Saving My Favorite in a Doomed World Chapter 66

The first scenery the Dragon encountered was a wasteland. There were, of course, no parents who had given birth to him, nor were there even kin to ask who he was. 

 

Perhaps because of the nature of dragons, all memories naturally flowed into him.

 

What he was, what kind of dragon he was and what abilities he could use, how he could become a human. The history of dragons, their records, this world. All knowledge came rushing in.

 

Tired after walking endlessly, the dragon came to a halt in the wasteland and lay down on the ground. The last piece of knowledge that entered him then was this: 

 

Knowledge about the death that a dragon of dimensions would face.

 

***

 

“I didn’t expect a dragon to be in this cave. Hey, wake up. And your eyes are blue? If I made these into jewels and sold them, I’d make a fortune. No, wait a second. White scales… and blue eyes.” 

 

The first impression he felt upon seeing Elric was… 

 

“…A madman.”

 

A human who spoke so recklessly in front of a dragon. He had not seen many in his life, but every one he had seen was killed, so there would likely be none left in the world. The dragon slowly blinked his massive eyes.

 

Humans revered dragons. They placed their expectations on them as they pleased and feared them as they pleased. Among the humans who had met a dragon’s gaze directly, there was not a single one who had failed to bow deeply.

 

“You’re a Dimensional Dragon! Wow, this is quite a catch.” 

 

Only Elric was different.

 

“I’ve lived for a few decades, but I’ve never seen a Dimensional Dragon. To meet such a rare species in a cave, I’m just too lucky. You’re still alive, right? Are you going to keep living in this cave? I’m sick of the outside world myself. I came in here because I thought no one would ever come to a cave on top of this high mountain.” 

 

“….”

 

The dragon did not answer. Other races were weak, arrogant, and foolish. And this one, in particular, was a fool who lacked even basic judgment.

 

There was no need for him to willingly open his mouth for a fool.

 

Hwashin, far from being discouraged, actually welcomed that attitude. Placing his hands firmly on his thin waist, he said, 

 

“Looks like you’re going to keep living in the cave. Great! I did want to study another race at least once.” 

 

Then he plopped down. The man went to sleep just like that, using the dragon’s belly as a pillow. At that unparalleled behavior, the dragon considered ripping the man’s stomach open with his claws, but it was too much effort, so he just left him be. He was destined to grow old and die like this anyway. 

 

There was no need to waste energy on something like this.

 

By tomorrow, this fellow will go back.

 

—I slept well! Hey, don’t you eat anything? The Fire Dragon ate well when I brought him lava. The Water Dragon only drank grade-one water, so that was pretty tough. Do you know what the Light Dragon is like? He only eats sunlight, so I had to hang out with him every day at noon. Hmm, I don’t know what a Dimensional one eats. Should I just bring you anything?

 

And so a day passed like that.

 

—I’ll give you a name, too. …Let’s see, Dimensional Dragon. Dragon. …How about just ‘Yong’? You’re the only dragon living around here anyway. Do you have another name? You don’t, right? Then let’s just go with Yong. If the day comes when you’re no longer the only dragon, I’ll give you a different name then.

 

And like that, a week passed.

 

—I had friends, too. Besides you, I mean. Are we friends? Were we not?

 

—Anyway, this world can just perish for all I care. …Maybe not. Hahaha. I’m not really sure yet myself.

 

And like that, a month passed, a year passed, five years passed.

 

—You must never leave me. Got it?

 

—You use the word “leave” quite often.

 

—Hahaha. Right, everyone around me has said their goodbyes to me far too quickly. Yong, since you’re a superior being, don’t worry about others; never save others, other races, but live however you want to. That way, you’ll stay by my side for a long time.

 

—I am already doing so.

 

Time flew by like an arrow.

 

The man named Elric was indifferent to the world.

 

If one had to name the person who hated the saying “with great power comes great responsibility” the most, it would be him.

 

But at the same time, the dragon thought that the person he most respected was also such a man.

 

They spent a tedious life in the cave. Occasionally, when food ran out, Elric would head to the village, and on days when he returned after seeing a village burned to nothing, Elric would laugh exaggeratedly.

 

The dragon thought this human was pitiful.

 

Perhaps even more than himself.

 

One day, the dragon had a premonition that he would end up leaving Elric all alone in this world. When death approached, a Dimensional Dragon could borrow several dimensions. From among them, he could choose the place he most wanted to go. To one dragon, one opportunity was given. If he didn’t decide which dimension to go to after death, he had to wait for his turn once more in the space of infinity.

 

Most dragons lived between 800 and 1000 years, so they would probably have to wait a long time.

 

—Hey, if you’re bored, try reading this book.

 

—What is it?

 

—A book I picked up a very long time ago. The letters are something I can’t read at all, so I thought maybe you, being smart, might be able to.

 

<Your Hero Is Here>.

 

It was a story containing the narrative of a hero. He had not read it to the end, but it was clearly the kind of story Elrik would like.

 

Elrik’s reaction was exactly what he expected.

 

On the first day he deciphered the book, Elrik was irritated.

On the second day, he could not hide his astonishment.

On the third day, he became so absorbed in the book that he did not even speak to the dragon.

 

—This book is a mess. How can the world fall into ruin when Cha Jaeha died?

 

—There are plenty of stories like that.

 

—But I didn’t cheer for the protagonist just to see an ending like that.

 

Is that so?

 

The dragon was intrigued when he heard those words.

 

A gift he could give Elric as he departed first came to mind. 

 

—If you were going to leave first like this, you could have at least told me in advance, you old dragon.

 

Fwoooosh. He died while listening to insults until the very moment of death. A cluster of light enveloped him. When the dragon opened his eyes again, he was standing in the middle of a dimensional path in his human form. There were two roads there. The path of the book he had borrowed last, and the space of infinity. 

 

Looking above, he saw a light that had not yet closed.

 

The dragon spoke to the Origin that governed his soul.

 

—I will send another soul to that dimension instead of myself.

 

The Origin asked the reason for this request it had never heard before, and the dragon answered.

 

—I believe a body for me has already been created there. A soul must enter that body regardless. I will never step forward into that dimension, so my friend must go there. He, much more than I…

 

Loves that world.

 

The Origin said,

 

—Then you may be trapped forever in that damnable place. I would know—I was stuck there myself for about 2,497 years.

 

—That’s fine. Please.

 

At his young junior’s smile, the Origin looked down at him quietly. To the Origin, neither eyes, ears, mouth, nor anything constituting a body remained. To him, who had become a single dimension, his young junior was a faint existence, so there was no reason at all to grant the request. 

 

However.

 

The Origin smiled.

 

—…Very well. I like the reason you gave. If it is someone who loves that world more than you do, then I too can grant a single act of leniency.

 

—Thank you.

 

—Don’t thank me. In exchange, you shall receive a punishment. Either way, the laws will remain as they are.

 

The dragon walked forward. The infinite space had no ceiling. In the place where only a floor existed, there were others of his kind he was seeing for the first time.

 

—Is that a new dragon who just came in?

 

—Oh my, isn’t he too young? He doesn’t look like one who has even gone around a few times.

 

Hearing the voices of his kin for the first time, the dragon smiled faintly.

 

It seemed his choice was not so wrong after all.

 

—Hey, what are you looking at so intently every day? Anyway, it’ll take over 600 years before you can enter a new dimension. Lately, our species has dwindled, so not many are crossing over.

 

—This little one keeps looking at the same story every time. If you like it that much, you should’ve gone there yourself.

 

—I can’t do that.

 

—Why not?

 

Yoo Hwashin is moving. Elric, who gained a new life, met a new friend in a new dimension.

 

The dragon turned a page of the book. His answer to the brief question was just as concise.

 

“Because I cannot prevent the destruction of this place.”

 

***

 

The dragon was bewildered. His blue eyes were filled only with confusion.

 

He could not understand why Elric was angry.

 

“Did you perhaps not like that you went in so suddenly? But you said you hated that world anyway.” 

 

Right. You hated it too.

 

“Shouldn’t you be thanking me instead?”

 

After all, he had even sent him to that world in his place.

 

But then, what exactly was he angry about?

 

Elric, or rather Hwashin, spoke. It was a remarkably serious voice, different from his usual self. 

 

“I thought you were dead.”

 

“….”

 

“They say a Dimensional Dragon’s soul is only maintained if it returns to another dimension. But if I entered this place instead of you, I thought often about where you might have gone.” 

 

Strength tightened between his interlaced fingers. 

 

“Hey, Yong. Was it you who kept speaking inside my head? It wasn’t a hallucination, right? Your thoughts slipped through the gap and reached me?”

 

His friend was alive in the dimension. He had not disappeared because of him, and he stood before his eyes.

 

“Did you deliberately send that weasel for my sake?”

 

“Hey.”

 

“Yong, I’m just… really glad that you didn’t die in my place, and that you’re alive here.”

 

Was Elric the type to say things like this? Or had his sensibility softened because he had been in human form for too long? To think tears would well up over something like this.

 

“Oh my, oh my.”

 

“Heh, sniff, heh. Those two were very good, hic, friends.”

 

“…Old geezer. Stop crying.”

 

“You’re both crying too, what are you talking about?”

 

…The conversation was so ridiculous that the tears he was about to shed disappeared. Swallowing them back, the dragon spoke to Elrik with reddened eyes.

 

“You’ve been living just fine.”

 

“You were watching everything?”

 

“Yes. I saw it through the book. The changed contents update in real time.”

 

The dragon reached toward the bookshelf. A book flew into his hand. The spine of the book, which read <Your Hero Is Here II>, caught the eye. 

 

“Volume 2?” 

 

“The length increased when you entered. It’s always like that. When a new soul enters, the dimension distorts slightly. That’s why the amount of souls capable of entry and exit is fixed.”

 

The dragon slowly opened the book.

 

When Hwashin wrote the note he handed over—ah, it was around that point. It was when Hwashin had been flustered from the very beginning. And when he met Frik and lost consciousness, he truly thought it would end like that.

 

“It didn’t look like you missed me in the book.”

 

“Since I’m already there, I might as well fanboy. Still, you must have seen that I was hearing hallucinations.” 

 

“…You learned that word ‘fanboy’ in that dimension, right? You use it too often.”

 

“Hahaha, there were a lot of interesting words.”

 

<Your Hero Is Here II>, huh. 

 

Then did that mean the future was written in there?

 

The increased volume was probably because of Frik or other events that had occurred because of him.

 

“Can I read that book too?”

 

“You can.”

 

The dragon lightly tossed the book.

 

When Hwashin caught it and opened it—

 

“Blank pages?”

 

“It comes out blank if a character from within that world looks at it. Because you aren’t supposed to see it.” 

 

“…I see.”

 

“But you can still kind of guess the ending. This book was on the [Bad Ending] shelf. Sometimes books move shelves depending on the ending, but the dragons who enter rarely try to change things that far, so most stay as they are.”

 

After all, those dragons entered because they liked the story to begin with.

 

Hwa-shin closed the book and stood up. Various types of bookshelves were floating in the wall-less void. Bookshelves labeled [Happy Ending] were also set up in various categories.

 

When he asked the dragon about the criteria, the dragon said it depended entirely on the protagonist.

 

It means that if they consider it a happy ending, it’s shelved in the Happy Ending section. 

 

“Ah, but any book where the protagonist dies is automatically a bad ending.”

 

“I see.”

 

Hwashin, having placed <Your Hero Is Here> back on the shelf, turned around. The dragon had already stood up to follow him. 

 

“Then can a Dimensional Dragon enter books, not just other dimensions?”

 

“Hm?”

 

“There were other dimensions inside the Gates of <Your Hero Is Here>. I wondered if you guys also saw books as a single dimension and entered them.” 

 

The old man, who had been quietly listening to their conversation, suddenly approached them. Stroking his long beard, he spoke as if showing off.

 

“Tsk, tsk. Young man, you’re seriously misunderstanding something. Your premise is wrong from the start!”

 

“Old man.”

 

“Newcomer, stay still. As the one who has been here the longest, I shall explain to this human. Since you are our newcomer’s friend, I’m telling you this in confidence.” 

 

“Just like that?” 

 

When Hwashin laughed, the old man flinched and stepped back. He waved his hand, saying that if it were something he should not say, the Origin would stop him anyway.

 

“You were never inside a book to begin with. You entered a dimension.”

 

“Isn’t that the same thing?”

 

Tsk!

 

The old man clicked his tongue loudly. It was loud enough to pierce the ears. He spread his arms wide in the vast space. 

 

Flutter.

 

His pure white robes fluttered along with him.

 

“Let me say it again. It’s not that a dimension is contained in a book.”

 

He looked upward. There was a dark ceiling. A ceiling swallowed by darkness where one could not see even an inch ahead.

 

“We are viewing a part of a dimension as a book. Through the perspective of the protagonist living there—what that world is like, what the situation is, how it is unfolding. Borrowing their gaze, the universe transcribes the story and refines it into a form someone can read.” 

 

Click. Click. Click. The sound of switches turning on echoed. One by one, lights began to appear in the darkness.

 

The ceiling that had been invisible began to show itself. No, not a ceiling. Countless books filling the endless space were looking down on them as if to overwhelm them. 

 

The old man grinned. Thousands of years—ages of time—wrapped around them. The old man looked delighted.

 

“The true form of what humans call the Akashic Records. …All dimensions exist here, young man.”