It wasn’t fear, resignation or despair.
But the moment that Keita knew in his heart that he was going to die…
“Goooaaaaa!!”
“Uhaaaa!!”
The warrior, who was supposed to bring about his death, staggered violently.
The wolf had tore into his leg, and with all of his strength, slammed the man into the ground.
‘R-run! Keita!’
Regaining control of his body, Keita turned his back towards the enemy and began to run.
“Ah…ah…”
Fi was shaking in his arms. Keita began to feel fear, and his heart awakened rapidly.
The scenery around him became clear, wiping away the chaos.
“Are you alright? Fi?”
“I…I’m sorry…I…”
“It’s fine.”
He leapt over the debris of the hut and rushed into an area where there were hundreds of tents.
The feeling every time his foot landed on the ground. The voices shouting around him. Poro’s fury. The sharpness of steel. It all pierced his consciousness.
However, Keita was strangely calm.
He could feel the weight of his insides. And in spite of running, he was hardly out of breath.
His body felt firmly planted on the earth.
“Fi, please turn me invisible.”
“Huh? Ah, uh… ‘Transparency!’”
The divine vessel activated, and their forms vanished. At the same time, Guto, who had been following them, changed his course.
The enemy would be able to tell where they were if they stuck together. It seemed that the star wolf really was just as intelligent as humans.
After losing sight of Keita and Fi, the enemy began to shout. And the magician soldiers were brought forth.
Keita slowed down and entered one of the empty tents. And then he laid Fi on the ground.
“I-I didn’t realize he’d become angry so easily… I’m sorry for getting carried away.”
“It’s fine. If anything, it gave us an opening.”
Keita was surprised by how calm his voice sounded.
However, Fi was looking up at him with a concerned expression.
“Y-you’re angry with me. Aren’t you?”
“No? Not at all.”
It was then that he realized that his face was not moving at all. He managed to smile then and talk calmly.
“I’m going to go and cause a commotion. You reunite with Guto and escape.”
“Wh…what! We have to escape together!”
“No. If we do that, they’ll just reset it again. Besides, there is one more plan left.”
He looked away from Fi and took off his bag. And then he took out a few mithril slabs.
“If everything goes well, I’ll be able to defeat the Seer’s Hero and return to everyone. But in order to do that… You can’t be here. You’ll be in the way.”
“Wh-why’s that!”
“Your break arts don’t work well with my magic. Because in exchange for sealing the enemy’s magic, my own magic disappears as well.”
He inspected the runes on the mithril slabs and then thrust them into his pocket.
People were starting to gather around the tent. It was only a matter of time before they were discovered.
“This is no time to be arguing. Hurry up and get out of here and find Sheto.”
“Keita…”
“Don’t look at me like that. Maybe we’ll get a reset anyway. And we’ll have to start again inside of the hut.”
He said in a softer, consoling voice.
Still, the young dragon hesitated.
“Didn’t you decide to protect Sheto? Then you can’t die here.”
“Why…do you know that?”
“I heard everything. From the Dragon God. Including your real name.”