“Okay, then I’ll pick number three.”

It would be best not to summon the evil dragon, but even if it does, Gregory is currently in Carmel Forest. 

If he and Aiden protect Carmel Forest while Lexion and I deal with this place, we will make the best use of this time.

The guide double-checked.

 – Would you like to choose number 3? Decisions once made cannot be reversed.

 “I’m not going to change it around.” 

Shortly thereafter, time began to flow again.

I immediately told Lexion.

“Lexion, please call Aiden through the communication device and have him stand by there.” 

“What does that mean?” 

“I’m going to save the Brandt family from now on. Then the evil dragon may appear in the Carmel Forest.”

After a brief explanation, Lexion’s eyes widened and became quiet.

It is a matter of purifying Hegel, where the thoughts are in progress of entrenching within him. 

If it was an evil dragon, it could have come here by force to stop it.

It will also be through Hegel’s body as a medium.

If that happens, even Hegel will not be able to withstand it.

Lexion, who had already returned several times, seemed to immediately understand what I meant.

He spoke to Aiden in the correspondent.

“Aiden, stop coming to Brandt Castle and wait there.”

– What? What is it… Sir, can you see me?

I could see Aiden looking around from the window.

Lexion then ordered.

“Don’t stay still, install the purification stone near Carmel Forest, and work with the magicians to create a barrier throughout the forest.”

“…I understand!”

When Aiden was told to install a barrier, he ended the communication as if he had grasped the general situation.

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In the meantime, I treated Arnold, and Lexion shouted, attempting to purify with a purifying stone. 

“Chris! Come inside!”

If it was Chris, it was because he could survive without being tainted by the thoughts even if he came here.

Chris, who was covering from outside, came in, and Lexion handed Arnold over to him and approached Hegel.

“Hee, hee hee Hee, hee…”

Hegel only laughed like a madman, but his face color suddenly changed when Lexion approached.

The sharp claws lengthened and scratched the Lexion.

I treated him quickly while Lexion was separating the Marquis from his claws. 

“[Ejis!]”

I could feel the power draining from my body, but even if I made a small mistake, it was too late and I rushed it.

The Marquis’ face was brightened.

After finishing Arnold’s purification, Chris approached the Marchioness and attempted to purify her.

It went smoothly with the three of them working hand in hand.

‘Good! At this rate…’

It was the moment when I reached out to Hegel, thinking that the only thing left to do now was to purify him using Asta.

All of a sudden, Hegel started laughing.

“Ehe, heehee, hee hee hee hee!”

Madness flashed across Hegel’s face.

The doors that had been closed then opened all at once.

Bang-!

“Argh!”

In the aftermath, the knights waiting outside flew and were stuck on the wall.

Hegel did not grin and looked outside.

Then, the malice of the knights at the door was absorbed by Hegel at once.

“Damn…!”

Lexion saw what Hegel was trying to do and reached out to me.

“Titi! Let go of that hand!”

Unfortunately, Hegel was one step ahead.

Hegel spoke to me in a muffled voice.

“Sister, let’s go together.”

A continuous black halo.

“Ah… it’s ruined.”

I just realized what Hegel was going to do, and laughed in vain.

Suddenly, my vision darkened in an instant.

***

– Traveler, open your eyes.

The guide hummed and tapped me.

When I regained consciousness and opened my eyes, I was moved to an unfamiliar place.

Apparently, I was attacked while trying to purify Hegel at Brandt Castle. And the empty space I saw.

Lexion, Chris, and other knights were nowhere to be seen. 

It was no longer Brandt Castle, but I was quite used to it.

I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes.

“Maybe this place is…”

I was trying to remember where this place was when the guide said.

– This is a piece of the evil dragon’s thoughts. Unless you find and purify the core, you will never be able to get out.

“As expected, I knew it would be like that.”

I muttered quietly in a tired voice.

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Inside the evil dragon’s thoughts, it was said that once you enter, you can’t get out.

It was very difficult to stay sane here.

Even if one was lucky enough to get out, one would go crazy or die right away from a nervous breakdown.

It means that it is a space that exhausts the mind.

In the original story, Seirin was trapped here, and Lexion was in great despair.

But it wasn’t just a hopeless situation for me.

Because I’ve already seen how to get out of this place in the book.

I got up idly, brushing my clothes, and muttering.

“It’s rather good. I read the book anyway.”

I didn’t expect the second time in my life to be helpful.

As long as I’m in here, Hegel won’t run wild outside.

Because this is where Hegel’s consciousness was connected.

To hold me, the host also cannot move.

If the host is unconscious, even the evil dragon will not be able to cross over to the host’s side.

in other words.

‘If I purify Hegel and get out of here, the evil dragon won’t show up.’

After I finished figuring out the situation, I had a light smile.

The book saying that there is a possibility of being summoned from the option means that if I fail to purify, the evil dragon will be summoned.

It didn’t explain the relationship between the two, so I mistook that the evil dragon might be summoned if I purified him. 

‘As expected, the book cleverly hides disadvantages. Number 3 was the best option.’

It was when I thought of that.

Suddenly, the space seemed to collapse, and Hegel appeared in front of me.

He was squatting and sobbing.

“Heueug, I don’t want to die.”

At the same time, his emotions rushed to me and tears fell unknowingly.

“It started.”

Just as I was prepared for that, the guide said.

-You have entered the hidden stage of [A Dying Child]. When the hidden condition is achieved, the summoning of the evil dragon can be prevented.

As I expected, the guide placed the condition that the summoning of evil dragons be nullified.

After a while, Hegel’s appearance disappeared and the surroundings changed all at once.

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TL/N: This illusion/flashback part will be in italics + bold.

And one person appeared.

“Miss Tiarozety… please. Daisy…”

Aiden wrapped around the dead Daisy with a sad expression on his face.

‘Oh… It’s that day.’

I instinctively understood what the evil dragon was showing.

It was as if it was trying to break my will by replaying something I regretted in the past.

I stared at Aiden, exhausted.

Aiden already knew.

Daisy is dead.

Even if she was still alive, the state of Tiarozety’s body at that time meant that I would be risking my life.

Nevertheless, he was so exhausted and devastated to the extent that he had no choice but to make unreasonable demands.

Everything. 

The illusion recreated by the evil dragon in front of my eyes was before the regression when it attacked Bael while Lexion was away. 

‘Ah…’

I was drenched in guilt.

The events of that day that I could have saved but couldn’t.

I had to watch my loved ones die right in front of my eyes because I got caught up in the role of Tiarozety.

Because I could only use Ejis at specified times.

The evil dragon tried to crush my mind by clearly reproducing the nightmare of that day.

My body was trembling subtly because I had already had feelings of sympathy for Hegel once.

Bael, who was devastated, and Daisy, who died trying to save me.

Even Aiden, who had been mortally wounded by the evil dragon, was crying while hugging Daisy.

I contorted my face in a vision that was so vivid.

‘You can’t be shaken. This is just an illusion that the evil dragon is showing. You can only find the core by letting it flow.’

As I was determined to do so, I could see the evil dragon approaching behind Aiden’s back.

Aiden did not escape even knowing that the evil dragon was coming.

He just hugged Daisy’s body and closed his eyes as if he had resigned.

In the blink of an eye, Aiden was dead like Daisy.

I couldn’t do anything.

On that day, and even now.

“Evil dragon…you’re the worst.”

I closed my eyes tightly.

My eyelids were about to get hot.

After a while, the surroundings distorted again and began to change.

The hidden stage is starting now.

***

[Lexion’s POV]

Lexion was standing alone in the same space with an expansive view.

He muttered as he grimaced.

“Again, like this…”

Obviously, Tiarozety followed as he was sucked into Hegel’s consciousness.

But Tiarozety was nowhere to be seen.

As if the space is separated.

Lexion asked the guide while rubbing his face.

“Where’s Titi?”

– She’s performing a hidden stage.

“Guide me there.”

As he sighed and lowered his head, the guide said definitively.

– No one else has access unless the Tiarozety Esol completes the hidden stage. In case of intervention…

“Ha… you say the same thing every time. It doesn’t matter if I get a penalty, so step in.”

There was a sense of urgency in his irritable voice.

This place is inside a piece of the evil dragon’s thoughts.

I was worried that Tiarozety would not be safe in a place that would destroy her mind and eventually drive her crazy.

Especially if she has a weak heart, she will be easy prey for the evil dragon.

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‘Zion knows nothing! After all, it’s only me…! I’m the only one here…!’

I remembered the words Tiarozety had poured out crying in the past.

It was her who was weighed down by solitude while traveling alone. 

So I had to go to her.

Because I want to protect her smile, her life, her heart…

I couldn’t let the evil dragon destroy it at will.

Then the guide warned in a gloomy tone.



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