Reincarnated as a Dragon and Raised by a Demon

Catherine had a troubled expression as she watched the opponent approaching in blue armor, pondering what to do.

If she moved recklessly, she could easily be misunderstood and attacked in an instant.

“It’s been a while. So, what are you here for?”

“Ah, not yet.”

Up until now, Catherine had suspected that she might be a planted spy among us, but that suspicion was completely erased just now.

“So, what’s happening at the border?”

“I’m planning to cross over to Roran and take a look.”

“Oh, right, that was mentioned. But you can’t pass through now. It’s there.”

If I’m here, who exactly is said to have appeared?

“You’ve been searching for that guy like crazy. Aren’t you going to pursue him?”

“Where did you hear that information?”

“They say the cannon fire outside earlier could be him.”

It certainly seemed as if the opponent was lying.

Since earlier, I had noticed them continuously shifting their gaze to check on me, who was positioned behind Aila and Ririan.

“By the way, you guys need to undergo a screening to pass through.”

Swish—

Before I knew it, several soldiers wielding swords had gathered around.

“Sorry.”

Thud!

In the blink of an eye, Catherine stabbed the investigator standing in front of her.

After that, screams began to echo as more investigators started to swarm in.

Among them, a very familiar face lunged at Jema with a sword.

“Demon whore! Where is that bastard?!”

Clang!

Jema’s and Juan’s swords clashed against each other.

“I never liked you from the start.”

“Same goes for me!”

Juan swung his sword with all his might.

Jema merely deflected Juan’s sword without retaliating.

“Ririan! Get your act together and handle the enemy!”

Whoosh!

“I’m focused.”

I threw a dagger at the soldier charging toward me.

The dagger embedded itself in the opponent’s neck before returning to my hand.

“Sister. Is Ririan really a child?”

“She says she’s not a child.”

Without magic, I could easily handle two or three soldiers.

Their skill levels were below those of Solche or Alium.

The opponent had to lower their gaze and posture to aim at me.

On the other hand, I only needed to swing a dagger at a large target.

I attached mana to the dagger’s handle, spinning it to block the opponent’s approach.

“Where did you learn that?”

“I guess Solche or Alium taught me.”

I had never learned it, but I had a hundred years’ worth of media information inside me.

Imitating scenes from movies or dramas was surprisingly fun.

The guilt creeping up on me that I might need to kill someone made me uneasy, but if I didn’t kill, I would die instead.

Creeeak!

A strange sound accompanied a black mass forming on Juan’s sword.

“Split!”

Bang!

As Juan screamed in anguish, the black mass shot forth from his sword.

The ground caved in, and dust billowed into the air.

As everyone’s gaze turned to the ground, I looked up at the sky.

Jema stood proudly with her wings spread under the black sky.

The sword in her hand shimmered with a deep red aura, undulating.

“What is that?!”

After finally noticing Jema floating in the sky, Juan panicked and quickly took a defensive stance.

“Everyone, gather up!”

I called my scattered companions to assemble around me.

After spending a long time together, there’s an unspoken understanding.

The necklace greedily devoured a handful of mana, unleashing a defensive magic.

As a brilliant red light flashed once, a bolt of lightning struck the ground.

The power was enough to make soldiers standing still vanish without a trace in an instant.

“No, what kind of magic is this overwhelming?!”

“The Magic Stone must have a good affinity with Jema.”

Normally, such power wouldn’t be possible, but Aila speculated that it became feasible with the help of the Magic Stone.

Crimson lightning struck mercilessly around Juan.

Jema’s magic rained down indiscriminately, hitting both enemy and ally alike.

When Jema slowly descended from the sky, the magic came to an end.

“You survived.”

“Did you think I would die from that?”

Surprisingly, Juan seemed calm.

“Did you pick up a rock or something? But I also have one.”

“I know. It’s the black mass attached to that sword.”

Juan was chanting something as he readjusted his grip on the sword.

“You’re a candidate for the sword mage, but you rely too much on magic.”

“Shut up! You whore!”

“Do you know what I hated hearing the most while I was there?”

“I don’t care about that!”

Flare!

This time, flames erupted from Juan’s sword and enveloped Jema.

Jema responded while holding Juan’s sword with her bare hands.

“Whore.”

Juan looked as if he were straining to pull the sword away from Jema’s grasp.

“That’s what I hated the most. Do you know that?”

“I don’t care!”

Slash!

“Ahhh!”

Jema’s sword cleanly severed one of Juan’s wrists.

After losing his hand, Juan collapsed to the ground, screaming as he grasped his flaming sword.

Sizzle—

A horrific sound rose along with the faint stench.

Juan cauterized his severed wrist with the flame.

At least his mental fortitude was commendable.

“Killing you is easy. However, you haven’t yet paid for all your sins.”

“Gah!”

Jema extended a finger from her unarmed hand toward one of Juan’s eyes.

“You looked like you were enjoying this quite a bit, huh?”

Thud!

Jema’s finger quickly streaked across Juan’s face.

“If you’re fortunate, you might be able to use magic to heal it. You should do it quickly; it will rot if you wait too long.”

“Damn it!”

Juan screamed as he covered his face with his hands.

“Did you all wait? It’s time to go.”

Jema smiled brightly, her expression showing relief.

It had been a long time since I had seen that smile.

Of course, given what had just happened, it might be chilling, but it was all Juan’s doing.

I dismissed the defensive magic and took a look around.

The buildings were all destroyed, and I could see soldiers rushing in the distance.

“Let’s hurry.”

As we rushed toward the border area, the remaining investigators stood dumbfounded around us.

“You learned nothing at your Academy!”

Someone from the investigators shouted at us.

“Why are we, of all people, being confronted by filthy demons…”

“Live your whole life thinking that. Arrogantly.”

They must not have known how Jema got into the Academy.

In the first place, demons possessed a significant skill gap compared to humans.

Humans could have reduced or caught up with that gap through sufficient effort.

Until Jema’s heart evolved to a new stage.

Ordinary humans could never catch up to Jema now.

We exited Zone 6 and faced the border area.

A vast plain stretched endlessly, and in the distance, a faint bridge could be seen.

“Crossing that bridge leads to Roran.”

“What is that white mass in front of it?”

“That’s the army of Latnia.”

Given that it was the border area, it was understandable that there would be an army present.

But now they were blatantly blocking the bridge.

“The one guarding there is probably that guy, right?”

At Aila’s words, his laughing face flashed across my mind.

A chill ran down my spine, causing goosebumps all over.

“How do we get through there?”

“Why should we get through? We’ll just turn back. That’s why we came to Serreb.”

The plains visible from Serreb were actually quite far away.

It only seemed close because there was nothing obstructing the view.

As we moved along the road, a fork appeared, and we all looked at Aila.

“This way.”

Aila chose the direction leading into the mountains.

The opposite side was the plains guarded by the army of Latnia.

Riki said that beyond the mountains was Roran’s territory.

Because the bridge was created in the plains, the number of people using the mountains had decreased significantly.

For many people, a quick and easy path was merely inconvenient for us now.

As we entered the mountains properly, the surroundings fell completely silent.

“It’s too quiet around here.”

“Indeed.”

Before long, the sun set and darkness thickened in the forest.

“If we light a fire while moving, we’ll be spotted, right?”

“Everyone, tie this around your waist.”

Aila handed out ropes to us.

“I can move in the dark. Just hold onto this rope and follow me.”

The ropes were wrapped a few times around everyone’s waists to keep them from coming undone.

Since it wasn’t completely dark yet, there were no issues tying the ropes.

It was fine while I could still see, but as the forest was fully engulfed in darkness, a crisis soon followed.

Stepping into the pitch-black void where nothing was visible required me to endure fear.

The rope was a ray of light in such a situation.

Providing reassurance that we were connected, Aila walked at a moderate pace, neither too slow nor too fast, guiding us.

As we walked in disarray, I collided with something soft and fell over.

I wasn’t hurt, nor did I hit the ground.

Someone was holding me, and I quickly recognized who it was.

“Why…?”

“Stay quiet. Your breathing is really rough; it seems hard for you to keep up.”

In truth, it was midnight, and since I couldn’t see anything, I had no point of comparison to know if my walking speed was slow.

In the darkness, just holding onto the rope and walking mindlessly, I hadn’t realized my breath was becoming heavy.

Noticing my condition, Aila paused for a moment to catch me.

“Are you not tired?”

“Not much.”

Because I was in Aila’s arms, I could hear her breathing.

There were no signs of her gasping or struggling at all.

I must have dozed off for a little while without realizing how much time had passed.

When I woke up, the surroundings had dramatically brightened, startling me.

“What? Is it okay to light a fire?”

If we light a fire, the possibility of us being seen, whether in the plains or elsewhere, would increase.

“It’s a cave, so it doesn’t matter.”

Upon closer inspection, we were moving inside a cave that appeared quite spacious.

“More importantly, Ririan. How long are you going to stay in my arms?”

“I’m fine. It’s not heavy at all.”

Jema replied that it was okay to Aila’s question.

“She says so.”

Ignoring my response, Jema stirred the flames in her hand, growing them larger.

We arrived at a notably spacious area in the cave, where we all stopped in unison.

I also came down from Aila’s embrace and looked at the figure.

“Hello~ I knew you would come this way.”

That being stood up from its position and drew its sword, which had been lodged in the ground.

“I’ll bury you all here together!”

Approaching slowly with its unique leisurely gait, it pointed its sword at us.

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