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A student raised their hand.
"Professor, I've heard that when a Mad Dragon appears, other dragons join forces to defeat it. Even if the Great Mage hadn't been around, wouldn't the Mad Dragon Insanis have been killed by other dragons? Mad Dragons tarnish the noble honor of dragons."
"Dragons live for thousands of years. Time flows differently for dragons than for humans. After the appearance of a Mad Dragon, humans can't know if it will take 1 year, 10 years, or 100 years for other dragons to unite and come to deal with it. They just record that time in history books as a terrible disaster."
"Ah..."
Kinesis looked around at the 180 second-year students sitting in the large lecture hall.
"Just because things recorded in history books aren't happening now doesn't mean you should dismiss them as legends or fabricated stories. History tends to repeat itself, and you are students of Elton Academy, the highest educational institution in Alkansia. You are the ones who must be at the forefront of solving any problems that arise in our kingdom. Therefore, you must dedicate yourselves even more to learning and training. You are the present and future of Alkansia."
Since entering Elton Academy...
He had heard it dozens of times.
But it was enough to ignite the hearts of eighteen-year-old students every time.
The students' expressions instantly became determined.
Even amidst all this, Liber's mouth, bursting with praise, couldn't quite close.
"But not everything is true, right? In the history books, it says that the Great Mage sealed the Mad Dragon Insanis in the Perum Mountains and took a claw as a trophy to the royal palace, but we found the claw in the Perum Mountains."
"That was because of a word from a passing seer at the time. They prophesied that if the trophy was not returned to the Mad Dragon's side, great misfortune would befall the royal family. After the prince died, the royal family was in a very sensitive state regarding prophecies."
Liber's eyes sparkled.
"I knew it was because of the seer's words, but I've never heard such detailed information before!"
"That's why you need to examine various historical records from multiple perspectives. Then the clues to unsolved events will be revealed."
"I want to know more details!"
Kinesis continued.
"There are records that shortly before the Mad Dragon appeared, the royal seer said, 'The prince who will be born must be careful of water.' What a common prophecy. You could hear that from a fortune teller in a market alley. Naturally, the king ignored the words. But the prince actually died in the year he turned 14."
A surprised Liber asked, "Did he drown?"
"No. He was poisoned. The culprit was the second prince, who showed ambition for power."
"Poison...! Then the prophecy was wrong?"
"Well, I guess so. Anyway, that's all the facts. It's information you can only find by looking at all three historical records from the same time period. And if you combine these facts and speculate..."
"So the royal family was extremely sensitive to prophecies, and they couldn't ignore the words of a passing seer."
"That's likely the case. Anyway, they put the claw back in the Perum Mountains as the seer said."
Student cafeteria.
"Do you think that seer really existed? I heard there used to be some. But there aren't any these days."
"Isn't it a job that disappeared because people realized they were all lying? The royal seer's prophecy was wrong, too. The one who said, 'The prince who will be born must be careful of water.' If the royal seer was that bad, the rest must be..."
"Is that so?"
Bonita, who was listening to Liber and Bellum's conversation, opened her mouth.
"Prophecies? That's funny. I don't believe in such things. I'll pave my future with my sword."
Bellum nodded.
"That's a very Bonita Fortis-like statement. What do you think, Latia? Do you think seers really exist?"
"I don't care."
Bellum nodded again.
"That was a very Latia Meridiem-like answer."
At that moment.
"Cough! Cough!"
Nubes, who was hastily tearing into the meat, choked as if a bone had gotten stuck in his throat.
"Water! Water...!"
Bellum quickly grabbed the juice cup in front of him and brought it to Nubes's mouth.
Gulp, gulp.
Nubes drank all the juice at once, looking refreshed.
"Ah, it went down. Thanks, Bellum."
"Oh my, you big guy. Eat a little slower. Is someone going to steal it?"
"Hehe."
Nubes scratched the back of his head, looking embarrassed.
Karin, who was watching him, said, "But, you know. That prince who died ignoring the prophecy. He died from poison, right? Isn't poison usually put in something like juice?"
"That's right. Uh?"
"That's water, too."
"Uh? That's right. Then the prophecy was right?"
Luna, who was listening to the conversation, opened her mouth with a worried expression.
"Then... shouldn't we put that claw back?"
All of her friends turned to look at Luna.
"What, Luna? Do you really believe it?"
"Because a seer who passed by 600 years ago said so, we have to put our collection back?"
"Luna is so naive."
"That's Luna's charm - her cuteness and naivete."
At the same time.
Deep in the Perum Mountains.
A huge sculpture is carved on the wall of a collapsed inner chamber.
A dragon sculpture large enough to be mistaken for the real thing.
Drdrdrdr.
The chamber vibrated regularly as if there was an earthquake.
Drdrdrdr.
Among the regularly vibrating sounds.
Krrr.
An alien sound began to mix in.
A few days later.
Manesi, south of the Western Mining Zone.
"Wh, what is that?"
"It's a, a dragon!"
"Eek!"
"It's a Black Dragon!"
The two wings of the dark black dragon, as deep as the night sea, covered the sky.
Having witnessed a dragon at this distance,
There is nowhere to avoid or hide now.
While the citizens, horrified and bewildered, do not know what to do,
Flap. Flap.
With just two or three flaps of its wings.
The appearance of the dragon, which seemed to cover the sky, was far away in the eastern sky.
Specula Castle in the Campus Plains, Central Continent.
"Lord!"
"What's all the fuss about?"
"A dragon has appeared!"
"Dragon? Where! On what continent are you talking about!"
"Th, there!"
The knight who had rushed in to deliver the news pointed a finger out the window.
At the same time.
The afternoon sunlight that had been brightly shining through the window disappeared in an instant.
Moldin Specula, the head of the Specula family, which has the best intelligence organization on the continent, and the father of chatterbox Liber Specula, jumped up and ran to the window.
He stumbled a few times, nearly tripping over the desk legs, but barely managed to stay upright and reach the window.
In the sky outside the window, which he looked up at urgently.
A huge Black Dragon was flying.
'Black Dragon...! There are no Black Dragons on our continent!'
Dragons rarely show themselves to humans, perhaps once every few hundred or thousand years.
For that reason, ordinary people often think of dragons as imaginary beings.
But that's just ordinary people.
Moldin Specula is the head of the family that has the largest intelligence organization in Alkansia.
'Excluding hatchlings, the number of dragons living in the same era is less than 10. Currently, we have identified only two dragons on our continent, the Gold Dragon and the Green Dragon. But that one is...'
A black body and wings that seemed to swallow the sun.
It's definitely a Black Dragon.
Dragons do not infringe on each other's territories.
When visiting another dragon's lair, it is dragon etiquette to polymorph into a small creature, warp near, and walk in.
To spread such large wings and fly over another dragon's territory is like a declaration of war.
'The central part of the Pax Continent is the territory of the Gold Dragon Aurum Drago. Unless it's a crazy dragon, how dare...'
At that moment.
Moldin Specula began to tremble like an aspen tree.
"Lord!"
"Contact the Royal Family...! A great disaster... a great disaster has begun!"
"A disaster?"
"It's clear that the Mad Dragon Insanis! The Mad Dragon Insanis has been released from its seal! Hurry! Hurry and inform the Royal Family of this fact!"
"Yes!"
The knight quickly left the Lord's chamber.
The Specula family has a hotline directly connected to the Royal Intelligence Department, so this news will soon be delivered to the Royal Family.
"Why now... Why at this critical time..."
Royal Intelligence Department.
"What? Mad Dragon Insanis?"
"Yes! The head of the Specula family has confirmed it himself!"
"Are you saying that Mad Dragon Insanis is flying over the Campus Plains right now?"
"Yes!"
"Unbelievable... Why now of all times... Guards! Contact the Guards! And the Royal Magic Department! Immediately!"
A great disaster.
The appearance of a Mad Dragon.
Is a great disaster in itself that can swallow a country.
The scale and scope of the damage depend entirely on external factors.
Where the Mad Dragon starts its activities.
Which way it moves.
How angry it is.
And how long it will take for other dragons to come to catch the Mad Dragon.
All are external factors that humans cannot determine.
Only one person in the history of the Pax Continent broke this simple but terrifying proposition.
Only the Great Mage Fabian Hendrix.
Before leaving the Royal Family completely for his last magical research, Fabian Hendrix told them that the seal of the Mad Dragon Insanis was not perfect.
He said that his seal would be broken someday, though he could not predict when.
However, he left words not to be too afraid because it would be in the very distant future and to prepare calmly.
"Why now of all times... With the Marino Empire already a daunting situation, the appearance of a Mad Dragon... Is this the end of Alkansia's fate..."
If they are lucky.
Or if other dragons move quickly.
Even if the Alkansia Kingdom is not destroyed by the Mad Dragon.
The place swept by the Mad Dragon will be deeply scarred and irreversible.
Then, of course, the next order will be...
The invasion of the Marino Empire.
The head of the Intelligence Department forced his trembling legs to move and began to walk.
"I must see His Majesty the King."
Kuaaaaa!
The Mad Dragon Insanis, flying in the sky, cried out loudly.
All the birds flying in the sky had their hearts stop and fell to the ground.
The beasts on the ground also crouched down, waiting for the disaster to pass.
Meanwhile.
The Mad Dragon Insanis's head was very complicated.
'I remember. My name. My existence. The past...'
Mad Dragonification.
The moment the spirit of a noble dragon collapses and turns into a ferocious beast.
The probability of Mad Dragonification occurring from the birth to the rest of a dragon is less than 10 percent.
But it is also the only phenomenon that all dragons fear.
A terrible thing to become a beast, losing all wisdom, honor, and nobility.
Insanis experienced that Mad Dragonification.
'Yes... That's right. That I, Insanis, could not bear the weight of that death and became a Mad Dragon. I am ashamed.'
He also remembered being sealed by that terrifying human mage and the subjugation force he led.
During the years he was sealed.
It seems that the spirit he had completely lost had returned to some extent.
'... ! Yes! I, Insanis, overcame Mad Dragonification. I overcame Mad Dragonification and became a dragon with a sound mind again.'
So far, it was understandable.
It was clear that he had overcome Mad Dragonification and his mind had returned.
But the body was moving against his will.
'Where am I going now? And why are my heart and head so hot?'
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