We Live in Dragon’s Peak – Chapter 870

We live at the foothills of Dragon Peak.

Night Moon’s murderous intent.

“Mistral…!”

Everyone gasped at Mistral, who radiated a chilling murderous intent. Even Sefina, who had lost consciousness, awoke at the overwhelming presence.

“What in the world…?”

Sefina broke free from my arms and turned her weak gaze towards Mistral. It wasn’t just Sefina. All of us, including myself, stared at the human-dragon transformed Mistral without blinking.

Between being captured by Shadow Dragon Argilthal’s darkness and reappearing before us, what exactly happened to Mistral?

Mistral, still clad in murderous intent, looked at us without a word. Her glowing azure eyes stood out clearly in the night darkness. Mistral adjusted her grip on the jet-black one-handed club she was holding and took a deep breath.

“…Mistral!”

I called out the name of my beloved wife once more. And then, I ran.

Towards Mistral.

Then, everyone else followed a few steps behind me.

“Mist-san!”
“Lady Mist!”
“Mist!”
“Mist!”
“Mist-san!”

We all ran towards Mistral, who was radiating murderous intent. And I was the first to embrace her without hesitation.

“Mistral, I’m so glad you’re safe!”

I held her tightly, so tightly. I wrapped my arms around Mistral’s slender body and rested my cheek against her face, which held glowing azure eyes. The golden scales, almost silver, that adorned her cheek felt slightly cool.

“…Elnea.”

The one-handed club she had been gripping clattered to the ground. Then, as if regaining her sanity, Mistral exhaled deeply and returned my embrace.

“I’m so glad. I’m truly glad. What happened to you?”

Why had Mistral been radiating such intense murderous intent? Mistral, who was clinging to me with her eyes closed, managed to eke out an answer to my question.

“I couldn’t forgive them.”
“Couldn’t forgive?”

When I asked what, Mistral hugged me even tighter.

“In the darkness, I met my own shadow.”
“We did too!”
“So, you did too. But that was absolutely not my shadow.”

Mistral told us about her encounter with her shadow. And then she said,

“That shadow spoke lightly of things it shouldn’t have. Things that denied my precious family…!”

The shadow whispered to Mistral, “You should have him all to yourself. The other wives are a nuisance, so eliminate them.”

“…Don’t be ridiculous! I cherish everyone in my family just as much as I cherish Elnea. Yet, that shadow carelessly spoke falsehoods. That’s why my anger welled up.”
“Ah, so that’s what it was. The shadow really made Mistral angry.”
“That’s right. So, I decided to thoroughly refute it.”

You unleashed your Dragon Jewel and transformed into your human-dragon form to thoroughly blast away the shadow created by Shadow Dragon Argilthal, didn’t you!

Hearing Mistral’s story, we nodded at each other, realizing we had experienced similar things.

“…By the way, Elnea. Weren’t you scared?”
“Huh? Of what?”
“Of me…”
“Why?”

I peered into Mistral’s face as she looked down with a troubled expression. Mistral, a little embarrassed but honestly, confided her anxiety.

“Well. Because I unleashed my power and was filled with murderous intent.”
“Ah, I see!”

When Mistral appeared from the darkness, to be honest, I was very surprised. But it wasn’t because Mistral scared me, you know? It was because it was unusual for Mistral to be so enraged, I conveyed to her, and everyone nodded.

“Besides, Miss Mist never directs her murderous intent towards us.”
“Indeed. Even when she’s angry, there’s no murderous intent.”
“But even her anger is scary.”
“But even just being scolded is terrifying.”
“That’s because you two are always up to no good!”

Those of us who were often scolded, including myself, were called out by Mistral and tucked in our necks.

“Anyway, everyone seems to be safe?”
“No, no, Miss Sefina, you’re the one who’s banged up!”
“What on earth happened?”

Lady Madrine asked while tending to Sefina’s wounds. Then, Sefina happily recounted the events in the darkness.

“I also met my own shadow in the darkness.”
“Then, why are you so battered and bruised?”

We also faced our own shadows, but for some reason, they had no intention of physical attack from the start. Yet, why was Sefina injured to the point of being covered in wounds? To our question, Sefina smiled coolly and stated firmly.

“Oh, isn’t that an easy question? Because I fought my shadow with my fists.”
“Huh!?”
“It was fun, you know? Because fighting oneself was a first for me. But, as Mist said, that really wasn’t my shadow. Because the other side unleashed infinite Dragon Energy, right? Isn’t that too unfair?”
“This woman is a battle maniac!”

Hearing Sefina’s story, Yufiria, Nina, and Lady Madrine laughed, while the rest of us sighed in exasperation.

What a situation. Sefina, instead of feeling anxious about being kidnapped and trapped in darkness, seemed to be delighted to fight her shadow.

“I thought it was a trial, you see? If I could overcome my own shadow, this darkness would clear up and many mysteries would be solved.”
“No, no, even so, you beat each other up!? Like us, weren’t the shadows trying to engage in a mental confrontation, using words that shake the heart?”
“Elnea-kun.”
“Yes?”

Sefina looked at me with a serious gaze, and I swallowed hard. Despite being covered in wounds, Sefina stated with firm words.

“If that had truly been my shadow, it would have spoken with fists, not words. If it’s a fake, there’s no need to listen to its words in the first place.”
“I-I see!”

One of Sefina’s charms is her straightforwardness. She dislikes schemes and roundabout tactics. Perhaps Sefina judged it to be a fake the moment the shadow attacked her heart. That’s why she fought without question.

“Either way, I’m glad Sefina is safe. Well, even though you’re covered in injuries.”

Mistral is safe, and Sefina has been rescued. If that’s the case, then it’s time for everyone’s reports.

“Right. I saw illusions of everyone!”

I saw Ruiseine succumbing to Argilthal’s temptation, and Laira desperately trying to calm Revalia. I also saw Yufilia facing Nina, and Nina facing Yufilia separately. Lady Madrine was also tempted by the Miko of the Ancient Capital.

“Indeed! Lady Revalia!”

Laira scanned the night sky. However, there was no sign or presence of Revalia in the sky or on the ground.

“As I suspected, that Lady Revalia was an illusion.”

Laira told us. “Lady Revalia said, ‘Defeat everyone and take Lord Elnea.’ So, I desperately tried to calm her down. But Lady Revalia’s words became increasingly extreme, and towards the end, she said she wanted to eat Lord Elnea to have him all to herself. Hahahaha! What happened to Lady Revalia? I was utterly distressed. Because Lady Revalia isn’t truly an evil dragon with such thoughts.”

No, no, Laira. If it’s Revalia, she’ll happily eat me, you know? I said, “She bites me whenever she finds an opening!” Everyone retorted, “That’s an expression of affection!”

“I was tempted to abandon everyone and travel the world together. It was suggested that I could resolve the issue of my Magic Eye through various experiences during that journey.”
“Ruiseine. Well, listening to that, it sounds like a wonderful proposal?”

It sounded like a straightforward proposal, unlike Argilthal, who had tried to trick us with all sorts of methods. However, Ruiseine shook her head and denied it.

“No, I saw through it from the beginning, you know? Argilthal’s words were merely testing me, and if I had agreed, I would have found myself in a terrible, irreversible situation.”
“Could that be…? Dragon’s Eye?”
“Yes. I could see everything. The false appearance of Argilthal, and his misleading words.”
“Whoa. Ruiseine’s Dragon’s Eye is truly the nemesis of those who manipulate Dragon Energy.”

When not only your movements but also the true meaning of your words can be read, there’s no countermeasure. I’ll be careful in the future too! While everyone was once again amazed by the power of Dragon’s Eye, Ruiseine concluded by saying,

“Besides, even if I hadn’t seen through it with my Dragon’s Eye, I would have refused. Because if we’re going to travel the world, it’ll definitely be more fun with Elnea-kun and everyone else than with Argilthal.”
“That’s right!”

Exactly. Argilthal had overlooked that crucial part.

“Muki, then I’m the same!”

Then, Lady Madrine spoke up. The one who appeared before Lady Madrine was the Miko of the Ancient Capital, the one who often patted Lady Madrine’s head at the Wyvern Hunting Ground. The Miko told Lady Madrine that by training in the Ancient Capital, she could surely overcome the Goddess’s trial. The Goddess’s trial, in other words, was transcending lifespan. This also sounded like a wonderful proposal if you only heard the words. However, Lady Madrine apparently refused resolutely.

“Madrine, don’t hesitate. Go ahead.”
“Madrine, don’t worry. Go ahead.”
“Muki! I will absolutely not go!”

Lady Madrine stamped her foot at Yufilia and Nina. I wondered why she was so resistant, and then Lady Madrine explained about the training in more detail.

“She said that if I trained for decades in the Ancient Capital, I would undoubtedly overcome the trial. But after decades, I’ll be an old grandma! Even if I live with Elnea-kun and the others for thousands or tens of thousands of years, I refuse to spend decades just to become an old woman.”

Besides, Lady Madrine smiled at me and said. “You’ll guide me and Sefina, won’t you, without needing to go to the Ancient Capital?”
“Of course! I’ll definitely help you overcome the Goddess’s trial before you two become old women.”

At my firm assertion, not only Lady Madrine but also Sefina seemed pleased.

“So, finally, Yufi and Nina…?”

I looked at the twin sisters who had clung to me in the confusion.

“I saw it. An illusion of Nina pointing a blade at Yufi, and another illusion of Yufi pointing a blade at Nina.”

Everyone looked at the two with widened eyes. Then, Yufilia and Nina exchanged glances and smiled in exactly the same way.

“Nina pointed a blade at me.”
“Yufi-nee-sama pointed a blade at me.”
“So, we were stabbed without resistance.”
“Whaaaaat!!”

We were all surprised by the identical reactions of Yufilia and Nina, or rather, by their words that they were stabbed willingly after a blade was pointed at them. But the two concerned parties looked as if to say, “What’s so surprising?”

“Because, that’s how it is. If it’s Nina, I don’t mind being killed.”
“Because, that’s how it is. If it’s Yufi-nee-sama, I don’t mind being killed.”

The mirror images, Yufilia and Nina, loved each other as deeply as they loved themselves. That’s why they had no hesitation. For their precious younger sister. For their precious older sister. They would gladly offer their own lives. And surely, if one of them lost their life, the other would extinguish their flame of life too, everyone felt a strange sense of understanding.

Also, this time, since the attackers were illusions, they didn’t suffer real injuries. We breathed a sigh of relief upon confirming that there were no wounds on their abdomens. At the same time, we recognized anew the wickedness of this incident planned by Argilthal.

“That Argilthal. Anticipating that we would see through the initial shadows as creations of Argilthal, they decided to show us illusions that weren’t shadows next!”

We, who knew this incident was Argilthal’s doing, would surely see through it, so they must have assumed. That’s why they deliberately showed us shadows first to make us believe the illusions they showed next were real. And then they tried to trick us with those illusions. However, we completely rejected Argilthal’s temptation. We don’t know why Argilthal did such wicked things to us. But Argilthal’s intentions were completely thwarted.

“Alright, with this, it seems we’ve rescued Mistral and Sefina who were missing, and it’s wrapped up! …Or so I thought.”

I looked around. And searched for the presence of those who were missing.

“Um, where’s Nimia, who brought us to Dragon Peak…?”
“Ah, that’s right.”

Nimia’s figure was nowhere to be seen. I thought, “Could she still be imprisoned by Argilthal!?” Then, Mistral moved her upper body away from me and reached into her own chest.

“While I was kicking away shadows in the depths of darkness, I found her imprisoned. So, I rescued her.”
“Nyan!”

What Mistral pulled out from her chest was a fluffy Nimia.

“I thought I was going to be crushed.”
“Is that so? So, the reason Mistral’s chest was more voluptuous than usual was because Nimia was inside your clothes?”
“Meow.”
“Elnea?”
“…Ah!”

Seeing Mistral pick up the jet-black one-handed club she had dropped on the ground, I sensed danger. I quickly distanced myself from Mistral.

No good! I’ve stepped on a tiger’s tail, no, Mistral’s tail! If this continues, Mistral will turn into a mass of murderous intent again!

“Kyaa!”

I tried to escape, but I stopped and turned back. And then, I directed my gaze towards the lingering darkness behind me.

“That’s right. Family time can wait a bit. Aren’t we about to ask the originator of all this evil to explain themselves?”

While we were confirming our safety, the dark mist that we couldn’t quite shake off swirled behind us. That dark mist, darker than the night, gradually increased in density and began to materialize before us as a black shadow.

“Come on, Shadow Dragon Argilthal. Stop observing us and show yourself!”
“Kukukuku. Such spirited Words of the Dragon God’s messengers.”

Shadow Dragon Argilthal finally appeared before us. Clicking the heart allows you to easily convey your support. (Login required.)

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