“What?”

Ian asked back. What was that mad guy saying? The perfect spiritual form? The final soul?

“You speak nonsense when being cornered..”

“I have been waiting and waiting for today. I wondered what you guys would look like, what you would babble, and..”

Fran Page and Ian Page’s lips moved at the same time.

“How you would look like on the brink of extinction.”

Fran moved a step forward to the dragons, where Reseesee Radenju was, along with Ian’s body.

[..What happened to him?]

Reseesee Radenju asked as calmly as she could despite being astonished beyond limits.

[Has his soul be destroyed?]

“Soul? He was only a tool. A soul that had a body, a metaphysical form in the actual sense. While there had been problems for having spawned failures, this time he had been satisfactory.”

Fran stopped Ian from moving and stroked his head as he spoke like he was boasting. He seemed to be speaking of an exquisite artwork rather than complimenting a person.

“Well, he had something like a soul since he was born from his mother’s womb.”

Fran was already certain of his victory. It had been a lie that there was a seventy percent chance of extinguishing the dragons if he and Ian worked together, as if the seal were broken, he could do so alone. Just like now.

“Don’t worry too much. I gave him a special present for all his hard work, as a price for having completed his use as a tool and given me his carefully grown body. He must be ecstatic now.”

What was the present? Before the meaning was revealed, the madness inherent in the demonic aura emitting from Fran and Ian’s body rang the air.

“Lizards, thank you for sealing and protecting this body for a long time. I should reward you for your hard work. How about this? You guys can go on a sweet vacation longer than you have worked. Where would the ideal spot be? Clean air, freshwater, quietness, and able to accommodate your size..”

Fran rubbed his cheek like he really had been thinking things over.

“Oh, right! There is just one place!”

Fran clapped and acted in an exaggerated manner and quietly whispered as he looked at the sky.

(I’ll send you guys to the afterlife.)

Fran seemed satisfied.

***

“Ian? Why are you acting like that all of a sudden? Is there a problem? Speak to me, Ian! Ian!”

The headache that had been tormenting Ian had disappeared, and instead, he heard someone’s urgent voice in his ears.

‘What..?’

Ian felt astonished, as he had been opposing Fran Page just now.

‘This voice..’

Ian lifted his head and looked around. It was an organized library that looked familiar since it was his own.

‘Why am I in the library..?’

Ian turned his gaze to where the voice had come from with a question, and his eyes widened at sight.

“You seem strange. Are you really sick? Is that so?”

The middle-aged man was mumbling with eyes filled half with worry for Ian and worry for the future schedule. Ian knew who he was very well.

“Ra- Ragnar?”

“Yes? Why? Do you need anything?”

Yes, the man who had suddenly appeared was ‘Ragnar Greenriver,’ who had poisoned Ian in the first life. He was not the young fifth prince who had died, but the middle-aged man who had murdered Ian by poison after becoming the Emperor of the ‘Greenriver Empire.’

‘Why is this man..’

Chaos succeeded the painful headache, and Ian did not have a clue to what was going on.

‘What is going on..’

“Do magicians become sick? Especially someone as strong as you? I had never seen you catch a cold before.”

Ragnar continued speaking, regardless of how confused Ian was. He looked different from the Ragnar of the first life, like he looked more kind than before.

“It’s a problem since you caught something right before my oldest brother’s Day of Naming. You know that he is waiting for you with his neck stretched. That is the most evident thing in this empire. He would be deeply disappointed.”

Day of Naming for Ragnar’s oldest brother? What was he talking about?

‘Is this an illusion?’

Ian made a decision and tried to block whatever hallucination was going on with everything he had. However, no magic, and not even the power of language could block what Ian saw now. Actually, as much as he resisted, strange memories infiltrated Ian’s brain.

‘These memories..’

They were all positive memories. The crown prince Hayden, who had become a great king after mishaps, and the fifth prince Ragnar, who was truly his brother. Ian, the great magician and their closest friend, had achieved a peaceful union just by his presence.

‘What the..’

The most beautiful and wise wife in this world, Princess Haileyy and Vanessa, who still was healthy and dignified despite her age. She had remarried Ledio, who was now the first Head of Alchemy in the Unified Empire. Douglas was considered to have reached the level of gods. He remembered other memories, and they painted over Ian’s ‘previous memories.’

“....”

Some time passed, and Ian’s surprised look disappeared.

“It’s nothing. It’s happening more often, and my body is not the same. Mana is affected by time.”

Ian was swallowed up in the happy memories that had overwhelmed him.

Ian’s voice was mixed with indifference, disregard, and anxiety, and he had not even finished the sentence when it happened. Right before, the situation was opposition since Fran’s black aura and Ian’s blue mana were pushing each other back. However, the moment Fran had mumbled the incomprehensible nonsense, Ian’s pure blue mana began to change.

“....”

Not only that, but Ian began to show the same aura as Fran’s eyes that had succumbed to darkness like he had been intoxicated in madness.

“Ugh...!”

Ian let out a painful moan as a headache he had felt for the first time in his life swept in. He thought he would go mad within seconds if he had to endure this abnormal pain.

(Accept.)

“S, stop..!”

(Wake up from a deep sleep.)

“Ugh..!”

(If you want to survive and escape from the pain, stop resisting now!)

“Help..stop him..!”

Ian thought he would lose his thread of reason at any moment, and he used the last of his strength to shout to the dragons, who had not even realized what was going on.

[Everyone, we will attack Fran Page as prepared. Atar Haka, control the repercussions of the explosion.]

[Umm.]

Maybe it was because of Ian’s request, or they had planned to start now, but as the leader Reseesee Radenju commanded and ordered, everyone started to move as planned.

[Do not worry about being swept away, as our priority is to stop Fran Page from affecting Ian Page. Ian Page will come out by himself if we cut Fran Page’s connection to him.]

The ‘Red Dragons,’ with red leather and scales, who were the most aggressive and apt at battling, started ‘saturation bombing.’ While a massive scale of explosions bombarded Fran like that was the main attack, it was only a ‘sabotage tactic’ to stop Fran from doing whatever he was doing for only a moment. The first reason was that they knew Fran would not even be damaged just by this much power, and the second was that Ian, who was defenseless, would not be safe.

While the situation was unfavorable, they were dragons. Even if the explosions were controlled, the quality and quantity were superior from the beginning. If they fell on a human city, the entire city would have burnt and melted down.

[Stop!]

Reseesee Radenju shouted as she watched the black smoke and fog rising up.

[This much should..]

Would not this attack have affected Fran from focusing? She did not feel a counterattack, at least for now. Was trying to control Ian more important than defense or counterattack for Fran Page?

[Everyone, to your positions.]

Every dragon became breathless as they waited for the explosion to die out. How would the situation play out with the forthcoming results? The best one would be that Ian would be freed for at least a moment.

[....]

The explosion’s repercussions quickly died out, and the silhouettes of the two men, who were the only human beings in this purple space, became clearer.

[Umm..?]

However, the positions of the shadows seemed a bit stranger. The father and son who were facing each other, were now looking in one direction. To be more exact, Ian is standing in front of Fran.

“....”

Everything that had been blocking their sights finally disappeared. Why were the two men looking in the same direction? It was simple. Ian was standing in front of Fran to activate a powerful shield spell, and it was evident that Ian was protecting Fran from the explosion from his magic, position, and posture.

[Ian..Page?]

Reseesee Radenju carefully called his name, but Ian did not respond. Only his eyes that had been encroached by black mana were vacantly open.

It was then Fran Page let out an unhinged laugh, and Ian followed suit. While their voices and faces were different, Ian seemed to have become Fran Page’s spirit.

” “What? You will purge me after my fall?” ”

Ian would speak when Fran did.

” “What did you say? With your strongest ally, Ian Page?” ”

” “You mean this? Me?” ”

Fran and Ian spoke as they pointed at their faces, and their sneering expression and tone were a bonus.

“ “Idiots. Your lizard faces show your expressions, and you guys seem to have been excited.” ”

Ian and Fran moved like they were one, and while there was no need to synchronize their movements even if Ian was the final soul, it was Fran Page’s trick to showcase how the situation had changed dramatically.

“ “Do you know now? You guys have taken the bait, which I had placed hundreds of years ago.” ”

“I have been waiting and waiting for today. I wondered what you guys would look like, what you would babble, and..”