There was an auditory hallucination in his mind. Just like glass shattering, it was the aftermath of the incident.

Oof...! Grids complexion turned blue as he retched. His heart was in tatters. It was torn apart. It was a pain proportional to the greatness of the happiness he felt a while ago.

[Overgeared God. A great person who overshadows the years. Perhaps I have a strange feeling toward you.]

Ifrits voice hovered in his ears. It was vivid. She was the one whom Grid had just shared warmth with. The memory was too clear to be remembered vaguely.

[However, dont worry. It was a mania temporarily suffered due to the influence of being exposed to Baals power.]

She mistook an unfamiliar liking for a disease. It was proof that she had lived close to eternity and had been alone all her life.

[Continue in the future...]

She stopped the word together in embarrassment. The faint smile in her eyes that even she might not be aware of.

[It is strange that my heart feels itchy every time you speak. As expected, mania seems to fit. I am going to leave before it gets worse.]

She didnt distinguish between liking and mania even until the last minute. No, dragons easily understood the concepts they learned once and didnt forget them.

She knew, but denied it.

You were afraid.

She was afraid she would have lingering feelings.

[100 years is too short. I dont know when it will be, so you dont have to wait.]

She ran away while denying her newly found feelings, fearing that she would want to avoid the death she had already been prepared for. She didnt make any promises because she knew it was impossible to meet again.

What is the image of me that will be remembered by her?

Grid looked back on it.

Today, you received a lot of help from me, so you are grateful.

He was condescending. It seemed natural for Ifrit to like him and he revealed a faint greed. He thought ifrit would some day repay him for this grace and that he would enjoy the rights. It was the worst.

Disgust rose.

I shouldve said thank you.

Grid felt dizzy. Didnt he receive a lot of help? He just didnt admit it. He was intoxicated by his own performance and pretended to be a benefactor. His only performance was a crude reproduction of Ifrits horn. He just temporarily seized the disappearing life.

Grid... The tower members were agitated. They were flustered by the sight of Grid sobbing while holding his breath.

Hah... Cough... Biban, who was famous for being tactless, also just coughed.

The death of a dragonnot a single person dared to condemn Grid for grieving when hearing news that humans should be happy about. It was because they had all witnessed itGrids fist, which was touching Ifrits horn, and Grids face, which was smiling while he was communicating with Ifrit. It was hard to understand from the standpoint of the tower members, who regarded dragons as a threat to humanity, but Ifrit must be Grids friend. Some people wouldnt be convinced. The time that the two of them spent together was as short as a split second. However, sometimes a split second shone more than eternity.

The tower members, who had lived for so many years, knew it best.

Cry as much as you want. Bettys small hand patted Grids butt. Perhaps she wanted to pat his back, but the position was poor due to her short stature.

Grid confessed to the tower members, who were silently guarding his side, The gods who were expelled to the east said it. This was just Ifrits dying flash.

He didnt listen carefully. Not only did he distrust the three masters, but Ifrit was so healthy.

...These were just lowly excuses. He shouldve asked Ifrit at least once.

Are you okay? In fact, isnt it very hard?

However, he didnt ask. It meant he wasnt very interested. Grid was only obsessed with Ifrits strength. He wasnt very interested in the existence called Ifrit. He didnt ask about the past. Rather, he discussed the future at will. He talked about building a relationship together. He didnt know it was impossible and he didnt even consider Ifrits position.

Im going to turn it back.

Grid pulled out an old book.

[Dantalions Damaged Book]

It was a relic of the sage of hell, a book that could perform a single miracle.

[Time Regression]

[It can only be used once.

The time can be returned from at least 5 seconds ago up to 3 minutes. The exact time cant be specified and all the knowledge of Dantalion destroyed during the use will disappear. At this time, the all skills level up effect of Dantalions Damaged Book will be removed.]

It was really what if. It was something he had kept to use if he lost a precious person.

Please.

Let good luck follow.

As Grid was eagerly opening the book

Forget it. Radwolf caught his wrist. The giants dark eyes looked straight at Grid. You are deeply emotional right now. Think about it carefully. Do you have to revive Ifrit? Is her existence so precious that you have to make such a great sacrifice?

As expected of a giant. Radwolf accurately saw through Dantalions book.

Guilt is a necessary emotion for humans. It is your conscience that helps you avoid repeating your sins and mistakes. However, it is also an emotion that you shouldnt be buried in. Now, take a deep breath. Take a step back and contemplate it. Why are you trying to revive Ifrit? Is it really because she is precious, or is it a momentary sense of guilt?

......

Grid couldnt answer hastily. This fact bothered him even more. He was sorry about Ifrits death and felt guilty that he failed to show Ifrit his good side, but he still hesitated to use Dantalions book. He weighed the value of Ifrit against his other precious people. The weight was naturally tilted toward others rather than Ifrit. This fact further deepened Grids guilt.

Just then

It is meaningless to revive ifrit. Hayate stepped in. He was different from Radwolf. He pointed out a more essential part that only a dragon slayer could know. If she is revived, she will just repeat the same fate. Eventually, she will go to Trauka. A fire dragon is that type of existence. There is no way to reverse her decision.

Maybe I can persuade her.

It is meaningless. Based on what I saw, she is a candle just before the flame is extinguished. Even if her fate changes, it is just to the degree of delaying death for a few days. Hayates expression suddenly darkened. In the first place, the biggest problem is that Trauka will notice the time reversal. He will attack in reverse in order to get rid of the past or future of being raided by Ifrit.

......!

A chill went down Grids spine. It was a proper measure of an old dragons transcendence. How sensitive were his senses that he would even notice the reversal of time?

Grid was dubious, but he accepted it. Hadnt he witnessed Ifrits strength that was beyond his expectations and imagination? It would be strange if even such an overwhelming being was unaware of a magic made by a great demon.

SheIfrit knew that she was going to die soon.

The reason we rushed out urgently was because we discovered that Ifrit had accumulated a large amount of Breath. Breath is the concept of releasing magic power in large quantities. A dragon starts the Breath by circulating the magic power of the heart once. Yet there were at least nine branches of magic power in Ifrits heart. It wouldnt be strange if her heart exploded immediately. From the beginning, she was determined to go to Trauka.

...Is it revenge?

The dragons who fled to the East Continent were said to be defeated and injured in a struggle over territory. In fact, Ifrit had lost most of her power when her horn was cut off. It was Trauka who made her like that.

It could be revenge or it could be for the future of her child. Maybe it is just the result of being obsessed with the lair. We cant know exactly. Dragons are so different from us.

Child...? Does Ifrit have children?

Yes, it is written in history. Considering the time when Ifrit gave birth, this is around the time when her child will become an adult... Im honestly not sure. The survival rate of fire dragons is particularly low among the dragons.

Is it because of Trauka?

Thats right. He has been accumulating strength since the beginning by preying on his own blood.

It was a real son of a bitch.

Grid, whose expression had stiffened throughout the conversation with the tower members, barely managed to swallow the swear words that were about to pop out. Grid respected the tower members. No matter how angry, he wanted to refrain from using curse words in front of the tower members.

In the first place, he was too agitated right now. He was greatly rattled by Ifrits sudden death. It was necessary to calm down.

Aiming at Trauka during the gap when he is seriously injured... of course, it isnt possible.

It is just an act of suicide.

......

The dying Ifrit handled the three masters alone. It was impossible to deal with Trauka even if all the tower members and Grid joined forces. Grid had to engrave this in his heart. Dragons, especially the old dragons, should never be antagonized. This was a law that hadnt changed since Satisfy started until now.

Calm down first. Putting aside your grief, the situation isnt bad. Thanks to Ifrits sacrifice, Trauka will have to hibernate for many years.

Ifrit was extinguished without leaving her body behind. If Trauka had eaten Ifrits body, not only would he have recovered from the wounds immediately, but he wouldve become stronger.

Just like Raiders had the gourmet cycle once every 100 years, the old dragons tend to operate within a certain pattern. Among them, Trauka was committed to hunting the fire dragons. Natural disasters would occur every time this happened, but now it wouldnt happen for hundreds of years. As a result, Ifrit helped humans.

Fortunately, Talima is also safe. It is probably thanks to a dragons habit of making the lair as strong as possible. The explosion that shook the entire continent didnt destroy Traukas lair.

Grid was relieved. He had been worried that Talima would perish and the reputation of the dwarves would be cut off. His mind gradually calmed and started to spin in a positive direction.

Additionally, the epic didnt happen. That is great luck.

If his epic story with Ifrit was released to the world, he would have to worry about becoming Traukas target straight away. Maybe it was the help of the system? Did it know Grid would be in a big crisis after writing an epic, thus the system suppressed it?

Putting aside the will of the S.A Group, the system might be on my side...

Grid had meaningless thoughts as he moved to the Tower of Wisdom with the tower members. It was time to get the rewards from Betty. Grid dreamed about the future while feeling Ifrits warmth engraved in his heart.

***

At the same time, at the headquarters of the S.A Group...

The server management team was disturbed.

It was because the character appeared on the panel indicating Morpheus condition.

Team Leader-nim, is it crying?

......