Look, I'll give you your wings back, I don't need them anymore.

　Adolph threw two silver wings from the dungeon's vortex.
　The wings were absorbed into Tinker's back as the light enveloped her.

　Her expression didn't clear, even though she had regained her strength.
　That meant that her own wings weren't the only thing she wanted.

　Tinker's voice was dubbed.

'I know you're a joke. It doesn't surprise me anymore.

'I see, you're freezing her lifespan by taking it into your body. But that's taking away her own life span, right, 150 years?

....

'Are all three dragons as fond of humans as you are of them?　

　As if out of patience, Tinker's tremendous fighting spirit hit Adolf.
　As he did so, his body bisected and another woman with sunset-colored hair appeared in the air.

　Tinker and Guinevere.
　They stare at him from above.

　Adolph is blown to the ground and knocked to the ground.
　When the dust cloud cleared, they could see him laughing while standing in a large figure.

''........What's that look in your eyes?''

　As they lie on their backs, Adolph gives the girls a cold look.

'Guinevere, let's do it!

　Tinker's body, which had been humanoid, was engulfed in light and took on the form of a giant dragon with a white body and silver scales.
　When Guinevere straddled his back, Tinker immediately plummeted to the ground.

''Huhahahahahahahaha! --Battle with a human on your back, dragons have fallen, just like the fools they once were!

　The Tinker opened its large mouth and radiated heat rays from its mouth.
　Guinevere deployed a huge yellow magic circle and released a dazzling ray of light.
　The two rays blended and spiraled together and seemed to hit Adolph--but then the soldiers on the ground stopped their hands and looked at the dragon.

　The soldiers on the ground stopped their hands and their eyes were drawn to the dragon.

　Tinker passing overhead.
　Adolf breaks through the huge blast they created and emerges.
　His private wings of black jealousy fluttered at his back.

　But what's different from earlier is the appearance of a dark-skinned girl next to him.
　She was staring at the area with a weak expression.

''Don't tell me it's a spirit?''

　Zephyr realized what it was.
　So did Masamune.

''It's a spirit king too. Why would an abyssal user and a spirit king be together?'

　Spirits do not make a covenant with those of the abyss.
　They inherently detest the Abyss.

'Gnomes, I'll leave it up to you to deal with these girls. Take it easy; if you can kill them, kill them.

Yes.

　The Spirit King Gnome's tone of voice was full of rejection.
　'I'm afraid of Adolf.

''That's not a decent contract, is it?''

　Zephyr turned his fury on him.
　The imagination of what he had done to the spirit grew.

　Zephyr starts to move.

　Masamune is left alone in the sky.

　He looks at them, fed up, as they clash to his right and left.



*




　The battle on earth had been stirred up by one man.
　A blaze of ashes.
　Many soldiers were frightened and running for cover.
　Several pillars of fire shot up from the ground as if to express their anger.

"That's the Oliver of the ashes!

The Oliver of the ashes is Rathhausen's!

"What the hell is that guy doing in a place like this?

'I thought we were talking about the dead hero of the Plains of Uranos!

　Oliver's fire made no distinction between friend and foe.
　Many were reduced to ashes just because they were standing in the way as they went, and many of them were in the way.

'Hey, you know Zephyr, right?'

　Oliver came to Khalifa with a satisfied look on his face.

'Yes, but are you going to thank me for that?'

"Thank you?

'I was the one who brought you back to life, and it consumed a lot of my magic.

Well that's a relief.

That's it?

I need to ask you, where can I find Anna?

Who's that?

My wife. She's a beastman, formerly of Beastland.

'So you're not in beast country?　Oh, no....

Hmm?

"As I recall, the Beast State was under Imperial control.

What?

But it's okay now, because he let me go.

　Khalifa looked up at Masamune above them.

'That guy?'

Yes. If he's alive, I think he's in his country.

In a country, he's got a country?

You should be grateful to him, because without him you wouldn't be here right now.

　Oliver's impression of Masamune was changing.

''Well really then, I'm going to head to that country or something.

Hey,

　As Oliver was forcing his way out of the crowd of soldiers and away from the battlefield, something fell from the sky into two places.
　The shock wave spread across the entire area and both soldiers were hit by the blast without discrimination.

"Shit, what the hell is this?

　Oliver is blocked in his path.
　Visibility was poor and the wind pressure prevented him from moving forward.
　A few soldiers flew into the sky.

"That's 150 years worth of power!

　Adolph's high-pitched laugh rang out.
　It was Zephyr and Tinker who fell to the ground. Guinevere is also there.
　Tinker protected Guinevere just before she crash-landed on the ground, so the damage to her was shallow.

'Tink, get a grip!

It's okay, it's just that...

　Tinker slowly raised his massive body.
　Zephyr was down on one knee in the smoke.

'Master Hidaka!'

　Guinevere called to Masamune in the sky for help.

'Please give me strength!

....

Please kill him!

　Masamune remembered her words.



*



　The time went back, and that was after Masamune had appeared in front of Saeki in the hospital.

　Masamune and Guinevere had moved to Radshausen.
　It was an old tavern called the Waterbird Pavilion in the old town.
　They were seated behind a pillar.

'We're busy, make it quick, please.

I'm very sorry, sir. But I'd like you to listen to me.

That's why you're here.

　Masamune was once told about the plot of Adolf in Godland.
　But it was something that Masamune could not believe.
　Because until now, he had perceived it as if a woman named Guinevere had been involved in the murder of Kagetora.

'So you're a dragon,'

Yes, sir.

'There's Guinevere inside and... hmm?　So who am I talking to right now?

Think of it as two people.

　It was Tinker and Guinevere.
　Tinker hid Guinevere inside her body until her "time" came.
　In doing so, he froze Guinevere's body, which was supposed to die when she was about 80 years old, and kept her from dying.
　Their thoughts are connected, but the body is Tinker's and she is the one moving it.
　But the consciousness that comes to the surface includes Guinevere's, which is usually evenly distributed, although one of them may come out stronger than the other, depending on the movement of the mind, for example.

　Masamune made no attempt to understand how it works, and continued to talk vaguely.
　He was skeptical, because he was skeptical.
　He wanted clarity anyway.

'Kill Adolf, please.'

　Masamune was fed up with the name.

'I cannot win with me.

Do you mean that I - you can't be killed by Guinevere, or are you the dragon?

Both.

....

'He is an abyssal fool. Unless he has inhabited the same abyss....

How do you know I'm an abyss?

I see it now, to be exact.

...I see.

　Masamune remembered.
　Dragons could sense the heartbeat and body temperature of their opponents.
　By doing so, they could anticipate and read the other person's mind.

'Pardon me, but I thought it was because the atmosphere was a bit like Adolf's. Besides, some of the rumors of the Jishi's bloodline were such that the name of the Abyss would have passed if anyone in the know had heard of it, so I had long suspected that Amadeus was of the Abyss.

Yeah, so that's what it looks like.

Yes, sir.

So, what's in it for me if I kill Adolf?

Before I face Adolf I will release Guinevere from my body.

　His voice sounded dumbed down, and his tone changed and steadied.

'Um, are you the dragon one now?'

'Yes. If you kill him, I'll be one of you.

What?

'I don't have anywhere to go anyway, and I'm happy to join the Jishi's bloodline until the end of this lifetime.

My associate do you know what this organization is all about?

...to destroy the human race?

　That's the purpose of the cadres of the Jishi's bloodline.

　After a pause, Masamune began to speak as if remembering.

'I wanted an informed companion, and I wanted to help the beastmen too. The next thing I knew, we had a group of guys with similar ideas.... It's not the same as destroying them, what they're trying to do is control the humans, they're trying to reduce their numbers and control them. I've had a lot of help from them, but that's as far as it goes.

Does that mean you're leaving the organization?　Then I'll be your own man. How about that?

No merit.

"Merit?

'I'm curious, what made you think that would be a deal?'

Dragons are very rare among you humans, aren't they?

Yeah, I get it you're a lot dumber than the dragons I know.

Nah!

　Tinker looked shocked.

'Idiot..........'

　Masamune laughed a small smile, perhaps amused by the look on his face.

'I know a black dragon called Carpent, and a red dragon called Hardy. Those guys seemed to be knowledgable and dour, or had a bad temper and were very understanding, or were clever and troublesome. You're kind of like a natural, non-dragon-like person.

'You don't believe me. I know you won't be able to convince me of anything in this form, but I am a dragon.

I don't doubt that for a second. I can see your status and I know you're a dragon race.

Yeah.

....

'They took my wings away from me and I can't get them back. So I want that back too.

Wings?

It's the symbol of the dragon. Didn't Carpent and Hardy both have wings on their backs?

Do you know him?

'You've never heard of the three dragons?'

　Masamune is quick to forget about things that don't interest him.

'Come on. So the only thing you want to kill is Adolf?　Or.

He's the only one.

Well that's okay. All right. I'll hold off for now. I'll think about it.

Greiberg will be sending his troops to the underworld soon.

Are you going to join the war?

Arthur won't be there this time because he's joining Latosphilia, but we're going to hide and follow him.

What's the rush?

'If we let her go now, when will the next time be.... She's lost her wings and my strength is waning, and there's only so much I can do to keep her inside.

　To Masamune, the other world is easy to understand: beastmen and dragons.
　He used to be excited by the red dragon that appeared in front of him, enjoying it and clear enough to genuinely feel happy.
　Now Masamune was envious of his former self, and he looked radiant.

　It may have been a whim, but it was also true that Tinker's dragon pattern, not his personality, was easy to like.
　Masamune accepted her, but he was still unwilling to intervene in the war.