Chapter 504

Lucia, who had been sipping wine while leaning against the bed, greeted Ian with a smile. "You're back earlier than I thought. I expected you to be late."

"Well, it turned out that way," Ian replied as he crossed the room.

Lucia's smile faded. Although his face was as impassive as usual, she had noticed that he was not in a good mood.

"Looks like you've read all those documents," Ian added, stopping in front of the dining table.

He picked up a cigarette that had been left leaning against a wooden mask next to the food tray. It was a cigarette that Diana had left half-smoked.

Lucia nodded. "Yes. Though there wasn't much you needed to know."

As Diana, just awakened, groggily sat up from the opposite bed, Lucia paused briefly before adding, "Something must have happened, didn't it?"

"The most fundamental problem has arisen," Ian replied, picking up the candlestick by the window.

He lit the end of the cigarette in his mouth and added, "That old fellow didn't even show up."

"What?" Lucia's eyes widened at once. Her lips parted in disbelief. "But... doesn't it always respond when you call it?"

"That's what I thought. Until now," answered Ian.

He then placed the candlestick back and plopped down onto the chair next to the table. He exhaled a long stream of smoke.

"It must be sleeping..." Diana muttered.

With somewhat drowsy eyes fixed on the cigarette in Ian's mouth, she added, "It couldn't have been easy to bring down that huge demonic realm. Even the great Platinum Dragon must have been exhausted. I hear dragons can sleep for years at a time."

"Well, that could be it," Ian answered impassively.

The dragon did go into rest even after fighting the Corrupted Dragon, Tahumrit. Besides, now that it no longer had a Child of the Dragon to use as a terminal, it might not have had a way to come see him without waking up.

"I hope that's the case," Ian added, resting the back of his head against the wall. It was the most optimistic possibility he could think of.

The gods wouldn't look kindly on what the Platinum Dragon had done. It wouldn't be strange if it were receiving divine punishment. There was also a high possibility that it had sustained some kind of injury in the process of destroying the Wall.

The fact that it would have been directly exposed to chaos and madness needed no explanation. On top of that, there was a high chance of other unforeseen side effects.

He had wanted to speak directly with the dragon, to understand what had happened and, if needed, find a solution.

"In any case, it's not surprising. Unexpected situations always happen," Ian muttered as he recalled the light in the eyes from the vision.

Neither Lucia nor Diana could find the words to respond immediately. Diana gave Lucia a look, urging her to say something.

"Then, are you going to visit its lair directly when we return to the mainland?" Lucia asked as she picked up the bottle by her bedside and refilled her glass.

Ian shook his head from side to side. "No. I'm just going to wait."

"Without doing anything?" Lucia's brow furrowed as she put the bottle down.

"Yes." Ian looked down at his right hand, which still held the summoning talisman. "There's no other way. I have no idea where its lair is. I can only believe that it will reveal itself when the time comes."

It wasn't a careless decision. The moment the summoning failed, a quest had appeared.

[The Agent's Wait.]

The objective was to carry the talisman until he received the Platinum Dragon's call. Since receiving the quest, the talisman couldn't even be stored in his pocket dimension.

However, in any case, this made it clear that this situation also existed in the game, and that the Platinum Dragon would eventually reveal itself.

"Once we reach the House of Erenos, I'll try to request their help."

Unaware of Ian's internal reasoning, concern was clear on Lucia's face. Her emotions were showing more than usual—likely because of the alcohol.

"There will be the family archives. Dragons and fairies have had a special relationship since ancient times, so we might be able to find a clue."

"Sure. Do as you like." Ian nodded calmly.

Lucia wasn't the type to wallow in worry. She tackled things head-on. Besides, maybe she really would find a clue. It could serve as insurance—just in case.

"I need to find a way to store this talisman. Preferably, something like a necklace," Ian muttered, still looking down at his hand.

"Use this for now," Diana replied almost immediately.

Fumbling under her armpit, she unfastened the clasp of a chain belt that was barely visible on the outside. Subsequently, a palm-sized leather pouch that had been hidden inside her breastplate came out. The opening of the pouch was also tightly fastened with a chain link. A thin metal chain fixed to the diagonal edge hung down.

"I don't really need it anymore," Diana added, opening the mouth of the pouch and emptying the wooden vials inside onto the bed.

Those small vials, with a glossy exterior as if coated with pine resin, contained the deadly poisons she had collected.

"Thanks. I'll put it to good use."

To think I'd live long enough to see a fairy give a gift voluntarily. What a rare sight.

Ian took the pouch without resistance.

"I recommend slinging the chain over your shoulder and under the opposite arm. The chain's dwarven-made, and the leather's soaked in beast oil. Unless your whole armor's torn off, it won't break," said Diana, as he placed the talisman inside the pouch.

Nodding, Ian pushed the pouch under his breastplate. He groped around for the chain behind his neck.

"What if... just what if?" said Lucia, swirling her wine with a troubled face.

Ian, now adjusting the chain under his opposite arm, looked at her.

She hesitated, then asked, "If the Platinum Dragon were to fall into madness, what would you do, Sir Ian?"

Diana furrowed her brow and turned sharply toward her. However, there was no particular change in Ian's expression. It was a problem he had already considered long ago.

Without stopping his hands, he replied, "Well. I don't think it would go crazy in an instant. Before it's completely consumed by madness, it would warn me or ask for help."

Diana nodded. Lucia was still looking at him.

"But what if it ends up corrupted anyway?"

"Lucifer!" Diana turned back to her with a startled look. Whether it was out of fear of upsetting Ian or genuine concern, it was hard to tell.

Of course, this time too, there was no particular change in Ian's expression. He had seen the worry hidden in Lucia's eyes and heard it in her voice. She was probably hoping to hear him say that if it came to that, he would no longer act as the Platinum Dragon's Agent—that he wouldn't try to reverse it somehow or take the blame with her.

"If that's the case..." said Ian, who had finally fastened the clasp, lightly rolling his right shoulder. The chain pouch fit his body almost perfectly.

The moderate discomfort was actually to his liking. He would be able to notice immediately if any problem arose.

Leaning his back against the wall again, he continued, "Whatever choice I make won't matter much. The family feud between the Emperor and the Dark Prince won't either, because it will become a matter of the entire continent's fate."

As Lucia's eyes narrowed, Diana tilted her head. "Even the great Platinum Dragon can't take on the whole Empire alone, right?"

"Well. My thoughts are a little different, but you might be right." Ian nodded and looked back at Diana. "But in any case, there won't be enough strength left to deal with what comes next."

"Next?" Diana's expression became a little more puzzled.

Ian didn't answer. He just inhaled from his cigarette, his gaze shimmering faintly. A moment later, the cigarette slipped from his lips, spun half a turn in the air, and flew straight into Diana's mouth.

Even as she reflexively caught the cigarette in her mouth, Diana's brow furrowed. It must have felt like a warning to prepare herself.

After taking a puff of smoke, Diana added, "No. You don't have to say it any—"

"The Heaven Defier..." Lucia interrupted her, bringing a wineglass to her lips with a trembling hand.

As a startled Diana looked back as if she had heard something absurd, Lucia, lowering her glass, added with a sigh, "You think the Heaven Defier will be released again."

"So you've heard of this story, huh?" Ian asked, a corner of his mouth curling up slightly.

Lucia nodded. "They said I should know about it since it's a potential disaster."

"Its seal is already cracked. The Platinum Dragon speculated it was the influence of corrosion or madness. If that's true, the aftermath of the Wall's collapse would have widened the crack. If Heaven Defier's only jailer and guardian disappears from here, there will be nothing left to stop it. The influence of the gods won't be what it used to be, either," Ian said, meeting Lucia's trembling eyes.

"By Lu Entre..." Lucia sighed.

Ian shrugged. "It's just a worst-case scenario."

Contrary to his words, he was inwardly certain. In the game, the Heaven Defier became a hidden boss post-ending, depending on choices.

Even if the Platinum Dragon remains untouched by madness, it won't be long before it breaks the seal that imprisons it.

The conflict between the Empire and the Dark Prince would even hasten the collapse. And the creature was sealed underground, somewhere in the mountains that separated the inner sea from the western and central regions. No one in the Empire would ever suspect that such a beast lay so near. Perhaps not even the Great Church.

"What on earth are you talking about?" asked Diana, who had been blankly puffing out cigarette smoke and looking back and forth between the two.

"Why does the story of an evil dragon that died over a thousand years ago keep coming up?"

"As you heard, it's not dead, Diana," Ian answered calmly.

Diana's face, which had been staring blankly at his eyes, finally crumpled as if collapsing. "What is that... that's ridiculous..."

"Ask your family's elder later. She knows it, too," said Ian.

Diana's mouth opened wordlessly, and the cigarette hanging from her lips slipped out. But it didn't hit the floor. Before it could, it stopped dead in mid-air, turned, and slid into Ian's lips as if sucked in.

Taking a puff of smoke, Ian said, "If we assume every possibility, there's no end to it. Let's not worry until we're sure. It might just be asleep. Or being punished by the gods. There are plenty of possibilities."

"Yes. You're right." Lucia nodded weakly and reached for the bottle again. Her glass was already empty, and half the wine was gone.

Ian, who waited for her to fill her glass, finally turned his gaze.

Lucia's hand, holding the glass, shot forward. Reflexively tightening her grip, she looked back at Ian.

Ian tilted his head to the side. "There's no need to become a drunkard already. You've had a lot to drink, Lucy. You're slurring your words."

Pouting slightly, Lucia obediently let go of the glass. Ian caught it just in time.

"I don't want to know any more of these terrible secrets." Diana's sigh followed. She was squeezing her eyes shut and wiping her face with her palm. "I wish someone would just erase all my memories. I think I'd be more at ease that way..."

"You'd be better off not saying that in front of your elder," Ian added with a low chuckle and brought the glass to his lips.

The question of whether that one had regained its memories by now followed. It was a question he would find the answer to soon enough.

Emptying the glass cleanly, Ian said, "We'll talk about the newsletter tomorrow. We have plenty of time, anyway."

"That sounds good. As you said, Sir Ian, I think I'm a little drunk," Lucia replied, a bit drowsily.

Ian set the glass down and rose from his seat. "We're leaving early. Get some good rest."

He handed the nearly burned cigarette to Diana. "I'm not eating this dog food, so don't bother saving any for me."

"How is this— Fine, okay," Diana muttered sourly.

Meanwhile, Ian walked over to his bed and lay down. The smile on his lips had long since disappeared.

I trust you won't show me the disgrace of going mad in front of me. That way, we can kill the Heaven Defier together.

Adding this inwardly, Ian activated Meditation. Without it, there was no way he'd get any sleep tonight.

The group left the fortress early the next morning, as planned, receiving a fervent send-off, clearly orchestrated by Billion.

"Glory to the hero of the Empire—"

"Glory be!"

Of course, no one in the group looked back.