Don’t Run Away My Lord

11 – The Dragon that Hunts Dragons (7)

The valley was not a small place where a typical stream would flow gently.

Rugged rocky mountains rose high into the sky on both sides, extending their ridges to the back.

The valley formed in the midst of those rocky mountains had a steep slope that reached the upper part where the ridges of the two mountains met.

A considerable amount of water poured out, making a loud noise.

The water flowing out from the valley formed a small river, drawing a large curve and continuing on to the other side of the plain.

Not only were there huge rocks falling from the cliffs, but the dense trees and shrubs made it quite difficult to walk.

“The wyvern’s nest is probably around the middle of the valley. The entrance is too exposed, and if we go too far inside, the width narrows, making it difficult to fly.”

“Huh? You know a lot, don’t you? Did you also take demonology classes at the Sacred University, Erna?”

“Riana… you don’t have to learn about demons only at the Sacred University, you know?”

Riana laughed and said, “Oh, really? I guess so,” with a pathetic exclamation.

“Then let’s go in quickly! Oh, wait a minute.”

Riana extended both hands towards me and gathered her energy.

“Ee-yahab!”

In an instant, her hands shimmered with a golden light, and my body faintly sparkled.

“What are you doing?”

“I cast a blessing. Now, Lord Erga, your strength will overflow, and you will never tire.”

“Thank you. But it seems like you will be needed more than me.”

“Of course. You will also receive a blessing from me. Yaap!”

Watching Rianna bless herself, I moved my arms.

I wondered if there was anything special about it, as there didn’t seem to be any noticeable effect.

“Let’s go, hooray!”

After Rianna slapped her palm into my outstretched hand, we entered the valley.

* * * * *

As expected, the valley was quite treacherous, and we had to sit and rest several times along the way.

Of course, I didn’t feel tired at all; it was all because of Rianna.

At first, Rianna was chattering away, saying how beautiful the scenery was and how the sound of water calmed her mind.

But little by little, she spoke less and eventually fell into complete silence.

Occasionally, she would say “Eeyap!” or “Ee-yahab!” and bless herself multiple times, but even that had stopped a while ago.

In the end, she fell far behind me, and when I looked back, she was nowhere in sight. I panicked and ran back to find her.

“Heh… it’s tough… my first time hiking…”

Rianna, who drank from her water skin, took a deep breath and wiped the sweat from under her chin with the back of her hand.

Her back was soaked with sweat, as if she had fallen into water.

The windbreaker and coat were both taken off, revealing a translucent glimpse of the chest beneath the tightly-buttoned shirt.

Hm… But why aren’t the nipples sticking out?

Mammals are known to have nipples, so why doesn’t she have any?

Was she born from an egg like me?

“If you stay like that, you’ll get cold soon.”

“I don’t have spare clothes, so I can’t help it… Ah, it’s tough…”

Saying that, Rihanna rummaged through her bag and pulled out a piece of jerky.

Leaning against the rock and lying at an angle, Rihanna chewed on the jerky and muttered vaguely.

“If you sweat a lot, you have to eat salty food.”

“Eat in moderation. Don’t eat too much and complain later that you’re thirsty or your stomach hurts.”

After Rihanna finished eating the jerky and wiped her hands on her clothes, I picked up the bag and stood up from my spot.

“Let’s go. I think there might be a nest not far from here.”

“Let’s go, let’s go. We’ve come this far, we can’t give up!”

Rihanna held my hand tightly, stood up with all her strength, and shouted brightly.

* * * * *

How much further did we climb?

Rihanna suddenly jumped up and pressed her hand against my head.

“Lie down…!”

Because of Rihanna, who was practically hanging onto my back, I had no choice but to lower my body to the ground.

“Why are you doing that?”

“There… in front of us! A wyvern…!”

Liana pointed to the densely wooded area ahead.

Upon closer inspection, indeed, the figure of a wyvern flying through the trees became visible.

“It seems like we’re getting closer to its nest.”

“What should we do…? It’s even scarier in broad daylight… I’m not sure if my divine rays will work…”

“What are those?”

“They’re rays of divine power that are effective against demons and monsters. If we’re lucky, we might be able to pierce through and kill them instantly.”

Divine rays…? Piercing…? What are they talking about?

Seeing my expression, Liana briefly explained it.

She said that divine power, which heals humans, has an extremely destructive effect on demons, monsters, and devils.

“But I was expelled before I could properly train, so my divine power is weak. I don’t know if it’ll be enough.”

“Well, for now, I’ll handle it. If I get into a tight spot, use it then.”

As we slowly moved forward, the wyvern circling the sky suddenly plunged to the ground.

Is it behaving like this when it finds prey during a hunt? Did it spot some wild animal?

As the wyvern descended and disappeared from sight, a horrifying scream erupted, echoing through the valley.

Terrified, Liana shouted in response to the sound.

“Was that a human scream?!”

“Human? Did someone attack a human?”

“What should we do?! It seems like someone is there!”

Even in those few brief moments of exchange, screams and the wyvern’s monstrous roar blended together, reverberating through the valley.

“I’m here, Liana. I’ll go.”

Since I had already decided to capture the wyvern, it would be much easier for me to catch it when it landed on the ground.

“Be careful!”

Leaving Liana behind, I quickly ran towards where the sound was coming from.

* * * * *

Jumping over obstacles in my path, I continued to make my way up.

As I got closer to where the wyvern was, rocks and branches started falling from above, and the vibrations from hitting the ground became stronger.

Emerging from the bushes, I saw a gigantic male wyvern thrashing the ground like crazy.

“Watch out! Watch out!”

“They’re coming this way!”

Dozens of humans were scattered around, attacking the wyvern.

The wyvern, covered in countless arrows like a hedgehog, thrashed around in anger.

I wondered why it didn’t fly away and fought on the ground instead, only to discover thick iron chains connected to its sides.

Attached to the massive harpoons embedded in the wyvern’s sides were dozens of humans, clinging on, pulling and struggling to restrain it.

So, this was how they were restraining the wyvern…?

But of course, as the wyvern roared and twisted its body, the chains spun in an arc, returning at a terrifying speed.

Some lucky individuals immediately let go and escaped with their lives, but the rest were not so fortunate.

Some were flung far away by centrifugal force, while others, who held on until the end, collided with the rocky cliffs along with the chains and were turned into mincemeat.

Freed from the chains, the wyvern began to massacre the humans in earnest.

As its temperature rose, the wyvern swung its wings wildly, swept the ground with its tail, and tore apart anything that came into contact with its jaws.

Blood splattered like rain from the bag that I held in my mouth, shaking it from side to side.

As the blood and dirt mingled, my clothes became a mess, and the severed ankle that had fallen to the ground hit my head.

I’ve been feeling it since yesterday, but humans really seem to be a fearless species.

They would even charge at a dragon with their bare bodies, and even though the wyvern was right in front of them, they would somehow try to catch it.

Are these people who don’t know how to think about the future?

In the meantime, most of the humans were crushed by the wyvern’s thrashing without any recognizable form.

The few remaining survivors fled below the valley where I stood, and the wyvern followed closely behind, pounding the ground.

Although the wyvern was slow, its sheer size allowed it to catch up with the humans in just a few movements.

“Kerrr!!”

With a few bites, three bodies were torn to pieces.

The only human left somehow managed to reach me with intact limbs.

“Get out of the way!”

A red-haired woman I had never seen before roughly pushed me aside.

“If you don’t want to die, then run, you idiot! Why are you standing there so stupidly?!”

When I remained motionless, the woman cursed at me with fierce eyes.

“Can’t you hear me?!”

At that moment, the wyvern, having torn apart three bodies, began to run towards us.

“Ah, damn it…!”

Seeing that, the woman left me behind and ran down the slope.

Is she worried about me, or is she just trying to save herself?

Anyway, that’s not the problem…

With a tremendous shock, my body soared high into the air.

Suddenly, a wyvern appeared before me and slammed its head into my body, lifting me up from below.

As my body reached its peak, I briefly paused and saw the trees spread out beneath my feet, rocks standing at eye level, and a hazy plain in the distance.

I was floating really high up.

After a moment of suspended flight, my body quickly plummeted to the ground.

As I fell, I saw the wyvern opening its jaws wide, ready to devour me.