Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 3 Chapter 4

Chapter 4 - The Battle at Willingham Mausoleum

Part 1

During the midnight, Ash slowly sat up.

“It hurtssss…”

Because of the pain in his joins, he can’t have a good sleep. It is because that he was playing in the waters during the day.

Silvia and Eco were riding on Lancelot.

Jessica was riding on Rhiannon.

Without any warning, a normal fun on the waters had turned into a two side’s battle field of ‘Fighting for Ash’. If they really wanted to play something, Ash hoped that it would be a more peaceful game.

But the swimming wear that Eco and Silvia wore was deeply engraved in Ash’s mind.

Eco was wearing a white swimming suit which brings out her cute self. Even though her body is still far from perfect, there are still guys who are sure to fall for her innocent self. Although her true ruthless attitude will be exposed when she speak…

On the other hand, Silvia was wearing a sexy bikini. Ash was going to have a nose bleed just by thinking about it. For sure it was not Silvia who chooses a bikini that exposes that much of skin, but Cosette who was the culprit who force it on her.

Ash quickly removes all this troubles from his mind and left his bed.

The bedroom in the training camp is a twin sharing bedroom. Max was sleeping soundly at the bed beside. Eco was not in the room. It is because the neat freak Max said that ‘sharing a room with a girl is illogical’, so Eco was taken care by the other girls.

Logically speaking, since it was Cosette, there should not be a reason for him to worry… But Ash had been together with Eco for a long time. Once Eco is not beside him, he felt uneasy as if a part of his heart is missing.

“Can’t… I really can’t sleep.”

Ash sighed, and slowly stood up. Then, he left the room and wanted to ask for a cup of water in the kitchen.

Ash was walking at fast pace at the corridor of the second floor. The old building felt like a haunted house. The kitchen was located at the first floor, so he was walking towards the stairs.

The moonlight shines through the windows. Tonight is a full moon with silver lights.

“…Huh?”

Ash stopped beside a window.

He felt a shadow passed by.

“That is…”

Every single corner of the garden can be seen through the corridor’s windows. A girl can be seen walking under the moonlight. She was wearing a one-piece pajama. Ash recognized her.

“Is it… Lukka?”

Under the moonlight, the golden white here is emitting a mysterious light. Even her white ceramic liked skin was a if they were shining. Her pointy ears can be seen indistinctly poking out from her hair.

Lukka walked past the garden with her unsteady steps and through the old back door. After the back door is an endless piece of forest- Norg Forrest.

In a blink of an eye, Lukka disappear inside the forest.

“Hey… What was she thinking?”

Ash rushed down the stairs to the garden through the door specially used by the instructors. He rushed at a fast speed to the back door following the stone slabs. After he was mentally prepared, he walked to the forest.

But, just as he step into the Norg Forrest, he immediately took a step back.

“…Are you kidding me?”

Ash originally thought that he was used moving in the forest, but that is only limited to day time. This is the first time he went to the forest at night. Even the wet ground had a different smell. The nocturnal animals and bug creeps the hell out of him. The lushly branches of the trees had the sky covered which also blocked the moonlight from piercing in. Also, there were sounds that was suspected to be the sounds of an owl.

Could it be that Lukka is just an imagination? Ash secretly hoped that this is true.

“Wait a minute…”

The Eckbalds were also known as the ‘Forest Yōsei’. Actually, the self ruling territory of the Eckbald in the Knight Country is a wide forest called ‘Eckbald forest’. Maybe to Lukka, every forest is like the garden back at her home.

After Ash mustered his courage, he moved forward while trying to feel around with his hands. The rough tree bark made him feel at ease, but every time he touches something slimy, he will immediately retract his hand. If there is a small animal that passed by his feet, he will immediately jumped.

“This is bad for my heart…”

Ash complained while walking and unconsciously thought about Gawain. All the other dragons were together in the dragon house of the training camp and only Gawain alone was resting in Norg Forest. It is because Norg Forest is a well known resting spot for dragons.

“I see. She went to look for Gawain…”

Ash who realized the truth continued to walk deeper into the forest.

After a while, his field of vision widens.

In front of him is an empty space. The moonlight shines directly from the sky. There is a in the empty space, and the water was reflecting the moonlight.

Gawain cuddled itself while lying beside the pond.

Its shining white fur was reflecting the moonlight.

Lukka was standing some distance away from Gawain. For a breeder, the amount of distance was weird.

Ash found out that Lukka’s shoulders were shaking.

“Please, Gawain. I… can’t live without you.”

Lukka was calling after Gawain in a pitiful tone. Ash hid behind a tree a listen to her.

“The only Eckbald left in Ansarivan… is only me. The people in our home town have high hopes on me.”

Gawain didn’t answer. It is still with its same old self.

“Why must you reject me? I had always treated you as a family. When you became a maestro, I was very happy. But why…?”

Suddenly, some unexpected things happened.

“Grrrrrr…”

Gawain actually lifted its neck to scare Lukka. Lukka was afraid to move forward and fell to the ground on the spot.

Then she silently cried.

The sounds of the owls and the wings of the insects suddenly stopped which is most probably caused by Gawain’s growl. In the silent night, the only sound that could be heard was Lukka who was crying.

-Crack!

Ash stepped on a dried branch. Damn- he regretted just as he found out about this. The sound was tremendously clear in the middle of the night.

“…?”

Lukka while wiping of her tears, turned back and looked at Ash’s direction. It seems that there is no longer a point for him to be hiding. After Ash made up his mind, he walked towards Lukka.

“You are… From the student council?”

It seems that she didn’t remember Ash’s name. But since she also didn’t remember Silvia’s name, so this was expected. Ash stated his name while smiling.

“I’m ash.”

“…Why are you here?”

“Sorry. I accidentally saw you running into the woods…”

After Ash explained, he looked at Gawain.

Gawain had frightened Lukka just now. That was a total rejection.

Lukka treated Gawain as her family which is undoubtedly the right thing to do… But Ash still didn’t understand why Gawain was not bothered by it. The image of Lukka sobbing remains in Ash's mind…

In a few moments, it had turned into determination.

Ash as if he wanted to protect Lukka stood in front of Gawain.

“Say, Lukka. The previous experiment… Can I have it continued right now?”

Lukka gasped.

“This… has nothing to do with you.”

“No, of course it has something to do with me.”

Ash took a step closer to Gawain.

“This fellow had made you cry. This reason alone should be enough for me to interfere.”

Part 2

Anya was looking at Ash's sudden challenge with Gawain from afar.

“That guy… What is he trying to do?”

Anya followed her plan which was working at the training campsite at the Allonnes Lakeside representing the student restaurant ‘La Tene’. The work to prepare the food was more troublesome than she thought. It was already midnight when her job was done.

On her way back to her room for a rest from the kitchen, she accidentally saw Ash.

Anya was interested in Ash who sneaked into the Norg Forest.

After all, the reason why Anya worked hard to infiltrate ‘La Tene’ was to investigate Ash Blake. She thought that she had a better chance to come into contact with Ash in the restricted area of the training camp compare to the wide area of the school grounds.

For Ash to act in the middle of the forest was out of Anya’s expectation. He even challenged Gawain.

As for the matters concerning Gawain, Anya also heard something regarding it. It was said that it was resting in Norg forest because it was not feeling well.

Anya couldn’t figure out the reason to bring a sick maestro here. The rest of the staff in charge of the foods also didn’t receive any information regarding it- There was probably no reasons for the basic staffs to know about it.

Ash was protecting a girl at his back. To her surprise, she was an Eckbald. Her name should be Lukka Saarinen… Anya secretly thought. She had memorized all the names of the student who attended the training camp before hand.

From their conversations that she could not hear clearly, it seems that Lukka’s and Gawain’s relationship right now was bad. So Ash wanted to help her to solve this problem- This should be the whole picture for the incident.

Ash is probably thinking about riding on Gawain just like how he defeated the Necromanica.

“What is this about… Trying to play the hero in front of a cute girl.”

Anya wonders why would she suddenly get mad for.

Part 3

The sharp claws tore the moonlight mercilessly.

Ash immediately jumped aside from the strong front paw. He will die in a horribly way if he face it directly.

“Stop…!”

Lukka shouted at the top of her voice but Gawain had no intention of stopping.

After its front paw missed, Gawain’s weakness was exposed. Ash uses that opportunity to step on a tree branch to climb up a nearby tree. After he reached a thick branch, he looked downwards.

Gawain’s entire back was in his view.

“Uoooooo!”

Ash decided to jump down from the branch.

Gawain was not in his riding gear, but this is just what Ash wanted. When he had decided to ride on a dragon, the riding gear would only be in his way. Actually, Ash had heard before in class that ‘All the great riders hated the riding gear’.

“You are now under my control!”

Ash successfully landed on Gawain’s back. Ash was riding on Gawain’s naked back like how as horse riding tribe riding on a horse without a saddle. His hands were holding on tightly on its neck. He swore not to let go of it even when Gawain tried to shake he off with its might.

“Grrrr…”

The swing that Ash experience nearly made him faint. He kept on telling himself never to let go.

Ash tried to tame Gawain with all his might and tried to persuade it to accept Lukka again.

But suddenly, Gawain gave an earth shattering roar.

“What’s happening…?”

Ash felt fear. But, unless Ash let loose of his grip, Gawain had no chance of winning. As long as Ash remains on its back, Gawain can’t use its breath attack, magic, teeth and claws.

If it is so, then what is the uneasiness he was felling.

Even when Ash had a total advantage of attacking from the back, but he felt uneasy deep inside as if- He was the one whose back was exposed to a shinigami.

At that moment, there was a wave of magic that feels that it exploded out from Gawain’s body.

“Uwaaa…!”

Ash was thrown into the air by an invincible wall.

His sight was spinning.

The bright moonlight came into his view for a moment.

Gawain’s tail, like a whip, swung at Ash. Ash who was at midair had nowhere to run to.

“*Cough*…!”

It was a direct hit on Ash.

An unimaginable strong impact swept pass from his chest to his abdomen and he flew parallel with the ground. It was until he hit a tree, only then he fall to the ground slowly.

“*Coug*…*Cough*…!”

Ash coughed and he even coughed out blood. He probably had internal injuries. He was making some weird noise from his throat, which was probably caused by a broken bone that punctured his lungs.

To make it worst, the blood from his head flowed in to his left eye and blinded half of his view.

His body totally ignored his orders. Ash felt a cold chill. He didn’t know how serious his injuries were. The thing that frightened his most is he can’t even feel a single pain after such serious injuries. As if this body is not his.

Will my life end like this…? Ash had lost hope.

Eco face suddenly emerged in his mind.

An angry face. An angry face. An angry face… No matter what, it is always an angry face. Even so, I hope that she smile to me more, a pure, cheerful smile.

-Stop! What am I thinking about? Isn’t this… No different from dying. How could eco smile at me…

With his back on the tree, Ash mustered all his remaining strength and glared at Gawain.

“Grrrr….”

Gawain was threatening Ash.

There was a thin layer of magic on its body. Ash had only found out that the thin layer of magic was the culprit that sent him flying.

“Reflecting type… defense magic!”

This is a high level magic that could only be activated by a maestro.

The effect of this magic was not to neutralize an attack but to reflect it. Even though Ash was only clinging on to Gawain, but it probably take Ash presence as an ‘attack’. Could this had anything to do with his ability ‘to ride on any dragons’?

“Just what kind of rascal is it…”

Under those conditions, Gawain could even use its defense magic to eliminate Ash. If it was another dragon, Ash will be on their back and have them tamed.

He already reached his limit.

Just before his loses consciousness, he felt that he heard Lukka calling after him.

Part 4

“This couldn’t be true…”

Anya watched the whole breath taking event. An empty handed human versus a dragon- that was clearly a stupid move but Anya still think that there is hope deep inside her heart. Since Ash is the famous ‘Silver Knight’.

But the result is clear in a blink of an eye.

“Just what kind of rascal is it…”

Ash who was hit by the dragon’s tail pitifully, even though he still remained conscious after he landed, after this words, he remained motionless.

Maybe he was dead. Ash, under the moonlights could only be described with pitiful.

Not only that his head was bleeding nonstop, he even threw out blood. The seriousness of his internal injuries is even hard to determine.

Then, Lukka made a sad voice.

“Nooooo!”

Lukka who was pale in the face rushed to Ash. But Ash injuries were pretty much lethal and she panicked and didn’t even know what to do.

At this moment, Anya was thinking about two things.

-If she left him as he is, he will die sooner or later. Serve him right for showing off and ruining Milgauss-sams’s plan, this is his divine punishment.

-But I still owe him. If is don’t save him… won’t I lose my honour as a Tantalos? The fellow had saved me once without thinking about the consequences…

“Damn!”

She was lost for just a moment. Ash life could not be guaranteed if it was left in the hand of the unreliable girl.

If she was to be unlucky, there will be questions about why would a staff in charge of the foods was at the Norg Forest. Well, that will be a problem in the future but she just needs to make an excuse to cover up.

Anya rushed out from the trees and pushed Lukka aside.

Because she saw Lukka who was in a trauma tried to carry Ash’s upper body. She didn’t know that simply moving the body of an injured person will put their life in danger.

“What were you doing! I’ll take care of the emergency treatment, go and look for help!”

“Y-Yes.”

Even though Lukka was still troubled, she still knew the seriousness of the current situation and there was not a single moment to be wasted. She turned around and ran as if she was trying to blend into the darkness of the forest.

Part 5

“…”

When he regained consciousness, he was in a strange place.

The floors had black and white tiles that were made laid like a checker’s board. There were many semi-completed objects hanging randomly on the walls. Human’s body, beasts, armours, building and many more. On the ceiling was a grand palace-liked Chandelier which was a bright dragon crystal light.

There was an antique bed in the middle of the room and Ash was resting at there.

“I remember that…”

I lost to Gawain and was seriously injured. Even though he still remembered the incident, there were just only fragments of memories. Even when he was seriously injured, he still didn’t feel any pain or even a wound on his body. His uniform which was originally covered in blood had become clean. This was weird.

“Are you awake?”

“Uwaa!”

After someone breathed in his ear, Ash immediately sat up in fear. A girl was sitting next to him beside the bed without him knowing.

“It has been some time since we saw each other face to face!”

The girl was beautiful. Her dress clearly highlighted her curves. Even when she had two horns on her head, they were still not very noticeable. Her hair was like Eco’s shiny pink coloured hair.

“Are you… Navi?”

Ash had met her about a week before eco was born. No… ‘Met’ was not the right word to describe this situation, because he saw Navi in his dreams.

The Navi in his dreams had explored his body all over. Just by thinking about it, Ash blushed.

“Tee Hee…”

After Navi gave a devilish smile, she leaned forward. Ash could smell something nice, but when he found out that he was on a bed, he started to feel unease.

“Wait!”

Ash averted his eyes from Navi’s huge breast and shouted.

“Navi, if you are here, then… I should be dreaming, right? No, there is no other explanation. Because I who was seriously injured don’t even have a scratch on me right now!”

“You are not dreaming.”

“I-If I’m not dreaming… then I’m in ‘that world’?

Navi laughed because she probably thinks that Ash’s panicking looks is funny.

“This is just the Dragon Workshop! The place where dragons did their creations. I’m the one responsible for summoning you here.”

“Even though I still don’t really understand the current situation… At least I’m alive, no?”

“As long as your true body is safe.”

“What do you mean?”

“The you now, is nothing but a spirit.”

“Is that true…”

Ash lowered down his head and look at his own body.

“That’s right. Your spirit had now left your body. If your body in the material world stops functioning, then you have nowhere to go.”

“Y-You must be kidding! Let me return to my original state immediately!”

“Worry not. There is a reason for me to personally bring you here. This child has something that it wants to tell you.”

Just like agreeing with Navi-

“Kyuu.”

A small animal popped out from her shoulder. Even though it had the size of a rat, it is still a dragon after taking a closer look.

“That dragon is?”

“It is Gawain. Although it is a maestro, it is still not yet mentally matured. Its looks is like this in here.”

“T-This little guy is really Gawain…?”

Ash kept on examination the small animal in front of him. After being told by Navi, this dragon indeed has some similarity with Gawain.

“Fufu… If we were to fight right now, isn’t it a sure win for me?”

“Kyun!”

Gawain gave out a frightened voice and hid behind Navi.

“…Tsk. Pretending to be the nice guy. So, what do you want to tell me? Before that, let me say that I was nearly killed by you.”

After Ash asked, Gawain made a soft sound while standing on Navi’s shoulder. It seems that it was trying to ask Navi to become the translator.

After Gawain finished speaking, Navi looked at Ash.

“Gawain said that its master was Lukka and Lukka alone. The reason why it reject you was because it doesn’t want anyone apart from Lukka to ride on its back. Even when you were the ‘The Boy Who Can Ride Any Dragon’.”

“What are you talking about! You were obviously rejecting Lukka this whole time…”

“Kyuun!”

After Gawain made the angry sound, it told its reason for rejecting Lukka to Navi.

“…I see. Gawain was worried about Lukka and thus rejected her. According to Gawain, Lukka had fallen from its back about three months ago.”

“Huh…? I have never heard of this.”

Ash felt that he being was hit on the head. Three months ago was the time when Gawain started to reject Lukka.

“The Eckbald are highly self regarded race, they think that falling from the dragon was a disgrace. That’s why Lukka had never told anyone about this.”

Although Ash doesn’t really know how she was feeling, if it is an Eckbald culture, then he could only accept it.

“Then, under what circumstances was she falling from?”

“Have you ever heard of the Dragon Riding Dance that was passed down by the Eckbald leaders?”

“No. This is my first time hearing about it.”

“Just like what the words said, it was dancing on the dragon while riding. Although Lukka kept silent about this, she was destined to become the leader. So she must start to practice young. Not to mention, if the Dragon Riding Dance was a success, there will be an activation of various types of magic!”

“So you are saying that in the middle of the Dragon Riding Dance’s practice… She fell?’

“That’s right. Since she fell from Gawain, she was traumatized by Gawain. She stood far away from Gawain. Although she was lucky that she only had light injuries, she was now under the shadows of those memories…”

“Traumatized? I can’t even see that happening.”

“I think that she herself don’t even know how much fear that was in her heart right now.”

Ash unintentionally said some important thing.

“Then… Lukka stayed quite far away from Gawain in the Norg forest. She doesn’t even try to pet it. Even at the seventh dragon house in the academy, she also maintained her distance.”

So the unnatural distance was caused by Lukka’s trauma…!

“If she tried to ride a dragon with those feelings, she will face serious injuries one day. If a Dragner was afraid of his pal, his future will be terrible and at worst he will die. It's because Gawain was worried about Lukka, so it remained stern in not letting Lukka ride on it.”

“I see. So, Gawain, I can see that you are kind! But, why was your Astral cut off?”

“After the magic of wise dragon Albion was activated, the dragons were under special restrictions. One of them was- The more you go against a master’s orders, the less astral you will receive. If this situation kept on, Gawain will die soon. Even when the Norg Forest supplied some Astral… but it is still hard to say that whether it can survive for more than five more days.”

“-!”

Ash held his breath.

Only a mere five days. Ash had never thought that the situation was this critical.

“Gawain… would you rather sacrifice your life to protect Lukka?”

Ash spoke to Gawain seriously, but it was with its haughty look

Ash who replied with a wry smile suddenly felt something was off.

“…Huh?”

Ash quickly looked at his own body. His skin became transparent and he felt an irresistible force pulling his body.

The truth is, Ash legs were slowly lifted from the ground.

If this continues, then he will be floating in a few moments.

“Hey, hey… what is…?

“It seems that you are leaving.”

Navi calmly told the good news.

“Huh!”

Without knowing whether she was enjoying Ash’s changes in expressions, Navi smiled.

“Even though I said that you are leaving, but it was different from what you were thinking. Your healing body is summoning your spirit. This is the law of nature.”

Ash was relieved after hearing Navi’s explanation.

“So, I’m safe?’

“That’s it.”

Navi stood up from beside the bed and walk towards Ash. There were some redness on her face. Were those illusions?

“I’ll be waiting for your growth- ‘Knight of Avalon’.”

“Avalon? What does it mean?”

Navi gave a simple tap on his face as an answer. Although he was still at his spiritual state, he could still clearly feel the softness of a girl’s palm.

“Fufu. You must learn to ride on me as soon as possible!”

“But my pal is Eco…”

“Eco and I were two surfaces on a coin. If you ride on her, it meant that you are also riding on me.”

“What does that mean-?”

Ash was not allowed to further ask any more questions. It was because that Navi was kissing him passionately.

“Mguk...!”

Navi’s watery lips had warped up Ash’s lower lips. Before he could react, his upper lips were also sucked in by Navi. Both of their saliva had mixed together. When their mouths were wet, Navi forces her tongue into Ash’s mouth.

“....Nn!”

Their slippery tongues were curled together.

...Until he was separated from Navi, Ash's thoughts was in a mess. After this intense experience, Ash only knew that there exists such a kiss.

Navi was with her rarely seen blushing looks and crimson red watery iris.

“I hoped that you can have such a kiss with Eco one day in the future.”

“W-What are you talking about!”

“Fufu, let’s us meet at another day.”

At the same time when Navi was speaking with her watery lips, Ash was no longer able to resist the strong force and was swallowed by the darkness.

Part 6

“I’m at…?”

Ash had also woken up in a strange room this time. The only thing is, this place doesn’t have the supernatural feel of the Dragon Workshop.

The smell of the antiseptic, white curtains and the medicine shelves. From the semi-drawn back curtains, Allonnes lakeside could be seen with thick white mist.

This should be the infirmary for the training camp.

Ash suddenly felt that he was touching something weird.

“...What’s this?”

Ash curiously moved his right hand that was under the blanket. It felt slippery and soft and there is a hint of heat from it. It obviously felt like a living thing.

“Eeeehhhhhh!”

Ash was shocked and jumped on the spot. Although he body hurts, this is not the time to worry about that.

The moment he flipped over the blanket, he saw something unbelievable. Even after he immediately cover it back with the blanket, but the image he saw had been deeply carved into his mind.

“Why…is Lukka here?”

Ash was sweating a huge amount of sweat.

That’s right, the thing under the blanket was no other that Lukka.

And, she was naked.

Because she slept in a way like a baby cuddling up, that’s why at least her important parts were not seen… But the stimulation to his heart was still intense.

At the same time, Ash also found out that his clothes were removed totally. Although there were bandages on his chest, but there isn’t a single piece of cloth left.

It is probably that the cloths will interfere with his treatment. So the reason why he was naked can still be explained. But, why would Lukka was sleeping on the same bed as him naked?”

Ash looked all over the infirmary again. From the looks of the sky, it should be in the morning right now. Not a sound could be heard from the lakeside.

The surrounding of the bed was placed with silver flasks that looked like lamp stands.

“This is…?”

There were water coloured crystals on top of each of the flasks. Ash found out that they are those expensive Bright Dragon Crystals with healing effect.

It was said that the training given in the training camp was strict and thus the amount of injured students were high. These should be the medical supplies prepared by the academy.

“I see… Thanks to the healing magic, I can continue to live on.”

Ash nodded after being dawned on. His chest suddenly hurts.

“It hurts!’

Even when they have the healing magic, it seems that he won’t be able to fully recover in a short time. Ash unintentionally placed his hand on his head and found out that he also had bandages on his head too.

From his injuries, his will be treated as a patient of some time.

Just when Ash sighed, Lukka unwittingly made a small noise.

“Nn...”

Her pointy ears tingled.

“Fuuwa!”

After a few moments, Lukka with a sleepy face slowly sat up. She generously showed her flat chest to Ash and daze at him with her sleepy eyes… Until the moment when she vision was focused, she suddenly hugged Ash.

“Luckily… you were all right…!”

“Uwaaa!”

Ash was thrown into panicked after being hugged by a lovely Yōsei girl. To make it worse, they were on the bed… Naked.

“It huuuurts!”

The moment Lukka hugged him tightly his entire chest hurts. Now is not to time for him to blush in the presence of a body of a naked Yōsei.

“S-Sorry...”

She let go of Ash gloomily.

“I-It’s alright… Because I’m already healed. B-But could you please put on some clothes? Back to the topic… Why were you sleeping on the same bed with me?”

Ash averted his eyes away from the white tender naked body and simply came out with a question.

“…”

Lukka picked up her one-piece pajama from the floor. Ash made use of this time to cover his own naked body with the blanket.

Lukka who had put on her pajama was sitting on a chair beside the bed and only then she answered Ash question.

“It was because that your body’s temperature was dropping… So I’m trying to warm you up.

“I-Is it so. Thank you very much.”

After thanking, Ash remembered the incident that happened in the Dragon Workshop.

“That’s right…! It may be hard to believe, but… I was at the Dragon Workshop!”

“Dragon Workshop?”

Lukka was surprised.

“That’s it. The workshop where the dragons did their creations. I had a conversation there with Gawain.”

“Huh…?”

Ash tried to explain to Lukka who was stunned.

Part 7

After Ash told her the truth, Lukka was in tears.

“Why… Gawain… Because of me… Just because to protect me… It rather sacrifice its life...”

When he saw Lukka’s shaking shoulders when she was crying, Ash found out about something.

He had thought her as a girl without emotions. But that is not the truth, she is just only someone who can’t express her emotions well. For she to be crying for Gawain is the only proof needed.

Thinking back carefully, it was the same during that time.

In the forest during the full moon, Lukka also cried. Ash choose to challenge Gawain was also because of sympathizing her-

“That’s right. Gawain didn’t allow you to ride on its back because it was worry about you. If the rider was to be afraid of its pal, then his life will be threatened…”

“It’s… All because of me…”

“Summon your courage!”

Although he knew that this is a little cruel to her, he still shouted it. Because Navi had already notified him in the Dragon Workshop that Gawain’s life has…

“Please calm down and hear me out. Gawain had only a few more days to live… according to the information that I had received from the Dragon Workshop, it can only live for a mere five more days.”

Upon hearing, Lukka’s was shaken.

“Before that… How many days had I been sleeping?”

After Ash had asked, Lukka answered by mumbling with her face looking pale.

“Today is… The sixth day.”

“Huh?”

Ash was taken aback. This means that he had lost consciousness since the first night of the training camp until just now.

Although the training camp last for seven days, in reality, there is nothing wrong about taking the sixth day as the last. Because the seven day would only be returning to Ansarivan- just like that.

Also, the main event of the sixth day of the training camp would be cleaning the campsite and the closing ceremony would be held in the evening.

In another words, the Selective Training Camp is as good as ended.

But Ash didn’t think that he had wasted his time here. The truth won’t be revealed if he had not challenged Gawain.

The thing is, they must make sure of Gawain’s safety. If Navi prediction was correct, Gawain will die any moment.

“Lukka! Look for Gawain immediately!”

“But… I can’t leave you.”

“I’m already alright. Right now, you must only think about Gawain!”

“…Understood.”

Lukka rubbed off her tears and lifted her head.

Her gaze which was full of determination moved his heart.

After Ash had nodded to her, Lukka rushed out from the infirmary.

Navi had made a ‘five days’ death declaration.

But Ash had slept for five days…

Just when Ash was worried and held his fist up without being interfered by the pain-

“Ash!”

The owner of the voice who rushed into the room seems to be Eco. Her shiny hair sways when she rushed to the bed side.

It was probably that Ash was thinking too much that he just thought that Eco looked tired. Just maybe that she didn’t slept well. Her red swollen eyes that will give you a heartbreak, is most probably because she cried a lot after the incident. Ash thought that he was going to have a heartbreak.

-Am I not able to escape from a punch or two from her…

Ash was prepared to be hit but surprisingly, Eco was only cuddling in front of the blanket.

“Baka, baka, baka! I thought that… thought that you were going to die! What were you doing? You are owned by me, do you know that…!”

Eco hid her face in the blanket and started sobbing.

“Sorry, Eco.”

Ash was petting Eco’s head while bearing with the pain.

Thinking back carefully, the morning alarm had not yet rang. But Eco who usually was a lie in had rushed here early in the morning.

Although she refused to admit it, she is still eventually my pal… Ash was happy in the depth of his heart.

But the peaceful moment only lasted for a while.

“It is good to hear that you had regained consciousness.”

The student council’s member leaded by Rebecca rushed into the infirmary as a crowd.

“You moron!”

Silvia unhappily scolded.

“Thanks to you for being an idiot I can fully enjoy a twin sharing bed room on my own.”

Max was insulting him while adjusting his spectacles on his nose.

“…”

Only Jessica remained troubled and moved her nose around Ash’s blanket. Logically speaking, she should be the first person to hug Ash…

“…What are you doing?”

Upon asking, Jessica glared at him sharply.

“What is this about…! Why is the blanket full of Lukka-san’s smell! Could it be that Ash-sama… likes those types of young girls?”

“No… It is not like that!”

Ash became nervous, since it was the truth that Lukka was sleeping with him which made him harder to give his explanation.

“What did you say!”

Eco was the first to react after hearing Jessica’s words. It was as if she had transformed into another person. She sniffed the blanket with a cold expression and her eyes widen.

“It is true. This smell of herbal medicine… is from that Eckbald!”

“C-Calm down. I beg you to calm down first Eco..”

Ash was under great pressure. Although he wanted to escape from the window, he was now stark naked. Once he climbed out from the window, his naked body will be seen. He was now in the situation where he couldn’t do what he wanted to.

“Hold on… Are you insane? Even I as your master was not allowed to enter and had to give up on visiting you. But you…”

“I-Is that so?”

Judging from what she had said, Lukka seems to enter the infirmary without permission.

“Ash, you rascal… There are so many to choose from and yet you choose a young junior… and lured her into your bed…? Yet, why do you not think about your health condition… and how we worry about you…”

Silvia’s body was trembling.

“That’s not it, I didn’t lure anyone into my bed! Don’t go on spurting nonsense!”

Too bad for him, Silvia don’t have the intention to listen.

“An enemy of women must face the judgment of the hammer of death!”

Aahh, it seems that inevitably I’m going to face some pain… Ash felt like crying.

“H-Hold on! I’m still a patient, no?”

But Silvia had long ago clenched her fist tightly and was not at all bothered by Ash’s begging.

Eco too also angrily lifted her right foot.

“This is Lautreamont’s family's rules!”

“I’m gonna trample you!”

Part 8

“Huu… In the end, there isn’t a single useful result that was obtained.”

On her right hand was a bright dragon crystal powered torch and on her left’s was a map of the Willingham Mausoleum. Angela sigh in disappointment.

Angela alone had gone through the journey of the exploration of the Willingham Mausoleum.

Although basically she came here as a campsite instructor, her original motive was still the Willingham Mausoleum. If not because of this, she will never agree to go to the Selective Training Camp full of the smell of sweat.

This was the sixth day she was investigating the Willingham Mausoleum. Since the first day she arrived at Allonnes Lakeside, she had immediately came here.

“Although the historical value is hard to predict… This is really a letdown.”

Willingham Mausoleum was a grave that was built from a natural cave. The atmosphere was peaceful inside the Willingham Mausoleum which was due to its two thousand years of history.

Angela found quite a number of the dragon’s fossil. She had originally thought that since this is a mausoleum, all the bodies will be buried nicely. But, there seems to be exception.

“…Huh?”

Just when Angela was marching towards the exit- She suddenly stood still.

In front of her was a strange fork road. Angela who was always calm had also turn pale.

“Could it be…”

Angela had inspect the map for one more time. This was a total different place compare to the intended place. It seems that she was lost because of her carelessness. Her deduction skills had dropped probably because of her lack of sleep.

No matter what, if I don’t find a way out… I’m sure to meet the same fate as these dragons.

“Since I had been in love with the dragons for a long time, it is not a bad idea to be buried with them- Like hell I would!”

Angela while commenting on herself, was thinking about her troubles.

Basically, all the instructors and students knew she is at Willingham Mausoleum. If she returned late, they will send someone to search for her.

“I’m really… How could I be this unlucky!”

After putting down her luggage, Angela was resting with her back facing the rocks. She thinks that this is not a time for her to be running around in panic.

-Click.

In a few moments, she heard voices that could never be found in nature.

“…?’

At the same time, the wall behind Angela moved with making a ‘Ssssssss’ sound.

“T-This is?

Angela immediately turned her head around. The place where I should had originally been rocks has a rectangular hole right now. She immediately shine the hole with her bright dragon crystal powered torch.

The hole is suspected to be a secret passage where the end couldn't even be seen.

“Could it be that… This mechanism was designed by the dragons.

Although the details were not clear, but what she can be sure of is the she accidentally triggered the trigger. But under the eyes of a commoner, this will just be like a normal natural cave…

After wiping of the dust on her spectacles, Angela shouted in joy.

“Who would know that such mechanisms exist. This is the century’s biggest discover!”

Angela had forgotten that she was in a fix and lifted her bright dragon crystal powered torch while stepping into the secret passage.

Part 9

“This is just too good to be true…!”

Angela gave a cheer at the end of the secret passage.

There was a space there that has nothing to do with the mausoleum at all.

It is the size of a classroom in the academy. In this dug out space, bookshelves, tables, sofas and many furniture that can be seen.

There were carpets of different designs on the floor that gave out an elegant atmosphere.

After the torch was shone on the ceiling, Angela was stunned.

“That’s…”

On the ceiling was an extravagance chandelier. But still, it seems logical since it has bright dragon crystal in it. If any grave robbers had found it, they will sure to move it away immediately.

Angela looked upwards and sang a chant. What she was singing was a basic level oracle, and the light immediately lightens up. A light far stronger than the torch had lit the room, thus Angela was able to explore every single corner.

“This carpet… without a doubt, it is a dragon’s creation. This design was once very popular among the dragons about a thousand years ago. The rest of the furniture also has the dragons’ style…”

The dragons who were at the same time artisans, have special taste for beauty. It is totally different from humans’ design.

“What is the reason for the dragons to build this room…?”

Angela suddenly looked at the table.

There was a book that was an inch thick lying on the antique table. The book itself emits a serious feeling and made it seems like it was the owner of this room.

“Is it… to pass this book to the humans…?’

Angela approached the table and took the book. The over luxury looks gave a deep impression and the weight is extremely heavy, just like an encyclopedia.

“Could…. This be the ‘Old Testament of the Stella Biblia’…?”

Angela’s spectacles nearly slide off her nose.

The Chevron Kingdom and the Knight Country worships Rosa Maria and made it as the country’s religion. The bible that records the teaching is usually called the Stella Biblia

The Stella Biblia records about the life of Saint Rosa Maria and her pal Eco. The believers learn the religion’s teaching through the study of Rosa Maria and Eco’s way of life. The reason why Ash named his pal ‘Eco’ is because of he was influenced by this Stella Biblia.

By the way, although it was said that the ‘Stella Biblia’ have two versions which are the ‘Old Testament’ and ‘New Testament”, but only the ‘New Testament’ is recognized by the headquarters for the Rosa Maria religion- Holy Espada Agency. Just not long ago, even the Old Testament was banned…

Angela happily flipped over the pages and read out a few sentences.

“…After the wise dragon Inbroke, two major bloodlines were formed. They are the Avalon’s holy dragons’ emperor’s family and the Nehalennia’s dark dragons’ king’s family. An endless war started from this two families-.”

Angela was confused.

“T-This… did this happened during the ancient kingdom…? But it felt like a legend after reading…”

As if it was to help Angela to get rid of her trouble, a sound of another person was heard in the room.

“No, that is exactly the truth.”

“-!”

Angela immediately hid the Old Testament of the Stella Biblia in between her arms and coldly glared at the intruder.

“A grave robber? No… You don’t look like that kind of person.”

“In the ancient times, when the Zono Ton Enlightment had started in this Ark Strada Continent… The two families who inherited the wise dragon Inbroke’s bloodline had started the bloody war.

A tall and skinny guy said this story.

The only thing that can be clearly seen was his silver mask. His expression was hard to be judged because that his eyes were covered. There were a few strands of red hairs mixing in his silvery hairs and he emits an evil aura.

Although his attire is of a mercenary, he gave out and extraordinary feel that made his cloths shown out.

An oat coloured skin girl was standing behind him silently. Her face looks handsome and cute but her eyes are with strong determination.

This small size girl was in her tribal wear. The metal glove in her left hand attracts attention and there is a high possibility that there are weapons in it.

“Both of you are…!”

Angela remembered.

The two suspicious people that Ash met in the forest about two months ago.

Angela had also gone through the reports that the student council sorted. According to it, the girl called the guy ‘Milgauss-sama’.

“Why would both of you come to this ruins?”

Angela acted calm and asked them coolly.

On her right hand was a bright dragon crystal made ring. The red crystal signifies a fire element.

Her only winning chance will be the element of surprise…

But, Milgauss as if he had already knew what she was thinking said:

“You wanted to you the red flame dragon’s breath as an attack, no?”

Angela gasped after her intention of using the oracle had been found out.

“I’ll advice you for not doing that. Those puny flames that can only kill dragonflies, can hurt me? To dragons, those flames were nothing. Am I wrong, Ann?”

“What…!”

Angela’s eyes widen. If that guy addressed her as ‘Professor Cornwell’, she wouldn’t even be surprised. Since she is one of the top researchers for the dragons, it is normal that the people of the Zepharos Empire to recognized her.

But Milgauss addressed her as ‘Ann’.

“Y-You… Could you be…!”

In the mean time, she felt something was off. Until the moment her feeling turned into reality, the ‘Old Testament of the Stella Biblia’ had fallen on to the ground.

Angela was not strange with Milgauss elegant voice.

Logically speaking, this is their first meeting but Angela recognized that voice.

Once she realized the truth, in her eyes, Milgauss standing posture and his hidden smile overlapped with ‘the person’ she recognized.

-I knew this guy! But he… Shouldn't even be living…

Angela’s lips trembled while looking at Milgauss’s face. How could this be… Angela couldn’t help but kept on thinking about the face underneath the mask.

Part 10

It was twelve years before.

The young genius girl- Angela Cornwell who was thirteen that time had graduated from the University of Fontaine City and wanted to move overseas for further studies.

The location was the highest academy institution in Chevron Kingdom, University of Feachador. The education fees were fully covered by the Knight’s royal family.

In the university’s research lab, Angela met with the ‘Ouji-sama’

That time should be around mid-summer- In the month of Leo.

That day was the University of Feachador’s anniversary and the whole place was in crowded.

But only Angela alone was in the research lab doing research about the dragons. The lecturers and the students had gone out to enjoy the celebration.

But, someone appeared in front Angela who was in the middle of her research. That person is Julius.

Julius, Lautreamont made use of the Ansarivian’s Dragon Riding Academy’s summer break’s opportunity to visit the Chevron Kingdom. Apart from vacation, he also bears the job of a diplomat.

“Haha. I thought I saw an angel! Are you the daughter of a lecturer or a sister of a student?”

“I-I myself am a student!”

According to Julius, he ran into the university to escape from those troublesome fans. In the end, he had gotten lost.

He had a handsome looks on him and yet he had a mischievous behavior.

Julius was only sixteen during that time and he was already a dragner.

Not only he was strong and smart, he was also a beautiful boy. The meeting she had with Julius had left a deep impression in her mind.

Julius smile had melted the lonely genius, Angela’s heart-

Part 11

The feeling that Milgauss gave out is almost the same as Julius’s. Even after he wore the mask and change his hair style, the way he speaks was still the same as the years before.

“H-How… Is this possible…!”

Angela was stunned.

Milgauss had given orders to the girl behind him coldly.

“Do it!”

The girl immediately retrieved the weapon in her left hand’s metal glove- It is a leather whip that the mountains tribe loves to use.

“Haa!”

The whip bends according to the girls shout.

The whip swept past Angela with a ‘sss’ and she bend her knees to avoid. Her spectacles was hit and fell to the ground.

“Urgh…”

Even though the girl attack from the front, Angela’s back was in pain. It seems that the whip easily avoided Angela’s field of vision and attacked from the back.

“B-Both of you… What is the reason you… Come to Willingham Mausoleum-”

At the same time, Angela though of the only possibility.

The culprit guilty of using the Necromancia to attack Ansarivan has yet to be found out.

But according to the time when Milgauss appeared at Ansarivan, it is reasonable to suspect him.

-The crucial material of creating the Necromancia is the bones of the dragons.

If Milgauss is the culprit for releasing the Necromancia, then shouldn’t the Willingham Mausoleum become very dangerous? Since that were many bones buried underground…!

“I beg you…immediately ... leave this place-”

Angela with a trembling voice said towards the students who were at the lakeside preparing for the closing ceremony.

Needless to say, no one is able to receive her warning-

The girl knocked her with a hatchet and she lost conscious.

Part 12

After making sure that Angela had fainted, Anya turned around and looked at Milgauss.

“About this woman… how are we gonna deal with her? She is still a good scholar; it is a pity for us to kill her…”

Milgauss replied coldly.

“I don’t need anyone like her. Just end her lif- Guuk!”

The next moment, Milgauss looked strange. He was suddenly breathing heavily in pain and struggling while knelling down on the floor.

“Guu… This damn person! Such determination… Must he interfere with me-!”

Milgauss was muttering something weird.

“M-Milgauss-sama!”

Anya was nervous when she ran to Milgauss. This was the first time she saw Milgauss suffer to this extend. She had never heard before that Milgauss had any ailment disease…

“…Fear not, I’m absolutely alright.”

Milgauss suddenly stood up which made the pain before look like a show. That feeling is like after demon being excoriated.

“Err… Milgauss-sama? Are you really alright? Anything wrong with your-“

“I’m very fine. The main point is-“

Milgauss was looking at the floor. Angela was still unconscious. Milgauss who addressed her as ‘Ann’. The sound of it made it seems that he was calling a close friend or a lover…

Let’s not bother about this woman. This is a Mausoleum for the dragons. The dead body of a human will only dirty this place.

“…Understoood.”

Until Anya replied even when she was still troubled by it, Milgauss had turned around facing another side.

“Milgauss-sama…?’

Anya was confused.

She doesn’t understand what was happening around Milgauss.

Just before he turned strange, Milgauss wanted to kill Angela… But why did he change his mind?

Milgauss continue to give orders to Anya who was still letting her thought wonder.

“I’ll activate the Necromancia in a few moments. Be prepared to head back to Ansarivan.”

“Understood.”

Although she was still worried about Milgauss body condition, Anya still answered immediately.

The time for the battle is about to begin.

Part 13

In the evening, Ash had nothing to do.

Under the assistance of the healing magic, his injuries were now better. Although his body still hurts, he can now walk on his own. Also, he was now wearing the patients’ clothing. Anyway, it is embarrassing to remain naked.

Being said so, it is still the truth that he was badly injured.

Not only was his head, his entire body warped up into a mummy. Apart from going to the washroom, he was forbid from going outside.

Ash was staring at the scenery outside the window from quite some time.

“Is the closing ceremony starting…?”

At the lakeside where dusk is ending, the preparations for the campfire is still going on. In about an hour time, those logs that were staged up high will be burned.

Rebecca, Silvia, Jessica, Cosette, Max… These friends who had visited him a few times in the morning can hardly be seen during the sunset. This is also because they were busy preparing for the ceremony.

On the other hand, Lukka should meeting with Gawain in the Norg Forest.

Three hours ago, she purposely came back and told Ash that Gawain was still living. After knowing that Gawain was still breathing, Ash breathe a sigh of relieve.

The next thing to do is for Lukka to overcome her fear towards Gawain and the Astral that connects both of them may continue to flow.

“Zzz…Zzz…”

Eco was sleeping peacefully with her head on the bed. It is probably that she didn’t have enough sleep when Ash was in comma.

“I’m entering, Ash!”

At this moment, Rebecca’s voice and the door knock sounded at the same time. Before Ash replied, she had walked into the room.

Rebecca who was in her swimming wear had only a thin shirt covering her top which made her looked sexy.

Rebecca’s swimming wear was red in colour. Since the shirt was unbuttoned, her deep cleavage, her thin white waist and the bikini lines can totally be seen.

“Rebecca-san…!”

Ash doesn’t know where to look at.

“Do you feel better now?”

After looking at Eco with her gentle eyes, she looked at ash with a serious expression.

“I’m fine. I can even go to the toilet on my own!”

“Good. Back to the main point, I’m worried about something.”

“What’s it?”

“Angela-sensei had not yet returned from the ruins even after I had advice her that she must attend the closing ceremony...”

Ash was stunned. He had heard about Angela going to Willingham Mausoleum on the first evening of the training camp. In another words, Angela didn’t knew that Ash was badly injure.

“According to her behavior, Angela must be too immersed in her exploration, no?”

Ash gave a wry smile but Rebecca was still troubled by it.

“It is alright if it is just like that… I’m worried that she had accidentally met with a grave robber.”

-Bang!

At the same time, the door suddenly opened and Lukka entered from outside. She was sweating a lot which was probably because she ran and it cause her summer uniform to be wet.

It is rare to see her panicking when she always do things slowly.

‘Nyuu’, Eco seems to be woken by the noise and made a sleepy sound and she slowly sat up and rubbed her eyes while looking around.

“What happened?”

After she was asked by Ash, Lukka answered slowly since she was breathing heavily:

“That kid… Gawain…!”

Part 14

Lukka told the whole story slowly.

-Gawain is dead?

Ash was thinking about the worst outcome but the truth was not like what he had expected.

Gawain seemed to hide itself when Lukka was not around.

Lukka had been together with Gawain for the entire morning.

As long as she overcomes her fear from falling from Gawain’s back, Gawain will once again accept her. Thus their Astral will once again be connected and Gawain won’t die.

Lukka was facing Gawain with only this thought- But not only that Gawain didn’t accept Lukka, it had also had itself stay hidden.

Rebecca gently hugged Lukka who was crying.

“Gawain will never discard you. It probably felt that it is going to die and didn’t want to let you see its dying looks, so…”

After hearing Rebecca’s assumption, Ash also agreed with it.

“We will look for Gawain immediately! Didn’t we already found out the reason why the astral couldn’t connects? With a little more effort, we will be able to save Gawain! But it had already given up… How could be let this happen!”

Rebecca nodded in agreement.

“That’s right, I also think so. We need not follow what Gawain wants. The problem is, where is it hiding right now…”

“T-That…”

Lukka provided information to Rebecca who was thinking deeply. She had rubbed off her tears and was with a determine looks.

“I think… It must have gone to Willing Mausoleum. That is a grave specially for young dragons… Gawain was still at its juvenile age.”

Rebecca nodded.

“Hmm.. That’s possible. Have you ever heard before the story of ‘The dragon of Willingham’?”

“I had heard of it before. My mom always told me this story when I was younger.”

Part 15

-It was a disaster that happened to a young dragon.

When Nuada was young, it managed to become a maestro. But it could not bear to see its young master suffering in her illness so it cut of its Astral. In the end, Nuada had become very weak.

But Nuada swore never to let its master see its dying moment so it left quietly. Later, although the girl recovered… Nuada had died in Willingham Mausoleum alone for some time.

When Ash heard this story from his mother when he was still a child, he cried.

Rebecca as if wanted to change the atmosphere in the room declared:

“I’ll never let Gawain meet the same fate as Nuada. So, the closing ceremony will be canceled temporally. I’ll ask all the students to look for Gawain. It will be better if we could find Angela-sensei at the same time.”

“No, please hold on.”

Ash opposed against this proposal.

“Let the students enjoy the closing ceremony. I had been unconscious for these few days so I don’t know what kind of training that they had been through… But everyone must have placed their best effort in it. The point for organizing the closing ceremony ain’t it to congratulate those students who completed the training camp?”

“You are right, but what were you planning? Could it be…”

Ash smiled.

“That’s right. I’ll be responsible for the search. Rest assure, thank to the healing magic, I’m almost fully recovered.”

This is actually a lie. Every time Ash moved, he felt pain in his organs and joints. Even so, he still wouldn’t give up.

Upon hearing this, Eco who was silent the whole time became angry.

“Are you kidding! Or you must be an idiot! It is clearly that your body is still weak… And yet you want to look for that weak dragon!”

Ash places his hand on Eco’s head to calm her down. Even though she was angry, it was still because that she cares and worries about Ash.

“Please forgive me, Eco. I couldn’t just kept on watching silently. That feller is not a weak dragon.”

“B-But…”

“If Eco you are worry about me, why don’t you come with me?”

Eco immediately blush like a wildfire.

“W-What… m-me, I never worried about you!”

Ash was not bothered by Eco who kept on denying while shaking her hands but bow down in front of Rebecca.

“I beg you, Rebecca.”

“Tsk… I don’t think I can say no. Or else, the closing ceremony will we go on as usual but all the student council’s members will help in the search.

“No, that won’t work out. If Rebecca-san is absent, everyone will be suspicious about it. For such a ceremony, I hoped that every student can enjoy it to the fullest.”

“But-”

Just when Rebecca wanted to explain, the infirmary room’s door opened with a loud bang.

“If that’s the case, I’ll take over that job of yours. As a dragner, we must help those who were in trouble- This is the Lautreamont’s family’s rules!”

The person who said this was Silvia.

Part 16

The search party that had been decided consist of four members which were Ash, Silvia, Eco and Lukka.

Max and Jessica had agreed to go with them but was stopped by Rebecca. Because if too many of the student council’s members were absent, suspicion will still arise among the students.

Lancelot was now giving four people a ride with Silvia in front holding the reins.

-Behind princess-sama…

Ash who was right behind Silvia was in fear.

Riding on the dragon while wearing the dragsuit designed for the palace and having her hair lifted upwards, Silvia’s charm as a dragner and a princess emerged.

Although Ash had rode on Lancelot with Silvia during the Necromancia’s attack, he was totally immersed in the battle that time. He didn’t noticed Silvia’s charm as the opposite sex.

“What are you doing? If you don’t hold on tightly, you’ll fall.”

After being scolded by Silvia, ash made up his mind and stretched his arms. When his arms surrounded Silvia’s waist, he was surprised that her waist is thin and fragile.

The third person was Eco. She held on to Ash’s waist gently which probably is because that she was worrying about Ash’s injuries.

“You must also hold on tightly.”

When Ash turned his head around, Eco blushed.

“If I use my true strength… Then your body will be squashed!”

Ash gave a wry smile. Eco cared about Ash’s condition in her own way which made his happy deep bottom.

The last person to ride the dragon was Lukka. She was not sitting on the saddle but the end of the tail.

“Hey, Lukka. Are you alright… Sitting like that?”

Silvia asked in surprised.

“It’s alright.”

Lukka answered lightly. It seems that she doesn’t like the riding gears.

Lancelot who was carrying four people gracefully flew towards the sky.

Part 17

Walking from the traing camp’s location to the Willingham Mausoleum will took about an hour. But the they arrive in an instant with dragon.

-Tsk… damn that Gawain… Playing hide and seek when it kenw that it was dying? What is it trying to act cool for, I’ll never allow it to follow Nuada’s footsteps…!

Ash was thinking about Gawain while riding on Lancelot’s back.

Not long later, a stretch of high grounds appeared.

“That should be the entrance to Willingham Mausoleum.”

Silvia said while controlling the reins.

Just as Silvia had said, there was an entrance liked building at the middle of the hills. Although the surrounding were covered by a thin layer of mist, but there were bright dragon crystal powered lights at the altar liked entrance which shines the surrounding of the entrance.

Did Angela walk into that type of place alone…? Ash felt a cold chill just by thinking about this. It doesn’t matter how you see it, this place is just not suitable for a lady to go in alone. It is reasonable for Rebecca to become worried, and they mustn’t ignore the chances for her to be attacked by some grave robbers…

Just like sweeping away Ash’s thought, Silvia shouted:

“Alright, get ready for landing!”

Lancelot gave a brave roar and started to land at high speed-

Part 18

Milgauss was standing at the top of the hill looking at the world below.

Under his eyes was the entrance to Willingham Mausoleum.

Looking at a place further ahead, there is the Norg Forest and Allonnes Lakeside. No to mention the building for the training camp-

The campfire had been lit at Allonnes Lakeside. The closing ceremony had officially begun.

On the ground was a coffin liked box. Migauss open the lid and took out a gigantic black sword.

This gigantic sword is the tool used to summon the Necromancia.

This is the great result of the Empires’ proud mechanical engineering and the development of the dragons- The remanence of the Magic Techniques.

After Milgauss had returned to his country, he had improvised that device.

This gigantic sword that once looked like a piece of art work had now become more dangerous and mechanize.

The bright dragon crystals on the hilt had increased tremendously. There are a total of nine big crystals and more than twenty smaller ones. If it was on sale, he sure can earn a big amount of money. But in Milgauss eyes, those expensive crystals were but tools.

Milgauss easily lifted the gigantic sword and stabbed in on the ground. It is to send the magic into the inner part of the mausoleum.

The dragon jaw shaped sword made a deep heavy sound and sunk into the rocks.

“This looks like a tombstone.”

Just when Milgauss was mumbling, a white shadow swept passed his eyes. A flying object that was thought to be a dragon was getting nearer at a fast pace.

Milgauss widen his eyes that were under the mask and looked at the evening sky. The shadow looked like Lancelot.

“Hmph… The princess, on patrol?”

Milgauss immediately hid behind the rocks. Even though he thought that the sky was dark enough to hide him from the eyes of the rider, but he must never underestimate the eyes of a dragon.

Luckily, Lancelot had slowly landed. It seems that they were going to land at the mausoleum’s entrance. In a few moments, he lost sight of Lancelot.

“Let’s begin.”

Milgauss held the hilt of the gigantic sword and started to sing out the spell.

“Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Show yourself the crystals of the Magic Techniques. The spirits of the young dragons now be revived.”

In a moment time, the bright dragon crystal on the hilt gave out a bright light.

Part 19

“A-Angela-sensei… Came to this cave?”

Silvia who just alighted from Lancelot was shocked after she looked at Willingham’s Mausoleum’s entrance.

She didn’t expect the mausoleum to be this scary.

It is okay if the sky was still bright but the sky that was darkening made it scarier.

The mist that surrounded the entrance made it look like the doors to hell. Although there were bright dragon crystals powered light around the entrance, they still doesn’t ease the fear

“Gawain…”

Ash placed his hand on Lukka’s head because of her worried looks.

“Rest assured. We will definitely find Gawain.”

“Nnn…”

At the same time Lukka answered softly, a bolt strucked in the evening sky and the roaring sounds of the thunders follows.

“Kyaa!”

The first person to scream was Silvia.

Ash made a wry smile. Although under Veronica’s training, she had become stronger, she was still a coward.

But this funny situation was immediately interrupted by Eco.

“…Just like that time.”

Eco was looking at the sky with her sharp eyes.

Lancelot was also in its alert posture and was growling with a ‘Grrrrrr….”

In a blink of an eye, the dark clouds had almost filled the entire sky.

“Are you saying about the time when the Necromancia attacks…?”

Eco nodded while answering seriously.

“That’s right. This bad feeling… I can be wrong about it!”

This time, the earth was shaking.

Ash nearly fell because of the continuous shaking. He already had a hard time to stay balanced.

“Kyaa!”

But the others girl had fell in his direction and dragged him together in the fall.

The girl who fell into his chest was Eco, Silvia was the one who wouldn’t let go of his right arm and Lukka was clinging onto his right arm tightly. Under this type of situation, Ash couldn’t even enjoy it one bit.

“Urgh-!”

His whole body was in pain. The rest had forgotten that Ash was a serious patient that was advised by the doctor to have sufficient amount of rest.

“S-Sorry! Are you alright?”

“S…orry!”

“It’s all because of me…”

Silvia, Lukka and Eco immediately apologized.

“Don’t worry… I’m alright.”

Ash didn’t want the others to worry about him and squeeze out a smile. But, his smile doesn’t looked natural and he prayed that the dark sky can provide some cover for him.

After the earthquake stopped, Ash stood up.

“Fhuss…”

A sound as if it was laughing at Ash stubbornness was heard.

“-!”

One by one… A scary sight appeared from the dark corner of the mausoleum. They were not humans. Although the looked like dragons, they didn’t have the holy feelings that the dragons emits.

“Necromancia!”

At the same time eco warned the rest, something rushed out from the mausoleum.

Something that was bigger than a horse but was to small if it was compared to a dragon. Also, not only one but there was a bunch of them.

There were around five of them and each of them looked like a young Asia. Their bodies were black and have mad eyes, sharp teeth and a strong rotten smell.

“A young dragon sized…. Necromancia?”

Just when Ash was muttering, the leader of the Necromancias attacked. After its mouth opened, shining rays could be seen- Don! And a ball of flames came flying along the ground.

Lancelot made a scary roar and activated its defensive magic’s shield. In a blink of an eye, the breath attack was nullified.

But this is not a time to thank Lancelot.

The group had extended their deep red coloured tentacles this time and they were getting nearer.

Silvia became the first victim.

“Kyaa!”

“Princess-sama!”

Although Ash immediately stretched his hand, he still missed. The slimy and sticky tentacles warped around Silvia’s thin body and lifted her up into the sky.

“I-Insolent fools! How dare you touch the Royal Knight’s family’s Princess...!”

Too bad they were not someone that could be communicated with language.

Although Silvia struggled, but the more she struggle the harder the tentacles grip was. In the end, more than half of her dragsuit was torn off and the buttons had come loose.

“S-Stop! Stop this insolent behaviour...! Ahh...Stoooop!”

Silvia’s scream could be heard all over.

“Eco, hand me the Ark quick!”

Eco angrily rejected Ash’s request.

“No way! You are still a patient! The Ark will burden your body-”

“Is this a time to worry about those things! Princess-sama is in danger right now!”

“B-But...”

Compare to Eco who stood stilled, Lancelot had started to make his move.

To save its master, it had used the red flaming dragon breath.

-Don!

That was a true breath and was not comparable to the flames that was created by an Oracle. The unimaginable destruction force had turned the five Necromanica that was blocking the entrance into fire balls.

“Grrrroooorrrr!”

The five Necromancias who were on fire roared in agony and changed their targets to Ash and the rest. But Lancelot gave the final flaming breath and turned the Necromancia into ashes.

Although they were young dragons, there were no differences from the hardiness of a regular Necromancia. When the tentacles snapped, Silvia was caught by Lancelot when she was falling.

“Huff... Puff... Thank you, Lancelot.”

Ash gave a sigh of relieve when he saw Silvia was safe. But he immediately heard Lukka screaming.

“That...!”

Lukka was standing by the cliff and was the direction to the lakeside. No, it was actually towards Norg Forest.

“Anything?”

“The forrest... Was polluted...”

Lukka as an Eckbald was sensitive to the change in the Forrest.

Ash looked towards the direction she was looking at and he was dumbstrucked.

-Dodododododo....

The forest was shaking and the feeling was like a group of Asia’s running. The wild bird and the small animals were in shocked and their sound could be heard one after another

Judging from Lukka’s ‘Polluted’, the Asia typed Necromancia could be on the move in the forest.

It seems that apart from the main door, there were other options that the Necromancias came out from.

“Ash, quickly look at the lakeside!”

Silvia was shouting on Lancelot’s back while pointing to the lakeside.

“Could it be that... they were also Necromancia?”

Ash clenched his trembling fist. The black shapes were moving around the dark lake. Thank to the campfire at the lakeside, he can somehow make out their shadows.

Those must be the Hydra typed Necromancia. The total amount should be around twenty... No, it seems that it was around thirty. There were moving towards the campfire by the lakeside.

“They are also at the sky!”

This time it was Eco who was pointing at the sky. A group of Strada typed Necromancia while making some weird type of bird noises they were circling around the sky. They seemed to ignore Ash and the rest and were heading towards the campsite...

“So I see... Their target is to attack the training camp!”

Ash angrily clenched his fists on both hands.

“Damn... Even when the students there were top students, those who had experience in dealing with the Necromancia were only Max and Rebecca. Are they alright-?

“Ash, now is not the time to worry about the others. We can only trust the president to protect the training camp.”

Silvia’s calm voice dragged Ash back to reality.

She focused her sight onto the entrance of the mausoleum.

“That’s...!”

Ash turned speechless.

The second batch of Asia typed Necromancia had rushed out and there were six of them this time.

“Grrrr...”

Lancelot with a growl and the breath attack exploded. Three of the leading Necromancia turned to ashes.

At this moment, the deep red coloured tentacles rush forward. Lancelot was not intimidated by them. It’s hind legs held its body and it stood up and stomped its hammer like front legs. The sharp claws made a screeching sound and the tentacles were torn of like rubber bands.

That scene could only be described with dead bodies everywhere.

In only a few minutes, the second batch of Asia typed Necromancia was totally wiped out.

“S-Strong...!”

Lancelot’s heroic fight amazed Ash and also Silvia’s dragon controlling skill had improved significantly.

Silvia looked downwards at the rest of the gang with a skilful looks.

“Ride on Lancelot quickly! We are going into the mausoleum.”

Part 20

... Rebecca is just too great. Jessica who led the group of Hydras was muttering while looking at Cú Chulainn who was flying in the night sky.

“All of you here had gone through the five days Selective Training Camp! Your skills had improved significantly! You must have faith in yourself! Your skills are far better than what you had imagined!”

Under Rebecca’s command, the students had ridden on their pals.

The Stradas were flying, the Asias were on their way to Norg Forest and the Hydras gathered at Allonnes Lake. Their strategy- An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.

“... Rebecca is just too great.”

Jessica who led the group of Hydras was muttering while looking at Cú Chulainn who was flying in the night sky.

Part 21

Rebecca was standing at the high end of Cú Chulainn’s neck. She was already in her Ark. The enormous amount of magic was surrounding her entire body. Max was like acting as her second in command riding behind her on Arianrhod

Not long before, the student was happily enjoying the atmosphere around the closing ceremony’s campfire.

But, the Necromancias who attacked from three directions which were land, water and air had changed the situation. Just like heaven and hell, the students were all in a panic but thanks to Rebecca, the tables had turned. Just a simple talk from Rebecca had given them the courage to fight.

Now, not only the students were not in any fear, they even trembled in excitement.

A huge amount of Necromancias were approaching.

There was only about a hundred meters in between them.

"Appear! The certain hit magic spear! Gáe Bolg!"

Rebecca naturally led the attack.

“Gáe Bolg!”

A bright light appeared after the spell had ended and a long spear appeared. Gáe Bolg’s light pierce through the dark sky and explosion followed. One by one the Strada typed Necromancia fell to the ground.

“Attack!”

Rebecca ordered like a general.

“Oooooo!”

The students received the orders and attacked at the same time.

Part 22

Dim white lights were emitted from Lancelot’s horn.

This was a basic magic for the dragons. Thus, Ash and the rest didn’t have to rely on the bright dragon crystal torch while walking in the cave. Lancelot was walking forward silently and steadily in the cave. Its usual earth shaking footsteps was almost can't be felt.

So it had lessened the amount of burden that Ash’s body was facing.

“Thank you, Princess-sama.”

Silvia was surprised that Ash spoke behind her ears and her neck suddenly gave a jerk.

Because of her hair was tied up with a red ribbon, her white neck was exposed.

“Why are you acting with such ambiguity! I had done nothing that deserves your thanks!”

“You were worried about me and purposely asked Lancelot to slow down, right? So…”

“I-I had never thought that far! How can we move quickly in this narrow space!”

Ash gave a wry smile. Silvia was shy about it. For such a great dragon like Lancelot, to move quickly in a narrow space is but a child’s play.

“-Careful!”

Silvia suddenly shouted.

“Ksharrrr!”

Three Strada types Necromancias attacked from the front. They looked more like bats than dragons.

Even though they were noble dragons in their lifetime, after they had become a Necromancia, they were no different from a disgusting flying animal.

Ash was in tensed, the next second-

“Grooooo….!”

Lancelot gave an angry roar. On the path where the brilliant dragon stepped passed, there were only ashes left behind.

“Such excellencies.”

Upon hearing Ash’s mummer, Silvia proudly lifted her chest.

“Hmph… During your recovering time, I had completed every single course in the Selective Training Camp. The days when I did battle stimulations with the president every day… I felt like crying when I said that.

What Silvia said felt like a sad tone hidden in it. She seemed to experience something terrible. Ash who had only experienced the first day’s sea water bath was regretting. <!—It should be lake, but sea was written in the original text. Or I could be a pun because lake is Mizuumi and Sea is Umi.-->

But, the main reason Silvia became strong was mainly because of Princess Veronica’s encouragement.

If Veronica hasn’t visited Ansarivan last week, Silvia may not have turned over a new leaf.

“Back to the topic, why haven’t we saw Angela-sensei yet?... I hoped she wasn’t attack by the Necromancia.”

Silvia sighed while looking at the mausoleum’s map.

“I we also haven’t found Gawain yet… Lukka, did you felt anything?”

“I can’t… Because the Astral was not connected, my ‘Seikoku’ was not responding.

Sinca Lukka couldn’t feel anything; they could only ransack the entire cave. Although it will be a tiresome job just by only imaginating it, it was still an emergency.

“Another thing… Eco, there is something that I must tell you first hand.”

Ash was looking at Eco through his shoulders.

“Anything?”

Eco who was clinging tightly at Ash’s back lifted her head while feeling annoyed.

“The next time I asked you to hand me the Ark, please do so. The doubt at the moment could make you regret for your whole life.”

“Wha…!”

Eco immediately explode. She kept on hitting Ash with her fist.

“I won’t allow you to order me! Be careful or I’ll trample you!”

Although the way she was hitting was like trying to be pout, the strength that she put in still made him suffer.

“I-It hurts! S-Stop hitting me!”

“Have you forgotten that you are still a patient! Even though those were temporally made mimic, it still burdens the body!”

Although she said it angrily, she was still concern about Ash. The way she thinks made Ash happy but the situation right now was an emergency and maybe the mastermind was still somewhere in this mausoleum.

“If not, could you create and Ark that doesn’t cause much burden to the body?”

“What did you say?”

“Please, I believed that you are able to make an Ark that was suitable for my current situation.”

“H-How…. Could you speak with such confidence!”

“Do you even need to ask? Because Eco is my excellent pal!”

“…!”

It was probably that she was moved by Ash, Eco was speechless and she blushed.

“Alright… B-But, during the time I’m in the dragon workshop, my body-”

Ash immediately knew what she was going to say.

Only a spirit can enter the dragon workshop and the true body will be left in this world.

When the spirit left the body, the empty shell will be defend less.

“Worry not, I’ll protect your body.”

Ash loosened his grip on Silvia’s wrist and carefully switched places with Eco while trying not to fall off from Lancelot.

“Ash…?”

Eco was dumbstrucked, and turned around to look at Ash.

Ash hugged Eco’s wrist tightly.

“Wha-W-Wha…!”

Eco’s shoulders twisted for one moment and her body had become log liked.

Her ears hidden in her hairs were red.

As if hot air is going to burst out anytime.

“I-If you didn’t hold on to me tightly… You better watch out!”

After Eco said angrily, she laid her back on Ash’s chest. He could smell the fragrance of her shampoo.

The next moment, Eco’s body was like a puppet whose strings had snapped. She loses her strength and laid her head on Ash’s right shoulder.

Ash had felt that her spirit had left her body.

“Our hopes are on you, Eco.”

Ash murmured was like praying when he held on to Eco’s weight.

Part 23

“Huh?”

Silvia immediately stopped Lancelot when they arrived at a wide space.

It doesn’t look like a place that has Necromancias.

Lancelot increased the light intensity of its horns to brighten the extra space.

Silvia was holding the reins with her right hand and was checking the map with her left.

“According to this map, this should be the centre of the mausoleum.”

“Centre...”

Ash was holding on to Eco who was still unconscious tightly while looking around.

Silvia turned back and was secretly looking at Ash’s face.

“...”

Just to make a new Ark for Ash, Eco had when to the dragon workshop. Ash kept on holding to her petite body tightly for some time.

Of course the reason Ash did so was to prevent Eco from falling off from Lancelot... But Silvia had been jumpy since and couldn’t remain calm.

-Damn, what am I getting nervous about!

Silvia had reaffirmed herself and was looking around her surrounding carefully.

The size of the space was about the size of the academy’s lecture hall. The ceiling was extremely high which was estimated to be about fifteen meters. There was a lot of winged crosses shape tombstones all over the ground.

All the tombstones had at least a height of five meters. The winged cross in the middle was far bigger than the rest. Its height almost touched the ceiling. Is there a powerful dragon who was buried there?

Too bad they still haven’t found Angela and Gawain. Logically speaking, this empty space that was located in the middle of the entire mausoleum should be the place with the highest probability of finding them...

After Silvia gave a long sigh, Ash talked to her:

“Princess-sama, look at the ceiling.”

“-Huh?”

Silvia’s eyes widen. There was a volcano like hole in the middle of the ceiling and the night sky could be seen from within. Before they had entered the mausoleum, Eco had described this dark sky as a ‘bad feeling’.

In a clear day, there should be moonlight that shines through the hole and create a dreamy situation.

“Grrrrr...”

Lancelot suddenly lifted its neck and gave a warning growl.

It was staring intensely at the hole above.

“What’s it, Lancelot?”

Just when Silvia asked in surprised-

“We had met again, shounen.”

A guy’s voice could be heard from above. A tall and thin person was standing at the edge of the hole.

“You’re... Milgauss!”

Ash suddenly gasped could even be felt by Silvia.

Lancelot’s horn had shone the scene above.

A lone guy in mask who was pale white in colour from the lights appeared. Silvia had also read the report book and immediately knew who he was.

“The ruffian who was called Milgauss! Who know that I can meet you here! I under the name of Lautreamont’s Royal Knight’s family will punish you in the name of god!”

Even while facing Silvia who was excited and indignant, Milgauss only replied with a laught.

“Hmph... Come on, even Veronica Lautreamont who was a top warrior was not even chosen to be a breeder... And yet a coward like you was chosen.”

“What... Did you say?”

The way Milgauss speaks as if he knew a lot of her background in formations made Silvia felt uneasy.

“Are you alright, Princess-sama?”

Ash asked from behind.

“N-No... Nothing.”

Silvia’s mind was already in a mess even when she said so.

-What is this feeling? That guy called Milgauss... Even thought this is the first time I met him, but he felt familiar. Why would I feel this way?

“Princess-sama? You... are crying?”

“Huh!?”

Ash’s words woke her up.

She hadt only found out that her tears already started falling.

“This... Why would I...?”

Even Silvia didn’t know why she cried. But, if she gave Milgauss a glance... her heart will tighten.

Milgauss suddenly gave a smile.

A smile of a father who cares about his child, a peaceful and caring smile.

“You had grown, Sylvie.”

“Wha-!”

Silvia felt a cold chill.

No matter how wide is the world, the only one who would call her in her pet name will only be her family members. Not only that, his gentle voice had cause her to recall her memories.

-Onii-sama! Julius onii-sama!

-Haha, Silvia, you pampered child.

-It’s because... Onii-sama kept on talking to Glenn-dono and had forgotten about me!

Her childhood memories resurfaced in her mind.

How is this possible.

-‘Dragon Slayer’.

Brother Julius who had committed such serious offence had been punished. Silvia was only five during that time.

In Lautreamont Knight Country, killing a dragon is the uttermost offence. Even if it was the prince of the Knight’s royal family, he will still be punished. To make it worst, the dragon that Julius killed was his pal- Maestro Mordred.

Julius was already dead.

But... Milgauss had the same feel with Julius with every movement he made.

At this moment, Lancelot had again given a warning growl. As if it was trying to tell Silvia to put on her guard.

“Could it be...!”

Silvia had also felt that something was very wrong.

The ground was slightly shaking.

-Something was hidden in the ground!

“Kuku... Until what extend Lancelot can fight is something worth seeing. Or is it that- the guy over there will come out with some weird tactics?”

“Urgh...”

Ash kept silent.

Eco had remained silent and had yet to wake up. Silvia also couldn’t predict the amount of time needed for Eco to create a new Ark.

Milgauss as if he saw through Ash’s Achilles heel he gave a ridiculed expression.

“But, judging by Avalon’s Princess behaviour... I believed that you wouldn’t be able to come out with anything weird, no?”

“Avalon’s Princess? Who would you also knew about-”

Ash was obviously shaken. Avalon- This word was suspected to origin from the ancient language. Silvia didn’t know what it means. Anyway, what’s about the princess?

-No, this is not a time to worry about those stuffs...

Silvia cleared her mind and focused on the current situation.

“Let me tell you, the dragons buried in this mausoleum were but young dragons! Even when they because Necromancias, they are still no match for my Lancelot!”

Silvia declared but Milgauss was not even bothered by it.

“Is it so? I had sent most of them to the training campsite. Those Necromancias that you had beaten were small fries. Also, those dragons buried here were Maestros in their past life.”

As if to answer Milgauss talk, the ground split into two. The enormously loud sound was going round the cave and the tombstone followed by falling to the ground.

A huge object could be seen appearing from beneath.

“Roarrrrr...!”

A roar as if it had arisen from hell followed and their fight with Lancelot had started.

Strong wing, thick jaws and sharps horns.

Apart from their dark skin, they have the looks of a maestro.

“Kuku... Let me tell you! Its name is Nuada!”

Upon hearing, Silvia was stunned.

“A tragedy that every citizen of the Knight Country knew. You should had heard about it before, right? It is the dragon who loves its master and choosed to commit suicide-”

Part 24

“Have you gotten everything that I had said, Navi?”

Eco was having a conversation in the dragon workshop.

Navi as usual was wearing a wearing a evening dress while sting on an antique chair.

“The Ark that suit his current condition most…? Hehe, this is interesting.”

Her matured version of Eco’s look was as beautiful as usual. Perhaps it was because of this, Eco hated this woman very much. Even after saying so, she must focus on the main situation right now.

“I don’t have much time. Can you replace my job for the restructuring process?”

“Ara. Why do you even need my help?”

Navi cheekily smile.

“Do I even have a choice! Even though I don’t like it... You are still more knowledgeable than me... And I expect that you could come out with a better result compare to me.

“Your judgement is correct. We are like two faces on a coin. If you are the person who lived in the outer world, then I am the person who lived in the inner world. Of course I will help you.”

“So you had agreed to help me?”

“As long as you promise me one thing.”

“Promise? What do you want me to do?”

“You must promise me that one day, you will present an Ark to Ash Blake. It must not be a mimic but a top rated work that you had created.”

“W-What are you talking about! How could I agree to this!”

“Ara. Have you already given up before you even challenged it?”

“B-Because... to present the Ark to him also means-”

Navi smiled.

“That’s right, you are going to give him your everything.”

“How could I-”

Eco was speechless. Her whole body was hot as if it was burning. To give her everything to Ash- just by thinking so, Eco was already very embarrass about it.

“Are you willing to agree to my condition? Or not?”

“Urgh...”

Navi’s provocation made her mad, but it takes time to do the review. Since there were more than a thousand of the Ark’s blueprint left by her ancestral.

To do the review is to search the parts that suit Ash most.

She will be fine if it is just so, but there was this ‘not to burden Ash’s body’ rule this time.

This is more difficult that the ‘ice element’ that Ask asked for during the church terrorist incident.

Strictly speaking, Eco didn’t even know if there was even one Ark that doesn’t burden the person wearing. So this problem had nothing to do with time and she can only rely on Navi’s knowledge.

“...Alright. I promise.”

After Eco had made her mental preparations, Navi smiled and the place suddenly was filled with soothing bright lights.

At the same time, there were many blueprints above Navi’s head. Those were the blueprints that the dragons left behind.

Navi with her glossy and watery lips begin to sing out the name of each part of the Ark-

“Almete, Gorjal, Peto, Espaldar, Brafoneras, Faldaje, Escarcelas,Bufetas, Hombreras, Brazales, Codales, Antebrazos, Manoplas, Quijotes, Guardas, Grebas, Escarpes, Espolón.”

Eco was speechless.

A few thousands of those blueprints were spinning around on Navi’s head. Those that was decided as unnecessary will disappear immediately and the leftovers are those that are important.

“W-What a fast searching speed...”

Eco was stunned. At this moment, all the blueprints that were flying around Navi’s head disappeared.

The lights that filled the dragon workshop had also disappeared. Navi slowly stood up from the chair and walked towards Eco.

“W-What is it...?’

Navi was too beautiful to look at and she unconsciously took a step backwards. Navi cheekily smiled and placed her palm on Eco’s head.

“This is...!”

Eco felt a cold chill. An enormous amount of information entered her brain from Navi’s palm. But half way through the process, it was interrupted.

“W-Why?”

“...He was facing great danger.”

Navi was looking at the three dimension projected screen in mid-air with a serious expression.

“Then be quick!”

“It seems that we must act quickly.”

Navi again placed her palm on Eco’s head and retransferred the information.

Part 25

“Is it really Nuada…!”

Ash shouted but he was immediately back to his calm self.

That right, the problem is not whether it is Nuada or not. The main point is, this Necromanica is a Maestro.

Also, the Necromanica revived from the ground was not only Nuada alone. The tombstone around had also fell to the ground one by one. The Asia typed Necromancia crawl out from the ground and there was a total of nine of them.

“Princess-sama. It is better that we retreat for the time being-”

After giving a glance at the passage behind, Ash calmly made the suggestion.

The escape path was not yet blocked by the enemies. To fight in this open space, the enemies will surely attack from all directions. It will be a tough battle even though Lancelot is strong.

But if they retreat to the narrow passage, the enemies will be force to come at them in a line. They may have a chance in winning like this.

“No!”

But Silvia stubbornly disagreed with retreating. She was so angry that the hands that were holding the reins were also trembling.

“Milgauss… Do you know what you had done! You… had stained Nuada’s spirit that you never should!”

“P-Princess-sama…?”

Ash was at lost when he look at Silvia being angry.

Silvia had obviously believed what Milgauss had said. She probably had the experience of crying after hearing Nuada’s story in her childhood.

At this moment, Lukka who had remained silent for the whole time had also cried.

“I also… will never forgive that person.”

It is easy to understand how she felt. Because Gawain had followed Nuada’s footsteps and had disappeared. She emotionally reacted probably because of this.

Ash was worried about the current situation.

“Young dragon Nuada! I swear in the name of the Lautreamont Royal Kinght’s Family will defeat you! This is the only thing that I can do for you!”

Lancelot roared in a high pitch in replied to Silvia’s sworn and immediately attacked Nuada. It stood on its hind legs and stacked with its front. Upon seaing, Nuada had also stood up and defended with its front legs.

The two ferocious dragon was started a battle of strengths.

Out of a sudden, Nuadu open its lower jaw and threw out some black gasses. It was almost a zero distant attack-

“Urgh…!”

Ash felt something was wrong and he hugged Eco tightly to protect her. He was angry at his useless self who couldn’t do anything.

Lancelot also remained strong. Just before Nuada’s breath attack exploded, it atcivated its defensive magic.

-The sound of explosions had shaken their ears.

The explotion was reflected back to Nuada who was near to the defensive magic and immediately explodes. Lancelot defensive magic was strong and Ash only felt a slight vibration.

“Great…!”

Right until now, Ash had opened his eyes. Half of Nuada’s head had diaaspeared and its grey coloured brain could be seen. Even though it seems to be defeated, but it is still a Necromancia. The organs that were destroyed were immediately recovered and was back to its original looks.

Lancelot’s heroic roar and Nuada’s creepy scream had shaken the air around them.

Just when the two resumed to fighting with brute strength, there was a groan coming from Ash’s back.

“Eek… Stop!”

“Lukka?”

An Asia typed Necromanica had dragged of Lukka who was sitting on Lancelot’s tail. Its tentacles can be seen clinging to Lukka’s body.

Lukka who was hanging upside down was struggling in pain and in tears.

“D-Don’t… Touch anyplace weird…!”

Just like throwing sugar to ants, a large amount of Asia typed Necromancias was approaching Lukka. Their tentacles were tearing off Lukka’s dragsuit.

The iron made gloves and knee guards was forcefully pulled off and fell to the ground. The leather belt was tore into pieces and even her skirt was torn off.

“Damn…!”

The moment Ash shouted, a tentacle attacked. Using the moment when Ash focused his thought on Lukka, the tentacle had surrounded Eco’s waist. The tentacle was so strong that Ash loose to it in terms of strength.

“Eco…!”

Just like Lukka, Eco was hanging in mid-air. Eco who lost consciousness couldn’t struggle like Lukka.

Silvia was having trouble just by controlling Lancelot. She didn’t have the time to worry about the danger that Eco and Lukka were facing.

Ash clenched his teeth and jumped off from Lancelot’s back. Even though he knew that this was like commuting suicide, he still can’t control his sudden impulse.

“Let go of your dirty paws-!”

Ash picked up a stone and threw at the Asia typed Necromancia.

But throwing stones at dragon is like throwing stones at the moon. It easily bounce off from the black skin.

“Urgh…”

Too make it worst, Ash’s body was in pain.

Even though he was not attacked, but he body was giving him warnings.

“R-Right now out of all times…!”

After Ash cursed, he knelled one side of his knees.

He was seating cold sweat.

His head, organs and joints were in tremendous pain. He felt like rolling and screams in pain. But, I musn’t… I mustn’t be defeated in a place like this-!

Ash who had sweat in his eyes saw Eco being dragged away from in front of him.

“Ecoooooo.”

Ash screams in desperation.

At that moment, Eco who was nearly sucked into the Necromancia’s body opened her eyes.

“W-What? What is this situation!”

After she saw Ash was on the ground in a ball like posture, Eco looked around at her surroundings.

“Eco! Give me the Ark!”

“Hmph! Without me… You are useless!”

Eco can be seen smiling happily-

And she only shouted the only word of that long spell:

“Espolón!”

Part 26

Milgauss who was standing at the top of the hill watching the fight had seen it all.

The cave was filled with white lights.

At that moment, the Holy Ark emerged in the middle of the lights and was on Ash’s body. That Ark had red stripes and is a striking white coloured armour.

Ash is now an Ark-Dragner.

This armour was stronger that what Milgauss saw at Ansarivan. This increases his interest in it.

The place where it became stronger was the defense and not offense.

“Hmph. Using the old remains and combine them into an emergency armour? Wouldn’t expect less from the Avalon’s Princess…”

Anya’s report had stated that Ash suffered serious injuries. This armour should be the best fit for him.

“Back to the topic…”

Milgauss was surprised that Eco completed the spell with only a word. Perhaps she had finished the rest in the dragon workshop.

Because Eco wanted to create the Ark at the same time she woke up so she had finished most of the spell before she comes back.

If that’s not the case, Eco would be eaten by the Necromancia before she can even manage to finish naming all the part of the Ark. Milgauss wanted to praise this enemy.

“As I thought… Is it fate that we have to continue the fight from the past generations? Kuku, there is nothing bad about it… and also nothing good about it.”

Milgauss laugh.

He was fully immersed in his laughter that came out from the depth of his throat.

Part 27

The moment he wore the Ark, Ash stood straight.

The unbearable pain had disappeared and it felt like he had grown wings.

The thickness of the Ark felt thicker that the first two Ark and it looked more ball like in overall. He felt safe just by wearing it.

But now is not the time to enjoy that safe feeling.

Ash locked on to the Necromancia in front and jumped towards it.

He fist punched the Necromancia that captured Eco with his Manoplas.

Next, he kicked the monster that captured Lukka with his Escarpes.

The massive amount of magic contained in the Ark exploded and the two dragons had disappeared.

“Ouch-!”

Ash groaned.

Even though the Ark had the effect of absorbing most of the repulsive force, it is still reckless for him to go for a hand to hand combat.

The pain in his bones made him struggle. It seems that the Ark also couldn’t totally suppress his pain. But he mustn’t back down in this situation.

“Kyaaaa!”

The moment the tentacles disappeared, Eco and Lukka fell from mid-air.

Ash immediately slides towards the bottom of the two. He had managed to secure both of them right before the land on the ground- The entire process spans for less than two seconds.

“Are both of you alright?”

Ash helped them to stand up. Lukka instantly nodded her head in reply but Eco on the other hand was angry.

“What the hell is wrong with you! That Ark only strengthens the ‘defends’! It is not for you to use it for punching and kicking!”

“S-Sorry...”

Ash initially was intimidated by Eco and apologized. But he without delay changed his mind:

“Now is not the time to worry about those things, no? Of course I’m trying to save you!”

But the current situation doesn’t allow Ash to explain anymore than that.

“…Here it comes.”

Ash was dragged back into reality by Lukka’s warning and immediately put up a fighting posture.

The fight between Lancelot and Nuada was still in a stalemate. On the other hand, the remaining seven Asia typed Necromancias was trying to attack the trio. The stench of the rotting smell had suddenly became stronger.

Eco angrily ordered.

“This Ark was not made so you can fool around with it! Use the Ark Weapon immediately!”

“Understood!”

Ash focused his mind and attention to the Ark.

The information regarding the Ark Weapon that comes together with the Ark was sent into his mind.

After receiving that information, Ash smiled.

“Appear… the invincible magic shield!”

There was a flash followed together with the spell.

The space in front a Ash started to bend and there was a crack. The unknown Ark Weapon appeared slowly from the crack.

“Aegis!”

The same time Ash shouted its name, Aegis appeared.

Aegis’s outer looks looked like a dragon’s head. There were all together five units that made up this shield. All of the five units were flying around under Ash’s command. When they had surrounded the Asia typed Necromancias, the shield projected colourful lights.

These units were not normal shields. They all have the characteristic of a magic cannon.

The continuous lights that were attacking the Asia typed Necromancias were like spider webs.

Not only that, there were some weird changes on the Necromancia that was hit by the lights directly. They had become stones in a short time.

Aegis was not releasing the usual attacking typed magic.

That is a high level magic that turn living things into stone upon coming into contact with the light. Even though it is one of the dangerous magic listed in the list of banded spells by the Knight Country, but now is not the time to act like a good model citizen.

Just in a few seconds time, all seven Necromancias had turned into stones. Ash breathe a sigh relieve and withdrew Aegis’s magic.

“Thank you, Eco.”

“N-Nothing… And I’m not even doing this for you.”

Eco turned her face to aside by her face was definitely blushing. Ash gave a wry smile but now is still not the time to lower down their guards.

Anyway, Silvia was still controlling Lancelot who was still fighting with Nuada. Under the condition where both of their front legs were locked but their opponents, both of the uses magic or even use their tail attack… Both of them were like in a wrestling match.

“Princess-sama! I’ll be there to help you in a short moment!”

Ash who was prepared to help had met a blank wall.

“I don’t need any help! Go and capture Milgauss! Lancelot and I will calm down Nuada’s spirit.”

Silvia’s talk made Ash speechless.

Silvia was really angry. Even so, she still haven’t lost her cool. She had sworn to defeat Nuada in the name of the Royal Knight’s Family- perhaps she truly thought that this is her mission.

“Roger that! Princess-sama I’ll leave it in your hands!”

After Ash shouted back to Silvia, he started running.

Right in front of him was Nuada’s tombstone. The tip of the slanting winged cross was pointing at the hole of the ceiling. Milgauss was still looking at the side of the hole.

Ash jumped towards the sky along the side of the winged cross and stepped on the middle of it and gave a leap. He landed on the wings and continued to jumped again at the end of the wing. With the aid of the Ark, Ash accomplished a jump that a normal human can’t do.

He body passed through the hole of the ceiling.

The musty air of the inner part of the cave had suddenly become fresh and cool.

The air is very cold and it doesn’t seem like summer.

At the top of the hills were many stubs of bare rocks.

Although the surroundings were dark, luckily the Ark produces dim lights. Also, since he had been in the dark cave for a long time, his eyes had already gotten used to the darkness.

“Milgauss!”

Ash started a fight with Milgauss. Although Eco was mad about it, he still chose to use the hand to hand combat which is the easiest.

He remembered the time when he met Milgauss for the first time in the forest.

Ash didn’t even have the ability to fight back during that time. Because before he managed to land a hit on Milgauss, Ash was ambushed by Milgauss underling and was nearly killed by that girl.

But the situation right now is different. Ash was protected by Eco’s magic and he had decided to KO his opponent in one hit.

But-

With only his left hand, Milgauss had blocked Ash’s right punch that he focused all his strength in.

“How is this possible…?”

“Hmph. Is the strength on an Ark-Dragner just like this?”

“Urgh…”

He can’t move his right hand at all. It is similar to being clenched by a plier.

“This proved that you are just a fake.”

Milgauss tone was as cold as iron.

There was a gigantic sword in his right hand.

“Wha…!”

Ash widen his eyes in disbelieve. It is as if the sword was made out of darkness. The big bright dragon crystal on the hilt of the sword proved that it was definitely not an ordinary sword.

“A fake like you had no right to touch me.”

-A flash from the black sword.

There is a sudden black gust. Ash whose right hand is now handicapped had nowhere to run to. He could only use the Manoplas on his left hand to protect himself.

As if a big hammer was hitting his head, the impact pass through his body in a short moment. The impact was so strong that even the Ark couldn’t endure.

“*Cough...*”

“Where is your big talk just now?”

Milgauss let go of Ash’s right hand and held the gigantic sword with both hands.

Then the sword was lifted and down it goes.

“Guak!”

The metal sunk into his abdomen. In a short moment, Ash felt that his waist was going to be chopped into two. The Ark made a ‘click’ sound. Even the Ark was groaning…

“-Aegis!”

Obviously, Milgauss was not an opponent for him to fight with in hand to hand combat. So, Ash resummoned Aegis. The five untis split out immediately and attacked Milgauss. As long as a light managed to hit him, he will then turn into a stone.

“Too slow!”

But Milgauss with an extraordinary nimblest avoided the light rays. Then he swigged the black sword at a lightning speed.

Those units were destroyed one by one after being attacked by a tornado like slash, and they disappeared.

“What is he actually made of…!”

After Ash groaned, he was on his knees. The amount of magic collected in the Ark has a limit and Ash felt that the armour was slowly disappearing.

After Milgauss dealt with the five units, his target had shifter to Ash once again. He gave Ash a kick without any delay. Even with the protection of the Ark, the impact was still transmitted into his abdomen.

“*-Cough!*”

Ash was out of breathe and was kicked around like a puppet. In the end, he landed with his back facing the rocks.

Blood started flowing out from his mouth…

“Ku…”

Ash spit out the saliva that had blood in it and hid behind the rock immediately. The size of the rock is just enough to keep him hidden.

“Hmph. Are you trying to hide to drag time?”

Ash remained silent. He was sitting at the back of the rock waiting for a good moment. His body was in a mess and he probably had only one more chance…

-Ssss, ssss…

Milgauss was not playing any tricks and marched towards Ash.

“Anything wrong right there? Can’t you use Aegis?”

Milgauss was probably laughing his ass off right now. Ash answered while thinking of his disgusting face:

“Too bad, I’m out of magic…”

“Luck is not on your side today, shounen.”

Followed by a shout, there was an impact on the rock behind Ash.

Part 28

“Shoo. Shoo…!”

With the aid if the Ark, Ash easily jumped out through the ceiling’s hole but Eco wasn’t that lucky. She left Lancelot who was in a brutal fight with Nuada and climbed the huge winged cross.

“W-Wait for me…!”

Looking downwards, she saw Lukka was trying her best to cling to the winged cross.

“Tsk… Just don’t blame me if you fall.”

Eco stepped on the wing of the winged cross without being bothered by Lukka. If she had not been careful, she will definitely falls head down. Her current height was about ten meters. Although she was frightened by it, she still needs to move forward.

Even though she felt guilty towards Lukka, Eco still wanted to rush to Ash’s side as soon as possible.

The moment Eco saw the guy called Milgauss, she felt disgusted.

She remembered the nightmare that made her wet her bed.

Eco was attacked by a scary dragon in her dream.

It has nine eyes, numerous tentacles and it is far scarier than a Necromancia…

The unbelievable thing was, the moment she saw Milgauss, the first thing that came into her mind was that dragon. It will be alright if she was just worrying too much… But just in case if Eco’s instinct was right, Milgauss is a dangerous being. Eco couldn’t guarantee that the Ark has enough power to go against him.

Ash’s body condition worried her.

Ash was a heavily injured patient in the beginning. Logically speaking, he should rest for a month, but…

But, even after she arrived at the location, apart from making the Ark (the mimic), there was nothing else she could do. It will not be surprising that she will be a burden.

Even so, Eco still couldn’t calm down her worrisome emotions and choosed to climb the winged cross.

After some effort, Eco finally arrived at the ceiling’s hole took a look outside in the night sky.

“-Huh…?”

Eco had seen it all in that short moment.

Milgauss was holding a gigantic sword up high that looked as if it had merged together with the night sky and was going split open a rock.

Eco’s instinct told her that Ash was hiding behind the rock.

In an direct combat, Ash was definitely out of his league and he was going to be sliced open together with the rock by Milgauss…!

“Ash!”

Eco called his name in desperation.

Part 29

Milgauss who thought that he had a sure win split open the rock in front of him- This blow will definitely crush the rock and Ash into pieces.

The rock was scattered into tiny fragments.

The thick dust was all over and was blocking his sight.

After the explosion like power cool down-

“What…?”

Milgauss remain in his posture of him finishing the blow.

After all the dust falls, what was infront of Milgauss was not Ash’s body.

A unit in mid-air was pinning on to Milgauss.

A light was released from the front of the unit.

“Urgh…!”

Milgauss immediately lifted his left hand to block the light and then he slashed the unit with his sword. Although Aegis was reduced to light particles and disappeared, its effect was still ongoing. Milgauss who felt something was wrong looked at his own body and his left arm started to turn into stone.

“-Milgauss!”

Ash suddenly came down from the sky.

He had used the stone fragments as a screen and used a unit as a stepping stone to jump-

There was no longer an Ark on Ash. He probably uses all his magic to summon the two units.

…Wait, he still has his Manoplas on his right hand!

“What an eyesore!”

Milgauss swung the black sword with only one hand but he had only manage to destroy the unit that Ash was stepping on.

“Uwooooo!”

Ash who was experiencing a free fall uses the momentum and swung his a punch with the Manoplas.

Milgauss immediately put up a defensive posture with the huge sword above his head but he still couldn’t avoid the powerful impact.

“Urgh…!’

Milgauss was knocked off together with his sword.

Part 30

“Huff, puff… How is this punch?”

At the same time Ash landed, his Manoplas disappeared. Next, he felt a terrible pain as if his flesh was being slice off.

But now is not the time for his to show his weak side. Even though Milgauss fell down hard on the ground, he still remains his consciousness. Ash could only try to bear with his pain.

“Hehe… weren’t you out of magic?”

Milgauss was using the gigantic sword as a walking stick to support himself as he slowly stood up. His left arm was hanging freely and lifelessly. It had been converted into a stone.

“I didn’t say that I couldn’t summon Aegis again. It’s you who had been fooled, you had lost.”

“Hmph. I thought you were an idiot who only had strength, so it seems that you can actually do some scheming? But this can only be called as a trick, it is still far off to be called a scheme.

After Milgauss made a haughty smile, he remembered something and pulled off his left arm and threw it to Ash.

“Wha…!”

Ash was staring at the left arm that landed on the ground.

“…Prostatic arm?”

“That’s right. This is a creation of the Empire’s proud mechanical engineering.”

Ash was clenching his teeth. Ash is not only just a normal human without the protection of the Ark, he is also a seriously injured patient.

On the opposite, Milgauss had only lost a prostatic arm.

He was in a fix.

But- Just when Ash lost hope, there was a heroic voice coming from behind him.

“Listen carefully, Milgauss! I Silvia Lautreamont and Lancelot and together defeated young dragon Nuada’s spirit!”

Ash turned around to have a look and cheered happily.

“Princess-sama! Lancelot!”

Nudua’s head was in Lancelot’s mouth when it landed in between Ash and Milgauss. The only word that could describe its condition was 'terrible'. Its white skin had become dirty and full of blood.

Although it was injured, Lancelot’s blue eyes still looked as if they were full of spirits. Apart from Silvia who was riding on its back, Eco and Lukka were also there.

Lancelot gave a menacing growl and lowered down its neck and place Nuada’s head in front of Milgauss.

As if it wants Milgauss to apologize

After Nuada’s head stared at Milgauss for a short moment, it turned into ashes. In a blink of an eye, they were blown away by the night breeze-

After Silvia saw the ashes being bought away by the winds, she focused her attention back to Milgauss.

“…Princess-sama?”

Ash knew something was wrong with her.

In this situation, winning was already in the grasp of their hand. No matter how strong is Milgauss, he will still face trouble when he is going against Silvia.

Logically speaking, Silvia should also know about this but she continued to stand still without any reasons.

“Hmph… It seems that I must change my opinion towards the Fourth Princess. I’ll retreat for today.”

Milgauss placed the gigantic sword on his shoulder and slowly retreat.

“But the training campsite had already become a battle field. Just how many of them could survive… I would love to know it.”

After Milgauss provoked them, he jumped into the night.

Surprisingly, he jumped from the cliff.

Even so, from the previous battle experience with Milgauss, Ash knew that he is not just some average ordinary guy. He should have survived the fall.

And he will be back…

Just like she had calculated the time for Milgauss to withdraw, Silvia spoke:

“Thank a lot, Lancelot. You may take your rest.”

Lancelot immediately bent its knees and lay down. After it closes its eyes, it started to snore gently.

Silvia climbed down from its back first then she helped Eco and Lukka to alight Lancelot.

“Is Lancelot alright?”

Ash worriedly looked at the sleeping Lancelot.

“Rest assured, it doesn’t have any vital injuries. It is just that… It had run out of magic. We only had the strength left to frighten Milgauss just now.

Ash now only knew why would Silvia let him escape. Because she don’t even have the ability left to order him around. Back to the topic, if it was not because of Silvia’s and Lancelot’s intimidation, Ash would have die under the Milgauss sword.

“And also, maybe… That guy…”

Silvia’s troubled looks made Ash curious.

“Princess-sama?”

“N-Nothing, just pretend that I didn’t say anything!”

Silvia panicky wave Ash off which in turns worried him further. At this instant, Lukka said something.

“The training campsite is…”

Eco was also looking at the direction of the campsite dumbstruck.

“How come…!”

By following their sight, Ash also turned speechless.

Just like Milgauss declared, the training campsite had become a battle field. The Necromancias attack had yet to be stopped.

There were numerous sounds of explosions and the lights from the magic were flashing here and there. Although the campsite was safe, the dragon house beside was on fire and there were black smokes all over the night sky.

Is everyone still alright? What about Rebecca? Max? And the rest? The instructors? The staffs for the training campsite? The girls who were in charge of the foods?

“Damn… Even when we wanted to help them…”

Ash felt that he was filled with desperation.

Apart from looking from afar at the hills… We couldn’t even do a thing-

As if to cheer him up, Lukka pulled Ash’s selves.

“I had a favor… To ask from you.”

As if she had made up her mind, Lukka was staring at Ash. Ash was troubled by it because her face was too close to his.

“W-What is it?”

Her Yōsei eyes were shining and clear even under the night sky.

Her eyes that were full of determination caused Ash to stare back at her.

“Please… Come with me.”

“Why?”

“For Gawain and me… You had wagered your life for us. Just to let us feel the same like the old times… If you are together with me… I think I could muster up some courage.”

“Could it be that you know a way to save everyone?”

Lukka extended her hand towards Ash.

“I want to save them… No, I must save them.”

Ash held Lukka’s palm as if he was going to be sucked in by her determination from her eyes.

Her body temperature was transmitted to Ash through her leaf size like tiny palm.

“Alright. I believe in you.”

After Ash answered with a steady tone, Lukka smiled in embarrassment.

Part 31

Under the silent eyes of both Silvia and Eco, Ash and Lukka move towards the edge of the cliff. That is also the place where Milgauss jumped down from.

Shoo…Shoo… The sounds of the winds pass through the darkness down below.

“Lukka…? What do you intend to do?”

Ash took a peek at Lukka’s face whilst being frightened.

“Jump down… From here.”

“J-Jump down-?”

Lukka didn’t answer. She just hurdle herself into Ash’s arms. There was an immediate sound of disagreement coming from Silvia and Eco from behind, but now is not the time to worry about it.

Lukka place her hands around Ash and hugged him as if she was hurting him on purpose. Although his organs were screaming in pain, Ash still managed to bear with it. If he groaned in pain at this moment, he will disappoint Lukka.

Even so, what was Lukka actually thinking…?

“We are going to jump.”

When her voice reaches Ash, he was already in mid-air.

Just like what it was written, Lukka jumped down from the cliff.

And she was falling together with Ash-

The feeling of floating in mid-air only lasted for a second. Then, both of them were falling in a straight line.

“Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!”

Whilst listening to the sound of the winds buzzing beside the ear, Ash was swallowed by the dark abyss. He thought that he heard Eco’s and Silvia’s screams for a short moment from far above, but the voice was lost after a while.

Part 32

They kept on falling.

Ash and Lukka were hugging each other when they fall towards the bottom of the cliff.

Thinking back carefully, the same thing happened when Eco was born. It seems that he was fated for such things…

Suddenly, he seemed to hear Lukka’s voice hidden by the sound of the winds.

She seemed to be speaking to herself while huddling to Ash.

“Sorry…Gawain. I’ll never again be afraid of you.”

Aah…So that's it.

Ash finally understands Lukka’s determination. Just like Gawain overprotecting Lukka and caused itself to have its Astral cut off… This time, Lukka wagered her own life.

After Lukka hugged Ash tighter, she shouted loudly:

“Please accept me once more, Gawain!”

It is hard to believe that such a loud voice would come from such a petite girl. Her voice was so strong that it looked like it pierce through the night.

There was a glaring light coming from Lukka suddenly.

The golden rays started to surround her body.

“Could this be… Astral?”

Ash who was still falling was stunned. He couldn’t believe that he could see Astral with mortal eyes.

“Quick… Suck them in, Gawain! Taken my Astral… no, absorb me! You are my… Pal!”

The shout that she put her full effort in was echoing in the night.

Just before the voice disappeared-

There was an explosion around the hills near Willing Mausoleum and Gawain appeared from there while releasing a magic that brighten the night sky.

Ash was attracted to Gawain’s gesture who had totally recovered.

After Gawain gave a roar that a young dragon couldn’t possible make, it carefully catches Lukka and Ash with its back.

Part 33

“I had… Another request.”

“I’ll do anything, as long as it is in my range of ability.”

Ash replied loudly. Their priority is to save the rest and Ash is willing to suffer any kinds of pains for it. Lukka worriedly stated her request in a low voice.

“…I’m going to challenge the Dragon Riding Dance. So… I hoped that you can hold on to me tightly.”

“No problem!”

Ash recalled what Navi had said.

That is the Eckbald’s traditional dance.

Because of Lukka’s failure in her practice, the dance had caused her to have problem while facing Gawain.

Ash was unable to imagine what kind of a dance is that, but he was mentally prepared.

Now he could only place his hopes on Lukka’s Dragon Riding Dance.

Ash hugged Lukka’s waist tightly with both of his hands.

“Is this alright?”

“…Tighter.”

“How about this?”

“Tighter.”

“Urgh…What about this?”

Lukka answered by nodding.

Suddenly, there was a clear metallic sound coming from Lukka’s leg. Her dragsuit was modified with a standard spurs. Gawain who received the signal roared with its heads up and rushed into the sky.

Part 34

The Ark had disappeared after Rebecca annihilate a group of Strada typed Necromancia with her magic spear, Gáe Bolg.

Rebecca reluctantly sighed. Cú Chulainn magic was almost used up and can no longer maintain its flight. It landed beside the lake.

“Should we end it here-”

The training campsite that acts as a temporary battle headquarters was still fine, but the dragon house nearby was swallowed by the great fire.

Both parties were still fighting by the lakeside.

Every dragon had already used up their magic, just like Cú Chulainn. So, there are many of them fighting using their body.

Anyway, their opponents were Necromancias and they have extraordinary endurance. Every time they received a fatal blow, they still continue to stand up.

This batch of students had been performing well in this fight which made them worthy to become the selected participants of this training camp.

But, there was no end to the amount of enemies. Everyone was wondering how many dragons had been buried there. And the reinforcement for the enemy kept on arriving.

Apart from that, Rebecca could no longer summon the power of an Ark-Dragner had also lowered down the students fighting moral.

“We don’t have any more choices left. Should we just give up on the training campsite… And retreat?”

Rebecca made the bitter desistion. Everyone is disappointed for them to lose such a great traditional facility. The training campsite at Allonnes Lakeside is also a building with long history.

But she must priories the students’ lives. If they give up right now, they still have the chance to retreat in one piece. Once the retreating path had been block off by the Necromancias… Rebecca felt a cold chill just by thinking about it.

Currently, three students were heavily injured, fifteen were slightly injured and seven dragons were also injured. Although they had not yet suffered any casualties, still if they continued to hold on… The situation will become irreversible.

Rebecca made up her mind. She took a deep breath and was going to order the rest to retreat.

Just at this moment, there was some flying object that shot passed the sky.

From the bright silver track left behind by its excessive magic- That must be a Maestro.

“Is it Lancelot?”

No. The tracks left behind by its dance were obviously not done by any ordinary Maestro. It was as if it took the sky as a drawing space and spreaded its wings boldly while flying…

“Could that be… Gawain?”

Part 35

-What type of dragon riding is this? This is the first time in my whole life I saw Dragner control his dragon using this method…!

Under the effect of the strong centrifugal force, Ash nearly lost his consciousness.

He felt as if he was suffering from anemia. He was already facing trouble just to held on to Lukka.

If he had been careless for one moment, he would most probably be facing the watery grave right now.

The Eckbald’s Dragon Riding Dance couldn’t be reason with humans’ knowledge.

A sharp corner turn.

A strong centrifugal force that could even shook the brain.

The buzzing sounds of the winds beside his ears.

Although he also faced groups of Strada typed Necromancia along his way, Gawain were not bothered by them. Just like a lion who was not bothered by ants, it continued to fly.

The Strada typed Necromancia couldn’t keep on with Gawain’s speed and had scattered just like being blow off by a storm.

-Is this really a… Dance?

If this is also considered as a type of dance, how do we classify the flying method in the academy? This is totally at a different level! Obviously, there is too much difference…!

-Lukka is undoubtable a genius!

Ash finally know the reason why Lukka would still be selected to the training camp even after she had been absent for three months.

At the same time, he had personally experience the feeling of the terribleness of falling off during the Dragon Riding Dance… Just by thinking, Ash entire body stiffened. It was a miracle for Lukka to fall off from Gawain and her body remains intact.

Also, Lukka was not flying blindly.

Ash found out that Gawain was drawing a magic circle in the night sky with its tracks.

Not long later, the huge magic circle had been completed.

Thinking back, Navi had mentioned before.

-Once the Dragon riding dance had been completed, many effects of magic will be activated.

Ash’s eyes widen.

“Isn’t this a ‘Seikoku’!”

That’s right, the image that Lukka and Gawain completed together is a ‘Seikoku’.

There was the head of a dragon in the middle of a circle and it looked unique. The diameter should be more than a hundred meters.

The moment the magic circle was completed, Lukka shouted:

“Dragon Riding Dance, the First Dance- ‘The Amrita of purification’.

The magic circle was glowing with a glaring light.

Part 36

All the students who were busy fighting by the lakeside were shocked by the sudden lights.

The huge magic circle- ‘Seikoku’ was hanging at a corner of the night sky.

“So you had succeded… Lukka.”

Rebecca smiled in relieved.

After being shone by the strong lights, the tough Necromancis had returned back to ashes one by one.

On the other hand, the students had recovered their energy as if they had been treated with healing magic.

Rebecca also felt that her body had become lighter and the gloom in her heart had gone. It is as if her desperation from before was just an illusion.

She now felt that she can still continue the battle.

Upon seeing at the Necromancias at the lakeside had been defeated, the student cheered in unison. Even the injured patients who were taking refuge at the training campsite ran to the lakeside to cheer.

Looking at Gawain who was flying energetically in the night sky, Rebecca chuckled.

“Since the ancient times, the Eckbalds who were dragners were called ‘Elfn Dancer’. The Lukka right now best fit the descriptions-”

"Elfn Dancer ~A.S.B 1365.6~"is closed.

References and Translation Notes

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