Leon slowly opened his eyes.
Blue sky, white clouds, grassland, forest, breeze
Hiss~~
This is so familiar, like a memory from some lunatic friend from the past. He slowly sat up, surveying his surroundings.
Not far off was a collapsed hill, but it seemed so ancient that the broken stones were covered in moss.
Further out, a dense forest stretched out, towering trees shooting up into the sky, clearly having stood there for ages.
After observing for a while and confirming no danger, Leon slowly got to his feet.
His body was weak.
His magic power was completely drained, and there was a clear pain in his bones and muscles these were the side effects of opening the Gate of the Nine Hells.
But at least he could still walk.
Dragging his exhausted body, Leon headed toward the forest.
Though this place was deserted, Leon vaguely recognized it. "The border of the Silver Dragon territory"
But there was not a dragon in sight.
No signs of any battle either.
"So did I succeed in closing the space rift?"
Leon had no idea how long he had been unconscious or if he was even unconscious at all.
From the moment he stepped into the rift, he had lost all sense of the outside world.
All he knew was that he was constantly extracting his own magic power, as only he could close that rift.
Looking at it now, it seemed Leon had succeeded.
But it felt like he had not succeeded completely.
Where is everyone?!
Where is my wife? Where is my beautiful, gentle, and kind, yet tsundere, wife with a mouth as hard as steel but does not stop me from loving her?!
Where are my kids? My ambitious eldest daughter, my mascot-like second daughter, my third daughter who dreams of becoming a scientist, and my super adorable three little ones?
Why are they all missing?!
Leon was confused as he walked into the forest, heading toward the Silver Dragon Temple from his memory.
"If the space rift is closed, then Rossweise and the others should be safe"
"But why have not I seen any trace of them?"
"But if it is not closed, why is the Silver Dragon territory still intact?"
As he hurried on, Leon analyzed the situation silently.
But his mind was a mess; he could not focus. He was worried about Noah, worried about Muen, and Aurora, and of course, he was worried about Rossweise.
Honestly, Leon felt a bit of regret for stepping into the space rift so decisively.
But what he regretted was not the act of sacrificing himself; he regretted not saying more to Rossweise from his heart.
His mind was foggy, but he clearly remembered that just before entering the rift, he had said those three words to Rossweise.
He did not know if that stupid dragon had heard them.
"Even if she had not, surely she could have read his lips, right?"
"Sigh, was not that the confession you would always wanted? Are you satisfied now, you dumb dragon?"
Mumbling to himself, Leon kept moving.
As he walked, he did not forget to observe his surroundings.
Judging from the dense growth of the forest, these giant trees had been growing wildly in an entirely natural environment for a long time, with no signs of pruning.
By rights, as the first line of defense at the border, these trees should have been trimmed regularly to avoid blocking the view.
When he had visited here with Rossweise before, the Silver Dragon soldiers had been diligent in maintaining this area.
But now, it was clear that no one had managed it for a long time.
Leon silently noted this oddity and continued toward the Silver Dragon Temple.
Based on the position of the sun, he estimated it to be around eight or nine in the morning.
But when he had entered the rift, it had been nearing dusk.
Even if he had been out for more than ten hours, the environment in the forest should not have changed this drastically.
Could I have taken the wrong path?
Leon suddenly stopped.
The chances were small. But not impossible.
After some hesitation, he decided to turn back and check his surroundings more carefully to confirm his location.
With this thought, Leon turned around.
But just as he took a step, the ground under his feet gave way, and he fell into a shallow pit.
Damn it who is the jerk that dug a hole here
The sudden fall added insult to injury to his already exhausted body from opening the Fifth Gate.
Leon sat in the pit for a while before climbing out.
As he was about to get up, something caught his eye the bushes by the pit.
The bushes were so dense that Leon had not seen the pit and had stepped right into it.
A pit and bushes Leon's mind raced, and he brushed aside the outer layer of the bushes, examining the traces inside.
Sure enough, a neatly cut edge at the corner of the bush caught his attention.
Looking again at the pit, though much of it was covered with dirt and moss, a careful inspection revealed similar neat traces at the bush's edge.
This was once a hidden sentry post, destroyed by space magic without a trace
In other words, he had not taken the wrong path.
This was indeed the forest that led to the Silver Dragon Temple.
If there is no sign of battle or invasion at the border, that means they should be safe, right?
Thinking this, Leon propped his hands on the edge of the pit and pulled himself up with a grunt.
Having confirmed that this was indeed Silver Dragon territory, Leon quickened his pace toward the temple.
.
.
.
Leon arrived at the temple's outskirts around sunset. But he had an ominous feeling.
From the border to the temple, he had not seen a single Silver Dragon.
With Rossweise's cautious nature, it was impossible that she would not have sent out at least a few scouts and guards.
There was no time to think further the temple's gate was right ahead. Leon, dragging his weary body, rushed forward.
But when he reached the gate, he was completely stunned by what he saw.
The silver gate hung precariously from the stone walls, overgrown with wild grass;
The courtyard beyond was in ruins the flower beds were shattered, and moss covered the ground.
What shocked Leon most was the temple itself, its walls scorched black, with the buildings on the left side completely destroyed.
The scene was one of utter decay.
Leon's pupils shook violently. Ignoring the pain in his body, he rushed into the courtyard in a panic.
"Noah!"
"Muen!"
"Little Light!"
He called out the names of his daughters.
But the only response was the sound of the wind sweeping across the grass.
"Rossweise! Are you all here?!"
Thud thud
Several stones rolled down from a nearby pile of rubble.
But still, no one appeared.
Fear exploded in Leon's heart.
Could he have failed to stop the rift?
Had his wife and children already
In a daze, a pink figure darted by from the corner of his eye.
Leon's sharp vision caught that fleeting shadow.
"Who is there? Are you from the Silver Dragon Clan?"
He no longer cared about the stranger's identity and chased after the figure.
"Hey, I saw you! Do not hide! Tell me where the Silver Dragons are!"
Leon rounded the corner of a wall, but there was no one there.
He frowned, the hope that had flared up moments before extinguished.
"Did I imagine it"
He muttered in disappointment, about to turn back when that pink figure suddenly appeared right in front of him like a ghost.
Before Leon could react, pain shot through his jaw.
Then everything went black, and he lost consciousness.
.
.
.
He did not know how long had passed before Leon slowly woke up.
By now, night had fallen, and a small fire was burning beside him.
Looking to his side, he saw a girl sitting on a rock.
She was young, about twenty, with long pink hair, and a pair of black-framed glasses on her nose, making her pale skin appear even more delicate.
Her side profile was exquisite, like a finely crafted piece of art and oddly familiar.
She wore a tattered white lab coat over a shirt and form-fitting pants.
The pants were also slightly torn, with a few holes revealing patches of her thighs.
In her hand, she held a skewer of grilled meat that must have been her dinner.
Leon slowly sat up, rubbing his still aching jaw.
The girl noticed he had woken up. A hint of surprise flashed through her pink pupils, and her icy beautiful face showed a faint trace of emotion.
The man before her seemed to stir some heavy memories.
But Leon did not seem to notice her change in mood. He pursed his lips and tentatively asked, "Did you knock me out?"
The girl stared at him and nodded blankly.
"With just one punch? You knocked me out with just one punch?"
General Leon was beginning to doubt his physical defense.
Even the Dragon Queen could not knock him out with one punch, yet this girl did.
The girl glanced at her right hand, clenched her fist, and, like Leon, looked puzzled. "Yeah, I do not know why, but the moment I saw you, I could not help but feel the impulse to throw an uppercut."
Leon did not retaliate against the girl for knocking him out.
One reason was that he was currently weak, and if a fight broke out, he would likely end up worse off.
The second reason was that if she were truly an enemy, she would not be leisurely roasting skewers here. So that uppercut must have been a misunderstanding.
Leon looked at the girl's appearance. She looked very familiar.
Too familiar.
She was almost carved from the same mold as that mother dragon.
"Have I seen you somewhere before?" Leon moved closer to the campfire.
The girl blinked, smiled faintly, then turned her gaze back to the fire. The flames reflected in her pink pupils, resembling exquisite jewels.
"What a terrible pickup line. How did you manage to win over my mother?"
The information in this statement nearly overloaded Leon's CPU.
He widened his eyes and stammered, "Y-You are"
"My name is Aurora, Aurora C. Melkvey."
She offered the skewer in her hand to Leon. "Of course, if you prefer, you can call me by another name, Little Light."