Scarlett quickly changed the topic, her tone curious yet hesitant. “Umm… I heard from soone that you actually died while fighting a true dragon. They also said she was fighting you because you refused her love. Since you already had a lover, and according to the rules of the Sword of Athena you can’t take more than one woman… is that true?”
The mont those words left her mouth, Aoto, Ingrassia, and Chiyoko all turned their heads toward her at the sa ti, their faces saying the sa thing—*where the hell did that co from?*
Hero Viktor’s will, however, didn’t look surprised. He rubbed his chin slowly, as if he was trying to rember a distant mory. “Yes… I refused her love several tis, but she kept pushing. She was getting more and more violent, and I knew sooner or later a fight would break out. So, I built this place and prepared everything in advance. I left my treasure here, and when the ti ca, my connection with my real body broke. Only the Sword of Athena returned to , just as I had arranged. Seems like… I really did die back then, huh.”
Hearing this short confession, Aoto let out a long, heavy sigh. “So let
get this straight… you rejected a *true dragon* and chose a freaking sword instead? Damn it, I’m disappointed in you, old man!” His tone was half mocking, half genuinely frustrated.
In his heart, Aoto’s respect for Hero Viktor crumbled almost completely. Who in their right mind would choose a cold blade over a dragon who, without a doubt, must have possessed divine beauty no mortal woman could match?
“ too!” Scarlett puffed her cheeks and crossed her arms, also sighing in clear disappointnt.
But before their judgnt could pile up further, Viktor’s will imdiately shook his head with force. “Hell nah! Don’t you dare think I gave up a beauty like her for so stupid sword! I was actually planning to throw this sword away after my retirent and finally aim for a proper harem!” His face carried a strange mix of regret and satisfaction, as if his dream had been snatched away too early.
“Then why—” Aoto started, but Viktor cut him off.
“That true dragon… Sylvania… she was a complete psycho!” His voice grew louder, frustration boiling inside him. “At first, she said she was fine with being my wife. But then she started with her twisted ideas. One mont she’d try to force
into… male with male situations. Then she’d talk about going back in ti to change things so that I’d beco female, just so she could make it female with female the next ti. She wanted to swap roles—sotis husband, sotis wife—and keep repeating this cycle again and again!”
His face twisted in pure exasperation, and his voice cracked with genuine annoyance. “I’m not against people who like those things, but I’m a straight man! Do you really think I’d ever agree to sothing like that? Hell no! I ain’t becoming a woman, and I ain’t doing those things with a man. You get where It is coming from, right?”
Aoto blinked, completely thrown off by the sudden outburst.
Ingrassia rubbed her chin as she thought deeply, her brows furrowing. “So the legendary creatures are into those kinds of things? Humanity never knew!” she muttered, her expression filled with seriousness.
Chiyoko, however, was barely able to hold back his laughter. His lips trembled as he bit down to stop a chuckle from escaping, but the sparkle in his eyes betrayed his amusent.
Scarlett, on the other hand, tightened the blindfold around her eyes. Tears quietly slipped from the corners, though she tried to suppress them. “At that ti, I thought he was an idiot… but now, knowing that he actually chose to die rather than give up on his pride… he beca my role model without
realizing,” she thought, clutching her fists tightly to stop her emotions from spilling over.
She wanted to say sothing, to praise that kind of decision, but before she could open her mouth, Aoto suddenly spoke.
“How did you beco stronger than the goddesses who summoned you?” Aoto asked, his tone sharp with curiosity.
Viktor rolled his eyes with a frustrated sigh. “Urgh… those creeps. Don’t remind
of them. I had to erase every trace of my real na from history so no one could bother
after I die.”
Chiyoko tilted his head in confusion. “Wait… so your na right now isn’t your real one?”
“Of course not,” Viktor replied with clear displeasure. “Do you know about Warlords? Once soone earns that title, they can be summoned again even after death if soone has their real na and sothing that belonged to them. I didn’t want so idiot summoning
just to disturb my rest after death, so I erased it all.”
Scarlett imdiately recalled the image of Lórien stabbing himself while shouting a na, his body transforming into a woman—an elf no less. She couldn’t help the smug smile that tugged her lips. “So she was a Warlord? Hmph, and pretty weak!,” she thought with arrogance.
“Well, I think we should go now. I’ve got my own matters to take care of,” Scarlett said casually, brushing off the heavy atmosphere.
The others nodded right away. Ingrassia even bowed politely, her face soft with gratitude. “Thank you for giving us your ti. We would never have made it without your help,” she said sincerely.
Scarlett didn’t respond with words, but a faint smile lingered on her lips, subtle yet warm.
“Miss Scarlett, do you perhaps have so free ti—” Chiyoko was about to ask, his voice a little nervous, but before he could finish, Aoto quickly cut him off.
“Let’s go, let’s go! We’re already running late!” Aoto exclaid, pulling at Chiyoko’s sleeve as if desperate to drag him away.
---------
When they finally stepped out of the treasure place, the sky was already painted in the orange glow of evening.
“Uhh no… Miss Lilith is totally going to scold
for being late again,” Scarlett thought with a sigh, rubbing her forehead. For a mont, she considered inviting Aoto and the others to train together, but then shook her head. “No… it would be too much for them right now.”
But then her mind flashed back to sothing Hero Viktor had said—the strange words about soone buried under a rainbow tree. She turned to the others.
“So… are we going to check who’s buried there?” she asked.
“Oh, right! I completely forgot about that!” Aoto slapped his forehead, looking embarrassed.
“Yeah, let’s go. We still have so ti before night,” Ingrassia added softly.
Chiyoko gave a simple nod, agreeing.
Together, they followed the direction Viktor had given them. It wasn’t long before they spotted the tree—its rainbow-colored bark shone faintly even in the dim light, towering far above the rest of the forest.
It clearly stood out.
But as they walked closer, strange things began to happen.
“Wait… where are we going again?” Ingrassia was the first to ask, blinking in confusion.
“Yeah, I was wondering that too,” Chiyoko added. “Didn’t we already finish everything and get the treasure? Why are we still wandering here?”
Scarlett’s steps froze. “What are you saying? Didn’t Hero Viktor tell us about soone buried near this tree? That’s why we’re here.”
Aoto tilted his head. “Huh? When did that happen? I don’t rember anything like that.”
Scarlett’s brows knit together under her blindfold. “Are you all joking with ?” She studied their faces carefully, but they didn’t look like they were lying at all. Their eyes were genuinely puzzled.
Her gaze turned back to the rainbow eucalyptus tree, its tall form glowing faintly in the distance. A strange shiver ran down her spine. “If they really don’t rember… maybe it’s dangerous for them to co along.”
“I think you’re right. Let’s go back,” Scarlett finally said with a small smile.
The others nodded without complaint, and soon they all left the forest, reaching its border again. After saying their goodbyes, Scarlett turned around and returned alone.
She walked silently through the trees, her steps pulling her closer and closer to the rainbow trunk. But as she approached, her thoughts grew hazy.
“Wait… why did I co here again?” she stopped, confused. Then, as if sothing tapped her mory, she muttered, “Ah, yes. I rember now.”
Her blindfolded gaze fell on the tall rainbow eucalyptus tree. It shimred softly under the dim sky. Scarlett stepped forward, raising her long, purple nails and began to dig at the roots.
With her strength, she could smash the earth in seconds with a single punch. But her instincts told her that might damage what was hidden beneath. So she dug carefully, scooping and tearing the dirt slowly, bit by bit.
She sighed. “This is ridiculous… I feel like a squirrel burying nuts,” she muttered, but continued anyway.
After ten ters, her expression grew puzzled, her hands pausing. She rubbed her chin in frustration. “Why the hell am I digging here? What’s wrong with ?”
She sat still for a few monts, almost ready to climb out of the hole. Then she smirked faintly and muttered, “Well… since I already dug this much, I might as well see what’s at the bottom.”
Minutes passed. She went deeper and deeper until the hole reached twenty ters. And finally—she found sothing.
Her breath caught for a mont.
At the bottom lay a man’s body. He wore a simple shirt and pants, yet his body was covered in grueso wounds. His chest was torn open so badly that his ribs were showing. His jaw was half gone, leaving part of his skull exposed.
But there was no blood. Instead, strange glowing light shimred inside his wounds, like starlight trapped within flesh.
Scarlett tilted her head, staring. “The hell is this?”
Then—the body moved.
The man twitched. His arm shifted. His chest lifted faintly as if he were breathing.
If it were anyone else, they would have scread in terror. But Scarlett only narrowed her eyes and crouched down. She raised her hand and slapped his cheek lightly a few tis.
“Hey. Hello? You alive? Who the hell are you? … And while you’re at it, can you explain to
why I was digging your grave?”
The man slowly turned his head. His half-ruined face sohow managed to form a faint, bitter smile.
His broken jaw made his words uneven, but his voice carried sadness.
“I’m… nobody.”
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