REFDL 134

But it was already too late to ask. As we neared our destination, Nitan and Irina’s expressions grew tense. Both of them grabbed their sword. Odan, with a rare look of determination, glanced around.

Blood vessels began to bulge in his eyes.

After removing the tethers and rolling down to the ground, Odan circled the area before declaring,

“…It’s here.”

…Huh?

“Here. Right here. This is where the trail of the star ended.”

“…….”

“…….”

What?

Kaelus hurriedly looked around.

I did the same. However, there was no real need to check.

The scenery was no different from what we’d seen so far. Stones. Gravel. Sand. A barren plain lined with boulders large and small.

[There’s nothing here?]

……Did we screw up?

Just as the Pensiltas were chirping peacefully, and all the humans (including the one dragon claiming to be human) were staring at each other.

Whizz!

An arrow flew in from somewhere.

Thwack!

The three knights drew their swords, but before they could defend, I used the wind pressure from my wings to knock the arrows away. Odan quickly turned his head. Blood finally began to flow from his strained eyes.

“That’s…!”

It was a desert tribe.

But it wasn’t Vinaho’s group.

They wore sand-colored short-sleeved shirts and long pants, and their clothes were embroidered. Their swarthy skin and the fact that every member of the group was a muscular man were the same.

And unlike Vinaho’s group, who were on foot, they were all riding horses.

“Waaaaaah!”

“Aaaargh!”

They charged toward us while making noises that were indistinguishable from screams or battle cries. In their hands, they held spears, swords, and bows.

……Was there something wrong with their eyes? Couldn’t they see the single Kremlis, as big as a fortress, and the two Pensiltas, as big as houses, standing right here?

For a moment, I suspected (as absurd as it sounded) that perhaps they really couldn’t see us. That’s how overwhelming and blind their momentum was.

Apparently I wasn’t the only one who thought so. Kaelus gave the order to hold out ground. Nitan and Irina maintained their combat stances [unauthorized copy]while keeping their eyes fixed on the oncoming figures.

And then…….

Thud-thud-thud-thud!

[……?]

“……?!”

The horses split precisely in two groups and galloped past us.

The very next moment, the sound of weapons clashing came from behind.

Clang!

Clang!

Clang!

“……Vinaho?!”

It was him.

The sand-colored cloaks they’d worn when they ambushed us.

Vinaho and his group clashed with the newly arrived tribesmen.

The mounted tribesmen roared with demonic expressions.

“You plague-ridden scum! How dare you try to defile the star?!”

“Stop them! You must stop them!”

“Hahahaha! You worthless pieces of shit!!”

“Kill them!”

“We’re almost there! The star is right ahead!”

Vinaho swung his sword and shouted.

“We don’t all need to reach it! Just anyone… just one person!”

It sounded as if he were about to spit blood. His eyes were bloodshot, and veins bulged beneath his skin. No matter how you looked at him, he didn’t look like a normal person.

Vinaho’s gaze met mine.

He paused, then bared his teeth in a grin. …His once-white teeth were stained bright red with blood.

Thud.

Odan, who had been standing beside me, collapsed to the ground.

I thought his legs had simply given out, but that wasn’t it. He suddenly began digging into the ground with his bare hands.

“…Move.”

The quick-witted knights pushed the frail mage aside and began digging in his place.

[So how long are you going to take?! You guys move out of the way too!]

“……”

I shoved the frail humans aside and thrust my claws into the ground. With each swing, the earth gave way.

And a short while later.

Whoosh!

“……!”

A blinding light erupted from the ground. The battle raging just a step away came to an abrupt halt.

Even though none of us had seen it before, we recognized it at a glance.

Without a single scratch, a star that had been buried underground, revealed itself.

The very thing that Archmage Amelia had first observed, the one said to grant only foolish, trivial wishes.

“Don’t touch it! That… that’s ours!”

Vinaho, his eyes wild with fury, unleashed a burst of strength. The three tribesmen clinging to him were flung in all directions.

His body was covered in wounds, big and small. Dirt and sand had seeped into the cuts. Vinaho didn’t care in the slightest. With his usual cheerfulness, swagger, and laid-back demeanor gone, he was like a completely different person.

No.

He didn’t even look human.

…What is that?

It sent a chill down my spine.

I’d felt strange when we first met, but this feeling was on a whole different level. It wasn’t demonic energy. It definitely wasn’t demonic energy, but…

An ominous aura, just as intense as demonic energy, enveloped Vinaho and his group.

Like a pitch-black whirlwind.

“Give it back! Give it back! That’s mine!”

Vinaho roared like a beast and charged toward us. None of the mounted tribesmen could stop him.

Irina ran forward a step ahead of him. She narrowly dodged Vinaho’s grip, capable of tearing through human flesh and shattering bones, and drove her sword precisely into the spot just below his ribs.

“……!”

Vinaho paid no heed to this either.

Irina hadn’t expected this either. Vinaho swung the back of his hand.

“Guh…!”

Irina, momentarily thrown off balance, couldn’t dodge and was sent flying to the side. Nitan caught Irina just as she was about to be hurled against the rocks. Meanwhile, Kaelus, who had approached silently, severed Vinaho’s head.

His body swayed, it should have fallen over… but it lunged forward like a beast. He accelerated his run even further.

The headless body charged toward me, Odan, and the star.

“……!”

“What the fuck is that?!”

That’s what I’m asking!!

Screaming inwardly, I swung my tail. But my body couldn’t stop the muscular flying squirrel. It charged at Odan with the same momentum from its run.

[……!]

With no other choice, I threw myself face-first toward the star, clutching Odan to my side.

Vinaho was stopped by a red wall.

The headless body trembled with frustration before punching me.

Thud!

[……!]

The flesh beneath my skin reverberated. I wondered if that was really a human fist.

However, it was manageable…!

Though I suspected things had gone wrong if I was thinking a human fist was manageable. Anyway, I protected Odan and the star.

And look, Kaelus is running over… Huh?

But something happened.

An even stronger light flared from the star. It was so bright that a beam of light penetrated through the gaps in my body.

Vinaho struggled desperately to tear me away from the star.

And then Kaelus arrived.

Thud!

“Yuram!”

The moment he placed his hand on my scales, after sending that figure, who must have weighed at least 130 kg, flying in a single blow, I saw something.

On Vinaho’s chest, exposed as he rolled across the floor.

The symbol drawn by the lord of Minamao was engraved there.

Whoosh.

And my body sank into the ground.

It wasn’t a metaphor. It was the literal meaning.

[…….!]

My field of vision dropped.

A cross-section of earth, as insubstantial as a mirage, rose above us. We were dragged into the interior of the gigantic star beneath the ground.

***

“……Lord.”

Someone was calling me.

“……My Lord.”

Is it Kaelus?

I thought I should answer, but I couldn’t move a muscle. Not only my fingers, but even my lips felt numb.

As I just groaned in agony, the other person gently shook my shoulder.

…Shoulder?

Huh. Am I in human form right now?

…Why am I in human form? I was just a moment ago…

“…Vinaho!”

“Aaaargh!”

I sat upright.

The sight before me caused my brain to freeze for a moment. It wasn’t an unfamiliar place. In fact, it was so familiar that it was the problem.

It was Kaelus’s bedroom.

My heart was pounding, and my head was filled with question marks. My mind, jolted awake, quickly started turning.

Discovering the Star of Foolish Wishes. Vinaho, still moving even after his head had been severed. My body being sucked into the star.

“……!!”

My throat, which had been fine just a moment ago, started burning.

“Ah, did you have a nightmare? You scared the life out of me!”

“……Donon?”

“Yes! I am Donon, Your Grace’s loyal servant! [Read on]Please get up. You’re later than usual, so you need to get ready right away to avoid disrupting today’s schedule……”

“Wait a moment, Donon. …Where am I?”

“Huh? Oh. Are you still half-asleep?”

Donon quickly brought me a cup of milk tea. I took the steaming hot drink in my trembling hands and gulped it down. It must have had a generous amount of sugar, because the sweetness was almost enough to make my tongue sting.

“So where are we? Answer me first.”

“Your Grace’s bedroom?”

“Then what about Kaelus? Where is Kaelus right now?”

“Kael…us? Who’s that? I’ve never heard of anyone by that name.”

“……!!”

My heart froze.

No. This can’t be.

I was definitely dragged here by the star. This isn’t reality.

More importantly, while it wasn’t exactly the same, I’d already gone through a similar experience.