“Um, is that… a bone?”
“Yeah.”
“……Please tell me it’s not a human bone, please.”
“It is. It’s a human bone.”
Yellian looked like they might faint at any moment compared to Leonard’s emotionless response, all because of the bones-human bones-piled up like a mountain. They had heard that dozens of humans had been devoured, but seeing the stacked bones made their head spin.
“Let’s turn back now……. This really doesn’t feel right…….”
“……Save, me……. Save me, please…….”
Yellian’s words, urging them to turn back out of sheer terror, were drowned out by a faint, trembling voice that seemed to crawl into their ears.
Yellian’s eyes widened as they looked back and forth between Leonard and Elton.
“I didn’t mishear that, did I……?”
Nod.
Elton answered Yellian’s cautious question with a nod of his head.
Yellian felt both the realization that escape was no longer an option and the urgent need to save the owner of that voice. Though there was a sense of distance, the woman’s voice sounded so frail, as if it might break at any moment.
“It’s getting warmer. Looks like the dragon’s lair is just ahead.”
Hearing Leonard’s words, Yellian noticed that the earlier chill had vanished, replaced by a warmth. Though they couldn’t be sure, it seemed likely due to the heat emanating from the dragon. After all, in movies, dragons often breathe fire, don’t they?
Contrary to their expectation that the dragon would soon appear, even after feeling the warmth, the three of them ventured much deeper into the cave. As they did, the heat intensified, becoming almost unbearable. It was around the time they started feeling suffocated by the heat.
“……Gasp.”
A massive, pitch-black dragon was curled up, sleeping. Even with its body coiled, its enormous size made their legs tremble instinctively.
And beyond the sleeping dragon, a woman came into view. Her face was pale and exhausted, yet she looked at the three of them with an expression full of hope.
“Let’s rescue that woman first…… and think about the rest later.”
Yellian felt they had to at least save the woman, but they didn’t dare think beyond that.
They had been afraid even before seeing the dragon, but now that they faced it in reality, the fear grew even stronger. They couldn’t help but wonder if they could even take down a dragon this massive.
The three of them moved as quietly as possible, stepping past the dragon toward the woman. Yellian made sure to watch their footing, wary of stepping on something and making noise like in a clichéd movie scene. Thanks to that, they managed to reach the woman without incident.
“……It, hurts.”
The first words the woman uttered were ‘It hurts.’ Indeed, she looked to be in pain. Her body was covered in blood, and her ankle was swollen and bruised. It seemed the severity of her injuries had prevented her from escaping the dragon.
“Just in case I’m asking, can you walk?”
Though Yellian knew she likely couldn’t walk, they still asked in a quiet voice, just in case. The woman shook her head with a weary expression. As expected, Yellian nodded lightly.
“It’s okay. I’ll carry you on my back.”
“No. I should carry her. Yellian, your legs are…….”
“It’s fine. I can carry one person at least. Besides, if the dragon wakes up on our way out, my lord and the lieutenant will have to fight, won’t they?”
Leonard didn’t argue with Yellian’s resolute response. Though he still seemed displeased about something, he appeared to agree that, for now, there was no better option than Yellian carrying the woman out of the cave.
“Get on my back. Carefully…….”
Yellian offered their back to the woman. Leonard and Elton helped lift her onto Yellian’s back.
Feeling the woman’s weight, Yellian braced their legs and stood up. They felt a pain in their thigh, but it wasn’t enough to stop them from walking.
Yellian took cautious steps forward. They wanted nothing more than to sprint out of the cave, but first, they worried that running recklessly might worsen the woman’s injuries since they didn’t know the extent of her condition. Second, their own thigh ached. Above all, escaping without waking the dragon was the top priority, so they had no choice but to be careful.
It was while they were cautiously taking one step at a time, keeping an eye on the dragon.
[Grrrr.]
A rough, guttural breath echoed through the entire cave, and a hot wave of heat washed over them from behind. Yellian froze in place, unable to turn around.
“Damn it, Yellian!”
Leonard shouted urgently. When a startled Yellian turned around, they saw the dragon baring its ferocious claws, swinging them toward Yellian. Leonard stood in front of them, blocking the dragon’s claws with his sword.
“Yellian, run!”
Taking that as their cue, Yellian bolted forward, looking only ahead. Turning back was a luxury they couldn’t afford.
From behind, the sharp clang of metal colliding with a ‘clang!’ and the dragon’s growl of ‘Grrrr’ mixed together, but Yellian kept running forward, carrying the woman on their back.
They ran frantically along the path they had come from. Sweat poured down their body like rain. Forgetting the pain in their legs, they ran for a long while until the heat finally subsided, replaced by a cool breeze wrapping around them. Only then did Yellian realize they had made it from the depths of the cave to the entrance.
“Stay here. If you can move at all, go outside and wait. It’s just a little further to the exit.”
“Are you going back to the dragon? You can’t go, you’ll die!”
The woman grabbed Yellian with a weary voice. They knew. Yellian had been more opposed to hunting the dragon than anyone and had been terrified. But thinking of Leonard and Elton fighting the dragon alone, they couldn’t just leave them behind.
Especially, Yellian couldn’t shake the last image of Leonard they had seen. They couldn’t ignore the man who had stood in front of them, blocking the dragon with just a single sword to protect them.
Yellian gently pried the woman’s hand off their sleeve with a bit of force and took a deep breath. Then, they started running back the way they had come.
They couldn’t believe themselves. Honestly, this was the perfect time to escape from Leonard. He was distracted fighting the dragon, and there was no one watching over them. If they ran now, they could get away without being caught.
Yet despite that, Yellian returned to Leonard. Even though they might have to face the dragon in combat. They couldn’t help but find their own actions absurd and ridiculous.
But they had no choice. In a way, it was partly their fault that Leonard was hunting the dragon. The reason he decided to hunt it was because Yellian had said hunting innocent animals was cruel. Of course, they hadn’t told him to hunt a dragon, but they still felt a certain sense of responsibility.
On top of that, the image of Leonard protecting them came to mind. The sight of him standing against the dragon with just a sword to shield them lingered, making it impossible to run away.
Running frantically, they felt a suffocating heat. Yellian realized they had reached their destination.
Sure enough, the dragon’s back came into view. As the dragon, which had been curled up, stood, its head seemed to nearly touch the towering cave ceiling. Facing its immense size made their legs tremble.
“My lord, are you alright?!”
Leonard and Elton were obscured by the dragon’s massive body. Yellian called out in a worried voice.
“I’m fine, why did you come back, ugh!”
Leonard’s reply cut off mid-sentence. Peering over their shoulder, Yellian saw the sharp spike at the end of the dragon’s heavy tail aimed at Leonard. Leonard blocked the spike with his sword once again, but it looked like he wouldn’t hold out for long.
Yellian scanned the dragon and their surroundings, trying to calm their burning anxiety.
A few arrows were embedded in the dragon’s body. However, they didn’t seem to have done much damage. Judging by how leisurely the dragon moved despite being hit, its thick hide likely prevented the arrows from piercing vital organs.
“Ugh, am I an idiot?!”
Yellian’s eyes widened as they stared at the dragon with nervous tension. They realized they had been overthinking when there was such a simple solution right in front of them.
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