Episode 58

Kill, or be killed

I was sinking under the sea, I was out of breath like a person who had just risen to the surface.

Ding- I closed my eyes and gasped, then slowly opened my eyes to the sound of a distant bell. I was the only one living and breathing on the bloodied bed.

I threw up the vomit I had been holding in next to the bed. My guts were all turned upside down. Since didn’t eat anything, only a part of the tea I drank earlier flowed back. Still, my mind seemed to be clearer. I gently wiped the corner of my mouth with the back of my hand and caught my breath.

Ding

Even with this mess, people didn’t come in. It must have been because the place where the crown prince was stabbed was the neck, so he couldn’t scream, but it’s probably because they know what’s going to happen in this room.

Get pregnant? Just to prevent the breakup? You want me to have a baby even though you don’t love me?

I felt dumbfounded, I felt empty, I burst out laughing like a fool because I was so exhausted. My whole body was itchy, so I scratched it. If possible, I want to cut out all the rough skin. Ding – The sound of the bells of the first lunar month got louder and louder, Oh, I killed a person. To be more precise, the protagonist of this world.

I killed Alecto.

Jason was definitely a child born out of love. His parents were a rare case of a successful marriage in an aristocratic family, and their eldest son, Jason, was the fruit of the blessing that came shortly after they got married.

But the High Priest’s prophecy turned everything into a mess. The fate of the dragon slayer, the prophecy that he was born with the fate of a hero that will save the world, was closer to a curse than a prophecy to Young Master Kazar.

Jason could no longer grow up to be Jason. Everyone treated him like a hero.

Jason couldn’t do anything childish once and had to harden himself. He couldn’t give his heart to anyone. Because his life was one that may soon die.

At night his parents fought. It was because of him.

– It’s not a prophecy! How can humans go against the fate of God!

– Baby, our baby is dying! But what matters is the prophecy that has never been passed down since the founding of the empire....!

– Shh! Blasphemy. What are you going to do when someone hears you?

– Listen to it if you want! If I am going to die anyway, I will die with my child. Say that to His Majesty. I’m not afraid of the extinction of the family, so don’t threaten my child under the pretext of it!

If he doesn’t try, everyone in his family will die. Not only the family, but maybe everyone in the empire will die.

Thousands, tens of thousands of lives were laid on the little boy’s shoulders. Unfortunately, Jason could not give up on them. That’s because he was ‘raised’ like that.

Since he could stand on both feet, he had never neglected his training or rested for a single day.

Even if his whole body ached and he had a fever, Jason held up his sword.

Jason was talented with the sword, and his father, who was his mentor, was one of the best swordsmen in the empire, so Jason reached the top of the sword, faster than anyone else.

But the more Jason learned, the more he realized it was impossible to actually kill a dragon. Dragons were not what humans thought of as huge and powerful lizards.

The dragon race was closer to nature itself. Even if vou divide the sea and destroy the mountains, it doesn’t kill the sea and the mountains, does it?

Jason felt like he was blindly sacrificing himself Breathing was suffocating as every minute seemed to lead him to death. He washed his face with his small, dry hands that have been broken hundreds of times. His rough fingertips were sharp.

But even though helplessness and despair engulfed him, Jason could not let go of his sword. As he was laughing at himself, Jason burst into tears.

Hi. It was just a word and a laugh.

To Jason, who had lived a life by drawing a line in his heart with chalk as white as snow, Helena easily broke

in.

Was it because she herself was as white as the first snow? He couldn’t figure it out. Even though he tried to keep his distance, Helena kept approaching him with an innocent face.

– Killing a dragon? Awesome!

– ....I might not be able to kill it. It’s a dragon. The best product of God.

– No. You can definitely kill it.

While knowing anything, she spat it out easily. Maybe it was easy to say because she didn’t know anything. He will die. Even if he can’t kill the dragon, or even if he is going to kill the dragon, that place will become his tomb.

At Helena’s irresponsible words, Jason nervously smacked her hand away.

– You don’t know! What do you believe in to be so sure? Even I can’t be sure, you don’t know anything...

She opened her eyes wide at Jason’s rebuttal and gently touched her smacked hand. In return, Jason regretted that her white hands were red, but he did not dare bring any words out of his mouth.

At that time, Jason had never been with people, so he was clumsy in dealing with people. Helena blinked her eyes for a moment at Jason’s question, then tilted her head slightly and smiled Holding Jason’s scarred hand, she affirmed.

– Trust your efforts. You worked harder than anyone else. So it’s clearly possible.

Her hands were warm. Jason stared blankly into her eyes. Helena seemed to truly believe that he could. It was not compassion. That’s.... It was the first time.

Everyone who met Jason used to look at him with sympathetic eyes. He still had time, but they acted as if he was going to die at any moment.

He was working so hard. He never rested and devoted his entire life to dying, but they didn’t believe it no matter how hard he tried.

Everyone thought he couldn’t make it.

Even his parents, who would have watched Jason more closely than anyone else, were the same. One day, when they handed over the address of a hideout for him to run away, Jason’s world collapsed.

Although everyone needed him, they didn’t. They didn’t believe it, but they didn’t want the boy to stop.

It was a truly tragic contradiction.

Jason’s tears fell silently.

Seeing the tears, Helena did not know what to do and she wiped his eyes with her sleeve.

He may have been lonely. He drew a line and pushed people away, but the truth was that he needed someone who wouldn’t be pushed out. Jason finally understood.

– Really, really....? Can / kill the dragon.... Is it? Can / come back alive?

Helena nodded at his stuttering words. Just with that little nod, Jason felt like he was saved.

– Why would your parents have taught you so hard? Because they wanted you to come back alive.

He had never thought of it that way. He had never heard a word of kindness and was resentful at them for not reaching out their hand kindly.

Even as he whined that he wanted to rest, they were stern. He just thought that the daily routine where only training was repeated was boring and painful.

When he fell, they taught him to get up on his own without lifting him. When there was a wound, they did not heal it, but taught him the efficacy of herbs and how to make medicine. What are edible and what are poisonous and should be avoided... Taught him geography and culture so that he can adapt wherever he goes.

The family loved him and raised him strongly. They wanted him to kill the dragon and come back ‘alive’ so that he wouldn’t really die.

Is it okay if I dare to love someone?

Jason asked himself for the first time.

Jason still didn’t believe he could kill a dragon However, since Helena was the only one who believed that he could live, Jason decided to live for Helena for the rest of his life if he survived.

He occasionally saw the shadow of a great dragon. It felt like it’s the dragon’s secret warning that he would destroy his homeland if he didn’t leave soon.

However, since he did not know the dragon’s location, Jason had no choice but to take a vague step forward.

He actually wanted to run away half way through. He was afraid of death. Yes, he still wanted to live. There were people he wanted to meet in his life. Even if he ran away like that, if he put his mind to it, no one would find him.

“Brother....Can you help me?’

It was then. A boy spoke to him. Jason looked back at the child as if he had seen a ghost. The child recklessly grabbed Jason’s clothes and led him. When the child’s request was granted, a clue was given about the dragon.

Whenever Jason wanted to escape, such people constantly appeared to help Jason, and Jason helped them.

It was as if fate was guiding him, that he had to kill the dragon. As he was rushing through life like that, his fears were gradually forgotten and new memories were created.

Maybe he could come back alive.

Hope gradually bloomed in Jason. So, when Jason saw the truth, he couldn’t help but despair even more.

The dragon he was finally faced with was bigger than anything Jason had ever encountered. He could never win. He couldn’t win.

Today he will die.

However, although Jason resented those who drove him to this place, he did not back down. Because today, he might die if he runs away.

As Jason gripped his sword, the dragon’s voice broke through his mind.

– Even though it must have been a fleeting time for me, the time I waited for you was too long.

– Did you know I was coming?

– I.... lived too long. Even though my soul was worn out and could no longer contain anything, this supreme body kept me living a life that was inferior to a corpse.

The dragon quietly told the truth.

– It was I, not God, who made the prophecy. / controlled the priest. Because dragons are a race that cannot commit suicide.... I brought you here so that could die.