DBWC 01

Chapter 01

“…Ugh! Cough, cough!”
I immediately vomited blood. It was a deep, jet-black color.

Everyone rushed to my side—my beloved companions.

“Arne, you idiot! What the hell were you thinking…?”
Even at this moment, this friend still scolded me—Jamille, the thief.

“No! The contamination is spreading too fast! If it decays like this, you won’t be able to resurrect!”
Hania, the priest, cried while pouring her holy power.

“Arne… your noble sacrifice… I will never forget it.”
“That’s something you should say after she completely closes her eyes, you idiot.”
Gedore, the stubborn warrior who always misses the timing, said, and Zephyr, the white dragon who always helped us, stood nearby.

And…

“…Hey. El.”
I gestured to Elkinas, pale and standing far away.

The linchpin of this entire group,
A hero of turbulent times,
The strongest being across all worlds and dimensions,
And…
My only childhood friend.

“Hey, I think my vision’s going. Come over, let me see your face.”
I said that to El and sighed deeply.

We were the expedition team sent to defeat the Demon Dragon, Kunthearn, who had thrown the world into chaos.

Heroes gathered from every world and dimension.
Elkinas led us all to the very bottom of this insane demon dragon’s lair and dealt the final blow.

The dragon’s red eyes flashed, and it unleashed a poison breath. There was no preparation motion for the breath—it moved so fast it seemed as if it had been ready just for this moment.

And I had no strength left even to raise my shield.

The instant I realized it, I frantically ran and pushed Elkinas away.
And I threw myself in front of the breath, embracing it.

Kunthearn’s breath was poisonous gas.
But for a brief moment before it became gas, it was a small orb-shaped sphere.
In theory, if one is hit by it in this sphere form, the blast is contained to the smallest range.

In other words, with just one person’s sacrifice, everyone else could survive.
With me as that sacrifice.

At that moment, nothing else mattered. I had to save everyone.

“But… did the dragon die properly?”
“Of course! But why did you block that? Why?!”
Jamille tried to grab my collar, but Gedore stopped her. I think she actually grabbed half of it.

I softly argued with her.
“If I hadn’t, even if you’d survived… there wouldn’t have been enough time to shield you.”

“Then we should have died together!”
Jamille cried and blocked my words.
“We were supposed to die together, Arne!”

“Jamille, don’t cry…”
I sighed and blinked.

Until a moment ago, I could still see the faces of my friends, but now I couldn’t see any of them. The poison must have taken my vision.

My senses were numbed; I couldn’t even feel pain. But that was fine. Dying without pain wasn’t bad.

“El… why aren’t you coming? I want to see you… I want to see your handsome face.”
I smiled.

“…Everyone, thank you for your hard work. I can’t believe it. That we really saved the world.”
I felt amazing.

I had always wondered what dying felt like. I never imagined it could feel this refreshing and exhilarating.

“This feels awesome. I’m happy… Everyone, live well.”
I whispered this final request and closed my eyes.

I wondered if I was smiling. I didn’t want to die with a twisted expression.

…That was the last thing I remembered.

* * *

“Huuuuuh!”
I gasped deeply and stood up.

I woke up! No, I really woke up?

I touched my body in confusion. My body was still pulsing with life and breathing strongly.

“…Huh?”
Huh?

I looked around, bewildered.

A field full of pure, white Lulfi flowers stretched before me.
And behind me…

A massive ancient tree filled my view. Covered in moss and other vines, it was enormous.
Whenever the wind shook it, tiny particles of light fell from its branches.

Just breathing here felt calming and purifying—an immense, light-emitting tree.
I thought I might know what this tree was.

“…Could it be… the World Tree?”
“Yes.”

A short answer, in a familiar voice.

I turned again and was startled by a familiar face.
My old companion, the white dragon Zephyr, was standing there.

He even held clothes and shoes for me.

“…Zephyr?”
“Yes. Long time no see.”
“Long time no see?”
“Eighty years.”
“What?”

I was stunned. Zephyr had kept his outward appearance exactly the same, still polymorphed—white-haired elf male.
But he had a smile like a well-fed cat.

“And hmm… the experiment succeeded.”
He added this suspiciously.

I only blinked, feeling uneasy.

I followed him obediently after putting on the clothes he gave me.

The cabin was large and comfortable, like someone actually lived there.
…In other words,
Zephyr hadn’t finished his “play” yet.

“What exactly happened?”
As he went to pour tea, Zephyr shrugged and spoke casually.

I had to know at least roughly what had happened. I nodded and sipped the flower tea he prepared.

“Elkinas has gone mad.”
“Pffft!”
…I spat.

“…Really, acting shamelessly right after waking up, huh, Arne.”
Zephyr frowned at the tea spilled across the table. But his annoyance didn’t concern me.

What I had just heard made no sense at all.

“…What? What do you mean?”
I asked again while wiping the table with the back of my hand.

Zephyr sighed and snapped his fingers. A clean cloth floated from the air and automatically cleaned the table.

He put down his own tea.

“Elkinas Pontiac. Born as a cadet in the royal family, killed the demon dragon to seize its heart. That’s how he gained immortality and reached the state of a demigod. A truly unparalleled level for a human being.”

“Yeah, that’s… well, okay, but why did he go mad?!”
“…He’s raising Kunthearn’s egg.”
I opened my mouth in shock at Zephyr’s words.

“Kunthearn? The demon dragon? Our enemy?”
“Yes.”

Zephyr sighed again.

“And he said he’d raise it.”
“What? Nobody stopped him?”
“Of course not.”

“Believe me, sorcerer. Every being in this world tried to stop him.”

“Really…?”
“Yes. Even Hania, Gedore, Jamille, and his old comrades—including me—opposed it, but he didn’t listen.”

“…Even after all that, it was useless…?”
“…Let me enumerate some deaths I remember. When Duke Pontiac tried to pressure him using his family influence, Elkinas killed the Duke and became the head of the family. Even though the Duke was his uncle with some shared blood.”

“…What?”

I remembered the short, chubby Duke who had cowered in hiding when we went to the expedition. The one Elkinas had dismissed as “worthless.”

But he killed him?