silvia nodded in agreement with Ash.

“Prim-san… Could you describe those people who attacked?”

Ash was praying while asking. His only clue is Prim being the witness.

“Err…They pretended to be the palace servants. But, they didn’t look like citizens of the Knight Country. For their skin colour, it looked like they are the Tantalos…. Also, the person who attacked me is a short girl.”

“A Tantalos girl…!”

Ash was feeling Déjà vu. It was like he had found the last piece of puzzle in his memory.

“It was the girl who followed Milgauss!”

Ash’s fists were shaking. The world he was seeing was dyed in red. Even though he had a feeling that Milgauss was the culprit, still, after making sure, he was still in rage.

“Since we know who the criminal is-”

Silvia immediately stopped Ash who intended to rush out from the room.

“Hold on, Ash! Where do you think you are going to?”

“The ballroom, of course! I want to settle thing with Milgauss!”

“Keep your calm! Do you think that Milgauss will admit it even after you find him?”

“…Maybe not.”

Ash turned speechless.

Silvia was right, no matter how emotional he became, Eco still wouldn’t be able to return safely.”

Just as if she was trying to have Ash cooled down, Silvia made a suggestion in a calm voice:

“Don’t you think that this is a good time to save Eco when Milgauss is busy with the masquerade?”

“What do you meant?”

“Milgauss couldn’t even be bothered by an activity with long history such as this continental congress and will do anything just to capture Eco. Even when I don’t know what his intentions are, but capturing Eco alive is their priority. I am sure that their lackeys won’t do anything to harm Eco when the mastermind is absent.”

After listening to Silvia’s analysis, Ash gave a breath of relieve.

“The problem remains is, where is Eco’s location. Since Ash’s ‘Seikoku’ is not reacting, it means that Eco was being hidden in an enclosed place. For example something that could be a barrier to cut off magic… Anyway, it must be done with the proper equipment. It just can’t be a rally point that they have just constructed.”

“An enclosed place with proper equipments? That’s it, Milgauss has Klaus backing him up…”

Last evening, an airship flew past the evening sky…

The black ship that was waving the Empire’s flag proudly…

Ash remembered.

Ash and Silvia exchanged glances and shouted at the same time:

“Beowolf!”

===Part 3===
-W-Will…I die just like this…

Eco thought so.

The liquid in the capsule kept on rotating and Eco’s body was being swept by it.

Every time her shoulders or waist touches the glass, her body will move slowly in the opposite direction.

It seems like the liquid was made of special materials. Luckily, it doesn’t affect her breathing. But after suffering a few shots from the magic device, her body turned numb.

This feeling is like an empty mind floating in mid air.

-If I could just… Continue sleeping… Then I won’t feel any pain…

Just when Eco thought so, a power that surpassed those previous ones was released at her.

“Noooooooooo…!”

Even though she thought that she shouted in pain, in truth they were just air bubbles coming out from her mouth.

A bright light flashes and the water turned rapid. Just like being swallowed off by a tsunami, her body kept on rotating and kept on hitting the glass around her.

-W….Why do I have to suffer this kind of pain.

It had passed the limit of her brain to just think of what they are going to do to her. She could only feel that her body had been injected with a vast amount of magic.

The pain she felt is just like her body being ripped open.

It felt like her organs were being messed up by someone.

-Urgh… It hurts…. It hurts…. I beg you all, please stop.

It is pointless no matter how she shout in her mind, the magic was still flowing into the body. Eco’s body was jerking nonstop and she was struggling.

You might as well do me a favour by killing me-Eco gave up.

“…!”

At the next moment- The Necromancia’s slimy tentacles attacking her from all directions.

Eco couldn’t understand.Where did those tentacles appear from in this enclosed environment?

The tentacles which were wriggling like a snake slowly snatched her freedom.

Her arms, waist, legs… was entangled by those tentacles. -Stop! This must be an illusion! It is this device that was making me hallucinate…!

Eco tried to stay conscious and opened her eyes widely.

At that moment, the tentacles disappeared.

The feelings of being entangled by those tentacles also disappeared.

However, not long after that, she loses focus and the tentacles appeared again and had her waist surrounded.

In a blink of an eye, she was lifted by those tentacles.

-Stop!

[[Image:SnRK V04 183.jpg|thumb]]

An abnormally thick tentacle was approaching at Eco’s face.

Eco kept her teeth closed with her might. If she was to be careless, the tentacle will surely wriggle into her mouth. Eco had Goosebumps just by think about it.

Eco initially wanted to ask for Ash’s help. She hoped that he could save him from this hell.

However, from the point she woke up in this device, she couldn’t even summon Ash.

Her Astral Flow with Ash had also been cut off.

The lost of her communication had put her in fear.

Eco was shocked that the lost of her connection with Ash would put her in such great fear.

-I am really an idiot. I only knew what is precious to me after I had lost it.

This experience had made her wanted to treasure Ash much more.

That’s right, without Ash, I can’t do anything… I am really a good for nothing.

-Don…

At that instant, there was something moving in her body.

===Part 4===
“Something is wrong! The magic indicator is showing an abnormal value!”

“We found an unknown magic source! Its power is increasing!”

“We had lost control of ‘Yggdrasill’! It ignored the emergency stop signal!”

The continuous bad news had made Dr Hoffman turn pale.

The laboratory was as if in a fire and tense atmosphere was spreading.

Everyone was with a panic look and were busy dealing with the buttons on their hands.

“What happened…?”

Anya who was looking from aside wondered.

Basically, there was nothing abnormal with Eco who was in the capsule.

Even though she was shot by the high power compressed magic and had struggle like she was having a nightmare, yet nothing dramatic had happened.

But the indicator was still indicating an abnormal value. Also, they were losing control of ‘Yggdrasill’.

The situation had suddenly become tense.

Even the emergency trigger had been triggered and the bell was ringing loudly.

-Dong!

At that instant, Anya heard something from the ground.

“What is that… Sound?”

As if to prove that it was not an illusion, ‘Yggdrasill’ magic indication exploded.

“Uwaa!”

Some groaned and all the surrounding deviced started to explode with red flames. All the technician were running away in fear.

“Don’t panic! Keep calm!”

Dr Hoffman shouted but not even a single soul was listening.

Because in everyone’s sights were Eco who was caged in the capsule.

Eco’s body was glowing with a dim light.

Even Anya was captive by the sight in front.

“Dr Hoffman! Let’s escape!”

A young researcher advised Dr Hoffman. The rest of the researchers were agreeing with him and looked at Dr Hoffman.

Anya left the wall and walk towards Dr Hoffman’s back.

“Dr Hoffman, I also think that it would be wise if we escape now.”

“No!”

Anya was stunned by Dr Hoffman’s aura. She had thought of him as a kind old man and was forced to act cruel as a researcher. Who would know that he would have such a stubborn side.

“What are you thinking! Even an outsider like me knew that this is dangerous! Isn’t there Millennium attached to that device too?”

What Anya was worried about is the existence of the Millenniums. Just in case the Millenniums explode… Anya was thinking. Let alone Beowolf, it is not even surprising if the capital disappear from the maps forever.

However, Dr Hoffman shook his head slowly.

“…I won’t. That will not happen. The energy in the Millenniums had run dry.”

“What?”

“All the magic energy… Was fully absorbed by experimental material α.”

“-!”

Anya looked at Eco dumbstruck.

The intensity of Eco’s light was getting stronger until the extend where one couldn’t look at her directly. Those‘Dong’sounds had become clearer.

Even though there were no dangers of the Millennium exploding, it doesn’t mean that they were free from danger. Eco right now was seen as the bomb.

Later, there was the loud sound of something breaking.

Different from the normal explosions, that explosion sounds like it was originated from something being applied pressure on.

“α….α is escaping!”

A researcher shouted.

The capsule containing eco was now in ruins and the liquid was flowing out like waterfall.

Eco can be seen floating with her eyes closed- in a short moment, she disappeared. What’s left is only stardust like magic particles floating in the air.

“She… Disappeared…?”

Anya dumbstruck, murmured alone.

===Part 5===
“Hey… Something’s wrong with Beowolf!?”

When Maestro Lancelot reached the landing space at a height of twenty meters, Silvia shouted:

“That is…!”

Ash who was riding on Lancelot behind Silvia widened his eyes.

The sacred airship Esperanza, airship Crown Solas and air ship Silvanus was lined up together.

On the other hand, the huge airship Beowolf was parked quite some distance away from the trio.

The suspicious thing was the black smokes emerging from Beowolf.

Could it be a fire?

If Eco is inside… Ash was too scared to think about it.

“Urgh…!”

At this moment, Ash felt a burning sensation from his left hand.

Although he nearly screamed in pain, he managed to tolerate with it.

It felt like suddenly putting his hand into a furnace.

“Is everything alright, Ash!?”

Silvia was worried about him and turned around and asked, but Ash couldn’t even reply because of the pain.

The ‘Seikoku’ engraved on his left arm was slowly moaning.

A while later, there was a glaring light coming out from his left arm and his sleeve up to his shoulders was burned off. Even the bandage was burned into pieces.

In a blink of an eye, Ash’s ‘Seikoku’ on his left arm was exposed.

“Wha…!”

The ‘Seikoku’ on his hand was glowing with different light intensity from time to time.

Ash was panicking.

It will be alright if it was just glowing but the heat and the pain sensation had no intention of stopping.

It felt that his left arm is going to explode anytime.

“Hey… What is actually happening?”

Silvia was in shock while holding the reins which was probably caused by the fright she experience from seeing Ash’s ‘Seikoku’s’ reaction.

“I don’t know… But I am now sure that I am again connected to Eco!”

Just like responding to Ash’s left arm, there was an object glowing in the sky.

“Ash! Look upwards!”

Silvia who noticed the abnormality was pointing at the sky. Ash too had noticed.

There was something glowing on the sky above the landing area.

“That is…”

The mysterious light was floating in the sky as if it was decorating it.

On the other hand, the full moon didn’t look as charming as before.

By taking a closer look, it was an egg with beautiful flow lines.

There was a big emblem that was carved on the pearl like egg. At a first glance, it looked like a royal emblem.

To be more specific, that emblem looked like Ash’s ‘Seikoku’.

-Don…Don…Don…

There was a frightening beating sound from the egg.

The confusing part is, it moved with the same rhythm as the glow on Ash’s ‘Seikoku’.

Ash immediately understood.

“I couldn’t be more wrong… Eco is in that egg!”

“How is that possible? What are you talking about…?”

“Princess-sama, I beg you. Please take me there!”

“…Alright. I believe in you. Fly Lancelot! Fly higher!”

But Lancelot ignored her orders. It stayed at the twenty meters height and looked at the egg with its head up.

“Hei… Lancelot? Anything wrong? Fly immediately!”

Even though Silvia shouted strictly, Lancelot still ignored her orders. On the other hand, it did an emergency landing at a corner of the landing space.

“What are you doing? Are you disobeying my orders, Lancelot!”

“…It is useless, Princess-sama. It seems that Lancelot has its own reason.”

“What did you say?!”

Silvia looked at Ash with an imposing manner.

“Do you know what Lancelot was thinking?”

“…I am not sure. It was probably affected by the ‘Seikoku’. I don’t know why, but I could somehow understand what Lancelot was thinking.”

After Ash and Silvia was forced to alight Lancelot unwillingly, Lancelot again spread its wings and shoot up into the sky.

Looking at Lancelot’s direction, Ash found out something important.

“Princess-sama! There are more and more… Maestros gathering together!”

Groups of Maestro were gathering from all direction. It had become an amazing night view created by the light from the Maestro’s magic.

One by one the Maestro appeared and gathered at the corner of the sky.

For Maestro’s whose numbers were already little to begin with to gather together, it was unheard of even in the old times-

===Part 6===
“What is actually happening…?”

Lancelot left its master and flew off on its own.

Although this had given Silvia a great blow, still the view of the night sky had gave her a deep impression.

Silvia could clearly hear the ‘Pssshh’ sounds of the beating of the wings.

When she had personally seen the dream like view, all her attention had been captured by it.

That egg even had wings growing out of it and feathers with silver lights were falling off. It was like snows that beautify the night sky.

Then- there was a crack from the egg shell.

The winged egg split into two-

“Uoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!”

A roar as if it was a horn announcing the end to the world could be heard all over.

Silvia who couldn’t look straight into the glaring light closed her eyes. When she reopened her eyes, the winged egg was no longer there. It was replaced by something that was out of this world.

To describe this thing with a word will be either – GOD or DEVIL.

However what Silvia said was insulting.

“What a scary monster…!”

[[Image:SnRK V04 193.jpg|thumb]]

“Stop! You are not allowed to say that!”

Ash shouted and brought Silvia back o her sense.

“That must be...Eco. I can feel it... I can feel it!”

“Sorry, Ash...”

Although Silvia was annoyed by her gaffe, she still couldn’t believe that it was Eco.

Later, Eco landed slowly while being surrounded by numerous Maestros.

Although the pink fur and the red eyes is similar to Eco, but her horns looked sharp and fierce and doesn’t at all looked like Eco’s round stubs.

Also, there was a third horn in between the two horns. It was like a unicorn’s horn and was up straight.

Her wings which were spread widely were different from a normal Maestro’s. It made one think of an angel’s wings.

Followed by a loud bang, Eco landed.

Eco lifted up her gigantic hind leg up high- And The large airship that had been the pride of the Empire was squashed in a few seconds.

With the conning tower being right at the middle, Beowolf had been squashed into a V shape and immediately exploded.

Yet, Eco was not at all affected.

Eco probably lost interest in Beowolf and tried to wriggle her long neck. She slowly lowered her center of gravity.

The target of her scarlet eyes was the window of the tall Fontaine Palace.

===Part 7===
-An unidentified flying object appeared above the capital and all the Maestros in the country disobey their masters’ order and gathered together.

Veronica who received the emergency report brought Glenn the captain of the escorts alone with her to the ballroom at the highest floor of the palace.

Anyway, there were important guests in the ballroom that gathered from all over the continent. No matter what happened, she must protect their safety in the name of the pride of the Knight’s country.

At the same time, she must bring back her father Oswald with her. He had most probably change his appearance and was drinking while mingling in the crowd.

While running on the long corridor, Veronica questioned Glenn:

“Did you too have lost contact with your pal?”

“It totally ignored my summons and ignored my request to present me my Ark. From the looks of the current situation where all the Maestros gathered at the capital’s sky, it probably has something to do with the unidentified flying object.”

“Then, our pride, the Holy Dragners of Lautreamont can be considered no more. If the Empire attacked us at this moment, without the protection of the Maestros, this country will fall in just a single night.”

“...I don’t have an excuse to offer.” <ref>面目次第も有りません have also the meaning of ‘It is a shame I don’t have the power to…’</ref>

Glenn lowered his head somberly.

===Part 8===
When Veronica and Glenn arrived at the ballroom, the palace music and the party atmosphere of the nobles had disappeared.

Most of the guests were by the glass window and were looking downwards in shock. From there they can see the landing area for the airships.

“That’s…!”

Veronica was also looking downwards through the glass window.

“It is dangerous to stand beside the window, Princess-sama!”

Glenn warned her but Veronica ignored him.

There was a change in the landing area.

A living object that was glowing with silver light suddenly landed there.

''-Uoooooooooooooooooo…!''

It was immediately followed by a loud roar that will made one feel like covering his ears.

It was stated in the previous report that ‘an unidentified flying object that looked like a huge egg’, but it seemed that the huge egg had
hatched when Veronica was on her way.

The unbelievable thing is, that huge monster easily split the Empire’s huge airship Beowolf into two with just a stomp.

Right at this moment, there was a man from the crowd was making a fuss.

“Ooh, what is happening! How can a dragon of the Knight’s… Destroy the most advance airship which is our country’s pride! I don’t think that
this is some simple matter!”

The man words had caused an uproar in the ballroom.

Until a moment ago, everyone had just found out that this monster is a dragon.

Talking about a dragon, everyone will think about Lautreamont Knight Country.

“Is that person…Klaus Viderhausen! He is obviously trying to cause a stir!”

Veronica angrily scolded and glared at the Empire’s young noble.

However, there was a man who stupidly tried to argue with Klaus.

“Nonsense! That monster had nothing to do with our country!”

Although the man was wearing a lion shaped mask, judging from his plum body, Veronica immediately knew who he is.

He is her father, Oswald.

“Klaus-dono! This is the truth! That monster had nothing to do with us! Please believe in me!”

“Hu… What you said was not at all convincing. Anyway, everyone here is a witness.”

Klaus was not even bothered by Oswald.

It was because what Klaus said is true. A huge dragon that appeared with no warning had destroyed the Empire’s airship right in front of
everyone.

Nothing could be worst than this.

For Chevron Kingdom and Zepharos Empire who had never see each other eye to eye was originally going to discuss about the peace in between
them in tomorrow’s continental congress ‘Elysium’.

To Chevron Kingdom and its ally Lautreamont Knight Country this should be a historical event.

“Stop… Let alone the Emperor, not even a royal from the Empire attends. It is a total joke. The Empire had never wanted peace-”

Just as Veronica finished her sentence, there were people screaming from everywhere.

Everyone was in a panic.

All the guests who were wearing their mask, including the musicians and the waiters, everyone were trying to escape.

Apart from Oswald who was crying, Klaus who had previously put the blame on the Knight Country was also fleeing.

“What…!”

Veronica who immediately turned around was also sweating tremendously.

There was a pair of scarlet eyes looking into one of the many palace windows.

She spent a few seconds to figure out that the dragon had stretched its neck and was looking into Fontaine Palace.

“Glenn, if I try to slash the pair of eyes with my huge sword… Do you think I have any chance of winning?”

“Please forgive my rudeness… Even if Princess-sama, you are no match for it.”

Glenn told the truth directly.

"Why must you be this honest?"

Veronica was sulking while she confronted the dragon eyes.

The round eyes.

''It looked like a baby’s pairs of eyes. Although it looked naïve, if this monster just rubbed its nose with the palace walls, Fontaine Palace will
turned into dust in seconds. Furthermore, it will be a hill full of bricks and corpse…''

Even though she was thinking of such scenario, Veronica could still manage a smile.

“Kuku… So this is of feeling of my life being controlled by others. I praise you, my child!”

Seeing that Veronica had no intention of escaping, Captain Glenn advised her in panic:

“Princess-sama, please retreat!”

“I mustn’t. Some of the guests are still here.”

Veronica looked around the empty ballroom.

There was a man with a mask standing at the middle of the dance floor.

The man was wearing a elegant suit. However his hair colour was like a cloth stain with blood.

He is obviously the guy in the reports- Milgauss.

Veronica looked at him in admiration.

“Hmm… You indeed look a little like Julius. Remove your mask!”

To her surprise, he actually did it. He could be seen silently removing his mask and threw it to a side as if he don’t need it anymore.

“-!”

Veronica’s eyes widen.

The handsome face beneath the mask was undoubtable Julius of ten years later who had became a seinen.<ref>青年, man with age range between 20-
30.</ref>

He had no longer the rebellious feel with him in his teenage years and was replaced by a feeling of a weapon that had been well polished.

“So you are Julius…!”

As if to sweep away her worries, Julius walked to the side of the window. At the same time, the dragon’s face disappeared as if it had lost
interest with the empty ballroom.

Julius was standing by the window looking at the huge dragon.

“Kukuku… I had been waiting for this moment for a long time!”

That sinful voice and the devil like smile made Veronica felt uneasy.

Glenn took a stepped forward as if trying to ask in behalf of Veronica.

He unsheathed his sword that was on his waist.

“You can’t be Julius, no? My friend will never show such malicious smile."

“Oh, Glenn McGuire! I remembered you are one of the guys that appeared in Julius’s memories. It should be suitable to use ‘it had been a long
time’ in this situation, don’t you think so?”

“What do you mean!”

“You still don’t get it? This body is indeed Julius’s. However, I am not Julius. But I can peek into Julius’s memories anytime."

“What is happening…?”

Veronica was curious but it was not bothered by the man.

“Kneel! Quick! Look carefully! You are witnessing a historical moment!”

The man was acting like a holy man in the religious painting. He spread his arms widely and declared his name.

“I am Mordred! The descendant of the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family.”

Vreonica couldn’t believe what she had just heard.

The Maestro that Julius sacrificed his life to kill is named Mordred. It is also Julius’s Pal.

''Is it possible that Mordred had taken over Julius’s body?''

In regards of Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family- Veronica had only recently heard about this name.

The ‘Old Testament of the Stella Biblia’ that Dr Angela Cornwell found in Willingham Mausoleum.

Basically, Veronica had read through the copy of the book.

She recalled a part of the book.

“…After the wise dragon Inbroke, two major bloodlines were formed. They are the Avalon’s holy dragons emperor family and the Nehalennia’s dark dragons king family. An endless war started from these two families. After the members of the two families reincarnated, they will encounter each other, hate each other and kill each other.”

The person in front had introduced himself as the descendant of the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family.

Then, who is the person who should be representing the descendant of the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family-?

At this moment, Veronica stopped thinking because of Glenn’s shout.

“So I see… You are the roots of evil! I knew that Julius didn’t turn crazy! He will always be loyal to his beliefs and tried to have you
removed even when he had to commit a crime in the Knight Country!... Return Julius to us!”

Followed by a shout, Glenn reduced their distance and there was a silver flash.

However, Mordred easily parried Glenn’s slash.

“Urgh!”

Glenn growled.

Morderd had stopped the high speed slash with only his index and middle finger.

Glenn could be seen standing still while holding his sword. No, that’s not the case, Veronica understands well.

It was not that Glenn was not moving, it was because that he was unable to move.

Morderd had over powered Glenn with just two fingers.

“Hmph… I will let you experience the punishment for being disobedient to ''god''."

After Mordred gave a cold smile, there was a flash.

“Gwaaa!”

Glenn was knocked up into the air while unable to even resist. He knocked into the wall hard and became unconscious.

Veronica didn’t even have the time to care about Glenn and stared at Mordred.

“…I don’t understand. As far as I know, you should have a good relationship with Julius. Didn’t you even present him with an ark?”

“Hmph, the one who has a good relationship with Julius is another me. That me who acknowledged Julius as its master and had associate with him
quite well."

“Another me? What are you talking about?”

“Let me generously explain it to you as your last gift before you die. There was two personalities in Mordred. If it was to be a human, it will be call as a split personality.”

“What happened to the other personality?”

“It had disappeared together with the body. Ironically, it was it and Julius who had planned to kill me. For me, to prevent myself from dying,
I had sacrificed my body and change into this spiritual form and had inhabit in Julius’s body.”

Upon saying until there, Mordred looked out of the window.

Right beside the palace, the dragon was standing on its hind legs and was looking around curiously. It seemed to be troubled because it
couldn’t understand what was happening.

Mordred declared to that dragon:

“Descendant of the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family, I will take that body of yours!”

“Now I understand, so this is what you planned…!”

At this stage. Veronica finally found out what is Mordred aiming for.

Morderd had once lost his body in to past when it was killed by Julius.

However, if it could take over the body of the descendant of the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family, it can once again be born as the
strongest dragon…!

“That will never happen, Mordred!”

Veronica unsheathed the huge sword on her waist.

Even though she knew that he was not an opponent that she could win in a direct confrontation, she still couldn’t bear to watch idly from the side.

''I will kill Mordred together with Julius’s body before he can manage to take over Avalon’s body-'' Veronica rushed forward while thinking so.

Even when it is her brother’s body that we are talking about, she had no intention of showing any mercy.

But, before Veronica could land a hit on Mordred, suddenly, there was darkness emerging from his body and spread all over the ballroom.

“Urgh… What is this dark mist… My conscious…!”

The moment she was surrounded by the darkness, Veronica felt a strong feeling of vomiting and fainting.

===Part 9===
After struggling in the darkness without knowing what was happening for some time- The darkness had finally disappeared.

“Are you alright, Veronica?”

There was a guy who held out his had to Veronica who was struggling to stand up.
[[Image:SnRK V04 207.jpg|thumb]]
“You…!”

There were killing intends in Veronica’s eyes.

To her surprise, Mordred who should be busy with taking over Avalon’s decedent’s body had tried to help her.

However, there was no longer the evilness on his face.

“You… Could you be Julius?”

“Ahh, that is me. You are still the same old you for not calling me ‘Anii-ue’.”

It seemed that because Mordred was gone, Julius who able to take back his body.

“Of course… You F.O.O.L”

Upon hearing, Julius smile but he immediately returned back to his serious expression.

“Sorry, but now is not the time for us siblings to be arguing. Mordred's spirit had already inhibited on Eco’s body. We have the obligation to defeat Mordred and protect this city.”

At that instant, Veronica felt a pain from her head as if she had just been strike.

“Hold on! Did you just say Eco? That huge dragon… is actually Eco?”

“I will explain the detail to you later. Can you stand up?”

“Hmph… Whom do you think you are talking to!”

Using the huge sword as a walking stick, Veronica put all her effort into standing up. But, it was probably the side effect of inhaling in the darkness, in the end, she fell down again.

“Princess-sama!”

The person who reached Veronica first was Glenn. Although he was badly injured, he had regained conscious.

Glenn held on to Veronica and glared at Julius.

“Julius… I had numerous thing that I want to tell you, but please allow me to tell you this first.”

“I can guess what you want to say but be my guest.”

While facing the calm Julius, Glenn with mix feelings shouted to Julius:

“You… Damn you!”

===Part 10===

Seeing that the Empire’s airship was easily crushed, the sacredship Esperanza and magicship Crown Solas flew off immediately.

Only magicship Silvanus remained at its location overlooking the whole incident.

Although Silvanus had yet to attack Eco, Ash was still worried stance the captain is Veronica.

Even so, seeing that Silvanus still haven’t make its decision, Veronica probably had not board the ship. They were most probably waiting for Veronica’s orders.

On the other hand, if Veronica had boarded the ship, there is a high chance that she will issue an attack on Eco. To protect the capital, Veronica will make this decision without any hesitation. Anyway, Silvanus fire power is not something that can be ignored.

“I…I will protect Eco!”

Ash made up his mind and rushed forward.

“Hold on, Ash. Do you want to be crushed!”

Silvia blocked Ash with her arms spread.

“Please move aside, Princess-sama! Who will protect Eco if I don’t!”

“Please keep your calm! Even so, what can you do!? How are you going to ride Eco who had turned into that? What’s more, what are you going to do to ride on Eco?”

“I…”

Silvia was right. During the time when the Necromancia attacked Ansarivan, he received help from Silvia and Lancelot.

But luck was not on his side. Lancelot who he could place his hope on had not yet returned after it gathered with the rest of the Maestro. The group of Maestros were still circling above the sky while waiting for something to happen.

To his relieved, after Eco crushed Beowolf, she had not made any frightening actions. Although Ash was sweating tremendously during the time she looked into Fontaine Palace through the window, he was lucky that she leave immediately.

Right now, Eco was only looking around and sniffing the building around her as if to figure out what was happening. In regards to what had happened to her body, she probably hasn’t figured it out yet.

“In conclusion, we must keep her as far from the town as possible. In case that she entered the town…"

Upon listening to Silvia’s assumption, Ash was shaking in fear.

Fontaine City has a population of around a million.

In another words, a million lives were now in Eco’s hands.

The severity of the current situation was no longer only involved Ash and Eco.

“Guooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo…!”

At that moment, Eco was roaring in pain and started to struggle. There was a change in her appearance that was originally surrounded by a silver light.

Just like a white cloth that came in contact with ink, there black colour was slowly taking over the white.

“…Eco? What’s happening!”

Ash could only look at Eco transform without doing anything.

The change in her skin was only the start.

Her angle like feathers had transformed into a crow like wings.

The previous middle horn of the three horns had disappeared and her pair of horns had turned into spiral shape.

Also, her four limbs were growing at a fast speed. It will be better to describe her as a giant like body rather than a huge beast. That huge body gave a evil feeling.

Last of all, there were nine eyes on its face and were glowing with red lights.

“Nine eyes…!”

Ash remembered something.

Eco once had a nightmare.

In her dream, was Eco attacked by the nine eyed dragon…?

-Don!

At that moment, Eco who had turned into that black dragon gave a dragon breath.

The flame emitted pierced the sky and scattered the dark clouds.

If this flame was aimed at Fontaine Palace or the town… Ash had Goosebumps just by thinking.

“Silvia, so you are here!”

At this moment, there was a fierce voice coming from behind.

It was Silvia and Glenn when they turned around.

Glenn was badly injured and looked like a rag.

Apart from that- There was another man that was following Veronica.

It was already surprising if a person was allowed to walk side by side with Veronica, yet it was far more surprising when they noticed the man’s hair colour.

“Milgauss! Why are you here!”

Ash felt that he was having Goosebumps all over his body. At the same time, he felt that Milgauss looked familiar. He remembered that he had seen that face in a portrait.

“Are you… Anii-ue?!”

Silvia shouted before Ash.

“Yeah. Although it is a little hard to believe, I am Julius. But I don’t have the time to give you any explanations right now. Firstly, we need to get rid of Mordred’s spirit from Eco’s body- Ash.”

When his name was suddenly called by Julius, Ash became nervous.

The person in front of him really felt like Prince Julius Lautreamont.

Julius stepped forward and placed his hand on Ash’s shoulder.

“Only you as the master can save Eco. Understood?”

“Yes. I had thought of that too myself.”

Julius smiled.

“Good answer. I will take the responsibility to bring you to Eco.”

“But… How are you going to do it?”

“Don’t worry. We have that.”

After he finished his sentence, Julius was pointing at- Magicship Silvanus that was actually resting at the far end of the landing area.

===Part 11===
“Ara. I don’t remembered inviting you here…Dark Dragon King Mordred.”

In the dragon workshop, Navi and Mordred were having a confrontation. She was sitting on her favourite chair with her legs crossed.

“Kuku. This is your last time to be able to be this relaxed.”

Mordred’s spirit still maintained Julius’s voice. It was probably because it had inhibited in Julius’s body for more than ten years…Navi thought so.

“I had taken over sixty percent of Eco’s body. It is only a matter of time that I can fully take control of her body. Avalon is losing.”

“…”

“Next, if I can fuse together with you, I can be fully awakened as the Dark Dragon King. Follow me. Even though you are called Navi, but I clearly know that you are not a normal navigator. You are the incarnation of the Dragweiss.”

“Ara. Just what I thought of the Dark Dragon King. You had made quite some investigation on your own.”

“Fuse with me quickly. Give me the supreme knowledge. Strictly speaking, Avalon and Nehalennia have the same roots… I should also be qualified to fuse with you.”

“I don’t disagree with this.”

Upon hearing Navi’s answer, Mordred smiled.

“So you agreed?”

“No I don’t. It is because I don’t like Nehalennia.”

“…What do you say?”

“I am rooting for Avalon's Imperial Princess and her knight. Especially her knight… Ash Blake, he is far manlier than you.”

“Hmph…what a fox you are. Since it had came to this, I will use force-”

Suddenly, there were numerous tentacles coming from under Mordred’s legs. They were like snakes that had found their prey and attacked Navi.

===Part 12===
“I am sorry. Could everyone apart from Ash and I leave this ship?”

Upon stepping into Silvanus’s wheelhouse, Julius spoke coldly.

The crew responsible for the control of the wheel and control communications turned around and looked Julius in confusion. Then they are all frightened as is they had seen a ghost.

They shouldn’t be blamed since the prince that should have been executed years ago was standing in front of them and had asked them to do something unreasonable.

“Hold on… Prince Julius! What do you planned to do?”

Seeing that Ash was requesting for an explanation, at the same time Julius answered, he turned around and looked at Veronica who was preparing to sit on the captain’s seat.

“I just don’t want the rest of the people to die with us. Veronica, I hoped that you could also help me by giving out the orders.”

“Do you think that I would even listen to that joke?”

“If the sister is stubborn, the elder brother will have to face some trouble.”

The next instant, Julius seize Veronica from behind with lightning speed. He was holding a hidden gun. It was a mechanic gun that the military of the Empire used.

Julius even chose to place the tip at Veronica’s temple.

“There is not much time. You should try to listen to your brother sometimes, Veronica.”

“Are you kidding! Silvanus is my magicship. Don’t even think of always doing what you wanted to, Julius.”

“As I had said before, I am your brother. Maybe you are a perfect princess in front of our people, but I knew your achilles heel. If you still disobey me, I will expose it in front of everyone.”

“What achilles heel?”

“I knew that you love Silvia. There are Silva portraits in your room. The clothes that Silva wore, Silva’s growth record, the poem that you wrote from missing Silvia and also Silvia’s human size doll-”

“I-I promise! Keep quite immediately!”

Ash was in a shock. He had never expected Veronica to surrender easily.

“Everyone, leave the ship immediately! This is an order from Veronica Lautreamont! No one is allowed to disobey!”

All the crew members rushed out from the wheelhouse.

===Part 13===
When everyone had left the magicship, Julius flied Silvanus while sitting on the pilot’s seat.

With the sudden shake of the magicship, Ash held on tightly to the seat of the communication officer to avoid falling. Looking through the round window, the magicship was getting further and further away from the ground.

It was a totally different experience from sitting on a dragon. When this lump of metal was flying with passengers- At the same time Ash was amazed, he also started to worry about crashing.

As for Julius, he was piloting Silvanus while telling Ash the whole story.

===Part 14===
Although what Julius said was hard to believe, basically, the dragons were seperated into the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family and the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family. The two families had incarnated since the ancient times and were still fighting each other right until today.

Also, Eco is Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family’s descendant.

In another words, Eco is the Imperial Princess of the dragon.

“…Even after I had heard of such things, it is still hard for me to believe this. Eco who had been living with me was obviously a girl who sleeps late, a glutton and a hot headed girl...”

“I know how you feel. When I found out that my pal is the descendant for the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family, I was also astounded. In the beginning, I was also troubled by why was I chosen.”

Julius said.

“Back to the topic, Avalon’s Imperial Princess’s body is really huge. Even though she is still a young dragon, she had this unbelievable huge size… It is totally unbelievable.”

After Julius pressed a few buttons on the dashboard, Eco’s body was shown on the huge screen in front.

Silvanus was three hundred meters above the land and was looking at Fontaine city from the sky above.

From the screen, they can see Eco's back that had turned black because of being taken over by Mordred.

With its frightening spiral horns and nine eyes… It is exactly the image of the dark dragon king.

Eco who was originally standing on two legs was now standing on all four because of the pain caused by Mordred’s take over.

The worrying part is, Eco was not moving at all and yet she doesn’t look as if she was sleeping…

“Could it be that Eco was fighting Mordred?”

Julius shook his head in disagreement.

“It is impossible. Judging from the huge change of her body, I am afraid that… Eco don’t even have the strength to fight back.”

“Is it…”

“But not all hope is lost. In my opinion, Navi was fighting against Mordred.”

“Navi?”

Why would he mention Navi’s name at such a time?

Before that, how would Julius know about Navi?

“Navi is the incarnation of the Dragweiss. If Navi could keep on fighting back, even after Mordred could fully take over Eco’s body, he still couldn’t be fully awaken.”

“What do you meant?”

“Regardless of the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor or the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king, both of them must fuse with the Dragweiss to obtain the supreme knowledge, only then they could receive their true power. I believe that Mordred right now is trying his best to make Navi his.”

“How come… you knew so many about him?”

“That was because it shared the same body with Mordred. Just like what he did to blend into the human society… I could also look into his memories.”

After hearing what Julius had said, Ash was still confused. However, there exists thing that could be easily understood without the need of good brains.

“In another words, this is a great time for a counter attack when Mordred was busy dealing with Navi, right?”

“That’s right. This is our only chance for victory. If you can ride on Eco and chase of Mordred’s spirit, then you can save Eco and the capital together.”

Ash nodded in agreement to what Julius had said.

“I am willing to give it a try. No matter it is Avalon or Nehalennia… I don’t think I even know what they mean. I only know that Eco is my pal.”

When Ash turned around and prepared to walk back to the deck, Julius spoke from behind:

“Although I don’t know why you are chosen… But I am glad that you are Eco’s knight.”

===Part 15===
“Urgh…”

Ash arrived at the deck and the winds were cold. Such temperatures were unheard of during the summer.

Ash was carrying a parachute- This is a decision made by Julius and him beforehand.

When Silvanus had come close to Eco, Ash will jump off from the deck with the help of the parachute.

After landing, it is all up to Ash.

Basically, Ash had gone through the landing practices in the academy.

Ash had never intended to become a soldier and had always thought that the academy was wrong to force them to go through the practices.

Anyway, the academy is not a military school- But who would expect that those practices must be applied right now.

“…Right there.”

Ash was looking down towards the ground from the bow and had located Eco’s back.

Although her fur had turned black but since the enormous amount of magic surrounding her was giving off strong rays of light, he won’t have to worry about missing his target.

He must make use of the time that Navi was fighting against Mordred to land on Eco’s head.

Julius voice emerged from the magic communication device:

“Ash, you may jump anytime.”

“Roger that.”

Ash looked downwards for one more time.

For such a huge beast, her only blind spot will be her head.

Ash tried to imagine himself riding on Eco’s head.

To his surprise, it was not at all scary.

The ‘Seikoku’ on his left arm was getting warm and was flickering with dim light.

It felt as if his ‘Seikoku’ was urging him to move quickly.

Suddenly- Eco lifted her neck and shot a dragon breath towards Silvanus.

“…Urgh!”

A bright light pierced through the night sky. Ash surrendered against the shaking deck and fell down. Although Julius had barely avoided a direct hit by giving the ship an emergency turn, the strong breath had burned the side of the ship into ashes.

There were smokes and fire emerging from the ship itself and it had lost balance.

“Tsk…! If you kill me, Eco will die too! If that happens, you also couldn’t get your hands on Eco’s body that you desired that much...! How could someone be this stupid?”

When Ash was groaning, Julius voice could be heard once again through the communication machine:

“Ash, are you alright!”

“Yes, I am!”

“Silvanus is going to do an emergency landing! Jump quickly!”

“I also intend to do so!”

Ash clenched his teeth and jumped off from the deck.

The moment his feet left the deck, Mordred gave a second dragon breath.

Looking backwards, he saw Silvanus’s deck suffered a direct hit from the dragon breath.

Ash shuddered. He was lucky that he had jumped of earlier or else he would be turned into dust.

Although Julius had said there are going to do an emergency ‘landing’, judging from the speed Silvanus was moving downwards, it looked like it was crashing.

Finally, the unbalance ship disappeared at the other end of the palace walls- Then a fire pillar could be seen followed by a loud explosion.

“Prince Julius…!”

Ash was sad but there was nothing he can do.

Julius had risked his life to fly him into the night sky.

The only thing he can do right now is to complete his mission in return.

Ash's body was moving downwards because of the gravity pull.

His face and ears felt like being crushed by the air pressure.

“Now is the time!”

Ash had got the timing right and spread open the parachute.

The amazing braking force had caused the parachute to slow down.

If another dragon breath was shot, Ash would certainly be hit but Ash prayed that he will not have such bad luck.

“Wait for me, Eco. I will protect you… I swear!”

===Part 16===
“Damn! Where am I?”

Eco found out that she was in a cage when she woke up. When she was looking at her body, she found out that she was wearing a dress with low standards.

This style is obviously not of Eco’s preference.

Any dress in Fontaine Palace’s changing room looked better that this. It is even as heavy as lead and it felt more like a binding item rather than an evening dress.

On the other side of the cage was a wide white space. The walls, the floor and the ceiling was white. Not even a dust that could be found.

“How dare anyone to cage a dragon like me in this cage… What were they even thinking!?”

Eco was definitely confused. Yet she still vaguely remembered that she was awakened as a dragon. She even remembered that she had become huge and was looking at the whole Fontaine palace.

But her memories stopped there.

“Tsk…It seems that you are alright since you are this energetic even under such situation.”

It was a familiar voice.

“Navi? You…!”

Navi was standing outside of the cage. Even though Eco disliked Navi, but under such situation, Eco was grateful that Navi was here and felt that Navi was like an angel.

The Eco’s Angel was now looking like a ragdoll.

Navi who was always acting calm and give out a noble like feeling was now with a messed up hair and even her evening dress was in rags. All over her body were marks of being bounded.

“What happened? This doesn’t look like you at all…”

Eco was taking a closer look at Navi.

“Hmm…I am only accompanying Mordred in his game. It was just that, his tentacles fetish had given me some trouble!”

“Mordred? Who is that?”

“Please lend me your hand.”

Eco stretched her hand through the gaps in between the bars of the cage. After Navi held her hand, a mass amount of knowledge flowed into her brain.

In a blink of an eye, Eco knew everything that had happened. Only until now that she had realized that she was in her spiritual from.

“To make it simple… That person called Mordred is trying to take over my body, right?”

“That’s right. Anyway, during the time I was running around, he had done nothing bad. But if it is to destroy this capital, it will be an easy task for him.”

“Hmm… So I am such a great dragon.”

According to Navi’s information, Eco is Avalon’s Imperial Princess.

“Huhu. Now Ash is going to look at me differently.”

Seeing that Eco was feeling proud, Navi sighed.

“As long as he can survive. He seems to be doing something foolhardy again.”

Navi held Eco’s hand again and Eco closed her eyes.

That current situation was sent into Eco’s brain as projections.

“What…!”

Eco was speechless.

Under the night sky- Ash leaned out from Silvanus’s deck.

The next instant, Mordred gave a dragon breath from the ground.

Silvanus was hit and was gliding in the sky as if it was a paper plane.

On the other hand, Ash jumped into the air and was falling with his head pointing downwards.

“Hold on… Is he crazy!?”

At that moment, Eco clearly heard Ash’s mumble.

"Wait for me, Eco. I will protect you… I swear!”

In a short moment, tears started to flow from her eyes. Even though she was a spirit, her tears still kept on flowing. Even the Dragweiss couldn’t give an explanation. A warm feeling was haunting her heart… What was that feeling?

“Why…Why? Why would he… try to do so many things for me? Even when I… Had caused many, many troubles for him?”

Navi stretched her hand into the cage and patted her head.

“Do you even have to ask? It is because you are his pal.”

Eco rubbed off her tears and lifted her head.

“Navi, please tell me what can I do for him.”

“Teehee. That’s more like it.”

Navi smiled and waved her hand lightly. With a flash, the cage had disappeared. At the same time, the black dress that limits Eco’s movement had been broken into particles and a pure white evening dress was raveled from beneath.

In a short time, Navi removed Mordred’s seal.

“I must say that… You are very good.”

Eco was looking at her dress. It designs compromised of the elements of elegant and pure. It is as if it was made to be worn by the Avalon’s Imperial Princess.

“No matter how great I am, I can't help you with the upcoming step. Understood?”

Eco nodded in reply.

“Then, what should I do?”

After Navi smiled, she cheekily said:

“Of course you are to present him your originally made Ark and the Avalon’s Imperial Princess.”

The next instant, Eco became confused.

“What? Are you serious?”

As if it was natural to do so, Navi nodded without any hesitation.

“All the mimics that you had created for emergency in the past… is useless against Mordred.”

“But, how am I to do this impossible task!?”

An original Ark could not be completed easily.

It was because of Eco had seen her ancestor’s blueprint; she understands how hard it can be. An Ark is not only a strong magic weapon, at the same time, it is also a perfect art masterpiece.

Not to mention that Eco was still a young dragon that was not even a year old without any experience. Navi’s suggestion was like asking a baby to build a palace.

“Anyway, it will not be called difficult if the blueprint could be easily created.”

Eco gave up before she even started but Navi ignored it.

“Rest assured, you must believe in your own ability. You are an Imperial Princess who is the blood descendant of Avalon.”

“But… what we must think about is not only the armour itself, there is also the Ark-weapon…”

“Listen carefully, the shape itself doesn’t matters. It was the mental power of the creator that decide the strength of the Ark. Even if you don’t know the shape, as long as you focus, the shape of the Ark will be formed.”

“Really…?”

“Yeah. Also, you don’t have to worry about the Ark-weapon. Avalon has a treasured sword that had been passed down through the generations. Just use it.”

After a moment of silent, Eco mumbled:

“…I had always disliked you since the first time I met you. Regardless of your relaxed attitude or your looks that was similar to mine or your overly large breast…I hate them and hate them very much! However… It is funny that I felt that you are trustable.”

Eco lifted her head and smile.

Navi also returned a smile.

At the same moment, Eco felt that a light had pierced through that darkness that had been blocking her eyes.

She didn't want to look for trouble anymore.

And she definitely doesn’t want to give up before taking up the challenge.

While the evening dress was swaying, Eco spoke with confidence:

“Just wait and see. I will definitely complete my original Ark!”

===Part 17===
“Damn… What kind of joke is this!”

Although Ash had finally landed on Eco, still the landing spot was her back and not her head. It was exactly beside the joints between the body and the wings.

That pair of wings was like the wings of a new born bird. It was still wet and was unable to fly right away.

Maybe this is my only life saver…Ash secretly thought.

Black furs were grown from her uneven skin. It felt like a Necromancia. He must get rid of Mordred’s spirit and return Eco to her original appearance as soon as
possible.

To achieve this, he must try to ride her gigantic body. However… Ash was looking at Eco’s head from afar.

Connected to her back that was as huge as prairie was a long neck that looked as if it was a stairway to heaven. And her head with spiral horns was at the other end of the neck.

His current aim was to ride on her head and try to control her using his will as a dragner. However… The distance between them was huge. It was like trying to climb the dangerous Xenoglavia Mountains without any climbing tools.

“Stop… This is not the time to give up.”

Ash threw aside the parachute and move forward while pushing aside those furs that were taller than his height.

“Now I really looked like a louse…”

In reality, Mordred treat Ash as nothing but a louse. That is why he was not bothered by Ash at all.

“Just wait and see. Your overconfidence will be the cause of your death, Mordred…”

Although Ash kept on talking to himself to boost his confidence, but every time he looked towards her head, he felt like falling apart.

Suddenly, there was a change in the night sky.

Those Maestros who were originally circling in the sky started to make their movements.

Those Maestros could be seen gliding towards Mordred and had him surrounded.

“Grrrrrrrrrrrrr…”

Mordred lifted his neck and gave a threatening growl. However, before he even managed to attack, the Maestros activated their magic at the same time.

With a flash, chains that were made from magic appeared. Numerous chains had tied down the huge dragon’s neck, front legs, hind legs, tail…

“Guuuoooooooooooooooooooo…!”

Mordred was struggling with all his might but the chains wouldn’t even budge.

“They…!”

It can’t be wrong. These Maestros were trying to seal Mordred’s movement. Who know if they were thinking that the dragon worthy to take to top is not Mordred but Eco.

At that moment, a Maestro landed right in front of Ash. Its pair of horns that looked like a dear’s looked familiar to Ash. Then a clear voice could be heard coming from behind the dragon.

“Ash… Hurry up!”

“Lukka!? Why are you here?”

That is. The Maestro that suddenly appeared from above was Gawain and Lukka was riding on its back. Ash felt nostalgic.

Lukka while feeling worried gave Ash a short explanation.

“Err… The Maestros in the seven dragon house was escaping together. I risked my life to cling on Gawain… In the end, I found out that I was already here.”

“Did Rebecca and Max come together?”

Lukka shook her head. It was probably Ash's mistake that he felt that Lukka’s ears were slightly drooping.

“Only I noticed that something was going on with the Maestros…”

“Is that so…”

As if to interrupt Ash’s and Lukka’s conversation, Gawain roared with its jaws opened.

It was as if trying to tell Ash to ride on it quickly. Ash naturally didn’t reject this offer.

“Thank you!”

Just as Ash sat on Gawain’s back, Gawain flapped its wings.

After piercing through the night sky, Gawain’s altitude was increasing following the direction of Mordred’s neck. Lukka’s riding skills was as good as ever and could only be described by perfect.

Ash was clinging tightly to Lukka’s thin waist to avoid from dropping off.

However, Mordred will not stay silent. Although he was being tied down, it was still struggling and roaring loudly.

Suddenly, magic cannons continued to appear in the sky and was firing at Gawain.

Ash was trembling when he saw those cannons.

It was because those cannons looked like the weapon that Ash used during his fight with Milgauss in Willingham Mausoleum. The only difference is, each cannon was around Gawain’s size.

“Magic shield Aegis…!”

“Need not worry… It will be alright as long as we are not hit.”

Lukka was not at all shaken.

As if she had fused with Gawain, she was controlling Gawain by moving left and right and dangerously avoided the crossing light rays.

It even used its dragon breath and those magic canons were destroyed one by one.

When Gawain had successfully passed Mordred’s head, all the magic cannons had disappeared.

“Ash, now’s the time…!”

Just when Lukka shouted, Gawain did a summersault.

At the point where the sky was upside down, Ash jumped down.

He drew a big locus in the night sky and successfully land in between the two horns. Looking from a close distance, the horns looked more like an altar than a horn.

When his feet landed on that spot, he felt satisfied. It was probably his dragner’s intuition that told him this is the best riding spot.

“Listen carefully Eco!”

Ash was shouting with all his might at his ‘Seikoku’ that was connected to Eco:

“Right now, I am going to ride you! I swear I will be successful in riding you! Whether you are a Imperial Princess or not it has nothing to do with me! So what if you are a imperial princess? You are always bad tempered, try to solve anything with force, a sleepy head, only have crepes in your eyes and felt like wanting to bite greedily whenever you saw meat. Are these what an Imperial Princess should do! Even if you really are an Imperial Princess, I will never approve it!... I only knew that- I am your knight, and you are my pal. Things are just as simple as this!”

The next instant, there was a change in his left arm that was dense with ‘Seikoku’.

The ‘Seikoku’ can be seen emitting rays of light that were able to light up the entire night sky. Then patterns started to crawl just like some living things.

No, the patterns were growing.

“W-What had happened…?”

Just when Ash was feeling confused, his ‘Seikoku’ started to spread outwards towards Ash entire body with his left arm as the starting point.

Ash found out that his connection with Eco had become stronger.

Although he couldn’t communicate with Eco verbally, yet, he was sure that he was connected to Eco…!

But, what Ash was thinking only lasted for a short moment.

“Guuuuuuuoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo…!”

Mordred was back on the move. He had broken one of the chains and was standing on two legs.

“Auuu…!”

Lukka groaned. The wind created when Mordred stood up had affected Gawain. Although it was not blown away by the wind, it was obvious that it could not remain
its balance. However, Lukka shouted:

“Don’t worry about me… I am alright! Ash, just focus on saving Eco…!”

Then, Lukka and Gawain finally fall and disappear from Ash’s line of sight.

“Lukka…!”

Ash stretched his arm but he could only grab the air.

The Maestros that scattered in the sky tried to make another chain to tie down Mordred’s upper body.

But before Mordred could be sealed, it forcefully shook its neck.

“Uwaaaaaaaaa!”

Ash lost his balance and was thrown up into Fontaine Palace like a cannonball.

-This is a lie… It must be…?

He was approaching the tower in the middle of Fontaine Palace.

If he was to hit into such stone wall…he will definitely die.

-Is this the end…? Is Eco and I… Going to end right here?

Right at this moment.

Almete, Gorjal, Peto…

The voice of the spell was coming from his ‘Seikoku’ that had spread all over his body.

Espaldar, Brafoneras, Faldaje…

It was definitely Eco’s voice.

Escarcelas,Bufetas, Hombreras, Brazales…

Compare to the previous times, every single word that Eco said was followed by a deep tone.

Codales, Antebrazos, Manoplas…

Without any reason, Ash felt courage from within.

Quijotes, Guardas, Grebas… Escarpes…

Lastly, Eco was left with the last word.

-Espolón!

Ash who was going to crash into Fontaine Palace was surrounded by holy lights.

It felt as if he was surrounded by angel’s wings.

Even though Ash had an illusion of he was ascending to heaven, Eco’s voice had disrupted this peaceful feeling.

“You absolutely must accept my feelings!”

===Part 18===
As he opened his eyes, Ash was standing at the highest point of Fontaine Palace.

“I-I am saved?”

He saw Mordred was standing ferociously with only two legs while being bounded by the chains of the Maestros.

All of the nine eyes were burning with the flames of rage and looked like scarlet stars. Even though he was trying his best to break free from those chains, those Maestros kept on creating new chains.

“This… What is this feeling?”

Ash was looking at his own body.

His entire body was emitting heat and was overflowing with magic.

It have to be the Ark that Eco presented to me- Yet to Ash’s dismay, what he was wearing right now was still his cloths that looked like rags.

There was not even an Ark that could be seen.

Even so, Ash still continued to feel safe as if he was protected by the Ark. Furthermore, the ‘Seikoku’ that was on his entire body was alive.

What is happening?

Hey, why are you daydreaming! Quickly use the Ark-weapon!

Eco’s voice was once again could be heard in his mind

“Eco…? What is happening?”

T-that is…?

Without any reason, Eco became silent. It felt as if she was embarrassed because of a certain something.

As if to speak on Eco’s behalf, another voice appeared in his mind.

Huhu. That is an original Ark that Eco had created on her own. However, it is still incomplete and even that shape had not been decided on yet.

“This voice… Are you Navi!”

The Ark represents proof of the oath of a dragon that swears to hand over their body and feelings to their knight. At the same time, it was a proof that it was connected to the Master’s heart. Right now, you are recognized as the Avalon’s knight.

I-I only wanted to get back my own body!... It was never meant to be given to you!

Ara, who is the person who was crying because she was worried about Ash? I wonder.

S-Shut up!

Eco and Navi seemed to had started an argument.

Ash made a wry smile because they could still have the mood to quarrel even under such dangerous situation.

All the negative emotions like unsecured and frightened had disappeared.

However- Right after that, Ash had a bad premonition as if a pair of cold hands had held on to his spirit. When he raised his head, Mordred’s eyes were filled with sparks and were marking him.

It had obviously begun to take notice of Ash who was previously being regarded as a louse.

“Guuuuuoooooooooooooooooooooo…!”

Although Mordred was still bounded by those magic chains, he still managed to open his jaws after putting in some effort.

There was a ball of light that could be seen appearing in front of his nose and it was slowly expanding-

Ash felt a large amount of energy from it. It was thanks to the Ark that his senses had sharpened.

Navi warned Ash in his mind.

That’s bad. Even though Mordred have not fused with me, he is still very strong…!

“Rest assured. I will personally deal with it.”

Ash immediately started to search for information regarding his Ark-weapon. Thanks to his experience in equipping those mimics, his was able to complete his search in a short time.

Ash smiled from within his heart.

The Ark-weapon formed in his mind was undoubtably the strongest sword that had ever existed.

Ash readied his posture and started to chant the spell.

“An iron that could slash through anything…”

For every word he said, his ‘Seikoku’ that was all over his body was emitting heat and reacted strongly to it.

"A holy sword meant for a knight of all knights-”

At the same time, Ash felt that his palm was overflowing with an unlimited amount of magic.

The one and only treasured sword that had been passed down generations by generations in the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family had its shape formed in Ash’s palm.

“Appear- Excalibur!”

It was not only a huge brave and beautiful sword but also an Ark-weapon.

On its silvery white hilt were many scarlet coloured Milinniums and they were shining brightly.

After he held the holy sword with both hand tightly, Ash leaped.

At the same time, Mordred was giving out the dragon breath.

That was a ball of light with overwhelming powers that could destroy the entire capital to ground level in a blink of an eye. Followed by some purple electric around Mordred’s head, the ball of light was released at Ash’s direction.

To make things worse, Ash couldn’t avoid it because the entire Fontaine Palace and City was right behind him.

No- In reality, I won’t even need to avoid it.

“Uooooooooooooooooooooooooo!”

Ash as if he had forgotten about his fear rushed towards the ball of light.

In respond to Ash’s verve, the Millenniums at the hilt of the holy sword was giving out a bright light.

In respond to Ash’s verve, the shapeless Ark was releasing all its magic.

“Kirisakeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!” <ref>斬り裂け. Means to get split and break apart.</ref>

Just before being swallowed by that attack, Ash had swung the most powerful strike.

-Cut!!! <ref>斬. Ii was a word that was usually shouted when someone wanted to cut/slash/chop/kill off something.</ref>

At the same time the lump of energy was split into two, Ash was in mid-air. His vision was full of white and he could see nothing at all.

If not because of the protection he received from the Ark, all the cells in his body should had been reduced into nothing. Ash was indeed slashing through such high amount of temperature.

In the end, his vision finally widened.

The dragon breath that was sliced into two had its trajectory changed and each had landed at the Fontainia plains on both side of the capital and had exploded.

Although it was a huge explosion, apart from the strong wind, Fontaine City remained intact.

Ash had again lifted Excalibur and had it pointed at Mordred’s head.

At that moment, there was a creepy voice coming from Ash’s mind.

…Hold on! If you harm this body, the daughter of Avalon would also be-

The nine eyes kept on blinking as if it still had something to say.

“Haa! Now you start to beg from me… Know your place, Mordred!”

Ash remained determined and continued to land at the head.

Of course Ash knew that this body originally belonged to Eco.

He never had the intention to simply slash around with this sword.

However, to get rid of Mordred’s spirit, he needs Eco to bear with it for a few more moments.

What Ash had intended to do was not to kill Eco but to make her lost her strength.

Where is the best place to land my attack?

There is not enough time to think of such complicated problems.

It is because apart from Eco’s and his life, Ash was burdened with the lives of millions of residents of the capital. Ash decided to wager everything he had in the only possibility he could think of.

“Eat this, Mordred!”
[[Image:SnRK V04 243.jpg|thumb]]

Ash was landing at full speed.

''What are you trying to do…? Do you want to follow the Julius's footsteps and become a ‘dragon slayer’? I can’t understand this, I just couldn’t understand this…!''

Ash didn’t replied and had no intention of doing so.

“Whether you are a god or a devil-”

Ash’s sword and Mordred’s horn clashed with each other.

“All the dragons will have to listen to my command, not to mention-”

After he had pinpointed the crucial point to release Eco, Ash swung Excalibur-

“If it is my '''P.A.L'''!”

Followed by a sound of a metal clashing with rocks, the night sky was swallowed by a white light.

The thing that was chopped off by Ash and was flying in mid-air was the left horn.

“Guuuuooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo…!”

Mordred’s roar was echoing in the night.

===Part 19===

“Huhu. Mordred must be running away with his tail rolled up<ref>A proverb</ref> even though a spirit shouldn't have any tails.”

Mordred’s spirit was running under the night sky towards the east while he was being seen by Navi.

On the eastern side of the country is Chevron Kingdom’s land.

“So in the end he had escaped to Chevron Kingdom… I must wait until he rises up again before I could have him captured. Right now, I should give praise to Avalon’s Knight."

Navi gave herself a cheer and smiled.

Eco’s spirit was no longer beside her.

===Part 20===

Ash’s final blow had chopped off Eco’s left horn.

Last month during the time Ash was in the infirmary, he had bitten Eco’s horn. Furthermore, her left horn that was chopped off had made her recalled that feeling.

It was that ‘happy’ feeling that dragged Eco’s spirit out.

Her hearts memories and her body memories.

When both of them are thinking the same thing, Eco’s spirit managed to take back its own body and get rid of Mordred’s spirit.

Not only this method is impractical, its succession rate too is just as low.

However, Eco’s clearly remembered the feeling that Ash gave her.

-Navi had seen it all.

The body of the huge dragon had undergone some changes inside the glaring light.

The skin colour that was originally black had turned back to its original silvery white colour.

As for those nine creepy eyes, they had returned into two clear scarlet eyes.

Then-

The body that was bigger than Fontaine Palace was shrinking slowly and finally turned back into a young teenage girl with pink hair.

Ash gently hugged the angel like naked body in mid-air.

Although Eco was blushing, she still placed her hand on Ash’s back and hugged her knight.

"Princess of Avalon ~A.S.B.1365.7~" is closed.
<noinclude>

==References and Translation Notes==
<references />

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| Back to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Chapter 7|Chapter 7]]
| Return to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Epilogue|Epilogue]]
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</noinclude>

Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Chapter 8

2013-11-07T10:41:55Z

213.144.240.241: /* Part 1 */

==Chapter 8 - Avalon's Imperial Princess==
===Part 1===
In the mothership Beowolf- In the armory, under Dr Hoffman’s command the battle is in full swing.

Eco who was naked was floating in magic guided device. ‘Yggdrasill’s’ capsule. There were groups of technician working around her. This was out of Anya’s area of understanding. She could only stand by and wall and watch silently.

But, she understood well the pain that Eco was feeling.

The cold voice was followed by its echo when it was reflected on the metal body.

“The cartridge has been filled. Prepare for launching.”

“The countdown starts now. Ten, nine, eight… Three, two, one-.”

“Launch the compressed magic!”

A red bean was shot out followed by a loud gun shooting sound. Anya felt that even the ship was vibrating.

“…!”

Then, there were air bubbles coming from Eco’s mouth. If not because of she was in the liquid, her scream could definitely be heard.

Anya couldn’t bear to see Eco suffering and looked away.

Eco’s body had already taken at least ten shots of the compressed magic.

Eco regained her consciousness after the start of the experiment. At the beginning, she was struggling in the water, but ‘Yggdrasill’s’ capsule was not at all affected.

But after receiving a continuous dozens of compressed magic, she lost her strength.

Right now, she was just like a living dead. Her blank eyes were now lifeless and it was terrible. It was pure torture. Even so, the group of researchers led by Dr Hoffman were not at all shaken and continued silently.

“There is no significant change on the appearance of α. There are no abnormalities on her respiratory system. No magic fluctuation can be seen.”
Without realizing, the group of researchers started to refer Eco as α.

Eco is a human, a young dragon and also a living being- But this group of human had taken everything from her. To them, Eco was just experimental material α.
Who knows if they want to remove their feeling of guilt by calling her with symbols…Anya secretly thought so.

At this moment, Dr Hoffman’s voice is heard by Anya.

“Still no changes… It seems like we don’t have any more choices. Activate all the Millennium.”

Anya turned pale when she heard that.

This means that they had decided to use full power on ‘Yggdrasil’.

===Part 2===
“*Sob*… It was all… My fault. *Sob*…”

In the maid’s bedroom in the ground floor of the palace.

Prim was lying on the bed with her pillow wet with tears.

There was only Ash and Silvia beside her bed. Cosette was standing outside the room by the door.

Prim cried while she told the whole incident.

Prim arrived at the ancient palace when she was chasing Eco who was running amok.

She had met a few suspicious people there.

Seeing the enemy suddenly attacked, Eco appeared and became the bait to let Prim escape.

When Prim regained conscious, Eco was no longer there.

After hearing, Ash felt something suspicious.

“Why do you go to the ancient palace?”

“That’s because… It was my entire fault! It was my bad to say such things!”

“Prim, please stay calm. Compared to you, Ash was the person who suffered the most.”

After being advised by Silvia, Prim rubbed of her tears.

“You are right. Sorry…”

“Prim-san, please tell me everything before Eco was kidnapped!”

Prim nodded.

“I have no ill intention, it was just that… Ash-sama is a human and Eco is a dragon… So I thought that Eco will feel lonely after Ash-sama married with a human girl. The moment I told her that, Eco rushed out of the room.”

“What…!”

Who would have thought of this, Ash was speechless.

“Idiot! You… Why do you have to tell her this!”

Silvia was mad.

“If I am Eco… I will definitely feel hurt if someone told that to me! Even when Eco is a dragon, her thought is still of a girl’s. She should know very well that her situation is special. Why was she born as a human? Why was she not born as a dragon… If I am Eco, I can never feel secure.”

“Princess-sama…”

Ash looked at Silvia who was telling Eco thought in surprise.

“Recently, she had gotten use to the school life. She was also being loved by everyone as the student council’s mascot. Even so, to Eco, the only person she could trust in… Is no other but Ash.”

“And I… Had said something terrible…”

“Strictly speaking, Eco is still a young dragon who was not even a year old. Can’t you be a little more indirect in your-”

“Forget it, Princess-sama. Right now, we could never solve the problem even after lecturing Prim-san. What’s more, if they had this planned, no matter what Prim-san said, Eco will still be kidnapped.”

“…You are right. But how are we going to rescue Eco?”

Silvia nodded in agreement with Ash.

“Prim-san… Could you describe those people who attacked?”

Ash was praying while asking. His only clue is Prim being the witness.

“Err…They had pretended to be the palace servant. But, they didn’t look like a citizen of the Knight Country. For their skin colour, it looked like they are the Tantalos…. Also, the person who attacked me is a short girl.”

“A Tantalos girl…!”

Ash was feeling Déjà vu. It was like he had found the last piece of puzzle in his memory.

“It was the girl who followed Milgauss!”

Ash’s fists were shaking. The world he was seeing was dyed in red. Even though he had a feeling that Milgauss was the culprit, still, after making sure, he was still in rage.

“Since we knew who was the criminal-”

Silvia immediately stopped Ash who intends to rush out from the room.

“Hold on, Ash! Where do you think you are going to?”

“The ballroom, of course! I want to settle thing with Milgauss!”

“Keep your calm! Do you think that Milgauss will admit it even after you found him?”

“…Maybe not.”

Ash turned speechless.

Silvia was right, no matter how emotional he became, Eco still wouldn’t be able to return safely.”

Just as if she was trying to have Ash cooled down, Silvia made a suggestion in a calm voice:

“Don’t you think that this is a good time to save Eco when Milgauss is busy with the masquerade?”

“What do you meant?”

“Milgauss couldn’t even be bothered by an activity with long history such as this continental congress and will do anything just to capture Eco. Even when I don’t know what was his intentions, but capturing Eco alive is their priority. I am sure that their lackeys won’t do anything to harm Eco when the mastermind was absent.”

After listening to Silvia’s analysis, Ash gave a breath of relieve.

“The problem remains is, where is Eco’s location. Since Ash’s ‘Seikoku’ is not reacting, it means that Eco was being hidden in an enclosed place. For example something that could be a barrier to cut off magic… Anyway, it must be done with the proper equipment. It just can’t be a rally point that they had just constructed.”

“An enclosed place with proper equipments? That’s it, Milgauss had Klaus backing him up…”

Last evening, an airship flew past the evening sky…

The black ship that was waving the Empire’s flag proudly…

Ash remembered.

Ash and Silvia exchanged glances and shouted at the same time:

“Beowolf!”

===Part 3===
-W-Will…I die just like this…

Eco thought so.

The liquid in the capsule kept on rotating and Eco’s body was being swept by it.

Every time her shoulders or waist touches the glass, her body will move slowly in the opposite direction.

It seems like the liquid was made of special materials. Luckily, it doesn’t affect her breathing. But after suffering a few shots from the magic device, her body turned numb.

This feeling is like an empty mind floating in mid air.

-If I could just… Continue sleeping… Then I won’t feel any pain…

Just when Eco thought so, a power that surpassed those previous ones was released at her.

“Noooooooooo…!”

Even though she thought that she shouted in pain, in truth they were just air bubbles coming out from her mouth.

A bright light flashes and the water turned rapid. Just like being swallowed off by a tsunami, her body kept on rotating and kept on hitting the glass around her.

-W….Why do I have to suffer this kind of pain.

It had passed the limit of her brain to just think of what they are going to do to her. She could only feel that her body had been injected with a vast amount of magic.

The pain she felt is just like her body being ripped open.

It felt like her organs were being messed up by someone.

-Urgh… It hurts…. It hurts…. I beg you all, please stop.

It is pointless no matter how she shout in her mind, the magic was still flowing into the body. Eco’s body was jerking nonstop and she was struggling.

You might as well do me a favour by killing me-Eco gave up.

“…!”

At the next moment- The Necromancia’s slimy tentacles attacking her from all directions.

Eco couldn’t understand.Where did those tentacles appear from in this enclosed environment?

The tentacles which were wriggling like a snake slowly snatched her freedom.

Her arms, waist, legs… was entangled by those tentacles. -Stop! This must be an illusion! It is this device that was making me hallucinate…!

Eco tried to stay conscious and opened her eyes widely.

At that moment, the tentacles disappeared.

The feelings of being entangled by those tentacles also disappeared.

However, not long after that, she loses focus and the tentacles appeared again and had her waist surrounded.

In a blink of an eye, she was lifted by those tentacles.

-Stop!

[[Image:SnRK V04 183.jpg|thumb]]

An abnormally thick tentacle was approaching at Eco’s face.

Eco kept her teeth closed with her might. If she was to be careless, the tentacle will surely wriggle into her mouth. Eco had Goosebumps just by think about it.

Eco initially wanted to ask for Ash’s help. She hoped that he could save him from this hell.

However, from the point she woke up in this device, she couldn’t even summon Ash.

Her Astral Flow with Ash had also been cut off.

The lost of her communication had put her in fear.

Eco was shocked that the lost of her connection with Ash would put her in such great fear.

-I am really an idiot. I only knew what is precious to me after I had lost it.

This experience had made her wanted to treasure Ash much more.

That’s right, without Ash, I can’t do anything… I am really a good for nothing.

-Don…

At that instant, there was something moving in her body.

===Part 4===
“Something is wrong! The magic indicator is showing an abnormal value!”

“We found an unknown magic source! Its power is increasing!”

“We had lost control of ‘Yggdrasill’! It ignored the emergency stop signal!”

The continuous bad news had made Dr Hoffman turn pale.

The laboratory was as if in a fire and tense atmosphere was spreading.

Everyone was with a panic look and were busy dealing with the buttons on their hands.

“What happened…?”

Anya who was looking from aside wondered.

Basically, there was nothing abnormal with Eco who was in the capsule.

Even though she was shot by the high power compressed magic and had struggle like she was having a nightmare, yet nothing dramatic had happened.

But the indicator was still indicating an abnormal value. Also, they were losing control of ‘Yggdrasill’.

The situation had suddenly become tense.

Even the emergency trigger had been triggered and the bell was ringing loudly.

-Dong!

At that instant, Anya heard something from the ground.

“What is that… Sound?”

As if to prove that it was not an illusion, ‘Yggdrasill’ magic indication exploded.

“Uwaa!”

Some groaned and all the surrounding deviced started to explode with red flames. All the technician were running away in fear.

“Don’t panic! Keep calm!”

Dr Hoffman shouted but not even a single soul was listening.

Because in everyone’s sights were Eco who was caged in the capsule.

Eco’s body was glowing with a dim light.

Even Anya was captive by the sight in front.

“Dr Hoffman! Let’s escape!”

A young researcher advised Dr Hoffman. The rest of the researchers were agreeing with him and looked at Dr Hoffman.

Anya left the wall and walk towards Dr Hoffman’s back.

“Dr Hoffman, I also think that it would be wise if we escape now.”

“No!”

Anya was stunned by Dr Hoffman’s aura. She had thought of him as a kind old man and was forced to act cruel as a researcher. Who would know that he would have such a stubborn side.

“What are you thinking! Even an outsider like me knew that this is dangerous! Isn’t there Millennium attached to that device too?”

What Anya was worried about is the existence of the Millenniums. Just in case the Millenniums explode… Anya was thinking. Let alone Beowolf, it is not even surprising if the capital disappear from the maps forever.

However, Dr Hoffman shook his head slowly.

“…I won’t. That will not happen. The energy in the Millenniums had run dry.”

“What?”

“All the magic energy… Was fully absorbed by experimental material α.”

“-!”

Anya looked at Eco dumbstruck.

The intensity of Eco’s light was getting stronger until the extend where one couldn’t look at her directly. Those‘Dong’sounds had become clearer.

Even though there were no dangers of the Millennium exploding, it doesn’t mean that they were free from danger. Eco right now was seen as the bomb.

Later, there was the loud sound of something breaking.

Different from the normal explosions, that explosion sounds like it was originated from something being applied pressure on.

“α….α is escaping!”

A researcher shouted.

The capsule containing eco was now in ruins and the liquid was flowing out like waterfall.

Eco can be seen floating with her eyes closed- in a short moment, she disappeared. What’s left is only stardust like magic particles floating in the air.

“She… Disappeared…?”

Anya dumbstruck, murmured alone.

===Part 5===
“Hey… Something’s wrong with Beowolf!?”

When Maestro Lancelot reached the landing space at a height of twenty meters, Silvia shouted:

“That is…!”

Ash who was riding on Lancelot behind Silvia widened his eyes.

The sacred airship Esperanza, airship Crown Solas and air ship Silvanus was lined up together.

On the other hand, the huge airship Beowolf was parked quite some distance away from the trio.

The suspicious thing was the black smokes emerging from Beowolf.

Could it be a fire?

If Eco is inside… Ash was too scared to think about it.

“Urgh…!”

At this moment, Ash felt a burning sensation from his left hand.

Although he nearly screamed in pain, he managed to tolerate with it.

It felt like suddenly putting his hand into a furnace.

“Is everything alright, Ash!?”

Silvia was worried about him and turned around and asked, but Ash couldn’t even reply because of the pain.

The ‘Seikoku’ engraved on his left arm was slowly moaning.

A while later, there was a glaring light coming out from his left arm and his sleeve up to his shoulders was burned off. Even the bandage was burned into pieces.

In a blink of an eye, Ash’s ‘Seikoku’ on his left arm was exposed.

“Wha…!”

The ‘Seikoku’ on his hand was glowing with different light intensity from time to time.

Ash was panicking.

It will be alright if it was just glowing but the heat and the pain sensation had no intention of stopping.

It felt that his left arm is going to explode anytime.

“Hey… What is actually happening?”

Silvia was in shock while holding the reins which was probably caused by the fright she experience from seeing Ash’s ‘Seikoku’s’ reaction.

“I don’t know… But I am now sure that I am again connected to Eco!”

Just like responding to Ash’s left arm, there was an object glowing in the sky.

“Ash! Look upwards!”

Silvia who noticed the abnormality was pointing at the sky. Ash too had noticed.

There was something glowing on the sky above the landing area.

“That is…”

The mysterious light was floating in the sky as if it was decorating it.

On the other hand, the full moon didn’t look as charming as before.

By taking a closer look, it was an egg with beautiful flow lines.

There was a big emblem that was carved on the pearl like egg. At a first glance, it looked like a royal emblem.

To be more specific, that emblem looked like Ash’s ‘Seikoku’.

-Don…Don…Don…

There was a frightening beating sound from the egg.

The confusing part is, it moved with the same rhythm as the glow on Ash’s ‘Seikoku’.

Ash immediately understood.

“I couldn’t be more wrong… Eco is in that egg!”

“How is that possible? What are you talking about…?”

“Princess-sama, I beg you. Please take me there!”

“…Alright. I believe in you. Fly Lancelot! Fly higher!”

But Lancelot ignored her orders. It stayed at the twenty meters height and looked at the egg with its head up.

“Hei… Lancelot? Anything wrong? Fly immediately!”

Even though Silvia shouted strictly, Lancelot still ignored her orders. On the other hand, it did an emergency landing at a corner of the landing space.

“What are you doing? Are you disobeying my orders, Lancelot!”

“…It is useless, Princess-sama. It seems that Lancelot has its own reason.”

“What did you say?!”

Silvia looked at Ash with an imposing manner.

“Do you know what Lancelot was thinking?”

“…I am not sure. It was probably affected by the ‘Seikoku’. I don’t know why, but I could somehow understand what Lancelot was thinking.”

After Ash and Silvia was forced to alight Lancelot unwillingly, Lancelot again spread its wings and shoot up into the sky.

Looking at Lancelot’s direction, Ash found out something important.

“Princess-sama! There are more and more… Maestros gathering together!”

Groups of Maestro were gathering from all direction. It had become an amazing night view created by the light from the Maestro’s magic.

One by one the Maestro appeared and gathered at the corner of the sky.

For Maestro’s whose numbers were already little to begin with to gather together, it was unheard of even in the old times-

===Part 6===
“What is actually happening…?”

Lancelot left its master and flew off on its own.

Although this had given Silvia a great blow, still the view of the night sky had gave her a deep impression.

Silvia could clearly hear the ‘Pssshh’ sounds of the beating of the wings.

When she had personally seen the dream like view, all her attention had been captured by it.

That egg even had wings growing out of it and feathers with silver lights were falling off. It was like snows that beautify the night sky.

Then- there was a crack from the egg shell.

The winged egg split into two-

“Uoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!”

A roar as if it was a horn announcing the end to the world could be heard all over.

Silvia who couldn’t look straight into the glaring light closed her eyes. When she reopened her eyes, the winged egg was no longer there. It was replaced by something that was out of this world.

To describe this thing with a word will be either – GOD or DEVIL.

However what Silvia said was insulting.

“What a scary monster…!”

[[Image:SnRK V04 193.jpg|thumb]]

“Stop! You are not allowed to say that!”

Ash shouted and brought Silvia back o her sense.

“That must be...Eco. I can feel it... I can feel it!”

“Sorry, Ash...”

Although Silvia was annoyed by her gaffe, she still couldn’t believe that it was Eco.

Later, Eco landed slowly while being surrounded by numerous Maestros.

Although the pink fur and the red eyes is similar to Eco, but her horns looked sharp and fierce and doesn’t at all looked like Eco’s round stubs.

Also, there was a third horn in between the two horns. It was like a unicorn’s horn and was up straight.

Her wings which were spread widely were different from a normal Maestro’s. It made one think of an angel’s wings.

Followed by a loud bang, Eco landed.

Eco lifted up her gigantic hind leg up high- And The large airship that had been the pride of the Empire was squashed in a few seconds.

With the conning tower being right at the middle, Beowolf had been squashed into a V shape and immediately exploded.

Yet, Eco was not at all affected.

Eco probably lost interest in Beowolf and tried to wriggle her long neck. She slowly lowered her center of gravity.

The target of her scarlet eyes was the window of the tall Fontaine Palace.

===Part 7===
-An unidentified flying object appeared above the capital and all the Maestros in the country disobey their masters’ order and gathered together.

Veronica who received the emergency report brought Glenn the captain of the escorts alone with her to the ballroom at the highest floor of the palace.

Anyway, there were important guests in the ballroom that gathered from all over the continent. No matter what happened, she must protect their safety in the name of the pride of the Knight’s country.

At the same time, she must bring back her father Oswald with her. He had most probably change his appearance and was drinking while mingling in the crowd.

While running on the long corridor, Veronica questioned Glenn:

“Did you too have lost contact with your pal?”

“It totally ignored my summons and ignored my request to present me my Ark. From the looks of the current situation where all the Maestros gathered at the capital’s sky, it probably has something to do with the unidentified flying object.”

“Then, our pride, the Holy Dragners of Lautreamont can be considered no more. If the Empire attacked us at this moment, without the protection of the Maestros, this country will fall in just a single night.”

“...I don’t have an excuse to offer.” <ref>面目次第も有りません have also the meaning of ‘It is a shame I don’t have the power to…’</ref>

Glenn lowered his head somberly.

===Part 8===
When Veronica and Glenn arrived at the ballroom, the palace music and the party atmosphere of the nobles had disappeared.

Most of the guests were by the glass window and were looking downwards in shock. From there they can see the landing area for the airships.

“That’s…!”

Veronica was also looking downwards through the glass window.

“It is dangerous to stand beside the window, Princess-sama!”

Glenn warned her but Veronica ignored him.

There was a change in the landing area.

A living object that was glowing with silver light suddenly landed there.

''-Uoooooooooooooooooo…!''

It was immediately followed by a loud roar that will made one feel like covering his ears.

It was stated in the previous report that ‘an unidentified flying object that looked like a huge egg’, but it seemed that the huge egg had
hatched when Veronica was on her way.

The unbelievable thing is, that huge monster easily split the Empire’s huge airship Beowolf into two with just a stomp.

Right at this moment, there was a man from the crowd was making a fuss.

“Ooh, what is happening! How can a dragon of the Knight’s… Destroy the most advance airship which is our country’s pride! I don’t think that
this is some simple matter!”

The man words had caused an uproar in the ballroom.

Until a moment ago, everyone had just found out that this monster is a dragon.

Talking about a dragon, everyone will think about Lautreamont Knight Country.

“Is that person…Klaus Viderhausen! He is obviously trying to cause a stir!”

Veronica angrily scolded and glared at the Empire’s young noble.

However, there was a man who stupidly tried to argue with Klaus.

“Nonsense! That monster had nothing to do with our country!”

Although the man was wearing a lion shaped mask, judging from his plum body, Veronica immediately knew who he is.

He is her father, Oswald.

“Klaus-dono! This is the truth! That monster had nothing to do with us! Please believe in me!”

“Hu… What you said was not at all convincing. Anyway, everyone here is a witness.”

Klaus was not even bothered by Oswald.

It was because what Klaus said is true. A huge dragon that appeared with no warning had destroyed the Empire’s airship right in front of
everyone.

Nothing could be worst than this.

For Chevron Kingdom and Zepharos Empire who had never see each other eye to eye was originally going to discuss about the peace in between
them in tomorrow’s continental congress ‘Elysium’.

To Chevron Kingdom and its ally Lautreamont Knight Country this should be a historical event.

“Stop… Let alone the Emperor, not even a royal from the Empire attends. It is a total joke. The Empire had never wanted peace-”

Just as Veronica finished her sentence, there were people screaming from everywhere.

Everyone was in a panic.

All the guests who were wearing their mask, including the musicians and the waiters, everyone were trying to escape.

Apart from Oswald who was crying, Klaus who had previously put the blame on the Knight Country was also fleeing.

“What…!”

Veronica who immediately turned around was also sweating tremendously.

There was a pair of scarlet eyes looking into one of the many palace windows.

She spent a few seconds to figure out that the dragon had stretched its neck and was looking into Fontaine Palace.

“Glenn, if I try to slash the pair of eyes with my huge sword… Do you think I have any chance of winning?”

“Please forgive my rudeness… Even if Princess-sama, you are no match for it.”

Glenn told the truth directly.

"Why must you be this honest?"

Veronica was sulking while she confronted the dragon eyes.

The round eyes.

''It looked like a baby’s pairs of eyes. Although it looked naïve, if this monster just rubbed its nose with the palace walls, Fontaine Palace will
turned into dust in seconds. Furthermore, it will be a hill full of bricks and corpse…''

Even though she was thinking of such scenario, Veronica could still manage a smile.

“Kuku… So this is of feeling of my life being controlled by others. I praise you, my child!”

Seeing that Veronica had no intention of escaping, Captain Glenn advised her in panic:

“Princess-sama, please retreat!”

“I mustn’t. Some of the guests are still here.”

Veronica looked around the empty ballroom.

There was a man with a mask standing at the middle of the dance floor.

The man was wearing a elegant suit. However his hair colour was like a cloth stain with blood.

He is obviously the guy in the reports- Milgauss.

Veronica looked at him in admiration.

“Hmm… You indeed look a little like Julius. Remove your mask!”

To her surprise, he actually did it. He could be seen silently removing his mask and threw it to a side as if he don’t need it anymore.

“-!”

Veronica’s eyes widen.

The handsome face beneath the mask was undoubtable Julius of ten years later who had became a seinen.<ref>青年, man with age range between 20-
30.</ref>

He had no longer the rebellious feel with him in his teenage years and was replaced by a feeling of a weapon that had been well polished.

“So you are Julius…!”

As if to sweep away her worries, Julius walked to the side of the window. At the same time, the dragon’s face disappeared as if it had lost
interest with the empty ballroom.

Julius was standing by the window looking at the huge dragon.

“Kukuku… I had been waiting for this moment for a long time!”

That sinful voice and the devil like smile made Veronica felt uneasy.

Glenn took a stepped forward as if trying to ask in behalf of Veronica.

He unsheathed his sword that was on his waist.

“You can’t be Julius, no? My friend will never show such malicious smile."

“Oh, Glenn McGuire! I remembered you are one of the guys that appeared in Julius’s memories. It should be suitable to use ‘it had been a long
time’ in this situation, don’t you think so?”

“What do you mean!”

“You still don’t get it? This body is indeed Julius’s. However, I am not Julius. But I can peek into Julius’s memories anytime."

“What is happening…?”

Veronica was curious but it was not bothered by the man.

“Kneel! Quick! Look carefully! You are witnessing a historical moment!”

The man was acting like a holy man in the religious painting. He spread his arms widely and declared his name.

“I am Mordred! The descendant of the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family.”

Vreonica couldn’t believe what she had just heard.

The Maestro that Julius sacrificed his life to kill is named Mordred. It is also Julius’s Pal.

''Is it possible that Mordred had taken over Julius’s body?''

In regards of Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family- Veronica had only recently heard about this name.

The ‘Old Testament of the Stella Biblia’ that Dr Angela Cornwell found in Willingham Mausoleum.

Basically, Veronica had read through the copy of the book.

She recalled a part of the book.

“…After the wise dragon Inbroke, two major bloodlines were formed. They are the Avalon’s holy dragons emperor family and the Nehalennia’s dark dragons king family. An endless war started from these two families. After the members of the two families reincarnated, they will encounter each other, hate each other and kill each other.”

The person in front had introduced himself as the descendant of the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family.

Then, who is the person who should be representing the descendant of the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family-?

At this moment, Veronica stopped thinking because of Glenn’s shout.

“So I see… You are the roots of evil! I knew that Julius didn’t turn crazy! He will always be loyal to his beliefs and tried to have you
removed even when he had to commit a crime in the Knight Country!... Return Julius to us!”

Followed by a shout, Glenn reduced their distance and there was a silver flash.

However, Mordred easily parried Glenn’s slash.

“Urgh!”

Glenn growled.

Morderd had stopped the high speed slash with only his index and middle finger.

Glenn could be seen standing still while holding his sword. No, that’s not the case, Veronica understands well.

It was not that Glenn was not moving, it was because that he was unable to move.

Morderd had over powered Glenn with just two fingers.

“Hmph… I will let you experience the punishment for being disobedient to ''god''."

After Mordred gave a cold smile, there was a flash.

“Gwaaa!”

Glenn was knocked up into the air while unable to even resist. He knocked into the wall hard and became unconscious.

Veronica didn’t even have the time to care about Glenn and stared at Mordred.

“…I don’t understand. As far as I know, you should have a good relationship with Julius. Didn’t you even present him with an ark?”

“Hmph, the one who has a good relationship with Julius is another me. That me who acknowledged Julius as its master and had associate with him
quite well."

“Another me? What are you talking about?”

“Let me generously explain it to you as your last gift before you die. There was two personalities in Mordred. If it was to be a human, it will be call as a split personality.”

“What happened to the other personality?”

“It had disappeared together with the body. Ironically, it was it and Julius who had planned to kill me. For me, to prevent myself from dying,
I had sacrificed my body and change into this spiritual form and had inhabit in Julius’s body.”

Upon saying until there, Mordred looked out of the window.

Right beside the palace, the dragon was standing on its hind legs and was looking around curiously. It seemed to be troubled because it
couldn’t understand what was happening.

Mordred declared to that dragon:

“Descendant of the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family, I will take that body of yours!”

“Now I understand, so this is what you planned…!”

At this stage. Veronica finally found out what is Mordred aiming for.

Morderd had once lost his body in to past when it was killed by Julius.

However, if it could take over the body of the descendant of the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family, it can once again be born as the
strongest dragon…!

“That will never happen, Mordred!”

Veronica unsheathed the huge sword on her waist.

Even though she knew that he was not an opponent that she could win in a direct confrontation, she still couldn’t bear to watch idly from the side.

''I will kill Mordred together with Julius’s body before he can manage to take over Avalon’s body-'' Veronica rushed forward while thinking so.

Even when it is her brother’s body that we are talking about, she had no intention of showing any mercy.

But, before Veronica could land a hit on Mordred, suddenly, there was darkness emerging from his body and spread all over the ballroom.

“Urgh… What is this dark mist… My conscious…!”

The moment she was surrounded by the darkness, Veronica felt a strong feeling of vomiting and fainting.

===Part 9===
After struggling in the darkness without knowing what was happening for some time- The darkness had finally disappeared.

“Are you alright, Veronica?”

There was a guy who held out his had to Veronica who was struggling to stand up.
[[Image:SnRK V04 207.jpg|thumb]]
“You…!”

There were killing intends in Veronica’s eyes.

To her surprise, Mordred who should be busy with taking over Avalon’s decedent’s body had tried to help her.

However, there was no longer the evilness on his face.

“You… Could you be Julius?”

“Ahh, that is me. You are still the same old you for not calling me ‘Anii-ue’.”

It seemed that because Mordred was gone, Julius who able to take back his body.

“Of course… You F.O.O.L”

Upon hearing, Julius smile but he immediately returned back to his serious expression.

“Sorry, but now is not the time for us siblings to be arguing. Mordred's spirit had already inhibited on Eco’s body. We have the obligation to defeat Mordred and protect this city.”

At that instant, Veronica felt a pain from her head as if she had just been strike.

“Hold on! Did you just say Eco? That huge dragon… is actually Eco?”

“I will explain the detail to you later. Can you stand up?”

“Hmph… Whom do you think you are talking to!”

Using the huge sword as a walking stick, Veronica put all her effort into standing up. But, it was probably the side effect of inhaling in the darkness, in the end, she fell down again.

“Princess-sama!”

The person who reached Veronica first was Glenn. Although he was badly injured, he had regained conscious.

Glenn held on to Veronica and glared at Julius.

“Julius… I had numerous thing that I want to tell you, but please allow me to tell you this first.”

“I can guess what you want to say but be my guest.”

While facing the calm Julius, Glenn with mix feelings shouted to Julius:

“You… Damn you!”

===Part 10===

Seeing that the Empire’s airship was easily crushed, the sacredship Esperanza and magicship Crown Solas flew off immediately.

Only magicship Silvanus remained at its location overlooking the whole incident.

Although Silvanus had yet to attack Eco, Ash was still worried stance the captain is Veronica.

Even so, seeing that Silvanus still haven’t make its decision, Veronica probably had not board the ship. They were most probably waiting for Veronica’s orders.

On the other hand, if Veronica had boarded the ship, there is a high chance that she will issue an attack on Eco. To protect the capital, Veronica will make this decision without any hesitation. Anyway, Silvanus fire power is not something that can be ignored.

“I…I will protect Eco!”

Ash made up his mind and rushed forward.

“Hold on, Ash. Do you want to be crushed!”

Silvia blocked Ash with her arms spread.

“Please move aside, Princess-sama! Who will protect Eco if I don’t!”

“Please keep your calm! Even so, what can you do!? How are you going to ride Eco who had turned into that? What’s more, what are you going to do to ride on Eco?”

“I…”

Silvia was right. During the time when the Necromancia attacked Ansarivan, he received help from Silvia and Lancelot.

But luck was not on his side. Lancelot who he could place his hope on had not yet returned after it gathered with the rest of the Maestro. The group of Maestros were still circling above the sky while waiting for something to happen.

To his relieved, after Eco crushed Beowolf, she had not made any frightening actions. Although Ash was sweating tremendously during the time she looked into Fontaine Palace through the window, he was lucky that she leave immediately.

Right now, Eco was only looking around and sniffing the building around her as if to figure out what was happening. In regards to what had happened to her body, she probably hasn’t figured it out yet.

“In conclusion, we must keep her as far from the town as possible. In case that she entered the town…"

Upon listening to Silvia’s assumption, Ash was shaking in fear.

Fontaine City has a population of around a million.

In another words, a million lives were now in Eco’s hands.

The severity of the current situation was no longer only involved Ash and Eco.

“Guooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo…!”

At that moment, Eco was roaring in pain and started to struggle. There was a change in her appearance that was originally surrounded by a silver light.

Just like a white cloth that came in contact with ink, there black colour was slowly taking over the white.

“…Eco? What’s happening!”

Ash could only look at Eco transform without doing anything.

The change in her skin was only the start.

Her angle like feathers had transformed into a crow like wings.

The previous middle horn of the three horns had disappeared and her pair of horns had turned into spiral shape.

Also, her four limbs were growing at a fast speed. It will be better to describe her as a giant like body rather than a huge beast. That huge body gave a evil feeling.

Last of all, there were nine eyes on its face and were glowing with red lights.

“Nine eyes…!”

Ash remembered something.

Eco once had a nightmare.

In her dream, was Eco attacked by the nine eyed dragon…?

-Don!

At that moment, Eco who had turned into that black dragon gave a dragon breath.

The flame emitted pierced the sky and scattered the dark clouds.

If this flame was aimed at Fontaine Palace or the town… Ash had Goosebumps just by thinking.

“Silvia, so you are here!”

At this moment, there was a fierce voice coming from behind.

It was Silvia and Glenn when they turned around.

Glenn was badly injured and looked like a rag.

Apart from that- There was another man that was following Veronica.

It was already surprising if a person was allowed to walk side by side with Veronica, yet it was far more surprising when they noticed the man’s hair colour.

“Milgauss! Why are you here!”

Ash felt that he was having Goosebumps all over his body. At the same time, he felt that Milgauss looked familiar. He remembered that he had seen that face in a portrait.

“Are you… Anii-ue?!”

Silvia shouted before Ash.

“Yeah. Although it is a little hard to believe, I am Julius. But I don’t have the time to give you any explanations right now. Firstly, we need to get rid of Mordred’s spirit from Eco’s body- Ash.”

When his name was suddenly called by Julius, Ash became nervous.

The person in front of him really felt like Prince Julius Lautreamont.

Julius stepped forward and placed his hand on Ash’s shoulder.

“Only you as the master can save Eco. Understood?”

“Yes. I had thought of that too myself.”

Julius smiled.

“Good answer. I will take the responsibility to bring you to Eco.”

“But… How are you going to do it?”

“Don’t worry. We have that.”

After he finished his sentence, Julius was pointing at- Magicship Silvanus that was actually resting at the far end of the landing area.

===Part 11===
“Ara. I don’t remembered inviting you here…Dark Dragon King Mordred.”

In the dragon workshop, Navi and Mordred were having a confrontation. She was sitting on her favourite chair with her legs crossed.

“Kuku. This is your last time to be able to be this relaxed.”

Mordred’s spirit still maintained Julius’s voice. It was probably because it had inhibited in Julius’s body for more than ten years…Navi thought so.

“I had taken over sixty percent of Eco’s body. It is only a matter of time that I can fully take control of her body. Avalon is losing.”

“…”

“Next, if I can fuse together with you, I can be fully awakened as the Dark Dragon King. Follow me. Even though you are called Navi, but I clearly know that you are not a normal navigator. You are the incarnation of the Dragweiss.”

“Ara. Just what I thought of the Dark Dragon King. You had made quite some investigation on your own.”

“Fuse with me quickly. Give me the supreme knowledge. Strictly speaking, Avalon and Nehalennia have the same roots… I should also be qualified to fuse with you.”

“I don’t disagree with this.”

Upon hearing Navi’s answer, Mordred smiled.

“So you agreed?”

“No I don’t. It is because I don’t like Nehalennia.”

“…What do you say?”

“I am rooting for Avalon's Imperial Princess and her knight. Especially her knight… Ash Blake, he is far manlier than you.”

“Hmph…what a fox you are. Since it had came to this, I will use force-”

Suddenly, there were numerous tentacles coming from under Mordred’s legs. They were like snakes that had found their prey and attacked Navi.

===Part 12===
“I am sorry. Could everyone apart from Ash and I leave this ship?”

Upon stepping into Silvanus’s wheelhouse, Julius spoke coldly.

The crew responsible for the control of the wheel and control communications turned around and looked Julius in confusion. Then they are all frightened as is they had seen a ghost.

They shouldn’t be blamed since the prince that should have been executed years ago was standing in front of them and had asked them to do something unreasonable.

“Hold on… Prince Julius! What do you planned to do?”

Seeing that Ash was requesting for an explanation, at the same time Julius answered, he turned around and looked at Veronica who was preparing to sit on the captain’s seat.

“I just don’t want the rest of the people to die with us. Veronica, I hoped that you could also help me by giving out the orders.”

“Do you think that I would even listen to that joke?”

“If the sister is stubborn, the elder brother will have to face some trouble.”

The next instant, Julius seize Veronica from behind with lightning speed. He was holding a hidden gun. It was a mechanic gun that the military of the Empire used.

Julius even chose to place the tip at Veronica’s temple.

“There is not much time. You should try to listen to your brother sometimes, Veronica.”

“Are you kidding! Silvanus is my magicship. Don’t even think of always doing what you wanted to, Julius.”

“As I had said before, I am your brother. Maybe you are a perfect princess in front of our people, but I knew your achilles heel. If you still disobey me, I will expose it in front of everyone.”

“What achilles heel?”

“I knew that you love Silvia. There are Silva portraits in your room. The clothes that Silva wore, Silva’s growth record, the poem that you wrote from missing Silvia and also Silvia’s human size doll-”

“I-I promise! Keep quite immediately!”

Ash was in a shock. He had never expected Veronica to surrender easily.

“Everyone, leave the ship immediately! This is an order from Veronica Lautreamont! No one is allowed to disobey!”

All the crew members rushed out from the wheelhouse.

===Part 13===
When everyone had left the magicship, Julius flied Silvanus while sitting on the pilot’s seat.

With the sudden shake of the magicship, Ash held on tightly to the seat of the communication officer to avoid falling. Looking through the round window, the magicship was getting further and further away from the ground.

It was a totally different experience from sitting on a dragon. When this lump of metal was flying with passengers- At the same time Ash was amazed, he also started to worry about crashing.

As for Julius, he was piloting Silvanus while telling Ash the whole story.

===Part 14===
Although what Julius said was hard to believe, basically, the dragons were seperated into the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family and the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family. The two families had incarnated since the ancient times and were still fighting each other right until today.

Also, Eco is Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family’s descendant.

In another words, Eco is the Imperial Princess of the dragon.

“…Even after I had heard of such things, it is still hard for me to believe this. Eco who had been living with me was obviously a girl who sleeps late, a glutton and a hot headed girl...”

“I know how you feel. When I found out that my pal is the descendant for the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family, I was also astounded. In the beginning, I was also troubled by why was I chosen.”

Julius said.

“Back to the topic, Avalon’s Imperial Princess’s body is really huge. Even though she is still a young dragon, she had this unbelievable huge size… It is totally unbelievable.”

After Julius pressed a few buttons on the dashboard, Eco’s body was shown on the huge screen in front.

Silvanus was three hundred meters above the land and was looking at Fontaine city from the sky above.

From the screen, they can see Eco's back that had turned black because of being taken over by Mordred.

With its frightening spiral horns and nine eyes… It is exactly the image of the dark dragon king.

Eco who was originally standing on two legs was now standing on all four because of the pain caused by Mordred’s take over.

The worrying part is, Eco was not moving at all and yet she doesn’t look as if she was sleeping…

“Could it be that Eco was fighting Mordred?”

Julius shook his head in disagreement.

“It is impossible. Judging from the huge change of her body, I am afraid that… Eco don’t even have the strength to fight back.”

“Is it…”

“But not all hope is lost. In my opinion, Navi was fighting against Mordred.”

“Navi?”

Why would he mention Navi’s name at such a time?

Before that, how would Julius know about Navi?

“Navi is the incarnation of the Dragweiss. If Navi could keep on fighting back, even after Mordred could fully take over Eco’s body, he still couldn’t be fully awaken.”

“What do you meant?”

“Regardless of the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor or the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king, both of them must fuse with the Dragweiss to obtain the supreme knowledge, only then they could receive their true power. I believe that Mordred right now is trying his best to make Navi his.”

“How come… you knew so many about him?”

“That was because it shared the same body with Mordred. Just like what he did to blend into the human society… I could also look into his memories.”

After hearing what Julius had said, Ash was still confused. However, there exists thing that could be easily understood without the need of good brains.

“In another words, this is a great time for a counter attack when Mordred was busy dealing with Navi, right?”

“That’s right. This is our only chance for victory. If you can ride on Eco and chase of Mordred’s spirit, then you can save Eco and the capital together.”

Ash nodded in agreement to what Julius had said.

“I am willing to give it a try. No matter it is Avalon or Nehalennia… I don’t think I even know what they mean. I only know that Eco is my pal.”

When Ash turned around and prepared to walk back to the deck, Julius spoke from behind:

“Although I don’t know why you are chosen… But I am glad that you are Eco’s knight.”

===Part 15===
“Urgh…”

Ash arrived at the deck and the winds were cold. Such temperatures were unheard of during the summer.

Ash was carrying a parachute- This is a decision made by Julius and him beforehand.

When Silvanus had come close to Eco, Ash will jump off from the deck with the help of the parachute.

After landing, it is all up to Ash.

Basically, Ash had gone through the landing practices in the academy.

Ash had never intended to become a soldier and had always thought that the academy was wrong to force them to go through the practices.

Anyway, the academy is not a military school- But who would expect that those practices must be applied right now.

“…Right there.”

Ash was looking down towards the ground from the bow and had located Eco’s back.

Although her fur had turned black but since the enormous amount of magic surrounding her was giving off strong rays of light, he won’t have to worry about missing his target.

He must make use of the time that Navi was fighting against Mordred to land on Eco’s head.

Julius voice emerged from the magic communication device:

“Ash, you may jump anytime.”

“Roger that.”

Ash looked downwards for one more time.

For such a huge beast, her only blind spot will be her head.

Ash tried to imagine himself riding on Eco’s head.

To his surprise, it was not at all scary.

The ‘Seikoku’ on his left arm was getting warm and was flickering with dim light.

It felt as if his ‘Seikoku’ was urging him to move quickly.

Suddenly- Eco lifted her neck and shot a dragon breath towards Silvanus.

“…Urgh!”

A bright light pierced through the night sky. Ash surrendered against the shaking deck and fell down. Although Julius had barely avoided a direct hit by giving the ship an emergency turn, the strong breath had burned the side of the ship into ashes.

There were smokes and fire emerging from the ship itself and it had lost balance.

“Tsk…! If you kill me, Eco will die too! If that happens, you also couldn’t get your hands on Eco’s body that you desired that much...! How could someone be this stupid?”

When Ash was groaning, Julius voice could be heard once again through the communication machine:

“Ash, are you alright!”

“Yes, I am!”

“Silvanus is going to do an emergency landing! Jump quickly!”

“I also intend to do so!”

Ash clenched his teeth and jumped off from the deck.

The moment his feet left the deck, Mordred gave a second dragon breath.

Looking backwards, he saw Silvanus’s deck suffered a direct hit from the dragon breath.

Ash shuddered. He was lucky that he had jumped of earlier or else he would be turned into dust.

Although Julius had said there are going to do an emergency ‘landing’, judging from the speed Silvanus was moving downwards, it looked like it was crashing.

Finally, the unbalance ship disappeared at the other end of the palace walls- Then a fire pillar could be seen followed by a loud explosion.

“Prince Julius…!”

Ash was sad but there was nothing he can do.

Julius had risked his life to fly him into the night sky.

The only thing he can do right now is to complete his mission in return.

Ash's body was moving downwards because of the gravity pull.

His face and ears felt like being crushed by the air pressure.

“Now is the time!”

Ash had got the timing right and spread open the parachute.

The amazing braking force had caused the parachute to slow down.

If another dragon breath was shot, Ash would certainly be hit but Ash prayed that he will not have such bad luck.

“Wait for me, Eco. I will protect you… I swear!”

===Part 16===
“Damn! Where am I?”

Eco found out that she was in a cage when she woke up. When she was looking at her body, she found out that she was wearing a dress with low standards.

This style is obviously not of Eco’s preference.

Any dress in Fontaine Palace’s changing room looked better that this. It is even as heavy as lead and it felt more like a binding item rather than an evening dress.

On the other side of the cage was a wide white space. The walls, the floor and the ceiling was white. Not even a dust that could be found.

“How dare anyone to cage a dragon like me in this cage… What were they even thinking!?”

Eco was definitely confused. Yet she still vaguely remembered that she was awakened as a dragon. She even remembered that she had become huge and was looking at the whole Fontaine palace.

But her memories stopped there.

“Tsk…It seems that you are alright since you are this energetic even under such situation.”

It was a familiar voice.

“Navi? You…!”

Navi was standing outside of the cage. Even though Eco disliked Navi, but under such situation, Eco was grateful that Navi was here and felt that Navi was like an angel.

The Eco’s Angel was now looking like a ragdoll.

Navi who was always acting calm and give out a noble like feeling was now with a messed up hair and even her evening dress was in rags. All over her body were marks of being bounded.

“What happened? This doesn’t look like you at all…”

Eco was taking a closer look at Navi.

“Hmm…I am only accompanying Mordred in his game. It was just that, his tentacles fetish had given me some trouble!”

“Mordred? Who is that?”

“Please lend me your hand.”

Eco stretched her hand through the gaps in between the bars of the cage. After Navi held her hand, a mass amount of knowledge flowed into her brain.

In a blink of an eye, Eco knew everything that had happened. Only until now that she had realized that she was in her spiritual from.

“To make it simple… That person called Mordred is trying to take over my body, right?”

“That’s right. Anyway, during the time I was running around, he had done nothing bad. But if it is to destroy this capital, it will be an easy task for him.”

“Hmm… So I am such a great dragon.”

According to Navi’s information, Eco is Avalon’s Imperial Princess.

“Huhu. Now Ash is going to look at me differently.”

Seeing that Eco was feeling proud, Navi sighed.

“As long as he can survive. He seems to be doing something foolhardy again.”

Navi held Eco’s hand again and Eco closed her eyes.

That current situation was sent into Eco’s brain as projections.

“What…!”

Eco was speechless.

Under the night sky- Ash leaned out from Silvanus’s deck.

The next instant, Mordred gave a dragon breath from the ground.

Silvanus was hit and was gliding in the sky as if it was a paper plane.

On the other hand, Ash jumped into the air and was falling with his head pointing downwards.

“Hold on… Is he crazy!?”

At that moment, Eco clearly heard Ash’s mumble.

"Wait for me, Eco. I will protect you… I swear!”

In a short moment, tears started to flow from her eyes. Even though she was a spirit, her tears still kept on flowing. Even the Dragweiss couldn’t give an explanation. A warm feeling was haunting her heart… What was that feeling?

“Why…Why? Why would he… try to do so many things for me? Even when I… Had caused many, many troubles for him?”

Navi stretched her hand into the cage and patted her head.

“Do you even have to ask? It is because you are his pal.”

Eco rubbed off her tears and lifted her head.

“Navi, please tell me what can I do for him.”

“Teehee. That’s more like it.”

Navi smiled and waved her hand lightly. With a flash, the cage had disappeared. At the same time, the black dress that limits Eco’s movement had been broken into particles and a pure white evening dress was raveled from beneath.

In a short time, Navi removed Mordred’s seal.

“I must say that… You are very good.”

Eco was looking at her dress. It designs compromised of the elements of elegant and pure. It is as if it was made to be worn by the Avalon’s Imperial Princess.

“No matter how great I am, I can't help you with the upcoming step. Understood?”

Eco nodded in reply.

“Then, what should I do?”

After Navi smiled, she cheekily said:

“Of course you are to present him your originally made Ark and the Avalon’s Imperial Princess.”

The next instant, Eco became confused.

“What? Are you serious?”

As if it was natural to do so, Navi nodded without any hesitation.

“All the mimics that you had created for emergency in the past… is useless against Mordred.”

“But, how am I to do this impossible task!?”

An original Ark could not be completed easily.

It was because of Eco had seen her ancestor’s blueprint; she understands how hard it can be. An Ark is not only a strong magic weapon, at the same time, it is also a perfect art masterpiece.

Not to mention that Eco was still a young dragon that was not even a year old without any experience. Navi’s suggestion was like asking a baby to build a palace.

“Anyway, it will not be called difficult if the blueprint could be easily created.”

Eco gave up before she even started but Navi ignored it.

“Rest assured, you must believe in your own ability. You are an Imperial Princess who is the blood descendant of Avalon.”

“But… what we must think about is not only the armour itself, there is also the Ark-weapon…”

“Listen carefully, the shape itself doesn’t matters. It was the mental power of the creator that decide the strength of the Ark. Even if you don’t know the shape, as long as you focus, the shape of the Ark will be formed.”

“Really…?”

“Yeah. Also, you don’t have to worry about the Ark-weapon. Avalon has a treasured sword that had been passed down through the generations. Just use it.”

After a moment of silent, Eco mumbled:

“…I had always disliked you since the first time I met you. Regardless of your relaxed attitude or your looks that was similar to mine or your overly large breast…I hate them and hate them very much! However… It is funny that I felt that you are trustable.”

Eco lifted her head and smile.

Navi also returned a smile.

At the same moment, Eco felt that a light had pierced through that darkness that had been blocking her eyes.

She didn't want to look for trouble anymore.

And she definitely doesn’t want to give up before taking up the challenge.

While the evening dress was swaying, Eco spoke with confidence:

“Just wait and see. I will definitely complete my original Ark!”

===Part 17===
“Damn… What kind of joke is this!”

Although Ash had finally landed on Eco, still the landing spot was her back and not her head. It was exactly beside the joints between the body and the wings.

That pair of wings was like the wings of a new born bird. It was still wet and was unable to fly right away.

Maybe this is my only life saver…Ash secretly thought.

Black furs were grown from her uneven skin. It felt like a Necromancia. He must get rid of Mordred’s spirit and return Eco to her original appearance as soon as
possible.

To achieve this, he must try to ride her gigantic body. However… Ash was looking at Eco’s head from afar.

Connected to her back that was as huge as prairie was a long neck that looked as if it was a stairway to heaven. And her head with spiral horns was at the other end of the neck.

His current aim was to ride on her head and try to control her using his will as a dragner. However… The distance between them was huge. It was like trying to climb the dangerous Xenoglavia Mountains without any climbing tools.

“Stop… This is not the time to give up.”

Ash threw aside the parachute and move forward while pushing aside those furs that were taller than his height.

“Now I really looked like a louse…”

In reality, Mordred treat Ash as nothing but a louse. That is why he was not bothered by Ash at all.

“Just wait and see. Your overconfidence will be the cause of your death, Mordred…”

Although Ash kept on talking to himself to boost his confidence, but every time he looked towards her head, he felt like falling apart.

Suddenly, there was a change in the night sky.

Those Maestros who were originally circling in the sky started to make their movements.

Those Maestros could be seen gliding towards Mordred and had him surrounded.

“Grrrrrrrrrrrrr…”

Mordred lifted his neck and gave a threatening growl. However, before he even managed to attack, the Maestros activated their magic at the same time.

With a flash, chains that were made from magic appeared. Numerous chains had tied down the huge dragon’s neck, front legs, hind legs, tail…

“Guuuoooooooooooooooooooo…!”

Mordred was struggling with all his might but the chains wouldn’t even budge.

“They…!”

It can’t be wrong. These Maestros were trying to seal Mordred’s movement. Who know if they were thinking that the dragon worthy to take to top is not Mordred but Eco.

At that moment, a Maestro landed right in front of Ash. Its pair of horns that looked like a dear’s looked familiar to Ash. Then a clear voice could be heard coming from behind the dragon.

“Ash… Hurry up!”

“Lukka!? Why are you here?”

That is. The Maestro that suddenly appeared from above was Gawain and Lukka was riding on its back. Ash felt nostalgic.

Lukka while feeling worried gave Ash a short explanation.

“Err… The Maestros in the seven dragon house was escaping together. I risked my life to cling on Gawain… In the end, I found out that I was already here.”

“Did Rebecca and Max come together?”

Lukka shook her head. It was probably Ash's mistake that he felt that Lukka’s ears were slightly drooping.

“Only I noticed that something was going on with the Maestros…”

“Is that so…”

As if to interrupt Ash’s and Lukka’s conversation, Gawain roared with its jaws opened.

It was as if trying to tell Ash to ride on it quickly. Ash naturally didn’t reject this offer.

“Thank you!”

Just as Ash sat on Gawain’s back, Gawain flapped its wings.

After piercing through the night sky, Gawain’s altitude was increasing following the direction of Mordred’s neck. Lukka’s riding skills was as good as ever and could only be described by perfect.

Ash was clinging tightly to Lukka’s thin waist to avoid from dropping off.

However, Mordred will not stay silent. Although he was being tied down, it was still struggling and roaring loudly.

Suddenly, magic cannons continued to appear in the sky and was firing at Gawain.

Ash was trembling when he saw those cannons.

It was because those cannons looked like the weapon that Ash used during his fight with Milgauss in Willingham Mausoleum. The only difference is, each cannon was around Gawain’s size.

“Magic shield Aegis…!”

“Need not worry… It will be alright as long as we are not hit.”

Lukka was not at all shaken.

As if she had fused with Gawain, she was controlling Gawain by moving left and right and dangerously avoided the crossing light rays.

It even used its dragon breath and those magic canons were destroyed one by one.

When Gawain had successfully passed Mordred’s head, all the magic cannons had disappeared.

“Ash, now’s the time…!”

Just when Lukka shouted, Gawain did a summersault.

At the point where the sky was upside down, Ash jumped down.

He drew a big locus in the night sky and successfully land in between the two horns. Looking from a close distance, the horns looked more like an altar than a horn.

When his feet landed on that spot, he felt satisfied. It was probably his dragner’s intuition that told him this is the best riding spot.

“Listen carefully Eco!”

Ash was shouting with all his might at his ‘Seikoku’ that was connected to Eco:

“Right now, I am going to ride you! I swear I will be successful in riding you! Whether you are a Imperial Princess or not it has nothing to do with me! So what if you are a imperial princess? You are always bad tempered, try to solve anything with force, a sleepy head, only have crepes in your eyes and felt like wanting to bite greedily whenever you saw meat. Are these what an Imperial Princess should do! Even if you really are an Imperial Princess, I will never approve it!... I only knew that- I am your knight, and you are my pal. Things are just as simple as this!”

The next instant, there was a change in his left arm that was dense with ‘Seikoku’.

The ‘Seikoku’ can be seen emitting rays of light that were able to light up the entire night sky. Then patterns started to crawl just like some living things.

No, the patterns were growing.

“W-What had happened…?”

Just when Ash was feeling confused, his ‘Seikoku’ started to spread outwards towards Ash entire body with his left arm as the starting point.

Ash found out that his connection with Eco had become stronger.

Although he couldn’t communicate with Eco verbally, yet, he was sure that he was connected to Eco…!

But, what Ash was thinking only lasted for a short moment.

“Guuuuuuuoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo…!”

Mordred was back on the move. He had broken one of the chains and was standing on two legs.

“Auuu…!”

Lukka groaned. The wind created when Mordred stood up had affected Gawain. Although it was not blown away by the wind, it was obvious that it could not remain
its balance. However, Lukka shouted:

“Don’t worry about me… I am alright! Ash, just focus on saving Eco…!”

Then, Lukka and Gawain finally fall and disappear from Ash’s line of sight.

“Lukka…!”

Ash stretched his arm but he could only grab the air.

The Maestros that scattered in the sky tried to make another chain to tie down Mordred’s upper body.

But before Mordred could be sealed, it forcefully shook its neck.

“Uwaaaaaaaaa!”

Ash lost his balance and was thrown up into Fontaine Palace like a cannonball.

-This is a lie… It must be…?

He was approaching the tower in the middle of Fontaine Palace.

If he was to hit into such stone wall…he will definitely die.

-Is this the end…? Is Eco and I… Going to end right here?

Right at this moment.

Almete, Gorjal, Peto…

The voice of the spell was coming from his ‘Seikoku’ that had spread all over his body.

Espaldar, Brafoneras, Faldaje…

It was definitely Eco’s voice.

Escarcelas,Bufetas, Hombreras, Brazales…

Compare to the previous times, every single word that Eco said was followed by a deep tone.

Codales, Antebrazos, Manoplas…

Without any reason, Ash felt courage from within.

Quijotes, Guardas, Grebas… Escarpes…

Lastly, Eco was left with the last word.

-Espolón!

Ash who was going to crash into Fontaine Palace was surrounded by holy lights.

It felt as if he was surrounded by angel’s wings.

Even though Ash had an illusion of he was ascending to heaven, Eco’s voice had disrupted this peaceful feeling.

“You absolutely must accept my feelings!”

===Part 18===
As he opened his eyes, Ash was standing at the highest point of Fontaine Palace.

“I-I am saved?”

He saw Mordred was standing ferociously with only two legs while being bounded by the chains of the Maestros.

All of the nine eyes were burning with the flames of rage and looked like scarlet stars. Even though he was trying his best to break free from those chains, those Maestros kept on creating new chains.

“This… What is this feeling?”

Ash was looking at his own body.

His entire body was emitting heat and was overflowing with magic.

It have to be the Ark that Eco presented to me- Yet to Ash’s dismay, what he was wearing right now was still his cloths that looked like rags.

There was not even an Ark that could be seen.

Even so, Ash still continued to feel safe as if he was protected by the Ark. Furthermore, the ‘Seikoku’ that was on his entire body was alive.

What is happening?

Hey, why are you daydreaming! Quickly use the Ark-weapon!

Eco’s voice was once again could be heard in his mind

“Eco…? What is happening?”

T-that is…?

Without any reason, Eco became silent. It felt as if she was embarrassed because of a certain something.

As if to speak on Eco’s behalf, another voice appeared in his mind.

Huhu. That is an original Ark that Eco had created on her own. However, it is still incomplete and even that shape had not been decided on yet.

“This voice… Are you Navi!”

The Ark represents proof of the oath of a dragon that swears to hand over their body and feelings to their knight. At the same time, it was a proof that it was connected to the Master’s heart. Right now, you are recognized as the Avalon’s knight.

I-I only wanted to get back my own body!... It was never meant to be given to you!

Ara, who is the person who was crying because she was worried about Ash? I wonder.

S-Shut up!

Eco and Navi seemed to had started an argument.

Ash made a wry smile because they could still have the mood to quarrel even under such dangerous situation.

All the negative emotions like unsecured and frightened had disappeared.

However- Right after that, Ash had a bad premonition as if a pair of cold hands had held on to his spirit. When he raised his head, Mordred’s eyes were filled with sparks and were marking him.

It had obviously begun to take notice of Ash who was previously being regarded as a louse.

“Guuuuuoooooooooooooooooooooo…!”

Although Mordred was still bounded by those magic chains, he still managed to open his jaws after putting in some effort.

There was a ball of light that could be seen appearing in front of his nose and it was slowly expanding-

Ash felt a large amount of energy from it. It was thanks to the Ark that his senses had sharpened.

Navi warned Ash in his mind.

That’s bad. Even though Mordred have not fused with me, he is still very strong…!

“Rest assured. I will personally deal with it.”

Ash immediately started to search for information regarding his Ark-weapon. Thanks to his experience in equipping those mimics, his was able to complete his search in a short time.

Ash smiled from within his heart.

The Ark-weapon formed in his mind was undoubtably the strongest sword that had ever existed.

Ash readied his posture and started to chant the spell.

“An iron that could slash through anything…”

For every word he said, his ‘Seikoku’ that was all over his body was emitting heat and reacted strongly to it.

"A holy sword meant for a knight of all knights-”

At the same time, Ash felt that his palm was overflowing with an unlimited amount of magic.

The one and only treasured sword that had been passed down generations by generations in the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family had its shape formed in Ash’s palm.

“Appear- Excalibur!”

It was not only a huge brave and beautiful sword but also an Ark-weapon.

On its silvery white hilt were many scarlet coloured Milinniums and they were shining brightly.

After he held the holy sword with both hand tightly, Ash leaped.

At the same time, Mordred was giving out the dragon breath.

That was a ball of light with overwhelming powers that could destroy the entire capital to ground level in a blink of an eye. Followed by some purple electric around Mordred’s head, the ball of light was released at Ash’s direction.

To make things worse, Ash couldn’t avoid it because the entire Fontaine Palace and City was right behind him.

No- In reality, I won’t even need to avoid it.

“Uooooooooooooooooooooooooo!”

Ash as if he had forgotten about his fear rushed towards the ball of light.

In respond to Ash’s verve, the Millenniums at the hilt of the holy sword was giving out a bright light.

In respond to Ash’s verve, the shapeless Ark was releasing all its magic.

“Kirisakeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!” <ref>斬り裂け. Means to get split and break apart.</ref>

Just before being swallowed by that attack, Ash had swung the most powerful strike.

-Cut!!! <ref>斬. Ii was a word that was usually shouted when someone wanted to cut/slash/chop/kill off something.</ref>

At the same time the lump of energy was split into two, Ash was in mid-air. His vision was full of white and he could see nothing at all.

If not because of the protection he received from the Ark, all the cells in his body should had been reduced into nothing. Ash was indeed slashing through such high amount of temperature.

In the end, his vision finally widened.

The dragon breath that was sliced into two had its trajectory changed and each had landed at the Fontainia plains on both side of the capital and had exploded.

Although it was a huge explosion, apart from the strong wind, Fontaine City remained intact.

Ash had again lifted Excalibur and had it pointed at Mordred’s head.

At that moment, there was a creepy voice coming from Ash’s mind.

…Hold on! If you harm this body, the daughter of Avalon would also be-

The nine eyes kept on blinking as if it still had something to say.

“Haa! Now you start to beg from me… Know your place, Mordred!”

Ash remained determined and continued to land at the head.

Of course Ash knew that this body originally belonged to Eco.

He never had the intention to simply slash around with this sword.

However, to get rid of Mordred’s spirit, he needs Eco to bear with it for a few more moments.

What Ash had intended to do was not to kill Eco but to make her lost her strength.

Where is the best place to land my attack?

There is not enough time to think of such complicated problems.

It is because apart from Eco’s and his life, Ash was burdened with the lives of millions of residents of the capital. Ash decided to wager everything he had in the only possibility he could think of.

“Eat this, Mordred!”
[[Image:SnRK V04 243.jpg|thumb]]

Ash was landing at full speed.

''What are you trying to do…? Do you want to follow the Julius's footsteps and become a ‘dragon slayer’? I can’t understand this, I just couldn’t understand this…!''

Ash didn’t replied and had no intention of doing so.

“Whether you are a god or a devil-”

Ash’s sword and Mordred’s horn clashed with each other.

“All the dragons will have to listen to my command, not to mention-”

After he had pinpointed the crucial point to release Eco, Ash swung Excalibur-

“If it is my '''P.A.L'''!”

Followed by a sound of a metal clashing with rocks, the night sky was swallowed by a white light.

The thing that was chopped off by Ash and was flying in mid-air was the left horn.

“Guuuuooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo…!”

Mordred’s roar was echoing in the night.

===Part 19===

“Huhu. Mordred must be running away with his tail rolled up<ref>A proverb</ref> even though a spirit shouldn't have any tails.”

Mordred’s spirit was running under the night sky towards the east while he was being seen by Navi.

On the eastern side of the country is Chevron Kingdom’s land.

“So in the end he had escaped to Chevron Kingdom… I must wait until he rises up again before I could have him captured. Right now, I should give praise to Avalon’s Knight."

Navi gave herself a cheer and smiled.

Eco’s spirit was no longer beside her.

===Part 20===

Ash’s final blow had chopped off Eco’s left horn.

Last month during the time Ash was in the infirmary, he had bitten Eco’s horn. Furthermore, her left horn that was chopped off had made her recalled that feeling.

It was that ‘happy’ feeling that dragged Eco’s spirit out.

Her hearts memories and her body memories.

When both of them are thinking the same thing, Eco’s spirit managed to take back its own body and get rid of Mordred’s spirit.

Not only this method is impractical, its succession rate too is just as low.

However, Eco’s clearly remembered the feeling that Ash gave her.

-Navi had seen it all.

The body of the huge dragon had undergone some changes inside the glaring light.

The skin colour that was originally black had turned back to its original silvery white colour.

As for those nine creepy eyes, they had returned into two clear scarlet eyes.

Then-

The body that was bigger than Fontaine Palace was shrinking slowly and finally turned back into a young teenage girl with pink hair.

Ash gently hugged the angel like naked body in mid-air.

Although Eco was blushing, she still placed her hand on Ash’s back and hugged her knight.

"Princess of Avalon ~A.S.B.1365.7~" is closed.
<noinclude>

==References and Translation Notes==
<references />

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| Back to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Chapter 7|Chapter 7]]
| Return to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Epilogue|Epilogue]]
|-
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</noinclude>

Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Chapter 7

2013-11-07T10:38:59Z

213.144.240.241: /* Part 10 */

==Chapter 7 - Masquerade==
===Part 1===
'''The Seventh Continental Congress ‘Elysium’ ''~A brief introduction of the attendees of each country~'' '''

'''I. Holy Espada Agency'''

The Pope Raquel IV is in charge of organizing this congress. Even though she is nine years old, her strong clairvoyance is recognized by all. She is a genius who was recommended to become the pope at a young age. She is now accompanied by twelve cardinals.

'''II. Chevron Kingdom'''

Apart from King Zacherias III and three princes, there are also the nobles who were involved in the country’s politics who attended. They made up a total of three thousand people all together which can be said to be the biggest group.

'''III. Zepharos Empire'''

Emperor Ortofon VIII will be absent because of old age. He will be replaced by the baron of the Wadanhuoer borders. Apart from that, there were a few more powerful nobles who attended. Although their numbers were next to the Chevron Kingdom’s, but the amount of attendees for them is unusually small.

'''IV. Labrock Trade Union'''

Led by the Caudillo EnzoSabatini, a total of seven mayors from seven major cities attended.

'''V. Lautreamont Knight Country'''

Apart from Paladin Oswald and First Princes, Princess Veronica, the Fourth Princess, Princess Silvia will attend the congress for the first time. The second and the third princess will not attend because of studying abroad. Also, there are a few nobles who attend.

===Part 2===
After putting aside the pamphlet he took with him to pass time, Ash lay down on the bed lazily.

“Just as I thought, Pricess-sama is amazing.”

A few moments before, Silvia was lying on this bed exchanging gazes with him. The living Silvia is just an arm length away. But after he saw Silvia’s name on the pamphlet, he still felt that she was still at that unreachable height.

Ash took out the silver watch that was given by the Paladin.

It was already six fifteen in the evening.

“It is already this late?”

After remembering that the masquerade starts at six thirty, he made up his mind to change. Just when Ash is going to take the suit hanging on the wall- He stopped.

“What is Eco doing?”

Girls are different from guys. They need to take their time to get prepared. Ash understands that. Even so, Eco and Prim had been away for four hours.

“Even if they are slow, this is just…”

Who knows where has she been to together with Prim.

After making up his mind, Ash removed the bandages on his left arm.

His left arm that was fully covered with his ‘Seikoku’ can be seen.

“Luckily I am connected with Eco.”

Not long ago, Eco was kidnapped by Angela. During that time, Ash found Angela’s hiding place with the help of his ‘Seikoku’.

Ash placed his left fist on his forehead and held his left wrist with his right hand.

“Please… Tell me where Eco is right now!”

After a pause, his left arm started to felt hot and the embroider symbols on his left arm started to glow. Butterflies created by magic started to fly one by one. These butterflies were like road signs and normally will show ash the way to Eco.

“Huh??”

But what happen next left Ash staring blankly. The butterflies created had disappeared and the lights and heats coming from his left arm too were gone.

“What’s happening!?”

Ash stood still, dumbfounded. Even though he kept on trying for the second and third time, he still ended up failing. His ‘Seikoku’ was like a broken bright dragon crystal powered lamp. It stopped functioning completely.

He had a bad feeling. This is Paladin’s main town, so he had never expected for Eco to face any danger here. Still, the connection between him and Eco that had been cut off was still the truth.

“Damn…!”

Ash was out of options and rushed out from the room.

He was running aimlessly at the long corridor.

When he was in the room together with Silvia, Eco probably was in danger… When Ash thought about this, he was disgusted by himself.

The space in the palace is wide. Even thought he had totally no idea where to search for Eco, still he couldn’t stay worried in his room.

Just when he was rushing at full speed at the corner, Ash saw a maid.

“Uwaa!”

“Ara ara.”

At the same time the maid was mumbling something, she nimbly avoided Ash.

Not only that, she also seized Ash’s necktie just when he was going to fall and pulled him back. Ash was lucky as he was a few moments away from falling head down.

“It is not like what Ash-sama will do to run around panicking in the corridor.”

Ash looked back embarrassedly and saw Cosette.

Ash as if he met his savior begged Cosette to help him.

“Eco and Prim have not yet return! Even the ‘Seikoku’ had no reaction!”

Cosette immediately became serious.

“Understood. I will immediately order the maids who are not on duty to search for them. It will be better than to let Ash-sama running aimlessly.

“Thank you! Lets-”

“You mustn’t. Please follow the original plan and attend the masquerade, Ash-sama.”

“How could I… She is my pal. It isn’t right for me not to search for her!”

“Please don’t forget that this is Fontaine City. The coming word may not be pleasant so I beg your pardon… Since the ‘Seikoku’ is not reacting, even if Ash-sama had joined the search, there is nothing you can do.”

“Wha….!”

“On the other hand, we maids knew the structure of this palace. Please believe in us and let us handle this matter. Not to mention that Prim onee-chan is my family. I will deal this matter with full force.”

“Understood…”

After Ash promised while nodding, Cosette finally smiled.

“Although this doesn’t seem right, I must ask Ash-sama to act as Princess-sama’s escort.”

“Princess-sama’s escort?”

“Even though she was always what you saw, actually, she is very timid and afraid of strangers. But, as long as Ash-sama is with her, I don’t think that it will be a problem."

Cosette’s plan should be perfect. But this is the time where Eco will face danger any moment, and yet he was enjoying the masquerade, he didn’t feel that this is the right thing to do.

As if she had seen through what ash was thinking, Cosette guaranteed:

“Please have faith in me, Ash-sama.”

Ash reluctantly accepted.

“…Alright. Eco will be in your hands.”

<noinclude>

===Part 3===
After four in the evening, Anya returned to Beowolf through the long secret passage. After handing over Eco to Dr Hoffman, she borrowed the shower room.

Although it is summer, Anya felt very cold. She was drenched by the heavy rain outside not long before.

After entering the changing room, Anya firstly removed her maid attire that was soaked with water. Only then she removed her tight undergarments.

Lastly, she let loose her hair that was tied at the back of her head and she was now naked.

There was a huge mirror hanging on the wall in the bathroom.

“…”

It had been a long time since she stared at her own body.

Her wet dark hair, her wheat coloured skin that only the mountain people have, her small chest and her curves that looked as if the extra flesh was removed by a knife.

Without any reasons, Anya touched her breast. Compare to ‘La Tene’s’ manager, Rebecca, the president of the student council and Princess Silvia, there is nothing special about hers- But at least hers could be compared with Eco’s.
[[Image:SnRK V04 004-005.jpg|thumb|'' It seems like I am not at all feminine… Anya mocked her own self. “…!” Just when she thought about that, Anya panicked. ''What nonsense am I thinking about?'' '']]

''It seems like I am not at all feminine…'' Anya mocked herself.

“…!”

Just when she thought about that, Anya panicked.

''What nonsense am I thinking about?'' Anya in her past was never bothered by her looks. It was probably that living in the dragon riding academy for this whole time had made her impetuous.

Logically speaking, big breasts will become a hindrance in battle. There are even legends that said that female warriors of the mountain people in the ancient times tend to cut off one of their breast in order to not obstruct them in archery.

“That’s it. It is better to have a small breast than to face the knife!”

After Anya tried to give herself an excuse, she turned on the tap.

Although the water was initially cold, it had turned warm in just a few moments. Anya once again was amazed by the Empire's skills and let the warm water flows from her head.

She hoped that her impetuous feeling too will be wash away together-

Anya while letting the warm water run through her body with her eyes closed, she thought about her previous mission.

Basically, it was a successful mission.

Even though she had underestimated Eco’s fighting ability and caused her four underlings to be injured, still, since they were not spotted by any of the guards, she could force a pass in it.

“But… The problems start here.”

===Part 4===
On the third floor of the palace- In the ball room, the temperature is rising. All the guests were with a silver mask. Apart from those traditional mask where it hides the area beside the eyes, there were also masks that were shaped like dragons, lions and many other animals.
Among them, there were also guests there dressed up as a clown.

After Ash who was in the formal suit wore the mask that he received from the counter, he stood beside the entrance. That was because Cosette had told him that he will meet Silvia sooner or later if he stood there.

The palace’s orchestra was performing a light music at the opposite of the door. Ash could never be able to blend into this kind of environment.

“Eco…Where are you?”

For numerous times… Ash had called out to his ‘Seikoku’, but there still isn’t a positive result.

The ‘Seikoku’ is like a quite beach during the low tide.

“-Anything wrong. You look like as if you are worrying about something.”

Suddenly, when he heard someone was talking to him, Ash looked up in fright. A lady with a black butterfly was staring at him. The black butterfly was of course a mask. Since it had only covered the top part of her face, it was easy when it come to figure out who she was.

“Huh… Princess!”

Silvia glared at Ash.

“Uwaa, sorry…”

Ash was apologizing to Silvia while trying to check any emotional changes from her.

Her glaring golden hair was tied into a mature hairstyle and stood out together with the deep red coloured ribbon. The long gloves that covered until her elbow gave out the feeling of a fair lady. In her right hand was a fan which looked like a choice of a girl from a high family status.

Her evening dress was blue in colour with gem stones sewed on the important places and it looks like it emerges from the lakes during summer. In contrast to her waist that was bounded tightly by Cosette, the lower part of her dress was let of loosely and looked like a sole lilium. <ref>Lilium is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs, all with large prominent flowers. Lilies are a group of
flowering plants which are important in culture and literature in much of the world. Wikipedia</ref>

Ash blushed. He recalled the memories two hours ago where both of them were on the bed.

“Princess-sama… Is really beautiful.”

Ash felt pathetic as he has such a poor vocabulary. That is because Silvia is that beautiful.

“D-Don’t keep on staring at me. It’s embarrassing…!”

When Silvia noticed Ash’s sight, her cheeks turned rosy and shyly lower down her head. She opened up the fan and covered her mouth with it.

“Sorry…”

Ash was also embarrassed and turned his head aside.

There was an awkward moment in between the two and after a while, Silvia spoke:

“That’s it! I had heard of it from Cosette. It was said that Eco and Prim were lost together…”

Upon hearing, Ash was now fully awake.

“That’s right… Cosette right now was looking for them. If it is possible, I would also like to take part in the search. But, the ‘Seikoku’ is not reacting.”

“What did you say! How is it possible…?”

Just when Silvia was getting tense…

“Excuse me, miss. Can you please step aside?”

A man who was hiding his face like the rest of the guests was speaking to Silvia gently. The man's language bears a strong Empire’s accent.

“Ahh…Sorry.”

Silvia immediately stepped aside.

“Thank you, Princess Silvia- Sorry, tonight should be a masquerade. Hehe… It is better if we keep each other’s identity a secret.”

The man who was like a noble spoke like a poet and walked into the ballroom leisurely. Even when Silvia wore her mask, the man recognized her with just a glance.

''Who the hell is this guy''…Ash felt uneasy.

“You!”

At the next instant, Ash shouted.

The mysterious man had a follower with him. The follower initially was following the man from behind but he was forced to stop when Ash held him by the shoulder.

“You are…!”

Silvia gasped when she saw the follower.

Ash angrily asked without hesitating:

“Milgauss… Why are you here!?”

To his horror, Milgauss attempted to enter the ballroom with his usual mask.

“…Can you please let go, Ash Blake. I have nothing that I want to talk to you here.”

Milgauss was calm.

Not only was Ash irritated by Milgauss when he purposely called his full name, but he also had a bad feeling about it.

“What? How dare you after doing those things…”

When Ash was going to refute, he noticed something.

The Kingdom’s language that Milgauss used doesn’t bear the Empire’s accent. Milgauss is Prince Julius- There is a sudden increase in the probability of what Silvia had said.

“Oops. Could it be that my follower has offended both of you?”

The man before turned back to face the door. The previous tense atmosphere disappeared in an instant.

Milgauss glared at Ash as if he wanted Ash to know his stand.

Through the mask, the fierce pressure that his eyes bear caused Ash to shake.

Milgauss then acted as if he had lost interest in Ash, turned around, and faced the man.

“Nothing. Just a misunderstanding. Nothing to make a fuss about.”

Even though he was a follower, Milgauss didn’t even try to speak in a humble form. <ref>Humble form is a way to express yourself in Japanese when you are speaking to a person from a higher social status.</ref>

Ash could only see them disappearing off into the crowd.

At this moment, Silvia spoke to Ash in a stuttered voice:

“That man… I knew him.”

“Really?”

“That’s it. He should be Klaus, Baron for the Wadanhuoer borders.”

He had never imagined to hear the name of the agent of the Zepharos Empire’s Emperor from Silvia. In his heart, he felt a tense feeling as if someone was pointing a knife at his neck which is far more intense than the previous fight between him and Milgauss.

===Part 5===
After bathing, Anya changed back into a usual tribal wear.

Even though the weather was hot, she still had the muffler around her neck. The mission before required her to remove the muffler which made her have the feeling of the lack of safety around her neck. Now, it is better.

After that, Anya headed to the armory to check on Eco.

===Part 6===
Upon stepping into the armory, the atmosphere changed significantly into a hectic situation. ‘Yggdrasill’ seemed to be running and the buzzing sound can be heard.

The Millenniums on the body of the machine were shining. There are also the sounds of the technician reading the data shown on the screen.

It seems that Eco was already inside ‘Yggdrasill’-The capsule.

Her clothes were removed and she was naked.

She is just like a baby holding on to her knees floating in the capsule.

Her beautiful figure gave Anya a mysterious feeling.

“Ahh, aren’t you Anya-dono?”

The representative of the researchers- Dr Hoffman<ref>note: Dr Hoffman’s ‘DR’ is a PHD holder’s Dr and not a medical Dr.</ref> noticed Anya and walk towards her.

“Has the experiment…begun?”

“At our current stage, there is nothing abnormal. It is all according to the plan.”

Dr Hoffman gave a gentle smile just like a kind elderly man. But this man took Eco as a experimental object without even a second though. This made Anya feel uneasy.

“It seems that Anya-dono didn’t like much about this experiment.”

Dr Hoffman’s word had hit the bull’s eye.

“N-No…!”

Anya felt embarrassed. Even though she denied verbally, everyone can tell that she was lying from the looks of her face.

“It is alright. You are still young.”

“Professor… Have you ever have any doubt? Although Eco is a dragon… her appearance is of a girl’s.”

“Do I have a choice? For what I am today, it is all thanks to Klaus-sama. Last time, when I was forced to carry out all inhuman experiments, I strongly rejected them and pissed off the Zepharos Emperor. In the end, I was chased out from the capital Arkham. During that time, Klaus-sama is my savior and invited me to his private research center.” After saying that, Dr Hoffman gave a gentle cough.

“Anya-dono, what do you think that this ‘Yggdrasill’ was used for?”

“I-I don’t know.”

“I am not surprised. Even I have no idea about this thing initially. I only realized after I read Milgauss-dono’s written opinion.”

“What did Milgauss-sama write?”

“It was said that, a long time ago… when the ancient kingdom reached its prime, humans and dragons could even control life. On the first glance on this ‘Yggdrasill’, Milgauss-dono knew that this is a medical tool.”

“Medical…?”

“In contrary to the modern times, all the dragons in the ancient times could transform into a Maestro. But of course there are exceptions. This machine is used for dragons who couldn’t transform into Maestro… Basically, it was for dragons with a handicap.”

Anya finally understood Dr Hoffman’s hint.

“In another words, our plan is to use its function… To awaken Eco?”

“That’s right. We are going to compress the enormous magic of the Millennium into her body and force out her true self.”

“But…Why now? Tomorrow is the continental congress ‘Elysium’, to launch such a experiment at such an important time is to…?”

“This has no longer anything to do with me.”

Dr Hoffman’s answer is no longer that of a kind old man. He just answered coldly.

“I am only following Klaus-sama’s orders. Anya-dono, didn’t you too obeyed Milgauss-dono’s order to capture young dragon Eco?”

“That’s… true.”

Dr Hoffman’s words were like an ice blade that stabbed into Anya’s chest.

===Part 7===
It was seven in the evening.

The masquerade that intends to bring all the people of different countries together had started right on time.

The venue was located at the highest floor of Fontaine Palace.

Fontaine Palace which had been famous for its plain design had only this ballroom being designed grandly in the Chevron style.

At the dance floor in the middle of the ballroom, men and ladies were holding hands dancing gracefully according to the music tempo. Around the dance floor were also bars, tables, chairs and sofas. A number of guests were chit chatting there.

Looking at those gentlemen and gentlewomen hiding their faces behind those masks and gathered together, Ash secretly felt that this is not a place where he belongs to.

Ash avoided the crowd nimbly and headed towards Silvia and said:

“Princess-sama was already used to this kind of ball right?”

“You are wrong. A citizen of the Knights should be focusing on plainness… It is not our wish to organize such a noisy party… Apart from that, could you not address me as ‘Princess-sama’?”

“Why?”

Ash didn’t know how to react to this. Silvia suddenly stood still. She was showing an unsatisfied look on her face. Because her mask had covered the area around her eyes, Ash could only judge her expression through her lips.

“What did you think this mask is for? If you kept on saying ‘Princess-sama’, everyone will know who I am.”

“Ahh…You are right.”

“Tsk, Can’t you use some of your brains?”

“So what should I call you as?”

“Err…!”

Silvia was silenced by the unexpected question. Her face turned red in a blink of an eye.

After a few seconds, Silvia spoke:

“…You can call me Sylvie.”

The Silvia right in front of him is very attractive which made him wanted to give her a hug.

“Then…”

Ash gulped.

''-Sylvie.''

His heart was jumping nonstop. Just like resonating to Ash feelings, Silvia lowered her head and acted shyly as if to prevent her heartbeat from being heard.

Ash made up his mind and spread open his dry lips.

“Silv- Uwaa!”

At this moment, Ash with a ‘Don!’ was pushed aside by someone and fell down. Before he could react, Silvia was surrounded by three men.

“My beautiful ojou-san<ref>A way to address a girl from a high family status.</ref>. Could I have the honor for you to be my dance partner?”

“Although your face is covered, the classy air around you couldn’t be hidden from my eyes!”

“Hold on! I was here first!”

Ash was dumbstruck. Even though those men are with their mask on, but judging from their actions, they are not someone simple. These men should have noticed the different air around Silvia.

“Hold on… I am a little troubled by all of you inviting me suddenly…”

If it was the usual Silvia, she will tell them off mercilessly. But, right now, she is just a girl that had little experience of this world.

''-Even though she was always what you saw, actually, she is very timid and afraid of strangers''

Ash remembered what Cosette had said. She is worthy to be Silvia’s maid for her to notice all the details.

After Ash fell down, there were still men approaching her. The number of men surrounding her had increased from three to five.

Now it is ten. The voices that were inviting Silvia to be their dance partner were getting louder.

The guests around started to notice the noise and looked at them curiously.

“About that… I don’t feel like doing it now…”

Just like ants surrounding sugars, the numbers of men surrounding were still growing.

Facing all the passionate men, Silvia was being overwhelmed.

“Hey, Ash!”

But she suddenly shouted Ash’s name as if she wants Ash to come to her help.

After he made his mental preparations, Ash dragged Silvia through the walls of men.

There were sounds of disapproving from their surroundings.

“Hey, where’re your manners!”

“Couldn’t you take your turn!”

“Even though this is a masquerade, you must keep up with your manners!”

You are the ones who don’t have any manners…Ash grumbled in his heart and kept on squeezing forward.

These weak nobles couldn’t even stand still when they were pushed by Ash. And can only make way. They are at most nobles who were raised while being protected. Naturally, they are no match to Ash who undergoes strict training in the dragon riding academy in terms of strength.

“Waa!”

A waiter in black immediately made way to protect the expensive wine glass upon seeing Ash rushing right into him.

In a few moments, they are no longer surrounded and their field of vision widens. At the same time, the music had become louder.

“Ehh…?”

Ash stopped.

A group of people were holding hands dancing in pairs. Ash only found out that they mistakenly ran into the dance floor.

The numerous amount of evening dress made the scenery looks like hundreds of flowers blossoming at the same time.

Every time the ladies in the dance floor turned their bodies, their long skirts turned into a giant rose.

“W-We should retreat! Princess-sama!”

“Didn’t I told you not to call me Princess-sama!”

“This is not a time to be arguing about those things!”

For the two to be standing in the dance floor while holding hands while arguing, suddenly there were applauses from their surroundings.

“W-What happened?”

From the looks of it, they definitely want to give courage for the two to dance. It was probably Silvia classy feel around her that caught their attentions. Ash was just a side character.

“What should we do now, Princess-sama?”

Ash was troubled and turned around to look at Silvia. Seeing Ash being embarrass, Silvia laugh.

“Wa…What are you laughing about, Princess-sama?”

“Nothing. Right now, we can only return the favour of the guests.”

“Ehh…?”

In opposite of what just happened, Silvia took the initiative to hold Ash’s hands.

“Wait! I know nothing about dancing!”

“You should have learned before the basic of a ballroom dance in the physical education class, no?”

“I-I guess so…”

“Alright, everyone is looking. I will take the lead, you just have to follow.”

“Okay… I will give it a try.”

Ash imitates the guests’ action and held Silvia’s waist with a hand. Her waist is just as thin as a doll.

Followed by the light waltz, Ash and Silvia started to dance. The distance between they were so near that they can feel each other’s breath. This made Ash’s head spins. Although there were a few time where he nearly tripped over Silvia’s feet, she was not bothered by it and even covered up for Ash.
[[Image:SnRK V04 167.jpg|thumb]]

Not long later, the dancers around and the beat of the music had disappeared from Ash's thoughts.

Starting from her breath from her lips that had lip gloss on them, to the feeling from his palm, to the soft sensation he felt whenever their bodies collides with each other and also that rosy smell…

While dancing, ash felt like he is going to faint.

As if to drag him back to reality, Silvia grumbled to Ash.

“Anyway, it was your entire fault for not positioning yourself properly.”

“…What do you meant?”

Ash asked while accidentally stepping on Silvia’s feet. Ash totally didn't get what she was saying.

“For the start when we entered this ballroom, you kept on following me from behind? No matter how I think of it, I can only see you as my follower. That is why those guys will try to approach me...”

Ash gave a wry smile.

At such a time, Silvia would even think of lecturing him. Although it fits her style well, what comes next gave ash a great big shock.

“B-But… You look cool…Err…When you were running while holding my hand.”

“Princess-sama…?”

“N-Nothing! Forget it!”

Silvia immediately stopped talking and focused her mind on the dance.

===Part 8===
After dancing, Ash brought Silvia to a corner of the ballroom.

Ash wished to relax for a moment from the eyes of others. He passed a cup of drink that he received from a waiter to Silvia.

“Thank you.”

After Silvia whose face was red thanked him, she took a sip from the cup. Even though the ballroom dance looked graceful, after trying, he found out that it actually requires a lot of energy.

Ash took the cup and drank from it. The liquid in the cup was lemon juice that taste a little sweet and sour. He can feel that the juice was being absorbed by his exercised body.

''Anyway, shouldn’t there be any news yet from Cosette?''... Ash wonders. It had been almost an hour since he saw Cosette.

“-Excuse me, may I have a word with you?”

There was a sudden voice coming from behind that brought Ash back to his sense and he turned around-

“You…!”

Upon seeing the person, Ash lost his composure.

He hid Silvia behind him and glared at the person.

“…Have you any business to do with us?”

After Ash asked coldly, that person just replied with a smile.

“Hmm. It seems like I have become a nuisance.”

He is the young noble that they met not long before. If Silvia’s prediction was right, he is Klaus, Baron for the Wadanhuoer borders. Milgauss was following him from behind like a shadow.

Even though their meeting not long before had nearly turned into a fight, Klaus still tried to greet them on purpose. There should be a limit of how much an airhead he could be.

Klaus ignored Ash and looked at Silvia. Then he gracefully held out his hand to her.

“Your dance is excellent. I would like to know that if I had the honour to dance with you?”

“Are you kidding! What are you trying to pu-”

“Ash! Hold on!”

Silvia unexpectedly stopped Ash. After she indirectly rejected Klaus offer, she looked at Milgauss.

“If this man become my dance partner, I would allow it.”

“Haha! Who would have thought that I would be rejected while this follower is asked… You have quite some good eyes there.”

Not only that her actions didn’t anger Klaus, he even smiled. Silvia's words should have shattered his pride but it was like he was not even bothered by it. He looked like a proud older brother whose younger brother is admired.

“Since the lady had proposed-”

Klaus looked at Milgauss while smiling.

Milgauss remained silent. He looked as if he had merged with the mask which bears no expression. Seeing that Milgauss had not yet replied, Klaus shrugged his shoulders and said:

“Kuku, you are not allowed to decline. Don’t forget that the you right now are one of my followers.”

===Part 9===
Milgauss was dancing with Silvia while holding on to each other’s hands.

It is better to describe this as a beautiful show than a ballroom dance.

In contrast to the attractive Silvia, Milgauss hair was still with the red and white mix colour. Although he gave out a dangerous feeling, it is undeniable that the masquerade provides a cover for him.

Ballroom dancing is just a general statement. In truth, Ash knew that this dance had many developments that were affected by the difference of each country culture and style.

What Milgauss and Silvia were dancing right now is undoubtably the traditional dance of the Lautreamont Knight Country.

Ash was so focused in their dance that he had forgotten about the previous hatred.

But Ash was not the only one who was amazed.

Without knowing, everyone was entranced by Milgauss and Silvia’s dance.

Right now, the people dancing in the dance floor were only both of them.

They are occupying the whole wide space. Just like blessing them, the orchestras were at the climax of the music.

Followed by the movement of her evening dress, Silvia was dancing swiftly.

Facing Silvia, Milgauss was leading the dance.

They looked like a combination of light and shadow, yet their dance is perfect.

“Wow… This is my first time seeing such a great dance.”

Klaus was who admiring the dance while standing beside Ash spoke in a low voice in admiration.

===Part 10===
The dance of the two people ended silently like a setting sun.

Milgauss remained silent the whole time. He returned Silvia to Ash just like returning a book and walked off silently.

“Certainly his indifferent attitude gave me some trouble.”

Klaus gave a wry smile and disappeared into the crowd while he ran after Milgauss.

Ash inspected Silvia’s face carefully.

“Have you found any clue? Could Milgauss true identity be…”

“No… I can’t be sure. Because I was very young the last time I saw Anii-ue… But, Milgauss' dance is definitely originated from the Lautreamont Knight Country. I am sure that he has a long history with the Knight Country.”

Silvia murmured.

“-Ash-sama.”

At this moment, someone whispered into Ash’s ears.

“Cosette!”

Ash turned around. Cosette was with a straight and serious face spoke:

“The maids who heads the search in the ancient palace has found Prim Onee-chan.”

"Yggdrasill ~A.S.B.1365.7~" is closed.

==References and Translation Notes==
<references />

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|-
| Back to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Chapter 6|Chapter 6]]
| Return to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Chapter 8|Chapter 8]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Chapter 7

2013-11-07T10:35:47Z

213.144.240.241: /* Part 8 */

==Chapter 7 - Masquerade==
===Part 1===
'''The Seventh Continental Congress ‘Elysium’ ''~A brief introduction of the attendees of each country~'' '''

'''I. Holy Espada Agency'''

The Pope Raquel IV is in charge of organizing this congress. Even though she is nine years old, her strong clairvoyance is recognized by all. She is a genius who was recommended to become the pope at a young age. She is now accompanied by twelve cardinals.

'''II. Chevron Kingdom'''

Apart from King Zacherias III and three princes, there are also the nobles who were involved in the country’s politics who attended. They made up a total of three thousand people all together which can be said to be the biggest group.

'''III. Zepharos Empire'''

Emperor Ortofon VIII will be absent because of old age. He will be replaced by the baron of the Wadanhuoer borders. Apart from that, there were a few more powerful nobles who attended. Although their numbers were next to the Chevron Kingdom’s, but the amount of attendees for them is unusually small.

'''IV. Labrock Trade Union'''

Led by the Caudillo EnzoSabatini, a total of seven mayors from seven major cities attended.

'''V. Lautreamont Knight Country'''

Apart from Paladin Oswald and First Princes, Princess Veronica, the Fourth Princess, Princess Silvia will attend the congress for the first time. The second and the third princess will not attend because of studying abroad. Also, there are a few nobles who attend.

===Part 2===
After putting aside the pamphlet he took with him to pass time, Ash lay down on the bed lazily.

“Just as I thought, Pricess-sama is amazing.”

A few moments before, Silvia was lying on this bed exchanging gazes with him. The living Silvia is just an arm length away. But after he saw Silvia’s name on the pamphlet, he still felt that she was still at that unreachable height.

Ash took out the silver watch that was given by the Paladin.

It was already six fifteen in the evening.

“It is already this late?”

After remembering that the masquerade starts at six thirty, he made up his mind to change. Just when Ash is going to take the suit hanging on the wall- He stopped.

“What is Eco doing?”

Girls are different from guys. They need to take their time to get prepared. Ash understands that. Even so, Eco and Prim had been away for four hours.

“Even if they are slow, this is just…”

Who knows where has she been to together with Prim.

After making up his mind, Ash removed the bandages on his left arm.

His left arm that was fully covered with his ‘Seikoku’ can be seen.

“Luckily I am connected with Eco.”

Not long ago, Eco was kidnapped by Angela. During that time, Ash found Angela’s hiding place with the help of his ‘Seikoku’.

Ash placed his left fist on his forehead and held his left wrist with his right hand.

“Please… Tell me where Eco is right now!”

After a pause, his left arm started to felt hot and the embroider symbols on his left arm started to glow. Butterflies created by magic started to fly one by one. These butterflies were like road signs and normally will show ash the way to Eco.

“Huh??”

But what happen next left Ash staring blankly. The butterflies created had disappeared and the lights and heats coming from his left arm too were gone.

“What’s happening!?”

Ash stood still, dumbfounded. Even though he kept on trying for the second and third time, he still ended up failing. His ‘Seikoku’ was like a broken bright dragon crystal powered lamp. It stopped functioning completely.

He had a bad feeling. This is Paladin’s main town, so he had never expected for Eco to face any danger here. Still, the connection between him and Eco that had been cut off was still the truth.

“Damn…!”

Ash was out of options and rushed out from the room.

He was running aimlessly at the long corridor.

When he was in the room together with Silvia, Eco probably was in danger… When Ash thought about this, he was disgusted by himself.

The space in the palace is wide. Even thought he had totally no idea where to search for Eco, still he couldn’t stay worried in his room.

Just when he was rushing at full speed at the corner, Ash saw a maid.

“Uwaa!”

“Ara ara.”

At the same time the maid was mumbling something, she nimbly avoided Ash.

Not only that, she also seized Ash’s necktie just when he was going to fall and pulled him back. Ash was lucky as he was a few moments away from falling head down.

“It is not like what Ash-sama will do to run around panicking in the corridor.”

Ash looked back embarrassedly and saw Cosette.

Ash as if he met his savior begged Cosette to help him.

“Eco and Prim have not yet return! Even the ‘Seikoku’ had no reaction!”

Cosette immediately became serious.

“Understood. I will immediately order the maids who are not on duty to search for them. It will be better than to let Ash-sama running aimlessly.

“Thank you! Lets-”

“You mustn’t. Please follow the original plan and attend the masquerade, Ash-sama.”

“How could I… She is my pal. It isn’t right for me not to search for her!”

“Please don’t forget that this is Fontaine City. The coming word may not be pleasant so I beg your pardon… Since the ‘Seikoku’ is not reacting, even if Ash-sama had joined the search, there is nothing you can do.”

“Wha….!”

“On the other hand, we maids knew the structure of this palace. Please believe in us and let us handle this matter. Not to mention that Prim onee-chan is my family. I will deal this matter with full force.”

“Understood…”

After Ash promised while nodding, Cosette finally smiled.

“Although this doesn’t seem right, I must ask Ash-sama to act as Princess-sama’s escort.”

“Princess-sama’s escort?”

“Even though she was always what you saw, actually, she is very timid and afraid of strangers. But, as long as Ash-sama is with her, I don’t think that it will be a problem."

Cosette’s plan should be perfect. But this is the time where Eco will face danger any moment, and yet he was enjoying the masquerade, he didn’t feel that this is the right thing to do.

As if she had seen through what ash was thinking, Cosette guaranteed:

“Please have faith in me, Ash-sama.”

Ash reluctantly accepted.

“…Alright. Eco will be in your hands.”

<noinclude>

===Part 3===
After four in the evening, Anya returned to Beowolf through the long secret passage. After handing over Eco to Dr Hoffman, she borrowed the shower room.

Although it is summer, Anya felt very cold. She was drenched by the heavy rain outside not long before.

After entering the changing room, Anya firstly removed her maid attire that was soaked with water. Only then she removed her tight undergarments.

Lastly, she let loose her hair that was tied at the back of her head and she was now naked.

There was a huge mirror hanging on the wall in the bathroom.

“…”

It had been a long time since she stared at her own body.

Her wet dark hair, her wheat coloured skin that only the mountain people have, her small chest and her curves that looked as if the extra flesh was removed by a knife.

Without any reasons, Anya touched her breast. Compare to ‘La Tene’s’ manager, Rebecca, the president of the student council and Princess Silvia, there is nothing special about hers- But at least hers could be compared with Eco’s.
[[Image:SnRK V04 004-005.jpg|thumb|'' It seems like I am not at all feminine… Anya mocked her own self. “…!” Just when she thought about that, Anya panicked. ''What nonsense am I thinking about?'' '']]

''It seems like I am not at all feminine…'' Anya mocked herself.

“…!”

Just when she thought about that, Anya panicked.

''What nonsense am I thinking about?'' Anya in her past was never bothered by her looks. It was probably that living in the dragon riding academy for this whole time had made her impetuous.

Logically speaking, big breasts will become a hindrance in battle. There are even legends that said that female warriors of the mountain people in the ancient times tend to cut off one of their breast in order to not obstruct them in archery.

“That’s it. It is better to have a small breast than to face the knife!”

After Anya tried to give herself an excuse, she turned on the tap.

Although the water was initially cold, it had turned warm in just a few moments. Anya once again was amazed by the Empire's skills and let the warm water flows from her head.

She hoped that her impetuous feeling too will be wash away together-

Anya while letting the warm water run through her body with her eyes closed, she thought about her previous mission.

Basically, it was a successful mission.

Even though she had underestimated Eco’s fighting ability and caused her four underlings to be injured, still, since they were not spotted by any of the guards, she could force a pass in it.

“But… The problems start here.”

===Part 4===
On the third floor of the palace- In the ball room, the temperature is rising. All the guests were with a silver mask. Apart from those traditional mask where it hides the area beside the eyes, there were also masks that were shaped like dragons, lions and many other animals.
Among them, there were also guests there dressed up as a clown.

After Ash who was in the formal suit wore the mask that he received from the counter, he stood beside the entrance. That was because Cosette had told him that he will meet Silvia sooner or later if he stood there.

The palace’s orchestra was performing a light music at the opposite of the door. Ash could never be able to blend into this kind of environment.

“Eco…Where are you?”

For numerous times… Ash had called out to his ‘Seikoku’, but there still isn’t a positive result.

The ‘Seikoku’ is like a quite beach during the low tide.

“-Anything wrong. You look like as if you are worrying about something.”

Suddenly, when he heard someone was talking to him, Ash looked up in fright. A lady with a black butterfly was staring at him. The black butterfly was of course a mask. Since it had only covered the top part of her face, it was easy when it come to figure out who she was.

“Huh… Princess!”

Silvia glared at Ash.

“Uwaa, sorry…”

Ash was apologizing to Silvia while trying to check any emotional changes from her.

Her glaring golden hair was tied into a mature hairstyle and stood out together with the deep red coloured ribbon. The long gloves that covered until her elbow gave out the feeling of a fair lady. In her right hand was a fan which looked like a choice of a girl from a high family status.

Her evening dress was blue in colour with gem stones sewed on the important places and it looks like it emerges from the lakes during summer. In contrast to her waist that was bounded tightly by Cosette, the lower part of her dress was let of loosely and looked like a sole lilium. <ref>Lilium is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs, all with large prominent flowers. Lilies are a group of
flowering plants which are important in culture and literature in much of the world. Wikipedia</ref>

Ash blushed. He recalled the memories two hours ago where both of them were on the bed.

“Princess-sama… Is really beautiful.”

Ash felt pathetic as he has such a poor vocabulary. That is because Silvia is that beautiful.

“D-Don’t keep on staring at me. It’s embarrassing…!”

When Silvia noticed Ash’s sight, her cheeks turned rosy and shyly lower down her head. She opened up the fan and covered her mouth with it.

“Sorry…”

Ash was also embarrassed and turned his head aside.

There was an awkward moment in between the two and after a while, Silvia spoke:

“That’s it! I had heard of it from Cosette. It was said that Eco and Prim were lost together…”

Upon hearing, Ash was now fully awake.

“That’s right… Cosette right now was looking for them. If it is possible, I would also like to take part in the search. But, the ‘Seikoku’ is not reacting.”

“What did you say! How is it possible…?”

Just when Silvia was getting tense…

“Excuse me, miss. Can you please step aside?”

A man who was hiding his face like the rest of the guests was speaking to Silvia gently. The man's language bears a strong Empire’s accent.

“Ahh…Sorry.”

Silvia immediately stepped aside.

“Thank you, Princess Silvia- Sorry, tonight should be a masquerade. Hehe… It is better if we keep each other’s identity a secret.”

The man who was like a noble spoke like a poet and walked into the ballroom leisurely. Even when Silvia wore her mask, the man recognized her with just a glance.

''Who the hell is this guy''…Ash felt uneasy.

“You!”

At the next instant, Ash shouted.

The mysterious man had a follower with him. The follower initially was following the man from behind but he was forced to stop when Ash held him by the shoulder.

“You are…!”

Silvia gasped when she saw the follower.

Ash angrily asked without hesitating:

“Milgauss… Why are you here!?”

To his horror, Milgauss attempted to enter the ballroom with his usual mask.

“…Can you please let go, Ash Blake. I have nothing that I want to talk to you here.”

Milgauss was calm.

Not only was Ash irritated by Milgauss when he purposely called his full name, but he also had a bad feeling about it.

“What? How dare you after doing those things…”

When Ash was going to refute, he noticed something.

The Kingdom’s language that Milgauss used doesn’t bear the Empire’s accent. Milgauss is Prince Julius- There is a sudden increase in the probability of what Silvia had said.

“Oops. Could it be that my follower has offended both of you?”

The man before turned back to face the door. The previous tense atmosphere disappeared in an instant.

Milgauss glared at Ash as if he wanted Ash to know his stand.

Through the mask, the fierce pressure that his eyes bear caused Ash to shake.

Milgauss then acted as if he had lost interest in Ash, turned around, and faced the man.

“Nothing. Just a misunderstanding. Nothing to make a fuss about.”

Even though he was a follower, Milgauss didn’t even try to speak in a humble form. <ref>Humble form is a way to express yourself in Japanese when you are speaking to a person from a higher social status.</ref>

Ash could only see them disappearing off into the crowd.

At this moment, Silvia spoke to Ash in a stuttered voice:

“That man… I knew him.”

“Really?”

“That’s it. He should be Klaus, Baron for the Wadanhuoer borders.”

He had never imagined to hear the name of the agent of the Zepharos Empire’s Emperor from Silvia. In his heart, he felt a tense feeling as if someone was pointing a knife at his neck which is far more intense than the previous fight between him and Milgauss.

===Part 5===
After bathing, Anya changed back into a usual tribal wear.

Even though the weather was hot, she still had the muffler around her neck. The mission before required her to remove the muffler which made her have the feeling of the lack of safety around her neck. Now, it is better.

After that, Anya headed to the armory to check on Eco.

===Part 6===
Upon stepping into the armory, the atmosphere changed significantly into a hectic situation. ‘Yggdrasill’ seemed to be running and the buzzing sound can be heard.

The Millenniums on the body of the machine were shining. There are also the sounds of the technician reading the data shown on the screen.

It seems that Eco was already inside ‘Yggdrasill’-The capsule.

Her clothes were removed and she was naked.

She is just like a baby holding on to her knees floating in the capsule.

Her beautiful figure gave Anya a mysterious feeling.

“Ahh, aren’t you Anya-dono?”

The representative of the researchers- Dr Hoffman<ref>note: Dr Hoffman’s ‘DR’ is a PHD holder’s Dr and not a medical Dr.</ref> noticed Anya and walk towards her.

“Has the experiment…begun?”

“At our current stage, there is nothing abnormal. It is all according to the plan.”

Dr Hoffman gave a gentle smile just like a kind elderly man. But this man took Eco as a experimental object without even a second though. This made Anya feel uneasy.

“It seems that Anya-dono didn’t like much about this experiment.”

Dr Hoffman’s word had hit the bull’s eye.

“N-No…!”

Anya felt embarrassed. Even though she denied verbally, everyone can tell that she was lying from the looks of her face.

“It is alright. You are still young.”

“Professor… Have you ever have any doubt? Although Eco is a dragon… her appearance is of a girl’s.”

“Do I have a choice? For what I am today, it is all thanks to Klaus-sama. Last time, when I was forced to carry out all inhuman experiments, I strongly rejected them and pissed off the Zepharos Emperor. In the end, I was chased out from the capital Arkham. During that time, Klaus-sama is my savior and invited me to his private research center.” After saying that, Dr Hoffman gave a gentle cough.

“Anya-dono, what do you think that this ‘Yggdrasill’ was used for?”

“I-I don’t know.”

“I am not surprised. Even I have no idea about this thing initially. I only realized after I read Milgauss-dono’s written opinion.”

“What did Milgauss-sama write?”

“It was said that, a long time ago… when the ancient kingdom reached its prime, humans and dragons could even control life. On the first glance on this ‘Yggdrasill’, Milgauss-dono knew that this is a medical tool.”

“Medical…?”

“In contrary to the modern times, all the dragons in the ancient times could transform into a Maestro. But of course there are exceptions. This machine is used for dragons who couldn’t transform into Maestro… Basically, it was for dragons with a handicap.”

Anya finally understood Dr Hoffman’s hint.

“In another words, our plan is to use its function… To awaken Eco?”

“That’s right. We are going to compress the enormous magic of the Millennium into her body and force out her true self.”

“But…Why now? Tomorrow is the continental congress ‘Elysium’, to launch such a experiment at such an important time is to…?”

“This has no longer anything to do with me.”

Dr Hoffman’s answer is no longer that of a kind old man. He just answered coldly.

“I am only following Klaus-sama’s orders. Anya-dono, didn’t you too obeyed Milgauss-dono’s order to capture young dragon Eco?”

“That’s… true.”

Dr Hoffman’s words were like an ice blade that stabbed into Anya’s chest.

===Part 7===
It was seven in the evening.

The masquerade that intends to bring all the people of different countries together had started right on time.

The venue was located at the highest floor of Fontaine Palace.

Fontaine Palace which had been famous for its plain design had only this ballroom being designed grandly in the Chevron style.

At the dance floor in the middle of the ballroom, men and ladies were holding hands dancing gracefully according to the music tempo. Around the dance floor were also bars, tables, chairs and sofas. A number of guests were chit chatting there.

Looking at those gentlemen and gentlewomen hiding their faces behind those masks and gathered together, Ash secretly felt that this is not a place where he belongs to.

Ash avoided the crowd nimbly and headed towards Silvia and said:

“Princess-sama was already used to this kind of ball right?”

“You are wrong. A citizen of the Knights should be focusing on plainness… It is not our wish to organize such a noisy party… Apart from that, could you not address me as ‘Princess-sama’?”

“Why?”

Ash didn’t know how to react to this. Silvia suddenly stood still. She was showing an unsatisfied look on her face. Because her mask had covered the area around her eyes, Ash could only judge her expression through her lips.

“What did you think this mask is for? If you kept on saying ‘Princess-sama’, everyone will know who I am.”

“Ahh…You are right.”

“Tsk, Can’t you use some of your brains?”

“So what should I call you as?”

“Err…!”

Silvia was silenced by the unexpected question. Her face turned red in a blink of an eye.

After a few seconds, Silvia spoke:

“…You can call me Sylvie.”

The Silvia right in front of him is very attractive which made him wanted to give her a hug.

“Then…”

Ash gulped.

''-Sylvie.''

His heart was jumping nonstop. Just like resonating to Ash feelings, Silvia lowered her head and acted shyly as if to prevent her heartbeat from being heard.

Ash made up his mind and spread open his dry lips.

“Silv- Uwaa!”

At this moment, Ash with a ‘Don!’ was pushed aside by someone and fell down. Before he could react, Silvia was surrounded by three men.

“My beautiful ojou-san<ref>A way to address a girl from a high family status.</ref>. Could I have the honor for you to be my dance partner?”

“Although your face is covered, the classy air around you couldn’t be hidden from my eyes!”

“Hold on! I was here first!”

Ash was dumbstruck. Even though those men are with their mask on, but judging from their actions, they are not someone simple. These men should have noticed the different air around Silvia.

“Hold on… I am a little troubled by all of you inviting me suddenly…”

If it was the usual Silvia, she will tell them off mercilessly. But, right now, she is just a girl that had little experience of this world.

''-Even though she was always what you saw, actually, she is very timid and afraid of strangers''

Ash remembered what Cosette had said. She is worthy to be Silvia’s maid for her to notice all the details.

After Ash fell down, there were still men approaching her. The number of men surrounding her had increased from three to five.

Now it is ten. The voices that were inviting Silvia to be their dance partner were getting louder.

The guests around started to notice the noise and looked at them curiously.

“About that… I don’t feel like doing it now…”

Just like ants surrounding sugars, the numbers of men surrounding were still growing.

Facing all the passionate men, Silvia was being overwhelmed.

“Hey, Ash!”

But she suddenly shouted Ash’s name as if she wants Ash to come to her help.

After he made his mental preparations, Ash dragged Silvia through the walls of men.

There were sounds of disapproving from their surroundings.

“Hey, where’re your manners!”

“Couldn’t you take your turn!”

“Even though this is a masquerade, you must keep up with your manners!”

You are the ones who don’t have any manners…Ash grumbled in his heart and kept on squeezing forward.

These weak nobles couldn’t even stand still when they were pushed by Ash. And can only make way. They are at most nobles who were raised while being protected. Naturally, they are no match to Ash who undergoes strict training in the dragon riding academy in terms of strength.

“Waa!”

A waiter in black immediately made way to protect the expensive wine glass upon seeing Ash rushing right into him.

In a few moments, they are no longer surrounded and their field of vision widens. At the same time, the music had become louder.

“Ehh…?”

Ash stopped.

A group of people were holding hands dancing in pairs. Ash only found out that they mistakenly ran into the dance floor.

The numerous amount of evening dress made the scenery looks like hundreds of flowers blossoming at the same time.

Every time the ladies in the dance floor turned their bodies, their long skirts turned into a giant rose.

“W-We should retreat! Princess-sama!”

“Didn’t I told you not to call me Princess-sama!”

“This is not a time to be arguing about those things!”

For the two to be standing in the dance floor while holding hands while arguing, suddenly there were applauses from their surroundings.

“W-What happened?”

From the looks of it, they definitely want to give courage for the two to dance. It was probably Silvia classy feel around her that caught their attentions. Ash was just a side character.

“What should we do now, Princess-sama?”

Ash was troubled and turned around to look at Silvia. Seeing Ash being embarrass, Silvia laugh.

“Wa…What are you laughing about, Princess-sama?”

“Nothing. Right now, we can only return the favour of the guests.”

“Ehh…?”

In opposite of what just happened, Silvia took the initiative to hold Ash’s hands.

“Wait! I know nothing about dancing!”

“You should have learned before the basic of a ballroom dance in the physical education class, no?”

“I-I guess so…”

“Alright, everyone is looking. I will take the lead, you just have to follow.”

“Okay… I will give it a try.”

Ash imitates the guests’ action and held Silvia’s waist with a hand. Her waist is just as thin as a doll.

Followed by the light waltz, Ash and Silvia started to dance. The distance between they were so near that they can feel each other’s breath. This made Ash’s head spins. Although there were a few time where he nearly tripped over Silvia’s feet, she was not bothered by it and even covered up for Ash.
[[Image:SnRK V04 167.jpg|thumb]]

Not long later, the dancers around and the beat of the music had disappeared from Ash's thoughts.

Starting from her breath from her lips that had lip gloss on them, to the feeling from his palm, to the soft sensation he felt whenever their bodies collides with each other and also that rosy smell…

While dancing, ash felt like he is going to faint.

As if to drag him back to reality, Silvia grumbled to Ash.

“Anyway, it was your entire fault for not positioning yourself properly.”

“…What do you meant?”

Ash asked while accidentally stepping on Silvia’s feet. Ash totally didn't get what she was saying.

“For the start when we entered this ballroom, you kept on following me from behind? No matter how I think of it, I can only see you as my follower. That is why those guys will try to approach me...”

Ash gave a wry smile.

At such a time, Silvia would even think of lecturing him. Although it fits her style well, what comes next gave ash a great big shock.

“B-But… You look cool…Err…When you were running while holding my hand.”

“Princess-sama…?”

“N-Nothing! Forget it!”

Silvia immediately stopped talking and focused her mind on the dance.

===Part 8===
After dancing, Ash brought Silvia to a corner of the ballroom.

Ash wished to relax for a moment from the eyes of others. He passed a cup of drink that he received from a waiter to Silvia.

“Thank you.”

After Silvia whose face was red thanked him, she took a sip from the cup. Even though the ballroom dance looked graceful, after trying, he found out that it actually requires a lot of energy.

Ash took the cup and drank from it. The liquid in the cup was lemon juice that taste a little sweet and sour. He can feel that the juice was being absorbed by his exercised body.

''Anyway, shouldn’t there be any news yet from Cosette?''... Ash wonders. It had been almost an hour since he saw Cosette.

“-Excuse me, may I have a word with you?”

There was a sudden voice coming from behind that brought Ash back to his sense and he turned around-

“You…!”

Upon seeing the person, Ash lost his composure.

He hid Silvia behind him and glared at the person.

“…Have you any business to do with us?”

After Ash asked coldly, that person just replied with a smile.

“Hmm. It seems like I have become a nuisance.”

He is the young noble that they met not long before. If Silvia’s prediction was right, he is Klaus, Baron for the Wadanhuoer borders. Milgauss was following him from behind like a shadow.

Even though their meeting not long before had nearly turned into a fight, Klaus still tried to greet them on purpose. There should be a limit of how much an airhead he could be.

Klaus ignored Ash and looked at Silvia. Then he gracefully held out his hand to her.

“Your dance is excellent. I would like to know that if I had the honour to dance with you?”

“Are you kidding! What are you trying to pu-”

“Ash! Hold on!”

Silvia unexpectedly stopped Ash. After she indirectly rejected Klaus offer, she looked at Milgauss.

“If this man become my dance partner, I would allow it.”

“Haha! Who would have thought that I would be rejected while this follower is asked… You have quite some good eyes there.”

Not only that her actions didn’t anger Klaus, he even smiled. Silvia's words should have shattered his pride but it was like he was not even bothered by it. He looked like a proud older brother whose younger brother is admired.

“Since the lady had proposed-”

Klaus looked at Milgauss while smiling.

Milgauss remained silent. He looked as if he had merged with the mask which bears no expression. Seeing that Milgauss had not yet replied, Klaus shrugged his shoulders and said:

“Kuku, you are not allowed to decline. Don’t forget that the you right now are one of my followers.”

===Part 9===
Milgauss was dancing with Silvia while holding on to each other’s hands.

It is better to describe this as a beautiful show than a ballroom dance.

In contrast to the attractive Silvia, Milgauss hair was still with the red and white mix colour. Although he gave out a dangerous feeling, it is undeniable that the masquerade provides a cover for him.

Ballroom dancing is just a general statement. In truth, Ash knew that this dance had many developments that were affected by the difference of each country culture and style.

What Milgauss and Silvia were dancing right now is undoubtably the traditional dance of the Lautreamont Knight Country.

Ash was so focused in their dance that he had forgotten about the previous hatred.

But Ash was not the only one who was amazed.

Without knowing, everyone was entranced by Milgauss and Silvia’s dance.

Right now, the people dancing in the dance floor were only both of them.

They are occupying the whole wide space. Just like blessing them, the orchestras were at the climax of the music.

Followed by the movement of her evening dress, Silvia was dancing swiftly.

Facing Silvia, Milgauss was leading the dance.

They looked like a combination of light and shadow, yet their dance is perfect.

“Wow… This is my first time seeing such a great dance.”

Klaus was who admiring the dance while standing beside Ash spoke in a low voice in admiration.

===Part 10===
The dance of the two people ended silently like a setting sun.

Milgauss remained silent the whole time. He returned Silvia to Ash just like returning a book and walk off silently.

“Certainly his indifference attitude gave me some trouble.”

Klaus gave a wry smile and disappeared into the crowd while he ran after Milgauss.

Ash inspected Silvia’s face carefully.

“Have you found any clue? Could Milgauss true identity be…”

“No… I can’t be sure. Because I was very young the last time I saw Anii-ue… But, Milgauss' dance is definitely originated from the Lautreamont Knight Country. I am sure that he had a long history with the Knight Country.”

Silvia murmured.

“-Ash-sama.”

At this moment, someone whispered into Ash’s ears.

“Cosette!”

Ash turned around. Cosette was with a straight and serious face spoke:

“The maids who heads the search in the ancient palace had found Prim Onee-chan.”

"Yggdrasill ~A.S.B.1365.7~" is closed.

==References and Translation Notes==
<references />

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|-
| Back to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Chapter 6|Chapter 6]]
| Return to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Chapter 8|Chapter 8]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Chapter 7

2013-11-07T10:32:53Z

213.144.240.241: /* Part 7 */

==Chapter 7 - Masquerade==
===Part 1===
'''The Seventh Continental Congress ‘Elysium’ ''~A brief introduction of the attendees of each country~'' '''

'''I. Holy Espada Agency'''

The Pope Raquel IV is in charge of organizing this congress. Even though she is nine years old, her strong clairvoyance is recognized by all. She is a genius who was recommended to become the pope at a young age. She is now accompanied by twelve cardinals.

'''II. Chevron Kingdom'''

Apart from King Zacherias III and three princes, there are also the nobles who were involved in the country’s politics who attended. They made up a total of three thousand people all together which can be said to be the biggest group.

'''III. Zepharos Empire'''

Emperor Ortofon VIII will be absent because of old age. He will be replaced by the baron of the Wadanhuoer borders. Apart from that, there were a few more powerful nobles who attended. Although their numbers were next to the Chevron Kingdom’s, but the amount of attendees for them is unusually small.

'''IV. Labrock Trade Union'''

Led by the Caudillo EnzoSabatini, a total of seven mayors from seven major cities attended.

'''V. Lautreamont Knight Country'''

Apart from Paladin Oswald and First Princes, Princess Veronica, the Fourth Princess, Princess Silvia will attend the congress for the first time. The second and the third princess will not attend because of studying abroad. Also, there are a few nobles who attend.

===Part 2===
After putting aside the pamphlet he took with him to pass time, Ash lay down on the bed lazily.

“Just as I thought, Pricess-sama is amazing.”

A few moments before, Silvia was lying on this bed exchanging gazes with him. The living Silvia is just an arm length away. But after he saw Silvia’s name on the pamphlet, he still felt that she was still at that unreachable height.

Ash took out the silver watch that was given by the Paladin.

It was already six fifteen in the evening.

“It is already this late?”

After remembering that the masquerade starts at six thirty, he made up his mind to change. Just when Ash is going to take the suit hanging on the wall- He stopped.

“What is Eco doing?”

Girls are different from guys. They need to take their time to get prepared. Ash understands that. Even so, Eco and Prim had been away for four hours.

“Even if they are slow, this is just…”

Who knows where has she been to together with Prim.

After making up his mind, Ash removed the bandages on his left arm.

His left arm that was fully covered with his ‘Seikoku’ can be seen.

“Luckily I am connected with Eco.”

Not long ago, Eco was kidnapped by Angela. During that time, Ash found Angela’s hiding place with the help of his ‘Seikoku’.

Ash placed his left fist on his forehead and held his left wrist with his right hand.

“Please… Tell me where Eco is right now!”

After a pause, his left arm started to felt hot and the embroider symbols on his left arm started to glow. Butterflies created by magic started to fly one by one. These butterflies were like road signs and normally will show ash the way to Eco.

“Huh??”

But what happen next left Ash staring blankly. The butterflies created had disappeared and the lights and heats coming from his left arm too were gone.

“What’s happening!?”

Ash stood still, dumbfounded. Even though he kept on trying for the second and third time, he still ended up failing. His ‘Seikoku’ was like a broken bright dragon crystal powered lamp. It stopped functioning completely.

He had a bad feeling. This is Paladin’s main town, so he had never expected for Eco to face any danger here. Still, the connection between him and Eco that had been cut off was still the truth.

“Damn…!”

Ash was out of options and rushed out from the room.

He was running aimlessly at the long corridor.

When he was in the room together with Silvia, Eco probably was in danger… When Ash thought about this, he was disgusted by himself.

The space in the palace is wide. Even thought he had totally no idea where to search for Eco, still he couldn’t stay worried in his room.

Just when he was rushing at full speed at the corner, Ash saw a maid.

“Uwaa!”

“Ara ara.”

At the same time the maid was mumbling something, she nimbly avoided Ash.

Not only that, she also seized Ash’s necktie just when he was going to fall and pulled him back. Ash was lucky as he was a few moments away from falling head down.

“It is not like what Ash-sama will do to run around panicking in the corridor.”

Ash looked back embarrassedly and saw Cosette.

Ash as if he met his savior begged Cosette to help him.

“Eco and Prim have not yet return! Even the ‘Seikoku’ had no reaction!”

Cosette immediately became serious.

“Understood. I will immediately order the maids who are not on duty to search for them. It will be better than to let Ash-sama running aimlessly.

“Thank you! Lets-”

“You mustn’t. Please follow the original plan and attend the masquerade, Ash-sama.”

“How could I… She is my pal. It isn’t right for me not to search for her!”

“Please don’t forget that this is Fontaine City. The coming word may not be pleasant so I beg your pardon… Since the ‘Seikoku’ is not reacting, even if Ash-sama had joined the search, there is nothing you can do.”

“Wha….!”

“On the other hand, we maids knew the structure of this palace. Please believe in us and let us handle this matter. Not to mention that Prim onee-chan is my family. I will deal this matter with full force.”

“Understood…”

After Ash promised while nodding, Cosette finally smiled.

“Although this doesn’t seem right, I must ask Ash-sama to act as Princess-sama’s escort.”

“Princess-sama’s escort?”

“Even though she was always what you saw, actually, she is very timid and afraid of strangers. But, as long as Ash-sama is with her, I don’t think that it will be a problem."

Cosette’s plan should be perfect. But this is the time where Eco will face danger any moment, and yet he was enjoying the masquerade, he didn’t feel that this is the right thing to do.

As if she had seen through what ash was thinking, Cosette guaranteed:

“Please have faith in me, Ash-sama.”

Ash reluctantly accepted.

“…Alright. Eco will be in your hands.”

<noinclude>

===Part 3===
After four in the evening, Anya returned to Beowolf through the long secret passage. After handing over Eco to Dr Hoffman, she borrowed the shower room.

Although it is summer, Anya felt very cold. She was drenched by the heavy rain outside not long before.

After entering the changing room, Anya firstly removed her maid attire that was soaked with water. Only then she removed her tight undergarments.

Lastly, she let loose her hair that was tied at the back of her head and she was now naked.

There was a huge mirror hanging on the wall in the bathroom.

“…”

It had been a long time since she stared at her own body.

Her wet dark hair, her wheat coloured skin that only the mountain people have, her small chest and her curves that looked as if the extra flesh was removed by a knife.

Without any reasons, Anya touched her breast. Compare to ‘La Tene’s’ manager, Rebecca, the president of the student council and Princess Silvia, there is nothing special about hers- But at least hers could be compared with Eco’s.
[[Image:SnRK V04 004-005.jpg|thumb|'' It seems like I am not at all feminine… Anya mocked her own self. “…!” Just when she thought about that, Anya panicked. ''What nonsense am I thinking about?'' '']]

''It seems like I am not at all feminine…'' Anya mocked herself.

“…!”

Just when she thought about that, Anya panicked.

''What nonsense am I thinking about?'' Anya in her past was never bothered by her looks. It was probably that living in the dragon riding academy for this whole time had made her impetuous.

Logically speaking, big breasts will become a hindrance in battle. There are even legends that said that female warriors of the mountain people in the ancient times tend to cut off one of their breast in order to not obstruct them in archery.

“That’s it. It is better to have a small breast than to face the knife!”

After Anya tried to give herself an excuse, she turned on the tap.

Although the water was initially cold, it had turned warm in just a few moments. Anya once again was amazed by the Empire's skills and let the warm water flows from her head.

She hoped that her impetuous feeling too will be wash away together-

Anya while letting the warm water run through her body with her eyes closed, she thought about her previous mission.

Basically, it was a successful mission.

Even though she had underestimated Eco’s fighting ability and caused her four underlings to be injured, still, since they were not spotted by any of the guards, she could force a pass in it.

“But… The problems start here.”

===Part 4===
On the third floor of the palace- In the ball room, the temperature is rising. All the guests were with a silver mask. Apart from those traditional mask where it hides the area beside the eyes, there were also masks that were shaped like dragons, lions and many other animals.
Among them, there were also guests there dressed up as a clown.

After Ash who was in the formal suit wore the mask that he received from the counter, he stood beside the entrance. That was because Cosette had told him that he will meet Silvia sooner or later if he stood there.

The palace’s orchestra was performing a light music at the opposite of the door. Ash could never be able to blend into this kind of environment.

“Eco…Where are you?”

For numerous times… Ash had called out to his ‘Seikoku’, but there still isn’t a positive result.

The ‘Seikoku’ is like a quite beach during the low tide.

“-Anything wrong. You look like as if you are worrying about something.”

Suddenly, when he heard someone was talking to him, Ash looked up in fright. A lady with a black butterfly was staring at him. The black butterfly was of course a mask. Since it had only covered the top part of her face, it was easy when it come to figure out who she was.

“Huh… Princess!”

Silvia glared at Ash.

“Uwaa, sorry…”

Ash was apologizing to Silvia while trying to check any emotional changes from her.

Her glaring golden hair was tied into a mature hairstyle and stood out together with the deep red coloured ribbon. The long gloves that covered until her elbow gave out the feeling of a fair lady. In her right hand was a fan which looked like a choice of a girl from a high family status.

Her evening dress was blue in colour with gem stones sewed on the important places and it looks like it emerges from the lakes during summer. In contrast to her waist that was bounded tightly by Cosette, the lower part of her dress was let of loosely and looked like a sole lilium. <ref>Lilium is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs, all with large prominent flowers. Lilies are a group of
flowering plants which are important in culture and literature in much of the world. Wikipedia</ref>

Ash blushed. He recalled the memories two hours ago where both of them were on the bed.

“Princess-sama… Is really beautiful.”

Ash felt pathetic as he has such a poor vocabulary. That is because Silvia is that beautiful.

“D-Don’t keep on staring at me. It’s embarrassing…!”

When Silvia noticed Ash’s sight, her cheeks turned rosy and shyly lower down her head. She opened up the fan and covered her mouth with it.

“Sorry…”

Ash was also embarrassed and turned his head aside.

There was an awkward moment in between the two and after a while, Silvia spoke:

“That’s it! I had heard of it from Cosette. It was said that Eco and Prim were lost together…”

Upon hearing, Ash was now fully awake.

“That’s right… Cosette right now was looking for them. If it is possible, I would also like to take part in the search. But, the ‘Seikoku’ is not reacting.”

“What did you say! How is it possible…?”

Just when Silvia was getting tense…

“Excuse me, miss. Can you please step aside?”

A man who was hiding his face like the rest of the guests was speaking to Silvia gently. The man's language bears a strong Empire’s accent.

“Ahh…Sorry.”

Silvia immediately stepped aside.

“Thank you, Princess Silvia- Sorry, tonight should be a masquerade. Hehe… It is better if we keep each other’s identity a secret.”

The man who was like a noble spoke like a poet and walked into the ballroom leisurely. Even when Silvia wore her mask, the man recognized her with just a glance.

''Who the hell is this guy''…Ash felt uneasy.

“You!”

At the next instant, Ash shouted.

The mysterious man had a follower with him. The follower initially was following the man from behind but he was forced to stop when Ash held him by the shoulder.

“You are…!”

Silvia gasped when she saw the follower.

Ash angrily asked without hesitating:

“Milgauss… Why are you here!?”

To his horror, Milgauss attempted to enter the ballroom with his usual mask.

“…Can you please let go, Ash Blake. I have nothing that I want to talk to you here.”

Milgauss was calm.

Not only was Ash irritated by Milgauss when he purposely called his full name, but he also had a bad feeling about it.

“What? How dare you after doing those things…”

When Ash was going to refute, he noticed something.

The Kingdom’s language that Milgauss used doesn’t bear the Empire’s accent. Milgauss is Prince Julius- There is a sudden increase in the probability of what Silvia had said.

“Oops. Could it be that my follower has offended both of you?”

The man before turned back to face the door. The previous tense atmosphere disappeared in an instant.

Milgauss glared at Ash as if he wanted Ash to know his stand.

Through the mask, the fierce pressure that his eyes bear caused Ash to shake.

Milgauss then acted as if he had lost interest in Ash, turned around, and faced the man.

“Nothing. Just a misunderstanding. Nothing to make a fuss about.”

Even though he was a follower, Milgauss didn’t even try to speak in a humble form. <ref>Humble form is a way to express yourself in Japanese when you are speaking to a person from a higher social status.</ref>

Ash could only see them disappearing off into the crowd.

At this moment, Silvia spoke to Ash in a stuttered voice:

“That man… I knew him.”

“Really?”

“That’s it. He should be Klaus, Baron for the Wadanhuoer borders.”

He had never imagined to hear the name of the agent of the Zepharos Empire’s Emperor from Silvia. In his heart, he felt a tense feeling as if someone was pointing a knife at his neck which is far more intense than the previous fight between him and Milgauss.

===Part 5===
After bathing, Anya changed back into a usual tribal wear.

Even though the weather was hot, she still had the muffler around her neck. The mission before required her to remove the muffler which made her have the feeling of the lack of safety around her neck. Now, it is better.

After that, Anya headed to the armory to check on Eco.

===Part 6===
Upon stepping into the armory, the atmosphere changed significantly into a hectic situation. ‘Yggdrasill’ seemed to be running and the buzzing sound can be heard.

The Millenniums on the body of the machine were shining. There are also the sounds of the technician reading the data shown on the screen.

It seems that Eco was already inside ‘Yggdrasill’-The capsule.

Her clothes were removed and she was naked.

She is just like a baby holding on to her knees floating in the capsule.

Her beautiful figure gave Anya a mysterious feeling.

“Ahh, aren’t you Anya-dono?”

The representative of the researchers- Dr Hoffman<ref>note: Dr Hoffman’s ‘DR’ is a PHD holder’s Dr and not a medical Dr.</ref> noticed Anya and walk towards her.

“Has the experiment…begun?”

“At our current stage, there is nothing abnormal. It is all according to the plan.”

Dr Hoffman gave a gentle smile just like a kind elderly man. But this man took Eco as a experimental object without even a second though. This made Anya feel uneasy.

“It seems that Anya-dono didn’t like much about this experiment.”

Dr Hoffman’s word had hit the bull’s eye.

“N-No…!”

Anya felt embarrassed. Even though she denied verbally, everyone can tell that she was lying from the looks of her face.

“It is alright. You are still young.”

“Professor… Have you ever have any doubt? Although Eco is a dragon… her appearance is of a girl’s.”

“Do I have a choice? For what I am today, it is all thanks to Klaus-sama. Last time, when I was forced to carry out all inhuman experiments, I strongly rejected them and pissed off the Zepharos Emperor. In the end, I was chased out from the capital Arkham. During that time, Klaus-sama is my savior and invited me to his private research center.” After saying that, Dr Hoffman gave a gentle cough.

“Anya-dono, what do you think that this ‘Yggdrasill’ was used for?”

“I-I don’t know.”

“I am not surprised. Even I have no idea about this thing initially. I only realized after I read Milgauss-dono’s written opinion.”

“What did Milgauss-sama write?”

“It was said that, a long time ago… when the ancient kingdom reached its prime, humans and dragons could even control life. On the first glance on this ‘Yggdrasill’, Milgauss-dono knew that this is a medical tool.”

“Medical…?”

“In contrary to the modern times, all the dragons in the ancient times could transform into a Maestro. But of course there are exceptions. This machine is used for dragons who couldn’t transform into Maestro… Basically, it was for dragons with a handicap.”

Anya finally understood Dr Hoffman’s hint.

“In another words, our plan is to use its function… To awaken Eco?”

“That’s right. We are going to compress the enormous magic of the Millennium into her body and force out her true self.”

“But…Why now? Tomorrow is the continental congress ‘Elysium’, to launch such a experiment at such an important time is to…?”

“This has no longer anything to do with me.”

Dr Hoffman’s answer is no longer that of a kind old man. He just answered coldly.

“I am only following Klaus-sama’s orders. Anya-dono, didn’t you too obeyed Milgauss-dono’s order to capture young dragon Eco?”

“That’s… true.”

Dr Hoffman’s words were like an ice blade that stabbed into Anya’s chest.

===Part 7===
It was seven in the evening.

The masquerade that intends to bring all the people of different countries together had started right on time.

The venue was located at the highest floor of Fontaine Palace.

Fontaine Palace which had been famous for its plain design had only this ballroom being designed grandly in the Chevron style.

At the dance floor in the middle of the ballroom, men and ladies were holding hands dancing gracefully according to the music tempo. Around the dance floor were also bars, tables, chairs and sofas. A number of guests were chit chatting there.

Looking at those gentlemen and gentlewomen hiding their faces behind those masks and gathered together, Ash secretly felt that this is not a place where he belongs to.

Ash avoided the crowd nimbly and headed towards Silvia and said:

“Princess-sama was already used to this kind of ball right?”

“You are wrong. A citizen of the Knights should be focusing on plainness… It is not our wish to organize such a noisy party… Apart from that, could you not address me as ‘Princess-sama’?”

“Why?”

Ash didn’t know how to react to this. Silvia suddenly stood still. She was showing an unsatisfied look on her face. Because her mask had covered the area around her eyes, Ash could only judge her expression through her lips.

“What did you think this mask is for? If you kept on saying ‘Princess-sama’, everyone will know who I am.”

“Ahh…You are right.”

“Tsk, Can’t you use some of your brains?”

“So what should I call you as?”

“Err…!”

Silvia was silenced by the unexpected question. Her face turned red in a blink of an eye.

After a few seconds, Silvia spoke:

“…You can call me Sylvie.”

The Silvia right in front of him is very attractive which made him wanted to give her a hug.

“Then…”

Ash gulped.

''-Sylvie.''

His heart was jumping nonstop. Just like resonating to Ash feelings, Silvia lowered her head and acted shyly as if to prevent her heartbeat from being heard.

Ash made up his mind and spread open his dry lips.

“Silv- Uwaa!”

At this moment, Ash with a ‘Don!’ was pushed aside by someone and fell down. Before he could react, Silvia was surrounded by three men.

“My beautiful ojou-san<ref>A way to address a girl from a high family status.</ref>. Could I have the honor for you to be my dance partner?”

“Although your face is covered, the classy air around you couldn’t be hidden from my eyes!”

“Hold on! I was here first!”

Ash was dumbstruck. Even though those men are with their mask on, but judging from their actions, they are not someone simple. These men should have noticed the different air around Silvia.

“Hold on… I am a little troubled by all of you inviting me suddenly…”

If it was the usual Silvia, she will tell them off mercilessly. But, right now, she is just a girl that had little experience of this world.

''-Even though she was always what you saw, actually, she is very timid and afraid of strangers''

Ash remembered what Cosette had said. She is worthy to be Silvia’s maid for her to notice all the details.

After Ash fell down, there were still men approaching her. The number of men surrounding her had increased from three to five.

Now it is ten. The voices that were inviting Silvia to be their dance partner were getting louder.

The guests around started to notice the noise and looked at them curiously.

“About that… I don’t feel like doing it now…”

Just like ants surrounding sugars, the numbers of men surrounding were still growing.

Facing all the passionate men, Silvia was being overwhelmed.

“Hey, Ash!”

But she suddenly shouted Ash’s name as if she wants Ash to come to her help.

After he made his mental preparations, Ash dragged Silvia through the walls of men.

There were sounds of disapproving from their surroundings.

“Hey, where’re your manners!”

“Couldn’t you take your turn!”

“Even though this is a masquerade, you must keep up with your manners!”

You are the ones who don’t have any manners…Ash grumbled in his heart and kept on squeezing forward.

These weak nobles couldn’t even stand still when they were pushed by Ash. And can only make way. They are at most nobles who were raised while being protected. Naturally, they are no match to Ash who undergoes strict training in the dragon riding academy in terms of strength.

“Waa!”

A waiter in black immediately made way to protect the expensive wine glass upon seeing Ash rushing right into him.

In a few moments, they are no longer surrounded and their field of vision widens. At the same time, the music had become louder.

“Ehh…?”

Ash stopped.

A group of people were holding hands dancing in pairs. Ash only found out that they mistakenly ran into the dance floor.

The numerous amount of evening dress made the scenery looks like hundreds of flowers blossoming at the same time.

Every time the ladies in the dance floor turned their bodies, their long skirts turned into a giant rose.

“W-We should retreat! Princess-sama!”

“Didn’t I told you not to call me Princess-sama!”

“This is not a time to be arguing about those things!”

For the two to be standing in the dance floor while holding hands while arguing, suddenly there were applauses from their surroundings.

“W-What happened?”

From the looks of it, they definitely want to give courage for the two to dance. It was probably Silvia classy feel around her that caught their attentions. Ash was just a side character.

“What should we do now, Princess-sama?”

Ash was troubled and turned around to look at Silvia. Seeing Ash being embarrass, Silvia laugh.

“Wa…What are you laughing about, Princess-sama?”

“Nothing. Right now, we can only return the favour of the guests.”

“Ehh…?”

In opposite of what just happened, Silvia took the initiative to hold Ash’s hands.

“Wait! I know nothing about dancing!”

“You should have learned before the basic of a ballroom dance in the physical education class, no?”

“I-I guess so…”

“Alright, everyone is looking. I will take the lead, you just have to follow.”

“Okay… I will give it a try.”

Ash imitates the guests’ action and held Silvia’s waist with a hand. Her waist is just as thin as a doll.

Followed by the light waltz, Ash and Silvia started to dance. The distance between they were so near that they can feel each other’s breath. This made Ash’s head spins. Although there were a few time where he nearly tripped over Silvia’s feet, she was not bothered by it and even covered up for Ash.
[[Image:SnRK V04 167.jpg|thumb]]

Not long later, the dancers around and the beat of the music had disappeared from Ash's thoughts.

Starting from her breath from her lips that had lip gloss on them, to the feeling from his palm, to the soft sensation he felt whenever their bodies collides with each other and also that rosy smell…

While dancing, ash felt like he is going to faint.

As if to drag him back to reality, Silvia grumbled to Ash.

“Anyway, it was your entire fault for not positioning yourself properly.”

“…What do you meant?”

Ash asked while accidentally stepping on Silvia’s feet. Ash totally didn't get what she was saying.

“For the start when we entered this ballroom, you kept on following me from behind? No matter how I think of it, I can only see you as my follower. That is why those guys will try to approach me...”

Ash gave a wry smile.

At such a time, Silvia would even think of lecturing him. Although it fits her style well, what comes next gave ash a great big shock.

“B-But… You look cool…Err…When you were running while holding my hand.”

“Princess-sama…?”

“N-Nothing! Forget it!”

Silvia immediately stopped talking and focused her mind on the dance.

===Part 8===
After dancing, Ash brought Silvia to a corner of the ballroom.

Ash wished to relax for a moment from the eyes of others. He passed a cup of drink that he received from a waiter to Silvia.

“Thank you.”

After Silvia whose face was red thanked him, she took a sip from the cup. Even though the ballroom dance looked graceful, after trying, he found
out that it actually requires a lot of energy.

Ash took the cup and drank from it. The liquid in the cup was lemon juice that taste a little sweet and sour. He can feel that the juice
was being absorbed by his exercised body.

''Anyway, shouldn’t there be any news yet from Cosette?''... Ash wonders. It had been almost an hour since he saw Cosette.

“-Excuse me, may I have a word with you?”

There was a sudden voice coming from behind that brought Ash back to his sense and he turned around-

“You…!”

Upon seeing the person, Ash lost his composure.

He hid Silvia behind him and glared at the person.

“…Have you any business to do with us?”

After Ash asked coldly, that person just reply with a smile.

“Hmm. It seems like I had become a nuisance.”

He is the young noble that they met not long before. If Silvia’s prediction was right, he is Klaus, Baron for the Wadanhuoer borders. Milgauss
was following him from behind like a shadow.

Even though their meeting not long before had nearly turned into a fight, Klaus still tried to greet them in purpose. There should be a limit
of how much an airhead he could be.

Klaus ignored Ash and looked at Silvia. Then he gracefully held out his hand to her.

“Your dance is excellent. I would like to know that if I had the honour to dance with you?”

“Are you kidding! What are you trying to pu-”

“Ash! Hold on!”

Silvia unexpectedly stopped Ash. After she indirectly rejected Klaus offer, she looked at Milgauss.

“If this man become my dance partner, I would allow it.”

“Haha! Who would have thought that I would be rejected while this follower is asked… You have quite some good eyes there.”

Not only that her actions didn’t anger Klaus, he even smiled. Silvia's words should have shattered his pride but it was like he was not even
bothered by it. He looked like a proud older brother whose younger brother is admired.

“Since the lady had proposed-”

Klaus looked at Milgauss while smiling.

Milgauss remained silent. He looked as if he had merged with the mask which bears no expression. Seeing that Milgauss had not yet replied,
Klaus shrugged his shoulders and said:

“Kuku, you are not allowed to decline. Don’t forget that the you right now are one of my followers.”

===Part 9===
Milgauss was dancing with Silvia while holding on to each other’s hands.

It is better to describe this as a beautiful show than a ballroom dance.

In contrast to the attractive Silvia, Milgauss hair was still with the red and white mix colour. Although he gave out a dangerous feeling, it is undeniable that the masquerade provides a cover for him.

Ballroom dancing is just a general statement. In truth, Ash knew that this dance had many developments that were affected by the difference of each country culture and style.

What Milgauss and Silvia were dancing right now is undoubtably the traditional dance of the Lautreamont Knight Country.

Ash was so focused in their dance that he had forgotten about the previous hatred.

But Ash was not the only one who was amazed.

Without knowing, everyone was entranced by Milgauss and Silvia’s dance.

Right now, the people dancing in the dance floor were only both of them.

They are occupying the whole wide space. Just like blessing them, the orchestras were at the climax of the music.

Followed by the movement of her evening dress, Silvia was dancing swiftly.

Facing Silvia, Milgauss was leading the dance.

They looked like a combination of light and shadow, yet their dance is perfect.

“Wow… This is my first time seeing such a great dance.”

Klaus was who admiring the dance while standing beside Ash spoke in a low voice in admiration.

===Part 10===
The dance of the two people ended silently like a setting sun.

Milgauss remained silent the whole time. He returned Silvia to Ash just like returning a book and walk off silently.

“Certainly his indifference attitude gave me some trouble.”

Klaus gave a wry smile and disappeared into the crowd while he ran after Milgauss.

Ash inspected Silvia’s face carefully.

“Have you found any clue? Could Milgauss true identity be…”

“No… I can’t be sure. Because I was very young the last time I saw Anii-ue… But, Milgauss' dance is definitely originated from the Lautreamont Knight Country. I am sure that he had a long history with the Knight Country.”

Silvia murmured.

“-Ash-sama.”

At this moment, someone whispered into Ash’s ears.

“Cosette!”

Ash turned around. Cosette was with a straight and serious face spoke:

“The maids who heads the search in the ancient palace had found Prim Onee-chan.”

"Yggdrasill ~A.S.B.1365.7~" is closed.

==References and Translation Notes==
<references />

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|-
| Back to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Chapter 6|Chapter 6]]
| Return to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Chapter 8|Chapter 8]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Chapter 7

2013-11-07T10:25:19Z

213.144.240.241: /* Part 6 */

==Chapter 7 - Masquerade==
===Part 1===
'''The Seventh Continental Congress ‘Elysium’ ''~A brief introduction of the attendees of each country~'' '''

'''I. Holy Espada Agency'''

The Pope Raquel IV is in charge of organizing this congress. Even though she is nine years old, her strong clairvoyance is recognized by all. She is a genius who was recommended to become the pope at a young age. She is now accompanied by twelve cardinals.

'''II. Chevron Kingdom'''

Apart from King Zacherias III and three princes, there are also the nobles who were involved in the country’s politics who attended. They made up a total of three thousand people all together which can be said to be the biggest group.

'''III. Zepharos Empire'''

Emperor Ortofon VIII will be absent because of old age. He will be replaced by the baron of the Wadanhuoer borders. Apart from that, there were a few more powerful nobles who attended. Although their numbers were next to the Chevron Kingdom’s, but the amount of attendees for them is unusually small.

'''IV. Labrock Trade Union'''

Led by the Caudillo EnzoSabatini, a total of seven mayors from seven major cities attended.

'''V. Lautreamont Knight Country'''

Apart from Paladin Oswald and First Princes, Princess Veronica, the Fourth Princess, Princess Silvia will attend the congress for the first time. The second and the third princess will not attend because of studying abroad. Also, there are a few nobles who attend.

===Part 2===
After putting aside the pamphlet he took with him to pass time, Ash lay down on the bed lazily.

“Just as I thought, Pricess-sama is amazing.”

A few moments before, Silvia was lying on this bed exchanging gazes with him. The living Silvia is just an arm length away. But after he saw Silvia’s name on the pamphlet, he still felt that she was still at that unreachable height.

Ash took out the silver watch that was given by the Paladin.

It was already six fifteen in the evening.

“It is already this late?”

After remembering that the masquerade starts at six thirty, he made up his mind to change. Just when Ash is going to take the suit hanging on the wall- He stopped.

“What is Eco doing?”

Girls are different from guys. They need to take their time to get prepared. Ash understands that. Even so, Eco and Prim had been away for four hours.

“Even if they are slow, this is just…”

Who knows where has she been to together with Prim.

After making up his mind, Ash removed the bandages on his left arm.

His left arm that was fully covered with his ‘Seikoku’ can be seen.

“Luckily I am connected with Eco.”

Not long ago, Eco was kidnapped by Angela. During that time, Ash found Angela’s hiding place with the help of his ‘Seikoku’.

Ash placed his left fist on his forehead and held his left wrist with his right hand.

“Please… Tell me where Eco is right now!”

After a pause, his left arm started to felt hot and the embroider symbols on his left arm started to glow. Butterflies created by magic started to fly one by one. These butterflies were like road signs and normally will show ash the way to Eco.

“Huh??”

But what happen next left Ash staring blankly. The butterflies created had disappeared and the lights and heats coming from his left arm too were gone.

“What’s happening!?”

Ash stood still, dumbfounded. Even though he kept on trying for the second and third time, he still ended up failing. His ‘Seikoku’ was like a broken bright dragon crystal powered lamp. It stopped functioning completely.

He had a bad feeling. This is Paladin’s main town, so he had never expected for Eco to face any danger here. Still, the connection between him and Eco that had been cut off was still the truth.

“Damn…!”

Ash was out of options and rushed out from the room.

He was running aimlessly at the long corridor.

When he was in the room together with Silvia, Eco probably was in danger… When Ash thought about this, he was disgusted by himself.

The space in the palace is wide. Even thought he had totally no idea where to search for Eco, still he couldn’t stay worried in his room.

Just when he was rushing at full speed at the corner, Ash saw a maid.

“Uwaa!”

“Ara ara.”

At the same time the maid was mumbling something, she nimbly avoided Ash.

Not only that, she also seized Ash’s necktie just when he was going to fall and pulled him back. Ash was lucky as he was a few moments away from falling head down.

“It is not like what Ash-sama will do to run around panicking in the corridor.”

Ash looked back embarrassedly and saw Cosette.

Ash as if he met his savior begged Cosette to help him.

“Eco and Prim have not yet return! Even the ‘Seikoku’ had no reaction!”

Cosette immediately became serious.

“Understood. I will immediately order the maids who are not on duty to search for them. It will be better than to let Ash-sama running aimlessly.

“Thank you! Lets-”

“You mustn’t. Please follow the original plan and attend the masquerade, Ash-sama.”

“How could I… She is my pal. It isn’t right for me not to search for her!”

“Please don’t forget that this is Fontaine City. The coming word may not be pleasant so I beg your pardon… Since the ‘Seikoku’ is not reacting, even if Ash-sama had joined the search, there is nothing you can do.”

“Wha….!”

“On the other hand, we maids knew the structure of this palace. Please believe in us and let us handle this matter. Not to mention that Prim onee-chan is my family. I will deal this matter with full force.”

“Understood…”

After Ash promised while nodding, Cosette finally smiled.

“Although this doesn’t seem right, I must ask Ash-sama to act as Princess-sama’s escort.”

“Princess-sama’s escort?”

“Even though she was always what you saw, actually, she is very timid and afraid of strangers. But, as long as Ash-sama is with her, I don’t think that it will be a problem."

Cosette’s plan should be perfect. But this is the time where Eco will face danger any moment, and yet he was enjoying the masquerade, he didn’t feel that this is the right thing to do.

As if she had seen through what ash was thinking, Cosette guaranteed:

“Please have faith in me, Ash-sama.”

Ash reluctantly accepted.

“…Alright. Eco will be in your hands.”

<noinclude>

===Part 3===
After four in the evening, Anya returned to Beowolf through the long secret passage. After handing over Eco to Dr Hoffman, she borrowed the shower room.

Although it is summer, Anya felt very cold. She was drenched by the heavy rain outside not long before.

After entering the changing room, Anya firstly removed her maid attire that was soaked with water. Only then she removed her tight undergarments.

Lastly, she let loose her hair that was tied at the back of her head and she was now naked.

There was a huge mirror hanging on the wall in the bathroom.

“…”

It had been a long time since she stared at her own body.

Her wet dark hair, her wheat coloured skin that only the mountain people have, her small chest and her curves that looked as if the extra flesh was removed by a knife.

Without any reasons, Anya touched her breast. Compare to ‘La Tene’s’ manager, Rebecca, the president of the student council and Princess Silvia, there is nothing special about hers- But at least hers could be compared with Eco’s.
[[Image:SnRK V04 004-005.jpg|thumb|'' It seems like I am not at all feminine… Anya mocked her own self. “…!” Just when she thought about that, Anya panicked. ''What nonsense am I thinking about?'' '']]

''It seems like I am not at all feminine…'' Anya mocked herself.

“…!”

Just when she thought about that, Anya panicked.

''What nonsense am I thinking about?'' Anya in her past was never bothered by her looks. It was probably that living in the dragon riding academy for this whole time had made her impetuous.

Logically speaking, big breasts will become a hindrance in battle. There are even legends that said that female warriors of the mountain people in the ancient times tend to cut off one of their breast in order to not obstruct them in archery.

“That’s it. It is better to have a small breast than to face the knife!”

After Anya tried to give herself an excuse, she turned on the tap.

Although the water was initially cold, it had turned warm in just a few moments. Anya once again was amazed by the Empire's skills and let the warm water flows from her head.

She hoped that her impetuous feeling too will be wash away together-

Anya while letting the warm water run through her body with her eyes closed, she thought about her previous mission.

Basically, it was a successful mission.

Even though she had underestimated Eco’s fighting ability and caused her four underlings to be injured, still, since they were not spotted by any of the guards, she could force a pass in it.

“But… The problems start here.”

===Part 4===
On the third floor of the palace- In the ball room, the temperature is rising. All the guests were with a silver mask. Apart from those traditional mask where it hides the area beside the eyes, there were also masks that were shaped like dragons, lions and many other animals.
Among them, there were also guests there dressed up as a clown.

After Ash who was in the formal suit wore the mask that he received from the counter, he stood beside the entrance. That was because Cosette had told him that he will meet Silvia sooner or later if he stood there.

The palace’s orchestra was performing a light music at the opposite of the door. Ash could never be able to blend into this kind of environment.

“Eco…Where are you?”

For numerous times… Ash had called out to his ‘Seikoku’, but there still isn’t a positive result.

The ‘Seikoku’ is like a quite beach during the low tide.

“-Anything wrong. You look like as if you are worrying about something.”

Suddenly, when he heard someone was talking to him, Ash looked up in fright. A lady with a black butterfly was staring at him. The black butterfly was of course a mask. Since it had only covered the top part of her face, it was easy when it come to figure out who she was.

“Huh… Princess!”

Silvia glared at Ash.

“Uwaa, sorry…”

Ash was apologizing to Silvia while trying to check any emotional changes from her.

Her glaring golden hair was tied into a mature hairstyle and stood out together with the deep red coloured ribbon. The long gloves that covered until her elbow gave out the feeling of a fair lady. In her right hand was a fan which looked like a choice of a girl from a high family status.

Her evening dress was blue in colour with gem stones sewed on the important places and it looks like it emerges from the lakes during summer. In contrast to her waist that was bounded tightly by Cosette, the lower part of her dress was let of loosely and looked like a sole lilium. <ref>Lilium is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs, all with large prominent flowers. Lilies are a group of
flowering plants which are important in culture and literature in much of the world. Wikipedia</ref>

Ash blushed. He recalled the memories two hours ago where both of them were on the bed.

“Princess-sama… Is really beautiful.”

Ash felt pathetic as he has such a poor vocabulary. That is because Silvia is that beautiful.

“D-Don’t keep on staring at me. It’s embarrassing…!”

When Silvia noticed Ash’s sight, her cheeks turned rosy and shyly lower down her head. She opened up the fan and covered her mouth with it.

“Sorry…”

Ash was also embarrassed and turned his head aside.

There was an awkward moment in between the two and after a while, Silvia spoke:

“That’s it! I had heard of it from Cosette. It was said that Eco and Prim were lost together…”

Upon hearing, Ash was now fully awake.

“That’s right… Cosette right now was looking for them. If it is possible, I would also like to take part in the search. But, the ‘Seikoku’ is not reacting.”

“What did you say! How is it possible…?”

Just when Silvia was getting tense…

“Excuse me, miss. Can you please step aside?”

A man who was hiding his face like the rest of the guests was speaking to Silvia gently. The man's language bears a strong Empire’s accent.

“Ahh…Sorry.”

Silvia immediately stepped aside.

“Thank you, Princess Silvia- Sorry, tonight should be a masquerade. Hehe… It is better if we keep each other’s identity a secret.”

The man who was like a noble spoke like a poet and walked into the ballroom leisurely. Even when Silvia wore her mask, the man recognized her with just a glance.

''Who the hell is this guy''…Ash felt uneasy.

“You!”

At the next instant, Ash shouted.

The mysterious man had a follower with him. The follower initially was following the man from behind but he was forced to stop when Ash held him by the shoulder.

“You are…!”

Silvia gasped when she saw the follower.

Ash angrily asked without hesitating:

“Milgauss… Why are you here!?”

To his horror, Milgauss attempted to enter the ballroom with his usual mask.

“…Can you please let go, Ash Blake. I have nothing that I want to talk to you here.”

Milgauss was calm.

Not only was Ash irritated by Milgauss when he purposely called his full name, but he also had a bad feeling about it.

“What? How dare you after doing those things…”

When Ash was going to refute, he noticed something.

The Kingdom’s language that Milgauss used doesn’t bear the Empire’s accent. Milgauss is Prince Julius- There is a sudden increase in the probability of what Silvia had said.

“Oops. Could it be that my follower has offended both of you?”

The man before turned back to face the door. The previous tense atmosphere disappeared in an instant.

Milgauss glared at Ash as if he wanted Ash to know his stand.

Through the mask, the fierce pressure that his eyes bear caused Ash to shake.

Milgauss then acted as if he had lost interest in Ash, turned around, and faced the man.

“Nothing. Just a misunderstanding. Nothing to make a fuss about.”

Even though he was a follower, Milgauss didn’t even try to speak in a humble form. <ref>Humble form is a way to express yourself in Japanese when you are speaking to a person from a higher social status.</ref>

Ash could only see them disappearing off into the crowd.

At this moment, Silvia spoke to Ash in a stuttered voice:

“That man… I knew him.”

“Really?”

“That’s it. He should be Klaus, Baron for the Wadanhuoer borders.”

He had never imagined to hear the name of the agent of the Zepharos Empire’s Emperor from Silvia. In his heart, he felt a tense feeling as if someone was pointing a knife at his neck which is far more intense than the previous fight between him and Milgauss.

===Part 5===
After bathing, Anya changed back into a usual tribal wear.

Even though the weather was hot, she still had the muffler around her neck. The mission before required her to remove the muffler which made her have the feeling of the lack of safety around her neck. Now, it is better.

After that, Anya headed to the armory to check on Eco.

===Part 6===
Upon stepping into the armory, the atmosphere changed significantly into a hectic situation. ‘Yggdrasill’ seemed to be running and the buzzing sound can be heard.

The Millenniums on the body of the machine were shining. There are also the sounds of the technician reading the data shown on the screen.

It seems that Eco was already inside ‘Yggdrasill’-The capsule.

Her clothes were removed and she was naked.

She is just like a baby holding on to her knees floating in the capsule.

Her beautiful figure gave Anya a mysterious feeling.

“Ahh, aren’t you Anya-dono?”

The representative of the researchers- Dr Hoffman<ref>note: Dr Hoffman’s ‘DR’ is a PHD holder’s Dr and not a medical Dr.</ref> noticed Anya and walk towards her.

“Has the experiment…begun?”

“At our current stage, there is nothing abnormal. It is all according to the plan.”

Dr Hoffman gave a gentle smile just like a kind elderly man. But this man took Eco as a experimental object without even a second though. This made Anya feel uneasy.

“It seems that Anya-dono didn’t like much about this experiment.”

Dr Hoffman’s word had hit the bull’s eye.

“N-No…!”

Anya felt embarrassed. Even though she denied verbally, everyone can tell that she was lying from the looks of her face.

“It is alright. You are still young.”

“Professor… Have you ever have any doubt? Although Eco is a dragon… her appearance is of a girl’s.”

“Do I have a choice? For what I am today, it is all thanks to Klaus-sama. Last time, when I was forced to carry out all inhuman experiments, I strongly rejected them and pissed off the Zepharos Emperor. In the end, I was chased out from the capital Arkham. During that time, Klaus-sama is my savior and invited me to his private research center.” After saying that, Dr Hoffman gave a gentle cough.

“Anya-dono, what do you think that this ‘Yggdrasill’ was used for?”

“I-I don’t know.”

“I am not surprised. Even I have no idea about this thing initially. I only realized after I read Milgauss-dono’s written opinion.”

“What did Milgauss-sama write?”

“It was said that, a long time ago… when the ancient kingdom reached its prime, humans and dragons could even control life. On the first glance on this ‘Yggdrasill’, Milgauss-dono knew that this is a medical tool.”

“Medical…?”

“In contrary to the modern times, all the dragons in the ancient times could transform into a Maestro. But of course there are exceptions. This machine is used for dragons who couldn’t transform into Maestro… Basically, it was for dragons with a handicap.”

Anya finally understood Dr Hoffman’s hint.

“In another words, our plan is to use its function… To awaken Eco?”

“That’s right. We are going to compress the enormous magic of the Millennium into her body and force out her true self.”

“But…Why now? Tomorrow is the continental congress ‘Elysium’, to launch such a experiment at such an important time is to…?”

“This has no longer anything to do with me.”

Dr Hoffman’s answer is no longer that of a kind old man. He just answered coldly.

“I am only following Klaus-sama’s orders. Anya-dono, didn’t you too obeyed Milgauss-dono’s order to capture young dragon Eco?”

“That’s… true.”

Dr Hoffman’s words were like an ice blade that stabbed into Anya’s chest.

===Part 7===
It was seven in the evening.

The masquerade that intends to bring all the people of different countries together had started right on time.

The venue was located at the highest floor of Fontaine Palace.

Fontaine Palace which had been famous for its plain design had only this ballroom being designed grandly with the Chevron style.

At the dance floor in the middle of the ballroom, men and ladies were holding hands dancing gracefully according to the music tempo. Around the dance floor were also bars, tables, chairs and sofas. A number of guests were chit chatting there.

Looking at those gentlemen and gentlewomen hiding their faces behind those mask and gathered together, Ash secretly felt that this is not a
place where he belongs to.

Ash avoided the crowd nimbly and head towards Silvia and said:

“Princess-sama was already used to this kind of ball right?”

“You are wrong. A citizen of the Knights should be focusing on plainness… It is not our wish to organized such a noisy party… Apart from that,
could you not address me as ‘Princess-sama’?”

“Why?”

Ash didn’t know how to react to this. Silvia suddenly stood still. She was showing an unsatisfied look on her face. Because her mask had
covered the area around her eyes, Ash could only judge her expression through her lips.

“What did you think this mask is for? If you kept on saying ‘Princess-sama’, everyone will know who I am.”

“Ahh…You are right.”

“Tsk, Can’t you use some of your brains?”

“So what should I call you as?”

“Err…!”

Silvia was silenced by the unexpected question. Her face turned red in a blink of an eye.

After a few seconds, Silvia spoke:

“…You can call me Sylvie.”

The Silvia right in front of him is very attractive which made him wanted to give her a hug.

“Then…”

Ash gulped.

''-Sylvie.''

His heart was jumping nonstop. Just like resonating to Ash feelings, Silvia lowered down her head and acted shyly as if to prevent her
heartbeat form being heard.

Ash made up his mind and spread open his dry lips.

“Silv- Uwaa!”

At this moment, Ash with a ‘Don!’ was pushed aside by someone and fell down. Before he could react, Silvia was surrounded by three men.

“My beautiful ojou-san<ref>A way to address a girl from a high family status.</ref>. Could I have the honor for you to be my dance partner?”

“Although your face was covered, the classy air around you couldn’t be hidden from my eyes!”

“Hold on! I am here first!”

Ash was dumbstruck. Even though those men are with their mask on, but judging from their actions, they are not someone simple. These men should
have noticed the different air around Silvia.

“Hold on… I am a little troubled by all of you inviting me suddenly…”

If it was the usual Silvia, she will tell them off mercilessly. But, right now, she is just a girl that had little experience of this world.

''-Even though she was always what you saw, actually, she is very timid and afraid of strangers''

Ash remembered what Cosette had said. She is worthy to become Silvia’s maid for her to notice all the details.

After Ash fell down, there were still men approaching her. The number of men surrounding her had increased from three to five.

Now it is ten. The voices that were inviting Silvia to be their dance partner were getting louder.

The guests around started to notice the noise and looked at them curiously.

“About that… I don’t feel like doing it now…”

Just like ants surrounding sugars, the numbers of men surrounding were still growing.

Facing all the passionate men, Silvia was being overwhelmed.

“Hey, Ash!”

But she suddenly shouted Ash’s name as if she wants Ash to come to her help.

After he made his mental preparations, Ash dragged Silvia through the walls of men.

There were sounds of disapproving from their surroundings.

“Hey, where’re your manners!”

“Couldn’t you take your turn!”

“Even though this is a masquerade, you must keep up with your manners!”

You are the ones who don’t have any manners…Ash grumbled in his heart and kept on squeezing forward.

These weak nobles couldn’t even stand still when they were pushed by Ash. And can only make way. They are at most nobles who were raised
while being protected. Naturally, they are no match to Ash who undergo strict training in the dragon riding academy in terms of strength.

“Waa!”

A waiter in black immediately made way to protect the expensive wine glass upon seeing Ash rushing right into him.

In a few moments, they are no longer surrounded and their field of vision widens. At the same time, the music had become louder.

“Ehh…?”

Ash stopped.

A group of people were holding hands dancing in pairs. Ash only found out that they mistakenly ran into the dance floor.

The numerous amount of evening dress made the scenery looks like hundreds of flowers blossoming at the same time.

Every time the ladies in the dance floor turned their bodies, their long skirts turned into a giant rose.

“W-We should retreat! Princess-sama!”

“Didn’t I told you not to call me Princess-sama!”

“This is not a time to be arguing about those things!”

For the two to be standing in the dance floor while holding hands while arguing, suddenly there were applauses from their surroundings.

“W-What happened?”

From the looks of it, they definitely want to give courage for the two to dance. It was probably Silvia classy feel around her that caught
their attentions. Ash was just a side character.

“What should we do now, Princess-sama?”

Ash was troubled and turned around to look at Silvia. Seeing Ash being embarrass, Silvia laugh.

“Wa…What are you laughing about, Princess-sama?”

“Nothing. Right now, we can only return the favour of the guests.”

“Ehh…?”

In opposite of what just happened, Silvia took the initiative to hold Ash’s hands.

“Wait! I know nothing about dancing!”

“You should had learn before the basic of a ballroom dance in the physical education class, no?”

“I-I guess so…”

“Alright, everyone is looking. I will take the lead, you just have to follow.”

“Okay… I will give it a try.”

Ash imitates the guests’ action and held Silvia’s waist with a hand. Her waist is just as thin as a doll.

Followed by the light waltz, Ash and Silvia started to dance. The distance between they were so near that they can feel each other’s breath.
This made Ash’s head spins. Although there were a few time where he nearly tripped over Silvia’s feet, she was not bothered by it and even
cover up for Ash.
[[Image:SnRK V04 167.jpg|thumb]]

Not long later, the dancers around and the beat of the music had disappeared from Ash thought.

Starting from her breath from her lips that had lip gloss on them, to the feeling from his palm, to the soft sensation he felt whenever their
bodies collides with each other and also that rosy smell…

While dancing, ash felt like he is going to faint.

As if to drag him back to reality, Silvia grumbled to Ash.

“Anyway, it was your entire fault for not positioning yourself properly.”

“…What do you meant?”

Ash asked while accidentally stepping on Silvia’s feet. Ash totally don’t get what she was saying.

“For the start when we entered this ballroom, you kept on following me from behind? No matter how I think of it, I can only see you as my
follower. That is why those guys will try to approach me...”

Ash gave a wry smile.

At such a time, Silvia would even think of lecturing him. Although it fits her style well, what comes next gave ash a great big shock.

“B-But… You look cool…Err…When you were running while holding my hand.”

“Princess-sama…?”

“N-Nothing! Forget it!”

Silvia immediately stopped talking and focused her mind on the dance.

===Part 8===
After dancing, Ash brought Silvia to a corner of the ballroom.

Ash wished to relax for a moment from the eyes of others. He passed a cup of drink that he received from a waiter to Silvia.

“Thank you.”

After Silvia whose face was red thanked him, she took a sip from the cup. Even though the ballroom dance looked graceful, after trying, he found
out that it actually requires a lot of energy.

Ash took the cup and drank from it. The liquid in the cup was lemon juice that taste a little sweet and sour. He can feel that the juice
was being absorbed by his exercised body.

''Anyway, shouldn’t there be any news yet from Cosette?''... Ash wonders. It had been almost an hour since he saw Cosette.

“-Excuse me, may I have a word with you?”

There was a sudden voice coming from behind that brought Ash back to his sense and he turned around-

“You…!”

Upon seeing the person, Ash lost his composure.

He hid Silvia behind him and glared at the person.

“…Have you any business to do with us?”

After Ash asked coldly, that person just reply with a smile.

“Hmm. It seems like I had become a nuisance.”

He is the young noble that they met not long before. If Silvia’s prediction was right, he is Klaus, Baron for the Wadanhuoer borders. Milgauss
was following him from behind like a shadow.

Even though their meeting not long before had nearly turned into a fight, Klaus still tried to greet them in purpose. There should be a limit
of how much an airhead he could be.

Klaus ignored Ash and looked at Silvia. Then he gracefully held out his hand to her.

“Your dance is excellent. I would like to know that if I had the honour to dance with you?”

“Are you kidding! What are you trying to pu-”

“Ash! Hold on!”

Silvia unexpectedly stopped Ash. After she indirectly rejected Klaus offer, she looked at Milgauss.

“If this man become my dance partner, I would allow it.”

“Haha! Who would have thought that I would be rejected while this follower is asked… You have quite some good eyes there.”

Not only that her actions didn’t anger Klaus, he even smiled. Silvia's words should have shattered his pride but it was like he was not even
bothered by it. He looked like a proud older brother whose younger brother is admired.

“Since the lady had proposed-”

Klaus looked at Milgauss while smiling.

Milgauss remained silent. He looked as if he had merged with the mask which bears no expression. Seeing that Milgauss had not yet replied,
Klaus shrugged his shoulders and said:

“Kuku, you are not allowed to decline. Don’t forget that the you right now are one of my followers.”

===Part 9===
Milgauss was dancing with Silvia while holding on to each other’s hands.

It is better to describe this as a beautiful show than a ballroom dance.

In contrast to the attractive Silvia, Milgauss hair was still with the red and white mix colour. Although he gave out a dangerous feeling, it is undeniable that the masquerade provides a cover for him.

Ballroom dancing is just a general statement. In truth, Ash knew that this dance had many developments that were affected by the difference of each country culture and style.

What Milgauss and Silvia were dancing right now is undoubtably the traditional dance of the Lautreamont Knight Country.

Ash was so focused in their dance that he had forgotten about the previous hatred.

But Ash was not the only one who was amazed.

Without knowing, everyone was entranced by Milgauss and Silvia’s dance.

Right now, the people dancing in the dance floor were only both of them.

They are occupying the whole wide space. Just like blessing them, the orchestras were at the climax of the music.

Followed by the movement of her evening dress, Silvia was dancing swiftly.

Facing Silvia, Milgauss was leading the dance.

They looked like a combination of light and shadow, yet their dance is perfect.

“Wow… This is my first time seeing such a great dance.”

Klaus was who admiring the dance while standing beside Ash spoke in a low voice in admiration.

===Part 10===
The dance of the two people ended silently like a setting sun.

Milgauss remained silent the whole time. He returned Silvia to Ash just like returning a book and walk off silently.

“Certainly his indifference attitude gave me some trouble.”

Klaus gave a wry smile and disappeared into the crowd while he ran after Milgauss.

Ash inspected Silvia’s face carefully.

“Have you found any clue? Could Milgauss true identity be…”

“No… I can’t be sure. Because I was very young the last time I saw Anii-ue… But, Milgauss' dance is definitely originated from the Lautreamont Knight Country. I am sure that he had a long history with the Knight Country.”

Silvia murmured.

“-Ash-sama.”

At this moment, someone whispered into Ash’s ears.

“Cosette!”

Ash turned around. Cosette was with a straight and serious face spoke:

“The maids who heads the search in the ancient palace had found Prim Onee-chan.”

"Yggdrasill ~A.S.B.1365.7~" is closed.

==References and Translation Notes==
<references />

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|-
| Back to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Chapter 6|Chapter 6]]
| Return to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Chapter 8|Chapter 8]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Chapter 7

2013-11-07T10:21:39Z

213.144.240.241: /* Part 5 */

==Chapter 7 - Masquerade==
===Part 1===
'''The Seventh Continental Congress ‘Elysium’ ''~A brief introduction of the attendees of each country~'' '''

'''I. Holy Espada Agency'''

The Pope Raquel IV is in charge of organizing this congress. Even though she is nine years old, her strong clairvoyance is recognized by all. She is a genius who was recommended to become the pope at a young age. She is now accompanied by twelve cardinals.

'''II. Chevron Kingdom'''

Apart from King Zacherias III and three princes, there are also the nobles who were involved in the country’s politics who attended. They made up a total of three thousand people all together which can be said to be the biggest group.

'''III. Zepharos Empire'''

Emperor Ortofon VIII will be absent because of old age. He will be replaced by the baron of the Wadanhuoer borders. Apart from that, there were a few more powerful nobles who attended. Although their numbers were next to the Chevron Kingdom’s, but the amount of attendees for them is unusually small.

'''IV. Labrock Trade Union'''

Led by the Caudillo EnzoSabatini, a total of seven mayors from seven major cities attended.

'''V. Lautreamont Knight Country'''

Apart from Paladin Oswald and First Princes, Princess Veronica, the Fourth Princess, Princess Silvia will attend the congress for the first time. The second and the third princess will not attend because of studying abroad. Also, there are a few nobles who attend.

===Part 2===
After putting aside the pamphlet he took with him to pass time, Ash lay down on the bed lazily.

“Just as I thought, Pricess-sama is amazing.”

A few moments before, Silvia was lying on this bed exchanging gazes with him. The living Silvia is just an arm length away. But after he saw Silvia’s name on the pamphlet, he still felt that she was still at that unreachable height.

Ash took out the silver watch that was given by the Paladin.

It was already six fifteen in the evening.

“It is already this late?”

After remembering that the masquerade starts at six thirty, he made up his mind to change. Just when Ash is going to take the suit hanging on the wall- He stopped.

“What is Eco doing?”

Girls are different from guys. They need to take their time to get prepared. Ash understands that. Even so, Eco and Prim had been away for four hours.

“Even if they are slow, this is just…”

Who knows where has she been to together with Prim.

After making up his mind, Ash removed the bandages on his left arm.

His left arm that was fully covered with his ‘Seikoku’ can be seen.

“Luckily I am connected with Eco.”

Not long ago, Eco was kidnapped by Angela. During that time, Ash found Angela’s hiding place with the help of his ‘Seikoku’.

Ash placed his left fist on his forehead and held his left wrist with his right hand.

“Please… Tell me where Eco is right now!”

After a pause, his left arm started to felt hot and the embroider symbols on his left arm started to glow. Butterflies created by magic started to fly one by one. These butterflies were like road signs and normally will show ash the way to Eco.

“Huh??”

But what happen next left Ash staring blankly. The butterflies created had disappeared and the lights and heats coming from his left arm too were gone.

“What’s happening!?”

Ash stood still, dumbfounded. Even though he kept on trying for the second and third time, he still ended up failing. His ‘Seikoku’ was like a broken bright dragon crystal powered lamp. It stopped functioning completely.

He had a bad feeling. This is Paladin’s main town, so he had never expected for Eco to face any danger here. Still, the connection between him and Eco that had been cut off was still the truth.

“Damn…!”

Ash was out of options and rushed out from the room.

He was running aimlessly at the long corridor.

When he was in the room together with Silvia, Eco probably was in danger… When Ash thought about this, he was disgusted by himself.

The space in the palace is wide. Even thought he had totally no idea where to search for Eco, still he couldn’t stay worried in his room.

Just when he was rushing at full speed at the corner, Ash saw a maid.

“Uwaa!”

“Ara ara.”

At the same time the maid was mumbling something, she nimbly avoided Ash.

Not only that, she also seized Ash’s necktie just when he was going to fall and pulled him back. Ash was lucky as he was a few moments away from falling head down.

“It is not like what Ash-sama will do to run around panicking in the corridor.”

Ash looked back embarrassedly and saw Cosette.

Ash as if he met his savior begged Cosette to help him.

“Eco and Prim have not yet return! Even the ‘Seikoku’ had no reaction!”

Cosette immediately became serious.

“Understood. I will immediately order the maids who are not on duty to search for them. It will be better than to let Ash-sama running aimlessly.

“Thank you! Lets-”

“You mustn’t. Please follow the original plan and attend the masquerade, Ash-sama.”

“How could I… She is my pal. It isn’t right for me not to search for her!”

“Please don’t forget that this is Fontaine City. The coming word may not be pleasant so I beg your pardon… Since the ‘Seikoku’ is not reacting, even if Ash-sama had joined the search, there is nothing you can do.”

“Wha….!”

“On the other hand, we maids knew the structure of this palace. Please believe in us and let us handle this matter. Not to mention that Prim onee-chan is my family. I will deal this matter with full force.”

“Understood…”

After Ash promised while nodding, Cosette finally smiled.

“Although this doesn’t seem right, I must ask Ash-sama to act as Princess-sama’s escort.”

“Princess-sama’s escort?”

“Even though she was always what you saw, actually, she is very timid and afraid of strangers. But, as long as Ash-sama is with her, I don’t think that it will be a problem."

Cosette’s plan should be perfect. But this is the time where Eco will face danger any moment, and yet he was enjoying the masquerade, he didn’t feel that this is the right thing to do.

As if she had seen through what ash was thinking, Cosette guaranteed:

“Please have faith in me, Ash-sama.”

Ash reluctantly accepted.

“…Alright. Eco will be in your hands.”

<noinclude>

===Part 3===
After four in the evening, Anya returned to Beowolf through the long secret passage. After handing over Eco to Dr Hoffman, she borrowed the shower room.

Although it is summer, Anya felt very cold. She was drenched by the heavy rain outside not long before.

After entering the changing room, Anya firstly removed her maid attire that was soaked with water. Only then she removed her tight undergarments.

Lastly, she let loose her hair that was tied at the back of her head and she was now naked.

There was a huge mirror hanging on the wall in the bathroom.

“…”

It had been a long time since she stared at her own body.

Her wet dark hair, her wheat coloured skin that only the mountain people have, her small chest and her curves that looked as if the extra flesh was removed by a knife.

Without any reasons, Anya touched her breast. Compare to ‘La Tene’s’ manager, Rebecca, the president of the student council and Princess Silvia, there is nothing special about hers- But at least hers could be compared with Eco’s.
[[Image:SnRK V04 004-005.jpg|thumb|'' It seems like I am not at all feminine… Anya mocked her own self. “…!” Just when she thought about that, Anya panicked. ''What nonsense am I thinking about?'' '']]

''It seems like I am not at all feminine…'' Anya mocked herself.

“…!”

Just when she thought about that, Anya panicked.

''What nonsense am I thinking about?'' Anya in her past was never bothered by her looks. It was probably that living in the dragon riding academy for this whole time had made her impetuous.

Logically speaking, big breasts will become a hindrance in battle. There are even legends that said that female warriors of the mountain people in the ancient times tend to cut off one of their breast in order to not obstruct them in archery.

“That’s it. It is better to have a small breast than to face the knife!”

After Anya tried to give herself an excuse, she turned on the tap.

Although the water was initially cold, it had turned warm in just a few moments. Anya once again was amazed by the Empire's skills and let the warm water flows from her head.

She hoped that her impetuous feeling too will be wash away together-

Anya while letting the warm water run through her body with her eyes closed, she thought about her previous mission.

Basically, it was a successful mission.

Even though she had underestimated Eco’s fighting ability and caused her four underlings to be injured, still, since they were not spotted by any of the guards, she could force a pass in it.

“But… The problems start here.”

===Part 4===
On the third floor of the palace- In the ball room, the temperature is rising. All the guests were with a silver mask. Apart from those traditional mask where it hides the area beside the eyes, there were also masks that were shaped like dragons, lions and many other animals.
Among them, there were also guests there dressed up as a clown.

After Ash who was in the formal suit wore the mask that he received from the counter, he stood beside the entrance. That was because Cosette had told him that he will meet Silvia sooner or later if he stood there.

The palace’s orchestra was performing a light music at the opposite of the door. Ash could never be able to blend into this kind of environment.

“Eco…Where are you?”

For numerous times… Ash had called out to his ‘Seikoku’, but there still isn’t a positive result.

The ‘Seikoku’ is like a quite beach during the low tide.

“-Anything wrong. You look like as if you are worrying about something.”

Suddenly, when he heard someone was talking to him, Ash looked up in fright. A lady with a black butterfly was staring at him. The black butterfly was of course a mask. Since it had only covered the top part of her face, it was easy when it come to figure out who she was.

“Huh… Princess!”

Silvia glared at Ash.

“Uwaa, sorry…”

Ash was apologizing to Silvia while trying to check any emotional changes from her.

Her glaring golden hair was tied into a mature hairstyle and stood out together with the deep red coloured ribbon. The long gloves that covered until her elbow gave out the feeling of a fair lady. In her right hand was a fan which looked like a choice of a girl from a high family status.

Her evening dress was blue in colour with gem stones sewed on the important places and it looks like it emerges from the lakes during summer. In contrast to her waist that was bounded tightly by Cosette, the lower part of her dress was let of loosely and looked like a sole lilium. <ref>Lilium is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs, all with large prominent flowers. Lilies are a group of
flowering plants which are important in culture and literature in much of the world. Wikipedia</ref>

Ash blushed. He recalled the memories two hours ago where both of them were on the bed.

“Princess-sama… Is really beautiful.”

Ash felt pathetic as he has such a poor vocabulary. That is because Silvia is that beautiful.

“D-Don’t keep on staring at me. It’s embarrassing…!”

When Silvia noticed Ash’s sight, her cheeks turned rosy and shyly lower down her head. She opened up the fan and covered her mouth with it.

“Sorry…”

Ash was also embarrassed and turned his head aside.

There was an awkward moment in between the two and after a while, Silvia spoke:

“That’s it! I had heard of it from Cosette. It was said that Eco and Prim were lost together…”

Upon hearing, Ash was now fully awake.

“That’s right… Cosette right now was looking for them. If it is possible, I would also like to take part in the search. But, the ‘Seikoku’ is not reacting.”

“What did you say! How is it possible…?”

Just when Silvia was getting tense…

“Excuse me, miss. Can you please step aside?”

A man who was hiding his face like the rest of the guests was speaking to Silvia gently. The man's language bears a strong Empire’s accent.

“Ahh…Sorry.”

Silvia immediately stepped aside.

“Thank you, Princess Silvia- Sorry, tonight should be a masquerade. Hehe… It is better if we keep each other’s identity a secret.”

The man who was like a noble spoke like a poet and walked into the ballroom leisurely. Even when Silvia wore her mask, the man recognized her with just a glance.

''Who the hell is this guy''…Ash felt uneasy.

“You!”

At the next instant, Ash shouted.

The mysterious man had a follower with him. The follower initially was following the man from behind but he was forced to stop when Ash held him by the shoulder.

“You are…!”

Silvia gasped when she saw the follower.

Ash angrily asked without hesitating:

“Milgauss… Why are you here!?”

To his horror, Milgauss attempted to enter the ballroom with his usual mask.

“…Can you please let go, Ash Blake. I have nothing that I want to talk to you here.”

Milgauss was calm.

Not only was Ash irritated by Milgauss when he purposely called his full name, but he also had a bad feeling about it.

“What? How dare you after doing those things…”

When Ash was going to refute, he noticed something.

The Kingdom’s language that Milgauss used doesn’t bear the Empire’s accent. Milgauss is Prince Julius- There is a sudden increase in the probability of what Silvia had said.

“Oops. Could it be that my follower has offended both of you?”

The man before turned back to face the door. The previous tense atmosphere disappeared in an instant.

Milgauss glared at Ash as if he wanted Ash to know his stand.

Through the mask, the fierce pressure that his eyes bear caused Ash to shake.

Milgauss then acted as if he had lost interest in Ash, turned around, and faced the man.

“Nothing. Just a misunderstanding. Nothing to make a fuss about.”

Even though he was a follower, Milgauss didn’t even try to speak in a humble form. <ref>Humble form is a way to express yourself in Japanese when you are speaking to a person from a higher social status.</ref>

Ash could only see them disappearing off into the crowd.

At this moment, Silvia spoke to Ash in a stuttered voice:

“That man… I knew him.”

“Really?”

“That’s it. He should be Klaus, Baron for the Wadanhuoer borders.”

He had never imagined to hear the name of the agent of the Zepharos Empire’s Emperor from Silvia. In his heart, he felt a tense feeling as if someone was pointing a knife at his neck which is far more intense than the previous fight between him and Milgauss.

===Part 5===
After bathing, Anya changed back into a usual tribal wear.

Even though the weather was hot, she still had the muffler around her neck. The mission before required her to remove the muffler which made her have the feeling of the lack of safety around her neck. Now, it is better.

After that, Anya headed to the armory to check on Eco.

===Part 6===
Upon stepping into the armory, the atmosphere changed significantly into a hectic situation. ‘Yggdrasill’ seemed to be running and the buzzing sound can be heard.

The Millenniums on the body of the machine were shining. There are also the sounds of the technician reading the data shown on the screen.

It seems that Eco was already inside ‘Yggdrasill’-The capsule.

Her clothes were removed and she was naked.

She is just like a baby holding on to her knees floating in the capsule.

Her beautiful figure gave Anya a mysterious feeling.

“Ahh, ain’t you Anya-dono?”

The representative of the researchers- Dr Hoffman<ref>note: Dr Hoffman’s ‘DR’ is a PHD holder’s Dr and not a medical Dr.</ref> noticed Anya and walk towards her.

“Has the experiment…begun?”

“At our current stage, there is nothing abnormal. It is all according to the plan.”

Dr Hoffman gave a gentle smile just like a kind elderly man. But this man took Eco as a experimental object without even a second though. This made Anya felt uneasy.

“It seems that Anya-dono didn’t like much about this experiment.”

Dr Hoffman’s word had hit the bull’s eye.

“N-No…!”

Anya felt embarrassed. Even though she denied verbally, everyone can tell that she was lying from the looks of her face.

“It is alright. You are still young.”

“Professor… Have you ever have any doubt? Although Eco is a dragon… her appearance is of a girl’s.”

“Do I have a choice? For what I am today, it is all thanks to Klaus-sama. Last time, when I was forced to carry out all inhuman experiments, I
strongly rejected them and pissed off the Zepharos Emperor. In the end, I was chased out from the capital Arkham. During that time, Klaus-sama
is my savior and invited me to his private research center.”
After saying that, Dr Hoffman gave a gentle cough.

“Anya-dono, what do you think that this ‘Yggdrasill’ was used for?”

“I-I don’t know.”

“I am not surprised. Even I have no idea about this thing initially. I only realized after I read Milgauss-dono’s written opinion.”

“What did Milgauss-sama wrote?”

“It was said that, a long time ago… when the ancient kingdom reaches its prime, humans and dragons can even control life. On the first glance
on this ‘Yggdrasill’, Milgauss-dono knew that this is a medical tool.”

“Medical…?”

“In contrary to the modern times, all the dragons in the ancient time can transform into a Maestro. But of course there are exceptions. This
machine is used for dragons who couldn’t transform into Maestro… Basically, it was for dragons with handicap.”

Anya finally understood Dr Hoffman’s hint.

“In another words, our plan is to use its function… To awaken Eco?”

“That’s right. We are going to compress the enormous magic of the Millennium into her body and force out her true self.”

“But…Why now? Tomorrow is the continental congress ‘Elysium’, to launch such a experiment at such an important time is to…?”

“This has no longer anything to do with me.”

Dr Hoffman’s answer is no longer the kind old man. He just answered coldly.

“I am only following Klaus-sama’s orders. Anya-dono, didn’t you too obeyed Milgauss-dono’s order to capture young dragon Eco?”

“That’s… true.”

Dr Hoffman’s words were like an ice blade that stabbed into Anya’s chest.

===Part 7===
It was seven in the evening.

The masquerade that intends to bring all the people of different countries together had started right on time.

The venue was located at the highest floor of Fontaine Palace.

Fontaine Palace which had been famous for its plain design had only this ballroom being designed grandly with the Chevron style.

At the dance floor in the middle of the ballroom, men and ladies were holding hands dancing gracefully according to the music tempo. Around the dance floor were also bars, tables, chairs and sofas. A number of guests were chit chatting there.

Looking at those gentlemen and gentlewomen hiding their faces behind those mask and gathered together, Ash secretly felt that this is not a
place where he belongs to.

Ash avoided the crowd nimbly and head towards Silvia and said:

“Princess-sama was already used to this kind of ball right?”

“You are wrong. A citizen of the Knights should be focusing on plainness… It is not our wish to organized such a noisy party… Apart from that,
could you not address me as ‘Princess-sama’?”

“Why?”

Ash didn’t know how to react to this. Silvia suddenly stood still. She was showing an unsatisfied look on her face. Because her mask had
covered the area around her eyes, Ash could only judge her expression through her lips.

“What did you think this mask is for? If you kept on saying ‘Princess-sama’, everyone will know who I am.”

“Ahh…You are right.”

“Tsk, Can’t you use some of your brains?”

“So what should I call you as?”

“Err…!”

Silvia was silenced by the unexpected question. Her face turned red in a blink of an eye.

After a few seconds, Silvia spoke:

“…You can call me Sylvie.”

The Silvia right in front of him is very attractive which made him wanted to give her a hug.

“Then…”

Ash gulped.

''-Sylvie.''

His heart was jumping nonstop. Just like resonating to Ash feelings, Silvia lowered down her head and acted shyly as if to prevent her
heartbeat form being heard.

Ash made up his mind and spread open his dry lips.

“Silv- Uwaa!”

At this moment, Ash with a ‘Don!’ was pushed aside by someone and fell down. Before he could react, Silvia was surrounded by three men.

“My beautiful ojou-san<ref>A way to address a girl from a high family status.</ref>. Could I have the honor for you to be my dance partner?”

“Although your face was covered, the classy air around you couldn’t be hidden from my eyes!”

“Hold on! I am here first!”

Ash was dumbstruck. Even though those men are with their mask on, but judging from their actions, they are not someone simple. These men should
have noticed the different air around Silvia.

“Hold on… I am a little troubled by all of you inviting me suddenly…”

If it was the usual Silvia, she will tell them off mercilessly. But, right now, she is just a girl that had little experience of this world.

''-Even though she was always what you saw, actually, she is very timid and afraid of strangers''

Ash remembered what Cosette had said. She is worthy to become Silvia’s maid for her to notice all the details.

After Ash fell down, there were still men approaching her. The number of men surrounding her had increased from three to five.

Now it is ten. The voices that were inviting Silvia to be their dance partner were getting louder.

The guests around started to notice the noise and looked at them curiously.

“About that… I don’t feel like doing it now…”

Just like ants surrounding sugars, the numbers of men surrounding were still growing.

Facing all the passionate men, Silvia was being overwhelmed.

“Hey, Ash!”

But she suddenly shouted Ash’s name as if she wants Ash to come to her help.

After he made his mental preparations, Ash dragged Silvia through the walls of men.

There were sounds of disapproving from their surroundings.

“Hey, where’re your manners!”

“Couldn’t you take your turn!”

“Even though this is a masquerade, you must keep up with your manners!”

You are the ones who don’t have any manners…Ash grumbled in his heart and kept on squeezing forward.

These weak nobles couldn’t even stand still when they were pushed by Ash. And can only make way. They are at most nobles who were raised
while being protected. Naturally, they are no match to Ash who undergo strict training in the dragon riding academy in terms of strength.

“Waa!”

A waiter in black immediately made way to protect the expensive wine glass upon seeing Ash rushing right into him.

In a few moments, they are no longer surrounded and their field of vision widens. At the same time, the music had become louder.

“Ehh…?”

Ash stopped.

A group of people were holding hands dancing in pairs. Ash only found out that they mistakenly ran into the dance floor.

The numerous amount of evening dress made the scenery looks like hundreds of flowers blossoming at the same time.

Every time the ladies in the dance floor turned their bodies, their long skirts turned into a giant rose.

“W-We should retreat! Princess-sama!”

“Didn’t I told you not to call me Princess-sama!”

“This is not a time to be arguing about those things!”

For the two to be standing in the dance floor while holding hands while arguing, suddenly there were applauses from their surroundings.

“W-What happened?”

From the looks of it, they definitely want to give courage for the two to dance. It was probably Silvia classy feel around her that caught
their attentions. Ash was just a side character.

“What should we do now, Princess-sama?”

Ash was troubled and turned around to look at Silvia. Seeing Ash being embarrass, Silvia laugh.

“Wa…What are you laughing about, Princess-sama?”

“Nothing. Right now, we can only return the favour of the guests.”

“Ehh…?”

In opposite of what just happened, Silvia took the initiative to hold Ash’s hands.

“Wait! I know nothing about dancing!”

“You should had learn before the basic of a ballroom dance in the physical education class, no?”

“I-I guess so…”

“Alright, everyone is looking. I will take the lead, you just have to follow.”

“Okay… I will give it a try.”

Ash imitates the guests’ action and held Silvia’s waist with a hand. Her waist is just as thin as a doll.

Followed by the light waltz, Ash and Silvia started to dance. The distance between they were so near that they can feel each other’s breath.
This made Ash’s head spins. Although there were a few time where he nearly tripped over Silvia’s feet, she was not bothered by it and even
cover up for Ash.
[[Image:SnRK V04 167.jpg|thumb]]

Not long later, the dancers around and the beat of the music had disappeared from Ash thought.

Starting from her breath from her lips that had lip gloss on them, to the feeling from his palm, to the soft sensation he felt whenever their
bodies collides with each other and also that rosy smell…

While dancing, ash felt like he is going to faint.

As if to drag him back to reality, Silvia grumbled to Ash.

“Anyway, it was your entire fault for not positioning yourself properly.”

“…What do you meant?”

Ash asked while accidentally stepping on Silvia’s feet. Ash totally don’t get what she was saying.

“For the start when we entered this ballroom, you kept on following me from behind? No matter how I think of it, I can only see you as my
follower. That is why those guys will try to approach me...”

Ash gave a wry smile.

At such a time, Silvia would even think of lecturing him. Although it fits her style well, what comes next gave ash a great big shock.

“B-But… You look cool…Err…When you were running while holding my hand.”

“Princess-sama…?”

“N-Nothing! Forget it!”

Silvia immediately stopped talking and focused her mind on the dance.

===Part 8===
After dancing, Ash brought Silvia to a corner of the ballroom.

Ash wished to relax for a moment from the eyes of others. He passed a cup of drink that he received from a waiter to Silvia.

“Thank you.”

After Silvia whose face was red thanked him, she took a sip from the cup. Even though the ballroom dance looked graceful, after trying, he found
out that it actually requires a lot of energy.

Ash took the cup and drank from it. The liquid in the cup was lemon juice that taste a little sweet and sour. He can feel that the juice
was being absorbed by his exercised body.

''Anyway, shouldn’t there be any news yet from Cosette?''... Ash wonders. It had been almost an hour since he saw Cosette.

“-Excuse me, may I have a word with you?”

There was a sudden voice coming from behind that brought Ash back to his sense and he turned around-

“You…!”

Upon seeing the person, Ash lost his composure.

He hid Silvia behind him and glared at the person.

“…Have you any business to do with us?”

After Ash asked coldly, that person just reply with a smile.

“Hmm. It seems like I had become a nuisance.”

He is the young noble that they met not long before. If Silvia’s prediction was right, he is Klaus, Baron for the Wadanhuoer borders. Milgauss
was following him from behind like a shadow.

Even though their meeting not long before had nearly turned into a fight, Klaus still tried to greet them in purpose. There should be a limit
of how much an airhead he could be.

Klaus ignored Ash and looked at Silvia. Then he gracefully held out his hand to her.

“Your dance is excellent. I would like to know that if I had the honour to dance with you?”

“Are you kidding! What are you trying to pu-”

“Ash! Hold on!”

Silvia unexpectedly stopped Ash. After she indirectly rejected Klaus offer, she looked at Milgauss.

“If this man become my dance partner, I would allow it.”

“Haha! Who would have thought that I would be rejected while this follower is asked… You have quite some good eyes there.”

Not only that her actions didn’t anger Klaus, he even smiled. Silvia's words should have shattered his pride but it was like he was not even
bothered by it. He looked like a proud older brother whose younger brother is admired.

“Since the lady had proposed-”

Klaus looked at Milgauss while smiling.

Milgauss remained silent. He looked as if he had merged with the mask which bears no expression. Seeing that Milgauss had not yet replied,
Klaus shrugged his shoulders and said:

“Kuku, you are not allowed to decline. Don’t forget that the you right now are one of my followers.”

===Part 9===
Milgauss was dancing with Silvia while holding on to each other’s hands.

It is better to describe this as a beautiful show than a ballroom dance.

In contrast to the attractive Silvia, Milgauss hair was still with the red and white mix colour. Although he gave out a dangerous feeling, it is undeniable that the masquerade provides a cover for him.

Ballroom dancing is just a general statement. In truth, Ash knew that this dance had many developments that were affected by the difference of each country culture and style.

What Milgauss and Silvia were dancing right now is undoubtably the traditional dance of the Lautreamont Knight Country.

Ash was so focused in their dance that he had forgotten about the previous hatred.

But Ash was not the only one who was amazed.

Without knowing, everyone was entranced by Milgauss and Silvia’s dance.

Right now, the people dancing in the dance floor were only both of them.

They are occupying the whole wide space. Just like blessing them, the orchestras were at the climax of the music.

Followed by the movement of her evening dress, Silvia was dancing swiftly.

Facing Silvia, Milgauss was leading the dance.

They looked like a combination of light and shadow, yet their dance is perfect.

“Wow… This is my first time seeing such a great dance.”

Klaus was who admiring the dance while standing beside Ash spoke in a low voice in admiration.

===Part 10===
The dance of the two people ended silently like a setting sun.

Milgauss remained silent the whole time. He returned Silvia to Ash just like returning a book and walk off silently.

“Certainly his indifference attitude gave me some trouble.”

Klaus gave a wry smile and disappeared into the crowd while he ran after Milgauss.

Ash inspected Silvia’s face carefully.

“Have you found any clue? Could Milgauss true identity be…”

“No… I can’t be sure. Because I was very young the last time I saw Anii-ue… But, Milgauss' dance is definitely originated from the Lautreamont Knight Country. I am sure that he had a long history with the Knight Country.”

Silvia murmured.

“-Ash-sama.”

At this moment, someone whispered into Ash’s ears.

“Cosette!”

Ash turned around. Cosette was with a straight and serious face spoke:

“The maids who heads the search in the ancient palace had found Prim Onee-chan.”

"Yggdrasill ~A.S.B.1365.7~" is closed.

==References and Translation Notes==
<references />

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|-
| Back to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Chapter 6|Chapter 6]]
| Return to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Chapter 8|Chapter 8]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Chapter 7

2013-11-07T10:20:56Z

213.144.240.241: /* Part 4 */

==Chapter 7 - Masquerade==
===Part 1===
'''The Seventh Continental Congress ‘Elysium’ ''~A brief introduction of the attendees of each country~'' '''

'''I. Holy Espada Agency'''

The Pope Raquel IV is in charge of organizing this congress. Even though she is nine years old, her strong clairvoyance is recognized by all. She is a genius who was recommended to become the pope at a young age. She is now accompanied by twelve cardinals.

'''II. Chevron Kingdom'''

Apart from King Zacherias III and three princes, there are also the nobles who were involved in the country’s politics who attended. They made up a total of three thousand people all together which can be said to be the biggest group.

'''III. Zepharos Empire'''

Emperor Ortofon VIII will be absent because of old age. He will be replaced by the baron of the Wadanhuoer borders. Apart from that, there were a few more powerful nobles who attended. Although their numbers were next to the Chevron Kingdom’s, but the amount of attendees for them is unusually small.

'''IV. Labrock Trade Union'''

Led by the Caudillo EnzoSabatini, a total of seven mayors from seven major cities attended.

'''V. Lautreamont Knight Country'''

Apart from Paladin Oswald and First Princes, Princess Veronica, the Fourth Princess, Princess Silvia will attend the congress for the first time. The second and the third princess will not attend because of studying abroad. Also, there are a few nobles who attend.

===Part 2===
After putting aside the pamphlet he took with him to pass time, Ash lay down on the bed lazily.

“Just as I thought, Pricess-sama is amazing.”

A few moments before, Silvia was lying on this bed exchanging gazes with him. The living Silvia is just an arm length away. But after he saw Silvia’s name on the pamphlet, he still felt that she was still at that unreachable height.

Ash took out the silver watch that was given by the Paladin.

It was already six fifteen in the evening.

“It is already this late?”

After remembering that the masquerade starts at six thirty, he made up his mind to change. Just when Ash is going to take the suit hanging on the wall- He stopped.

“What is Eco doing?”

Girls are different from guys. They need to take their time to get prepared. Ash understands that. Even so, Eco and Prim had been away for four hours.

“Even if they are slow, this is just…”

Who knows where has she been to together with Prim.

After making up his mind, Ash removed the bandages on his left arm.

His left arm that was fully covered with his ‘Seikoku’ can be seen.

“Luckily I am connected with Eco.”

Not long ago, Eco was kidnapped by Angela. During that time, Ash found Angela’s hiding place with the help of his ‘Seikoku’.

Ash placed his left fist on his forehead and held his left wrist with his right hand.

“Please… Tell me where Eco is right now!”

After a pause, his left arm started to felt hot and the embroider symbols on his left arm started to glow. Butterflies created by magic started to fly one by one. These butterflies were like road signs and normally will show ash the way to Eco.

“Huh??”

But what happen next left Ash staring blankly. The butterflies created had disappeared and the lights and heats coming from his left arm too were gone.

“What’s happening!?”

Ash stood still, dumbfounded. Even though he kept on trying for the second and third time, he still ended up failing. His ‘Seikoku’ was like a broken bright dragon crystal powered lamp. It stopped functioning completely.

He had a bad feeling. This is Paladin’s main town, so he had never expected for Eco to face any danger here. Still, the connection between him and Eco that had been cut off was still the truth.

“Damn…!”

Ash was out of options and rushed out from the room.

He was running aimlessly at the long corridor.

When he was in the room together with Silvia, Eco probably was in danger… When Ash thought about this, he was disgusted by himself.

The space in the palace is wide. Even thought he had totally no idea where to search for Eco, still he couldn’t stay worried in his room.

Just when he was rushing at full speed at the corner, Ash saw a maid.

“Uwaa!”

“Ara ara.”

At the same time the maid was mumbling something, she nimbly avoided Ash.

Not only that, she also seized Ash’s necktie just when he was going to fall and pulled him back. Ash was lucky as he was a few moments away from falling head down.

“It is not like what Ash-sama will do to run around panicking in the corridor.”

Ash looked back embarrassedly and saw Cosette.

Ash as if he met his savior begged Cosette to help him.

“Eco and Prim have not yet return! Even the ‘Seikoku’ had no reaction!”

Cosette immediately became serious.

“Understood. I will immediately order the maids who are not on duty to search for them. It will be better than to let Ash-sama running aimlessly.

“Thank you! Lets-”

“You mustn’t. Please follow the original plan and attend the masquerade, Ash-sama.”

“How could I… She is my pal. It isn’t right for me not to search for her!”

“Please don’t forget that this is Fontaine City. The coming word may not be pleasant so I beg your pardon… Since the ‘Seikoku’ is not reacting, even if Ash-sama had joined the search, there is nothing you can do.”

“Wha….!”

“On the other hand, we maids knew the structure of this palace. Please believe in us and let us handle this matter. Not to mention that Prim onee-chan is my family. I will deal this matter with full force.”

“Understood…”

After Ash promised while nodding, Cosette finally smiled.

“Although this doesn’t seem right, I must ask Ash-sama to act as Princess-sama’s escort.”

“Princess-sama’s escort?”

“Even though she was always what you saw, actually, she is very timid and afraid of strangers. But, as long as Ash-sama is with her, I don’t think that it will be a problem."

Cosette’s plan should be perfect. But this is the time where Eco will face danger any moment, and yet he was enjoying the masquerade, he didn’t feel that this is the right thing to do.

As if she had seen through what ash was thinking, Cosette guaranteed:

“Please have faith in me, Ash-sama.”

Ash reluctantly accepted.

“…Alright. Eco will be in your hands.”

<noinclude>

===Part 3===
After four in the evening, Anya returned to Beowolf through the long secret passage. After handing over Eco to Dr Hoffman, she borrowed the shower room.

Although it is summer, Anya felt very cold. She was drenched by the heavy rain outside not long before.

After entering the changing room, Anya firstly removed her maid attire that was soaked with water. Only then she removed her tight undergarments.

Lastly, she let loose her hair that was tied at the back of her head and she was now naked.

There was a huge mirror hanging on the wall in the bathroom.

“…”

It had been a long time since she stared at her own body.

Her wet dark hair, her wheat coloured skin that only the mountain people have, her small chest and her curves that looked as if the extra flesh was removed by a knife.

Without any reasons, Anya touched her breast. Compare to ‘La Tene’s’ manager, Rebecca, the president of the student council and Princess Silvia, there is nothing special about hers- But at least hers could be compared with Eco’s.
[[Image:SnRK V04 004-005.jpg|thumb|'' It seems like I am not at all feminine… Anya mocked her own self. “…!” Just when she thought about that, Anya panicked. ''What nonsense am I thinking about?'' '']]

''It seems like I am not at all feminine…'' Anya mocked herself.

“…!”

Just when she thought about that, Anya panicked.

''What nonsense am I thinking about?'' Anya in her past was never bothered by her looks. It was probably that living in the dragon riding academy for this whole time had made her impetuous.

Logically speaking, big breasts will become a hindrance in battle. There are even legends that said that female warriors of the mountain people in the ancient times tend to cut off one of their breast in order to not obstruct them in archery.

“That’s it. It is better to have a small breast than to face the knife!”

After Anya tried to give herself an excuse, she turned on the tap.

Although the water was initially cold, it had turned warm in just a few moments. Anya once again was amazed by the Empire's skills and let the warm water flows from her head.

She hoped that her impetuous feeling too will be wash away together-

Anya while letting the warm water run through her body with her eyes closed, she thought about her previous mission.

Basically, it was a successful mission.

Even though she had underestimated Eco’s fighting ability and caused her four underlings to be injured, still, since they were not spotted by any of the guards, she could force a pass in it.

“But… The problems start here.”

===Part 4===
On the third floor of the palace- In the ball room, the temperature is rising. All the guests were with a silver mask. Apart from those traditional mask where it hides the area beside the eyes, there were also masks that were shaped like dragons, lions and many other animals.
Among them, there were also guests there dressed up as a clown.

After Ash who was in the formal suit wore the mask that he received from the counter, he stood beside the entrance. That was because Cosette had told him that he will meet Silvia sooner or later if he stood there.

The palace’s orchestra was performing a light music at the opposite of the door. Ash could never be able to blend into this kind of environment.

“Eco…Where are you?”

For numerous times… Ash had called out to his ‘Seikoku’, but there still isn’t a positive result.

The ‘Seikoku’ is like a quite beach during the low tide.

“-Anything wrong. You look like as if you are worrying about something.”

Suddenly, when he heard someone was talking to him, Ash looked up in fright. A lady with a black butterfly was staring at him. The black butterfly was of course a mask. Since it had only covered the top part of her face, it was easy when it come to figure out who she was.

“Huh… Princess!”

Silvia glared at Ash.

“Uwaa, sorry…”

Ash was apologizing to Silvia while trying to check any emotional changes from her.

Her glaring golden hair was tied into a mature hairstyle and stood out together with the deep red coloured ribbon. The long gloves that covered until her elbow gave out the feeling of a fair lady. In her right hand was a fan which looked like a choice of a girl from a high family status.

Her evening dress was blue in colour with gem stones sewed on the important places and it looks like it emerges from the lakes during summer. In contrast to her waist that was bounded tightly by Cosette, the lower part of her dress was let of loosely and looked like a sole lilium. <ref>Lilium is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs, all with large prominent flowers. Lilies are a group of
flowering plants which are important in culture and literature in much of the world. Wikipedia</ref>

Ash blushed. He recalled the memories two hours ago where both of them were on the bed.

“Princess-sama… Is really beautiful.”

Ash felt pathetic as he has such a poor vocabulary. That is because Silvia is that beautiful.

“D-Don’t keep on staring at me. It’s embarrassing…!”

When Silvia noticed Ash’s sight, her cheeks turned rosy and shyly lower down her head. She opened up the fan and covered her mouth with it.

“Sorry…”

Ash was also embarrassed and turned his head aside.

There was an awkward moment in between the two and after a while, Silvia spoke:

“That’s it! I had heard of it from Cosette. It was said that Eco and Prim were lost together…”

Upon hearing, Ash was now fully awake.

“That’s right… Cosette right now was looking for them. If it is possible, I would also like to take part in the search. But, the ‘Seikoku’ is not reacting.”

“What did you say! How is it possible…?”

Just when Silvia was getting tense…

“Excuse me, miss. Can you please step aside?”

A man who was hiding his face like the rest of the guests was speaking to Silvia gently. The man's language bears a strong Empire’s accent.

“Ahh…Sorry.”

Silvia immediately stepped aside.

“Thank you, Princess Silvia- Sorry, tonight should be a masquerade. Hehe… It is better if we keep each other’s identity a secret.”

The man who was like a noble spoke like a poet and walked into the ballroom leisurely. Even when Silvia wore her mask, the man recognized her with just a glance.

''Who the hell is this guy''…Ash felt uneasy.

“You!”

At the next instant, Ash shouted.

The mysterious man had a follower with him. The follower initially was following the man from behind but he was forced to stop when Ash held him by the shoulder.

“You are…!”

Silvia gasped when she saw the follower.

Ash angrily asked without hesitating:

“Milgauss… Why are you here!?”

To his horror, Milgauss attempted to enter the ballroom with his usual mask.

“…Can you please let go, Ash Blake. I have nothing that I want to talk to you here.”

Milgauss was calm.

Not only was Ash irritated by Milgauss when he purposely called his full name, but he also had a bad feeling about it.

“What? How dare you after doing those things…”

When Ash was going to refute, he noticed something.

The Kingdom’s language that Milgauss used doesn’t bear the Empire’s accent. Milgauss is Prince Julius- There is a sudden increase in the probability of what Silvia had said.

“Oops. Could it be that my follower has offended both of you?”

The man before turned back to face the door. The previous tense atmosphere disappeared in an instant.

Milgauss glared at Ash as if he wanted Ash to know his stand.

Through the mask, the fierce pressure that his eyes bear caused Ash to shake.

Milgauss then acted as if he had lost interest in Ash, turned around, and faced the man.

“Nothing. Just a misunderstanding. Nothing to make a fuss about.”

Even though he was a follower, Milgauss didn’t even try to speak in a humble form. <ref>Humble form is a way to express yourself in Japanese when you are speaking to a person from a higher social status.</ref>

Ash could only see them disappearing off into the crowd.

At this moment, Silvia spoke to Ash in a stuttered voice:

“That man… I knew him.”

“Really?”

“That’s it. He should be Klaus, Baron for the Wadanhuoer borders.”

He had never imagined to hear the name of the agent of the Zepharos Empire’s Emperor from Silvia. In his heart, he felt a tense feeling as if someone was pointing a knife at his neck which is far more intense than the previous fight between him and Milgauss.

===Part 5===
After bathing, Anya changed back into a usual tribal wear.

Even though the weather was hot, she still had the muffler around her neck. The mission before required her to remove the muffler which made her have the feeling of the lack of safety around her neck. Now, it is better.

After that, Anya head to the armory to check on Eco.

===Part 6===
Upon stepping into the armory, the atmosphere changed significantly into a hectic situation. ‘Yggdrasill’ seemed to be running and the buzzing sound can be heard.

The Millenniums on the body of the machine were shining. There are also the sounds of the technician reading the data shown on the screen.

It seems that Eco was already inside ‘Yggdrasill’-The capsule.

Her clothes were removed and she was naked.

She is just like a baby holding on to her knees floating in the capsule.

Her beautiful figure gave Anya a mysterious feeling.

“Ahh, ain’t you Anya-dono?”

The representative of the researchers- Dr Hoffman<ref>note: Dr Hoffman’s ‘DR’ is a PHD holder’s Dr and not a medical Dr.</ref> noticed Anya and walk towards her.

“Has the experiment…begun?”

“At our current stage, there is nothing abnormal. It is all according to the plan.”

Dr Hoffman gave a gentle smile just like a kind elderly man. But this man took Eco as a experimental object without even a second though. This made Anya felt uneasy.

“It seems that Anya-dono didn’t like much about this experiment.”

Dr Hoffman’s word had hit the bull’s eye.

“N-No…!”

Anya felt embarrassed. Even though she denied verbally, everyone can tell that she was lying from the looks of her face.

“It is alright. You are still young.”

“Professor… Have you ever have any doubt? Although Eco is a dragon… her appearance is of a girl’s.”

“Do I have a choice? For what I am today, it is all thanks to Klaus-sama. Last time, when I was forced to carry out all inhuman experiments, I
strongly rejected them and pissed off the Zepharos Emperor. In the end, I was chased out from the capital Arkham. During that time, Klaus-sama
is my savior and invited me to his private research center.”
After saying that, Dr Hoffman gave a gentle cough.

“Anya-dono, what do you think that this ‘Yggdrasill’ was used for?”

“I-I don’t know.”

“I am not surprised. Even I have no idea about this thing initially. I only realized after I read Milgauss-dono’s written opinion.”

“What did Milgauss-sama wrote?”

“It was said that, a long time ago… when the ancient kingdom reaches its prime, humans and dragons can even control life. On the first glance
on this ‘Yggdrasill’, Milgauss-dono knew that this is a medical tool.”

“Medical…?”

“In contrary to the modern times, all the dragons in the ancient time can transform into a Maestro. But of course there are exceptions. This
machine is used for dragons who couldn’t transform into Maestro… Basically, it was for dragons with handicap.”

Anya finally understood Dr Hoffman’s hint.

“In another words, our plan is to use its function… To awaken Eco?”

“That’s right. We are going to compress the enormous magic of the Millennium into her body and force out her true self.”

“But…Why now? Tomorrow is the continental congress ‘Elysium’, to launch such a experiment at such an important time is to…?”

“This has no longer anything to do with me.”

Dr Hoffman’s answer is no longer the kind old man. He just answered coldly.

“I am only following Klaus-sama’s orders. Anya-dono, didn’t you too obeyed Milgauss-dono’s order to capture young dragon Eco?”

“That’s… true.”

Dr Hoffman’s words were like an ice blade that stabbed into Anya’s chest.

===Part 7===
It was seven in the evening.

The masquerade that intends to bring all the people of different countries together had started right on time.

The venue was located at the highest floor of Fontaine Palace.

Fontaine Palace which had been famous for its plain design had only this ballroom being designed grandly with the Chevron style.

At the dance floor in the middle of the ballroom, men and ladies were holding hands dancing gracefully according to the music tempo. Around the dance floor were also bars, tables, chairs and sofas. A number of guests were chit chatting there.

Looking at those gentlemen and gentlewomen hiding their faces behind those mask and gathered together, Ash secretly felt that this is not a
place where he belongs to.

Ash avoided the crowd nimbly and head towards Silvia and said:

“Princess-sama was already used to this kind of ball right?”

“You are wrong. A citizen of the Knights should be focusing on plainness… It is not our wish to organized such a noisy party… Apart from that,
could you not address me as ‘Princess-sama’?”

“Why?”

Ash didn’t know how to react to this. Silvia suddenly stood still. She was showing an unsatisfied look on her face. Because her mask had
covered the area around her eyes, Ash could only judge her expression through her lips.

“What did you think this mask is for? If you kept on saying ‘Princess-sama’, everyone will know who I am.”

“Ahh…You are right.”

“Tsk, Can’t you use some of your brains?”

“So what should I call you as?”

“Err…!”

Silvia was silenced by the unexpected question. Her face turned red in a blink of an eye.

After a few seconds, Silvia spoke:

“…You can call me Sylvie.”

The Silvia right in front of him is very attractive which made him wanted to give her a hug.

“Then…”

Ash gulped.

''-Sylvie.''

His heart was jumping nonstop. Just like resonating to Ash feelings, Silvia lowered down her head and acted shyly as if to prevent her
heartbeat form being heard.

Ash made up his mind and spread open his dry lips.

“Silv- Uwaa!”

At this moment, Ash with a ‘Don!’ was pushed aside by someone and fell down. Before he could react, Silvia was surrounded by three men.

“My beautiful ojou-san<ref>A way to address a girl from a high family status.</ref>. Could I have the honor for you to be my dance partner?”

“Although your face was covered, the classy air around you couldn’t be hidden from my eyes!”

“Hold on! I am here first!”

Ash was dumbstruck. Even though those men are with their mask on, but judging from their actions, they are not someone simple. These men should
have noticed the different air around Silvia.

“Hold on… I am a little troubled by all of you inviting me suddenly…”

If it was the usual Silvia, she will tell them off mercilessly. But, right now, she is just a girl that had little experience of this world.

''-Even though she was always what you saw, actually, she is very timid and afraid of strangers''

Ash remembered what Cosette had said. She is worthy to become Silvia’s maid for her to notice all the details.

After Ash fell down, there were still men approaching her. The number of men surrounding her had increased from three to five.

Now it is ten. The voices that were inviting Silvia to be their dance partner were getting louder.

The guests around started to notice the noise and looked at them curiously.

“About that… I don’t feel like doing it now…”

Just like ants surrounding sugars, the numbers of men surrounding were still growing.

Facing all the passionate men, Silvia was being overwhelmed.

“Hey, Ash!”

But she suddenly shouted Ash’s name as if she wants Ash to come to her help.

After he made his mental preparations, Ash dragged Silvia through the walls of men.

There were sounds of disapproving from their surroundings.

“Hey, where’re your manners!”

“Couldn’t you take your turn!”

“Even though this is a masquerade, you must keep up with your manners!”

You are the ones who don’t have any manners…Ash grumbled in his heart and kept on squeezing forward.

These weak nobles couldn’t even stand still when they were pushed by Ash. And can only make way. They are at most nobles who were raised
while being protected. Naturally, they are no match to Ash who undergo strict training in the dragon riding academy in terms of strength.

“Waa!”

A waiter in black immediately made way to protect the expensive wine glass upon seeing Ash rushing right into him.

In a few moments, they are no longer surrounded and their field of vision widens. At the same time, the music had become louder.

“Ehh…?”

Ash stopped.

A group of people were holding hands dancing in pairs. Ash only found out that they mistakenly ran into the dance floor.

The numerous amount of evening dress made the scenery looks like hundreds of flowers blossoming at the same time.

Every time the ladies in the dance floor turned their bodies, their long skirts turned into a giant rose.

“W-We should retreat! Princess-sama!”

“Didn’t I told you not to call me Princess-sama!”

“This is not a time to be arguing about those things!”

For the two to be standing in the dance floor while holding hands while arguing, suddenly there were applauses from their surroundings.

“W-What happened?”

From the looks of it, they definitely want to give courage for the two to dance. It was probably Silvia classy feel around her that caught
their attentions. Ash was just a side character.

“What should we do now, Princess-sama?”

Ash was troubled and turned around to look at Silvia. Seeing Ash being embarrass, Silvia laugh.

“Wa…What are you laughing about, Princess-sama?”

“Nothing. Right now, we can only return the favour of the guests.”

“Ehh…?”

In opposite of what just happened, Silvia took the initiative to hold Ash’s hands.

“Wait! I know nothing about dancing!”

“You should had learn before the basic of a ballroom dance in the physical education class, no?”

“I-I guess so…”

“Alright, everyone is looking. I will take the lead, you just have to follow.”

“Okay… I will give it a try.”

Ash imitates the guests’ action and held Silvia’s waist with a hand. Her waist is just as thin as a doll.

Followed by the light waltz, Ash and Silvia started to dance. The distance between they were so near that they can feel each other’s breath.
This made Ash’s head spins. Although there were a few time where he nearly tripped over Silvia’s feet, she was not bothered by it and even
cover up for Ash.
[[Image:SnRK V04 167.jpg|thumb]]

Not long later, the dancers around and the beat of the music had disappeared from Ash thought.

Starting from her breath from her lips that had lip gloss on them, to the feeling from his palm, to the soft sensation he felt whenever their
bodies collides with each other and also that rosy smell…

While dancing, ash felt like he is going to faint.

As if to drag him back to reality, Silvia grumbled to Ash.

“Anyway, it was your entire fault for not positioning yourself properly.”

“…What do you meant?”

Ash asked while accidentally stepping on Silvia’s feet. Ash totally don’t get what she was saying.

“For the start when we entered this ballroom, you kept on following me from behind? No matter how I think of it, I can only see you as my
follower. That is why those guys will try to approach me...”

Ash gave a wry smile.

At such a time, Silvia would even think of lecturing him. Although it fits her style well, what comes next gave ash a great big shock.

“B-But… You look cool…Err…When you were running while holding my hand.”

“Princess-sama…?”

“N-Nothing! Forget it!”

Silvia immediately stopped talking and focused her mind on the dance.

===Part 8===
After dancing, Ash brought Silvia to a corner of the ballroom.

Ash wished to relax for a moment from the eyes of others. He passed a cup of drink that he received from a waiter to Silvia.

“Thank you.”

After Silvia whose face was red thanked him, she took a sip from the cup. Even though the ballroom dance looked graceful, after trying, he found
out that it actually requires a lot of energy.

Ash took the cup and drank from it. The liquid in the cup was lemon juice that taste a little sweet and sour. He can feel that the juice
was being absorbed by his exercised body.

''Anyway, shouldn’t there be any news yet from Cosette?''... Ash wonders. It had been almost an hour since he saw Cosette.

“-Excuse me, may I have a word with you?”

There was a sudden voice coming from behind that brought Ash back to his sense and he turned around-

“You…!”

Upon seeing the person, Ash lost his composure.

He hid Silvia behind him and glared at the person.

“…Have you any business to do with us?”

After Ash asked coldly, that person just reply with a smile.

“Hmm. It seems like I had become a nuisance.”

He is the young noble that they met not long before. If Silvia’s prediction was right, he is Klaus, Baron for the Wadanhuoer borders. Milgauss
was following him from behind like a shadow.

Even though their meeting not long before had nearly turned into a fight, Klaus still tried to greet them in purpose. There should be a limit
of how much an airhead he could be.

Klaus ignored Ash and looked at Silvia. Then he gracefully held out his hand to her.

“Your dance is excellent. I would like to know that if I had the honour to dance with you?”

“Are you kidding! What are you trying to pu-”

“Ash! Hold on!”

Silvia unexpectedly stopped Ash. After she indirectly rejected Klaus offer, she looked at Milgauss.

“If this man become my dance partner, I would allow it.”

“Haha! Who would have thought that I would be rejected while this follower is asked… You have quite some good eyes there.”

Not only that her actions didn’t anger Klaus, he even smiled. Silvia's words should have shattered his pride but it was like he was not even
bothered by it. He looked like a proud older brother whose younger brother is admired.

“Since the lady had proposed-”

Klaus looked at Milgauss while smiling.

Milgauss remained silent. He looked as if he had merged with the mask which bears no expression. Seeing that Milgauss had not yet replied,
Klaus shrugged his shoulders and said:

“Kuku, you are not allowed to decline. Don’t forget that the you right now are one of my followers.”

===Part 9===
Milgauss was dancing with Silvia while holding on to each other’s hands.

It is better to describe this as a beautiful show than a ballroom dance.

In contrast to the attractive Silvia, Milgauss hair was still with the red and white mix colour. Although he gave out a dangerous feeling, it is undeniable that the masquerade provides a cover for him.

Ballroom dancing is just a general statement. In truth, Ash knew that this dance had many developments that were affected by the difference of each country culture and style.

What Milgauss and Silvia were dancing right now is undoubtably the traditional dance of the Lautreamont Knight Country.

Ash was so focused in their dance that he had forgotten about the previous hatred.

But Ash was not the only one who was amazed.

Without knowing, everyone was entranced by Milgauss and Silvia’s dance.

Right now, the people dancing in the dance floor were only both of them.

They are occupying the whole wide space. Just like blessing them, the orchestras were at the climax of the music.

Followed by the movement of her evening dress, Silvia was dancing swiftly.

Facing Silvia, Milgauss was leading the dance.

They looked like a combination of light and shadow, yet their dance is perfect.

“Wow… This is my first time seeing such a great dance.”

Klaus was who admiring the dance while standing beside Ash spoke in a low voice in admiration.

===Part 10===
The dance of the two people ended silently like a setting sun.

Milgauss remained silent the whole time. He returned Silvia to Ash just like returning a book and walk off silently.

“Certainly his indifference attitude gave me some trouble.”

Klaus gave a wry smile and disappeared into the crowd while he ran after Milgauss.

Ash inspected Silvia’s face carefully.

“Have you found any clue? Could Milgauss true identity be…”

“No… I can’t be sure. Because I was very young the last time I saw Anii-ue… But, Milgauss' dance is definitely originated from the Lautreamont Knight Country. I am sure that he had a long history with the Knight Country.”

Silvia murmured.

“-Ash-sama.”

At this moment, someone whispered into Ash’s ears.

“Cosette!”

Ash turned around. Cosette was with a straight and serious face spoke:

“The maids who heads the search in the ancient palace had found Prim Onee-chan.”

"Yggdrasill ~A.S.B.1365.7~" is closed.

==References and Translation Notes==
<references />

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|-
| Back to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Chapter 6|Chapter 6]]
| Return to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Chapter 8|Chapter 8]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Chapter 7

2013-11-07T10:16:09Z

213.144.240.241: /* Part 3 */

==Chapter 7 - Masquerade==
===Part 1===
'''The Seventh Continental Congress ‘Elysium’ ''~A brief introduction of the attendees of each country~'' '''

'''I. Holy Espada Agency'''

The Pope Raquel IV is in charge of organizing this congress. Even though she is nine years old, her strong clairvoyance is recognized by all. She is a genius who was recommended to become the pope at a young age. She is now accompanied by twelve cardinals.

'''II. Chevron Kingdom'''

Apart from King Zacherias III and three princes, there are also the nobles who were involved in the country’s politics who attended. They made up a total of three thousand people all together which can be said to be the biggest group.

'''III. Zepharos Empire'''

Emperor Ortofon VIII will be absent because of old age. He will be replaced by the baron of the Wadanhuoer borders. Apart from that, there were a few more powerful nobles who attended. Although their numbers were next to the Chevron Kingdom’s, but the amount of attendees for them is unusually small.

'''IV. Labrock Trade Union'''

Led by the Caudillo EnzoSabatini, a total of seven mayors from seven major cities attended.

'''V. Lautreamont Knight Country'''

Apart from Paladin Oswald and First Princes, Princess Veronica, the Fourth Princess, Princess Silvia will attend the congress for the first time. The second and the third princess will not attend because of studying abroad. Also, there are a few nobles who attend.

===Part 2===
After putting aside the pamphlet he took with him to pass time, Ash lay down on the bed lazily.

“Just as I thought, Pricess-sama is amazing.”

A few moments before, Silvia was lying on this bed exchanging gazes with him. The living Silvia is just an arm length away. But after he saw Silvia’s name on the pamphlet, he still felt that she was still at that unreachable height.

Ash took out the silver watch that was given by the Paladin.

It was already six fifteen in the evening.

“It is already this late?”

After remembering that the masquerade starts at six thirty, he made up his mind to change. Just when Ash is going to take the suit hanging on the wall- He stopped.

“What is Eco doing?”

Girls are different from guys. They need to take their time to get prepared. Ash understands that. Even so, Eco and Prim had been away for four hours.

“Even if they are slow, this is just…”

Who knows where has she been to together with Prim.

After making up his mind, Ash removed the bandages on his left arm.

His left arm that was fully covered with his ‘Seikoku’ can be seen.

“Luckily I am connected with Eco.”

Not long ago, Eco was kidnapped by Angela. During that time, Ash found Angela’s hiding place with the help of his ‘Seikoku’.

Ash placed his left fist on his forehead and held his left wrist with his right hand.

“Please… Tell me where Eco is right now!”

After a pause, his left arm started to felt hot and the embroider symbols on his left arm started to glow. Butterflies created by magic started to fly one by one. These butterflies were like road signs and normally will show ash the way to Eco.

“Huh??”

But what happen next left Ash staring blankly. The butterflies created had disappeared and the lights and heats coming from his left arm too were gone.

“What’s happening!?”

Ash stood still, dumbfounded. Even though he kept on trying for the second and third time, he still ended up failing. His ‘Seikoku’ was like a broken bright dragon crystal powered lamp. It stopped functioning completely.

He had a bad feeling. This is Paladin’s main town, so he had never expected for Eco to face any danger here. Still, the connection between him and Eco that had been cut off was still the truth.

“Damn…!”

Ash was out of options and rushed out from the room.

He was running aimlessly at the long corridor.

When he was in the room together with Silvia, Eco probably was in danger… When Ash thought about this, he was disgusted by himself.

The space in the palace is wide. Even thought he had totally no idea where to search for Eco, still he couldn’t stay worried in his room.

Just when he was rushing at full speed at the corner, Ash saw a maid.

“Uwaa!”

“Ara ara.”

At the same time the maid was mumbling something, she nimbly avoided Ash.

Not only that, she also seized Ash’s necktie just when he was going to fall and pulled him back. Ash was lucky as he was a few moments away from falling head down.

“It is not like what Ash-sama will do to run around panicking in the corridor.”

Ash looked back embarrassedly and saw Cosette.

Ash as if he met his savior begged Cosette to help him.

“Eco and Prim have not yet return! Even the ‘Seikoku’ had no reaction!”

Cosette immediately became serious.

“Understood. I will immediately order the maids who are not on duty to search for them. It will be better than to let Ash-sama running aimlessly.

“Thank you! Lets-”

“You mustn’t. Please follow the original plan and attend the masquerade, Ash-sama.”

“How could I… She is my pal. It isn’t right for me not to search for her!”

“Please don’t forget that this is Fontaine City. The coming word may not be pleasant so I beg your pardon… Since the ‘Seikoku’ is not reacting, even if Ash-sama had joined the search, there is nothing you can do.”

“Wha….!”

“On the other hand, we maids knew the structure of this palace. Please believe in us and let us handle this matter. Not to mention that Prim onee-chan is my family. I will deal this matter with full force.”

“Understood…”

After Ash promised while nodding, Cosette finally smiled.

“Although this doesn’t seem right, I must ask Ash-sama to act as Princess-sama’s escort.”

“Princess-sama’s escort?”

“Even though she was always what you saw, actually, she is very timid and afraid of strangers. But, as long as Ash-sama is with her, I don’t think that it will be a problem."

Cosette’s plan should be perfect. But this is the time where Eco will face danger any moment, and yet he was enjoying the masquerade, he didn’t feel that this is the right thing to do.

As if she had seen through what ash was thinking, Cosette guaranteed:

“Please have faith in me, Ash-sama.”

Ash reluctantly accepted.

“…Alright. Eco will be in your hands.”

<noinclude>

===Part 3===
After four in the evening, Anya returned to Beowolf through the long secret passage. After handing over Eco to Dr Hoffman, she borrowed the shower room.

Although it is summer, Anya felt very cold. She was drenched by the heavy rain outside not long before.

After entering the changing room, Anya firstly removed her maid attire that was soaked with water. Only then she removed her tight undergarments.

Lastly, she let loose her hair that was tied at the back of her head and she was now naked.

There was a huge mirror hanging on the wall in the bathroom.

“…”

It had been a long time since she stared at her own body.

Her wet dark hair, her wheat coloured skin that only the mountain people have, her small chest and her curves that looked as if the extra flesh was removed by a knife.

Without any reasons, Anya touched her breast. Compare to ‘La Tene’s’ manager, Rebecca, the president of the student council and Princess Silvia, there is nothing special about hers- But at least hers could be compared with Eco’s.
[[Image:SnRK V04 004-005.jpg|thumb|'' It seems like I am not at all feminine… Anya mocked her own self. “…!” Just when she thought about that, Anya panicked. ''What nonsense am I thinking about?'' '']]

''It seems like I am not at all feminine…'' Anya mocked herself.

“…!”

Just when she thought about that, Anya panicked.

''What nonsense am I thinking about?'' Anya in her past was never bothered by her looks. It was probably that living in the dragon riding academy for this whole time had made her impetuous.

Logically speaking, big breasts will become a hindrance in battle. There are even legends that said that female warriors of the mountain people in the ancient times tend to cut off one of their breast in order to not obstruct them in archery.

“That’s it. It is better to have a small breast than to face the knife!”

After Anya tried to give herself an excuse, she turned on the tap.

Although the water was initially cold, it had turned warm in just a few moments. Anya once again was amazed by the Empire's skills and let the warm water flows from her head.

She hoped that her impetuous feeling too will be wash away together-

Anya while letting the warm water run through her body with her eyes closed, she thought about her previous mission.

Basically, it was a successful mission.

Even though she had underestimated Eco’s fighting ability and caused her four underlings to be injured, still, since they were not spotted by any of the guards, she could force a pass in it.

“But… The problems start here.”

===Part 4===
On the third floor of the palace- In the ball room, the temperature is rising. All the guests were with a silver mask. Apart from those traditional mask where it hides the area beside the eyes, there were also masks that were shaped like dragons, lions and many other animals.
Among them, there were also guest there dressed up as a clown.

After Ash who was in the formal suit wore the mask that he received from the counter, he stood beside the entrance. That was because Cosette
had told him that he will meet Silvia sooner or later if he stood there.

The palace’s orchestra was performing a light music at the opposite of the door. Ash could never be able to blend into this kind of
environment.

“Eco…Where are you?”

For numerous times… Ash had called out to his ‘Seikoku’, but there still isn’t a positive result.

The ‘Seikoku’ is like a quite beach during the low tide.

“-Anything wrong. You look like as if you are worrying about something.”

Suddenly, when he heard someone was talking to him, Ash looked up in fright. A lady with a black butterfly was staring at him. The black
butterfly was of course a mask. Since it had only covered the top part of her face, it was easy when it come to figure out who she was.

“Huh… Princess!”

Silvia glared at Ash.

“Uwaa, sorry…”

Ash was apologizing to Silvia while trying to check any emotional changes from her.

Her glaring golden hair was tied into a mature hairstyle and stood out together with the deep red coloured ribbon. The long gloves that
covered until her elbow gave out the feeling of a fair lady. On her right hand was a fan which looked like a choice of a girl from a high
family status.

Her evening dress was blue in colour with gem stones sewed on the important places and it looks like it emerges from the lakes during
summer. In contrast to her waist that was bounded tightly by Cosette, the lower part of her dress was let of loosely and looked like a sole
lilium. <ref>Lilium is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs, all with large prominent flowers. Lilies are a group of
flowering plants which are important in culture and literature in much of the world. Wikipedia</ref>

Ash blushed. He recalled the memories two hours ago where both of them were on the bed.

“Princess-sama… Is really beautiful.”

Ash felt pathetic as he has such a poor vocabulary. That is because Silvia is that beautiful.

“D-Don’t keep on staring at me. It’s embarrassing…!”

When Silvia noticed Ash’s sight, her cheeks turned rosy and shyly lower down her head. She opened up the fan and covered her mouth with it.

“Sorry…”

Ash was also embarrassed and turned his head aside.

There was an awkward moment in between the two and after a while, Silvia spoke:

“That’s it! I had heard of it from Cosette. It was said that Eco and Prim were lost together…”

Upon hearing, Ash was now fully awake.

“That’s right… Cosette right now was looking for them. If it is possible, I would also like to take part in the search. But, the ‘Seikoku’ is
not reacting.”

“What did you say! How is it possible…?”

Just when Silvia was getting tense…

“Excuse me, miss. Can you please step aside?”

A man who was hiding his face like the rest of the guest was speaking to Silvia gently. The man's language bears a strong Empire’s accent.

“Ahh…Sorry.”

Silvia immediately stepped aside.

“Thank you, Princess Silvia- Sorry, tonight should be a masquerade. Hehe… It is better if we keep each other’s identity a secret.”

The man who was like a noble spoke like a poet and walked into the ballroom leisurely. Even when Silvia wore her mask, the man recognized her
with just a glance.

''Who the hell is this guy''…Ash felt uneasy.

“You!”

At the next instant, Ash shouted.

The mysterious man had a follower with him. The follower initially was following the man from behind but he was forced to stop when Ash held
him by the shoulder.

“You are…!”

Silvia gasped when she saw the follower.

Ash angrily asked without hesitating:

“Milgauss… Why are you here!?”

To his horror, Milgauss attempted to enter the ballroom with his usual mask.

“…Can you please let go, Ash Blake. I have nothing that I want to talk to you here.”

Milgauss was calm.

Not only was Ash irritated by Milgauss when he purposely called his full name, but he also had a bad feeling about it.

“What? How dare you after doing those things…”

When Ash was going to refute, he noticed something.

The Kingdom’s language that Milgauss used doesn’t bear the Empire’s accent. Milgauss is Prince Julius- There is a sudden increase in the probability of what Silvia had said.

“Oops. Could it be that my follower had offended both of you?”

The man before turned back to face the door. The previous tense atmosphere disappeared in an instant.

Milgauss glared at Ash as if he wanted Ash to know his stand.

Through the mask, the fierce pressure that his eyes bear caused Ash to shake.

Milgauss then acted as if he had lost interest in Ash, turned around, and faced the man.

“Nothing. Just a misunderstanding. Nothing to make a fuss about.”

Even though he was a follower, Milgauss didn’t even try to speak in a humble form. <ref>Humble form is a way to express yourself in Japanese when you are speaking to a person from a higher social status.</ref>

Ash could only see them disappearing off into the crowd.

At this moment, Silvia spoke to Ash in a stuttered voice:

“That man… I knew him.”

“Really?”

“That’s it. He should be the Klaus, Baron for the Wadanhuoer borders.”

He had never imagined to hear the name of the agent of the Zepharos Empire’s Emperor from Silvia. In his heart, he felt a tense feeling as if someone was pointing a knife at his neck which is far more intense than the previous fight between him and Milgauss.

===Part 5===
After bathing, Anya changed back into a usual tribal wear.

Even though the weather was hot, she still had the muffler around her neck. The mission before required her to remove the muffler which made her have the feeling of the lack of safety around her neck. Now, it is better.

After that, Anya head to the armory to check on Eco.

===Part 6===
Upon stepping into the armory, the atmosphere changed significantly into a hectic situation. ‘Yggdrasill’ seemed to be running and the buzzing sound can be heard.

The Millenniums on the body of the machine were shining. There are also the sounds of the technician reading the data shown on the screen.

It seems that Eco was already inside ‘Yggdrasill’-The capsule.

Her clothes were removed and she was naked.

She is just like a baby holding on to her knees floating in the capsule.

Her beautiful figure gave Anya a mysterious feeling.

“Ahh, ain’t you Anya-dono?”

The representative of the researchers- Dr Hoffman<ref>note: Dr Hoffman’s ‘DR’ is a PHD holder’s Dr and not a medical Dr.</ref> noticed Anya and walk towards her.

“Has the experiment…begun?”

“At our current stage, there is nothing abnormal. It is all according to the plan.”

Dr Hoffman gave a gentle smile just like a kind elderly man. But this man took Eco as a experimental object without even a second though. This made Anya felt uneasy.

“It seems that Anya-dono didn’t like much about this experiment.”

Dr Hoffman’s word had hit the bull’s eye.

“N-No…!”

Anya felt embarrassed. Even though she denied verbally, everyone can tell that she was lying from the looks of her face.

“It is alright. You are still young.”

“Professor… Have you ever have any doubt? Although Eco is a dragon… her appearance is of a girl’s.”

“Do I have a choice? For what I am today, it is all thanks to Klaus-sama. Last time, when I was forced to carry out all inhuman experiments, I
strongly rejected them and pissed off the Zepharos Emperor. In the end, I was chased out from the capital Arkham. During that time, Klaus-sama
is my savior and invited me to his private research center.”
After saying that, Dr Hoffman gave a gentle cough.

“Anya-dono, what do you think that this ‘Yggdrasill’ was used for?”

“I-I don’t know.”

“I am not surprised. Even I have no idea about this thing initially. I only realized after I read Milgauss-dono’s written opinion.”

“What did Milgauss-sama wrote?”

“It was said that, a long time ago… when the ancient kingdom reaches its prime, humans and dragons can even control life. On the first glance
on this ‘Yggdrasill’, Milgauss-dono knew that this is a medical tool.”

“Medical…?”

“In contrary to the modern times, all the dragons in the ancient time can transform into a Maestro. But of course there are exceptions. This
machine is used for dragons who couldn’t transform into Maestro… Basically, it was for dragons with handicap.”

Anya finally understood Dr Hoffman’s hint.

“In another words, our plan is to use its function… To awaken Eco?”

“That’s right. We are going to compress the enormous magic of the Millennium into her body and force out her true self.”

“But…Why now? Tomorrow is the continental congress ‘Elysium’, to launch such a experiment at such an important time is to…?”

“This has no longer anything to do with me.”

Dr Hoffman’s answer is no longer the kind old man. He just answered coldly.

“I am only following Klaus-sama’s orders. Anya-dono, didn’t you too obeyed Milgauss-dono’s order to capture young dragon Eco?”

“That’s… true.”

Dr Hoffman’s words were like an ice blade that stabbed into Anya’s chest.

===Part 7===
It was seven in the evening.

The masquerade that intends to bring all the people of different countries together had started right on time.

The venue was located at the highest floor of Fontaine Palace.

Fontaine Palace which had been famous for its plain design had only this ballroom being designed grandly with the Chevron style.

At the dance floor in the middle of the ballroom, men and ladies were holding hands dancing gracefully according to the music tempo. Around the dance floor were also bars, tables, chairs and sofas. A number of guests were chit chatting there.

Looking at those gentlemen and gentlewomen hiding their faces behind those mask and gathered together, Ash secretly felt that this is not a
place where he belongs to.

Ash avoided the crowd nimbly and head towards Silvia and said:

“Princess-sama was already used to this kind of ball right?”

“You are wrong. A citizen of the Knights should be focusing on plainness… It is not our wish to organized such a noisy party… Apart from that,
could you not address me as ‘Princess-sama’?”

“Why?”

Ash didn’t know how to react to this. Silvia suddenly stood still. She was showing an unsatisfied look on her face. Because her mask had
covered the area around her eyes, Ash could only judge her expression through her lips.

“What did you think this mask is for? If you kept on saying ‘Princess-sama’, everyone will know who I am.”

“Ahh…You are right.”

“Tsk, Can’t you use some of your brains?”

“So what should I call you as?”

“Err…!”

Silvia was silenced by the unexpected question. Her face turned red in a blink of an eye.

After a few seconds, Silvia spoke:

“…You can call me Sylvie.”

The Silvia right in front of him is very attractive which made him wanted to give her a hug.

“Then…”

Ash gulped.

''-Sylvie.''

His heart was jumping nonstop. Just like resonating to Ash feelings, Silvia lowered down her head and acted shyly as if to prevent her
heartbeat form being heard.

Ash made up his mind and spread open his dry lips.

“Silv- Uwaa!”

At this moment, Ash with a ‘Don!’ was pushed aside by someone and fell down. Before he could react, Silvia was surrounded by three men.

“My beautiful ojou-san<ref>A way to address a girl from a high family status.</ref>. Could I have the honor for you to be my dance partner?”

“Although your face was covered, the classy air around you couldn’t be hidden from my eyes!”

“Hold on! I am here first!”

Ash was dumbstruck. Even though those men are with their mask on, but judging from their actions, they are not someone simple. These men should
have noticed the different air around Silvia.

“Hold on… I am a little troubled by all of you inviting me suddenly…”

If it was the usual Silvia, she will tell them off mercilessly. But, right now, she is just a girl that had little experience of this world.

''-Even though she was always what you saw, actually, she is very timid and afraid of strangers''

Ash remembered what Cosette had said. She is worthy to become Silvia’s maid for her to notice all the details.

After Ash fell down, there were still men approaching her. The number of men surrounding her had increased from three to five.

Now it is ten. The voices that were inviting Silvia to be their dance partner were getting louder.

The guests around started to notice the noise and looked at them curiously.

“About that… I don’t feel like doing it now…”

Just like ants surrounding sugars, the numbers of men surrounding were still growing.

Facing all the passionate men, Silvia was being overwhelmed.

“Hey, Ash!”

But she suddenly shouted Ash’s name as if she wants Ash to come to her help.

After he made his mental preparations, Ash dragged Silvia through the walls of men.

There were sounds of disapproving from their surroundings.

“Hey, where’re your manners!”

“Couldn’t you take your turn!”

“Even though this is a masquerade, you must keep up with your manners!”

You are the ones who don’t have any manners…Ash grumbled in his heart and kept on squeezing forward.

These weak nobles couldn’t even stand still when they were pushed by Ash. And can only make way. They are at most nobles who were raised
while being protected. Naturally, they are no match to Ash who undergo strict training in the dragon riding academy in terms of strength.

“Waa!”

A waiter in black immediately made way to protect the expensive wine glass upon seeing Ash rushing right into him.

In a few moments, they are no longer surrounded and their field of vision widens. At the same time, the music had become louder.

“Ehh…?”

Ash stopped.

A group of people were holding hands dancing in pairs. Ash only found out that they mistakenly ran into the dance floor.

The numerous amount of evening dress made the scenery looks like hundreds of flowers blossoming at the same time.

Every time the ladies in the dance floor turned their bodies, their long skirts turned into a giant rose.

“W-We should retreat! Princess-sama!”

“Didn’t I told you not to call me Princess-sama!”

“This is not a time to be arguing about those things!”

For the two to be standing in the dance floor while holding hands while arguing, suddenly there were applauses from their surroundings.

“W-What happened?”

From the looks of it, they definitely want to give courage for the two to dance. It was probably Silvia classy feel around her that caught
their attentions. Ash was just a side character.

“What should we do now, Princess-sama?”

Ash was troubled and turned around to look at Silvia. Seeing Ash being embarrass, Silvia laugh.

“Wa…What are you laughing about, Princess-sama?”

“Nothing. Right now, we can only return the favour of the guests.”

“Ehh…?”

In opposite of what just happened, Silvia took the initiative to hold Ash’s hands.

“Wait! I know nothing about dancing!”

“You should had learn before the basic of a ballroom dance in the physical education class, no?”

“I-I guess so…”

“Alright, everyone is looking. I will take the lead, you just have to follow.”

“Okay… I will give it a try.”

Ash imitates the guests’ action and held Silvia’s waist with a hand. Her waist is just as thin as a doll.

Followed by the light waltz, Ash and Silvia started to dance. The distance between they were so near that they can feel each other’s breath.
This made Ash’s head spins. Although there were a few time where he nearly tripped over Silvia’s feet, she was not bothered by it and even
cover up for Ash.
[[Image:SnRK V04 167.jpg|thumb]]

Not long later, the dancers around and the beat of the music had disappeared from Ash thought.

Starting from her breath from her lips that had lip gloss on them, to the feeling from his palm, to the soft sensation he felt whenever their
bodies collides with each other and also that rosy smell…

While dancing, ash felt like he is going to faint.

As if to drag him back to reality, Silvia grumbled to Ash.

“Anyway, it was your entire fault for not positioning yourself properly.”

“…What do you meant?”

Ash asked while accidentally stepping on Silvia’s feet. Ash totally don’t get what she was saying.

“For the start when we entered this ballroom, you kept on following me from behind? No matter how I think of it, I can only see you as my
follower. That is why those guys will try to approach me...”

Ash gave a wry smile.

At such a time, Silvia would even think of lecturing him. Although it fits her style well, what comes next gave ash a great big shock.

“B-But… You look cool…Err…When you were running while holding my hand.”

“Princess-sama…?”

“N-Nothing! Forget it!”

Silvia immediately stopped talking and focused her mind on the dance.

===Part 8===
After dancing, Ash brought Silvia to a corner of the ballroom.

Ash wished to relax for a moment from the eyes of others. He passed a cup of drink that he received from a waiter to Silvia.

“Thank you.”

After Silvia whose face was red thanked him, she took a sip from the cup. Even though the ballroom dance looked graceful, after trying, he found
out that it actually requires a lot of energy.

Ash took the cup and drank from it. The liquid in the cup was lemon juice that taste a little sweet and sour. He can feel that the juice
was being absorbed by his exercised body.

''Anyway, shouldn’t there be any news yet from Cosette?''... Ash wonders. It had been almost an hour since he saw Cosette.

“-Excuse me, may I have a word with you?”

There was a sudden voice coming from behind that brought Ash back to his sense and he turned around-

“You…!”

Upon seeing the person, Ash lost his composure.

He hid Silvia behind him and glared at the person.

“…Have you any business to do with us?”

After Ash asked coldly, that person just reply with a smile.

“Hmm. It seems like I had become a nuisance.”

He is the young noble that they met not long before. If Silvia’s prediction was right, he is Klaus, Baron for the Wadanhuoer borders. Milgauss
was following him from behind like a shadow.

Even though their meeting not long before had nearly turned into a fight, Klaus still tried to greet them in purpose. There should be a limit
of how much an airhead he could be.

Klaus ignored Ash and looked at Silvia. Then he gracefully held out his hand to her.

“Your dance is excellent. I would like to know that if I had the honour to dance with you?”

“Are you kidding! What are you trying to pu-”

“Ash! Hold on!”

Silvia unexpectedly stopped Ash. After she indirectly rejected Klaus offer, she looked at Milgauss.

“If this man become my dance partner, I would allow it.”

“Haha! Who would have thought that I would be rejected while this follower is asked… You have quite some good eyes there.”

Not only that her actions didn’t anger Klaus, he even smiled. Silvia's words should have shattered his pride but it was like he was not even
bothered by it. He looked like a proud older brother whose younger brother is admired.

“Since the lady had proposed-”

Klaus looked at Milgauss while smiling.

Milgauss remained silent. He looked as if he had merged with the mask which bears no expression. Seeing that Milgauss had not yet replied,
Klaus shrugged his shoulders and said:

“Kuku, you are not allowed to decline. Don’t forget that the you right now are one of my followers.”

===Part 9===
Milgauss was dancing with Silvia while holding on to each other’s hands.

It is better to describe this as a beautiful show than a ballroom dance.

In contrast to the attractive Silvia, Milgauss hair was still with the red and white mix colour. Although he gave out a dangerous feeling, it is undeniable that the masquerade provides a cover for him.

Ballroom dancing is just a general statement. In truth, Ash knew that this dance had many developments that were affected by the difference of each country culture and style.

What Milgauss and Silvia were dancing right now is undoubtably the traditional dance of the Lautreamont Knight Country.

Ash was so focused in their dance that he had forgotten about the previous hatred.

But Ash was not the only one who was amazed.

Without knowing, everyone was entranced by Milgauss and Silvia’s dance.

Right now, the people dancing in the dance floor were only both of them.

They are occupying the whole wide space. Just like blessing them, the orchestras were at the climax of the music.

Followed by the movement of her evening dress, Silvia was dancing swiftly.

Facing Silvia, Milgauss was leading the dance.

They looked like a combination of light and shadow, yet their dance is perfect.

“Wow… This is my first time seeing such a great dance.”

Klaus was who admiring the dance while standing beside Ash spoke in a low voice in admiration.

===Part 10===
The dance of the two people ended silently like a setting sun.

Milgauss remained silent the whole time. He returned Silvia to Ash just like returning a book and walk off silently.

“Certainly his indifference attitude gave me some trouble.”

Klaus gave a wry smile and disappeared into the crowd while he ran after Milgauss.

Ash inspected Silvia’s face carefully.

“Have you found any clue? Could Milgauss true identity be…”

“No… I can’t be sure. Because I was very young the last time I saw Anii-ue… But, Milgauss' dance is definitely originated from the Lautreamont Knight Country. I am sure that he had a long history with the Knight Country.”

Silvia murmured.

“-Ash-sama.”

At this moment, someone whispered into Ash’s ears.

“Cosette!”

Ash turned around. Cosette was with a straight and serious face spoke:

“The maids who heads the search in the ancient palace had found Prim Onee-chan.”

"Yggdrasill ~A.S.B.1365.7~" is closed.

==References and Translation Notes==
<references />

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|-
| Back to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Chapter 6|Chapter 6]]
| Return to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Chapter 8|Chapter 8]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Chapter 7

2013-11-07T10:11:52Z

213.144.240.241: /* Part 2 */

==Chapter 7 - Masquerade==
===Part 1===
'''The Seventh Continental Congress ‘Elysium’ ''~A brief introduction of the attendees of each country~'' '''

'''I. Holy Espada Agency'''

The Pope Raquel IV is in charge of organizing this congress. Even though she is nine years old, her strong clairvoyance is recognized by all. She is a genius who was recommended to become the pope at a young age. She is now accompanied by twelve cardinals.

'''II. Chevron Kingdom'''

Apart from King Zacherias III and three princes, there are also the nobles who were involved in the country’s politics who attended. They made up a total of three thousand people all together which can be said to be the biggest group.

'''III. Zepharos Empire'''

Emperor Ortofon VIII will be absent because of old age. He will be replaced by the baron of the Wadanhuoer borders. Apart from that, there were a few more powerful nobles who attended. Although their numbers were next to the Chevron Kingdom’s, but the amount of attendees for them is unusually small.

'''IV. Labrock Trade Union'''

Led by the Caudillo EnzoSabatini, a total of seven mayors from seven major cities attended.

'''V. Lautreamont Knight Country'''

Apart from Paladin Oswald and First Princes, Princess Veronica, the Fourth Princess, Princess Silvia will attend the congress for the first time. The second and the third princess will not attend because of studying abroad. Also, there are a few nobles who attend.

===Part 2===
After putting aside the pamphlet he took with him to pass time, Ash lay down on the bed lazily.

“Just as I thought, Pricess-sama is amazing.”

A few moments before, Silvia was lying on this bed exchanging gazes with him. The living Silvia is just an arm length away. But after he saw Silvia’s name on the pamphlet, he still felt that she was still at that unreachable height.

Ash took out the silver watch that was given by the Paladin.

It was already six fifteen in the evening.

“It is already this late?”

After remembering that the masquerade starts at six thirty, he made up his mind to change. Just when Ash is going to take the suit hanging on the wall- He stopped.

“What is Eco doing?”

Girls are different from guys. They need to take their time to get prepared. Ash understands that. Even so, Eco and Prim had been away for four hours.

“Even if they are slow, this is just…”

Who knows where has she been to together with Prim.

After making up his mind, Ash removed the bandages on his left arm.

His left arm that was fully covered with his ‘Seikoku’ can be seen.

“Luckily I am connected with Eco.”

Not long ago, Eco was kidnapped by Angela. During that time, Ash found Angela’s hiding place with the help of his ‘Seikoku’.

Ash placed his left fist on his forehead and held his left wrist with his right hand.

“Please… Tell me where Eco is right now!”

After a pause, his left arm started to felt hot and the embroider symbols on his left arm started to glow. Butterflies created by magic started to fly one by one. These butterflies were like road signs and normally will show ash the way to Eco.

“Huh??”

But what happen next left Ash staring blankly. The butterflies created had disappeared and the lights and heats coming from his left arm too were gone.

“What’s happening!?”

Ash stood still, dumbfounded. Even though he kept on trying for the second and third time, he still ended up failing. His ‘Seikoku’ was like a broken bright dragon crystal powered lamp. It stopped functioning completely.

He had a bad feeling. This is Paladin’s main town, so he had never expected for Eco to face any danger here. Still, the connection between him and Eco that had been cut off was still the truth.

“Damn…!”

Ash was out of options and rushed out from the room.

He was running aimlessly at the long corridor.

When he was in the room together with Silvia, Eco probably was in danger… When Ash thought about this, he was disgusted by himself.

The space in the palace is wide. Even thought he had totally no idea where to search for Eco, still he couldn’t stay worried in his room.

Just when he was rushing at full speed at the corner, Ash saw a maid.

“Uwaa!”

“Ara ara.”

At the same time the maid was mumbling something, she nimbly avoided Ash.

Not only that, she also seized Ash’s necktie just when he was going to fall and pulled him back. Ash was lucky as he was a few moments away from falling head down.

“It is not like what Ash-sama will do to run around panicking in the corridor.”

Ash looked back embarrassedly and saw Cosette.

Ash as if he met his savior begged Cosette to help him.

“Eco and Prim have not yet return! Even the ‘Seikoku’ had no reaction!”

Cosette immediately became serious.

“Understood. I will immediately order the maids who are not on duty to search for them. It will be better than to let Ash-sama running aimlessly.

“Thank you! Lets-”

“You mustn’t. Please follow the original plan and attend the masquerade, Ash-sama.”

“How could I… She is my pal. It isn’t right for me not to search for her!”

“Please don’t forget that this is Fontaine City. The coming word may not be pleasant so I beg your pardon… Since the ‘Seikoku’ is not reacting, even if Ash-sama had joined the search, there is nothing you can do.”

“Wha….!”

“On the other hand, we maids knew the structure of this palace. Please believe in us and let us handle this matter. Not to mention that Prim onee-chan is my family. I will deal this matter with full force.”

“Understood…”

After Ash promised while nodding, Cosette finally smiled.

“Although this doesn’t seem right, I must ask Ash-sama to act as Princess-sama’s escort.”

“Princess-sama’s escort?”

“Even though she was always what you saw, actually, she is very timid and afraid of strangers. But, as long as Ash-sama is with her, I don’t think that it will be a problem."

Cosette’s plan should be perfect. But this is the time where Eco will face danger any moment, and yet he was enjoying the masquerade, he didn’t feel that this is the right thing to do.

As if she had seen through what ash was thinking, Cosette guaranteed:

“Please have faith in me, Ash-sama.”

Ash reluctantly accepted.

“…Alright. Eco will be in your hands.”

<noinclude>

===Part 3===
After four in the evening, Anya returned back to Beowolf through the long secret passage. After handing over Eco to Dr Hoffman, she borrowed the shower room.

Although it is summer, Anya felt very cold. She was drenched by the heavy rain outside not long before.

After entering the changing room, Anya firstly removed her maid attire that was soaked with water. Only then she removed her tight undergarments.

Lastly, she let loose her hair that was tied at the back of her head and she was now naked.

There was a huge mirror hanging on the wall in the bathroom.

“…”

It had been a long time since she stared at her own body.

Her wet dark hair, her wheat coloured skin that only the mountains people have, her small chest and her curves that looked as if the extra
flesh were being removed by a knife.

Without any reasons, Anya touched her breast. Compare to ‘La Tene’s’ manager, Rebecca of the president of the student council and Princess
Silvia, there is nothing special about hers- But at least hers could be compared with Eco’s.
[[Image:SnRK V04 004-005.jpg|thumb|'' It seems like I am not at all feminine… Anya mocked her own self. “…!” Just when she thought about that, Anya panicked. ''What nonsense am I thinking about?'' '']]

''It seems like I am not at all feminine…'' Anya mocked her own self.

“…!”

Just when she thought about that, Anya panicked.

''What nonsense am I thinking about?'' Anya in her past was never bothered by her looks. It was probably that living in the dragon riding academy for this whole time had made her impetuous.

Logically speaking, big breasts will become a hindrance in battle. There are even legends that said that female warriors of the mountain
people in the ancient times tend to cut off one of their breast in order to not obstruct them in archery.

“That’s it. It is better to have a small breast than to face the knife!”

After Anya tried to give herself an excuse, she turned on the tap.

Although the water was initially cold, it had turned warm in just a few moments. Anya once again was amazed by the Empires skills and let the
warm water flows from her head.

She hoped that her impetuous feeling too will be wash away together-

Anya while letting the warm water run through her body with her eyes closed, she thought about her previous mission.

Basically, it was a successful mission.

Even though she had underestimated Eco’s fighting ability and caused her four underlings to be injured, still, since they were not spotted by
any of the guards, she could force a pass in it.

“But… The problems start here.”

===Part 4===
On the third floor of the palace- In the ball room, the temperature is rising. All the guests were with a silver mask. Apart from those traditional mask where it hides the area beside the eyes, there were also masks that were shaped like dragons, lions and many other animals.
Among them, there were also guest there dressed up as a clown.

After Ash who was in the formal suit wore the mask that he received from the counter, he stood beside the entrance. That was because Cosette
had told him that he will meet Silvia sooner or later if he stood there.

The palace’s orchestra was performing a light music at the opposite of the door. Ash could never be able to blend into this kind of
environment.

“Eco…Where are you?”

For numerous times… Ash had called out to his ‘Seikoku’, but there still isn’t a positive result.

The ‘Seikoku’ is like a quite beach during the low tide.

“-Anything wrong. You look like as if you are worrying about something.”

Suddenly, when he heard someone was talking to him, Ash looked up in fright. A lady with a black butterfly was staring at him. The black
butterfly was of course a mask. Since it had only covered the top part of her face, it was easy when it come to figure out who she was.

“Huh… Princess!”

Silvia glared at Ash.

“Uwaa, sorry…”

Ash was apologizing to Silvia while trying to check any emotional changes from her.

Her glaring golden hair was tied into a mature hairstyle and stood out together with the deep red coloured ribbon. The long gloves that
covered until her elbow gave out the feeling of a fair lady. On her right hand was a fan which looked like a choice of a girl from a high
family status.

Her evening dress was blue in colour with gem stones sewed on the important places and it looks like it emerges from the lakes during
summer. In contrast to her waist that was bounded tightly by Cosette, the lower part of her dress was let of loosely and looked like a sole
lilium. <ref>Lilium is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs, all with large prominent flowers. Lilies are a group of
flowering plants which are important in culture and literature in much of the world. Wikipedia</ref>

Ash blushed. He recalled the memories two hours ago where both of them were on the bed.

“Princess-sama… Is really beautiful.”

Ash felt pathetic as he has such a poor vocabulary. That is because Silvia is that beautiful.

“D-Don’t keep on staring at me. It’s embarrassing…!”

When Silvia noticed Ash’s sight, her cheeks turned rosy and shyly lower down her head. She opened up the fan and covered her mouth with it.

“Sorry…”

Ash was also embarrassed and turned his head aside.

There was an awkward moment in between the two and after a while, Silvia spoke:

“That’s it! I had heard of it from Cosette. It was said that Eco and Prim were lost together…”

Upon hearing, Ash was now fully awake.

“That’s right… Cosette right now was looking for them. If it is possible, I would also like to take part in the search. But, the ‘Seikoku’ is
not reacting.”

“What did you say! How is it possible…?”

Just when Silvia was getting tense…

“Excuse me, miss. Can you please step aside?”

A man who was hiding his face like the rest of the guest was speaking to Silvia gently. The man's language bears a strong Empire’s accent.

“Ahh…Sorry.”

Silvia immediately stepped aside.

“Thank you, Princess Silvia- Sorry, tonight should be a masquerade. Hehe… It is better if we keep each other’s identity a secret.”

The man who was like a noble spoke like a poet and walked into the ballroom leisurely. Even when Silvia wore her mask, the man recognized her
with just a glance.

''Who the hell is this guy''…Ash felt uneasy.

“You!”

At the next instant, Ash shouted.

The mysterious man had a follower with him. The follower initially was following the man from behind but he was forced to stop when Ash held
him by the shoulder.

“You are…!”

Silvia gasped when she saw the follower.

Ash angrily asked without hesitating:

“Milgauss… Why are you here!?”

To his horror, Milgauss attempted to enter the ballroom with his usual mask.

“…Can you please let go, Ash Blake. I have nothing that I want to talk to you here.”

Milgauss was calm.

Not only was Ash irritated by Milgauss when he purposely called his full name, but he also had a bad feeling about it.

“What? How dare you after doing those things…”

When Ash was going to refute, he noticed something.

The Kingdom’s language that Milgauss used doesn’t bear the Empire’s accent. Milgauss is Prince Julius- There is a sudden increase in the probability of what Silvia had said.

“Oops. Could it be that my follower had offended both of you?”

The man before turned back to face the door. The previous tense atmosphere disappeared in an instant.

Milgauss glared at Ash as if he wanted Ash to know his stand.

Through the mask, the fierce pressure that his eyes bear caused Ash to shake.

Milgauss then acted as if he had lost interest in Ash, turned around, and faced the man.

“Nothing. Just a misunderstanding. Nothing to make a fuss about.”

Even though he was a follower, Milgauss didn’t even try to speak in a humble form. <ref>Humble form is a way to express yourself in Japanese when you are speaking to a person from a higher social status.</ref>

Ash could only see them disappearing off into the crowd.

At this moment, Silvia spoke to Ash in a stuttered voice:

“That man… I knew him.”

“Really?”

“That’s it. He should be the Klaus, Baron for the Wadanhuoer borders.”

He had never imagined to hear the name of the agent of the Zepharos Empire’s Emperor from Silvia. In his heart, he felt a tense feeling as if someone was pointing a knife at his neck which is far more intense than the previous fight between him and Milgauss.

===Part 5===
After bathing, Anya changed back into a usual tribal wear.

Even though the weather was hot, she still had the muffler around her neck. The mission before required her to remove the muffler which made her have the feeling of the lack of safety around her neck. Now, it is better.

After that, Anya head to the armory to check on Eco.

===Part 6===
Upon stepping into the armory, the atmosphere changed significantly into a hectic situation. ‘Yggdrasill’ seemed to be running and the buzzing sound can be heard.

The Millenniums on the body of the machine were shining. There are also the sounds of the technician reading the data shown on the screen.

It seems that Eco was already inside ‘Yggdrasill’-The capsule.

Her clothes were removed and she was naked.

She is just like a baby holding on to her knees floating in the capsule.

Her beautiful figure gave Anya a mysterious feeling.

“Ahh, ain’t you Anya-dono?”

The representative of the researchers- Dr Hoffman<ref>note: Dr Hoffman’s ‘DR’ is a PHD holder’s Dr and not a medical Dr.</ref> noticed Anya and walk towards her.

“Has the experiment…begun?”

“At our current stage, there is nothing abnormal. It is all according to the plan.”

Dr Hoffman gave a gentle smile just like a kind elderly man. But this man took Eco as a experimental object without even a second though. This made Anya felt uneasy.

“It seems that Anya-dono didn’t like much about this experiment.”

Dr Hoffman’s word had hit the bull’s eye.

“N-No…!”

Anya felt embarrassed. Even though she denied verbally, everyone can tell that she was lying from the looks of her face.

“It is alright. You are still young.”

“Professor… Have you ever have any doubt? Although Eco is a dragon… her appearance is of a girl’s.”

“Do I have a choice? For what I am today, it is all thanks to Klaus-sama. Last time, when I was forced to carry out all inhuman experiments, I
strongly rejected them and pissed off the Zepharos Emperor. In the end, I was chased out from the capital Arkham. During that time, Klaus-sama
is my savior and invited me to his private research center.”
After saying that, Dr Hoffman gave a gentle cough.

“Anya-dono, what do you think that this ‘Yggdrasill’ was used for?”

“I-I don’t know.”

“I am not surprised. Even I have no idea about this thing initially. I only realized after I read Milgauss-dono’s written opinion.”

“What did Milgauss-sama wrote?”

“It was said that, a long time ago… when the ancient kingdom reaches its prime, humans and dragons can even control life. On the first glance
on this ‘Yggdrasill’, Milgauss-dono knew that this is a medical tool.”

“Medical…?”

“In contrary to the modern times, all the dragons in the ancient time can transform into a Maestro. But of course there are exceptions. This
machine is used for dragons who couldn’t transform into Maestro… Basically, it was for dragons with handicap.”

Anya finally understood Dr Hoffman’s hint.

“In another words, our plan is to use its function… To awaken Eco?”

“That’s right. We are going to compress the enormous magic of the Millennium into her body and force out her true self.”

“But…Why now? Tomorrow is the continental congress ‘Elysium’, to launch such a experiment at such an important time is to…?”

“This has no longer anything to do with me.”

Dr Hoffman’s answer is no longer the kind old man. He just answered coldly.

“I am only following Klaus-sama’s orders. Anya-dono, didn’t you too obeyed Milgauss-dono’s order to capture young dragon Eco?”

“That’s… true.”

Dr Hoffman’s words were like an ice blade that stabbed into Anya’s chest.

===Part 7===
It was seven in the evening.

The masquerade that intends to bring all the people of different countries together had started right on time.

The venue was located at the highest floor of Fontaine Palace.

Fontaine Palace which had been famous for its plain design had only this ballroom being designed grandly with the Chevron style.

At the dance floor in the middle of the ballroom, men and ladies were holding hands dancing gracefully according to the music tempo. Around the dance floor were also bars, tables, chairs and sofas. A number of guests were chit chatting there.

Looking at those gentlemen and gentlewomen hiding their faces behind those mask and gathered together, Ash secretly felt that this is not a
place where he belongs to.

Ash avoided the crowd nimbly and head towards Silvia and said:

“Princess-sama was already used to this kind of ball right?”

“You are wrong. A citizen of the Knights should be focusing on plainness… It is not our wish to organized such a noisy party… Apart from that,
could you not address me as ‘Princess-sama’?”

“Why?”

Ash didn’t know how to react to this. Silvia suddenly stood still. She was showing an unsatisfied look on her face. Because her mask had
covered the area around her eyes, Ash could only judge her expression through her lips.

“What did you think this mask is for? If you kept on saying ‘Princess-sama’, everyone will know who I am.”

“Ahh…You are right.”

“Tsk, Can’t you use some of your brains?”

“So what should I call you as?”

“Err…!”

Silvia was silenced by the unexpected question. Her face turned red in a blink of an eye.

After a few seconds, Silvia spoke:

“…You can call me Sylvie.”

The Silvia right in front of him is very attractive which made him wanted to give her a hug.

“Then…”

Ash gulped.

''-Sylvie.''

His heart was jumping nonstop. Just like resonating to Ash feelings, Silvia lowered down her head and acted shyly as if to prevent her
heartbeat form being heard.

Ash made up his mind and spread open his dry lips.

“Silv- Uwaa!”

At this moment, Ash with a ‘Don!’ was pushed aside by someone and fell down. Before he could react, Silvia was surrounded by three men.

“My beautiful ojou-san<ref>A way to address a girl from a high family status.</ref>. Could I have the honor for you to be my dance partner?”

“Although your face was covered, the classy air around you couldn’t be hidden from my eyes!”

“Hold on! I am here first!”

Ash was dumbstruck. Even though those men are with their mask on, but judging from their actions, they are not someone simple. These men should
have noticed the different air around Silvia.

“Hold on… I am a little troubled by all of you inviting me suddenly…”

If it was the usual Silvia, she will tell them off mercilessly. But, right now, she is just a girl that had little experience of this world.

''-Even though she was always what you saw, actually, she is very timid and afraid of strangers''

Ash remembered what Cosette had said. She is worthy to become Silvia’s maid for her to notice all the details.

After Ash fell down, there were still men approaching her. The number of men surrounding her had increased from three to five.

Now it is ten. The voices that were inviting Silvia to be their dance partner were getting louder.

The guests around started to notice the noise and looked at them curiously.

“About that… I don’t feel like doing it now…”

Just like ants surrounding sugars, the numbers of men surrounding were still growing.

Facing all the passionate men, Silvia was being overwhelmed.

“Hey, Ash!”

But she suddenly shouted Ash’s name as if she wants Ash to come to her help.

After he made his mental preparations, Ash dragged Silvia through the walls of men.

There were sounds of disapproving from their surroundings.

“Hey, where’re your manners!”

“Couldn’t you take your turn!”

“Even though this is a masquerade, you must keep up with your manners!”

You are the ones who don’t have any manners…Ash grumbled in his heart and kept on squeezing forward.

These weak nobles couldn’t even stand still when they were pushed by Ash. And can only make way. They are at most nobles who were raised
while being protected. Naturally, they are no match to Ash who undergo strict training in the dragon riding academy in terms of strength.

“Waa!”

A waiter in black immediately made way to protect the expensive wine glass upon seeing Ash rushing right into him.

In a few moments, they are no longer surrounded and their field of vision widens. At the same time, the music had become louder.

“Ehh…?”

Ash stopped.

A group of people were holding hands dancing in pairs. Ash only found out that they mistakenly ran into the dance floor.

The numerous amount of evening dress made the scenery looks like hundreds of flowers blossoming at the same time.

Every time the ladies in the dance floor turned their bodies, their long skirts turned into a giant rose.

“W-We should retreat! Princess-sama!”

“Didn’t I told you not to call me Princess-sama!”

“This is not a time to be arguing about those things!”

For the two to be standing in the dance floor while holding hands while arguing, suddenly there were applauses from their surroundings.

“W-What happened?”

From the looks of it, they definitely want to give courage for the two to dance. It was probably Silvia classy feel around her that caught
their attentions. Ash was just a side character.

“What should we do now, Princess-sama?”

Ash was troubled and turned around to look at Silvia. Seeing Ash being embarrass, Silvia laugh.

“Wa…What are you laughing about, Princess-sama?”

“Nothing. Right now, we can only return the favour of the guests.”

“Ehh…?”

In opposite of what just happened, Silvia took the initiative to hold Ash’s hands.

“Wait! I know nothing about dancing!”

“You should had learn before the basic of a ballroom dance in the physical education class, no?”

“I-I guess so…”

“Alright, everyone is looking. I will take the lead, you just have to follow.”

“Okay… I will give it a try.”

Ash imitates the guests’ action and held Silvia’s waist with a hand. Her waist is just as thin as a doll.

Followed by the light waltz, Ash and Silvia started to dance. The distance between they were so near that they can feel each other’s breath.
This made Ash’s head spins. Although there were a few time where he nearly tripped over Silvia’s feet, she was not bothered by it and even
cover up for Ash.
[[Image:SnRK V04 167.jpg|thumb]]

Not long later, the dancers around and the beat of the music had disappeared from Ash thought.

Starting from her breath from her lips that had lip gloss on them, to the feeling from his palm, to the soft sensation he felt whenever their
bodies collides with each other and also that rosy smell…

While dancing, ash felt like he is going to faint.

As if to drag him back to reality, Silvia grumbled to Ash.

“Anyway, it was your entire fault for not positioning yourself properly.”

“…What do you meant?”

Ash asked while accidentally stepping on Silvia’s feet. Ash totally don’t get what she was saying.

“For the start when we entered this ballroom, you kept on following me from behind? No matter how I think of it, I can only see you as my
follower. That is why those guys will try to approach me...”

Ash gave a wry smile.

At such a time, Silvia would even think of lecturing him. Although it fits her style well, what comes next gave ash a great big shock.

“B-But… You look cool…Err…When you were running while holding my hand.”

“Princess-sama…?”

“N-Nothing! Forget it!”

Silvia immediately stopped talking and focused her mind on the dance.

===Part 8===
After dancing, Ash brought Silvia to a corner of the ballroom.

Ash wished to relax for a moment from the eyes of others. He passed a cup of drink that he received from a waiter to Silvia.

“Thank you.”

After Silvia whose face was red thanked him, she took a sip from the cup. Even though the ballroom dance looked graceful, after trying, he found
out that it actually requires a lot of energy.

Ash took the cup and drank from it. The liquid in the cup was lemon juice that taste a little sweet and sour. He can feel that the juice
was being absorbed by his exercised body.

''Anyway, shouldn’t there be any news yet from Cosette?''... Ash wonders. It had been almost an hour since he saw Cosette.

“-Excuse me, may I have a word with you?”

There was a sudden voice coming from behind that brought Ash back to his sense and he turned around-

“You…!”

Upon seeing the person, Ash lost his composure.

He hid Silvia behind him and glared at the person.

“…Have you any business to do with us?”

After Ash asked coldly, that person just reply with a smile.

“Hmm. It seems like I had become a nuisance.”

He is the young noble that they met not long before. If Silvia’s prediction was right, he is Klaus, Baron for the Wadanhuoer borders. Milgauss
was following him from behind like a shadow.

Even though their meeting not long before had nearly turned into a fight, Klaus still tried to greet them in purpose. There should be a limit
of how much an airhead he could be.

Klaus ignored Ash and looked at Silvia. Then he gracefully held out his hand to her.

“Your dance is excellent. I would like to know that if I had the honour to dance with you?”

“Are you kidding! What are you trying to pu-”

“Ash! Hold on!”

Silvia unexpectedly stopped Ash. After she indirectly rejected Klaus offer, she looked at Milgauss.

“If this man become my dance partner, I would allow it.”

“Haha! Who would have thought that I would be rejected while this follower is asked… You have quite some good eyes there.”

Not only that her actions didn’t anger Klaus, he even smiled. Silvia's words should have shattered his pride but it was like he was not even
bothered by it. He looked like a proud older brother whose younger brother is admired.

“Since the lady had proposed-”

Klaus looked at Milgauss while smiling.

Milgauss remained silent. He looked as if he had merged with the mask which bears no expression. Seeing that Milgauss had not yet replied,
Klaus shrugged his shoulders and said:

“Kuku, you are not allowed to decline. Don’t forget that the you right now are one of my followers.”

===Part 9===
Milgauss was dancing with Silvia while holding on to each other’s hands.

It is better to describe this as a beautiful show than a ballroom dance.

In contrast to the attractive Silvia, Milgauss hair was still with the red and white mix colour. Although he gave out a dangerous feeling, it is undeniable that the masquerade provides a cover for him.

Ballroom dancing is just a general statement. In truth, Ash knew that this dance had many developments that were affected by the difference of each country culture and style.

What Milgauss and Silvia were dancing right now is undoubtably the traditional dance of the Lautreamont Knight Country.

Ash was so focused in their dance that he had forgotten about the previous hatred.

But Ash was not the only one who was amazed.

Without knowing, everyone was entranced by Milgauss and Silvia’s dance.

Right now, the people dancing in the dance floor were only both of them.

They are occupying the whole wide space. Just like blessing them, the orchestras were at the climax of the music.

Followed by the movement of her evening dress, Silvia was dancing swiftly.

Facing Silvia, Milgauss was leading the dance.

They looked like a combination of light and shadow, yet their dance is perfect.

“Wow… This is my first time seeing such a great dance.”

Klaus was who admiring the dance while standing beside Ash spoke in a low voice in admiration.

===Part 10===
The dance of the two people ended silently like a setting sun.

Milgauss remained silent the whole time. He returned Silvia to Ash just like returning a book and walk off silently.

“Certainly his indifference attitude gave me some trouble.”

Klaus gave a wry smile and disappeared into the crowd while he ran after Milgauss.

Ash inspected Silvia’s face carefully.

“Have you found any clue? Could Milgauss true identity be…”

“No… I can’t be sure. Because I was very young the last time I saw Anii-ue… But, Milgauss' dance is definitely originated from the Lautreamont Knight Country. I am sure that he had a long history with the Knight Country.”

Silvia murmured.

“-Ash-sama.”

At this moment, someone whispered into Ash’s ears.

“Cosette!”

Ash turned around. Cosette was with a straight and serious face spoke:

“The maids who heads the search in the ancient palace had found Prim Onee-chan.”

"Yggdrasill ~A.S.B.1365.7~" is closed.

==References and Translation Notes==
<references />

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|-
| Back to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Chapter 6|Chapter 6]]
| Return to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Chapter 8|Chapter 8]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Chapter 7

2013-11-07T10:07:17Z

213.144.240.241: /* Part 1 */

==Chapter 7 - Masquerade==
===Part 1===
'''The Seventh Continental Congress ‘Elysium’ ''~A brief introduction of the attendees of each country~'' '''

'''I. Holy Espada Agency'''

The Pope Raquel IV is in charge of organizing this congress. Even though she is nine years old, her strong clairvoyance is recognized by all. She is a genius who was recommended to become the pope at a young age. She is now accompanied by twelve cardinals.

'''II. Chevron Kingdom'''

Apart from King Zacherias III and three princes, there are also the nobles who were involved in the country’s politics who attended. They made up a total of three thousand people all together which can be said to be the biggest group.

'''III. Zepharos Empire'''

Emperor Ortofon VIII will be absent because of old age. He will be replaced by the baron of the Wadanhuoer borders. Apart from that, there were a few more powerful nobles who attended. Although their numbers were next to the Chevron Kingdom’s, but the amount of attendees for them is unusually small.

'''IV. Labrock Trade Union'''

Led by the Caudillo EnzoSabatini, a total of seven mayors from seven major cities attended.

'''V. Lautreamont Knight Country'''

Apart from Paladin Oswald and First Princes, Princess Veronica, the Fourth Princess, Princess Silvia will attend the congress for the first time. The second and the third princess will not attend because of studying abroad. Also, there are a few nobles who attend.

===Part 2===
After putting aside the pamphlet he took with him to pass time, Ash lay down on the bed lazily.

“Just as I had thought, Pricess-sama is amazing.”

A few moments before, Silvia was lying on this bed exchanging gazes with him. The living Silvia is just an arm length away. But after he saw
Silvia’s name on the pamphlet, he still felt that she was still at that unreachable height.

Ash took out the silver watch that was given by the Paladin.

It was already six fifteen in the evening.

“It is already this late?”

After remembering that the masquerade starts at six thirty, he made up his mind to change. Just when Ash is going to take the suit hanging on
the wall- He stopped.

“What is Eco doing?”

Girls are different from guys. They need to take their time to get prepared. Ash understands that. Even so, Eco and Prim had been away for
four hours.

“Even if they are slow, this is just…”

Who knows where has she been to together with Prim.

After making up his mind, Ash removed the bandages on his left arm.

His left arm that was fully covered with his ‘Seikoku’ can be seen.

“Luckily I am connected with Eco.”

Not long ago, Eco was kidnapped by Angela. During that time, Ash found Angela’s hiding place with the help of his ‘Seikoku’.

Ash placed his left fist on his forehead and held his left wrist with his right hand.

“Please… Tell me where Eco is right now!”

After a pause, his left arm started to felt hot and the embroider symbols on his left arm started to glow. Butterflies created by magic
started to fly one by one. These butterflies were like road signs and normally will show ash the way to Eco.

“Huh??”

But what happen next left Ash staring blankly. The butterflies created had disappeared and the lights and heats coming from his left arm too
were gone.

“What’s happening!?”

Ash stood still, dumbfounded. Even though he kept on trying for the second and third time, he still ended up failing. His ‘Seikoku’ was like a
broken bright dragon crystal powered lamp. It stopped functioning totally.

He had a bad feeling. This is Paladin’s main town, so he had never expected for Eco to face any danger here. Still, the connection between him
and Eco that had been cut off was still the truth.

“Damn…!”

Ash was out of options and rushed out from the room.

He was running aimlessly at the long corridor.

When he was in the room together with Silvia, Eco probably was in danger… When Ash thought about this, he was disgusted by himself.

The space in the palace is wide. Even thought he had totally no idea where to search for Eco, still he couldn’t stay worried in his room.

Just when he was rushing at full speed at the corner, Ash saw a maid.

“Uwaa!”

“Ara ara.”

At the same time the maid was mumbling something, she nimbly avoided Ash.

Not only that, she also seized Ash’s necktie just when he was going to fall and pull him back. Ash was lucky as he was a few moments away
from falling head down.

“It is not like what Ash-sama will do to run around panicking in the corridor.”

Ash looked back embarrassedly and saw Cosette.

Ash as if he met his savior begged Cosette to help him.

“Eco and Prim had not yet return! Even the ‘Seikoku’ had no reaction!”

Cosette immediately became serious.

“Understood. I will immediately order the maids who were not on duty to search for them. It will be better than to let Ash-sama running
aimlessly.

“Thank you! Lets-”

“You mustn’t. Please follow the original plan and attend the masquerade, Ash-sama.”

“How could I… She is my pal. It isn’t right for me not to search for her!”

“Please don’t forget that this is Fontaine City. The coming word may not be pleasant so I beg your pardon… Since the ‘Seikoku’ is not
reacting, even if Ash-sama had joined the search, there is nothing you can do.”

“Wha….!”

“On the other hand, we maids knew the structure of this palace. Please believe in us and let us handle this matter. Not to mention that Prim
onee-chan is my family. I will deal this matter with full force.”

“Understood…”

After Ash promised while nodding, Cosette finally smile.

“Although this doesn’t seem right, I must ask Ash-sama to act as Princess-sama’s escort.”

“Princess-sama’s escort?”

“Even though she was always what you saw, actually, she is very timid and afraid of strangers. But, as long as Ash-sama is with her, I don’t
think that it will be a problem."

Cosette’s plan should be perfect. But this is the time where Eco will face danger any moment, and yet he was enjoying the masquerade, he
didn’t feels that this is the right thing to do.

As if she had seen through what ash was thinking, Cosette guaranteed:

“Please have faith in me, Ash-sama.”

Ash reluctantly accepted.

“…Alright. Eco will be in your hands.”

<noinclude>

===Part 3===
After four in the evening, Anya returned back to Beowolf through the long secret passage. After handing over Eco to Dr Hoffman, she borrowed the shower room.

Although it is summer, Anya felt very cold. She was drenched by the heavy rain outside not long before.

After entering the changing room, Anya firstly removed her maid attire that was soaked with water. Only then she removed her tight undergarments.

Lastly, she let loose her hair that was tied at the back of her head and she was now naked.

There was a huge mirror hanging on the wall in the bathroom.

“…”

It had been a long time since she stared at her own body.

Her wet dark hair, her wheat coloured skin that only the mountains people have, her small chest and her curves that looked as if the extra
flesh were being removed by a knife.

Without any reasons, Anya touched her breast. Compare to ‘La Tene’s’ manager, Rebecca of the president of the student council and Princess
Silvia, there is nothing special about hers- But at least hers could be compared with Eco’s.
[[Image:SnRK V04 004-005.jpg|thumb|'' It seems like I am not at all feminine… Anya mocked her own self. “…!” Just when she thought about that, Anya panicked. ''What nonsense am I thinking about?'' '']]

''It seems like I am not at all feminine…'' Anya mocked her own self.

“…!”

Just when she thought about that, Anya panicked.

''What nonsense am I thinking about?'' Anya in her past was never bothered by her looks. It was probably that living in the dragon riding academy for this whole time had made her impetuous.

Logically speaking, big breasts will become a hindrance in battle. There are even legends that said that female warriors of the mountain
people in the ancient times tend to cut off one of their breast in order to not obstruct them in archery.

“That’s it. It is better to have a small breast than to face the knife!”

After Anya tried to give herself an excuse, she turned on the tap.

Although the water was initially cold, it had turned warm in just a few moments. Anya once again was amazed by the Empires skills and let the
warm water flows from her head.

She hoped that her impetuous feeling too will be wash away together-

Anya while letting the warm water run through her body with her eyes closed, she thought about her previous mission.

Basically, it was a successful mission.

Even though she had underestimated Eco’s fighting ability and caused her four underlings to be injured, still, since they were not spotted by
any of the guards, she could force a pass in it.

“But… The problems start here.”

===Part 4===
On the third floor of the palace- In the ball room, the temperature is rising. All the guests were with a silver mask. Apart from those traditional mask where it hides the area beside the eyes, there were also masks that were shaped like dragons, lions and many other animals.
Among them, there were also guest there dressed up as a clown.

After Ash who was in the formal suit wore the mask that he received from the counter, he stood beside the entrance. That was because Cosette
had told him that he will meet Silvia sooner or later if he stood there.

The palace’s orchestra was performing a light music at the opposite of the door. Ash could never be able to blend into this kind of
environment.

“Eco…Where are you?”

For numerous times… Ash had called out to his ‘Seikoku’, but there still isn’t a positive result.

The ‘Seikoku’ is like a quite beach during the low tide.

“-Anything wrong. You look like as if you are worrying about something.”

Suddenly, when he heard someone was talking to him, Ash looked up in fright. A lady with a black butterfly was staring at him. The black
butterfly was of course a mask. Since it had only covered the top part of her face, it was easy when it come to figure out who she was.

“Huh… Princess!”

Silvia glared at Ash.

“Uwaa, sorry…”

Ash was apologizing to Silvia while trying to check any emotional changes from her.

Her glaring golden hair was tied into a mature hairstyle and stood out together with the deep red coloured ribbon. The long gloves that
covered until her elbow gave out the feeling of a fair lady. On her right hand was a fan which looked like a choice of a girl from a high
family status.

Her evening dress was blue in colour with gem stones sewed on the important places and it looks like it emerges from the lakes during
summer. In contrast to her waist that was bounded tightly by Cosette, the lower part of her dress was let of loosely and looked like a sole
lilium. <ref>Lilium is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs, all with large prominent flowers. Lilies are a group of
flowering plants which are important in culture and literature in much of the world. Wikipedia</ref>

Ash blushed. He recalled the memories two hours ago where both of them were on the bed.

“Princess-sama… Is really beautiful.”

Ash felt pathetic as he has such a poor vocabulary. That is because Silvia is that beautiful.

“D-Don’t keep on staring at me. It’s embarrassing…!”

When Silvia noticed Ash’s sight, her cheeks turned rosy and shyly lower down her head. She opened up the fan and covered her mouth with it.

“Sorry…”

Ash was also embarrassed and turned his head aside.

There was an awkward moment in between the two and after a while, Silvia spoke:

“That’s it! I had heard of it from Cosette. It was said that Eco and Prim were lost together…”

Upon hearing, Ash was now fully awake.

“That’s right… Cosette right now was looking for them. If it is possible, I would also like to take part in the search. But, the ‘Seikoku’ is
not reacting.”

“What did you say! How is it possible…?”

Just when Silvia was getting tense…

“Excuse me, miss. Can you please step aside?”

A man who was hiding his face like the rest of the guest was speaking to Silvia gently. The man's language bears a strong Empire’s accent.

“Ahh…Sorry.”

Silvia immediately stepped aside.

“Thank you, Princess Silvia- Sorry, tonight should be a masquerade. Hehe… It is better if we keep each other’s identity a secret.”

The man who was like a noble spoke like a poet and walked into the ballroom leisurely. Even when Silvia wore her mask, the man recognized her
with just a glance.

''Who the hell is this guy''…Ash felt uneasy.

“You!”

At the next instant, Ash shouted.

The mysterious man had a follower with him. The follower initially was following the man from behind but he was forced to stop when Ash held
him by the shoulder.

“You are…!”

Silvia gasped when she saw the follower.

Ash angrily asked without hesitating:

“Milgauss… Why are you here!?”

To his horror, Milgauss attempted to enter the ballroom with his usual mask.

“…Can you please let go, Ash Blake. I have nothing that I want to talk to you here.”

Milgauss was calm.

Not only was Ash irritated by Milgauss when he purposely called his full name, but he also had a bad feeling about it.

“What? How dare you after doing those things…”

When Ash was going to refute, he noticed something.

The Kingdom’s language that Milgauss used doesn’t bear the Empire’s accent. Milgauss is Prince Julius- There is a sudden increase in the probability of what Silvia had said.

“Oops. Could it be that my follower had offended both of you?”

The man before turned back to face the door. The previous tense atmosphere disappeared in an instant.

Milgauss glared at Ash as if he wanted Ash to know his stand.

Through the mask, the fierce pressure that his eyes bear caused Ash to shake.

Milgauss then acted as if he had lost interest in Ash, turned around, and faced the man.

“Nothing. Just a misunderstanding. Nothing to make a fuss about.”

Even though he was a follower, Milgauss didn’t even try to speak in a humble form. <ref>Humble form is a way to express yourself in Japanese when you are speaking to a person from a higher social status.</ref>

Ash could only see them disappearing off into the crowd.

At this moment, Silvia spoke to Ash in a stuttered voice:

“That man… I knew him.”

“Really?”

“That’s it. He should be the Klaus, Baron for the Wadanhuoer borders.”

He had never imagined to hear the name of the agent of the Zepharos Empire’s Emperor from Silvia. In his heart, he felt a tense feeling as if someone was pointing a knife at his neck which is far more intense than the previous fight between him and Milgauss.

===Part 5===
After bathing, Anya changed back into a usual tribal wear.

Even though the weather was hot, she still had the muffler around her neck. The mission before required her to remove the muffler which made her have the feeling of the lack of safety around her neck. Now, it is better.

After that, Anya head to the armory to check on Eco.

===Part 6===
Upon stepping into the armory, the atmosphere changed significantly into a hectic situation. ‘Yggdrasill’ seemed to be running and the buzzing sound can be heard.

The Millenniums on the body of the machine were shining. There are also the sounds of the technician reading the data shown on the screen.

It seems that Eco was already inside ‘Yggdrasill’-The capsule.

Her clothes were removed and she was naked.

She is just like a baby holding on to her knees floating in the capsule.

Her beautiful figure gave Anya a mysterious feeling.

“Ahh, ain’t you Anya-dono?”

The representative of the researchers- Dr Hoffman<ref>note: Dr Hoffman’s ‘DR’ is a PHD holder’s Dr and not a medical Dr.</ref> noticed Anya and walk towards her.

“Has the experiment…begun?”

“At our current stage, there is nothing abnormal. It is all according to the plan.”

Dr Hoffman gave a gentle smile just like a kind elderly man. But this man took Eco as a experimental object without even a second though. This made Anya felt uneasy.

“It seems that Anya-dono didn’t like much about this experiment.”

Dr Hoffman’s word had hit the bull’s eye.

“N-No…!”

Anya felt embarrassed. Even though she denied verbally, everyone can tell that she was lying from the looks of her face.

“It is alright. You are still young.”

“Professor… Have you ever have any doubt? Although Eco is a dragon… her appearance is of a girl’s.”

“Do I have a choice? For what I am today, it is all thanks to Klaus-sama. Last time, when I was forced to carry out all inhuman experiments, I
strongly rejected them and pissed off the Zepharos Emperor. In the end, I was chased out from the capital Arkham. During that time, Klaus-sama
is my savior and invited me to his private research center.”
After saying that, Dr Hoffman gave a gentle cough.

“Anya-dono, what do you think that this ‘Yggdrasill’ was used for?”

“I-I don’t know.”

“I am not surprised. Even I have no idea about this thing initially. I only realized after I read Milgauss-dono’s written opinion.”

“What did Milgauss-sama wrote?”

“It was said that, a long time ago… when the ancient kingdom reaches its prime, humans and dragons can even control life. On the first glance
on this ‘Yggdrasill’, Milgauss-dono knew that this is a medical tool.”

“Medical…?”

“In contrary to the modern times, all the dragons in the ancient time can transform into a Maestro. But of course there are exceptions. This
machine is used for dragons who couldn’t transform into Maestro… Basically, it was for dragons with handicap.”

Anya finally understood Dr Hoffman’s hint.

“In another words, our plan is to use its function… To awaken Eco?”

“That’s right. We are going to compress the enormous magic of the Millennium into her body and force out her true self.”

“But…Why now? Tomorrow is the continental congress ‘Elysium’, to launch such a experiment at such an important time is to…?”

“This has no longer anything to do with me.”

Dr Hoffman’s answer is no longer the kind old man. He just answered coldly.

“I am only following Klaus-sama’s orders. Anya-dono, didn’t you too obeyed Milgauss-dono’s order to capture young dragon Eco?”

“That’s… true.”

Dr Hoffman’s words were like an ice blade that stabbed into Anya’s chest.

===Part 7===
It was seven in the evening.

The masquerade that intends to bring all the people of different countries together had started right on time.

The venue was located at the highest floor of Fontaine Palace.

Fontaine Palace which had been famous for its plain design had only this ballroom being designed grandly with the Chevron style.

At the dance floor in the middle of the ballroom, men and ladies were holding hands dancing gracefully according to the music tempo. Around the dance floor were also bars, tables, chairs and sofas. A number of guests were chit chatting there.

Looking at those gentlemen and gentlewomen hiding their faces behind those mask and gathered together, Ash secretly felt that this is not a
place where he belongs to.

Ash avoided the crowd nimbly and head towards Silvia and said:

“Princess-sama was already used to this kind of ball right?”

“You are wrong. A citizen of the Knights should be focusing on plainness… It is not our wish to organized such a noisy party… Apart from that,
could you not address me as ‘Princess-sama’?”

“Why?”

Ash didn’t know how to react to this. Silvia suddenly stood still. She was showing an unsatisfied look on her face. Because her mask had
covered the area around her eyes, Ash could only judge her expression through her lips.

“What did you think this mask is for? If you kept on saying ‘Princess-sama’, everyone will know who I am.”

“Ahh…You are right.”

“Tsk, Can’t you use some of your brains?”

“So what should I call you as?”

“Err…!”

Silvia was silenced by the unexpected question. Her face turned red in a blink of an eye.

After a few seconds, Silvia spoke:

“…You can call me Sylvie.”

The Silvia right in front of him is very attractive which made him wanted to give her a hug.

“Then…”

Ash gulped.

''-Sylvie.''

His heart was jumping nonstop. Just like resonating to Ash feelings, Silvia lowered down her head and acted shyly as if to prevent her
heartbeat form being heard.

Ash made up his mind and spread open his dry lips.

“Silv- Uwaa!”

At this moment, Ash with a ‘Don!’ was pushed aside by someone and fell down. Before he could react, Silvia was surrounded by three men.

“My beautiful ojou-san<ref>A way to address a girl from a high family status.</ref>. Could I have the honor for you to be my dance partner?”

“Although your face was covered, the classy air around you couldn’t be hidden from my eyes!”

“Hold on! I am here first!”

Ash was dumbstruck. Even though those men are with their mask on, but judging from their actions, they are not someone simple. These men should
have noticed the different air around Silvia.

“Hold on… I am a little troubled by all of you inviting me suddenly…”

If it was the usual Silvia, she will tell them off mercilessly. But, right now, she is just a girl that had little experience of this world.

''-Even though she was always what you saw, actually, she is very timid and afraid of strangers''

Ash remembered what Cosette had said. She is worthy to become Silvia’s maid for her to notice all the details.

After Ash fell down, there were still men approaching her. The number of men surrounding her had increased from three to five.

Now it is ten. The voices that were inviting Silvia to be their dance partner were getting louder.

The guests around started to notice the noise and looked at them curiously.

“About that… I don’t feel like doing it now…”

Just like ants surrounding sugars, the numbers of men surrounding were still growing.

Facing all the passionate men, Silvia was being overwhelmed.

“Hey, Ash!”

But she suddenly shouted Ash’s name as if she wants Ash to come to her help.

After he made his mental preparations, Ash dragged Silvia through the walls of men.

There were sounds of disapproving from their surroundings.

“Hey, where’re your manners!”

“Couldn’t you take your turn!”

“Even though this is a masquerade, you must keep up with your manners!”

You are the ones who don’t have any manners…Ash grumbled in his heart and kept on squeezing forward.

These weak nobles couldn’t even stand still when they were pushed by Ash. And can only make way. They are at most nobles who were raised
while being protected. Naturally, they are no match to Ash who undergo strict training in the dragon riding academy in terms of strength.

“Waa!”

A waiter in black immediately made way to protect the expensive wine glass upon seeing Ash rushing right into him.

In a few moments, they are no longer surrounded and their field of vision widens. At the same time, the music had become louder.

“Ehh…?”

Ash stopped.

A group of people were holding hands dancing in pairs. Ash only found out that they mistakenly ran into the dance floor.

The numerous amount of evening dress made the scenery looks like hundreds of flowers blossoming at the same time.

Every time the ladies in the dance floor turned their bodies, their long skirts turned into a giant rose.

“W-We should retreat! Princess-sama!”

“Didn’t I told you not to call me Princess-sama!”

“This is not a time to be arguing about those things!”

For the two to be standing in the dance floor while holding hands while arguing, suddenly there were applauses from their surroundings.

“W-What happened?”

From the looks of it, they definitely want to give courage for the two to dance. It was probably Silvia classy feel around her that caught
their attentions. Ash was just a side character.

“What should we do now, Princess-sama?”

Ash was troubled and turned around to look at Silvia. Seeing Ash being embarrass, Silvia laugh.

“Wa…What are you laughing about, Princess-sama?”

“Nothing. Right now, we can only return the favour of the guests.”

“Ehh…?”

In opposite of what just happened, Silvia took the initiative to hold Ash’s hands.

“Wait! I know nothing about dancing!”

“You should had learn before the basic of a ballroom dance in the physical education class, no?”

“I-I guess so…”

“Alright, everyone is looking. I will take the lead, you just have to follow.”

“Okay… I will give it a try.”

Ash imitates the guests’ action and held Silvia’s waist with a hand. Her waist is just as thin as a doll.

Followed by the light waltz, Ash and Silvia started to dance. The distance between they were so near that they can feel each other’s breath.
This made Ash’s head spins. Although there were a few time where he nearly tripped over Silvia’s feet, she was not bothered by it and even
cover up for Ash.
[[Image:SnRK V04 167.jpg|thumb]]

Not long later, the dancers around and the beat of the music had disappeared from Ash thought.

Starting from her breath from her lips that had lip gloss on them, to the feeling from his palm, to the soft sensation he felt whenever their
bodies collides with each other and also that rosy smell…

While dancing, ash felt like he is going to faint.

As if to drag him back to reality, Silvia grumbled to Ash.

“Anyway, it was your entire fault for not positioning yourself properly.”

“…What do you meant?”

Ash asked while accidentally stepping on Silvia’s feet. Ash totally don’t get what she was saying.

“For the start when we entered this ballroom, you kept on following me from behind? No matter how I think of it, I can only see you as my
follower. That is why those guys will try to approach me...”

Ash gave a wry smile.

At such a time, Silvia would even think of lecturing him. Although it fits her style well, what comes next gave ash a great big shock.

“B-But… You look cool…Err…When you were running while holding my hand.”

“Princess-sama…?”

“N-Nothing! Forget it!”

Silvia immediately stopped talking and focused her mind on the dance.

===Part 8===
After dancing, Ash brought Silvia to a corner of the ballroom.

Ash wished to relax for a moment from the eyes of others. He passed a cup of drink that he received from a waiter to Silvia.

“Thank you.”

After Silvia whose face was red thanked him, she took a sip from the cup. Even though the ballroom dance looked graceful, after trying, he found
out that it actually requires a lot of energy.

Ash took the cup and drank from it. The liquid in the cup was lemon juice that taste a little sweet and sour. He can feel that the juice
was being absorbed by his exercised body.

''Anyway, shouldn’t there be any news yet from Cosette?''... Ash wonders. It had been almost an hour since he saw Cosette.

“-Excuse me, may I have a word with you?”

There was a sudden voice coming from behind that brought Ash back to his sense and he turned around-

“You…!”

Upon seeing the person, Ash lost his composure.

He hid Silvia behind him and glared at the person.

“…Have you any business to do with us?”

After Ash asked coldly, that person just reply with a smile.

“Hmm. It seems like I had become a nuisance.”

He is the young noble that they met not long before. If Silvia’s prediction was right, he is Klaus, Baron for the Wadanhuoer borders. Milgauss
was following him from behind like a shadow.

Even though their meeting not long before had nearly turned into a fight, Klaus still tried to greet them in purpose. There should be a limit
of how much an airhead he could be.

Klaus ignored Ash and looked at Silvia. Then he gracefully held out his hand to her.

“Your dance is excellent. I would like to know that if I had the honour to dance with you?”

“Are you kidding! What are you trying to pu-”

“Ash! Hold on!”

Silvia unexpectedly stopped Ash. After she indirectly rejected Klaus offer, she looked at Milgauss.

“If this man become my dance partner, I would allow it.”

“Haha! Who would have thought that I would be rejected while this follower is asked… You have quite some good eyes there.”

Not only that her actions didn’t anger Klaus, he even smiled. Silvia's words should have shattered his pride but it was like he was not even
bothered by it. He looked like a proud older brother whose younger brother is admired.

“Since the lady had proposed-”

Klaus looked at Milgauss while smiling.

Milgauss remained silent. He looked as if he had merged with the mask which bears no expression. Seeing that Milgauss had not yet replied,
Klaus shrugged his shoulders and said:

“Kuku, you are not allowed to decline. Don’t forget that the you right now are one of my followers.”

===Part 9===
Milgauss was dancing with Silvia while holding on to each other’s hands.

It is better to describe this as a beautiful show than a ballroom dance.

In contrast to the attractive Silvia, Milgauss hair was still with the red and white mix colour. Although he gave out a dangerous feeling, it is undeniable that the masquerade provides a cover for him.

Ballroom dancing is just a general statement. In truth, Ash knew that this dance had many developments that were affected by the difference of each country culture and style.

What Milgauss and Silvia were dancing right now is undoubtably the traditional dance of the Lautreamont Knight Country.

Ash was so focused in their dance that he had forgotten about the previous hatred.

But Ash was not the only one who was amazed.

Without knowing, everyone was entranced by Milgauss and Silvia’s dance.

Right now, the people dancing in the dance floor were only both of them.

They are occupying the whole wide space. Just like blessing them, the orchestras were at the climax of the music.

Followed by the movement of her evening dress, Silvia was dancing swiftly.

Facing Silvia, Milgauss was leading the dance.

They looked like a combination of light and shadow, yet their dance is perfect.

“Wow… This is my first time seeing such a great dance.”

Klaus was who admiring the dance while standing beside Ash spoke in a low voice in admiration.

===Part 10===
The dance of the two people ended silently like a setting sun.

Milgauss remained silent the whole time. He returned Silvia to Ash just like returning a book and walk off silently.

“Certainly his indifference attitude gave me some trouble.”

Klaus gave a wry smile and disappeared into the crowd while he ran after Milgauss.

Ash inspected Silvia’s face carefully.

“Have you found any clue? Could Milgauss true identity be…”

“No… I can’t be sure. Because I was very young the last time I saw Anii-ue… But, Milgauss' dance is definitely originated from the Lautreamont Knight Country. I am sure that he had a long history with the Knight Country.”

Silvia murmured.

“-Ash-sama.”

At this moment, someone whispered into Ash’s ears.

“Cosette!”

Ash turned around. Cosette was with a straight and serious face spoke:

“The maids who heads the search in the ancient palace had found Prim Onee-chan.”

"Yggdrasill ~A.S.B.1365.7~" is closed.

==References and Translation Notes==
<references />

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|-
| Back to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Chapter 6|Chapter 6]]
| Return to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Chapter 8|Chapter 8]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Chapter 6

2013-11-06T20:57:07Z

213.144.240.241: /* Part 6 */

==Chapter 6 - Ancient palace's abandoned garden==
===Part 1===
“Uu~n…”

Ash woke up after touching something that felt soft and comfortable.

He felt that he had been sleeping for quite a long time.

There was a ticking sound coming from beside his pillow. He stretched his hand to search for the source and touched something cold.

It was the silver watch that Oswald awarded to him last night.

''-The Proof of a Dragner.''

For all the citizens of the Knight Country, everyone had dreamed of getting their hands on this silver watch. Ash flipped open the cover and took a glance.

The outer design was made that the inner structure could be seen. The movement of the quaint and complicated gear mechanism for each and every second would make people stare at it in awe.

The position of the pointed was at twelve sharp.

“Is it already noon…”

This energetic feeling that he had after waking up might as well be the first time in his whole life.

Also what is this fruity smell? This refreshing smell had some sweetness in it and it felt like a smell that teenage girls would like.

The main point is, this bolster is very good. Not only that it is soft, it also felt warm. It also could change its shape according to Ash’s will. Just as expected of a bedding set prepared in Fontain City…

''-Stop, hold on! I remember very well that no bolster was prepared.''

When he found out in surprise that his memories contradicted with reality, Ash immediately rubbed his sleepy eyes.

“Sss… Sss…”

Prim who was only in her underwear was sleeping soundly next to Ash.

The thing that Ash thought was a bolster was actually Prim’s soft body. Just like a child embracing its mother, Ash had his face sunk deep into the valley.

Ash only now realized what the extremely soft object was.

“Uwaaaaa! W-Why is Prim-san sleeping here!”

Ash jumped in shock.

Even while someone was shouting beside her, Prim was still sleeping soundly.

“Hey… What is this ruckus about?”

There was a sound of disparagement coming from the bed beside. It was Eco. She sat up while rubbing her sleepy eyes then she stared at Ash angrily.

For a moment, Eco’s expression froze.

“Hey… What’s the big idea? Why is Prim sleeping on your bed?”

“Please calm down, Eco! I was also wondering why!”

“Then… how are you going to explain the maid attire that is scattered all over the floor.”

Following Eco’s sight, indeed the floor was full of Prim’s maid attire.

“Hmm… I see.”

There was a black killing intend surrounding Eco and sounds like ‘Gggggggg' could somehow be heard.

“Hey… I had told you a few times, no? You are not my master; I am the master! But you take the opportunity of your master sleeping… to lure a maid into your bed… and did this and that to her, no?”

Eco was still naïve the time she was born, but in this few months she had learned quite a number of things about humans. The dragons have storage of knowledge that had been passed down since ancient times- The Dragonweiss. Eco can obtain any knowledge if she searched using it.

But Eco had obviously misunderstood.

“S-Stop! That’s not it! I did nothing! It is the truth!”

“The truth is right in front of my eyes, who would believe what you say!”

At the same time when Eco was going to explode, someone slammed the door open.

“Ash! Are you alright! I thought that I heard something weird…"

It was Silvia who banged into the room and following behind her was Cosette. They had probably heard Ash’s voice in the corridor and came to make sure.

“Hey, Ash… Why is Prim… sleeping on your bed… in only her underwear?”

Once she found out about Prim, Silvia made the same frightening expression as Eco.

The familiar lines could be heard once again.

“A knight must not commit fornication before marriage!”

Silvia was jinxing when she approached Ash with steady footsteps.

“I swear that… I’ll never forgive you!”

To synchronize with Silvia’s footsteps, Eco leaped from her bed towards Ash.

''Ahh... Stop. Followed by this pattern will be…''

It will be useless even if he tries to protest. Ash could only leave the rest to fate.

“I’m gonna trample you!”

“This is the Lautreamont’s family rules!”

===Part 2===
“S~sorry! It is my fault… I had mistaken the rooms, and also slept on Ash-sama’s bed. I’m really sorry!”

Prim, who had finally woken up, cleared up the misunderstandings as she explained in tears.

“By the way… I wanted to inform you something about tonight’s dress code."

Cosette gently spoke as if end the quietness:

“Tonight? Aah… The Masquerade ?”

Cosette nodded after Ash asked.

“That’s right. If it is alright, I hope that you will allow Eco to try on some evening dresses.”

“Would you also lend me some cute evening dresses this time?”

Upon hearing Cosette, Eco became excited. Her eyes were glittering right now and she had totally forgotten about her anger.

“Ufufu. I have prepared the best evening dress that suits this ball for you. But…”

“But…”

“I’m going to be busy with princess-sama’s dressing today so the person who will assist Eco will be-“

Cosette showed a bitter smile and glanced at Prim.

“Will be in Prim’s hands.”

Eco was shocked by what she had said and immediately lost her temper.

“Hold on! This clumsy maid will be in charge of my dressing? Are you kidding me!”

“Uuuuugh”

After she heard Eco’s heartless critiques, Prim gave a deep sigh while pressing against her chest. After seeing that, Cosette placed her hand
on her shoulder and smiled.

“Please rest assured. Although onee-chan is always clumsy, good at destroying things, frequently enters the wrong room, her brains are not that
bright and also lack of energy just like an human being dragged by her breasts, but…”

“Please stop! Cosette-san! Prim-san is nearly in tears!”

Ash immediately reminded her and Cosette was mumbling something like ''‘Ara ara, oh no’'' and immediately covered her mouth with her hand.

“H-How can you… So Onee-chan is such a person in your eyes...”

Prim who had been crying was looking down and sat on the floor without any spirit. She could be seen mumbling with tears in her eyes with something like: ''‘Since I'm just a useless girl…’''.

“Ufufu. You should have listened until the end before taking any action, onee-chan. For a useless sister like you, you are better at picking beautiful things than me.”

“That’s absolutely correct!”

Upon being praised, Prim rose from the ground just like a corpse being reborn.

“Is it true…?”

Eco didn’t even try to hide her suspiciousness and glanced at Prim.

“You need not worry about anything. I will take care of everything. I swear that I will find Eco an evening dress that matches with her best!”

Prim who received motivation from Cosette was no longer in her timid self. She shook her busty breast and made the declaration.

===Part 3===
After lunch, Eco was dragged to the changing room by Prim. Ash who had nothing to do was lying on the bed lazily.

“Guys can relax at times like this.”

Ash had decided to attend the ball with the suit that he wore yesterday when he had dinner with Oswald. The suit was hanging by the wall right now.

In conclusion, guys just need to choose a black suit to attend but it is different for a girl.

''-Knock Knock…''

Upon hearing the door knocks, Ash jumped up from the bed.

It is impossible for Eco and Prim to return this early.

“Who is it…?”

Ash was a little nervous when he couldn’t figure out who was knocking.

“Please wait for a moment!”

After informing the person on the other side of the door, Ash covered his naked left arm with bandages. To him, this just could be considered as a normal routine, so he only spent less than thirty seconds to complete the bandages.

There was amazing symbols that looked like a poisonous black snakes branded on his left arm.

That is the proof of Ash’s contract with the dragons- ‘Seikoku’.

Normally, the size of a ‘seikoku’ will never be larger than the size of a palm but only Ash’s ‘Seikoku’ was overly large. Because it looked like a bad omen, Ash had always had it hidden.

Ash who had dealt with the bandages slowly open the door.

Fragrance of roses slowly entered the room.

“Princess-sama!”

“W-Why were you startled?”

That’s right, Silvia was standing at the doorway with a poker face. Her white blouse paired with a blue skirt- It is a fresh sight which can be rarely seen at the academy.

“Err… Can you spare me some of your time, I just wanted to have a talk.”

“Alright…”

Ash invited Silvia to enter his room which having a look out in the corridor. Luckily there isn’t a single soul in the corridor. Ash gave a
sigh of relieve and quickly close the door. ''If this scenario was seen by someone from the palace…'' Ash felt that his life was threatened just by thinking about it.

“…”

After she looked around in the room, Silvia chose to sit on the bed out of all places.

''-W-Why must you sit at there…! Why not on the sofa…!''

“Anything wrong? Why don’t you have a seat too?”

Upon saying, Silvia tapped at the place beside her.

Ash gave a gulp while swallowing his saliva and sat beside Silvia.

“…”

Even when she came here with some intentions, Silvia’s mouth still remains shut.

“That’s it. Don’t you need to put on your evening dress?”

Ash who can no longer bear with the silence asked.

Silvia answered softly with her poker face:

Basically, I have already decided what to wear. But… there were some parts that were too tight. So it was brought to the tailor to have its adjustment done.

“But you don’t look like you have grown fatter?”

Silvia immediately blushed.

“I’m talking about my chest! My breast has grown since last year… Look at what you had made me say!”

“S-Sorry!”

The moment Silvia straightened her body; her beautifully shaped breasts were bouncing up and down. Ash immediately averted his eyes.

“Since it was brought to the tailor, don’t you need to wait beside?”

“The measurement has already been taken. So before the tailor is done adjusting, there is nothing that I can do.”

At this moment, Silvia was looking downwards embarrassly, and spoke after a few seconds of making up her mind:

“Err… I want to say that, since both of us are free, we could have a little chat. O-Of course that if you feel that I am a bother, then I will take my leave…”

Ash gave a wry smile. When he saw Silvia being nervous, Ash on the other hand had calmed down.

“Nope, I am free right now. Eco and Prim are not in and when I think about the masquerade, I don’t feel like taking a tour in the town.

“Is it so… great.”

Silvia looked spiritless. She was no longer her usual energetic self. She looked as if she wanted to say something important but she didn’t know how to convey it. So Ash tried to give her a push.

“If you are worried about something, I will be glad to hear it out. I think that a Princess who was born in the Royal Knight’s Family will carry a larger burden compare to a peasant like me. So… I don’t know how much I am able to help you but I am ready to hear out what you want to say."

Silvia lifted her head and looked at Ash with her clear blue eyes. Maybe he was too sensitive towards her expression, he thought that she somehow became relieved

“I see. So it means that you are willing to listen to my troubles, no?”

===Part 4===
“Haa… This too is still lacking.”

Eco was facing some trouble in the changing room on the second floor. Because she had been searching for some time and she still couldn’t find one dress that will make her say ‘This is the one’.

“Do you like this?”

Prim was getting nervous and she rubbed of her sweat on her forehead.

“Everyone will dress themselves up to their best in a ball, no? As a noble dragon girl, how could I lose to a stupid and ignorant human. Especially that Silvia!”

Eco declared while crossing her arms in front of chest.

“Or do you think that, I, have no chance of winning against Silvia?”

“I-I daren’t say so! The thing is… I am curious regarding why are you always trying your best to compete against Silvia? Could it be… it is because of Ash-sama?”

Eco immediately blushed.

“W-W….What are you talking about! It has nothing to do with him!”

Prim bend her neck to a side and continued to stare at Eco.

“Suspicious!”

“Nothing suspicious!”

“But the relationship between Ash-sama and Silvia-sama is not something to joke about. I was shocked during yesterday’s dinner. Because it was the first time I saw Silvia-sama to have a close relationship with a guy when talking to him.”

“Urgh…”

After Prim finished talking, Eco felt insecure. That's right, Ash and Silvia had been getting better in the recent days.

''-To leave me as the owner at a side to have an affair with some female animals? What is this! Why don’t I just squash him flat today!''

''No, Ash is the true owner.''

Basically, Eco knew this. Even so, she refused to admit it because of her pride.

''Is Ash fed up with my attitude? So he rather chooses to mix with some female animals?''

''Apart from Silvia, there is Rebecca, Jessica and Lukka to name a few… There seems to be many females with great charms around Ash.''

''Recently, the waitress in the student’s restaurant- The female animal who is called Anya was also a little suspicious. She kept on asking things about Ash. She probably is also interested in Ash…''

“Eco-chan, do you hate Princess-sama?”

The sudden question brought Eco back to her sense.

“I don’t hate her… during the Selective Training Camp, she was generous enough for allowing me to ride on Lancelot. But her breasts made me mad!”

Prim smiled bitterly and sighed with a heavy tone:

“Eco-chan, you must be suffering a lot.”

“…Suffer what?”

Eco was startled.

After Prim paused for a moment, she said:

“Because… Ash-sama is a human and you are a dragon. One day in the future, Ash-sama will get married with a human girl and have children together- Aah, Eco-chan!”

Before Prim could manage to finish her sentence, Eco suddenly ran through the door to the corridor.

“Eco-chan! Please stop! I-I … Did I say something bad!?”

Prim was chasing behind her but Eco kept on running forward without even turning her head back.

''This is frustrating!''

Eco didn’t understand why was she this frustrated.

But her frustration and anger had urged her to keep on running.

She was not angry about Prim. Eco knew well that Prim said that without any bad intention.

Ash and Eco are bound together by the contract. They shared their life and death together. Eco had always believed that there is no stronger bond than this and thus she was assured of their relationship.

So she had never thought of Ash being taken away by someone.

''But- Ash is a human and Eco is a dragon.''

''Just in case what Prim stated was true…''

''If Ash fell in love and decide to settle down…''

''Then what am I to him?''

“Uuuu… ''*Hick*''”

Eco was running aimlessly in tears.

“Tsk… I already knew the answer… That guy is the real owner-”

''That’s right… in the far future, I will only be treated as a pet dragon.''

As a pet, she could only wish for Ash’s happiness from the side. She will pass her days by eating when she is hungry and shake her tail when she has nothing to do just like a tamed beast…

“Urgg… This kind of life is just too sad....”

That is not the kind of love Eco wants from Ash.

Her chest was like being bound tightly. It is painful. Just too painful.

With her head filled with mixed emotions, Eco was running wildly. She ran down the stairs and passed through the hall towards the entrance.

The guards immediately tried to stop her. Since the ball is going to be held, the security is tighter.

“You there! Stop!”

When her wrist was being held, Eco angrily showed her teeth. After struggling the guards were knocked like dried leaves. One by one the guards were knocked off by Eco.

No matter how strong the soldiers are, they were just like puppets when they were facing Eco.

“Uuu…”

But, this incident made Eco realize more that she is born a dragon. Just by thinking that human guys didn’t like abnormally strong girls, more of her tears flowed out.

Eco was outside of the palace once she exited the entrance.

“Hold on! Eco-chan!”

It seems that the clumsy Prim was still chasing nonstop.

Eco was already confused about the reason that made her run. But she didn’t want Prim to see her crying looks.

Just by looking at the sky she felt depressed.

The clear sky a few moments ago was suddenly filled with dark clouds as if it is going to rain anytime. The roaring of thunder could somehow be heard from afar.

Eco was running under a sky filled with dark clouds and she was running without even looking back.

Suddenly, she was tripped by something.

“-Kyaa!”

Because of her strong momentum, Eco was sent flying head front. The moment she landed on the ground, her palms hurts like as if they were on fire.

“Darn!”

One of her mule<ref>a women foot wear. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mule_(shoe)‎</ref> had dropped off and was lying on her ground with the bottom facing upwards just like the current Eco.

“Where am I…?”

Eco was looking at her surroundings.

Even when the place she was at was still in the palace gardens’ perimeter, but it was not well taken care of. It was full of weeds and not a single flower can be seen.

It can be called an abandoned garden.

There was an old double-storied building that looked like it is going to crumble anytime right in front of her. It is no different from a ruin. There was a stone tablet beside the entrance. It is obvious that ruin is an ancient palace.

She had never thought that there was such a lonely place behind the grand palace.

“It hurts…!”

The pain was coming from her palm. There was also blood on her right knee.

But Eco was sad because her favorite clothing was being dirtied and was filled with mud.

This was a dress bought by Ash in Ansarivan for the trip a few days before their departure.

Eco loves the pale blue colour of this dress and the ribbon at the chest.

But now it was full of mud…

Just at that moment-

''‘Click…’'' the entrance door of the ancient palace was opened followed by the sound of the old mechanism running.

A group of five people appeared from the ancient palace.

Judging from their attires, they are just the palace servants. But Eco knew something was wrong. Those people looked just like the palace servants but seeing their hunter liked eyes and body movements… She knew that they were not some small fry.

Eco immediately lay low and hid in bushes as tall as her.

The leader of the group looked like a girl in a maid attire. It is the same palace designed maid attire that Cosette and Prim wore.

No, although they were well imitated, Eco had seen through them.

That maid attire must be a fake. Not only is the cloth used lacked of glossiness, some of the details in the attire are also different from the real thing.

Then a familiar face of the girl startled Eco.

“Why is that girl… Here?!”

''Isn’t she called Anya… the one working at the student restaurant ‘La Tene’.''

''Why would a waitress pretend to be a maid and walk around in Fountain City?''

Eco was totally confused.

Basically, Eco knew her. But right now, her instinct told her not to call out to Anya.

The Anya right in front is not the kind Anya in the restaurant. Her eyes right now are of a warrior.

The guys beside Anya who were acting polite towards her also seemed weird.

Out of all times- At this moment, Prim’s voice can be heard all over the abandoned garden.

“Eco-chan! Where are you?”

At that instant, Anya and the guys started their operations in a lightning speed. What is frightening is she had unsheathed a dagger. The rest of the guys also followed her by pulling out theirs.

Right now, Eco knew she was right about Anya being the ''‘enemy’''. She immediately stood up and shouted to Prim:

“Don’t come here! Run, quick!”

===Part 5===
Not long before, the special force led by Anya had successfully infiltrated Fontaine City through a dark underground secret passage.

When she took a peek after climbing up the stairs from the passage, she realized that the exit is at the ruins of the ancient palace. She found out that the fire place in the guestroom was connected to the secret passage.

The information about the underground passage was given by Milgauss. ''How did Milgauss get to know about the existence of this underground passage?'' Anya once again was bothered by this question.

The group of people had removed the battle gear. Anya had changed into her maid attire and the rest had changed into their manservant wear. All these imitations were supplied by Klaus.

Anya led her four underlings out of the ancient palace. The sun could not be seen and the grey sky made it seem like it was going to rain anytime.

''We must infiltrate the palace immediately…'' Anya tried to build up her spirit.

The surroundings of the old building was an abandoned garden. No matter how tight the securityis at the front, they will never figure that any suspicious people will appear from such a place. There isn’t even a single guard here.

The next objectives is to find Eco in the palace and led her out to a quite place and kidnap her back to Beowolf, then her mission is complete.

Along the way in the abandoned garden, Anya touched her pistol hidden in her cloths. The bullets were filled with strong tranquilizers.

This object is given by Milgauss. Even when it is a tranquilizer, it will still be a lie if she says she will not hesitate to shoot a girl like Eco.

“Chief, anything wrong?”

Anya was back to her senses after being asked by an underling.

“…Nothing.”

That’s it, she mustn’t forget that she is leading a team right now. As a chief of the Tantalos tribe, she is also the leader of the special force at the same time. If she was not focused on her mission, her whole team will be in danger… After some thought, she made up her mind.

Right at this moment.

“Eco-chan! Where are you~?”

Suddenly, there was a panicking voice that was spoken slowly.

A maid appeared right in front. When she saw Anya and the rest, she became confused.

Anya realized something. ''This maid shouted Eco’s name a few moments ago. So she must be one of Eco’s acquaintances…''

No matter what, she mustn’t let loose of this opportunity. As long as she captures this maid and interrogates her, she probably could save her trouble for doing land combing in search for Eco.

Anya signaled her underlings behind with her fingers and immediately unsheathed her dagger.

Under Anya’s leadership, the four underlings immediately split up.

They intend to surround the maid.

“Don’t come here! Run, quick!”

The voice that suddenly came out of nowhere shocked Anya.

That cry sounds familiar.

“That’s young dragon Eco.”

Her underlings stopped their footsteps at the same time upon hearing Anya’s shout.

At the same time, there was a lightning strike and the sound of thunder. The sound of thunder that’s seems far away a few moments ago and slowly approached.

“All of you, go and capture Eco! I will deal with the maid!”

Under Anya’s order, the underlings had shifted their targets. All four of them attacked Eco at the same time.

Even when she is a dragon, she looked like a girl. It should be an easy job for four big burly Tantalos man. After Anya made the positive judgment, she attacked the maid.

“Huh? What is happening- Ouch!”

Anya punched the maid in her stomach. The maid lost her consciousness and dropped on the ground.

“Hmph, the citizens of the Knight Country are really weak.”

The same time Anya snubbed her nose, the thunder roared. The drizzling rain had turned into a down pour. The cold temperature of the rain doesn’t make the season look like summer.

Anya turned her head thinking that her four underlings should have kept Eco in control.

“Wha…!”

Anya shivered when she saw the scene behind.

“…Tsk, this is why I hate stupid and ignorant humans.”

Not only Eco wasn’t captured, she was even standing in the middle of the garden in rage. Her hair is wet and messy being dripped by the rain but her red eyes were full of spirit.

Three of the special force members were already on the ground.

“Damn you brat…!”

The fourth member lifted his dagger and attacked Eco directly. Seeing that his companions were knocked out, he had lost his calm.

Eco suddenly leaped. She rushed in front of him before the dagger struck and gave him a punch in the stomach.

''“*Cough*!”''

Even though it seems like a girl struggling to escape, but her underling was like being attacked by a bull and was knocked back. This scene is what someone can see in a story book.

''-Is that… The so called power of a dragon!?''

Anya shivered.

Even when her pure self made her look fragile, but the truth is Eco's strength is unimaginable.

“If you don’t respect me… Then get ready to be trampled!”

The guy was lying on the ground weakly full of mud. Eco stepped on his back without mercy.

“Ouuuu!”

After the last underling cried in pain, he lost consciousness.

After making sure that the guy had fainted, Eco stared at Anya angrily.

“Aren’t you Anya? Why do you pretend to be a waitress in the student restaurant?”

Anya remained silent. There was no need for her to answer. She silently put on her fighting posture.

“Is it… So I take that you are not going to tell me. Never mind, that’s not so important anyway.”

Eco immediately prepared her defense.

For a short moment, it looked like a dragon had appeared behind her body.

“I have never liked you since before. You seemed to be interested in Ash!”

Eco rushed towards Anya with all the waters splashing around.

Her wrist strength is very strong.

If she was hit, Anya would probably follow the footsteps of her four underlings.

''But-!''

“No matter how strong your strength is, there is no point if you can’t land a hit!”

Anya twisted her body to a side to get out of the way of Eco’s headbutt.

“Urgh…”

Eco who nearly fell because of her momentum immediately turned around and faced Anya again. She had now changed her weapon into her fist.

Anya dodged her first punch by just a few millimeters.

''-Don!''

The wind pressure of the punch swept passed her face painfully. This straight punch looks as if it can cut through rain. It felt as if the wind pressure of the punch is strong enough to blow a human off his feet.

No wonder her four underlings were easily knocked out. But Anya had not yet broken a sweat. Her ability is still stronger than the four guys who were the top in the tribe.

“Damn… why can’t you just get knocked out!”

Eco angrily swung her fist again but in Anya’s eyes, she was no longer a frightening enemy.

“…Urgh!”

Eco who hit blank was tripped by the mud and lost her balance.

The afternoon thunderstorm had not yet stopped. Anya had long found out that the ground was slippery, but Eco probably didn’t notice these details.

Seeing Eco’s defense is exposed, Anya took the chance.

“Haa!”

She gave Eco a kick with all her might behind her neck.

Her foot had knocked in to Eco’s neck with water splashing.
[[Image:SnRK V04 137.jpg|thumb]]

If she was to be a normal human, Eco would be knocked out of conscious in just a second.

“Urgh… How dare you kick me!”

“It can’t be!”

Anya was shocked.

Eco who nearly fell managed to stand still with only will power. She was staring at Anya with tears in her eyes.

Her face that was wet with the rain water is full of killing intent.

“I swear I’ll, I’ll… Trample you!”

Eco while showing her teeth rushed towards Anya. Not only she had a huge amount of strength, she is also as hardy as a dragon. But Eco who attacked aimlessly is just like a trapped animal. If this fight continues, it probably won’t end before the night arrives.

Anya made a search in her cloths with her hand and felt something cold. If it is possible, she will never chose to use this thing, but she mustn’t waste any time anymore.

“…Please don’t think badly of me.”

After Anya took out the pistol, she pulled the trigger without a single hesitation.

===Part 6===
After Silvia finished her story, Ash was in a great shock.

Ash absolutely couldn’t believe what he heard. Milgauss is most probably Prince Julius- this was what Silvia had said.

Of course Ash knew that Julius was sentenced to death for committing a taboo. That can be said as the worst scandal in the long history of the Lautreamont family.

“But Prince Julius… Wasn’t he already sentenced to death?”

Ash who still doubted the statement asked. But Silvia mumbled her explanation:

“The information about him being sentenced to death may be fake. Chichi–ue is that kind of a person… he would never kill his own son. The truth is, I am very happy that Anii-ue is alive. I also believe that he must have his own reason for killing Mordred. But… why is he cooperating with the Empire and bringing disasters to the Knight Country? This is the only part that doesn’t make sense. What should I do…”

Silvia pursed her lips and looked downwards without saying a word. Just by thinking about the burden and her troubles, Ash felt that his head is starting to spin. But seeing Silvia being troubled by her worries, Ash knew that he can no longer remain silent.

“Actually… I didn’t quite remember what my father looks like.”

“…?”

Silvia lifted her head and looked at Ash confusedly.

“Even though it is not right for me as a son to say so, but my father is an odd person… He disappeared after my sister’s birth. Somehow, my family talks less and less about him. As for why would my father leave us… I had been wondering about this for ages, but I can’t simply ask this question. One day… I finally asked my mother out of curiosity.”

“Did she tell you anything?”

“No, she didn’t even mention a single thing. But she promised me that she will tell me everything when I grow up. This is also the reason why I have never asked about it since.”

This is the first time Ash had the chance to talk about his family background, so he is a little shy. Still, he is happy that Silvia listened to him inattentively.

“In the end… What I wanted to say is, your problem won’t be solved if you keep it to your self. If you have the time to feel sad, why not directly ask the person involved. Isn’t that better?”

“If I could do it, I wouldn’t be facing all this trouble… But what you said is reasonable.”

Silvia was full of her happy expression.

“Thank you, Ash. With your encouragement, I feel that the burden somehow was lifted.”

Her cute smile made Ash’s heart beat nonstop. Silvia’s impression in the academy was the ‘Graceful but unapproachable beautiful princess’. Who would have known that she can make such a smile.

In this instant, there was a bright light coming from the sky and the next second, the thunders were roaring.

The loud sound felt as if it had landed right beside them. Ash turned his sight outside the window and found out that it was raining heavily.

Then, he finally felt the smell of the rain.

“Kyaa!”

Just as expected, Silvia who was born timid immediately screamed. She was so frightened that she lost her sense and cuddled in Ash’s arms.

“Uwaa…!”

Ash was shocked and fell on the bed with Silvia hugging him.

Silvia was trembling and cuddled to Ash tightly. On her snow white face, there is the shadow of her long eye lashes.

“…Princess-sama?”

Even after Ash called out to her, Silvia still remained silent. She shut her eyes tightly and embraced Ash. Just like a child, she was trembling nonstop.

There won’t be much of a problem if it is only to this extend. But ash felt something soft that shouldn’t exist in this world. That is certainly not something that can be felt from a child. It is Silvia's breast which was pressing against Ash’s body tightly.
[[Image:SnRK V04 002-003.jpg|thumb|'' The lightning strikes for two, three times. Every time it strikes, Silvia trembled a little and tightens
her hug…Both of them had remained in the same position for some time.'']]

The lightning strikes two, three times. Every time it strikes, Silvia trembled a little and tightens her hug.

…Both of them remained in the same position for some time.

“Are you alright, Princess-sama?’

When the sounds of the thunder and the winds had stopped, Ash slowly asked. If Silvia kept on sticking to him, he felt like his heart is going to burst. So, Ash pretended to give Silvia a gentle push and sat up.

“Nn…”

Silvia was lying on the bed when she opened her eyes that were shut close for a long time. There were tears at the edge of her eyes which was probably caused by the tremendous fear that she had been through.

“Wha…!”

Silvia who finally calmed down immediately blushed. She probably had realized the situation that she was in.

As a princess, she was lying on a bed defenseless while being looked at by Ash-

''-T-This is bad.''

Ash had made his mental preparation for the coming ‘fist of the Lautreamont Family Rules’.

Although he did nothing wrong, through his past experience, he was already used to this kind of ending. Basically, everything will end after that fist.

But, Silvia was still lying on the bed with her red face.

Ash felt that her eyelashes were shaking.

“Princess-sama…?’

Ash looked carefully at Silvia.

In contrast to a ferocious Dragner, her limbs were thin and nicely shaped. The two lumps of meat at her chest were moving up and down following her breathing tempo…

In this instant, Ash felt that his mind was going to crack.

Silvia was not wearing a bra right now. The pink tips could somehow be seen underneath her blouse that was covered in sweat was breaking down Ash’s mental reasoning ability.

''Why is Silvia not moving?''

''Why is she not in her usual angry self and try to hit me?''

''What if I try to touch her right now?''

''-N-No, I mustn’t! Princess-sama right now is… Is worried about Prince Julius so she couldn’t think straight. For me to take advantage of others at such moment… I can never do this. Not even in a million years…''

''-Kon, kon.''

There was someone knocking the door.

Although it just a usual knock, but in this situation, the sound was piercing Ash’s ears.

“…Urgh!”

Silvia had probably thought the same thing. Just like the magic had disappeared, she jumped off from the bed.

“Sorry for intruding.”

The person outside entered before Ash replied.

It was Cosette.

“The evening dress has been altered. I am here to pick up Princess-sama.”

The way Cosette speaks was unnatural and way too formal. She probably had seen through what had happened between Ash and Silvia.

“...Understood. I will head there right now.”

Silvia kept her calm and followed Cosette out of the room.

“Haa…”

Ash felt that he had lost his energy and fell on the bed.

If he had more courage, if Cosette didn’t intrude-

He and Silvia who were on the bed would probably…

“Uwaa! What am I thinking about!”

Ash was rolling around on the bed.

He really wanted to get rid of this trouble. Too bad for him, the bed was full of Silvia’s smell which caused him to get more and more jumpy.

He kept on recalling the rose fragrance, the glimmering golden hair and the soft peaks.

As he was rolling around, Ash saw the bed beside him.

Eco and Prim still haven’t returned from the changing room.

His worry suddenly disappeared.

“What is taking Eco so long?”

"Black Prelude ~A.S.B.1365.7~" is closed.

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==References and Translation Notes==
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