Chapter 113, Side Story: A Mysterious Scent

Translator: Barnnn

 

As the magic ebbed away into the distance, the Fire Dragon — once known by the grand name Abyureldo Fyuenzol Joekuelsch Voderia Gofnoden Drenmonies Baznejardetta Menoewz Bardukbozaveles — let out one final roar. Now, it went simply by Bardveles. Slowly, it curled its massive frame into a resting coil.

In its great eyes, fitting for a creature of such size, a faint glimmer flickered — perhaps a memory, perhaps something more.

 

“Those green ones… they knew of your homeland, Fuya…”

 

It closed its eyelids, and vivid recollections surfaced at once — days that still burned brightly in its memory. The day the Hero had stood before it.

 

◆

 

“Oh, wow, you’re huge!”

 

That day, a human stood before the Fire Dragon — a human whose scent was unlike anything in this world.

A human had come this close, and it hadn’t even noticed.

There was something alien in the magical energy clinging to him. And for the briefest of moments, the Fire Dragon felt a flicker of fear.

 

[…Fear?]

 

It shook off the emotion, as if repulsed by its very existence, and turned its gaze once more to the creature before it.

Jet-black hair, like the trees Bardveles had once burned for sport. A small and slender body, not even the size of one of its own arms. And yet — the magical power he carried was formidable. Equal to the Fire Dragon itself.

Utterly foreign. Undeniably not of this world.

The Dragon’s instincts flared. It unfurled its massive wings and let out a deafening roar in challenge.

 

“GRRRAAAAAAH!”

“Gah, shut up! You’re too damn loud!”

 

In the next instant, magic burst forth from the small human, wrapping around the Fire Dragon like chains — binding its mouth, its limbs.

 

“Damn you! Release me!”

“Huh?”

“Release me, human!”

“Wait… are you talking?”

 

In that fleeting moment of surprise, the magical bonds loosened. With a few powerful beats of his wings, the Fire Dragon launched itself into the sky.

 

“You dared to touch me! I shall not forgive this!”

“Wait, hold on–”

“GRAAAAAAH!”

 

A searing column of flame erupted from the Dragon’s maw, engulfing the world below. Trees, earth — everything burned. Green turned to black. Brown turned to ash. It scorched the entire landscape, wiping it clean in an instant.

That should have been the end of it.

But a few days later, the same human appeared again, unnoticed — standing before it as though nothing had happened.

 

◆

 

From that day on, the human — Fuya — continued to visit the Fire Dragon. Without warning, without reason, he’d show up and chatter endlessly about whatever came to mind. The Fire Dragon would eventually grow irritated and lash out, but Fuya never seemed to mind. He’d fight back for a bit, then smile like nothing had happened and wander off.

The Fire Dragon hadn’t noticed at first. But at some point, it had begun to look forward to those visits.

This pattern went on like that for nearly a year.

 

◆

 

“So, Karyu, why do you always get so mad?”

“It’s none of your concern. And stop calling me that.”

“It kinda is, actually — they told me to slay you, y’know? Which sucks, honestly. And c’mon, it’s a cool name! ‘Karyu’ comes from ‘Fire Dragon,’ by the way. Almost went with ‘Hiryu’ at first, but that sounds more like a ‘Wyvern’ in my tongue, you know?”

“I do not care. And you cannot defeat me.”

“I can. That’s why I’m asking you to take it easy.”

“What are you saying?”

“You’ve got such badass wings. I’d hate to have to mess them up.”

“Don’t speak of things beyond your ability.”

“…But I CAN do it.”

“Hmph.”

 

The Fire Dragon didn’t know the full truth.

That Fuya had been ordered to slay it — it was one of his missions as Hero.

That the kingdom, realizing even the Hero’s strength might not be enough, had planned to send an army.

That hundreds, perhaps thousands of soldiers, adventurers, and mercenaries were gathering in secret, driven by greed for glittering scales and rare materials.

 

And then, that very day…

The Hero made the final call.

 

◆

 

“Karyu! I’m sorry!”

 

It couldn’t remember Fuya’s face from that day.

No, it hadn’t seen his face — hidden behind a curtain of black hair, swaying in the heat of battle.

But even through the agony of losing one of its wings, it remembered the voice.

And that voice — sounded like it was crying.

 

◆

 

Wounded and weakened, the Fire Dragon had fled. Like a hunted beast, it dove deep beneath the earth, far from the reach of men.

And yet — somehow — Fuya found it again.

He came with no warning. No sound, no scent, no magic. Just as he had on that first day, he stood beside the Dragon, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

The Fire Dragon curled in upon itself, guarding his mangled body with his remaining wing.

Fuya sat beside it and began to speak in a quiet, halting voice.

 

“Karyu… can you hear me? Even just a little?”

 

◆

 

“Karyu, do you think it’d be fun if people started coming here?”

“Karyu! Hot water! It came out! You’re amazing, seriously!”

“Karyu! Damn it, this water’s TOO hot! You trying to boil us alive, you idiot!?”

“Karyu! You won’t believe it! Deep in this one Dungeon — I saw a Dragon as big as you!”

“Karyu! I’m heading south next. Be good and wait for me, all right?”

 

For years after that, Fuya flitted around the kingdom like a man constantly racing against time.

He told the Fire Dragon about the people he met, the strange places he explored, the secrets deep within the Dungeons, the Mystic Beasts he fought, the treasures he found.

He spoke of the joy on people’s faces when he defeated Mystic Beasts — as though that joy alone made all his efforts worthwhile. And his smile, then, had been genuine.

 

But eventually — something changed.

 

“Karyu… I think I might’ve done something terrible.”

“Karyu! I know it’s my fault — but please, you have to protect the people here!”

“Karyu, it’s all my fault.”

“Karyu, I really shouldn’t have been so careless…”

“Karyu, I don’t know what to do anymore.”

“Karyu… do I even deserve to be alive?”

“…I want to go home, Karyu. I want to go back to Japan…”

 

The smile vanished from Fuya’s face.

The young man who had once brimmed with delight at every mystery the world had to offer now carried only weariness — burdened by guilt, sorrow, and remorse. Day by day, he seemed to shrink. The spark in his eyes dimmed. He always held his sword close, like it was the only thing anchoring him to this world.

Little by little, Fuya faded — like a candle flickering in its final moments.

And then, one day, the scent that had been his alone disappeared from the world entirely.

 

In the unreachable depths of the earth, Fire Dragon let out a roar — raw and endless — until its throat gave out.

 

◆

 

Deep in the heart of the earth, in a cavern where no one but the Fire Dragon could reach, Bardveles rested its massive body with a rare gentleness. Before it glimmered a light — unchanging, unwavering. No matter how much time had passed, it remained as beautiful as the day it came into being.

 

“Fuya,” the Dragon rumbled, its voice echoing softly in the enclosed stone chamber, “can you see this?”

 

Just as it had on the day they first met, Bardveles spread both wings wide and gave them a proud shake.

 

“Look,” it said with deep satisfaction in its tone. “The wing you severed has returned. It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

 

It rubbed its great head against the taut membranes stretched between its wings, reveling in the smoothness, the strength, the rebirth of what had once been lost.

 

“All I have to do is wait a year,” it murmured, “and I’ll be flying again.”

 

It lifted its long neck, stretching it toward the heavens as if it might still be visible from so far underground. Then, lowering its gaze, it looked again at the light before it — still shining, still warm.

 

“It would be something,” it whispered, “if I could take you with me.”

 

The light flickered in response, catching the gleam of the Dragon’s scales. It trembled gently, almost insistently, as if to say it wished the same.

 

“Hmph. Then wait for me there. When I return, I’ll tell you all about the skies I’ve seen.”

 

Bardveles folded its wings in with slow care and curled around the glow protectively, like a classical Dragon encircling its treasure.

 

“You won’t hear these tales secondhand from villagers or adventurers. No — you’ll hear them from me, the one and only Bardveles. Consider it an honor.”

 

For over a century, it had listened to stories told by passing travelers and curious wanderers. But this time, it would be its own voice that carried the tale — its eyes that painted the sky.

 

“I owe those green ones my thanks,” it added softly, eyes beginning to drift shut.

 

As its consciousness slipped toward slumber, Bardveles let its thoughts drift to the days ahead. Behind closed lids, it imagined the light flaring once more — brilliant and alive.

 

◆

 

Far beneath Fuyuya, in the deepest reach of the underground — farther than any human had ever gone — a single sword rested in silence.

Untouched. Protected by the guardian of this land, the Fire Dragon.