Chapter 171: Side Story 8 |
The disruption of Shaik’s peaceful life began a couple of months after his 9th birthday.
Kalexia had fulfilled his promise to find Shaik’s past sword on his 3rd birthday.
However, right after receiving the sword, Shaik collapsed as if struck by lightning.
It happened without warning, in the blink of an eye.
“Shaik!”
The entire family was shocked and rushed to treat Shaik, but he couldn’t open his eyes.
His fever even started to rise rapidly.
‘Ugh…’
At the moment he held the sword, Shaik recalled fragments of vanishing memories.
It was the result of defying the power of the gods.
His entire body was drenched in sweat.
“This is serious. The fever is over 40 degrees, and there’s no sign of it going down.”
“…Why is this happening?”
No matter how much Simon poured out his mana, the temperature surpassed 40 degrees without showing any signs of decreasing.
The Fairy King’s power was the same.
Even Leah, Kalexia, and even Ganini poured their power, but it was in vain.
The entire family gathered anxiously around Shaik’s bed, watching him shivering and moaning in the heat.
“Sa… Sha…”
Of course, Drea was the same.
She circled around Shaik, who had suddenly collapsed, and twitched her feet among the adults pouring their power.
Drea was nothing more than a 9-year-old dragon, not a great mage, not a hero who saved the Empire, not even the king of the fairies.
If these extraordinary individuals couldn’t do anything, the young dragon who had just turned nine was even more helpless.
“Ugh… Ahh…”
That’s why it hurt Drea’s heart even more.
Shaik, who always appeared strong, was in pain, and there was nothing she could do.
Restlessly, Drea wandered around the bed, and then she gently clasped Shaik’s hand, which had no strength left.
It was the first time she held his hand.
Shaik had always been distant with Drea, always giving her a feeling of being unapproachable.
But even so, there were moments when he showed affection, moments when he stared at her intently with an expression she couldn’t understand.
When that happened, Drea had no idea what to do.
Normally, she wouldn’t feel that way, but when Shaik stared at her intently, she became shy and couldn’t look at him directly.
Embarrassed and unsure of herself…
Somehow, Drea held Shaik’s hand for the first time today, clasping it tightly and praying fervently.
“Shaik… Don’t be in pain.”
She could feel the heat on the back of his hand and palm.
Shaik’s collapse was quite shocking to Drea as well.
He always exuded a strong energy.
He had grown up so robustly that he had never even coughed.
He was faster than his peers, healthier than anyone else, and trained faster than anyone.
At just 9 years old, he already had the skill to overpower adult experts.
Sometimes, even the great Kalia mama was amazed by him.
To see Shaik, who possessed such prowess, unable to regain consciousness and suffering was disheartening.
“…Oh God, please keep our Shaik from suffering. Please.”
The only thing that showed some effect was divine power.
When the priests who fought in the Battle of Purito rushed in and poured out their divine power, the fever dropped to about 39 degrees.
When the fever slightly subsided and the family breathed a sigh of relief, the high priest who was monitoring Shaik’s condition spoke.
“This is strange. Shaik seems to have a divine fever.”
“A divine fever? What does that mean?”
“It’s a fever that appears when the priests reject the gods. It disappears immediately when one chooses the path of a priest… but…”
“Does that mean Shaik has been chosen by the gods?”
“No, it’s a bit difficult to say that. There are no visible signs of being chosen by the gods. However… the power boiling within Shaik’s body matches that of divine power.”
Listening to the conversation, Simon asked the priest.
“What happens to those who don’t want to become priests? I mean, those whose fever doesn’t subside.”
The high priest sighed after a moment of silence.
“A fever that cannot be overcome by heat can make people foolish. Sometimes, divine love manifests itself so cruelly and selfishly.”
Kalexia stiffened his expression as he listened to the high priest’s words.
Immediately, he stood up and growled.
“…Then I must meet the gods.”
Of course, it was not that easy for arrogant individuals like them to meet the gods immediately.
Moreover, there were not only one or two gods influencing this world, and it was impossible to determine who had bestowed power upon Shaik.
However, considering that the sun god wielded the most powerful influence, he decided to go and visit him first.
The family bid farewell to Kalexia with worried expressions, and he reappeared on that day’s dawn as if promising to return soon.
“Have you met? What did he say?”
In response to Kalia’s question, Kalexia looked at Shaik in silence for a moment.
He gently stroked Shaik’s forehead, which was emitting a faint heat with shallow breaths, using his large, thick hands that turned red.
Unable to bear it any longer, Drea, who anxiously watched him silently pass his hand over Shaik’s forehead, grabbed onto Kalexia’s garment.
“Is Shaik… alright?”
Drea had always been afraid of Kalexia.
Whenever she saw him, she would tremble or hide behind Shaik or Kalia, unable to suppress her fear.
Kalexia glanced down at Drea and gave her a faint smile.
“Yeah. He won’t die or become a fool. However…”
Kalexia turned his head towards the family members who were only looking at his lips.
He let out a low sigh and spoke with a slightly awkward voice.
“The fever that Shaik is suffering from right now is said to be a backlash caused by the intervention of the gods. It’s the recoil of the divine power being expelled. The problem is, even though that’s the case, we can’t make the gods lower the fever.”
“What do you mean…”
“To lower the fever, we need a flower called Nocorium from the forbidden land. The problem is… it’s in the Dragon’s Sanctuary.”
“What?”
Upon hearing his words, Leah’s eyes widened, and she quickly stood up from the floor.
“The Dragon’s Sanctuary?”
Finding the Dragon’s Sanctuary was incredibly difficult.
They had expanded their dimensional space quite well and manipulated the arrangement of dimensions to hide their sanctuary.
It was not a place that anyone could enter.
They could only enter by connecting with the blood of a dragon.
Of course… if Kalexia or Leah had made up their minds, they could have easily entered. But the problem was that it would inevitably lead to friction with the dragons.
An even bigger problem was that it was difficult to even find the coordinates of the sanctuary.
“That’s… difficult…”
A perplexed expression appeared on everyone’s faces.
It seemed easier to find and annihilate the demons.
To find the Dragon’s Sanctuary and collect the flower that only blooms inside, it was undoubtedly a great trial that would determine Shaik’s life or death.
“For now, Leah and I can search, but we don’t know how long it will take.”
“Using Tokan’s guidance might speed things up, but we still can’t be sure.”
Leah and Kalexia exchanged restless glances.
Simon clenched his fist in frustration.
“If we do find the Sanctuary, I will go in as well. I will help with whatever little power I have.”
“I am Shaik’s mother. Can’t a mother sacrifice her life for her son?”
“Kalia!”
Gaia exclaimed in astonishment at Kalia’s determined words.
Everyone present fell into a moment of silence, lost in their thoughts.
Then, a small voice caught their attention.
“Um…”
Drea, who was standing closely beside Shaik, quietly called out to them.
“I… I know the place.”
And suddenly, she blurted out something shocking.
* * *
The swirling clouds gathered in an unsettling manner.
Drea, gazing up at the gray sky for a moment, took a deep breath and recalled the voices of Kalia and Simon from a few hours ago.
“Drea, if something happens, call Gaia. Got it? Just come here if anything happens. We’ll go. So, never go to dangerous places.”
A year ago, Drea had a chance encounter with another dragon.
That dragon disguised itself as a human and pretended to be a princess from another country.
When asked why, the dragon said it was because of a request from a loved one.
Because a dragon’s life is long, she decided to grant the favor of the man she had briefly loved.
In return for keeping her secret, the dragon revealed to Drea the location of the Dragon’s Sanctuary.
It was a place only accessible to dragons, and no matter how much humans talked about it, they would never find it.
“If something happens, you can escape there too. Got it, kid? Oh, but it’s interesting. I’ve never seen a White one before. Oh, inside the sanctuary, there’s a White being that usually doesn’t show itself… Anyway, there are interesting characters in the sanctuary. Just be careful of the fights that happen at the entrance. Don’t get involved, okay? Remember my words. Fights at the entrance, fights!”
Drea remembered the vibrant red hair of the dragon who cheered her on.
It was flowing and beautiful…
Oh, now is not the time to daydream, Drea. Pull yourself together!
“Hoo-!”
Drea clenched her fists tightly and stood in front of the third gate.
The Dragon’s Sanctuary was truly well-hidden.
She had to find three hidden gates and each gate had a test to prove her dragon identity.
Of course, Drea passed them all with ease.
Although Drea was young, she was the strongest among the dragons, a White Dragon. Moreover, she had magical artifacts that Simon, Kalia, Kalexia, and Leah had prepared for her.
Rumbling… Kwang!
Finally, in front of the last gate, Drea slowly revealed her power.
Rain poured down.
Drea stood in front of the cave, feeling a strange wave, completely soaked. The cave was flooded.
[Say your true name.]
It was a sound injected directly into her mind, not an actual voice.
It was not the language of humans but the dragon’s ancient language.
Drea recalled the name engraved in her soul.
A word that no one had taught her spontaneously burst from her lips.
“[Reikaria Bon de Agartar Buten.]”
In that moment, Drea’s body was engulfed by a dazzling light and sucked into the light.
