"Flying really does save a lot of time…"
"Then Novia, do you still think I—Merushin—am scary?"
Despite her new name, the silver-haired girl showed no discomfort at all—quite the opposite, she was absolutely delighted.
At the moment, Novia was quite literally soaring through the skies, speeding across what felt like the boundless, endless blue of the Mediterranean.
Truth be told, this wasn't his first time in the air—but in the past, it had always been thanks to mundane means: airplanes or gliders. Not magic.
After Novia bound Albion's hunger for him using the name Merushin, the silver-haired girl had immediately insisted on traveling with him.
"No time to waste! Novia, where do you want to go? I'll take you there—I can fly, you know! I don't really use my mana for anything anyway, so I may as well use it for you."
She had given a tiny hop, wrapping her arms around Novia's neck. Weighing no more than twenty kilograms, and standing three centimeters shorter than even Nero, she felt nearly weightless.
"Seventy kilometers north of Jerusalem."
"Ah, that place... Well, if it's what you want, then it's fine. I'll go anywhere with you."
With a light push off empty air, the dragon girl unfurled her wings—deep blue-black and metallic in sheen—and launched into flight, carrying Novia with her.
—Now, back to the present.
"I don't like that you're afraid of me," Merushin murmured, nestling her head into the crook of Novia's neck and giving it a few licks. "It's true—I'm not human. If you see me as a beast, I can't really blame you. But I don't want to be just your friend, Novia. I really like you. From the very beginning, I came a long, long way to find you, all by myself."
Her voice was brimming with excitement, joy, and a certain elegant grace.
Novia didn't respond. His instinct told him she didn't want a response just yet.
"Back then, I was lonely and miserable. I endured it—over and over. No, I should just be honest. I was really sad. So lonely I felt like crying all the time. I kept holding it in. Until… I heard your voice. That's what finally made the pain ease, just a little. You were just a human—my first thought was only, 'I wonder what he tastes like? He's so weak, probably not that good anyway.' But if I ever did eat you, I'd feel awful."
"So, Novia—let's stay together forever."
She whispered it into his ear, her voice so soft it almost vanished beneath the hiss of rushing air.
"I don't want you to leave me. I want you to be mine—mine alone. Actually… I lied to you when we first met. The truth is—there's no one who could ever take your place. Since I see you that way… you should see me the same way. That's all. Oh—and I want to possess your body. In human terms, that means… mating."
She lowered her gaze, as though struggling to suppress something inside herself.
"..."
Novia stayed silent for a few seconds. Probably because no one had ever asked him something like that before.
"If you pretend you didn't hear that, I'll kill you. Just kidding. Three... two... one... hurry up and answer!"
"...Merushin, you're just a soul right now, aren't you? Your physical body…"
"Who knows? But I do feel like I'm gradually regaining a human form. Just a few more years, and I'll be there. Isn't that great, Novia? I already belong to you. You can do whatever you want with me… Isn't that... okay?"
She pressed her cheek to his. Since he hadn't responded, her voice grew smaller and softer by the second.
"I'm sorry... I wasn't thinking. But hey, I can keep Nero from finding out. I only ever show up when it's just the two of us."
That, at least, was true. Over the years, Merushin had only ever appeared in front of Novia—aside from one brief meeting with Nero long ago when Novia had taken her out for a walk.
The two fell silent again.
Soon, they reached their destination. Novia hadn't spent a single drop of mana—but Merushin, pale-faced, was trembling. Whether from the immense cost of flight or Novia's silence, or both, she clearly couldn't stop shaking.
"...I'm a bit tired. I need to rest. Oh, and… I'm sorry, Novia. I didn't mean to say all that. Just forget it... please…"
"…Is that really the right choice? I don't think we need to hide things from Nero. We should be honest."
He could've just nodded and kept the peace—but Novia had a belief: that anyone who treated him with genuine sincerity should never be dismissed or brushed aside. No matter how much favor he received, it was never an excuse to act superior.
So he narrowed his eyes in thought and gently took Merushin's trembling hand.
"Whether it's you… or Nero… I won't let go of either of you. I mean that. Please have faith in it. From now on, you'll never be alone again—Merushin. Albion."
"Okay… see you later. I really am going to rest now..."
She sounded relieved, smiling like a blooming flower just before vanishing, returning to the "spear" in Novia's hand to recover her mana.
Then Novia looked up.
A sprawling, patchwork field of brownish-green farmland lay before him.
"So this... is the final battlefield."
He tightened his grip around the key-shaped pendant on his chest and fell into silence.
Visions from Revelation began replaying in his mind:
The kings of the world gather… the Antichrist descends… the Almighty defeats the Devil and the kings of the earth… the world destroyed, the Beast captured…
When would the prophetic events John spoke of actually begin?
The Nero he knew—was, in essence, the beautiful Beast.
If that were true, then all his efforts had been in vain. Whether condemnation or salvation—neither applied.
As these thoughts consumed him, the ground began to tremble. A faint quake—only this patch of land beneath him was affected. Then, a vision appeared from nowhere—fire dancing in midair.
A scene from legend played before him:
Twin brothers, raised by a she-wolf. After helping their grandfather reclaim his throne, they sought to build a new city of their own.
But they disagreed on where to build it—one wanted the mountain where they'd grown up, the other wanted the riverside.
From that moment, an irreparable rift split them apart.
And so, one brother slew the other.
From that single act of blood, the destiny of the nation was sealed—an endless cycle of violence and conspiracy.
Even the founding brother, radiant as "light," could not halt the sins and evils that would persist for generations.
The flames faded.
Novia looked toward their source—and found it:
A book.
Its title read—
The Sibylline Oracle.
***************************
Read advanced chapters ahead of everyone else on my P@treon.
P@treon/GodDragcell