The black dragon's flames burned the dragon embryos.
Mélusine watched everything before her, for a moment not knowing what the right thing to do was.
Go along with him? Or stop him?
Neither seemed quite right.
But Mélusine knew one thing: whatever Ian set out to do, no one could possibly stop him.
There was nothing to be done.
Mélusine could only witness Ian incinerate these things that had not yet fully become dragons.
The process was surprisingly simple.
Ian's flames were absolutely overwhelming for these unhatched "dragons."
Soon, like flammable objects falling into a bonfire, they began to burn, erupting in blue flames.
After an unknown amount of time—
As the last dragon egg was completely burned to ashes, Ian transformed back into his human form.
However, the act of burning had clearly consumed a great deal of his stamina.
He now looked a little weak.
But...
"Why are you wearing clothes this time?"
Mélusine, ever the curious one, couldn't help but ask.
"You never did before, right?"
"Because Artoria wants me to."
Ian answered Mélusine's question calmly.
"So, I did as she wished."
"..."
It was an answer that perfectly fit the situation, and at the same time, it made Mélusine feel a small pang of regret.
However, looking at the smoldering remains all over the ground, Mélusine knew this was not the time to be concerned about such things.
At the very least, she had to find out why Ian had come here.
"I felt it."
As if he already knew what was on Mélusine's mind, Ian gave his answer almost instantly.
"Is that why you came all the way here, so recklessly?"
"..."
It sounded like a completely absurd reason, but when applied to Ian, it somehow seemed perfectly logical.
"Just what other abilities do you have that we don't know about?"
Mélusine said this, then walked over to the dragon eggs that had been completely dealt with by Ian.
She bent down and carefully examined what was inside.
But as she looked, her brows furrowed.
Because—
After Ian's fierce flames had subsided, all that remained on the ground were the traces of human forms.
If Ian was the standard for a true dragon...
...then everything that had been burned away here could only be called pseudo-dragons.
"Ian."
"Do you think these are dragons?"
"..."
Ian first shook his head, then nodded.
"They are dragons, but they are also not dragons."
"What do you mean by that?"
Mélusine grew puzzled.
"What do you mean, 'they are dragons, but they are also not dragons'?"
"They do have dragon-like characteristics, but they weren't born this way."
Ian walked to Mélusine's side and squatted down just as she had.
"They were turned into this later."
"..."
After confirming she had heard correctly, Mélusine's hand, which was touching the traces on the ground, began to tremble slightly.
"You mean..."
"They... are doing the same thing as Artoria?"
"..."
Ian turned his head to look at Mélusine, then nodded.
"Yes."
"It should be..."
"...something similar."
"..."
Mélusine knew what this meant.
Artoria was not the only one trying to turn ordinary people into dragons.
"We have to go back at once!"
Mélusine realized this in an instant.
But—
Just as the thought occurred to her, the ground that had been scorched by Ian began to change anew.
All the traces began to gradually disappear, until finally, nothing was left.
This made Mélusine even more concerned—she realized that someone might be deliberately hiding something.
"Ian, let's go!"
"Let's go back and tell Artoria."
The calm night sky was shattered once again.
Ian and Mélusine began to fly back in the direction of Camelot.
However, what they didn't notice was that after they left, a figure slowly walked out from a deeper part of the forest.
It was Vortigern.
The Vile King White Dragon, who, in legend, should have long since had a battle with Artoria.
But now, that legend had not come to pass at all.
Vortigern had not led a foreign army to invade Camelot as the prophecy foretold.
He had a better plan.
The Vile King, though quite old, still looked very spirited. With a wave of his hand, the forest that had been destroyed by Ian began to regrow at an unimaginable speed.
With another wave of his hand, within the regenerated forest, the embryos of dragons were once again conceived.
"Just you wait, Artoria."
"Just you wait, Camelot."
"Soon, you will feel what true despair is."
---
It was another long flight.
Ian and Mélusine finally landed on the new walls of Camelot.
By now, it was dawn.
The sun was rising in the distance.
Pale yellow light shone upon the faces of Mélusine and Ian.
"So bright."
Mélusine instinctively raised a hand to shield her eyes, only to find herself suddenly embraced by Ian.
"Wh-what are you doing?"
She hadn't even made a move yet, but Ian had acted first. Mélusine's heart was naturally filled with both shock and joy.
And the next words she heard only served to further confirm this feeling.
"Mélusine, is it easy for me to make you happy?"
"Why do you ask..."
"I want to know."
It was a simple and direct answer. Mélusine hesitated for a moment, and after confirming that no one else was watching them, she nodded.
"Isn't that a given?"
"If you couldn't make me happy so easily, what kind of 'lover' would you be?"
No sooner had Mélusine finished speaking than she was pushed against the wall by Ian.
A familiar feeling welled up inside her.
"Ian, you..."
Just as the words left her mouth, the feeling in her heart became reality.
She found that the man's hands were wrapped around her waist, one on each side, and then came an intense heat she could feel without even having to look.
"Is it not allowed?"
"Doesn't Mélusine like this too?"
"Hey, wait a minute!"
Before Mélusine could finish her sentence, she already felt an unprecedented pressure.
"At least tell me why!"
Feeling the heat in her lower abdomen, the petite swordswoman couldn't help but say this.
"'Reward'?"
"Reward? What reward?"
"The reward for coming out with me."
"And—"
Ian looked at her, who had already instinctively braced herself against the wall.
"I want to ask you for a favor."
"What is it now?"
"Teach me how to make Artoria and Morgan get along."